What I Learned at SRU
by D3stiny-Sm4sher
Summary: A modern college AU with an original plot, SRU is based in part on my own personal college experience, weaving together characters, concepts and themes from ATLA & Legend of Korra with my own life to create a tribute to the Avatar series and an exploration of young adulthood. SRU!Gaang & Smellerbee (& later on Korra) are protags along w/large supporting cast. Some strong language.
1. Inspiration

**EDIT: As of 4/30/2014, this draft is FINISHED. This project is now going to be revised into an original series with a slightly different name: 'What We Learned at Rokudai.'**

**EDIT: As of 8/11/2012, this first chapter has an extended intro. This story has very rare scenes of mild violence, but does contain a fair amount of harsh language. However, it has no blatant sexual scenes and no excessive gore. The only thing that would make this story "m-rated" is language. It is about college students, and I feel it is appropriate for mature teenagers and up.**

**A/N: Saint Roku University is heavily inspired by my own alma mater, Houghton College - I will be expressing personal experiences of mine from my time there (and my time after graduation) through the narrative.**

**Character names and personalities, along with many other attributes, are borrowed from the **_**Avatar **_**series, which I claim no rights to. Likewise, many other pop-culture items I reference within the story I claim no right to.**

**Enjoy this crazy train ride.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 1 - Inspiration_

* * *

- Saturday, September 18th, 2010 -

["YOU HAVE...**THREE**...NEW MESSAGES. **FIRST**...MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep._]

["Smellerbee. It's Jet. You've been lying low, right? Damnit...I don't know what the hell is going on. The shit has hit the fuckin' fan, for sure. Stay on campus until this blows over - same goes for Longshot. Was hopin' it wouldn't come to this but we don't fuckin' get everything we want. Right? Fff. Anyways...I'll keep you posted. Just sit tight."]

[_Beep._]  
["NEXT MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep_.]

["Heya, Jane. How ya doin' lately, huh?"] It was Toph. ["Katara's gettin' pretty worried about you. You've just been hiding in your room all the time. Did you even go to class today? You should stop by some time, Janey-Jane. This week has been boring without your smart-ass remarks and bitchy attitude. And besides, you've got Katara all freakin' out about ya. You know how she gets."] Toph's tone turned down its humor just enough to convince Jane she was being genuine. ["She really cares about you, ya know. And, like...I'm startin' to. Also. Or something."] She took on a snappy defense, ["B-but don't let that go to your stupid Irish head! I just wish you'd come chill with our friends, is all. I know it's kind of awkward at first - and I know that's usually _my _fault, heh - but seriously, they're sweet guys. Er, like..'awesome' sweet. Sokka's not 'sweet' sweet. Pff. He's an idiot. What the crap was I...-? Oh, right. OK. So, like, come hang with us and stuff. Saturday night we're gonna do something. Give us a call or, ya know, _walk across the hall, _we'll fill you in. Whatever. OK-OK-OK, I'm done now. 'Kay. Byeeeee."]

[_Beep._]  
["NEXT MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep_.]

["Good evening. Smellerbee, is it?"] Whoever this was, they were using a device to disguise their voice. This fact alone caused Jane's stomach to lurch as she had an idea as to who it was - generally speaking - and why they were calling. ["Smellerbee...Kind of an odd name for a girl. You _are _a girl, right? It's hard to tell. Interesting stories about _you _floating around. But don't worry. You're not our concern. We just thought it'd be courteous to request that you relay a message to your _fearless leader, _as you seem to be his right hand man. Or was it woman? Let Jet know that the Rough Rhinos know what he did, and that the favor is going to be repaid. Tonight."]

[_Beep._]  
["END OF MESSA-"]

Jane closed her phone, her body stiffened, her mind drowning in fear. She stared at the phone in desperation before throwing it onto her bed as if touching it infected her with the poison of doubt.

"_Fuck_," she growled aloud. "Fuck-fuck-fuck." Her hands were trembling and she stuffed them into her baggy pants to try fooling herself into not noticing this fact. Her bare right foot tapped rapidly against the floor of her dorm room as drops of sweat formed on her forehead. She pondered what to do with herself next. She had to call Jet to make sure he was aware of the situation. Begrudgingly, she grabbed her phone and dialed Jet's number. No ringback.

["It's Jet. I'm out fighting for freedom at the moment."]  
"_Shit._"  
["Leave me a message."]  
[_Beep._]

"Jet, what's going on? I thought you said things were going to calm down? I just got a message from them. I don't know what's up but I think they might be coming after you. Watch your fuckin' back, man...Maybe you should skip town? I dunno. Call me _back_. Be careful."

Jane had known that sooner or later, something like this would happen, but she always figured it would play out differently. For some reason she had always expected something like the big fight in Gangs of New York - a mass of people all laying into each other - not a simple tit for a tat like this.

Now even more paranoid than she'd been before, pacing in a circle around her room repeatedly, Jane acknowledged her mental state. She considered her choices. She could continue to hide out, or she could take action. All of this hiding only seemed to be making her stir-crazy and freaked out. She meandered to her closet and dove through her things, retrieving a shoebox. She pulled out a small case and unclasped it. A four-inch knife, clean as a whistle, stared back up at her. Its hilt formed into the shape of a lioness, its mouth open in a roar.

_Hello, old friend. What shall it be tonight? Business or pleasure? What do you think? I'm thinking 'business.'_

* * *

Smellerbee took a deep breath, sucking in the cold, midnight air through her nostrils, then sighing out vapors through her lips. She shivered, pulling up her hoodie over her ragged, orange hair. She lifted a wary arm to her bleary olive eyes, rubbing at the dark bags that hung beneath them. She dropped her hand back into her maroon hoodie's waist pocket, where it returned to its position, tightly grasping the hilt of her trusty four-inch blade. Two stripes of red paint were smeared across each of her freckled cheeks – the look she liked to wear when she was out on 'business.'

Her other hand began to vibrate from the cellphone stored within it. She quickly took it out, checking its screen for the message she was anticipating.

[From: Longshot]  
[hm?]  
[Sent: 12:09am]

Smellerbee sighed to herself, her bony fingers squeezing the phone with frustration. Hours ago, she'd sent him a text message advising him to head to bed after his errands for the evening were done – that something had come up and she'd be busy tonight. She had hoped that by now, her boyfriend would be sleeping, not texting her one-syllable responses because he was apparently too lazy to write anything else. Smellerbee was already worried enough about _one _of the few friends in her life getting hurt tonight. She couldn't afford to have Longshot added to that list.

Smellerbee stuffed the phone back into her hoodie and peeked her head around the brick-walled corner she was residing upon. Her narrowed eyes glared up and down the quiet city street. Circles of light were cast upon the sidewalks from streetlamps, and she could see a blond woman in a jogging suit dashing by across the road. She glanced down the other way when she heard the humming of an engine, but it was just a car – not possibly who she was waiting here for.

She huffed with impatience and pulled her head back into the alleyway, rubbing her cold hands together within her hoodie's pocket.

_The fuck _are _you, Jet?_

She pulled out her phone again, punching a number on her speed dial.

[Calling...**Jet**]  
_Pick up, pick up. C'mon...Argh, come _on!  
["It's Jet."]  
_Shit..._  
["I'm out fighting for freedom at the moment."]  
_The hell am I supposed to do?_  
["Leave me a message."]  
[_Beep._]

Smellerbee shut the phone off after she'd hesitated to record a voicemail. At this point, it didn't matter. He was probably driving, anyway.

After a couple more minutes of tense waiting, Smellerbee finally heard the sound she'd been hoping would come around: a motorcycle. She poked her head out of the alley to confirm her suspicions. The vehicle in question was speeding dangerously around a corner, peeling down the road in her direction. She dashed out of the alleyway and entered one of the pools of light on the sidewalk, raising up her lanky arm in a frantic wave at the driver approaching her.

The familiar motorcycle steered dangerously into the alley Smellerbee had been hiding out in, giving her a start. She followed it on foot, bemoaning Jet's reckless behavior within her mind. She watched him slow to a stop, and made sure to direct a nasty glare in his face as she approached. He remained on his stationary bike as they talked.

"Smellerbee!" he huffed out in relief. She couldn't see his face well in the dark alley from a distance. "There you are." But his breathing was ragged and his voice trembled with a fear unlike anything she'd heard him utter. "Where's Longshot?" Jet demanded.

"I don't know," Smellerbee lied flatly. "Doesn't matter. I don't see what-"  
"Did you _call _him?" Jet spat out frantically.

"_Yea, _I _called_ him," she insisted with indignation to authenticate her falsehood. "Now will you tell me what the _fuck _is goin' on?" Her voice cracked with her curse word. Jet's paranoia tonight was rubbing off on her. The sound of a car passing by caused the two of them to freeze up and stare out toward the road, watching it plod on by.

"It's the Rhinos, man," Jet grumbled, pulling Smellerbee's attention back. He shook his head. "They figured us out."

Smellerbee's stiff face didn't react to this. She'd figured as much, given the message they'd left on her voicemail earlier that evening.

"They chasin' you down?" she grunted. She saw his head nod furiously. "Shit...Listen, my car's parked down on the next block, we should-"  
"_Shh!_"

Smellerbee's heart skipped a beat at Jet silencing her, for the cause of his shushing was the rumbling of motorcycles slowing down and parking on the street Jet had entered from.

Smellerbee instinctively snuck up toward the alley's edge, leaving Jet to hide on his bike in the shadows behind. Crouching behind a dumpster, she eavesdropped on the distant voices that echoed down the road.

"-tellin' ya, _this _is the street."

"You sure?"

"'S what he told me. Said he was following him, disappeared after this street. He's _gotta_ be here somewhere."

"Yea, yea...Just get it over with."

Smellerbee could detect that they were still a little ways down, and she slinked to Jet's side.

"We wait around here, they'll find us," she advised in a gruff whisper.

"That's why you're going to stay here, and I'm going to leave," Jet replied coldly. Smellerbee's eyes went wide and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket.

"No. _No,_" she growled into his face. "Enough of this bullshit. You don't have to _do _this."

Jet pushed her away in a slight but swift motion. Their eyes having adjusted to the darkness, they exchanged tense stares.

"I'm afraid I no longer have a _choice,_" he replied. "If I leave with you, they'll just track me down. You were right. I have to leave town. It's the only way." He fished through his coat and pulled out his phone, extended his arm to her. "Take it. You're in charge while I'm gone."

Smellerbee's eyes began watering up. She couldn't accept this. Jet had been the closest thing to a leader she had come to know in her frustrating life. A life which had taken on new meaning since she had tried to break free of this crap, but still...part of her cared for him and his struggles. She just wished he could've let all of this go before it had gotten out of hand.

"Jet, I'm...I'm _not _one of you guys anymore," she grumbled out, struggling to hold back her rampaging emotions.

"Then what are you _doing_ here?" Jet countered, a spark in his eyes. Smellerbee sighed begrudgingly at this, and when Jet didn't retract his arm, she accepted the phone, putting it inside her left jean pocket.

She was startled when Jet handed her another object: a Zippo lighter engraved with the likeness of an eagle. It was Jet's favorite belonging and a symbol of his role as the leader of the Freedom Fighters. Whenever he needed someone else to take command of a task, he'd lend them the lighter, like a badge they could show to establish their authority in the situation at hand. Jet had a habit of being theatrical like that.

"You'll _always _be a Freedom Fighter," Jet insisted coolly. Yep. Always trying to be Mr. Slick, all right.

His smirk in that moment took Smellerbee back to when he had first won over her allegiance with his smooth talking and suave mannerisms. To the end, Jet still insisted on doing things that way, didn't he?

Smellerbee choked on a sob, grabbing the lighter and dropping it in the other side of her jeans. Damn, these pockets were filling up fast, as were her eyes – with tears. She didn't even understand why. Apparently she cared more about him than she cared to admit to herself. He'd taken an angry, insecure, androgynous teenager and helped shape her into something more.

At the core of it, though, Jet's focus had always been on 'Smellerbee,' the Freedom Fighter, the gang member. Not the real person with the real name who hid behind this face-painted facade. Her new friends were helping her come out of the shadows Jet had kept her locked within. They were helping her consider the big questions: who was _she_, and what did _she _want?

But still...Right now, one thing she _did _want was for none of her friends to get hurt. That included Jet staying safe. Freedom Fighter or not, she was willing to do what it took to ensure that tonight.

The rumble of Jet's motorcycle starting up jolted Smellerbee from her sorrowful thoughts.

"_Jet!_" she cried, her heart suddenly pounding. She could hear the men from the nearby street scampering toward them.

"I'll be fine," Jet told her. But Smellerbee was well-enough acquainted with lying – especially _Jet's _lying – to realize that he wasn't telling the truth. In that wrenching moment, they both knew that one way or another, Jet was probably never coming back to this town. Her stomach churned with regret and fear as she watched him speed away.

"_Shit!_"  
"_Wah!_"  
"After him!"

Those Rough Rhino thugs were right around the corner, having just been startled by the bike whizzing past them. But now they were scampering off toward their own vehicles to pursue. It was business time. She wasn't going to let them chase after Jet.

Smellerbee whipped out her knife. In that moment, her lioness-headed knife expressed her mindset – its mouth wide open, teeth bared. She wasn't going to take a life tonight if she could help it, though. That part of her life was one she was trying to leave behind.

She made swift, lithe motions toward the trio of targets, and deftly extended a leg under the first one's ankle, tripping him into the sidewalk. The others immediately took notice and retaliated. The first took a swing at her with his fist, but she dodged, administering a kick to his groin. He doubled over as she swiped her knife out at the other, who had made to grapple her. The knife sliced across his palm, eliciting a yelp of horror.

The one she'd tripped was still regaining his senses, and she slammed her bony knee into the one that was hunched over for good measure. Her skinny limbs didn't have much momentum to them, but the blow was fast, leaving her target stunned, and she made a furious slash at his face as he fumbled over to the ground.

Just as she had figured that this was too easy, the one whose hand she'd cut was fumbling a pistol from his back pocket. She reacted in haste, pulling up the man she'd tripped and applying her blade to his neck. He was a bit taller than she was. But he was a bit scrawny, the youngest of the bunch, still dazed, _and_ her knife's tip was pressed into his neck. With her hostage in tow, she retreated for the dark alley she'd emerged from, leaving the trembling gunman to consider his options as his friend shrieked on the curb beside him.

"You let him _go_, you whore," growled the gunman. "I've heard about _you_," he seethed. As Smellerbee stepped back, the overhead light cast her hooded head in blackness. Heh. Well, it seemed she'd lucked out with her hostage, as she could see in the gunman's freaked face that he actually cared about this kid. "We didn't _ask _for this shit, you brought it on yourselves..." the man continued with an empty threat.

Sliding into the shadows of the alleyway, Smellerbee could see the tell-tale sign of her rival gang on the man's shooting arm: a small tattoo of a rhino, inked near the inside of his elbow. It was at least reassuring to know that, if anything, she was hurting the right kind of people.

As Smellerbee pulled the blubbering, scruffy-faced man – jeez, he really wasn't much older than her, she was figuring – she patted him down. Damnit, no gun.

"Wh-! Wh-wh-!" The guy was whimpering in her grasp, stumbling back at her pace. Smellerbee twisted the knife's tip. "_Guh_-!"  
"_Shuddup_," she hissed in his ear.

A sick and broken part of Smellerbee was enjoying every moment of this. The adrenaline, the fear, the _power. _It was all what had brought her to the Freedom Fighters in the first place. Had she _really _needed to assault these men?

In those tense, trembling seconds in the darkness, the gunman's attention was derailed. Not by the shriek of "-fuggin' _cut me_!" by his compatriot, but by the sound of vehicles approaching from where Jet had driven off. She could see the gunman's stunned form bathed in the light of multiple vehicles.

In her moment of disquieted distraction, Smellerbee was caught off guard as her hostage pushed her lanky arm off his neck, grasping for her head. The two struggled for a second and Smellerbee's hood was yanked off in the tugging. Jet's motorcycle, followed by two cars, approached in this moment. The gunman's attention was off of Smellerbee, but now directed at Jet, and he raised up his shaking arm, aiming his weapon at the oncoming vehicles. Smellerbee could see fear and panic in his eyes. All three of these idiots were still inexperienced at anything serious like this; simply scouts that had been sent to locate Jet. No wonder she'd been able to dispatch them so quickly – lucky, too, or she could've had a bullet put in her head tonight.

The pavement up ahead turned alive in a flash of light and metal and sparks that skidded across Smellerbee's narrow vision so quickly she couldn't catch what was happening. A wretched scraping sound, a metal crunching, squealing tires...Had Jet just crashed?

Smellerbee's focus was scattered at this point, and her opponent's force pushed her off. Her knife clattered to the ground while her body fell behind the nearby dumpster. The back of her head hit the tarmac – hard. The world became a blur as she scrunched up into a fetal position, grasping at the back of her skull. Footsteps, scampering to safety. Screaming, commotion. Sirens in the distance. Within the relative safety of her darkness, Smellerbee was crawling back to her knees. Her head throbbed and everything was a blur, but she managed to scoop up her red-edged knife and slip it into her hoodie as cautiously as she could in her dizzy state. Leaning against the brick wall beside her, she pushed herself up slowly, peeking out over the dumpster. Her captor and his associates were gone, and a thin trail of blood drops ran down the visible patch of concrete before her.

Concealed in this racket ensuing on the street, Smellerbee lurched to the corner on her right side, where the blood was leading, and peaked her wobbly head around the corner. She couldn't entirely make out what was going on, but she could hear bikes revving up as the police approached – her foes trying to flee the scene. Near as she could tell, Jet's bike was smoking in the middle of the road down a ways. She squinted, her sight still somewhat fuzzy as she tried to make out Jet. Her eyes focused long enough to notice a smear of red running along the path the motorcycle had crashed along.

It didn't look good.

The wailing sirens of the pair of police cars drew nearer, and she could clearly see their flashing light down the road – that was helping wake up her senses mighty quick as another shot of adrenaline pumped through her. She had to make herself scarce, like the others had. She forced her aching body in the opposite direction of all of the noise – toward her parked car on the other edge of the alley. She clutched the back of her head – damn_, _did it hurt like a son of a bitch. She could feel the damp warmth of her own blood from the scrape on her head. Her hands were trembling, but she couldn't resist the urge to clamp her palm against her pulsating noggin.

One dazed walk later, Jane had reached the next street over, where her car was parked. She finally removed her palm from her head and retrieved her keys from her back-pocket. Traces of her own blood were smudged onto them as jittery fingers struggled to jam the right key into the keyhole on her car door. She cursed under her breath with impatience, and quickly retreated inside of her vehicle. The light inside automatically turned off after a few seconds of her sitting in silence. Her whole body quivered from the ordeal she'd just experienced.

_This was a mistake_, she concluded. _Shouldn't be here. This is exactly what I was trying to _escape_. Can't live with this shit anymore. I'm out. No more of this. The Freedom Fighters can go fuck themselves, I am _done_ with all this._

Her mind spent minutes racing through her life's recent events, trying to figure out how in the _hell _she had gotten here. By the time she'd come to, the smeared blood on her hands was dried, and her right index finger had found its way up to her eyebrow. It was a nervous tick of hers – sliding her fingertip along her fuzzy eyebrows the way a man might stroke his beard or mustache. She pried her finger off, taking the keys from her lap and plugging them into the ignition. She paused before turning the key.

Her eyes were welled up, ready to burst with tears.

She let them.

* * *

-August 22nd, 2010- **One month earlier**

He stared at the book with thoughtful wonder for a moment, chewing the eraser end of his pencil. Inspiration was not coming, but Aang Leekpai was determined to defeat his lifelong adversary: the blank page. The bustle of his peers whirled around him as he sat alone on the sofa against the wall - his friends had to show up pretty soon, as it was starting to get a bit late and he was getting pretty antsy. It had been months since he had seen any of them face to face, and the summer had been a rather drawn out rinse-repeat process of working at a grocery store in the small town he had been moved to that summer. Inspiration. Hm. He needed something to spur his soul to draw.

_Rrrrmmm._

The sound had come from the arm of the couch - his cell phone. He immediately set down his notebook and grabbed the device, flipping it open to read the message he'd received.

[From: Sokka]  
[We're on campus. We're gonna go pick up Toph and meet you at the ACC in a few.]  
[Sent: August 22nd, 6:34pm]

Finally. The wait was almost over. Aang was already crafting plans for their first weekend of the school year: a trip in the nearby woods, with a campfire, s'mores, swimming in a pond, petting salamanders and newts and frogs and-...  
_Newt! Newt, newt, newt...chicken? No. Monkey? No, no. Dog?_  
_Dog. Newt-Dog. Bingo._

His pencil savagely attacked the blank page in a flurry of curved lines and shade scratching, whittling out the basic structure of a mutated combination between a German Shepherd and an amphibian lizard. He'd work out a finalized design later using photo references but the idea was set - another creature added to his ever growing zoo of mix-and-match animals. His task complete, he inhaled a deep breath of satisfaction, closed his notebook, and leaned back, soaking in the much-needed atmosphere around him after a long and lonely summer.

Stray tables and couches were sparsely populated, but within the next day or two they'd fill up quite nicely around this time of the day. A small shop carrying school supplies, souvenirs, and textbooks resided to his left, bathrooms, an elevator, and an information desk to the right, and the wide, open stairwell that led upstairs to the cafeteria or downstairs to the basement level was straight ahead. The basement contained a recreation room for pool, ping-pong, and foosball, along with the college post office, some student resource and study rooms, and the social hotspot that was the burger and fast food joint, Appa's. This place was like his home away from home - away from his dorm room, anyway.

This was the Avatar Campus Center - commonly referred to as the ACC - located smack in the middle of Saint Roku University. This was where memories were made: two-in-the-morning heart-to-hearts, pizza parties, passing time away while you waited for your friends to show up so you could finally go eat dinner...Some people practically lived there. Aang anticipated that this year would be no different. It'd be _better, _even, because the hard part was already over: he'd found his group, his niche, his clam-shell in the ocean of college.

_Rrrrmmm._

Ripped from his nostalgia and startled back to his senses, Aang's attention focused back on his phone.

[From: Sokka]  
[We're in the parking lot.]  
[Sent: August 22nd, 7:03pm]

A quick survey of the building yielded no sarcastic grin or wave from his partner in crime, so Aang whipped his body up off the couch, stuffed his notebook into his shoulder bag, and burst through the entrance double doors behind him, shoving his phone into his khaki short pockets as he pushed his way out with his shoulder. His converse sneakers merrily bounced along the sidewalk in brisk steps - they had been tired out from their first year of use but Aang had faith that they would carry him through the months to come, and they seemed determined enough to oblige.

Aang reached The Circle - a large circle of sidewalk that surrounded the ACC. Different branches of campus trickled off from this main path, and all roads on campus led to The Circle. Straight ahead was the particular road that Aang was looking for: the entrance gates and parking lot. Not wanting to get too lost, he stayed put at the point where The Circle and the entrance path joined, and within moments the figures of his three favorite people in the world came into view, including that anticipated sarcastic grin of the tan-skinned Sokka Kesuk, the closest thing Aang had to a brother.

Without a doubt, it was Sokka: blue button-down shirt, _not _tucked in, black slacks, and those ever-present brown loafers of his, accented by loose hair over the sides of his face that evoked the image of a surfer-dude. Aang wasn't so sure how he felt about the new hair, but that wily smile had been unmistakably missed. Aang thrust his arms up and waved like a crazed bullfighter and bellowed out a war cry to his roommate that was reciprocated.

"Aer-**ooooohhh**!"

"Oh, my God," snickered Sokka's younger sister, coming from behind, her arm latched to her own roommate's. "The boys - they're together again. Toph, what have we _done?_"

"Pff, I have _no idea,_" muttered the girl at her side, lifting a brow over her unfocused eye and smirking wide. "I already regret it."

"Us Aero Men have a certain obligation to uphold tradition," Sokka clarified with pride, puffing out his chest as Aang drew near. Upon the word 'tradition' being thrown into the air, Aang pumped his fist into the air and repeated the word 'tradition' in the thundering melody from the opening moments of Fiddler on the Roof. Upon concluding the word, both boys cried out, "Tradition!" before joining tunes and continuing the song of their own accord.

"OK, there, Tevye," Sokka's sister cut them off right after the second pair of 'tradition's.'

"Yea, thanks for that," Toph joked. "_Two _flat notes at once. Grrrr-ate."

But the boys were too enraptured in a manly hug full of superfluous back pounding to pay the girls any heed. It would normally be uncharacteristic of them, but when it came to expressing pride in their dormitory, nothing quite seemed out of place for Aang and Sokka, no matter how extravagant or loud. Eventually the hug died down to a more gentle embrace.

"God, I missed you, dude," Sokka sighed out.

"Missed you, too," Aang replied.

"Being roommates is going to be _epic,_" Sokka affirmed.

"Totally."

Their hug continued for another unnaturally long moment until Katara sighed.

"They're still hugging, aren't they?" Toph grumbled, her free hand on her hip.

"Yep," Katara dully explained, rubbing her fingers across Toph's wrist before leaving her side and approaching the two interlocked men. "Hey," she grunted, pulling them apart as they laughed at their own behavior. "My turn."

"Katara!" Sokka gasped incredulously. "We were _hav-ing _a _mo-ment_!" he whined with exuberence.

Katara couldn't help but smile. Her brother just never _quite _seemed like himself these days unless he was with Aang. Brothers to the end, they were. "Come here," she said, wrapping her arms around her lanky sophomore friend and squeezing him tight.

"What?" Toph growled, tapping her sandal impatiently against the concrete. "How come _I _go last?"

"I think you know," Sokka coyly prodded, jabbing her in the arm with his knuckle. He delighted at how her cheeks went pink instantaneously. It was just too easy.

"Boy, did I miss _you, _Buddy," Katara expressed with warmth.

"Me, too, Katara," came Aang's equally affectionate reply.

"You missed _yourself?_" she teased.

"You _know _what I meant!" he chuckled back.

If Sokka was like his brother, it came as no surprise that Katara Kesuk had rapidly become his sister. In truth, it had really been the other way around. Katara had been his anchor during the beginning of college the year prior. She had been the first real friend he had made on campus, and it was through her that he had become such good friends with Sokka, resulting in their decision to room together this year. Without Katara, Aang didn't know where he would've been cast in the wide sea of college life, but he sure was glad she had caught him in her net and hauled him ashore. He couldn't deny her beauty despite the bulbous nose she shared with her brother, and it was no shock to him that boys always seemed to be going after her. Her appearance was somewhat exotic, with tan skin to match Sokka's, deep, dark eyes, thick, bushy hair of dark brown that ran past her shoulders, and a pair of braids looping from the sides of her forehead out to the back. Despite looking a bit foreign, she carried herself in a very plain manner, a poofy denim skirt supported by a white tank top on this particular summer evening, flip-flops beneath feet with blue toenails.

"OK, all right, girlfriend coming through," Toph jokingly dismissed, wandering over to them with arms spread open wide.

Katara grinned at Aang's flushed face and gave him a pat on the shoulder before watching him catch Toph in his arms. Her grip around him was tight and intense, her hands feeling their way around his back, his shoulders, his neck. His own hands had found their way down to her hips, grasping them with tender relief in that they were together again after months of agonizing separation.

Her head tilted forward, and Aang caught it with his own. They both relished the sudden proximity - this was a moment they had each been yearning for since the early days of summer. Aang stared carefully at her milky white eyes that focused no where in particular, but her expression reciprocated his attraction.

Toph Beifong had been completely blind from birth, but she never let this fact tie her down. Whenever someone approached Toph's blindess with an "I'm sorry," she would always respond without skipping a beat with, "Don't be. I'm not."

Aang admired her fiery determination, the way she picked on him relentlessly, the way she was able to poke fun at herself, as well, and the fact that beneath her rough attitude was a steadfast soul with a caring heart despite all she had to deal with - her blindness, her over-controlling parents, the pity people tried to enforce upon her.

Toph tended to dress very casual - a t-shirt and shorts pretty much did the trick, hair in a bun or tied into a convenient and bushy ponytail. On this day she had a green theme going on - green was her favorite color, which at first didn't make sense to most people, given that she had no concept of what colors were like. The way she explained it was that green was the color of grass, and the feeling of grass beneath her toes was one of her favorite things in the world. Given her penchant for walking barefoot as often as possible (which was not near as often a she'd like, unfortunately), she was quite familiar with grass.

Beneath the floppy lock of black bangs that hung between white eyes, her pale face taunted him with a mischievous smile enveloped in reddened cheeks. He poked at her left earring, a fluffy ball of white fur. Those were new, and they were cute. Toph reached her slender arms up over Aang's shoulders and draped her hands over his back, her fingertips tickling an excited chill up his spine. Their foreheads remained pressed together, neither going all in to lock lips. Sokka spewed forth an exaggerated groan.

"_God, _kiss each other already, I'm _hungry!_"

Katara burst into giggles and Aang and Toph's already colored faces flashed red like stop lights.

"We are _hav-ing _a _mo-ment_!" Toph mimicked Sokka's earlier complaint, feeling her nose forward and nuzzling it against Aang's. Her position confirmed, she leaned in and gave him a gentle peck on the lips. He returned the gesture, which she responded to with more ferocity, and back and forth they went for a few moments until palms were planted on skulls and mouths were opening over top one another.

"Aw, ech, _ewwww_," Sokka growled. "Come aahhn."

Katara found it adorable. Aang and Toph had both struggled in their freshman year trying to find a place where they belonged, and she was more than happy to accommodate this need, delighted with their company and companionship. She had seen their budding little romance coming from a mile away the prior spring. Her brother's lack of maturity was ruining the ambiance, though, so she slapped him on the chest and nodded her head to the ACC, motioning him to follow.

"OK, so, _yea! _You guys have fun with that," Sokka called out to their still interlocked bodies, his back turned. "We're gonna go and get some food now." He received no reply - as expected - and shook his head as they entered a side entrance that directly led downstairs.

"They're so cute," Katara mused, hands clasped behind her back. "Don't you think?"

"Yea," he admitted, his sarcasm meling away. "Not gonna lie. As long as they don't get 'cute' all over our dorm room, I'm all good. What about _you? _Where's your little...hunk-a-burning-street-thug?"

"Hey," Katara snapped defensively. "He is not a _street thug._"

"Isn't he the leader of a _gang_?" Sokka blurted out with spread arms, aghast at her nitpick.

"They're an _organization,_" Katara tartly clarified, index finger waving at him as their descent concluded and the ACC basement welcomed them with wafting scents of burgers and fries. "A non-violent group of protesters."

"Yea, yea," Sokka dismissed with a flick of his wrist, crossing his arms. "The guy just rubs me the wrong way, Katara."

"That's just because _you_ don't understand him," she insisted, attempting to keep the recurring conversation calm. She had been debating this enough times over the summer and was far from being in the mood to go through the motions again.

"Maybe that's because he's made no effort to let me," Sokka testily pointed out, the booths of the Appa's Grill restaurant mostly empty. "How about a, 'Hey, there, brother of the girl I'm dating, how are you?'" He mocked the gruff voice of the boy in question with jest. "I never _see_ the guy, Katara. I know nothing _about him. _Maybe if I knew his _name, _that'd be a good start."

"His name is Jet," came an irritable specification. How many times had she told him this by now?

"His name is _not Jet,_" cried Sokka in aggravation, shrugging and rolling his head backward in disbelief. "That's not a real-person name!" True, but he didn't like being called by his real name, he preferred his self-manufactured nickname.

"Whatever," Katara huffed, already exhausted. Why was he ruining this moment of arriving on campus? What did it matter? "Can we just...drop this, Sokka?" she pleaded in a whsper, unnerved, arms latched around her stomach. They stood in line behind a gigantic student in a basketball jersey - number 14 - who was placing his order at the counter.

"Fine by me," Sokka muttered wth nonchalance, tilting his head to the side. "I'm just sayin'...I don't like the guy."

"Yes," Katara hissed. "You've made that _pretty _clear. Thanks."  
_It's none of your business, Sokka. Butt out of it._

"And what I can get you today, guys?" greeted the familiar tone of the fellow student working the counter. His greasy hair was slicked back into a thick ponytail that trailed out of the back of his white baseball cap - part of the restaurant uniform. His skin tone and facial structure was similar to Katara and Sokka's, but he was Hawaiian while they were descendants of Inuits from the north.

"Haru," Katara acknowledged him, eager to use sociability to push her sibling conflict aside. "Hey, how are you doing? How was your summer?"

"Aw, man, good stuff." He always spoke with a relaxed tone, which made his incredibly easy to approach with even the most mundane of conversation. "Spent a lot of time out on the beach, worked construction for the first time."

"That's right, you're from...-" Katara fished through her memories and retrieved the answer. "San Francisco?"

"Los Angeles," he corrected with a sly grin. Oops - wrong answer.

"Oh, yea," Katara sputtered sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Nah, 's all good, Kat. So what can I get you Kesuks?"

"Double-Bacon-_Cheeseburgerrrr_," Sokka mechanically spouted with rapid execution.

"I'll...-" Katara shot an embarrassed glance at her brother, his hands casually tucked in his pockets. He gave her a perplexed look that read, 'What?' She finished by deciding, "-take a BLT wrap please."

"Oh, and root beer," Sokka added.

"Yea, and I'll have some lemonade," Katara squeezed in.

"Gotcha." Haru scribbled some code onto his order sheet: 1 DBC, 1 BLTW, 1 RB, 1 LEM - KATARA

He jotted numbers on it before tearing it off his pad and hanging it above the grill behind him. He rapidly punched some keys into his electronic register to ring up the price, and requested, "That'll be $8.34." Katara caught his eyes wandering to places other than her face as she pulled a ten-dollar bill from her skirt's back pocket. Somehow feeling flattered that a popular guy like Haru was checking her out, she slapped the bill on the table, shyly gazing behind him to his co-workers who were already cranking out their order. He stuck out his hand for her to take her change, and she tried not to let the contact of their hands get under her skin in her dazed mental state.

Haru filled a couple of tall disposable cups at the soda fountain beside the register before sliding them onto the counter. Katara's eyes caught the new design on the cups: white with a large, sky-blue arrow pointed downward on either side. The trademark icon of the college, the arrow was a symbol that Katara had quickly grown to admire.

Sokka eagerly scooped up his drink and was immediately sucking down his carbonated nectar as Haru informed them, "It'll be just a couple minutes." Katara nodded at him and spun around, forgetting her own drink in her flustered mindset. Sokka grabbed it for her and joined her at a nearby booth.

The dim lighting of Appa's was comforting and warm, like a crackling campfire at sunset on a windy summer's day. The practically empty restaurant was oddly welcoming, offering a homey feeling of privacy and comfort in a public place. Recognizing this reminded Katara of why, exactly, this place had become such a hotspot for their social meetings.

"Why don't ya give that Haru guy a shot?" Sokka suddenly asked in a subdued tone, seemingly out of nowhere. "I saw you guys checkin' each other out."

"Wow," she murmured with bashful humor. "My brother is pitching men at me. You must _really_ not like my boyfriend."

Sokka, slurping down root beer through his straw, shrugged, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

"He's a _soccer player,_" Katara mumbled with some disdain. Secretly, she felt charmed by this fact, but acknowledged the lack of practicality of the idea in her tone. "Not exactly my type."

"Oh, but guys who carry around switch-blades?" Cynicism dripped from his every word. "Hey, that's just _fine._"

"He doesn't-" she instinctively began, but gave pause when she seriously considered his remark upon the wide expression on her brother's face. "O-OK, maybe he _does,_" she admitted, recalling him showing it off to her in a fleeting moment at the end of the previous school year. Funny how Sokka had clung to that fact while she had put it off. "But he lives in the city - that's for self defense."

"And _why _would he be _that _concerned with defending himself?" criticized her concerned sibling. "And from who?"

_Schluurrrpp. Sklllllurp. Schlp. Schlp. _He'd hit the end of his beverage and was sucking up remnants through the ice, giving her a raised brow.

"I _thought_ we were done talking about this?" Katara seethed, bottom lip propped out in vexation.

To her rescue, a giggling couple emerged from the stairway they had come in through.

"Can't you come up with something else? Something...not girly?"

"You gettin' sick of it? You don't like Twinkle-Toes? _I _like Twinkle-Toes."

Aang made a pouting whimper. "It makes me sound like a ballerina."

Toph retorted insidiously, "Maybe you _are _like a ballerina."

Sokka cut into their twittering debate with a wave: "Yo! Lovebirds, we're over here!"

Katara twisted around to see Aang leading Toph to the counter, her arm amorously linked around his as the large boy in the jersey from before grabbed his food and headed off upstairs. Aang emphatically waved to them while Toph tossed out an aloof, "Hey, guys," before they went to order.

Katara found herself longing what they had - side by side, hand in hand, accepted by their peers...All of Sokka's nagging over the summer hadn't shaken her. Every time she had called him he'd bother her about it afterward. Every time they'd comment on each other's Facebook photos and Sokka would catch wind of it, another dismayed comment. All of this hadn't shaken her will at all, yet seeing her two friends together, in that moment, and comprehending how different her relationship was from theirs...it planted a seed a doubt in her mind.

Before she knew it, Toph was scooting into the booth at her side and Aang was slapping his arm across Sokka's back from across the table.

"So!" Sokka began, his eyes suspiciously wandering to Aang. "You two get all that oughtta your system?" he badgered.

"Nope," Toph matter-of-factly bucked back. "We're gonna pick up where we left off later. Months of catching up to do, ya know?" A gratified smile popped onto her face as she slipped her sandals off, rubbing her bare feet across the tile floor.

Aang shook his head in amused chagrin, eyes rolled back at her blunt humor as the shape of his mouth gradually matched her own.

"Good to know," Sokka hurriedly dismissed with a jovial 'too much information' tone.

"So what do we wanna do?" Aang wondered.

"The evening is our oyster, ladies and gents," Sokka smoothly proclaimed, leaning back and stretching. "Anybody got suggestions?"

"We should take our food outside - it's pretty nice out." Katara suggested.

"Oh, sweet," Toph cried, slapping her palm on the table. "Sounds good to me."

As Sokka proceeded to shoot off a quick-fire summary of his summer vacation, Aang pulled out his notepad flipped to his second page, sketching a rough drawing: two boys and two girls sitting at a table who bore a vague resemblance to their own group. One of the girls had pencil-mark bangs covering where her eyes would go. After a moment of staring at Toph from across the way, her engaged expression unable to detect his gaze, he bit on his eraser and made an addition. Above this girl's head he drew a heart, taking care to shade it and fill it with a level of detail that exceeded the rest of the picture. He signed it in the corner, 'Aang,' with the end of the 'g' curving into a spiral, and inscribed '8/22/2010' in tiny writing with the title, 'Inspiration.'


	2. Seeds of Doubt

**A/N: Just to help clear up any confusion, anything written in brackets [like this] is something digital, like a phone or screen, and if it's in quotes ["like this"] then it's supposed to be audio coming from something digital. I just kind of like the visual effect and feel like it's a quick way to illustrate what is artificial or recorded/typed, or helping portray which perspective a phone conversation is happening from.**

**Just in case you missed it, I _did _remove the prologue and place Chapter 1 in the first slot. So make sure you've read chapter one please. =)  
**_  
What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 2 - Seeds of Doubt_

* * *

-August 27, 2010-

"So...Tell me again: what's the _point?_" Sokka stared dully at the TV screen across the room, watching a pudgy boy with a horned hat scamper through oddly patterned grass.

"The point?" Aang asked, eyes glued to the screen.

"Of that game," Sokka clarified. "All I see you do is run around and talk to animals. And run around some more."

"I'm helping them out," Aang explained.

"By...trading furniture?" Dry skepticism.

"Yea. So I can get stuff to put in my house. And make it look cool."

"So...it's a furniture simulator. With talking animals."

"I-...Sure. I guess," Aang muttered, unfazed. Gibberish sounds flowed from the TV as he spoke to a squirrel in a t-shirt.

["What's up, **aang**? I've been thinking...I need a new _catch phrase_. Got any ideas?"]  
[Catch phrase?]  
[_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _]

Aang entered in his answer immediately as Sokka went back to his textbook. The gibber-talk happened again, but he ignored it this time, focusing on his studying. Sokka tried his to best to get as much work done before the weekend as possible so he could properly enjoy Saturday and Sunday to their fullest.

["Wow, that's a great catch phrase, **aang**! Here, lemme try it out: Hi, **aang, **how are you doin' today, **YIP YIP!**Haha. Awesome. Thanks!"]

"What time is it?" Aang asked, finally prying his eyes from the screen. "It's gotta be getting close to dinner time."

"It's past dinner time," Sokka replied, checking his watch: 6:43pm.

"Wha?" Aang wailed. "We missed _dinner_?"

"We didn't _miss _dinner, Dude," Sokka explained. "Katara's busy on Fridays until 6:30, remember? So we decided we'd eat out Friday nights. Do you not remember this conversation?"

"Ohhhh, _yea._" Aang's brows furrowed as realization struck. "So where are we eating?"

"Well, Katara decided that it's her turn to pick first." Sokka shrugged his shoulders, thick history book sill in tow. "So...I dunno. I'm sure we'll get a call when the girls are ready."  
_Speaking of calls, I should probably check my phone, huh?_

Sokka rolled his wheeled leather chair over to his desk and pulled open the top drawer. His trusty phone was nestled between his schedule book and his fancy wallet - a gift from his dad. Some single US dollar bills and a couple of Canadian Loonies were spread across the drawer along with some fountain pens and a notepad. He flicked open his phone to observe his messages from the afternoon.

[Inbox: **2**]

[From: Katara]  
[I'm in the mood for Chinese tonight. :) We'll give you guys a call when we're ready to go.]  
[Sent: August 27th, 3:12pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[Sounds good.]  
[Sent: August 27th, 6:45pm]

[From: Dad]  
[how is everything going? first weeks usually easy right? i already miss you. good luck with senior year son.]  
[Sent: August 27th, 5:52pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Dad]  
[Everything's pretty good so far. Definitely easy but I'm enjoying that while I can. I miss you, too. Love you, Dad. Have a good weekend. Stay safe.]  
[Sent: August 27th, 6:47pm]

Sokka sighed, setting his phone next to his laptop on the desk. He scratched at the stubble forming on his chin as he contemplated the gravity of his current situation: being a Senior. A year from now he'd be done with school, ideally, and would be working a full-time job, living on his own. Where would he be working? What would he be doing? A History major with a Philosophy minor wasn't exactly a practical combination for work. His father's ever-pressing suggestion to return home and join the force lingered in the back of his mind.

Hakoda Kesuk was the Chief of Police in Akiak, Ontario, a small rural town where Sokka and Katara had been raised since birth. Since Sokka's last year of high school, his dad had been on a crusade to convince him to go through police training and join the ranks of Ontario officers. Sokka admitted that it was an appealing idea but could never truly see himself pulling it off in a satisfactory manner - and when Sokka was being serious, he either did things right or he didn't do them at all, and a career was something to be serious about.

_Knock-knock-knock._

Their door rattled, and Sokka leapt to his feet, still in his socks, and opened the door. A red-haired face that seemed familiar stared him down with a stoic expression, eyes dull and uninterested. Matted, bright orange hair and a mess of freckles complimented their face. A stickly frame was shrouded in baggy, camouflage cargo pants and a loose hanging black t-shirt.

"Hey." Not so much a greeting as a grunt, at best.

"Oh, uh...Hey," Sokka stumbled, eyes narrowed as he tried to piece together the person's identity.

"Hi," Aang chirped with a brief wave before going right back to his game.

"You Sokka?" Their voice was unsettling to Sokka, raspy and rough.

"Yea, that's me. Don't I know you?" Sokka theorized, propping his index finger out with casual curiosity.

"Biology last spring." A quick and blunt answer.

"Oh, right," Sokka extended his palm in concession. "James."

"_Jane,_" corrected the androgynous figure through grit teeth.

"Ah," spilled out a shaky acknowledgment. "Right! Jane."

Aang was occupied with his video game once again, but Sokka invited the intimidating girl into their room - in some respects it felt more like a jungle hut. A map of the world was slapped on the wall above Sokka's bed near the entrance, while various posters of paintings littered the space by Aang's bed across the way. Some exotic artifacts were placed around the room and tribal-theme bedsheets with tiki masks printed on them were splattered across both beds.

"Nice," the gruff girl mumbled with a nod, her dim eyes glancing about.

"Thanks. So, uh...What's up?"  
_What's with this girl? She's an odd one._

"Your sister sent me here," Jane informed dryly, kicking a stray pair of jeans across the carpeted floor with her army boot. "Said I could borrow her English textbook. Said _you_ had it?"

"Oh! _Right._" Sokka pounced at his bookshelf, which rested between his computer desk and his bed. It was a tall, dark wooden temple of knowledge, compiling various school texts, literature, and magazines, not to mention Sokka's media collection on the bottom. Within second he retrieved a text that his Sister has lent him the previous spring and passed it to the red-head. "This one, right?"

The dreary eyes passed across the cover and she shrugged subtly.

"Looks like it."

"So you know my sister?" Sokka inquired.

"Yea, we're neighbors in Aqua. I live across the hall."

"Cool." Sokka nodded repeatedly, hands on his hips. The House of Aqua didn't seem like the best fit for this girl. She struck him as more of a Terra girl.

"Anyway, thanks, man," Jane concluded their necessary social discourse, obviously eager to take off.

"Yep, sure thing," Sokka said politely, reaching his arm to the door as she saw her way out.

He sighed deeply, falling back into his chair.

"That dude was weird," Aang threw his opinion out, his game saving his progress.

"That was a girl," Sokka chuckled. Aang had obviously not been paying attention. "She lives in _Aqua._"

"_Oh._" Aang shrugged, switching off the TV. "My bad. Didn't catch that-"

An elegant piano tone cut Aang off, filtering into the air from his pocket, and he eagerly pulled it out, flicked it open, and sang into it, "Hey, Pumpkin."

"Pumpkin?" Toph spat out in disgust. "_Pumpkin?_"

["Yea,"] Aang replied. ["What's wrong? Don't like it? _I _like it."]

Toph groaned in defeat, but a grin was plastered on her face as she propped her head into her pillow, laying on her side while the sound of shuffling clothes could be heard from straight ahead.

"All right, Twinkle-Toes," she taunted. "We'll _play_ that game."

["So what's up?"]

"Katara's getting changed and then we're going to come pick you guys up. Should be there in, like, ten minutes. All right?"

["Yup!"]

"Love you, Twinkle-Toes," she said quietly, as if the words were just slightly embarrassing to utter in the presence of her roommate.

["Love you, too, Pumpkin."] His reply was casual and peppy.

Toph closed her cell phone and sighed peacefully, nuzzling her cheek into her pillow as she could hear Katara pulling together a zipper and clasping a button.

"Pumpkin?" Katara wondered from the other end of the room, on the verge of a snicker.

"That's his new nickname for me," Toph explained in disbelief. "He seems to think that if he can find a name I hate enough it'll get me to stop calling him Twinkle-Toes."

"Ha!" Katara was just as amused as she was. "_That'll_ be the day."

"I know, right?"

Toph wallowed in recent memories of whispers she had shared with Aang, jokes made, kisses stolen, until Beethoven's 5th Symphony roared at her from her cell phone, still sitting beside her on the bed.

"_Urgh_," she puffed out irritably. "That's the third time today!"

"What do they _want_?" Katara growled, sympathizing with her roommate's annoyance.

"I don't _know._" Toph rolled onto her back, letting the phone continue to ring until the sound stopped.

"How were classes today?" Katara asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Boring. My new guitar teacher is fucking pissing me off," Toph hissed. "He keeps acting like I don't know what the hell I'm doing, so he has me do these bullshit exercises that aren't teaching me a damned thing." Toph had been sure to squeeze in about as much profanity as she could, as memories of an utterly boring hour and a half flooded her mind like tar.

"Maybe you should explain that you're better than he thinks you are?" Katara suggested.

"Yea," Toph conceded with a sigh. "I just get so fucking sick of this crap - _just _because I'm blind."  
_I'm probably making a bigger deal out of it than I should - I'm just cranky. But seriously, I've been here an entire year, I shouldn't have to keep proving myself._

"I know," Katara cooed, sitting in Toph's desk chair beside her. "I'm sorry, Hun, I know that gets under your skin."

Toph's phone jangled out a quick ditty to signify that she had received a voicemail.

"There ya go," Toph grunted, crossing her arms. "Parents left a _message _this time. Guess it must be important. Or maybe they just _really _need to tell me what I'm supposed to be doing with my life - again - and it just couldn't wait."

"Hey," Katara prodded, placing a consoling hand on Toph's shoulder. "Let's forget about them and go hang out with the boys. Aren't you hungry?"

"Starving," Toph admitted, rubbing her slightly queasy stomach.

"C'mon," Katara tugged at her hand, easing her out of bed. She jokingly went limp, letting Katara pull her out of bed forcefully witha giggle. Her bare feet touched down on the carpet and she spring back to life with a smirk, stuffing her cell phone in her pocket and slipping on her sandals from the same spot she always left them: just under the mattress by the foot of her bed.

"You got my money?" Toph checked, straightening out her disheveled shirt.

"Sure do," Katara replied. Toph could hear jingling of keys and shifting of objects in her friend's shoulder purse. She grabbed her new hoodie from the post at the corner of her bed and slipped it over herself, refreshed and comforted by the delightful smell and touch of its new, clean cloth.

"Then, let's bounce," Toph commanded, extending her arm out with a grin. Katara's familiar hand latched on and the two made their exit into the halls of the House of Aqua. As they pranced down the hall, Toph'sears were filled with the sounds of a Friday night: various discussions, music, movies...In Aqua, doors being left open was common - Aqua was not a resident hall so much as a community of women contained within a building.

Toph wouldn't deny that sometimes she missed her freshman dorm, Terra, and how it allowed her to always have the space and peace she wanted (she had opted for a single student room, a rarity on campus), but after a single week of living in Aqua, with Katara as her roommate, she had already decided that there was no going back.

The humid air of a warm August evening stuck to Toph's face as they exited Aqua and traveled through the parking lot of their dorm. After hopping in the car and strapping herself into a safety belt, Toph's curiosity got the better of her and she retrieved her phone as Katara started up the car, surveying the message as they drove around campus to the House of Aero.

["YOU HAVE...**ONE**...NEW MESSAGE. **FIRST **NEW MESSAGE."]  
["Good evening, Toph."]

It was her mother. _Sigh _was the appropriate response. She spoke at a mile a minute.

["It seems as if you've been preoccupied today - class and practice, no doubt. Your father and I were just wondering how everything was going. We haven't heard from you since you arrived. You're practicing your music every night, yes? Staying on top of all of your classes? We expect another 4.0 from you this year - Beifongsare known for their perfect marks, after all. Is that questionable young woman you're rooming with causing you any trouble? The staff had better be accommodating your needs, Toph - you have rights, you know. Don't let them push you too hard, it's not healthy. We've already made the proper arrangements to transfer you to Harvard if things don't improve. And you'd _better _not be there this year because of that little urchin boy. He has no future, my dear, I hope you reali-"]  
[_Beep._]  
["MESSAGE DELETED. YOU HAVE NO MORE MESSAGES."]

"Christ," Toph snarled, slamming the phone in her lap.  
_Damnit, Mom, what is your _problem? _I'm almost 20. Give me some _space.

"Yea, I could hear," Katara bitterly concurred. "_Questionable? _How am I _questionable? _And she called Aang an _urchin _with no future. That's just...That's just-"

"It's fucking rude," Toph seethed, thumping her head against the window to her right and leaning against it in frustration. "_God, _I can't-...Ugh. Let's just...forget about this," she decreed. "It's Friday night."

A cheerful "That it _is,_" from the driver's seat, and they had arrived. Toph could make out sounds of boys yelling from the dorm's front yard. It sounded like they were playing some kind of sport. The girls traversed the parking lot and up the entrance sidewalk together, hand in hand.

"Hey, Aang's girlfriend!" one boy shouted as they passed by. A flurry of repetition of the phrase erupted from their group before Toph, cheeks just a hint of pink, replied with a bemused "Hi, boys," and the grunting and mashing of male bodies started back up. They passed through the portal from outside to inside, where an uproarious applause was already in progress from the sporting event being played in the large lounge area.

"Hey, ladies. The House of Aero welcomes you this evening," a formal gent of a boy called out, his presence passing them by as he scurried downstairs. Katara almost burst out in a laugh, but held it back.

"What was that about?" Toph wondered.

"That guy was wearing nothing but a _towel,_" Katara sighed. "Yup, we're sure in Aero, all right."

Katara led Toph up to the familiar stairwell she knew so well by now and they proceeded to the second floor of Aero, known across campus for its tribal pack of men like wolves - dorky, gentlemanly wolves.

_Knock. Knock._

"It's us," Katara's muffled voice called through the door to room 207.

"Hey," Sokka cried, popping out of his seat and flinging open the door. "How are you guys doin'?"

"Hungry," Toph's blunt reply cut in. "Let's go eat."

"Sounds good to me!" Aang cheered, rubbing his palms together.

* * *

Katara's hip was tingled by the vibration of her phone, but she ignored it for the time being, enjoying her dinner with her makeshift family on campus.

"You guys do _not _understand how to properly eat at a Chinese Buffet," Sokka deduced with a "Tch, tch" and a waggling finger, sucking in a deep breath before delicately munching on a small pile of garlic string beans.

"Oh, really?" Katara humored him, sucking some Orange Soda through a straw. "And how's that?"

"Do tell," Toph goaded, sipping on some tea from a tiny ceramic cup without a handle.

"You have to _pace _yourself, people!" Sokka decreed dubiously, his accusing hands pointing at their plates, each crowded with all manner of dishes like a garbage heap. "You have to start off with light stuff and work your way up, and take just a _lee-tle _bit of each thing," he pinched his fingers. "That way you have room to savor everything."

"And then you get a whole plate of sushi!" Aang jubilantly concluded.

"And _then _you get _another _whole plate of sushi," Sokka devilishly muttered, licking his chops with exaggerated glee.

"You guys get pretty serious about this whole 'eating' thing," Toph picked.

"Toph, my Dear," Sokka dramatically protested to her from across the table, "_Your _art is music. _My _art is food."

"And being an idiot," Katara added from his side through a mouth-full of General Tsao's chicken.

"And a dashingly intelligent idiot, at that." Sokka beamed in jest.

"Hey, Toph, can I have some of your tea?" Aang asked, having just swallowed a clump of noodles.

"Why?" Toph demanded with a suspicious expression, her face bent down over her food as she inhaled a dumpling.

"'Cuz," Aang replied simply. "I want some tea. Please," he sweetly stuffed the word in with a plastic tone.

"Fine," Toph conceded with an overstated groan. "I _guess_!"

"Yes!" Aang clapped his hands together, belted out a satisfied chuckle, and poured tea from the tiny metal pot between him and Toph into her itty-bitty teacup. He hoisted it to his face and slurped it with the eloquence of a hippopotamus. "I just wanted to get to use the little _cup_," he breathed out with mischief in his eyes.

"Yes, Twinkle-Toes, I _guessed_," Toph blurted expectantly, a smile on her face, eyes squinted just a tad.

"Katara, how come _Jet _isn't here with us tonight, huh?" Sokka suddenly asked with the casual courtesy of a needle in her am. Katara had told the group earlier that week that Jet would be joining them for dinner during this meal - it would've the first time she would've been able to see him in months. But as luck would have it, he had called her on Thursday night to explain that things had come up that he had to take care of before the weekend and he wouldn't be able to see her until Saturday. Katara had a hunch that 'luck' wasn't exactly the source of the problem, and the seed Sokka had planted nearly a week before had grown into a sprout.

"He, um...he couldn't make it," Katara mumbled, her brows tilting down with irritation.

"_Ohhh, _ya don't say?" Sokka teased, nudging her on the arm with his elbow. "Ya know, it's funny, I was looking forward to hanging out with him. Always seems like something comes up whenever we hang out as a _group_, wouldn't you say?"

Katara's lips tightened and her teeth ground together as her temper ignited like a match.

"Yea, ya know, that _is _a good point," Aang agreed, oblivious to the condemning undertone of Sokka's .

"Mm," Toph hummed with as neutral an expression as Katara ever saw on her face. She knew that Toph, too, had her doubts about Jet, but had been more silent about them given her gained insight into the situation by proxy of being Katara's roommate.

"I bet there's plenty of _other _guys that wouldn't stand you up like that," Sokka prodded with nonchalance, chewing into a slab of imitation crab.

Katara was propelled back to that moment at Appa's when she had been flustered over her contact with Haru. It made her angry. She felt...soiled, somehow. She had a boyfriend, she shouldn't be feeling loose-minded, much less flattered by this other kid's attention, with his greasy hair and goofy grin.  
_And he's a _jock. _I can't _stand_ jocks! What is my problem? Maybe Sokka's right. Maybe Jet really isn't the best fit for me. He never wants to hang out with my friends. I can't deny it. _I _always have to hang out with _his, _every single time..._

Seconds of awkward silence ticked away as Katara ruminated within her self exasperation.

"So, are we going on that camping trip this weekend, or what?" Toph asked, bailing Katara out of the topic of conversation.

"Yea, yea, yea," Aang rapidly insisted. "Totally. Sunday: we should go hike up the Red Dragon Trail, go swimming at that pond up the way, set up a campfire at the lean-tos, and then loop back around the Blue Dragon Trail."

Aang was obviously excited about this day-long excursion, and his excitement made Katara smile. Just under a year ago the boy was a nervous, shy mess with no confidence - how quickly that had changed. But he always had a tinge of naivete to him hidden underneath. It was endearing. Aang Leekpai was a goofy little sweetheart, and Katara could easily see what Toph admired in him. Why was it so easy to see the good in a dork like Aang, but so difficult to justify the very relationship she was in herself?

Suddenly, Katara found herself lost in whatever tangent her peers had plunged themselves into.

"**Drag-ONZ!**" Sokka squealed.

"_ROAWRRR!_"

"Argh! Matey."

"Uh...Toph?" Aang poked Toph's nose and she snorted, shoving him away. "That's a pirate."

"I know," Toph matter-of-factly defended. "Pirates beat Dragons. _Duh._"

"_Whaaht?_" burst Sokka's misgiving.

"Are you crazy?" Aang grumbled. "Pirates don't beat Dragons."

"Pirates beat _Sea _Dragons all the time," Toph endowed them with confident knowledge. "And so what if it's a _flying _Dragon? Canons, dude. Canons."

"Meh," Sokka pouted. "Agree to disagree. It's not worth it - I'm still hungry."

"Mmkay," forced out Aang through his last gob of rice. "Mm weady foh fooshi."

"You _said _it, Bro." Sokka patted at his stomach with a hearty squint in his eyes.

"Hey, Twinkle-Toes, get me some of the stuff with the crab and the cream cheese in the middle," Toph 'requested.'

"Sure thing, _Pumpkin,_" was Aang's jiving retort. Toph simply shook her head, unimpressed at his effort.

Katara's face brightened at the presence of her friends. In their bizarre actions they always managed to drag her from a stupor and appreciate her current situation, and the dynamics of their foursome had been sorely missed over the summer. She pulled out her phone and checked her messages as Toph quietly munched on some seafood salad.

[Inbox: **1**]

[From: Jet]  
[hey babe. sorry bout tonite i promise ill make it up to ya 2morrow. 3pm?]  
[Sent: August 27th, 7:34pm]

Katara sighed, resting her chin in her palm, staring at the text wistfully. Her head ached all of a sudden.

"You OK?"

Katara glanced up at Toph's blank gaze, her face inquisitively propped up toward her. Toph swallowed another chunk of seafood, but remained in a curious pose.

"I'm just..." Katara set her open phone on the table and rubbed at her temples. "Having a headache. I'm just wondering about this whole...Jet...thing."

"You'll figure things out, Katara." Toph exuded candid, aloof confidence.

"Yea." Katara wasn't exactly brimming with aplomb, herself.

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[Yea. That sounds fine. I'll meet you at the entrance at 3.]  
[Sent: August 27th, 7:41pm]


	3. Easygoing

**A/N: Words that are {written in these} represent something in print, like a book or a newspaper article/flier/poster, etc. Yes. I am using these to add a little visual flair but also because I want to use lots of other media through the story and am too lazy to go through the standard motions. Huzzah for the Internet. Also, the fact is that in The Last Airbender Katara is flustered and obviously attracted to Jet early on. I wanted to explore that a bit in this chapter.  
**

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 3- Easygoing__  
_

_

* * *

_

-August 28th, 2010-

Katara scuffed her socks against the drab carpet of her dorm room, back and forth, analyzing the pages of her first week's assignment in Children's Literature. She had been greatly anticipating this class. A cursory glance at the curriculum indicated that for an upcoming project she could easily squeeze in a paper about the Harry Potter series - just the thought made her a bit giddy. But for the time being, she was plowing through a handful of quick books for earlier ages, writing out a paragraph piece on her thoughts on each. She affectionately gazed at the current page she was on, letting her finger dance over the artwork, recalling memories of her late mother reading to her in her younger years.

{"Let the wild rumpus start!"}

"Yo," a raspy voice interrupted her reading. It was fortunately not too jarring, as the girl had been making some noise across the hall in the background. Their doors were both wide open, producing the effect of two connected rooms in the same house.

"Oh, hey." Katara closed her book and set it atop the pile on her bed beside her desk chair. "What's up?"

"It's almost three," the boyish red-head girl informed, wrinkling her nose at the smell of Katara's potpourri, contained within a small wooden bowl that rested on the shelving propped over her desk. "You ready to go?"

"Oh, gosh," Katara gasped shamefully, pressing her palms over her head. "Is it that time already? I lost track, I'm sorry."

"Whoa, hey. Chill, Kat," the freckled girl eased her with a shrug. "It's no problem. I got your back."

"Thanks, Smellerbee," Katara expressed her gratitude, using the girl's preferred nickname. She sprung from her seat and rushed around the room in a mild panic. Tight-fitting jeans: check. Tight-fitting T-shirt: check. She gave her hair a quick inspection - looked fine, bobbed into a thick, trailing ponytail. Jet liked the ponytail. "It's been a long week," she hurriedly explained, ensuring that her phone was in her pocket, "And I'm all...-" She huffed, scanning the room for her 'nice' shoes.

"Nervous," Smellerbee observed. "Yeeea. I can tell." She leaned against the doorway, lifting an eyebrow at the flustered girl. "What are you looking for?"

"My shoes," Katara groaned, ducking her head down to peer under bed. Katara didn't believe in owning more than a few pairs of shoes: sneakers for any occasion, flip-flops for warm weather, boots for cold weather, and flat-tops for...whatever else. This fell into the latter category. She fluttered across to Toph's end of the room, the side opposite the entrance. Nothing.

"Right here," Smellerbee grunted, kicking a pair of black sneakers into the middle of the floor from the space behind the open door where they had been wedged behind.

_Those weren't the shoes I meant, but...it doesn't really matter. Yea. He's not going to care. You're being stupid, letting yourself get all worked up. Get a grip, girl._

Katara steadied her trembling hands, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

"You gonna make it, there, Kat?" Smellerbee checked, holding in a chortle.

"I'm...Yea," Katara assured, arms relaxed, mind cleared. "I'm fine, just needed a sec there."

"OK." Smellerbee cocked her head to the side. "You just need to keep it _chill, _Katara. You're making _me _nervous. And I'm in military training, for Chrissake."

"I'm good." Insistence was the response she was going to keep drilling out. If she kept at it she'd force herself to not let her insecurities come through. Honestly, what was the point, anyway? Jet wasn't one to care about the chaff.

* * *

The drive to Wayward was therapeutic - the rolling foothills of the Appalachian Mountains were their companions this Saturday afternoon, the cloudy sky watching over them. Wayward was only about ten minutes off campus, the only source of easily recognized civilization for miles. This made it the common weekend getaway location for SRU students, whether for shopping, eating out, or watching a movie. Jet was a young man who had grown up in Wayward his whole life, and Katara had met him completely by chance at the local Wegman's grocery store. She reflected on just how funny it was, how a single chance meeting with a person could change so much. She clearly remembered the moment they had met.

"Corn bread?" his gruff voice had inquired skeptically from her right. It almost frightened her with its brash, sudden delivery. She had whipped her head from the blue box of mix in her hand to the man standing no more than ten feet away.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Katara stammered, studying his casual pose with suspicious eyes. He had dark hair like brush in the woods, his bronze skin accented with fierce copper eyes that were cold and sharp. He was dressed in a pair of torn denim jeans with cowboy boots emblazoned with an ornate rose-based pattern. A leather vest was tight around his chest, his body slouching, hands in his pockets. As soon as their gaze met, he pulled his eyes away.

"Disgusting stuff," he decided. "You should make chocolate chip cookies instead, Ma'am."

_Who is this creep and why does he care what I'm baking? Why is he calling me '_Ma'am_?'__ And why does he have to be so damned good-looking? Agh!_

Just as Katara was trying to convince herself that she didn't didn't like cowboy boots, the very shoes in question started clopping against the tile floor as he sauntered over to her side with confident strides.

"Oh, really?" she pointedly countered his suggestion. "And why's that?"

"You're studying for finals. Your friends will want chocolate chip cookies." He leaned down, scooped up a couple of bags of cookie mix, and casually dumped them into her cart. "Trust me," he coolly insisted, eyes like dying embers.

"How do you know I'm a student?" Katara wondered, even more uncomfortable now. She put the corn bread mix back on the shelf where she had found it, but kept her narrowed eyes attached to his every move.

"This is the first thing you picked up," he observed, removing his hands from his pockets and folding them over his chest. "But you passed this aisle by, looped around, and came back. If you lived here, you would've come straight to Aisle 4 because you'd know where the baking supplies were." He said it with such a matter-of-fact tone, as if it were so obvious. Katara snorted through her nose, unsure of whether to be impressed or disturbed.

"Also." He pointed a loose finger at her shoulder bag. "You're wearing the college logo."

Katara cast a quick glance down to her bag, noted the SRU embroidery, and bashfully looked back up to him.

"Oh, right," she muttered, her face heating up. "I, uh...yea. I'm baking some snacks for our finals cram session."

"Like I said, Ma'am." The man nodded slowly. "Chocolate chip cookies."

_Arrogant little-...Who does he think he is, just barging over and telling me what to bake? OK. Stop looking at his eyes. _Stop_, Katara._

Despite what her mind told her, her insides were tingling and her eyes just wouldn't look away from his calm expression.

"That your grocery list?" He asked, nodding his head at her, eyes fixated on the scrap of paper she had been grasping in her hand.

"Uh...Yea," Katara raised it up and passed it into his open palm. He surveyed it carefully, humming approvingly.

He reached into a chest pocket and pulled out a pen, pressed the list against a shelf - just below the gelatin boxes - and scribbled an addition to the end of her list.

"Good luck with your tests, Ma'am," he encouraged with a sly smirk, passing the list back to her and heading off down the aisle. Katara stood, aghast, her eyes wandering downward at his lithe motions whilst he rounded the corner and vanished from sight. Her stomach was full of butterflies, her face hot, and she sighed in spite of herself. A glance at her notes brought her attention to the addition: the word 'Jet' followed by a phone number. At first she managed to wear a mindset of being repulsed, but later that evening, in retrospect, she had found their initial meeting exhilarating, mysterious, exciting...and she wanted more. So the very next day, she gave the number a dial, and the two spoke for nearly two hours about all manner of local topics, from which restaurants were better to eat at to what life was like in a woman's dormitory, to some underground indie bands that played in Wayward. Due to the busy time that was Finals Week, Katara didn't have too much trouble sneaking time off of campus alone with Jet in-between studies. Unlike her friends, she was well-prepared and had finished her projects early and knew her material well, allowing for extra time during that crazy week to get to know this bold young man, a few years her senior.

He had introduced her to his organization, shown her to parts of town she had never known existed, and their relationship was intimately physical quite quickly. Things never escalated beyond some intense kissing, but Katara surprised herself with how open she was to even that kind of behavior with a boy she had only known for a week. It was something she had always feared going into college - being swept off her feet by a dashing boy who somehow pulled her strings in such a way that inhibitions gave way to hormones. It was frustrating and taunting, but she kept coming back to it. The bonfire had been started at the end of the school year, but the summer was a slow burn full of e-mails, text messages, and plenty of phone calls, and Sokka was there to criticize her every move regarding Jet. In just a matter of minutes, that glowing fire that had been in the distance for so long would be piled with more wood and light up once again, but Katara was now plagued with doubt as to whether this was a good idea.

_What am I doing? This guy's a bad influence. My friends don't even like him. I always have to go to _him, _he never comes to me..._

"You OK, Kat?"

"Wh-?" Katara's mind had been so lost that all that she had been processing in the physical realm was driving straight ahead.

She turned down the radio volume a notch and gave Smellerbee as potent a smile as she could muster.

"Of course. I'm great. I'm about to finally see him again."

"Good. Jesus, all the guy's been talking about all week is is 'Katara-this' and 'Katara-that.'"

"Really?"

"It's _annoying._ No offense."

"Heh." Katara bit her bottom lip just a bit and smiled. "Once Jet sets his mind on something, he doesn't drop the case, does he?"

"Nope," groaned the girl from the passenger's seat. "At least you're better than his last girlfriend."

"Oh?" Katara chuckled. "That's good to hear...I guess?"

"Man, she was just a crazy-ass bitch," Smellerbee grumbled bitterly.

"I guess I'm a little more tolerable, huh?"

"Just a _little_."

"Thanks, Bee," Katara chortled, shaking her head and guiding the car past the "Welcome to Wayward" sign.

"Still remember the way?"

"Go down this road, take a right at the main plaza...-" Katara trailed off, her memory failing her. She'd only come this way a few times.

"Haha, don't sweat, I'll get ya there."

* * *

It was a Saturday afternoon at the Treetop Pub, a surprisingly cozy place on the outskirts of Wayward, and the place was expectantly dull given the time of day. Katara immediately was uneasy, but with Smellerbee at her side, the familiarity of the pub washed over her after entry and she remembered how polite and welcoming a place it was. When Katara thought of bars, she was always wary and uneasy, but the Treetop Pub was nothing to be afraid of.

"What can I get you ladies?" the bartender called out from behind the counter as they passed by. He was a stout man with a wide face and seemed to always look a bit grouchy whenever Katara laid eyes on him.

"They're with us, Sneers." That collected, gruff voice - it was him.

In the back corner of the bar, huddled over a large, round table of wood, Jet sat with a few of his compatriots, tall glass mugs full of beer strewn about the table - though Jet himself had only a glass of water. One of them rose to his feet and approached them, his tall, bony face perking into a smile. A Caucasian, he had an almost beak-like nose and incredibly short brown hair.

"Hey." Smellerbee's normally jagged voice lost its edge in that single word and she pecked the boy on the nose before clasping his hand and leading back to the table. Katara followed, grinning at the quirky couple. Of everyone she had met in Jet's group, they were the only two she felt any kind of connection with - besides the leader himself, of course, who stood up, the seat beside him noticeably empty.

"Glad you could make it, Kat," he said, like spreading butter with words. "We missed you."

"Yea," Katara replied simply. The words, 'I missed you, too,' were on the tip of her tongue but something was forcing them from escaping. She stretched out her arms and welcomed the Latino man into a hug - his hands attached themselves around her hips and he tilted his head, immediately diving in for a kiss. The contact was intoxicating and her resolve crumbled, giving in to his bold advance. Tongues slithered together briefly and quickly retracted, and Katara's heart pounded in her chest from the swiftness of it all - the goading catcalls from the table didn't make her any more comfortable. She wanted to regret what she had just done, but the will simply wasn't there to genuinely do so. Katara may not have been in that bar to drink alcohol but she was already feeling drunk on something else.

She couldn't help but gawk for a moment at the unlit cigarette hanging from Jet's lips. It seemed like at every possible opportunity he always had one in his mouth but rarely would ever light it - as far as she could ascertain he would keep a cigarette in his mouth all day, consuming it in the evening, if at all. He never smoked in her presence, she had come to realize, as if in some attempt to spare her of his habit.

Feeling somewhat like a trophy of sorts, Katara sat herself between Jet and Smellerbee at the table, wondering what it was that was going on.

"All right, guys, since Kat's here we oughtta wrap this up." He gave her a wink. "We've got some catching up to do."

"A'ight," one of his members piped up, "So whadda we gotta do next, then?"

"It's that time of year, Jim - time to pick up some fresh meat."  
_Fresh meat? That certainly doesn't sound good._

"Freshmen," Jim realized with a grin. "That's good, Jet - that's good. We could use a coupla extra pairs o' hands 'round here."

"I already found a couple that I think would work," Smellerbee jumped in, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "Gimme 'til next weekend and I bet I can convince 'em to show up for an orientation."

"Who are they?" Jet inquired, leaning back in his seat.

"They're neighbors of Longshot's," she bobbed her head to the boy whose hand she clutched on the table's surface. "They've got the kind of spirit we're lookin' for, I can tell." Longshot nodded his head approvingly, saying not a word, his face solemn.

"All right, then," Jet conceded with a shrug. "I guess that's settled. You get 'em to come here next weekend and we should be golden - we only need a couple."

Katara couldn't help but wonder how good an idea it was, pulling in freshman kids into an environment like this, but this wasn't her organization, so she wasn't going to say anything - for now. Knowing Jet and the way his group worked, if he was pulling in someone new it was probably entirely innocent. Yea. Had to be.

"Anything else, folks?" Jet wondered, glancing around the table. Shrugs and head-shakes. "Well, OK, then." Jet knocked his fist into the table, declaring, "Freedom Fighters adjourned!"

The Freedom Fighters were a group of young adults who were constantly fighting against big business in one way or another. Their mission statement entailed instilling Wayward with a stronger sense of local community, free of oppression. They were always trying to support small mom-and-pop places, promote indie bands and artists, and help out struggling small-time restaurants. It seemed like every week there was a fundraiser of some kind they were facilitating.

Jet led Katara out of the bar and to his motorcycle - nothing fancy, just a dinged-up old two-wheel creature with a strong sense of loyalty. Jet grabbed the plain black helmet from the handlebar and passed it to Katara. She strapped it on and slipped herself onto the bike behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist securely. Neither said a word for the duration of the couple of minutes they spent driving back to Jet's apartment, a small but surprisingly neat abode that peered out onto a business avenue. They made small talk for a few minutes, catching each other up on more minor events of the past week. Jet poured himself some scotch but knew better than to offer her some. Very much like his smoking, drinking seemed to be something Jet fortunately kept in check - she only ever witnessed him drink one glass of anything at a time, and generally only within the confines of his home. The mid afternoon seemed an odd time to drink, but Jet wasn't exactly a terribly consistent young man, making it all the more tricky to get a good read on him.

"So, that's why they won't let me on campus now," he grunted out in conclusion to his story.

Katara sighed, sprawled across his plain brown couch, her head in his lap. Their proximity was refreshing.

"Just because of some spray paint?" Katara wasn't entirely sure which side of this argument she was on, but in the presence of her boyfriend, a certain bias took hold.

"I guess the administration didn't appreciate the irony in my work," he chuckled, taking a sip before running his hand across the top of her head.

"Graffiti on the windows of the president's office might have that effect."

"Weird part is, the guy had his secretary take a_ picture_ of it. He was laughing. Like he thought it was funny."

"Well...Didn't you_ mean_ for it to be funny?"

"Not to _him!_ I was insulting him, Kat."

"Ha." She winked at him with a sly grin. "You must not know our president very well, then. Anyway, at least you didn't get in more trouble."

"True." Another sip. "Agh. Yea, I mean...guy let me off easy, just said that if I cleaned it up and stayed off campus he wouldn't press charges."

"He's a pretty easy-going guy like that."

"Unlike you," Jet teased.

"Wh-what? I-I'm easy-going," Katara insisted, obviously flustered. "I _am!_"

"Yeeea. That kind of reaction?" A wide grin poured out. "Just proves my point, Kat."

Katara felt her insides squirming around in discomfort.

_Who am I kidding? I'm anything but easy-going..._

"How about we watch some TV?" Jet offered. He leaned forward to pick up the remote from his coffee table. On his way back, he gave pause, his head hovering her face. He pressed his lips against her neck and her nerves ignited, like coal set ablaze. Time became a blur as logic was drowned by hormones. No clothing was removed and nothing more sensual than their previous interactions transpired, but what did was fueled by physicality and repression bursting free.

_Rrrmmmm._

Everything skidded to a halt, their lips dangling open across one another.

_Rrrmmmm._

"Oh, that's...-" Katara, her body weighed down by Jet's, wormed her hand into her pocket, retrieving her phone.

_Rrrmmmm._

[Call From]**  
**[**Aang**]

"I should take this," she sheepishly decided with a shrug, sitting up as he sat himself beside her. She caught a quick glance of the time on his cable box: [4:42pm]

"Yea, go ahead," Jet mumbled, clearing his throat and wiping his lip.

Katara flipped open the phone and gave Aang an overly sweet, "Heeey, what's up?"

["Hey, Katara. We were just wondering, like, if you were eating dinner with _us_ tonight, or...-?"]

"Oh!" Precisely the type of thing she was hoping for when her phone had gone off. "Right! Yea, I am."

["Great! We're just gonna meet up at the ACC at 5:30. OK?"]

"Sure. I'll see you then."

["'Kay!"]

Katara closed her phone, brushing sweaty, disheveled stray strands of hair from her face.

"I'm meeting up with them for dinner," she explained, trying to make it seem pre-planned. "Sorry," she murmured.

"Nah, it's...it's cool," Jet mumbled with a shrug. He was disappointed, she could tell. What was she supposed to do? She was thankful for the escape, conflicted by how easily she seemed to lose herself in the man's presence. Her body was saying yes and her mind was saying no - _bleck. _Dear God, the very fact that this was case was giving her a stomach ache.

"And, uh...tomorrow I'm going to be busy all day," she reminded him with a shaky sigh.

"Hey, it's my own fault I didn't come to dinner with you yesterday," Jet confessed. "You're a student. Life is busy. I get it." He didn't really get it. His words were drenched with the same doubt Sokka had expressed the night prior. Katara was conflicted, trying to decide whether she should let that bitterness linger in his mind or not. His broken expression gnawed away at her and she gave in.

"Tuesday," she blurted out. "Tuesday night I'm free. I have nothing going on."

"We have a small gig we'll be helping with," Jet noted. "I could pick you up - we could go together?"

"Yea!" she leaped at the chance to give him optimism before she left. "That...sssounds great!"

"Cool." Jet ran his hand through her ponytail, tugging her into a final embrace and kiss, which she almost resisted. Almost.

_What is wrong with me?_


	4. Special

**A/N: I know people have a lot of questions. Answers will come. I want this story to be a slow burn, with mysteries that get revealed over time - that's how my college experience was, after all. I want to express things that happened last school year via flashbacks as we go, out of order, piece by piece. I want to introduce more characters when I need to introduce them according to the plot I want to play out. I hope you stick with me, and I promise I'll work hard at keeping things interesting.**

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 4 - Special  
_**

* * *

**-August 28th, 2010-

"Mmrrrggmfff..."

"C'mon, Toph. Get up. Get _up._" Katara nudged her hand into Toph's arm a couple of times.

"Nooooo," Toph whined through her pillow, slurping loose drool back into her mouth.

"I know it's early, Hun, but we agreed it'd be better to get up early then come back late."

"Whyyyyy?"

"Because. Now _up. _If you don't get around soon you're going to delay everyone."

Katara pulled on Toph's right arm, stretching it out off the bed. When she let go, the arm went limp, flopping over the side.

"Fuckarizzirmmm..."

"Unless you want to ruin Aang's plans that he's been waiting all _week _for...?"

_Damnit all to hell...She's right._

_"Urgh."  
_

Toph reeled in her arm and forced her body to roll over onto its back. She let loose a lion's yawn and scratched at her chest haphazardly. The itch relieved, she twisted her hips, dropping her bare feet to the floor_. _She mashed her palms into her eyes to remove uncomfortable sand. She made her way to the dresser that rested beyond the foot of her bed and felt around for the second draw from the top. Katara didn't offer any assistance, much to Toph's relief. It had taken all week, but finally, she had managed to convince her roommate that she did not need help changing her own clothes. Pajama pants were traded for cargo shorts and her fuzzy shirt was swapped for a tanktop. As she felt her feet around the foot of her bed for her sandals, Katara burst out laughing.

"What?" Toph snapped.

"Ya _sure _you're gonna just..._go out_ like that today?" Katara asked through the eye of a gigglestorm - Toph could tell that her roommate was barely keeping another fit of snickers at bay.

"Uhhh, _yea_," Toph slowly replied, eyebrows furrowing. "Why?"

"Ya _might _want to consider putting a bra on under your shirt, Dear," Katara breathed out with an "Ohhhhh, boy..."

_So much for dressing on my own. Grahh.  
_

Her face on fire with embarrassment, Toph shuffled back over to her dresser and pried open the top drawer, grabbed the appropriate garment, and rearranged her outfit to incorporate it. This had nothing to do with her being blind, she was just being careless and her senses were dulled by fact of being half-awake. She could hear Katara stuffing things together into a bag as she finished replacing her tanktop.

"So, uh...What time is it, anyway?" Toph wondered, sticking her feet into her sandals.

"It's about 7:30."

"God damn," Toph grunted. "Why so _early? _It's a _Sunday._"

"You _really _don't like waking up early, do you?"

"Hell no." Toph yawned out again, setting herself down in her desk chair and brushing her bangs around with her fingers. Her hair was a mess of tangles - she could feel it - and she knew that while she _could _work it out on her own, they were pressed for time. "Would you mind, um...-?"

"Of course." Katara was over in a flash, as if she had seen this coming, and set to work brushing through Toph's hair. Having her hair brushed and fixed was a regular occurrence given her condition, but...not like _this. _The way her hair was cared for back home was so _proper, _so lifeless. The way Katara handled her hair instantly felt embracing. It reminded her of when Aang had first fiddled with it back in the spring, not far into their 'official' phase of dating.

"Seriously, your hair's super pretty," he had insisted, running his hands through it. It had been shorter back then, hardly touching her shoulders.

"That so, huh?"

"Really. I love it. It's all soft and smooth, and...stuff."

"Well, uh...yea. Hair's like that."

"Not _mine._"

"Not yours?"

"No!" He let her hair loose and gently took her hand and guided it to his head. Rough, scratchy, bristly...He was right, it was rough. She admired it carefully, her fingertips and palm soaking in the sensation. She pressed down and rubbed, tickled by the way the hair felt as it was wedged in the spaces between her fingers. How had she never taken the time to appreciate it so thoroughly before this moment?

"So what?" she said. "I like it."

"Hee," came a bashfully pleased sound.

She had been so tempted in that moment to plant a kiss into his lips, but she knew that he wasn't ready for it. He had never kissed a girl before and had expressed to Toph before they had decided to give the 'dating' thing a try that he wanted to take it slow. So she instead directed her lips to his cheek, hand still in his hair. His arms were suddenly around her waist and she smiled, resting her head on his shoulder as they sat, side by the side, in the spring grass.

"Not as much as I like _you,_" Aang layered on the cheese.

"Wow, Aang." Toph sighed as a huge smile overcame her. "So romantic," she sarcastically snickered, shoving his chest with her fingertips.

"Only the best for you," was the embellished followup she received as he nuzzled the side of his head against her neck.

"Good to know - only what I deserve," she declared jokingly. They both chuckled and squeezed each other tight.

"I'll _always_ give you what you deserve, Toph," Aang assured, his tone suddenly solemn. "The best."

His words penetrated her humor and struck her core. Toph's parents had been tossing words like that around her whole life, and yet...when Aang said it, he said it in a way no other person had prior. There was a quality to his tone that spilled his spirit out all over, encasing her in security, in warmth. Her parents had never meant what _Aang _meant when they had assured her the 'best,' when they had promised her 'everything she deserved.'

"I...-" She was at a loss for words as she processed the overwhelming feeling. This boy who had known her for merely a few months, offering her his will and dedication in such earnest. "I'm grateful for that," she whispered. "I'll...I'm always going to give you the same, Aang."

She certainly wasn't going to let him down on this day and cause his plans to fall apart - something so minor in the grand scheme of things, it shouldn't even be considered a problem to simply wake up and be somewhere on time.

"There. Looks fine." Katara tugged on the ponytail, patted Toph's shoulders tenderly, and stepped back to let her rise. "Now come on, let's go get some breakfast."

"Whoa. _Breakfast,_" said Toph, rubbing her stomach. "What is this..._breakfast _of which you speak?"

* * *

"They're girls, Aang. They will _always_ be late." Sokka sniffed at his bacon strips with glee, rubbing his palms together.

"But your sister is usually _early,_" Aang pointed out.

"But my sister isn't usually having to help _your _lazy girlfriend get out of bed," Sokka countered, jabbing a strip at him before snapping into it.

Aang wanted to shout, 'She's not lazy,' but had to acknowledge that when it came to waking up, Toph's blindness had nothing to do with it - she just plain sucked at getting up in the morning. Aang shrugged it off and went back to his cereal. The cafeteria was extremely slow - definitely slower than the average morning. No surprise, though: it was a weekend.

"Ah, there they are," Sokka observed after swallowing the second half of his first piece of meat. Aang rotated his head to see the two familiar girls climbing up the steps of the cafeteria. He immediately jumped up from his seat and joined them after they had scanned in for their meal. Toph was being led by Katara, so Aang latched his hand around her free arm. She twitched at first in a start, but quickly relaxed, letting go of Katara and leaning into Aang mid-walk for a light semi-hug.

"Hey, Twinks," she greeted, the corner of her lip propping up.

"Hiya, um...Sugar...Doodle."

Toph imitated a puking sound and Katara went "Pffff!"

"Epic Fail," Toph chortled. "Keep trying." They reached the main bar for hot food - only one was ever open for breakfast.

"So, uh..." Aang surveyed the array as Katara grabbed a plate and filled it with a smattering of pancakes. "We got pancakes, um, eggs...and-"

"What kind?" Toph immediately interjected.

"Oh. Scrambled."

"'Kay. Go on."

"So, like...sausages, and some hashbrowns."

"Mmmm..." Toph tapped her foot, arms crossed thoughtfully. "All of it," she decided, pumping her fists down with anticipation. "Extra hash browns. And maybe some more extra hash browns."

Aang laughed, shaking his head, and took a plate from the stack, slapping on a portion of each food with careful attention. Toph couldn't stand her foods getting mixed together - naturally, she would inadvertently cause this issue on her own, but that was somehow OK.

"OK. Was that it?" Aang politely checked as they exited the line.

"Oughtta be plenty. What, do you think I'm a pig, or something?" Toph sneakily accused.

"_No_," Aang assured, throwing her own brand of sarcasm back at her. "Not at all."

"Hey," she sharply snapped with a grin, eyes wound down into slits. He giggled and forced his arm around hers so as to lead her back to their table.

"This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?" Toph theorized as Aang picked up a fork for her just outside the forest of tables.

"Probably," he admitted. "But...in the good way. I think."

Katara had already found their table, and by the look of things, Sokka had already said something that had put her in a foul mood - probably about her boyfriend. For some reason that seemed to be causing a lot of friction between them ever since school had started.

Aang set Toph's plate down between Katara's seat and his own, then pulled out her chair and eased her to it.

"What did you want to drink?" he wondered as she sat.

"Coffee. One cream, two sugars." Aang obediently scurried off, returning to her a minute or two later with her drink in a mug. He set it down, sat beside her, and took her hand, placing it on the cup's handle to show her where it was. "Thanks, Twinkle-Toes," she said softly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. This was their meal-time ritual. Toph had once been frustrated with always having to have someone prepare her food for her, but ever since Aang had started doing it, she had gradually become not only all right with it but actually specifically happy to be cared after. Aang wasn't entirely sure why this was, but he wasn't going to complain that he got a kiss and a rare 'thank-you' from Toph whenever he did so.

"Eat up, gang," Sokka instructed, pounding his fist into the table. "For on this day, we shall _walk._" He paused to stuff some eggs and ketchup into his face. He pointed his fork into the air like a sword and gulped his food down. "Into Mordor," he added with ice cold resolve.

"One does not simply _walk _into Mordor," Aang bellowed deeply.

"There is evil there that _does not sleep_!" Toph joined in with an even deeper, accented voice.

There was an awkward pause. Sokka and Aang stared at Katara suspiciously, who was distracted and fervently chewing, while Toph sat with a brow raised.

"Mm?" Katara blinked at them, utterly confused. She swallowed her bite of marmalade-covered bagel.

"There-is-evil-there-that-does-not-_sleep_," Toph rapidly repeated in a whisper.

"Oh. _O__h!_" Katara jumped up, her brain snapping to the current conversation. "It is _folly!_" she cried at last, her expression dire before melting into a smile as they all shared a chuckle at one of many recurring jokes they had grown to share.

* * *

"This was a good idea," Sokka decreed, merrily stamping his wooden hiking stick into the dirt path with each step he took, reviewing his map.

"I think so," Aang concurred, Toph's arm clung around his waist, his own over her shoulder.

"Meh, it's OK," Toph mumbled with intended apathy. Aang slithered his hand down and attacked her armpit, causing her to squeak and squirm. "Stoppit," she quickly growled, smacking his stomach with the arm he had tickled.

"The pond's straight up ahead, guys," Katara announced, trailing behind her brother but in front of the pair of sophomores. Aang peered down the trail and could see where it curved to the right - an opening in the woods was on the left, just before the curve.

"Good, my feet are getting tired," Toph grumbled.

"Your feet? What about my _stomach_?" Sokka whimpered. "It's been..." He checked his watch. "Like, three hours!" Indeed, they had been taking it easy with frequent rests, but had been hiking for the rest of the morning after breakfast. "_Three. Hours. _My body can't handle that kind of neglect! My rippling physique has probably already started withering away!"

"Has it withered away to the point where your sister can beat you to the pond?" Katara taunted with a smirk, catching up to his side.

"Doubtful." He seethed, accepting her challenge.

"Three-two-one-go!" Toph burst out, her words like lightning as she punched her arm through the air.

Sokka and Katara chortled in surprise, each stumbling forward, eventually hitting their strides as they dashed ahead to the pond, but Toph and Aang took their time - Toph wasn't a big fan of water and Aang didn't want to leave her by herself on the sidelines.

"Heh, that was easy," Toph congratulated herself. As they continued their walk, she rested the side of her head on Aang's shoulder, binding her free arm across his chest and scratching at it. Aang skritched his own fingers along her back to reciprocate, and as her palm stopped on his left chest, he became conscious of his increasing heart rate at their contact. Toph giggled quietly.

"Looks like I still strike fear in your heart, eh?" she baited him.

"Always," Aang agreed, ruffling his hand through her bangs.

"Good," she derived with mischief, squinting as his fingers fumbled over her forehead. "Can't let that change."

Aang leaned over and kissed her on the top of her head, sniffing in the aroma of her brushed but unclean hair. A small "Mm," hummed from Toph's nose as he did so.

"_God_," she panted. "I missed you, Twinkle-Toes." She ran her hand up and down his t-shirt in tiny motions. "Have I told you that?"

"I think this is the..._third_ time since we got back?" he sheepishly replied.

"Oh. Well, damn. Don't want to let this go to your _head_." She flashed a playful grin, which he admired, as she turned her face up to him, clearly for the intent of showing him the devilish twinkle in her pale, ivory eyes. "Otherwise you might end up thinking you're _special _or something."

"Can't have that, can we?" he played along.

"_Hell no,_" she grunted with a squeeze as the sounds of splashing siblings screeching at each other poured over them from up ahead.

This entire idea had started back in the early winter of their freshman year, days after they had been formally acquainted, weeks before the end of the semester. Toph had been barricaded in a compact practice room in the music building. A quick peek through the small window to the sound-proof door revealed the mysterious musical whiz, hard at work on a piano. Even from behind, Aang could tell that she just going through the motions - her hands flew across the keys not like a bird but like an airplane: mechanical, stiff, rigid.

He shyly cracked open the door and squeezed himself inside, her music unrelenting. The notes from the piano were fast and fierce, cold and unnerving...Aang sat on the carpeted floor. He waited, and he listened. It was beautiful, but frightening, akin to a lioness on the prowl. After a couple of minutes the blizzard of hammers on strings quieted.

"Who are _you_?" the black-haired girl flatly demanded, unmoving. "What do you want?"

Aang stared at the ratty mess of a bun of hair on the back of her head. She had been so pretty and dressed up and neat at the recital they'd watched...She was practically a different person.

"It's, um...It's Aang," he announced meekly. "Aang Leekpai."

"Oh," she said slowly, turning her body around on her bench.

"Why don't you take a break from your practicing?" Aang asked hopefully.

"And do what?" she growled, her head bobbed, expression sour.

"Come hang out with me and my buds."

"Why would I wanna do _that_?"

"'Cuz..." He scratched the base of his neck nervously. Damn, she was pretty intimidating for someone who never looked you in the eye. "Like I told you: I want to be your friend."

She huffed, crossing her arms around her waist and bouncing her bare foot on its toes rhythmically.

"What makes _you _so special?" Had that been a question? It sounded like more like a snarl. "Why do you wanna be friends with _me_, anyway?"

"I don't _know,_" Aang honestly answered, his intestines squirming inside him. "I just do. That isn't good enough for you?"

Her brows furrowed and she rubbed the bags hanging under her eyes.

"You don't know?" Her incredulous tone lashed out like a vine of thorns. "Pff, you don't _know_, but you'll stalk me like a fucking creep."

"Fine."  
_What was I thinking? Maybe everyone was right: maybe she _is _just an angry-loner-psycho...  
_"I'm nothing special," he bitterly informed her, swiftly opening the door, breaking out of the room and breaking free from her cynicism.

A long distance they had come since that day. Somewhere along the way, that grouchy exchange had turned into an affectionate joke.

Toph groaned as she let herself sit down at last in the spot Aang had decreed as 'sittable.'

"God damn, my legs are so freakin' sore," she sighed, spreading her limbs out straight and leaning against the tree Aang had propped her against. He rested at her side and smiled as, on cue, she kicked off her sandals and wiggled her toes around.

"Mine, too," Aang sympathized, taking a deep breath. He watched Sokka and Katara's splashing war occur meters ahead. By now it had died down severely as the two of them had no-doubt quickly worn themselves out after all of that walking. He caught himself gawking at the tan-skinned girl in the dark blue one-piece as she waded out of the water and pulled his eyes away, re-adjusting his male nature toward the girl who was his, who he wanted to focus exclusively on in that manner. It wasn't hard to forget the Canadian beauty just ahead when he had a gorgeous Toph Beifong leaning against him.

"Lunch time!" Sokka shouted, patting himself down with a towel as his sister wrung her hair out. "Trail mix and crackers and cheese spread and _ham sandwiches._"

"What are you waiting for?" Toph demanded. "Break out the food, then!"

* * *

"There could be _bears _or _pumas _or something out there. Gotta be careful."

"Pumas, Sokka?" Katara criticized. "Yea, um, I'm not so sure we're likely to run into those out here."

"Yea? Well, that's probably what every single person who's ever been killed by a puma_ thought_ when they went out into the woods."

"Lead on, Fearless Leader," Toph mocked.

"Are we lost, Sokka?" Aang asked apologetically.

"Lost? _Lost?_" Sokka shook his head fervently. "Of course not."

_She_ had asked that same thing on that winter's night during his sophomore year.

"Are we lost, Sokka?"

"Lost? _Lost?_" He choked on his own over-embellishment. "Uhh...Yea, actually, we're a little lost."

She giggled as he rubbed her knee while she drove through the dark, snowy streets.

"I hope my father doesn't get the wrong idea when we get home late," she said, humored by their predicament.

Ulrika Alfven was a Swedish born girl with bright blue eyes, a porcelain face, and flowing, elegant blond hair. Her well-endowed family had moved to America when she was very young and she grew up around American students, staff, and neighbors, so she was assuredly United-Statesian despite her exotic name. A child actress, Ulrika had found success in commercials and bit roles for TV shows and movies for years. At the age of 18 she landed a breakthrough role as the female protagonist in a teenage romance flick, and immediately thereafter made the decision that she wanted to attend college before continuing her career. Somehow, she had landed at Saint Roku University - specifically choosing a smaller, secluded college to avoid press contact as often as possible.

With such a foreign name, it was natural for people to assign a nickname. Her friends had taken to abbreviating Ulrika Alfven to "U. A." Upon becoming friends with her - and quickly getting entangled in a romantic relationship - Sokka had expressed that the name would look better if it was written out like "Yue." He'd insisted it could be her 'artist name.' "Ya know, like Cher. Or Ke$ha. Or Prince. Or something." On this evening in December of 2008, Yue had taken Sokka out for some fine-dining. Sokka admired Yue's insistence on being fair - he had taken her out to eat previously, so it was her turn now. He liked that a girl wasn't going to try and worm her way into romance but was going to put in just as much work as he was. It didn't hurt that she happened to be pretty rich, which meant that when she took him out for a meal, fancy meats were the order of the day. Also, she was very pretty. Pretty, independent, able to feed him lots of meat: Sokka couldn't really ask for much more than that during that point of his life.

"Your father's a pretty...laid back kinda guy...right?"

"Haha, usually. But I _am _his only daughter."

"You're makin' me nervous here, Yue," Sokka uttered, an intentional shakiness in his voice.

"Always, Darling," Yue said with a coy tone.

"Sometimes that's not so bad," Sokka told her, planting a kiss on her temple as they hit a red light. She turned her head and took the moment of pause to share a slow, affectionate embrace of lips.

"I'm starting to get the impression you might falling in love with me, Noble Sir Kesuk," said Yue with a facetious smile as the light turned green and she pressed down the pedal.

"That impression would be accurate, Princess," Sokka replied warmly.

It came from the left, like thunder striking a lone tree on a grassy hill. Sokka's world exploded in a flash of car lights, glass, and metal crushing against metal, red splattering against his face.

Water, trickling down from the heavens, brought him back. Rain. Light rain.

"If we're not lost-" Katara began, sorting through Sokka's pack - still attached to his back - to retrieve a pair of umbrellas taken for just such an occasion. "-then why are we not back on the path yet?"

"Ya know, Katara," Sokka hissed, spinning around. "If _you _wanna figure out how we get back on the path, by all means, go ahead!" He shoved the map in her direction as she un-velcroed the umbrellas.

"Geez, chill out, Sokka," Toph grumbled as Aang took one of the umbrellas and pitched it over her. The rain pattered gently on its taut surface and Sokka took a deep breath. "It's no big deal, we're not that far out."

"Yea," Aang agreed, clearly trying to placate the Kesuk siblings. "We went south off the path, right? Sooner or later, we should hit it again. And if not, then we'll reach the end of the woods, anyway. We're good."

_He's right, we've been going dead south - I'm sure of it. We'll be fine, and we should actually cut down about twenty minutes taking this shortcut._

"Yea," Sokka agreed complacently. folding their map up and slipping it into his back pocket. Katara grabbed his hand and pulled him ahead of the duo behind them a bit, keeping the umbrella above them. "Sorry," Sokka apologized, his voice low.

"It's OK," Katara casually dismissed the conflict. "What's wrong?"

Sokka's eyes avoided her and he held in a sigh that was aching to come out.

"I know that face," Katara whispered seriously, the rain veiling their conversation as Aang and Toph mumbled out some humorous discussion behind them. "You're thinking about her."

"Maybe," Sokka admitted in a barely audible mutter, stuffing his hands into his pant pockets.

"You know what I'm going to tell you, Sokka," she solemnly warned.

"Yea. I do. So ya don't have to," he advised, his stomach churning.

"Sokka," his sister sighed, squeezing his shoulder as they marched through the twigs and dirt and grass, weaving between trees, raindrops dancing ballet around them. He could practically hear those tired words hanging from her lips, but she didn't say them this time, as he requested. Instead her voice echoed in his head: It wasn't your fault. There was nothing anyone could do. She's watching over you, just like Mom is.

None of these words made it any easier, but at least time had played its part in helping heal the wound. A scar was better than a bleeding gash. Sokka had already had one etched across his heart as a child, and now he had another one to criss-cross it.


	5. Uneasy

**A/N: Thanks for the support everyone's been giving. I think about five people (including my wife) have come to me saying**, **"OMG you made Jet x Katara make _sense _to me!" All I can say is that it didn't make sense to _me _until I had to sit and try to write it! Also...I think I finally managed to get my wife to find the appeal of Toph x Aang. Mwaha. More on those two later. Right now we've got other characters to focus on so we can start developing them as time goes on.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 5 - Uneasy  
_

* * *

-Monday, August 30th, 2010-

["YOU HAVE...**ONE**...NEW MESSAGE. **FIRST **NEW MESSAGE."]  
["Hello, _Dum-Dum. _How's that Senioritis taste, huh? I can't believe you're literally going through with this. What will you do when school's over, Brother? Ugh. Anyway...If you _care _to know - though I imagine you _don't_ - I'm going to go visit Father this Wednesday. But I'm sure your precious little classes at your precious little school are more important than your _family._ Since I'm sure you won't bother to come, I'll let you know how it goes. Give your emo girlfriend my regards, _ZuZu._]  
["END OF MESSAGE. TO DELETE THIS MESSAGE, PRESS-"]  
[_Beep._]  
["MESSAGE DELETED. YOU HAVE NO MORE MESSAGES."]

"Who was that, Zuko?" his girlfriend's scratchy voice inquired as she took a sip of her grape soda through a straw.

"Just some love from my sister," he bitterly explained, dropping his phone onto the table beside his plate. "She sends her regards, by the way."

"I'm sure she _does,_" mused his girlfriend doubtfully as she plunged into her vegetables. She had thin, black hair cast over her thin face, often in lengthy pigtails, as was the case today. The goth look was hers entirely, from dark rings painted around her to eyes to deep purple lipgloss and a multiple ear piercings, with a ring on her left nostril for good measure.

"She's going to see our father this week," Zuko informed with disinterest.

"And...I take it you're not going?"

"Of course not, Mai. Why _would _I? I have nothing more to say to that man."

Mai shrugged and slurped her straw again. "Good," she muttered. "I was gonna tell you not to go, anyway." Those ragged eyes of hers sparked as she smirked in his direction. He returned the gesture and straightened his blood red tie before peeling open the previous Friday's issue of the campus newspaper, the White Lotus.

{Local Citizen Vandalizes President's Office}  
{- Jin Ackland}

{This past Monday night, marking the start of the school year, our beloved President Bumi's office received some unwelcome company in the form of offensive graffiti left by a local citizen from Wayward. The graffiti was spray painted across the window of the office and portrayed an offensive message that the President has requested we not share. A security guard stationed that night caught the young man fleeing the scene and identified him as Jack Chavez, founder of a local organization known as the 'Freedom Fighters.' According to Chavez, he had intended to "[..] leave a message telling the president how I feel about the way the administration is being run." Jack refused to comment on specifics, but President Bumi seemed unfazed by his expressive statement. If anything, he seemed humored by it.}

Zuko stopped reading at the end of that paragraph when Mai asked, "Aren't you gonna eat your lunch, Zuko?"

"Right," he grunted, folding the paper up and setting it aside in favor of consuming his untouched meal. "So how is that Wildlife Photography course so far?" he wondered between bites of his bagel-tuna sandwich (with tomatoes).

"It seems interesting," said Mai with a gentle nod. "What about _your _stuff?"

"Business is business," Zuko huffed, running his hand across his slick, combed hair. "As usual."

"I'm sure you're going to find a good use for your talents," Mai encouraged, taking his hand and kissing it on the wrist.

"I know," he acknowledged calmly. "Sometimes it just all feels a bit too stuffy for my tastes."

"You're not going to go down the same path as your father, Zuko. If anything, I'm sure you've learned from his mistakes."

"Pah," Zuko blurted, gulping down his now lukewarm tea. "Guess that's _one _way of looking at it..."

"Hey-hey-hey!" sang out the sweet voice of Mai's bosom pal and roommate and she skipped over to their table, seating herself at Mai's side.

"Hi, Ty," Mai warmly greeted with a nod.

"Heya, guys!" the preppy girl piped, her eyes aglow with that ever-present wonder they always wore. "I'm off to class but I just thought I'd stop by."

"Hello, Ty-Lee," Zuko mumbled for the sake of proper social interaction.

"Hiiiii ZuuuZuuu," she loudly squawked with an exaggerated wave of her hand.

He didn't particularly like Ty-Lee. She was overly excited and tried too hard to be the center of attention wherever she went, in his opinion. He couldn't comprehend how Mai had ever become friends with this girl in the first place, but they had been roommates for all three years of school prior, so he figured there must have been something that had developed, if only through necessity in their first year. Dating Mai meant tolerating Ty-Lee. The prior was more than worth the latter, so tolerate he did.

Ty-Lee's body was the stuff of young male fantasies, and she was fully aware of this, constantly flaunting herself and her giant braid of hair, playing off as the 'hot ditsy cheerleader' type. It worked much more effectively than Zuko would have expected. It seemed like every other week there was a new boy at her side. She never committed to anything, and Zuko couldn't help but wonder exactly what kinds of things she got herself involved with. If anything, she seemed clever enough to manipulate the men around her for the smaller things, like food and favors.

"Kay-kay!" Ty chirped, bouncing back up to her feet. "Don't wanna be late. Byeeee~!"

After she had vanished down the stairs, Mai cocked an eyebrow at Zuko as he finished his sandwich.

"Don't look so excited to see my best friend today," she jested, clearly more amused than irate.

"I'm just balancing out her psychotic enthusiasm."

"I thought that was _my_ job?"

"With Ty-Lee, even _two_ depressed people aren't enough."

"Haha. Well..." Mai leaned over and placed both hands on his clean, acne-less face. "Come on, _ZuZu,_" she said teasingly, running her skinny fingers down his temples, admiring his smooth, rigid face. "Let's go be depressed outside," she joked. "It's nice out today."

* * *

Sokka stood outside of the class, eying each student with as much nonchalance as he could.

_Nope. Nope. Nooo. No. Noperoonie. No-no-no. Noooo-_oh_! Yes. Yes, yes, yes!_

It _was _her. He hadn't been seeing things. That was entirely, 100%, without a doubt, the girl he had thought he'd seen when he'd walked into class. He'd been staring at the back of her head periodically throughout the session.

He caught up to her, grasping his textbook tightly to ensure he didn't drop it.

"Hey, Suki! Suki?" He dropped it, anyway.

"Huh?" The girl whirled around, hands clutched to her backpack straps. After he'd recovered his book, Sokka glanced up at her, staring wide-eyed back down at him. "Sokka," she murmured nervously, eyes shifting away.

"Suki." He cleared his throat and stood up. "I _thought _it was you..."

"Yea, I, uh..." She shrugged dismissively.

"You're back on campus," Sokka specified, still in shock. "I had...no idea. I mean...it's been...Fff." He shook his head slowly. "Two, three years?"

"R-right, I..." Suki nodded quickly. "I was...I didn't even know I was gonna be here until a few weeks ago. I don't know, things just...-" She trailed off, and Sokka knew all too well that her fidgeting fingers were a sign that she was feeling bashful.

"N-no, that's-...Really, I mean, that's great," Sokka spat out, leading her out of the crowded hall and outside into the sun. "We should...I dunno, we should catch up."  
_Not alone, idiot. Don't put her on the spot._  
"You can meet all my buds," he added in haste. "We could order pizza, watch a movie, have a get-together. Ya know?"

Suki shrugged but nodded her head to the side.

"Yea, that...That'd be great, Sokka."

"OK. Cool. Tomorrow night work for you?"

"Yes, tomorrow...would be fine." Suki's uncharacteristically sheepish actions had Sokka wondering if she was feeling nervous for the same reasons he was.

"Awesome. Stop on by Aero at seven, we'll all meet you in the main lounge."

"OK. Sure." A small smirk emerged as her eyes relaxed.

_There we go. A smile. Honest to goodness smile. Great._

"Uh, I'll...let you go, then," Sokka said with a shrug, waving her off as he slowed his pace to allow her to speed away to whatever it was she was up to next. He sighed a deep, relieved sigh, his stomach tied in knots. That could've gone a lot worse. He gathered his bearings, spun around, and dove right back into the building he'd just exited, another class session looming ahead_, _minutes away.

* * *

"Suki Kyoshi?" Katara gasped, slack-jawed. "As in, 'girl-you-dated-freshman-year,' Suki Kyoshi?"

"_I know!_" Sokka delightfully squealed as he connected the cables to the back of the TV. "I can't believe it." The lounge of the second floor of Aero was free on this particular Monday evening, and Sokka had decided to hook up the communal Wii he and Aang had split for the year prior to a larger TV with more space than their cramped dorm room provided.

"Someone's still got a crush," Toph teased with a grin, kicking her feet up over Aang's lap as she lay on her back across the carpet, arms spread out. Aang tickled at her dirty, sockless feet, and she kicked, barely containing a giggle, before frowning at the ceiling. "Hey," she threatened. "No tickle."

"OK," Aang pouted, patting her bare shin.

"We _did _date for a while," Sokka admitted, rubbing his forehead contemplatively. "Only reason we broke up was 'cuz she transferred. It just wasn't gonna work out...We're not cut for long distance."

"But she's back now." Katara nodded approvingly, her arms folded across her chest with confidence.

_This is great, Sokka! This is just what you need. A new opportunity. You can't let the past tie you down forever._

"Sooo...Is this Fearsome Foursome about to become a Fearsome _Five_some?" Toph bluntly inquired as Aang watched her methodically rotate her ankles.

"Wh-whoa, hey, wait up, guys," Sokka fumbled, nearly dropping the light blue game disc as he slid into the sleek white box. "I don't know what's gonna happen here, and you guys are gonna have to play it cool or we're both gonna feel awkward."

"And no one likes an awkward Sokka," Aang declared in a deep voice.

"See?" Sokka chuckled. "Just be idiots like that. Like usual." He switched on the TV and pressed the power button on the console. He scooped up the white remote control and clicked a button, then imitated the calming sound effect that greeted players upon booting up the system's menu.

"Yay," said Toph, slapping the backs of her hands against the floor gently. "Wii time."

"Yup," Aang uttered, sliding out from under Toph's legs. She reached out her arms like a baby and he grabbed them, tugging her weight off the ground.

"Same as usual?" Katara ventured from the middle of the sofa they had pushed back as Aang sat beside her, setting Toph on the couch's edge. Sokka plopped down on Katara's right, and pointed the remote at the screen, selecting the appropriate panel. A brief flute ditty played and the game began to load.

"I'm gonna crush you guys," Toph bragged, flexing her right arm. Aang squished her arm muscles between his hand and laughed.

"Probably," he conceded, pressing down on the muscle hidden beneath her skin.

Sokka navigated the menu of Wii Sports, selecting the group favorite: Bowling. Their settings saved from their previous game months before, things started right up. Sokka rose and carefully aligned his character.

"C'mon, Sokka," Katara encouraged. "Show us whatcha got."

He pulled back his arm and swung forward, releasing the buttons and letting his ball roll down the lanes. He knocked a few down before throwing another and picking up a ["Nice Spare!"]. Sokka passed the controller to his sister, who managed to only pull off a seven, and Aang also earned a spare.

"Gimme," Toph demanded, her palm outstretched. Aang laid the remote in her hand, barely suppressing a giggle. Toph immediately caught on and narrowed her eyes at no on in particular as she stood up. "Nice try, jerk," she spat out playfully, rotating the remote to its correct position. She held it up before her and pressed down the trigger button, pulling down her hand and gracefully flicking her arm forward in the motion of a bowling throw. The ball on the screen whizzed forward, twisting just a hair to the side. It clattered into the pins, knocking them all over.

["Nice throw!"] the game announced, flashing in bright gold letters the word [**Strike**].

"Fuck yea!" Toph jubilantly crowed with a maniacal laugh, recognizing the sound effects.

"And here it comes," Katara sighed nostalgically, recalling the process that occurred whenever this happened.

"Damnit, Toph, you're not supposed to _win _at any video games," Sokka grumbled, pouting as the remote was passed down the cough back to him. "I was hoping you'd be rusty..."

"It's all about the right touch," Toph explained arrogantly, shrugging as she sat back down. Aang shook his head, face lit up in amusement. As Sokka took his turn, Aang took Toph's hand, kissing her wrist. "That's right," said Toph, still overflowing with confidence. "Kiss the _magic hand_, Baby."

"Psh. Well, _someone_ is full of themselves today," Aang noticed, dropping her hand suddenly. "No more kisses for you today."

_"Whaaaht?" _Toph whimpered, punching him in the shoulder. "It's not _my _fault I'm so ridiculously talented."

"But it _is _your fault that you're such a sore winner," Katara poked slyly, rolling her digital bowling ball.

"You really are," Aang agreed, yanking on her ear. She let out a grouchy 'Rrm' as he did so, drumming her fingers impatiently on her legs.

Katara huffed with a light foot stamp.

"Dangit...Stupid split." She crumpled back into her seat as Aang took up the call. Another spare later and Toph eagerly swung her mystical motion, scoring another strike.

"Friggin' _eh!_" Sokka shouted disapprovingly, slapping his knee in frustration.

"Bahaha!" Toph chortled with glee.

"It's just a game, guys," Katara reminded them as she handed the remote to her competitive brother. She was relieved to see him at least getting upset over something that wasn't a girl. Well, a girl_friend, _rather.

Then it struck her: if Suki and Sokka got involved with each other once again, she'd be the odd one out. She'd be spending her time surrounded by two couples with a boyfriend who couldn't even come visit her.

_Oh, Jet. Why does this have to be so damned_ difficult_?_

* * *

-Tuesday, August 31st, 2010-

"Well, yea, Kat, that's gonna _happen,_" Smellerbee insisted with a snort, sitting on Katara's bed, her back propped into the corner wall on the side of the entrance. "No reason to break up with the guy."

"I guess," Katara sighed, fidgeting her fingers through her thick hair as she tied it into a large single braid. "What do_ you _think, Toph?" she wondered.

Toph, relaxing in her bed on her stomach, puffed some air out of her nose, considering a response. Katara observed the careful doubt in her expression, half buried in her drool-stained pillow.

"Honestly?" she began, rotating her body so her face was fully exposed. "I just don't know if this guy is a good fit for you, Katara."

"You think so?" Katara murmured regretfully.

"Yea."

_Smellerbee would be biased in his favor, naturally. But then again, I guess Toph would be biased _against _him, wouldn't she?_

"Seriously," Toph continued, "It just seems like every time the guy gets brought up, you get upset. And your_ brother _gets upset. And then you guys argue. Jet never wants to do anything with us, he's busy with all of this junk with his group..." Toph rubbed her fingers through her bangs and groaned, shaking her head. "Just sayin'."

"He's a busy guy," Smellerbee admitted. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't give him a chance." She rolled her head around slowly, stretching out her neck. "He really cares about the people around here, that's _why _he works so hard."

"Hey," Toph said defensively. "He seems like a nice guy, don't get me wrong. I'm just _saying, _he might not be a good fit for Katara."

"I really ought to talk with him," Katara decided out loud as she rested her chin upon her wrists, arms sprawled across the head of her chair, which was she sitting on backwards. Her anxious mind snapped around like a rubber band. "_Dangit,_" she grumbled, slapping her chair.

"What?" Smellerbee wondered.

"Tonight," Katara sighed. "I told Jet I'd see him tonight. I almost forgot..."

"Forgetting when you're supposed to see your boyfriend._ That's _a good sign," came a sarcastic observation from Toph.

"That means I won't be able to hang out with you guys and Suki tonight," Katara clarified, hand on her forehead.

"Meh," Toph dismissed. "We'll be fine. Twinkle-Toes and I will keep Sokka from acting normal."

"Huh?" Smellerbee was puzzled.

"If he tries to act normal," Toph explained, "it'll be a total fail. He'll just be awkward."

Katara shot a clever smile to the red-head in the corner as she let her hand slip off her head. "In case you couldn't tell, my brother doesn't _do '_normal.'"

"Sokka's gonna be pissed," Toph warned, grinning sneakily.

"I know," whimpered Katara with empathy. "But I told Jet back on Saturday that I was free this Tuesday."

"Hey, not _your _fault Sokka made plans without asking us first," was Toph's apathetic argument.

"Right," Katara acknowledged, trying to wipe guilt away from herself. Sokka had made that committment, not her. "Hey, Bee, did Jet mention when I was supposed to see him tonight?"

Smellerbee shook her head, then scratched at her freckled cheek.

"Hmph." Katara frowned thoughtfully, tapping her finger on her head. "Maybe after dinner I'll just go up to see him, then."

"You sure he's not gonna be busy?" Smellerbee inquired.

"Even if he is," Katara insisted, "I want to surprise him."

"Ah," Smellerbee huffed. "Jet don't like surprises much. Especially when he's busy."

"Well, either way, we need to get some dinner," Katara crossed around the topic.

Toph yawned and rubbed her stomach as it gurgled.

"Speaking of dinner, what time is it?" she moaned. "I skimped on lunch today and I'm freakin' starving."

"Uh, well..." Katara twisted her head around to the laptop on her desk behind her. "It's quarter to five," she advised after a brief glance at the corner of the screen. "We should probably get goin'. I'm sure the boys are already there waiting for us."

Toph slid off her bed and into her shoes, stretching out her arms lazily.

"You coming?" Katara asked their gruff neighbor.

"Nah," she replied flipping out her cell phone as she passed out into the hallway before them. "I'm gonna eat dinner with Longshot. I'll catch you tonight."

"OK," Katara muttered with a shrug, trying to look unfazed.

Katara had spent the entire summer separated from all of her friends, clinging onto every relationship by strings of e-mail, text messages, and phone calls. Each relationship was compartmentalized, as was her romance with Jet. Now that she was back on campus, all of the practical aspects that didn't come into play in the last couple of weeks of class the year prior were not coming together as she would've hoped. She was torn between two groups of people and neither seemed all to keen on the other - not to mention that one of them made her feel out of place. Being alone with Jet was OK, being with Smellerbee was fine, but being in that _group_...She wasn't so sure about that anymore.

_Tugged back and forth between two social groups. Geez. Something's gonna have to give here._

Toph's arm locked around hers, bringing her back in the moment.

"Onward, to dinner!" Toph declared, waving her arm forward haphazardly.

* * *

Toph had been correct: Sokka was pissed - but it also wasn't any fault of Katara's. Apparently he'd been counting on there being a neutral female without a mle companion to help make Suki feel comfortable - especially since Suki and Katara had at least met on a couple of occasions. She had left the three of them to gorge themselves on dessert whie she opted to head out and surprise Jet with an earlier-than-expected visit. She checked her phone to see if she had gotten a reply to the message she'd sent his way an hour prior - she had inquired as to the concert he had mentioned before.

[From: Jet]  
[yea babe concert at 8 tonite ill come get u at 7:30 k?]  
[Sent: August 31st, 5:23pm]

Katara had decided that in an effort to show her interest in him she was going to pay him an early visit, in that case. Jet was always good at surprising _her, _after all, and she was feeling energetic today. Maybe if she could work on things with Jet, then he'd be more open to spending time with her friends, and thus they wouldn't be so down on him. Smellerbee had mentioned the Treetop Pub, the common meeting place for the Freedom Fighters, so Katara decided that this was where she'd pay a visit first.

As she hit the bottom of the cafeteria stairs and passed through the main lobby, closing her phone, she almost ran straight into an enormous dark-skinned student in a baskbetball jersey - she recognized him from Appa's a week prior. The guy was so unnaturally huge that he was hard to forget, after all, and she had seen him around campus a few times. He was definitely a freshman, she could tell.

"Sorry!" she squeaked, narrowly avoiding colliding with his beefy arm. He turned and nodded.

"No prob," his thick voice grunted as she scurried off.

_Get your head out of the clouds, girl. You'll get this sorted out._

The drive to Wayward didn't exactly ease her mind as the only radio station that came in clearly on the drive down was started with a song about breaking up, which plagued her uneasy mind. Next, a song played that seemed to come on every single time she drove, pushing Katara's patience over the edge.

[~"I got a feeling"~"that tonight's gonna be a good night"~]

She immediately switched the radio off.

"Tonight is _not _going to be a good night if I have to hear this song one more time," she growled aloud. Normally, were she driving with her friends, they'd all partake in their own bits of the song, but the thought of this only pushed her conscience toward the idea that Jet was not included in this ritual, or _any _fond rituals she and her friends shared. Her mind was awash in a river of stress and contradiction as she parked into the Treetop's lot and fluttered into the pub like a hummingbird. The bar had a few faces - some Katara recognized - but no Jet. She approached the bartender and inquired as to his whereabouts.

"Oh, Jet? Well, I...Huh." He scratched his fat chin thoughtfully. _Too _thoughtfully. He shrugged. "Sorry, toots, can't say I recall where he said he was goin' off to."

"All right," Katara murmured, her eyes quickly darting to the bar-goers as the words "Thanks anyway," slipped out. Pretty much everyone in the bar at the moment was one of Jet's employees or compatriots. That meant he couldn't be far away, right? She opted to take a trip to the bathroom while she waited for his return.

She decided that she'd send some messages while sat in her stall.

[To: Jet]  
[Hey, Hun. Where are you right now? Are you at the Treetop somewhere?]  
[Sent: 6:36pm]

[To: Sokka]  
[Is Suki with you guys? You're not flipping out, are you?]  
[Sent: 6:37pm]

[To: Aang]  
[Is Sokka flipping out yet?]  
[Sent: 6:38pm]

_Rrrmmmm._

[From: Jet]  
[no im at the office im busy babe ill come get u soon]  
[Sent: 6:38pm]

Katara sighed, drumming her fingers grumpily.

[To: Jane]  
[Hey, Bee, do you know where Jet is right now?]  
[Sent: 6:39pm]

_Rrrmmmm._

Katara switched off her vibrate function to spare herself the irritation of the sound._  
_

[From: Sokka]  
[No, she's not here yet. It's cool. I got this.]  
[Sent: 6:40pm]

[From: Aang]  
[he is totally flippin out]  
[Sent: 6:40pm]

A wide smile crawled over Katara's face.

[From: Toph]  
[toph says yea he totally is freakin out please save us]  
[Sent: 6:41pm]

Oftentimes, receiving messages from Toph's phone meant that she had tasked Aang with typing a message out for her.

[From: Aang]  
[now hes just walkin round nervous]  
[Sent: 6:42pm]

[From: Aang]  
[he just stubbed his toe on the couch haha]  
[Sent: 6:42pm]

[From: Sokka]  
[You guys are jerks, you know that?]  
[Sent: 6:43pm]

_Look at you, Katara. You're here to see your boyfriend and what are you doing? You're trying to hang out with the people you _really _want to be with right now through your _phone._  
_

Katara's heart sank and her stomach lurched with a deep, uneasy sensation. Maybe her brother was right?

_I guess I must not want to see him all that much..._

[From: Jane]  
[i dunno i thought he was pikin you up later]  
[Sent: 6:44pm]

Katara finished up her business, washed her hands, applied sanitizer, and exited the bathroom.

_That's not entirely true. I want to see Jet. I do!_

Katara's wish was granted as she emerged into the pub's back hallway, only to encounter Jet exiting the back room she had never had reason to venture into_. _He was leading a bunch of shady-looking types into the main area of the bar. She managed to follow suit at the tail end with none the wiser.

"The Freedom Fighters greatly appreciate your patronage, ladies and gents," Jet announced, shaking their hands as they each passed by and bidding them farewell. Then he reached a hand she was sure he'd recognize. "K-Katara?" He had clearly not been expecting her.

"_Jack_," she greeted curtly, using his real name with force shaking his hand firmly to the point of likely hurting him a bit. Her foot started thumping the floor and she crossed her arms. "Uhh...What was _that _about?" she demanded. "I thought you were at 'the office?' Last I checked, _this_ wasn't your office."

"Wh-Well, I was...-" he began, and she could see his fear dissolve away as he layered on that coat of 'cool' she had been gradually catching on to. "Just after you sent that message, I-"

"Don't lie to me, Jack," Katara hissed loudly, making sure his employees could hear. "Who were those people?"

"They're supporters of our cause," Jack explained calmly. "They're going to make donations at our charity gig tonight."

"Uh-huh," Katara slowly grumbled, her lower jaw propping out irritably.

"Seriously," Jack insisted. "All of the money they're giving will be going to a good cause. I swear." He was speaking genuinely, Katara could see it in his eyes. Then why did it feel like something was up? "What's your problem, Katara?"

"I just find it funny that you told me you _weren't _here but _here _you were_._"

"Geez, Katara, it's not like I was-"

"It's like you didn't want me to come here to meet you or something."

"Why would I-?"

"Why _would _you not want me to come here if this was just some normal meeting?"

"Kat, calm down, would ya? Everybody's staring."

"I _am _calm!" Katara growled, her fists clenched.

_He's hiding something, damnit. What is he hiding from me?_

Then she noticed that everyone was, in fact, staring. She didn't let it bother her, though. She took a deep breath and settled her nerves, letting her arms relax.

_I sort of came here looking to find out some dirt on him__, didn't I? That's...probably a bad sign. Am I just being neurotic?_

"Then be _more _calm," Jack quietly requested in a panic. "You're making me look bad in front of my people, here."

Katara's heart was tugged by the pleading panic in his eyes and she ended her inquisition with a sigh, grabbing her now aching head. Jack swiftly dove in to comfort her with a hug.

"Hey. Babe. I don't know what's eating you lately, but if this is gonna work you're gonna have to...chill out. OK?"

_Something. Isn't. Right._

"Y-yea, I know," she sputtered out before she could control what she wanted to say. Now his arms were around her, and before she had the willpower to change that, they were in a kiss and her eyes slid shut. Katara wondered if this was what smoking was like - she knew it was bad for her, but she kept letting herself do it. When they broke apart, her eyes popped back open and she took a deep breath, easing herself out of his grasp as casually as she could.

"Did you eat already?" he wondered.

_You're trying to change the subject._

She nodded slowly, her gaze avoiding his as she massaged her temple.

"Ah. Well, uh, I haven't yet," he spat out, running his hand through his hair, "and I wasn't expecting you to come this soon, so..."

"Yea," Katara acknowledged with a shrug, refusing to get sucked into those dakr eyes. "You should go get something to eat."

"Are you, uh...You wanna come?"

"Oh, um...I think I just-" she shrugged, shaking her head, "I need some time to cool off, so you go ahead, I'll stick around here."

"All right." He gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. "I'll just go grab something and come back here."

"Sure."

As those cowboy boots of his clopped off across the wooden floor of the pub, Katara headed out through the back door, stuffing her hands into her hoodie pocket.

_Would she tell me the truth? If I asked?_

After a moment of hesitation, Katara pulled out her cell phone from her hoodie and scrolled through her contacts list.

[Calling...]  
[**Jane**]


	6. Secure

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 6 - Secure_

_

* * *

_

-Tuesday, August 31st-

["YOU HAVE...**TWO **NEW MESSAGES. **FIRST **NEW MESSAGE."]

["Smellerbee, what the fuck is up with Katara? I thought you said she was fine. I just ran into her at the pub and she was _not _fine. She's acting fucking crazy. What did you say to her? I told you not to talk with her about anything. That's none of her business. That's _our _business. Freedom Fighter business. And she's not a Freedom Fighter - not yet."] There was a pause after a long, frustrated sigh. ["Anyway. Listen. I'm gonna take her out and hopefully she can chill the fuck out. I can't deal with this shit on top of everything else. If you know what her problem is, gimme a call, help me figure this out."]  
["END OF MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep._]  
["MESSAGE DELETED. NEXT MESSAGE."]

["Hey, Bee...It's Katara. I...I'm sorry, I know you're probably with your boyfriend right now, but...Oh, tell him I said hi, by the way."]

"Kat says hi."

["But, um...I dunno, I just...I'm not doing so great right now."] Her voice was kind of shaky. ["And I just have this bad feeling about...everything. Fff. Real specific, right? Heh. I don't-...I thought you might be able to help me figure some of this stuff out. Call me? Or...Or maybe I'll just see you tonight? Anyway, I'm sorry. Just..."] A raspy breath. ["Not having such a good day, I guess. I'll talk to you later."]  
["END OF MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep._]  
["MESSAGE SAVED. YOU HAVE NO MORE MESSAGES."]

"Damnit," Jane grumbled as she closed her phone, glancing around Appa's. She ran her lanky hand through matted orange hair and cast her tired, dreary eyes to the young man before her. Longshot was sitting across the booth from her, chewing on his bacon cheeseburger with a thoughtful expression. They exchanged concerned glances before Jane picked at the remains of her curly fries.

"I'm thinkin' this is gonna blow up in my face, Johnny," she mumbled gloomily. "I don't even get why Jet got mixed up with Kat in the first place. They're so _different._" She scratched her neck as she popped a fry into her mouth. She rested her head on her wrist, her other hand extended across the table on her closed phone.

_I envy you, Katara. Your friends seem so...awesome. It's like you live in a completely different world than I do._

Rough fingers squeezed her own on the smooth surface of the table. Her gaze crawled up to meet his. He was smiling sympathetically at her dull, tired spirit. He wore a look that said 'Everything's going to be all right.' She couldn't help but smile - just a little. She'd never admit it, but his presence always made her feel safe in a way no one else did. Johnny "Longshot" Johnson was her backup, her partner, her security.

"I need to figure out what the hell to do about this," Jane moaned, her hand sliding a few inches across her eye. "'Cuz I know the two of them well enough to see an explosion coming from a mile away here. And I don't want be caught in the fucking crossfire, ya know?"

* * *

["Sons of Scotland! I am William Wallace!"]

["William Wallace is seven feet tall!"]

["Yes, I've heard."]  
"Yes, I've heard," Sokka mimicked, complete with proper Scottish accent. He continued to quote, imitating Mel Gibson's every gesture on the TV screen.

["Kills men by the thousands. And if _he _were here, he'd consume the English with fireballs from his eyes, and lightning bolts from his arse!"]

A flurry of laughter - big, manly laughter, of course. Except for Aang - he kind of giggled a bit. Toph's slight snicker was more manly.

["I _am _William Wallace! And I see a whole army of my countrymen, here in defiance of tyranny."]

Suki shook her head in amusement at Sokka's wild eyes. Her face contorted into an involuntary smile that was at once endeared by his energy and embarrassed by it. Her dyed brown hair was fluffy and thick, with a small half-back ponytail poking out.

_When did you get into Braveheart? And trying to act all manly? That's not the Sokka I remember. But I can't say I mind very much. You seem like you've changed a lot. I wonder how much _I _have changed?_

To her left, Toph's body was leaning away a bit into Aang, her head nestled on his right shoulder, facing down a bit. Her left arm was wedged between their bodies, fingers locked around Aang's, while her other arm was flopped across his lap. They seemed very close, very comfortable. Very..._not _like Suki's last relationship the year prior at her previous school. She was brought back to Sokka's exuberant performance.

["Would you be willin' to trade _all _the days, from this day to that, for one chance - just one chance - to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take..._our freedom!_"]

Cheers erupted - jubilant, determined cries. And, unexpectedly, the boys joined in, as did Toph with some delay.

["Alba gu bràth!"]

"Alba gu bràth!" Aang roared, pumping his fist into the air and shaking Toph around, her eyes wide.

The boys repeated the line with much gusto, and Suki even managed to find it in herself to join in as best she could.

"Yeh need ta werk ohn yehr Scaw'-ish, Lass," Sokka criticized her, stroking the short hairs on his chin with a dubious expression as he sat back down beside her.

"Jest a weh bit," Toph agreed, her face lit up in jest.

"Hey, you're not paying attention," Aang scolded rapidly, prodding her armpit. She squirmed a bit, her foot almost kicking Suki's shin.

"OK, OK," she growled playfully, settling down. Suki couldn't help but find it funny that Aang was concerned with a blind girl paying attention to the movie which she couldn't see. No one had been explaining to her what was happening. She watched through the corner of her eye as Aang stroked Toph's neck slowly with his index and middle fingers as their focus returned to the film.

Suki remembered feeling that same kind of peace with the excitable boy to her right, three years prior. A 'freshman fling' of sorts, Suki and Sokka spent a good portion of their freshman year dating. They immediately didn't get along terribly well, though, largely due to Sokka's chauvinist attitude during his first semester. Suki was quick to knock that right out of him. She could remember them watching TV in this same lounge - 2nd Aero - on this same couch.

"So, wait," Suki interjected, pausing their DVD. "I don't get it. I thought The Others were_ bad_."

"Well_, yea_, that's what they _wanted _you to think," Sokka pointed out, jabbing a finger slyly in her direction.

"Aaaand I thought they were like, tribal people who lived in the woods. Why are they in nice little houses and stuff? Where did the houses _come _from?"

"That's the Dharma Initiative. They were that bunch of scientists that were here a long time ago - remember?"

"That Asian dude with the rabbit, right? In the creepy video tapes?"

"Right! Exactly."

Suki could feel the gears in her mind grinding together. How did he understand what the hell was going on?

"I'm completely lost. _That _must be where this show got its name from."

"Well, it's kind of your own fault for skipping the first season and a half, Suki."

"Later, when it's _my _turn to pick the show, and we watch Friends, it won't matter what season we start on. You'll still find it funny."

"All right, all right," he grumbled, dismissing her negativity. "Maybe I should pick something else." He began fumbling through his pile of DVD cases, but Suki leaned over and grabbed his hand. He froze, his face flushing, as his eyes shot up to her.

"I have a better idea," she announced, running her fingers from his hand up his arm and eventually around his neck. She pulled Sokka away from his collection and into a quick kiss.

"Uhhhh, yea," was his goofy response. "That _is _a better idea."

"I thought _you _were supposed to be the smart one?"

"Yea,_ that's _why I'm listening to your idea right now," Sokka replied, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

A retreat to Sokka's bedroom yielded some privacy, but they managed to keep themselves relatively under control. One had to learn to do so in the dorms, as you never knew when someone might come waltzing in - especially in Aero. Despite his clumsiness, Sokka offered a lighthearted sense of protection. Somehow, despite his lanky frame and childish demeanor, Suki found something admirable in his spirit. He was determined, a guardian. Over time, Suki came to realize this was likely a result of his close bond with his younger sister, and some of the same skills involved translated nicely into the realm of romance.

But this Sokka that stood before her now was a new man. He had filled out a bit - in a good way. His arms were tougher, his shape less squishy and more hard. He had to have been working out. There was no other explanation that she could ascertain.

He seemed...less happy, though. Suki couldn't pin point it. He seemed smarter, more confident, more aware of who he was - she could already tell these things just after a couple of hours. But there was a melancholy there, hiding beneath the surface. As if all of his exaggerated humor was an effort to hide it. At first she wondered if it was the death of his mother, but it didn't add up. As memory served, he had wrapped his mind around that before they had even met. Whatever this was, it was something else - something that had broken him. And this mattered to her - that he had been broken - which was _not _something she had been expecting to care about when the decision was made to come back to SRU.

* * *

[From: Jane]  
[hey sorry didnt catch ya i will talk to you tonight. will see you at the concert k? on our way. jus keep it chill]  
[Sent: 8:17pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Yea, that sounds good. I'll try.]  
[Sent: 8:18pm]

"Who's that?" asked Jet casually.

"Oh, it's uh..." Katara clasped her phone shut. "It's Smellerbee, they're gonna meet us here."

"Awesome. Was wondering where those two were." He reached his arm out and slipped it around her hip, joining their sides together.

The music from the recently started concert outside filtered out from the Treetop pub into the street. It was a surprisingly tame rock band - sounded like a reggae/rock combination, if Katara had to decide. They actually didn't sound too bad. At least the Freedom Fighters supported half decent bands, she'd give them that.

"So you're feelin' better?" Jet checked, running his hand up and down her hip.

She nodded forcefully in reply.

"Yea, I'm fine," she lied calmly.

"Good, I was worried there. Is school stressin' you out or something?"

"Totally," she answered with a sigh, digging her hands into her hoodie_. _This was a half truth. School was always stressful.

_I'm lying to my own boyfriend. Because that's what he wants to hear._

_"That's a _good _sign," _echoed Toph's words from earlier.

A few minutes and a brief kiss later, Smellerbee and Longshot arrived.

"Hey, guys. You didn't have to wait outside for us," Smellerbee advised as she approached hand-in-hand with Longshot, who was wearing a black baseball cap with a green crosshair design on its front.

Katara and Smellerbee shared a moment of telling glances. Respectively, one said 'Something is up' while the other said 'Chill the fuck out.'

Katara wanted to just grab Smellerbee by the ear and yank her aside, demanding answers, but she managed to keep her cool. She had to convince herself that answers would come later.

"It's fine, I needed some air," Katara explained with a shrug.

"What are we waitin' for?" Jet cried, charging headlong into the pub. The sound levels were admittedly too high for Katara's liking - she honestly wasn't a big fan of concerts like this. There was just too much _noise. _It was uncomfortable. Thankfully this one wasn't as bad as others she had been to, at least.

"So who's this band?" Katara shouted through the noise, hardly able to see the group in the back of the joint through the thick crowd - many of whom being people she recognized from that group she'd stumbled into earlier.

"They're the Flamey-O's. Small band workin' their way up!" explained Jet loudly, his eyes focused ahead. "Pretty good, right?"

Katara couldn't really make out their lyrics too well but the melody was strong. It was lighthearted and upbeat, and at some point her foot had started tapping along. Katara simply tried to enjoy the music for a few minutes, Jet's arm encompassing her. For some reason her mind wandered to her brother, then to her friends. When Jet was around her, it...wasn't the same feeling. Being with Jet didn't feel...secure. It felt risky, dangerous, exciting, intoxicating...but not safe. The next span of time passed by without much incident - there was too much _noise _for there to be much incident, anyway. Katara danced, she sang along to choruses when they repeated, she held Jet, she kissed, she hugged, but it was already tainted. Her mindset going into the evening had blackened it like burnt toast and eating it wasn't doing her any favors. Those same words kept pounding at her skull from the inside, trying to force their way out.

_This. Isn't. Right._

* * *

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[**We Shall See**]  
[Posted on _September 1st at 1:32am_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[Tonight went better than expected. Thank God my friends were there or I probably would have wiffed it. I tried to just be cool and be myself, but it was hard. It's just hard to believe my ex is back after a few years...We just didn't really stay in touch at all after she left. Not gonna lie, though, I'm glad she's back. I'm still not sure how I feel about everything but everyone seems supportive, so...guess we'll see. She seemed awkward at first but once we hung out I really think she got along well with my friends and I was able to just relax and be me. Me = awesome BTW. So that's good, am I right? ;P]

[Classes and junk are fine. Second week now, though, so things are gonna pick up in a hurry. Our camping trip this weekend went great until it rained at the end. Oh, and guess what? It's been more than a week and guess who I haven't so much as _seen_? Yea, that prick who's dating my sister. Guess how I found out what his real name was? THE NEWSPAPER. Why? Because he VANDALIZED our President's office. Freaking awesome, right? You can bet I'm just TOTALLY COOL with my sister dating this guy.[/sarcasm] Seriously, I feel like a broken record and I can't believe she's just going with it. It's not like her. She's SMARTER than that! This guy's bad news and she_ knows it. _So what gives? I'm trying really hard to give her space on this but once I read that newspaper article I felt like going right down to Wayward, pulling out the Big Brother Card and kicking this guy's ass. If Katara doesn't break up with him soon I'm gonna have to intervene because this is just bullcrap and I'm not gonna wait until something bad happens to her.]

[Oh, BTW the cafeteria FINALLY added coffee-flavored ice cream this year. THANK GOD. Took them long enough.]

* * *

Katara clasped the door handle gently, twisting it ever so slowly as she eased it open. Lucky for her, their room didn't have a door that squeaked. She pulled out her cell phone and used it as a makeshift flashlight as she tip-toed into the room and pulled off her hoodie, setting it on her chair before bending below her bed. She smiled as Toph snored abnormally in that odd way Katara had already grown accustomed to. Toph had this odd habit of snoring loudly at seemingly random intervals during the night - it was endearing in its own way. Katara found her small shoebox stash of snacks below the bed and retrieved a pair of Baby Ruth peanut bars from withihn before sliding it back in place and sneaking back out. Relieved at her accomplishment of not disturbing her roommate, she glanced at her phone: [2:04am]. She walked across the hall and closed the door behind her.

Smellerbee had changed into pajamas - yellow and black stripes. Katara had to hold in a laugh. It looked cute, but 'cute' wasn't what Smellerbee tried to associate herself with, so the image was jarring in a comical kind of way. She wanted to ask the simple question 'Why?' but opted to save it for a later point in time.

"Where's your roommate?" Katara inquired as she offered her second candy car, perplexed by the lack of roommate. Now that she'd thought of it, she still hadn't met Smellerbee's roommate.

"Hell if I know," Smellerbee grunted with a shrug, accepting Katara's food. "I hardly see her. She's always working."

"At two in the morning?"

"Probably doing homework or some shit. I don't know." Clearly, Smellerbee didn't seem to care one way or the other. Chances were that her roommate didn't either, if Katara had to guess.

Katara cocked her head in a semi-shrug and sighed as exhaustion washed over her. She sat in Smellerbee's desk chair while her companion was hunched on her own bed, her sheets printed with a pine forest pattern. Katara unpeeled her candy bar and munched into it, seeking comfort through sugar and peanuts.

"So what's the _deal_, Kat?"

Katara rubbed her bleary brown eyes, which were avoiding the placid gaze of the redhead sitting feet away.

"Jane," she muttered. She refused to call her 'Smellerbee' during this conversation. She didn't want to talk to 'Smellerbee,' the Freedom Fighter. She wanted to talk to 'Jane,' the gruff girl she had somehow befriended through association, the girl who actually had bothered to maintain contact with her during the summer. The girl who 'had her back.' "We're...We're friends, right?" She set her sights on those heavy, dark green eyes beneath the freckles. A smirk appeared, which brought relief.

"Sure," said Jane plainly, unwrapping her Baby Ruth.

"OK," Katara breathed. "Then, Jane? I'm asking you this as a friend: is there something I should know about Jet? About the Freedom Fighters?" Jane's expression went listless and she nodded knowingly - not in reply to Katara's question but in a 'that's what I figured' kind of way. Katara quickly followed up, "'Cuz I _know _something is going on. He's hiding something from me. I'm honestly not sure I want to...keep going with this."

"When you're with him something feels _wrong_," Jane mumbled tiredly.

"Yea," Katara sighed. "I guess it's that easy to tell, huh?"

"Well, I know the feeling," Jane clarified with disgust.

"You-? Wait, you mean...-?"

"Freshman year," Jane grunted. "Not too happy with pretty much _anything _I did Freshman year," she specified.

"_Oh_," Katara blurted, shocked and suddenly sympathetic. Her gut instinct was correct, then: Jane probably_ was_ the person she needed to talk to here. "OK, so...If _that_...-" She cocked an eyebrow at Jane's vacant stare. "I guess I just don't understand why you're still with his group, then."

"The Freedom Fighters found me. Said they thought I had the right stuff." Jane scratched her nose. "They were right."

"So you're behind what they're all about, then?"

An incredulous laugh burst out from Jane.

"Are you fucking serious? _Hell_ no. All this bullshit about _art _and supporting local business? I couldn't care less." She laid down on her bed, crossing her legs and staring at the foam tile ceiling. "Besides, they're just a bunch of hypocrites."

"Hypocrites?"

_Now we're talking. He _is _hiding stuff from me._

"Yea."

"If you hate them so much, why are you _with_ them, Jane?" Katara asked.

"'Cuz. I get to go to concerts. And I get free drinks. Fff, I dunno."

"Why do I feel like that's not the reason?" Katara said with a skeptical smile.

"Hey, I _really _like drinks," Jane chuckled. "And I _really _hate working fast-food or custodial." That actually wasn't a half-bad point, as most student jobs on campus fell into either of those two categories.

"C'mon," Katara insisted. "_Really_."

"The Freedom Fighters _accepted _me, Kat," Jane defended, eyes still glued to the pattern above.

"_I _accept you," Katara assured.

"I know," Jane confessed, almost dismissively. "But everyone's not _like _you, Katara."

"My _friends_ are like me."

"Maybe." She huffed irritably and ran her hand through her greasy orange hair. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. This isn't about me."

"Rrrright," Katara slowly admitted with a nod. There was a shell there that she had managed to worm her fingers under but it wasn't coming off - not yet, anyway. "So what should I know about Jet that he's not telling me? Why did you call the Freedom Fighters hypocrites?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about that crap," Jane groaned, covering up her eyes in frustration. "If you can't deal with that then maybe you just shouldn't be dating Jet."

"So_ now_ you want me to break up with him?" Katara asked in disbelief. "I thought you just said earlier I should give him another chance."

"If you're going to be fucking _paranoid _all the time then maybe I changed my mind, Kat. OK?"

There was a moment of tense silence as both girls wore their angry masks and cast their attention away from one another.

"Jane," Katara said at last, her voice firm. Jane didn't move. "_Jane,_" Katara persisted with ferocity. "Look at me."

The boyish face rotated and languid olive drab eyes scowled back.

"I don't know what's all...going on in your head, all right?" Katara impatiently conceded. "But I like you. I want us to be friends. But we can't be if you can't be honest with me - if I can't trust you. If being part of the Freedom Fighters means keeping secrets then..." Katara shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I can't date Jet anymore," she put it simply. "And I can't be friends with you."

Another high-strung moment of interlocked eyes passed by.

"Sounds like you've made up your mind, then," Jane's words smoldered.

"I have," Katara agreed without hesitation. "But I'm asking you to make up _your _mind."

"What the fuck do you _want _me to say?" Jane growled, sitting up, tossing her arms to her sides. "If you don't like the way we roll, then piss off."

_No, you don't, girl. You're not pulling that crap on me. Not today. I'm not just walking away.  
_

"Jane, I _know _you aren't happy with the Freedom Fighters," Katara pointed out. "You spent all freaking summer complaining to me about how frustrating they were. Then we come back on campus and you're offering to bring new kids in and everything? What happened there? Huh?"

"You don't _get it, _Kat. You can't just _leave _the Freedom Fighters, just like that."

That sounded distinctly suspicious.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked carefully.

"You're not _in_, Kat. You don't know what I know. If you wanted to leave, you could - no questions asked. Frankly, you _should _because if you can't handle secrets then you're just going to be digging yourself into a hole you can't get out of."

Katara was at about the point where the phrase 'sleeping with the fishes' could get thrown into the conversation and she wouldn't bat an eyelash.

"OK," she muttered solemnly, leaning forward and resting her chin against clasped hands as she considered the situation. "Are you saying that the Freedom Fighters are doing things that are dangerous?"

"'Dangerous' is all a matter of opinion," Jane vaguely responded. "In _your _opinion? Yea. Probably."

"Do you _want _to be a Freedom Fighter anymore?"

"What I _want _isn't really important, so-"

"Don't _give _me that, Jane!" Katara commanded vehemently, rising her seat. "I asked you a question. Answer it."

"Jesus Christ, Kat," Jane spat irritably. "Why the fuck do you care so much, anyway?"

"When I started dating Jet-" Katara paused, her mind short-circuiting against itself. "When I started dating _Jack_," she corrected, "you kept an eye on me. You were always trying to make sure people didn't give me a hard time. And during the summer, you kept talking with me when no one else would. Everyone else I tried to stay in touch with ignored me. That's why we're friends in the first place. Right?"

Jane shrugged, glancing elsewhere as she nibbled on her candy bar.

"You never seem _happy, _Jane. It's like you're always..._mad _all the time. You don't have to be. I don't like seeing you like that."

"Maybe I'm just a pissed off person, Kat," Jane proposed, tone lathered in cynicism. "I _know _your type. You try to fix people. I'm not something you can fix, all right? So just back off."

"If you _know _my type and don't like that, then why are we friends _at all_?" Katara inquired, doubtful that Jane was being entirely open. She never had been up until now, so Katara didn't have reason to believe this was any different.

"Like you said, we gave a shit and stayed in touch. Why? I dunno. Maybe we _shouldn't _be, then."

"Is that what you want?"

"I don't-!" Jane smacked herself in the forehead and let out a gruff "Rrr."

_This isn't going anywhere, is it?_

"If you can't make up your mind, then fine." Katara stood up and shoved Jane's chair under her messy desk and put her hand on her hip, waving her half-eaten Baby Ruth around as she rattled. "I like you, Jane - I really do. And I care about you. And you aren't happy. I _know _you aren't happy." They traded yet another sharp stare, and Katara willed herself to attempt to pierce the windows of olive.

_When I look you in the eyes it's like something's_ dead_, like something's just not there that should be._

"Thanks for pointin' that out, Captain Obvious," Jane snapped. "Got your fucking notepad with ya? Gonna take some damned notes so you can _cure me, _Doctor?"

"Jane," Katara quelled, like a mother does to its pouting child. "_Please, _just cut the crap, OK? You're _better_ than this."

Jane rolled over onto her side, facing the wall beside her bed.

"Keep me out of your drama. If you wanna break up with your boyfriend, that's your own fucking business."

"Good, 'cuz that's what I'm going to do." Katara marched to the door and grabbed it by the handle, her patience worn out at this point. "But that doesn't change anything I just said about you. It's _your _business if you want to keep being _'Smellerbee' _and playing mafia games or-or _whatever _it is that's going on. If _Jane Fitzpatrick, _the girl I became friends with over the summer, decides she can be trusted, and wants to keep being friends? Well..." Katara opened the door and stepped out. "She knows that I'm right across the hall."

Katara almost slammed the door in her frustration but the dim lighting of the hallway at night caught her in time. She slipped into her own room and kicked off her shoes. She pulled the tie from her ponytail, noticed that the door to their dual-room bathroom was open on their side, and closed it before shutting the door to the bedroom itself. She fumbled her way to her bed through the lack of light.

"Whuzzafuckzatabbutt?" whispered a voice from across the darkness.

"Did we wake you?" Katara quietly asked, instantly apologetic.

"Nah, haffagohbaffroom," Toph replied half coherently. "Herdjootalkin."

"Oh, it's...Jane and I just sorta...Had a spat. Don't worry about it, let's just get some sleep."

Toph hummed out a tonal 'OK,' and that concluded their conversation.

_That girl is so _stubborn. _I don't get her at all. She says one thing and does another. I can't believe I thought she'd be honest with me. I can't trust Jack, I can't even trust _her. _This whole situation was a bad idea. I'm done._


	7. Make It Work

**A/N: After last chapter I know a lot of people are probably wondering, 'Wait, since when are Katara and Smellerbee friends?' Well, remember this is an alternate universe, for one. And for two, I'm taking an approach with this story where I show you how things are in the present and utilize flashbacks to establish certain ideas and let you fill in the less important blanks. Ideally, you should be comprehending how things are in the present but wondering why they are that way - and the flashbacks will help sort that out. =) This chapter is more experimental in its way of narration, so do pay attention to time stamps to help realize when things are taking place. **

**Oh, and do be aware that at different points in the story different characters will have more focus. At the start, Katara is kind of key because of the events surrounding her but different characters will have their time as we go. Enjoy!**

What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 7 - Make It Work

* * *

-Thursday September 2nd, 2010-

[To: Katara]  
[hey katara is everything ok? you looked really down yesterday]  
[Sent: 10:32am]

[From: Katara]  
[It's OK, Aang. I'm fine. Just stressed out.]  
[Sent: 10:44am]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[ok well if u need anythin were here for ya :)]  
[Sent: 10:46am]

[From: Katara]  
[I know. :) Thanks.]  
[Sent: 10:47am]

[From: Sokka]  
[Hey, it's your turn to pick where we eat on Friday. What'll it be?]  
[Sent: 11:22am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[oh yea sweet. i want some wdys]  
[Sent: 11:31am]

[From: Sokka]  
[Beg your pardon?]  
[Sent: 11:33am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[oh sorry wendys i like their salads]  
[Sent: 11:45am]

[From: Sokka]  
[Very well, very well. I shall tolerate it. At least they have meat there.]  
[Sent: 11:47am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[where are u anyway? were waitin to eat lunch dude]  
[Sent: 11:48am]

[From: Sokka]  
[I'm on my way. Katara should be there any minute.]  
[Sent: 11:52am]

* * *

[Twitter account Sokka Kesuk]  
[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy** - Akiak, Ontario]  
[I'm just a guy with a Boomerang. And a light saber. And an insatiable appetite. And I never shut up. Even on the Internet.]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Just told my sister to MAKE ME A SANDWICH, WOMAN. Did not go as I had hoped. #SadFace #WhatGives?]  
[2 Sep 12:05pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Told my other friend the same thing. She punched me. She meant to hit me in the stomach but got the groin. #WhatDoWomenWant? #Violence #FML]  
[2 Sep 12:07pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Told my roommate MAKE ME A SANDWICH, WOMAN and he made me one. What does THAT tell you? xD]  
[2 Sep 12:10pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Now his girlfriend's mad that I got the special treatment reserved only for her. #Selfish much? He's MY slave, too. ;D #OhSnap #YouGotServed]  
[2 Sep 12:12pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[She was aiming for my groin on purpose this time. Hit my face instead. With her lunch tray. #WTF #BitchesBeCrazy]  
[2 Sep 12:13pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[I don't remember the cafeteria being this violent since that gravy fiasco last semester. #OnLikeDonkeyKong]  
[2 Sep 12:19pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[I think I like this philosophy professor. He's all right. Yes, I am tweeting in class. #WhatOfIt?]  
[2 Sep 2:41pm]

* * *

As the class time was winding down, Sokka and Suki, sitting in the same row toward the back of the room, were passing a note back and forth, scribbling their discussion to each other. They had moved onto the backside of their sheet of notebook paper at this point.

{were you just texting in class?}

{No, I was tweeting. There's a difference.}

{ok, well, what were you tweeting about?}

{About how I like this professor. He's funny.}

{ok. so it doesn't matter if you learn anything as long as it's funny?}

{More or less.}

{and here i thought you had changed.f}

{Some things never change. ^u^}

"-which will be due on Tuesday."

The elderly professor, who spoke slowly and deliberately, was carrying that tried and true 'I'm-cramming-in-some-announcements-during-the-last-sixty-seconds-of-class' tone.

"_Also,_" he lifted his index finger into the air. "I'd like to encourage you to stop by the coffee shop tonight for open mic night, which we will be having every Thursday evening starting at eight PM."

"Oh, that sounds like it could be fun," Suki noted, the students becoming more restless as the clock hit the end of scheduled class time.

"You are dismissed," the pudgy man proclaimed with a dismissive wave of the hand. "See you on Tuesday."

"Meh, we all study Thursday night," Sokka advised with a shrug as he rose from his seat, stuffing his textbook into his backpack. "We try to get junk out of the way before the weekend, ya know?"

"Ah-hah," Suki acknowledged with a grin as they trailed behind the rest of the class. "Well, aren't _we_ just the little planner?"

"I try," Sokka mocked humility, polishing his fingernails on his maroon polo shirt. "I'm the brains of this whole operation, after all."

"Ya don't _say._"

"I _do_ say. I say quite loudly." They exited the room and filtered through the hall to the atrium of the Gyatso Center, a building that contained classrooms utilized for most subjects.

"_How _loudly?" Suki goaded him on.

He cocked a sly eyebrow at her as they approached the open stairwell at the end of the hall

"**I am the brains of this operation!**" he roared through the clutter of shuffling students. Suki slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment and surprise. Sokka carried himself with complete nonchalance despite the confused stares, and Suki held her snickers in until they had exited the building. They flooded out of her mouth as they exited and Sokka shrugged casually.

"I can't believe you did that," Suki scolded, shoving him on the shoulder as they walked down the sidewalk, bound for the ACC. "I'm just...I am in _shock _here," she egged him on.

"I have that effect on people," was his smug explanation.

"Well, if you're the brains, who's the brawn?"

He scoffed, "It ain't my _roommate, _that's for sure."

"Aw, hey," Suki snipped, "Don't be so mean to Aang. He seems like a good kid."

"He really is," Sokka knowingly agreed, his tone suddenly dropping its sarcastic edge. "Except that he eats _salad _instead of meat. That's _why _he's so skinny and wussy, you realize." So much for the sarcasm being set aside.

"Is he a vegetarian or something?"

"Kind of? I guess. He'll eat dairy, just not meat."

"OK. So he's not a vegan."

"Bleck. Thank God. What kind of miserable existence would _that _be? I wouldn't wish that curse on my worst enemy."

"It's good to know that as long as you're laughing with a full stomach you'll always be happy, Sokka."

"What can I say?" He spun around and spread his arms wide, keeping pace backwards. "I'm Sokka, the Meat and Sarcasm Guy. I'd think you'd _remember _that kind of thing."

"I guess I forgot," Suki admitted, shaking her head, bemused. "But how quickly have I been reminded."

"By the way, we're going out to eat tomorrow - you wanna join us? Katara will be there this time."

"Oh," Suki blurted, instantly open to the idea. "Yea, that sounds great."

"Sweet. Done deal, then." Sokka waved her off as they reached The Ring. "I've got another class to hit but I'll keep you posted about tomorrow. Later!"

"Yea," Suki called back as he trampled off down the sidewalk. "Later."

* * *

[From: Jet]  
[yo you know whats up with kat? she hasnt been gettin back to me]  
[Sent: September 2nd, 3:06pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[shes been acting weird. i dunno.]  
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:12pm]

[From: Jet]  
[must be that time of teh month]  
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:20pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[fuck if i know. ask her bout it.]  
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:26pm]

[From: Johnny LongShot]  
[xoxoxoxoxo]  
[Sent: September 2nd, 6:28pm]

Jane grinned and cast her gaze at the perfectly calm and unassuming expression of the man in the red and black plaid jacket. He sat across the booth from her in the downtown ice cream joint they had picked to chow down at and study on this particular Thursday evening. Jane punched in a reply on her phone, her tongue poking out of her lips in a mischievous expression.

[Reply]  
[To: Johnny Longshot]  
[ ;P u too bud.]

Jane set her phone on her lap as she went back to her chemistry reading, feeling as if she was comprehending the material well enough. No matter how stressful things were, at least she had _this: _peace, quiet, and Johnny 'Longshot.' He never pried, never forced his way in, never asked questions. He just let her be.

As if in response to her appreciation of this sentiment, Jane's cell phone began to vibrate.

[Calling...]  
[**Kat**]

"Hell," Jane grunted in hesitation. She and Katara hadn't had any form of contact since their spat a couple of days prior, and she wasn't in any kind of mood to be pried open again. They'd been dancing the delicate art of avoidance surprisingly well for being neighbors. "What do you _want_?" Jane demanded in desperation to the phone. She didn't want to answer it. She didn't want the drama. So she surprised herself when she answered it, anyway, some unseen force willing her to do so - perhaps curiosity, perhaps some fragment of desire and hope to sort out this confusing relationship. She didn't know. But maybe Katara did.

"What?" was her blunt and off-putting greeting.

["Hey,"] was Katara's equally gruff response. ["I was just..."] Her tone softened. ["I'm sorry about the other night. I thought a lot about it, and...you were right. I made everything about you, and...I shouldn't have."]

"OK," muttered Jane, her glance wandered to Johnny, who was flipping through his hunting magazine with nonchalance.

["And I guess I'm just...overreacting to everything."]

"Ya think?"

["I mean, we obviously don't really understand each other."]

"Got _that _straight."

["But I _want _to understand you, Jane. Can you let me make it up to you?"]

Jane drummed her dirty fingernails on the page of her textbook in a moment of snap decision.

"What did you have in mind?"

["Well, I was thinking we could go out for coffee, or...or something."]

"Nah, I'm not in the mood."

["Oh...W-well, we could-"]

"I'll come see you at Aqua when I'm back," Jane decided.

["Y-yea, that's...That's fine. OK!"] There was some relief seeping out through the phone speaker, and Jane found this...satisfying? Was that the right word for it? Comforting? She didn't quite know how to define it, but it was an oddly positive quality.

"'Kay."

["So, I'll...See you later."]

"Yep."

[_Beep._]

When Jane's eyes met her boyfriend's, he was directing a skeptically amused smile her way.

"What?" Jane growled defensively. "Kat's cool. Lot better than those stupid bimbos we have to put up with."

* * *

-Summer, 2010-

[Sent: June 3rd, 2010]  
[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Subject: So...]

[Hey. Is this the right person? Smellerbee?]  
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 3rd, 2010]  
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[yea. this is jets gf right? whats up?]  
[- bee]

[Sent: June 3rd, 2010]  
[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[Hey! Yea, that's me. How are you doing lately? I've just been trying to get a hold of some of you Freedom Fighter guys. Stay in touch, make friends, you know. Try to stay sane over the summer. There is _nothing _out here. Seriously. It gets pretty lonely. -_- I've got my big brother to keep me company, but...come on. He's my brother. xD ]

[So tell me about yourself, Jane. Or Smellerbee? What should I call you, anyway? =P How did you end up at SRU? What's your major? How did you get mixed up with the Freedom Fighters?]  
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 4th, 2010]  
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[not sure were the type you wanna make frinds with but w/e. you seem all righ to me. yea im goin crazy here too. this summer job is killing me. custodial sucks ass man. sooooo boring and i cant stand the people i work with. at least you got a brother. i just have cousins and they're annoying brats. wish i had a real brother. and jus call me smellerbee its my nickname. my uncle thought i should go here cuz its like out in the middle of nowhere and theres mountains. i love the woods though and he knew that so it made sense. i wanna be in the military and they use the mts here for training. i liked it when i visited so i picked here. wut about you? my major is biology but i dunno what to do w/it. i just wanna be in the army. kick some ass take some names. got into the freedom fighters cuz your bf found me freshmn year and had me join. anyway why do u wanna know all this stuff?]  
[- bee]

[Sent: June 5th, 2010]  
[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[Yea, I remember working custodial back in high school. Ugh. Not my thing, either. My brother liked it but he just spent all his time goofing off. So go fig, right? Yea, SRU is really pretty with all the mountains and woods nearby. Military, huh? You do seem pretty tough. I can see that! So you're in training? That's so awesome! What is that like? It's got to be really hard. O_O' ]

[I'm an Ed Major. I want to teach High School Lit. You have to keep your GPA up or they'll drop you from the program, so I always stress out, but it turns out fine. ^^' Why do I ask this stuff? I dunno, I'm just trying to get to know all you guys. You're the only one who's gotten back to me so far, though. Do you guys not stay in touch over the summer or something?]  
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 5th, 2010]  
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[yeeeeaaa i dont think youre really gonna hear from those other guys. theyre not really big on "staying in touch" or w/e. im not really either honestly. so dont get yer hopes up kid haha. but i bet jets still talkin with ya rite? if your his gf he will give a crap bout ya lol. he prolly calls you like everyday rite? and military training isnt as hard as you think if youre in shape for it. i like it. makes me wake up in the morning and stay strong.]  
[- bee]

[Sent: June 6th, 2010]  
[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[Oh, yea. Jet and I talk pretty much every day. =) He's very...unexpected. Like, with everything. He's not like what I thought he'd be. He caught me by surprise. But _man _it's like all of the girls in that group want to take my place or something! What's the deal? You remember that one night where you had to come in and get them to leave me alone? (thanks for that BTW) Did I do something wrong, or what? I'm just glad that the one girl I've got on my side here is so tough!]

[My brother is harassing me to watch TV with him. 'Bonding time' he says. =P I don't recall Will Ferrell movies being 'bonding time' but whatever.]

[So I'm curious - I'm not gonna get my hopes up, though. ;D But would you want to chat some time? I'm on Skype a lot. Text/voice/video, whatever you want. My handle is AquaGirlKatara. You don't live in Aqua house, do you?]  
[~ Katara]

[Sent: June 7th, 2010]  
[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: RE:So...]

[ugh god i hate all those dumb bitches that are always with us. some of em are ok but damnit most of those girls really piss me off. i remember what your talkin about. theyre just jealous cuz theyre all horny for jet or some bullshit. just ignore em. it was no problem. chat? i dont have a cam or mic but i dunno. dont have anythin better to do these days i guess. my bf is super busy this summer soooo. sure i guess. ill get skype and add you. well see what happens w/e. and i live in terra. its quiet. a lotta girls on my floor are too prissy though. act like they shit rainbows or something. whats your dorm like?]  
[- bee]

* * *

[**Skype** tm]

[Sunday, July 4th, 2010]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Hey, Bee. You there?]  
[1:23 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - kinda. what's up?]  
[1:28 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I'm just bored. =P ]  
[1:28 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - oh thats great i see how it is. im here for when youre bored that it?]  
[1:29 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _Always. ;D]_  
_[1:30 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - thats just great. good to know.]  
[1: 31am]

[_killerbeejane_ - jerk.]  
[1:31 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _I'm kidding, geez. You want me to throw in some LOLs or JKs or something?]_  
_[1:32 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - i know your just kiddin btw. i am too.  
[1:32 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _xD]_  
_[1:33 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - lol]  
[1:33 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _Anyway, what's my solider girl up to tonight?]_  
_[1:34 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - nothin much just watchin a movie.]  
[1:36 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _Oh, what movie?]_  
_[1:37 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - i dunno some junk on our netflix stream. some horror flick.]  
[1:38 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _You just added it and don't even know what it's called? ;P]_  
_[1:38 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - nah my cousin prolly added it or somethin.]  
[1:39 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara - _Oh, are you like, at a relative's house?]_  
_[1:40 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - uh technclly i guess?]  
[1:42 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - What do you mean?]  
[1:42 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - i never told you bout my family?]  
[1:43 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - No...Why, did something happen? =S ]  
[1:43 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - oh.]  
[1:44 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - my parents died when i was a kid kat.]  
[1:44 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Oh my God. =O ]  
[1:44 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - No, I had no idea! =( We've never really talked about your family...]  
[1:45 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - i dont really talk bout it to everyone so yea. not everyones business.]  
[1:45 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I am _so sorry_, Bee. ='( ]  
[1:46 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - not your fault.]  
[1:46 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - you know how it is though. with your mom i mean.]  
[1:46 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Yea...-_- ]  
[1:46 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - how old were you again?]  
[1:47 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Oh. I was, like...]  
[1:47 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I was 12.]  
[1:47 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - so you actually kinda knew your mom.]  
[1:48 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - my parents died when i was 6.]  
[1:48 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - If you don't mind me asking...What happened?]  
[1:48 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - no its fine youre cool. i was too little to really remembr anything.]  
[1:48 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - i was with my grandparents visiting n my mom and dad were at home.]  
[1:50 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - house fire happened while they were sleeping.]  
[1:50 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Wow. O_O]  
[1:51 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I don't know what to say.]  
[1:51 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - nothing to say really.]  
[1:52 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - then i moved in with my uncle. he was divorced.]  
[1:52 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - thats how its been since.]  
[1:53 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - thats why all that stuff started happenin with me later.]  
[1:53 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I can't believe I didn't know any of this sooner. But now some stuff makes sense...]  
[1:54 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - like i said its not like i tell everyone.]  
[1:54 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Then I guess I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me.]  
[1:55 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - hey youre all right. i like you kat you dont judge me.]  
[1:55 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Of course not. Why would I?]  
[1:56 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - all the other stuff i told you before. most people would be freakin out.]  
[1:57 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Oh. Well, if I'm gonna be your friend I can't let stuff like that freak me out. ;P ]  
[1:57 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - thanks.]  
[1:59 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Wow, it's 2am. I really need to get some sleep! Good thing it's a Saturday night, right? xD ]  
[2:02 am]

[_killerbeejane_ - k. have good nite.]  
[2:03 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - You, too, Bee. It was nice to talk with you.]  
[2:05 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - ~HUG~]  
[2:05 am]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ has signed out.]  
[2:05 am]

* * *

[**Skype** tm]

[Saturday, August 7th, 2010]

[_killerbeejane_ - yo yo you there kat?]  
[3:23 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Hey, Jane, what's up? =D ]  
[3:25 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - check it. i got accepted into aqua.]  
[3:25 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - \m/ ^_^ \m/ ]  
[3:26 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - gets better.]  
[3:23 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Do tell. =P]  
[3:23 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - so theres this girl on the 2nd floor rite? ginny ackland.]  
[3:23 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Yea? OK.]  
[3:24 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - her roommate bailed out on her so they had an opening.]  
[3:24 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - so i took it. :) ]  
[3:24 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - That's our floor! =D What room?]  
[3:24 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - 201]  
[3:25 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - OMG. That...is right acros the hall from us! =) ]  
[3:25 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - holy shit were gonna be neighbors.]  
[3:25 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - This is so epic. You and my roommate will get along great. =D ]  
[3:26 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - That makes _two _Terra girls I've converted to the Light Side. Haha. ;) ]  
[3:26 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - i guess now i have some kind of reason to not completely hate going back to school.]  
[3:27 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I know, right? We can actually become _real _friends now instead of just online ones.]  
[3:28 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - i guess. yea. :P ]  
[3:30 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Shoot. I have to be somewhere at 4.]  
[3:32 pm]

[_killerbeejane_ - oh yea that volunteer thing rite? ]  
[3:33pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Right, this will be the last week I do that for the summer. I have to go. Catch you later, Jane!]

[_killerbeejane_ - ttyl kat.]

* * *

A halfhearted knock - just one single knock - brought Katara out of her study mode. She was poring through Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key for her Children's Lit class. She knew that knock: it was Jane. Or Smellerbee. She didn't really know who was going to be waiting for her behind that door but she hoped it was Jane.

"Come in," she called, sticking her Harry Potter bookmark on the page and setting it on top of her closed laptop.

The door quietly crawled inward and the lanky, stick-limbed figure she had anticipated hobbled in, closing the door behind her, energy drink cupped in her hands.

"Hey," she said, setting herself on the floor cross-legged.

"Hi," Katara replied, seeking eye contact.

"So...Sorry if I was a bitch the other night." She sipped loudly at her black and blue can. This was Jane. For sure. 'Sorry' wasn't part of 'Smellerbee's' vocabulary.

"Me, too," Katara conceded.

"You already apologized," Jane said with a smirk, her olive eyes finally looking up. "It's just...different. Ya know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Us. _This._" She waved her hand around the room. "You're not just a...bunch of words on my computer. You're right here. I can't just...log out if I'm pissed off."

Katara laughed lightly and nodded her head, recalling days when Jane would suddenly disappear from their conversation if things got tense.

"We're not the same, Kat."

"I know."

"I'm not really a social person."

"I _know_," Katara insisted with a smile, hunched over in her chair, looking down at her red-headed neighbor.

"It's easy to do it on IM or e-mail," Jane confessed with a shrug, taking another swig of Monster and coughing.

"But isn't it better in person like this?"

Jane sighed and ran her palm over her frizzled hair.

"I guess," she mumbled.

"Maybe we just need to figure each other out better," Katara proposed. "You can only learn so much about someone on the Internet."

"OK," Jane agreed plainly.

"It's hard on my end because I feel like I hardly know about you, even though we talked a lot over the summer."

"Not exactly the touchy-feely type," Jane grunted. "So that's probably why."

"And I know I can be really..." Katara wiggled her hand, searching for how she wanted to put it. "I can come off strong."

"Baha. Yea. Yea, you definitely do, Kat."

"Right."

"That kinda...doesn't help when I'm in a bad mood."

"Yea. I'll have to keep that in mind. But you can't just totally shut me out, either."

"No, I get it," Jane nodded quickly, glance back to the floor. "I can try."

Katara grinned.

"We got this," she concluded with optimism and a thumbs up. "We can _m__ake it work_," she said in a quirky twist of humor, flashing her other thumb up.

"God, I hate you," Jane facetiously chuckled. "You and your...dress. Show."

"You have UFC and I have Project Runway. Maybe we should swap some time?"

"That's a dangerous idea," Jane slyly said, a glint in her eye. "I'm not sure you could handle it."

"Oh, please!" Katara insisted, kicking Jane playfully in the knee. "It's settled. This weekend, I will show you Project Runway and you will show _me _this...'mixed martial arts' you seem to love so much."

"Deal," Jane agreed. "I'll be back in a sec."

As Jane lifted herself to her feet and trudged to her room across the hall - doors left open now - Katara found herself contemplating her situation. She had been avoiding Jet with careful excuses of classes and friends and work, but sooner or later she'd have to confront the situation. It didn't look like they'd stay together, but Katara had found some peace in that. At the very least, maybe she had made a friend in this gruff, likely lonely girl. Even if that was the solitary good thing that came from the entire situation, she'd be OK with that.

* * *

**A/N: Twitter and Skype are (c) whoever owns them, as are...any TV shows or other brands mentioned.**


	8. The Family Name

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 8 - The Family Name_

* * *

- Friday, September 3rd, 2010 -

"So! Mr. Kurosawa."

Zuko sighed and drank from his tall ceramic tea mug, his black hair slicked to the side, combed neatly.

"So," he replied simply, avoiding the interviewer's gaze.

The excitable girl tapped her chin thoughtfully with her pen, notepad in hand. Her face was riddled with small bouts of acne with messy, thin bangs hanging across her forehead. Her brisly hair was bunched into a short, spiky tail at the base of her neck. She wore a pair of thin, rectangular glasses, curious pale brown eyes staring inquisitively at him.

"Tell me, Mr. Kurosawa: why should the Senior Class vote for you?"

Zuko gave the girl a smug smile and leaned back in his seat, fussing with his maroon tie. His thin face conveyed the sly network of gears rolling together in his head.

"Well, Ginny, I-"

"Jin."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Jin."

"A-all right, Jin." Zuko cleared his throat and shifted, now leaning forward across the table. "I know that a lot of the student body is going to assume that I'm trying to ride on my family name for this position, but I can assure them that it's the other way around: my family's reputation on this campus stems from our rigid work ethic. We seek responsibility because we handle it with pride and dedication. From the beginning, the Kurosawa family helped found this school as a haven for multiracial education."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm," Jin hummed quickly, scribbling her notes and checking her recorder to ensure it was on. "What about Ozai?" she dropped with nonchalance.

Zuko felt his intestines crawl with rage but contained them.

"What _about _him?"

"Well, he's...your father," Jin plainly pointed out, casually pointing the head of her pen at his slightly scowling face.

"In the sense that I happen to share some of his _DNA_, yes," Zuko specified forcefully.

"In light of recent events, don't you think his actions have tarnished the Kurosawa name?"

"The reputation I previously mentioned was within this campus," Zuko clarified. "The Kurosawa family has brought many good things to this school. My father is not related to this in any way."

"So you're admitting that what he did was wrong?"

"I am," Zuko coldly advised without skipping a beat before drinking more of his tea.

"So you think he's guilty of _all_ the charges he went to trial for, then?"

"With all due respect, Miss Ackland," Zuko firmly came down, "we're not here to discuss irrelevant legal issues concerning the members of my family I do not associate with." He placed his elbows on the table and clasped his hands together. "Within the campus of Saint Roku University, the Kurosawa family has done nothing but good for its students and faculty." He nodded his head to the scattered wooden tables behind them, half filled with students. The coffee shop was buzzing with activity on this Friday afternoon. "The Jasmine Dragon, for example," he said, extending his palms up, "wouldn't exist, were it not for my uncle. And certain students - such as _yourself_ - would not be hired under its employ."

Jin returned his passive-aggressive demeanor with a devilish smile, as if pleased to be put in her place and debated against.

"Very true, Mr. Kurosawa. Very true." She bit at her tongue as she jotted something else down. "Your sister Azula also played a very important role in the student government during her stay here."

"That's right," Zuko admitted with some reservation.

"Are you set to follow her example?"

"Not entirely."

"Elaborate."

"My sister was an effective politician here on campus - that much is true - but in her focus on the high-end issues she failed to grasp what's truly important about SRU - what makes it special."

"And that is...?"

"Its sense of community."

"I see." Jin's eyes lit up, burning into his retinas with interest. "What does this mean in the context of your campaign?"

"Saint Roku University was founded on the principle of diversity. No matter the race, country of origin, financial background, or previous school history, _any_ student is considered for enrollment. Each of our four dorms represents a different way of life, and all are valid. It's when these different teachings come together that the brightest minds emerge." He gulped some more of his tea, wagging his index finger as he continued eagerly. "In this same regard, it's only when the different students of our campus join and interact that a true sense of community and belonging is achieved. If elected as Class President, I will ensure that, budget large or small, our campus will offer numerous opportunities for our students to join together in unity."

"What do you hope to achieve in doing so?"

"Ideally," Zuko began, nodding his to the side in concession, "I'd like to see this approach result in a student body that is bound together, that learns from itself in a way most schools do not facilitate. Understand: much of what a student learns during their college career is learned outside of the classroom. By ensuring that this time is more actively edifying, we ensure that our students are not only happier and conjoined but also more mature in so doing."

"Interesting," Jin said simply, the head of her pen digging into her chin. "Let's discuss your stance on some of the big issues here..."

Zuko rallied back and forth with the girl like an unrelenting, verbal game of ping-pong. When all was said and done, Zuko took his leave. He walked through the glass double doors and up the stairway entrance to the Jasmine Dragon coffee shop. The Jasmine Dragon was an oriental-themed drink parlor located within the basement of the Gyatso Center - an external stairwell trailed underground at a corner of the building, allowing for a shop that felt like its own entity in a sense.

It was Zuko's uncle, Iroh Kurosawa, a professor of Philosophy at SRU, who had invested in getting the Jasmine Dragon running and was its owner and CEO. An active member of the local community, it was commonplace to see Iroh with students at his shop at any time of the week, whether to assist with classwork or simply to get to know the student body.

Mai was waiting for Zuko at the entrance to the Gyatso Center, dressed in tall black boots, shorts, and a T-shirt printed with a neon green heart dripping with green goo.

"You're wearing boots," Zuko noticed with flat distaste.

"Deal with it," Mai replied with a facetious snark as she took his hand and led him down the sidewalk to the center of campus. "How did the game of 20 Questions go?"

Zuko sighed and loosened his tie.

"I told her what she needed to hear."

"Is it what you believe?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But it's what needs to be said if I'm going to be elected."

Mai smiled and shook her head, squeezing his hand.

"It's what your uncle told you to say, isn't it?"

"W-well, he's right," Zuko sputtered sheepishly.

"I think listening to your uncle is a good idea," Mai admitted, "but you need to make this your own. If you're going to be a leader you have to _lead _based on what _you _believe, Zu."

"I know," Zuko groaned, rubbing his tired eyes. "I just don't want to let myself...-" He trailed off and shrugged.

"Turn into your father," Mai finished his thought, rubbing her thumb across his wrist. "You won't," she whispered into his ear as she gave him a small peck on the cheek. He lifted their joined hands and placed a reciprocated kiss on the back of Mai's hand.

"No, I won't let that happen."

* * *

- Winter, 2009 -

"Do you _honestly _believe Father would do such a thing?"

Their eyes fought like two locked swords, scraping against each other, sparks flying.

"Honestly, Azula," Zuko said at last, ripping his gaze away from her, "After everything I've seen, I wouldn't put it past him."

"So now Father's a _murderer,_" Azula incredulously declared, attacking her brother with her words. "You think he _killed _Mother."

"I didn't say that," Zuko snapped, walking to the kitchen. "The courts can decide what he is or isn't guilty of."

"You sound so very _concerned, _Zuzu," his older sister jabbed, following him into the kitchen, slippers silent on the tile floor. "It's good to know this family means so _very much _to you."

Zuko opened the fridge, retrieving a jug of orange juice and pouring it into a tall glass, his back turned to his angry sibling.

"This family?" Zuko quipped quietly. He closed the refrigerator and turned around, glass in hand. He glared at his sister's seething expression. "This family meant everything to me, Azula," Zuko clarified before guzzling down half of the glass. He gasped and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his black pajama shirt, glancing at an old portrait of his uncle that sat on the lamp desk beside the couch. "And what's left of it still _is _important."

"_I _see," Azula sang a bitter song. "So now Father isn't part of this family?"

"You can't be a father while you're in _prison,_" Zuko explained, pacing past her and back into the living room. It was adorned with various artifacts from his uncle's travels: a golden dragon statue that held up a glass coffee table, a large oak staff with a multitude of metal badges wedged into it, various exotic potteries...

"What about _me, _then?" Azula demanded, her tone suddenly softer. Zuko scratched the stubble forming on his cheeks and nodded thoughtfully.

"You're my sister."

"And you're my brother," she irritably blurted, irked by the common sense of it all. Zuko shrugged and plopped himself down on the living room couch, a plate of hours-old sushi left over from his dinner on the coffee table before him.

"Guess that makes us siblings, then," Zuko observed with nonchalance before picking at a clump of rice and fish with his bare hands and slipping it into his mouth.

"Good to know," Azula growled, distraught by his apathy. She sat herself down in the leather recliner beside the couch, seeing the late-night talk show on the TV but not actually _watching_ it. The room was thick with tension, the stress of their situation weighing on them both.

"They're gone, you know," Zuko announced plainly.

"Yes, I'm _aware,_" Azula moaned, her face contorting into discomfort as she kicked off her furry, red slippers and curled up into the recliner. She stared absent-mindedly at her brother's calm, walled-off expression, his gloomy eyes glued to the television.

"We can't wait around for them to come back," Zuko explained. "They won't. You have to stop pretending like things are going to go back to the way they were, Azula."

Azula had no reply but an embittered expression, any satisfaction withheld as Zuko didn't even look her way.

"It's just us now," Zuko concluded, finishing off his orange juice. "Us and Uncle Iroh." While there was a large collection of extended family back in Japan, they didn't count in the context that was being discussed here. Their mother's side of the family in the US was sparse and split apart, her parent passed away years prior. At this point in time, their father's brother was the closest thing they had to a parent.

"Sometimes I wonder if you love your uncle more than your own father," Azula accused, reaching over the top of the recliner for a small blanket to cover herself. She noticed Zuko raise his brows defiantly as he chewed into another piece of sushi.

"Fancy that," Zuko muttered between bites. "You _do _realize that you're talking about the man who's letting us live with him right now," he pointed out.

"Out of obligation," Azula expressed.

"If you say so."

Due to the nature of Ozai Kurosawa's crimes, the ownership of his home was still under debate, and due to the nature of the holiday season, Iroh had invited the two young adults to stay with what they felt was the only family they had left. A well-furnished house in rural Wayward, the home was fitting for the old man's tastes and would easily accommodate his nephew and niece. Iroh's connection to SRU was rooted in the Kurosawa family serving as a benefactor of the college for decades, since its foundation. Ozai, in fact, had met his wife through the school as a result of this financial connection. A fair-skinned Caucasian, the woman gradually became Ozai's lover and incentive to move from Japan to America. This background resulted in a pair of half Caucasian, half Japanese children who had spent their entire upbringing grasping with a dual identity. Now that Ozai was no longer in a position to run his multi-million dollar company, it fell to one of his heirs to assume command, and Azula, being the elder of the two, had seen fit to place herself first in line before the end of high school. Zuko had desired to some day grow and assist her with this future task back in those days, but a great deal had changed since then.

"So what are you going to do with yourself now?" the biting tone of the older sister demanded after a few moments of reflective silence.

"I'm going to finish school," Zuko placidly proclaimed.

"You're going to let me run our father's business on my _own_?"

"Why not?" Zuko stared at her with a snide smirk. "You seem _more _than eager to take the job."

"W-well, of _course, _it's our family business. And I'm certainly _more _than capable of taking charge."

They spoke simultaneously, Azula speaking with pride and passion, Zuko with apathy and exhaustion.

"It's what I was born to do."  
"It's what you were born to do."

Zuko rubbed his hands, cleaning them of food residue, and he picked up his plate and glass to take to the sink in the kitchen.

"So what's the problem? Like I said: you seem more than eager to take the job. There'll be a whole counsel of suits to help point you in the right direction, anyway."

"I intend to remove them from the picture as soon as possible," Azula assured with a shaky breath, fingers clamping on her temples. "Once I understand what needs to be done I will not be letting anyone abuse my power."

"I'm sure you won't," Zuko quietly agreed as he came back, laying himself onto the couch.

"Hey, Dum-Dum," Azula grumbled slowly. "Can we change the channel?"

"To what?"

"Anything but _this_ drivel."

"Sure."

* * *

- Friday, September 3rd, 2010 -

"Hey, you gonna eat that?" Sokka asked, jabbing his finger at his sister's tray.

"No," Katara laughed, shaking her head, and leaned back as Sokka eagerly scooped up a small handful of chicken sandwich and munched it down.

"Hungry there?" Toph asked as she dug her fingers into her box of french fries. As she fed one into her mouth, bite-by-bite, Aang snuck a fry from her and stuffed it in his face. _Whump. _A swift knock to the arm. "I heard that," Toph warned with a scowl. It quickly faded when Aang jammed a piece of lettuce into her closed lips.

"There, we can trade," he joked, letting the lettuce fall off her face and into her laptop.

"_Peh_," Toph coughed, wiping off her mouth and flinging the leaf from her leg. "Thanks, there, Twinkle-Toes."

"Just trying to be fair, Pudding Basket."

"_What?_"

"Hey, uh, Aang," Sokka cautiously began. "You, uh...You need some help with the whole 'nickname' bit, there? 'Cuz it seems like you're struggling to me."

Toph chuckled. "Yea, maybe you should get some training here from Meat-Head."

_Dun-dun-dun-**DUNNN.**_

"Oh my God," Toph groaned, immediately picking her phone up off the table and flicking it open to quell the sounds of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. "Hello?" she greeted rigidly through grit teeth. The table fell silent, each member fully aware of the situation at hand - save one.

"Wh-?" Suki began, but Sokka shook his head and lifted a finger to his lips to silence her. "It's Toph's parents," Sokka whispered in her ear.

["Toph! Ah, good. I finally got a hold of you."]

"Is this important, Dad?" sighed Toph, palm over her face. Aang offered support by rubbing her leg briskly.

["Don't take that tone with me, Miss."] Toph ground her teeth together and pressed her knuckle into her forehead, suppressing her impatience.

"What is it?" she asked with as much politeness as she could muster.

["It's about this weekend."]

"OK...So? _What_ about this weekend?"

["Your mother and I will be attending the annual Beifong reunion."]

Toph's plans for the weekend crumbled away to reveal a long-forgotten memory: the first weekend of September was when her family held its annual get-together. And, _oh, _what a fun time it was for Toph: being led about by her parents to be fondled over and pitied on, without space to speak her mind but be spoken _about _to all manner of relatives who never bothered to give her the light of day on any other occasion.

"Great," Toph blurted coldly. "Have fun with that."

["I'm sure we will, as will you. I'm calling to inform you of the arrangements-"]

"I...I'm not going," Toph managed in a tone that teetered between rebellious and uncertain.

["Why I...I beg your pardon?"] He spoke with earnest confusion.

"I _said_," Toph cleared her throat and repeated herself with more bold defiance. "I'm not _going._"

["My Dear, you can't simply _not go_ - this is crucial family business."]

"That's just fantastic," Toph snapped. "Then you guys should have it all settled, because they sure as hell don't treat _me_ like family the rest of the year."

["Think of your grandfather,"] Mr. Beifong quipped incredulously. ["Or your grandmother. She would be ash-"]

"My grandmother would want me to do what _I _think is best," Toph thundered, slapping her hand on the table, shuffling her uneaten fries. "And I don't think me going is a good idea."

Her friends were all silent, exchanging wary glances like nervous statues.

["Toph Beifong,"] came the familiar scolding call, ["With all due respect, young lady, it is your obligation to this family to make an appearance at-"]

"I'm _not going_," Toph seethed, her head throbbing from the stress. "Period."

[_Beep._]

Toph let out a growl as she slammed her phone into her lap, palm massaging her head. A long, drawn out sigh escaped her before Sokka finally broke the silence.

"Soooo, _yea._" He jabbed the tips of his index fingers together. "That _just _happened," he observed. "Snap."

"You just told off your parents," Katara whispered in impressed awe. "Nice."

Aang gave Toph a congratulatory kiss on the cheek and slapped her knee.

"Good one," he encouraged. Aang had a personal grudge against Toph's parents - and Aang didn't hold grudges. Toph found herself oddly grateful that it was on her behalf that the peace-loving boy bothered to actively dislike someone.

"So, like," Suki fidgeted her hands around, rotating her fingers around each other. "I'm taking it that...Toph's parents...We're not on good terms with them?"

"Ha!" Toph spouted. "One way of puttin' it..."

"They're...really super controlling," Katara explained. "Like, _creepy _controlling."

"They're jerks," Aang put it simply, jamming his fork into his salad.

"Coming from Aang, that's _saying _something," Sokka advised as Toph went back to her fries.

"Sounds like a pain," Suki muttered. "I get along great with my mom," she added softly, almost to herself. No one at the table besides her could properly relate to this sentiment, it seemed.

"We're not all so lucky," Toph bitterly remarked, licking salt from her fingers. She groped her hands across her tray before finding her baked potato and the plastic fork beside it.

* * *

- September, 2009 -

Toph slipped her silk gloves off, hanging them over her chair. She fidgeted her position around, trying to be comfortable. This dress was form fitting and intolerable. She could hardly move her legs in it. So thoughtful of them to force her into it without any input. Naturally they hadn't even asked what color she wanted - as if being blind stripped away any right of making decisions concerned her appearance. Her hair was wadded into a slick bun, a tiara nestled over top of her head. Heavy earrings of gold had been fitted into her ears - whatever shape they were they kept tapping the edges of her jaws, which was irksome. Toph felt her hands across the table, attempting to look as inconspicuous as possible. Every piece of silverware was neatly laid out. Her fingers delicately sensed out the proper fork she needed at this moment in time and she pulled it off the table. She tenderly pressed the side of fork against the squishy chunk of material on the plate in front of her, getting a quick feel for how large it was. She stabbed it before carefully treading the knife in her other hand across its surface. She sawed away at it, slicing a clean piece of meat and bringing it to her mouth. She chewed on the juicy steak with some satisfaction.

"Oh, you poor thing." The voice of her Aunt Wu jarred her from her comfort zone. "Here, let me help you, Dearie." The utensils were stripped from her hands and - _skiss-skees-ssfff -_ she could hear them being put to quick work on the meat. Toph's face was warm with embarrassment at this gesture and her stomach twisted with irritation. "Now _where _did your parents go off to?" the woman wondered. "To leave you alone to fend for yourself? Shameful."

_Ha, well...Can't really disagree with the 'shameful' part..._

"It-it's all right, Aunt Wu," Toph mumbled. "I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can, Toph, but that doesn't mean you _ought _to. What if you had cut yourself?"

_Christ. I know how to use a knife, woman._

Toph's face bent into a grimace, her shoulders slumped.

"There you are. That's much better." _Clakker-clat. _"I do hope you enjoy the food, Dear. The caterers are exquisite this year."

And off the Aunt went. Toph knew next to nothing of Aunt Wu except that the woman sounded a bit heavy and that she lathered Toph with pity at every rare impasse. A stray hair tickled at Toph's ear, and she tucked it back before reaching her hand out over her plate, groping around the edges. She pricked her thumb on the tip of her steak knife, growled, and retrieved it, setting it carefully in the correct position beside her plate. After locating her fork, she set back to eating her steak.

Some old-fashioned orchestra music played in the background, and while Toph would normally be able to appreciate its beauty, in this context it just grated against her ears like a nail file. The Beifong reunion was a ritzy, glamorous show of wealth and elitism, with each respective nuclear family vying to one-up each other, while Toph's parents had to play the 'blind-daughter' card in an effort to make themselves out to not even be in the running by circumstances beyond their control.

"Ah, Toph, Darling," her mom called, approaching swiftly. "There you are. Why are you sitting by yourself?"

"Because you guys left to go mingle."

"Well, yes, but we weren't expecting everyone around you to leave - why didn't you leave with them?"

"'Cuz I was hungry and I wasn't done eating?"

"Ah. In either case, your relatives are expecting you - everyone wants to say hello."

"_Do_ they, now?"

"Oh, yes, certainly." Her mom grabbed her arm and pulled her up from her chair. Toph squirmed and tore herself out of her mother's grasp.

"I can stand up on my own," Toph hissed, rotating her shoulders to clear space.

"Yes, yes," Mrs. Beifong dismissed, pressing Toph's arm to ease her daughter along.

"I wasn't finished," Toph grumbled, being prodded from behind and shooed away from the table.

"You ate plenty enough. We wouldn't want you to over-indulge, Darling."

_What the hell? Since when was some vegetables, mashed potatoes, and a single bite of steak over-indulging?_

"Ah, and there she is, our sweet, darling daughter." They approached Mr. Beifong, and Toph felt as if she was being showcased rather than introduced.

"My, my, she's growing into quite a lady," commented some elderly woman.

"I remember when she barely reached my knees," came another raspy voice. A chorus of voices Toph had heard before but not enough to properly recognize chimed in their thoughts as Toph's parents had separate discussions with them. Dumbfounded, her position in the room lost, Toph was trapped in a cloud of that which she hated most: pity.

"It really is such a shame."  
"Oh, I know, but we make the best of it."  
"Such a poor thing."  
"It's admirable how she manages."  
"And you said she wants to learn the guitar?"  
"She seems bound and determined."  
"Oh, how inspiring. Quite an uphill struggle, I imagine."  
"We shall persevere."

The words scraped at Toph's skull like fingernails on a chalkboard. She had dragged into this crowd of relatives to stand as some means of garnering attention. No one asked _her _questions, they asked her _parents_, as if her lack of sight deemed her incapable of answered questions.

"Uh...Hello?" Toph edged her way in, to no evail. "_Hello?_"

"Yes, yes. What is it, Darling?" asked her mother softly.

"I...I need to go to the bathroom," Toph lied with a sugary whisper, folding her hands innocently in front of her waist. An empathetic chuckle at her expense, a slender hand on her shoulder, and she was escorted like a child to a restroom by her mother. "I can find my way back," she assured as she snuck into the one-room bathroom on her own, eagerly shutting the door behind her.

Victory: peace at last. She carefully felt her way through the bathroom, step by step. A metal bar along the wall aided her - this was likely a handicap bathroom. When she reached the toilet, she prodded her fingers around for the lid and pushed it down over the seat. She took a deep breath and sat herself down on the closed toilet seat. Hunched over, she was tempted to wipe the various oils and creams from her face but knew better. She'd rather be slightly uncomfortable than appear to be a mess and get treated like an even less capable human being than she was already being made out to be. With her hands clasped together in her lap, her heart ached as her mind wandered to days gone by: to the bizarre sensation of a tire swing, to creamy mashed potatoes on a Sunday evening, to cold glasses of lemonade and gooey, warm chocolate chip cookies, to funny-smelling hugs and funny-smelling hand-knit scarves, to fairy tales read by a squeaky old voice before bed.

_Why did you have to leave me all alone, Grandma? You were the only person I had left on my side..._

_

* * *

_- Friday, September 3rd, 2010 -

The crisp evening air was a bit chillier than expected, a hint of autumn hanging over them as they traveled across the long, straight sidewalk that led from the entrance of Aero to the side entrance of Aqua that was closest to Toph's bedroom. After their meal, Katara had been picked up by her boyfriend. After arriving back on campus Sokka and Suki had gone over to Terra so that Sokka could meet some of Suki's acquaintances there. Aang and Toph had retreated to Aero to spend a quiet evening together in Aang and Sokka's room listening to music and playing chess. Aang and Sokka had pooled their funds to buy a special chess set that had large, heavy pieces of glass and ridged squares, meaning Toph could fiddle with the pieces and the board and comprehend the game without knocking things over. It was a slow and tedious process, but by now Toph had basically gotten a hold of it. Sokka always _always _won, but at least with Aang every now and again she could squeeze a victory, as she had on this particular night. At some point into their second game, chess had devolved into some nonsensical sweet nothings which gave way to stolen kisses, gentle touches, and snuggling on Aang's bed while listening to classical music that Toph was practicing on the piano for class.

"You have fun tonight?" Aang wondered.

"Yep," she replied with a peaceful smile, scratching at his arm while their elbows were locked. "Coulda had _more _fun," she teased, "I mean, tour toes didn't_ twinkle_ too much tonight."

"Heh." Aang wrapped his free hand over her wrist. "I'll work on that next time, then. Buttercup."

"_Buttercup _today, huh?"

"What? What's wrong with that one?"

"Nothing," Toph earnestly answered. "Kinda like it."

"Wait...Huh?"

"Reminds me of the Powerpuff Girl. I'm OK with that."

"I thought I'm trying to find a nickname that _annoys _you..."

"Yeeeaaa...About that. You really suck at this game."

"Crap."

"What?"

"I just lost The Game."

"Shit!" Toph whispered with a grin, smacking her hand on Aang's chest. "I just lost The Game! You _really _suck."

"Winning is everything to you, isn't it?" Aang picked, folding her ear around. A small giggle escaped at the sensation, and she suppressed it. "We're here," Aang announced.

"It's not about winning," Toph clarified, slowing to a stop. "It's about not _losing_." She wound herself across the front of Aang's body and held him close, nuzzling her face into his neck and placing a kiss there when she had found her mark. As she retreated, she felt Aang's breath on her face and they shared a kiss on the lips that lasted shorter than she'd have liked. Fingers dug into her hair before gently pulling away.

"Love you," Aang said in a barely audible whisper.

"You, too," Toph barely retorted, running her hands down his chest before their bodies regretfully parted.

"Night."

"Night."

As Toph pressed her way into the door and found her path up the stairs to the second floor, her mind relaxed. By the time her surprisingly tired body collapsed into bed, it brain eked out a thought into the beyond before passing out.

_I hope you're not mad that I'm not going to the reunion this weekend, Grandma. Besides, it's not like you're gonna be there...But you know, I'm glad you found someone to look after me in your place._

* * *

**A/N: Let's just clear the air. Zuko doesn't have a scar. He will not have a scar. I'm not going to arbitrarily give him a scar because his role in the story doesn't offer any logical reason for him to have one. His scar is mental/emotional. Also, I should mention that I did change something here: Azula is Zuko's older sister in this story by one year. I know that's different than canon - but this is an AU and I have my reasons for changing things.**


	9. Just Like That

What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 9 - Just Like That

* * *

- Saturday, September 4th, 2010 -

"She hasn't come back yet?"

"Sorry, Jane," Toph said apathetically, one earbud still tucked in as music trickled into her ear. "I dunno what's up."

"You don't think she's gonna chicken out, do you?"

"Nah," came Toph's confident reply. "She seemed pretty worked up about it."

"Guess you're right." Jane sighed and scratched her neck anxiously.

"Why? You _worried_ about her or somethin'?" teased Toph with a grin, her arms folding behind her head on her pillow.

"Maybe," Jane laughed with a shrug that couldn't be seen. She sat herself down in Katara's desk chair, lazily propping her socked feet onto Katara's desk. "Getting mixed up with the Freedom Fighters was just a bad idea," she explained. "I just hope she can make a clean break."

"She'll be fine," Toph insisted. "Getting bent outta shape doesn't seem your style," she pointed out. "Take a chill pill."

"It's _not _my style," Jane grumbled, arms crossed as she tipped back and forth in the chair, pressing her toes against the edge of the desk. "I just know how Jet is. And Kat's too good for him."

"Probably."

"You seem to get along with _your _boyfriend pretty well."

"Heh." Toph smirked and brushed loose hair from her face. "Guess I got lucky."

"So, like..." Jane scratched her jaw lazily. "You think I'll get along with him?"

"Who, Aang?" Toph snickered. "Why?" she asked, immensely curious.

"Wh-? Just...Ya know," Jane mumbled hurriedly, setting the chair back on all four legs. "Just in case."

"In case you actually decide to come outta your shell and hang with us?" Toph picked. "Sure. Aang's...hard to _not _get along with. Ha. Probably the main reason why things turned out this way between us."

"What do you mean?"

Toph's snark dissolved into an appreciative smile.

"Sometimes people like you and me just need to find someone willing to put up with us until we realize what idiots we're being."

Jane's face eked out a similar smile as Johnny came to mind.

"Yep," she concurred, rubbing the bags under her eyes.

"Speaking from experience, Jay, our group's pretty awesome," Toph declared. "Don't get me wrong, being a total bitch has its perks," she smiled widely, "But it doesn't hurt to know when to dial it down. I know what's it like, where you're coming from. Trust me, we've got a good thing going here. If _I _can fit in, you can, too."

"Fit in? I never said I wanted to fit in," Jane put off the idea with her words while her mind still lingered around it.

"Hey, suit yourself," Toph advised, tapping her foot to a beat Jane couldn't hear. "But if you're gonna be friends with Katara and all that, and avoid _us_...Well, like...Isn't that the big problem she had with Jet?"

"Hm." Jane was stoic, deeply considering the idea.

"Just sayin'..."

"Yea."

"Take it from a fellow psycho," Toph joked. "Being crazy is more fun with company."

* * *

"You enjoy the movie?" Jet asked, slapping her on the back.

"Yea, it was good," Katara decided. A simple nod, a simple shrug. It was as good as gun-heavy action could be, anyway.

"Hey, Sneers."

"Wuzza?" grunted the bartender with a slight tilt of the head.

"Here, get a pic of us, would ya?" Jet requested, passing the man his phone.

"Sure, sure," was the reluctant concession of obedience.

Jet slung his arm over Katara's shoulder. She was wearing a modest red sweatshirt with a cute cartoon monkey face printed on it - a gift from her brother a couple of years back. Her hair was fastened into an intentionally messy, disorganized bun. Normally, she would've worn a little makeup for Jet's sake but had specifically chosen not to today.

It was cramped and awkward, being drawn close to this person whom, with each passing day, she had been finding herself less and less attracted to if only by principle of knowing things would never really work out.

"Ahright," said Sneers gruffly. "Cheese." His complete lack of enthusiasm likely didn't help matters, but Katara could only manage a half-hearted, wistful smile, her eyes clouded and thoughtful. Her mind was afloat in that sea of questions of doubts and regrets that she'd been previously drowning in all week. At least now she had found her raft, her way out - she just had to ride it to shore._  
_

"Whaddya havin' tonight, girlie?" Sneers' question jarred her from her scattered mind.

"Oh, uh..."

"The lady'll just have a Coke," Jet answered for her, having caught on to a beverage he knew she preferred.

"Comin' up." Sneers filled a glass with fountain soda as Katara watched Jet sip on his whiskey.

"Somethin' goin' on, Kat?" Jet wondered with a curious glance as he typed away on his phone. Katara's eyes fled to her drink as it was set on the counter before her.

"Just...long week," she spurted out as she went to sucking on the straw propped in the glass. Her phone vibrated in her pocket as Jet set his aside. She knew he had just sent to her the picture they had just taken - he always sent pictures as soon as he took them.

"Yea, Smellerbee told me you guys had a bit of a cat fight a while ago."

"Mm," Katara admitted through her nose, still drinking the cola. She breathed out after she gulped it down and added, "But we sorted that out. Just...ya know. Girl stuff."

"Girl stuff, huh?" Jet muttered, amused. "With _Smellerbee_?"

"Well, she _is _a girl," Katara remarked with a tinge of defense. Jet 'hmphed' at this as if to express, 'If you _say _so.'

Katara wanted to kick him and shout at him and defend Jane after what she had been recently told concerning how the two had broken up a couple of years prior - Jet had decided that Jane wasn't 'girl' enough for him. And while there may have been some valid reasoning behind this, it was downright rude and insensitive, the way he had gone about it. Granted, Katara had heard this story from Jane, but...At this point Katara trusted Jane's words more than Jet's. Jane was as straight with her as could be expected. She'd say, 'I can't tell you that,' not pretend like there was nothing being hidden. How could she let herself get involved romantically with such a judgmental person who exerted so much effort for the sake of hiding things? Ultimately, though, this was not about Jane, as had been established earlier.

"Anyway," Jet cut over the topic, grabbing her hand tightly. "Let's make better use of this weekend than last, huh?" He lifted her hand up and kissed her on the wrist. Her insides went empty and she fought to contain herself. She had been letting hormones win over long enough.

"Jack," she mumbled, her gaze still avoiding his.

"What's up, Kat?" he asked intently.

"What were you _really _doing Tuesday night? With all of those other people in the back." She nodded her head to the rear of the Treetop Pub. She finally felt empowered enough to resist his temptations and stared him down insistently.

"Wha?" he whispered out, slack-jawed. "Are you _still _bothered about that?" He sighed and rolled his head back incredulously. "Kat, babe, it's _no big, _it was just a business meeting."

"Then why did you lie to me about it? Why won't you tell me what it was _about_?"

"It was about donations, like I said before," Jack insisted, his voice low but tempered now. "What is the _problem _here? You don't trust me?" His chocolate glance pleaded like a puppy.

Katara pulled her hand out of his grasp and covered her eyes with a bitter frown.

"I guess I don't," she confessed. "Those people didn't look like the 'donating' type."

"What are you implying?"

"I don't _know, _Jack," Katara seethed quietly through grit teeth. "Why don't you tell _me?_"

"Do you have a paranoia problem, or somethin'?" Jack pondered aloud, taken aback.

"Do you have a _lying _problem?" She refused to look him in the eye and even risk giving in. She drank some more soda and took a deep breath in their moment of awkward silence.

"The specifics are the business of Freedom Fighters _only,_" Jack explained, jabbing his index finger into the counter. "And you don't seem like you want any part of being one."

"Because I _don't,_" Katara put it simply. They continued their exchange with quiet, sharp words.

"Yea," Jack growled, "Been _gettin' _that impression lately."

"You can't be with someone who isn't going to join your little club? Is that it?"

"This is my _work_, Kat. Not just some hobby."

"Well, your _work _rubs me the wrong way. I just have this bad feeling."

"Bad feeling?"

"Yea. Like maybe _some_ of what the Freedom Fighters do isn't as charitable as it's made out to be."

"Listen, Kat." Jack drummed his fingers impatiently as Katara finished her drink, angry eyes stuck to the counter. "Hey. _Hey._" Jack snapped his finger by her ear. She twisted her head around and gave him a dagger glare. "If you can't trust me, Kat," Jack mandated, "then maybe this ain't gonna work out."

"Maybe it isn't," she tartly agreed, raising her brow.

"So..._What, _then? You're gonna just...break up with me?"

Katara's heart was pounding through her rib cage, a sense of freedom and strength surging out.

"Y-yea," she blurted, her eyes shifted to the side. She had raised her voice to a more standard volume level, collecting her confidence.

"Are you serious?" Jack asked, clearly confused. "Just like that?" He snapped his fingers again before raising his hand up to his mouth in befuddled aggravation.

Katara wiped her palm across her forehead, distraught.

"I've...had my doubts for a little while now," she informed him. "If you need to hide behind...behind _secrets, _and _lies, _and-and constantly be trying to make yourself look good, then...I can't be with you." Sure. That sounded reasonable. Right?

Jet bit his lip, his tongue irritably poking at the inside of his cheek as he nodded repeatedly, the gears coming together.

"Fair enough," he said at last, obviously dissatisfied. "So you're just gonna take off, then? We're not even gonna work at this?" There were those puppy eyes again, despite the edge in his tone.

"There's nothing to _work at_, Jack," Katara declared, tossing her arms up. "You won't be _honest_ with me."

"You're _paranoid._"

"You...you're in a _gang._"

"Don't you think that's exaggerating it a bit?"

"If it's such a tidy operation, how come you're so secretive?"

Their eyes locked again until Jack retreated.

"Whatever," he huffed, tossing his hand. "Take off, then. Seems like you've already made up your mind about this."

"I have." Katara scooped some cash out of her pocket and slammed it on the counter beside her empty glass. "Good bye, Jack." She refused to show weakness, to crumble under the pressure he somehow suppressed her under. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, turned away, and took a deep breath. The words, 'I'm sorry,' were writhing to come out, but she wouldn't let them. If she showed any regret or vulnerability, she'd set herself up to be pulled back in all over again.

_This is what's best. I should have done this sooner. Why did I let myself fall into this situation in the first place?_

"Good bye," Jack called out dismissively.

Katara walked out of the pub and into the dry evening air. She stood on the sidewalk and stared at the motorcycle before her - the one that had carried her here. Her memories assaulted her: the very mystery and intrigue that had made this relationship so refreshing and exciting months before was exactly what had turned her away from it in the long run.

She had been so blunt, rash...It felt strange. In retrospect, she knew that this was how she had needed to act in order to break things off. During the summer, she had spent so long interacting with Jack, the man of mystery and charm. Once she was physically around him again he was Jet, not Jack, and she had become more fully aware of just how incompatible their lives were. Their friend groups just didn't mesh together, nor did their lifestyles. He seemed like a decent enough guy, aside from the secrets he insisted on keeping. But her gut feeling was that he simply wasn't _right _for her. She knew how he was capable of tugging her strings, and acknowledged that the only way to end things was to cut those strings.

She cleared her head and took out her phone. She ignored the picture message she had recently received and made a call to her brother. She sighed as his ringback played, something she had grown tired of months before.

[~"Never gonna give you up."~"Never gonna let you down."~"Never gonna-"~]  
["Katara?"]

"Hey, Sokka..."

["Uh, yea. Hey. What's...up?"]

Katara's breath shortened and wavered as she talked. Somehow she'd managed to keep her cool back in the pub but now that her thoughts were running circles around her she was getting dizzy.

"I, um..." She swallowed. "I need a ride back."

["Oh. Uhhh...Sure. Yea."] His voice was muffled for a moment. ["Yea, it's my Sis, she needs me to pick her up."] His attention came back to her in full. ["Everything OK?"]

"Y-yea, fine," she insisted with a sniff. She raised a shaky hand to her forehead, fingers trembling. It dawned on her that she was starting to choke up. Sokka was her brother, the person who knew her better than anyone else. She knew that _he_ knew that everything was _not_ fine.

["A-all right. Well...Well, uh, yea, Suki and I are at the ACC. We'll hop in the car and come get you. Where you at?"]

"Oh, I'm...-" She glanced around for a point of reference. She'd rather he not pick her up in front of this bar. For all she knew Sokka was already aware of this place, but she wasn't certain, and she'd rather avoid a potential gasket-blowing. A familiar red-roofed restaurant was down the block. "I'm at the Pizza Hut," she told him, knowing he'd be familiar with the only on in town.

["Gotcha. All right. Hang tight, Sis. we'll be there in like, 15 minutes."]

Katara nodded out of habit and stuffed her free hand back in her pocket.

"Mm-hm. Thanks," she squeaked, her voice losing the strength it had found minutes prior.

Some fragment of her heart was kicking the rest of her, shouting, 'You idiot. A gorgeous man was all about you and you're throwing him away. Nice job, Stupid.'

_Why _did _I even bother dating a guy like him?_

The question gnawed at her. She had thought she'd figured herself out - that she knew who she was, what she stood for, what she wanted. And here this dashing biker fellow came around, swept her up, and practically hypnotized her. How could this have happened? Katara Kesuk was not impulsive. Was she?

_Rrrmmmm._

[From: Jane]  
[so you dump him yet or wut? :P ]  
[Sent: 9:32pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Yes. -_- I feel horrible.]  
[Sent: 9:33pm]

[From: Jane]  
[i thnk that's natural kat]  
[Sent: 9:34pm]

Katara couldn't think of what else to say, but before she could consider it for too long, her phone started ringing.

[~"So what?"~"I'm still a rock star."~"I got my rock moves."~"And I don't need-"~]

"Hey, Toph," Katara mumbled after flicking open her phone, finding her roommate's timing too coincidental.

["Hey, Katara,"] Toph greeted with her sneaky cheer. ["You kick that guy to the curb or _what_?"]

["Wait, did you just call her?"] came a distant voice.

["Yea,"] Toph loudly called back.

"I'm guessing you're with Jane right now, huh?" Katara observed, amused despite her melted mind as she paced down the empty sidewalk.

["We've been like, on pins and needles here, man,"] Toph teased. ["Jane was worried for a second that you were gonna chicken out, but I knew you'd stick to your guns."]

"I did," Katara sighed. "Doesn't feel too good, though."

["Nothin' some rocky road ice cream can't fix, right?"]

Katara found herself smiling through the stress at her friend's comfort.

"I suppose not," she choked out.

["You're better than him, anyway!"] Jane's shout echoed from the distance as Katara said 'not.'

["Yea, I'm with her on this one,"] Toph agreed. ["Good riddance. Now I don't have to put up with all your whining about him,"] she teased.

A sound that was half-laugh, half-sob dribbled out of Katara's mouth and she dabbed her finger at her swelling eyes. She couldn't understand why she was suddenly so emotionally shaken and it was beginning to get frustrating. Perhaps her roommate was right, and that she'd be better off just doing something comforting and not thinking about it. It was done. Like a menial chore she'd be putting off, she'd brazenly shoved herself away from him, and the sooner she could separate herself from the thoughts and feelings associated with him, the better.

["Hey, you still there?"] Toph checked with a more serious, almost apologetic tone.

"Oh, yea. Yea," Katara breathed out, her intestines tied up. "Sorry."

["Sounds like someone's got the post-break-up jitters."]

"The _what_?"

["I dunno, I just made that up,"] Toph confessed in a rush. ["Just get yourself back home so we can smother you in ice cream."]

"I don't think Aang would approve of that kinda thing," Katara mockingly scolded.

["Heh. What he doesn't know won't hurt him,"] was Toph's devilishly flirtatious reply.

["Ice cream's a turn off for me,"] Jane flatly declared from the background.

["You pick friends with bad taste,"] Toph decided, speaking to Katara.

"What does that say about _you_, then?" Katara countered.

["Exactly! This is why we need to find friends with _good _taste so that I can learn. I don't know any better!"]

The familiar sight of the Kesuk family car that Katara and Sokka shared cruised down the road ahead.

"My brother's here," Katara announced, her voice more clear and firm after that bit of humor. "I'll see you guys in a few minutes."

["'Kay. Chin up, Katara."]

"OK."

[_Beep._]

The car slowly pulled into the restaurant's parking lot, rotated around, and pulled up beside Katara, just beside the lot entrance. Katara could see Suki in the passenger's seat, so she slid into the back and buckled herself in.

"Hey, Sis," Sokka greeted. "How ya doin'?" His tone was delicate - he knew how to dance this line. He'd try to be optimistic and jovial per his usual self, but not so much as to be irritating. This talent was something that had taken Sokka their entire childhood to master, and one that many like-minded guys never completely attained: being able to temper his boyish stupidity when the situation called for it without diving into complete seriousness.

"I've been better," Katara bluntly admitted as they took off down the road.

"What happened?" Suki wondered with some concern.

"I, um..." Katara shrugged, staring out the window as the buildings of Wayward slipped by. "I kinda...broke up with my boyfriend just now."

"Oh," Suki blurted, stupefied as to how to respond.

"Really?" Sokka muttered, his tone a mix of sympathy and relief. "That seems...kinda sudden."

"I've been...kinda thinking about it all week," Katara explained, fidgeting with the pencils holding her hair bun in place.

"Why did you break up?" Suki inquired, glancing at her through the rear-view mirror.

"It was just...-" Katara blew out a sharp groan and shook her head quickly. "It didn't feel right. It wasn't going to work out between us."

"Yea," Sokka was quick to agree. "I'm sorry," he added his condolence.

Katara laughed at his words and plunked her head against the window, eyes following the street lamps as they sailed by. This was what Sokka had wanted - for her to break things off. But she understood what he really meant: he was sorry that she had gotten hurt.

"Thanks," Katara expressed, the car window chill against the side of her head.

"Anything I can do for ya?" Sokka asked after a moment. Katara smiled and shook her head, though he likely couldn't see.

"It's OK. I just need to go back to Aqua right now, that's all."

"Gotcha," Sokka solemnly acknowledged. The rest of the quick car ride was free of discussion - only the sounds of the radio, which Katara tuned out for the sake of her sanity.

* * *

[From: Jet]  
[you fuckin knew bout this didnt you?]  
[Sent: 9:54pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[so what? maybe I did. whats the problem? I didnt do anything.]  
[Sent: 9:55pm]

[From: Jet]  
[you could have told me kat was nurotic]  
[Sent: 9:55pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[my fuckin bad. didnt realize fixin your gf trouble was my job.]  
[Sent: 9:56pm]

[To: Jet]  
[and btw shes not neurotic. she knows your lying.]  
[Sent: 9:56pm]

[From: Jet]  
[did you put her up to this? did you tell her anything?]  
[Sent: 9:57pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[no. but i think shes right. dont think you two would work out. and you LIED to her so yea.]  
[Sent: 9:58pm]

[From: Jet]  
[like you never lie to people]  
[Sent: 9:59pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[you were the last one. so no. i dont anymore. stfu.]  
[Sent: 9:59pm]

[From: Jet]  
[whatever just show up tmorrow on time w/the noobs]  
[Sent: 10:02pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jet]  
[fine.]  
[Sent: 10:02pm]

"Is he _still _texting you about this?" Katara groaned to Jane.

"Hey, hey," Toph snapped, kicking her foot out and bumping Katara's chair. "Stop worrying about that. Ice cream. Eating. _Now_."

While Katara shoveled more dessert into her mouth, Jane huffed out an exasperated breath of distress and collapsed, burying her face into Katara's pillow.

_What the hell am I gonna do now? Do I really want to leave the Freedom Fighters? Even if I did...I can't risk it at this point. Not right now, anyway._

"Frick, now I'm hungry for ice cream," Toph grumbled, rubbing her stomach with an exaggerated pout.

"Soooo...Have some," Katara offered. "It's _your _ice cream, remember?"

"If you _insist_," Toph sighed jokingly, reaching her arms out. Katara chuckled and passed her the half empty carton, then the spoon.

"I still can't believe all of this," Katara murmured, shaking her head to herself as Toph slurped away.

Jane sat up and let her legs dangle off the side of Katara's raised bed.

"What? The fact that you just broke up with your boyfriend?"

"No, the fact that I was _dating _him at all," Katara moaned, turning to look at her neighbor with furrowed brows. She shrugged and continued. "I shouldn't have even started. I just let myself get swept up by him."

Jane snorted and raised her eyebrows knowingly.

"Yea, that bastard'll do that," she growled, gnashing her teeth slightly.

"How did I _ever _think that was going to work?" Katara went on, eyes filled with perplexation. "It's like...We had a thing for a couple weeks, and then summer hit...and I was lonely, so I just...clung to him. It's like it made more sense over the summer when we were _apart _then when we could actually see each other."

"'Course it did," Jane agreed. "All you saw was Mr. Charming with his slick as hell sweet-talk and bullshitting."

"Yea." Katara nodded, seeming to be at peace after logicking her way through it. A small burp slipped from Toph's mouth and she wiped her lips with her finger, licked said finger clean, and went back to work.

"Take my advice, Kat," Jane insisted, established fierce eye contact. "Just stay away from that whole scene. You don't belong there. And you don't _want_ to belong there. Speakin' from experience here."

Katara's eyes pried for details but Jane wasn't going to divulge them.

"Probably a good idea," said Katara solemnly, pulling the pencils out of her hairbun and letting its mass tumble down. She tugged at it with her hands to straighten it out. "What about _you_?"

"I've still got work to do," Jane stated, tossing her hand. "Don't worry 'bout it."

Katara was in fact worrying about it, though - Jane could see it in her face, despite her lack of response.

"Argh," Toph gasped. Both girls glanced at her, clutching at her forehead. "Fuckin' brain freeze," she hissed, eyes squinted shut.

"Whoa," Katara cried, peering into the practically empty ice cream carton. "Toph, Hun, maybe you should take it easy with the ice cream next time, huh?" She swiped the container away and set it on Toph's desk, an amused smile on her face.

"I refuse," Toph defied dramatically, still grabbing her head. "I shall not give in to my mortal enemy. Do you hear me, ice cream? You may have won this battle, but the _war rages on_!"

"Is she always like this?" Jane wondered, scratching her head.

"Pretty much," Katara chuckled, patting Toph on the back as the blind girl smirked.

* * *

- Sunday, September 5th, 2010 -

Aang carefully studied his nearly finished product. He'd been sketching away for the past hour or so. This had to look just right - it wasn't for some class, it was for his friend. The image he had created displayed a willow tree, swaying in the breeze, with stars inexplicably hanging from the tips of some of its branches. It rested on a small hill, alone, a large crescent moon arching over top from the left. When Aang's friends were feeling down, he'd try and draw them something - it was his way of showing that he cared and instilling hope without any action on their part. They didn't need to talk to him, or listen to advice, they just had to look. After Sokka had come back late the night prior, he'd informed Aang about Katara's breakup with Jet. He hadn't wanted to bother her about the matter, since he had a feeling she was probably trying to take her mind off of it. Instead, he had engaged a simple exchange with her.

[To: Katara]  
[hey katara, what's your fav type of tree?]  
[Sent: 2:09am]

[From: Katara]  
[Um...Probably willow trees. Why?]  
[Sent: 10:08am]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[just wondering. :) ]  
[Sent: 10:20am]

As Aang darkened the outline of the moon, the sound of flatulence popped his thoughts like a burst bubble. Hunched against the wall on his bed, he glanced across the room to the pile of blanket on the opposing bed. He checked the time: [11:33am]. It'd be lunch time soon. If Sokka missed out on lunch he'd get pretty cranky.

"Hey, Sokka," Aang shouted.

"Muuuuhhh?"

"It's almost time for lunch."

Within seconds, Sokka had slid out of bed and into his desk chair. He slowly opened his laptop, like a zombie, and began his morning protocol of checking e-mail and the like.

"You sleep all right?" Aang wondered.

"Meh," Sokka drawled. "Guess."

"How did things with Suki go?"

"Awwwwwsummmm." Yea. He wasn't quite awake yet.

Aang went back to scribbling extra blades of grass onto the hill to fill it out as he let his roommate awaken. A few minutes passed, and he felt his work was complete. He got off his bed and flashed the sketchbook to Sokka.

"You think your sister will like this?"

Sokka stalled for a moment, his attention still on the screen, before twisting his head to see the picture.

"Yea, yea," he muttered with a sloppy nod.

"I hope so." Aang tucked it into his messenger bag and peeled open his dresser to find a shirt to wear for the day. "Gosh," he mused, "Seems real sudden that she'd break up with her boyfriend like that, don't you think?"

"Honestly, I think it's about damned time," Sokka grumbled, closing his laptop at last. He yawned and stretched as Aang fit himself with a plain white t-shirt. "That jerk's a menace. She should never have even started dating him in the first place. Good riddance."

_Oh, right. Sokka was always against that whole thing, huh? Well...Guess I don't blame him. But still, I'm sure Jet can't be _that _bad a guy if Katara dated him. Kinda wish we coulda met him._

"So, uh...We should probably head out, right? Don't wanna be late for food."

"I am _never _late for food," Sokka declared, jamming a striped button-down shirt on with a pair of khakis. He popped on his familiar black loafers and straightened his shirt while Aang slipped a newsboy hat over his head and slung his messenger bag across his shoulder.

"Onward," Aang bellowed, stabbing his finger into the air. Sokka joined him in shouting, "Onward to _Sunday!_"

* * *

**A/N: Sokka's ringback is inspired by the fact that one of my best friends had that as his for a while. Toph's tone on Katara's phone is inspired by a music vid my wife made me about Toph. Seemed appropriate. Also, I know that we're crawling through time as a snail's pace day-by-day here. The whole story won't be that way, there will definitely be skips in time. I'm just taking it easy right now and making sure that I establish everything I need to first.  
**


	10. Simple

**A/N: I know there's been a bit of a heavy emphasis on the female characters earlier on here, and this chapter continues that - honestly, this is partially because the girls have a bit more** **external drama but also because the plot just needs me to focus on them first.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 10 - Simple_

* * *

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[**About That...**]  
[Posted on _September 7th at 11:46pm_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[So ya know how my ex-girlfriend has been hanging out with us? Yea. About that...It's starting to get kinda weird. There's definitely something still there, ya know? Not surprising, really. The only reason we broke up Freshman year was because she transferred. My friends keep picking on me about it_._ I just don't know what to do. Every time those feelings start coming up I can't stop thinking about Yue. Like I'd be betraying her or something...Does that even make sense?]

[I need to think about all of this.]

[Blargh.]

* * *

- Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 -

"So, uh..." Jane scratched her ear, fidgeting in her chair. "Yea." She glanced across the table to Sokka, who was filling his face with a bacon cheeseburger. "How...How ya doin'?"

"Mmfffnnn," Sokka calmly replied through his food. Was that 'I'm fine,' or...?

Jane sighed and tucked her hands between her legs, squirming in her seat. She desperately hoped the others would come back soon. This was super awkward. Katara's tray sat beside her, its owner having gone back to retrieve a drink. Toph was being aided by her boyfriend, and Sokka was practically halfway done at this rate. Geez. The guy was an animal when it came to food.

Jane's mind reeled through memories as she sought a topic of discussion. She recalled visiting his room a while back and seeing a bunch of tribal decor - tiki masks, a staff...

"Er...Yea, so, all that stuff in your room," she fumbled around, searching for conversation. "Where'd you get all that from?"

"Heh." Sokka smiled in reminiscence as his yes glazed over with nostalgia. "My dad used to travel a lot. All over the place." He took a bit of his coleslaw.

"Oh." Jane felt like there should've been more elaboration there, so she decided to pursue the topic for the sake of stalling more time. "Uh, so...What kinds of places?"

Sokka swallowed, his eyes rolling upward as he counted his fingers.

"Well, lessee...Madagascar, South Africa, Kenya, China, Mexico..." He paused, his expression twitching with melancholy. "Australia," he finished, somewhat solemnly.

"That's...kinda cool," Jane decided. She was trying to work on this 'complimenting' thing Katara had suggested she try working on.

"_Woooow_," Katara jeered, sitting down next to Jane, glass of apple juice in hand. "Jane is saying_ nice things_ to you, Sokka. You should feel honored." She shoved Jane playfully on the shoulder.

"Yeeeaaa, I figured I oughtta work on that 'being polite' crap," Jane confessed with a sheepish shrug, mocking herself.

"Don't hurt yourself there, Ginger," Sokka chuckled. He quickly demolished the rest of his burger. "You might lose some of your street cred or something."

Jane fidgeted in her seat, a bit off-out by the seemingly random nickname she'd just been assigned - not to mention the uncomfortable reminder of the very group she was avoiding at the moment. Fate was having a comedic sense of timing this afternoon, though.

"Smellerbee!"  
"Miss Smellerbee!"

J ane whirled her head around to see two Freshmen staring at her, wide-eyed. She recognized them immediately as the two new recruits she had recently pulled into the organization days before. They were almost laughable to look at together: the larger on was gigantic and brutish, with dark brown skin, brisly black hair, and a basketball jersey, the smaller one a short blond boy with blue eyes and a formal dress shirt and tie.

"See, man?" muttered the larger one, nudging his short friend. "_Told _ya it was her..."

"Wh...-?" Jane managed. They both dramatically saluted to her before she could say more, and announced their code names.

"Pipsqueak!"  
"The Duke!"

"Reporting for duty, Miss Smellerbee!" they said in unison. Thankfully, they were intelligent enough to keep their tones to normal speaking levels given the fact that they were tucked in a corner of a crowded cafeteria during lunchtime.

Jane whirled her head back around, eyes flustered, freckled cheeks flushed. Sokka and Katara gave her the same puzzled glance like two siblings, indeed - nearly like twins.

"Uhhh..." Jane scrambled out of her seat. "I'll be...back in a sec," she declared, nodding her head for the two boys to follow her. She led them against the giant windowpane that opened up across the rear of the cafeteria, forming the front of the ACC's second floor. "What are you guys doing?" she whispered to them.

"Oh, well, Miss Smellerbee," the blond boy explained in his confident and proper tone, "We simply saw you across the way and saw fit to-"

"Could ya drop the 'Miss?'" Smellerbee demanded with a low voice, slapping herself on the forehead. "Guys, ya can't just go around being all open about our organization like this...You need to keep it on the DL, all right?"

"Oh..."  
"_Ohhhhh._"

"Whaddya want, anyway?" she asked irritably.

"W-we just wanted...to say hi," Pipsqueak mumbled, his enormous thumbs twiddling.

"Yes, just a simple greeting," The Duke agreed.

Smellerbee sighed at their pathetic pleading faces and shrugged, running her hand from her head up over her hair.

"Well..._Hi,_" she said simply. "I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Who are those guys?" wondered Pipsqueak.

"A re they other members?" inquired The Duke.

"No-no," Smellerbee quickly dismissed the theory. "They're just...-" She paused, contemplating the word that immediately came to mind as she saw Toph and her boyfriend sit down. The word seemed accurate enough, at least concerning the females at the table. "-...my friends. And I've got a class coming up," she began, heading back to her table, "So I really oughtta eat. But, uh..." She wiggled her hand around hurriedly as she reached her chair, the two young men on her tail. "I'll see you guys Friday night, eh?"

"Yes, Sir!"  
"Yes, Ma'am!"  
"...I mean, Ma'am!"

Off they scurried away, and Smellerbee groaned as she flopped into her chair.

"Who were they?" Katara asked sharply as Toph had her hands guided to the objects before her.

"O-oh, they're...They're the-"

"Fresh meat?" Katara snipped with that polite but demeaning way she occasionally would. Jane had quickly grown to recognize it - that tone Katara used when she was disappointed with you. She was quoting the very words that had been used to describe the two very souls in question a while back at the meeting Katara had happened to witness.

"Members of your little club, huh?" Sokka guessed, his tone also put-off.

"You could say that," Jane grumbled defensively, staring down at her plate with a bit of a frown.

"So, what year are you, again?" Aang asked, cutting through the tension that had surfaced.

"Junior," Jane replied, already liking this 'Aang' kid and his seeming knack for avoiding tension. "Biology Major."

"What do you wanna do with that?" Aang continued his questioning, taking a sip of his fruit punch.

Jane shrugged, her head sunken into her shoulders as she hunched over her meal. At last, she chewed on a spoonful of mac and cheese.

"I wanna be in the military," she explained.

"Yea," Toph cheered. "She's gonna kick all_ kinds_ of ass."

"Wow," Aang murmured. He ate some of his lima beans and stared at her for a moment. "Why do you wanna do _that_?"

_This guy's just full of questions, huh? Better than putting me down, I guess..._

"Er, I...I just want to be put to good use..." Now that she was thinking about it, it was hard to explain why she had made this decision. "I want to fight for my country?" She was aware she came off as uncertain. "I dunno...It just gives me something to work at."

"I thought it was just for the ass-kicking," Toph mumbled, somewhat disappointed, it seemed.

"That's part of it. Totally," Jane insisted.

"So you're in training, then?" Sokka theorized.

"Yea." Jane nodded, passing it off like no big deal. "Keeps me in shape." Sokka nodded back at her, and she could tell from his expression that she had just earned some respect points.

"K at told me that you're...what? History?"

"Yep. And before ya ask: no, I have no idea what to do with it, either," Sokka jumped the gun. He glanced to his sister as she slurped on some alfredo pasta. "Katara thinks I should try and get into teaching or something, like she is. _Ha. _Like I have the patience for_ that_." He grinned and shook his head.

"I still can't believe you're going to _teach _people, Kat," Jane mused. "I feel like you're a little too short tempered for that kinda thing."

"What? I-I'm not _that _short tempered," Katara defended herself, getting a bit more flustered than Jane had intended to make her.

"Ya kinda are," Sokka confessed.

"I am when you're _twenty-two_ and you act like you're _twelve_," Katara picked. "But if I'm dealing with teenagers, I think I can manage."

"Why do I feel like they'd be _worse _than twelve year-olds?" Aang pondered. Jane had quickly noticed the cute hint of a lisp Aang's voice carried that Toph had specifically pointed out to her. She could see how Toph found it so be so endearing.

"Good luck, Katara," Toph wished with a chuckle. "Either way, you're screwed."

"Gee, thanks." Smiling, Katara rolled her eyes as she twisted her pasta around her fork.

"You're an art major, right, Aang?" Jane checked.

"Sure am."

"Soooo, what kind of art?"

"I draw a lot. I don't really paint much, though. But I'll take my drawings and then add stuff to 'em on a computer."

"Mixed media sorta stuff," Toph clarified.

"He's got this thing for mashing animals together," Sokka added.

"Wha?" Jane was confused.

Aang's eyes curved upward and he sighed with an almost embarrassed shrug.

"I like combining animals into new ones. Liiiike a Playtpus-Bear. Or a Boar-Q-Pine."

Jane raised an amused eyebrow, her chin in her hand, elbow on the table. "That sounds like it'd either be super wicked or butt fugly."

"It is," Sokka commented. "Both." Aang shot him a jovial glare and the two smirked at each other.

"I-am-a-muse-ick-may-jore!" Toph blurted with an almost robotic excitement.

"Uhhh, yea," Jane chortled, bobbing her head up and down. "I already _knew _that."

"What instruments do I play, then?" Toph quaintly demanded before munching into a baby carrot.

"Er..." Jane scrounged about her memory banks but couldn't come up with a confident answer. She must have never specifically discussed it, but she knew Toph played piano since there was a keyboard tucked in their room below Toph's bed. "Piano?"

"Uh-_huh_," Toph conceded, but obviously expecting more.

"Um..." Jane shook her head and shrugged. "I dunno. You play more?"

"_Hells yea, _I play more," Toph bragged, thumbing herself in the sternum. "I dabble in a bunch of stuff. But my heart belongs to the guitar."

"You play guitar?" Jane was a bit baffled. She had no idea - she had just assumed that Toph was a stereotypical case of Asian Pianist Master.

"You didn't know?" Katara seemed just as surprised. "Don't _you _play guitar?"

Jane shook her head and crossed her arms. Katara must have seen her instrument in her room at some point and assumed it was a guitar.

"Uhhh _no,_" she clarified. "I play _bass, _which is way cooler."

"_What?_" Toph snapped, appalled by the notion. "How the hell is bass cooler?"

"Bass is the backbone," Jane noted to the group with a raised index.

"Guitar is the freakin' _soul_," Toph countered.

"What are drums, then?" Sokka interjected their disagreement.

"The heart," said Jane.  
"The stomach," said Toph. There was a moment of befuddled silence before Toph, keenly aware that all eyes were on her, explained, "'Cuz it...digests the notes." It made about as much sense as expected.

"'Cuz...-" Sokka slowly began, picking up where he left off. "Suki plays drums."

"_Really_?" Katara spat out, astonished. Clearly this must not have been expected. "Since _when_?"

"Since she transferred," Sokka elaborated, just as bemused as his sister. "She used to play drums in high school, apparently, but kinda dropped it when she came to SRU. She was just tellin' me that she's been picking it back up again this summer."

"Hey-hey-hey," Toph cried, flailing her hands about. "You guys are stealin' my thunder here! _I'm _the music person." Aang rubbed her on the arm and patronized her as she crunched bitterly on another carrot.

"Yes you _are_."

Toph stuck her tongue out in reply and slapped him on the back appreciatively. Her expression suddenly went stark.

"Frick, what time is it?" she wondered.

"About 12:55," Katara informed per a glance at her phone.

"I gotta go soon, Twinkle-Toes," Toph informed.

"I know," Aang acknowledged. "I'll finish up quick." Aang proceeded to dive into his salad like a swimming pool.

"Come to think of it, where _is _this Suki chick?" Jane wondered.

"She has to eat lunch later today," Sokka explained. "You can probably meet her soon, though. She's been hanging out with us a lot lately, too."

"We're being over taken by _girls_," Aang wailed.

"What are _you _complaining about?" Sokka laughed. "Have I taught you _nothing?_" He raised his fist and grimaced. "In mixed company, there should always be a higher ratio of girls than guys."

"_Here_ we go," Katara sighed. She glanced at Jane as she rose from her chair. "C'mon, let's change the ratio up, huh?"

"Oh, uh..." Jane peered at her barely touched plate. "Sure." She scooped up her tray. She could care less, anyway. Wasn't like she had put much on her plate. She grabbed her coffee mug and guzzled down her barely warm drink.

"Oh," Katara spurted suddenly. "You hardly ate anything," she observed.

"Ehhh, not hungry, I guess," Jane dismissed, slapping her empty mug onto the tray.

"Wait, you guys are leavin' me here?" Sokka accused, his tray more clean than any of the rest.

"Places to be, Meat Head," Toph excused as she wound her arm across Aang's.

"Fine." Sokka trimphently began his march back to the food counters. "I'll just get seconds to keep me company."

"See ya later, Sokka," Aang called, stacking Toph's plate and silverware onto his own and compacting his tray over hers. He grabbed the dirty dishes in both hands and carefully weaved his way over to follow Katara and Jane to the dish-washing belt.

"So are we gonna do anything tonight?" Aang asked Katara.

"Ummm..." Katara's eyes rolled around as she considered the question. "Shhhhure?" was her slow, uncertain reply. "Let's meet in the AAC at 8. Sound good?"

Aang nodded and Toph gave a reciprocative, "Sounds good."

"Cool. Have a good one." Aang waved them off, leading Toph down the staircase to the main lobby.

"Peace." Toph wiggled her hand above her shoulder.

Katara grabbed a Kiwi from the fruit section on her way out, and Jane trailed along behind her.

"Ya know, you're invited to come, too," Katara advised. Jane's head fell into her shoulders and she nodded.

"Yea. We'll see," she mumbled.

"You could bring your boyfriend if you want," Katara followed up.

"'Kay." Jane shrugged as she recalled her responsibilities for the evening. "I dunno, though - we've got work to take care of tonight. Wednesdays are always busy for us."

"Ah." Katara nodded, and Jane could detect a tinge of disapproval. "Well, whatever happens...Offer's open," she insisted, regaining her composure.

Jane meekly nodded, her mind whirling from what had just happened - she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a meal in the cafeteria with a group like that. They seemed nice enough - aside from the whole 'Freedom Fighters' thing she couldn't detect a hint of hostility. And that wasn't personal, anyway. Of course, they didn't _know _what Katara did...

"See?" Katara squeezed her shoulder and flashed a smile. "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" She retrieved her backpack from under the stairs amongst the small field of bags.

Jane shook her head, hands dug deep into her cargo pants still baffled by the simplicity of it all.

"I've got a class to get to, but I'll see you tonight."

"'Kay. Later."

Katara headed off on her way out of the ACC, and Jane retrieved her math textbook from the floor beside where Katara's pack had been resting. She threw herself onto one of the couches in a corner of the lobby and cracked open her book to refresh herself on the concepts from the class prior.

_That was all right, I guess. Now I kinda know how Kat's been feeling, bouncing between two worlds like this. Not that I have a choice like she did. It's like they all just...say what's on their mind. Like it's so simple._

* * *

- Thursday, September 9th -

"_Agh_," Toph groaned to herself, slapping her hands into her lap in frustration. She kept losing her concentration and fumbling things up, meaning she'd have to scan her fingers across the bumps on the page before her, try and memorize it again, and go back at it. She was confident that her fingers could perform what they needed to, she just was having an off day. There was no other explanation - she was practically a virtuoso, she was sure. The week as a whole had been starting to weigh on her, as her friends had all been noticeably busier than the weeks prior. This meant a lack of social interaction , which meant a lack of Toph feeling in a good mood. Isolated in the practice room she took as her own, she had been hammering away at this piano piece for the past hour or so and simply wasn't making enough headway on it for her liking. It didn't help that it was a song that had been assigned to her - not one she had chosen herself.

It was a Thursday night, and Thursdays were when the group often broke off deliberately to get work done before the weekend. For Toph, this essentially meant practicing her music performance. But that didn't seem to be going too well at the moment, she decided to do something to help clear her mind. She reached inside her hoodie pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She slid her fingers across the key, pressed the familiar shortcut, and punched in the large button on the upper left. It began to hum as she raised it to her ear, tapping her feet impatiently.

["Hello?"]

"Hey, Twinkle Toes."

["What's goin' on Cubbie Bear?"]

"Ulgh," Toph reacted, as if to vomit.

["Oh! _Oh! _Did I do it? _Cubbie Bear?_"]

"Nope," Toph grunted. "Nnnope. But that one's pretty bad."

["Dangit."]

"What're ya up to, ya loser?"

["I'm in the art studio working on a project."]

"I see."

["Why? What's up? Did you need something?"]

"Not _really, _I'm just...bored. Can't seem to get this song right."

["Whhhaaaat? _Toph Beifong, _having difficulty with music?"]

"Shuddup."

["Hee. Just an off night, huh?"]

"Guess _so._"

["Try listening to something else for a while."]

"Huh?"

["Take your iPod and listen to something completely different, then try it again."]

"Hm. Shhhhure. I guess that couldn't hurt."

["Yea. See if that helps."]

"Thanks."

["Sorry, I'm actually kinda busy, so I should probably go."]

"O-Oh, OK. Yea, all right."

["But I love you, Toph."]

"Yea." She put on a mischievous grin. "I know."

["_Hey_..."]

"I love you, too, Aang," she snickered out, running her hand through her bangs.

["Bye."]

"Bye..."

She let him hang up the phone before closing it and stuffing it back into her hoodie. She took a deep breath and ran her fingertips across the keys before leaning over to the side and grabbing her leather bag. The bag had been a gift from her parents for her college career, and while she wasn't too keen on her parents, she couldn't deny the quality of the bag - during the course of the spring semester, Aang had been giving her various pins and buttons to stick to it. They weren't just standard pins, they were oddly shaped or textured. She dug in and felt around until the smooth, metallic rectangle touched her hand. She pulled it out and slipped the buds into her ears. She pressed a button and off the music went, streaming through her brain.

[~"It's been a hard day's night."~"And I've been workin' like a dog."~"It's been a hard day's night."~"I should be sleepin' like a log."~]

* * *

- December, 2009 -

She edged her way along the sidewalk, sweeping her cane back and forth as she headed back to the House of Terra after a flawless stint of piano practice. It was utterly infuriating that her dorm was on the complete opposite side of campus as the Music Building, but she had memorized the path at this point. She knew where she was right now: the long stretch of sidewalk that ran across campus between the ACC and the entrance parking lot.

"Haha, yea! I'll see you guys later, then."

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice. It was that same voice from days before.

_"Like I told you: I want to be your friend." "I don't know. I just _do_. That isn't good enough for you?"_

She had backhanded him with her words and had found herself regretting it the next day. She had spent the days since carrying out her routine as usual, trying desperately to ignore the gaping holes in her life, hoping that this weird kid that had inexplicably sought her out would return and that she could try again.

"Aang?" she called out, his name something she had taken to memory. "Aang Leekpai?"

"Huh?" The boy sounded like he was crossing her path about twenty feet away. She turned to face the voice and tried waving her hand.

"Aang," she called. "Is that you?"

"Y-yea, it's...It's me," he replied, confused, his voice closer as his footsteps carried him toward her.

"Heh..." She could feel her face heating up with embarrassment at their awkward situation. "Hi, uh...It's Toph. That girl from the music building?"

"Yea." Aang acknowledged with a hint of disdain. It was warranted, she supposed.

"So, umm..." She coughed, her insides gurgling with discomfort. "I'm...kinda sorry about before."

"Oh." She could hear some nervous shuffling. Maybe his bag? "Yea...It's OK." His tone had softened.

"No, really, I...-" She paused, frustrated with herself. Should she be straight? She hated being straight when the subject was _herself_. But given the circumstances, she was feeling desperate, whether she'd admit it or not. "It's just that...I-I don't really get out much, and I kinda keep to myself."

"That's what I've heard."

_What you've heard? What the hell? Who the fuck has been talking about me? Urgh. OK, OK. That's not important right now..._

"Honestly, I'm not usually very friendly to _begin _with, and I was having a sucky day." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I've been thinking about what you said."

"About...hanging out with my friends?"

"Yea. I...Well, I, um..." She tapped her cane against the ground a few times, her head bobbed low. She didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to let her wall crumble, but something about this boy was easing her to do so. "I don't really _have_ any friends...Ya know?"

There was a moment of silence in which Toph took a shaky breath, containing her suppressed doubts and anger and fear as best she could.

"Not any friends here at SRU, huh?" Aang sympathized.

"No," Toph corrected. She drummed her fingers across her cane. "N-not..._any. _In general. Not anymore."

"_Oh._" The boy seemed taken aback. "I...I thought you came from a rich family?"

_How does he know this stuff about me? What is he, a stalker?_

"Wh-...Yea, that's _true, _but..." She frowned, perfectly comfortable being blunt about her family. "My folks are stuck-up and controlling. I was home-schooled. The only kids I ever met with cousins, or-or other kids from other stuck-up families. My fucking parents think that because I'm blind I need to be...to be _protected _all the God damn time, so it's not like I was ever able to get out much and meet anybody." Toph had admittedly found ways to function as a social being through her own means behind her parents' backs, and some of the servants at their home had been kind to her, but Toph had never found any genuine connections with her peers that could be depended upon, so she'd learned to depend on herself.

_I did have _one _friend...But she's gone now._

"Gosh. I'm sorry." The boy placed his hand on her shoulder, and she flinched, shocked by the contact. His hand didn't come back, though she found herself wishing it would in retrospect. When was the last time someone _touched _her? Not just guided her out of obligation, but...just made a friendly gesture like that? This 'Aang' boy seemed awfully concerned about her well being. _Why?_

"N o, no...Not your fault," Toph sputtered. "Could I...Could I ask you something?"

_Please please please. Let this all be true._

"Er, yea. Go ahead." This all seemed so nonchalant to him. Pff, yea, no big deal, just randomly talking to a stranger and touching her and trying to invite her to hang out with you like it was nothing.

"I know I asked you this before, but, like...Why _me_? Why did you bother-...I-I mean, _approach_ me? In the first place?"

"Hm." He paused to reflect, as if he himself didn't quite know. "I'm...not really sure. I guess I'd say it was like a sixth sense sorta thing."

"Huh?"

"You know - like my gut told me to. Or something. You ever get that?"

_What? That's it? This doesn't make any sense._

"Ummm...Can't say that I do," she skeptically decided.

"Ah. Hm. Er, well...guess I can't really explain it, then, it's...I dunno, it doesn't really make any sense."

_Oh, great. It doesn't make any sense to _him?

"W hat? Like you had a _vision _or some bullshit?"

"Heh...A-actually, something like that..."

"_Rrrrreally?_" she muttered, even more weirded out.

"Do you want the truth?"

_Ech. This sounds creepy._

"Sure...?"

"A few weeks ago I had a dream," the boy began. He sighed and she could hear him fidgeting around. "I had this dream where this girl was playing a piano. I don't remember what song was, or what the girl looked like. She'd play her piano, and when she was done, she would smile at me and laugh. And then I had this...this dream again. And _again. _Like, every other night for a week. B ut then my friend, she asked me to come to a recital with her. I had no idea who was playing or what, but I said, 'OK, let's go.' And I mean, like, other people played the piano there, right? But when _you _played the piano...I dunno. It reminded me of my dream."

_Oooookay, then. This sounds just a little bit kooky._

"Sooo...What? You think it was, like, a _holy sign_ or something?"

"I don't know, OK?" Aang insisted, getting defensive.

_Whoa, watch yourself, Toph. You wanna scare him off, again? This kid actually _gives a shit _about you. So what if he's a little...odd? Beggars can't be choosers. Not that I'm a beggar. Hmph._

"A ll right, all right," Toph huffed, rapping her sandaled foot impatiently. "Well, _whatever _it was...here I am. I don't know if _God _in all his _infinite wisdom _has some...some _plan _or whatever. But you're the first fucking person on this whole campus who's actually gone out of their way to try and make friends with me. I'll give ya that."

"Does...does that mean you wanna be friends?"

"That-...Um...I-...Sure? Yea. OK."

_Blaaaagh. Having some tongue trouble, huh? Must be shocked by the whole...simplicity of the thing._

"All right, then!" Aang eagerly grabbed her hand, and when she squeezed back, he shook vigorously. "F riends."

"Ummm...W-well, we're not _friends _yet," Toph clarified with a toothy tease. "You have to _make _those. But if you're gonna stalk me I might as _well _give it a try."

_Wait. Aw, fuck. That probably came across as kind of assholic, huh? Damnit. I'm just tryin' to be funny..._

"Haha...Careful, you might get stuck with me," Aang warned her.

"Heh, I'm kinda tough to stick onto," Toph insisted. "But you're welcome to try."

_Shit. OK, _that _didn't sound inappropriate _at all..._God, what's my problem?_

"H ow about I introduce you to my friends some time?"

"Oh...Totally, that's...probably a good plan. How about tomorrow?"

"That should be fine. What time?"

"Seven? Eight?"

"Eight would be good."

"Eight. Cool."

"Come meet us in the ACC."

"Yea. You got it."

"We'll be on the first floor - just show up, we'll find you."

"Yep. It's a plan."

"Great."

"Sweet."

"So, uh...Have a good night, then, Toph!"

"Yea, you, too, Aang."

As his footsteps faded, Toph realized that her heart had been doing extra duty by the end of their conversation. Flustered by what actually seemed like a successful social interaction with a _real life person_ right in front of her, Toph carried on her way back to Terra, her mind whirling with possibilities. What would his friends be like? What was _he _like? She had so little to work with, here. But in that moment, this didn't matter. What mattered was that some random stranger gave a shit about her, and not because she was blind. Whatever the motivation was, she had been a jerk to him for no good reason and he had let it roll off as soon as she'd approached him . What kind of person was this 'Aang' kid? Going out of his way to make friends for practically no purpose? She wanted to believe that there _was _no purpose, that a person like this could actually exist.

* * *

- Thursday, September 9th, 2010 -

"Hey, Katara."

"Hi, Toph. How was practice?"

"Bleh. I got the basics down by the end, but God _damn_, I just wasn't in the zone tonight."

"Heh, I _hear _you. Me, neither. Today was...stupid."

"It's almost the weekend, though, right?"

" True. Hey, have you seen Jane at all today?"

"Uh, _well, _given the whole _blind _thing, I-"

"Er, _sorry_, I meant-"

"B aha, it's cool, Katara, I'm just messin' with ya."

"Hm. Why do I feel like that's always going to be the case?"

"Hee. I'm a crazy one. You gotta keep your eye on me 'cuz I can't do it myself. Oh, but, no, I haven't run into Jane at all."

"Huh."

"Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I just...Found it odd that she never showed up last night, is all."

"Meh, you shouldn't worry so much. I think she's just got a lot of crap on her plate. Trust me, speaking as a fellow crazy person, ya gotta let people like us find our way in. Remember how it was with me?"

"Yea. _Yea, _you're right."

"_Obviously_. Damn, don't act so surprised."

"Haha, oh, _sorry. _Hey, are you heading to bed?"

"Yea, I'm freakin' _dead_ ."

"Guess I should, too..."

"Night, then."

"N ight."

* * *

**A/N: Song lyrics are (c) The Beatles. Expect to see more of that. ;)**


	11. Comfort Zone

**A/N: This chapter was originally going to be more Sokka heavy but somehow that changed along the way - but it's definitely got a more romantic skew to it. We'll see what happens next chapter, as I really do want to give some more attention to Sokka soon.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 11 - Comfort Zone_

* * *

- Sunday, September 12th, 2010 -

"Why don't you do something with the other guys?"

["Oh. Because Toph and Aang had the same idea that you did. Ha."]

"Ah...Well, I'm sorry, Sis, but Suki and I haven't really spent a lot of time alone yet and she keeps trying to get me to go along with it...and...-"

["No, no! I understand. You really should, Sokka..."]

_Bah. Like I'm some pity case or something. Urgh. Is my situation really that pathetic?_

["When I see you with her, you seem happy."]

"I...I guess..."

["Sokka, seriously. It's no big deal. I'll be _fine_. I want you to have a good night, Brother."]

"Yea. I'll try. Thanks, Sis."

["Love you."]

"You, too."

[_Beep._]

[From: Suki]  
[hey, i'm on my way. i'll come up to your room. :) ]  
[Sent: 6:34pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Suki]  
[Sounds good. I'll be here.]  
[Sent: 6:41pm]

Sokka flopped back in his chair and sighed deeply, a blank stare glued to his ceiling. It wasn't like he had never spent time alone with Suki Kyoshi, or gone out on a date with her. But things had been very different back then. Much simpler, at least. Boy meets girl. Girl moves away. Boy meets other girl. Other girl dies horrible death. Boy meets first girl again. Awkward.

A sharp knock - one, two - stirred Sokka from his introspective confusion. He answered the door to find Suki, as expected. She was dressed in a more formal outfit than her usual: a thin, fuzzy sweater of pine green and black slacks. Business or pleasure, either worked here. She flashed him a coy smirk and slapped his shoulder.

"_So, _we ready for the evening?" she asked him with eager vigor.

"Yep." Sokka straightened the collar on his maroon dress shirt and ensured that the laces on his loafers were tight. His hands were surprisingly difficult to maintain in this endeavor but he didn't let on. He checked his pockets for his wallet, room key, and cell phone. "Off we go, then," Sokka decreed, sliding out into the hall and locking the door behind him.

* * *

"You have a missed call from your parents."

"Don't care."

"They left you a voicemail."

"Whatevs."

"But...But Toph, what if it's, like, an emergency or something?"

"_Baha! _Twinkle-Toes, with my parents, _everything _is an emergency."

"Hm. Good point."

"But that's it?"

"That's it. No other messages."

"'Kay." Toph sniffed, accepting her phone back and setting it on the corner of her desk.

Aang lifted her arms as she squirmed herself into a more comfortable position, her head against his chest. They were resting on her bed after a chilly walk across campus. Toph's nose was still a bit runny from the cold weather, but they had been inside long enough for their hands to have warmed back up. Lying on his back, her head against his chest, her chest against his stomach, he scratched at her back slowly. Enjoying a simple moment of quiet intimacy, he ran his fingers across the ripples in her sweatshirt's fabric.

He smiled as Toph breathed out a peaceful, relaxed sigh. Sometimes he wondered if he was the only one who ever heard that sound - it sure seemed like it. He had never felt this comfortable with so much physical proximity with any other person before...Well, not anyone that was _female, _at least. He and some of the men of Aero could get pretty physical, but that was _quite _different, and usually involved humor or sloppy wrestling.

Aang's mind was drawn to the stubby hand that was pressing itself against his left pectoral, Toph's head resting on his right. She seemed to like doing that - massaging his chest - and he certainly did not mind in the slightest. The weight on the bed shifted as Toph inched her way upward until her face met Aang's neck. She rubbed her nose against him twice before kissing him. That was Toph's 'signal.' Two nose rubs and a kiss: that meant she was in a cuddling mood.

Over the course of the three or four months they had spent together dating during the previous school year, Aang had come to understand that with Toph, it was important to pay attention to these little things. She kind of spoke in her own language - one of touches and sounds. Aang often wondered if Toph herself even realized many of these things.

A string of slow, gentle kisses were placed across Aang's neck, and he rubbed his hands over Toph's hips as she did so, his fingers hovering atop the waistline of her sweatpants. He soaked in her affection, savoring the scent of her hair, until at last her lips found their way to his. Short, slow kisses rapidly evolved into forceful and fast ones. Aang's body tightened as Toph pressed herself down on him, but he kept his hands attached to her hips, cautious to not let them drop any further, while her own rubbed against the back of his head, her thumbs hugging his ears. The slimy surface of Toph's sharp tongue squirmed its way-

"Uhh...?"

Their mouths ripped apart and Toph flipped her abdomen off of Aang's, a _thud _indicating her heel ramming the wall behind her, a whispered "_Fuck!_" thereafter.

"H-hey, Katara," Toph sheepishly spat out. Aang knew he was likely blushing, but was too busy appreciating Toph's now bright red cheeks to consider his own. "I, uh...I didn't know-"

"It's OK, guys."

Katara giggled, closing the bedroom door behind her. She wore a toothy grin as she peeled off her denim jacket and hung it on the doorknob.

"I didn't know you were planning on coming back here," she explained. "I could've stayed out longer, ya know."

"W-well, no, it's, um..." Toph briskly wiped saliva from her lips. "It's fine, I just assumed...you'd be off doing somethin'. And stuff. We shoulda...Shoulda prolly called you, huh?"

Katara gave Aang a knowing glance and a smirk as Toph said this.

"It's _fine, _Hun," she said. "Do you guys...need some time alone?" she asked with a sneaky tone.

"No, it's OK," Aang insisted, easing out his palm. "We were just...-"

"I know," Katara assured, stroking sympathy across the room with every word she spoke. "We're all big kids here, guys."

This marked the first time Katara had bumped into them when they thought they were alone and were up to this particular brand of mischief. At least she was understanding. Sokka would've probably had a baby tantrum and exaggerated the matter had the same thing transpired in their own room in Aero instead.

"_Baha, _maybe _you _two are big kids," Toph joked.

"Yea, Katara," Aang chimed in, ruffling Toph's bangs. "She's pretty childish."

"You don't have to _live with her_," Katara pointed out, sliding into her desk chair and flipping open her laptop.

"I'm a terror," Toph agreed, sticking her head back on Aang's chest, as they had been originally.

"So how come you're back early?" Aang wondered.

"Yea, you told me you were gonna be out late," Toph recalled.

"Oh, right." Katara stared at her bootup screen, undoing the ponytail in her bushy hair. "Well, Sokka has the car, so I'm stuck on campus tonight. I was gonna hang out with Jane, but...she got called out to go do stuff for _Jet_." Her tone had withered into one of bitter disgust by the end of the sentence.

"Why does she still hang out with those people if she doesn't like them?" Aang inquired, remembering a rant Katara had shared to him about the situation a couple of days prior.

"Yea, I don't get that, either, Toph seconded the notion.

Katara sighed, covering her mouth with her palm as she dwelled on the thought.

"She told me that she can't just leave," was her explanation, clearly not much more informed than they were. Katara's head rapidly shook left and right a couple times and she clicked at her laptop. "Like if she did, something bad would happen."

"Sounds like a _great _bunch," jabbed Toph's sarcasm.

"She won't tell me a thing about it," Katara explained, "So I just dropped it. It's probably best if we all tried not to talk about it when she's around...I think it bugs her."

That much had been obvious enough to Aang based on their initial group gathering with her at lunch not too long ago.

"That's OK," he assured. "She seems like she's been through a lot. You really care about her, huh?"

Katara's eyes found their way to his, and he saw a spark of anger hiding beneath a thick layer of sympathy.

"Yea, I do."

"I like her," Toph threw in with a more casual approach.

"Then I'm sure me and Sokka will, too," decided Aang, giving Katara a promising smile. She nodded to him and went back to her computer. "Soooo, did we want to do anything tonight?" A couple of "dunno" tones bounced back at him and he shrugged. "Can we just...Listen to some music, then, or something?"

"Sure." Some slow alternative rock flowed from Katara's speakers.

"Meh, these guys are OK," Toph scoffed, running her hand across Aang's stomach in slow, soothing motions. He moved his thumb up and down across her arm in return.

"If you want to play _your _music, Toph, go right ahead," Katara offered, amused at her roommate's implied criticism.

"Nah, I'm too lazy," Toph replied. "Just don't put on anything I hate and we'll be good."

"OK, then," chuckled Katara, carrying about her business on her computer.

Aang's eyes wandered across the room to the door. Attached to its surface above Katara's coat on the door handle was a drawing of a willow tree on a hill with stars hanging from its branches. Aang felt his insides beaming with pride at the fact that his gesture seemed to have been appreciated. This made his mind wander to the fact that Katara had seemed to have awful luck with her first college boyfriend. It hadn't been a 'he's a nice guy but it's not going to work,' it had just been...her giving a chance to someone far outside of what Aang assumed to be her comfort zone. At least he had lucked out somehow with _this _one at his side. She'd been letting them take their time, this whole 'dating' thing being a first for them both. As the music played on and Toph's body stilled itself, Aang's memory played out his first kiss.

It had been in February of that year, a couple of weeks after they had decided to start dating. The cold winter air had been particularly brisk that day, but Toph had insisted on going outside, anyway. Bundled in winter coats, they had journeyed a complete lap around The Ring, Toph's hand wedged inside his roomy pocket. He had been wearing mittens, but she wore those mittens that had the top that velcroed off, turning them into fingerless gloves. She flat-out refused to wear any other kind of winter apparel on her hands. At least she was generally wise enough to wear boots in this weather - though Aang had definitely spotted her outside in the cold with her sandalls on once or twice. Insane girl.

After rounding The Ring Toph had asked if there was any place they could sit down. On their way back to the House of Terra, Aang spotted a park bench by the sidewalk, so they took a break. At first Aang had found this confusing - sitting down in the bitter cold.

"W-why are we sitting out here in the snow?" he asked after a few moments of silence, their sides smashed together, both bodies trembling.

"J-just b-because," Toph shivered back.

"Because wh-what?"

Toph snickered through chattering teeth and squeezed Aang through his puffy, feather-down coat.

"I f-felt like k-kissing you," she bluntly explained, taking the tops off of her mittens and grasping at his face with bare fingers. They were icey to the touch as they contacted his jaw after fumbling around his hood.

"Oh." He could feel his face warming up despite a runny nose. "W-well, that's-" Her hands tugged at his cheeks, twisting him to face her. Her teeth rattled and her hands quivered against his face. Before he could think of anything to do or say, paralyzed by the combination of cold and shock, her frozen nose bumped into his upper lip, then found its way up. She nuzzled her snout against his own twice before puckering her lips. Aang was startled, almost afraid of her blunt approach. When her icicle mouth pressed into his, Aang's own lips extended, as if by instinct, and they kissed for a couple of seconds before he slowly pulled away. She was smiling a very rare smile: eyes closed, mouth curved in an embarrassed satisfaction.

"See?" She dropped her hands down, flipping her mitten tops back on. "Painless." Toph's eyes were still closed, and she bit her lower lip, teeh showing. "A-and you were all n-n-nervous 'bout it..." she sniffled, and Aang wiped her runny, red nose with his own mitten. He had always known that whenever they _did _kiss for the first time, it would be her that would initiate it. He'd been skittish about the matter but now he didn't know why he had been to begin with. After removing snot from her face, his mitten had somehow attached itself to her chin, and his face had inched its way toward her. They kissed again, another short and sweet touch. This seemed like something he could get used to. Toph stuffed her hands in her pockets and plopped her head on his shoulder, the furry edge of her hood tickling his cheek.

"Is she asleep?" Katara asked quietly, turning down the music on her computer. Aang blinked at her for a moment, perplexed. He glanced at the clock and realized that fifteen minutes had passed while he had been laying there, lost in thought. It was probably around eleven by now, and they had stayed up late the night prior. Aang glanced down at Toph's motionless body. He could feel her chest expanding and contracting into his right side. Based on the pattern, she seemed asleep.

"I think she is," he mumbled, unsure of what to do.

"Why don't you stay here tonight?" Katara offered, getting up from her chair and traveling to her dresser.

"Wh-...?" Aang gasped out. He had slept at Toph's side before, but never in a bed, much less in a bedroom - only on a couple of camping excursions toward the end of the prior school year. "Is that...? You're OK with that?" He was a bit shocked at the idea.

"Aang," Katara laughed as she pulled out a set of pajamas speckled with penguins. "You're her boyfriend. I'm fine with it if_ you _are. Just...make sure she doesn't do anything naughty," she added with a raised eyebrow. "I_ know_ how that girl is..." Aang nodded to her with a smirk as she went into the side bathroom to change. He retrieved his phone from beside Toph's on her desk and set his alarm so as to wake up for class the next morning. He was hitting bed early tonight, so he could always wake up early the next morning to run back to his room and change and gather his supplies for class.

[To: Sokka]  
[hey, im spendin the night at tophs. ill see you tomorrow. good luck!]  
[Sent: 11:12pm]

Katara came out of the bathroom with a lion's yawn, her arms stretching upward as she rose on her tip-toes. Aang's eyes were distracted by her curved copper stomach peeking out from under her shirt, but her arms fell back, setting the displaced fuzzy fabric back over it. He tore his glance away from her hips and up to her face as she shuffled her thick hair about, rubbing at her tired sapphire eyes.

"'Kay. I'm goin' to sleep now," she told him simply. He saw her eyes sparkle as she glanced at the two of them. "You guys are so cute," she complimented with a squinting smile, hands clasped before her. She shut off the light, casting the room into darkness save for the white glow of her laptop's screen. She snapped the device shut before throwing herself into bed and tossing her sheets over her. "Good night, Aang," she whispered. "Good night, Toph."

"Good night," Aang said back before kissing Toph on the head and relaxing himself into her pillow. Her light snoring was the lullaby that put him to sleep.

* * *

- Monday, September 13th, 2010 -

Sokka gave his cell phone a glance: [12:34am]. Stopping by for a bite to eat after the movie had put their arrival back on campus a bit later than he would've liked, but Suki didn't seem to mind. She seemed like as much of a night owl as he was.

"So, uh...You want me to drop you off at Terra, or...-?"

"Well, your roommate's staying some place else, right? We could probably go hang out in your room for a while, don't you think?"

Sokka held in a nervous whimper. 'Hanging out' in his bedroom, alone, after midnight? What kinds of things did she have in mind? He was pretty certain he knew.

"Oh, er, well..." He swallowed hard, hands tight on the steering wheel. "I was, er...I was thinkin' of hitting the sack, ya know? Classes tomorrow, and all that."

"Yea." Suki nodded, glancing off out the side window. "Right. I mean, it _is _pretty late, isn't it?"

"Yeeeeep. Sure is."

"For _most_ people," Suki added. "You usually stay up until two, three in the morning."

"Heh, w-well, some times, sure. But I mean, it's been a loooong weekend, and-"

"What are you so nervous about?" He could feel the heat from her glare on his face. She had dropped whatever niceties she'd been playing in favor of scathing, straight-forward conversation.

"I...W-w-whuh-?"

"First you're all excited to see me again and spend time together but lately it feels like you just want me to leave you alone," she observed with some irritation.

Sokka dared to give her a glance, and used the excuse of driving to immediately tear his eyes away from her scowl.

"Sorry," he squeaked out with a shrug. "This is just...I dunno. It's kinda weird."

"Weird?" Her tone had softened. At least she was going to hear him out.

"Yea." He took a slow breath, his heart pounding as her hand rubbed against his shoulder to comfort him. "Things just ended so suddenly, and then you were gone. Now that you're back, I can't just..._jump _right back into it, ya know?"

"I'm not asking you to," Suki pointed out. "I'm not asking you to do _anything_. I'm just wanting to know what you want from...from _us. _From _this._ Do you _want _us to try again?"

Sokka's stomach suddenly felt empty despite the fact that a recently chewed chicken sandwich was most definitely still sitting there digesting.

"I, uh...I want..." His fingers were drumming along the steering wheel fretfully as he considered this question.

"You're not sure," Suki noticed with a laugh. She slapped his leg a couple of times, shaking her head. "It's OK. I get it."

"It's not-...I just want what's best...-"

Just as Sokka's body leaked out some tension, he felt the old but familiar sensation of her lips against his cheek.

"Just a reminder," she teased.

"Heh, right," he murmured, focused on slowing down to pull into the small parking lot by Terra. "Gimme...some time to think about it," he requested, seriously pondering whether this shimmer of romantic interaction was within his comfort zone or not.

"Fair enough," Suki agreed. "I had a good time tonight, Sokka."

"I did, too," Sokka pushed out, eager to ensure she was aware of this.

"I'll see you soon, then." She opened the passenger door and hopped out, waving him goodbye.

"Yea, see you around."

* * *

The ringing of his phone jarred Aang from his sleep. He fumbled to switch it off, the weight of groggy, half-awake girlfriend making this task more difficult than he'd prefer.

"Ulllggghmmmmrrr..."

"Whuh?"

"Mfffllrrhhggmm."

"Oh...OK...?"

Toph's arm tightened around his waist, her fingers digging into his ribs. He could hear the sound of the shower running in the bathroom nearby. Toph hummed happily and yawned, pulling her hand down and sloppily sliding it underneath his shirt. Aang sucked in a sharp breath, surprised by the sudden contact of her cold fingertips tickling his stomach, but as he exhaled slowly, the sensation became relaxing. He kissed her on the forehead and she let slip a dreary "heee." She wrapped her legs around his right leg, clinging to half of his body as tightly as a sleepy person could. Aang knew he had to get up and get ready, but it was extremely hard to force himself to do this given the circumstances, and given how determined Toph seemed to keep him there. This all became even more true after the kissing began - this time working from his neck over to his ear. At some point or another, Toph had discovered that Aang's big ears were quite the weakness. He could feel his body numb from the pleasure. He'd reciprocate something but he was too enraptured by her hand and her lips paralyzing his senses.

"Gooood _morning_."

Aang's eyes popped open at the sound of Katara's voice, and he could feel Toph's mouth arc into a smile against his neck.

"Rizzmmfracka..." Toph grumbled, retracting her hand from beneath Aang's shirt. She gave him a pat on the thigh before detaching herself and rolling onto her back.

"Sorry I keep ruining your fun," Katara taunted, shaking her head with that same amused smile she had worn the night previously. She had a navy blue towel wrapped around her head and was walking in barefeet, a pair of black shorts and a gray T-shirt on. She pulled out a pair of socks from her dresser and fit them on.

"You little lovebirds sleep well?" she asked.

"Y-yea, slept like a log," Aang replied, surprised at how solidly he had slept. he couldn't recall waking a single time.

"Yehyoodid," Toph moaned, elbowing him slowly in the rib. "Didnhaffenneefunn."

"Hey," Katara snapped in jest. "I told him he could stay the night as long as you two behaved yourselves."

"Rrrrrrgh..." Toph huffed, scratching her head lazily.

"Don't you have a nine o'clock?" Katara checked, raising a brow to Aang. He nodded as he stretched out his legs. "You've got forty-five minutes," she advised.

"Nooooo," Toph whined, groping at his waist as he slid his legs out. Aang chuckled and grabbed her hand, planting a gentle kiss on it before standing up.

"You gonna have time for breakfast, Aang?" Katara wondered, squeezing her towel to dry out her hair.

"Probably," he answered, wiping crust from his eyes as he searched for his sneakers. He prodded Toph's leg with the back of his wrist. "Hey, you wanna join us for breakfast, Toph?"

"Mehhhh..." She puffed out a frustrated sigh that expressed her desire to stay in bed conflicting with a desire to eat.

"I'm just gonna change after my morning class," Aang explained, turning his attention to the more awake girl as she began to brush through her damp hair.

"Haha, all right, go ahead," Katara suggested, her eyes fixated on their mirror. "I don't think you've got enough to go back, change, _and _catch breakfast - and getting some food in your system in the morning in important. But you _will _change as soon as class is over, right?"

"I will," Aang promised, siiting himself down in Toph's chair.

"Well, OK," Katara concluded. "I don't want to be encouraging bad hygiene here by letting you stay the night."

"Izzit hash browns?" Toph managed out, her mind still on the idea of food.

"Yes, there's hash browns," Aang answered with a jokingly demeaning tone. "But you have to get up if you want any." He shook his head slowly as Toph laid on her bed, not budging an inch. "How do you get her up in the morning?" he asked of Katara.

"_Ha!_" she blurted, running her fingers through her brushed hair. "I _don't. _I gave up on that by the end of the first week. It's not _my _problem if she misses class."

"Class..." Toph growled. "It hazz _assss _innit." She rolled onto her side, now facing the wall. Katara smirked slyly and wound her towel up. She snapped it gently into Toph's behind, eliciting a fidget of the rear and a swatting of the hand.

"Speaking of which, it's time you got _yours _up and outta bed," Katara teased.

In that moment, Aang wished Sokka had been around to make some snide remark that he didn't have the wit to come up with. Then again, in that same moment, he also recognized what Sokka was getting at with his theory about gender ratios, but perhaps from a different angle than Sokka would've intended. He clasped his hand in Toph's and tugged, pulling her over onto her back. Katara teamed up with him and dragged Toph's legs to the edge of the bed, letting them fall over.

"Argh," was the only response they received.

"C'mon, Toph," Katara snipped with a more serious tone. "We haven't got a lot of time, Hun. Are you coming or not?"

"Coming," Toph mumbled through grit teeth, pushing herself up to a sitting position. She slogged over to her dresser as Aang checked his phone to see if he had left any notes regarding homework due that day. He couldn't recall anything...

"_Toph_," Katara squeaked, bounding to her side. "Aang's still _in the room_."

"Wh-?" Aang looked up to see Katara, arms spread out before his shirtless girlfriend's back. She shot him a tired glance and nodded her head to the door.

"Well, Goddammit, Twinkle-Toes," Toph roared dully. "Girlz tryin' ta change in here..._Geeeeezzz._"

Aang hurried himself out of the room with a hasty "Sorry!" and shut the door behind him.

"It's not your fault," Katara laughed through the closed door. "Your girlfriend's just a zombie when she wakes up. That's all."

Aang smiled to himself, leaning against the door with his hands crossed over his stomach. The door straight ahead of him cracked open and a pair of drab, olive eyes with dark circles set between a mess of orange hair and a batch of freckles peered out at him before the crack in the door closed.

"Oh," she grunted, wiping her nose. "Hey, dude."

"Uhhh...Hey, Jane," Aang greeted back, tilting his head up at her before she closed the door. How were these girls so comfortable with him being here at this time of day? It was foreign to him.

"We'll be ready in a couple minutes," Katara advised. "You should go meet us in the front lobby."

"Yea, OK. See ya in a bit."

After he got to the main lounge area of the dorm, he pulled out his phone and decided to send his roommate a message.

[To: Sokka]  
[sooooo how did things go last night dude?]  
[Sent: 8:24am]

[From: Sokka]  
[They went well, but I'm super confused now about what to do.]  
[Sent: 8:26am]

Aang was surprised at the speed of his reply, especially given that he knew Sokka didn't have class on Monday until ten and usually squeezed every ounce of sleep he could out of his mornings. As the two favorite girls in his life strolled side-by-side to meet him, he put any concerns at the back of his mind and

"Ready for Monday?" he asked them. Katara shrugged her shoulder, swinging Toph's arm forward and back. Toph seemed more certain of her feelings.

"I can't believe you guys are making me eat breakfast on a _Monday._"

"Breakfast is good for you," Katara explained.

"It's the most important meal of the day," she specified with confidence.  
"_It's the most important meal of the day_," Toph mocked in squawking voice.

"Once you have some hash browns in that mouth of yours," Aang theorized, "you'll feel better, Tater Face."

Toph's lips curled into an unwilling smile and she detached her arm from his, punching him in the shoulder sharply before rejoining.

"That nickname stuff is finally getting into that thick skull," she observed. "You gotta go with the details like that, Twinkle-Toes."


	12. Pessimistic

_What I Learned at SRU_

_Chapter 12 - Pessimistic_

* * *

- Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 -

[Calling...]  
[**Jet**]

"God damnit, Jet," Jane growled, stuffing her phone back into her pine green vest. She kicked her boot into the sidewalk impatiently as she waited for the vibrating to stop. Where was her boyfriend? He was way late, which wasn't like him. The phone rattled against her side again.

[Calling...]  
[**Jet**]

"Argh, fuckin' eh," she huffed, tugging the phone back out in frustration and flipped it open. "What _is _it, Jet?"

["Christ, it's about _time _you picked up,"] Jet replied, his voice unnaturally panicked. ["Where the fuck _are _you, Smellerbee?"]

Jane ground her teeth together, her boot tapping against the pavement.

_What am I, your damned slave?_

"I'm at school. Ya know: _school? _The whole reason I'm _here? _In the state of Pennsylvania?"

["Well, get your ass down to seventh street behind the seafood place. _Now._"]

"What the _fuck_, Jet?" Smellerbee snapped. "This is the third time in the past week, man. I can't be at your damn beck and call every day!"

["Just-!"] There was some shuffling and skidding sounds, and Jet called to the background. ["Whoa-whoa-whoa, Longshot, take it easy there, man."]

"Longshot's there?" Smellerbee inquired, perplexed. This explained why he wasn't _here_ with _her_, but why hadn't he let her know what was going on?

["Listen, Smellerbee, this is fuckin' _important, _OK? Just get _down here, _please."] Not a terribly polite 'please', but the fact that Jet was using the word at all was a sign of urgency.

"What happened?" she firmly asked, piqued with concern.

["I'll explain when you get here. Just do it."]

[_Beep._]

_Shit. This sounds bad...What the hell did you do this time, Jet?_

Jane shut the phone and drew a few rough, slow breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Suddenly her heart was thumping hard. She had an awful feeling, and more often than not, this particular gut reaction turned out to be correct.

* * *

"Why not, Sokka?"

"Why not? Wh-whaddya mean _why not?_" Sokka's voice cracked, and he stared at the back of Aang's head in exasperation. Aang's body tilted to the left and his arms twisted, steering his white plastic wheel sharply to round a tight curve on the screen.

"I just think you're kinda freakin' out too much," Aang explained simply.

"A-pfff!" Sokka fizzed out. He spazzed out a response. "It-it-it's not moral! She...She _died_, I can't just go...go _gallavanting _about with other women all of a sudden, it's-"

"I thought it's been a couple years," Aang pointed out.

"Almost," Sokka sighed, rubbing his eyes, taking the pen out from its wedged position behind his ear and dropping it onto his desk.

"That's kind of a long time," murmured Aang. A thundercrack boomed from the TV and Aang growled as his car shrank to a tiny, toy-sized vehicle.

"It just doesn't _feel _right," Sokka insisted.

"Sounds like it feels right to Suki, though, huh?"

Suki's sly mannerisms and suspicious smiles crept through Sokka's mind, invading the memories of his time with Yue.

"Are you gonna, like...not _be_ with anyone ever again?" Aang wondered, clearly rhetorically. Sokka scratched his stomach, leaning back in his chair, his sister's pleading words reverberating through his skull about how he needed to let things go and try to find happiness again.

"Noooo," Sokka slowly groaned in defeat. "It's not like that..."

"I feel like if Yue was as nice as you say she was, she'd want you to be happy," Aang concluded.

"My sister told you to say that," Sokka hypothesized with a smirk.

"Th-that doesn't make it any less true!" Aang spruted back, smattering banana peels onto the track as he drove by a pair of rivals.

"Yea, yea," conceded the tired roommate as he kicked off his loafers and yawned. "Made your point, Bud. I get it," he dismissed the matter with a tone of acknowledgment dashed with irritation.

"You think you're gonna give it a try, then?"

"Mmmmaybe."

A sneaky giggle came out of Aang as he launched a flash of blue into the air that sped off like a rocket. There an explosion and a flash of azure flames as Aang whizzed by to the finish line. A whirring whistle signified his victory and he pumped his fist in a small gesture.

"I think you should just go for it," Aang advised, turning around to meet his friend's gaze as the game tallied results.

"I, uh...I figured, there, Pal," chuckled Sokka. "I dunno how to deal with it, though. Like..." He flapped his wrists in a circle. "Like I wouldn't know what I was doing, and it'd be all awkward, and..."

Aang shrugged, clicking a button his steering wheel to let the game progress to its award ceremomy. "Let _her_ show you what to do." He showed Sokka a wide grin. "That's what I try. And that works out pretty OK for me."

[You got 1st place!]

"Yea," Sokka kicked one leg over the other, his black sock loose on his foot. "Suki's persistent, too. She ain't gonna leave it alone until I say 'no'."

"But you don't _wanna _say 'no'. Heh."

"Hmph." Sokka nodded. "Pretty much."

* * *

Enveloped in the mystic melody of some intricate piano piece she had never heard, Katara typed away at her homework. Her roommate's keyboard painted a merry mood of notes while her own keystrokes analyzed an essay she had just finished reading.

The sound of a door closing trickled from across the hall, their room open. Katara paused her writing, intent on the sound. Nothing more came. She contemplated her next move before completing the sentence she was on and sliding out of her seat. A quick glance at Toph revealed a serene expression, her fingers like fairies prancing on flower petals to the calming, joyous tune they created.

Katara snuck over to the door across the hall, coffee mug clutched tightly in her hands. She was dressed in her penguin pajamas and matching penguin slippers - everyone was staying home that evening and she had felt like dressing cozy since she had no where to go. A fresh pot of coffee, a practicing musician, and a lot of reading and writing had been her company all evening - until now.

She knocked at the door three times and stood and waited for a moment that was unnaturally long. Jane was usually pretty quick to open her door, and Katara knew she had only just gotten in. She supposed it could have been Jane's roommate, instead, a quizzical girl whom she hardly saw, much less knew. She decided to knock again, calling out "Hello?" this time. Still no answer. She drummed her fingers on her mug and bit her lip. It had been days since she had spent any time with Jane and she hadn't been answering texts the way she normally did. Something was amiss. Since she had knocked and greeted, she felt she was within her bounds to open the door, given that it was unlocked.

As she had guessed, it had been Jane who'd entered the room. It was only about 11:30pm, and Jane's roommate never came in before midnight - at least, as far as Katara knew. Jane was curled in her bed, boots and vest still on. A pair of wide, pale eyes stared up at her for a moment. Katara's heart skipped a beat at the sight: shock and fear was dripping from those eyes, things Katara had never seen in Jane's face up until that evening. Neither girl said a word, they just locked eyes, exchanging doubt and concern. Katara took a warm sip from her mug and set it on Jane's desk corner before sitting on the bed in front of her friend's stomach.

"_Jane_...! What...-?" Katara mumbled, brushing back dishevled hair strands from her face.

"I'm tired," Jane answered dryly, her voice no less gravely than usual, her eyes wandering, struggling to retain their usual dull composure.

"I _see _that." Katara noted, working a hand around one of Jane's. She squeezed tightly to say, '_I am here._' Jane didn't squeeze back. "What's going on?" Katara quietly inquired.

"I had a long night," was the reply she received, spoken with the rehearsed nonchalance Katara had grown accustomed to hearing when Jane was, in actuality, upset about something. As Jane buried her face in her pillow, a sympathetic puff of air passed through Katara's nostrils like a confused laugh. There was dirt in Jane's matted hair, more messy than usual. Katara immediately recognized that this wasn't going anywhere and that whatever the problem was, she wasn't going to find out - not right now, anyway.

"I'm sorry," she offered, rubbing her thumb across Jane's bony wrist. "Guessing you don't want to talk about it." She retreated her hand and stood up on her slippers. Grabbing her mug, she noticed the music from just outside the door come to a stop before Toph began the song over again.

"If there's anything we can do for you..." Katara stared at the mess of orange sitting on the pillow, watching as it rotated to form a weary face. "Just let us know, Jane. OK?"

"Yea." She stared at Katara with furrowed brows - not in anger but sheer bafflement.

"So, uhh..." Katara shuffled to the door, taking another gulp of coffee. "I'll be across the hall. Have a good night, Hun."

"Night."

* * *

- Friday, September 17th, 2010 -

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[**First Base (Again)**]  
[Posted on _September 17th at 7:23am_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[Holy crap. Why am I awake at this hour on a weekday? Who gets up early for class? Seriously? Well, I'm not up early for class. I'm up early because I needed to blog about how freaking awesome I'm doing. Who hit first base last night? _This guy. _But that just makes me wonder what, exactly, is on second and third base...Does anyone know? Not that I'm planning on rounding to home base _anytime _soon, I'm just saying.]

[I don't know how it happened but last night while everyone was studying, my ex-GF asked me to meet her for a cup of coffee. Now hey, I'm not stupid. I knew where this was going to go. But my roommate and my sister have been drilling at me ever since this girl came back on campus to just go with the flow. For whatever reason, I finally decided to do that.]

[And thank God I did. It's like part of me that died came back to life. Only _not _as a zombie.]

[I probably should let my friends know about this, huh?]

[Oh-oh-oh-oh did I mention that she's _Japanese? _So hot. Domo arigato.]

* * *

"Are you _feeling _OK, Sokka?"

"Perfectly fine, my dear," Sokka replied, a wide grin glued to his face as he slapped his arm around his sister's shoulder. "Perfectly fine, indeed."

"What happened?" she demanded with a suspicious glance, narrowing her eyes at him as they paced into the line at Appa's. Naturally, Sokka's choice for Friday night dinner was the location that had the most easily accessible beef.

"Ohhhhh _nothing_," Sokka teased with a wink, cocking his head to the side and giving Katara a squeeze. She dropped her jaw, brows furrowed with impressed surprise.

"You finally gave it another chance," she whispered in disbelief. "Really? Did you _really_?" She prodded his hip with a shove.

"You could say that." Sokka casually ignored her wild expression and surveyed the menu ahead.

Katara hopped up and down and wrapped both her arms around Sokka, her chin on his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm so excited," she oozed out enthusiasm. "That's _great, _Sokka! I can tell: you already seem like you're doing better."

"I am," Sokka admitted. "We're going out on a proper date this weekend."

"Wonderful." Katara ran her hand across his back, smiling at him in admiration of his feat. "Just don't go overboard," she warned with a skeptical glare.

"I won't, I won't," Sokka assured her. "I feel like we're just gonna slip back into where we were before or something...ya know?" He removed his hand from her back and crossed his arms as they neared the register. "What did the guys want, again?" he mumbled into Katara's ear.

"Aang wanted a Veggie Wrap and Toph wanted a large Curly Fry."

"Right, right." Sokka dug into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it up and grabbed a twenty dollar bill. His eyes passed by a photograph of a blonde girl with blue eyes, posed formally at his side for a Christmas photo. He sighed to himself and closed the wallet, putting it back into his pants. He'd have to swap out that picture, he decided. Not to forget Yue, but to forget his guilt.

_She wouldn't want to be the cause of me beating myself up for so long...And I don't think she'd like me holding onto this if it's going to prevent good things from happening._

"What's up, Kesuks?" asked Haru, leaning forward against the counter. Sokka slapped his bill down and rattled off his list.

"Double Bacon Cheeseburger, BLT Wrap, Veggie Wrap, Large Curly Fry, and four waters."

As Sokka exchanged cash with Haru, Katara instead exchanged a sheepish glance with him. All of this talk about dating lately was getting to her head. Jet had been a mistake, and she was _not _keen on making more mistakes right now. She took two cups of water while her brother took the others. Then a thought struck her in the stomach as they went back to their booth: this weekend, she would be a seventh wheel. Toph and Aang, Sokka and Suki, Jane and John...And then her. She herself had been the one to orchestrate their Saturday evening, so it wasn't like she had a right to complain - and really, what was so bad about it? She had friends who had found people who made them happy, who in turn became her friends. Win-win, right?

Katara set a cup before Aang and another before Toph, placed Toph's hand against the cup with an affection rub on the shoulder, and sat across from them beside her brother.

"_So, _Sokka," she began, nudging him with her elbow as he drank. He glared at her, having nearly splashed himself. "You gonna tell them your news?"

"You finally start dating that chick again?" Toph immediately guessed, fingers clutched around her cup. Sokka's still grinning face pinkened slightly.

"As a matter of fact, I _did_," he confidently replied.

"Wow, good for you," Aang encouraged. "That's awesome."

"Sweet," Toph agreed. "Maybe _now_ you'll be in a better mood and stop whining and awkwardly stuttering about it." The group shared a laugh at Sokka's expense as he pushed his doubts to the back of his mind.

"Does it feel weird to be in a relationship again?" Katara wondered, chin in her palm as her eyes wandered over to the counter across the way.

"Not..._really_," Sokka decided after a moment of thought, surprised himself at this fact. "Not with Suki. I mean, like...We never had a falling out or a real breakup, ya know? We just...-" He shrugged, taking a gulp of water. "-...stopped seeing each other. So...Now, it feels like we're just trying to pick up where we left off."

"Or something," Toph muttered to add to his explanation.

"Or _something_," Sokka concurred.

"Maybe I gave you good karma when I broke up with Jet?" Katara jokingly hypothesized, finding the proximity of the timing oddly coincidental.

"Keep the good karma comin', Sis," Sokka advised, raising his palm and gesturing toward himself. "Maybe if you fail your next test it'll make me pass _mine_."

"When do you ever fail tests?" Katara countered, baffled at the prediction.

"I don't," Sokka declared, beaming. "I'm just trying to figure out how it works."

"The worse my life gets the better yours does, huh?" Katara noticed.

"Somethin' like that," he teased back. She slapped him on the back of the head.

"Thanks, Sokka," she snickered. "Jerk."

"Speakin' of your ex..." Sokka topped off his water. "Can I do The Dance yet?"

"The Dance?" Katara mumbled in confusion, shooting him a shake of the head.

Aang sighed and scratched at his ear, head bobbed.

"The Dance," he grumbled.

Sokka stood up in the booth, staring down at Katara with facetious menace.

"The _I Told Ya So Dance!_" he defiantly cried, stabbing a finger through the air as he rotated his hips wildly, thrusting his other arm up and down. This evolved into all manner of seemingly random dances as Katara looked on with dismay. She should have known.

"Dear God, _what _is he doing?" Toph whimpered through the sounds of grunts and humming, her body pulled back, face flinching from the way the table shook as he'd bump into it.

"How do you not know about The Dance?" Aang asked, perplexed, obviously very aware of it himself.

"I do," Katara sighed. "It's just been ages since he's had a reason to do it around me..."

* * *

- Saturday, September 18th, 2010 -

"I didn't like it," Toph threw out her two cents on the matter.

"You didn't like it?" Katara doubled back.

"Nope."

"But it's a great book!"

"Meh. Booooring. Pass."

"Seriously? It was one of my favorites growing up - still is."

"Yep. Got, like, halfway through it, stopped listening."

"Maybe the audio book had a boring reader?"

"Nah, it was just a boring _book_."

Katara smirked in spite of her boldly opinionated roommate.

"Well, _I _liked Walk Two Moons," she confirmed. "I guess we don't share tastes in books, then."

"No, I just don't have _taste_, remember?"

"Oh, right," Katara played along. "We need to rub some good taste off on you."

"Pff, that sure ain't gonna happen while I'm livin' with _you_," Toph dismissed her roommate.

"_Hey!_" snipped Katara, grinning through her mock irritation.

"Hey, Jane!" Toph called out loudly into the open hall. "We need your opinion here!" Katara turned around to see that Jane's door was closed.

"Her door's shut," Katara observed aloud for Toph's benefit. "I'll go get her."

A couple of raps against the door later and Jane's face peeked through a crack that formed.

"Hey, Jane."

"Hey. What is it?"

Katara suppressed her nervousness at Jane's stone wall attitude.

"Uh, Toph and I were...were wondering if you've ever read Walk Two Moons..."

"Never heard of it," Jane mumbled, her expression entirely unamused. "Was that it?"

Katara's eyes drooped away meekly, her fingers locked together before her waist, thumbs twiddling.

"Y-yea, that was...That was it."

"'Kay."

The door closed gently, but it felt like it might as well have been slammed in Katara's face. She stared at the wooden surface for a moment in contemplation before shuffling back into her own room and sitting back down with Toph.

"_Damn_," Toph grunted, a disgusted look about her. "_Someone's _in a bitchy mood lately..."

"Yea," Katara agreed with some bitterness on the tip of her tongue.

"Well," Toph clarified to lighten the mood. "More than _usual_, I mean." Toph smiled at her comment, but Katara did not - she was dipping her toes in the pool of concern she often swam in, especially in regards to Jane Fitzpatrick.

"Hey."

Both girls' interest turned to the voice that had called from the doorway. It was Suki.

"I was trying to figure out where you guys lived and then I saw Katara in the hallway," she explained, slowly entering the room.

"Oh, hi, Suki," Katara greeted, dropping her worries in lieu of the news from that day.

"Well, well, if it isn't Miss...-" Toph trailed off. "Er...Crap." She rubbed at her forehead, confused. "I don't think we have a nickname for you yet, do we?"

"No?" Suki replied, baffled. "Not yet?"

"Not yet," Toph affirmed. "Gimme time, I'll come up with something."

"What's going on, Suki?" Katara wondered.

"Oh, I just...Wanted to say 'hi', figure out where you guys lived..."

"That's right," Katara recalled, "You live in Terra."

"Yea."

"So, Suki," Toph blurted, "Is Sokka a good kisser? 'Cuz he's always bragging and I just can't-"

"_Haaa_," Katara laughed out, cutting Toph off with a sharp smack on her back. "Toph's a bit _nosy_, sorry."

"Bleh," Toph said, sticking her tongue out. "You guys are no fun."

Suki's face had paled at the question but she regained her color after a moment.

"He told you about us, then," she concluded, amused. "I figured as much."

"I'm happy for you two," Katara congratulated. "He's had it rough for a while. Take good care of him."

"I'll do my best," Suki chuckled. "He can be a handful."

"_Believe _me," Katara agreed, "_I know._"

"How _big _of a handful?" Toph wondered. "Six inches? Seven?" There was an awkward, baffled silence, and Toph burst out a giggle. "Sorry, sorry," she spat. "My head's in the gutter or somethin'."

"I wouldn't know about that," Suki quickly insisted, clearly flustered by the comment. "We never did anything like _that._"

"That's good," Katara rushed through the thought. This was her brother they were talking about. "Sorry, Suki, Toph can be..."

"Difficult," Toph mischievously decided. "You'll get used to it."

"Uh-_huh_," Suki quizzically acknowledged, still put-off. "So...I've actually gotta, like...head out now. I have to meet someone in Aqua to work on a group project, I just thought I'd say 'hi'."

"That's fine."

"Yeehhp. Have fun."

"Nice seeing you guys. I'm coming tonight to hang out, so I'll see you at...It was eight, right?"

"Yes, eight."

"Cool. I'll see you then."

"Bye, Suki!"

"Later."

A couple of moments passed as Suki fled off down the hall before Katara broke the silence.

"Toph, why did you _do _that?" Katara sighed, a bit frustrated with her friend.

"It's what I do," was the straightforward answer.

"I think you annoyed her."

"Good. She's gonna have to get used to our stupid humor if she wants to fit in."

Katara believed that Toph had intentionally been saying those strange things just to goad Suki and make her uncomfortable - Toph was known to do this from time to time. The way she explained it, it used to be _all _of the time, so her friends had helped her improve this problem.

"OK, well...Just try to tone it down a bit, Hun."

"Yea, yea," Toph huffed, rolling her head around to stretch her neck. "I'll try."

Toph's comments had made Katara curious as to what kinds of...things...Suki and Sokka would be up to when they got back into their groove. She sincerely hoped they wouldn't make any stupid decisions.

* * *

["YOU HAVE...**THREE**...NEW MESSAGES. **FIRST**...MESSAGE."]

[_Beep._]

["Smellerbee. It's Jet. You've been lying low, right? Damnit...I don't know what the hell is going on. The shit has hit the fuckin' fan, for sure. Stay on campus until this blows over - same goes for Longshot. Was hopin' it wouldn't come to this but we don't fuckin' get everything we want. Right? Fff. Anyways...I'll keep you posted. Just sit tight."]

[_Beep._]

["NEXT MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep_.]

["Heya, Jane. How ya doin' lately, huh?"] It was Toph. ["Katara's gettin' pretty worried about you. You've just been hiding in your room all the time. Did you even go to class today? You should stop by some time, Janey-Jane. This week has been boring without your smart-ass remarks and bitchy attitude. And besides, you've got Katara all freakin' out about ya. You know how she gets."] Toph's tone turned down its humor just enough to convince Jane she was being genuine. ["She really cares about you, ya know. And, like...I'm startin' to. Also. Or something."] She took on a snappy defense, ["B-but don't let that go to your stupid Irish head! I just wish you'd come chill with our friends, is all. I know it's kind of awkward at first - and I know that's usually _my _fault, heh - but seriously, they're sweet guys. Er, like..'awesome' sweet. Sokka's not 'sweet' sweet. Pff. He's an idiot. What the crap was I...-? Oh, right. OK. So, like, come hang with us and stuff. Saturday night we're gonna do something. Give us a call or, ya know, _walk across the hall, _we'll fill you in. Whatever. OK-OK-OK, I'm done now. 'Kay. Byeeeee."]

[_Beep._]

["NEXT MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep_.]

["Good evening. Smellerbee, is it?"] Whoever this was, they were using a device to disguise their voice. This fact alone caused Jane's stomach to lurch as she had an idea as to who it was - generally speaking - and why they were calling. ["Smellerbee...Kind of an odd name for a girl. You _are _a girl, right? It's hard to tell. Interesting stories about _you _floating around. But don't worry. You're not our concern. We just thought it'd be courteous to request that you relay a message to your _fearless leader, _as you seem to be his right hand man. Or was it woman? Let Jet know that the Rough Rhinos know what he did, and that the favor is going to be repaid. Tonight."]

[_Beep._]

["END OF MESSA-"]

Jane closed her phone, her body stiffened, her mind drowning in fear. She stared at the phone in desperation before throwing it onto her bed as if touching it infected her with the poison of doubt.

"_Fuck_," she growled aloud. "Fuck-fuck-fuck." Her hands were trembling and she stuffed them into her baggy pants to try fooling herself into not noticing this fact. Her bare right foot tapped rapidly against the floor of her dorm room as drops of sweat formed on her forehead. She pondered what to do with herself next. She had to call Jet to make sure he was aware of the situation. Begrudgingly, she grabbed her phone and dialed Jet's number. No ringback.

["It's Jet. I'm out fighting for freedom at the moment."]

"_Shit._"

["Leave me a message."]

[_Beep._]

"Jet, what's going on? I thought you said things were going to calm down? I just got a message from them. I don't know what's up but I think they might be coming after you. Watch your fuckin' back, man...Maybe you should skip town? I dunno. Call me _back_. Be careful."

Jane had known that sooner or later, something like this would happen, but she always figured it would play out differently. For some reason she had always expected something like the big fight in Gangs of New York - a mass of people all laying into each other - not a simple tit for a tat like this.

Now even more paranoid than she'd been before, pacing in a circle around her room repeatedly, Jane acknowledged her mental state. She considered her choices. She could continue to hide out, or she could take action. All of this hiding only seemed to be making her stir-crazy and freaked out. She meandered to her closet and dove through her things, retrieving a shoebox. She pulled out a small case and unclasped it. A four-inch knife, clean as a whistle, stared back up at her. Its hilt formed into the shape of a lioness, its mouth open in a roar.

_Hello, old friend. What shall it be tonight? Business or pleasure? What do you think? I'm thinking 'business.'_

* * *

"What about your friends?"

"What about 'em?"

"Aren't they eating lunch with us?"

"Nah," Sokka shook his head with a shrug.

"Oh." Suki seemed disappointed, as she had been hoping to be seeing them more this weekend, especially with how the situation had changed.

"Don't worry, you'll them later. We've got all night tonight," Sokka assured. "Now, c'mon, woman. You're not gonna keep me separated from my food, are ya?" He stuck out his hand, jiggling his fingers to ease her in. She slid her fingers between his and they strode together up the stairs, hand-in-hand in public for the first time since their re-coupling.

After they joined at a side booth on one of the edges of the cafeteria, Suki found herself baffled as to the sheer amount of food Sokka piled together onto his plate, but she knew he would, in fact, be capable of eating it all.

"How was your day yesterday?" Sokka asked, rubbing his hands together before digging into some meatloaf with ketchup.

"It was fine," Suki advised. "Our project is coming along pretty well. We've got kind of a downer in the group, but..." She shrugged, shaking her head. "What can you do?"

"What can you do?" Sokka repeated the sentiment.

"Oh, and I ran into your sister and Toph while I was there."

"What were those two goofballs up to?"

"I'm not sure. But they already knew about us."

"Yea, I told them last night. They're all happy about it. They like you well enough." He gave her a smile after taking another bite of food, his cheeks puffed out. She snickered and prodded at her salad.

"I still can't get over how odd your friend Toph is."

"Man, she's a weirdo, all right," Sokka chuckled. "Never a dull time with _her _around." He chugged down half of his cup of root beer.

"No," Suki knowingly conceded with a raised brow, recalling the uncomfortable comments the girl had made in their last interaction. "But your sister seems very supportive of...well, _us_."

"Haha, she's been bugging me to start dating you again since you last showed up."

"Really?" Suki spat, surprised. "How come?"

"Wh..." Sokka's brows burrowed in thought as he chewed into some more meatloaf to stall time. "It's, er...I kinda got pessimistic about the whole...'dating' thing for a while there."

"Aw," Suki cooed. "Your little sister just wanted to see you give it another try, hm?"

"And she's getting what she wants," Sokka slyly observed with another gulp of soda.

"So why were you pessimistic?" Suki wondered. "Was that...It wasn't _my _fault, was it?"

"_Nooo_," Sokka immediately assured. "Nuh-uh. It was...-" He sighed, his eyes cast to the window beside them, the sky overcast. "Sophomore year, I met this amazing girl...We really hit it off. Really quick, actually."

Suki instantly knew this wasn't going to be a happy story and she felt her heart sink at the fact that Sokka had been through some heartbreak while she had been away.

"Things were...well, I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty freakin' great." His eyes wouldn't meet hers as he spoke, but she understood how hard it was for him to talk with her about it. "But...well...not all good things last."

Suki drank some lemon water through a straw, intent on his every word. While she was curious about the details, she knew that it didn't matter in the context of this conversation, and she certainly wasn't going to tear his heart open for more information than he was willing to give.

"We got in a car crash. She was killed instantly." About as rough as Suki had feared. How discouraging...The pieces were all clicking together now.

_Wow...No _wonder _he's been so awkward. I can't even imagine what that must be like. He probably has been feeling guilty about the idea of dating again._

"That's so sad," Suki plainly acknowledged. "I'm...really sorry, Sokka."

"Me, too," he groaned. His eyes, now staring at his food, made their way up to him. "That's...kinda why this has been so hard for me."

"I understand," she told him with as much warmth as she could. She extended her hand across the table and opened it to him. "Thanks for telling me."

Sokka accepted her hand and took a trembling breath.

"I'm not going to up and leave this time, I promise." Suki squeezed his hand before tugging it toward her and kissing him on the wrist. "I know it's probably hard, but if this is going to work, you're going to have to give it a real chance."

"I will."

* * *

**A/N: If you're wondering what the fight scene from Gangs of New York is like...It's pretty crazy.**

www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=tqEZyn_riV0


	13. Gone

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 13 - Gone_

* * *

- Saturday, September 18th, 2010 -

[To: Jane]  
[Hey, where are you guys? We're about to start things here but we haven't heard from you. Are you not coming?]  
[Sent: 8:04pm]

"Katara, you playing?"

"Oh!" Katara slapped her phone shut and nodded. "Yea, yea. I am."

"Well, _git over here_, then!" Sokka insisted with a wave of the arm. Katara sighed deeply, her concern for her friend having been spiked up sharply since she had last seen Jane huddled on her bed the other day.

She sat down at the wooden table, Aang to her left, Sokka and Suki across from her, and Toph on the tables narrow side between Aang and Suki. A small pile of red cards had already been laid at her chair. Apples to Apples was a curious card game that Toph couldn't play, of course, but enjoyed spectating. Sometimes the group would alter the rules a bit and have Toph judge the winner of every round, but she wasn't up for it this time, it seemed, preferring to lay her head down on the table and listen.

"You know how to play, Suki?" Sokka checked. Suki nodded back, surveying her hand. "Then let's get on with it." He flipped the first green card from the top of the deck in the center and revealed it: {Burly} "First word is 'Burly,'" he announced. "Have at it."

As the other three players shuffled through their hands, Katara's phone vibrated in her pocket. She hesitated for a moment, but her worry got the best of her and she checked it.

[From: Jane]  
[sorry we cant come tonite somethings goin on with the ff.]  
[Sent: 8:06pm]

"Hey-hey-hey!" Sokka snapped, jamming an accusing finger across the table. "No phones during the game!"

"It's the other guys," Katara explained, sidestepping his scolding. "They're not gonna be able to make it tonight..."

"Big surprise _there_," Toph grumbled. Katara shared her irritation. What was keeping the Freedom Fighters constantly busy lately?

"It's not their fault," Katara defended. "It's just that stupid group they're in."

"Their loss," Sokka hurried the topic along. "Let's get playing."

"You're really impatient today," Aang pointed out.

"So I am," agreed Sokka with a shrug. "Now pick a card." After everyone had laid down a card from their hand, he shuffled them a bit and read them aloud with the adjective beforehand. "We _have: _Burly Abraham Lincoln. Burly Plum? Burly Motorcycle. That's easy, I have to go with Abe. That man was a _beast_."

Aang's face lit up as he swiped the green card and set it to his side.

"Yea, I'd pick that one, too," Toph commented. "Who got that one?"

"I did," Aang triumphantly informed her.

"Way to _go_, Twinkles."

Despite the presence of her friends, Katara's focus stumbled out of context and into concern. She knew something strange was most certainly going on, especially after the way Jane had been acting the night before. What if something serious were going on? Should she try and intervene?

"Hey, Katara, you gonna wait all night to put a card down?" her brother teased.

"Right. Sorry." She placed a card in, having not been paying attention to Suki's adjective.

"Spunky Kite, Spunky Harrison Ford, Spunky Wheel Chair." She lifted an eyebrow at her choices and shrugged. "I pick Wheel Chair."

"_Whaaat_?" Sokka whined. "That doesn't even make sense."

Katara, amused by her accidental victory, grabbed her prize as Suki defended her decision.

"I thought half the fun of this game was not making sense. That's how _I've _always played it."

Sokka grumbled an exaggerated, "Rizzarazzafrackafrizza."

"Can't always get what you want, Sokka Darling." Suki tapped his cheek with her lips and he smirked back.

"That's why you get _other people _to get it _for _you," he coyly countered.

* * *

- Sunday, September 19th, 2010 -

Katara was jarred awake by a rough shaking on her shoulder.

"Whaaa?" she moaned, her face buried in her arms. Lifting her tired head, she found herself staring at Frontierville on her computer screen. Her pumpkin batch had died.

"Kuh...Katara," whispered a voice from above.

"Mmm?" She rubbed her drooping eyes and saw Jane's face lit by the pale white light of her computer screen. What time was it? Late at night, clearly, based on the roaring, nasaly breathing from her left where Toph was asleep like a log. She'd fallen asleep at her computer, waiting intently for precisely this moment - for her friend to get back home.

"Jane?" Katara mumbled, confused and dead tired. "What's goin' on...?" she wondered, wiping hair from her face.

"He's dead," Jane whispered with a petrified tone unbecoming of her. Katara's vision was clearing now, and she could see that the normally dulled olive eyes on her friend's face were wide, appalled, baffled.

"What?" Katara grumbled, her brows furrowed, mind foggy. "Dead? _Who's_ dead?"

"Jet," Jane snapped. "_Jet's _dead. He's fucking _dead_."

"How...? Why would...?" Katara was finding this hard to believe without an explanation.

"I...I tried," Jane muttered, staring at her right hand. Katara could see that it was soiled, bruised, and stained. "I couldn't...I just couldn't _do_ anything. Shit..._Agh._" She pounded the side of her fist into her hip in frustration.

Katara was startled wide awake by this situation as she came to notice that the stain on Jane's hand was dried blood.

"Oh my God," she gasped out, managing to contain herself for the sake of her roommate's rest. "Jane, what...What _happened_?"

Jane was bouncing up and down slightly, like a nervous tick, her hands trembling. She tugged on Katara's hand and pulled her up from her seat, nodding her head as a signal to follow - her hand was clammy and cold and crusty with the dried fluid. Hands clasped together, they quickly made their way across the hall before Jane briskly closed the door as quietly as she could. She spun around, back pressed against the door, and stared at Katara with a pleading expression.

"Jet's _dead_?" Katara demanded, running her hand over her head through the light tangles in her hair.

"Hit by a car," Jane quickly explained. "Was on his bike, trying to get away..." She shook her head, hands wrapped around her gut as if in reaction to abdominal pain.

"Trying to get away? From _who_?"

"A gang."

"A gang?"

"The Rough Rhinos."

"Who's that?"

"Buncha thugs," Jane swiftly dismissed. "Doesn't matter." Jane was slowly running her finger across her orange eyebrow habitually, back and forth.

"Why would they be after Jet?" By now Katara felt it was crystal clear that her instincts had been right and that the Freedom Fighters were less than pristine concerning the operations they carried out.

"W-well, Jet, he, erm..." Jane's finger slid up, and her whole hand was on her forehead as she hurried past Katara, sitting herself down on her bed. She hunched over the edge of her bed, her finger digging into her skull. "Fuck," she grunted in pain. "Head's killin' me..." she explained through grit teeth, eyes squinted tight.

"Oh, I...I can go grab some aspirin if you want," Katara offered. Jane shook her head and gestured to her desk's shelf.

"I've got some right here," she informed, blindly pointing her finger up. Katara fumbled her hands around some textbooks before locating the small white bottle. She passed it to her friend who popped a couple of small pills into her mouth. She huffed through the pain, opened one of her eyes, and continued through her headache. "Jet got into a bad scrap with...with their leader the other day. Things got..._urgh_...outta hand."

"Out of hand?"

"_Yea_, Kat." Jane's open eye swiveled up, shooting out a glare. She seethed out in a whisper, "He almost got _killed _so he thought it'd be better if the guy that died wasn't _him._"

Katara let the idea sink in for a moment, fingertips pressed against her lips.

"Jet..._killed_ someone...?"

__

As shady as he could seem I never would think he'd have it in him to do something like that...

"Yea, Katara, he _did,_" Jane insisted. "Not like it'd be the first time," she added quietly, her words loaded with anger. "But this was self-defense."

Katara's mind was having a lot of difficulty coming to terms with all of this all at once.

"Wait, so...Jet got killed because he killed someone _else_?" she concluded incredulously.

"Technically it wasn't a murder that did him in," Jane specified. "But..._pretty_ much, yea."

"So...So what's gonna happen?" Katara's tone was raising the further they got into the conversation, but she was still maintaining her voice at a reasonable level despite the shock.

"What do you...-?"

"What's gonna happen to _you, _to the Freedom Fighters? Are you guys in danger, then?"

"Good fuckin' question." Jane didn't seem to care much about this detail at the moment, her hand still clutching her skull. Katara sat down beside her and stared deeply at her troubled face.

"What about...What about a funeral, or-or...-"

"I don't know!" Jane hissed, tossing her arms and leaning out. "I-don't-fucking-know, OK?"

Katara arced back at the hostility, propping herself by her palms on Jane's sheetless mattress. Where _were _Jane's sheets? The angry Irish girl leaned over her knees, head drooping, and clamped her hands over her face. She sat there like this, motionless, for a few moments. Katara noticed the back of Jane's head: more dried blood stained her hair. Katara put the pieces together and realized that her friend must have gotten hurt somehow during..._whatever _it was that had gone down that evening.

"Jane," Katara soothed, pressing her side into her neighbor's shoulder and slipping a gentle arm across her back. "Are you all right? It looks like you got hurt..."

"Ya fuckin' _think_?" was the rasping counter Jane forced out through her hands. "Hurts like a bitch. _Agh..._"

Katara's ever thoughtful mind was resistant to Jane's bitter attitude at the moment, and it immediately found itself exploring the thought, 'What if she has a concussion?' As she pondered this, Jane's body was pressing into Katara, using her friend's side to support her weight. She slowly let her arms drop, and Katara's heart sank at the sight: Jane's freckled cheeks were sticky and damp, her drab olive eyes bleak. The combination of the pain she was in and the sheer shock of her friend dying were likely causing her thorny wall to crumble, but the razor wire defensiveness left over was still apparent.

Katara drew in a quick breath as she herself was now starting to choke up. She wrapped her other arm around Jane's lean stomach and held her tightly, as if her body could act as a shield and protect this already broken girl. Tears came more naturally for Katara, and she led them slide down her face.

Jet was dead. She believed it from Jane's reaction. Only something as startlingly real as that would shatter Jane like this. Immediately after coming to terms with this in full, she found herself regretting how she had acted. What if she had never broken things off? What if in doing so, she'd set him off somehow to act more aggressively? She managed to gather these doubts together and compress them, locking them away and setting them to the side.

__

This wasn't my fault. I can't blame myself for

his _choices._

But this realization didn't make it any easier. Just a few weeks ago Jet had been a rather important aspect of her life. And now he was extinguished, and she'd never speak with him again - and she'd never be able to apologize for abandoning him so suddenly.

Jane's breathing was rough, almost whimpering. Likely, adrenaline had set in earlier, and now that it was depleted, her body was coming to grips with the damage done to it.

"Fucking..._shit_," Jane spewed out between breaths, her voice cracking. "He's...he's _gone_. Why'd he have to be such an _asshole_? He coulda just...-" She coughed and wiped her eyes on her sleeve as her thought evaporated. "Didn't have to be like this," she concluded with a quivering sigh. She dropped her head on Katara's shoulder in a rare instance of vulnerability. Katara knew deep down that this was why she had been woken up - why Jane had seemed to come straight to her room: she needed Katara's shoulder to rest on in this moment of insanity and felt like Katara was the only person she could turn to for this at that moment. This inherently brought the question: where's Johnny?

"Where's...your boyfriend?" Katara asked at last.

"Probably asleep," Jane mumbled, her eyes closed. "He was busy with something else and didn't know they were coming after Jet, and...I didn't want him involved." She shifted her head and pushed some loose hair strands from her eyes. "So I just told him we had to call off tonight because Jet needed me to take care of something." She sighed, digging her ring finger into her tear ducts to wipe them clean. "He'll probably find out in the morning what happened...He'll be mad but...at least he won't be hurt."

"Like _you _are?" Katara clarified with a sympathetic smile but a furrowed brow. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking...-" She paused and her eyes squinted tightly for a moment before she continued. "-...that I could save Jet...with...without anyone else getting mixed up in it."

Katara sat and contemplated her friend's brave but foolish actions.

__

You're lucky something worse didn't happen to you...You really need to be more careful. For everything bad you had to say about Jet, you really

were _still his friend when he needed you. I hope we can find you some people who will be like that for you, like I'm trying to be._

Jane yawned and smacked her lips a few times.

"You should get some sleep, girl," Katara advised warmly, rubbing her hands up and down across Jane's side. She gave two gentle pats before letting up on their embrace. Jane sniffed sourly and got up, going to the shared bathroom at the side of her room. Katara sat at her friend's bed, baffled at the entire situation, as the sink ran.

"Owwww. Fuck," groaned Jane's voice quietly but calmly. "Katara, could you...could you grab the first aid from the closet?" she grunted out a request.

Snapped to her senses, and to Jane's injury, Katara rummaged through the sliding door closet beside the bathroom door. She immediately saw the first aid kit sitting on top of a shoebox and retrieved it. Katara proceeded to help sanitize Jane's head and wrap a bandage around it. With a white band of cloth around her head, Jane's exhausted body was clearly ready for sleep, especially given the bags hanging from her dead eyes. Katara helped her remove her shoes, but Jane was content just collapsing in the dirty, stained jeans and shirt she had been out and about in. As she settled into bed, Katara advised her on the situation.

"I think you might have gotten a concussion," she expressed.

"That...might happen when your head hits pavement," Jane yawned out. Katara sighed at her neighbor's plight and crossed her arms over her stomach with doubt.

"Don't you think you should go to a hospital?"

"Are you _crazy?_ I'm already connected to this whole mess...I don't need any more attention than I've got right now." Jane's eyes were closed.

"Fine," Katara gave in with a sigh. She didn't approve but she also preferred her friends not being in jail if things were quite that bad. This only further confirmed that the Freedom Fighters must've been up to no good. Her mind whirled around the situation, trying to decide the best course of action. She would simply have to let Jane rest at this point.

"I'm going to come wake you in a couple hours," Katara explained, recalling how she'd been informed to care for someone with such an injury. "Get some rest." Jane didn't respond, her eyes closed as she lay on her side, her lips slightly ajar. Katara scratched an inch on her ear as she cautiously left the room, closing the door behind her with hardly a sound. She slinked into her own room and grabbed her cell phone. She set a vibrating alarm before tucking it below her pillow and setting her head above and beside it. She quickly faded back into sleep, choosing to ignore the smoldering questions about the future of this situation.

* * *

["~You got designer shades just to hide your face~And you wear 'em around like you're cooler than me~"]  
"Katara...Your phone's goin' off..."  
["~And you never say 'hey,' or remember my name~It's probably 'cuz you think you're cooler than me~"]  
"Katara?"

Katara groaned at the music pouring from her phone and the nagging of her roommate. She cracked her eyes open and groped her hand around under her pillow for her phone.

[Calling...]  
[**Sokka**]

"Ugggh," Katara moaned as the music looped. "What does my brother want?" she whimpered, noting the time: [11:43am]

"Probably buggin' ya about lunch," Toph guessed from her dresser, retrieving clothes to change into.

"Hey...Sokka," Katara greeted with groggy irritation, still lying in her bed.

["Hey, Katara. You OK?"]

"I was better when I was still _sleeping_, but..."

["I woke you up? Haaaa. _Wow_. When was the last time you slept in this late?"]

"I had a long night...What is it?"

["It's almost time for lunch - I was just wondering if you wanted us to wait for you, or...-"]

"I'm staying in. I'm too tired to go out right this minute."

"I'll stay, then, too," Toph decided.

"Toph just said she's gonna stay in for now, too."

["Oh. Uh, OK. I guess we'll see ya later then."]

"Yep..." Katara's eyelids were drooping back closed.

["You _sure _you're all right?"]

"Mm-hm. Tell ya later..."

["All right. Well, see ya, Sis."]

"Mm."

[_Beep._]

"You want me to check on her?" Toph offered.

"Could you?" Katara gratefully mumbled out.

"Sure thing," said Toph as she grabbed her walking stick from its designated spot: leaning against the corner where her bed and the wall met. She prodded her way across the hall - both doors were open - and called out upon entering her neighbor's room, "Janey Jane! You asleep?" No reply - not a sound. "Jane? Get up!" Still nothing. Toph bit her lip and paused. "_Get up_," she cried again, louder. Not so much as a shuffling of sheets. "Uhhhh, Katara?" Toph meekly called to her roommate. "Jane's...not waking up...or something."

Katara sprung from her bed and swept into the room, easing Toph aside. She laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"Jane's not _here_, Hun," Katara chuckled, rubbing Toph on the shoulder.

"Oh...Figures," Toph huffed, suppressing her embarrassment.

"Hey, guys. Morning." Jane entered the room with a large plate full of scrambled eggs, the smell scintillating to the Sunday morning senses.

"Did you make eggs?" Toph gasped with excitement, clearly familiar with the aroma.

"Yea...You, uh...ya want some?" Based on the pile on the plate, Katara had surmised that Jane had intended to share.

"Like that's even a _question_!" Toph grinned and ran her palms together eagerly.

"We've got some spare silverware," Katara advised, popping back into her room. She continued conversing as she sorted through their closet. "You must be feeling better, Jane."

"Better. Yea." The way Jane said it tipped Katara off that she wasn't feeling _well _yet, but this was expected.

"How's your head, Fitzpatrick?" wondered Toph, who had been informed of the situation - at least, the head trauma - earlier that morning when Katara had last woken the bruised girl.

"Oh, er...It's, uh...It's been better," Jane tried to make light of it.

"How'd you whack your skull so hard?" Toph further prodded as Katara came back in with a pair of plates and forks to match. "Some o' the ol' Fightin' Irish come out at the wrong place, wrong time?"

Jane shot Katara a humored glance as she replied, "Basically." Toph continued to poke at her for information.

"But the other guy probably walked away worse, am I right?"

"One or two of them? Yea, probably."

"One or two? How many did you _scuffle_ with?"

"Three."

"Ouch."

"Exactly."

"I'm surprised you didn't come back with something worse, then."

"Are you saying I can't handle three?"

"Pff."

"'Cuz I _coulda_ taken all three if I hadn't been distracted."

"Why were you distracted, then, Jay?"

At this question, Jane sighed, dropping her humor, and she pleaded to Katara with an expression. Katara shrugged, nodded, and closed the door to the bedroom.

"I was trying to protect someone," Jane explained.

"This is bad," Toph immediately decided, a suspicious face pointed back toward the door that had just closed. "Some shit goin' on with your gang?"

"Yea. And it hit the fan last night."

"Jet died," Katara cut to the chase, scratching her head through her unkempt hair. She sighed, latching a hand on her arm as the reality of the words she uttered caught up to her.

"Say _what_?" Toph murmured, jaw agape. "Jet's _dead_? Wh...What the fuck _happened_?"

"Crashed while riding his bike," explained Jane with more ease than she had the previous night.

"Sounds like you had a hell of a night..." Toph observed solemnly. She crossed her arms over her chest, sticking her walking cane straight into the floor. "Bar fight and then a motorcycle crash...Um...Good _times_." An awkward silence fell over the trio as Jane and Katara both contemplated whether or not the full story was necessary. They both seemed to have decided it wasn't, as neither clarified things.

"Let's get some food in our systems," Katara suggested. "I'm sure that'll help us feel better."

After they had situated themselves in a circle, plates divied up with eggs, Toph attempted to lament further.

"I never really _knew _the guy..."

"It's OK, Toph," insisted Katara.

"Probably better that ya didn't," scoffed Jane. This set the tone back down a negative notch. Fortunately, they had eggs to keep their mouths busy for a minute.

"These are pretty good," Toph confessed.

"They're just eggs," Jane dismissed the compliment.

"Ehhhhh, but not everyone knows how to cook eggs _right_," Toph insisted.

"OK," Jane chuckled with a shrug. "Thanks?"

"Were you planning on eating all of these by yourself?" Katara picked, narrowing her eyes facetiously.

"I could totally eat all of these," Jane denied the implication, avoiding Katara's gaze.

"Thank you for sharing, then," Katara pressed her gratitude.

"Yeh, ffankff," Toph pushed out through her chewing.

"Welcome," Jane muttered, seemingly embarrassed, as she stood up and reached for her aspirin container on her desk. She popped a couple into her mouth and swallowed them before sitting back down to finish her food. Katara fretted herself over Jane's condition as the girl ate, a band of gauze and cloth wrapped around her head. It may not have been necessary waking up every couple of hours to stir Jane to consciousness, but it had been safe, which was what Jane deserved after all she'd been through.

__

She's going to be fine, Katara. Stop worrying. Jane's a tough girl.

* * *

Sokka had been perusing the pages of the Wayward Times issue he'd scooped up on their way up to lunch while Aang enjoyed a chunky peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A particular story had caught his attention regarding a motorcycle accident.

"Looks like Katara's ex died last night," he nonchalantly informed Aang.

"Wuff?" Aang muttered, his mouth sticky and full.

"Apparently our old friend 'Jet' was out joyriding on his freakin' motorcycle and got himself killed."

"That's...horrible," Aang decided, having swallowed his bite of gooey sugar and bread.

"What woulda been _horrible _would be if my sister was riding with him that night. _Then _it'd have been horrible."

"Hm," was all Aang could think of to say. Sokka was clearly not feeling terribly sympathetic.

"I'll bet he was probably _on _something," Sokka continued to theorize with some disdain.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

A clean-shaven, neatly combed young man, about their age, stood beside their small table, dressed in his Sunday best: a tie, button-down shirt tucked into his dress pants. He had pale skin and slightly slanted eyes - definitely some Japanese in him. He was carrying a clipboard with him, a fancy fountain pen to complement it.

"Errrr...Hi," Aang greeted back.

The stranger stuck out his hand to Aang, who took it and shook, noticing the boy's firm grip.

"Zuko Kurosawa," he revealed his name, shaking Sokka's hand next.

"Ohhhh, you're that kid who's uncle teaches Philosophy," Sokka immediately pointed out. The boy nodded. "I'm in his class - that guy is _great_."

Zuko chuckled and shrugged.

"So I've heard." He cleared his throat and carried himself with a bit more formality. "Can I have a minute of your time?"

Sokka and Aang swapped puzzled glances before Sokka, lifting a palm up, replied, "Sure."

"How often you participate in dorm-hosted activities?" Zuko asked, pen at the ready.

"All the time," Aang cheerily informed.

"Yea, like, once every week or two," Sokka clarified.

"What dorm are either of you from?"

"We're both in Aero," declared Aang with pride.

"Das _right_!" Sokka concurred, sticking out a hand, which Aang high-fived.

"And what kinds of activities does your dorm host that you go to?"

"We had a bonfire the first week of class," said Sokka, tapping his chin. "Meet-N'-Greet kinda thing. With hot dogs."

"We went bowling last week," Aang pitched in.

"So," Zuko continued, "What kinds of things make those events appealing?"

"Food," spat Sokka as he chomped into his slice of pizza.

"I just like how you know there will be people there," Aang answered more concisely.

"All right. Thank you." Zuko scribbled something onto his clipboard.

"What's the survey for?" asked Aang before crunching on a couple of croutons from his salad.

"I'm running for president this year, and I'm trying to get a grasp of what kinds of events the budget should be put into."

"Stuff with food," Sokka insisted.

"I'll...keep that suggestion in mind," Zuko conceded, capping his pen and stuffing it in his breast pocket. "Thanks for your time, gentlemen. Have a good meal."

"Peace."

"See ya."

As the man headed off for more volunteers to collect opinions from, Aang couldn't help but recall what they had just been talking about.

"Do you think your sister knows?"

"About what?"

"About...about Jet."

"_Oh. _Hm. Probably. I mean, she's friends with those thugs, right?"

"Maybe she's feeling upset? Maybe _that's _why she didn't come to lunch today?"

"Could be," Sokka admitted, cocking his head thoughtfully. "She's probably guilt-tripping herself about it."

"Sounds like somebody I know," Aang taunted with a knowing glance.

"Huh? Th-that was totally different," he defended. "Yue was a freakin' _saint._"

"I'm sure Jet couldn't have been so horrible if Katara dated him..."

"_I'm _sure you're giving my sister too much credit for her taste in boys."

"Sooner or later she'll bump into the right guy," Aang assured.

"I sure hope so...I'm gettin' sick of having to be ever-vigilant and keep watch over her." Sokka sighed, shaking his head. "God. _Girls, _man. They just have no sense."

"Yea, Toph doesn't make sense half of the time, either," Aang agreed. "That's part of what makes her so fun, though."

"Katara's probably gorging herself on chocolate right now."

"Huh?"

"Chocolate. When Katara's stressed out or really upset she'll just eat chocolate. It's a girl thing."

"Oh..."

"Comfort food."

"I just eat chocolate all the_ time_. It's _always _comfortable."

"Well, _obviously_." Sokka was tapping his foot impatiently as he finished off his food. "Come to think of it, I thought I saw some cake up there..." He gathered his tray together and stood up.

"I like cake," Aang announced, joining him.

"Who _doesn't _like cake?"

"Crazy people."

"I hear dat!"

* * *

"Uhhhh, Kat? You hungry? We could, like...go...eat something..."

Katara ignored Jane's suggestion, cramming another square of chocolate into her mouth. She shook her head as she chewed, jamming keys on her keyboard and running a search.

"I'm OK," she explained. "I can wait until dinner."

"If you say so...What are you...-? Why are you looking up videos about _kittens_ on YouTube?"

"_Christ_," Toph grumbled. "Is _that _what she's doing?"

"I swear, this is...the most _adorable _thing ever," Katara insisted, scrolling through the video titles before running another search.

"This is what she does when she's feeling stressed out," Toph informed. "She eats chocolate and looks up stupid videos on YouTube."

"Shut up," Katara snapped meekly, ignoring the criticism and her own embarrassment. "Aha! Found it." She started playing a video, Jane hovering over her shoulder, and contained a grin about to burst from her face.

"Ohhh my _God_," Jane whispered in an uncharacteristically squeaky voice. "That's too cute..."

"Make it _stop_!" Toph wailed. "You're taking away Jane's bad-assery!"

"Wh-what? _No_," Jane cried in defiance. "I have..." She prodded a finger at the side of her head, despite the fact Toph couldn't see this. "I was in a hardcore fight last night! I...I kicked a dude in the balls and I punched another in the jaw, and-and-"

"I'm just picking, _geez_," Toph laughed. "I _guess _it's OK if you girl it up now and again, but over a _kitten?_"

A teeny 'mew' slipped from Katara's computer speakers and Katara smirked at how Toph's face contorted into an 'aw, that's so sweet' expression. It rapidly erased itself in favor of exaggerated anger.

"Damn you, kittens," Toph growled, her fist clenched against her chest. "You've won _this _round...But the war rages on..."

"You like making enemies of things that can't hurt you, huh?" Janed pointed out, humored. "First ice cream, now kittens? What's next on your agenda? Rainbows? Lollipops?"

"Fuckin' _lollipops_," seethed Toph without skipping a beat. "You'll be the death of us all..."

"Toph is impervious is rainbows," Katara observed, breaking off another chunk of her candy bar.

"_Haha_! Them and their...fancy '_colors_' that render you pathetic beings mesmerised."

"Wow, Toph," Jane flatly mocked. "What _ever _is your weakness?"

"_I _know her weakness," Katara teased, beginning another YouTube search with coyly narrowed eyes.

"No," Toph gasped, throwing herself into her bed and stuffing her pillow over her ears. "Don't do it!"

Jane laughed, confused at this, and waited for Katara's search to end.

["~Picture yourself in a boat on a river~With tangerine trees, and marmalade skies~"]

"Nooooo," Toph wailed, her tone decidedly giddy.

["~Somebody calls you, You answer quite slowy~The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes~"]

"Toph's in love with The Beatles," explained Katara, flashing a satisfied smile toward Jane.

["~Cellophane flowers of yellow and green~Towering over your head~"]

"And potatoes," Toph added. "God, I love potatoes."

["~Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes - and she's gone~"]

"And your _boyfriend_?" Jane checked.

"Ohhhh, yea. Him, too," Toph confessed with a giggle. "_Especially _when he feeds me potatoes. Or sings The Beatles."

As the chorus to Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds picked up, both Katara and Jane joined in and sung along while Toph cried out to the disembodied voices.

"Take me away, Good Sirs, to this magical land of which you speak!"

As they took turns picking music to listen to, Katara retreated to her phone briefly.

[From: Aang]  
[hey are you ok? sorry about your friend. :( ]  
[Sent: 3:21pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[Thanks. I'm OK. Just spending time with the girls. I'll be fine.]  
[Sent: 3:22pm]

[To: Aang]  
[Does Sokka know, BTW?]  
[Sent: 3:22pm]

[From: Aang]  
[ok as long as youre doing all right. and yea he knows.]  
[Sent: 3:23pm]

[Reply]  
[It's just so strange. I just feel bad. Like it's my fault somehow.]  
[Sent: 3:24pm]

[From: Aang]  
[well it's not your fault! stuff happens.]  
[Sent: 3:25pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[I know. Thanks, Aang. Toph says 'hi.']  
[Sent: 3:26pm]

[From: Aang]  
[np. tell toph i said xoxo]  
[Sent: 3:26pm]

"Hey, Toph, Aang says...uh...'ex-oh-ex-oh.'"

"He says 'ex-oh-ex-oh?'"

"Yea."

[From: Aang]  
[taterface]  
[Sent: 3:26pm]

"He also says 'Taterface.'"

"Pssh. Ohhh, Twinkle Toes." Toph sighed happily, flopped on her back on the floor as Jane sang along to some grungy metal music. "I say 'ex-ex-ex' back."

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[She says xxx back, Twinkle Toes.' You two. =P So cute.]  
[Sent: 3:27pm]

* * *

****

A/N: Song lyrics go to Mike Posner and The Beatles. Or something.


	14. Cursed

**A/N: I'm going to do something different with this chapter. Expect that kind of thing from time to time. ;) It would work better with visuals/audio, but I'm using the written word. So hopefully I can write this in a way you all can follow. I'm not laying out what times things happen at because it'd make this sequence too artificial, but I give you an idea as to when they take place. Enjoy.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
__Chapter 14 - Cursed_

* * *

- Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 -

It didn't rain. It was clear and clean out that afternoon. Katara wished it rained. It didn't feel right. These were always supposed to dull and dreary and rainy, weren't they? Somehow it'd have been easier that way - she could've hid under an umbrella or a raincoat or something. She was wearing a dark gray sweatshirt and black slacks and shoes out of respect for the occasion. Her friend was garbed in torn gray jeans and a black hoodie with a pink skull emblazoned across her left chest and was giving her eulogy.

"-and regardless of what anyone might think, much of what he did was with good intentions," Jane contnued, eyes planted on the wooden box resting in the hole in the ground before them. "He made me realize that being stubborn...can have its benefits - when you're being stubborn about the right things." Her eyes were leaky but didn't drip tears. She dabbed at her face before drops could fall and sucked in a deep breath. Katara, standing right beside her, took her hand and clasped it tightly as she finished. "Jack didn't always make the right choices - none of us do. But at least the choices he made were for others. Maybe he did a lot of things he shouldn't have, but try telling that to all of the people he helped out over the years. Jack always made sure that Freedom was what we were Fighting for."

Her speech concluded, she tightened her fingers back around Katara's hand before letting it go. Katara sighed slowly and silently as she retrieved a folded paper from her back pocket.

"I, uh..." She coughed to clear her throat and spoke up. "I have a reading," she announced calmly. "I know that...most of you...You probably knew Jeh-..._Jack_ better than me. But I...I just feel like...from what I knew...this is how he would feel. Or _does _feel, or...-" She slowed her breath, a knot forming in her throat before she'd even began. She unfolded the note, grateful for the space she was given, and began to read.

**"When I come to the end of the road,  
And the sun has set for me,  
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.  
Why cry for a soul set free?"**

The rain pounded against Sokka's umbrella like so many regrets and desires, hard and unrelenting in that moment. His sister held him close, her arms wrapped around his waist in sympathy. He would let no one else touch him. His father stood beside them but gave his son space to grieve.

{Ulrika Alfven}  
{1988 - 2008}  
{Our Princess has returned to}  
{The Kingdom from whence she came}

"Are you going to say anything?" Katara whispered in his ear through the thumping raindrops.

"What more is there to say?" he quietly replied.

Sokka had no words of eulogy. The tombstone said everything that needed to be said. The Alfven family had already spoken their peace - anything Sokka would have expressed, anyway. Yue's funeral wouldn't be tainted by redundancy.

He could feel it in his sister's breathing against his shoulder: she desperately wanted to comfort him, to say _something,_ to find the light in the darkness, the silver lining. But she said nothing. And he was grateful for this. His sister's arms around him were all that he needed at that time. Nothing more, nothing less.

**"Miss me a little, but not for long  
And not with your head bowed low.  
Remember the love that once we shared.  
Miss me...but let me go."**

Toph's world stood still and quiet - that icy cold quiet she loathed. Her lips were frozen, snowflakes pricking at her face every now and again when the wind gusted. Her mittens were constraining, hands dug deep into her fut coat's pockets. She could feel the presence of her parents looming behind her but she ignored them. They didn't matter in this moment. No one did - no one but Grammy Gram.

Toph pushed the chilly air from her mind and bathed herself in warm thoughts of book readings and being tucked in at night, of gingerbread men and eggnog, of baked potatoes for afternoon snacks, of the soft wrinkles of old skin and the funny smells of old sweaters. Toph ignored the words of relatives she'd never known - and _would _never know - opting instead to highlight her grandmother's funeral with the music they would listen to together, the songs that made her fall in love with music, the songs she _knew _her grandmother would've wanted played on this day. At least they would play in her own mind if no one else would listen to them on Grammy Gram's behalf.

~All you need is Love~  
~All you need is Love~  
~All you need is Love, Love~  
~Love is all you need~

**"For this is a journey we all must take  
And each must go alone.  
It's all part of the master plan -  
A step on the road to home."**

The freckled child with the orange hair glared at the priest with rage as he spoke.

"Let us commend Mary and Joel Fitzpatrick to the mercy of God, and by His will...-"

_God?_

At the age of six, the child with the grouchy face didn't quite understand who this God person was, but if this was His fault then He was a person to be hated. Hated for His stupid guts for taking a kid's parents away. Hated for making a child like this - children weren't supposed to be made this way. The angry redhead could comprehend this, at least - that they were not born natural, that their parents were the only ones who had treated them like a normal child. And now those parents were gone, because this _God_ had taken them away. He was a stupid-head-booger-face and was to be hated.

"-...We therefore commit their bodies to the ground. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of eternal life."

_Ashes to ashes..._

The child knew very well what 'ashes' were. Those dry, flaky black things that fire made out of everything. Their home had been turned to ashes while the kid had been away with cousins. The parents had been turned to ashes, too. And now that child was alone without them, a ball of Irish fury that would turn anything they didn't like into ashes - dust to dust.

**"When you are lonely and sick at heart,  
Go to the friends we know.  
Laugh at all the things we used to do.  
Miss me...but let me go."**

So many strangers...So many people Katara didn't know. Her mother must have touched a lot of lives.

Everyone's words of sympathy meant nothing to her on that day. No "I'm sorry for your loss" would give her anything back. Her mother was gone, and...that was that. She had waited patiently for everyone to say their good-byes and express their consolation for the Kesuk family, and now she had her time alone. Her father and brother had each had their peace - it was her turn, and they had left her to have it.

She fell to her knees in the summer evening's grass and folded her hands together, bobbing her head in vigilance over the wooden box in the ground in the light, misting rain. She tucked her raincoat's hood over her head, cleared her head, and prayed.

_Dear God, please take care of my Mom. And tell her that I miss her already. Very much._

Her eyes were dry, their tears long expired during the funeral ceremony, their drops stained into the coffin. The twelve year-old was surprised at how she began to smile at that cold hole in the earth, remembering so many fond memories she had shared with her mother. Was it wrong to smile? No...No, Mom would want her to smile, to remember those things, to keep those good memories with her. She couldn't just live life crying, right? Certainly not.

She couldn't do anyone any good if she was crying all of the time.

"You need more time, Sport? Don't want you getting sick. Your Mom would hate that."

Katara was stirred gently from her thoughts by the firm hand of her father on her shoulder.

"Heyyyy, I told you, Dad, I'm not a 'Sport,'" Katara protested with a sniffle and a smile. "That's a _boy_ name." Finding something to make light of in this mood was a blessing.

"You play a sport," Hakoda reasoned. "Is volleyball not a sport anymore, or...-?"

"But you shouldn't _call _me 'Sport,'" Katara giggled, taking her fathers hand and letting him lead her away while Sokka filled in her place and gave his own peace.

"What, you wanna be called 'Princess,' instead?" her dad prodded.

"Ew, no," she snickered, rubbing misted water from her face from the fizzing, gentle rain.

"Well, you're gettin' older, Kiddo. I can't keep callin' ya 'Kiddo' forever."

"How about 'Hun?'"

"'Hun?' But...isn't that...-?"

_What Mom called me._

"Yea, call me 'Hun,' Dad. I like that."

Maybe her mother wasn't entirely gone. Katara would make sure that her mother's kindness and caring would live on through her own actions. During the funeral, Katara's dad had said something that had stuck to Katara's brain like a prophecy.

_"She never turned her back on people that needed her."_

_Neither will I._

**"When I am dead, my dearest,  
Sing no sad songs for me.  
Plant thou no roses at my head,  
Nor shady cypress tree."**

"Why _here_, Uncle?"

"This is their home, Zuko."

The young Zuko stared, perplexed, at the memorial stones that resided beside one another. They had mysterious symbols etched into them that he recognized as Japanese characters, but he didn't understand what they meant.

"But...But Uncle Iroh," Zuko muttered, confused, twiddling his fingers together. "Aren't they...Aren't they_ gone_?"

"Their spirits may be elsewhere, Nephew, but their bodies belonged to this home - and this home is where they shall stay."

Zuko was puzzled by this idea: his aunt and his cousin were laying in boxes under the ground at his feet. Keeping dead people in the dirt in your backyard? Kinda creepy. Uncle Iroh had a _really big _backyard, though, so...maybe it wasn't so weird. At least Uncle was feeling better than he had days before. It had been so bizarre, seeing happy old Uncle Iroh cry so much.

The pink petals on the tree that the stones were planted by wobbled in the wind as a warm afternoon breeze made them dance on their branches.

"And eventually," Iroh continued, "I will join them."

"Don't you want to join them _now_?"

"Of course, Nephew. But then I would have to leave you, your sister, and your parents behind." His chubby hand patted Zuko on the head. "And besides, I am sure I was left here because I still have work to do."

**"Be the green grass above me,  
With showers and dewdrops wet.  
And if thou wilt, remember.  
And if thou wilt, forget."**

Toph clenched the servant's hand tightly, her feet skittering across the grass. These blades...were different than others. They were solemn and serene, tickling her feet with melancholy. She had come to recognize this particular field of grass very well.

"We're nearly there, Miss Beifong," advised the portly woman.

"Excellent," Toph affirmed her servant, gripping the device in her other hand by its handle tightly as they marched their way along. She had gradually taken to expressing some more courtesy to the servants who actually treated her with respect, especially since she'd be leaving soon enough for school and they'd be stuck with her intolerable parents.

When they had finally arrived at their destination, Toph set down her bulky device - an heirloom - and felt her hand out to the smooth, marble rock jutting out of the grass. Her fingers slipped across the elegant curves etched into its surface. This was her Grandma's grave.

"Thanks, Madison," said Toph. "I'll call you when I'm ready to leave."

"Certainly, Ma'am." Madison's steps carried her away, and Toph waited until she could hear them no longer.

Toph stood at the grave, continuing to scroll her hand along its surface.

"Heya, Grammy," she whispered. "I came to see you again. I'm going to be leaving soon." Toph smiled as she let her hand drop from the stone. "You'd be proud of me. I told my parents off. I'm going to college where _I _want to go. Just a few more days and I'll be off..."

Toph sighed deeply as she set herself down in the grass in her summer dress and her bare feet.

"And ya know where I'll be going, Grammy Gram?" she coyly teased, groping her hand around the device she'd set down. She clicked in a stiff button, and the device winded up into life, pouring sound out from its speakers. She sang along with the words in a solemn, sentimental way - the way her grandmother would sing her to sleep.

"~Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup~They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe~"

Toph slowly swayed her body to and fro as she sang, envisioning the grainy voice of her late relative joining in.

"~Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind~Possessing and caressing me~"

["~Jai guru deva om~"]  
["~Nothing's gonna change my world~"]

"I've been getting better at the guitar, Grammy. Soon I'll be just as good as you."

["~Nothing's gonna change my world~"]

"You'd better keep an eye on me while I'm at college."

["~Nothing's gonna change my world~"]

"'Cuz you know how I can be, heh. Make sure I find the right people. OK?"

["~Nothing's gonna change my world~"]

"I'm counting on you to still be there for me, Grandma."

**"I shall not see the shadows,  
I shall not fear the rain;  
****I shall not hear the nightingale  
Sing on as if in pain."**

"Put on your coat, Dum-Dum."

"I'm not cold."

"Then stop shivering. It's irritating."

Zuko frowned at his sister's bitter attitude and took the formal coat in his arm and stuffed his body into it. Jamming his hands in his pockets and acknowledging that he was, in fact, pretty chilly, he stared at the extravagent memorial stone left for the sake of his mother, presumed dead. Deep in his gut, Zuko knew that she was dead. She would never have abandoned her loved ones, even if it put her in danger. It seemed that being put in danger must have been what had happened.

"Should we...-?" Zuko shuffled in place. "Should we say something? Or...or sing? Or...I don't know."

"Of _course _we should say something," Azula hissed. "This is our mother we're talking to."

"What are we supposed to say?" Zuko grumbled. "She's not exactly going to hear it."

"Please excuse your _ignorant _son, Mother," Azula bellowed to the stone, tightening her blood red scarf around her neck. "I've been trying to keep him in line, but as you can see, it's next to impossible."

Zuko rolled his eyes at her melodrama and considered the question, _Why did I let her drag me out here?_

"We miss you, Mother," he declared, cutting through his sister's tirade. Whether she could hear them or not, at least Zuko was going to put his sister in her place and on track rather than letting her slip down the usual hypocritical road.

"We most certainly do," Azula insisted with more solemnity than usual, her mittened arms crossed over her chest.

With that, Zuko turned tail and began walking away from the stone, marching through the cold night, down the cemetary's walkway.

"Wh-? Zuzu, where are you going?" Azula demanded with some slight urgency.

"I told Mother what she needed to know."

"So you're just going to leave her here?"

"If I have anything else to say to her it'd be just between us," Zuko explained. "So I'm giving you some time alone with her."

"Buh...But I don't...-" Azula seemed lost with her little brother to ridicule. "Fine," she curtly decided at last. "I'll go first, then."

"Good for _you_," Zuko grumbled, his words outside of her earshot. He approached the Wayward Cemetary gates after a minute or two and dropped himself into their expensive car, the chaufer asking not a word while they waited.

_He's not going to get away with this, Mother. He's prison now. I'm not sure what we'll do, but...we'll work through this._

Zuko lay his head against the one-way window and dozed off into thoughts for a few minutes. His sister entered with a chattering sigh, rubbing her arms.

"Back to our Uncle's," she announced, and the car started up.

"Do you feel any better?" Zuko wondered.

"Of course not," Azula snapped.

"Then why did you want to come here tonight?" he pressed with nonchalance. Azula frowned at him and turned her head away, opting to face the street lamps rather than her brother's skepticism.

_There's still hope for her, Mother. If you _can _hear us, then please...help her. Sometimes I worry she's more lost than _I _am..._

**"And dreaming through the twilight  
That doth not rise nor set,  
Haply I may remember,  
And haply I may forget."**

Jane patted Katara on the back a couple of times in her gruff style of encouragement, and Katara wiped her eyes with her palm. She used her sleeve to clean up her face as she folded up the poem and dropped it onto the coffin. These tears were not entirely for Jet - in her mind, she knew this was true. These tears were for Jet but also for her mother, and for her brother and father. The eerie coincidence dawned on her that anyone with whom her family seemed to get romantically invovled with seemed to pass away quite prematurely.

{Jack "Jet" Chavez}  
{1984 - 2010}  
{May he find his Freedom}

Maybe the Kesuk family was cursed.

* * *

**A/N: The poem was written by Christina Rosetti. Song lyrics by The Beatles.  
And thus concludes what I perceive as the first 'Act' this serialized story, and hopefully it shows sort of what I'm going for in telling a longer, more involved tale. You may have noticed a distinct lack of Aang. His story will be explored more soon enough.**


	15. An Angry Girl

**A/N: This chapter definitely took more time and work than others up until now. I hope it was worth it.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 15 - An Angry Girl_

* * *

- Saturday, September 25th -

"Nope. Not since Tuesday."

"You've just been...ignoring them?"

"Yep. I told them at the funeral: I'm done."

"Well, er..." Sokka shrugged, passing Jane her a white cup with a simplified dragon printed around its surface. "Good for you, eh?"

"Good for me," Jane dryly agreed, taking a sip of her coffee.

__

Ow. Fuck. Almost burned my tongue.

She popped off the lid to her cup and stared at the liquid for a moment, inspecting it. It looked like Sokka had administered enough creamer, at least - nice and light brown.

"So...What happens now?" Sokka wondered.

"Huh?"

"Well, like...I-I thought I heard Katara say at some point that, like...you couldn't just _leave_ the Freedom Fighters..."

"Hmph," Jane snorted, avoiding his curious gaze. "That was back when we had a _leader._"

"What about that gang that attacked you? Aren't you scared of them?"

"If I have to deal with them I can do it on my own," insisted Jane, gently blowing at her coffee. Store-bought coffee was always too fucking hot. Damn. If she wanted to burn off her tongue she'd lick an electric stove.

"Well, aren't _you_ just the big tough girl?" Sokka teased with a grin, nudging up his mug in a casual toast, leaning back against the wall behind him.

"Damn straight," scoffed Jane, still wary of her coffee's temperature. Sokka slurped a bit at his own. How could he drink his? Was his tongue heat-resistent?

__

Am I being a pussy, or something? Wimpy little prep boy here can drink hot coffee and I can't.

"Sooo...What did you want?" Jane wondered, her pale eyes finally glancing up at Sokka. He lifted a brow at her across his travel mug.

"Mm?" he hummed out through his sipping.

"You wanted to...to meet? And have coffee?" Jane mumbled expectantly. "What did...you wanna talk about?"

"_Oh_." Sokka shrugged, setting his mug down. "I dunno. Whatever."

"Whatever?" she repeated with a flat irritation.

"Yea," he replied with nonchalance. "Just wanted to chat, Freckle-Face. Get to know ya."

"A-_huh_." Jane wasn't terribly amused by this. She let Sokka wallow in silence for a minute or two, letting her coffee cool. At last, she asked, "What do you want to _know_?"

"Errr..." Sokka was obviously beginning to notice her grouchy disposition. "I don't-...Ehm. What _should _I know?"

Jane sighed, rolled her eyes, and drank a small bit of coffee.

__

Hmph. Too much sweetener. God damnit.

"You should _know_ that I'm not a very patient person," Jane gruffly explained.

"That's something we share in common," Sokka jumped on the chance. "At least, when it comes to people."

"People are assholes."

Sokka's enthused face cracked a bit, his mind's gears cranking to come up with a segue-way.

"Whh...Y-yea, I mean, they _can _be, but not _all _of them."

Jane bobbed her head to the side in a half-shrug and sipped a little more this time.

"Like your sister," Jane conceded quietly, staring off at a random student behind Sokka.

"Right!"

"Katara's pretty cool," admitted Jane meekly, running her finger around the edge of her cup.

"She certainly is," concurred Sokka with a hearty smile.

"Even _if _she can be a little crazy," Jane muttered. "But _everyone's _at least a little crazy," she mused with a smirk.

"I know _I _sure am," Sokka chuckled, slapping his palm on the table.

"Not as crazy as me," Jane concluded with eyelids half open and brows lifted.

"You strike me as more..._angry _than crazy."

A laugh escaped Jane at this comment.

"Ohhh, I _am_ a pretty fuckin' angry person. But _also _crazy."

"Why's that?" Sokka wondered as he leaned forward on his elbows, curiosity pulling him.

"I've got my reasons," Jane affirmed coldly before drinking some more of her overly sweet coffee.

"Most people _do_," observed Sokka with a solemn shrug.

"Most people don't have _my _reasons," Jane insisted with a narrow glare.

"Fair enough." Sokka sucked down the last of his drink.

"What should I know about _you_, Sokka?"

"I like food. A lot."

A thick sarcasm dribbled out through Jane's lips. "You're shitting me."

"I like history. Especially wars. How people have mindlessly murdered each other in the past...But more importantly, the strategies they used to do so."

"That's...probably the manliest thing I've heard about you so far."

"I haven't heard a _single _womanly thing about _you_," Sokka teased. Jane's fist tightened around her cup at his comment.

"Guess you don't know very much about me, then."

"_Well,_" Sokka tapped his fingertips against his forehead. "Clearly there is much we have yet to learn about each other, Ginger."

__

How many nicknames does this guy have for me, anyway?

"From what Katara's told me about _you_ I'm not really so sure how much I _want _to learn..."

"She's my _sister - _come on. She's going to paint me in a bad light. With ugly paint."

"Weren't you just saying how cool she was?"

"_Well yea, _but I'm more gracious than she is, so of course I'd say that."

"_Fff!_ Yea, _OK_..."

Sokka grinned at her doubt, polishing his fingernails on his button-down shirt.

"I can be _very _sensitive," Sokka advised. "Like, ehm...-"

Jane stared at him, eyes wide with amusement and expectation.

"I'm sorry about your parents," he tossed sympathy out bluntly. His tone's sharp wit had rapidly dulled. "I know how hard it can be." His wandering gaze quickly leapt back to her slightly flushed face. "An-and I guess we were lucky, in...in a way," he injected. "We still have our dad, at least."

Jane's bowels rotated at the sudden twist in topic. What the hell was up with this guy, suddenly trying to be all sentimental and crap?

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Jane recited with a shrug.

"Or it...ya know...makes you angry," Sokka theorized touchily.

"Both," Jane swatted down what she perceived as some kind of offensive against her attitude.

"At least your boyfriend seems pretty mellow."

"Yea," Jane mumbled. "He...he's super chill. Keeps me steady."

"Everyone could use someone to ground them," Sokka acknowledged.

"Heh, especially me."

"I feel like your drill sergeant will probably keep you so grounded your legs will be buried."

"Pah, I'd like to see him try."

"Do you get a lot of crap from them?"

"Huh?"

"From...ya know. From the other guys in training."

"Uh...for what?"

"I've seen you guys jogging around campus. Aren't you the only girl?"

"Yeeeeaa..._So_?"

Sokka shrugged in defense.

"N-nothin', I just...I would figure they might give you a hard time or something."

"I can keep up with them just _fine_."

"I bet," Sokka agreed. "But, I mean...There would be certain things that they'd be able to do easier than you...right?"

Jane glowered at his entirely valid point, utterly infuriated by this truth as Sokka stated the obvious.

"'Cuz they're just _bigger _than you, is all I'm saying."

"And bigger is better, is that it?"

"N-not at all! I'd just...I just wonder if that becomes an issue."

"I get everything done that I need to," Jane specified. "I don't need anyone's help."

"And...So that's why you needed _Katara's _help bandaging that head," Sokka observed, nodding up and glancing at the band of white cloth around Jane's head. Katara had been helping replace it with a fresh cloth each day all week, in fact. Her eyes narrowed further and she opted to glare at her coffee as she drank some more. "And you needed that _bandage _'cuz that's the same attitude you had the night your friend died."

Jane's jaws were grinding together.

"What's your fuckin' _point?_" she hissed in a whisper through grit teeth.

Sokka frowned back for the first time in their exchange. His misted blue eyes gazed into the recesses of her olive pools of rage.

_That Jet might still be alive if I hadn't tried saving him on my own. If I had gotten help._

"My point? My point is that if you're going to fit into our group, '_Smellerbee,'_ your attitude isn't gonna work out."

"Excuse me?"

"No one _cares _about this 'tough-girl' act. I get that you're not exactly into unicorns and fairies and believe me, I respect that. But this loner thing? I don't like it."

"And why the _hell _should I care what _you _think?"

"Because what I think is that I don't want to see my sister get hurt because of the crap _you _get yourself mixed into."

Their eyes remained locked and intense, like two swords sparking against one another.

"She won't."

"She'd _better _not."

"Why?" Smellerbee spat irritably. "What the _fuck _do you think _you're _gonna do about it? Huh, Abercrombie?"

"If my sister ends up in the hospital...or _dead..._because of you and your gang, it's gonna be on _your _hands-"

"They're not _my gang, _anymore, Sokka. I'm _done._"

"Then _why _are you still acting like you have something to prove?"

Another heated moment of silent stares passed before Smellerbee tore her eyes from his, arms shoving themselves across her chest.

"This is who I _am_, Preppie."

"That's great," Sokka grumbled, cocking his head slightly to the side as he stared at her averting eyes. "As long as you don't get my friends pulled into any shady business. For all I care, you can go on with your nonsense nickname. What the hell does 'Smellerbee' even _mean? _Go head, keep on acting like you're a thug, pretending that you're a freaking _boy_, always trying to-"

_Don't you fucking _dare.

"-make sure everyone knows how _tough _you are all the damned time, being _angry _at the whole freakin' _world _because-"

"Stop." Smellerbee flashed up her palm at him. "You don't know a fucking _thing _about me, man. Just...shut the hell up." She gruffly rose to her feet. She glance at him briefly, his gaze still locked onto her. She immediately pulled away and shoved the chair against the table, causing her coffee cup to splash a bit. He could drink the damned sugar water for all she cared.

"What are _you _trying to prove?" she demanded, ignoring the various coffee-drinkers around them who were uncomfortably staring or fidgeting about.

"That I love my friends, and I don't want to see them get into trouble," Sokka replied with a collected simplicity. "That _you _rub me the wrong way, and that I don't trust you, Freckle-Face. Not yet."

"I don't _need _your fucking trust," seethed Smellerbee viciously. "I don't have anything to prove to fuckin' _assholes _like you."

Having said the few words she needed to say like a blunt club against Sokka's face, Smellerbee stomped out of the coffee shop, brutally shoving the glass double doors out and rushing up the stone steps out into the sunny afternoon. Jane paused a moment to soak in what had just transpired. Her gut had been right: Sokka hadn't just wanted to talk, he'd wanted to try and get inside her head because he had a problem with her.

_Shit. Katara is _not _gonna be happy with us..._

* * *

"Jay-mee, _Jay-mee_! Little Cousin _It!_" jeered the boy with the chunky frame.

"Shut up!" hissed the bully's victim, a lanky child of twelve.

"It! It! It!" was the countering chant.

"I said _shut up!_" Jamie screeched through the taunting, punching the opposing child in the arm. The chubby boy absorbed the hit with nary a problem, Jamie's puny little fist leaving no sign of impact. The larger, brutish kid fiercely shoved his opposition, knocking them down into the grass beside the flower patch in the back yard. "I hate you, Nils!" Jamie growled, ignoring stinging elbows.

"Everyone hates _you_, freak!"

"No, they don't!" defied Jamie, slamming a fist into the ground.

"Wanna bet?"

"Leave me alone! Already _told _you, Nils: my cousins are in the _house_." Jamie was scrambling backward nervously as Nils slowly approached, towering above. Nils was a friend of Jamie's older cousins and lived down the street, but as of late he seemed to have taken pleasure in tormenting the youngest child of the household when he visited.

"But this is so much _fun, _Jamie," Nils chuckled. "I'm just trying to teach ya how to be tough."

"I can be tough when I wanna..."

"You're too _girly_ to be tough."

"Shut _up! _Go away!"

Jamie kicked out a slender leg at Nils' fat shin, and he grunted as the sneaker heel rammed into him. Hands pushing through dirt now, Jamie finally flipped over and crawled across the small garden, crushing a couple of flowers in the escape. Nils laughed and stomped right into the thin garden that ran alongside the wooden fence of the backyard. Jamie had inadvertently knocked over a flower where a bee had been harvesting pollen. The bee swerved and landed on Jamie's hand - the child froze and stared at it as it scurried along the pale, freckled wrist. Jamie could clearly see in that moment its chubby, round shape and distinct black and yellow stripes - it was a bumblebee.

"Ya gotta _stand up _for yerself, stupid."

Nils laughed as he stomped on Jamie's back, eliciting a gasp from his victim as he plastered the redhead's body flat into the ground. This caused the bee to fly from Jamie's hand and spiral through the air in fury. It angrily buzzed and whirred around Nils, causing him to lift his foot off of Jamie in a panic, fumbling backward. He frantically thrashed his hands at the insect, eyes wide and afraid.

"Agh, go away!" he cried, oddly horrified by the pudgy bug. The more he swung his arms, the angrier the bee got, until it finally landed on his arm. It jammed its stinger into Nils' skin and he shrieked, swatting at his tricep only to miss. The bug swerved away and landed on his shin, injecting its stinger at him once again. Another roar of pain, and Jamie realized that the 'bully' problem for today just fixed itself. Jamie forced skinny legs onto skinny feet and scuttled right behind Nils, who was fleeing the garden.

"_It stung me, it stung me,_" Nils was repeatedly gibbering, limping away to the back deck.

"That's what you get!" Jamie declared in furious retribution, following him closely, savoring the moment.

"I'm _allergic, _you ass!" the chunky boy snarled. Sure enough, upon observation, it could be seen that the spots where Nils had been stung were swelling and turning bright red. "Why didn't it sting _you?_"

"'Cuz!" Jamie blurted out immediately. "It...It could smell your _fear._"

"Bees can do that?" Nils whimpered, clambering up the patio steps.

"Of course!" Jamie went along with this fanciful idea. "It could...it could smell that you were afraid. It could smell the _evil _coming from you."

It was probably the delusional state of shock and pain that the boy was in, but Nils seemed to buy in to this embellished explanation.

"Friggin'...-" He was gasping out now, his voice wheezing as they entered into the living room through the back door.

"Uncle!" Jamie yelled out irritably into the house.

"What is it?" the mustached man wondered, thumping down the stairs. "What happened?"

"Friggin'...Smelling...bee..." Nils was panting out. "Did I...smell bad...?" Definitely delusional at this point. "Dohn wanna...smell evil..."

"_What?_" spat out the only adult present, baffled. "What happened, Jamie?"

Jamie's arms were crossed, accented by a frown. "He got stung," Jamie replied with a shrug, hands tucked behind the back and words lathered with innocence.

"By what?" demanded the uncle.

Nils offered the answer in a drawling moan, his eyes squint shut in pain.

"Bai uhh...Ssssmellerbeeee...Ulgh..."

A smirk formed under olive eyes, which glared across patches of freckles at the coughing boy as he sat on the couch, choking on the dish of revenge. For months Nils had been grieving Jamie, but today was the day of his first defeat. That small yellow and black insect, that harbinger of this long-awaited revenge, had a name all its own now: the name assigned to it by Jamie's fallen nemesis.

* * *

Katara sighed and shook her head, tossing her arm out dismissively.

"No, it's...it's all right, Jane. He can...My brother can be a real pain sometimes, I know." She collapsed into their booth at Appa's. "He seems to always think he's right," she muttered. Her expression dulled as she added, "And more often than I'd like? He _is _right..."

"Well, he sure as hell ain't right about _me_."

"No," Katara vehemently agreed. "He _definitely_ isn't." She paused to contemplate the situation and the cracks in her armor of determination became apparent as she thumped her head into her arms on the table and groaned miserably. "Urgh, why is it one thing after the other?"

"That's life, Babe," Jane apathetically informed her, slapping Katara playfully on the back of her head, stirring her out of her exasperated stupor.

"Maybe...you should _tell_ him. Tell the whole group."

Jane could tell that Katara's suggestion had been carefully considered, simmering around in her mind for time before this conversation, waiting for just the right time to come out.

"N-not sure that's such a great idea," Jane grumbled dubiously, her pale face flashing like a stop light.

"Come on, Jane," Katara pleaded softly, latching her hands onto her arms with a shiver. She grabbed her Aqua hoodie from beside her on the booth's cushion and slipped it on.

"You cold?" Jane inquired, perplexed.

"Little bit," Katara admitted, rubbing at her arms before stuffing her hands in her waist pocket. "Why wouldn't you do it?" Katara continued, not letting the subject go so easily.

"Ach," Jane grunted, rolling her head about indecisively. "I don't _know, _Kat, it's...-"

"It's very sensitive," Katara knowingly acknowledged. "It's very personal. I _know, _Jane. But you can't expect people like my brother to know any better if he doesn't know the truth. And-and maybe if you open up to them, they won't feel so intimidated by you."

"They feel intimidated by me?" Jane was both perplexed but pleased with that idea.

"Toph was a little at first, but you two are alike in a lot of ways, so I know she really likes you by now. Sokka is _totally _intimidated or else he wouldn't have said any of that stuff to you. And Aang and Suki?" Katara shrugged, her expression nervous. "They just don't know what to do with you. You've been very...antisocial. And quiet."

"But...But I'm fucking _trying, _here," Jane declared defensively, "What more do they-?"

"No, you're _right_," Katara quickly eased, palms out. "You are, I know you're trying, Jane. I know it's...not natural for you."

Jane's heartbeat turned irregular and her breathing went sharp for a couple of moments, a swell of emotion seeping out for reasons she didn't comprehend. Just dwelling on this idea was stressful, bringing back pain and confusion and hatred and rage.

"I don't even...What _is _natural for me, Katara?" Jane demanded in an oddly desperate growl. She smacked herself in the forehead and huffed, fiercely restraining her recently disturbed inner turmoil from escaping the thick shell she bound it within. It felt like a dormant dragon of unspeakable power being awoken and she was being tasked with keeping it at bay in its cave.

"Jane, Hun..." Katara extended a hand across the table, but Jane refused to take it, keeping her arms stiffly straight at her sides. "Whatever you feel is right. That's what's natural for you." She retracted her hand and frowned with regret and sympathy, unsure of what to do to help. "I'm sorry. I'm not meaning to pressure you into it. I think it'd be healthy to do it - to let it out. And I _know _that they'd be supportive. It'd help them understand why things are so difficult for you, and...and they'd probably be more receptive to you if they felt like you trusted them. Does that...Does that make any sense?"

Jane bobbed her head back and forth with a quick glance, the doubt clouding her eyes receding.

"That's how I feel about it, Jane. And as your friend, I'm letting you know that. _But..._If you aren't comfortable with it, then you shouldn't do it. I just don't want you to think that this is something you need to _hide _from them. They want to be your friends, they-"

"Your _brother _sure as hell doesn't..."

"Ehhh..." Katara scratched her ear, tucking a loose locke of hair behind it. "He _does, _Jane. He knows there's more to you than meets the eye and he wants to get along with you. I _know _he does. He wouldn't have been so rash with you if he didn't care."

_I don't trust you, Freckle-Face. Not yet.  
_Not _yet, _he had said. She'd overlooked that specific addition to his phrase in the heat of the moment.

"Sokka's different from me in that way," Katara explained. "We're kind of like opposites. You really have to earn his trust. But once you earn it, he is _always _going to look out for you." She informed Jane of this with specific deliberation, and Jane couldn't deny the very strong bond between the two siblings just based on the tone of her voice, regardless of all she had witnessed between the two in person.

"Hmph," Jane puffed out, barely affirming Katara's guarantee. "How are you like opposites?" she questioned, confused.

Katara grinned and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"I, um...I trust really easily, but..." She shrugged. "I kind of have a lot of trouble getting over stuff when that trust gets broken. Ya know?"

"Yea," Jane murmured, all too familiar with faith being shattered. She found it somewhat admirable how Katara openly tossed out this flaw of hers. She just threw it out there. Jane recalled when they had been getting to know one another months prior. Katara would let Jane peek into the windows of her life with such ease and honesty. At first Jane had wondered what was true and what wasn't, but everything Katara had told her during that summer seemed true - even the flaws she had admitted to, like the over-worrying and trying to fix everything.

"Anyway, like..." Katara showed her friend a confident and encouraging smile. "I don't want to bother you about it, I'm just asking you to think about it."

"OK." Jane nodded, rubbing her eyebrow with her finger.

_Maybe I should just...get it out of the way, then?_

"Let's, erm...Let's do it, then," she decided weakly. Her words were muddled with uncertainty.

"Wh-? Like...Right now?" Katara was taken aback. "Are you serious?" She was not convinced, keen to Jane's hesitancy. "You _sure_, Jane?"

"Serious? Yea. Sure? No," admitted the redhead, her face pinkened again, her entire hand of fingertips running over her brow now. "B-but it's not like they're not gonna find out _eventually_..." She sighed and dropped her arm, wedging her hands between her legs as her foot bounced habitually. "I trust you, Kat. If you...If you think this is a good idea, maybe they should know." She let slide a smirk to her blue-eyed friend who reciprocated, and Jane was glad to see it.

_I'm not exactly a Freedom Fighter anymore. Don't really have anywhere else to go, but Katara seems to want me around. And Johnny wants me to stick with these people...I still don't get why he thinks they're so good for me, but..._

"Besides," Jane amended with a chuckle, "This way if anyone says any shit about me I have every right to kick their ass, no questions asked. Right?"

"Baha!" Katara slapped her leg in concurrence. "You sure do."

"Then let's get this over with."

"Shhhhuuure," Katara awkwardly agreed, still thrown off by Jane's eager disposition. She fumbled around and whipped out her cell phone. "I'm, uhh...I'll let them know." She froze, staring at her phone with a blank expression. "Wait, so...Who am I...-?" She glanced up with a raised brow.

"Oh, er..." Jane's eyes darted to the left as she considered her options. "The whole...gang. I guess."

"You sure you're comfortable with that?" Katara double checked.

"Yea," Jane immediately spat. She wasn't entirely comfortable. She was pretty pissed at Sokka and she still knew next to nothing about Suki. But she had faith in Katara's decision. The more Jane seemed to trust in this girl the more Katara seemed to prove how trustworthy she was.

"All right." Katara's face exploded into a grateful and relieved grin and she began to feverishly punch numbers into her phone.

Jane pulled out her own device and sent a message.

[To: Johnny Longshot]  
[hey im thinkin of tellin my new friends bout...THAT. what do you think?]  
[Sent: 3:12pm]

* * *

"Hiya, Sis, what's going...-?" Sokka froze in his tracks when he noticed Jane spread across Katara's bed to his right. The two practically drew swords with their eyes. "Oh, hey, _Smellerbee,_" Sokka demeaned.

"Hey, _Asswipe,_" Jane hissed back.

"Did she tell you-?" Sokka immediately began, his concern having crumbled into rage as he jabbed an accusing pointer finger at the aloof girl on the bed.

"_Yes,_" Katara interjected, sweeping by Sokka and pushing his shoulder to ease him into her desk chair, which was pointed to face her bed. "Now, stop it, you guys. Come on." Her words sparked with disappointment.

"Is this some group therapy session, Katara?" Sokka grumbed, kicking off his loafers and leaning back in the chair. "You the mediator or something?"

"No," Katara groaned, her lids squinting in frustration for a moment. "Just...Quit it. Where's Suki?"

"What do you need her for?"

"But...I thought she was with you when I called."

"Yea, but you said you needed me for something."

Jane popped an aspirin as Katara mumbled a response.

"Oh...I-I guess I just assumed...-"

"She had a thing with some friends this afternoon," clarified Sokka.

Sokka seemed to be in a fairly irate mood - Jane recalled him telling her earlier that day about his lack of patience with people. She knew full well that his state of mind had more to do with herself being present rather than his sister.

"We can still...go ahead, then - don't you think?" Katara turned to Jane, who shrugged, crossing one leg over the other. She was kind of relieved - she barely knew Suki at this point and wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of that girl knowing about this, anyway.

[From: Johnny Longshot]  
[ ;D ]  
[Sent: 3:47pm]

"What are you _talking _about?" Sokka demanded in a growl, slapping his knees impatiently.

"Jane has something she needs to tell you guys," Katara firmly explained, glaring at her brother with pleading eyes, begging him to calm himself down. Her expression served its purpose well as Sokka's hostile stance faltered.

"Fine," he gave in with a huff. "I don't see why this couldn't have wai-"

"We're heeeeeere~" sang Toph from the hall as they approached. Her voice could be heard singing from the hall: "~Shave and a haircut~" There was a brief pause before Toph thrust herself dramatically in front of the doorway, expression wild as she finished, "~_Two bits!~_" flailing her arms out.

"Wha?" Aang blurted from her side as he grabbed her arm to prevent the wobbly girl from toppling over in her crazed drama.

"I could use a haircut..." Sokka muttered to himself thoughtfully, running his fingers through his floppy bangs.

"Oh, hi, Meathead," Toph enthusiastically cried, fumbling into the room and tripping over his loafers. Aang instinctively reached an arm out as if to once again prevent her from hurting herself, but she had gone off on her own at this point. She laughed and shoved the shoes aside with the side of her foot, slipping her sandals off and heading to her bed, only to bump into her desk chair, which had been moved in lieu of Katara's own chair being rearranged. She rebounded from her chair and finally fell into her bed. Her hair had been styled into pigtails, which she quickly undid and united into a ponytail as Aang joined her, shrugging sheepishly to his friends.

"Hey," Sokka greeted at last.

"'Sup, Toph?" Jane made her presence known.

"Heeeyyy, JayBee."

"Hi, Jane!" Aang waved his hand at her with a wide grin. The ginger girl couldn't help but smile back and lift a hand in reply, charmed by his innocent eagerness.

"Thanks for coming, guys," said Katara as she gently closed the door, locking it from the inside. "Sorry I wasn't specific about what was going on - Jane wanted to talk with us about something."

"Is everything OK?" Toph immediately wondered. "Is your head all right?"

Jane smirked, amused by Toph's slightly more-off-kilter-than-usual mood.

"Fine," she replied.

"Didn't seem so fine to me just a little while ago," Sokka grumbled.

Noticing Aang and Toph's expressions rapidly change from relaxed to confused, Katara quickly laid out the situation.

"Sokka and Jane had a bit of a spat today, and it made us realize that there's something Jane wants you guys to know."

Jane sat up as Katara took a seat beside her brother. The frustrated Irish girl took a deep breath. She ran her hand through her dirty hair - she'd been avoiding washing it for fear of worsening her injury, but Katara was helping keep it disinfected with each change of bandages, at least. Every time she'd receive the same scolding for refusing to go to a hospital, but Jane was simply not going to put herself through that process.

"This doesn't leave this room," Jane issued her condition. "Got it?"

"Y-yea, sure," Toph agreed instantly.

"Promise." Aang crossed his finger over his heart.

Jane's glance cast itself to Sokka, who was hunched in his chair, stroking his patch of chin hair contemplatively.

"What about Suki?" he wondered. Jane shook her head with firm resolve.

"I'll tell her myself when I feel like it."

Sokka sighed and shook his head with a shrug, as if he had little choice in this matter.

"All right," he gave in. "Your secret's safe with me."

"OK." Jane folded her legs up in her chair. Her tight black T-shirt had started to ride up from laying on the bed so she tugged it down, taking a moment to appreciate the bumblebee symbol stitched into the left chest. Her throat dried up, a knot bound her guts together, her heartbeat quickened...

She met Katara's gaze and was calmed by the sapphire eyes that radiated confidence and courage, fueling her to be strong, assuring safety. She cleared her throat and wrapped her hands around her waist, olive eyes shedding their rough shell, grit teeth loosening behind frowning lips.

"I told you guys that my parents died when I was little," Jane reviewed. "And that I ended up moving in with relatives...What I _didn't _tell you is that my parents left all of their savings to me for two reasons." She lifted up her thumb. "One: to pay for my college education." She raised her index finger. "Two: to let me have surgery done when I was old enough to decide what I wanted." Jane at last looked up at the puzzled expressions of the group - Katara's, of course, being the exception. They seemed speechless, unsure of what Jane was getting at.

"I was born an intersexual," Jane announced, knocking her voice down a couple of decibals.

"So you like boys _and _girls?" Aang whispered, his face beet red at the topic. Toph laughed through her nose and shoved an elbow into his side.

"That's _bi_sexual, Twinkle-Toes."

"Oh..."

"Like...a hermaphrodite...?" Sokka muttered quietly.

"_Intersexual,_" Jane specificed irritably, obviously disinterested in the particular word Sokka had used. "When I was born, I...-" She twitched her shoulders. "-...wasn't really a boy _or _a girl. I was...kind of both."

"Whoa." The word slipped out of Aang's lips, his eyes wide, though Toph's brows were furrowed, her face pensive. A look at Sokka's face revealed that he was likely regretting some of the comments he had made up until that point, avoiding her gaze, fidgeting with discomfort.

"My parents didn't want to make me be one gender or the other, so...they decided they would let me decide on my own when I was old enough."

"Wouldn't...that make things _super _confusing when you were growing up?" Toph theorized.

"Yea. It would," Jane confirmed. "But I'm glad I was given the choice. Not everyone like me is so lucky - a lot of the time there's health complications, and...Sometimes they just aren't given a choice."

"Soooo, like, how does that work _out, _then?" Sokka asked, flopping his hands around as he spoke. "I mean, with the kinds of organs, and stuff, how would-?"

"Sokka," Katara snipped, slapping his leg.

"Ow. I'm just _curious!_"

Jane groaned and rubbed her eyebrows, mentally exhausted as it was.

"Isn't 'Jane' a girl's name?" Sokka followed up.

"They named me 'Jamie'," Jane illuminated. "All you need to know is that it was really awkward growing up, and that when I started going through puberty, I decided I wanted to be a girl. And I had surgery done, and I...became a girl. Changed my name."

"So...everything _works, _then?" Toph asked, fairly concerned, it seemed.

"I...I _guess. _Far as I can tell," Jane confessed, cheeks shimmering red. "I mean...we're not _really_ sure if I can have kids or not yet." She huffed through her nostrils, considering whether or not this was something she even wanted. "Not that I've _tried _or anything."

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this is probably why you keep getting mad at me when I pick on you about...being...not so girly," groped Sokka's words hesitantly.

"Ya think?"

"I do."

Toph, hand on her chin, piped up with the question, "How come you chose to be girl?"

"Yea," Aang concurred. "I mean, ya just...You're...really tough, and...and everything..."

"I was raised by men," Jane flatly informed. "I guess they rubbed off on me..." She sighed as her mind fought to damn up the cavalcade of memories that were piling up in her consciousness. "And I got sick of them. Wanted to be..._not..._like them." She removed blue specks of blanket lint that had stuck to the bee logo on her shirt.

"Makes enough sense," Toph conceded.

"Not _all _guys are assholes, though," deduced the redhead, rewarding Aang's polite courtesies with a smile before deliberately sharpshooting Sokka's now guilty slump with her glance.

"Jane hasn't exactly had it easy," Katara concluded to her friends. "She was afraid of telling you this because other people have treated her badly in the past." Jane knew what Katara wanted to add to that: 'People like Jet.'

_Damnit, Katara, I don't need them thinking I'm some fucking wilted flower in need of watering..._

"Bottom line is," Jane announced, "Don't go sayin' shit about me." Olive daggers pierced the pale blue iris pair on Sokka's face.

"O-of course not," Aang assured. "That's..._wow_. Like, I can't even imagine..."

"This doesn't make you think of Jane any differently, right, guys?" Katara threw out.

"No, that just makes me think you're even _more _bad-ass," Toph complimented with a grin. "That must be tough to deal with. No wonder you're such an awesome chick - you _chose_ to be one."

Sokka clucked his tongue.

"Man, Jane, you made the wrong decision on _that_ one," he advised, waggling his index finger. At first, Jane's instinct was to kick him in the groin, but she quickly realized he was trying to use his humor to lighten the mood between them now that he had new material to work with. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this. "What were you _thinking? _You probably regret it by now, doncha?" He winked her way, his index poking in her direction. 'Work with me, here,' was the sentiment his demeanor implied.

"Sometimes," she slyly went along. "About..." She rolled her eyes up in mock contemplation. "A few days every month." A round of chuckles brightened the pity party, much to Jane's relief.

* * *

**A/N: I could discuss a great many things here. But I'll let you figure out what you think on your own. There is more to Jane's backstory which we'll see as the story progresses. Speaking of which, yes, I know I need to move the plot a bit more forward. Will be working at that as best I can soon.**


	16. Leaving the Nest

**A/N: Sorry this took a while longer than usual. Holiday season is the cause. Have fun with this Aang-focused chapter. Enjoy. I decided not to reveal too much about Aang's history yet as I want to make sure I finalize the details first and introduce the more important elements later. But I'm sure there are still some surprises here.**

**Happy New Year!**

**

* * *

**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 16 - Leaving the Nest_

* * *

- Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 -

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[**More Wheels**]  
[Posted on September 28th, 1:12am]  
[by** Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[So my sister's gang member friend - not the one who died, the one who _didn't_ die - has been kind of worming her way into our group here. The more the merrier, right? Meh. I dunno. Like I said before, I'm not sure I trust her, but my sister sure does. We got to know her better this weekend, so it was good to see that she's not just a complete stone wall, but...even _if _she's not as bad as all that, she was mixed up with a bad crowd. I've got a bad taste in my mouth about it. I guess I feel kinda bad. Sounds like she's had it rough. But some people just can't be helped some times, ya know? My sister seems to think this girl _can _be helped, so...whatever. It's not like she's going to listen to me anyway, so I may as well go along with it.]

[Personally, I think my sister is giving in to her habit where she latches onto broken people because she wants to fix them. Ya know? It really could go anywhere: good, bad. Horrendous. My sis says I'm just being pessimisstic. But I think I'm just being a realist. Come on, the girl is from a gang and their leader just got killed.]

[Either way, it's nice to have another realist around, right?]

[End result of all this crap, though, is that our four-wheel car has gotten a lot more wheels. My GF's been hanging out with us a lot, and now this new girl...and sometimes her boyfriend, too. When we're all together it's frankly a little too crowded for me. But I guess it's good because my GF feels more comfortable with more people around, so...can't complain. She's in a good mood, I'm in a good mood.]

[I never thought we'd be rolling with such a large group at the beginning of the schoolyear. Maybe we should start our _own _gang! Not sure what I'd call it, though...Gimme time. Or leave me some ideas. If you have any. That way I can steal the credit. ;D ]

* * *

"Wow, that's so _gorgeous, _Mai."

"Heh. Thanks. It's...not _finished _yet, though."

"Oh...Really? What else are ya gonna do to it?"

"I want to touch up the background a bit, fill it out a bit more."

"Hm..."

"What?"

"Wh-! Er, nothin'."

"_What _is it?" Mai slyly wondered, keen to her classmate's humble habit of withholding valuable criticism. "Come on. Spit it out, Aang."

Aang's shy face drizzled out relief as he shrugged and lifted a finger to Mai's computer screen.

"Part of why I love it so much is the simplicity. If you load the background up too much it'll detract from her face, and you'll lose that simplicity."

Mai paused a moment to contemplate Aang's advice. He had steered her well in the past, she had to admit. Despite not being in the same year, both students spent a lot of time in the Art Lab, and had grown a casual friendship through their mutual work habits.

"Huh," she mused, finger thoughtfully placed on her lips, analyzing her image. "You might be right..."

"That's just _my _thinking," he conceded.

Aang plopped himself into his wheeled chair beside Mai and logged into the lab computer.

"So, how was your weekend?" he wondered, hooking up his external hard drive.

"Kind of stressful, actually," Mai admitted with a dull sigh.

"Sorry. How come?"

"My boyfriend was all...super-busy with his campaign, and...-" Mai's black-nailed fingers dug into her forehead in frustration. "-...his sister's just...being a total _bitch _to us."

"Sounds...like fun...?" Aang attempted to sympathize. "Wait, did you say your boyfriend was busy with a campaign? Like...student government, or something?"

"Yea, he's running for president. Why?"

"Oh. Heh." Aang shrugged. "I think me and my roommate might've met him a little while ago - he was going around the cafeteria asking students questions about, like, campus activities...and stuff."

"Hm. Yea, that was probably him," Mai figured, staring at her screen, still contemplating what to do with the background layers of her Photoshop work. "Zuko, right?"

"Yep, that was him."

"He's been a wreck this past week," Mai lamented.

"Well...That election is coming up real soon, right?"

"In a few days," Mai informed with dread. "He's freaking. Like a chicken with his head cut off. Between that and our schoolwork, I doubt we're going to see much of each other until the weekend."

"That totally stinks."

"Meh. We'll live."

"Hey, you're lucky, though," said Aang with a joking grin. "My girlfriend _never _gets to see _me._"

"Wh-...?" Mai paused and shuffled through her memory banks to recollect that Aang's girlfriend was blind and acknowledged his lighthearted humor. "Oh, ha. Yea...I guess _that's _true..."

"By the way, my project for Monday - could you take a look at it? Tell me what you think?"

"Yea, sure thing, Aang."

* * *

- June, 2010 -

Sokka stood, poised for battle, broadsword in hand, face to the wind. The paint on his face was dried and cracked, mixed with splashes of blood and sweat. Aang stood beside him, staff in hand, its end planted firmly into the grass at his feet. The two warriors gazed off into the distance...What they were gazing at, Aang had not yet decided, so he had instead been focusing on drawing a dramatic eclipse in the sky on the corner of the page.

"Aang!" called out a relaxed voice from downstairs. "The Universe is ready to grace you with the gift of supper!"

"Just a minute, Lily!" Aang replied back, touching up the shading on the darkness of the eclipse before dropping his drawing pad and pencil onto his bed and vaulting off downstairs. The sparse, simple kitchen was filled with the scent of fried vegetables and rice, and Aang's stomach jumped at the idea of food.

"Buddy Bear!" Lily sweetly sang across the house to the chubby man plucking on a ukelele in the living room. "Dinner is served."

"Be right there, My Flower," his almost squawking voice assured. The string plucking stopped as Aang scooted himself into the wooden, rickety chair at the table. He sniffed in the delightful aroma of the various beans and vegetables wafting from the ceramic bowl in the center of the table.

Lily was a spindly woman with long, flowing black hair that was usually tied together in a slim, dangling braid. She was often adorned with hemp bracelets, seashell necklaces, and a tye-dye headband, as was the case on this evening, all laid over top a plain, dulled yellow dress. She was scooped rice onto plates and then dunking vegetables on top. Aang was grateful that this year he'd been placed in a family that was strictly vegetarian, which made a lot of little things run a lot smoother than in previous foster homes.

"Mmmm-_mm!_ Aw, golly, this just smells delicious, Darling," Chong complimented, rubbing his wide belly with a yawn. He was a plump man, always with grayed scruff on his face and shaggy hair on a receding hairline. He generally wore about the same type of jewelry as his wife, but accented with various Hawaiian shirts. Today's flavor was palm trees against pale orange.

At the age of 18, Aang had broken free from the foster care system, legally old enough to make decisions on his own, and had decided to take a scholarship he'd received from Saint Roku University. The college had even been kind enough to help sort out a place for him to stay in Wayward during holiday breaks, such as the summer time. The year prior had been a bit awkward and difficult with a family who had a very different lifestyle than his own, but Chong and Lily - while strange and a perhaps a bit air-headed for even Aang's preferences - were proving to be a more comfortable environment to relax in when he physically couldn't stay on campus. It also meant he never had to worry about any crazy commutes. He wasn't so sure how much he'd visit them when the new school year began, but he was getting the impression that they might not even notice.

The group bowed their heads in thanksgiving of their meal, and while Lily dedicated the meal to them in her own...colorful way, Aang gave his own peace before they began to eat.

"So, Aang," Chong casually initiated, "How're things with the little lady, eh?"

"Huh?"

"Your girlfriend, Dear," specified Lily.

"Oh. Toph." Aang chewed and swallowed some beans. "She's, uh...W-well, she's been a little fussy lately..." he admitted with a sigh. Their contact had been very frequent since over the past couple of weeks since the summer had begun but Toph had not exactly been in a good mood during much of their brief interactions.

"Awww, now, that's too bad," lamented Chong. "What seems to be the problem?"

"It's her parents," Aang grumbled, scooping some rice with his next bite. "They're...not as nice as you guys are. They won't let her do anything or go anywhere, really."

"Overprotective? My word," Lily sighed with a 'tut-tut' of her tongue. "It sounds like her parents need to learn that children need to be _free _to grow."

"Birds can't learn to fly if they never leave the nest," Chong advised.

"Yea," Aang conceded, though on the inside he found himself wishing he had possessed some kind of nest of his own before the days of SRU.

* * *

- Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 -

"You awake, Twinkle-Toes?"

Aang was stirred from his peace by Toph's teasing tone cutting through the breezy afternoon and the gentle bustling of students in the distance.

"I wasn't _asleep._"

"What were ya doin'?" Toph wondered, sitting down beside him cross-legged, like him, and scooting over so their knees touched. Aang smiled at her question and gazed thoughtfully up to the clouds above.

"I was knocking on the sky, and hearing the sound," he explained as Katara rested in the grass beside Toph.

"What did you hear?" Toph pondered thoughtfully, wriggling her bare toes around.

Aang shrugged by reflex and mumbled, "I dunno, nothing clear." Toph's chubby, slightly calloused hand pressed into his shoulder, finding its way up to his neck.

_Smitch.  
_A warm, wet sensation on his ear tingled his senses.

"How 'bout that? _That _clear?" she teased.

"Crystal," Aang warmly replied, reciprocating the gesture on her cheek.

She grabbed his hand, wedging her fingers inbetween his and dramatically flopped herself against his side. Katara, smiling at their snuggling, waved Aang's way before digging into her bag and pulling out a textbook.

"Long day?" Aang wondered to Toph, nudging his shoulder a bit to shake her head around.

"_Shitty_ day," Toph groaned. "I sucked it up at my guitar lesson," she informed with self-loathing.

"Have you been practicing enough?" Aang checked suspiciously. Toph paused her reply, a bitter frown forming on her face.

"Nnnnooo," she slowly growled with a pout. Aang chuckled and wrapped his arm over her back, scratching the hair at the base of her neck before running his hand down her ponytail.

"Gee, maybe that's the reason, then," he concluded with a patronizing jest.

"You've been playing a lot of piano lately," Katara observed, looking up from her book.

"Yea," grumbled Toph, sitting up straight and leaning back in the grass on her palms. "I guess I need to work more on my guitar..."

"Guess you need to work more on your _face_," Aang advised facetiously.

Toph contorted her expression into a wild, monstrous one, hooking her fingers into her lips and stretching her mouth wide open. Aang had to arc his neck over to observe it as she was facing straight ahead.

"Was that better?" she asked as she reverted to normal.

"I guess I like your face the way it was in the first place," Aang expressed with joking regret, pinching her cheek. She batted him away with a sharp elbow jab and grinned with mischief.

"Well, makes no difference to _me _what my face looks like," she taunted.

"Please don't become disfigured," Aang requested politely. "I've gotten rather used to your face."

"Would you still _love me _if I was disfigured?" Toph prodded in a melodramatic tone.

"Of course," Aang assured with a laugh, scratching her shoulder affectionately.

"Oh." Toph crossed her arms. "Well, pff. _That's _no fun."

Aang's closed the case on the matter gleefully. "Then I guess I have nothing to worry about."

"God, can you two go be cute somewhere else?" The dry, raspy sarcasm of Jane glowered over them. She slapped them both on the back with her wrists at once. "You guys cramp my style. It's embarrassing to be around all of your God damned..._cuteness._"

"H-hey!" Toph protested, suddenly serious. "I'm not too cute. I'm...a total bad-ass _rocker_ chick." Toph scrambled to her feet, spun around to face Jane, and thumbed herself in the chest. "_See?_"

There was an awkward silence as Jane raised a thick, orange eyebrow and bit her lip, a chuckle urging to escape. Aang leaned back and stared up to see a large, happy-looking penguin sprawled across her breasts, flippers up in the air in celebratory fashion.

"Didn't realize _penguins _were so hardcore," Jane forced out, barely containing an explosive laugh.

"_What?_" Toph snipped in an indignant squeak. "It's an AC/DC shirt!" she roared.

"It has a penguin on it," Aang informed slyly, recognizing the shirt. "That's Katara's shirt, Tater-Face."

"Huh?" Toph's arm drooped and she twisted a confused head to her roommate, who was snickering, mouth covered.

"You spilled grape juice on your AC/DC shirt at lunch so I let you borrow one of mine - remember?"

"_Oh._" Toph's face boiled red as she flopped into the grass again, still facing Jane. "I forgot," she admitted in a grumble, scratching her forehead sheepishly. Aang could detect a hint of frustration in her body language: she was a tad angry about embarrassing herself due to her inability to see. Likely, her blindness had caused the spill in the first place, and consequently caused her to not realize what she was wearing. "_Thought _my shirt seemed a little loose..." she quietly mused to herself, tugging the shirt tightly against her self.

"It's cool, Toph," Jane eased, kicking Toph's shin lightly with her thick army boot. "I know you're a bonafide badass."

"She's had a bad day," Katara explained with sympathy, tapping her roommate on the shoulder playfully.

"_Shitty_ day," Toph corrected once again.

"Let's have a better evening, then," Aang suggested.

"I thought that's what we were _doing_," Toph noted, stretching back and laying down in the grass.

"I'm up for whatever," Jane threw out her interest casually.

"I actually have some work to take care of," Katara explained.

"Sokka's studying for a test tonight," Aang added. "He's stressing out over it."

"Soooo, basically, he's perfectly fine," Sokka's sister noted.

"Pretty much."

"Soooo what are _we _gonna do, then?" Toph wondered.

Clearly, Suki was out. The group had noticed this habit where Suki only ever seemed interested in spending time with them when Sokka was around. The same could be said of Jane's boyfriend, though he was clearly tied up with his...'group.' Not to mention that the boy never had much to say. As in, he pretty much never spoke.

"Maybe we could play poker, or something?" Jane threw out an idea.

"'Cuz that's _so _fun for the blind girl," Toph grouched.

Jane lifted a brow and smirked, prodding Toph in the forehead with her knuckles.

"Sorry, there, Cripple," she teased. "It's not like we've never played cards before with you around. What did _you _have in mind, then?"

"Pff. I dunno," Toph blurted.

"Then how about we go for poker and if you come up with something you want to do, we'll do _that _afterward."

"Fair enough," Toph agreed coolly, clearly not actually as interested in the 'what' as the 'who.'

"I'll call Lon- er, Johnny, and, uh...Let him know. He loves poker." Jane pulled out her phone and made her call, stepping away for a moment.

"You sure you're OK with that, Toph?" Aang checked. He knew she was, but he felt it'd be best to play the pleasing role in their company. She giggled when she replied and he could tell she knew he was asking out of formality.

"Of course, Twinkle-Toes - why wouldn't I be?"

"Just checking," he replied, scratching her on the arm.

* * *

- December, 2009 -

"Are you all right?" Aang gasped out, kneeling over and reaching for Toph's fallen form. She had stumbled while going up the stairs and had skinned her elbow on the corner of a step, managing to catch herself before her face had smashed into the stairs. Aang had offered to escort her but she had flatly declined.

"I'm _fine,_" Toph irritably snapped, pushing her arms out at his groping hands. "God, I can get up on my _own, _all right?" She pushing herself up to her feet, grasping at the rail with both hands as she regained her footing. Wriggling around her wrist for the cane looped around it, she sucked a sharp breath through her teeth at the pain from her arm and continued up the stairs.

"OK," Aang meekly conceded, confused as to how to proceed. It seemed like the more polite he was the more angry she'd get with him. Quite a queer girl, this Toph was.

"Well?" Toph growled impatiently. "We _going?_"

"Y-yea!" Aang blurted, shuffling up in front of her and to the dorm room floor. "Wow," he whispered as he entered the hall. "It's...so _quiet _here," he observed.

"_Well, _some of us have _studying _to take care of, Aang," Toph pointed out testily. "Not everyone runs around their dorm like wild animals."

Aang couldn't help but crack a grin at this criticism lodged at his brotherhood. To him, it was more of a compliment.

"That's because not everyone cares about having _fun,_" Aang defended jovially. Toph smirked at him as they made their way down the dead hallway to Toph's bedroom.

"I thought we were here to _learn,_" she pondered.

"Is _that _what they told you?" Aang joked. "What have you learned since you've come here?"

Toph trudged into her room and Aang, against his temptation to help, let her toss herself into her bed.

"_I-_" she grunted, setting herself in so she was comfortable. "-have learned that sometimes it's better to put things off until later. Heh."

Aang was perplexed as to where to sit, and opted to take the chair by the desk near the closed laptop.

"Haha, it sure is."

The two contemplated what to say next after a moment of silence.

"Sooo...Those other guys are coming, right?"

"Katara and Sokka?"

"Yea. Those guys."

"Yep, they are."

"'Kay." Toph stretched up her toes and slowly leaned forward, touching them with her fingertips.

"So, uhh...You like it here? In Terra?" Aang wondered.

"Meh. It's OK, I guess," Toph mumbled with nonchalance. "I keep to myself, which is pretty easy to do here."

Aang acknowledged that this was likely true. Keeping to one's self was much more difficult in Aero. But to him, that wasn't a bad thing.

"Cool," Aang muttered back. "So you're a Piano Major?"

She chuckled and cocked her head back.

"I'm a Music Performance Double Major. Piano and Guitar."

"Guitar, huh?"

"_Guitar,_" she repeated devilishly. "Want me to show ya?" she asked, eager to show off.

"Sh-sure, yea," Aang agreed. Toph flipped off of her bed and began to fumble toward the guitar resting on the bed across the room. "Oh, I can-" he got up and went to aid, but she smacked him on the arm - unnecessarily hard, at that - and proceeded to the other bed.

"I can take care of myself, Aang," she insisted, scooting on the mattress. Aang sighed and gazed at the dried up scrape on her elbow as she picked up the guitar. Sure was stubborn, wasn't she?

But that hardened stubbornness she kept showing seemed to peel away with the notes that flowed out from the guitar strings. She sang no words, simply strumming away a sweet, serene tune that Aang has never heard. It the execution wasn't as keen and sharp as her piano work but it had soul, and life, and warmth where the piano she played was cold and precise. Minutes passed by until Sokka and Katara came in on her guitar playing - she was so lost in the music that she didn't notice at first.

"Wow," Sokka interjected, causing her to slip and scratch a note. "You're really good there," he remarked, hands on his hips.

"That was beautiful, Toph," Katara complimented warmly. She meant it, but she was also saying it with some extra sweetness on top.

"Errr, thanks," Toph mumbled awkwardly, gripping her guitar tightly.

"You serenading Aang here?" Sokka teased, shooting Aang an amused glance.

Aang could feel his cheeks warm up at the thought and a brief look at Toph, who was quickly setting her guitar down, revealed some pink coloration below her eyes.

"I was just showing him that I play guitar," she explained dismissively.

"That's so amazing," Katara observed in awe, scratched her head in perplexation. "You're really good."

"Really good for being _blind_?" Toph bitterly amended.

"No," Katara insisted. "You're just good - piano _and_ guitar? What else do you play?"

Toph grinned and wrapped her arms around her neck cockily.

"Buncha stuff. I _dabble_," she bragged.

"Well, I brought some cheese and crackers," Sokka informed, slipped his backpack off his shoulders and patting it tenderly. "So I say we dabble in _those _for a while."

"Sounds like a good id-"  
**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**

Aang's comment was cut short by a blaring alarm.

"What the-?" Sokka cried.

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**  
"Fuckin' fire alarm!" Toph yelled through the noise.

Sokka slapped his bag back over his shoulders, Toph eagerly grabbed her guitar, and Aang scooped his art supply sling.

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**  
"Let's go!" Katara advised, waving them out of the room. Toph bumped into Sokka in her pursuit of the group, likely thrown off by all the noise.

"Hey, whoa," Sokka mumbled, grabbing her by the shoulders and catching her from stumbling. "Careful there, Kiddo, we-"

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**  
"Don't touch me!" Toph hissed, pushing herself away from him, hands tightly wrapped around her guitar, and falling backward into Aang with an "Oomff!" Her head pressed into his chest, he couldn't help but find the sweaty scent of her hair oddly alluring, his hands around her ribs. His body tingled and he immediately helped set her back on her feet whilst she growled a "Get off me," with less ferocity than Sokka had received.

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**

Katara was already halfway down the hall by now, Sokka close behind, while Toph was forcing her way along, elbows out, cradling her guitar desperately. She banged an elbow into the doorway on her way out with a growl. Now both had matching bruises. Aang had a suspicion that either this was simply a drill or that everything would be fine, and he couldn't help but feel some admiration for how deeply the girl seemed to love her guitar - but she had neglected her walking cane, which he quickly retrieved from the edge of the bed she had originally sat down in.

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**

"Hey, Toph!" he called out into the hall. "Here." He jammed her cane against her arm.

"O-oh..." Toph mumbled awkwardly, her brows furrowed in a confused frown.

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**

"I'll take that," he offered, tapping his hand against her guitar. Her face flashed with doubt and distrust for a moment.

"_Guys! _Come on!" Katara shouted from the stairwell's entrance. Obviously, she was a bit more worried about the situation than anyone else - ever the cautious one.

**BRRRRIIIIINNNNGGG!**

Without a word, Toph groaned in frustration and stuck her acoustic treasure into the air, and Aang accepted it with care. With cane in hand, Toph's mobility was certainly improved and she was able to keep up well enough with some verbal prodding from Aang, just behind.

_brrrriiiiinnnnggg..._

"Whew!" Sokka breathed out after they pooled into the small lake of students that had congealed in front of Terra.

"Are you OK, Toph?" Katara wondered.

_brrrriiiiinnnnggg..._  
"Yea," she huffed back as Aang gently nudged her guitar into her hands. "I'm _fine, _guys. I don't need you fuckin' _babying _me all the time, all right?"

The group exchanged a triplet of off-put, worrisome expressions.

_brrrriiiiinnnnggg...  
_"Sure thing," Sokka murmured with a shrug as Toph nonchalantly plucked some chords out amidst the chattering of impatient students wanting to get back into their home. "Crackers and cheese, anyone?" Sokka offered, eager to shift the tone of the situation.

_brrrriiiiinnnnggg...  
_As Sokka pulled out his food packages and passed them to his sister, Aang stole a moment to stare at Toph's icy white eyes, glistening like the freshly plowed snow around them in the moonlight that evening. Why was she such a stubborn beast? What did she have to prove, and to whom?

* * *

- Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 -

"I'll call..."

"I fold."

"_What? _Another fold? What the hell's your problem, Twinkle-Toes?"

A whap on the shoulder was immediately reworked by a rough but tender massage as Toph picked on her boyfriend.

"God, even when you play _cards _you're a wimp," she snickered. Aang probed his finger into her stomach and she retracted her arm with a mischievous "Hee."

"So? What about you, Johnny?" Jane sneakily questioned.

The boy in the black cap glared at her coolly from across his hand of cards. She lifted her brow at him and he lifted one back as he slid some of his poker chips into the pot at the table's center.

"All righty, then!" Jane slyly flipped the final table card over to reveal a Jack of spades while Aang, losing attention of the game, started one of his own - one he and Toph had created months before. It involved them taking turns tickling at each other in brief bursts, seeing which one gave in first and drew attention to themselves. The main rule was that both players had to act perfectly casual. No scrunching up or squirming, as that would show weakness. And, naturally, it had to be quick motions. Aang attacked Toph's knee - one of her inconsistent weaknesses - to no avail. Toph poked at his side, but he was resilient. He worked his hand into her armpit and it clamped shut as she bit her lip. He tugged, but she kept his hand trapped.

"Aang, what are you _doing?_" Katara snickered as Jane raked in a pile of poker chips with a smug smile.

"Ha, you're on a losing streak today," Toph jeered as Aang un-wedged his hand from her armpit. Even though Toph had moved, Aang was the one who had been spoken to, making him the loser.

"Heh, way to go, Loser," Jane picked, knuckling him gently on the shoulder. "Ya gotta be more aggressive, or ya won't get anywhere."

Aang shrugged, his brain much more concerned with his company than the cards on the table. He was even starting to warm up to Johnny's strangely silent wit.

"And _you,_" Jane accused, tossing a low-value poker chip into Toph's bosom. Toph twitched in reaction and slid her jaw to the side in amused indignance. "He's _your _boyfriend, Toph. Geez, man him up a bit."

"I'm trying," laughed Toph, her pudgy fingers groping their way around Aang's shoulder and up to his ear.

"I thought I was already man enough," Aang protested, batting Toph's pinching fingers away.

"_Enough_," Toph agreed, slapping him on the back roughly.

"H-hey, ask Sokka, I do _lots _of manly things..."

"If we're gauging manliness based on my _brother,_" Katara advised, "then I think things are going to get skewed _horribly_ wrong." Aang smiled weakly as the girls laughed. He glanced at Johnny, who simply shrugged and smirked, arms casually crossed over his lean stomach.

"You answer to _Twinkle-Toes, _Babe," Toph pointed out flatly. "That's not very manly."

"You just called me '_Babe_,'" Aang gasped out in shock.

"Say what?" Toph quickly murmured, puzzled. "No, I didn't."

"Aang's just comfortable and confident in being...more sensitive than other guys," Katara defended. "Isn't that kind of manly in its own right?"

"In the same way that men wearing _pink _is macho, I _guess,_" Jane dubiously agreed, running her knuckles across Aang's scruffy hair fiercely. "Now, we going another round or what? I still have more money to win, here."

"We didn't even bet any real money," Aang reminded her. She glared at him, a smile sliding under freckled cheeks.

"Doesn't make me any less a winner and you any more a _loser,_" Jane baited, cocking her head daringly to the side. Aang narrowed his eyes, a spirit of challenge burning in his gut.

"We'll see about that," he declared, suddenly interested in 'manning up' in the presence of all these mocking girls.

"That's it! Go get 'em, Twinkle-Toes! Rip 'em to _pieces! _**Woooo!**"  
_Bam-bam-bam! _Toph slammed her palms on the table, chips and cards clattering out of place.

Aang flicked her in the forehead with his middle finger and she stopped, slack-jawed but eyes still wild.

"It's just cards, Toph."

"Today, cards. Tomorrow, the _world!_"

"How about tomorrow you focus on...your _bedroom_?" Katara advised with a snicker. "You've got some dirty laundry piling up, Hun."

Toph snorted and scratched her nose.

"Tomorrow, my bedroom. The day after that, _the world!_" She nudged Aang, muttering to him, "I think I've got the laundry part down but I'm gonna need your help with the 'world,' bit, all right?"

* * *

**A/N: Yes, Chong and Lily are references from the episode "Cave of Two Lovers."**


	17. Pieces

**A/N: Just to help avoid confusion, I realized that the past few chapters have had inconsistent dates. I've gone back and fixed that. Real sorry. This chapter has a more recent flashback where the date is important - but hopefully you'll be able to gather that on your own.  
**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 17 - Pieces  
_

* * *

[From: Suki Kyoshi]  
[To: Katara Kesuk; Toph Beifong; Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Sent: October 1st, 3:12pm]  
[Subject: curious..]

[hi, girls! i wanted to ask you something.. festivall is coming up in about a month so auditions will be soon. sokka told me you guys play music. why don't we start a band? think about it. an all girl band.. doesn't that sound like a cool idea? tell me what ya think. ;D]  
[-suki kyoshi-]

[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Suki Kyoshi]  
[Sent: October 1st, 4:09pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[I'm not sure, Suki...I don't really play music. What did Sokka tell you I do? Toph plays a few different things and Jane plays bass, but I don't do anything. =S Sorry...]  
[~ Katara]

[From: Suki Kyoshi]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Sent: October 1st, 4:47pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[oh.. he said you sang.. like, in a choir?]  
[-suki kyoshi-]

[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Suki Kyoshi]  
[Sent: October 1st, 6:08pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[LOL! Yes, I _used _to sing in a choir. Back in middle school! And I sang at a couple of things in high scool, I guess, but...It's been a long time. I'm not sure. Are the other two interested?]  
[~ Katara]

[From: Toph Beifong]  
[To: Suki Kyoshi]  
[Sent: October 1st, 8:12pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[An all girl band sounds freaky awesome. I am in. Totally. Totally. Totally. But there is one condition which is that I get to pick the first song we play because frankly I know music the best. Ha. Ha. Ha.]  
[**We all live in a yellow submarine**]

[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[To: Suki Kyoshi]  
[Sent: October 1st, 8:48pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[what did kat and toph say? i'm in if they are.]  
[smellerbee-]

[From: Suki Kyoshi]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Sent: October 1st, 10:12pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[that's fine! it's not like we're trying to be pros here. we'll practice! are you interested though? toph says she is and jane will if you are, too..]  
[-suki kyoshi-]

[From: Suki Kyoshi]  
[To: Toph Beifong]  
[Sent: October 1st, 10:18pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[great! sure, i don't mind.. whatever you think is good. so you want to play guitar, right?]  
[-suki kyoshi-]

[From: Katara Kasuk]  
[To: Suki Kyoshi]  
[Sent: October 1st, 10:20pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[All right. =P I guess I'll give it a try if the other girls want to. ^^' ]  
[~ Katara]

[From: Suki Kyoshi]  
[To: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Sent: October 1st, 10:22pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[katara and toph are in! please join. bass is super important and i heard you're good..]  
[-suki kyoshi-]

[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[To: Suki Kyoshi]  
[Sent: October 1st, 10:56pm]  
[Subject: RE: curious..]

[fine fine ya talked me into it. :P ]  
[smellerbee-]

* * *

- Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 -

{**YOU**}  
{_YOUR FRIENDS_}  
{TAKE ON CAMPUS!}

{Got what it takes?}  
{Going to show the world what you've got?}  
{Gotta start somewhere, right?}

{**FestivALL!**}  
{Autumn 2010}

{October **30th**}  
{**10:00pm**}

{Auditions October **22nd-24th**}

"Errrr...What's it mean? I don't get it."

"That's because it's a poorly constructed advertisement, Pipsqueak."

"It's for a talent show," Jane explained dully, digging at her canine with a toothpick to dislodge a sliver of broccoli from the soup she'd recently eaten. "Anyone on campus can audition: students, staff, whatever..."

"What do people _do?_" The Duke inquired, perplexed by the concept.

Jane shrugged, somewhat irate by the question.

"I've never gone before, _I _don't fuckin' know..."

"Juggling maybe?" Pipsqueak pondered, rubbing his chin with his enormous thumb.

"_What?_" Jane mumbled, confused as to where such a random idea came from.

"Sounds like a bunch of nonsense," The Duke dismissed. Jane was going to maintain her aloof stance on the matter and carefully avoid announcing that she was intending to participate this year. She opted to shrug in reply, flicking her toothpick into the trash can behind their booth.

"Hey, uh...Smellerbee. Where's Longshot?" Pipsqueak asked. "Jimbo said that he was supposed-"

"I don't fuckin' _know, _Pipsqueak!" snapped Jane, smacking herself in the forehead. Her teeth ground together with irritation as The Duke contributed yet another inquiry.

"But...Isn't he your boyfriend?"

"_Yes!_" she hissed, arms stretched out. She slammed them down to her sides. "But I don't keep track of all of that Freedom Fighter stuff anymore. I _told _you guys. I'm done. Don't _ask _me about that shit from now on."

The two freshmen stared with wide eyes tainted with fear from her outburst.

"Got it?" she demanded, lifting a threatening fist and shaking it at them a couple of time. A few nearby students in Appa's quieted for a moment at her shouting before slowly carrying about their business once again.

"Y-yes, Smellerbee, Ma'am,"  
"Sure, Smellerbee."

Their shocked faces tipped Jane off that she was acting a little too much like the person she was trying to avoid being.

_Calm the fuck down, Jane. You're freakin' out. Chill._

"And another thing," she grumbled. "I'm Jane. OK? Just call me 'Jane.'"

Both boys nodded vigorously. Jane was half-tempted to apologize for her spat but ultimately concluded that it wasn't necessary. She took a deep breath, calming her nerves through the awkward silence. She grabbed her forest green zip-up from the booth she had sat at with them and slipped it on, leaving the zipper undone.

She bid them a gruff, somewhat contrite, "See ya," before taking her leave.

* * *

- Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 -

A tired "Hmph" slid out from Longshot's nose as they stared at their handiwork: a fresh hole in the ground they had just finished filling. Smellerbee, coated in a thin layer of dirt, tossed her shovel into the trunk of her car with a deep sigh, her hands still trembling. It was dark, cold, and windy that night, and the woods were bitter and ominous. It was almost as if the trees were disgusted to be defiled by what the group had just buried in their forest.

"Can't fuckin' _believe _you, Jet..."

"Hey, listen, Smellerbee, _he _attacked _me_, OK?"

"Maybe if you weren't fucking _stalking _him, he wouldn't have _done _that! Ya think?" she attacked, eyes wide and tense.

"He was _connected _to them," insisted Jet, slightly hysteric. "I _know _he was!"

"What fucking _proof _do you have, Jet?"

"The men who came that night had tattoos _just _like his."

"That doesn't mean he was _involved!_"

"But it means he _knows _them."

Smellerbee kicked her tire in frustration with a huff, and Longshot, leaning against the driver side door to her left, set a disapproving glance her way. She frowned at him and immediately looked away, refusing to acknowledge his desire for peace.

"Ya just _couldn't _let it go, _could _ya?" Smellerbee growled, fists clenched, grime wedged in her fingernails. "Couldn't let it the _fuck _go!" she roared at Jet, kicking her tire again.

"Oh, like how _you _forgot _your _demons, right?" Jet countered. "Sure let _that _shit go, didn't ya?"

Smellerbee could feel Longshot's inquisitive presence prying at her with that curious raised brow of his, but she dared not look at him.

"That's...That was _different,_" Smellerbee hissed, slashing her hand defensively through the air. She marched over to Jet and grabbed his collar, tugging his face within mere inches of hers. She seethed to him in a whisper, "I fucking _told _you to never bring that shit up. Ever!"

"Get off my back, then, Bee," Jet sniped quietly, shoving her away.

Smellerbee's face was flushed red with anger and pain and regret as memories flashed through her mind while the stress of their current situation wrapped itself around everything. Her eyes welled up with water but she managed to contain her tears.

"Fuckin' _ass_," she huffed, stomping back to her car. She begrudgingly nudged Longshot to move aside so she could enter the car, and Longshot rounded the front to slip into the passenger seat. Smellerbee sat sideways, legs bent out the door into the dirt. "Shit's gonna hit the fan, Jet. What are you gonna do?"

Jet strode up to his motorcycle, parked beside the car in the dark clearing.

"Play it by ear," he replied roughly. "Like I always have."

* * *

- Sunday, October 3rd, 2010 -

Jane's abdomen was grieving her, tightening and contorting in pain. She had taken her medications on schedule, and was certainly not in the mood for the added discomfort on top of her stressful day. An argument with Johnny had already made her Sunday bothersome enough but

She groaned out in irate impatience - somewhat loudly - curled onto her bed, unable to sleep. Her sheet had been cast off as it had been too warm. Her eyes were wet and her pillow had become damp. She'd flipped it over moments before so she had a dry side to rest on but tears didn't seem to stop coming.

_You just couldn't let it go. If only you'd just dropped it._

Her door creaked open and she immediately sat up, wiping her face with a harsh sniff. The silhouette silently approached Jane's bed on the far side of the room.

"You OK?" croaked Toph, her voice like a toad. Clearly she had been sleeping. Toph had a habit of going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, so Jane figured her groaning must have drawn some attention while she had been awake. "Janey?"

Jane sighed out a shaky breath, wiping sweat from her forehead. Her wound had healed enough to remove the bandage, at least, but it was still a sensitive spot, so she had to lay on her side.

"Hey," Jane choked out meekly, shocked at her own inability to keep her cool.

"Ohh," Toph cooed out in a chuckle, seemingly amused by Jane's irregularly fragile state but maintaining sympathy. "What's _wrong, _JayBee?" she asked, sitting herself down beside her red-haired friend. While Jane could tell that Toph cared, she did find it intriguing how differently Toph asked this question than Katara did. Toph asked with more aloof curiosity than specific concern, but Jane had been learning to read through Toph's attitude.

Jane was a rough girl with a rough center, and as someone who knew well to keep her inner thoughts shelled, she had observed that Toph was in fact a rough girl with a _soft _center. In Toph's presence, Jane's emotions were beginning to leak through her cracks and out from her eyes. She grabbed Toph's hand and squeazed, appreciative of her friend's presence, then let go. She grit her teeth, let a frustrated whimper dribble out of her mouth, and leaned her face into Toph's back.

"Why the hell did he have to be such a fucking _retard?_" she lamented.

Toph slowly turned, running her hand across Jane's shaggy hair as she wrapped her arms around the lanky wreck of grieving girl. Toph's plump fingers pressed into Jane's back.

"Sorry 'bout that," Toph whispered wistfully, her wits somewhat about her. "You and Jet were pretty good friends, huh?"

"Mm-hm," Jane grunted. She hated admitting it but with Jet gone Jane had to confront the truth: he had been one of the terribly few constants in her life at SRU. He knew more about her than even Johnny did. Granted, she intended to change that fact soon enough, but it _was _a fact at that moment in time, nonetheless. Without his constant social friction to grind against, without that leader to follow, Jane had felt a bit lost, and even Johnny's assuring presence didn't help. Jet's death was difficult because he had been a trusted friend, but it had also stripped away the leader from her life, forcing her to cope with the fact that she was now withoa cause to fight for, without a direction to head in.

Tears streamed from olive eyes for a few moments as Jane expunged her grief like poison.

"I'm so fucking _lost,_" she sighed. "Wish I knew what the hell I was doing with my life..."

"Heh. I know what that's like, Janey. That was my freshman year," she recalled drearily. "But then I met the guys. And they helped me figure some crap out. Maybe that'll happen for you too?"

Jane breathed out doubtfully and shrugged.

"Dunno," she mumbled. "We'll see."

Toph kissed Jane on the forehead and patted her shoulders with both hands.

"We sure will," she encouraged. "By the way, you've got a pimply head goin' on right now." She rose from the bed in the dark and seemingly floated to the door in her pajamas and bare feet. "Maybe I can convince Sokka to start calling you 'Pimple-Face.'"

"_Hey,_" was Jane's deep, guttural protest.

"Hee. OK, OK. I like Freckle-Face, too. Sounds better." Toph opened the door and paused, drumming her fingers along its edge a couple times. "You're stuck with us now, Janey," she informed slyly. "Don't even think about running away." The door closed, leaving Jane to consider the statement. The door cracked open a sliver and Toph whispered threateningly, "We will _find you._"

The door clicked closed again and Jane took a deep breath, her eyes free of tears, her mind cleared from the internal confrontation. Another brief and personal interaction with her neighbor further bolstered her faith that breaking away from the Freedom Fighters was what was best for her.

* * *

"Ooooh, Mr. Big Man on Campus, Mr. Prez-ee-_dent!_ How's it feel, huh? Huh?"

A drawn out, irritable sigh escape Zuko as he tolerated his acquaintance's teasing.

"It feels fantastic, Ty-Lee," he replied with as dry and barren a tone as he could muster. "Where's Mai?" he pleaded out of exhaustion at the very idea of extended interaction.

"She's in the bathroom, _geez._"  
_Rrrrrmmmmm._  
_"_Hold your horses, Grumpy-Pants!"

Zuko's phone had started going off while Ty-Lee had been scolding him, so he took it out, raised a finger to Ty-Lee, and took his leave.

"I've got a call, I'll be back in a minute."

Relishing an excuse to leave, he took his call in the lobby of the ACC, which was relatively empty given that it was a Sunday morning.

"Hello?"

["Hello, Nephew,"] drawled out the slow and rickety voice of his elder Uncle Iroh. ["It is quite a beautiful Sunday morning, is it not?"]

"Erm...Y-yea. It, uh...It sure is."

["Please excuse my intrusion, Nephew, but I seem to have lost track of what time we were meeting today to celebrate."]

"Oh. Right. That was, erm...4pm. Wasn't it?"

["Ahhh, yes. That's right. Yes. At my shop, correct?"]

"Yes."

["Good, _good. _So...How are you holding up, Zuko?"]

"Fine. Everything's fine."

["Are you ready to take on the responsibility of President?"]

"Of course. I've been ready since I came here."

["Spoken like a Kurosawa,"] Iroh mused. ["But I'm not sure if that is truly a good thing."]

Zuko sighed, shifting his hand into his pant pocket.

"Probably not," he mumbled in concession. Iroh had gotten it down to a science: knowing when to poke Zuko in the right direction when he was letting the politics sway him around.

["Waha. One step at a time, Nephew. One step at a time. I am certain you will be a great leader."]

"I'd like to think so," Zuko hoped. He turned around to see Mai approaching Ty-Lee. "I actually have to go now, though. But I'll see you this afternoon."

["You shall. Enjoy your morning."]

"Love you, Uncle."

["Love you, too, Zuko."]  
_Click._

"Who was that?" Mai asked. She inspected his face before quickly answering her own question: "Iroh."

"Yea," Zuko nodded. Mai had gotten extremely good at this game.

"How is he doing, anyway?" wondered Ty-Lee.

"He's fine, I guess," Zuko shrugged.

"His shop seems to be doing well this year," Ty-Lee continued to prattle on. "It's always full of people. They have, like, concerts and stuff there. Oh-oh-_oh, _like, on Thursdays, they have open night. Mai, maybe you should read your poetry there some time? Huh?"

Mai smirked and cocked up a shoulder.

"Maybe. We'll see."

"**Ohhhhhhh, **ya know, that _reminds me, _isn't FestivALL coming up soon? It's at the end of the month, right? Yea. Of **course** it is! I was thinking that maybe I'd do an interpretive dance-"

As Ty-Lee rambled on, Zuko offered his girlfriend a dim look of aggravation. Mai smiled and slapped him inconspicuously on the back as they entered the cafeteria for breakfast.

"Oh," Mai muttered, seeming to catch sight of someone familiar. "Hey!" she called out, waving her arm. A slender, small-framed boy sitting at a booth with some friends waved back. "I need to ask him something," Mai explained to Zuko, quickly making her way over. "Aang! Hi." An utterance of 'hi's' was sent back to her by the group. Zuko found it odd that one of the girls didn't even look at them, while another glared at them suspiciously. The smaller boy introduced them.

"Jane, this is Mai - she's one of my classmates in the art department."

A gruff and grouchy-looking girl shaped like a stick nodded her head from the inside corner of the booth.

"'Sup?" The red-head looked unamused and sleep-deprived.

Mai nodded back to her and directed her attention back to Aang.

"Sorry to bother you," she said. "I just wanted to know if it was still OK for me to use your charcoals - I'm thinking of going to studio today to work on something."

"Sure, no problem," replied the boy with short, scruffy hair.

"Thanks, Aang."

"Yup!"

A brief exchange of gestures later and the three were in the serving area. Ty-Lee loaded her tray up with cereal and vegetables while Mai opted for pancakes.

"What are you making with charcoals?" Zuko wondered, sliding some steaming ham onto his plate. "I thought you didn't like drawing..."

"I don't," Mai laughed. "But I'm working on an experimental project so I...am _experimenting._"

"I...see," Zuko mumbled, curious. He knew Mai wasn't going to tell him the details - she was always coy with her work until it was finished.

"Soooooo, _Mai,_" Ty-Lee sneakily whispered as they headed out for the tables. "That guy - the one with the blue eyes - do you know if he has a girlfriend?"

"Uhhhhhh-"

"'Cuz he is _sooo _cute. I think he was checking me out. Do you think he was checking me out? I think he was."

"Sure," Mai agreed with a dismissive shrug.

"I thought you already _had _a boyfriend," Zuko grumbled as they took their seats a larger table devoid of any other students.

"Pff, over the _summer, _maybe? That was months ago, ZuZu. We're _history_, he was _soooo_-"

"Don't call me _ZuZu_..."

"-so I had to drop him."

_Lucky guy. I'll bet he's grateful at this point._

"Aw, rats, I forgot my drink," Ty-Lee spurted out, dashing back off to the serving area.

Zuko let out a deep groan as if it had been contained an waiting to burst.

"She's not _that _bad, Zuko..."

"Mai, why must you pick such crazy people for friends?"

"Doesn't that make _you _crazy?"

"Sure. But I'm not 'Ty-Lee' crazy."

"And you're _definitely _not 'Azula' crazy."

_

* * *

_"What do ya _mean _you don't sing?" Sokka cried. "You've sung...all sortsa stuff."

Katara rolled her eyes as she lifted open the car trunk. It was fairly neat and tidy but somewhat packed.

"I haven't sung in a long time, Brother."

"Oh..." He shrugged. "My bad. Are you still gonna give it a try?"

"I will," said Katara, moving boxes around. "You're _sure _it's in here?" she checked, pausing briefly to glare at him. He flashed up his palms in defense, taking a step back.

"_Yea_!" he insisted. "Last time I saw it was in here when we packed everything before we left for the semester."

"It _better _be here," Katara threatened, resuming her search.

"What's in this box that you need so bad?" Sokka wondered.

"My necklace," Katara explained.

"Oh..." Sokka's face went dull and solemn. "You, uh...Ya haven't worn that in a while..."

"I know." Katara stopped again, leaning against her palms over the boxes in the trunk. "With...I-I dunno. With Jack's death, it just...It just has me thinking about mom a lot. I want to wear it again."

"Yea," Sokka acknowledged with melancholy. "I understand. You, uh...Need any help there, Sis?"

Katara shook her head, eyes fixated on the different boxes in their trunk. They'd been a bit lazy and had left a few things in the car since their move.

"We really need to clean this all out some time," she grumbled, finally pulling out a small shoebox.

"Guess you're right," Sokka sighed, rubbing some stray specks from his eye.

Katara opened the cardboard to retrieve a small wooden jewelry box, scratched anbd scraped from age and wear. She popped it open to reveal a neckband of thick blue ribbon with a dark, round jewel attached to it. She tenderly picked it up and slipped it around her neck, tightening it so the band fit flush against her skin.

"Looks good as ever," Sokka complimented with a sharp nod and a warm smile.

"Thanks..."

Katara ran her fingertips over the gem, reflecting on all it represented. She suddenly realized that her brother's arm was around her shoulder and she leaned into him, eyes dampening as memories trickled out through her tear ducts.

"It's all right," Sokka assured quietly, thankful no one else was in the parking lot at that time to disturb the moment. His own eyes were getting a bit wet as the grief seeped out from his sister.

["~So what?~I'm still a rock star~I got my rock moves~And I don't-"]

"H-hey, Toph..." Katara mumbled into her phone, brushing away tears as Sokka slapped her on the back. "Sorry for the wait, we'll be right over."

["You'd better! Damnit, I am _sooooo _hungry."]

"Why don't you have your boyfriend come get you, then?" Katara teased.

["_Meemee-neenuh-nunuu,_"] Toph mocked with quick, whiny gibberish. ["Twinkle-Toes is busy working on a project, remember?"]

"I know, I know. But it's not like you can't get there yourself, though, right?" After all, Toph could sometimes get all worked up over being treated like she couldn't take care of herself.

["I'm _already here! _So are JayBee and John-Boy and even Suki. We're just waiting on _you _idiots before we go up!"] Katara couldn't tell if her roommate was being a brat or legitimately upset.

"We're right outside, _yeesh_," Katara insisted. "We're heading over now," she explained, nodding to her brother, who shut the trunk and followed her.

* * *

- Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 -

"_Wooooo!_" Sokka hollered.

Aang clapped his hands together emphatically, while Johnny merely grinned, his head cocked thoughtfully to the side as he laid back on the dingy couch in the corner of the pale white room.

"Stoppit-stoppit-stoppit!" Toph grumbled in a pout, stamping her foot. "That sucked! You shouldn't encourage us until we sound _good._"

"I...I thought you sounded good," Aang meekly defended.

"We didn't!" Toph disagreed, crossing her arms over her chest as her guitar hung to the side. "We're practicing. That's why you _practice: _so you can actually start sounding _good_."

"Thought it was decent," Jane tossed in her two scents, plucking a single note on her bass.

"Not bad for a first full run of the song," Suki piped in, trying to lessen Toph's blow to their hard work.

"Hmph."

"Wh...What about me?" Katara squeaked, pink-cheeked. "Did I...Was it OK?"

Toph's face contorted slightly and Aang knew she had not been terribly pleased, though Aang had thought Katara - and the other girls - had done fine.

"Yea, it was good, Katara," he complimented.

"You could use some work," Toph advised, seemingly grateful to step into a segue-way. "But that was OK. I guess."

"Let's try running through it again," Suki decided. "One. Two. One-Two-Three-Four!"

As the music began to blare to cue up the first verse, Sokka leaned over to Aang and said to him quietly, "Man, what's Toph's deal? She's pretty picky about her music or something."

"I think she's taking it a bit too seriously," Aang observed.

"I don't _like _Toph when she's taking things too seriously."

"I don't think I do, either," Aang chuckled.

"I mean, we have my _sister _for that, right?" Sokka concluded with a jabbing elbow. He turned around to Johnny and asked, raising his voice, "Yo, Johnny! What say you?"

Johnny shrugged his shoulders, glanced at the red-head on bass and winked at her. Sokka twisted his head to see her wink back with a hint of mischief.

"I figured as much," Sokka sighed. Then he noticed the ravaging precision of the Japanese girl on the drums and his heart quivered at each motion she made. "Guess we're all a little biased here, huh?" he murmured in a delirious delight.


	18. The Fearsome Fivesome

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 18 - The Fearsome Fivesome_

* * *

- Friday, October 8th, 2010 -

"My turn?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"But..." Jane was confused. "Wh-...? I don't..."

"Pick a place to _eat,_ Freckle-Face, it's not hard," Sokka chuckled.

"Some place cheap, please!" Aang piped up weakly. Toph knuckled him on the arm.

"Shut up, Twinkle-Toes, I'll cover you."

"No, you don't have to do-"

"I'll _cover you,_" she insisted. "Not like I can't afford it, Twinkle-Toes."

"What are you in the mood for?" Katara wondered, her head tipped slightly to the side at Jane's crossed arms.

"I-I dunno," Jane grunted, popping up her shoulders. "Pizza...?"

"Pizza Hut?" Katara suggested.

"Shhhuuuure?"

"_Pizza Hut!_" Sokka defiantly cried, whipping out his phone in dramatic fashion.

"Pizza Hut, _Hoooohh_!" shouted Toph and Aang in unison, raising their fists.

Jane sighed at their random outburst, likely some inside joke she wasn't _inside_ of.

"Whaaaat?" Sokka groaned from the background into his phone. "Crap, I forgot..."

"Let's get in the car, guys," Katara advised, leading them through the parking lot. "Do we need to pick Johnny up?"

"Nah, he's busy," Jane explained. "He's not gonna be able to do anything tonight." She said it with a hint of resentment as she closed the zipper on her camoflauge zip-up jacket. Toph's arm groped around Jane's waist and Aang ruffled his hand through her orange hair, which was squeaky clean for a change.

"We'll have to have enough fun on his behalf," Toph decided, squeezing Jane's bony hip before slapping it and retreating her hand to meet back up with Aang's. Jane finally caught wind of Sokka's conversation as they neared the Kesuk car.

"Allll riiiight," he breathed out gloomily. "See ya tomorrow, then...You, too." He clasped his phone shut and stuffed it in his khaki pocket. "Suki's friends have a game tonight that she said she'd go to, so she's a no-show."

"Well...More pizza for us, right?" Aang twisted the situation into optimism.

* * *

The car ride to Wayward was brief but unsettling for Jane, as the group was in full-on crazy mode with a flurry of their enthusiastic bizarre jokes and references that Jane hadn't quite grasped yet.

Packed in the back seat between Toph and the driver's side door, Jane had planted her head against the cold glass of the door window. A song she had heard before but not committed to memory blared through the car, the lyrics speedy and tricky to follow. WIth the way her friends were stumbling through the words they were near impossible.

"~suMmASumMasUmMaSummA~"  
"~**flyin' off the back swing!**~"

Well, they seemed to have remembered the last bit of that torrent of words, at least.

"~Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon, 'cuz that cartoon has got the **BOOM anime babes**~That make me think the wrong thing~"

As the singing continued, Jane felt Toph's fat little fingers on her knee. Her olive eyes slowly wandered to said limb to confirm that this was the case, and Toph wore a toothy smile while the others sang.

"Pick a color," Toph coyly advised in a whisper that cut through the music to Jane's left ear. Toph drummed her fingers across Jane's open-holed knee on her jeans.

"Errr...Green?" Jane guessed, immediately wandering to the idea that Toph's favorite color was green, despite her lack of comprehension of what colors actually were.

Toph's hand slid a couple of inches up Jane's leg.

"Nope."

Jane blinked at her for a moment, perplexed.

_What kind of bullshit game are you playing _this_ time, Toph? I'm not in the mood..._

"Brown," Jane grumbled. She lost another couple of inches.

"Come on, Jane," Toph teased with a jokingly seductive tone. Jane could feel her stomach emptying as butterflies made their way in. "Think outside the box."

"Purple?"

The chubby palm slid across Jane's thigh a bit more.

"Paisley?" Jane growled through grit teeth, entirely unamused.

"That's not a _color_," Toph giggled through the loud music. "Even _I _know that..." Toph's hand found its way to Jane's outer groin, and the freckles on Jane's face practically lit up like lights as her face boiled. She was already in a grouchy mood - this strange, needlessly flirtacious behavior was not helping in the slightest. At least the others were too distracted by their goofing around to notice.

Jane paused a moment to consider her options as Toph smirked like a demon. Jane acted swiftly, grabbing Toph's wrist and flicking her arm away. Toph twitched in surprise, clearly startled by the sudden force, and the joking expression she had been showing drizzled away into regret. Neither girl spoke for the rest of the trip, which was, fortunately, only a few minutes.

Jane immediately recognized the street that the Pizza Hut was located on - the place was extremely close to the Treetop pub. She hadn't processed that fact when she had let her friends convince her of a place to eat, but chose to ignore it.

As everyone filed out of the car, Toph let Aang escort her into the restaurant, but Jane noticed the grumpy look in her face that conveyed a desire to apologize for their exchange on the ride over. After they'd settled down inside, Jane made sure to sit beside Toph, across from Katara, at the booth they'd been seated at, while the boys sat against the inside walls. While everyone bickered about what toppings to order, Jane tapped Toph's shoulder. Upon seeing the girl's head perk to the side in attention, Jane mumbled to her.

"It's cool, Toph. Don't worry about it."

"Sorry," Toph sighed out with shrug. A small smile of relief crept onto her face.

"What are you sorry about, now?" Sokka wondered, having overheard her.

"Sorry that I'm gonna have to put up with whatever stupid topping _you _pick, Meathead."

"What's wrong with _meat _on _pizza_?"

"Sausage on pizza is disgusting. Sausage is, like...for breakfast."

"Have you never had a _breakfast_ pizza?" Sokka gasped.

"_What? _What the hell is _that?_" Toph spat out, baffled.

"Ohhhhhh, man!" Aang cried. "They are _delicious._ We have to get her one."

"They don't make 'em here," Sokka lamented, dumping his chin into his palm, elbow on the table.

"We could always _make _one," Katara suggested.

"They're good," Jane blurted in her raspy voice, trying to contribute.

"It's settled!" declared Toph, slapping a fist on the table and clattering the napkin-bound silverware. "This weekend, you will all prepare for me this mystical _breakfast pizza_ that you speak of." She folded her arms over her chest and grinned. "So shall it be written. So shall it be done."

"Yes, oh Gracious Lord Toph," Jane mocked, smacking her playfully on the back of the head.

"Ow! Hey, lay off the royal hair," Toph snickered.

"Hello, everyone," greeted their waitress. "Would we like to start off with drinks?"

"Water, please," Aang spat out, raising up his finger.

"Mountain Dew."

"Diet Pepsi, please."

"Wh-? _Diet Pepsi?_"

"Shut up, Sokka."

After the sibling squabble, the waitress turned to Jane, who took a quick cursory glance at the menu and made an arbitrary choice. "Errr...Sierra Mist?"

"The Good Doctor," announced Toph.

"Pardon?" the waitress mumbled, perplexed by the vague reply.

"Pepper," Toph clarified.

"She means Dr. Pepper," advised Katara with an amused sigh.

"All r_ight,_" noted their waitress, scribbling on her pad. "And have you decided what you would like to eat tonight?"

"Two large pizzas," Sokka boldly proclaimed. "Sound good to you guys?"

Aang and Katara nodded, while Jane shrugged and Toph conceded a "Sure."

"And what would you like on those?"

"One with half anchovies and sausages," jumped Sokka. Katara and Aang gagged a bit at the idea while Jane contemplaed what such a combination would taste like.

"I'll just have pepperoni on my half," said Katara.

"~Mush_rrrrr_ooooooms!~" Toph sang out with glee, rolling the 'r' dramatically.

"Green peppers and mushrooms, please," Aang requested.

The waitress tapped her pen against the pad and muttered out their current order.

"Sooo...Half with anchovies and sausages, half with pepperoni, and another with half green peppers and mushrooms, the other half with _just _mushrooms?"

"Yep," Sokka confirmed.

"Wh-" Katara's eyes snapped to Jane, who had been sitting quietly, taken aback by the quickness of the entire thing. They seemed to have this 'ordering pizza' thing down to a science. "What about Jane? What does _she _want?"

"Hey, yea," Toph jumped in. "This is _her _food night, isn't it?"

"Right," Sokka mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. Pale blue eyes passed by olive green in a quick exchange of embarrassment. "Sorry, Jane. We're just used to it being...ya know. Us four, I guess."

"I guessed," Jane dryly recognized.

"So!" Sokka continued, crossing over the negativity. "What do _you _want, then?"

"I'll get you a whole pizza," Toph offered. "Whatever you want, JayBee."

Jane shrugged and chuckled. She _was _pretty hungry and wasn't ever one to turn down free food.

"OK. Thanks." Jane smirked at her friend and scratched her head for a moment. "Erm...How about a medium ham and pineapple...?" Jane didn't get to eat special pizza like this every day and the unique combination of meat and sweet was one she had come to enjoy whenever she did.

"Whoa-_ho_," Toph bellowed, tapping her knuckles into Jane's arms. "Go a little _crazy_, why doncha?"

"I've never had pineapples on pizza before," Aang murmured, glancing at Sokka with a thoughtful look. Sokka shrugged dismissively, clearly not in agreement with the flavor.

"All right. I'll be back with your drinks in just a moment." The waitress slipped off to the kitchen, leaving the group to wait for their food. Jane's eyes wandered to Katara, who smiled warmly back. Jane appreciated the sympathy from those sapphire eyes before Katara's brows lowered and she frowned slightly.

"Are you OK?" Katara wondered. Jane blinked sharply, realizing how tired and grouchy she probably appeared.

"Been better," she admitted with a shrug.

"Are you sick?" Aang asked with some concern.

"Kinda," Jane mumbled, not exactly keen on blatantly announcing her menstrual cycle status.

"Some pizza oughtta fix your problems," encouraged Sokka.

"Pizza doesn't solve _everything, _Sokka," Katara smugly reminded, shoving his shoulder.

"Neither does _chocolate,_" Sokka countered gleefully, shoving back. They both grinned at each other for a moment before words simultaneously burst from their mouths.

"But it sure does help!"  
"But it sure does help!"

"Soooo...What do we wanna do when we're done eating?" Aang wondered. Everyone shrugged with indifference.

"We could...go for a walk," Sokka suggested. "Maybe swing by the soccer field?"

"For on this day, we shall _walk,_" Aang declared, raising up his index finger.

"Into Mordor!" Sokka concurred with enthusastic realization.

"One does not simply _walk _into Mordor," Katara sternly advised in a deep voice.

"There is evil there that _does not sleep_!" Toph warned with a thick, gruff accent.

Suddenly, the group fell quiet and all eyes crept over to Jane - even Toph cocked her head to the side expectently. Jane could feel her face heat up like a boiling tea kettle as their expectation melted into giggles.

"Your line is, 'It is _folley!_'" Toph whispered.

"Huh?"

"The next line," Toph insisted. "In the scene."

"Wha...?" Jane was utterly confused. "The hell are you guys talking about?"

Jaws dropped across the table.

"You've _never _seen the Lord of The Rings movies?" Sokka squeaked in shock.

"Geez, Ginger, we've got to educate you," concluded Toph, groping a hand over her hand and ruffling her hair. As Toph's fingers brushed across the wound on the back of Jane's head, she grit her teeh and flinched, squinting an eye in irritation, but said nothing.

"All right-all right-OK!" Sokka rapidly gathered attention, cutting his hand into the air. "Let's start one right now."

"Start what?" Jane mumbled with a startled shrug.

"A humdiddle."

"The _hell?_"

"A humdiddle!"

"It's what Sokka calls our little...jokes," explained Katara with a roll of the eyes.

"Oh...kay?"

Sokka cleared his throat and pointed at Jane, reached his arm across the table defiantly.

"Freckle-Face, if you're _really_ going to be a part of our group, then you're gonna have to contribute to humdiddles. Ya hear?" His glare broke face and he winked at her before re-establishing the severity of his demand.

"Whatever," Jane sighed, rubbing her forehead in an overwhelmed fashion.

"I've got one," Katara proclaimed, clapping her fingers together with glee. She stared Jane deeply in the eyes, deepened her voice into a gruff, mocking tone, and began.

"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will." She bent up her elbow, hand balled into a determined fist. Her facade dissolved into a warm grin.

"You have my sword!" Aang growled, pounding the table lightly.

"And you have _my _bow!" Toph cried, slapping a hand on Jane's shoulder.

"And _my _sarcasm!" Sokka pitched in.

Again, that shared moment of awkward silence where everyone was awaiting whatever stupid mystical line was supposed to come next.

"Then it's _your _turn_,_" Toph explained sweetly, "And you say-" Her voice instantly thickened into a raspy Scottish bellow: "-and _my _axe!"

Jane blinked at Toph's snarling expression while the others nodded vigorously.

"O-OK..."

"We'll practice later and see if you got it," Sokka comforted, easing her off the hook.

The waitress had arrived with their drinks and set them down, and Jane was relieved that mouths stopped flapping for a moment and spewing out crazy random things that didn't make sense and directing expectations at her.

_What is with these guys and all their weird habits? I don't get it. It's like their brains are all wired together or something..._

When her mind wandered back to the table's discussion, Aang was making a proposition to Sokka.

"-should take the girls with us to Aero-Dynamics at the big Homecoming game."

"_Are you serious?_" Toph squealed, pressing hr palms into her cheeks with excitement. "Really-really?"

"Really-really," said Sokka with smile. "You ladies are gonna come, too, right?"

"Sure!" Katara agreed with a toothy smile. "Don't you think that sounds fun?" she asked Jane.

"Aero-Dynamics?" Jane muttered, digging into the recesses of her brain. "Isn't that where you psycho Aero guys freakin' cross-dress and dance and shout at soccer games?"

"_Aaaaaand _basketball games," Sokka corrected.

"We did tennis one time, too," Aang added.

Jane considered the idea of dressing up like an insane person and shouting and hollering at a sporting event with this group of people, surrounded by many others. The thought settled well, and she could see why Toph had been so elated.

"_Yesss, _God, I can't wait," Toph squeaked. Upon reflection, Jane found it ironic and bizarre how girly Toph was getting at the thought of yelling and grunting at shouting about a sport she couldn't even _see _while surrounded by frat boys.

Suddenly, Jane's bowels churned and she realized her body ws ready for trash disposal.

She slid out of the booth and rose to her feet, assuring the group, "Goin' to the bathroom. Back in a sec."

"'Kay!"  
"OK!"  
"Yep!"  
"Have fun!"

While on the stall, Jane flipped through her phone. No new messages. Wait...

_Rrrrrrmmmmm._

[From: Kat]  
[Are you sure you're OK? What's wrong? You seem in a bad mood.]  
[Sent: 7:47pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[guess i am. pms.]  
[Sent: 7:48pm]

[From: Kat]  
[It's more than that. Are we making you feel uncomfortable?]  
[Sent: 7:48pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[all your inside jokes and shit. i dont get it. outta the loop.]  
[Sent: 7:49pm]

[From: Kat]  
[I'm sorry. =( We're trying to get you in on it, though, OK? Everybody likes you. Even when you're being grouchy. ;P]  
[Sent: 7:49pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[haha ok. i just dont really have any other people to hang out with anymore u know?]  
[Sent: 7:49pm]

[From: Kat]  
[I know. It's OK. You're practically another member of the group now. Come to think of it...]  
[Sent: 7:50pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[i guess i kinda am huh? come to think of it. what?]  
[Sent: 7:50pm]

[From: Kat]  
[ ;D ]  
[Sent: 7:51pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]

[Sent: 7:51pm]

Jane finished up her business and approached the table again, noticing the food wasn't ready yet. She wasn't quite ready to be engulfed in the kinetic energy of the group, so she paused at the table, glancing at Katara while Aang and Sokka debated some...nerd...thing...that didn't make a lick of sense.

"I need to get some air," she let Katara know quietly, her hands in her pockets. Katara nodded with empathy and reached a hand out, squeezing Jane's wrist before letting her slip off out the entrance door.

"What's up with her today?" Toph whispered across the table. "She's being fussy."

"You're one to talk," Katara teased with a chuckle.

"It's that time of the month," Sokka nonchalantly tossed in his two cents before continuing his chat with Aang. "Now I'm tellin' ya, I think they should have him _kill _Sasuke, 'cuz then that would show how not _everyone _can be saved...-"

"That's...actually kind of it," Katara meekly conceded to Toph. "She's also feeling kind of...like...-" Katara fumbled her hands through the air if only to coincide with her inner workings. "-...when it's just the five of us, I think we make her feel left out."

"How's that?" Toph mumbled with indignation. "She's like our honorary fifth member."

"I think that since she left the Freedom Fighters she doesn't really have a group she belongs to," Katara lamented.

"She belongs to _us_, now," chirped in Aang before pouncing back on topic with Sokka. "Why would he end up with _Sakura? _Hinata confessed her _love _to him..."

"Twinkle-Toes is right," agreed Toph vehemently.

"I _know! _Sakura's been chasing after _Sasuke _this whole time but Hinata has _always-_"

"_What? _No-no-no, about _Freckles, _not...whatever you're talking about."

"Oh..."

"Carry on with your nerdy talk, Babe."

"You called me 'Babe,' Taters."

"No, I didn't. You're hearing things, Twinkles."

"We sure love our nicknames, don't we?" Katara observed, palm on her forehead in embarrassment.

"Speaking of, didn't we have, like, a group name?" Sokka attempted to remember. "Like a gang title?"

"The Fearsome Foursome!" Toph instantly recollected.

"Yea, that was it!"

"Ohhhh, yea," Aang fondly remembered. "When Toph started hanging out with us."

"Why did we drop that?" Sokka demanded. No one had an answer. "Well...We should use it again."

"But that doesn't _work, _Sokka," Katara picked, flicking him in the forehead.

"Ow. How come?"

"_Jane? _That makes five."

"The Fearsome _Five_some!"

Sokka hummed with uncertainty, rubbing his hairy chin.

"The Fearless Five," he amended.

"Fearsome Fivesome," Toph insisted.

"I like it," Katara snickered. "We should keep it in the spirit of the old one."

"But...but it doesn't _sound _as good. Doesn't roll off the tongue the same. Fearsome _Five_?"

"Fearsome Fivesome," Aang decided.

"Yea," said Toph.

Katara shot her brother a sly nod and an amused raised brow.

"_Fiiiiiinnnnne,_" Sokka groaned, flopping his face into his arms on the table. "But we need our fifth member first."

Outside the brick wall of the restaurant, Jane stood in the parking lot against the Kesuks' car, staring up at the cloudy evening sky. Her eyes would carefully wander to the entrance of the Treetop Pub around the corner but she'd pull her attention away. Just being near the place made her uneasy. The last time she had set foot in it had been aside Jet the day before he'd died. She refused to enter it now. She was no longer one of them.

_Why do you keep letting them pull your strings, Johnny? Do you wanna fucking end up like _he _did?_

She fiddled with the lighter in her zip-up pocket. Fortunately, she didn't have any cigarettes on her, so there was no temptation to give in to. Katara had managed to convince her to kick the habit during the summer and after some whittling down it had stuck - she hadn't smoked a single cigarette since she'd stepped onto campus for the school year. She had held on to Jet's lighter since he had passed away in his memory.

She pulled it out and snapped it a couple of times. The metal object came alive, spouting a small flame that mesmerized Jane for a few moments before she clicked the metal top back on, snuffing it. She admired the soaring eagle emblazoned into the lighter's surface for another moment and reflected on what it stood for: freedom. Jet had always had a thing for eagles and their symbolism.

_Jet found _his _freedom. So can I. Can't I? Fucking right, I can._

"Jane?"

"Huh?"

Jane turned around, back to the building, to see Aang waving his arm at her.

"Pizza's done," he informed. "Aren't you gonna come in?"

"Yea." Jane stuffed the lighter back into her pocket and pursued the bony boy. She absorbed an affectionate pat on the shoulder.

"C'mon, cheer up," Aang suggested. Jane gave him a weak, trying smile.

"I'll try."

Delicious waves of warm pizza awaited back at the table, and Toph and Sokka were already halfway through their first pieces.

"Hey," Katara greeted as Jane attacked her ham and pineapple pizza.

"So, Janey Jane," Toph began. "We were talking about you while you were gone."

"Oh?"

"Awful things. _Horrible _things."

"That so?"

"She had some _very _naughty things to say about your boyfriend," Sokka jested. Jane whipped her wrist against Toph's head, who let out a devil's snicker.

"Actually," Aang corrected, "we were thinking about asking you if you wanted to join our group."

Jane stopped partway through a bite.

"Rrmm?" She tore off the piece, chewed, and swallowed. "Thought I already _was _part of your group," she grumbled with a tinge of offense.

"Of course," Katara agreed. "But we mean, like...-" She scratched her head for a moment. "Our _group _group."

"B-F-F's," Toph said with a grin.

"Like our secret club," Sokka presented the notion.

Jane raised an orange brow.

"Ih-if you _want_," Sokka amended.

"We're a pretty tightly knit bunch," Aang proudly informed.

"I can tell," Jane murmured, her eyes wandering to her food.

"But we're willing to let you in," Katara offered. "We all like you."

"Even your brother?" Jane dryly doubted, giving him a dark glance. His face flinched in worry and he shrugged.

"It's nice having another pessimist around," Sokka admitted. "And I like you well enough when you're not crabby."

Jane sighed and slurped some of her soda.

"Ringing endorsement, there, Sokka..."

"Who _else _is gonna take you in?" Toph picked.

"So now I'm a lost puppy?"

"Jane, you've been spending all of your free time with us lately," Katara logically pointed out. "We want you to keep doing that. We care about you. It's pretty simple."

Jane couldn't deny the warm sensitivity of Katara's smile and the genuineness in her eyes.

"Then let's do it," Jane put the matter to rest. "I'm game."

Sokka pounded the side of his fist into his palm. "_First, _we need to test you...Aang? Do the honors."

Aang began.  
"If by my life or death I can protect you, I will."

Katara spoke with determination.  
"You have my sword."

Toph was sneaky and sly.  
"And you have _my _bow!"

Sokka pointed at Jane with a smirk.  
"And _my _sarcasm!"

_'Kay. Let's just take the leap here. They may be weird, but I guess I kinda am, too._

Jane slammed her palm against the table and roared out with a Scottish accent.  
"And _my axe!_"

Cheers and hand-clapping exploded across the table, startling some nearby customers across the room. The group had a subdued laugh-fit as they sat, and Jane's freckled face wore a rare, uncontainable smile.

"You are now an official member of our clan," Sokka boldly pronounced.

"Since when did we have a clan?" Toph mumbled.

"You need five people to make a clan," Sokka rapidly spat to dismiss her confusion.

"From this day onward," said Aang, "We shall be known as the Fearsome Fivesome."

"Here, here!" initiated Toph.  
"Here, here."  
"Here, here!"  
"Here?"  
"Here-_here!_"

_Wow. Guess they're pretty serious about this shit..._

"For your initiation," Toph warned, "you must streak naked across-"

"_No._"

"Grr."

"I think putting up with us is good enough," Katara laughed.

The group enjoyed the rest of their meal with small talk concerning an annoying professor and an upcoming test and an art project. In the parking lot, before they reached the Kesuks' car, Katara stopped everyone.

"Tonight is a big step for us," she observed in a jovial enthusiasm. "This sort of thing warrants a group hug, don't you think?"

Jane sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, only to be instantly surrounded by bodies from all sides crushing her lovingly. It felt kind of nice, in its own odd way.

_Ow. Fuck!  
_Except for whoever had just bumped against the back of her head.

Once they'd broken their hug, Aang pointed off down the street in the direction back to SRU.

"To arms, Comrades!" he decreed as they filed into the car.

"**To arms!**"


	19. A Formal Thing

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 19 - A Formal Thing_

* * *

- Monday, October 11th, 2010 -

"This _weekend? _How could I-...? How did I _miss _that?"

"It's just Homecoming, Kat, it's not like it's-"

"_Exactly! _It's Homecoming! I need to...I have to get ready for it."

"You're actually _going?_"

"Wh-? Of _course _we're going. You're not?"

Jane's eyes wandered to the side and she shrugged with apathy.

"Nah, I've, uhh...never been to somethin' like that..."

"Really?" Katara gasped as she tied her hair into a ponytail. "Are you serious?"

Jane's eyelids lowered as her olive orbs glared.

"Do I seem like the type who'd give a fuck about that kinda thing?" she grumbled.

"Er...N-no, I...I guess not," Katara conceded sheepishly. "But...You should totally come with us. Bring Johnny, we'll all go as a group! I'm sure he can get out of Freedom Fighter...stuff...to go to _Homecoming _with his lovely girlfriend."

Jane rolled her eyes at her friend's words but a smirk found its way to her face regardless.

"I dunno, Kat. We'll see." Said with a tone that conveyed a hint of desire to give in and go.

"Let me know. I could help you pick out a dress," Katara advised with a wide grin.

"D-dress?" Jane sputtered, suddenly off-put. "Like a_...dress _dress?"

With a laugh, Katara ruffled Jane's shaggy orange mess of unkempt hair.

"_Yes, _a dress, JayBee. It's a formal thing - I'll help you look real nice, I promise. You'll knock Johnny's _socks_ off, Hun."

Katara could see Jane's confidence wither idea at her suggestions, but she was determined to play them out - Jane would thank her later.

"Listen, don't worry about it right now," she calmed her redhead friend. "Let me figure out what we're doing first and I'll get back to you tomorrow on that." She patted Jane's slender shoulder with encouragement. "If you don't want to go, you don't have to, but you'll be missing out - it's a lot of fun, and you'll have us with you, you know?"

A brisk nod from Jane concluded the discussion for the time being, and Katara had a good feeling that her friend would eventually come around. They'd been peeling her shell off piece by piece over the past few weeks, and now that she was officially inducted into their 'clan,' she seemed to be progressively more open to doing things outside of her comfort zone.

"Anyway, I have to head off to work now," she explained to Jane as she popped on her shoes.

"Yep."

"I'll see you tonight, all right?"

"Sure thing."

* * *

Sokka sighed as he slipped his phone back into his pant pocket and grabbed his pool cue.

"What's up?" Aang wondered in reference to the text Sokka had just surveyed.

"It's my sister, she's bugging me about Homecoming." He slid the smooth stick between his fingers before popping the white ball forward.

"Yea, that's coming up, like...This weekend?" Aang surmised, watching as Sokka sank a striped ball.

"Sure is. And you _know _how Katara gets with dances and dinners and crap like that," mumbled Sokka, shaking his head slowly.

"Haha, she can get kinda crazy about them, huh?"

"Not _kinda_." Sokka plopped another stripe into a corner pocket. The gentlemen enjoyed the slow rolling sound of the ball traveling back to the open compartment in front of the pool table.

"So what is she bothering you _about_?" Aang inquired, sensing that Sokka wasn't frustrated merely by the idea of Homecoming.

Having just scored a scratch, Sokka huffed and scooped it out of the tray, handing it to his roommate.

"She's trying to get our help setting her up with a date."

"She is?"

"Sadly, yes.

"Who with?"

"She asked me if Haru has asked anyone out yet."

"_Haru?_" Aang spat out in shocked amusement. "Ha! Are you kidding?"

"Sadly, _no._"

"But..." Aang slammed his ball with precision - it richoted off the side and perfectly slid a solid into its place. "He's not her _type._"

"_I know!" _Sokka cried out, relieved that someone else shared his opinion. "Neither was _Jet_," he snuck in with some dismay.

"Weren't you encouraging her to go out with Haru, like...last month?"

"That was _before_," Sokka dismissed.

Aang's face dried up into a solemn frown.

"When she was with Jet," he deduced. "So...What? You don't want her to date _anyone _now?" he irritably accused.

"N-no, that's not it at all," defended Sokka, flailing his arms. "I'm just...-" He drummed his fingers along the edge of the pool table as he hunched over it, watching Aang fling score another solid. "-...real sick of seeing her get her heart broken again and again. I just _know _it wouldn't work between her and Haru."

"Maybe...Katara knows that, too?" Aang pondered.

"Huh?"

"Maybe Katara just wants someone to go with - to have some fun."

Sokka stared at Aang with low-set eyebrows, perplexed by such a notion.

"I'm just saying," Aang shrugged, carrying along with their pool game. "You don't want her to feel left out, do you?"

Sokka scratched his hairy chin carefully, acknowledging that of their group, Katara would be the only one without a date.

"Ehhhh," came his gutteral groan of admittence. "No," he whimpered. "I don't want her to feel left out..."

"Exactly." Aang lined up his next shot. "Eight-Ball, corner pocket."

_Pok. Clat! Tak.  
Clackle-kat._

"Heh."

"Why did I let you convince me to play _pool?_" Sokka growled. "Next time? Chess, Aang. _Chess_. And you are going _down._"

"I am _totally _going down," Aang chuckled.

* * *

- Tuesday, October 12th, 2010 -

"What'll it be today, Toph?"

"Oh, hi, Ginny."

"It's Jin."

"_Right," _Toph flinched. "Sorry, I forgot."

"Heh, it's fine. So what can I get you today?"

"Oh, r-right, um..." Toph's mind fumbled around to a drink she knew she preferred at the Jasmine Dragon.

"Did you want me to read off anyth-?"

"No, no, I'll have a Raspberry Truffle Espresso, please."

"What size?"

"Oh, um, Large. Normal. Nothing special."

"That'll be $3.50."

"'Kay." Toph dug her hand into her back pocket, retrieved her trusty card, and stuck her arm out to the girl at the register. She waited for the _shhhnk _of the card through the scanner, the _whrr-ka-kurrrr _of her receipt being printed off - a lot of good _that _was for her - and held her palm out to receive her magical piece of plastic money back. She did not take a moment to reflect on how nice and convenient it was to waltz into shops and buy whatever food or drink she wanted - that would be unbecoming of a Beifong. In fact, Jin pondered this very idea instead, wondering how life would be different with rich parents like Toph had.

"I'll get on that for you, Toph. Thanks."

As Jin shifted to the counter to start preparing Toph's drink, the various sounds of metal, plastic, liquids and machinery filled the air. Toph shifted a few steps to her left and stood idly by the receiving counter to take her order when it was completed.

"So...Jin," she began with a quaint tone outside of her standard pallette of expression. "I, um...I heard you guys do, like...a _thing _here...Thursday nights?"

"What was that?" Jin requested as she finished Toph's drink. "Here's your drink, by the way." Toph held out her hand to receive the coffee cup. Its warm, dry surface was comforting and energizing at once as she clamped it tightly in her fingers. "Got it?" Jin checked.

"Yup."

"Now, what were you saying?"

"Oh, um, I was just...You guys have a special thing you do here on Thursday nights, I heard."

"Yea, we sure do!"

"What..._is _that. Exactly?"

"It's sort of an open-mic thing. Readings, music, comedy acts...whatever you want."

"How does it work?"

"Well...We put the sign-up sheet out Monday, and you sign up for a time slot."

"Sooo...If I wanted to sign up for this Thursday...I could just...do that?"

"Of course! You want me to put you in for a time?"

"Yea. Yea, let's do that." Toph lifted the cup to her mouth and pressed her lips around the opening. Too hot. She lightly blew some air through it to cool it off a bit. She heard Jin's footsteps move across the room and return.

"Welllll...We have an opening from 8:15 to 8:30 this Thursday. How about that?"

"Perfect. I'll take it."

"Great!" A pen scratched the surface of a clipboard. "So what are you going to do? Some music, I take it?"

"How _ever_ did you know?" Toph kidded, slipping out her tongue jokingly.

"I look forward to it, Toph. I've got another customer though, soooo...-"

"Catch you later."

"You, too."

Toph carefully tread her walking stick along, located an empty table, and sat herself down for a session of what Sokka had dubbed a "Think N' Drink." She considered her musical exploits. Things had been off to a slow start this year. Having a robust social life was obviously the primary cause, but even so, Toph was sure she could be doing better. Practicing with their still un-named band a few times was frustrating in its own right - not even because of how apparent it was that they were not coordinated as a musical group, but because it made it easier to see her own flaws in her performances. Perhaps the problem was that she needed a reason to practice on her own, alone, playing songs that were _not _for a lesson or class. The more time Toph spent playing music for others, the less the notes she played exuded her own spirit. Maybe this 'open-mic' business would help out. And the best part? It was on Thursday, when everyone split off to get homework done, so it wasn't like she had anything better to be doing.

Thursday nights would become her musical canvas.

* * *

- Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 -

"You have no _idea _how much of an idiot my brother can be..."

"Dude, I have _kind of _an idea, Kat. We both live in Aero. I've probably seen parts of the guy you never have."

Katara had a sneaking suspicion he was literally referring to body parts, given some of the frat-boy activities Aero Men were known for participating in on occasion, but derailed that train of thought immediately.

"I'm sure you have, Haru," she murmured with embarrassed humor. "Do you know where I could find him tonight? He's not in his room and he's not answering his phone."

"Ah, yea," Haru assured, waving her to follow. "I saw him down in the basement, he was takin' care of laundry."

"Oh my _God_," Katara laughed. "Sokka? Doing _laundry?_"

Haru acknowledged her joke with a chuckle as he proceeded down the stairs.

"Sokka was telling me your little gang is all going to Homecoming together, huh?" Haru observed. Katara felt her stomach lurch nervously. She knew he was about to ask her out. But she hadn't completely decided how she'd react to it.

"Y-yea. We are. One big happy family. Ha."

"Sokka's going with that Japanese girlfriend of his, right?"

"Suki."

"Right. And then..._your _roommate...is going with _his _roommate. Yea?"

"Mm-hm."

"What about that one boy I see you hanging out with all the time? Are you, eh...-?" He waggled his finger left and right, and Katara realized what he was implying. But who was he _talking _about?

"Huh?"

"Ya know, that redhead. You two...-" Haru shrugged meekly, glancing away down the basement hall. "-...seem real close. Like, always holding hands, and-"

"Pfff," Katara spilled out in disbelief. "Redhead? You mean...You must mean _Jane," _she giggled in an irregularly giddy manner. "_She _is our neighbor in Aqua."

Haru's head flicked from side to side in a twitchy double-back as he processed this correction.

"_Dude, _I...am totally sorry, man, I...-" He shrugged, slowly shaking his head and fiddling his hands around in defense. "The way that girl dresses, and, like, acts...I didn't even think...-"

"It's OK, Haru," Katara chuckled, amused by the whole thing. "Jane kind of asks for it with the way she carries herself - I'm getting her to work on that, heh." Katara smiled peacefully and shrugged as they hit the laundry room - no one in sight, but half of the driers and washers were running idly, creating an oddly soothing racket.

"Soooo, I'm gonna guess the redhead is _not _your date, then?" Haru joked, sitting atop one of the driers, it's timer marked **[00:03]**.

"Haha, no, she's taking her boyfriend," Katara pleasantly explained.

"Then...what about _you_?"

"I..." Katara tossed her arms out to her sides and chuckled, overcome with a strange sense of confidence and comfort. She let her hands drop to her hips and coyly grinned. "I'd be up for going with you, if that's what you're getting at."

Haru's face heated up and he ran his hand over his slick, greasy hair. A laugh escaped him and he cocked his head to the side with an embarrassed smile.

"Sh...Sure! Yea. Totally!"

"All right, then," Katara brightly concluded. "There's still an empty seat at our table, so just sign up for it and I'll see you there Saturday night. Sound good?"

"Sounds...pretty good to me, Kat." Haru was clearly flabbergasted at her straightforward approach, and Katara was relishing the sense of empowerment as they exchanged heated glances of anticipation. "Er..." Haru tore his eyes away from her and directed them to the drier. **[00:02] **"This was the machine your bro put his clothes in, so...yah." He rapped his knuckle against its metal surface and popped his body off. Katara kept her eyes glued on his shaken and stirred demeanor with some satisfaction.

"Thanks, Haru. I'll see you later," she bid with a sly and syrupy tone.

As the door to the laundry room closed, Katara paced back and forth, her stomach queasy from their encounter.

_God, what's going on with me? He seems like a nice enough guy, but...No, no. This is just a simple date. Nothing more. Yea. I can't let myself fall into that same trap again, but...I can't do what my brother did, either. This is just a single date, and we'll...see how it goes. That's all._

[To: Sokka]  
[Your laundry's done. =P ]  
[Sent: 4:12pm]

[**Inbox:** **1**]

[From: Suki]  
[do you guys mind if we start practice an hour early on sunday? could you check w/toph&jane plz?]  
[Sent: 1:38pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Suki]  
[That's OK with me. I'll check with the girls and get back to you. =) ]  
[Sent: 4:13pm]

[From: Sokka]  
[WTF?]  
[Sent: 4:14pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[Get down to the laundry room. Bum.]  
[Sent: 4:14pm]

Katara was relieved that her brother showed up shortly after their phone exchange. Sitting in the laundry room alone got very boring very quickly. Katara watched as her brother dumped clothes from the drier into his basket.

"Whoa, hey, wait," she interjected. "Aren't you going to fold those?"

Sokka sighed and shook his head.

"They're going to be all _wrinkled, _though..."

"_So?_" Sokka spat irritably.

_Geez. Someone's in a grouchy mood._

"I could help, Sokka..."

"I don't care, Katara. Not _everyone_ has to be all perfect all the damned time."

She was tempted to spew back a counterpoint, but she wasn't going to let her brother's frumpy words sour her mood.

"OK, fine. Calm down, Bro."

Sokka stuffed his mass of clothing tightly into the basket to prevent it from spilling out.

"Sorry. I'm stressed out."

"_Really? _You know, I couldn't tell," she noted with sarcasm and a pat on the back, opening the door for him on the way out.

"Thanks," he muttered, hefting the weight of his clothes into the hall.

"What's going on?" Katara wondered, blazing their trail to open every door in their path.

"Had a bad day at work, class sucked, stupid test on Friday. Grah."

"Sorry, Sokka. Anything I can do?"

"Nope," grunted the older sibling as they hit the stairs.

"OK." Katara tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully as they climbed up to the second floor. "Sooo...I got a date to Homecoming."

"Haru, right?"

"Heh. Yes."

"You sure that's such a good idea?"

"Sokka, _please. _It's just an innocent date. It's not like we're going steady all of a sudden."

"Yea, yea...Just be cool about it."

Katara frowned at his overprotection.

"_Excuse _me," she grumbled, "but _you_ were the one telling me to give him a chance in the first place."

Sokka sighed out an exhausted, "I know..."

"Good. Then...don't worry about it. I'm not going to be stupid. OK?"

"I _know. _Listen, did you need something?" Sokka groaned as they entered the second floor of Aero. Clearly, he wasn't in much of a mood to talk with his sister today.

"Oh, right. I need my share of the spending money for Homecoming that Dad sent us last week."

"Right," Sokka huffed. "Sure thing, Sis. I'll grab that for ya in a sec..."

* * *

"Who did he _think _you were going with?"

Katara grinned from cheek to cheek, eyelids narrowed sneakily.

"He thought that I was going with that 'redhead boy' I'm always hanging out with," she teased.

"_Me? _The fuck?" Jane spat out in humored disbelief. "He thought I was a _boy?_"

Katara grabbed Jane's hand and squeezed it tight for a second before going back to wading through the rack of dresses.

"Sorry, Jane. But you have to admit...the way you dress and act most of the time, it doesn't exactly help."

Jane shrugged, letting it roll off with a laugh. "Not _my _fault I'm so hardcore..."

"Come on, though, it's kind of funny, right?" Katara egged, insistent on finding comedy in the matter.

"I guess," Jane sighed, rubbing her eyebrow.

"I mean, he thought _we_ were, like, _into _each other_,_ or something," Katara slapped her wrist against Jane's arm in humor. "He didn't even know that...-" Katara's joyful prodding gave way to concern and regret. "Are you OK?"

"Huh?"

"You just look...all angry and upset..."

"Oh..." Jane realized suddenly that her face was hot, her arms were crossed, and her lips were puckered out in a finnicky pout. Perhaps this dumb guy's inaccurate assumptions were more irritating than she originally figured they'd be.

"I'm sorry, Jane," Katara murmured solemnly, twirling a fidgety finger through her hair. "I...thought you'd find it kind of funny. I didn't mean to-...Gah," she turned away. "I shouldn't forget how sensitive you are about-"

"Naw, it's cool, Kat. It _is _kind of funny. I don't really care what people think, and it doesn't bother me if _you _guys pick on me about it 'cuz...I know you're just kidding."

"O-OK...That's what I_ thought_, but I don't want to make you feel self-conscious or...-"

"_Ha. _Self-conscious? We're trying to pick out a fucking _dress, _Kat," Jane snickered, scratching her ear. "Pretty sure being self-conscious comes with the territory." She thrust her arms out to the assortment of colorful clothes that washed around them like a sea.

"_Right." _Katara had become focused on her task, and finally presented Jane with a dark piece of fabric.

"Christ," Jane snickered with a face palm as she inspected its measly form. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Katara iterated, lining the dress, still on its hanger, across Jane's chest to estimate its fit.

"I'm not sure here, Kat," doubted Jane with a sigh.

"Come on, JayBee, it's your size. I even found one in _black _for you."

"But...But it's so...-" She huffed, sliding her jaw to the side in frustration.

"Revealing?"

"_Yea!_" Jane blurted wih indignance.

"Ohhhh, it's not _that _bad! Come on."

"There's like...fuckin' _strings _holding it up."

"Spaghetti straps, Hun."

"But...My whole...-" She quickly waved her palm over her collarbones. "Half my body will be showing in that thing!"

"Jane, it's not going to kill you to dress like a girl for once."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Jane growled in a pout.

"Don't you want to really make Johnny go crazy?"

Jane's icy olive glare burned into Katara's enthusiasm to no avail, the sapphire optimism winning out in the end.

"Yea...I guess..."

"He'll love this, Hun. I promise."

"My shoulders are going to be showing," Jane whimpered quietly, her eyes nervously shifting around to ensure no one else was nearby in this section of the store. "And my fuckin' twig legs, and-"

"Jane." Katara slowly insisted, grabbing her friend by the shoulders. "It's OK."

"But my legs are _hairy_," Jane hissed, running her hand through her hair in frustration. Katara giggled in reply. "It's not funny! I'm not sure I'm cut out to play dress-up and shit, Kat..."

"Jane, I'll help you wax your legs or something, it's-"

"And my shoulders are fuckin' _freckly_, and my collar bones stick out, and-" Jane's shaky ramble was cut short as Katara slapped her on the arm - it was a gentle slap but with enough force to catch her off guard.

"Careful, JayBee," she teased, jabbing a finger at Jane's nose. "We're trying to girl you up, but we don't want to go back to high-school territory, haha."

Jane's innards gurgled with unease as she realized how bizarre her reaction likely seemed. Rough and tumble GI Jane, having a fit over her looks for a _dance_? What the hell? That was messed up.

"Sorry, Kat, I'm...kinda freaked out here. Not exactly my sorta thing."

"I know it's hard for you, Hun," Katara empathized softly, leading Jane to a changing closet. "But I swear, this will be good for you. I know you have have bad self-esteem about your looks."

"No, I don't," Jane instinctively growled with a grouchy roll of the eyes.

"You were just freaking out over your freckles and your collar bones, Jane. Yes, you do."

"Fine...Maybe..."

Katara nudged her into a changing closet and closed the door behind her.

"Try that on."

"Fuck," Jane huffed through the door.

"What?"

"My boots...You know how _annoying _these are to take off and put on?"

"Baha...Ohhhh, JayBee."

Jane unlaced her intricate footwear and paused to contemplate how to even get herself into this puny black..._thing_. A mirror glowered over her through the entire process, so she had no choice but to turn away if only to avoid getting overly self-conscious about things. Jane abhored mirrors, a vicious reminder of her body, that thing which she constantly insisted on avoiding thinking about. She coudn't deny Katara's joke: she felt like she had regressed back to high school when she had cared more about looking like a 'girl,' only to ultimately dismiss the effort as futile based on her peers' reactions.

"Why does it matter so much?" she grunted, pulling down her baggy cargo pants.

"Huh?"

"Trying to...to look _girly _and crap." Off with the shirt.

"Wh-?...You _are _a girl, Jane. Sometimes it's fun to just...look nice. You know?"

"Don't really care." She squirmed into the black cloth, letting its straps rest on her shoulders. This felt entirely awkward. Bare, cold, breezy...but freeing. She felt unprotected and vulnerable, her bony arms showing, her stick legs - hairy - and freckly shoulders all exposed. Who could find this attractive?

"You done?"

"Yea..."

"Let me see!" Katara cried with excitement. Jane rubbed her tired eyes and opened the door, refusing to exit the changing room. She felt her stomach empty and her face heat up at Katara's elated expression.

"Ohhhh, wow," Katara whispered, wide-eyed. "It's perfect, Jane!"

"R-really...?"

"So _cute. _Black was a great choice. Accents your hair. Do I know how to pick 'em, or what?"

Butterflies filtered through Jane's intestines as Katara inspected the dress with care, placing palms flush againt Jane's bony hips to determine the fit.

"See?" she insisted, twirling Jane to face the mirror. "You look great. Johnny will eat it up."

"'Kay..." Jane sighed shakily, simply relieved that Katara was happy, at least. She couldn't bring herself to survey her own form, instead glancing at her own petrified eyes and bright pink cheeks. Maybe now she could get back into normal clothes.

Fifteen minutes later, she was back in army boots, cargo pants, and a sweatshirt, and Katara had purchased the simple black outfit for her. It hadn't all too expensive, Katara had assured, but Jane still couldn't comprehend spending more than $20 on any piece of clothing, period, so it baffled her that Katara was so eager to contribute finances to the cause.

"Thanks, Kat."

"No problem. We'll tidy your hair up, and wax your legs...You're going to look _amazing. _Johnny won't know what to _do _with you."

Jane smiled slightly at the idea of her boyfriend being equally fancied up in a tuxedo, unable to take his hands off of her. The idea had its appeal, she could admit.

"Are you finally looking forward to this?" Katara encouraged. "Have I finally cracked that shell of yours?"

"A little," Jane replied with a smirk. "But I'm gonna wear my boots with this dress."

"_Whaaaa?_" Katara moaned. "But...You're gonna look...-"

"Like myself. Heh."

* * *

- Thursday, October 14th, 2010 -

"I'm kind of in the middle of something here, Azula. Could this not wait?"

["No, ZuZu, as a matter of fact it _cannot _wait. Plans must be made tonight because I'm not going to have any time tomorrow."]

"What are you _talking _about? What plans?"

["I'm _hurt, _Little Brother."]

"Could you just get to the point?"

["This weekend is _Homecoming, _Zuko. And I _am _an alumna of your University. I intend to be _coming 'home' _tomorrow for the festivities."]

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose in dread. He could feel the migraine building already.

"Oh."

["Well, don't sound so _enthused,_"] came the rapid bitterness. ["I know that seeing your own _flesh and blood _is so very, very inconvenient."]

"I didn't say th-"

["Spare me your excuses, Dum-Dum._ I_ know when I'm not wanted."]

"So...What? Now you're not coming?"

["Are you joking? Of _course _I'm coming, I just _told you._ I swear, sometimes you can be such an imbecile..."]

"Then why are you-?"

["I'll meet you at the Avatar at 6pm tomorrow. We can catch up over supper."]

"Ugh...Fine. But I...I have a busy weekend, so don't expect-"

["You're a Kurosawa, Zuko. I _expect_ you to be busy."]

Zuko bit his tongue. It was no use when she was acting this way, he could never get a word in edge-wise.

["Oh, and...Take Mai and Ty-Lee tomorrow, we can have a happy little reunion. Ciao, ZuZu."]

_Click._

"Soooo..." Mai poked her head out from behind her laptop. "Based on the whole...you getting interrupted constantly...That must have been Azula," Mai decided.

"That hard to figure out, was it?"

"Aaaand...She's going to be here for Homecoming, isn't she?"

"Argh..."

"At least it won't be _boring, _right?"

* * *

The wooden stage was cold to the touch, grimy from the shoes of others before her. She carefully arranged a bar stool borrowed from a table in the shop so that it rested before the microphone. She felt her hands up the metal pole and around the mic. She tapped its bumpy surface and relished the _pumph-pumph _sound that radiated from the speakers to her sides. She had gotten plenty of practice in the night prior while Katara and Jane had been away doing dress-shopping and was pretty confident she had the song down pat.

"So, umm...-" she murmured into the microphone, unfazed by a crowd whose size she couldn't quite determine. It seemed like a sleepy night at the Jasmine Dragon, so no pressure, right? _Pff. _Like she gave a damn about pressure. She introduced herself with blunt nonchalance. "I'm gonna play a song. And stuff. Hope ya like."

_Well. Here we are, Toph. Play your Emo-Pants heart out. For the sake of love, and shit._

She plucked at her acoustic guitar strings and played out a melancholy prelude. A song that Aang had introduced her to during their summer, separated, which she had been periodically listening to from time to time. He'd sent it to her along with a number of other songs, but this one had been the only she'd bothered to listen to more than once. She didn't know where it had come from - he'd told her it was from a video game, or something? She didn't recall the specifics, she just knew the song had a special place on her iPod and that she liked where her mind went when she listened to it. Even though it spoke of things she could never perceive, she had a hunch it was still entirely appropriate.

**_"~Sometimes I lie awake at night and wait_~**  
**_~The shadows changing on the hollow wall~_**  
**_~And moonlight streaming through my windowpane~_**  
**_~Leaves me cold, under the shroud of nightfall_~"**

Days past, nights gone by - alone.  
A practice room - a fortress.  
A bedroom, quiet and isolated.  
No friends, no fellows, no family.  
Just a lonely, angry girl, a piano, a and a guitar.

**_"~You're there beside me in my deepest dreams_~**  
**_~A ghost of all the weight I feel within~_**  
**_~And floating endlessly, my heart believes~_**  
**_~That we are one, ready to touch, to begin_~"**

"It's ruined! It...It's _destroyed._"

"I-I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

"It's going to take me _all weekend _to fix this!"

"I know. _I know_!"

"Urgh, and this is...totally shot. It's going to have to be replaced..."

"I'm sorry, Aang, I...w-wasn't thinking!"

"Ugh. No, you weren't! You always _do this! _You always think you can take care of everything all by yourself. But you can't!"

**_"~Imagine how your lips would taste on mine~_**  
**_~And how your breath would feel against my eyes~_**  
**_~My heart is racing for the millionth time~_**  
**_~Don't let go of this thought, otherwise_~"**

His scrubby hair, dry skin, gentle hands.  
The way he used to get all nervous when she'd start kissing his neck.  
How his earlobes felt between her lips.  
His warm breath against her face, deepening when they'd get close.  
Her hand on his chest, his heart pounding, just like hers.  
Neither of them knowing what to do with this all.

**_"~There's a...~haze, a...~feeling...~that I get with you_**~  
**_~And~this hand~Won't let go...~_**  
**_~Lead me...~Show me...~just how...~love's supposed to feel_~**  
_**~So that I won't be...~  
~Dreaming...~"**_

A smattering of light applause sealed off the performance, and Toph bobbed her head before removing herself from the stage. She overheard murmurings and whisperings as she left the Jasmine Dragon.

"Wow...Isn't that the blind music major chick?"  
"Yea, isn't she good?"  
"I'm diggin' it."  
"It's like...you can tell she's really feeling the music, ya know?"

While no one had said anything to her directly, a proud smirk found its way to Toph's face while she reflected on their awed words.

_Fuck yea. You still got it, girl._

_

* * *

_

- Friday, October 15th, 2010 -

"Trust me, Aang. That's the stuff you want."

Aang stared at the spray bottle, scratching his head as he followed his roommate through the store.

"Axe?" he muttered aloud the product's name.

"Scientifically proven to make girls go crazy," Sokka informed, inspecting a shelf of flamboyant hats.

"That so?" chuckled Aang dubiously.

"_Science never fails._" Sokka decreed, glancing at the various accessories. "Flowers? _Ribbons? _Bleh. No-no-no, what we need is-_ha._" He triumphently lifted a navy blue fedora up from a low spot on the shelving and showed it to Aang.

"That's, uh...That sure is a fedora," Aang observed.

"Damn _right _it is!" Sokka cocked it across his head and nodded at the fit. "Aw, man. This is perfect."

"Was that everything we needed?"

"Hat, body spray, snacks, er...Wait, didn't you need a tie?"

"Yea," Aang recalled. "Already got one." He lifted his elbow to draw attention to the black tie draped across it. He clutched the Axe spray in the corresponding hand, while a shopping basket containing small bottles of fabric paint, White Cheddar Cheezits, Twizzlers, and an Origami book was held in his left hand.

"Oh. Well, then. Sweet. Let's be off with us, then!"

On the way back, Aang had to keep Sokka away from the electronics department, reminding him that he didn't have money to buy anything expensive, anyway, and the two managed to check out with nary an issue.

"Why the paint, anyway?" Sokka wondered as they shuffled through the parking lot. "Don't you have paint already?"

"Not fabric paint."

"Why do you need fabric paint?"

"For the tie. Duh."

"Heh. Ya just can never leave well alone, eh?" Sokka patted him on the back. "Do you own any ties that don't look psycho?"

"Have to add my own touch to things, Sokka."

"What about the book?"

"Origami."

"Since when were _you _into origami?"

"I've tinkered with it here and there...I need to make something for tomorrow."

"For Toph?"

Aang smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe."

"You're such a _sap, _Aang, haha."

"Hey, Toph can be sappy, too."

"_Pssh. _Like when?"

"She has her moments..."

"Well, as long as you do what I tell you, she's going to be 'having moments' _all over you _tomorrow, dude."

* * *

**A/N: Toph's song is "Still Dreaming," a remix from OverClocked Remix based on a song from Chrono Cross.**


	20. Push

**A/N: The montage toward the beginning of this chapter is, as most of them are so far, intentionally vague. I leave it up to your judgment to piece things together, as it skips across time, and some of the sequences will be elaborated on later so it all makes more sense. Also, I hired a very talented artist to draw our beloved Fearsome Fivesome in their Homecoming getups, so please check the link at the end of the chapter for that!**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 20 - Push_

* * *

- Saturday, October 16th, 2010 -

"_Shit-shit-shit! Agggghhhh, **fuck me!**_"

"Bahaha!" Toph chortled. "Janey's even _more _dirty-mouthed today!"

Katara stared at Jane as the angry redhead pounded her fist against the floor.

"You roll with a _gang _and get into _knife fights _and that's no big deal," Katara observed, humored by the situation, "but you get your legs waxed and it's the end of the world."

"Shuddup," Jane growled like a whimpering lion cub while Katara pressed down another piece of cloth against Jane's right thigh.

"Oh," Katara murmured in realization, giving pause. "What about-...?"

"Nah, it's fine, Kat," Jane hurriedly and quietly dismissed Katara's concern, waving her hand to signal her friend to go on. Katara cast a shifty glance to Toph, who was blissfully unaware, resting just outside the bathroom on Katara's bed, kicking her legs out off the side of the mattress. Toph didn't need to know about it. Less she knew, the better.

_Sssrrritt!  
_"**Grah!**" Jane thumped her fist against the tile again. "Shhhhiiihh-_tuh!_"

"Awww, poor Jane-Baby," cooed Toph, eliciting a frown from the girl on the floor. "Want me to play you a song?"

Jane huffed, leaning against the toilet, and shrugged.

"Sure," she admitted defeat.

"Prepare to be _ssssseranaded-ed!_" roared Toph, clambering off the bed.

A few moments - and another _Sssrrritt! **"Fucking ass!" **_- later, lulling piano notes drifted from Toph's keyboard, flowing like wine into Jane's brain as the soothing lyrics poured in.

_**"~She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes~**_  
_**~She can ruin your faith with her casual lies~**_  
_**~And she only reveals what she wants you to see~**_  
_**~She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me~"**_

"Hey."

"Hey!" The tan-skinned girl extended her arm with enthusiasm. "I'm Katara."

"Smellerbee."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment, and Smellerbee beat into this new girl's face with her dull gaze like a club, wearing her cheerful demeanor thin in an instant.

_Great. A new model in his never-ending line of ditsy whores...Wonder if this one's a fucking time-bomb, too...  
_

"Sorry, Kat," Jet chuckled. "Smellerbee's not great with introductions."

"Th-that's OK, I'm sure we'll find some common ground when we get to know each other."

Smellerbee rolled her eyes at this girl's hope and spit her cigarette butt onto the sidewalk, scraping her boot's toe against it, smearing it into an ashy paste.

"It was...nice to meet you, Smellerbee."

Smellerbee shoved her hands into her pockets and shrugged as the two love-birds walked off, hand-in-hand.

"Whatever."

_**"~She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you~**_  
_**~She can ask for the truth, but she'll never believe you~**_  
_**~And she'll take what you give her as long it's free~**_  
_**~Yeah, she steals like a thief, but she's always a woman to me~"**_

"But I _like _it when you're angry."

"I'm glad my getting pissed off gets _you _hard, Jet. It's fucking great. Really."

"I can't help it that you're sexy when you're mad."

"I can't help it that you _make _me mad! Stop spitting me your bullshit, Jet! _Did_ you, or _didn't_ you?"

"I didn't!"

"God...Fuckin' bastard, you're _lying._"

"What reason would I have to-?"

"I _saw _the way you and that blond bitch looked at each other last night." She punched him in the shoulder. "The _fuck, _Jet? I'm not _woman _enough for you, or some shit'?"

He glared at her, rubbing the spot she'd just nailed with an irritable sigh.

"Ya know? Maybe _not, _Smellerbee."

"_Well, _the truth comes out!" she mockingly growled.

"Could it _hurt _ya to try to act a little more like a damned _girl _sometimes?"

"Shut the hell up, Jet! You know about-"

"Why did you even _choose _to be one if you refuse to _act _like one?"

"I'm _so _sorry that I'm not a damned cookie-cutter slut!"

_**"~Ohhh...~She takes care of herself~**_  
_**~She can wait if she wants~She's ahead of her time~**_  
_**~Ohhh...~And she never gives out~**_  
_**~And she never gives in~She just changes her mind~"**_

Shards of glass, some stained red, littered the floor, the jarlid at her feet. The delightful, droning hum coming from below filled her with satisfaction. She wiped the blood from her cheek with her sleeve, eyes locked on the discarded jacket at the foot of her bed.

She rustled through her dresser, whipping out a near-empty box of cigarettes from beneath her socks. Her grimey hands, shaking like leaves in the wind, fumbled a cigarette out from the rest. She grasped it tightly in her jittery fingers as she retrieved the lighter from the top of her dresser.

Her trembling thumb desperately flicked at the disposable lighter, again and again, aching for it to ignite. At last, it did, and she quenched her nicotine thirst with a deep inhalation. She puffed out a cloud of smoke and immediately stuffed the small box of cigarettes into her pocket. Restarting the lighter, she smoked for a few moments, eyes mesmerized by the flickering flame in front of her face as she contemplated the situation.

"Fucked with the _wrong _bitch, Bastard..."

_**"~And she'll promise you more than the garden of Eden~**_  
_**~Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding~**_  
_**~But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be~**_  
_**~Blame it all on yourself 'cause she's always a woman to me~"**_

"Bahahaaa! Ohhhh, Christ. Fuckin' hilarious..." Smellerbee's hands were wrapped around her gut to contain the laughter bursting out. The boy who'd fallen victim to her prank glared at her with eyes like talons, gripping her from her humored stupor. The egg running down his face suddenly didn't matter to Smellerbee for a moment, those piercing eyes cutting through her like a knife through hot butter.

"Smellerbee, what the hell? Why would you _do _that?"  
"Sorry, Longshot, girl's a crazy bitch..."  
"Damn! The hell's your problem?"

But Smellerbee and Longshot weren't paying anyone any heed, still trying to read each other's fickle glances.

"Whoa, whoa, hey," Jet's voice cut into the commotion. "What's goin' on here?"

"I was...just pullin' a prank on the new guy," Smellerbee quickly explained. Jet frowned at her before glancing at her recent victim with a sigh.

"You all right, Longshot?"

The boy nodded, saying not so much as a word, wiping runny egg from his buzzed hair with paper towels Jet had provided.

"Smellerbee has an odd way of showing affection, huh?" Jet noted with an amused smile. Smellerbee grinned, picking some wax from her outer ear with a shrug.

"You'll get used to it, Bumpkin Boy," she teased, slapping her fist onto his red and black plaid jacket, amused by his tall, wide baseball cap.

_**"~She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel~**_  
_**~She can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool~**_  
_**~And she can't be convicted, she's earned her degree~**_  
_**~And the most she will do is throw shadows at you~**_  
_**~But she's always a woman to me~"**_

"There. All done." Katara's hands ran along Jane's smooth legs and she twitched from the tingling sensation. Quite unnatural. She couldn't decide if she liked her legs hairless or not just yet. "That wasn't _so _bad, was it?"

"I survived," Jane sighed, scratching her hand through her hair. Katara fluffed out her orange bangs with a snicker.

"Next we need to get you washed up. By the time we're done, you'll be in ship-shape, Jane."

"Ship-shape! Ship-shape!" cried Toph playfully from the bedroom, the sound of her hands clapping rattling the wall.

"Calm down there, _Ponyo_," Katara giggled, shaking her head with an entertained breath as she helped Jane to her feet. "I swear, she's such a kid some times..."

"Ohhhh, you love me for it," Toph defended. "Admit it."

"You're next, you know!" Katara warned. "I'm going to have you _both _looking like proper ladies."

"Don't remind me," huffed Toph.

"Pawn...yoh?" Jane mumbled, hung up on the exchange from a few moments back.

"We'll show you some time, it's _so _cute," Katara muttered, cleaning up the mess they'd created all over the bathroom floor.

"Oh. _Sooo _cute," Jane scoffed, dusting herself off and retrieving sweat pants from atop the toilet seat. "Sounds _right _up my alley..." Slipping into her sweatpants with smooth legs felt like a sliver of heaven in a strange way, though Jane was certainly not going to announce that.

"Speaking of cute," Katara mischievously segued. "We've got to get you cleaned up and work on your hair next..."

"Ohhhhh, goodie-goodie..."

* * *

Another scrap was added to the waste basket beside Aang's desk as he set to work on trying again.

"Uhhh...Havin' some trouble with that origami there, Champ?" Sokka wondered, ironing out his pants on the 'community' ironing board he'd borrowed.

"I'm...gettin' there," Aang replied, lost in focus as he folded with precision and care.

"You sure Toph's even gonna give a damn?"

"Sure she will," Aang shrugged. "I'm making it for her. It'll be something she can actually _feel. _Ya know?"

"Oh, right...Guess so."

"You look like you're almost ready," Aang noticed, somewhat surprised. "It's still like...two hours before we have to go."

"_I _know," Sokka huffed. "I just love having an excuse to wear a suit. Don't you?"

Aang lifted a brow and considered the idea for a moment.

"Not really..."

"No style, man...No class," Sokka dismissed with a chuckle.

"Well, I was just thinkin' of wearing some shorts, a button-down shirt, maybe-"

"_Whaaaat?" _Sokka shrieked, turning away from the mirror to glare his roommate down.

"Wh-? Er, Toph said she didn't care what I wore-"

"That doesn't mean you _literally _shouldn't care what you wear!" growled the boy in the navy-blue tuxedo. "_Geeeezzz..._"

"I don't really see what the big deal is, neither of us really care about appearances. And shorts are comfy."

"Aang, you _do _realize Toph is going to dress up all fancy for this, don't you?"

"Why would she do _that? _She _never _does that. Don't you remember the Spring Formal?"

"I know on good authority that she's actually going to be _dressing up _dressing up tonight."

Aang smiled and reflected on how Sokka would know that.

"Becaauuussse...Katara told you she's going to force Toph to dress up," he theorized.

"Uh, _yea? _If you think we're gonna let you two get away with being lazy-asses for a second dance in a row, you've got another thing comin', Buddy." He actually seemed somewhat ruffled by the matter, Aang observed, watching him fidget around with hos bow-tie. "Toph will _kill _you if she goes through the trouble of prettying up and you just show up looking like a bum."

"Sokka, I _really _don't think she-"

"_I _will kill you!" Sokka growled in exaggeration, shooting Aang the evil eye.

"_You're _just paranoid because you don't want to be embarrassed in front of Suki," Aang coyly guessed with an amused sigh, going back to his folding.

"A-_pfff!_" Sokka scoffed, stroking his chin hairs with care. He reached for his comb, grumbled, "That's not it. Why would that even matter?"

"Suki thinks we're all weirdos and you want us to act civilized for a change. Is _that_ it?" Aang wondered with a wide grin.

"That's not true, Suki _loves _you guys," Sokka muttered, distracted by his chin as he ran his comb across it.

"Loves us enough to hardly have time for us lately," Aang pointed out with as much neutrality as he could, eyes fixated on his project.

"Ya know, Aang? College is a busy place. All right?"

_Man. Sounds like I'm pressing a few buttons, huh? Probably shouldn't get him in a bad mood just before dinner..._

"That's true. OK, well, what _should _I wear, then?"

"Don't you have dress pants?"

"I've got some khaki pants..."

"Shoes?"

"Guhhhh...My Chucks?"

"_Oy. _And you're not my shoe size, either...That won't do. I'm making you borrow a pair of my shoes."

"But you just said I'm not-"

"I've got some snappy little white things in the closet. Those oughtta do the trick. Be a little _big _on you, but still..."

"Uh, all right. I've also...got a tie."

"Oh, right. Yea, yea. That'll do, Donkey. That'll do."

Aang took a moment to glance at his recently finish creation: the black tie he'd purchased from the night before, with four colored circles painted vertically down its front to represent the four dorms of SRU.

"You've really got a thing for the campus logo, huh?"

"I do," Aang proudly acknowledged, finishing up his origami work. "I just gravitate toward the whole...'unity' thing. Ya know?"

"Heh. Ya fairy."

"Hey, _you're _the one who wears perfume and has a fit if his pants don't match his shirt, Sokka."

"The term is _metro, _thank you very much," he flamboyantly defined. "And it's _cologne, _Aang."

"Man perfume."

"_You _answer to Twinkle-Toes. That's not very manly, either, Bro."

"I don't comb my _beard._ Or wax my chest."

"You don't _have _a beard and don't wax because you don't have _hair!_"

"Toph doesn't seem to mind."

"I don't even _wanna _know."

"H-hey!" Aang sputtered, his face brightening. "It's not like _that, _we haven't done anything...like _that!_"

"Then how do you _know_ what she does or doesn't mind?"

"'_Cuz! _It's not like...we haven't done _anything, _I mean..." He squinted his eyes shut for a split-second as his mind reeled with embarrassment. "This-this isn't the point!"

"Maybe tonight _anything _will become _something?_" Sokka teased.

"Wh-what? No! _No! _Nothing like that's gonna happen!" Aang insisted.

"Not in _this room, _it ain't!" declared Sokka with a hint of threat. "Seriously."

"Why do you think something like that will happen, anyway? What kinda guy do you think I am, huh?"

"_Ha!_" Sokka burst out. "_You? _Psh, Aang, you're like a freakin' cuddly panda-bear. I'm not worried about _you._"

Aang blinked for a few seconds, his face burning up with uncomfortable realization.

"Dude," Sokka continued, "I'm talking about your girlfriend. From what I can tell - and what my sister tells me - that girl probably screws like a tiger."

Aang's stomach lurched and a knot choked up his throat. Sokka snickered at his inability to comprehend how to reply until, at last, it came.

"Th-there's not gonna be any...any _screwing..._or...or _tigers..._Or any...wild...animals. Of any kind. Today."

"Heh. Maybe not for _you,_" Sokka said with some satisfaction, inspecting his hair. He punctuated his remark with a snarky, "_Twinkle-Toes._"

"Shut up," Aang pouted. "Wait! What your _sister_ tells you?"

"Yea! Like that night you slept over?"

"That-! We didn't...We didn't _do _anything bad!"

"I know that!" Sokka assured, amused by his defensive stance on the whole thing. "But the way that girl looks at you someti-...er..." He scratched his cheek for a moment to reorganize his thoughts. "The way Toph _acts _toward you sometimes, man...That girl's crazy. I'm tellin' ya."

"She _can_ be," Aang nodded, taking a deep breath as he tried to collect himself. "It's one of the things I like about her."

"How's that?"

Aang folded the next step in his paper craft as he explained.

"Toph does whatever she wants. She pushes me to do things I wouldn't normally do, but...usually I end up enjoying it. It's like she pushes me to _do _more with myself, I guess."

"Live life a little."

"Yea."

"Carpe Diem."

"Exactly."

Aang admired his finished work: a life-size origami orchid. Katara had insisted that everyone pick a flower to wear to Homecoming and that she'd take care of them, but Aang had managed to request that she let him deal with Toph's. He was pretty certain she would have some appreciation for it, since it was at least something she could hold between her fingers.

"Suck the marrow outta life but don't choke on that bone, Bud," came Sokka's seemingly sage advice.

"I will certainly try, heh."

* * *

- February, 2010 -

"Come on, Aang. Live a little."

"I'm just...agh," he sighed uncomfortably. "This is just...it-it's awkward."

"Why?" Toph wondered in a tone much more gentle than she generally expressed.

"I'm all...I've, eh...Just never done this sorta thing before..."

"Aw," Toph chuckled. "I'll break ya in, Twinkle-Toes."

"That's what I'm _afraid _of," Aang confessed with humor.

"Don't worry about it, ya Scaredy-Baby. I'm not gonna _kill _ya."

"I know, I know..."

"Just gonna rough ya up a little. _Hee._"

"Hey!" Aang snickered, delivering a scolding slap to her back.

"OK, OK...Geez, you sound like you're actually scared I'm gonna_ hurt _ya."

"You're a dangerous one, Toph. A guy's gotta be careful when it comes to you."

"Ain't _that _the truth?" Toph mused with pride.

"But I'm ready to...w-well, ya know. To try something new."

"_Yea, _you are, Aang," Toph picked with a laugh. "At least, _part _of you is, anyway." She sneakily shifted her position in such a way so as to brush against what was at this point already aroused. "It's not like we're doing anything _that _bad, anyway...Trust me. Going fast gets kind of boring. And besides, I haven't forgotten."

"Take it slow."

"Right, I'm takin' it slow," she insisted.

Aang took a deep, shaky breath. A soft giggle creapt out from Toph's lips before she planted a kiss on his forehead. Laying on her bed in Terra House, the bedroom door locked, Aang was nervous about what would happen next. He'd been very clear with Toph that he had never had a real girlfriend before and that he wasn't ready for anything too crazy yet. Toph had indeed been going at things at his pace, but now she was nudging him to take a step forward. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the feeling of her weight on top of his, her chest pressed onto his own, her coy grin peeking through her dark bangs draped over his face. This was entirely enjoyable in its own right, it was simply...startling. New. Confusing. No clothes were to be removed - that was a rule they had both agreed upon. Aang had somehow thought this rule would make things easy but this theory was proving false. He couldn't decide if this was good or bad just yet.

"Yea. One step at a time."

"Sometimes a little push can be fun, though, right?" Toph teased, her unfocused eyes twinkling playfully.

"Sometimes," Aang acknowledged in a squeak as Toph's nose nuzzled its way under his chin and she kissed him slowly on the neck. It was at that moment that he made up his mind: this was a good thing. His hands resting comfortably across her back, he kissed her on the forehead.

* * *

- Saturday, October 16th, 2010 -

"How was that?"

"Looks good, guys," Mai replied from behind the camera.

"Sweet," said Sokka, rubbing Suki on the shoulder before they broke apart.

"I'm going to go head up and say hi to the girls," Suki explained. Sokka nodded and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Sounds good, we'll see you up there." He dug into his pocket and pulled out some breath spray. After squirting some of its mist into his mouth, he clapped his hands together and rubbed them expectently. "C'mon, everybody, get in gear," Sokka cried, waving his arm to his friends as they gathered around. "Picture time."

"Just a sec," Katara called back to her brother, escorting Toph with a hooked arm. "Toph, what are you _doing_?"

"Takin' off these fuckin' shoes, what's it _look_ like I'm doing?"

"But...I thought those looked pretty good on you..."

"Bleck. They're really hurting my feet."

"It's all right," Aang assured, "You look gorgeous."

"_Do_ I, now?" Toph teased with a sly grin. "I'm not normally one for looks, so you'd better appreciate this, Twinkle-Toes."

"Kat did most of the work," Jane picked, hands tucked behind her back. "Sokka," she sighed, just now noticing his outfit. "What the _hell_ are you wearing?"

"It's _called_ a feh-dohr-**rah**!" Sokka informed with indignation. "You're wearing freakin' _boots_ for crying out loud! No sense of fashion. I wouldn't expect someone with your unfortunately American sensibilities to understand."

"Sokka," Katara chuckled, "I don't really think people wear fedoras very much back in Canada."

"Yea, Meathead," Toph insulted in jest. "It's kind of an American gangster thing. Something _your_ unfortunately _Canadian_ sensibilities wouldn't understand."

Sokka frowned and jabbed a defensive finger at them, pondering his next words. "When in Rome," he decided simply as they arrived at his side. He cocked his hat over his eye and eased everyone together. Toph tossed her high-heels to the floor and Aang kicked them gently out of their way.

"Wow, Jane, you look..._pretty_," Aang complimented, just now noticing the girl in the slender black dress. Jane's already pink face turned red.

"I _know_, doesn't she?" Katara joined in, clasping the red-head's hand.

"I'll bet you do, JayBee," Toph added with a smirk.

"Th-thanks," Jane mumbled, her head bobbed in embarrassment, arms tucked at her side with balled up fists.

"You look really great, too, Katara," Aang added.

"Geez, Twinkle-Toes, lookit _you!_" Toph encouraged. "Surrounded by lovely ladies tonight, eh?" She ruffled her fingers through his hair, tugging on his ear. He tickled her armpit in retaliation. "Just remember which one's the loveliest of them all."

"You mean Kat?" Jane joked.

"Huh?" Katara mumbled, confused.

"Let me rephrase that," Toph decided. "Remember which one will kick your ass the hardest."

"Aaaand that's _me,_" Jane insisted.

"Shit," Toph grumbled. "Damnit, Jane, I'm trying to impose my superiority here and you're just fuckin' it _right _up, ya know?" They shared a collective chuckle as Aang puckered his lips on Toph's cheek.

"It's all right, Tater-Face, you're my favorite. Is that good enough?"

"I guess that's fine for now."

"All right, all right, quit bickering and line up, people," Sokka commanded, wedging his rose into his teeth as he put his arm on his sister's shoulder. The photographer raised an amused brow at them as they stood, side-by-side.

"You guys finally ready?" she laughed.

"Yea, Mai," Aang declared. "Go ahead."

"Everybody smile."

Katara caught a glance at her brother as he pointed his arm out to the camera with some egotistical and sexual flair.

"Oh, my _God_," she giggled to herself in disbelief.

[-Snap!-]

With his casual white button-down shirt and dark green khaki pants, Aang looked a tad out of place amongst his company, but his black, SRU-themed tie and the orange lily pinned to his chest helped 'class him up' a bit, as Sokka had put it. The white dress shoes on his feet were a bit large on him, but Sokka insisted that slightly long shoes were better than intentionally long sneakers for this type of event.

Toph was adorned in a Chinese-style dress of green with a sash around the waist. It hugged her form nicely with a tube-top and a skirt that ended just above her knees. An elegant golden print of flowers was draped across the dress's side. Katara had helped her pick out the dress and had assured her that the tone, shape, and color matched her well. Across her neck rested an heirloom passed from her late grandmother: a necklace composed of sparkling threads of pearl and diamond. Nestled in her hair was a white, origami orchid, which she had previously described as "Freakin' _awesome_, Twinkle-Toes!" Her hair was wound into two painstakingly tight braids that fell over her collarbones.

In the middle stood Jane, her feet somewhat pigeon-toed from the shock of everything, her tall, black boots and their many tight laces in stark contrast to the dress she was wearing. She gripped Katara and Toph's hands with reservation, clearly uncomfortable in this public setting. Her expression was dire and flushed with embarrassment. A black dahlia was tied to her left arm above the elbow, but her arms and shoulders were otherwise bare, their pale skin and freckled shoulders out in the open for all to see.

Katara was adorned in a slim blue dress of satin that trailed all the way down to her ankles, her feet slipped into dark blue high heels. Her mother's choker necklace was affectionately worn with a pair of white princess gloves. A white rose was tied around her left wrist, while her right hand was clenching Jane's left. Her hair was tidied up with a pair of braids that ran from her bangs across the sides of her head, while she had perked up a small, vertical bun of hair at the peak, letting the rest fall over her shoulders.

Sokka, a rose popping out from between his teeth, wore a sly grin with his fedora propped over his head. His navy-blue tuxedo with white undershirt and black tie were quite sharp, while his black loafers melded into the ensemble without difficulty. He had one leg crossed and pointed on its toes to accentuate the 'gangster' vibe he seemed to be aiming for.

Their moment in time captured in pixels on Mai's camera, they were dismissed.

"'Kay. Done. Next!"

As Mai called the next group of students to take their photos, the Fearsome Fivesome proceeded to the cafeteria steps. A large Homecoming banner was draped over its entrance, with multicolored balloons in bunches of four tied to various portions of the rails.

"**WOOOO**!" Toph roared, thrusting up her arms. "_HOMECOMING_, here we..._come_! All right, Twinkle-Toes, piggyback time!"

"Whaaa?" Aang gasped out as Toph pounded herself into his back, latching her arms across his chest. Aang managed to catch her legs as she kicked them up around his waist, his face flushed.

"Yip-Yip!" Toph commanded, flicking her palm against his pectoral.

"Hi-Ho!" Sokka decreed, pumping his fist, following the piggybacking couple up the steps to the cafeteria.

"Toph!" Katara shouted. "Don't ruin your dress! Argh, you forgot your shoes!" But they were already gone. "Sorry," Katara sighed to Mai, who replied with an amused, "It's OK." Katara bent down, carefully balanced on her own heels, to pick up the ones Toph had left behind before she rushed out of the way of the new batch of students dressed in their finest.

"Why do I get the feeling I am _not_ going to forget Homecoming this year?" Jane mused, scratching her head in bewilderment.

"Because you're with _us_," Katara cheerfully concluded, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"Where did everyone else go?" Jane grumbled, entirely flustered. "Your date? _My _date?"

"Haru and Johnny headed up after we got our pictures with them," Katara explained.

"Oh, _God, _fuckin' pictures," Jane winced, rubbing her forehead, worried a headache was going to crawl along. "I probably look retarded."

"It's fine, Hun, haha. Calm down. You look great."

Jane crossed her arms over her chest in a nearly protective manner, trying to keep her guts from squirming and her face from boiling.

"Thanks, I guess..."

"Come on, Jane, the way Johnny was eying you? He was _floored!_"

"Ya think?" Jane's lips curled up into a slight smile. She had _thought _as much but Katara seemed to know more about these things, so her confirmation was assuring.

"Totally! I think even Aang and Sokka were checking you out a little."

"_Now _you're just jerkin' my chain, Kat."

"Seriously! No, I'm _telling _you. I think you caught 'em by surprise. You look _really _different than usual today. It works."

Jane hadn't noticed either of the guys 'checking her out,' but then again, she fancied herself blissfully unaware of observing this kind of thing. The odd butterflies in her stomach that were forming as a result of this entire "dressing up" fiasco were frightening and awkward. She simply couldn't decide if she was _happy _to be looked at more as a girl than usual or if it was discouraging in its objectification - like she could only be considered a 'girl' if she dressed like one.

"So I should start wearing fuckin' skirts and tube tops now," Jane bitterly concluded as they trekked up the stairs.

"Oh. N-no, Jane. No, no. That's not...-" Katara shook her head, rubbing her hand across Jane's shoulders - which inherently reminded her of how many freckles were showing on them. "You look perfect no matter what you wear, I'm just saying that when it comes to something...you know, super _formal _like...like _this..._that I think it's great for you to dress up. Doesn't it feel kind of nice?"

Jane rolled her eyes and shrugged Katara's hand off of her.

"I don't know, Kat...This feels fuckin' _weird._"

"You don't...-" Katara sighed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "You're not enjoying yourself?"

Jane groaned in spite of herself and rubbed at her orange eyebrow.

"N-no, I'm having fun and crap, it's...just weird. Listen," she grumbled, "Don't worry about it, 'kay? It's my own problem. I'll get over it."

"Hey," Katara gently insisted. "Jane, you're beautiful just the way you are. I just...wanted to help you bring that out tonight. Make everyone _else_ see it."

Jane avoided Katara's hopeful sapphire eyes, wrestling with her own uncomfortable thoughts as her face began to brighten again.

"Yea, Kat. I get it. Thanks." She was jolted by a gloved hand nudging at her shoulder.

"Just go with the flow, JayBee. Let's have some fun tonight. Stop worrying about your looks - no one _else _is..."

Jane cracked a smile and shrugged with a "'Kay."

* * *

**A/N: Yes. Black Dahlia. Seemed oddly appropriate. The song Toph plays is 'She's Always a Woman' by Billy Joel. ALSO! Please check out this amazing piece of art I commissioned an artist to do. It depicts the characters in their photo scene!**

**destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-Homecoming-194087916**


	21. Amazing

**A/N: Yes, yes. More song-fic-ing here. Come on. It's Homecoming. What did you expect? =P Not to mention I got stalled writing this chapter as I was writing another song-based scene from a far-off chapter. For whatever reason. Anyway. Hope you enjoy the chapter for all that's in it. You may notice that in scenes that include music or literature, I will handle some in plain text to signify that they are physically present in the background of the scene, whereas I will bold them to indicate more an effect that they overplaying a scene, such as a 'musical' montage, etc. Last chapter used the latter technique, this one uses the prior.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 21 - Amazing_

* * *

- Saturday, October 16th, 2010 -

"_Wow, _Sokka, you're lookin' pretty snazzy tonight!"

Sokka grinned and straightened his tie with smug pride, bragging with eyes closed.

"Why, thank you, Toph. Ya know, I was gonna go with a bow tie at first but then I-..." His eyes popped open, an index finger already up in the air. He glared at the pale, unfocused pupils of the blind girl across the table who had a smile of devil's teeth to greet his gaze. "God, I hate it when you do that," he grumbled in disgust, his finger drooping as a fit of giggles erupted at his expense.

"It's like...It's funny 'cuz she's blind, right?" Haru observed with a half chuckle, seemingly confused by whether or not it was OK to laugh about such a thing.

"Yes," Katara answered, smiling at his own bafflement.

"She's a real troublemaker," Aang picked, grabbing her by the shoulder and pressing her into his own.

"Nobody forget it!" Toph threatened. "Where's the waiter, anyway? I demand more tea."

"You'll get your tea," Jane insisted. "You spoiled brat," she added facetiously.

"I can't help it that I'm rich and thus inherently better than you," Toph arrogantly joked with a perfectly serious demeanor. Jane nailed her in the arm and Toph nailed her neighbor right back.

"Wow," Suki murmured with a mouth half-full from the other side of the table. "This steak turned out better than I expected..."

"Eh," Sokka shrugged. "It's pretty good, but I've had better."

"Oh, really? Aren't we picky?" said Suki with a bemused glance. "Then I guess you're going to have to show me some time this 'better' steak you've had."

"Sounds like a plan." Sokka nodded, taking a moment to admire Suki's oriental white kimono, her hair tangled into a top knot by two wooden sticks.

The cafeteria was packed with well-groomed students, banners, balloons, and flowers. Some mellow jazz filtered throughout the place, but the space set aside for the dance floor was as of yet still unoccupied, as students were consuming their meals and proper music had not yet started.

"Twinkle-Toes, did you eat my cheesecake?" Toph demanded, tapping her spoon against a crumb-riddled dessert plate irritably.

"N-no, of course not!" Aang defended. "You can have mine if you want, though..."

"Toph!" Katara scolded. "_You _ate your cheesecake while Aang was getting you food!"

"Ohhhhh, right," Toph acknowledged with a sneaky innocence, hand on her cheek.

"See, Johnny?" Jane pointed out, nudging her partner as he chewed on garlic mashed potatoes. "She's a monster. Right?"

His face puffed out, Johnny nodded quickly as he continued to gnash on his food. Toph, spoon still in hand, found her tea cup on its saucer and rattled its inside.

"_Hey!_" she bellowed. "Can we get a waiter around here? I could use some more tea."

A portly gentleman with a white beard approached from another table.

"My, we have a lively one at this table, hm?" he noticed with a slow, careful tone.

"I'm sorry, Professor Kurosawa," Katara apologized with a nervous smile. "Our friend can get a little, uh...rambunctious."

"I see!" said the elderly man in the coat-tailed suit with a wink. "It's all right. One of life's blessings is its unpredictability."

Toph lifted her tea cup up in the air with both hands and offered a sugary, pleading expression to nowhere in particular.

"Lemon Balm tea. Pretty please, Sir?"

The Professor, who was standing behind her, chuckled heartily.

He sifted through his dining cart and retrieved the proper type of tea. Aang carefully took Toph's cup from her hand and passed behind him to the man, who proceeded to fill it with hot water and an appropriate tea bag.

"Just a hint of mint," Toph advised, twisting her head around.

"Please," Aang added in her stead.

The drink prepared, Professor Kurosawa handed it to Aang, who gently gave it over to his over-eager girlfriend who was rubbing her palms together.

"Thank you," Aang concluded. The man nodded and surveyed their table.

"How is everyone this evening?" his creaky voice inquired. A flurry of positive comments poured from the group. "And the food?" Another volley of enthusiasm. "Good, _good. _Let me take your empty plates..." The students helped pass along their dirty dishes, which he stacked in the bottom rung of his cart. "Enjoy yourselves," the pudgy man advised with vigor as he rolled his cart away. After stopping by a few more tables, he at last come upon a table near the front of the cafeteria where a familiar set of students sat. The sharp-dressed, neatly combed young man Iroh knew well immediately rose from his seat, his expression bursting with relief, and attacked the professor with a tight hug.

"Good evening, Nephew! You look dashing as always, I see."

"Hi, Uncle. Haha, you're looking handsome, yourself."

"At my age, that takes some work! Ah, hello, ladies!" Iroh waved to the half-empty table of girls "My, my, you are all looking so ravishing tonight." They offered warm smiles and greeted back - save one.

"Hello, _Uncle,_" Azula growled, her fierce eyes fixated on cutting her steak. Her dark hair was brushed thoroughly, running down her back, not a strand out of place. Her lips were glossy and marked the color of blood, her maroon dress was slender and formal, with nothing extravagant. She was dressed more for business than partying.

Mai, sitting beside the girl, shot a quick dagger glare.

"Azula," she advised with a tone that cut like a rusty knife, "Maybe you should eat your food."

"Why do you say that?" Azula grumbled back as Zuko and Iroh caught up with one another.

"You get pretty pissy when you're hungry," Mai observed, arms casually linked across his stomach as she leaned back in her chair. Azula glanced at her untouched plate and her stomach gurgled, as it had been since they'd sat down with their food.

"Mai's right," Ty-Lee agreed cheerfully, seeming to miss the pointed edge of Mai's remark. "You _can _be pretty grumpy when you don't eat."

"_Fine_." Azula viciously stabbed her fork into her steak and began to slice a chunk off as Zuko sat back down, receiving a pat on the shoulder from his uncle.

"Is Zuko taking care of himself?" Iroh checked with Mai, clamping his fat hand gently onto her shoulder for a brief moment.

"He's trying," Mai warmly replied. "_You _know how he is..."

"Is _he _taking care of _you?_"

Mai slyly glanced at Zuko and shrugged her head to the side with a smirk.

"He's been doing better than I expected..."

"And what of my niece?" Iroh wondered, glancing at the angry, teeth-grinding girl. She swallowed, her brows furrowed with dissatisfaction.

"This steak is overdone," she huffed, pounding the side of her fist into her sternum.

"Glad to see that you are as well as ever," Iroh coyly noted. "And Ty-Lee?"

"Peachy keen, Mr. Iroh!" the ever-cheerful girl chirped as the man scooped up some dirty dishes.

"Wonderful," he replied. "Does anyone need their coffee refilled?"

After topping everyone's cups off, Iroh noticed Azula's undrinken cup.

"Ah, is the coffee not to your liking, Niece?"

"No. No, it isn't," Azula quipped.

"It's missing your favorite ingredient, isn't it?"

"That's...That doesn't matter," Azula insisted.

Iroh grabbed the jar of honey on his cart and lifted it over Azula's coffee.

"Don't meddle with my coffee, Uncle," Azula pouted - but she didn't rise to stop him as he poured some honey into the cup and stirred it with care.

"_There _we are." Iroh rubbed Azula's shoulder, disregarding her bad mood. "That should be better."

Azula returned no gratitude but merely sat in her seat with bitter resolve until Iroh bid them farewell. Only after he was out of sight did she pay her coffee any heed.

"What's your problem, Azula?" Zuko demanded, fussing his hands about. "Why did you even _come _here if you're just going to-...? To act all-...?"

"Like a bitch," Mai finished coldly, staring as Azula finally sipped her coffee.

"Wh-what Mai _means_," began Ty-Lee, working to pacify the situation, "is that it's...kind of weird that you wanted to see us when you're...w-well, you...are acting...kind of _mean._"

"Like a bitch," Azula repeated Mai's comment coolly. "I understand. I suppose you make a good point."

"We...we _do_?" Ty-Lee squeaked awkwardly, baffled.

Azula slurped at her coffee again and continued her reasoning with a patronizing tone that flowed like water.

"Oh, of _course_, Ty-Lee. I've been acting perfectly ornery this evening. I'm very concerned about the future, you see."

"Oh?" Ty-Lee muttered back, exchanging her nervous glance with an unamused one on Mai.

"While I'm trying to learn how to run a business and clean up the mess our father left us, my _brother _is insisting on investing his time in petty class politics and textbooks and...and _banquets._"

"Here it comes," Zuko sighed, shaking his head and starting to eat his garlic string beans.

"Mother is _gone _and father is...for all intents and purposes, _also _gone," Azula frigidly informed no one in particular, slicing another piece of steak off. "It stands to reason that one might put their desires on hold to bother concerning themselves with _family _matters."

"Our father's business is not a _family _matter to me, Azula," Zuko defied with as calm a voice as he could muster.

"I gathered as much, Brother," spat Azula quickly. "If you insist on partying, and wasting time on mathematics and the arts, and gallavanting about as Class President, _far be it from me, _your _sister, _to stop you."

"Far be it," Zuko agreed complacently, continuing to eat his food without incident.

"Incorrigible. You truly are, ZuZu."

"Only for you, Sister."

Azula slammed her fist onto the table, clattering plates and spilling coffee from the edges Mai's nearby cup.

"_Precisely,_" she hissed, rising to her feet with unexpected grace on her high-heels. "Only for _me._ Fine, then. I'll be outside if any of you decide I'm worth cheering up." As much as one could stomp in heels, Azula marched her way out of the cafeteria, paying no one any heed on her way out.

"You gonna go after her?" Mai dryly inquired.

"Why should I?" he countered irritably, finally letting his frustration ooze out. "I'm not going to let God_Zula _ruin our Homecoming." Ty-Lee burst into giggles as Zuko finished, "I _knew _this would happen, by the way. I knew it."

"God_Zula! _Wooo," Ty-Lee breathed out. "That's a good one, Zuko."

"You were right," groaned Mai. "You were. Guess it's my own fault for putting faith in that crazy girl..."

"Azula's our friend," Ty-Lee proclaimed. "We can't just give up on her because she's having a bad day."

"Ty-Lee," Zuko snapped, "My sister is not having a bad _day, _she is _always_ like this."

"Yea," Ty-Lee agreed placidly. "That's true..."

Zuko dabbed t his face with his cloth napkin. "I don't even understand why she _came_ if she feels this way."

"Maybe she's feeling lonely," Mai theorized. "She's just too proud to admit it."

"Ohhhh, maybe!"

"Possibly."

"Zuko." Mai wriggled her bony fingers between her boyfriend's and squeezed. "Go talk to your sister."

"Mai," Zuko whined back, "I want to _enjoy _my Homecoming. Don't you?"

"Just give her one more chance," Mai requested quietly as Ty-Lee scarfed down sweet peas. "For me."

Zuko was rapidly won over by her sly, convining smile and ran his hand across his slicked hair.

"Fine," he gruffly gave in. "_One _chance." Mai leaned over and kissed him slowly on the cheek, eliciting a bashful smirk - and an "Ahhhwwwww!" from Ty-Lee - before Zuko headed off after his ever-angry sibling.

By the time he got outside, his phone had gone off.

[From: Mai]  
[I know how she can be, Zu. But we're all she has left. We can't give up on her. She's slipping these days.]  
[Sent: 8:34pm]

By the time Zuko had finished reading the message, he had found the dark-haired young woman leaning against a tree between the side of the Avatar and the The Ring. As he approached, he swore he could hear a sniffle and a deep, quivering sigh.

"Azula?"

An immediate cough belted out from his sister's throat.

"What do you want?" she snapped, lips dripping with ferocity.

"Hey, settle down, Azula," grunted Zuko as he leaned against the tree beside her, facing off in a different direction. "I'm not here to cause trouble."

"Mai sent you," Azula rapidly deduced.

"Er, sh-she did, but...I'm here because she's _right _- I'm your brother. I'm supposed to...ya know...be...here for you. That sort of thing."

"My, my, how _touching._"

"You want me to leave? 'Cuz I'll _go._"

"Oh, stop," Azula grumbled, flicking a dismissive wrist. "You're so touchy, ZuZu."

"Whatever. Azula, hear me out. You came here to have fun. Didn't you?"

Azula's eyes wandered away from his stern stare and she nudged her shoulder up in admittance.

"I suppose..."

"Mai and Ty-Lee are your best friends. You haven't seen them in months. Don't you miss them?"

Azula sighed and rubbed her temples with her thumb and middle finger.

"Don't _you _miss _Father_?"

"No," Zuko instantly quipped matter-of-factly. "But Mai and Ty-Lee still treat _you _with respect."

"That's because they know I deserve it," Azula informed with a prissy pride.

"Christ." Zuko smacked his face with his palm.

"I was...I was _joking, _Brother!"

"It's hard to tell, Azula."

"Do you _honestly _think I'm that vain?"

"Sometimes. Yea."

"Hmph. Maybe sometimes I _am_."

"Azula, I get it."

"What? _What _do you get?"

Zuko slapped Azula on the arm, and she flinched in surprise.

"I get that you feel like I'm ignoring you."

Azula snorted through her nostrils.

"It's not _you, _Sister," Zuko went on. "It's Father. _His _crimes. _His _business. I want no part of it."

"Zuko, it's childish to walk away. It's our responsibility."

"No, it's _your _responsibility because you _took _it. I didn't. It's not _our _job to fix Father's mistakes."

Zuko could practically hear Azula's teeth grinding in defiance but no words countered his own, so he continued.

"I'm finishing what I started at this school, just like you did. If you aren't going to support me, then fine. I'm still going to finish it."

"This isn't just about Father, this is about me, too, Zuko. You can't stand me."

Zuko laughed, a bit stronger than he had intended.

"You're not wrong there, Azula."

"You see? We've never gotten along. And Mother thought I was a monster, and-"

"She didn't." Zuko pressed a firm hand onto Azula's arm, easing her to jump off the mental track of self-destruction. To his surprise, she obeyed. "You're crazy, Azula," Zuko acknowledged. "I can't stand you most days. But I try to."

Azula pounded her fist into the tree's bark, shaking Zuko's hand off.

"I try to because you're my _Sister, _and I love you. And _Iroh _loves you."

"That smelly old man has _never _loved me..."

"You know that's not true."

Another slammed fist against the tree.

"It sounds like all his patronizing talk is rubbing off on you, ZuZu. The world was infuriating enough with _one _lecturing Kurosawa. I don't want to hear another word on the subject right now."

Zuko paused and stared into her blizzarding eyes for a moment in the moonlight with his own embering irises.

"Not another word, then, Sister," he conceded, wrapping his arms around her. She resisted at first but eventually gave in, barely patting him on the back in return.

"Are we children again?" she complained. "Honestly..."

"You done with your temper tantrum now?"

"Hmph."

"All right, then. Let's head back inside."

* * *

"Ohhhhh _**God**_, soooo good!" Toph squealed, ferociously sniffing at Aang's neck like a dog, grabbing at his shoulders haphazardly.

Aang snickered, tickled by the air being snorted onto his neck, and squirmed to push her off.

"What are you _wearing?_" Toph demanded, resting her head soundly on his arm after one last, long inhalation.

"Axe," Sokka replied boldly. "My idea. All me."

"It _was_ his idea," Aang chuckled. "Looks like it was a good one, right?"

"Sokka," Toph called. "I approve. From now on, you get to choose his deodorant."

"We'll make a man of him for you yet," Sokka advised to Toph, giving Aang a wink. Toph giggled, nuzzling his shoulder with her cheek, but Aang's mood dipped a bit at their exchange.

"Right," he mumbled quietly. "'Cuz I'm not man enough, apparently..."

"_Hey,_" Toph quipped gently, slapping Aang on the waist. "I _like_ my little punching bag, ya know," she informed below the conversation occurring across the table.

"Yea, that's just great - I'm like a little lost puppy dog." A fussy cloud of sarcasm hung over him as he glanced off to the dance floor across the way.

"C'mon, Twink-..._Aang_." Toph tugged at his shirt, sitting back up straight, her face pointed in his direction with a raised brow. "You know it's not like that."

Aang slurped some of his vegetable soup, seemingly unsure how to respond as the rest of table exploded into laughter at something Katara had said - likely in spite of her brother.

"You're like...-" Aang sighed, scratching his head. "-...a wild tiger. And I'm a stupid, cuddly panda bear."

"So what?" Toph probed before filling her mouth with a slice of steak. "Mmuffhin wawng wiffat."

"I apparently need my roommate to decide what I'm supposed to _smell _like to make you happy," pouted Aang, gorging on a piece of cheesecake.

"Nooooo," Toph insisted, furiously scratching Aang's stomach as he savored his dessert. "Stop. You smell great all the time. It's just nice that you tried to smell nicer for me tonight. I mean...shit. Doesn't it mean something that I went through everything to pretty up like this for ya?"

Aang took a moment to admire Toph's braids, the way they trickled over her collarbones, playing lazily on the edges of bosoms accented by her tight dress.

"W-well, _yea, _of course it does," Aang confessed in a mumble. "You look..._great._"

"I can't see what _you _look like but you _smell _great," Toph snickered. "Stop making a fuss. Only person who's opinion should matter is _mine. _And _I_ say you're golden." She patted him on the knee affectionately as the song being played through the speakers changed.

["~Oh her eyes, her eyes~Make the stars look like they're not shining~"]

"Oh! Ohhhhh! Come on! Come on! Let's go!" Toph stood eagerly, grasping at Aang's arm and tugging impatiently.

["~Her hair, her hair~Falls perfectly without her trying~"]

Aang's face lit up as the lyrics urged him to stare once again at those braids...

"I said let's _go!_"

"Wh-what?"

"We gotta dance!"

"Oh. OK! Uh, sure!"

["~She's so beautiful~And I tell her every day~"]

"You _like_ this song, Toph?" Katara muttered, baffled. "Seems kinda...outside of...your taste...zone."

"Whatever," Toph huffed. "I'm allowed an exception for my boyfriend, right?"

"I like being an exception," Aang complied as he rose to his feet and kissed Toph's forehead.

["~Yeah I know, I know~When I compliment her she wont believe me~And its so, its so~Sad to think she don't see what I see~"]

"Your shoes, Toph," Katara advised, extending them out to her friend. "Here."

"Nah," Toph latched her fingers between Aang's. "It's hard enough, I won't be able to do shit with those things on."

Since Katara couldn't express her embarrassed amusement at her barefooted friend to her face, she did so to Aang instead, who shrugged, eyes aglow, and waved her off.

["~But every time she asks me 'Do I look okay?'~I say~"]

"You want to dance?" wondered Haru, extending his hand, drawing her attention from behind.

"Sure," Katara agreed, accepting his offer with her gloved hand. Katara grazed her opposing hand along Jane's shoulder in encouragement before she headed off, following her friends to the dance floor.

["~When I see your face~There's not a thing that I would change~"]

Since Sokka and Suki had already been cutting a rug two songs ago, this left only two people at the table.

"So..." Jane muttered, shrugging her bare shoulders. "Good food, right?"

Johnny nodded vigorously, his plate completely clean.

["~'Cause you're amazing~Just the way you are~"]

"Haven't eaten this nice in a long time," Jane reflected, scratching her arm and letting her hand cling to it afterward. Her arms and shoulders were bare and cold. She could feel her cheeks heating up as Johnny's gandering eyes scanned her uncomfortable face with a subtle pleasure.

["~And when you smile~The whole world stops and stares for awhile~"]

A small, bashful smile involuntarily formed on Jane's face.

"What?" she mumbled, taken aback but amused all the same.

["~'Cause, girl, you're amazing~Just the way you are~"]

Johnny, dressed in his pale, tan, oversized hand-me-down tux, gripped Jane's dotted shoulders and leaned forward to deliver a slow kiss on her lips.

"Beautiful," he said simply, quietly, un-equivocally in regards to the freckled girl.

["~Her nails, her nails~I could kiss them all day if she'd let me~"]

_Smirtch-smitch-smatch-smotch._

"Haha!" Suki managed to push Sokka off, ending his random barrage of kisses on her face.

"I am _not _letting you kiss me all day," she declared, referencing the background music he was playing off of.

["~Her laugh, her laugh~She hates but I think its so sexy~"]

Katara and Haru, just beside them, were swaying in a tamed, friendly manner, two hands linked, the others on her hip and his shoulder.

"You having a good time, Kat?"

["~She's so beautiful~And I tell her every day~"]

Katara nodded with noble confidence.

"I am, Haru. You?"

"Hey," he shrugged, taking it all in. "Crazy group, good food, I get to dance with a pretty girl...Can't ask for more in an evening, Dude. Am I right?"

["~Oh you know, you know, you know, I'd never ask you to change~"]

Katara grinned and shrugged back.

"I guess not."

["~If perfect's what you're searching for, then just stay the same~"]

"Thanks for asking me to come, Kat."

"Thanks for _coming, _Haru - and tolerating my insane friends, haha."

["~So don't even bother asking if you look okay~You know I'll say~"]

Toph and Aang rocked to and fro in rhythm with a gentle pace, Toph following Aang's lead, her hands on his shoulders while his hugged her hips. The dance floor was cold underneath her feet, but she didn't care. She sang along with the music, running her hand up Aang's neck, sliding her palm up to his jaw with a tenderness she reserved only for him.

_"~When I see your face~"  
_She ran her palm across his entire face, fingers dancing on his forehead.

_"~There's not a thing that I would change~"_  
She pulled her hand back to his neck and slid it back and forth.

_"~'Cause you're amazing~"_  
She grinned as she she continued to sing, smacking his shoulder gently, bobbing her head down.

_"~Just the way you are~"_  
Aang absorbed the image of her lowered face, cheeks pink, long bangs flopping over her milky eyes.

_"~And when you smile~"_  
Toph pinched Aang's lips, twisting them upwards, causing his reaction to be an amused, self-generated smile. They both giggled.

_"~The whole world stops and stares for awhile~"  
_She flicked her hair from her face to beam a wide smile up at Aang, and he rubbed his thumb on her jawline in return.

_"~'Cause, kid, you're amazing~Just the way you are~"  
_Standing on her bare tip-toes, Toph stole a kiss between lyrics. Aang pulled her in slightly, but Toph detached the lip-lock just enough to continue singing.

_"~The way you are~"  
_As the pair swerved from side to side, Toph prodded Aang's chest with her fingertips to emphasize the words she was singing.

_"~The way you are__~Twink, you're amazing~Just the way you are~"_

Having letting her sing through the chorus, Aang plunged in for another, longer kiss as the tone of the song winded down._  
_

["~When I see your face~There's not a thing that I would change~"]

Jane and Johnny, still at their seats at the table, broke off a kiss that had lasted much longer than Jane was accustomed to. Rather than separating, they remained with arms locked around each other's backs.

["~Cause you're amazing~Just the way you are~"]

Jane buried her face in the musty tan shoulder of Johnny's suit and took a deep breath, soaking in this moment of security, of feeling wanted and desired as Johnny wouldn't let go.

["~And when you smile~The whole world stops and stares for awhile~"]

"I...J-Johnny..." Jane awkwardly fumbled, fidgeting her chin into a more comfortable position. "Ya know...You know that I...-?"

["~Cause girl you're amazing~"]

"I love you, too, JayBee."

["~Just the way you are~"]

* * *

**A/N: There's some sap for ya. ;P Song lyrics are from Bruno Mars. Homecoming isn't over yet - too much for one chapter. I originally did not want Johnny "Longshot" to ever speak but forgot that he DOES speak on the show, just...once. xD So I decided that it would be fitting if he sticks to the silent treatment but DOES speak once in a while, but only briefly and only to Jane. More general cuteness and Homecoming silliness to come - ya know, in a way that helps us learn more about the characters, I hope. ;)**


	22. Dealing

**A/N: Enjoy some more fluff before we get back on task with serious business. ;P Also, I have been writing a series of reflection articles about SRU that detail some "behind-the-scenes" stuff, if you will, and my intentions with how I am writing certain characters/aspects of the story. If you're interested, you can check that out here.**

http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/journal/

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 22 - Dealing_

* * *

- Saturday, October 16th, 2010 -

"Hey, Sokka."

"Yea, Toph?"

"You've, um...Ya got somethin' on your suit."

"Aw, _crap,_" Sokka grumbled, fussing his hands at his chest. "When I saw that lasagna, ya know I got worried that-..." He paused, noticing no stains on his attire. His eyes narrowed at the waiting grin. "God, I_ hate it_ when you _do_ that," he snipped.

"That's the second time tonight, Sokka," Katara picked, ruffling his neatly kept hair affectionately. He grouchily flicked her hand off and scrambled to adjust his hair.

"I wouldn't do it if it wasn't so easy," pointed out Toph, hands on her hips.

"Well, you _know, _Toph," countered Katara, "You're one to talk. Looks like you got some sauce on your _dress._"

"I did?" Toph groped at the lower portions of her dress. "Where?"

"Here, Hun, let me get it for you." Katara drifted over to her friend, grabbed a napkin from their table, and rubbed it across Toph's left bosom - where there was no stain. "Oh. Nope, still some there." She scrubbed ferociously, eliciting a yelp from Toph, who stumbled backward, shoulders popped up in reaction.

Rubbing her tenderized boob, face bright red, Toph cocked her jaw to the side, glaring into empty space, while Sokka burst out into a goofy laugh - a recognizable laugh his friends identified as 'Sokka's Stupid Laugh,' which he seemed to utilize for things particularly dumb. A sly look crawled across Katara's face and she lifted her palm up to receive a high-five from her brother.

"Ohhhh, that was _good,_" Sokka sighed out.

"What was good?" Aang prodded, arriving with a fruit punch in hand.

"Katara just fuckin' _molested _me," Toph growled in exaggeration.

"Aw," lamented Aang, casually taking a sip from his plastic cup. "I missed it..."

_"Yeep!_" squeaked Katara out of nowhere, jerking her pelvis forward as Jane emerged from behind.

"There," the redhead dryly settled the matter. "Toph, You are revenged."

Katara shot Jane a sharp glance of indignation mixed with amusement, her palm on her butt from where she'd been attacked. Haru and Suki, who had been trailing Jane, chuckled at their exchange.

"Seems like karma to me, dude," Haru observed, handing Katara her cup of punch, tickled by how her pink face turned red as she realized he'd witnessed what had just transpired.

"Ha_ha_," Toph jovially taunted her roommate, grasping her hand around her chair. "Hey - anybody see where my walking stick went?"

_Ratta-tat-tat._

Toph's head twitched toward Sokka's direction as the fedora-donning young man pounded her cane on the cafeteria floor. He held it straight up before him, resting both hands on it's top and posing with crossed legs.

"Pimp needs a cane," he declared, stretching his arm out to accept Suki under his wing. She shook her head and breathed out a humored sigh.

"Sokka the _pimp, _huh?" Aang considered. "Somehow I don't think you'd make such a good pimp."

"Oh, and _you'd _be better?" Sokka countered, cocking hat up with Toph's stick.

"Sure he would," Katara laughed before Aang could respond, grabbing Sokka's hat from his head and shoving it on Aang's head sloppily. Aang, befuddled by the title being thrust upon him, didn't know how to react as Katara wrapped her arm around his shoulder and nodded to Jane.

Jane, realizing what Katara was going for, belted out a "_Ha_," and swept Toph across the space between the circle of students, pushing her right into Aang's chest, eliciting her to "_Woo!_" in surprise, while Jane wound around and slipped her skinny, freckled arm over Aang's opposing shoulder. The young man was flabbergasted and taken aback by having three women - all of whom he fancied to be pretty - latched around him.

"There, Sokka," Katara derailed his self-confidence. "Aang wins."

"But-but-but _I'm _the ladies' maaaaan," Sokka whimpered, slapping Toph's cane onto the floor in a pout.

"Hey!" Toph hissed. "Don't break my walking stick, Meathead."

Suki swiped the cane from her boyfriend, whipped his shin with it, and passed it to Katara as the girls all detached themselves from the beet-faced Aang.

"You're not allowed to be a pimp," Suki scolded teasingly to Sokka, jabbing his face with her finger. "Only one girl for you."

"Awww..." But Sokka's childish dismay was quickly put to rest as Suki puckered her lips with exaggeration on his cheek.

Receiving her cane from Katara as she and Jane met up with their respective dates, Toph snuck her arm around her boyfriend's waist, patting his hips roughly.

"You _are _allowed to be a pimp," she decided. "Just so long as _I _am, too."

"Huh? Wh-?" Aang was lost in this entire conversation. _Thwap__. _"Ow..."

"It's gettin' kinda late," Sokka announced firmly, checking his watch before tucking it back under his sleeve. "We're gonna head out. See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, everyone!" Suki cheerfully cried, waving them all farewell before trodding off with Sokka in her kimono.

"W-wait!" Katara yelled out to no avail. "Where...? Why are they leaving so suddenly?" she wondered, a hand on her hip in dissatisfaction. "I left my clothes in the car when I drove the girls down here so I could change afterward..." Katara knew that Sokka would be commandeering their vehicle for the night, and she had a sneaking suspicion she knew what type of activity it would be getting used for. Since she had driven Toph and Jane down - dressed up women shouldn't be expected to walk through the cold, being her reasoning - she had left a change of clothes for after the dance, before everyone had split off for the night. Now she'd have to hoof it back to Aqua in her heels.

"Yea, they seemed_ real_ eager to leave," Jane observed, raising her eyebrows up and down to Katara. Toph seemed to catch the same vibe.

"That Sokka," Haru chuckled. "Dude's crazy."

"Sounds like a couple of people must be horny," Toph noted quietly in Aang's ear with nonchalance, picking her pinky into her ear to dislodge some wax. "Sounds like they've got the right idea, if ya ask me." she mumbled, perhaps to herself, as she clenched Aang's hand tightly. "All right, Twinkle-Toes," she declared loudly, "Maybe that's our cue to head off, too."

"Oh, OK," muttered Aang with little choice as the barefooted girl in the green dress tugged on his tie before yanking him by the arm.

"Let's be off with us, then!" she commanded.

"I, er...I guess this means we're going, too," Aang concluded to the rest of the group with a sheepish shrug.

"Sorry, everyone, I get him to myself now," Toph devilishly decried, eliciting a nervous smile from her boyfriend as he shot the others a jokingly pleading expression. "You can have him again tomorrow," she called off from the distance, pushing Aang to keep moving. "But I can't promise he'll still be in one piece!"

"Have _fun, _you two!" Katara advised to their shrinking forms with a mothering tone. "Make good choices!" As she went to start cleaning up their table a bit, she noticed Toph's heels sitting on her chair - where Katara had placed them earlier. She sighed, staring at them irritably.

"Hey." Jane tapped Katara on the shoulder with her fingertips. "Johnny's gettin' kinda antsy, I think he wants to leave, too," she whispered. "He just won't say it."

Katara cast a glance to Johnny as he shrugged in response to something Haru was saying to him. He _did _look tired and kind of uneasy. He'd been acting a bit funny all night, now that she'd considered it.

"Johnny doesn't like crowds, does he?" Katara observed.

"Hell no. Neither do _I,_" Jane pointed out, running her finger across her eyebrow in that methodical, stressful tick that Katara saw manifest itself when Jane was uncomfortable.

"It's OK, Hun. It _is _getting late. You two go have time alone," she advised with a wink. "That boy isn't used to you getting all fancy so he probably wants to enjoy it while he can, right?"

"Heh," Jane scoffed with agreement and a bashful shrug.

"I'll see you back at the dorm." Katara gently patted her friend's freckled cheek affectionately and grinned at her state of shaky anticipation.

"Kat, thanks for...-" Jane fidgeted her lanky arms around herself, gesturing to her entire body. "-...for _this. _I don't even...The dress, and-and the flower, the hair...the..._ech. _OK, maybe _not _the waxing, but in general. It...It's kinda nice. For a _little _while. And the boy over there really seems to like it."

"Hey, you're welcome," was Katara's warming reply.

"See ya, Kat."

"Bye!"

"-'cuz, man, you look like the poker-playin' type, Dude. I'll hit you up next week, you can join us."

Johnny nodded in compliance, finding Haru's proposition agreeable enough.

"You guys scheming behind our backs?" Jane gruffly inquired, slapping Johnny on the back.

"Just doin' our job," Haru played along.

"Well, we're gonna head out, too."

"Sounds good." Haru shook Johnny's hand and extended his arm out to Jane, but the girl simply nodded to him, so he dropped it. "Er, but it was cool to meet you guys."

"Yea," said Jane simply, waving her pointer and middle fingers to them as they slowly stepped away. "Night, guys."

After they has disappeared, Katara, Toph's heels in hand, took a deep breath.

"You roll with a sick crowd, Kat."

"_Tell _me about it..."

"They always flake out on you like that?"

"What?" Katara stared at him, baffled by his statement. "N-no, that wasn't...They didn't 'flake.' But they're usually not like that. I think everyone's just a little...-" She shrugged, blowing air out through her lips.

_Everyone's just a little 'wanting to freaking _make out with each other' _is what it is..._

"Haha, it's all cool, Kat. Take a chill pill," Haru eased.

"Yea," Katara sighed, undoing her small topknot and rustling the displaced hair in line with the rest.

"So, Kat, I...I was wondering if I could walk you back to Aqua."

"Wh-?" Katara's spaced-out stance flicked back to attention and she quickly nodded. "Sure. Thanks..."

After they'd exited the Avatar and were on their way back to Katara's residence, Haru struck up conversation, and Katara felt like she knew what he was going to say, butterflies ramming into the walls of her stomach.

"Kat, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Y-yea?"

"I had a fun time tonight - even though you hang out with a weird crowd."

"I, um...Heh. _Yea, _I-I sure do!" Katara chuckled, the words popping out louder than she wanted them to.

"So, listen, I, er...I wanted to ask if we could...-"

Katara could feel her face melting from the words she anticipated. She didn't want them to come out, but she couldn't will herself to interrupt.

"-...I dunno, if we could just stay friends, 'cuz I-"

"I'm sorry, Haru, but I don't-...Wait. _What?_" All of her assumptions shattered, she suddenly felt like an idiot. Maybe even a bit offended in her irrational state of mind.

"You're nice, and don't get me wrong, Kat: you're the prettiest girl I've ever danced with. But I don't think that sorta thing would work out between us."

"I...Wh-? Y-yea, that's...No, that's fine..."

Haru ran his hand over his slicked back hair in relief.

"Sweet. I was kinda worried there..."

Katara glanced across the twilight campus with a slight scowl for a moment.

"Oh, it's fine. I was...I just thought we'd have some fun in a group," she explained, trying to reclaim a position of self-pride. "N-nothing complicated. I'm not really ready for that kind of thing right now, anyway..."

"Yea, you seem totally stressed out over everything," muttered Haru, scratching at his partially formed mustache.

"I do?" Katara mumbled, feeling somehow slighted in all of this.

"Totally. I get it, though - you've got, like, _so much _junk goin' on. Like how your last boyfriend, like, _died _and stuff?"

_Ulgh...Not what I needed to be reminded of..._

"I'm sorry 'bout all that, Kat. It's no wonder you seem uptight and tense all the time."

_Uptight? _Uptight? _Am I really like that?_

"Oh, right. I-I'm sorry," Katara fumbled around. "Yea, it's...So much _stuff _going on. No worries, I wasn't...Like, I didn't mean to make you think...-" Her train of thought derailed with a shaky laugh.

"OK, cool. Glad there wasn't anything awkward there."

"Yea, me, too..."

"So, that Johnny kid. He doesn't get out much, does he?"

* * *

- Sunday, October 17th, 2010 -

"It's his ears. That's Aang's weak spot. His enormous elephant ears. Gets him every time."

"Johnny's is when I rub his back."

"Seriously?"

"Yea, I dunno...Like, if I run my fingers under his shirt, down his back? The boy just melts into a fuckin' puddle."

"Hey, Suki, what about Sokka?" Toph wondered, tweaking the knobs on her guitar and striking some light test strums.

Katara sighed to herself, fidgeting her microphone on its stand as the girls set up, discussing this odd topic - likely spurred by what sorts of activities they had all participated in the night before.

"Sokka? Hm..." Suki tapped her chin with her drum stick. "It's his neck. I kiss his neck and he falls to pieces."

"OK," Katara boldly interrupted. "That's nice. Little sister here. Kinda don't want to hear that stuff, all right?"

"_Wow, _Kat, what the fuck's got _your _panties in a bunch all of a sudden?" Smellerbee grumbled, drumming her fingers on her bass.

"Gee, Jane, maybe it's because...-" Katara refused to look at her friends as she rambled, fiddling with a microphone that was already set up properly for the sake of doing something. "-...in case you forgot, I'm still..._dealing _with...what happened with _my_ last boyfriend, while all of _you_ three are rubbing in my face what a _great time _you had doing...things...that I don't need to hear about, by the way...with all of _yours..._"

Jane's bloodshot eyes wandered to her bass, orange brows tucked tight over them, and she said not a word.

"Sorry, Katara," Suki volunteered. "I didn't know, I thought that you and Haru...-"

"That me and Haru _what?_" Katara snipped, her tone not so explosive so much as stinging.

"Katara, calm the fuck _down,_" Toph asserted. "God, you've been bitchy all morning. You_ sure_ you're up for practicing right this second?" Suki gestured to intervene, but Katara reacted before any peacekeeping could be made.

"Ya know?" Katara huffed out through her nostrils. "No. I'm not. Not like it _matters _because I can't even freaking _sing _so it's not like I'm doing you any good, _anyway_, right?" Her voice cracked at the end, water welling in her eyes.

"This isn't about Haru, is it?" Smellerbee groaned. "_You're _the one who said it wasn't-"

"No, Jane, this isn't...this isn't fucking about Haru!" Katara hissed, balls clenched. She paused for a moment to contemplate what she had just said. "And I...I just-!" She slapped her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Whoa, way to lay down the F-Bomb, there, Sister," Toph chuckled. "I think...Dude, that might be the first time I've ever heard you-"

"This isn't _funny, _Toph," Katara growled. "You see? All of _you two _swearing all of the time is starting to rub off on me...Argh!" She pounded at her forehead as she stormed off out of the sound-proof room, leaving her band-mates confused.

"Ugh, Christ," Smellerbee moaned, shaking her head. "Maybe one of you two should go get her...?"

"Uh, how about _you _go cheer her up for a change?" Toph snapped. "Just because I'm her roommate doesn't mean I'm the only one who's supposed to clean her up when she's a mess."

"Uh, yea, _Toph?_" Smellerbee quipped. "Not sure you realize, but I'm not exactly a fuckin' therapist over here."

"I don't care," Toph argued. "Whenever _you're_ upset, Katara is always trying to help _you_ feel better. _Obviously, _she's having a shitty day, so maybe it'd mean a lot to her if _you _tried to cheer _her _up for a change...Huh? How about that?"

Jane was surprised at how unnerving it was to look Toph in the eyes given that they weren't focused on her - they were still pretty intense at that moment.

"Fine, _fine,_" Jane conceded, slipping her bass strap off of her shoulders. "Not sure what I can do to cure her God damned PMS, but whatever..."

As she marched begrudgingly out the room, Toph called out a "Thanks, Jaybee," to which Jane responded with a toss of the arm and a "Yea, yea..."

"Ohhhhhkay," Suki murmured at last. "Uhhh, so...What's going on with you girls?"

"Meh, it's no big," Toph wrote it off with a few nimble plucks on her electric guitar, savoring the sound as it dripped from the speakers around her. "This is just what happens when you get four girls together in one room to try and get anything done."

"Is Katara OK?"

"Fuck if _I _know," Toph chuckled, borrowing a line she picked up from Jane. "She's totally loopy today, though, that's for sure. Haven't seen her that pissed in a while...Think she's just stressed out and we were pushing the wrong buttons with the boyfriend talk."

"Right," Suki lamented. "Her ex-boyfriend died in an accident a few weeks ago..."

"Yea."

"Poor thing..."

"Katara's stronger than she seems. She'll be fine. Besides, heh...She's got _me _to watch her back. Um...figuratively speaking. Fff. So, anyway...You got a band name picked out yet?"

"I've got something," Suki murmured, twirling her drumstick. "I'll run it by you guys today, see what you think."

* * *

"Leave me alone!"

"Whoa, hey, Kat - chill the fu-...uh...Calm down, huh?"

"Ohhh, don't even _bother, _Jane." Sitting on the floor, propped against the wall beside the door the other girls were still in, Katara had a palm against her forehead, face full to the brim with emotion. "You don't need to take my _oh so sensitive ears _into account. Not like you bother the _rest _of the time..."

"I didn't...I didn't know it _bothered _you, Kat..."

"It usually _doesn't, _I...I _guess_," Katara huffed, her eyes occasionally glancing at the stubborn redhead. "I'm...I don't even know what my _problem_ is right now, I'm just...having a breakdown...or-or something."

"Cheer up, then," said Jane bluntly, sitting herself cross-legged in front of Katara. "You're not acting like yourself."

"I _know,_" Katara whimpered. "God...I wish I knew what my issue was right now..."

Jane took a moment to contemplate the situation. It seemed awfully familiar. She was certain she had felt this same way herself in recent memory, and recalled what Toph and Katara would do, or what Aang would write her if he caught word she was feeling down.

"Hey, don't sweat it." After a moment's hesitation, Jane reached out and stuck a slightly sweaty, bony hand on Katara's bare knee as the girl wiped her damp hand on her denim miniskirt. "Listen - sorry for what I said, all right?"

Katara sniffled, dabbing at her eyes with her finger some more. Jane went on.

"Guess it's easy to forget how much shit you're dealing with 'cuz you're so good at..._dealing _with it most of the time..."

"Huh...?"

"Just...I dunno...Like, your mom died, and _Jet_ died, and you've got _me _to deal with, heh...But it's like...You just...-" Jane shrugged, trying to find the right words. "When shit happens to me, I get fuckin' _pissed, _but you, Kat? I don't know _how _the hell you do it, but you just let it roll off ya and ya get up and keep going somehow. Like it's no big deal or something."

Katara's tears had stopped flowing by the time Jane had finished her expression of respect, and she took a deep, calming breath.

"I do?"

"Yea. _Hell_ yea, you do. You're a God damn trooper."

"Thanks..." Katara blinked the water from her eyes and wiped them away with her wrist. "Guess I just needed to get some junk out of my system or something..."

"Sure. You cry, Toph yells and punches things, I yell _louder _and punch things _harder..._Ha. We all gotta deal with our issues _somehow._"

* * *

[**BiiTTERSWEET** killed **SparkySparkyBOOM-MAN **with a Rocket Launcher.]

"_Argh. Fuck. Shit. Ass!_"

"Whoa!" Aang calmed, pressing down Sokka's tense shoulder. "You're doin' that thing, Sokka."

"No, I'm good. I'm all good," Sokka assured, flicking away at his controller feverishly. Aang observed his rapidly bounding knee.

"I think you're doin' that thing Katara was warning me about."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You just said, like, three swears in a row."

[_"Pshoom!"_]  
[**BiiTTERSWEET** killed **SparkySparkyBOOM-MAN **with a headshot.]

"_Fucking sniper bitch!_"

"Ohhhhkay," Aang puffed out in despair, slapping Sokka assuringly on the shoulders before he dug around his roommate's desk. He pulled out a Butterfinger candy bar from Sokka's snack stash, unwrapped it, and then waved it in front of Sokka's face.

"Ooooh," Sokka murmured, leaning forward and snapping a bite off.

[**J_Blaze31 **pummeled **SparkySparkyBOOM-MAN**.]

"_Rrrmmm!_" he growled, his mouth full, stamping his foot. Aang fearfully dropped the Butterfinger, now missing a chunk, into Sokka's lap and retrieved his cell phone for support.

[To: Katara]  
[hey...sokkas doing that thing. w/cursing & yelling and not calming down.]  
[Sent: 4:23pm]

[From: Katara]  
[It's because he's playing a video game, isn't it? =/ ]  
[Sent: 4:24pm]

[To: Katara]  
[yea he is...]  
[Sent: 4:24pm]

[From: Katara]  
[Did you try the Butterfinger trick?]  
[Sent: 4:25pm]

[**BiiTTERSWEET** killed **SparkySparkyBOOM-MAN **with a headshot.]  
_"Aaaauughhlllggaaahhh!"  
_Sokka thrashed around, slapping his controller into his leg as he lifted his Butterfinger with his other hand to chew more off.

[To: Katara]  
[yea...thats not working...]  
[Sent: 4:26pm]

[From: Katara]  
[Is he playing anything with guns? Or fighting?]  
[Sent: 4:26pm]

[To: Katara]  
[yea hes playing halo.]  
[Sent: 4:27pm]

[From: Katara]  
[Oh, geez. Yea, get him to play something...more calming.]  
[Sent: 4:27pm]

"_What the shit, man? _**Every fucking time!**"

[To: Katara]  
[im freaking out here. never heard him curse so much. :( ]  
[Sent: 4:28pm]

[From: Katara]  
[Sometimes when he plays video games he gets like that. It's nothing to worry about.]  
[Sent: 4:29pm]

[From: Katara]  
[Actually, I'm surprised it took this long for you to witness it. xD ]  
[Sent: 4:29pm]

[Red Team Wins.]

"_Twenty-six Deaths? Are you fucking **kidding me?**_"

"Hey, er, Sokka?"

"Camping little** rocket-whores**!"

"You wanna play some chess, or-"

"Cheating assholes!" Sokka dropped his controller in front of their TV with a gruff irritation.

"-maybe go down to dinner early?"

Sokka's phone went off, intruding on Aang's suggestions.

["~Domo arigato, Misto Roboto~Domo-"]

"Hey, Suki, what's up?" he greeted with a slightly irritable but otherwise calm tone. "Yea-huh...Yaaa-huh...Yep. 'Kay. See ya then, Love." He slapped his phone shut, placing it on the floor beside his beanbag chair as he switched off his XBox 360 with a sigh. "Girls just finished practicing a little bit ago, they're gonna meet us down at the ACC soon."

"You OK?"

"Aw, I'm fine," Sokka insisted, the red color diminishing from his face.

"'Cuz that was weirdin' me out..."

"Yea, sorry. When I play stuff like that I can go a little crazy, I guess."

"I'll, er...keep that mind from now on. Maybe keep you off the Halo, haha."

Sokka viciously devoured the rest of his candy bar as he tidied up the TV space and checked his phone for text messages.

"Yea, I just needed to let that crap out."

"You've got crap? That needs letting out?"

Sokka shrugged, plopping himself back down into his beanbag on the floor before the TV.

"Bah, I just thought Suki and I would...take another step in our relationship last night."

"_Ohhh._ But you didn't?" Aang checked, believing he understood.

"Not really. No." Sokka was a bit sour over the matter.

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing?"

"How?" Sokka's skepticism demanded.

"Well, like...-" Aang relaxed on the floor beside him. "Maybe when you guys make that step, she wants it to _mean _something."

"That's the excuse you keep giving Toph, isn't it?"

"Guh," Aang grunted with a twitch, staring at his unamused roommate's glance. "It's...That's not an _excuse, _Sokka, it's a _reason._"

"You two still haven't made whoopie yet, then," he observed with a "Tch, tch" and a gentle shake of the head.

"Sokka, _some _guys aren't in it just to have sex, you know..."

"So you're saying you don't _want _to have sex with her, then?"

"W-with Toph?"

"_Naw, _Aang, my freakin' _sister, _who the hell do you _think_ I'm talking about?"

Aang shrugged his shoulders up in defense as his already nervously pink face flushed another shade brighter.

"I haven't-...Toph and I...We're just not ready for that kind of-"

"_You're _not ready, you mean."

Aang wiped his sheepish demeanor away and frowned.

"No, Sokka, _I _am not ready, because I don't think that _we, _as a _couple, _are ready."

"And Toph's OK with waiting," Sokka assumed, saying it in a way that conveyed his doubt of the validity of the statement.

"She _says _she is," Aang clarified. "And I believe her."

"She doesn't strike me as the type who'd be patient like that..."

"Guess that goes to show you don't know her as well as you _think _you do," Aang retaliated. "She has another side to her, you know."

"Yea, yea...Whatever you say, _Twinkle-Toes._ I suppose I believe you. But I'll bet she still tried to coerce you into it last night."

Aang gave pause, scratching at his ear as he felt Sokka's expectant gaze burning into him.

"OK, OK, _yes, _she _did_ try," Aang rapidly spat out in concession.

"Right. So obviously she _wants _to."

"It'll...ya know...We'll get to it when it feels right."

"Pff, for you, that prolly means after you get married."

"W-well...I-I dunno. Maybe..."

"Psh. Yea, good luck with that, Bro." Sokka smacked Aang's back with mock encouragement as he slipped into his black loafers - the shoes he always seemed to be wearing, no matter the occasion.

"Hey, you, too," Aang reciprocated. "Girls can be a handful."

"We'll deal with 'em one way or another."

"I'd like to think they're worth it the effort."

"Heh. Not so sure about _that, _but it's not like we have a choice."

* * *

**A/N: 'Sokka's Stupid Laugh' is in fact from the show. Trust me. The guys laughs specifically differently when it's about very dumb things. xD I know this chapter is a little slower. I wanted to take a bit of time to start developing a few themes that will become more important later.  
**

**Also, for all you people reading here, there is a bunch of SRU fanart I have requested/commissioned from people at DA! Check that out here under the gallery. There's more on the way, too!  
**

http:/s-r-u(dot)deviantart(dot)com/


	23. The Experiment

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 23 - The Experiment_

* * *

- Friday, October 22nd, 2010 -

["Tell me we're gonna knock 'em out, Twinkle-Toes."]

"You are going to _knock _'em out, Tater-Face."

["Bleh. Not with a name like 'Tater-Face' I'm not. We have a band name, remember?"]

"Oh, yea? You guys settled on one?"

["The Kyoshi Warriors. Remember?"]

"Huh. Sounds kind of intimidating."

["Hells yea, it does."]

"Isn't that, like, Suki's last name?"

["Yea. She _did _start the band...And besides, it makes us sound like ninjas. Or samurais."]

"Aaaand...You want to be like ninja-samurais?"

["Sure. There's a niche out there that should be filled."]

"Musical-Ninja-Samurais."

["Yep."]

"OK, then. Er...Good luck with that, Toph. So you guys will be busy all night?"

["Allll night. We've got our audition tomorrow. Gotta sound sharp."]

"Right."

["So we can cut their _faces off _with our Awesome."]

"Of course."

["Somethin' wrong, Babe?"]

"Meh..."

["What is it?"]

"Ehhh..."

["Oh, come on. Stop bein' a wimp and tell me."]

"Wait, did you just call me 'Babe' again?"

["You gotta get those elephant ears cleaned. Seriously, what's goin' on?"]

"Nothin'...You girls have been busy all week, is what it is..."

["Awwww...You're missing me, huh, Twinkles?"]

"Yea," Aang bashfully replied, his mood lightened by her stroke of genuine coddling.

["I've been kinda missin' you, too, I guess,"] Toph teased. Aang could hear a chorus in the background.

["We miss him, too!"]  
["Tell that punk I miss his face!"]  
["Hi, Aang!"]

["The girls say 'hey.' By the way."]

"Haha...Yea. Tell them I say 'hey' back."

["Meh, I'll do it later. Anyways, just gotta hold out until tomorrow after our audition and then we can all hang out together."]

"Sounds good."

["I gotta let you go, though. Still got some work to do here."]

"OK. Love you, Toph."

["Love you, too, Aang."]

_Click._

"Wuv-woo-too-Twinkoh-Toez," cooed Sokka with exaggeration from his desk at his computer.

"Go back to your zombies, Sokka," Aang retaliated.

"I think I'm getting Plants-Versus-Zombied _out_ over here," he sighed, continuing to click away at his field of vegetation as it held off a drizzling flood of the undead. "Are they finished practicing yet?"

"Nah," Aang lamented. "They said they're going to be practicing all night and we won't get to see 'em until tomorrow after the audition."

"Blaaaaaaahhhh," was Sokka's guttural, groaning reaction, his cheek skin folding over the palm it was leaning on. "I'm so booooooored."

"Psh, _sorry_," Aang mockingly apologized. "I have a project I need to work on, man."

"Yea, yea. Why didn't you do it _last _night?" Sokka whined. "Isn't that why we don't do anything Thursdays? So we're all free on Friday?"

"This project is taking more time than I thought it would," Aang advised, cuddling into the beanbag chair on the floor, his drawing pad in tow. "Besides, I need to make sure I'm free _tomorrow _when we see the girls."

"_The Gods of Olympus have abandoned me_," uttered Sokka with dull drama and a deep, bellowing rasp in his voice. He was now standing atop his chair, dangling his foot over its edge. "_Now there is __no hope._" He leaned forward, tossing his hands in the air as he continued his one-actor performance in an alternate, solemn voice of narration. "**And Kratos ****_cast himself _from the highest mountain in _all of Greece. _After ten years of suffering, ten years of _endless _nightmares, it would finally come to an end**." He hopped from his chair as he spoke, landed nimbly on his toes, then crumpled himself onto the floor. "**_Death _would be his escape from_ madness_**..." He lay limp for a few moments as Aang stared at him with wide eyes, pencil in hand.

"Uhhh...You really _are _bored today, aren't you?"

* * *

"Hm..." Sokka scratched his fuzzy chin thoughtfully, surveying the lineup. "I think this will do..."

"Monkey-feathers," gasped Aang, staring at the array of beverages. "Did you...-?" He pointed vaguely at the collection, baffled. "What, did you buy, like, _everything _you could from the snack desk?"

"Psh, no," Sokka dismissed. "Every _drink, _definitely. And some snacks, too. "Wait, what did you say a second a go?"

"Huh?"

"Was it...Did you say 'Monkey feathers?'"

"Y-yea...Why?"

"Is that, like, your little way of saying, like, 'Holy crap!,' or something?"

"Sure," Aang muttered with a shrug. "I say it all the time..."

"No, you don't," Aang's roommate rapidly shot down the notion with a suspicious glare. "Must be all that animal-drawing you're obsessed with. Weirdo." He shook his head, snapping his attention back to the matter at hand. "Anyway, you think I'm missing anything?"

Aang rubbed his hand over his head with doubt and shrugged.

"Uhhh, nope. It looks pretty...uh...substantial to me."

Sokka clapped his hands together and rubbed them fiercely.

"Stand back, my friend," he warned. "This experiment could go fatally wrong, and I'd hate to lose my witness to this glorious scientific event. After all, _someone _will need to speak with the authorities and tell them the tale..."

"Geez," spat Aang, rolling his eyes. "You have fun with that, Sokka. I'm going to try wrapping this up and going to bed."

* * *

[Twitter account Sokka Kesuk]  
[**(at)****MeatAndSarcasmGuy**- Akiak, Ontario]  
[I'm just a guy with a Boomerang. And a light saber. And an insatiable appetite. And I never shut up. Even on the Internet.]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Experiment 626 aka "Energy X" now begins...]  
[22 Oct 9:42pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[I'll be starting with lighter things first and working my way up. First: sodas. :) ]  
[22 Oct 9:43pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[The IBC was fantastic as always but this generic orange soda is gross. :( ]  
[22 Oct 9:52pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Mountain Dew. Delightful as usual. Self-brewed coffee was exquisite. Feeling the caffeine starting to flow.]  
[22 Oct 10:23pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Doritos, Fritos, Pringles. All helping settle the stomach.]  
[22 Oct 10:34pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[All right. Time to break out the big boys. #GOGOGO]  
[22 Oct 10:52pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Time to let this MONSTER outta the cage!]  
[22 Oct 10:55pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Time to go FULL THROTTLE! #YEA #WOO]  
[22 Oct 11:04pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Turn on the NOS!]  
[22 Oct 11:08pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[AMP it up to 11 bitchezzzz!]  
[22 Oct 11:12pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Livin like a ROCKSTAR!]  
[22 Oct 11:19pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[RED BULL GIVES ME WINGZZZ!]  
[22 Oct 11:25pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[S IS MORE EPIC WHEN ITZ A Z!]  
[22 Oct 11:26pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[I AM SUPERMAN!]  
[22 Oct 11:34pm]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[Acceleration +250% Speed +120% Power +67% Sex +12% Manly +174% Equations +23% Science +777%]  
[23 Oct 12:13am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[The molecular compounds spin and spin in my brain like crazy genius spinny things.]  
[23 Oct 12:19am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[MOLECULEZZZ!]  
[23 Oct 12:20am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[MAD GENIUS! MENERGY! I AM TOO ENERGETIC FOR NORMAL SPORTS!]  
[23 Oct 12:21am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[When God gives you lemons you FIND A NEW GOD!]  
[23 Oct 12:22am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[I can feel the preposterone RAGING THROUGH MY BOWELS LIKE AN ANGRY ANTLION!]  
[23 Oct 12:25am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[I AM GOING TO WIN AT SCIENCE!]  
[23 Oct 12:26am]

[**MeatAndSarcasmGuy**]  
[quyrehjcmnayrvf yurweqius 12462378 asgftweh]  
[23 Oct 1:14am]

* * *

- Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 -

"...What?" Katara groaned, rubbing her eyes and scratching her hand through her sweaty mess of hair. There was some kind of ruckus going on that she couldn't make out, but could tell it was her brother.

["He's like, running around and yelling and just..._Whoa! Hey! _Don't break that!..."] Aang sighed. ["He's freaking crazy, Katara. What do you do when he gets like this?"]

The rambling in the background suddenly became clear for a few moments. He spoke at a mile a minute, he words sliding out with precision but running together, thoughts tightly compacted together.

["**Molecules-molecules-molecules. Running - through blood. Like super soldier army ants times ten. Times ten! Experiment - success! Success! Must submit findings-...**"]

["Ya see? What the heck do I _do_?"]

Katara dropped her hand from her head, sitting in her bed, and dragged her feet from under her cozy sheets and onto the cold, rough carpet below.

"Urgh, I don't...-" Katara huffed, her half-awake mind still warping around whatever her brother had just been trying to say. "What happened?"

["Sokka took a whole bunch of energy drinks. In a row. He said it was an experiment."]

"Dear God," whimpered Katara, not in the mood for this brand of shenanigans. "I _dunno_, Aang," she said irritably. "Have him...go run around outside or something. Let him tucker himself out...?"

["Hm...Yea, maybe that's a good idea,"] Aang groaned, his exhaustion equally as apparent as Katara's. ["Hey, Sokka, you wanna maybe go for a jog? Clear your head?"]

["**FOR SCIENCE!**"]

["Wait...Whoa, hey. Sokka? Why...? Why are you taking your _pants off_?"]

["**Naked truth - must reveal it!**"]

["Uhh..."]

Katara sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, a headache forming. Spending all evening around blaring speakers and instruments for another night was taking its toll. Katara was jolted by the device in her hand vibrating against her ear. She retracted her phone to observe it.

[Calling...]  
[**Jane**]

"All right, well..." She sighed out, putting the phone back to her ear. "Jane's calling, so, uhh...I'd better go...Have fun with that, Aang."

["B-but what if he hurts himself? Or-Wait, Sokka, wh-where are you going?"]

["**Jogging - per your suggestion. Helpful assistant!**"]

"Mmkay," Katara huffed. "Sorry, Aang. Good luck with that. I gotta go."

["Y-yea, OK! Sokka, wait-!"]  
[_Click_.]

[_Beep._]

"Jane? You found your phone, huh? I _told _you that it must've been-"  
["**Phone - procured for...SCIENTIFIC PURPOSES.**"]

"_Sokka?_"

["**Doctor - PhD. They call me...Doc-Sokk at the office.**"]

"What the-? How...? _Why_ do you have Jane's phone? Where did you find it?"

["**Phone - as indicated - procured for research. Found in practice room. Obtainment - approximately forty-seven minutes ago.**"]

"OK, OK, OK." Katara was flapping her wrist if only to slow her own mind down from his rattling. "Sokka, that's not _yours. _You need to give that back. All right?"

"Shuddafuck_ubb_..." growled Toph from under her blanket across the room.

["Sokka!"] Aang's exaspeatd voice cried from somewhere in the distance. ["Get back here! You're not wearing any clothes!"]

["**Clothes - needless frivolity. Intrude the senses.**"]

"Sokka, could you just..._stop _for a minute, and go inside? Just listen to Aang-"

["**Numbers - contacts. Ohhh, Jet - deceased. Calling number might establish connection with spirit. Alternate plane of existence. Must investigate.**"]  
[_Click._]

"Urgh..."

Katara pounded her fist into her bed. Days like this made her feel like the older sibling.

["~I'll be there for you~"]  
[_Click._]

"Aang? What is going _on? _Where is he _going?_"

"How _yoooo _doin'?" Toph deviously murmured, rolling over in her bed, referencing the show the ringtone was borrowed from.

["I don't-...He's heading for the ACC, but I have no idea why."]

"Is he _seriously _naked?" Katara winced, pushing disheveled hair strands behind her hairs.

["He seriously is."]

Katara sighed and shook her head. She could make out Sokka jabbering away.

["**-understood. Please put me through...Correct...Of course. That is the purpose."**]

"Who is he talking to?" Katara wondered.

["Dunno. He's on the phone."]

_Crap, he probably tried calling Jet's number._

["**Not a joke. Serious matter...Redundant - all bees can smell...Certainly. Attenae - detect pheremones.**"]

"Aang, you need to get him off that phone. I don't think will appreciate him causing trouble with the Freedom Fighters."

["Sokka? Sok-...hey. Sokka. Gimme the ph-...C'mon. Gimme the phone!"]

["**Very well. Message - will be passed on. Spirit of deceased - you're certain I cannot contact?**"]

["_Sokka!_"]

["**Understood. Very well.**"]

["Sokka, where are you _going?"_]

["**Phone - must return to owner!**"] Sokka's voice had gotten more distant.

["Errr..."]

Aang and Katara breathed into their phones for a moment, both stupefied.

"Wait, does that man he's trying to give it back to Jane?"

["I guess? I mean...He _is _heading toward Aqua..."]

"But...But isn't he _naked _still?"

["Uhhhh, yup."] Aang's breath was heavy, no-doubt due to him giving chase during the conversation. ["I'm following him but I think he's gonna get there...phew...really soon."]

"Ugh...OK, OK. I'll just come meet you guys at the side entrance. Please, just...keep him out until I get there. OK?"

["I'll...I can...try..."] Shuffling sounds indicated Aang was now hot in pursuit of 'Doc-Sok.'  
[_Click_.]

Katara glanced at her alarm clock: [**3:46 am**]

"Grrraahh..." Katara slapped herself in the face in anguish.

"Aaauuuggghhh," groaned Toph, thrashing grouchily in her bed. "Stobbit...Shuddup."

"Hun, calm down. Go back to sleep."

"Can't nooowww...toofugginwake."

"OK, wh-whatever. Fine. _Sorry, _not like it was my choice."

"Deryagoh...Bidgey, _bidgey_..."

"Toph, go back to sleep," Katara snapped in a hiss, her interrupted sleep cycle producing heightened aggression as she slipped her blue penguin slippers on. Garbed in matching pajamas, she slunk out of the room and slipped silently down the stairwell and to the indicated side door. What she encountered waiting outside frightened her a bit.

There stood her older brother, butt naked, furiously clutching her neighbor's phone flush against his bare, waxed chest. His eyes were bloodshot with dark rings hung underneath and his hair was ruffled in every direction. With fingers trembling, he tightened his grip on the phone at the sight of her and took a step back, bumping into Aang. Katara cautiously avoided letting her eyes drop below his chest - it wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. A decade or more ago. She had no interest in seeing it again. Ever.

"Sokka? Here, I can take Jane's phone back to her, and then you can go back to-"

"**No.**"

"What?" Katara dropped her extended arm and huffed.

"He won't let anyone have it but Jane," Aang explained irritably.

"**Device - highly confidential. Not safe. Must deliver myself.**"

"Nnnnoooo," Katara insisted. "I _don't _think that's such a good id-_Ooof!_" Her naked brother knocked the wind out of her with her elbow as he forced his way around her and into the door behind her.

"You OK?" Aang cried, rushing to her side as she gasped in recovery, grabbing her abdomen in pain.

"He's...freakin' _crazy_," Katara grumbled, nodding to Aang in thanks as she stood upright.

"He's probably heading toward Jane's room right now."

"Shoot," Katara sighed, storming in and making her way upstairs with Aang close behind.

In the quiet of the night, Sokka's wrist knocking against Jane's door - as well as his voice - reverberated down the hallway one way, and filtered down into the stairwell in the other.

"**Bee - Jane. Orange-head. Smelly. Must receive device.**"

"Sokka," Katara seethed in a whisper as they reached the second floor. "Stop it!"

"Meathead?" Toph was drearily leaning against the doorway, rubbing her eyes. Katara found the situation somewhat amusing - she had no idea that the boy in front of her was without clothing. "You doin' all right?" she wondered, raising concern through her foggy mind.

Before Katara could do anything, Jane's door swung open, revealing an extremely displeased girl with olive eyes that burned like embers. She was dressed in a yellow and black striped set of pajamas, something that Katara always picked on her about but encouraged all the same.

"What the _fuck _do yo_oooooooo_kay." Jane's ferocious tone rapidly reverted to discomfort as soon as she had glanced across Sokka's bare form.

The crazed young man thrust his arms out, cradling the cell phone with care.

"**Research - complete. Device - you may have.**"

Jane, her face now covered by a palm, cheeks bright red from the awkward situation, let out a shaky sigh and blindly held out her arm.

"What's he yammerin' on 'bout?" wondered Toph with a yawn, scratching her bottom through her sweatpants.

Sokka gently placed the phone in Jane's hands and blinked furiously, his head twitching a few times as he stepped back.

"Uhhh, yea. Thanks, Sokka," Jane mumbled, clamping her hand over the phone and stuffing it into her pajam pocket. "Now piss off. And put some fuckin' _clothes _on, creeper."

"Whuh...-?" Toph moaned, wiping grains from her eyes.

"Oh, hey, Jane," Aang greeted, leaning around Katara to peek into Jane's room. "Nice PJ's," he picked. "Real cute."

Jane's eyes flashed wide with embarrassment at his comment and she retreated back a step into her room.

"Thanks..." she grumbled with some resistance. She turned her attention back to Sokka as the boy continued to stand before her, scratching his scruff of chin hair, lost in thought.

"Yaaaaaay, Twinkles..." Blissfully unaware of the situation, Toph stretched out her arms sleepily toward Aang and the boy embraced her.

"Get the feeling Sokka's lost his damned mind," Jane observed, flustered by his bare presence as she stared intently at Katara, if only to ignore Sokka's delirium.

"He...is looped up on energy drinks and caffeine and sugar and..._God _knows what else," Katara hastily explained. "At least we've got your phone back, right? Now-" She firmly grabbed Sokka by the shoulders, wincing all the while, and pushed him down the hall. "-you boys should get outta here, and _we _need to go back to sleep."

"**True self - the world must _see it!_**"

"I think _enough _of the world has seen your true self for one day, Brother..."

"Whyzee all psycho?" mumbled an inquisitive but drowsy Toph as Katara escorted her brother toward the stairwell. "Whyzee gotta leave so soon?"

"Sokka's not wearing any _clothes, _Toph," Aang explained. "He's drugged on energy drinks and he's delusional."

"Awww..." Toph pouted, sticking out her lips. "_Janey Jane_ got to see..."

"_What?_" Jane squeaked, unsure as to why this was something to be envious of.

"Wish _I _coulda seen," Toph devilishly confessed - Aang playfully slapped her on the back of the head.

"Wish I could _unsee_!" Jane defied.

"Just be happy you only had to deal with it for one evening," Aang pointed out, kissing Toph on the head. "I've gotta walk the crazy person home now. Sorry, guys. Have a good night."

"Yea," Jane acknowledged with a nod. "You, too."

"Nooooo," huffed Toph childishly, pulling on Aang's arms as he detached. "Stay."

"Tater-Face, you need to sleep. OK? Go back to bed. Love you."

"Love you, too," grumbled Toph in defeat, crossing her arms over her chest and stomping stubbornly back into the room. Aang disappeared down the hall. After he was gone, Jane creeped across to Toph's room and sat herself onto Katara's bed, flipping through her phone to assess any damage.

"Maybe you should get _Aang_ souped up on energy drinks some time, huh?" she teased.

"Rrmmglughmmmph." Toph was shuffling herself into bed.

Katara re-entered, her breath heavy.

"God, my brother is such an idiot sometimes...Oh. Hey, Jane."

"Hey. Oh, sorry." Jane hopped up from the bed, fiddling with her phone.

"What did he do?" Katara wondered.

"A call to you, a call to...to Jet..." Jane sighed. "Nothing else, though. Thank God."

"Who would have Jet's phone?"

"I dunno. Whoever took his place, probably. Probably just took his number - it'd be easier to do that than to have _everyone _in the group go through the trouble of getting the new number, ya know?"

"Ah. Whoever took his place?"

"I dunno," Jane huffed, stuffing the phone in her bumblebee-striped pants. "I've been ignoring all that bullshit."

"Yea," Katara acknowledged. "So...They're just gonna leave you alone now?"

"They damn well _better_," grunted Jane. "Anyways...We've got some people to impress tomorrow, right?"

"We do," Katara yawned, flopping herself into bed.

"See ya in the morning." Jane slowly closed the door behind her, plunging the room into darkness.

"Yup..."

* * *

"And...-" Sokka's fingers dug into the skin on his forehead as he gulped down a pair of ibuprofen. "...And _why _did I do all of this?" he moaned in anguish and confusion.

"You said you were doing it for science," a highly amused Aang explained, slurping on his soupy cup of ramen.

"For...Like...To what end?"

"Pff. I dunno. Just for science, I guess."

Sokka slid his finger along his trackpad, reviewing his Twitter account.

"I don't even remember any of this...What the hell was I _thinking_?"

"You were _really _bored."

"Did I do anything embarrassing last night?" Sokka whimpered with fear, burying his face in his arms. Aang burst out into a laugh.

"Ohhhh, yea."

"Craaaaap...What did I _do_?" he groaned, wanting to get it over with.

"I think I'll...just let you find out," Aang picked as he lifted another forkful of wet noodles to his mouth.

"You're horrible."

"Just repaying the favor, Roommate."

"I hate you."

"Maybe you'll think twice from now on about science experiments."

* * *

The final, slow chord rang out through the nearly empty auditorium, and the girls all took a sigh of relief, their work complete. A smattering of applause was their reward for their efforts. From the looks on the faces of their critics, the girls had likely landed a spot in the show. There was but only one person in the small audience that didn't look supportive: an elderly, bald man with a noticeable mole on the side of his head. As the clapping died down, the man glared at their group with stern, narrow eyes, hands folded in his lap. He slowly raised his left hand and offered a thumbs-up, his expression unwavering.

"We'll contact you on Monday to let you know if you made the cut," advised the student who had been overseeing the audition from the side of the stage. "Again," she announced, "that was The Kyoshi Warriors. Let's take five while they clear out."

"That's our cue," Jane grunted, hoisting her bass around her back as she helped disconnect cords.

The staff and faculty filtered out of the auditorium, save for that strange, elderly man, who flipped open his smart phone and began typing into it.

"What's up with the creeper?" Jane grumbled to Katara under her breath, nodding her head to the gentleman.

"Creeper?" Katara whispered back, confused. She took a quick glance while she wound up the microphone cable. "Oh. That's...Jane, how do you not know who that _is_?" she demanded incredulously.

"Pff, how the fuck should I know _him_?" retorted Jane with a raised brow.

"Jane - that's _President Bumi_. The President of the college?"

_Clack.  
_The sound of the man closing his phone cut into their conversation as he rose from his seat, stuffing it into a chest pocket on his gray suit.

"You're in, Ladies," he proclaimed loudly from his seat in the third row in. His voice was raspy and oddly wild given his formal appearance.

"E-excuse me?" Suki called back, snapping tight the buckle on her snare drum case.

"I just sent the word in," Bumi declared, jamming his wrinkled, mole-ridden hands into his pockets. "You're a lock-in for the show next week. Don't let me down."

The girls stood, flabbergasted, unsure of how to reply.

"No need to thank me," President Bumi insisted with a chuckle, tossing his arm up as he exited the row. "You girls have _spunk. _This show could use more of that."

"Whoa," Katara murmured in awe as the man went through a pair of double doors. "That...Did that just happen?"

"At least _someone's _got some taste around here!" Toph cawed, pleased with herself.

"Great job, everybody!" Suki encouraged, carefully putting another drum in its case. "We really nailed it! We should celebrate."

"Let's round the boys up and go out for dinner," Katara suggested.

"Sounds good to _me!_" Toph agreed, rubbing her stomach eagerly, her slung guitar held in the other arm.

"Dinner _always _sounds good to you," Jane mocked, shaking her head. As she waited for Suki to finish prepping her drums, she pulled out her phone to check her messages. Her stomach tightened at what she found.

[From: Jet]  
[wtf batshit crazy crowd u rollin with now smellerbee? get ur ass to treetop 2morrow nite]  
[Sent: 4:12pm]

* * *

**A/N: In his tweets at the end, Sokka starts quoting lines from the infamous Powerthirst ads. Look it up on YouTube, if you dare. His theatrics are from the opening scene of God of War. His bizarre method of speaking while 'on top' of the influence was largely inspired by Mordin from Mass Effect 2. Katara's ringtone for Aang is the themesong of the TV show Friends (which is why Toph quotes one of the shows famous lines).  
**


	24. With a Little Help

**A/N: Yes, another Jane-focused chapter. Have to progress her plot a bit here before focusing on the other characters more. I also wanted to show more of day-to-day college life, I guess. Also. Profanity. That'll happen with Jane. Just want to comment that when I use profanity in excess it is intentional. Fact is, plenty of people in our society are lazy with their vocabulary and rely on such words to get their points across. =P**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 24 - With a Little Help_

* * *

- Sunday, October 24th, 2010 -

"_Fuck_," grunted Jane, hands dug deep in her wide cargo pants pockets. "Johnny, I don't wanna _do _this..." She shot a glare at her boyfriend that blended a plead with irritation, and he frowned back at her. "What?" she snapped, shrugging her shoulder. "That's your _name_."

Longshot huffed through his nose, arms folded across his chest.

"Fine," Jane sighed. "Longshot. Whatever. I don't wanna go _in there_," she insisted, thrusting her arm, out to the building they were standing beside on the corner of the street. "How many fuckin' times have I told you? I'm _done _with that bullshit."

Longshot shook his head disapprovingly at her.

"Gimme a _break _here, Longshot..." Jane closed the gap between them and squirmed her lanky arms around his waist, tugging him toward her. He resisted but not so much as to break the embrace. "I wish you'd just quit this crap," she mumbled, her chin on his shoulder.

"I don't run away from my responsibilities," Longshot darkly explained. His words punctured like a needle through Jane's mind with their implications. Jane wanted to punch something in that moment, but contained the rage. She bottled this feeling with the rest like them into the jar known as 'Smellerbee.'

"Yea," she grunted, releasing him from her grip.

_What's my damned problem, thinking a fuckin' hug is gonna solve anything?_

"Well..." She kicked a pebble down the sidewalk. "This shit ain't _my _responsibility anymore." Her eyes cautiously lifted to Longshot's, and she read it in his expression: it wasn't her responsibility because she'd abandoned it. "Whatever, let's get this over with..."

Longshot grabbed her shoulder as if try to stop her, but she brushed his hand off, blowing past him and storming into the sparsely populated bar - a thick clump of familiar faces were joined at the usual spot in the back corner of the Treetop Pub at the large, round table.

"The fuck's the problem here, Ladies?" Smellerbee growled, tossing her arms out in indignation at the group of young men, a couple of familiar females included.

"Hello to _you, too,_" snapped a blond, pigtailed girl.

"Piss off, Cherry," Smellerbee huffed, not even glancing her way. "Why did you guys call me here? Whaddya want?"

Sneers, the bartender, was suddenly behind the bitter redhead, along with Longshot. She turned around to face them, intimidated by her boyfriend seeming to be on their side.

"Actually, _yoos _called _us, _Smelly," Sneers snipped. "Whudda hell nutjobs yoos runnin' wit' deze days?"

Jane's olive eyes rolled and she cocked her head back.

"Oh, my _God,_" she dismissed incredulously. "My friend was bein' an asswipe and took my phone and made a prank call, all right? Big fuckin' deal."

"Yoos got da noive to ignore da Fighters, and ya go screwin' 'round wit whackjobs whats mockin' us?" He prodded her in the shoulder with a meaty finger, glowering down on her.

"So _what _if he's a whackjob?" she hissed in retaliation, poking back, her bony finger having a much slighter impact. "Who I roll with is _my _business, all right? Leave 'em outta this."

"Jet's _dead, _Smelly," Sneers seethed, pushing her back by the arms. "We had a chain o' command 'round here an' yoos blew it off."

"Makes no God damn difference to me what the hell you people do," decried Smellerbee. Her dreary, smoldering eyes drifted to Longshot. "I don't get what the issue is here!" Longshot's dim expression remained unchanged: disappointed.

"You _know _things, Smellerbee," quipped a cigar-smoking afro-adorned kid from the table. "If you ain't with us, you _against _us. Liability, n' all dat."

"Yojimbo, I ain't gonna screw anyone over," Smellerbee defended. "Why the _fuck _would I do that? I'd be getting _myself_ into more trouble than most of you guys."

"Why _would _yoos do that?" Sneers retorted. "Why would yoos not tell us 'bout Jet's soicumstances? Why would yoos ditch da Fighters?"

"You haven't exactly been acting _yourself_, lately," Cherry pointed out, chewing on her tobacco as she often did. "We can't trust your judgment. You've cracked."

"I've-...?" Smellerbee glared at the blond with exasperation. "I've _cracked? _I decided to make my own fuckin' _life, _Cherry! Why do you people need _me _so damned much?"

"You were second in command," Yojimbo pointed out. "You know a lotta shit we don't, Bee. And our leader needs you, man."

"Wh-?" Smellerbee glared at Sneers and shrugged in frustration. "Why can't you handle things? You've been around longer than I have."

"Uhh, I ain't da leader, Smelly," Sneers muttered, pointing to his side. "Longshot is now."

Smellerbee's jaw dropped as she swung her head to face her lover, aghast that he had taken the position.

"_Johnny?_" she exploded, trying to claw away at his icy resolve with her words. "I told you not to _take _the job! What the _hell, _Johnny?"

Longshot's eyes, firm and cold, dropped down from Smellerbee's rage as he closed his eyelids in contemplation.

"I _don't_ run away from my _responsibilities_," Longshot repeated his line from earlier, as much a statement to Smellerbee as to the group he now commanded.

Jane was flabbergasted. She couldn't remember the last time she had heard him speak aloud in public. He would talk with her, and her alone. Her stomach twisted with confusion, warped by the idea that she had been betrayed somehow. Smellerbee went to approach him, but Sneers clenched her shoulder and held her back, her eyes still glued to Longshot's dire face.

"How is this _your _fucking responsibility_?_" Jane demanded. Her voice had squeaked ever-so-slightly, and her dampened eyes steamed. Her hurt and confusion leaked through the fresh cracks of her 'Smellerbee' jar. Jane wanted to shed a tear, to break down and profess her desperation, her befuddled feeling of being deceived, but Smellerbee wouldn't allow Jane to do that here.

"Don't ya get it, ya retard?" Yojimbo lashed out, slamming the table. "You were Jet's right-hand. With him gone, someone had to take his place. Dat was supposed to be you. With _you _gone, someone had to take _your _place."

"So...Wh-..." Jane popped her shoulders up in disbelief, shaking her head. "I knew you were still working with these guys, Johnny, but...How could you not tell me this?"

"Stop da PMS train at da station, Smelly," Sneers objected. "Da decision was made yestaday while yoos was pissin' 'round witcha make-pretend band." In its own way, this lessened the blow a bit - Jane hadn't seen or talked with Johnny since Friday, and this was Sunday evening. She hadn't exactly allowed him the opportunity to explain this to her when she'd arrived at the pub, either, opting to blast right into things.

_He didn't mean to do this behind my back. No. No-no. He's...just doing what's expected of him, and...I-I just gotta talk him out of it later. Yea._

"Fine," Smellerbee dropped the matter, viciously tearing herself from Sneers' grip, eyes planted on Longshot's solemn face, his eyes still closed. She bluffed to escape the situation. "_Longshot_ can do whatever he wants." She stomped straight toward the pub's exit, shouting back at them as she went. "When _Johnny _wants to talk with his fucking _girlfriend, _**Jane Fitzpatrick, **she'll be waiting for him..."

By the time she had rushed outside, Jane's eyes were melting in anger, boiling water building within their wells. She whirled around the corner and pounded her fist into the brick side of the building, scraping her knuckles. She shook her wrist irritably, marching through the small pub's parking lot out back. She shoved herself into her car and slammed the door. Taking a deep breath in the driver's seat, she could feel herself overcome with dread and anger, but she suppressed it.

_Not gonna fuckin' cry over this. Not worth it._

* * *

- Tuesday, October 26th, 2010 -

"Pick up the _pace, _Fitzpatrick..."

Jane's expression was unwavering in the face of her commanding officer. She felt too dead to even bother mustering a frown. She simply pushed her slender arms to work harder. ROTC training was often therapeutic to wake up to for her, waking her body up and expending any ill-will she may have carried over from teh day prior.

"That's more like it," her mentor confirmed dryly at her increase in speed.

Jane finished her push-ups behind the rest of team and scrambled to attention as quickly as she could, forcing her aching arm to salute.

"At ease," commanded the brusque man, his arms folded behind his back, chest puffed out - as usual. "That'll be all for today. You are dismissed." He spoke with a voice like cracked leather, his eyes determined and unwavering.

As everyone went to file out, Jane was discouraged when he called her name.  
"Fitzpatrick."

She gave pause, squinting her eyes and wrinkling her nose, back to him. She was really not in the mood to even be there that morning, much less be ostracized for her lack of performance as of late. She begrudgingly about-faced and saluted as he approached.

"Sergeant Zhao," she acknowledged.

"That was even more pathetic than yesterday," Zhao observed, circling her like a vulture. "I don't know what the issue is, Fitz, but you'd better fix it. Your performance this semester has been...something to be desired," he sighed. "Absenteeism, tardiness, falling behind..." He continued to circle her statued form. "You've been a sore sight to see given how well you did last year."

Jane swallowed her pride and refrained from spouting out the numerous excuses on the tip of her tongue.

"If you're going to make it here, I expect to see a drastic improvement, and soon."

"Yes, Sir."

"Don't let me down, Fitz."

* * *

"You, uh...You OK, Jane?"

"Wha-?" Jane's attention broke free from her phone. She'd been scavenging through her new messages, desperate for anything from Johnny, but her search bore no desired fruits. "What'd ya say, Aang?"

"I asked if you were all right," Aang repeated, his tone empathetically amused.

"Oh. Pff. Yea, yea."

"The fact that you're smiling that wide is a tell-tale sign you're _lying, _you know."

Jane's plastic smile evaporated as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Yea..."

"What's up?" Aang wondered with concern as they traveled across campus, heading up to Aero.

"It's...Johnny."

"Did you guys not work things out yet?"

"I don't...-" Jane shrugged in frustration, rolling her eyes. "No," she spat. "We didn't. Haven't heard from him since Sunday night. Haven't seen him, either."

"Maybe he feels guilty?"

"Maybe..." Jane rubbed her eyebrow indecisively. "Just wish he'd fuckin' _talk _to me..."

"Yea," Aang lamented, offering a gentle pat on the shoulder. "I think you're making the right decision, Jane. You're better than those guys. You don't need them. Johnny probably just needs some time to think things through."

"You'd better be right, Aang," grumbled Jane, rolling her head around in contemplation. "Or I'm going to need to go and kick his skinny bumpkin ass."

Aang observed the numbness in Jane's expression and dug into his bag as they walked, flipping through his sketchbook.

"Here," he presented, handing it to her. "I wanted to show you this."

Jane cocked her head at the illustration and Aang delighted at a shimmer of gratitude that sparked out.

"Hey," Jane muttered in recognition, "Wasn't this that picture you said you drew the first day of the semester?"

"Sure is," Aang replied. "Like the addition?"

Jane marveled at the image of herself - grouchy-faced and all, sitting at the end of a table in Appa's alongside the other four. Originally, she had not been present in the drawing, given that it had been initially sketched before she had hung out with him. Despite her downer attitude, Aang could tell he'd scraped the bottom of her emotional barrel and dredged up some relief.

"Yea, it's cool," Jane replied, handing the notebook back to him. "Thanks..."

"Things'll work out," Aang assured, slapping her gently on her back.

"Meh." The word slipped out rather pathetically.

"They _will,_" Aang insisted, shoving her on the shoulder. She punched him back. "What's with you women and the _hitting_?" he joked, rubbing the point of impact. "So violent..."

"Violent is as violent does."

"What?"

Jane burst out a laugh. "I dunno."

* * *

- Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 -

"Wow..." Sokka surveyed the blade in amazement, stroking its side with his finger. "This is..._so _bad-ass."

"I know," Jane casually acknowledged, leaning against the boys' dresser.

Sokka thumbed the pewter lioness head that formed the knife's hilt.

"You ever use it?" Sokka suddenly questioned with excited eyes. "Like...ya know..." He shrugged, leaning in, and whispered, "In your _gang?_"

Jane's eyes dulled for a moment as her mind reeled to the night Jet died.

"Y-yea," she sputtered. "Sure."

"You ever _kill _anybody with it?" Sokka questioned with suspicion, glaring at her with a dark humor.

"N-No," Jane protested, her face flashing red at the accusation. "Just 'cuz I was in a gang doesn't make me a fuckin' murderer, Sokka," she defended, arms crossed, tone sharp as the blade in Sokka's hand.

"Whoa, hey," Sokka eased, dropping his act. "I'm just _playin_'. Sorry."

"I'll kill _you _with that knife if you don't stop bein' an ass," Jane joked back with embellished bitterness - her way of trying to accept his apology.

"I'd better watch out, then," Sokka chuckled, continuing to admire the handiwork of the knife's sculpting.

"Right, 'cuz I'm such a threat to your safe little bubble here, right?" Jane theorized with a tint of disdain, her mood swinging back to doubt.

"Nah, you're all right, Freckle-Face."

"Yea, because everyone _else _gets along with me." Now she was just being negative because she felt like it.

Sokka rose from his seat at his desk and slipped Jane's knife back into its metal sheathe, savoring the sound as he set it on his bed.

"What's goin' on with you lately, Ginger?" he wondered with some concern, dropping any hint of comedy.

"Ya wanna know?" Jane growled back, wide eyed. "My ROTC Sergeant is givin' me shit, I'm fallin' behind in my classes, my fucking boyfriend won't _talk _to me, I-"  
"But he _never _talks-"

"_Shut up_, Sokka," Jane groaned, rolling her eyes. "Fuckin' interrupting me..."

"OK, OK," Sokka rapidly receded his interjection, palms up. "I'm sorry." His pale blue eyes pleaded with olive eyes like coal. "Continue." Jane gave pause for a moment, as if waiting to ensure Sokka had nothing else left, before going on.

"I'm trying to stay sharp for the girls in the band and it's stressing me out...And I'm fuckin' PMS-ing on top of it. Happy? Asshole?"

"Ooookay," Sokka admitted defeat. "That...sounds like a lot all at once. Maybe you should calm d-"

"And ya know what? I'm sick of trying to impress you all the damned time, too."

"Huh?"

"Over-protective _prick._"

"What are you _talking _about?"

Jane mashed her boot heel into the bottom drawer of the dresser she was leaning against.

"Ever since I started hanging out with you guys it's always felt like you've got your fuckin' eye on me, like I'm gonna do something horrible at any second."

"Hey, Freckle-Face. Listen." Sokka approached her, his arms now also crossed to match hers. "You and me? We're good now. I get where you're comin' from, and I get that you want a clean slate with us. You got it. You get an attitude like this, though, and it's gonna rub me the wrong way, and you're gonna get it right back." Jane listened, refusing to look him in the eyes as he spoke, for she knew he was right and she was just spazzing. She tapped her finger habitually on her arm. There was silence for a moment. Unnerved, she allowed herself to glance his way. He was standing right before her, arms out stretched.

"Keh-_mon._" He twitched his fingers, motioning her to hug. "Let's bring it in."

Jane glanced at his calm expression and raised a brow as an image from the weekend prior crossed her mind. "You gonna keep your clothes on this time?" she managed, barely containing a laugh.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Not sure I'm comfortable with physical contact with you, Sokka," she facetiously explained. "I mean, the way you were throwing yourself at me - I don't want to complicate things with you and Suki." By now a grin was across her face.

"_Huh?_" Sokka's arms sagged, his demeanor's sympathy giving way to disgruntled confusion.

"Ya know, for a guy who brags so much about what you've got going on?" Jane covered her face and snickered. "You don't got a lot goin' on..."

"Hey, I am slightly above average, _thank you_," Sokka protested. "Like _you_ would know!"

"Oh, _I_ know," Jane teased, shaking her head in disgust. "You paid me a visit Friday night while conducting an 'experiment.'" She used air quotes. "Apparently clothes weren't part of the _equation _you were running."

Sokka's eyes bulged wide and his jaw popped open, arms still sadly limp.

"Did I...-?" He pointed to himself in shock. "When I was juiced up...-?"

"You visited me to deliver my phone. That I'd left in the practice room we were using. You used it to try to call Jet and contact his spirit. Then you brought it to me. Learned more about you than I thought I _ever_ would. More than I ever _wanted_." Jane's hands had crawled down to her stomach, suppressing her laughter.

Sokka slapped his hands against his cheeks in horror.

"You've seen my _parts_?" he squeaked in despair.

"I'm just happy to not have gone blind," Jane insisted, rolling her eyes.

"That's...Don't act like you weren't impressed!" Sokka whined, slamming a finger into her collarbone. Jane slapped it away.

"Get over yourself," Jane picked, entertained.

"_That's _what Aang's been holding over my head all week," Sokka realized, snapping his finger. "You guys are jerks."

"We're not psychotic streakers, though," came a dry-cut retort.

"I was...in a bad place that day," Sokka fumbled around for an excuse.

"What was the problem that was so bad you had to resort to intoxication by Red Bull?"

"I was_...bored_!" Sokka dramatically declared, flailing his arm around.

"_Wow. _You're like a child."

"I am most definitely a _man_, and you have seen the evidence!"

Rolling her eyes and taking a deep, calming breath, Jane opened up her arms, cocking her head to the side.

"C'mon, ya fuckin' _baby_. Hug it out."

Sokka reluctantly let her encircle him with her skinny arms, pouting all the while as he hugged her back.

"Don't get on my bad side or I'll upload the photos to Facebook," Jane threatened.

"_What?_"

"Joking! God, you're so _easy, _no wonder Toph messes with you so much."

"We're bonding!" Sokka triumphantly cried with realization, crushing the redhead tight for a moment - she choked from the pressure, eventually worming her way out of his grip. "We shall prevail," he boldly announced, pumping his fist. "With _my _sarcasm!"

Jane followed suit, dusting her shoulders off. "And _my _axe."

* * *

Cutting into her dreary Calculus homework, Jane's cell rang out, playing the James Bond theme song. Before Toph, from her spot across the table, could utter a complete sentence, Jane desperately slammed her book shut and answered.

"Hey, isn't that J-"  
"Johnny?" Jane popped up from the cushioned bench at Appa's and paced off from the moderately crowded restaurant, seeking a quiet spot in a stairwell as she spoke. "What's going on? What took you so long? Why haven't you been answering my calls?"

Toph sighed, groping for curly fries and sliding them into her mouth as Jane's words faded into the distance. By the time her friend had returned, she found her supply of food to be unfortunately lacking. Jane took her seat quietly, and Toph had difficulty getting a read on her through the silence.

"Sooo...How'd it go?"

"He...He said we're OK," Jane meekly grumbled with a sigh of relief. "He's been busy and...needed to think about things."

"Think about _you, _Janey?"

"Yea, yea. I kinda snapped on him, and...he needed some space." Jane cracked open her book and dropped the pencil that had been wedged between its pages onto her open notebook. "I was a bitch about it, so...maybe I deserved it..."

"Heh. Sometimes being a bitch backfires," noted Toph with some satisfaction, brushing hair from out of her eyelashes as she carefully grabbed her drink. "But that's good, right? You've been on edge lately. Like...more than _usual_."

"Yea..." Jane's finger ran across her greasy brow. "We're gonna meet up later, and...catch up and crap."

"And hardcore make out," Toph clarified.

"Pssh, _yes,_" Jane agreed with some excitement.

"Fuck, _I _need to hardcore make out with _my _boyfriend some time..." Toph lamented, puckering out her lips with a huff. "All this _schoolwork _and practice has put a damper on our sex life."

"Heh."

"What's so funny?"

"Aang just doesn't strike me as the type to _have _a sex life."

"Oh, did I say sex? I meant dry humping." She said it with a smidgen of aggravation.

"Too much info, Taters."

"Aang's all...insecure and junk. Needs to take it slow."

"Yea...I know," Jane mumbled, punching numbers into her graphing calculator. "Some people are like that. Give him time. He's worth it, right?"

"Totally," Toph insisted, realizing her inconsiderate remarks - Jane seemed to be taking them personally. "Th-there's nothin' wrong with takin' it easy, Janey Jane."

"Just don't rush him," Jane advised in an odd moment of solemnity - the kind that came from personal experience.

"I know!" Toph defended, picking wax from her ear. "I'm not."

"Uh-huh." Toph's critic seemed unconvinced as she scribbled math results onto her notebook page.

"I'm _not._"

"OK. You'd better."

Toph found the napkin container at the edge of the table and ripped one out, jamming her dislodged earwax into it.

"Let's make a plan," Toph decided.

"What's that?"

Toph slapped her palm onto the table enthusiastically.

"Let's both promise each other we'll make out with our men before Saturday."

"Uhhh..."

"'Cuz-'Cuz, like, then we'll get all the tension out before the show. You've been kinda stinkin' it up this week at practice and we need to be _sharp _out there. Bumi's countin' on us. Gotta be sharp enough to cut their faces with our _awesome._"

"Why do you keep _saying...-_?" Jane dropped the question at Toph's excited hopping in her seat. "Nevermind. But I _still _don't get what the big deal is..."

"He's the _President _of the school! And he specifically got us into the show! That's...it's fuckin' _awesome_. The man obviously knows his stuff."

"Right..."

"Promise."

"I can't promise that my _boyfriend _is gonna-"

"**Promise.**" Toph extended her arm, palm facing up.

"OK, OK!" Jane took it and shook Toph's hand tightly. "Promise."

The girls, their discussion complete, went back to their comfortable state of cohabitation at the same table they always sat at in Appa's, while fellow students buzzed around, the aromas of burgers and pizza filling the air. A football game was playing on a TV in the corner of the restaurant, and occasionally the group watching it would burst into jubilation or degradation. Jane relished this gentle hum of activity as she worked on her homework, while Toph injected her iPod into her ears and peacefully appreciated her music. She was growing to find Appa's to be a comforting place, even more so than the Treetop Pub. Strangely, the ownership she had once experienced at the Treetop was proving to pale in comparison to the sense of wonder that came with being in a more public location - one never knew who would stop by and say 'hello.' On this particular day, no one really did...When Jane paused to consider that notion, she realized that this was because she and Toph shared something in common: they didn't really _have _many friends - if any - outside of their core group. Jane was having a hard time believing that _any _of the Freedom Fighters were her friends. They had never been friends with Jane, really - they'd been friends with Smellerbee. That left Jane with Johnny - or Longshot, whichever was the case - and...well, The Fearsome Fivesome. Insofar as she knew, Toph was essentially in the same boat.

But no matter what happened, she wanted to believe they'd always have each other's backs.

* * *

- Thursday, October 28th, 2010 -

"It was crap. Crap. Awful. Bleh. _Aulgh._"

"C'mon, Kat, calm the hell down. We sounded just fine."

Jane had to walk faster than she preferred to keep up with Katara's brisk pace - her friend had this habit of wandering around in circles while lost in thought, which, when actually traveling from one place to another, converted into an increase in speed of steps and speaking.

"You heard what Toph said: like a dead cat's nails against a chalkboard of ignorance."

"Uhhh..." Jane glowered against Katara's self-loathing. "Didja just _hear _the words that came outta your mouth? I'm _pretty _sure she was exaggerating."

"Yea...Yea, yea. OK." Katara nodded hurriedly, shuffling her SRU-labeled messenger bag around her shoulder for comfort.

"God, why are you gettin' so worked up, anyway?" Jane wondered, off-put by her friend's spike in nervousness. It was making _her _nervous, making her wonder if Katara knew something she didn't, as was sometimes the case when Katara got this way.

"I'm just worried I'm gonna let you all _down,_" Katara sighed. "I'm the least experienced, but I'm the one who has to be singing, so if I mess up, it'll make the rest of you sound bad..."

"Yo, Kat." Jane punched her tenderly on the arm and she reacted by smiling bashfully. "That's part of being in a _band, _smart one. If _any _of us mess up it'll make the rest look bad. We succeed _and _fail as a team." She shrugged nonchalantly. "It's just like a gang," she pointed out, citing her experience with this type of situation.

"Right, just replace guns and knives with...with guitar picks and microphones," Katara humored the idea with a sheepish shrug.

"This whole...'getting all nervous' thing? It's gettin' old, Kat," Jane scolded. "You're stronger that this. Stop bein' a fuckin' pussy and just get shit done, huh? You'll be fine this weekend. We _all _will be." She pressed her knuckles into Katara's shoulder in what could be approximated to a punch.

"Oh, are _you _gonna start punching people you like, too?" Katara observed with an intrigued expression. "That _would _be the one thing you pick up from Toph, wouldn't it?"

"Heh, being allowed to punch people and get away with it? Why _not_? Girl's a genius for coming up with the idea." The two of them snickered at the idea before Katara took a deep breath and exhaled in a quick puff. "And ya know, Kat," Jane continued, "Toph's not the only one I've been pickin' stuff up from." She ruffled her bony hand through Katara's let-down hair, causing Katara to shrink a bit and smile.

"I _know_," Katara spoke with an embellished tone. "It's like you're learning how to be a _nice person, _or something..."

"Fff, I know, _God_. Sooooo annoying, who wants to be _nice _to their friends and shit?"

"So much _work_."

"Yea. For...foh shizzle."

Katara nearly choked on a laugh and Jane grinned at her success in cheering up her confidante.

"OK, Jane?" Katara shook her head. "_Don't _pick things up from Sokka anymore, OK? It's unbecoming of you."

"True _dat_," she declared with more intent this time, happy to receive a smack on the head from Katara.

"All right, Hun, so what have you learned from _Aang, _then, huh?"

Jane rolled her head around, cracking her neck, then rubbed her chin between her index and thumb as she contemplated.

"Guess I've learned that violence isn't the answer to everything," she carefully noted with an overly solemn tone. She nailed Katara in the hip with a sideswipe. "But sometimes, I still think it's the most _fun _answer."


	25. Appearances

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 25 - Appearances_

* * *

- Saturday, October 30th, 2010 - FestivALL

"It's just pre-show _jitters! _Calm the fuck _down_, everyone!"

"Toph's right, we just need to keep it together here, girls," Katara advised in a rush, flapping her wrists in a panic as she attempted to convince herself to practice what she preached.

"We're on in five! _Less _than five!" Suki snapped, straightening the tie Jane had opted to wear around her neck overtop her black skull-printed shirt - extra tomboy points for the tie, she'd decided, and Aang had volunteered his painted tie from Homecoming for the cause.

"Does my hair look all right?" Katara fretted aloud.

"Hell if _I _know," Toph grunted, looping her electric guitar over her shoulder. She rubbed her thumb over its surface against a worn sticker of The Beatles logo. Even if _she_ couldn't see it, she wanted others to.

"Looks fine, Kat," Jane assured impatiently, nodding some semblance of gratitude to Suki when her tie was back in order.

"You look great, stop worrying," insisted Suki. "Let's knock 'em dead, ladies."

* * *

"**My cabbages! _Again! Arrrgghhhh!_**"

The audience exploded into laughter as the comedy skit closed and the lights dimmed, the student who had shouted collapsed across the floor amidst the recently formed mess on the stage. Curtains swept across the set as the elderly hosts of the show, dressed in nice suits, shambled across the stage.

"That act made me hungry," announced the plump Professor Kurosawa, patting his stomach.

"Hungry for _music_?" wondered President Bumi with dramatic flair.

"Uhhhmm...That doesn't quite make sense, my friend," Iroh noted with a gentle shrug.

"In the show business-" Bumi proclaimed, waving an index finger, "-you've gotta find segueways where they don't exist."

"I think you are just getting lazy," Iroh observed, scratching his white beard.

"Speaking of lazy, what are all of _you _people doing?" Bumi demanded with a devious grin, spreading his arms out to the crowd. "We need to get you off your feet. Time to _rock on!_"

Iroh began easing his partner off the stage as the curtains pulled back.

"You are just embarrassing yourself," he chuckled, begging the question as to whether the in-betweeners were pre-canned or impromptu. Most of the student body could easily seeing it be the latter if Bumi was managing the show - as he was, this year.

The stage now was host to the girl band that had been formed weeks prior for this event.

The boys sitting in the front and center, a few rows from the edge of the stage, could barely contain their excitement - even Johnny's face looked near bursting with anticipation.

"They're finally gonna do it," Sokka squealed in a whisper, bouncing in his seat, biting his bottom lip with exuberance.

The drum set's snare had a gold headdress printed on it - what looked like some type of Japanese artifact. She wore a forest-green shirt that had a wide-cut collar, revealing her shoulders while still covering her arms. Her hair tied into a topknot, Suki twirled her drumsticks in her hand and spoke into the mic before her.

"We are the Kyoshi Warriors." It sounded more like a sly threat than anything else.

Toph, dressed in tight, bleached jeans and a plain black T-shirt, spoke next, guitar clutched confidently in her hands.

"We are Musical-Samurai-Ninja-Girls, and we're here to **cut your faces off with our _AWESOME!_**"

And with that, Toph slammed her hands across her guitar, playing the opening riffs. As she alone played her notes, Katara prepared to start singing, holding her microphone to her face and exerting effort to remember to not keep it too close. She had opted to let her bushy hair hang down for this performance - Suki had advised that it would look best. She wore her mother's choker necklace with pride, adorned in her red t-shirt with the happy penguin and a flowing blue skirt that fell past her knees. Toph didn't approve of this design choice when she'd heard about it, but Katara had advised that Toph wasn't one to make fasion decisions by default, to which Toph had shrugged and uttered "Meh."

In the moments leading up to the song's first verse, Katara found herself cracking a grin as some hoops and hollers came out from those silly boys she adored in the seats in front of her.

_"~What would you think if I sang out of tune?~Would you stand up and walk out on me?~"_

There were a handful of off-hand cheers from different parts of the audience as they recognized the song and seemed delighted to hear it represented. Katara went on, feeling a bit more confident with the reaction - her singing wasn't superb by any means, but it was still pleasant to the ear and certainly got the job done.

_"~Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song~And I'll try not to sing out of key~"  
_She wore a brief look of embarrassment - because she genuinely was trying to not sing out of key - that Aang noticed and grinned. He knew how stressed this whole gig had been making her, so he was glad to see her taking chances and going outside of her comfort zone.

Suki joined in on drums and Jane initiated the bass. As she leaned over her bass, containing any enthusiasm she had to maintain a dull appearance, she tossed her head, cocking thick bangs to the side. She had painted a pair of red stripes on each cheek and appreciated the synergy of Aang's tie against the stylized skull on her shirt.

_"~Oh I get by with a little help from my friends~I get high with a little help from my friends~I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends~"_

The energy in the auditorium rose as they finished the first verse, a number of young males expressing calls of infatuation, and Toph, snarky smile and all, sang with Katara.

**"~Do you need anybody?~"**  
_"~I need somebody to love~"_

_"You're nice, and don't get me wrong, Kat: you're the prettiest girl I've ever danced with. But I don't think that sorta thing would work out between us."  
_  
**"~Could it be anybody?~"**  
_"~I want somebody to love~"_

_"If you need to hide behind...behind secrets, and lies, and-and constantly be trying to make yourself look good, then...I can't be with you."_

_"~What do I do when my love is away?~"  
_**"~Does it worry you to be alone?~"**

_Why did you have to leave me all alone, Grandma? You were the only person I had left on my side..._

_"~How do I feel by the end of the day?~"  
_**"~Are you sad because you're on your own?~"**

_"World's probably different now, huh, Cousin It? Little more lonely?"_

_"~No, I get by with a little help from my friends~"_

"That's my girlfriend!"  
**_  
"~Get high with a little help from my friends~"_**

"And your sister! And _my_ girlfriend!"

The two girls in question were singing the chorus in unison, Toph harmonizing.  
_**"~Gonna to try with a little help from my friends~"**_

"Don't get too excited, there, John-Boy!" Sokka slapped his wide-eyed but silent neighbor on the back.

"..."

**"~Do you need anybody?~"**  
_"~I need somebody to love~"_

"It's just hard getting over someone like that, Suki..."

_"I know, Sokka. I'm not asking you to get over it - I'm asking you to give me a chance."  
_  
**"~Could it be anybody?~"**  
_"~I want somebody to love~"_

_"NOM-NOM-NOM."_

_"Haha! Why are you 'nom-ing' on me?"_

_"'Cuz I'm feeling hopelessly romantic today, Twinkles. Shut up and let me NOM you."_

**"~Would you believe in a love at first sight?~"**  
_"~Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time~"_

Aang intently stared at the mysterious girl with the eyes like snow in her black dress as her fingers glided across the piano keys like a figure skater across an ice rink.

**"~What do you see when you turn out the light?~"**  
_"~I can't tell you, but I know it's mine~"_

Jane's shoulders tingled from his cold hands touching her bare, freckled arms. Pressed over top Johnny's body, she gave him a timid smile between thick locks of orange, satisfied with the security his strong silence offered.

**_"~I get by with a little help from my friends~"_**

_"For on this day, we shall **walk into Mordor.**_"

**_"~I get high with a little help from my friends~"_**

_"And _my _axe!"_

**_"~I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends~"_**

_"For a Fearsome Fivesome, I'm not sure group hugs are very...fearsome."_

_"C'mon, Jane," Katara insisted. "Being part of the group means being part of group hugs..."_

_**"~Do you need anybody?~"**_

All music stopped, and Jane, wiping orange bangs from her eyes, groaned into the microphone with a loud, dramatic flair._**  
**_  
"~I neEeEed someone to loOoOove~"

Jane's face turned bright red while she sang as some hollers and a couple of cat calls rang out - specifically, from Johnny, but she noiced there were others.

_**"~Could it be anybody?~"**_  
The girls ramped up the key in a long series of winding "ohs" to build up to the finale, many of the members of the crowd joining in or cheering.  
"~_Ohhhhh**OhhhhhOhhhh**_~"

Suki slammed with passion against the drums, Jane bobbed along as she ravaged her bass strings, Toph swayed to and fro with her guitar, and Katara bounced along as she shouted in song.

_**~By with a little help from my friends~**_

_"Wow, Sokka. You guys seem like you're becoming a pretty tightly knit little group, huh?"_

_**~By with a little help from my friends~**_

_"What can I say, Suki? I'm just so amazing that people flock to me."_

_**~By with a little help from my friends~**_

_"~I get by with a little help from my friends, with a little help from my-"_  
The last word of the song was slow, spiraling down the built-up energy into a mellow conclusion as Jane and Toph combined with Katara to create the ending chords.  
_**"~Frieeeeends~"**_

Before the last note and its accompanying instrumental accents were finished, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause, leaving the girls relieved and proud of their accomplishment.

* * *

- Sunday, October 31st, 2010 - Halloween

"Y-yea, you guys...It was _great._ Especially you."

"Oh, ha..." Katara felt her face burn and she shrugged, fidgeting her fingers behind her back nervously. "Thanks. Yea. We, uh...We tried. Lotta practice."

The student fan nodded emphatically, wondering, "So are you guys gonna keep doing more performances?"

"We, uh..._Yea,_" Katara threw the idea out there, earnestly unsure. "I-I guess we probably will at some point."

"Oh, that is _so. Cool. _'Cuz you rocked."

"Heh..." Katara's eyes wandered away as her brother approached, hobbling around on Toph's walking stick like a cane to support his leg.

"Like, _really _rocked."

_Mmmkay. This guy's making me a little uneasy. Brother bail-out to the rescue!_

"Thanks, I'm glad you liked it," she expressed with a nod and a wave. "That's my brother," she thumbed over to his direction, "so I've gotta go."

"OK! Catch you later!"

"Yep!" Katara scooted over to the limping young man through the busy crowd of students. She immediately noticed that he had makeup on his face that portrayed wrinkles and facial scruff where neither was actually present, and his hair was disheveled - which was rather unnatural for him. He wore a T-shirt that read, {It's not Lupus!}

"Hey, Bro," she cheerfully greeted, slapping him on the shoulder. He grumpily tossed her off and stared at her wth narrowed eyes.

"What do _you _want?" he demanded with a deep, nasally tone.

"Uhh..." Katara let her arm drop and raised a brow at him.

"Stop standing around and make yourself useful. Go get Wilson for me."

"_What_?" Katara spat out, growing quickly irritable.

"Man owes me a coffee..." Sokka groaned to himself in rumination before cocking a brow at his sister, eyeing her up and down. "And what are _you _supposed to be, anyway?" he grumbled in disgust.

Katara surveyed her own outfit - a tuxedo-printed T-shirt, black slacks, and yellow slippers shaped like webbed feet. She straightened the cap on her head - it was shaped like a penguin's head, with the brim being the bill.

"I'm a _penguin. _And just because you're dressed like House doesn't mean you have to ac-"

"Cameron," Sokka intruded, lifting a palm. "This is all _terribly _fascinating, but..." He tapped the stick against the floor of the cafeteria. "I have business to attend to. When those results come in from the girl with the brain trauma, leave them on my desk. And tell Wilson I'm looking for him. Lazy bastard."

The age-old eyeroll in spite of her older brother's shenanigans emerged as Katara watched him shamble away, off to the refreshment table.

"Christ, what a psycho," came the familiar tone of Jane - she was clearly trying to come across as her usual, unamused self, but Katara could tell it was a facade.

"That's my brother for ya," Katara acknowledged, folding her hands over her chest as she turned to meet her friend.

"See ya finally shook off that bogey," Jane muttered, scratching her head and fiddling with the band in her hair. Two antennae - accented by poofy yellow balls - emerged from her hair. She was dressed in her bumblebee pajamas and bee-shaped slippers, complete with a pair of wings Katara had borrowed from an old fairy costume when she was younger.

"Yea - I'm not used to..getting all this kind of attention," Katara sighed with a timid smirk, conveying that she didn't seem to mind getting a bit of romantic attention from potential bachelors. "The rest of you can all say you're taken, and that's that."

"Heh. Doesn't stop _some _guys..." Jane flashed a toothy grin with a twinkle in her eye as she munched on a handful of candy corn. "Soak in the love, Kat. You're too much of a wuss to actually go anywhere with any of those guys, anyway."

"Wh-what?" Katara squeaked in indignation. "I could-...If I _wanted _to, I could _totally_ go out with a guy."

"Geez, _geez, _simmer down, Sugar-Queen," Jane patronized, shaking her head at her friend. Katara's facetious scowl grew.

"Stealing nicknames, are we, _Freckle-Face?_" she teased back.

"Take 'em where I can get 'em. What can I say? Toph and Sokka are the best at it. Anyways, I'm just joshin' ya, Kat. Take it as a sign that people liked us, huh?"

"I just...I don't get it. I didn't sing all that great. Makes me feel like it's just my looks they care about."

"_Pff. _No shit? Ya _don't_ say..." Jane casually stuffed a mini KitKat bar into her mouth.

"It makes me feel like the only reason any guy is gonna care about me-" Katara flung her arms out. "-is because they think I'm pretty - and that's _it._" She swung them up in aggrevation before letting them drop to her hips.

"Then you need to act like there's more to you than a pretty face," Jane theorized with a gruff shrug, unwrapping another KitKat bar from her pocket.

"I thought I _did _that already," grumbled Katara, staring at Jane's antennae. One was a bit lopsided.

"You lack self-esteem, Katara. People find you more attractive when you're confident in yourself and all that bullshit. The only people who like fakers are...-" Jane shook her head, huffing through her nose as Jet's face attacked her mind. "-...are fakers themselves. Ya know?"

"Mm," Katara hummed thoughtfully, eyes fixated on Jane's head piece as she chowed down on the chocolate wafer she'd just opened. Katara reached out two careful hands and delicately adjusted Jane's wirey accessory. She paused her movement, staring at her friend with an irked but entertained glare.

"Might help if you weren't trying to fix everything all the damn time," the red-head observed, finishing their snack. "Puts people on edge."

"Sorry," sighed Katara, cocking her head to the side compliantly, a slight frown of embarrassment working its way across her face.

"You're acting all tense, Kat. What's the-?"

"**_SNEAK ATTACK!_**" shrieked Toph, flailing her arms around as she dashed from behind. The butter knives in her hands clattered against Katara and Jane's backs harmlessly, and she tripped over their ankles - the two girls managed to catch her fall, each one grabbing an arm. She laughed maniacally as she was set back on her feet while Aang casually strolled up to them, hand in one pocket while another held a half-eaten caramel apple.

"Taters sure knows how to party, doesn't she?" he chuckled. He was wearing jeans borrowed from Sokka - so they were a bit baggy on him - with white sweatbands on his wrists and a pale yellow shirt that read {Plumtree}.

"Sweetie," Katara condescended with humor, brushing Toph's shoulder off. "Sneak attacks don't work when you _announce _them."

Jane jabbed Toph in the side and she flinched in response, swatting her butter knife around. Toph wore a thin, striped scarf of black and white that was wrapped around her neck and dangled behind her. She wore a tight black shirt with exposed shoulders and black sweatpants to match. Her bangs were stiffened to the side, a large streak of dark red dyed into their strands.

"What's with the kitchen utensils?" Jane mumbled. "I thought you're supposed to be a ninja."

"I'm Knives Chau, remember?" Toph growled, stamping her foot. "_Kniiiiives._" She waved her harmless weapons above her head, her brows lifted high to express a blunt '_duuuuuhh._'

"I have no idea who the fuck that is," Jane sighed, scratching her ear. "Whatevs."

"It's a comic book character," Katara explained, running her hand through Toph's thick ponytail to ensure it was still neatly brushed, as she'd left it. Toph had a bad habit of dirtying her hair up at a rapid rate, after all. "Looks like _your _outfit was simple enough," she noted, giving Aang a nod. Aang returned the gesture with a nonchalant smile.

"Scott Pilgrim versus the Halloween Party."

"Kniiiiiiiivesssss," hissed Toph, her demeanor peppered with undirected threat, scraping her butter knives together. "I'm Chinese. Watch the fuck out! I'm-a _keeeel yoouuuu._"

"I'm glad you're _not_ my fake-high-school-girlfriend," Aang laughed at her idiocy.

"Pardon me," chimed an embellished British accent, cutting into their pointless conversation. The group turned to see a young man in a wheel chair. He was wearing a rubber costume piece over his head to make him appear bald, a pair of blatantly circular glasses over his cheerful eyes. "Have any of you seen Doctor House?"

"Teo, do you _always _dress up as Professor Xevior?" Aang dubiously wondered. "This is the second year in a row, man..."

"Please, please, call me Chahrles," Teo replied, lifting his his palm as he channeled Patrick Stewart. "Have you seen the Doctor?"

"If you're talking about my brother," Katara guessed with a roll of the eyes, "Yes. He headed off down there," she pointed her finger off to the refreshment stand. "I think you guys are taking your costumes a little too seriously."

"I assure you, Ma'am," Teo replied, "this is a matter dire importance. Vengeance must be exerted. The X-Men must be assembled, and with great haste. Farewell, Children of the Atom." And with that, Teo spun his chair round and nimbly rolled away.

"What's that crazy idiot yammerin' about?" Toph asked, relieving an itch on her butt with one of her metal utensils.

"Some rivalry thing," Aang replied. "Ignis House pulled some prank on our dorm this morning. Aero's plotting their revenge."

"What did they _do_?" Jane probed.

"Something to do with a microwave and a horrible smell," Aang wrote the matter off. "Didn't look into it 'cuz it's the last thing I wanna be involved in."

"I hear _that_," Jane grumbled. "Frat bullshit."

"Some guys take it really serious," groaned Aang with a lamentable huff, tearing a chunk off of his caramel apple.

"Yea, I remember last year wh_eeeerrrp!_" Jane squelched, her sentence cut short as her neck was tugged by the arm of a man in sunglasses and a tuxedo. He held her hostage, pressing a neon blue watergun to her temple through her thick hair. He held the position for barely a second before letting her go and noogying her head. She snickered at first, but suddenly winced and jerked herself away. "_Fuck, _Johnny," she snapped, clutching her head. "Careful with the head, Ass. Still tender there..." Her injury from the month prior had not completely healed, and having the skin rubbed by a knuckle had not been pleasant. "Fucked up the wings, too, dude..." Jane squirmed and fussed with the wings attached to her back, and Johnny helped straighten them in a rush.

Jane noticed Johnny's apologetic expression as he backed off, and her irritation melted away.

"Shit, man..." She grumbled with a sly smirk. "If that's your idea of bein' a bodyguard, James Bond, you've got a _lot _of work to do..."

Johnny straightened his neck tie and kissed the girl on her freckled cheek.

"I hear _kissing_," Toph lathered her jealousy into the air. "Where's my _Scott_?"

"That would be you, Aang," Katara coyly reminded, easing Toph to where he stood, still munching on his snack.

"Mmmph," Aang acknowledged. He puckered his lips and accepted a kiss from his girlfriend, his cheek puffed full of apple.

"Mmm, caramel," Toph giggled after their embrace. "Bleh." She smacked her lips and wiped her face with her sleeve. "You're a horrible, lazy boyfriend Scott."

"Just playing the part," teased Aang after he swallowed.

"Play it any louder, Chase, and you might as well be dressed up like Crocodile Dundee and raving about enjoying some _Bahh-bee_."

"Hi, Sokka," Katara sighed as Sokka approached with his intentional limp, Suki at his side. She was dressed up like a ninja, face mask and all.

"What the fuck is he-?"

"He's just being him, Jane. I've learned to not question it."

"Hmph." Sokka cocked a brow at Katara. "Looks like the patient is doing _just fine, _I see. No need to thank me."

"I thought Katara was Cameron?" Suki muttered.

"I know it can be terribly difficult, Cuddy, but c'mon. Keep up with the conversation. Also. How much longer 'til we get to start making out?"

Suki slapped him on the back of the head.

"Taking your costume a little too seriously," Jane observed, shaking her head. She exchanged jovial glares with Sokka.

"Thirteen," he quipped, "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on this one?" He jabbed his makeshift cane at Katara before taking out an orange medicine bottle and popping a pill into his mouth like it was candy.

"Is that supposed to be Vicodin?" Suki groaned. "Wait...Sokka, what _is _that?"

"My _happy _pills. Seriously, Cuddy, we're romantically _involved, _you already know these things..."

"Dear, you're getting your seasons mixed up," Suki politely informed her boyfriend, patting him on the head like a child. "Maybe you should just...

"Sokka, where did you get that bottle from?" Katara wondered, swiftly swiping it from his hands. She surveyed it and nodded, biting her lip in irritation. "Did I give you permission to use this?" She glared at her brother, who shrugged.

"I wasn't aware that you, too, shared the addiction...Aren't they magically delicious? Mm. Vicodin."

Fuming, Katara opened the container and dropped a couple of pills into her hand.

"These are Tic-Tacs," she sighed. "Sokka, what did you do with what was in this before?"

Her brother, stubborn as she would expect, didn't break his acting but bobbed his head around complacently.

"They _might _have found their way into a Ziploc bag under your pillow. The Pill Fairy will stop by tonight and leave you some quarters."

"Why would you put-?" Katara, her teeth clenched, stopped, fingers gripping the bottle tightly. She handed it back to him and twitched her head away. "Nevermind. Just...put everything back when you're done."

"Is Vicodin like a candy?" Toph wondered.

"It's a medicine," Katara explained, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Not candy."

"Hmph. I'm in the mood for candy insanity. We should go trick-or-treating," Toph threw the idea out, spreading her arms wide and nearly whacking Aang in the face - he bent back in shock at her sudden movement.

"I-I don't think that's such a good idea..." Katara spat out, rubbing her palms together methodically.

"Yea, Toph, that shit's for babies," Jane grunted, arms crossed.

"Thirteen's right," Sokka mused, rubbing his chin. "It'll only make the condition worse. Her blood cells will swell like balloons."

"Yea," Aang agreed, bypassing Sokka's out-of-place banter. "I'm not really up for that myself." He exchanged a concerned glance with Katara, the two communicating a personal understanding with their eyes alone. "Sorry, Toph..."

"Ohhhh, come _awwwwn,_" Toph insisted, prodding Aang in the stomach with her 'weapon.' "Don't be such a wimp, guys - let's do something awesome and _crazy._"

"Toph, I'm just...-" Katara's hands were beginning to tremble and her eyes were narrowing as her tone wavered. "I'm _really _not in the mood-"

"Wah, wah. Baby. C'mon, it's _Halloween,_" Toph plowed onward through the conversation. "All Hallow's Eve. Gotta go out and paint the town _red!_ Show everyone your true colors and be craz-"

"Toph," Aang quietly intervened, pressing his hand against her shoulder. By this point, Katara had stormed off, her expression bitter and wounded as she'd whirled around, opting to not confront the matter.

"Wh-...?" Toph sputtered in annoyed confusion, shrugging.

"Kat?" Jane called out. "What's-?" She began to pursue the distraught girl, but Sokka whipped out Toph's walking stick, cutting her off at the pass as she nearly knocked herself in the stomach against it. "The hell?" Jane grunted in offense, glaring at Sokka. She shook her head and directed her words at the blind girl. "Toph, why did you _do _that?"

"Forget it, Thirteen," Sokka dryly advised. "She's gone. Can't save her that this point. Anyone have the time of death?"

"Do they not _know _about...-?" Suki began, whispering to Sokka.

"Katara has some trouble with Halloween," Aang explained with a sympathetic sigh.

"Why?" Toph wondered, her anger suddenly dissolving into worry. "Why does it seem like this is some secret I'm not in on?"

"Wait...Toph, you don't _know_?" Jane burst out in shock. "How do you not know?"

* * *

He doubled back a few steps down the hall and perked his ears. He hadn't been hearing things - someone was definitely sobbing nearby. He journeyed down the hall of the auditorium's basement to find the source of the crying. It was coming from the Chapel Room. He gave pause, deciding how to act next. He set down his folders, leaning them up against the wall just outside the chapel door. He'd just concluded a meeting with some members of various student organizations. But he had a moment to spare.

As he peeked his head into the room, he saw the girl crumpled in the center of the aisle - not at the front, but in the middle, between both rows of seats. She was crouched over, head to the floor against her wrists - he couldn't tell what she was wearing, but her feet were...orange.

"M-Ma'am? Are...are you all right?" Zuko asked calmly, remaining in the doorway.

The startled girl jumped, rising to her knees. She whirled her head around, hair strands stuck to her wet face. She was dressed what equated to a rough penguin costume. Zuko recognized her as a member of that group her girlfriend's art buddy was in.

"Y-yea, I'm...I'm fine," the girl stammered, trying to gain her bearings.

"I couldn't...-" Zuko propped a thumb out toward the hall. "We just finished a meeting, couldn't help but notice you. I could hear you down the hall..."

"I'm OK," the girl insisted, nodding hastily and fumbling to stand up on her feet. "Don't-...It-it's no big deal, I'm just...stressed."

Zuko extended his hand and she accepted it, their handshake somewhat loose.

"Kurosawa."

"Zuko. I know," she jumped the gun. "You're the President of the student body. You're Mai's boyfriend."

"Right," Zuko nodded. "Sorry, I...never quite caught your name."

"Katara."

"Ah. Nice to meet you, Katara. I mean..._actually _meet you."

Katara smirked at his awkwardness and dabbed at her face.

"Uhh...Nice...penguin outfit."

"Th-thanks," Katara whimpered with a embarrassed laugh mixed with remnants of her sobbing, topped off with a sheepish grin.

"You're sure you're all right?" Zuko checked.

"I'm just out of it," Katara sighed, turning back to the giant cross on the wall at the front of the chapel room. She stared at it thoughtfully. "Halloween's always hard for me..."

"Halloween? That's...kind of an odd holiday to get upset over," mumbled Zuko, curious. "Have a bad Trick-or-Treating experience?" he probed in jest.

"_Yes_, I did," Katara bitterly replied with a tinge of offense. "My mother was killed on Halloween when I was kid..."

"_Oh_," Zuko murmured, puzzled but trying to cover it with sympathy and regret. "I'm...sorry, I didn't think...-"

"It's OK. I don't exactly tell people the specifics. I was a kid when it happened and...-" She shrugged, shaking her head. "People can be...a little crazy on Halloween. They _let_ themselves go crazy. I-I don't get it, it...makes me angry to think about. She shouldn't have died the way she did. That...just shouldn't _happen. _So...It makes this holiday a little difficult to deal with."

"I'm not sure I understand what happened, but...I'm sorry to hear about your loss," Zuko offered, keeping his distance and letting her meander to the cross. "For what it's worth...I lost my own mother not too long ago. I know how hard it can be. It can tear a family apart. It can tear a _person _apart."

Katara nodded in agreement as a shaky sigh slipped out.

"I'm lucky my family is as strong as they are," she commended. "I don't know where I'd be without them."

Zuko smiled, happy to hear that at least she did not share his own fate.

"You'd probably be standing on your own, trying to figure things out by yourself," he guessed.

Katara exchanged glances with him, reading the experience in his eyes.

"Maybe I could stand to do more of that," she pondered aloud with some disdain, brushing her damp hair behind her ears and straightening her penguin cap.

"Well." Zuko smacked his palm against the doorway, his jaw sliding to the side in doubt. "I'll...leave you alone then. Sorry to intrude."

"Not at all," Katara assured, aware of how she was coming across, trying to fix things. "Thanks for checking on me. It was nice of you."

"Just trying to be of service to the student body," Zuko insisted, scooping up his folders. He gave her a nod and headed off. "Have a good night."

"Night."

* * *

**A/N: Of course, the song the band plays is by The Beatles. Sokka is dressed as Dr. House from the TV show, Aang and Toph are characters from the Scott Pilgrim franchise. Teo's costume is a reference to the X-Men, naturally. In case that wasn't obvious. And just because there won't be any Katara x Zuko shipping doesn't mean I'm going to turn a blind eye to some of what makes their interactions potentially interesting. And thanks to my wife for giving me a few ideas for what Sokka should be doing - or rather, messing up and failing at. xD  
**


	26. Solid

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 26 - Solid_

* * *

- Friday, November 5th, 2010 -

"I can haz fries?"

"No fries for you."

"I can haz Skittles?"

"I can haz _Dollar_?"

"**KAY-KAY**." A crisp bill already in hand, Toph slapped the single note onto the desk. Aang took the dollar, stuffed it into the safebox, and retrieved a package of candy from the self behind him. The lobby was calm and quiet, while echoes of basketballs rang out from the nearby gym floor.

"There ya go, Miss." Aang barely contained a chuckle as he placed the red bag onto the desk and assumed his position on the stool once again. He admired Toph as she eagerly tore open the bag's corner, dumped a handful of rainbow pieces into her hand, and jammed them into her mouth. She greeted Aang more properly at this point - as proper as one could while chewing and being Toph.

"Sho whuff's sheggin, Tinklsh?"

"Sooooo slooooowww," moaned Aang in desperation, dropping his head into his arms on the desk. "I'm actually doing _homework _during my shift."

"Poor Twinkle-Toes," Toph cooed. She immediately dropped her sympathy like a stone. "Fff. Working _while _you're working? Loser."

"What do _you _think I should be doing?"

"You _could _be listening to awesome music instead."

"Oh, really?" Aang sarcastically entertained her.

"Look up Pomplamoose. Or-or-" She snapped her fingers. "-or Matt and Kim. Yea, yea. You'd like any of those. They're your style."

"Have I heard them before?" Aang wondered, pulling up his internet browser on his laptop, which proudly displayed a trio of wavy-lined circles - the logo of the House of Aero that he'd painted onto his machine.

"Prolly," Toph muttered. "I bet I've shown you them before."

As a video played of "Mrs. Robinson," arranged digitally with the same voice singing all parts of the harmony, Toph continued to eat her Skittles contently, humming along to the song.

["~And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson~Jesus loves you more than you will know~Whoa, whoa, whoa...~"]

"Huh," Aang blurted in acknowledgment. "This is pretty good. I think I _have _heard these guys before."

"You think the girl's cute, don't you?" Toph sneakily accused.

["~God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson~Heaven holds a place for those who pray~Hey, hey, hey...~"]

"Wh-what?" Aang mumbled. "Y-yea, she is..."

"_Ha, _I knew you would..."

["~Hey, hey, hey...~"]

"How...? How would you _know _that?" Aang doubted, pausing the video.

"Just could tell by her voice. You think she's cute."

Toph dropped the humming and set the half empty candy bag on the counter.

"Now, then. Stop gawking at the singing lady. I can haz kisses?" Toph chirped with a saccharine smile. She puckered her lips out at her boyfriend, leaning over the counter. There was a pause as Aang lowered his eyelid in amused reluctance before Aang conceded to her request and gave her a light peck on the mouth. Before he could pull away, however, she reached out and grabbed the back of his head, pushing his face into hers. She folded her lips around his and slowly closed them, pulling secrets from his throat. He tenderly thumbed her cheek as he withdrew.

"Sorry, Toph," Aang lamented. "I'm at work," he muttered with embarrassment. "I don't want anyone...ya know. Walking in on us..._doing_...stuff..."

Toph huffed, tossing her bangs across her face, and plopped her head reluctantly into her arms on the desk.

"BlaAaAagh," she groaned, face buried in her hands. She lifted her head up and sobbed her story in Aang's direction with pouting gestures. "It's been, like, a week since we've done any dirty, Twinkles. C'mon, toss a dog a bone, here." She caught herself, realizing the implications of what she'd said, and that trademark set of devil's teeth spread across her face. "Get it? 'Cuz, like, I'm the dog, and the _bone _stands for your pe-"

"_I got it,_" Aang rapidly spat out with a sheepish laugh. "Maybe I should start calling you _Gutter-Face _'cuz you seem to have your mind there more than potatoes lately." Her nose was squished in by his finger as he finished his statement.

"You're such a little Goody-Goody," Toph teased, blowing a short raspberry after she'd brushed his finger away. She reared her head back, untied her ponytail and let her hair hang, and uttered with a British accent - and a spoonful of theatrics: "I'm such a durteh gurl, talk _clean _to me, you _Saint_!" She thrashed her head around as she spouted gibberish, tossing her hair all around into a black mess across her head.

"Uhhhhh...-?" Aang clearly didn't know what to say to this, but eventually he snickered and as Toph relaxed her pose, she felt his soft hands push strands from her face and reciprocate her more intimate kiss. "You're such a crazy dork," Aang mused. "And I love you. But don't you have a class to go to?"

"Whuzzat?" cried Toph in bewilderment, pulling on her hair and straightening it back into a tail.

"Class? You have a class at 4, don't you?"

"Yeeeaaaa," Toph whimpered, wrapping her tie around her hair. "What time is it...?" she fearfully asked.

"It's three forty-eight."

"_Fuuuuuuck."_

"I know."

"'Kay. I'll see you later tonight for dinner. Call me."

"Yup."

"Also," she rapidly pushed out as she snatched her Skittles bag, "I love you, too, Baaayyy-_Twinkles._" Having almost let slip another 'Babe' but recovered, she gracefully shoved herself out the door, clacking her walking stick along as she did so, an headed off to her net destination.

* * *

- Saturday, November 6th, 2010 -

Toph could hear the door slowly creak open as she presumed her roommate entered, but she continued playing her piano without dropping a note. A couple of minutes later, when her song had completed, she could hear the clacking of Katara's keyboard across the room.

"Hey, Toph," Katara greeted, still typing away.

"Hey," grunted Toph with a slight sting. Katara paused, and her chair creaked.

"Hun...What's _wrong_?" Katara asked once again with a bite of irritation. She'd been asking practically every day all week.

"_Nothing, _God," Toph groaned, crossing her arms. "Why do you keep asking me that?"

"Because you...you keep acting snippy around me. All week, now," Katara sighed with exasperation. "Is...Is this about the band? I told you to talk with Suki about that. Or is this Halloween? I told you that it's _fine, _I'm over it. I'm not upset with you, Toph, you didn't know."

"Fuckin' peachy, then," Toph mockingly conceded. "The next time something dramatic comes up that you didn't tell me about I can make an ass of myself all _over _again, right?" She bobbed her head down and heaved out a grouchy huff.

"I'm-...? Wait, _excuse_ me?" Katara snapped. _Fwack. _Her hand smacked the head of her chair. "You're upset with _me_?"

"You fuckin' storm out on me in front of everyone over something I didn't _know _'cuz you didn't _tell _me."

"That-!" Katara sucked in a deep breath. "It's hard for me to deal with that stuff in public, you _know _that, so-"

"Then why didn't you tell me it happened on _Halloween? _What the hell, Katara? Kinda important to miss." Toph's scowl had grown and she drummed her fingers on her arm as she spoke. "Anything _else _I need to know about? Did your fuckin' puppy die on Easter or something? What other secrets do you have I don't know about, huh? You'll go tell _Jane_ but you won't tell your own roomma-"

"You never _asked, _Toph!" Katara growled, her voice trembling. "You never..._asked me _about it!" Words would pop out of Katara's mouth after brief pauses, as if she was trying to contain their explosive impact.

Toph's insides churned at the accusation as her memories scanned to think of when she had asked. Of _course _she had asked. Right?

"Aang, Jane...even _Suki, _and...and _Jet._ They all asked how it happened. _You _never did, Toph. I didn't know it was my...my _obligation _to just..._randomly_ dive into detailed tragedies from my past just so _you_ don't make an ass of yourself."

_And here I am, again - making an ass out of myself right now. She's right...I never _did _ask her how it happened, did I?_

"And I'm _sorry _that watching my mom..._die _in an alley - right before my eyes - isn't something I like going out and just..._telling _people, OK?" She was crying at this point, Toph could hear it, as her breath between words skipped in sniffles. The ferocity in Toph's expression had worn away to reveal the layer of sympathy and regret she'd been hiding behind irritation and jealousy.

_She was there when it happened...No wonder it's harder for her than her brother. I had no idea._

"Oh..." was all she could muster, running her hand through her bangs and brushing them out of her face. "Do you...-? Did you want to talk about it?"

"_Nooo, _I don't want to _talk_ about it right _now_!" Katara burst out with indignation. "Maybe...later! Or something..."

"OK, OK," Toph sputtered. "Geez, don't...freak out on me..."

"_You're _the one who was freaking out," huffed Katara.

"All right, OK!" Toph sighed, her palm pressing her forehead. "I'm sorry! There, I said it..." Toph received no response, which she knew was because of the way she had carelessly tossed the words out. "Really," she insisted with more seriousness. She got up out of her foldable chair beside her keyboard and made her way to Katara's desk, bumping her bare foot into a shoe on the way there. With hands extended, she paused when she reached her friend's chair, and while the sniffling had stopped, Katara's breath was still heavy. She wormed her hand from the wooden chair to her friend's back and scratched at it gently.

"It's easy for me to forget how much stuff can get to you, Sugar-Queen," Toph explained solemnly. "I don't know what it's like for all you guys...You, your brother, Aang, Janey...You all, like...lost parents and stuff. I don't...really know what it's like. And none of you are wimps about it, so it's...easy to forget how hard it must be. I guess." Her lips curved into a weak smile as her hand ran down Katara's arm and a slender set of fingers grabbed it. "I really _am_ _sorry_ I was a bitch."

"I'm sorry I went psycho," Katara murmured, steam seeping out of her.

"I'll try to...-" Toph stretched her arm out - it was sore from her guitar playing. "-...not be a douche about stuff like that. But you've gotta _tell _me about stuff from now on."

"OK. I will." They clenched fingers together in a moment of assurance to one another before letting go. "You just need to _ask_."

"OK. See? _See? _I _do _have a heart, Sugar-Queen. I can have touching moments and crap like that."

"Hee. Yes. Yes, you can, Hun. Good job. Way to go."

"Can I get a Gold Star?"

"You can have a hug."

"Mehhhh...OK. That works, too."

* * *

- Sunday, November 7th, 2010 -

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!"

"Pssh." Sokka chuckled at Toph's expense. "OK, there, _John Locke_."

"Shut up!" Toph whimpered, a laugh escaping through her discouragement. "I've...got this," she grunted, hefting her tray and wobbling forward, inch-by-inch.

"Are ya sure, there, Gimpy?" Sokka teased. "I could get your tray for ya."

"You can't carry my tray," Toph courteously advised. "I can carry it myself."

"No one's allowed to carry your tray but _Twinkoh-Toez, _eh?"

"Damn straight. I'm a big girl, I can-_eeeeep!_" Toph squeaked in surprise as she was literally swept off her feet by Sokka's arms. He wedged one hand under her knees and the other supported her back. She gripped her tray with steady hands, fearful to spill her food.

"I can't carry your potatoes for you, Mr. Frodo, but I _can _carry _you!_" Sokka boldly cried, heaving his way through the cafeteria and winding around students, his arms straining but maintaining the weight of his friend. Toph giggled the whole way, confused but amused.

At last, Sokka huffed out a breath of relief as he set her down in front of the closest available booth.

"OK!" he panted. "Here's the volcano, then."

"Thanks for the lift, Gamgee," Toph chuckled, setting her tray down on the table and punching the gasping boy in the arm.

"We're gonna need to get those big-ass eagles to pick us up," Sokka advised as he fell into his seat with a _plomph._ "You weigh more than you look, Dead-Eyes."

"_Hey!_"

"Fatty."

"Scrawny...Pants!" Toph growled, winding back her fist. "Move your stupid Meat-Head forward so I can _tenderize_ it."

"Just sayin'."

"Just _throwing_." Toph picked up a single green bean from her plate and whipped forward. _Thap._

"Blind people shouldn't start food fights, ya know." _Thap. _Her own bean smacked her in the forehead.

"Pussies shouldn't start _any _fights."

"I didn't start a fight!" came the defense.

"You called a girl _fat_!" came the rebuttal.

"Meh. Good point."

"Ya know, your existence makes me respect your sister a lot."

"Does it, now?"

Toph fed some beans to her mouth bare-handed.

"She has to put up with you as an idiot brother. That demands respect."

"What can I say? I bring out the best in people."

"By acting like an ass."

"Sometimes the Shepperd needs to bark like all hell to get the sheep in their pens."

"_What?_"

"Doctor Sokktagonapus...**BLARGH!**" _Whump! Clattatat. _He'd slammed his fist on the table and stirred plates and utensils.

"And people say _I'm _fuckin' crazy," Toph sighed, acting as lady-like as she could as she picked her green beans with her fingers.

"They also say you are handicapped. And disabled. And a _gimp._"

"You are the _scum _of the earth. You know that?"

"Thanks," Sokka replied with smug satisfaction.

"If your life had a face, Snoozles, I would _punch it."_

"Not the face," Sokka wailed.

"I would punch it so hard in the balls."

"Guess I'm lucky my life doesn't have a face. _Or_ balls."

_Thiff-bumph!_ Toph thrust her foot forward, happily ramming her heel into something bony.

"Ow! _Damn_, woman!"

"Maybe _you_ don't have any balls-"  
"Meh-meh," Sokka taunted back mockingly.  
"-but you _do_ have wussy shins. Queer."

"I have a _girlfriend._"

"So? Could just be a cover."

"You're not very nice yourself, ya know."

"Heh. I know. My boyfriend's a fuckin' Saint, though. I'm pardoned."

"Ya know, I may not be terribly religious, but I don't think it works li-"

"_Saint."_

"Uhh...Buuuut he-"  
"**Saint.**"

"I _really _don't th-"  
"_**Sssssaaaaint.**_**"**

"_So he is, _eh?"

"Where do you think he is right _now_, huh?"

"I dunno, I guess he-"  
"**Wrong. **He's at church. C'mon, you're his _roommate, _for Chrissake."

"He's at church?"  
"**Wrong again. **Katara took him to the church she goes to downtown. _God, _you're bad at this."

"Just _keep on _using those names in vain, Gimpy, I'm sure-"  
"_**Incorrect**. Sweet Mother Mary and Joseph._"  
There was a pause.

"Are ya-?"  
"_Great Odin's Raven!_"  
"Ya d-?"  
"**BLESSED ZOMBIE JESUS.**"  
"OK, ya d-?"  
"I'm done."  
"Ya done?"  
"Done."

"All right, then." _Shhlllrrrpp. _Sokka loudly gulped from his cup. "Jesus wasn't a zombie, by the way."

"Came back from the dead, didn't he?"

"So the story goes. But being a zombie means you were infected by a virus, or brought back by demonic voo-doo magic. The word 'zombie' _came _from voo-doo...crap...anyway."

"You don't believe in that junk, though, do ya?"

"What? Voo-doo?"

"Naw, the hippie-Jesus shit." Toph was finishing up her beans.

"I dunno. I guess not."

"Your sister does." Toph said it in a way that conveyed her lack of certainty.

"Yea...She does." Sokka, on the other hand, seemed to admire it in a way.

"She's not like those fuckin' crazies who try shoving Bible pages down your damned throat, though."

"Nope. She's _not._" He seemed proud of this fact. "Wait - OK - _why _did Aang go to church with Katara?" Sokka was clearly hung up on this.

"Got me."

"Aang doesn't _go _to church."

"That's what _I _said."

"Sometimes that boy doesn't make any sense."

"Pff. He's _your _room-..." Toph froze mid-sentence, her hand groping across her tray. Where was her bowl of potatoes?

"I said I couldn't carry your potatoes for you, Mr. Frodo - but I didn't say I couldn't _eat _them."

"You bitch."

"Now you regret not just letting me take your tray, don't you?"

"Psh, no."

"Remember how stubborn you used to be?"

"Psh, _yea. _Then I wizened up and realized life is better when I make other people do my dirty work for me."

"Then why can't _I _do things for you?"

"'Cuz you're a bitch. And you steal my potatoes. That's why."

* * *

- February, 2010 -

"It's ruined! It...It's _destroyed._" The devastation in Aang's voice was like a nail puncturing Toph's heart.

"I-I'm sorry!" she quickly apologized. "It was an accident!"

"It's going to take me _all weekend _to fix this!" He didn't sound pacified in the slightest.

"I know. _I know_!" she whimpered, rubbing her face with her hands.

"Urgh, and this is...totally shot." She could hear him lifting the wet portfolio from the puddle on the table. "It's going to have to be replaced..."

"I'm sorry, Aang, I...w-wasn't thinking!" Desperate times called for desperate measures. She couldn't afford to have Aang angry with her - she was willing to break out the big guns - the guns of humility.

"Ugh. No, you weren't!" He snapped. "You always _do this! _You always think you can take care of everything all by yourself. But you can't!" His irritation sent a crack through her mind, her stomach empty.

This was the first real friend she had made since leaving home. She couldn't bear the thought of him being upset with her.

_I'm such a fuckin' piece of work. My own damned stubbornness. And now his project's ruined._

"Whoa, hey," came Katara's voice as she approach. "What _happened_?" she wondered with concern.

"Toph ruined my project! And it's due this Monday!"

"Wh-? How did she-...?"

"She was trying to carry her food by herself and tripped on _your _backpack, which you left outside of the booth, and she spilled her soda all over everything!"

Aang had been working on a project where he captured scenes from Appa's. The way he explained it, he was drawing perspectives of parts of the restaurant that would otherwise seem boring but by approaching it from a different angle he thought he could breath some unique life into it.

"It was an accident!" Toph defended.

"It wouldn't have happened if you'd let me go get your food _for _you, but you've always gotta try doing things on your own."

"I _can _do things on my own!" Toph declared, her brows furrowed.

"If you really _could, _you wouldn't have spilled your soda all over my work!" _Wumple-crump-cripple. _Aang crumpled up the soggy piece of paper he'd been working on and, with an exhausted huff, dumped his destroyed work in a nearby trash can.

"Aang," Katara attempted to calm him, "I know you're really upset about your drawings, but you should calm down..."

"Calm down?" he snipped. Toph sat herself down where he had just been, keeping her back to him to avoid the confrontation in his voice. "Do you know how much time I'd spent on that? How much time I spend on all of my work? None of you guys care."

"Of course we care, Aang," Katara insisted. "I know it means a lot to you."

"Well, Toph sure doesn't - or else she would've been more careful! Like it matters to you, anyway - you can't even _see _it."

Toph face was boiling with embarrassment and pain. She had never experienced Aang so angry before, and she knew the anger was basically being tossed at her, specifically.

"I'm going for a walk," Aang concluded. "I'll see you guys later." _Ruffmm. _He scooped up his coat and stalked off. Toph couldn't keep back the tiny trickle of water that dripped down her face.

"Aw, Toph, Sweetie..." Katara wiped them away. "He didn't mean it. He's just upset."

"I've never heard him get so..._mad _before," Toph grumbled, easing Katara's gentle hands away and rubbing her eyes with her wrist. "I feel like an idiot."

"Well...Hun. He's...kind of right. You really to let us help you out more. You keep getting yourself hurt, and now you've hurt Aang."

"I don't..._want _to hurt anyone." _Especially Aang. _"I just...want to take care of myself. Pull my own weight."

"Sometimes the best way to take care of yourself is to let your friends help you, Toph."

"Mehhhh," Toph moaned, blowing at her bangs. "I'm used to having servants watching over me all the fuckin' time. I'm _done _with that shit."

"_Toph, _we're not your _servants, _we're your friends. We do it because we _want _to, not because it's our job."

"Yea," sighed Toph, resting her head on her wrist, her elbow propped against the table.

"Anyway, don't get worried about Aang. He really cares about you, he's just, well...He's kind of emotional right now."

"Big baby," Toph mumbled, a smile crawling across her face.

"_You _were the one crying just now," Katara pointed out slyly.

"And you'd _better_ not tell him I was," threatened Toph, her face heating up.

* * *

- Monday, November 8th, 2010 -

"Nah, Twinkle-Toes and Meat-Head both have to work the dish room tonight and Katara's doing that 'proof-reading' thing."

"Money makes the world go round, huh?" Jane observed coldly.

"I _guess._" Toph huffed.

"Well, it's not like that's a problem for _you, _though, right?" observed Jane from beside Toph. They were both laying together on Toph's bed, listening to an assortment of rock music with nothing much to do until dinner. Toph's head was pressed just under Jane's collarbone comfortably. Toph appreciated the physical proximity from her often gruff friend who generally kept her distance.

"Huh?"

"Money. Your folks are loaded, right?"

"Oh...Yea."

"So you can pretty much buy whatever the hell you want."

"Usually," Toph shrugged, scratching her nose.

"I can't really buy much of anything anymore...I'm not with the Fighters now and...I didn't get any work at the start of the semester. Johnny gets me stuff sometimes, though."

"So do we," Toph pointed out. "Especially Katara."

"Y-yea. Obviously," Jane mumbled. "It's, uhh...I appreciate it."

"No prob, Janey Jane. We'll bring the cash, you bring the _action, _Freckle-Face."

"Heh."

"So, how are things goin' with John-Boy?"

Jane took a deep breath, and Toph read from the sound some doubt and despair.

"He won't...leave the Freedom Fighters," she muttered in defeat. "I can't fucking get _through _to him. He's all up on some high horse about how it's his _duty _and some bullshit, that I'm just running away."

"Hmm..." Toph pondered how to reply, picking a dry booger from the edge of her nose. As she carelessly flicked it off the edge of the bed, she asked, "_Are _you running away?"

"Huh?"

"Like...OK." Toph cleared her head to convey her point. "Last year, I used to hide away in my practice room, right? I didn't really have any friends. There were...I dunno...a couple people in the music department that seemed to care about me for some stupid reason - I was a _total _bitch back then - but things-"  
"Heh, _back then?_"  
"Shut up. But things never...worked out. Ya know? I never took the time to actually get to know any of them, and as soon as there was some kinda problem: bam." She pounded a fist into her palm. "I'd hide away in my dorm room, or my practice room, and I'd play my music. I never actually _talked _with them about my issues. I just...abandoned them. That's running away, Janey."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm _saying _that when you've got a fuckin' problem you don't be a pussy and run away from it. You _stand your ground. _You face it head-on. Gotta be solid - like a rock. Or-or like...a _boulder, _rolling downhill. Nothin's gettin' in your way. You get shit done and you keep rolling along."

"Hmph..."

"Don't like hearing little ol' me tell ya what to do, huh?" Toph coyly observed.

"Ha. Little ol' _you? _Nah, I just...know you're right. I never _did _confront the Freedom Fighters about it, I just...stopped seeing them."

"Sounds like that's your problem."

"Yea. Maybe. So this whole 'standing your ground' shit worked for you, huh?"

Toph smiled wide and closed her eyes to relax in the pleasant pool of memories.

"It's how Twinkle-Toes and I ended up together, anyway. And isn't it how you and Katara started out?"

"Huh?"

"Sugar-Queen stood her ground. She didn't leave you, even when you guys had issues."

"Oh. W-well, yea."

"That's 'cuz she really cares about you - and that's the thing. You need something to hold onto that you don't want changed in order to not _be _changed yourself."

"Solid as a rock."

"Exactly."

"So what's _your _rock, Janey Jane?"

"I'm...still working that one out, Toph..."

* * *

"We sounded OK, Suki. _OK. _But we could really use some improvement."

"I get it, Toph. I know where you're coming from, and I know you just want to see the band get better."

"Damn right I do. We kinda suck." She pushed dirty hair strands behind her ears before unclipping her white puff-ball earrings and setting them on top of her dresser.

"I...really don't think we _sucked,_" Suki cautiously disagreed. "Lots of people seemed to like us..."

Toph frowned, heaving air through her nose, her bangs rippling.

"Lots of people - i.e. _boys _- seemed to like that we have _boobs._"

"I don't get what the problem is, Toph," Suki sighed, her irritation swiftly rising. "I even let _you _pick out the song. And I didn't even think it was a good choice..."

"_What?_"

"It's just that I wanted us to come across as...ya know...hardcore," Suki defensively explained. "That song was a little too...generic."

"The Beatles are _not _generic, they're fucking brilliant," grumbled Toph in a hurry before cutting to the chase. "But the point is, we wanted a song that wouldn't alienate our potential audience. Who _hates _that song, huh?"

"Erm..."

"Do _you?_"

"N-no, of course not, it's fun, it's-"

"Exactly. It's _fun_. And no one hates it. That gets us popularity points 'cuz we didn't tune anyone out. _Next _time we play, we play for _us._" Toph sorted through her drawer and pulled out a comfortable hoodie. She didn't know for certain if it was her Terra hoodie or her Aqua one - but it didn't matter at that moment. She placed it atop the dresser, away from where she'd put the earrings.

"Right. That's exactly what I was thinking," Suki agreed. "Also, I think we should maybe try working on building an image, you know?"

"Beg your pardon?" Toph grunted as she tore off her T-shirt.

"Like...presenting ourselves differently," Suki explained, her tone conveying discomfort from Toph's nonchalant changing. It was night time. Toph felt like changing into sleeping-ish clothes. In her own bedroom. In front of a girl. Suki could deal.

"What do you mean?" Toph's words were thick with pessimistic suspicion as she slipped the hoodie over her head.

"I was thinking it might be kind of cool if we wore, like, samurai stuff, like helmets and-and warrior paint, and-"

"Makeup?"

"Huh?"

"You want us to dress like Japanese whores and wear makeup?" Toph growled, biting her lip. "Geishas, and that nonsense?

"No! No-no-no. Like _warriors_. Like, ninjas, or samurais, or something like that. And warrior paint, not makeup."

"'Cuz we're...supposed to be a Japanese band?"

"Not...necessarily," mumbled Suki. "I'm just throwing out _ideas, _I just think we should have some kind of...uniform...going on. To make us pop on stage, like a real _group._"

"Right, so we lose our identities and then we're just a fuckin' pop band clique of wannabes."

"You _know, _Toph," Suki matter-of-factly jabbed with her words. "The _Beatles _had a 'look,' too, with their bowl-cuts, and their suits...But I guess you wouldn't _notice _that, would you?"

_Playin' hardball, huh? Nice throw, Suki...Nice throw._

Toph breathed out a deep, contemplative sigh, closing the door to her dresser.

"Fine. Next practice you can run it by the girls, see what they think. Obviously, _I _don't give a shit what we look like, so long as we play the _songs_ right."

"All right, then," was Sukui's equally snippy reply.

"Anything else?"

"Erm...Are...Are you doing all right?" Suki lowered her guard for the sake of expressing sentiment. "You seem all...on-edge. Katara told me that you've been a little off lately, and-"

"Katara and I sorted all of that out," Toph coldly advised, her back still turned. "Thanks for the concern, Suki, but I'm good."

"Oh...OK. I'll...see you at practice, then."

"See ya tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: A little LOLcats, a little Scott Pilgrim, Lord of the Rings, indie bands on YouTube. Ya know...mixin' it up in this joint.**

**The Pomplamoose video: **.com/watch?v=f-4ZwiW1cPs  
**The LoTR scene Sokka is mocking: **.com/watch?v=O_NmCh42hZM  
**Doctor Sokktagonapus is mocking: **.com/watch?v=ZjRjqOL5IBA

**Also, a number of bits of dialogue are inspired by events from the series proper - specifically, Toph ruining Aang's project is based on how Toph lost Appa, her little speech to Jane is inspired by when Toph was teaching Aang earthbending, etc. There's a few others, but those are the most important ones. I try to fit things like that in from time to time but I think those two examples are a little more pronounced than normal.**


	27. Big Bro

**A/N: This chapter took a bit longer because writing that focuses on Sokka is often inherently more difficult for me to write, and the past week has seen a lot of...craziness. Which my subconscious was already exploring through this story and will eventually live out later. Anyway. Enjoy the chapter or something.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 27- Big Bro_

* * *

- Tuesday, November 9th, 2010 -

"She rubs me the wrong way, Sweetie. I don't appreciate her attitude."

Sokka rubbed his palm over his increasingly scruffy chin - he decided in that moment that he would shave that night - and contemplated his girlfriend's statement.

"Toph can be a little...difficult...now and again, but it's not like Jane's any better."

Suki sighed and shrugged, poking at her leafy salad.

"But...Sokka, Jane is at least supportive within the band. She encourages the rest of us, she does her part, she accepts and adapts to criticism...But all Toph does is dish out insults and...and she's just very negative to herself and the rest of the band."

"_Weellll, _she's, like...a music major and stuff," Sokka loosely defended, smearing barbecue sauce across his burger with the topside bun.

"So?" Suki quipped, spearing some spinach.

"_So, _she's all super-critical of music and performance and...all that jazz. Heh. _Literally._" Suki ignored his accidental joke and continued.

"I'm just worried that if we don't nip this issue in the bud it's always going to be a problem." She chewed on her salad in an indignant demeanor.

"What are ya complainin' to _me _for then?" groaned Sokka, finally taking a bite of his meaty salami/ham/turkey sandwich.

"I just thought you might have some advice as to how I should..._deal _with the girl."

"OK, OK," Sokka spat through burger chunks. He swallowed. "First, you should stop talking about Toph like a weed. I mean, she _is _like one - she's a damned terror, haha - but she _is _a person. And she has her reasons for...being the way she is."

"Oh?"

"But that's her place to tell you - not mine. Point is: with Toph, she can be a stubborn little prick when she has a mind to. To earn her respect, you gotta be stubborn right back."

"Hm." Suki didn't seem to have much to say to that.

"Anyway, think about it, Snookums."

Suki's solemn face cracked, giving way to a smirk.

"I will, you buffoon."

* * *

- Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 -

Sokka picked out his sister's walk amongst the crowd of students exiting their afternoon classes. She was dressed in her blue Aqua hoodie, her head covered by its hood, a single textbook tucked under her arm.

"Katara!" he called out, waving up an arm. Her bobbed head perked up and scanned around, eyes wide. Having noticed her brother, she waved back and made her way over. Her expression was worn, somewhat dulled. She approached her brother, who stood in a brown sweater just off the sidewalk. Sokka accepted her with open arms and she plunged herself into his chest, one arm in her hoodie pouch, the other against her book. He enveloped his sister, washing his love over her.

"Hey, Sis," he warmly greeted.

"Hey, Bro," she sighed back.

"Did it go OK?"

Katara took a deep breath and shifted her head, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"I guess..."

"What did the counselor say?"

"He wants me to stay on my meds..."

"OK. Hm." Sokka scratched at the back of her head. "That's what you're hung up about, huh?"

"Mm-hm."

"You know what I'm gonna tell you," Sokka said simply.

"Yea. It just...ugh. It _sucks. _I hate this. I hate...feeling like I need...need some _drug _just to...get by. Like I need my stupid..._happy _pill to feel good."

"Hey, hey - lots of people need medicine for things all the time," Sokka pointed out.

"Yea, Sokka - when they're _sick, _or have some...some problem with their body." Katara lifted herself from his body, but he kept his hands planted on her shoulders. "What does it say when I need pills for my...my _brain? _Huh?"

"Your brain is part of your body, _too_, Sis."

"It says I'm messed up in the head, Sokka. _That's _what it says..."

"You are _not _messed up in the head!"

"Why does everyone complain about how I'm on _edge _all the time? Or-or how I'm controlling? And-and needing to _fix _everything, and-?"

"_Hey._" Sokka's hands clamped down and he gave Katara a gentle stir. He stared at her with calming, icy blue eyes, like the sky on a snowy, winter afternoon. "Katara. Everyone has their problems. OK? You're _doing _something about yours. Just 'cuz you take an anti-depressant, that doesn't mean you're some psychopath. Chill out. You're perfectly sane - more than _I _am, anyway. So stop being a perfectionist and deal. You're not perfect." He pulled her trembling form in for another hug. "But you're my sister, and you're about as close to perfect as anyone needs." He pressed his lips into her temple and gave her a gentle kiss, rubbing her back as her quivering breath settled.

"Thanks, Sokka...I guess I'm just...overreacting. It's been a long day."

"I hear _that._" Sokka squeezed her tight before letting her go. "Where you headed next?" He eased her to proceed along, across the dry autumn grass.

"Back to Aqua before my last class," Katara explained, still tense. "I need to...just...-"

"Watch kitten videos on YouTube for a little while."

Katara choked out a laugh through her worry and glared at Sokka with narrowed eyes accented by a smile.

"Shut up."

* * *

- Thursday, November 11th, 2010 -

"What's wrong with two civilized folks having a chat over coffee on a Thursday afternoon?" Sokka shot a snarky smile Jane's way, leaning back in his chair casually.

"Hey, roommate!" chimed the girl from behind the counter. "Is he harassing you?" she joked from across the way.

"Naw, Jin...He's just..._like_ this," Jane called back. "If you ignore him, eventually he just goes away." As she said the last part, she stared Sokka dead in the eyes with a danpan glance, brows raised.

Sokka gasped, grasping his chest.

"I am _hurt, _Jane."

"Wounded, even?" Jane dully shot back without any letup on the dry humor.

Sokka grinned wide and reached out an arm to slap her on the shoulder.

"_Ha, _I knew showin' ya that Scott Pilgrim movie would do ya good."

Jane slowly shook her head, casually brushing his arm aside and sipping her mint latte.

"Yea," she sarcastically agreed, "I really connect with that Kim character. Gee, I _wonder_ why you think we're so similar?"

"I _knew _you would. You've both got so much going for you: freckles, red hair, bitchiness..."

"Ass."

"So how are things going with that gang of yours, SmellyJane?"

"Told you not to fuckin' _call me that_," Jane hissed with a quiet voice, clutching her coffee cup tightly.

"Sorry, slip of the tongue," Sokka said with an exaggerated shrug. He stared, wide-eyed and expectant, at Jane. The girl resisted for a moment, but eventually gave in.

"Mmm..._Tongue," _she quoted the film again. She froze, squinted her eyes shut tight, and slapped herself in the forehead, grumbling, "Good_ God_, I hate you."

"The feeling is mutual, my friend," Sokka chuckled. "But seriously, I know you and John-Boy have been in a rough patch. What's up?"

"Since when do _you _care?" Jane asked, trying to temper her humor with a sharpness - her words intended to come out like a steak knife but ended up like a butter knife instead. As she slurped on her drink, Sokka shrugged.

"The Fearsome Fivesome looks out for its own. I've been hearing some rumblings going on about the Freedom Fighters, soooo...-" He scratched his arm and shrugged yet again. "Just checkin' that they're not messin' with ya."

"No," Jane shook her head with a sigh. "Haven't heard from any of them. Well..." She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Those two goofballs - Pipsqueak and The Duke - they say 'hi' once in a while, but...Nah. It's just difficult with Johnny..." She frowned and pinched at her temples to subdue a coming headache. "Pff. I mean, _Longshot, _whoever the fuck he is anymore..."

"Sorry there, Freckles..." Sokka muttered his sympathy before he chugged down a large gulp of his drink. "Guess you guys are still trying to sort things out, eh?"

"I don't know what to do," Jane growled, avoiding Sokka's probing gaze. "I've been hearin' crap, too. Stuff like...how the Freedom Fighters are trying to stir shit up with the Rhinos, get revenge, that kinda thing. Wayward's not a big enough town for both of 'em...I dunno what's gonna happen if fists start flyin'. Ya know?"

"Yea..." Sokka nodded with dire contemplation. "But...If fists _do _start flying...-?" He narrowed his pale blue eyes at her with inquisition.

"No," she immediately assured. "No, no..._Fuck _no. I ain't gettin' involved. Period. I'll convince Johnny to sit it out, and...and that'll be that." She was not quite certain in her own words, Sokka could tell.

"And if he refuses?" Sokka pondered the heavy question. Dreary olive eyes glanced up at his serious expression through dark rings.

"I've got no fuckin' idea," she admitted, grinding her jaw to the side with doubt. Her expression - if only for a brief moment - was pleading and afraid, but she quickly masked it through a sip of coffee.

"Jane..." Sokka murmured - he rarely called her _just '_Jane' - setting his elbows on the table and his chin against his folded wrists. "I don't mean to pry, here, but...From what my Sis has told me, you don't...really have anywhere to _go _when you're not here...at SRU, I mean."

Jane bobbed her head and rubbed her eyebrow nervously.

"Nah, I'm...all good. I've got places."

"Like where?"

"P-places," she spat. Her face was simmering. He knew the truth - and he knew that _she _knew that he knew the truth. She hated admitting her vulnerability, of course. She was Jane. This was expected. "Like...ya know, with Johnny's family. It's none o' yer business, anyway. Don't worry about it." Things with the Fitzpatricks were touch-and-go at best, and usually 'go' given her attitude toward them as of late, which left Johnny's endearing southern family as her only other choice now that things with the Fighters had gone rotten.

Sokka smirked at her distraught fidgeting - she was squirming in her seat and kept touching her brows as she drank.

"Well, uh..." He nodded slowly, picking up his coffee cup. "If, for some reason, _p-places-_" he mocked her stammering, "- don't work out for ya, I'm sure there will be room at the Kesuk house for Thanksgiving break." He raised his cup to her, and she glared at him suspiciously as she knocked her cup against his. They both took a swig. "Even though you Americans are stupid and celebrate Thanksgiving at the _wrong time _of the year..."

"Heh." Jane's brow - thoroughly rubbed at this point - lifted and her eyes spun around with a sigh. "Ya know," Sokka went on proudly, "Our dad insisted that he would put off celebrating Thanksgiving until this month just for us."

"Right..."

"That's how awesome he is."

"Uh-huh."

"Don't sound so _interested_. Geez. It's a big deal for us. Imagine celebrating Thanksgiving in October."

"Pff. Couldn't care less," Jane groaned, quickly turned off by the conversation concerning the holiday. "Thanksgiving is fuckin' retarded. Pig out on food, watch football..."

"Yea, just another excuse for you Americans to eat too much," Sokka agreed, but he'd lost her - she was definitely brewing, and from the looks of it, about some unpleasant memory related to the holiday. "Well..." Sokka dropped it. Seemed like a sore spot for her, likely due to the familial issues. "How about celebrating St. Pattie's Day in April?"

Jane's bitterness melted away into a grin at Sokka's efforts to pry into her head.

"Yea, yea," she chuckled. "All right, I'll bite. That would be fuckin' weird."

"Drinkin' green bear while eating Easter Eggs would be odd, right?"

"Sure..." Jane's expression went dull for a moment, like she was zoning out, wandering elsewhere.

"Wouldn't want to throw off your Irish biological clock, with the-"

"Sokka." Jane cut in solemnly with a sigh. "Could we...-?" She lifted up her hands as if to try grasping them around some invisible object before her face. "Could we stop pissin' around for, like, five seconds here?"

"Huh?" Sokka felt his intestines twist at her confrontational demeanor.

"That's great that you're such a fuckin' wise ass, Sokka," Jane grumbled. "But I don't fuckin' _get _you. It's like, one second you're an idiot, then you're all serious and acting like you give a shit, and then you're a fuckin' moron, all over again."

"I could say the same about _you, _Ginger," pointed out Sokka with some defense. She glowered at him with a puzzled expression for a moment but his telling glance made her realize just how hypocritical she was being - if only one replaced words like "idiot" and "moron" with "bitch" and "jerk."

"Fair enough," she huffed. "Just don't get why you...-"

"Why I'd care?"

"_Yea_," burst the grouchy girl incredulously.

"Jane, you've gotta get over this...this insecurity problem you have," Sokka threw his words out on the table neatly. "I can't speak on behalf of anyone else, but within our little clan? You're golden. _Trust us, _Jane. Stop making up excuses as to why no one should care. So _what _if you're all grumpy and mean some times? You aren't to _us, _and when you are - at this point - you're just joking around. Usually."

"Usually..." Jane agreed with a small smile.

"There are reasons why Katara and you became friends in the first place, Jane."

"Yea, because of Jet..."

"No, I mean, why _you _and Katara became friends. Jane, my sister doesn't make friends - the way she has with you, like Toph and Aang - unless she has a good reason. My sister, she meets acquaintances, but she _makes _friends. It's...very 'on purpose' for her. So, obviously, she saw a good purpose in you."

"Hmph..." Jane stared at the green dragon printed on her coffee cup stubbornly, her cheeks flashed for just a moment.

"You remember a while back, when I told you cut the 'tough girl' act?"

"Mm." Jane shrugged with a slight nod.

"You did," Sokka observed. "Now, I'm _asking _you - not telling you - to stop selling yourself short. Drop the doubt, just _trust _us, huh?" He extended his arm out, his elbow still on the table. Jane gripped it in return and they squeezed tight before letting go and bumping knuckles together.

"Got it," Jane confirmed, tilting her chin up with a cocky grin.

"'Atta girl."

* * *

- Friday, November 12th, 2010 -

Sokka peered into practice room after practice room until at last he found the right one. He knocked on the door twice, gave pause for a moment, then proceeded in.

"Hello?" She perked her head up.

"Heya, Dead-Eyes."

"Oh...Hey, Snoozles..." She drooped back down.

"Pff. Don't sound so excited to see m-...er..._hear_ me."

Toph pulled her guitar strap off her shoulders and rested the instrument against the wall beside her. She was sitting on the carpeted floor, her back wedged into a corner of the room.

"Excuse me, Captain Sarcasm. Not in the fuckin' mood to get made fun of for being _disabled_ today."

_OK, then. Someone's not in the best of moods, I suppose..._

"Whoa, hey," Sokka eased, sliding himself down on the wall adjacent Toph and her guitar. "I'll retract my claws if you do, Kiddo."

"Fine..."

"What's eatin' ya?" Sokka inquired, staring at her subtly distraught face. With her head bobbed, Toph's bangs were arranged in such a way that it made it even more difficult than usual to decipher her mood. She always turned stoic when she got upset. Aang was easy to read. He practically wore his emotions on his sleeve, especially when he was angry. Admittedly, Aang didn't _get _angry all that much, but when he was, you knew damn well. Toph, though, for all of her humor, could really wall herself up when upset. Sokka knew Katara had learned to pry her way through those cracks but it was an art he was still learning, himself.

"Twinkles and I had a...spat...last night," Toph grumbled.

"Oh?" Sokka was naturally curious but knew that with Toph, it was often best to just let her say whatever she was going to say. That, or get your face chewed off.

"He keeps saying he just wants to take it slow, take it slow, _take it slow. _Ugh!" She kicked her bare foot out into the air and rubbed at her face in frustration. "I've _been _taking it slow! It's like...every time I try to...to...-" She grasped her fingers around before her. "-...reach out and _do _something, I just keep get let off."

"Let off?"

"W-well, like...-" Toph's face was starting to brighten up a bit as she scratched her neck. She took a deep breath and plunged in. "OK. So, like, last night he kisses me, and I...ya know...kinda drag it out a bit, and try to slip some tongue in there, and he just breaks the whole thing off. It's just..._urgh._"

"Wait, wh-?" Sokka tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Was that, like the first time you guys tried frenching, or-...?"

"Pff, for _him, _maybe," Toph growled, slapping her fist into her lap. "At this rate, _last _time..."

"_Someone _sounds impatient," Sokka teased.

"Fuck's sake, man!" Toph roared, pounding her hands into the sides of her head in frustration. "I've been trying _so _fuckin' hard to _be _patient this whole time!"

"OK, OK, yea," agreed Sokka complacently, grabbing her wrists and easing her hands off her face. "I get ya, Toph. Not sayin' ya haven't been. You're right - you guys need to be moving at a pace that works for both of you."

"But how do we _do _that?" Toph huffed. "I don't _get _him! Some days he seems like he's totally into me, and others all he wants is to hold hands and cuddle. What the hell?" The last question was groaned out slowly as Toph bumped her head into the wall behind her.

"Uhh...Sorry, Dead-Eyes, but I'm not the person who would know those things."

"You're his _roommate._"

"_So? _I don't _make out _with him! Pretty sure you'd know better than me."

"You guys never talk about that kinda stuff?" Toph muttered, seemingly surprised.

"Huh?"

"Well, like, I know how Katara really likes it when a guy goes to town across her neck, like with slow-"

"_**That's OK**,_" burst out Sokka, cutting her at the pass._ "I'm good_. Point equals _taken. _Dudes don't exactly _talk _about that kinda stuff. Geez...I'm surprised _you _do, frankly."

"Why's _that_?" Toph defied with a pout.

"You're not exactly Miss Sentimental."

"I _am _a girl, Meat-Head. Know you forget that once in a while, but I _am_." She poked at her own breast mockingly through her green T-shirt.

"Psh, I don't forget," he insisted. "You _mood swing _often enough."

"You're one to talk. For a _man _you sure scare easily."

"_What?_"

"Spiders?"

"OK, _hey_," Sokka defended vehemently. "Those don't count. They're a freak of nature. Why does _anything _need eight legs? Ever?"

"Clowns?"

"Th-that's more common than you think! It's easy for you to mot understand, you don't have to _look _at the damn things!"

"Chiuauas?"

"I had a _traumatizing experience _as a child! You couldn't possibly understand! And-and _besides, _this isn't about me, we're talking about _you. _Stop-...Back to...the other stuff." He was frowning bitterly, his machismo shattered to her delight.

"Psh. Are ya _sure _you don't have a vagina, too, Snoozles? It's OK. You can admit it. No one will hate-"

"You bitch."

"Ice cold. That's me. Heh."

"I get it. That's why you need someone who will get you laid, then - to keep you warm."

"_Hey._"

"It all makes sense now."

"Just because it's _true _doesn't mean ya gotta rub it in, asshole."

"Wow, just goin' all out with the language today, aren't we?"

"Pff. Like _you _care."

"But Aang does. And if you have any hope of getting laid by him-"

"_Hey, _if anyone's gonna be doing any _laying _in this situation to anyone else, it's gonna be _me. _Let's make that clear, here."

"_Wow, _then. T.M.I. Dead-Eyes."

"Oh, come _on, _like that's any shocker to you."

"At this rate you're gonna work so hard trying to protect your girly-manliness that you're gonna lose those boobs and forget how to woo _Twinkoh-Toez _over. Watch out, there, Kiddo. Too much dramatic artificial testosterone and you'll get pulled into the world of underground wrestling or something. And that is a slippery slope, my friend. I'm not sure you're cut out for it."

_Whump!_

"Owie..."

"More than _you, _Meat-Head."

"OK. Lesson 1 of How to Turn Aang On: no punching."

"Awww...But I _like _punching."

"Most guys - especially Aang - don't get it off by getting rammed in the ribs by your fist. Just sayin'."

"All right, then, Oh, _Master of Romance, _what do you think I should try doing?"

* * *

- Saturday, November 13th, 2010 -

The cries of two dozen young adult males echoed out in unison across the soccer field from the bleachers, their words cued by what the were witnessing together.

**"Foot. Foot. Foot, foot. Foot. Foot-foot-foot-foot...foot. HEAD!**"

The small army of Aero men were dressed in a crazy assortment of clothing purely for the sake of drawing attention to themselves and making no sense. One wore an innertube over pajamas with a football helmet over his head, another had on a kilt and a Scottsman's hat, with a plastic bin slung over his shoulder to serve as a makeshift drum.

**"GOOOOALLLLLL!"**

Their home team had scored by sneaking a shot into a corner of the net, slyly slipping through the goalie's defenses.

The group of boys was participating in an Aero tradition know as 'AeroDynamics.' The goal of this activity was to dress in as deviant a way as possible - while still legal - and bond together as young men supporting their school sport teams with lively and exaggerated cheers.

"We are on a freakin' _roll _today!" Sokka cheered, stomping his foot against the metal bench beneath him. His hair was pulled back into what he adamantly insisted was not a ponytail but a 'warrior's wolf tail' that poked out from under a viking helmet, with blue and gray paint plastered his face into a tribal design - an eyepatch veiled one eye to top it off. In one hand he waved a wooden boomerang with carvings dug into it - a relic he'd received from his father as a child. It had been obtained during his dad's honeymoon to Australia, and he lovingly treasured it as a prized possession. His dad always joked that it was a souvenir of Sokka's conception, so it was only fitting that he be given it. Appropriately enough, Sokka assigned the name "Boomerang" to the cherished family heirloom and often talked of it as if it were a person. In his other hand he waved around a plastic light-saber, its 'blade' a strong shade of purple. The valiant and equally eloquent name bequeathed to this accessory was "Space Sword." He wore a jersey of white with bright blue accents - number 42 on the back - that had blue lines that ran down the arms, forming into arrows at the wrists. The name "Sky Bisons" was emblazoned across the chest. He wore khaki slacks and his ever-present black loafers.

At his side, Aang wore a pirate hat with a matching jersey - his had a number 4 - and waved around an arm tucked into a puppet. The puppet - one he'd created himself - was shaped like a lemur with bright green eyes and long, floppy ears. Aang's face was a bit pale, and his eyes were slightly bloodshot.

Earlier that day, Aang had briefly touched upon his difficulties with Toph that week at Sokka's probing, but the conversation didn't really go anywhere. Sokka knew this was because Aang often felt more comfortable talking "girly" things with girls, and doing "manly" things with...men. While there was some concern, Sokka trusted that if his advice was truly desired, it would be asked for, and that as roommates and brothers in spirit, he'd be best servicing his friend by providing escapism when desired and relationship advice when requested.

As the teams lined up to prepare for the next kickoff, Sokka rallied the troops, and they joined in a battle cry as the ball was tipped off.

"**THIS...IS..."  
"SPARTAAAAAA!"**

As the ball was tossed around the field, the men clapped and sang sports cheers manufactured in the basement of Aero from ancient times, eons ago. Tradition bound their actions together, as many acted as one. Men who might otherwise not really spend time together, or perhaps even hardly knew one another - me who maybe didn't even know each other's names - were united in these rituals, celebrating a bond of brotherhood born from the building they lived in.

As the timer counted down to halftime, the men grew rowdier. They counted down the final seconds, stamping their feet against the bleachers, louder and louder. The buzzer sounded off for halftime and the men of AeroDynamics concluded their feet pounding with a riotous roar, bounding down the metal seats in a berzerker rage, like crazed barbarians going out for a hunt. They raced in a clump to the concession stand, but quickly filed into a courteous line and settled down immediately.

"The Sky Bisons got this in the _bag_," Sokka proudly declared, lifting his eyepatch up and letting it stick to the side of his forehead.

"YEaH," Aang croaked, his voice crackly and hoarse. "THeY'rE dOiN' pReTtY gOoD tOdAy..."

"Whoa, there, Bud," Sokka chuckled, giving his friend a sympathetic pat on the back after stuffing his boomerang into his back pocket. "_You, _on the other hand, are _not _doing pretty good, are ya?"

"nAh, i'M-" Aang forced out a deep, rasping cough. "-i'M fInE, sOkKa..."

"You really are a sucky liar, Bro..."

"tHiNk i'M cOmIn' DoWn wItH sOmEtHiN'..." lamented Aang, drearily pounding his fist into his chest as he huffed out another violent cough.

"Just make sure it doesn't come down on _me, _man..." Sokka dug into his pant pocket, squirmed his fingers around the pen resting there, and retrieved a cough drop, which he then forced into Aang's hand.

With no resistance, Aang unwrapped the drop and popped it in his mouth, his cheeks pulling in as he sucked on it. He clenched his stomach, his lemur puppet biting its owner.

"...uUuUlLlLgGgHh..."

"Uhhhh, _yeeeaa._" Sokka's brows furrowed with concern at his roommate's condition. "I _think _someone ought to take it easy back at the dorm..."

"bUt...BuT..."

"Ah-ah. Uh-uh. _Keh-_mon...We're headin' back, mate." Sokka grabbed Aang by the shoulders and spun him to the side, gently pushing him out of the line. They slowly marched back across campus, side by side, their conversation wandering as they went.

"aNd ThEn...AnD tHeN...tHaT pArT wHeN bEn ApOlOgIzEd tO lOcKe...lIkE...i WaS cRyInG LiKe sOoO mUcH aT tHaT pArT, mAn..."

"Uh-huh. Yea, Dude," Sokka pacified, rubbing his hand across Aang's back. "Deep stuff."

"i DoN't GeT...LiKe...wHy sO mAnY pEoPlE dIdN't LiKe ThE eNd..."

They entered their room at last, and Sokka laid Aang down in his bed. Still in a pirate hat, Aang nestled himself into his blanket with a lion's yawn before he exploded into a burst of coughs, thrusting the hat off his head and onto the floor.

"We'll have to pick this up some other time, Pal. Your throat is dead - you oughtta take it easy."

"GgRrRrmMmM...yOu GoT aNy MoRe CoUgH dRoPs...?"

"Sure thing." Sokka set his viking helmet on his bed post and pulled out the bag of Wood Frog cough drops from his dresser. He took the entire bag and tossed it on Aang's bed. It collided with Aang's stomach and the boy growled out in defiance but barely moved.

"...tHaNkS..."

"No problem." Sokka sat down at his desk and opened up his laptop, booting it up.

_Rrrrmmmm._

[From: SmellyJane]  
[hey toph wont shutup bout aang not callin her back. he ok?]  
[Sent: 4:34pm]

[Reply]  
[To: SmellyJane]  
[Yea, we've been at AeroDynamics and he's super sick. We won't be coming to dinner tonight.]  
[Sent: 4:34pm]

[From: SmellyJane]  
[k no big. she will deal. take care of that kid. or i will kick ur ass.]  
[Sent: 4:35pm]

As Sokka's desktop finished loading, he leaned back in his chair to observe his roommate. Aang was passed out, mouth agape, his hand - still wearing a puppet - sticking up out of his blanket on the pillow beside his face. The bag of cough drops was still on his abdomen.

[Reply]  
[To: SmellyJane]  
[Doctor Sokktagonapus is in the house. It's all good.]  
[Sent: 4:36pm]

* * *

**A/N: AeroDynamics is pretty much an activity my dorm used to do at sporting events. I'm sure it'll come up again later.**


	28. Hold

**A/N: This chapter was delayed due to life being crazy as I get ready to move, writing a very condensed Pokemon one-shot, and a particularly difficult scene to write, which I am actually going to save for next chapter. I will start warning you guys of 'music' scenes ahead of time. This chapter has one in the last scene (Thursday), link at the end of the chapter.  
**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 28 - Hold  
_

* * *

- Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 -

"What? You guys don't want to meet him now, or something?"

["Toph, Dear, we didn't _say _that, we-"]

"I _finally _have a boyfriend I really _care _about, and you guys refuse to meet him."

["Thanksgiving is a _family _holiday, Toph, we want time to focus on each other, not-"]

"_What? Excuse _me? He _is _like my family, thank you very much! And if we stay together then eventually he will be _your _family, too!"

["Dear, your father and I just worry that if this boy comes with you it'll give you an excuse to avoid the rest of the Beifongs..."]

"For fuck's sake..."

["And aside from that, at this point in time, he is _not _a Beifong, regardless of any future intentions to might have."]

"Whatever, Mom. He's more my family than you _ever _have been..."

["You may feel that way, Toph_. _But I am still your mother, and I do not permit you to bring that boy with you to _our_ house. Perhaps some other time we can-"]

"His name is _Aang, _and he's _coming, _or I'm _not._"  
_Click._

"Yikes," grumbled Jane with her reknowned deadpan tone. "Thanksgiving with the Beifongs isn't gonna be pleasant, huh?"

"Fucking _ass_," Toph swore in a huff, stomping her foot as she sat in her chair, laid back lazily. She carelessly chucked her phone to her bed, and it bounced on the mattress, landing safely by her pillow. "I've _never _been able to bring anyone home with me. _Ever. _It's bullshit. Like no one's good enough for my tight-ass family."

"Hmm..." Katara sighed thoughtfully, tapping her pen against her chin as she stared at a worksheet. She scribbled an answer onto a blank space. "I hope you can get things worked out with them...I really think it might be good for them to meet Aang, and maybe it could be a time for you to, like...stand up to them. Make amends. Ya know?"

"Oh, I'll stand up to them, all right," growled Toph, her knee bouncing impatiently. "I'm taking Twinkles with me, or I'm not going."

"W-well, I meant...-" Katara exchanged glances with Jane, biting her lip. "Maybe you could try and sort things out with them so that...this kind of thing doesn't happen anymore. Like, come to an agreement."

"_What_?" Toph calmly demanded. "Sugar-Queen, I think my ears need to be cleaned, 'cuz I thought I heard you say-"  
"They _do _need to be cleaned, you're disgusting."  
"Shut up, Freckle-Face," Toph bluntly tossed away the effort at humor before continuing. "I thought I heard Katara here say that I should try and _come to an agreement _with my parents."

"It-it was just a suggestion," Katara fumbled in a rush, swiftly regretting having said anything. "I just think it might not be best if you go around...burning bridges with your family, is all."

"Pff," Jane spat. "Worked out fine for _me_."

Katara shot a dagger glance at the red-head, a sarcastic _'Thanks for encouraging her,'_ coming through her expression. Jane rolled her eyes and shrugged, plainly apathetic about the entire situation.

"Ya know, Katara," Toph grumbled, "Not everyone has such a fucking _wonderful _little family like you do where we can just up and invite random people over for Thanksgiving, and kids and their parents all get along, and-"

"You still _have a mother,_" Katara countered with some aggression, cutting Toph rant off. "You should appreciate that she's even _around, _that she even wants you to _come _for Thanksgiving with the way you treat her!"

Toph stomped up from her chair, her milky white eyes ablaze and intent but unfocused. She slammed her bare foot against the carpet, cocking her head to the side.

"The way _I _treat _her? _She _asks _for it! If they're going to act like I'm some God damned dog on a leash, I'm gonna fuckin' bite them back!"

"Your parents are probably so protective because they actually _care about you,_" hissed Katara, jabbing her finger out with indignation. "Maybe they overdo it, sure, but...but you should be grateful you even _have _them looking out for you!"

"Yea, Dead-Eyes," Jane muttered. "'Cuz ya obviously can't look out for yourself..." She was intending to try and lighten the mood with her dry humor still, but based on the steam that practically blasted through both girl's nose's, she was making things worse.

"_Thanks_, Jane, that's _just _what I need right now, having that rubbed in my face."

"I'm sorry, Toph," Jane sighed, attempting to be solemn this time. "I'm just trying to-"

"I'd rather my parents _died _knowing they loved me and wanted me to make my own choices than have them stalking me, trying to lock me in a cage."

Now Jan was scowling, her arms crossed as she sat on Katara's bed. She dropped any sympathy she had been trying to express like a stone.

"I'm startin' to side with Kat on this one," she huffed. "Maybe you oughtta reconsider that you _have_ parents. Period. 'Cuz I sure as hell wish mine were still around and they're _not_."

Toph's hands were stuck to her hips, her foot thumping grouchily as she tolerated her friend's words.

"At least you have a chance to fix things with them," Jane concluded. "Me and Kat? We've got nothin' _to _fix. They're _gone._"

Toph's defenses crippled, her offense deflected, she uttered out a "_Urgh..._" as she grabbed her guitar from its post by the foot of her bed and stormed out of the room. She whacked her toes on Katara's bed upon exiting and groaned, slapping her hand against the doorway edge in a fit before flying down the hall.

"Damn, what crawled up _that _girl's ass today?" Jane wondered with irritation.

"I don't even know," Katara sighed. "I get where she's coming from with her parents - they really don't sound like the nicest people - but I think she overreacts about it."

"For fuck's sake, they pamper her like a baby. She has a silver spoon stuck so far down her throat she's entitled to act like some over-protection is the most horrible thing..."

Katara pinched at her temples and breathed out. "I'm sorry you got mixed into that..."

"I don't take bullshit from people," Jane put it simply with a shrug, fuming. "I love that girl, but she needs to grow the fuck up. Lot worse things can happen to a person..." Jane flinched when Katara's hand clasped her arm. She loosened her muscles and let the assuring hand remain.

"Yea. I know, Jane," mumbled Katara darkly. "I'm sorry..." Katara squeezed with sympathy.

Jane sucked in a trembling breath as memories trickled through the cracks of her mind.

"Not your fault. Don't apologize." The red-head scratched her hand at an itch within her shaggy, greasy mat of orange. "I've got half a mind to tell that crazy bitch a few things that'll make 'fuck my life' have a _whole new meaning._"

* * *

"Dad said 'yes.'" Sokka closed his phone with a wide grin from Toph's chair, ogling her keyboard.

"Wh-...? R-really?" Katara mumbled, flabbergasted. "But...But do we even have _room _for that many people?"

"We're going to be having Thanksgiving with the grandparents," Sokka clarified with some satisfaction. "So...Yea. We will have the room."

"I-I dunno, Sokka, it just sounds...weird."

"What's so weird about it? It'll be like an extended family party. It'll just be bigger than a usual Thanksgiving."

Katara nodded, her eyes wandering as she saw the upside of his argument.

"I guess I'd just be worried about putting so much stress on Dad for a long weekend like that."

"He said 'yes,' Sis. Frankly, I think the poor guy's been feelin' kinda lonely up there these days."

"Hm..." Katara sighed and shrugged. "I guess I see your point."

"Besides, we're not _kids, _it's not like he's gonna have to babysit us."

Katara raised a humored brow his way, folding her arms across her chest.

"All of us? In one place for a whole weekend? You _do _realize how childish we act, don't you?"

"_Pff._" Sokka tossed his arm, shaking his head. "You _do _realize we're talking about _our _Dad, don't you?" he retorted.

Katara rolled her eyes, tucking loose hair behind her ears.

"Ohhhh, our _Dad_..."

"It'll be _awesome._"

"Yea, I know," Katara conceded. "I'm just concerned about the details, and, like...Toph's parents, for example. I feel like they wouldn't really want her coming with us."

"Hell with 'em," Sokka easily wrote of the proposition. "What are _they _gonna do, right?"

"Right," Katara agreed with some reluctance and a nervous laugh.

"Sis, you're over-analyzing this. Stop finding the cracks in my brilliant plan for once, huh?"

"Wh-what? I'm...I'm not over-analyzing this!"

She received pale, dulled eyes, lids half closed. They were unconvinced.

"I'm _not,_" Katara insisted. "I'm just worried about Toph's relationship with her parents, I really think-"

"See what I mean? Worry-worry-worry. Sis, sis, sis..." Sokka wrapped his arm over her shoulder, lamentably shaking his head. "Toph's problem is _her _problem, not yours. You can't fix it." Katara, now annoyed from the fire she was under, squirmed out of her brother's gesture.

"But I can help her fix it _herself_, can't I?"

"It's not your business, you should stay out of it."

"_Fine, _fine, whatever," moaned Katara, swiping her arm through the air to cut off the topic. "I think too much and I care too much and it's not my business and I should just leave her alone and not even _bother _trying to-"  
"Whoa-whoa-whoa, hey. Breather. Simmer down."

Katara, eyes squinted shut with irritation, pulled in air and released.

"No, I didn't take my medication last night, _all right?_" she grumbled.

"I...I didn't _ask, _Sis," Sokka sighed as Katara paced back and forth. "You want some chocolate, or something?"

Katara began to growl but her words cut short. "_No, _Sokka, I don't want some-...!" Her fists clenched at her sides, Katara's eyes lashed out, only to pop open before dulling themselves down. Her hands opened, her shoulders relaxed, and she sat herself down on her bed with a groan. "Y-yea...Actually, that sounds pretty good right now...Please."

"OK. I'll go get ya some..." Sokka hopped from the chair and walked by, running his hand across his sister's head, scratching it with warm concern.

"Thanks," Katara made sure to say as he vanished from the room.

She leaned over, her shoulders and back aching, and grabbed her phone from next to her computer.

[From: Aang]  
[hey, did somethin happen? toph is really really grouchy and wont tell me why... _ ]  
[Sent: 2:14pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[She's upset about her parents. They apparently don't want you to come for Thanksgiving break.]  
[Sent: 4:13pm]

[From: Suki]  
[are we not practicing tomorrow night now? i thought everything was all set but i ran into toph a bit ago and she said she's not coming?]  
[Sent: 3:25pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Suki]  
[UGH. She's just being fickle today, she's dealing with family stuff and I think Jane and I got her mad. I'm sure she'll come around.]  
[Sent: 4:15pm]

[From: Suki]  
[today? she seems fickle -every- day..:P]  
[Sent: 4:16pm]

"Hey, who ya talkin' to?"

"Aang. Suki. I guess Toph's been giving them trouble, too..." Katara smiled as a Caramello was dropped into her lap. "Thanks a lot, Sokka."

"No prob, Sis. Cheer up, _geez_. You have chocolate now."

"Haha. I sure do."

[From: Aang]  
[yea i already knew that part. i meant what happened with YOUguys. she's pretty mad. O_O; ]  
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[~sigh~ Sorry, Jane and I think she's acting kind of immature about it and tried suggesting that she try working things out.]  
[Sent: 4:18pm]

"What are you _sighing _about over there?" Sokka sneakily accused, fiddling with keys on Toph's keyboard and generating random chords. "Wh-? You haven't even _opened _your chocolate yet? Damnit all! _God._ What are you, stupid? Eat it!"

Katara, eyes rolling, closed her phone and set it aside, sticking her tongue out at her brother as she tore open the wrapper, breaking off a piece and popping it into her mouth. She cracked open the sweet shell and it exploded into a splash of caramel.

"That's _right!_" Sokka bellowed dramatically, pointing a finger. "_Eat_ that candy and feel _better _about yourself, woman!"

Katara had to hand it to him: her brother knew how to pacify her when she was stressed, whether it was a mental breakdown or an exam or trouble with her roommate. She found herself reflecting on how grateful she was for that, and yet still worried that perhaps she didn't work as hard as she could in return when he was feeling down. As she chewed on another piece of her Caramello, she made a mental note to dedicate herself to trying harder the next time he seemed down.

Katara was swiftly jolted back to the events around her when a familiar voice growled from behind, entering the room.

"Who the _hell _is touching my keyboard?"

"Yipe!" squeaked Sokka, immediately switching it off, eyes wide at fearful at the gaze of the girl in the gray sweater whose angry face was pointed in his general direction.

"What are _you _doing with my stuff, Sokka?" Toph hissed.

"I was-I just-it was sitting there, and I-"

Toph marched forward and slammed her fist into his pectoral, cutting him off.

"Get off!"

Sokka rapidly obeyed her command without question, removing himself from her chair as she whipped at his shin with her walking stick.

"_Ow! _Hey!" he snapped in retort. She ignored him, slinging her guitar off her back and setting it at the foot of her bed before ramming herself into her chair at the keyboard. "What's _your _problem?" Sokka grumbled, rubbing chest with a pout. Again, he received the cold shoulder as she plugged in her massive headphones and propped them over her ears, seamlessly commencing with some practice.

Sokka stared at her in disbelief for a moment, scratching his scruffy chin. He spun to his sister and gave her an aghast shrug. She flashed him an expression of expected disapproval at Toph's attitude, biting her lip as she contemplated what to do.

"Toph," Katara blurted. Sokka could see the fire in her eyes, so he backed up, quietly sitting himself on Toph's messy bed. There was, of course, no reply, merely the _thm-thm-thm _of fingers pressing down plastic keys. Katara groaned, rose to her feet, and swooped over to Toph, staring down at her oblivious face. Katara primly pressed her finger into the power button on the keyboard, and it clicked off. Toph's face boiled with irritation and she tore off her headphones, slapping them against her keyboard's speaker.

"Stop fucking _around, _Sokka, I'm not in the mood!"

"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!" was Sokka's immediate, squeaking defense.

"Toph, what is your _issue _today?" Katara demanded firmly.

"My _issue-_" Toph proceeded to vent, storming to her feet, shoving her chair back. "-is that _everyone _is getting on my fucking _case_! Back _off!"_

"Back off?" snipped Katara. "I was _trying to do _that, but you keep giving everyone else trouble!"

"Maybe if you weren't so damn neurotic about keeping everyone happy, and left everyone in peace, it would sort itself out!"

"Are you _seriously _trying to make me out to be the bad guy because I _care _about everyone?"

"You're _obsessive, _you're not our fucking mother, or our doctor, or our psychiatrist! Stop trying to fucking _fix-fix-fix _everything!" Toph fidgeting her hands around impulsively.

"Oh! I'm _sorry_," Katara quipped, oozing sarcasm, hands digging into her hips. "You think I should be more like _you_? Like some...some freaking _wild child, _who just...does whatever she wants_?_"

"Yea, may_be!_" countered Toph, her arms crossed.

Sokka whimpered from the corner of the room, rubbing the back of his neck wih doubt. Why was he here? How could he escape? The girls were blocking the middle of the room...Two bulls, snorting our steam, ready to charge.

"Ya know what? I get it," Katara pricked. "You're acting like this because of your parents."

Toph's face drained slightly, and the Kesuks could see a tinge of regret seep through the milky white eyes, drizzling across her face between strands of black hair.

"...Whatever," Toph grunted, huffing a gust of air that tossed her draping bangs around.

"They were controlling over you," Katara analyzed, pointing out her finger as her mind pieced together her argument, "So as soon as you were able to go to college, you took off, and now you act like your parents don't even exist." Toph shrugged at Katara's observations. "You act like they're such _jerks, _like you hate them - but you _don't, _do you? You just feel guilty."

Toph, obviously displeased with the patronizing lecture, flopped back into her seat, still sour-faced.

"I _do _hate them," she insisted, her confidence now stripped away.

"I don't think so," Katara concluded. "_I _think you want their approval - you want their acceptance. I think you _miss_ them. You wish they were proud of you, that they respected you. You feel like they're ashamed of you. But you're too stubborn, and you won't confront them about it. You don't want to _deal _with any of this, so _instead, _you try pinning it all on them, turn them into villains, and then whenever it gets brought up, you act like this...this _crazy _person!"

"Piss _off_, Katara." The words dribbled out of Toph's lips half-heartedly. She regained some momentum and launched a retaliation. "_I'm_ crazy? Who's the one who needs to take _meds _here, huh?" Katara's eyes burned with indignation at Toph's retort. "Psychoanalyzing me - yea, thanks, that makes me feel _so much better. _I'm not a _kid. _Christ..."

"No, Toph, you _aren't _a kid. So grow up and stop _acting_ like one!"

"Great idea, **_Mom! _**I'll get right on that!"

"So, are you going to stomp off like usual?" Katara rhetorically insulted. "Run away from me because I'm telling you that you're acting immature? Because you refuse to try solving your own problems?"

"I get your _fucking point!_" roared Toph, tossing her arms up. "_God, _shut _up, _I'm not your charity case!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Sokka, shoulders stuck up with fright, eyed both side of the cat-fight, assessing his odds of escape. The tension was so thick he felt like he'd need a chainsaw to get through it.

"_Speaking of 'fine'!_" he blurted sheepishly, hopping up from Toph's bed. "I'm gonna make like a tree and get something to drink..." He pranced his way out in a rush and closed the door - which had been open the entire time - as he exited.

Toph forced her headphones back on her head, squished her chubby finger into the power button on her keyboard, and went back to practicing. Katara sighed, ate another piece of Caramello, and opened her laptop, accessing YouTube.

* * *

- Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 -

"You don't _get it, _Mom!" Toph squealed. "I'm sick of feeling this way! You guys act like I'm this pathetic little girl who can't take care of herself, but I _can!"_

Aang groaned, slamming his forehead onto the table. It was a busy evening at Appa's, and Toph's irate phone discussion was drawing attention.

"Maybe you oughtta help her go somewhere private," Jane suggested in a mumble with a shrug. Aang nodded in concession and dragged himself out of his seat. He stared as Toph went on and took a slurp of his milkshake.

"I'm not running off on my _own, _Mom, I'd be going to spend the break with my friends!" Toph defended her proposal with irritation hanging on every word. "_No, _I won't need any transportation, they'd be driving me..._Noooo, _they are _not _**shady people, **they're my fucking _friends, _Mom! I don't hang out with drug-dealers or rapists, or something! Christ..."

"Hey, uh...-" Aang made motion to interrupt Toph, who was now in the hallway, pacing back and forth, running her hand along the ridged concrete wall of the ACC's basement.

"I told you, Mom - I fucking _told you - _I refuse to be a part of this family holiday if _you _refuse to treat me and my boyfriend like we're actually family!"

Aang took a deep breath and wedged his hands in his pockets, propping his back against the wall and watching Toph wander across the tiled floor in her bare feet. When her anger wasn't directed at _him, _it was cute to see her eyes ignite, her nose wrinkle, and the intricate gestures she'd make in her fury. Her hair was dropped loose today, and Aang appreciated the way it trickled down her back.

"Wh-? No, I don't want..._Ugh..._" She pounded her fist meaninglessly into the wall. "Hey, Dad," she grunted. "I'm not in the mood for-...But-...I just told Mom that-..." She kept trying to squirm her way in, and Aang could hear some shouting from the other line - firm, clear, formal scolding. He found himself relieved that he wouldn't be meeting these people anytime soon, if only for all of the obvious issues that would come up. "No. You want me to come visit? Then you can let me take my boyfriend, and I'll come _right _over, OK?...All right, fine...Fine...Yea, OK." Having made her rounds, Toph's wall-traveling hand hit Aang. She paused for a moment, working her hand across his chest in a way that demonstrated she knew full well it was him. "Then I guess we'll see what happens _then, _but right now, my mind is made up, and you can't change it." She sighed and leaned herself into Aang, one hand still on his chest, the other keeping the phone held up.

Jane poked her head around the corner to see the two of them pressed against each other and flashed Aang a lifted brow that read '_Wow, really?_' before shaking her head and disappearing back behind the wall.

"Whatever, Dad. You guy never _listen _to me. You can't _make _me visit if I don't _want _to, give me some fucking _space, _I can see you guys for Christmas, all right?" More yelling. "No-...That doesn't-..._Ugh!_" Toph bumped her forehead against the wall above Aang's shoulder as he offered sympathy by rubbing her back. "Yea? Well, I'd like to see ya try." [_Beep._] She closed the phone and stuck it in her jean pocket.

"Great talk with the folks, huh?"

"Like always..."

"Hey, don't worry. We'll have a good time. And maybe you and your parents just need some space, ya know? I'm sure by Christmastime they'll realize how they're acting-"

"_No, _Aang, they _won't_." Toph thumped her head again. "It's always been this way, it always _will_."

"O-OK, well...Just tryin' to be optimistic."

"Yea, I know."

"Let's go finish dinner, huh?" Aang rubbed Toph's hips roughly, trying to shake her from her daze.

"Sure..."

* * *

- Thursday, November 18th, 2010 -

["Hey."] It was Katara. She did not sound pleased. As expected. ["Um...So. I just got back from practice. Suki was _not _happy that you weren't there. Just thought I'd warn you. Listen, I know you're avoiding me, Toph. Since you won't let me say it to your face I guess this will have to do. I'm sorry. OK? I _really _am sorry. I still stand by a lot of what I said, but...that doesn't mean it was right to throw it out at you like that. Can we please talk this out later? I guess I'll...hear from you when I hear from you."]

Toph sighed and closed her phone. She had been holding off listening to the voicemail all day, but found herself relieved that she had. If only she'd listened to it earlier, she could've sorted out any awkwardness right then. Now she'd have to deal with it later that night with a tired, studied-out roommate. But right now, she had to clear her mind, because none of that mattered. She stuck her phone in her pocket as she stepped onto the cool, flat wooden paneling of the small stage. Right now, what mattered was that wood beneath her toes, the stool she found her way to, the smell of coffee thick in the air, the murmurings of attendees, and the feeling of her darling instrument between her hands.

**_"~Yea, I'll~tell you something~"_**

She strummed at her strings with conviction, the pace slow and methodical, in a lower key to play bass for the intro.

**_"~I think you'll understand~"_**

Her words poured out the very feelings she refused to show earlier.

**_"~When I~say that something~"_**

The truth Katara saw that she had been denying.

_**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**_

Arms reached out. They stretched, her toes flexed out to prop up and meet her.

_"Mommy? Mommy?"_

**_"~I wanna hold your hand~"_**

_"Mommy is busy, Dear."_

The cold kitchen tiles against her feet_. _The voice fading away as it called out._  
_

**_"~I wanna hold your hand~"_**

_"Maya?"_

_"Yes, Mistress?"_

_"Could you please look after my Darling for a while?"_

**_"~Oh, please~say to me~"_**

Her hands exploded on the strings and played chords now instead of instruments, the notes splashing through the air before her, leaking out melancholic memories through the cracks.

**_"~You'll let me be your man~"_**

_"But-but _Dad, _I can do it! I _can!_"_

_"Toph, it's too dangerous. I can't let you."  
_

_**"~And please~say to me~"**_

_"Mom, could you do my hair for me?"**  
**_

_**"~You'll let me hold your hand~"**_

_"I'm sorry, Dear, I'm occupied. Oh, but...Hm. I see. Madison, Dear?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Help tidy this girl's hair. It's quite a mess today."  
_

_**"~Now let me hold your hand~**_

Arms reached out. They stretched, her fingers grasping for his attention.

_**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**_

_"I'm sorry, Toph, but I have a lot of paperwork I need to take care of today."_

_"I know, Dad, I just...-"_

_"Yes?"_

I just want a hug.

_"Nothin'. I'll go ask Madison..."_

_**"~And when I touch you~I feel~"**_

The tight dress against her bosoms, her hips...it was rather uncomfortable. Her hair tucked in a bun, the hard shoes housing her toes...she couldn't stand it.

_**"...happy..."**_

But her hands were clasped in theirs. Her parents walked her into the banquet hall, their daughter between them.

**"~inside~"**

She felt as if, for once, they were actually proud to have her in their presence, displaying themselves as a family in public.

_**"~It's such a feeling that my love~"**_

Aang's earlobe between her lips.

_**"~I can't hide~"**_

Sokka's hand ruffling her hair.

_**"~I can't hide~"**_

Jane's forehead acne under her palm.

_**"~I can't hide~"**_

Katara's concerned embrace.

_**"~Yea, you~You got that something~"**_

The smell of chocolate chip cookies, her rickety voice humming along to the song.

_**"~I think you'll understand~"**_

_"I love you, Grammy-Gram."_

_"Why, that is _quite _a coincidence, my Muffin - because I happen to love you, too._"

_**"~When I~feel that something~"**_

Dry, wrinkled skin against her fingertips. Wet, fat lips smooshing her cheeks lovingly.

_**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**_

_"You act like they're such _jerks_, like you hate them - but you don't, do you? You just feel_ guilty_."_

_**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**_

_ "But you're too stubborn, and you won't confront them about it."_

_**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**_

I'm your own daughter and you won't even _touch _me, you won't let me take care of my own things, but you won't take care of me _yourselves, _either...

_**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**_

Toph strummed the final chord, and the room burst into applause. Her insides torn, her eyes threatening to drip from the unknown mysteries that were worming their way out against her will, she raised her hands to express acceptance of their praise, slung her guitar over her back, and carefully wandered off stage as the smattering died down. She fumbled for her walking stick, thankfully right where she had left it, and briskly found her way out of the Jasmine Dragon.

"Wow," muttered a short blonde boy, scratching his head, staring at her as she passed through the glass double doors and up the stairs. "Pipsqueak, didn't she seem familiar to you?"

"Uh..." Pipsqueak ran his hand across his rough black hair. "Hm. Yea, The Duke. Sure looks familiar to me. Isn't she one of those people from Smellerbee's gang?"

"_Right! _Yes, of course...And she was in the band at FestivALL, as well..."

"Toph Beifong, right?" came the voice of Jin, the clerk behind the counter who was preparing The Duke's drink. "Yep, that was her all right."

"She's st-...Just...It's stunning-" The Duke murmured, impressed, "-how well she can perform without any sense of sight."

"You're telling me," Jin agreed, drizzling whipped topping onto the beverage. "She comes here every Thursday Night for Open Mic, and every time she plays...it's like she's really just pouring her _soul _into it, ya know?"

"Yea," confirmed Pipsqueak. "She seemed real sad..."

"She did," Jin lamented with a shrug, passing The Duke's freshly brewed drink. "I live across the hall from her, and her and her roommate have been arguing a lot lately. From what _my _roommate tells me, that girl's got a lot on her plate."

"Well, she's a talented musician," observed the blond boy, straightening his tie as he stepped aside and let Pipsqueak take his order.

Jin smiled and bobbed her head to the side thoughtfully. "They say good music comes from the heart."

* * *

**A/N: Song in the last scene is "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by (of course) The Beatles, specifically, the arrangement from Across the Universe.**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=3DaNQ3Fze-c**


	29. Smellerbee

**A/N: My apologies ahead of time for how morbidly depressing this chapter turned out to be. It will probably be the darkest chapter in the whole story, and it's also longer than usual as I really wanted to just openly inspect the skeletons in Jane's closet before Thanksgiving break. There will be some snippets that are familiar - lifted from earlier chapters when I made allusions to this backstory - so I hope by the end of this chapter everything with Jane's pre-SRU history makes sense.**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 29 - Smellerbee

* * *

_

- April, 2005 -

"Hello? Anybody home?" Jane surveyed the quiet living room, the lights on. There was no car in the driveway aside from her own, but someone had to be home - the door had been unlocked and lights were still on. With a shrug, she let an exhausted sigh slip from her lips she set her backpack onto the floor by the couch. It had been a long, damp weekend of hiking and camping, but had been rewarding, nonetheless.

"Hell_-oh_?" she called out, confused, as she unstrapped her hiking boots. Her feet tender and blistered, she carefully paced through the living room, appreciating the squishy, soft carpet, and glanced out through the glass sliding door to the backyard. No one was in sight. "Hm." She frowned, perplexed, and wandered upstairs. She noticed the bathroom door was closed, and it clicked - whoever was home was probably occupied. "Hey," she greeted to them, stretching out her arms and dragging her aching joints to her bedroom at the end of the hall. "I'm home early," she explained to whichever cousin was there. She knew her uncle was still at work on this Sunday afternoon. She received no response but shrugged it off. This family wasn't exactly talkative, but she didn't mind. "Anyway, I'll be in my room," she advised, closing her banged-up door.

Her muscles were sore, her head throbbed, and her clothes were damp with rain and sweat. It had been an exhausting week of camping and she was bushed. Without the will to take a shower at the moment, she opted that she would just change into fresh clothes for the time being. Her room's walls were painted black, posters of a random assortment of movies that didn't really make sense together were splattered haphazardly around the room. Her sheets sat in a bunch on her mattress, a pile of clothes from a week before exactly as she'd left it at the foot of the bed. A composition notebook was flopped onto the corner of her dress, the name "Smellerbee" scribbled and retraced on its front, cartoony sketches of bumblebees buzzing around the cover. She slipped on a pair of roomy sweatpants for lazy Sunday afternoons, appreciating the security that was brought by the familiar sound of the toilet flushing in the distance and creaking footsteps crawling down the hall. That security was shattered at the sound of her bedroom door's handle clicking.

"What the hell, man?" she hissed with irritation, happy her back had been facing the door as her shirt was off. She rushed to slap her fresh T-shirt on. "Would ya _knock_ from now on? I was freakin'-..." When she'd whirled around, her heart had skipped a beat, a wave of fear washing through her veins. He didn't belong here. This was _her _space. She'd thought she'd gotten rid of him months ago when his family had moved. She gulped hard, a knot in her throat, her insides churning at the sight of his curious face. "N-Nils?" she mumbled. She dunked her words in a bucket of spare courage she had lying around and tossed them out at him. "What are _you _doing here? Get outta my room!"

"Aw, little Cousin It's all sensitive about their girly parts," Nils taunted. "Simmer down, prick," he grunted, rolling his eyes at her defensive nature. "Your cousins went to the store to get some drinks, I'm waiting for them to get back."

"Why'd they leave you _here, _then?" Jane demanded, suspicious. "And what are you even doing in town?"

"Just seein' some faces before I graduate. And they told me to come meet them here at three. I showed up in town a bit early so I figured I'd just stop in like old times and make myself at home."

The explanation seemed plausible enough, and Jane's cousins _did _have a tendency to leave the front door unlocked, and Nils had become like some odd overgrowth into the family. Her cousins would probably leave the door open on purpose for good ol' fucking Nils.

"Fine, whatever," dismissed the red-head with the scowling olive eyes. "Just...piss off and leave me alone, all right?"

"Whatsa matter?" Nils jeered. "Why all the hate, huh? Don't miss your old _chum_?"

"_Out." _Jane burst the word out through clenched teeth, her heart-rate climbing just being in his presence. Rage and fear blended together into a most unpleasant combination. She thrust her index finger back to the hall behind her longtime adversary.

He shook his head and sighed. "I try to play _nice _and you're a complete _bitch_. Just like old times, am I right?" His smug grin and devilish eyes berated her, and in her wrath she gave in, stomping to him and shoving at his shoulders. She was shocked when her wrists were tightened by his grasp. She pulled to no avail, glaring at his cocky smile. He twisted her arms around, behind her back, and chuckled at her squirming and huffing. "You think you're so tough, but you're just a scrawny little stick." He let go suddenly, and Jane found herself tumbling back, falling flat on her rear. As Jane lamented the pain and frustration, the door closed. The soothing _click _of the lock on the door - normally a great comfort - was now terrifying. This didn't compute. Nils, in this safe space, was never meant to exist.

"Leave me the fuck alone," Jane growled, her strength deteriorating as she scrambled to her feet.

"We both know that's not what you really want, Jamie," Nils suggested, his eyes sly as he ran his hand across his thin, clean blond hair. "Ya know, I'm actually really glad you showed up when you did. It's like fate." He was slowly pacing toward her, one step forward for each one she took back. "Two star-crossed lovers..." he mused dryly. "...getting a chance to embrace before their farewell."

"Don't you fucking _touch me_," seethed the girl from the corner of her room. In that moment, every odd glance, every lingering smile, every off-remark, and every insult...all of it came snapping together like a puzzle. He was obsessed with her, wasn't he? _That _was why he always saved some attention for her, why he _always _went out of his way to give her trouble, all this time. "I swear to God, Nils, I will rip your fucking _balls_ off," Jane threatened, shaking her head intently at him, relishing the idea.

"_Oh-ho!_" He clapped his hands together mockingly. "You really know how to cut straight to the chase, _don't you_? Always have liked that about you Fitzpatricks."

Jane had run out of space to retreat to and he had come within inches of her by now. Her fists were tight, and she launched one into his chest. It sunk into his pectoral with little effect, save for a cough.

"Whoa, throwing punches, are we?" Nils shrugged off her feeble attempt. She swung the other at his face, and he absorbed the blow, as if on purpose. Her arms were trembling now, eyes ablaze, as she shook off her wrist. He sighed and sniffed, wiping a trickle of blood from his nose. "Two for two. Haven't lost your touch, have ya? Scrapper. Livin' up to that Irish name."

_You fucking-ho-bag-douche-whore-shithead-creeper, **shut up.**_

Jane motioned to ram her knee into his testicles - that would sure keep him quiet - but her efforts failed as he caught on to her scheme, delivering a solid blow to her stomach with his knuckles. Jane's twisted intestines were now smashed together, and she coughed violently from the force.

"But now it's my turn," Nils explained after the fact, pressing his head against her own, which was bobbed down, her body scrunching up in reaction to the hit. She pushed at his thick frame with her scrawny arms to no avail, pressed at his head with his own despite her dazed state, but the strength simply wasn't there. She was too skinny, he was too large, the wind had just been knocked from her, and she was already drained from her hiking that day. His butch hand clutched itself around her neck before slamming it against the wall. The back of her skull pounded with pain, the world a blur around her, until another body blow overloaded her senses.

She came to moments later, the familiar comfort of her bed calming her petrified soul. Her situation came roaring back into her mind like a train crashing into her fortress of peace. As her senses drifted back, she was horrified at the realization that the very clothes she had just changed into her no longer there. She only wore her underwear.

"Rise and shine, Cousin It." Nils' voice berated from above. She grabbed her head in agony, her sight still blurred from the impact. "Hm. A push-up bra and boxers. Can't say I'm surprised in the slightest."

"...The...The _fuck _are you...-?" Jane warily urged words out but they tumbled and spilled where she intended to lash.

"I know it's been an excruciating wait, my friend." The girth of Nils' body heaved down on Jane's back and she grunted out in defiance as he continued. "All this time you've been teasing me with the name-calling, the punching..." Nils pinched at her cheek and she tugged away, her skin stretching and snapping back. "...Flaunting those cute _freckles _of yours and that pretty, pretty hair." He ran his dry, clean hands through her greasy, sweaty mess of orange. Jane thrashed from under his heft, squirming to escape. She may not have possessed the physical force to bring him down, but surely she was too speedy for him.

Just as she could feel herself finding some headway, a clump of her hair was tugged back, yanking her head up, the nerve endings burning her scalp. She cried out in aggrevation and fury, scratching at his arm with her dirty nails. Her face was crushed into her own pillow, eliciting her to switch up her reaction and gasp for breath through her own pillow's fabric rather than attack. The cold, beefy hand against her neck felt like Death's fingers pulling at her spirit. She could hear the sound of Nils' jeans unzipping from behind her, and she anticipated the torture that awaited.

She couldn't run, she couldn't fight, she could only endure, relieved at least that she was on her stomach and didn't have to see his face while he decimated her defenses. Her body involuntarily choked out sounds of disgust and anguish, to which a hand enveloped her lips to quiet her. His nose sniffing at her head felt like rabid wolf, his hand on her neck like claws. Minutes passed, each second a small eternity of agony. The walls of her only place of solitude and safety crumbled, a white flag of surrender all that stood in the aftermath.

She tried to drown out the sensations, but she might as well have been ignoring bullets and grenades from inches away. When the last round had been fired and the battle ended, the weight lifted, the zipper sounded again, a siren in her ears, and she flinched as his hand gently smacked the back of her head.

"You'll always be _mine, _Little Cousin It."

Jane did not move from her position on the bed for a long, defeated moment. She felt dead, her soul riddled with bullet holes. She simply waited, trembling in a heap on her stomach, until the door closed. She slowly rolled onto her back, her fresh afflictions surging cramps and pain through her body. She woefully glanced at the closed door to confirm that the danger was gone. Only then, upon his exit, did she allow herself to cry out the shadows he had put in.

She decided that she would not feel this way ever again.

And she would get revenge on anyone who _did _make her feel this way.

* * *

- Sunday, November 21st, 2010 -

"So did you finally manage to get that _stick _out of Toph's ass?" Jane wondered, spinning her straw around in her large cup with the blue arrow. She glanced at Aang's sigh as she tipped her strawberry milkshake up to her face.

"Did _you _finally manage to get one out of _Johnny_'_s_?" he retorted, grabbing his fresh veggie wrap in both hands.

"_Touche_," Jane congratulated, raising her cup with a wink. "'Atta boy, Aang. You just may end up growing a pair one of these days," she teased. "There's hope for you yet." They exchanged humored grins before Aang chewed into his green-tinted wrap and Jane sucked a gulp of pink shake. "Seriously, though," Jane muttered. "She seems better this weekend. Things get cleared up?"

"W-well, I mean...as much as they _can _be right now, sure," Aang answered with some hesitation.

"What does _that _mean?" Jane dubiously inquired, taking a moment to study Aang's sheepish expression, his eyes staying stuck to his food.

"Her and Katara made up and everything."  
"Of course."  
"But...she's still really upset with her parents." He sighed, enjoying another bite of his meal. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy with them, myself, but...I think Katara has a good point."

"Yeh," Jane shrugged in compliance, uncomfortable with taking any sides.

"She won't listen to anyone, though," Aang lamented. "Not even me."

"Guess she'll figure it out herself," Jane concluded with some remorse. "The hard way."

Aang nodded his head to the side in admittance, not pleased with the concept.

"When she gets worked up about her folks, though, she gets all...-" Aang huffed, letting the thought trail off.

"Gets all what?" Jane prodded coyly, noticing some embarrassment in Aang's demeanor.

"Difficult," replied Aang. "Very pushy."

"_Pushy, _huh?" The red-head crossed her arms, amused by the prospect as she quickly pieced things together.

"Y-yea, it's...She gets very...physically demanding."

"Horny, Aang. You can say it."

"..." Aang's brows furrowed in discomfort.

"C'mon."

"Sh-she gets...really horny..." The words trickled out reluctantly. "It's weird, and...I-I don't know what to do with it when she acts like that."

Jane slurped more strawberry liquid and wiped her lips with her knuckle, holding back a chuckle at his endearing confusion.

"Oh, so you're not interested?" Jane teased with glee as Aang's face burned up.

"N-no, that's-...Of course I am," Aang assured. "It...It's a little...bit _much_ sometimes."

"Little forceful, is she? Ya don't _say..._" Jane grinned facetiously.

"It bothers me sometimes, though," explained Aang with some seriousness through his blushing. "She gets so stubborn, and she tries pushing me to do stuff I just...-"

"...You're not comfortable with," finished Jane with some solemnity.

"Yea," huffed Aang.

Jane nodded slowly, and sat her drink down. "Aang, listen," she firmly advised. "I _know _how that girl is. Don't let her force you to do something you aren't cool with."

"Yea...She's...She's usually good about taking it slow," Aang defended her. "We've...ya know." He popped his shoulders up. "We've made progress, we're a lot more...intimate than we were when we started."

"Don't let her_ push you_, Bud," Jane reiterated, tapping her finger into the table. "Take your time. Trust me, that kinda stuff...It's tricky."

"I don't...I don't know what I'm _doing_," Aang explained. "This is...It's all_ new_ to me. I've never had a girlfriend before Toph."

"Heh." Jane smirked and nodded her head. "Yea, no kidding. I can tell."

A pouty frown poured across Aang's face and Jane laughed.

"Hey, don't be like that, ya baby. It's fine. Everyone has to start somewhere."

"I feel like I'm...not 'man' enough or something."

"Hm." Jane drank the last of her milkshake as she contemplated her reply. "From experience, Aang, lemme tell ya: it's not about how 'manly' or 'womanly' you are, it's about...how you _are. _Period. Toph doesn't look at it like that. She doesn't think 'is Aang _man _enough?' Get me?" Aang nodded at her raised, expectant eyebrows. "Toph thinks 'Aang _is_ enough.' Just _you, _exactly as you are_. _I know she's told you this."

"She has, she has...When she gets all...pressuring...and stuff, it starts seeming like she wants me to do things I don't want to do yet, or be someone I'm not."

"I hear ya," Jane agreed. "I can see that. But like you said, maybe that's just because she's stressed right now."

"I guess."

"Ya know, Aang..." Jane fidgeted in her seat as he ripped through his vegetables. "I know what it's like."

"Mmph?" His mouth was full.

"The...- " Jane glanced around Appa's, pleased that there wasn't anyone nearby who would likely overhear. "The 'uncomfortable' thing." She was mumbling now, trying to convey some intimacy but unsure how to do it in this public setting.

"What do you mean?" Aang wondered.

"I...-" Jane's olive eyes darted to her right for a moment, her nail running across her left eyebrow. "I've had trouble with...physical stuff, too." Aang's curious eyes were now peppered with concern. "It takes time, but eventually, with the right people, it works. It's all about going at your own pace, Bud."

"I know, I'm trying. You...You and Johnny, you guys have...-" Aang waggled his finger left and right. "-worked through stuff like that?"

Jane nodded and took a deep breath as her mind was washed over the stress of that entire situation.

"_I'm_ the one who needed to go slow," Jane admitted. "So I had to keep getting Johnny to drop the pace here and there. We got there eventually, though."

"Got there?"

"_Got _there," Jane snickered with a wink.

"And things are going well?" Aang checked. Jane's smile faded and gave way to a melancholy sigh as she folded her arms onto the table and sat her chin down.

"They're...hit-and-miss," she groaned.

"Haven't they...been like that for a few _weeks_ now?"

"_Uuuughhhh..._" She slammed her head into the table.

"Sounds like I'm not the only one who needs to work on some stuff."

Jane quickly popped her head up and ranted off her issue. "I seem important to him until those God _damned _Freedom Fighters need him. They _always _come before me. What the _shit_? Seriously!"

Aang flinched back from her rage, wide-eyed, and Jane recognized her fury and settled it.

"Heh, sorry, Bud. I'm a little...worked up about it."

"Yea, _no kidding,_" picked Aang, stealing her line from earlier. "I can _tell._"

"You're getting quicker on the draw, Aang." Jane pointed to him with a sneaky grin. "But ya gotta be more original with your comebacks."

* * *

- Monday, November 22nd, 2010 -

"The _fuck?_" snapped Jane, exploding with irritation. "Are you serious, Johnny?" She pounded her fist against her pillow as the slender young man slid into his pants. "Can't it _wait? _You're just gonna leave right in the middle...-?"

Longshot shook his head, jamming his feet into his working boots. Jane rolled onto her back, tucking the sheets back over herself.

"Fine. Whatever. Obviously, I'm fuckin' chopped liver on a stick over here..."

Longshot gave her a disapproving gaze in the dim light from the desk lamp, but Jane avoided it, opting instead to inspect the time: [**1:12am**].

"It's an emergency. I have responsibilities," Longshot defended with conviction. "You have to accept that."

"Yea, you just _keep on_ spinnin' it 'round back on _me_," growled Jane, rotating around so that all he could see was a freckled shoulder and a ball of hair popping out from the covers. "Makes me feel _super_ important. Glad to know my place."

"You insist on having this same argument over and over," Longshot sighed, zipping up his flannel coat. Jane refused to acknowledge his statement as he approached the door, poised to leave. The handle clicked. "Good night," Johnny muttered gently, sticking his hat over his head.

"Night," was the bitter farewell he was given.

* * *

- Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 -

"Don't-!..." Smellerbee jabbed her finger out with accusation at Johhny's suspicious glance. "I just-!...Stop _looking _at me like that, Longshot." He didn't stop. "I told you, I'm not in the mood to discuss it, all right?"

Longshot shrugged and fidgeted his cap, his eyes rolling with a smirk, as if this were merely some embarrassing factoid akin to a light-hearted childhood story.

"It's not _funny, _Longshot," insisted the grouchy red-head with a heaving sigh. "Can we just...drop it?" Scratching at her itchy, sweaty scalp, she flopped onto his bed and bobbed her head down in exhaustion.

Her mind boiled with anger at how Jet had stirred this history back to her present just the day before.

* * *

- Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 -

"Ya just _couldn't _let it go, _could _ya?" Smellerbee growled, fists clenched, grime wedged in her fingernails. "Couldn't let it the _fuck _go!" she roared at Jet, kicking her tire again.

"Oh, like how _you _forgot _your _demons, right?" Jet countered. "Sure let _that _shit go, didn't ya?"

Smellerbee could feel Longshot's inquisitive presence prying at her with that curious raised brow of his, but she dared not look at him.

"That's-!...That was _different,_" Smellerbee hissed, slashing her hand defensively through the air. She marched over to Jet and grabbed his collar, tugging his face within mere inches of hers. She seethed to him in a whisper, "I fucking _told _you to never bring that shit up. Ever!"

* * *

- Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 -

And now here her boyfriend was, expectantly curious about what Jet could've been referring to - what Jet knew that Longshot did not. It crawled around the inside of Smellerbee's skull like a parasitic worm that had never left but had merely hibernated for quite some time. The familiar stinging confusion warped her thoughts as she considered the prospect of confession. Guilt ravaged her brain: _How could you tell Katara about this and not your own boyfriend? He knows about most everything else. Why have you hidden _this _from him? _The answer was quite simple. _Because he is a man. Because he will hold it over my head, just like Jet did, and never let me forget about it. Because he is just and will want me to accept penance or something. But I just want to leave it alone. I don't want to go back to that. A different person did those things.  
_

Longshot's perplexation was contained as he stood before her and wrapped his hand around hers, his way of assuring that things were all right.

_Things are really _not _all right, Johnny...Fuckin' Jet, why did he have to bring that up? Argh. Guess I asked for it, though. Fucking stupid. What was I thinking?_

Smellerbee's mind was dragged out of the mud as Johnny's lips pressed against her forehead. She was in a foul mindset, but her depleted energy welcomed the sensation. He bent his head to the side and enveloped her lips with his own, and she reciprocated. Somehow, in that ever-knowing way, Johnny could tell she wasn't in the mood for anything too intimate, so he sat beside her on his bed. She yawned and stretched, and by the time she was done with this gesture, she was overcome by a methodical and familiar rubbing on her ears. Johnny's slender, strong fingers worked around her ear lobs and up around the entirety of her ears, quickly sending her into a deep state of relaxation. Only Johnny knew of this weakness of hers - no one else had ever cracked this particular code because no one had ever bothered to find it. Before she knew it, her head was against Johnny's skinny shoulder, her face warm and her arms numb. She hummed out a pleased sound and let herself drift into slumber.

* * *

- Monday, November 22nd, 2010 -

Jane scratched at her ears, her sleep interrupted for reasons she couldn't identify. She rolled over groggily, trying to decipher the alarm clock on her desk. The blurry red lines eventually formed the time: [4:52am.] Johnny hadn't come back yet. Had he just gone back to his own dorm instead? That would figure. Jane groaned out in dissatisfaction.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, Jane," squeaked the mousy voice from across the dark room. "Did I wake you?" It was Ginnie, Jane's roommate, at her computer, the laptop glow reflecting off of her glasses.

"Nah, Jin," Jane grunted, rotating back over, unable to find a comfortable position, her shoulders stiff, her stomach empty. "'S cool..."

"Is everything all right?" Jin wondered. "You've been really restless in your sleep."

"GrRrRmMmMmNm," was all Jane found herself able to muster through her pillow, her face half buried in its fabric out of frustration.

"Hee. I'm sorry to hear that," Jin joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere of the dark dorm room. "If you'd like, you could have some sleeping pills or something."

"Mmm," hummed Jane approvingly.

"Haha, all right. No problem." Jin's motions were like a blur in the pale light of the laptop, and as she fiddled with a bottle and poured water in a glass from their bathroom sink, Jane fumbled for her cell phone. She flipped it open, the light blinding her eyes, and closed it quickly thereafter upon the disappointing realization that she had no new messages. Worry overtook her, but she knew if anything had actually come up, she would hear from _someone_, so she laid her concerns to rest and gladly took the glass of water Jin provided, popping the pair of pills and swallowing.

Jane chugged the water down with ferocity and lamented her own dehydration and hunger before grumbling out a "Thanks," and settling herself back into her sheets.

"Hope you sleep better," Jin offered retreating back to her computer.

Jane and Jin shared this bizarre but comforting relationship in which they rarely interacted but when they did, it was peaceful coexistence. Jin didn't ask questions, and neither did Jane. They both were often away and half the time neither even slept in their own room. It wasn't anything that Jane held onto, but she had grown to appreciate the natural flow and lack of difficulty. With Jin, there was no commitment, no questions, and no worries. She had a feeling this was a mutual feeling. Smellerbee would have preferred this kind of relationship over one where she'd get periodically frustrated with her fussy friends or irritated by their sense of humor, but Jane had grown to rather enjoy the mystery that each day brought with this group of people and the deliberate sense of being belonged - not out of obligation like the Freedom Fighters but out of choice. She _chose _to spend time with them, to be a part of their 'clan.'

She _chose _to commit that act, years ago.

_Fuck me._

Her mind was reminded of that which seemed to be possessing her in her sleep this week, and she opted to attempt sliding back into slumber's embrace with the prospect of better dreams. Better dreams didn't come.

* * *

- July, 2005 -

The arid summer afternoon was welcoming to Jane's teenage senses, the scent of dry grass blissful, the gentle occasional breeze soft against her hair, which flowed down her back in a scruffy ponytail. She couldn't have asked for a nicer day to run this errand. She followed her steps from the day prior, traversing the hot fields near her home. In this place, on her own, she enjoyed the company of her only true friend: nature. While most summer afternoons out in the wild had been spent leisurely, this was different. Jane Fitzpatrick had a purpose, a task of dire importance to fulfill. This made her glad.

The consistent, gentle humming sound she approached was relaxing, welcoming.

_Come. Come to us, Jane, _she could swear they said. _We are ready._

She stared at their hefty mass, wrapped around the small tree's branches. Jane grinned a wide smile that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's as she approached. She savored the sweet irony as her biology terms screeched to a halt. _Apidae: Bombus_. That may have been a species she loved - the Bumble Bee - but _these_ creatures that swarmed before her...they were hybrids. They had no accurate terminology to suit them, no concrete scientific classification. These creatures were a mistake, an unnatural species that had become reality - something she could connect with.

These were Africanized Bees. While in most other situations Jane would lament their unfortunate nickname, on this day, she couldn't contain her pride in the association.

_Killer bees._

"Hey, there, girls," Jane greeted verbally with a casual wave. "Good to see ya again. How ya been?" She lifted her metal can and directed the spout at the pulsating swarm, flooding the colony with smoke.

Bees could smell fear - pheromones - but Jane was not afraid. And if their senses were dulled by smoke, their channels of communication faded. After she had sufficiently doused them into a stupor, she set down her can and picked up her glass jar. She gently, confidently, extended an arm, scooping up a handful of the insects. Their tiny feet en mass danced across her palm, trickling across her fingers in a river of energy and life. She watched with delight as they scurried and as some took flight, whirling around and away. She slipped her fingers into the jar and let the small platoon crawl off, finding their way onto a tiny branch she'd set inside. With care, she screwed on the jar's top, and was quick to drizzle a helping of smoke inside before leaving. If the insects panicked and released chemicals indicating as such, she might have to worry about the swarm immediately behind giving chase.

Unscathed, Jane merrily began her trek back home, ammunition in hand.

"Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, ladies," Jane promised her private army, admiring their tiny bodies as they wandered around their glass deployment vehicle.

* * *

Jane tended her restless new pets with another puff of smoke, her window wide open and a fan blowing to mask the gas as well as the potential noise. She had been lucky to smuggle them in, careful to sneak through the back door while her cousins tossed a football in the front yard. She untied her tail and let the mess of orange fumble across her back. She occupied herself for a while in her bedroom, doing her best to settle her nerves and maintain her resolve. She sat at an old desk, one inherited from her late mother that she had cared for tenderly over the years. Propping open the top drawer, she admired a pewter-hilt that formed the shape of a roaring lioness head, and smirked at the blade that protruded from the other end. It had seen use in the months since she had received it the prior Christmas, a relic passed down from her grandfather on her dad's side. It had been her father's, left behind when he had moved out, only to be unearthed and given to Jane to be put to work for various tasks, the common of which being letter opening. She delighted at the sight of it as it glinted back up at her.

_Hello, old friend. What shall it be tonight? Business or pleasure? Maybe a bit of both?_

"Hey, 'Cuz!" cried out a distant voice from the stairwell. "You seen my phone anywhere?"

"Nope!" Jane cried back simply.

"Shit...I think the battery might be dead. Well, whatevs. We're finally headin' out to go pick up Dad."

"Yep!" She casually dug into her pocket as she heard the stomping footsteps of her cousins flee the house and fiddled with the device she'd procured - the very phone her cousin had been inquiring about. She sorted through the contact list to the guest of the hour and sent a message to someone who was spending their summer vacation in town - someone she had been avoiding as best she could for months and who had, funny enough, been seeming to avoid her.

[To: NILS]  
[yo man wassup? my bro is gettin pops n then its baseball time u in or wut?]  
[Sent: 5:36pm]

Jane set the phone down and took a deep breath. She waited, her mind full to burst with adrenaline, the wait agonizing.

_Rrrrrmmmm._

She grabbed the phone in a flash, viewing the message with heated anticipation._  
_

[From: NILS]  
[Sounds good. Should I come over?]  
[Sent: 5:38pm]

With shaky hands, she punched in a response.

[Reply]  
[To: NILS]  
[ya totally im up in my room come over]  
[Sent: 5:38pm]

Jane deleted the messages - sent and received - that had occurred during this exchange and snapped the phone shut, proceeding to sneak off to her cousins' shared bedroom. She cautiously traversed discarded clothes and magazines about sports, porn, and hunting until she reached their bunkbed. She slipped the phone on the floor just under the bed, carefully dropping it atop a stinky t-shirt. She clicked on the television in their room, leaving it at its default station as some sports commentary played. She drowned out whatever the suits were babbling about and closed the door, then did the same to an empty bathroom.

The trap was set. All that she had to do now was wait.

She shut the entrance to her own room so that only a crack was open, and she tactfully hid her jar of bees between her desk and her dresser. She pried open the drawer, retrieved her blade, and contemplated different possibilities as to how this would play out. Before she knew it, the sound of someone entering the house echoed from downstairs. Jane could feel her heart speed up as the steps approached her, climbing the creaky old stairs, one by one.

"Hey, man! I'm here!" Nils' painfully familiar voice called out.

_You sure are, you fucking prick._

She waited until the tell-tale groaning of her cousins' bedroom door sounded before she quietly slipped out of her room, holding both hands behind her. She made sure to keep some distance as she approached, a panther on the prowl.

"You in the bathroom or-...?" Nils curious question was stifled when he saw Jane staring at him from the hallway. His hair was slick as usual, and he wore an unbuttoned jacket representing some sports team Jane had never bothered to focus on. He had been wearing it every time she had seen him that summer, which she found to be unwise given the hot weather. Nils had never been one to care much for practicality, though. "Well, well," he said with amusement. "And how are _you _doing today, Fitz?"

"Fuckin' fantastic," growled Jane, eyes narrowed. "Get the hell over here," she cut to the chase. Nils' brows raised and a smile worked its way up.

"Wow, pushy as ever." He sauntered toward her, and she carefully backtracked, keeping her gaze locked on him. She swerved to the stairwell and drew her knife, pointing it straight out. His hungry, questioning eyes now flashed with shock.

"Get in my room," Jane commanded robotically.

"Whoa, _whoa, _Cousin It. I didn't know you were _that _happy to see me..."

"Get. In. My. Room," she repeated with conviction, showing no sign of amusement.

"All right, OK." Shrugging his hands up, Nils did as he was told. "We're playing _your_ game this time, is that it?"

_Damn straight we're playing _my _game, you creep._

Jane followed him in, knife raised all the while.

"You even dressed up all nice for me," Nils observed. "Ya got your hair down, you're showing off those precious little freckles on your shoulders..." Jane noticed her bare shoulders above the black tanktop she was wearing, and was stunned at how he could still be trying to flatter her after all that had transpired. She couldn't tell if he was sarcastic or delusional. In a few minutes, it wouldn't matter either way.

She issued her next command. "Get on the bed."

"Ho, _ho, _right down to business. So very tact." Nils slung off his light sports jacket, dropping it at the foot of her bed. She was glad that he hadn't noticed the jar on the floor to her right yet, the rushing fan on her desk covering their sound. She took a quick moment to survey the jar's position, and in that moment, Nils took her by surprise, gripping the wrist that contained the knife. She struggled, her heart pounding, as Nils twisted her own arm until it gave out, dropping the blade to the floor. He pushed her away, her back slamming into her dresser, as he bent down to pick up the knife. This unexpected twist was welcomed, though, as she saw it playing to her advantage in the aftermath.

"Didn't your Uncle tell you to never play with knives, Fitz?" taunted Nils, his blue eyes burning with anticipation, just as they had on that day in the spring. It was easy to make herself look afraid with how much she was sweating, how much her mind was flashing back to what he had done to her. But she wasn't truly afraid. Not anymore. She squirmed across her desk's front, inching toward her desk, and Nils grabbed one arm, pinning her with his weight, while her other arm was to weak to stop him from raising her own blade to her face. He jabbed it gently at her cheek and she froze up at its presence. She knew he wouldn't actually harm her. He didn't have the guts and whatever his intentions were, they wouldn't be any fun if she couldn't resist. She had certainly learned that, at least. Her face burned slightly at the scratch Nils had created from the pressure of the tip.

"Gee," he cooed, "I'm so sorry about that, Cousin It, I didn't mean to hurt that little face of yours." A chuckle escaped him as he retracted the knife, delivering a punch to her face. Dazed, she shook off the blow and wiped at her nose with her hand, blood smearing across it. Delightful. He was playing right into what she wanted. Still dizzy, Jane had enough stability to ram her knee into his testicles. He choked and faltered, stumbling back but oddly laughing the entire while. It was unsettling. "'Atta girl," he huffed. "Knew ya had it in ya..." He pointed the knife out casually at her, finding this entire situation entertaining as he rested on her bed's side.

Jane, teeth clenched tight and adrenaline pumping hard, scooped up her glass jar with her damp hand, her own blood sticking to its surface. She tossed it underhanded to Nils, whose face flashed with fear as he dropped the knife to catch it.

"The _hell_?" he shrieked. "You bitch, I'm fucking _allergic _to these things!" His arms trembled as he stared, horrified, at the now disturbed insects.

"Oh, I _know,_" Jane assured with a sniff, blood clotting in her nose. "I remember. I did my _research, _you cock. Anaphylactic shock, Nils. That's what happens to _you _because of your allergic reaction. Did you know it can be_ fatal_?"

Nils' expression flared, his blue eyes ablaze with indignation and horror.

"Careful, now, Nils. Bees can smell your fear," Jane reminded him.

"Crazy _cunt!_" Nils roared, chucking the jar at her. She swiftly dodged, bounding out the door as the jar smashed against her dresser and the angry buzzing commenced. Nils' screeched like a banshee as Jane pulled out her bedroom door's key and locked it shut from the outside. That would buy her just enough time, she imagined. She relished the involuntary shouts of agony Nils exerted as he attempted to traverse the bedroom. She flinched when the door rattled, savoring the sounds of his anguished hacking, his senses already too stunted to think to simply unlock the door from the inside. Nils' groaned out incomprehensible insults and demands that went ignored as Jane waited for the ruckus to die down. She opened the bathroom, she turned off the sports programming, all to make sure it was still apparent that she had simply been in her bedroom. At last, she unlocked her own door and entered, stepping inside.

Shards of glass, some stained red, littered the floor, the jar lid at her feet. The delightful, droning hum coming from below filled her with satisfaction. She wiped the blood from her cheek with her sleeve, eyes locked on the discarded jacket at the foot of her bed.

She rustled through her dresser, whipping out a near-empty box of cigarettes from beneath her socks. Her grimy hands, shaking like leaves in the wind, fumbled a cigarette out from the rest. She grasped it tightly in her jittery fingers as she retrieved the lighter from the top of her dresser.

Her trembling thumb desperately flicked at the disposable lighter, again and again, aching for it to ignite. At last, it did, and she quenched her nicotine thirst with a deep inhalation. She puffed out a cloud of smoke and immediately stuffed the small box of cigarettes into her pocket. Restarting the lighter, she smoked for a few moments, eyes mesmerized by the flickering flame in front of her face as she contemplated the situation.

"Fucked with the _wrong _bitch, Bastard..."

She lifted her thumb and the spark died out. As she puffed on her cigarette, she nonchalantly put on her pair of leather hunting gloves she had tucked in her desk, grabbed her smoking can from her closet and puffed it out at Nils trembling body, settling the bees down. He was covered in hives - she found the cruel irony hilarious - his eyes terrified between puffed patches of skin, his lips swollen.

"And you were worried about _my _face," Jane teased with malice as she felt around Nils pockets, pleased to see her black and yellow friends still scuttling about his body. Nope, not here. She then approached his nearby jacket and found his phone. She purged its memory banks of any messages pertaining to this interaction and stuffed the phone back where she had found it. Nils whimpered in agony. "Oh, I know," Jane mocked. "It'll be over soon." She slapped him in the face with her gloved hand softly and he winced. "You wanted me so badly? You_ got_ me. I've always been your Little Cousin It. When you leave? That little cock-bite that always took all your _shit_ will leave, too." She lectured him over his anguishing moans for help. "I'm not that person anymore, Nils. Thanks for waking me up from that. I really owe you for teaching me how you fucking _men_ work."

She took in a deep inhalation from her cigarette and puffed smoke out into her fan, watching it dissipate out toward the window. Self-defense, she could argue. As she removed her gloves, stuffing them into her dresser, she pieced together the story in her mind.

Nils had shown up, knowing that she was home alone, to try and rape her - which he had before, but she'd been too afraid to tell anyone for her own safety. They would probably buy that. He had attacked her - invaded her room, grabbed her by the wrists, punched her in the face, taken her knife from her own hands and cut her cheek...And she'd tried to threaten him with her jar of bees - collected for research purposes, of course, as she was often inspecting local wildlife - to distract him and escape, but he'd forced it from her and tried throwing it at her, instead. She'd managed to flee, but upon realizing he was incapacitated, she tried to smoke the bees and settle them for his own protection. She'd called 9-1-1 in an attempt to get medical assistance there in time to save him, but they had arrived too late. He was gone before they had even shown up. She was only trying to protect herself and unfortunate events had resulted in his untimely demise. He happened to show up at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong intentions.

Once her place of sanctuary, her bedroom had become her own prison on that day when Nils had defiled that illusion of safety. Now, she had turned it into _his _prison. This new person that had found her way out from the ashes of the fires of her past...this wasn't Jane Fitzpatrick. Someone tougher, harder. Not as trusting, not as naive and foolish. More cunning and selfish because looking out for herself was the only way to not be used by others. This was someone new.

As Jane toyed with her cell phone, getting ready to make the fated call to the authorities to establish her innocence, she smirked at Nils' fading life with sparking olive eyes.

"When you get to hell, Nils, tell them that 'Smellerbee' sent you."

* * *

**A/N: As I've said before, part of Jane's inspiration is The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and if you've seen that movie, you will recognize some correlation with the character "Nils" in that movie and the similarly named character in this story in terms of some of what role they fill. As for the bee-catching, I did try to do some research and got inspiration from this particular video:**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=bmLo2D9LFGs**

**Obviously, Africanized Bees are different, and I really don't know how easily they'd take to Jane's taming, but I try to imply that she has a kind of special connection with bees, so give me some benefit of the doubt on that, please. ;)**

**Also, a little props to artist Doodle Buggy and her comic about Longshot and Smellerbee and it has influenced certain nuances to how I write their interactions. In particular, I really liked the idea she did with this strip, and it reflects in this chapter. **  
**http:/doodlebuggy(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/JL-D0-P9-63949253**  
**http:/doodlebuggy(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/JL-D0-P10-67439775**

**Lastly, I want to specify that while what I experienced was not the same as what Jane goes through, I _am _a victim of sexual abuse, and I use the characters of Jane and Aang to explore the difficulties of physical intimacy that I myself have dealt with over recent years.**


	30. Baggage

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 30 - Baggage_

* * *

- Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010 -

"You're really OK with this, Dad?"

["I am, Katara. _Really._ Why are you so worried about it?"]

"N-nothing, it's fine," she assured with a hint of hesitation.

["In Woman-Speak that means there _is _something."] Her dad _did _know her well, and she realized with those exact words how much her brother sounded like him.

"Heh. Y-yea, I'm, um...-" She trailed off, collecting her thoughts. "Thanksgiving has just always been...just _us. _You know?"

["I understand,"] Hakoda sympathized. ["But you and your brother are allowed to share that with others. It's what your mother would've wanted."]

"I know..." Katara sighed in spite of her own muddled emotions. "It's going to be fun. You'll get to meet all of our friends, and...and going to be...a very _interesting _holiday."

["Haha. 'Interesting' is exactly what I could use these days."]

"Hee." Katara could detect anticipation in her father's voice. He was lonely. She couldn't deny him some excitement, and she knew deep down that once she could work her way through her own uncomfortableness she would love sharing Thanksgiving with her friends. It was just strange to consider: this very personal holiday in which they would always honor her mother, being shared with _non_-Kesuks.

["Well, you're a busy girl. You probably have...classes or homework you need to take care before you head out tomorrow, right?"]

"_Oh,_" Katara gasped, her mind snapping to her assignments. "Shoot. You're right, ha. I _do. _I have a paper I need to finish before we leave..."

["Better get on that then!"] Hakoda chuckled. ["I'll expect to see you guys tomorrow, then!"]

"Right! We should get there sometime tomorrow night."

["Keep me informed if you need anything, Katara."]

"Sure thing, Dad."

["I love you."]

Katara smiled at his solemn tone. He always said it with a sort of seriousness that left no question to the statement's validity.

"I love you, too," she replied softly before ending the call. She stuffed the phone into her coat pocket, marching across the autumn-worn campus, the calm bustle of busy students humming around her. The air was crisp and chilled, the ground covered in brown and orange and red. Snow had not yet stuck, but she knew it wold come soon enough, and she couldn't wait.

* * *

"Yep, it's official." Aang replied in a chirp. "My first time to Canada."

["Ahhh, wowie. Well, gee, Aang, that sure sounds like it's gonna be quite a trip, eh? Ya know, I actually grew up in Canada, myself. Did you know I used to be-?"]  
["Chong, Dearie,"] Lily piped in. ["I'm sure Aang has a lot he needs to do before he leaves. How about you save the story for another day?"]

["Ah, ya know, I betcha she's right, huh?"]

"Ha, well, kinda. It _is _pretty crazy around here right now."

["Gotcha, gotcha...Well, don't mind me and my ramblin', then. You're a busy kid in school! Take care of your business."]

Aang felt a twinge of guilt and decided to try and compensate. He _had _given them some forewarning, but he still felt bad about the situation.

"I'll come visit you guys the first chance I get when I get back."

["That sounds swell. Real swell!"] Chong expressed. ["You just go right on ahead and stop by whenever ya like, eh?"]

"I will."

["Have a happy Thanksgiving then, all right?"]  
["Happy Thanksgiving, Aang!"]

"You, too, guys!"

["Byeeee~"]  
["Bye-bye!"]

Aang hung up his phone and yawned, scratching his hungry stomach as it gurgled. He couldn't shake his uneasy feeling off for some reason. _Something _about this whole situation wasn't settling right. He wrote off the sensation as merely hunger and went back to his drawing, shading in the lineart he'd laid out.

Sokka cast a casual glance over his shoulder as he waited for his video game to load. He and Suki had gotten all of their work done the weekend prior, so they were all set.

"Wh...Is that, like...A Bear-Duck, now?" questioned Sokka.

"Looks like it has a beaver tail," Suki murmured thoughtfully.

"It's a Platypus-Bear," Aang correct with some smug satisfaction.

Sokka nodded slowly with an impressed smirk. "That is pretty bad-ass, my friend."

"I need to finish this up and then I'm all set," Aang explained. "Hey, Suki, did you figure out what you were doing?"

"It sounds like you guys are going to be pretty crowded for break," she observed with a hint of doubt. "I'm just going to spend it with my folks. We can always video chat if _someone _needs a break." She tugged on Sokka's ear, wobbling his head back and forth. He elicited a sigh, his eyelids sinking closed.

"I shall survive," he whimpered, clutching his controller as the game started up.

"Not today, you won't," challenged Suki, fingers tight around her own controller. Aang cast a cursory glance at the screen and noted what they were playing on his Wii console.

"You play Dr. Mario?" he muttered, surprised.

"Used to play it all the time with my folks when I was little," bragged Suki. "Hey, hey," she interjected Sokka's button pressing. "C'mon, ya wimp - turn the speed up."

Sokka froze, creaking his head to his side from his seat on the beanbag chair.

"You want to bring the pain?" he whispered, dashing his words with threat.

"Oh, I _do,_" Suki retorted cockily, settling herself into Sokka's desk chair.

As the battle of pills and chiptunes ensued, Aang continued to dabble with his work, humming along as his pencil danced across the page. He and Sokka would often play a match or two of Dr. Mario periodically. Aang found it therapeutic and Sokka appreciated their fairly even competition, as their tastes didn't usually match up in the field of gaming.

"Auuughhh, fuck!" Sokka growled, tipping Aang off to the victor.

"Hey," Suki scolded. "Don't gimme that toilet mouth just 'cuz I'm beating you..."

"Grrmmrbbblegggpphhh...Come onnnn, come ooooonnnn, come-"  
A victory jingle played.  
"FFFFFFFFFFFFFfffffff-!..." Sokka huffed the letter out but stopped himself, squeezing his controller.

"Don't break anything," Aang nonchalantly advised.

* * *

"I dunno. I _dunno_," Jane whimpered out, smacking her face and dragging her palm down. She reviewed the text message for the tenth time.

[From: Johnny "Longshot"]  
[We need to talk.]  
[Sent: 10:23am]

"That's-!" She sighed, blinking at the phone. "It _can't_ be good," she moaned, scratching her free hand through her hair as she passed the device to Katara. She inspected it briefly and furrowed her brows. Jane had come to read Katara's body language very well at this point. She was trying to contain her pessimism. "You think so, too," she murmured, panic starting to set in.

"Wh-? N-no, I didn't-..." Katara began to try and pull her 'positive spin' deal on the situation, but Jane shot it down with a worried glare. "OK, OK," Katara gave in with a shrug, passing the phone back. "After everything you've told me, it..._doesn't _sound good," she admitted, rubbing Jane's sweatered shoulder with optimism. "But, I mean...This will be a _good _thing in the end, Hun. You guys really need to talk this stuff out."

"Don't you fucking _get it_?" reeled Jane, the words spit-firing from her lips, her body tense, shoulders popped up as she shook her hands out. "We _have _talked this shit out - over and over and _fucking over _again! It never _goes _anywhere!" She slammed her fist on the couch's arm, her reaction eliciting some puzzled glances from nearby students. The ACC lounge was bustling with activity as dinnertime had commenced.

"O-OK, Jane, OK," Katara pacified, sitting down beside the distraught girl and folding her arm across Jane's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I...don't really know what to say."

"Fucking Christ," Jane groaned, rubbing her dreary eyes. "He's going to break up with me."

"Wh-whoa, wait, you don't know that-"

"He's going to fucking _break up _with me," Jane repeated in an anguished mumble, a slight quiver in her voice as she struggled to keep her cool. Katara rubbed her hand across Jane's sweater, her heart aching at the sight of her friend's shell cracking apart and dripping out doubt and fear. "_Shit_..." The red-cheeked, freckle-faced girl pounded

"You don't _know _that," she tried to encourage, her efforts futile at Jane's now concrete pessimism. "You even told me yourself: you've been having those nightmares, a-and you're stressed out, and...-" She saw the burning pain in those olive eyes, her hope extinguished, and she gave up with a sigh. Jane had hit that 'It's No Use' phase where nothing Katara could say would change anything. Toph often had these stages, and her brother certainly could, too, but with Jane it was much easier to notice. Those eyes were very telling. She opted to stop her words and instead offer a sideways hug in a moment of melancholic reflection.

"Is...everything all right?"

Both girls flinched their heads up to a concerned Aang standing before them, latched by the hand to a confused Toph who was picking her nose with blunt disregard of her company. Jane's face turned even more pink as she shrugged and looked away, apparently ashamed of the situation.

"Ummmm," Katara stalled, trying to read Jane's body language. "It's, well...Jane is, um...-"

"Did something happen with John-Boy?" Toph gasped, wiping her finger off on her jeans. Her words had an air of threat about them.

"N-not exactly," Katara spat with a shrug, avoiding Aang's prying gaze as he attempted to read the situation. "They're going to try talking everything out, and Jane's just...well...worried how it's going to turn out."

Jane puffed out a silent and sarcastic laugh through her nostrils. "Hmph."

"Gosh, I hope it goes well," expressed Aang with a sheepish smile, trying to push out optimism. Katara appreciated his effort, at least.

"If it doesn't, I'm gonna have to rip that hick a new one," growled Toph, aimlessly waving a balled fist.

"You'd better warn him," Aang chuckled, rocking his girlfriend back and forth as she continued to thrash her arm out.

Jane smirked in spite of her doubts and nodded, amused.

"What are you people _doing?_" cried out a despairing Sokka from across the lounge, his arm interlocked with Suki's. "It's freaking _dinner time_! Let's get our _food _on!"

* * *

[From: Katara]  
[Just relax. No matter what happens, we're here for you. Let me know how it goes, I can meet you somewhere if you want afterward.]  
[Sent: 6:34pm]

[From: Aang]  
[i hope it goes ok! thinking about you guys.]  
[Sent: 6:47pm]

Jane inhaled a deep breath and sighed, sitting in the driver's seat of her car, parked beside the Treetop Pub. She knew a half-empty box of cigarettes sat in her glove compartment, and the idea of breaking them out was eating away at her nerves. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a cigarette. It had been some time. But she persevered, avoiding the temptation.

She remembered Sokka's words during dinner, when he'd offered his own two cents on the matter.

_"Ya know, Freckle-Face, any relationship worth something takes some work. But if all you're _doing _is work? Thennnn...That's a _problem._"_

She decided to listen to the voicemail she'd received during her car ride into Wayward.

["YOU HAVE **ONE **NEW MESSAGE. **FIRST **NEW MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep!_]  
["Heya, Janey Jane..."] Toph's tone was quiet and subdued. ["I'm taking a break from being an intolerable bitch for, like, thirty seconds...just for you. 'Kay?"] Jane couldn't help but smile to herself. ["Listen. I don't know about this whole thing, but...You shouldn't stick with this guy - _any _guy, I mean - if he's going to ignore you and not treat you right. I know we can both be pretty psycho, but even crazy bitches like us deserve some happiness, huh? Anyway. 'Kay, I-LUV-YOO-**BYEBYE~!**"]

Having decided that she thoroughly understood the idea her friends were trying to communicate, she slapped her palm against her steering wheel in irritation. Now that she was actually _here, _and she knew that Johnny was waiting for her, just inside, her heart was swelling with determination. Her friends were right - she deserved better than what she'd been tolerating as of late. Hopefully, she could work things out and actually find that.

She zipped up her black winter vest, black and yellow-striped sleeves emerging from the holes in their sides. She glanced in her car's rear-view mirror and tried fidgeting with her bangs. She had just showered to ensure that she was clean for this occasion, and couldn't deny that the feeling of clean hair between her dry fingers was kind of nice. Fear-filled eyes of olive, dark skin hanging below them, stared back at her. Her breath shook and she closed her eyelids for a moment to attempt to gain her cool.

"All right," she murmured to herself at last, exiting the car and stepping through the slush to the bar's entrance. She pushed herself inside, taking the plunge into anticipated chaos. The familiar scent of booze and tobacco washed over her senses, teasing her with their alluring false comforts.

"'Ey, look whut da cat dragged in, huh?" Sneers lived up to his namesake from behind the counter, passing a drink off to a customer. Jane nearly passed said customer by, only to recognize them as the very person they were here to see. The black cowboy hat they wore had thrown her off, but when she did a double-take, his black and white flannel shirt was something she should have noticed from the get-go. He spun around on his swiveled stool, eyes tired, his expression oozing disappointment.

"Hey," Jane grunted out, head bobbed slightly. Her gaze drifted off, away from his dull glance, like two rusted daggers. "Uhhh..." Her fingers found their way to her forehead and rubbed themselves across her traces of acne, but eventually gave in and ran across her brow. "S-so, Johnny, er, we gonna...talk?" She stared off across the bar, noticing the familiar crew at their usual spot at the round table in the back - her heart skipped at their sets of prying eyeballs, intent and curious from afar, only to break away and make like they hadn't been gawking.

Jane swallowed saliva, her esophagus struggling to get it down, as she turned her head back to Longshot, who now held a worn leather book in his hand. His arm was extended, holding it out to her.

"What-...?" She leaned back slightly, intimidated by the gesture. "What's this?" she questioned, puzzled and worried. Johnny simply jiggled his hand, insisting that she took the book. "Fine." Smellerbee snatched the book, unbound its strap that held it shut, and made note of a page early in that had a playing card jutting out. She opened to the page and pulled out the ace of spades, setting it on the counter next to Longshot's beer mug. "_What_?" she repeated, irritated by his silent treatment. "You want me to read this, or something? What...What _is _this?" She slapped the back of her wrist against the weathered page, her impatience rapidly rising.

Longshot nodded toward the literature, then rotated back in his stool and calmly started his drink. Jane's eyes glared at the back of his head, covered by that stupid cowboy hat he would wear from time to time. Normally she'd find it kind of cute but in this context it somehow felt insulting to her. She huffed through her nose and sagged against the stool beside her boyfriend, her back to the bar, as she read the current page's entry.

The writing was cursive, the grammar highly incorrect, but the writing itself very neat. She knew this handwriting very well.

The pieces clicked together. This was Jet's journal. Suddenly the book was familiar - from time to time she recalled seeing him scribbling in it. Fear gripped her as she wondered what he could've said about her. She knew, already, that he had written that which she had forbid him from telling anyone. As she started to read down the page, the feelings that had been haunting her that week built up in her head, ready to burst through her eyes.

{5-18-08}  
{how do i always end up with the crazy ones? been with this girl for like 2 weeks and she wont even kiss me yet. talk about baggage. shes fuckin weird for sure. guess im just a man of mystery. cant turn away from the brooding types.}

Jane groaned, having trouble reading the words of this person she had long ago felt something for.

"Longshot, this was fuckin', like, two years ago. Two and a _half. _I'm _over _him, it's history. Why are you-?" But his eyes

{5-20-08}  
{holy shit. nevermind what i said about baggage, cuz this girls got a fucking trainload. just told me today that she killed a guy. killed a guy! and got away with it! shes a sneaky bitch, haha. murderous intent. cant lie, it definitely has its appeal. she hasnt told me why she did it but ill squeeze it outta her. fuck. capable of murder at the age of 16. shes got quite a spirit to her this one. shed make a good addition to the team i think. i can see it in her eyes: shed be able to help out with the tricky stuff. shes got the mind of a rebel.}

"OK." She shook her head, slapping the book shut and bashing it on the counter, her patience spent. "What is this about, Johnny? Huh? _What?_"

Longshot sipped at his tall mug, wiped his lip, and cocked his head to the side.

"So _what _if I...got involved with some crazy shit? That was _forever _ago! And-and it's not like _Jet _never did, or did you already fucking forget _why _we got mixed up with the Rhinos and all _that _bullshit?" She pounded her fists against the wood, shaking the liquid in Longshot's glass steiner.

"You were raped?" Johnny murmured, shaking his head. "And you _killed _him?"

Jane's jaw dropped at how openly he was saying these things with prying ears all around. Clearly, Jet must have written about this in a later entry.

"_Asshole,_" she hissed at the now-deceased Jet for betraying her secrecy. She covered her face with her hand before exploding. "_Yes, _I was fucking raped!" she growled, tossing her arms up and glaring across the bar. "Everybody _happy? _Make you all feel _great _about yourselves to know my God damned business?" By now the pub had grown quiet in response to her wrath - her flushed cheeks, flaming eyes, and raspy shouting. "And I didn't _murder _him," she insisted, her tone shrinking down. "He...he tried to pull that shit again, and I wasn't gonna...-" Rivulets of salty water were starting to run down her face against her will, her body succumbing to the pressure of the entire situation. "Like none of _you _have ever defended yourselves," hissed the broken girl, hands clamping on her skull, elbows against the counter.

"That's not the _point_," Johnny firmly explained with a sigh. "I've done things I regret, too. Been through things I'm not happy with. I've _told _you about them." His words cut through Jane's soul like "Why did _Jet _know these things...-" He tapped his index on the journal's cover. "-...but _I_ didn't?"

"I don't _know!_" Jane spat out in a panic, overwhelmed by his demanding stance.

"Why did he tell _you _what was happening the night he died, but not _us_?"

Jane shook her head and popped her shoulders up, jaw agape at the implied accusation.

"Why did _you _not even tell _me_ what was going on that night?"

"I didn't want you to get _hurt_!" whimpered Jane, her resolve crumbled.

"And _what _would I have been hurt by?" Johnny pondered, his words conveying that he had already decided on an answer.

"It wasn't _like that, _Johnny!" insisted the distraught red-head, her voice cracking. "_Fuck_, man..."

"Funny how as soon as Jet's gone, you decide that the Freedom Fighters aren't worth your time," observed the calculated tone of the person Jane had come to trust most. His obvious lack of reciprocation in this regard pierced through her like a bullet.

"_Listen _to yourself!" she snarled. "It's not _like that, _I fuckin' _swear! _How can you not _know _this?"

"I don't know _anything _about you anymore," Longshot decided. "You won't _tell _me anything. You run off with your...-" He fumbled to find the right phrasing. "-..your little group of idiots, you ignore all of the responsibility you had with this organization...It's like we don't exist anymore to you."

"I didn't _sign in fucking blood _that I'd be a Freedom Fighter for the rest of my damned life!" Her bony arms thrashed about, chucking Jet's journal to the floor beside Sneers' feet. "Jet _died _because of this bullshit! I'm not gonna get _shanked_ in a fuckin' alley in a gang fight, all right? It's bullshit!"

"Of course, so you're just going to deny that you ever were one of us, run away, and act like you aren't to blame. Like you're just a victim. Just like the unfortunate young man you killed in high school. Is that it?"

Jane's face was boiling with embarrassment and fear as she wiped at her eyes in frustration, tears dripping out. She shielded her face with her palms in a feeble attempt to settle herself and protect herself from the scathing barrage from the person she loved most.

"You know, Jane, you can have us stop calling you 'Smellerbee' all you want, but that doesn't change what you've _done. _It doesn't mean you're a new person and can forget about all of this."

_Great. I finally get him to talk for more than two sentences for the first time in weeks and he won't shut up about what a stupid bitch I am..._

"What do you _want _from me, Johnny?" she pleaded, thrusting one hand while the other remained stuck over half of her face. "Just...tell me what you want me to do..." She reached out her hand, palm up, hoping he would take it. "I'm sorry, OK? I was-...I just want to get over all of that shit and _move on _with my life. What do I have to do?" Her hand was ignored, and she felt her intestines tighten.

"I'm a Freedom Fighter," Longshot established with an ice-cold resolve. "If this is going to work between us...you have to come back."

"What?" she whined, leaning her head back in disbelief. "I can't _do that, _I've told you, it's-"  
"Then this _isn't _going to work."

There was a moment of frigid silence across the pub, the entirety of the small population hanging on their conversation.

"I'll-!" Jane sputtered, petrified to let everything they had worked toward end this way. "I can-!...Just give me some _time_, Johnny..." She clutched at his wrist in desperation, begging to make things right. He tenderly patted at the back of her hand before slipping away.

"You can think about it," he concluded. "But for now...this isn't working."

"So you're...What? You breaking up with me?" grumbled Jane with fury, forcing the words out through grit teeth.

Longshot nodded slowly, and the tear stream thickened for a moment as the pain pounded at Jane's insides.

"I don't know what's happened to you," Johnny mused, "But I don't think that group of people has been such a good influence on you."

"Are you fucking _serio-_"  
"You've gotten lazy, and selfish. You're...obsessed with them. You're just using them as a means to try forgetting about _us._ About your mistakes."

Jane couldn't stand hearing these words. They were causing her to start questioning her own emotions. She didn't have any answers to _anything _Johnny was saying. But he seemed to have a very clear answer for _her: _The Freedom Fighters were a higher priority than she was.

"Forgetting about _you_?" she seethed, jumping from her stool and kicking it to the floor in aggravation. "This is _my-fucking-life!_" She thumbed her chest with each word. "I'm sick of this cock-sucking popularity contest! All these secrets and plans and having to cover up all the shady bullshit to make ourselves look good! I just want to fucking go to school and be with my God damned friends!" She grabbed an empty mug left over from a previous customer and shattered it on the floor, directing her rage to the entirety of the pub. "When in the _hell _have you people been my friends? _Huh?_" She glared across the bar at their vacant stares, the sounds of some sporting event playing on the overhead TV struggling to fill in the silence. "I dunno about some of _you _asswipes, but the whole reason I'm in this town is 'cuz I'm enrolled in college! I'm a fucking _student, _not a thug! Piss the _fuck off, _and leave me alone! _Christ!_" She glanced at the shattered glass she'd left on the wooden paneling and then to Johnny, whose back faced her, the brim of his hat covering his no-doubt disappointed expression.

"I'm done playing this game of Robin Hood and the Lost Boys in God damned Neverland!" She yelled these words through her tears, her voice quaking with anger and pain. "And ya _know _something, _Longshot?_" She jabbed, shoving at his shoulder. "Ya know why Katara broke up with Jet? 'Cuz she felt the same God damned way! Because she knew she would never be more important to Jet than this pathetic tree-house club! And _look _what happened to Jet!" Cries of indignation rang out through the pub, the people upset at their late leader being badmouthed. "He made _you guys _the most important thing in his life," Jane continued, raising her voice to cut through their ruckus. "And a **lotta fucking good IT DID _HIM! _WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT ALL OF _YOU?_**" By now, things were quite rowdy, various members stepping up and name-calling, beginning to crowd their way toward her.

Her speech complete, Jane stomped out of the pub, making a quick break for her car and speeding off as quickly as she could, wincing as beer bottles and cans were tossed against her vehicle upon her exit.

_Could that have gone worse?_ she wondered. _Well...__I'm sober, I didn't punch anyone, and I still got all my limbs in tact. So that went all right._

She sped out of town, traversing the lonely road back to campus, her radio off. Her anger gradually dissipated, her adrenaline wearing thin. Halfway there, the armor she had built up in her rage had worn apart, leaving a shivering, trembling girl exposed. Her face was damp and sticky, the faucets in her eyes having already run their course. She sobbed, hands tight around her steering wheel, unable to shed any more tears for the only person in the whole pub who had been worth crying about.

* * *

- Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 -

"Damn," whispered Toph, rubbing sand from her eyes. "Did she finally stop?"

"Yea," Katara replied quietly, glancing toward her own bed. Jane was sprawled on her stomach, one arm hanging off the edge. Her face was flopped over a decorative pillow with a penguin patched on its surface, her head at the foot of the bed and her socks wedged under Katara's primary pillow. Her mouth was agape, drool trickling onto the penguin's chest. "She's dead asleep," Katara observed with a sympathetic smile. She sighed, reviewing the sentence she was halfway through, as Toph clicked off her keyboard. The girl let loose a deep, drawling yawn, stretching her arms out wide and grimacing as she twitched out her kinks.

"Rough night, huh?" Toph mumbled, scratching her chest as she found her way to her bed.

"She took it pretty hard..." Katara affirmed warily, struggling to continue her paper. Spending a couple of hours trying to appease the despairing Jane had eaten a large chunk of her dedicated 'crunch-time.'

"You still writing?" wondered Toph as she shuffled her blanket over top her body.

An exhausted "Mmm" was the answer given as the delay from her roommate's yawn finally caught up to Katara and she repeated the gesture herself.

"'Kay. Don't stay up too late."

"Not much of a choice," moaned the girl at the laptop. "Almost done..." Katara took a look at her clock with some despair: **[2:45am]**

"Good luck, Sugar-Queen."

"Good night."

* * *

"Should I bring my laptop?" Aang wondered, wrapping his power cable up as he admired the House of Aero logo he'd painted onto the device's lid.

"Go for it," Sokka advised. "I know Katara and I are bringing ours, just in case."

"Hm..." Aang contemplated the decision. "I don't want to end up doing any work on it, though."

"Soooo...don't do any _work _on it," chuckled Sokka, folding a button-down shirt and packing it into his case.

"Yea," Aang acknowledged with a slight nod, tucking his machine flush against the pile of sloppily placed clothes in his duffle bag.

"You might wanna hit the bathroom before we go, too, Champ," suggested Sokka. "Gonna be a looooong trip."

"When are we supposed to leave?" Aang wondered, beginning to zip up his duffel bag.

"Fifteen minutes. Oh-hey-wait-wait!" He flashed up his palms up. After getting Aang's attention, Sokka poked a finger at their small entertainment center. "Would you mind bringing your Wii? We could play, like..._stuff..._together. On it."

"Haha, sure." Aang went about sliding the system's components in a dedicated carrying bag with the Nintendo logo emblazoned onto its surface. Sokka's phone went off from his desk. He grabbed it, but paused to let the last line play, too amused by it to pick up prematurely.

["Because _I'm _a _lady, _that's why!" "Oh, you're not a lady." "You're nothing but a _sister!_"]

"Cute," Aang complimented the new ringtone as Sokka flipped the device open.

"Hey, Katara, what's up?"

["Hey, Sokka. Toph's running late..."]  
"As usual."

["Heh. Yea, no kidding. Anyway...ummm...we needed to...to get a few things for the trip, so...-"]

"You OK, there?"

["Ugh,"] sighed his sister. ["Just...so tired. But, so...um...Jane and I...? Are heading to the campus store...at the ACC. Would you mind, like...meeting us there? We can head back over to Aqua...and grab...you know...our stuff. Get Toph, and...head right out."]

"Yea, no prob."

["OK. See you, in...um...in a few."]

"See ya."

"What's going on?" wondered Aang.

"We're gonna meet Katara and Freckles at the ACC and swing over to get your girlfriend on the way out. She sounds pretty beat."

"Ah. She can probably nap on the way there." Aang set his Wii bag onto his bed beside his duffel, ready to go. "Well, let's do this."

* * *

Toph fussed her fingers through her bangs, tugged her sweatshirt down to ensure no skin was exposed below her neck, and ensured that her phone was tucked into her sweatpant pocket. She groped her hand around her bed and grasped the handle of her suitcase with care. Lifting it from the bed and dropping it to the floor, she noted no sensation of it unlocking or popping open. She wished that Katara was there to double check her belongings, but on the other hand, she appreciated being given the space to care for herself.

She heard the familiar sound of the bedroom door swing open and grinned wide, taking a couple steps toward the sound.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted. "I'm all set!" She stuck out an open hand, requesting an escort.

There was a silent moment of pause that made her uneasy before a tender and familiar set of fingers clutched her own.

"What-...?" she whispered to herself, completely thrown off as the figure led her out of the room. She stood firm after a few steps, freezing like a status. "M-Madison?"

"Yes, Lady Beifong." The often heard phrase from her past felt like a slap in the face.

"Why-...? Why are _you _here?"

"Oh...To pick you up, of course," replied the overly courteous servant. She had a sweet voice - like honey.

"To pick-...? _What?_" Toph snapped the last word out with a bite of ferocity, and she felt Madiline's hand flinch in surprise. "I _told _Dad I didn't _need _anyone to come with me, I'm going with my friends..."

"You...you did?" she murmured back, her voice trembling.

"Yes, I _did." _Toph tossed the young woman's hand away. She took a deep breath, reflecting on her hostility. "Um, I...I'm sorry," she pushed the words out quietly, digging her hand into her pocket. "I'm just..._really _pissed off at Mom and Dad, I don't get why they can't just leave me _alone _for a change..."

"You're..._sure _you told them you weren't...coming for Thanksgiving?" the polite woman checked.

Toph furrowed her brows with irritation but tempered herself in her words.

"Yes, Madison. I spent...like..._two hours _debating with my parents about it. I am _pretty sure _I made it clear."

"Oh. I...I see. Hm."

"Why?" Toph wondered, suspicion rising in her voice at the sheepish mannerisms of her trusted servant.

"My, my...I'm...very sorry, Lady Beifong. Your father requested that we come pick you up promptly. We've been waiting for your roommate to leave so as to not intrude."

Toph's breathing cut short and her heart-rate elevated. What, now her parents were going to try _kidnapping _her or something?

She could hear footsteps approach, and suddenly her suitcase was no longer in her own hands.

"I'll take that for you, Madame," came the well-known tone of another servant. His voice was thick and stuffy.

"George, what's the meaning of this?" Toph demanded, pulling out her 'prim and proper' voice for the sake of the formality she was being pressed into.

"Master Beifong's instructions were very clear, My Lady: you are to accompany us back to the estate."

Toph's lips peeled back, revealing her teeth, and she pushed her fists into her hips, leaning forward with determination.

"And what did he say he'd do if I refused?" she seethed.

Another uncomfortable silence.

"He...-" George coughed, finding the words, slowly and with hesitation. "He indicated that funds reserved for your...education...would be revoked."

It was as if Toph's very breath had been forced from her lungs. Her lips hung open, but no words came out. Her fists fell apart, fingers drooping to her sides. Her spirit was drained from the weight of the impacting idea. The prospect of losing everything she had found at Saint Roku University suddenly made a few days with her parents seem much more tolerable.

"...L-Lady Beifong?" Madison uttered with concern after a a few seconds of speechless shock.

Toph's useless eyes blinked rapidly and she rubbed her face, gaining her bearings.

"I...I understand," Toph choked out, raising a trembling hand to her face to tuck her disheveled, lengthy bangs behind her ears. "I'll...um...-" She erratically started to rub her hands together in different motions.

"I'll get your guitar case," Madison offered. Toph couldn't decide what to do next as she heard the normally relaxing clacking of the case being shut behind her.

"Y-yes. Th...Thank you, Madison," Toph sputtered, her eyes welling up.

"Is there...anything I can do for you, Miss Beifong?" wondered her loyal servant from her side.

"No," coughed Toph, choking on a sob as the disappointment mixed with fear of confronting her parents. Her mind flashed away from her despair and to what she might need now that plans had changed. "Umm...I-I mean...George, could you pack my laptop?" She waggled her hand in the general direction of her desk. "There should be a case beside my desk."

"Of course, Madame."

"And...Madison, could you...-?" She cautiously pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and lifted it. "Would you mind sending a message for me?"

"Oh! Yes! Yes...certainly."

"Um...Go to my Contacts, and...um...it should be, um...The first one there."

"Ong?"

Toph's teeth ground together in a millisecond of frustration, but she contained it - practice for what was to come.

"It's...it's _Aang, _actually, but...-"

"Oh dear, I'm...I'm sorry, Lady, I-"  
"It's OK, just...send him a message."

"Very well. What shall I say?"

"Tell him...-" She sighed, scratching her inner earlobe with her pinkie finger. "Just tell him that I'm really sorry, but I can't go with them."

"O-OK..."  
_Tap-tap-tap. Thak. Tatatat. Tap. Tap-tap-tatt._

_Zzzziiiiiipp!_  
"Your personal computer is packed, My Lady."

"Oh!" Toph grunted, ignoring the previous comment. "And be _sure _to tell them to go without me."

"As you say, Lady Beifong."

"Was there anything else, Madame?"

"That should be everything, George."

"Very well. Your baggage is ready."

_Even now, I need others to carry everything for me. When can I start carrying my _own _weight?_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Sokka's ringtone is a quote from the Disney film Aristocats.**_  
_


	31. Headache

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 31 - Headache_

* * *

- Wednesday, November 24th, 2010 -

Aang couldn't believe what he was reading. He rubbed his eyes, blinked rapidly for a second, then read again.

"Whhhhat is it, Aang?" wondered a dreary Katara from the backseat as Sokka pulled their car into the Aqua parking lot.

"It's Toph," he muttered, still staring at the phone from the passenger seat besides Sokka.

"What's up?" Sokka wondered. "Did she hurt herself trying to do things on her own?" he picked.

"She's not coming," Aang explained with some seriousness, tearing Sokka's veil of humor.

"What?" Katara gasped.

"I-I don't _know!_" Aang snapped, observing her confusion through the rearview mirror. "She sent me a text message a few minutes ago, and it just says...-" He examined it one more time, reading it aloud, irritation thick in his voice at the tone of the message.

[From: Toph Potato]  
[My apologies. I am unable to attend your Thanksgiving plans due to unforseen circumstances. Please go through with your plans without me.]  
[Sent: 7:09am]

"What in the _hell_?" murmured Sokka, turning his head to his roommate with an utterly baffled expression. "I'm thinkin' that wasn't Toph, Buddy."

"No _shit, _Sherlock," Jane growled, slouched in her seat in the back beside Katara, who was still reeling. "She's fuckin' blind, remember?"

Aang noticed Sokka's eyes narrow for a brief moment of frustration before he washed the anger away.

"Sooo...Wh...what do we _do?" _Katara's exhausted body couldn't keep up with her anxious mind as she placed a palm on her head, eyelids closed. An uneasy pause proceeded before Aang's door swung open.

"I'm going to find her," he firmly decided, squirming out of the car.

"Uhhh, but Aang, er..." Sokka lifted a finger, bending down to see his friend through the opposing door. "Didn't she tell us to go without her?"

Aang leaned his head into the car with a determined expression.

"That wasn't _her _that told us that," he concluded before he closed the door and stomped into the dorm.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Sokka sighed to himself as he watched Aang enter from afar. Katara offered her half-awake theory.

"I wonder...if it was, like...um...her parents...?"

"Ya think?" Jane growled, her arms crossed. Her index finger kept tapping against her bicep.

"Freckles," Sokka spat, maintaining his cool as best he could. "We've got a _really _long ride ahead of us. I know you're not doin' the best and all, but would ya mind, like...toning it down a bit?"

Jane's words slid out from her lips with a calm, icy flow. "Toning _what _down a bit?" Sokka shrunk in his seat at the sight of flaming green eyes from the mirror before him. He bolstered himself and replied with resolve.

"Your _attitude_. Chill out, Ginger. Please. I know it's hardwired into your system with that Irish blood and all, but this is gonna be a lengthy trip, so if you could-"  
"I'm in a fuckin' bad mood, _Officer, _deal with it!" A half-aware Katara flinched from Jane's outburst, her hand now planted on her temple, eyes still closed. Jane continued her assault, ignoring Katara's heightened sensitivity.

"My boyfriend just broke up with me, I don't need you and your bullshit trying to rope me in!"

Sokka noticed his sister's pained face, both of her hands wrapped around her forehead now, but Jane's momentum was too strong to pay any heed.

"I'm not in the mood for your damned nicknames, or your stupid-ass jokes, or you trying to be some fucking policeman and make sure we're all _good little boys and girls._"

"You're entitled to your opinion," Sokka countered, keeping his voice low, then directing his attention to his sister. "Are you OK, Katara?"

Katara shook her head slightly, eyes covered by her palms.

"Migraine," she blurted in a grunt.

"You take anything for it yet?"

"Nuh-uh..."

Jane, her face bet red flustered, dug through the grocery bag they had brought from the ACC's store and fished out a green bottle of migraine pain reliever.

"Er, here, I...-" She fumbled with the lid, then pushed her thumb through the plastic seal and tore it open. "How many...-?"

Katara flashed her friend two fingers, leaning back against the seat. She extened her palm, accepting a pair of pills, and popped them into her mouth, swallowing them dry.

"You gonna be all right there?" Sokka wondered with concern.

"Mm," Katara hummed back in an attempt to assure. "...Gonna take a nap..."

"O-OK...You _sure _there's nothing else we can do for ya?"

"Nm-mm. Mmfine." Katara let her arms sag into her lap, eyes still shut tight.

"_Now _will you please calm down?" Sokka sighed to Jane, curbing his anger with disappointment. To his dismay, Jane didn't apologize or even acknowledge his request, opting to lean her head against her window and stare out at the parking lot. A couple of minutes passed before a defeated Aang dragged himself out of the dorm - alone - and back to the car.

"So, what's the story, Wishbone?" Sokka inquired as Aang slumped into his seat.

"The room's locked, no sign of her anywhere..." He huffed, running his hand through his abnormally tidied hair. "Tried giving her a call, but it went straight to her voicemail..."

Sokka patted him on the shoulder with a manly affection as he started up the car.

"Sorry, Bud. Sounds like there's not much we can do...Either she doesn't want to come, or she _can't _come..."

"But...But what if she can't do anything about it? What if this wasn't her choice?"

Sokka sighed at the frustration in his friend's eyes.

"She can do more about it than _we _can, Aang. If she _really _wanted us to come...save her? Or something? I'm pretty sure she would've done something about it. You _know _how stubborn she can be."

"Why _wouldn't _she, though?" Aang demanded, clearly perterbed. "She was so determined on this. On _not _giving in to her parents."

"Aang. Bud. I don't _know_," insisted Sokka. "But we've got a schedule here. And if we don't leave right now it's gonna be that much later that we'll be getting there. I'm sure she has a good reason."

"Hmph..." Aang popped off his shoes and leaned back in his seat. "Guess so," he gave up.

"For now, we have to worry about getting ourselves up to Canada. I know that's hard, I'm not happy about it, either, but that's how it is, Aang. It's a few days. We'll all get to see her when we get back. I promise."

"OK..."

"Everyone all right in the back?" Sokka checked, pulling the car out of the lot. Katara seemed already asleep and Jane was...being fuming and insufferable in his eyes. "Oooookay, then. Off we go..."

* * *

"This place is...a _lot _different when it's empty..."

"Wahaha! Nothing like some peace and quiet, eh, Nephew?"

The Jasmine Dragon cafe was completely closed down, but having an Uncle who owned the place granted some benefits for visiting after hours. It was early afternoon on the first day of break, and while most students were traveling to see their families, Zuko's was already here - mostly.

"For now," Zuko mumbled with anxiety, stirring sweetener into his coffee.

"Come now, Zuko," Uncle Iroh eased him, pouring a freshly blended kiwi and banana smoothie. "It's been nearly a month. I am sure your sister will be in better spirits by now."

"What makes you say that?" Zuko wondered, intrigued.

"I am an optimistic man."

"Haha, more than _I _am, at least!" Zuko sipped his coffee, leaning against the counter as Iroh slurped into his smoothie.

"Here's to optimistic fools," Iroh raised his cup across the counter and Zuko tapped his own against it.

"To fools," he chuckled.

"How is that lovely lady of yours doing lately?" Iroh wondered, waddling around to the nearest table. Zuko joined him, taking off his stuffy winter coat and draping it over a nearby chair at the table beside them.

"Mai's doing great. Her work's been a hit with her professors."

"That's wonderful." Iroh stroked his white and gray beard hair as he stood back up, wandering to a shelf in the back of the shop. Zuko didn't ask, as he knew exactly where his Uncle was going.

"So...why the smoothie today, Uncle?"

"What's that, now?" cried the gruff voice from across the room as he turned round, a chess set box in his hands.

"You're having a smoothie. Not in the mood for tea?"

"Waha." Iroh set the box onto their table and popped it open, beginning to separate the black and white pieces - whites on Zuko's side, black on his - arranging them into their proper starting arrangement. "Man cannot live on tea and bread alone. Just as birds flock south for the cold season, so, too, should men venture into new territories from time to time."

"Heh, all right, then."

Zuko stared across the wooden board, admiring the many scratches across its surface and the worn-edged wooden pieces. It was a miracle the entire set was still in tact.

"Who goes first?" Zuko wondered.

"Fire before Smoke," Iroh sagely advised. Zuko gave pause, the phrase not quiet settling right.

"Wasn't it Smoke before Fire?" he surmised. The phrase triggered memories of previous chess games but the way his Uncle had said it didn't quite sound right.

"Today, Nephew...Fire comes before Smoke," Iroh suggested with a wink.

Zuko smiled back and shifted one of his center pawns forward two spaces.

"I know how you must feel about your sister visiting us for the holiday," said Iroh with some solemnity, moving one of his edge pawns out. "But I do hope you realize how much it means to her that she was invited."

Zuko shook his head and drank more of his coffee. "You really think so?"

"I do." Iroh stared at the board cautiously, running his fingers over his beard in habit as their game continued.

"I'm still not convinced she will even _show up, _much less be tolerable..."

"She will come," Iroh assured.

"Be-cause she is...family," Zuko imitated Iroh slow and careful voice. The two shared a laugh. "We'll see, Uncle. I sure wouldn't mind..."

"Really, Nephew. Use your head," Iroh knocked his knuckle on his temple with a smirk. "If Azula bothers to even show up in the first place...is that not enough proof that she appreciates our company?"

"Having no one else to _go to _and simply taking what you're given is _not _that same as actually _appreciating _something," Zuko decided with some cynicism, pushing his bishop forward to take out a lonely pawn.

"I suppose that may be true," conceded Iroh, knocking out a white bishop with his black knight. "Anyone who does not appreciate an oasis in the desert is quite a fool."

"We're talking about _Azula, _Uncle." Zuko placed a rook in a position set to take out the knight.

"Fool or not, she _is _your sister," Iroh pointed out, sideswiping Zuko's rook with his bisop. "And just as there was hope for you, so, too, is there hope for her."

The young man with the combed over hair shrugged in contemplation, studying the board carefully.

_Bamf-bamf._

Both men directed their eyes to the glass double doors of the shop, where a familiar girl in glasses stood, unlocking the shop doors with her own key after her courtesy knock.

"Ah, hello, Jin," greeted Iroh as the girl sheepishly shuffled into the Jasmine Dragon, swinging around the counter.

"Hello, Iroh. Hello, Zuko," she greeted with utmost courtesy. "I'm really sorry, I just forgot a thumb drive here last night and I need it to work on some things over break."

"_Whaaat?_" Iroh doubled back. "Work? On your _vacation? _Nonsense."

Jin grinned as she fished the USB drive from the shelves beneath the cash register and slipped it into a pocket in her slacks. This was that aggressive journalist girl who he'd have to deal with from time to time. She seemed oddly polite when she didn't have a pen and a notpad in hand.

"Heh, sorry, Iroh - I'm a busy girl, I've got stuff to do!"

"At least tell me you are _enjoying _it," Iroh pleaded, scratching his bald head.

"I sure am - don't you worry. Sure beats sitting around!"

"Waha, whatever you say, my Dear. Do enjoy your holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!"

"Happy Thanksgiving, gentlemen!" Jin bid them, disappearing up the stone steps.

"She certainly is a hard-worker," Iroh observed, refocusing back on their game. His furry eyebrows fell down with concern as he reviewed the board. "Did you rearrange our game?" He pointed an accusing finger at Zuko, who smiled as he knocked over Iroh's king with his knight, the position of both pieces entirely different than it had been previously. "Cheaters never prosper, you know," Iroh chuckled, delivering a solid and amused slap to Zuko's arm.

* * *

"Damn, She's _still _asleep?"

Speeding down a cramped highway, Sokka had just cast a brief glance at his rear-view mirror long enough to see that is sister's eyes were still closed, her head flopped over on Jane's shoulder.

"Uhh...Er, yea," Jane mumbled, cheeks brightening as her attention was forced upon her situation, Katara's body pressed against her side, the sleeping girl's cheek on her bony shoulder. Jane took a moment to observe the quiet, contained breathing pattern of Katara's body before pulling her eyes away and staring back out the window. Her mind sidestepped to the feeling of Johnny's gentle snoring under her ear.

"Man, she's been napping for, like, three hours," Aang mumbled, turning pages in a CD case. "Really must've been tired."

"Oh, erm...Y-yea, she was up pretty late," Jane defended in a mutter. "Had to work on a paper."

"Argh," Sokka groaned. "I'm gonna need to take a break from driving soon, so we might need to wake her up and see how she's doing..."

"Hm?" Aang noticed his phone vibrate from the change holder, so he grabbed it and flicked it open.

[NEW VOICEMAIL.]  
[1 MISSED CALL - Toph Potato]

Aang's heart raced with relief for some kind of explanation. They were driving, so she had probably called at some point whil they'd been out of signal.

["YOU HAVE **ONE **NEW MESSAGE. **FIRST **NEW MESSAGE."]  
[_Beep!_]  
["H-hey, Aang..."] A deep sigh. ["It's me. I, uhh...I'm really sorry. My phone was off when you tried calling, I kinda got...-]  
"Who's calling you?" Sokka wondered. He received an upward index finger from Aang.  
"-...swept out of the building, and, uhm...Please don't worry about it, it's OK. It's just my parents. They...they sent some people to come pick me up, and said if I didn't come they'd cut off my college fund, so...Ugh...Not fun. So fucking sick of all this...I don't even know what to do when I see them, you know? I am _so _pissed. They didn't even pick me up _themselves._ A-anyway, I didn't want to hold you guys up, so...yea. I am _not _gonna let this go easy. Well...I miss you already. Love you, Babe. 'Kay. Bye."]  
[_Beep!_]

"That was Toph - her parents told her if she didn't come that they'd stop paying for school."

"_Whoa," _Sokka mumbled. "That's pretty rough."

"When you're that rich, _someone's _got their hands in your pockets," Jane dismissed the matter.

"At least she's OK," Aang tried to turn things toward optimism.

"Right," agreed Sokka. "She'll be fine. By the time she gets back, I'll bet she figures everything out with them."

"One way or another," Aang lamented, sending a text message.

[To: Toph Potato]  
[hey, got ur message. im so so sorry. :'( we miss you too!]  
[Sent: 10:39am]

Jane heard a sudden, drawn-out gust of air being drawn into Katara's nostrils as she lifted her head, her once neatly brushed hair draping in multiple directions. She groggily pushed back loose hair behind her head, blinking and gawking about the car. A sloppy yawn poured out as she stretched her arms.

"Heh. Morning, there, Sugar-Queen," Jane teased, poking a finger into Katara's rib. She whimpered like a dog and pushed the hand away. "Wake up."

"Noooooo," whined back the recently stirred girl like a child, clutching her stomach.

"How's your headache?" Sokka inquired.

Katara inhaled another yawn and nodded her head.

"Better," she replied with relief.

"Good. 'Cuz we're gettin' food here at the next exit, and then you're takin' the wheel."

"Mmkay," complied Katara with a gentle nod, staring blankly at the back of Sokka's seat for a moment. She glanced to her side to see Jane's amused grin. "What?" she giggled, still waking up.

"Nothin'," Jane mumbled casually, shaking her head and turning back to the window.

"How about some a capella?" Aang offered, turning his head around to check with Katara as he held up a CD.

"Mmmmm, a capella," cooed Katara with a dreamy smile, pressing her palms on her flushed cheeks. "That should wake me up. Who is it?"

"Uhhh..." Aang checked the CD. "Straight No Chaser...?"

"Yes, yes, yessssss please." Katara playfully clapped her hands together.

Sokka cast her a raised brow through the rear-view mirror. "Yoooouuuu OK, there, Sis?"

"Heehee," Katara burst out a devilish laugh and Sokka smiled at her foolishness.

"Someone's in a mischievous mood today," Aang teased.

"I have to make up a bit for Toph," Katara explained sheepishly, rubbing her eyes.

"We all will," Aang decided.

* * *

"That was...very lovely, Lady Toph," complimented Madison. Toph could hear it in the woman's voice - she really _had _been moved by the music.

"Thank you, Madison." Toph gripped her guitar's neck tightly as she dropped her other arm, intaking a careful breath as her guts were uneasy from the motion around her. Even in a private plane, Toph didn't much fancy flying. It always left her a bit queasy.

"It was truly inspiring," Madison went on. "I've never seen you play like that before."

"Hm?" Toph scratched an itch behind her ear. "You've heard me play many times..."

"Not like _that_," insisted her servant.

"Oh..." Toph shrugged, strumming an odd chord for comfort. "It's, um...-" She trailed off, her face heating up as she contemplated the idea. Playing songs with such personal meaning in front of strangers was easy, but in front of someone who knew her well seemed...much more embarrassing somehow.

"It's quite amazing how you can put your soul into your work, Lady."

"Hm." She nodded, wandering through crashing waves of thought.

"I hope you can find success in that field."

"Thank you. Me, too."

"Perhaps when we arrive at the estate, you should play some music for your parents?"

"Hmph." Toph's gentle, somber mannerisms immediately disintegrated into rage.

"Or-or maybe not, perhaps they might not share your tastes..."

"Ain't _that _the fuckin' truth...?" grumbled Toph under her breath.

"Pardon?"

"I'm not sure that would be such a good idea," Toph clarified with more deliberate formality.

"Forgive me if it's not my place to speak on such matters," Madison timidly began. "But...I do not approve of the Master's decision in this situation..."

"You...you_ don't?_"

"F-forgive me, I apologize! I shouldn't have said that. Please nevermind. I shouldn't speak ill of your father, I-"  
"No, no, it's OK," Toph chuckled with some relief. "It's...nice knowing I'm not the only one who finds it...ridiculous."

"I certainly do hope you are able to come to some sort of...agreement...with your parents." Madison's words were spoken with that same hopeful sense of concern that Katara and Aang had both expressed over the days prior.

"I can assure you, Madison," Toph said with confidence, plucking some strings in a playful series. "There will definitely be some sorting out of some kind..."

_Rrrrmmmm._

"Madame, your phone is...-"

"Who is it?"

"Hm...It...It's your cousin. Shall I answer it for you?"

"Ugh. No. Let it go to voicemail..."

"Very well."

* * *

["~They're taking the hobbits to Isengard~They're taking the hobbits to Isengard~They're taking-"]  
"Uhhh-**NO**."

Katara pressed the 'next' button the car's CD player and Sokka, who had been singing along, whined out in protest.

["What we need's a few good taters..."]  
["What's 'taters,' Precious? What's 'taters,' eh?"]  
["POH-TAY-TOES!~Boil 'em, Mash 'em, Stick-'em-in-a-Stew!~Boil 'em, Mash 'em, Sti-"]

"Nooooo," whimpered Aang with a facepalm.

Katara was already on it, switching to the next song. That which had given birth to Toph's new namesake was a clear reminder of her lack of presence.

The next track began with a rhythmic clanking of metal and other odd sounds that Katara knew she had heard before but couldn't place at first. Sokka bounded to the beat his seat with anticipation, joining in as soon as any semblance of 'lyrics' showed up.

[_Whump... _"That's not good enough!" _Whump... _"That's not good enough!"]

Katara rolled her eyes and pressed the 'pause' button, frowning with irritation and focusing on the road as Sokka groaned again in dissatisfaction.

"God...Sokka, is this _entire _CD just...crap from YouTube?"

"Not YouTube 'crap', Katara," Aang pointed out. "YouTube _Poop_."

Sokka shook his head and propelled a valiant finger of correction into the air. "_Actually, _my misguided roommate, _that _is another category entirely. _These _are YouTube _Remixes. _Huge difference. And go to number six, Katara."

Katara's eyelids sunk down dubiously.

"Come on. That one's for you."

"Fine...put it on..."

Sokka eagerly pressed 'forward' a few times. The track began with a crude synth-type sound that shifted into a metronome-like ticking.

["Wot is that mysterious _ticking _noise...?"]

A smirk worked its way across Katara's face, forcing a crack through her grouchy disposition.

"See? _See?_" taunted Sokka. "You _like _this one." The voice in the track dully spoke in time with the ticking.

["Snape. Snape. Severus Snape."]

"Could we turn this shit off please?" Jane growled from the backseat, her hands dug into her winter vest's pockets.

["Snape. Snape. Severus Snape."]  
["_DUMbledo-!_"]

Katara twisted the volume knob down so the song was drowned out.

"What was that, Hun?" she questioned, having not caught her friend's request.

"Ugh, never_mind, _whatever..." Jane shook her head and slumped her temple against the window.

"Something up?" Aang asked from her left.

"No," spat Jane, eyes trailing objects as they passed by.

"Hey..." Aang placed a comforting hand on Jane's shoulder that was quickly brushed off, eliciting a nervous expression from the sympathetic boy.

"Don't touch me," Jane muttered.

"OK, _seriously?_" Sokka piped up from the front seat, rotating his head around behind the seat. "Your boyfriend broke up with ya. It's sad. We freakin' _get it. _But that doesn't give you the right to be jerks to us when we're giving you a place to stay, here."

"I didn't _ask _for it," Jane defended. "You practically forced it onto me."

"_Woooow_," Sokka drawled, flabbergasted. "_Really, _Jane? That's how you're gonna play this?"

"Whatever, Ass. Like you're some _noble _person 'cuz you're dragging me along to fill in some missing gap at your house 'cuz your dad's got no social life."

"H-hey, guys, come on," Aang interjected sheepishly. "We're all tired and cranky, w-we've been stuck in a car all day, so maybe it'd be good if-" But Sokka cut him off.  
"Maybe it'd be good if some of us were a little more _grateful _and didn't project their self-esteem issues on their friends who _haven't done anything wrong._"

"Yea, 'cuz shoving into _my _fucking business and telling me how I should feel isn't wrong _at all._"

Aang and Katara were both on edge, practically flinching each time the other heightened their tone or volume.

"I'm not _doing that, _I'm telling you to stop taking it out on _us_."

"Ah. OK. So trying to keep to myself 'cuz I'm fucking _pissed, _and upset - that's me taking it out on poor Sokka."

"Hey, ya know what? You wanna brood in your damned corner? Fine by me. Just don't go freakin' out on us when we try to help you feel better."

"Been dealing with my own problems my whole fuckin' life, man. I don't need _your _help, that's for sure."

"Good! 'Cuz I'm sick of trying to-"  
"**SHUT. UP.**"

Silence fell across the car as the built up steam exploded from Katara's mouth, her hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel as they traversed the highway.

"I'm _trying to **drive **_right now, and it's _really _stressful with all of this traffic, and I don't need to hear you guys bickering like...like _children, _OK?"

"Shit, _someone's _got a stick up their ass today," Jane nonchalantly grumbled.

"_Excuse me?_" raged the irritable driver. "Did it occur to you that maybe I'm a little grouchy because I didn't get enough sleep because I was trying to help _you _feel better last night?"

"All of you guys can stop it with the fucking guilt trips, all right?" Jane pounded her fist into her lap. "I didn't ask for _anyone's _help!"

"Guys! _Please_!" Aang flailed his hands out and leaned forward, placing his top half in the space in the middle of the car. "What's _wrong _with everybody? Come _on, _this is Thanksgiving, here! I thought we all decided to go together because we knew this would be fun, right?" Aang was treated to silence - which he was actually relieved to hear. "I know this is hard, we're all...dealing with stuff. And roadtrips can be cramped and everything. How about we stop somewhere for a bit at the next exit and just get some air?" No response yet again, though this was a bit disconcerting now. "Huh? Guys?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Aang," Katara decided solemnly, nodding habitually. "He's right, guys, we...just need a break, here."

"Yea, that'll just fix _everything,_" came Jane's under-her-breath sarcasm.

"Let's...-" Aang pointed his finger to the on-board CD player. "-...turn the music back on and just...try to not bug each other for a few minutes...?"

Yet another pause. Aang had no other words to offer the group. He was just glad they weren't arguing anymore.

* * *

**A/N: If you peruse the internet I would assume you have more likely than not run into at least ONE of the videos referenced toward the end of the chapter. In case you haven't or need a refresher:  
**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=uE-1RPDqJAY**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=ihMMw0rnKz4**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=JImcvtJzIK8**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4**


	32. Family Blood

**A/N: Depressed yet? ;D Last few chapters have been pretty high-tension, amirite? Such is the life of a college student. While it's not as if problems can magically disappear, Thanksgiving break is a vacation, isn't it? ^_^; We should try to relax here for a bit...**

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 32 - Family Blood_

* * *

- Thursday, November 25th, 2010 - Thanksgiving

"I dunno, play something happy, Tophie!"

Toph struggled to keep her visage rigid and courteous so as not to let her disdain come through.

"I'm not really in the mood, Cousin..."

"Please? Pretty please? You're so _gooood._"

Dressed like a proper "lady," her hair forced into a tidy bun, and decorated in various articles of jewelry that rubbed her the wrong way, Toph was not in a state of mind for playing music to begin with. The lisping voice of her cousin was certainly not helping her feel any better.

"Meng," began Toph with a tone like plastic. "I'm glad you like my work, but now's just...not a proper time for it."

Meng pouted out a weak, "Aw." There was a pause, then the sound of Meng scratching her bristly hair, and a sigh. "What do you wanna do, then?"

"Um..." Toph's head cocked to the side as she contemplated things. What she _wanted _to do was discuss things with her parents - something she hadn't gotten a chance to do since she'd arrived. When she'd gotten back, there had been a rush of superficial greetings, and then she had been whisked away to her room, only to be quickly pampered, a process she had endured many a time but had grown to dislike even _more _with her new-found freedom in college. She felt like a product on an assembly line. She'd be bathed, her feet would get scrubbed, then changed into different clothes - the tailor had complained about having to resize her Thanksgiving dress as she'd gained a bit of weight since her measurements had last been taken - her hair was styled, makeup applied to her face..._Makeup, _for God's sake. After the entire process she had been left to her own devices for the day, but restricted to the interior of the mansion - not to disturb her parents, of course.

It begged the question, '_Why did you drag me here?'_ The thought had been pounding at the inside of her skull all night and all morning. Now that the extended family was starting to trickle in, Toph was being subjected to their pity and pleasantries. Meng was at least close to her age and shared a similar distaste for the way the Beifong family conducted its affairs. The girl was certainly far from the proper women expected of the Beifong, but where Toph had learned to play along and wear a mask, Meng had opted to simply ignore expectations. Toph couldn't help but admire that, even if the girl was a bit too forward at times. At the very least, when contemplating every previous interaction, Toph found Meng to be someone who would back her up if needed in the face of their relatives -

"Well?" Meng cut through Toph's introspection with a prodding finger against Toph's arm. "Don't space out on me, Tophie. What should we do?"

"Ech." Toph rubbed her forehead impatiently. "What do _you _want to do?"

"_I _want to listen to you sing."

"Ugh...I already _told you_...-"  
"I know-I know-I know!" pleaded Meng in a rush, quick to rectify. "Soooo, that's why I _asked_: what do _you _want?"

"I...-" Toph wanted to rub her palms down her face in anguish but knew that doing so would ruin her makeup, so she refrained. "I just wanna fuckin' _leave_," she whispered.

"Sorry," mumbled Meng. She pieced together an idea before bringing it to Toph's attention. "Hey, maybe I can see if they'll let us go for a walk outside?"

"What makes you think they'll let us do _that_?"

"Be_cause. _We'll ask very, very quietly. Heheh."

* * *

Hakoda clicked the oven on, preparing to set the turkey in the oven. He stroked his hand across his weathered chin, observing the crew at work: Sokka was whipping together cookie mix for dessert, Katara was kneading bread dough, and Aang was chopping vegetables for the salad. Hakoda made note of a task no one had touched yet before making a suggestion to no one in particular.

"Maybe you guys can ask your friend upstairs to help peel the potatoes?"

"Rrrrmmm," whined Aang. "Taters..."

Katara giggled with some sympathy at his pathetic friend before shaking her head to her dad, her mood switching over.

"There's no point, Dad," Katara sighed, pressing her palms into the island counter top and leaning over. "Jane's all...in a _mood." _She rolled her eyes._ "_It's no use. She's been acting difficult ever since we left..."

"Truth," piped in Sokka, stirring his mixture with a wooden spoon.

"I see," Hakoda mused, quick to catch onto his daughter's rapidly heightened tension. "Is she up in your room?"

"_I _don't know," huffed Katara, commencing with her dough mashing once again. As her father passed by, he squeezed her shoulder.

"I'll talk to her," he advised calmly, heading out of the kitchen.

"Good _luck_," scoffed a doubtful Sokka.

Hakoda made his way up carpeted steps to the narrow hallway. It was rather silent, which he was used. The door to his daughter's room was open, and he rapped his knuckle against it as he entered. The room was prominently blue, with a stripe of aquarium-themed wallpaper running along the top section of the walls. A section of the wall around her mirror was dedicated to family photographs, a few more recent ones depicting her with her friends from school. Although, these photos were missing the red-headed girl slumped on the floor beside the closet. She was laying on her stomach, staring into a computer screen, the lights dimmed.

"There you are," Hakoda greeted, attempting to draw her attention away from Aang's laptop.

"Hey."

"We're all working on preparing dinner. Would you mind helping out?"

The girl groaned as she dragged herself to her feet with no reply. She shut the laptop closed and pushed it aside under Katara's bed - a space that was otherwise empty.

"What do you _need_?" she wondered with a dull complacency, shoving her draped bangs to the side. They ended up covering one eye, conveying a style that Hakoda was not too fond of, only serving to remind him of his relief that his daughter had never slipped into the classic 'rebellious teen' phase in her upbringing.

"We need a potato-peeler," he informed.

The girl shrugged, avoiding his glance.

"Whatever," she shrugged. "No prob."

"Thanks." Hakoda, relieved by the ease with which he reached his goal, gave pause. "By the way, Jane...Are you comfortable, Kiddo?"

"Huh?"

Hakoda smirked as the girl's grouchy demeanor flushed with fret at being put on the spot, her eyes popping open at him.

"Are you comfortable?" he reiterated. "Is there anything I can do to make your stay any easier? You seem on edge."

Jane shrugged sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck.

"I mean, come on," insisted the father, raising a palm upward. "You can take a _break_. This is a vacation, right? Take it easy. That's the whole point."

"Heh." Jane nodded, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "I...I, um...-" She shrugged, eyes darting around the room. "Lotta shit goin' on, is all."

"Hm." Hakoda reciprocated a bob of the head. "If you don't mind my asking: what do you normally do when you're stressed at school?"

"Erm...I-I dunno, I...keep to myself. I need space."

"Ha. I imagine being stuck in a car with the likes of my kids for hours on end likely didn't help, eh?"

A tiny smile.

"Heh, nnnnot really."

"I understand needing that sort of 'Me Time' when you're down and out. My wife was the same way. I always wanted to resolve problems head-on, but she would often want some time away from the situation."

Hakoda took a deep breath as he reminisced on the older days, lamenting that his love wasn't there to see the people their children were growing into.

"I know my kids can be...somewhat stubborn. They certainly get that from both their parents." He shook his head and chuckled. "It runs in the Kesuk blood, I suppose." He eyed her nervous demeanor, shrouded in a mist of apathy that was fading more with each moment. "Sometimes we can be a bit pushy, I realize. A word of advice, though, Jane: when Kesuks start shoving, _tell _them to stop. Don't shove back." He wandered to the doorway, admiring a staff he had carved from wood for his daughter many years ago. It was propped against the wall, sitting beside Katara's work desk. He put his worn hand around it, thumbing smooth, sanded surface. "We're fighters in spirit, Jane. With a name like 'Fitzpatrick,' I bet you can relate. Those Irish have a reputation for a reason, I've found."

"Ha, _yea_..."

"The next time Sokka or Katara pinch a nerve, try to resist the urge to fight back. You'll just be adding coals to their fire. Just ask them to back off. See if that works."

"Hm..."

_This girl isn't much for words, is she?_

"And thank you," Hakoda added.

"Mm?"

"For looking out for those people downstairs." Hakoda let the staff go and headed through the doorway. "Now come on, there's work to be done."

They plodded down the stairs and into the brightly lit, bustling kitchen.

"We have a potato peeler on deck!" announced Hakoda. He grinned wide, keen on the wall of tension Jane was marching into. "Now how is that salad coming along, Leekpai?"

"Pretty close, Sir," Aang assured, slicing at tomatoes.

"And the bread?"

"Ready for baking," said Katara, holding up a pan full of dough.

"Cookies ready for launch!" Sokka cried with a salute beside a metal sheet filled with chocolate chip cookie wads.

As Jane circled around the island to the sack of potatoes, a peeler already sitting on the island's counter top, Aang asked her, "Hey, you doin' OK?" She responded with a simple nod, pulling up a nearby stool and the garbage can from the corner of the room.

Katara gave pause, casting a tired but concerned glance toward her red-headed friend. Jane caught it, sending a weak smile back as she commenced with her newly assigned task. Katara's eyes then found their way to her dad, whom she offered a sly smirk. His grin widened in the moment of silence.

"Sokka," Hakoda requested, "How about we turn on the radio, eh? Liven things up in here."

* * *

The methodical _tick-tock _of Iroh's grandfather clock served as the background to the aftermath of the game of Risk that had just been played in the cozy living room. Zuko had observed, pleasantly surprised at how riveted he was by what had unfolded before him. Uncle Iroh certainly loved his board games - there was a chest full of them tucked beside the couch in the corner of the room.

As Iroh packed the game away, he complimented the victor.

"You haven't lost your touch, Azula. Very well played, my dear."

"Victory is in our blood, Uncle," Azula affirmed. "Kurosawas are destined to win." Her words sounded like classic 'Cocky Azula' but her tone was dull and tired.

"Waha, I suppose you may be right, Niece." Iroh opened the chest, setting the thin box on a similarly-sized stack.

"I often am," Azula mumbled, leaning back on the couch.

"What are you in the mood for now?" Zuko wondered.

"Why do you keep _asking _me that?" snipped the girl, staring at the ceiling.

Zuko frowned and considered his next words with some care, but Iroh beat him to the punch.

"Your brother is merely ensuring that you feel welcome and content Azula. We are both certain that life has been very busy for you. You should take some time to yourself once in a while."

Azula huffed through her nose and cocked her head at her brother across the room.

"That's the entire reason I'm here. I came to see my family, not be waited on. I get enough of that every _other _day." Azula sighed, glancing at the ornate clock to her right, opposite of the loveseat Zuko was occupying to her left. The swinging pendulum, made of bronze, was in the shape of a slender, serpent-like dragon. "Uncle, when do you expect dinner to arrive?"

Iroh rubbed his stomach, as if on instinct at the thought, and answered, "Ah, yes. It should be arriving in an hour or so. Mm-_mm._"

"I see..." Azula tapped her chin carefully, her deliberate eyes sliding from her right to her left. "Zuko. Would you mind escorting me around the neighborhood?"

"Erm...Wh-_what_ was that?" Zuko doubled back, perplexed by such a request.

Azula smirked and slipped off of the couch, stretching her arms and picking a bit of lint from her shoulder.

"The neighborhood, ZuZu. Outside?" she spoke with that familiar belittling tone, tempered with some amusement. "Would you escort me around the block?"

"You mean...go for a _walk_?" Zuko clarified, raising a brow at her humored expression.

"_Yes, _Dum-Dum. A _walk._"

"Wh-...? O-of course. Yea, let's...let's go!" Zuko scrambled to his feet, scurrying across the room to the coat rack by the front door behind his sister.

"Very well, then." Azula paced behind with slinking steps. The two shuffled on their matching black coats and wound red scarves around their necks. Iroh smiled at the sight, recognizing the scarves as a holiday gift from their mother the Christmas before she vanished.

"Ladies first," insisted Azula, forcing her way past her brother and out through the front door.

Zuko waved Iroh off, promising, "We'll be back soon." Iroh, his arms folded before him, nodded with a telling '_I told you so_' glance. Zuko conceded a smile as he followed Azula, who was waiting at the bottom of the stone steps in front of the house. The glow of street lamps against freshly fallen snow greeted them at the twilight of Thanksgiving evening. The air was calm and clear, a slight icy breeze sweeping across every now and then. Salt crunched beneath their boots as they proceeded down the street without words, and Zuko began to stumble for conversation, puzzled by the circumstances.

"So...Nice...weather. Huh?"

"Zuko," Azula began, her mittened hands clasped behind her back as she strolled. "Why have you been acting so strange since I've arrived?"

"Strange?"

"Normally you'd demonstrate more backbone, Brother. You wouldn't tolerate my incessant insults."

A slight "guh" popped out of Zuko's mouth, but Azula went on.

"Just earlier I mocked your girlfriend and you said not a word in defense."

"What, have you been...screwing with me, or something?" Zuko grumbled, somewhat appalled but not surprised.

"Not entirely," came a sneaky reply. "But as your sister, I can't help but notice when you lack resistance."

"It's Thanksgiving, Azula. I'm trying to keep the peace here."

"I'm _aware,_ ZuZu. You seem to be trying so _very hard_ to be quite the civil servant. It's disconcerting. Has becoming President stripped you of any self-motivation?"

"What?"

"It concerns me that you seem entirely involved with pleasing everyone around you. It's...somewhat disappointing."

"_Wow, _Azula. I'm shocked," Zuko laughed, every gesture laden with sarcasm. "Me? Disappoint _you_? It's such a _foreign concept_."

"Silence," Azula mumbled, eyes narrowed but lips curved up as she nudged him with her elbow. "I've done a great deal of thinking since last we saw one another."

"Is that so?"

"It _is _so. I'm worried that my little brother is going to go into the world and tarnish the Kurosawa name by pandering to the desires of those below him."

"Aha," Zuko muttered, realization dawning on him. "So it's not actually _me _you're worried about."

Azula didn't reply at first, and Zuko was sparked with some intrigue by the fact that her normally rapid denial ddn't come.

"Kurosawas do great things because they _want _to - for themselves," she pressed on, sidestepping his previous comment. "Yet _you _continue to be possessed with this desire to latch onto others' opinions of yourself. First it was mother, then it was father, then Uncle...Now who is it, Zuko? Whose approval are you yearning for this time? Is it mine?"

"Playing psychiatrist," mused Zuko with a nod. "Different for you. Not so sure I'm a fan," he muttered with some irritation.

"Yes, yes, continue to joke, Dum-Dum. I'm trying to have some semblance of seriousness here."

"All right," shrugged her brother, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"I like you better when you fight back," observed his sister.

"Huh?"

"It's not easy being so intolerable, you know. It can be quite taxing," Azula reflected, staring up at the street lamps as they passed by. "But it's a rather quick means of gauging others' self-confidence. We're Kurosawas, ZuZu. It's our duty to rise above those around us and push them. To _lead._ They'll never learn to defend themselves if they have no force to compete against."

"Let me get this straight - you're trying to say it's fine for you to be a complete _jerk _because it teaches me to stick up for myself? _That's _your excuse?"

"Hm..." Azula considered the notion and shrugged. "Perhaps. Either way, I _am _better than you at nearly everything," she teased with a devil's grin. "This must be rectified. I deserve a truly worthy sibling."

"Psh. No pressure."

"Of course not, Zuko. You're my little brother. Dragon DNA flows through our veins."

"There goes that 'semblance of seriousness' you were talking about." He wobbled his had in the air. "Woosh. There it goes..."

"I don't want to see any brother of mine being swayed by those lesser than he is."

Zuko rolled his eyes, snickering at her approach. Was this really happening? Was she seriously trying to give him actual advice? Her own misguided pep-talk?

"Thanks for the encouragement, Azula." He pointed his hands in her direction. "But what's with this 'Concerned Sister' business?"

"As I explained, Dum-Dum...-" She wrapped her knuckled against his forehead and he absorbed it. "-...I've done a lot of thinking lately."

"Enlighten me, then," Zuko jeered.

"My thoughts aren't your concern," Azula primly advised, waddling an upright index.

"Oh, _I see_," taunted her brother, shuffling his scarf. They walked for a moment without words.

"But if you _must _know," Azula cracked her mute shell, "I've realized that it can be of...benefit...to someone of my stature, you see, to have one or two...non-business-related confidantes."

"Mm," nodded Zuko, containing a laugh at her insistence on verbose diction. She turned her face to the side, chin slightly upright, eyelids dropped just a tad. Azula was a good liar, but her brother had learned to read through her facades. That cursory glance of hers said - in its own way - something Azula wouldn't dare speak aloud: _I honestly thought you wouldn't invite me. I was expecting to spend Thanksgiving alone. _"That's probably a good idea," Zuko agreed with her theory. He was tempted to give her a pat on the back but knew full well that trying such a thing with her in this self-righteous mood would result in a 'Hands-off, Dum-Dum,' so he refrained.

A bit of guilt found its way to his mind as they shared a few fleeting moments of solitude. He had not wanted to see her in the first place. He hadn't been in the mood to tolerate her nonsense, but Uncle had insisted. And he had been right - as usual.

"Er..." He attempted to bumble out of the silence. "So...how are-?"  
"You know, ZuZu," cut in Azula with a prying glance. "You really ought to learn when a lady appreciates some peace and quiet. How Mai stands for your social incompetence is _beyond_ me."

Translated: _Thanks for the talk, Brother. Now just let it be, would you?_

* * *

Toph wedged her trembling hands underneath her buttocks in an attempt to warm them as she sat on her bed - much too large for a single person. She shivered, teeth chattering slightly.

"Y-you OK, Tophie?" Meng checked with a giggle. They had only just gotten back inside, scurrying straight up to Toph's bedroom.

"Y-yea, I-I'm gr-great," Toph assured, her shaking words conveying relief and excitement.

Their escapade to the outdoors had been refreshing. It had been freezing, so they hadn't stay out for very long. There was so much commotion from family members arriving and socializing that it hadn't been hard for Meng to worm the two of them outside for a few minutes. The sensation of the clean, icy air rushing through her nostrils was at the height of Toph's memory, followed by the feeling of balling up snow between her bare fingers. It made her miss college quite thoroughly, where she could go outside and experience such things at her own leisure - in a sense - so a sliver of that freedom was much appreciated.

"Hee, did that help you feel better?"

"Sh-sh...sure did."

Meng rubbed her chilled hand on Toph's bare back. It was a shocking, tingling touch, but Toph enjoyed it in this mental state. Anything _not _cozy and warm and expected was a treat. It had been a fun 'game' of sorts, sneaking out of the mansion, trying to enjoy the weather outside, all while in a dress, attempting to stay as neat and tidy as possible.

"See, wasn't that fun?"

Toph felt relief as a quilt was draped across her shoulders.

"There ya go!"

It baffled Toph as to how Meng seemed perfectly fine. Clearly, the girl got out more often. Yet another odd trait she could admire.

"Th-thanks, Meng...Is...Is M-Madison around?"

"She's probably somewhere around here, Cuz. Why, what's up?"

"Kinda in the m-mood for some...hot cocoa."

"Heheh, that sounds good to me!" agreed the excitable cousin. "I'll go with her and get some!"

"OK!"

As the rushing steps of her enthusiastic cousin trailed off out of the bedroom, Toph found herself relieved. Comfortable, even. Meng had always seemed like a loon, irritating and overbearing, but today she was serving as a saving grace, a social oasis in a desert of stuffy rich relatives. It certainly wasn't because Meng was acting any different than usual, Toph had to admit. Some introspection in this moment of peace and relaxation, enveloped by her quilt, shed some perspective on the matter, and she had to confess to herself that maybe Meng wasn't just another annoying cousin, after all.

* * *

"This is so freakin' cool," whispered Aang, eyeballing the table of food from his seat next to Jane. "Isn't it?"

Jane nodded, a smile ready to burst from her cheeks at his childlike wonder.

"Sure is, Twinkle-Toes."

The Kesuk family was finalizing a few things from the kitchen, insisting that their guests wait at a quickly-filling table in the dining room. The stairwell leading upstairs sat in one end of the room, its wall covered in family pictures of different kinds.

"I've never had an actual Thanksgiving like this before," continued Aang with giddy glee. "Like, everyone all..._cooking _everything, and...and a bunch of people all sitting down together..."

Jane's mind reeled back to numerous Thanksgivings of old full of Fitzpatricks, most of their faces blurred and indistinguishable.

"Huh...Yea," she mumbled. "This _would _be different for you..."

As Katara set a steaming pan of bread before him, Aang rubbed his palms together with such ferocity that Jane wondered if they'd burst into flames.

"_Whoa, _there, Aang," she snickered. "Settle down, Bud."

"This is gonna be _sooo goood!_" cried the enthusistic boy with baited breath.

A chorus of two Kesuk men flowed through the house as they sung to the familiar tune normally played by an organ precluding a baseball game. As they sung, Hakoda carried the turkey in while Sokka clapped his hands with each syllable.

"~**Meat-Meat-Meat-Meat~Meat-Meat-Meat-Meat~**"  
"Oh, God," groaned Katara as they paraded in, shielding her face with oven mits. They changed key.

"~**_Meat-Meat-Meat-Meat~Meat-Meat-Meat-Meat_~**"  
"I'm adopted!" pleaded Katara as Aang chortled and Jane smirked at Katara's adorable embarrassment.

They set the pot of roasted bird in the center of everything as they rapidly sang the finale.  
"~**It's-time-to_-EAT_~some_-MEAT~_**"

Their performance was concluded with applause and a cry of "_Men! Ugh!" _from their female compatriot as they all sat down. Smiles were present on every face, eyes glazed at the fruits - and vegetables, and meats - of their labor. Their table had six seats. Aang and Jane sat on one side, Katara and Sokka another, and Hakoda on one end. The opposing end was empty. At this seat there was not a plate and cutlery but instead a thick, black candle in a glass jar, not yet lit. The attention of the Kesuks seemed to immediately direct itself to the candle, which in turn led their guests to be reminded of it.

"Aang," Katara mumbled solemnly. "Would you mind lighting Mother's candle?"

"M-me?" squeaked Aang, his face lighting up. "I-I'm not sure, Katara, that's...I mean, fire and me...w-we don't exactly get along well, and-..."

"Haha, it's OK, Aang," Katara snickered, removing her oven mits. "You don't have to. Would you do the honors, Jane?" Katara's cerulean eyes drifted to Jane, who now shared Aang's surprise. Her stomach emptied in an instant at the prospect, and she decided to accept it, hoping to win back some of the approval she had recently lost.

"Y-yea, OK," she sputtered, shakily rising from her seat. She instinctively reached for her sleeveless vest, which was hanging on the neck of her chair, and fished into the pocket for her light-...wait. It was _Jet's _lighter...She tactfully withdrew her hand from her pocket and approached Katara. "Not sure where my lighter is," she mumbled, but Katara nodded her head to the chinaware cabinet behind the empty seat.

"There should be some matches in the top drawer, Jane," she informed with a gentle grace.

Jane, hands dug into her pockets, fingers trembling, shuffled over to the cabinet, beginning to feel a bit nauseous from all the eyes on her. She fidgeted out a small box, popped a match out, and turned to face the candle, doing her best to ignore the melancholic, serene demeanor before her. She struck the box, and the normally comforting fizzing of the flame sparking to life jarred her. She carefully tilted the glass container toward her, ignited the fresh candle, then blew out the match, setting it on a stray shelf on the cabinet before scurrying back to her seat.

"Thank you," said Hakoda. Jane nodded, swiftly crossing glances with the group - even Sokka had an appreciative glow about him. "All right, everyone." Hakoda extended his palms. Sokka took one, while Aang took another. Jane noticed that Katara and Sokka were actually already holding hands prior to this gesture, and she took a deep breath as Aang reached his arm to her while Katara extended hers across the table. She swallowed her hesitation and took both, her already warm face flush with blood at this point. "At the Kesuks'," Hakoda informed, "we like to say our grace without words in a few moments of silence." He bobbed his head downward, and Jane felt a lump form in her throat as she watched the rest of them close their eyes.

Jane didn't believe in any God, that was for sure, but with the way her moods were being tossed through a washing machine today, she could appreciate a few moments of reflection and solitude. She couldn't bring herself to close her eyes. She squeezed Aang's gentle fingers, rubbing her thumb across Katara's soft wrist, and stared at the flickering flame in the jar to her right.

* * *

Zuko cracked open the plastic container of potato salad and stuck a large spoon into it, passing it to his Uncle, who eagerly scooped some onto his plate. It had taken a few minutes for Azula to get all of her complaining out of her system, but Iroh had managed to quell her concerns by advising that she was more than welcome to provide dinner if she preferred. That had shut her up quite suddenly. Dinner had been delivered in a box, as there wasn't enough interest or energy to go around between three people to prepare food for themselves. At the end of the day, this sufficed. Zuko had never been big on Thanksgiving dinner, anyway, whether for food or familial faking, but this he could get behind.

Three people, tucked around a small kitchen table, sharing a heavy meal and appreciating one another's company. No small-talk, no expectations, just food, some laughs, and a release of the doubts that normally plagued him when his sister was around.

"I can serve my own string beans, Brother," Azula scoffed at Zuko's aid. He paused, stared at her pouted lip and raised eyebrow...then spooned another slab of garlic-laden beans onto her plate. She laughed through her nostrils with a smirk and shook her head. "You truly are insufferable, you know."

"I learn from the master," Zuko's raspy tone countered with a cocky tilt of his head as he sawed off a slice of turkey and plopped it down.

"Ah, sibling rivalry," sighed Iroh, patting his stomach as he leaned back in his chair, his plate empty.

"U-Uncle, are you already _finished_?" Zuko spat incredulously.

"Waha! No, no, not at all!" The old man slapped his belly with riotous amusement. "I am merely preparing for what is to come, Zuko."

"What's to _come?_"

Iroh slurped a sip of sake from his handle-less porcelain cup. "A Thanksgiving feast is like a marathon - you have to properly stretch before the the race begins!"

Azula and Zuko exchanged shifty eyes - humored glances - fearful for what, indeed, was to come.

* * *

"Heehee, wow, Tophie, that stuff is fun!"

"You listened to the whole thing?"

"Yea, yea! That was such a _romantic _song," Meng cooed, removing the waxy buds from her ears and passing the iPod back to her cousin under the table. The table was bustling with activity as flocks of relatives congregated, all bickering smalltalk to each other. Children ran around the room, circling the lengthy table in laps. Meng had lost count of how many aunts and grandmas had pinched their cheeks - more than she'd prefer. _Much _more than Toph would prefer, she'd hazard a guess.

"That's The Beatles for ya," boasted Toph.

"Later, you should show me more of their music!"

"Um...Y-yea," muttered Toph, her brows slanted in opposing direction. "If you want. Sure."

"Cool!" Meng grinned wide, clapping her fingers together.

"I could show all their best stuff," Toph elaborated, her own lips curling into an excited expression.

"Oh, but...-" Meng's excitement was curbed. "But after dinner, I...gotta go with my folks..."

"Oh," Toph groaned, partaking in Meng's disappointment.

Why was her cousin being so much more receptive than usual? It seemed like every other time Meng came to visit Toph would tune her out, push her away. It was kind of like she was talking with a different person than before. She concluded that it must have been the whole "college" thing. A senior in high school, herself, Meng gleefully awaited the prospect of college: being able to set your own schedule, make your own rules, stay out as late as you wanted, live with your friends...And, most importantly, _boys. _Boys. Boys. And no parents to scare any boys off, at that.

"And how are _you _two lovely ladies doing?" warbled Meng's mother, slipping behind their seats.

"We're fine, Mother," Meng greeted.

"Hi, Aunt Wu," Toph mumbled, facing straight ahead. Meng observed her pleasant surprise from seconds earlier dissipate into uneasiness.

"Goodness," gasped Wu, leaning over to study Toph's profile. "Doesn't your cousin look simply stunning tonight, Meng?"

"Y-yea," Meng agreed, suddenly relating with Toph's uncomfortable demeanor.

"You are simply so _gorgeous_, my dear," complimented Wu, stroking Toph's cheek with the back of her wrist.

_What about _me, _Mom?_

"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves," Wu reflected. "It's been so long since I've seen that precious smile, Toph."

Meng was perplexed at how Toph's nervousness seemed to grow the more that her mother lavished her cousin with praise.

"Aunt...Aunt Wu?" mumbled Toph sheepishly.

"Yes? What is it, my dear?"

"Would it be intrusive to invite your daughter to stay with my family tonight?"

Meng's jaw dropped and she rubbed her eyes before double-checking the sincerity in Toph's expression - sincere but entirely embarrassed. Wu seemed rather startled by the request, herself. She stared at Meng with inquisitive wide eyes, and Meng popped her shoulders up, nodding her head.

"Oh," Wu spouted. "It...wouldn't be inconvenient in the slightest! By all means."

"Delightful," Toph chirped with saccharine syllables, bowing her head.

"Very well. I do hope you two girls stay out of trouble."

"Don't worry, Mother!" Meng assured. "We'll be good!" The commotion of the room was slowing down, and Wu waved her daughter farewell before heading to her own seat.

Toph had very strictly insisted that Meng sit beside her during the Thanksgiving feast, manipulating things around with her act of, 'Woe is me, for I am blind and require a trusted familial figure to assist me.' Meng admired Toph's ability to sneak into 'character' in this stuffy environment and make it work for her benefit with none being the wiser.

"God, I feel like a fucking child," Toph whispered, clawing at her chest as if to contain her thumping heart. She mocked herself, her words puffing out like squeaks from a chew toy. "Auntie Wu, can Meng-Meng come for a _sleepover?_"

Meng snorted a laugh and Toph chortled along with her.

"Bought us a whole night, though, right?"

"Yea," Toph acknowledged. She grumbled under her breath, "I wouldn't be able to stand dealing with my parents tonight, anyway..."

As servants lavished food before them and the many tables around the Beifong family table were filled, both girls took in deep breaths, the wafting aromas filling them with pleasure. Toph's father rose at the head of the table, a few seats down, and addressed the lot of them by tapping his glass. Meng noticed her cousin's pale white eyes dull he spoke. She couldn't contain her attention well enough to focus on what the man was saying. She could only think about how strange it was that during the entire pre-meal ceremony of meet-and-greeting, Toph's own parents had not checked in on her a single time. This made her wonder why her mother and father seemed so OK just letting her sit wherever she pleased rather than by their side. It was not normal for them, Meng believed. The more she considered it, the more she realized that all day, her parents had practically been ignoring that she existed. Why was that?

Clinking of glasses rang out, jolting Meng from her scatterbrained thoughts, and she observed Toph holding out her own glass. Meng fumbled and tapped it against hers before taking a large gulp of her wine, coughing as some went down the wrong pipe and pounding her chest.

"Don't hurt yourself there, Cuz," snickered Toph. "I don't want you dying on me during dinner, or else I'll have to put up with my folks all on my own."

"Hey, you won't have to! I'll keep you busy!" Meng instinctively winked, only to realize her cousin couldn't see this gesture. She added with a mischievous giggle, "I have a plan."

"Huh?"

"We'll talk, my cousin..." Meng sipped more wine, patting her confused relative on the shoulder. "But right now, let's eat."

* * *

**A/N: I actually have alluded to a connection with Meng in the past - there was a reference to Aunt Wu a long time ago during a family reunion flashback. Ever since that scene I've been planning on introducing Meng as Toph's cousin. The idea actually comes from the fact that Meng was voiced by Toph's voice actress, she just adds a lisp her voice. So the two sound like they're related. ;)**


	33. Idol

**A/N: There's definitely some YouTube vids that get watched partway through the chapter. I'd take note and actually watch/listen to the second one referred to, at least, even if (perhaps _especially_ if) you are familiar with the radio edit of said song, as the important element of the scene is the difference between recorded, edited music and raw, live performance.**

**Oh, also, for FanFiction(dot)net readers, there are some Avatar fiction polls going on, so if you'd like to support me, you can vote for me for "Best Author" and vote for "What I Learned at SRU" for "Best Modern AU." I've also been nominated for "Best Tokka Fic" for "Worst Field Trip Ever," so if you've read that you can support that, too, if you'd like! **

**You can do that on the forums in Citrus Production's profile, here: **  
**http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/myforums/Citrus_Productions/2076197**

**Also, for DeviantArt readers, I'm running a contest on my profile until the end of April (destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com ), and I will write a one-shot about whatever topic the winner desires, plus I will naturally promote your work. Might as well mention, you can find some SRU fanart through my DA page as well, so please check that out, I'm loving the work people have made. =3  
**

**I appreciate your support, please keep it coming - it's what fuels me to go on! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy another fluffy, "filler-ish" chapter. I always try to make sure no scene - no matter how seemingly insignificant - is without some kind of character development, but I have come to appreciate that sometimes readers need a release of tension and that "fluffy" chapters can have their place in long, drawn out stories like this one. ;) Decided I'd just run with dialogue this time instead of trying to weight it down w/too much description and such, we'll see how that turned out.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 33 - Idol_

* * *

- Friday, November 25th, 2010 -

"Yea, yea...We're about to do it. We'll send it to you guys as soon as it's done."

["You promise?"]

"Yea, Twinkles. Tell everyone else I said 'hi.'"

["You just _talked _with-"]  
"Tell them."

["Ha. OK, OK...Guys, Toph says 'hi' and stuff."]

["Er..."] Sokka's voice from the distance. ["Didn't we just...-?"]

["Hi!"] Katara.  
["Hey..."] Janey Jane.

["Can I go back to sleep now?"]

"Tell Snoozles I'm _sorry I woke him_," Toph belittled her friend. She knew there was a time-zone difference of a few hours, so it was earlier for them than her.

["Toph says you can go back to sleep."]

["That's _great_,"] sighed Sokka. ["Thanks for the permission, Dead-Eyes..."]

Toph found herself amused by his grouchy grumbling as it faded away.

"So things are better now?" she wondered.

["Yea, a lot better."] Distinct relief in Aang's voice. That was good to hear. ["And you, too?"]

"Oh! Y-yea, definitely. My cousin and I have been having a lotta fun, and...-" She trailed off, hoping to ignore the primary topic of concern. "Yea, it's been good. We're about to do that recording, so...-"

["What about your parents?"] So much for that.

"W-well, I...-" Toph scratched an itch on her cheek. "Yea. I mean, it'll be fine."

["You still haven't talked with them,"] realized Aang with a sigh. That disapproving, disappointing sigh that may as well have been a needle in her ear.

"I'm going to!" Toph was quick to assure. "Later today. I freakin' _swear. _I _will._"

["Stand your ground? All that stuff?"]

"Stand my ground."

["Good. I'm sure if you try and talk things out, you guys will be able to come to an understanding."]

_Fuck no._

"I-...Mm-hm. We'll, uh...We'll see."

["Keep us posted, Taters."]

"Yep."

["Love you."]

"Love you, too."

Toph closed her phone and carefully set it on the bed behind her. She tucked her legs up from the edge and shuffled around on her mattress, the smooth, soft texture of her sheets a delight against her toes.

"Hee." Meng grinned at the small smile that had appeared on Toph's face for the conversation. "Got some inspiration from your boyfriend before you sing, right?" Toph's lips curved further.

"Somethin' like that," she said.

"You really like him, I can tell," observed Meng as she prepared the camera - one the family owned and had just been using the night prior to record some home footage from the Thanksgiving reunion. Toph didn't comment further on the matter of this 'Aang' boy, which only made Meng that much more keen on its poignancy in her life. Meng knew that Toph had dated some boys in the past - nothing serious, though. Something about thisboy had her acting _different, _though_. _Meng was still trying to place her finger on it, but now wasn't the time.

"OK, a little more to the right. _Your _right."

"Liiiike...um..." Toph fidgeted her butt into a more comfortable position on her bed, lifting her guitar up as she shuffled. Legs crossed, she set the guitar back into her lap. "Like this?"

Meng, tapping her chin critically, observed her cousin through the tiny screen coming from the side of the camcorder, eyes narrowed. Toph was captured in the frame from the waist up, her face and her guitar clearly visible. The morning sunshine poured in from a window on the left, casting a lighting effect on the blind girl that was pleasing to Meng's eye. Toph sat on her wide, cushy bed, pink pillows with intricate tassels dumped off onto the floor beside the bed to erase them from the background. Toph was garbed in a green hoodie with her dorm's logo printed on it, and she wore torn, baggy jeans - clothes she had brought back from college. Meng, not an expert on hair herself (hers was rather unmanageable, anyway), had requested that Madison, Toph's personal assistant, tidy her hair up.

Madison, upon being informed of their plan, was delighted to help. Between the three of them, they'd decided it'd look cute if they straightened it out, hung it down over Toph's shoulders, and pushed her bangs over to the side to cover one eye up. Toph had complained that it felt "girly" but her cohorts had insisted that she was fine.

Toph took a slow, deep breath, flicking her head to push her bangs around.

"Looking good~" Meng cat-called, eliciting a tiny smirk from the guitarist.

The girls had stayed up late the night prior listening to music on YouTube. What had started as a Beatles marathon had evolved into a series of fan-made covers, which led to covers of other songs, and other musicians...then it was four in the morning, and the girls decided it was time to sleep. Before they had gotten to bed, though, Meng had suggested that Toph give the idea a try: recording herself playing some music and uploading it to the internet.

Toph had been resistant at first but the more Meng explained its benefits, the more interested Toph became. It would be a way for her to share her music on her own terms, a way to help get herself 'out there.' Meng had cited how the internet was becoming a huge way for new artists to get recognized and find a following. After sleeping on the idea, Toph had decided that it was something she wanted to try - even if she couldn't see how her videos looked, people would be watching them more to listen, anyway.

"Um...Soooo...What should I say?" Toph mumbled, scratching her nose.

"Errr, weeeell...-" Meng thumped her finger against her lips a couple times as she considered. "I would just introduce yourself real quick, and then just start playing."

"Shouldn't I say, like, what song it is, or-...?"

"Nah, they'll see in the title and stuff," Meng dismissed.

"Oh. Right..."

"You ready to go?"

"Sure."

Madison grinned with excitement from Meng's side, clapping her hands together to cheer Toph on.

"Good luck!" she cried.

Toph savored the moment of silence, tossing out the first chord of her song to test her trusted guitar.

She sucked in a deep breath as the chord's tone vibrated through the air. She stilled the strings, cleared her throat, and began.

"~Picture yourself in a boat on a river~with tangerine trees, and marmalade skys~"

The words flowed out from her throat like water in a hot spring, her fingers like pixies dancing upon the fanciful flowers in this strange land she spoke of.

"~Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly~The Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes~"

* * *

[To: Haru]  
[The drama llamas settled down, so things are a lot better. You?]  
[Sent: 2:11pm]

[From: Haru]  
[its cool over here man. sorry bro. lol girls. amirite?]  
[Sent: 2:12pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Haru]  
[You most certainly are right, my good man. LOLs, indeed.]  
[Sent: 2:12pm]

"What are _you _doing over there?" wondered Katara from across the living room while Jane and Aang played a video game on the television. She was on the couch, Jane to her side and Aang on the opposite end. Sokka was lazily perched on their dad's recliner near Aang.

"Nothin' much." Sokka closed his phone and set it on the small glass table between his chair and the sofa.

"How am I in _twelfth place_?" groaned Jane with incredulous frustration.

"Sorry," muttered Aang, steering his plastic Wii wheel to veer around a long curve in the road. "I _told_ you it was a hard course," he pointed out.

"Grrm," replied Jane with narrowed eyes, clutching her controller tightly. She was using an old Gamecube controller, refusing to "screw around" with anything otherwise.

"You've got it," encouraged Katara, rubbing her hand across Jane's knee as she noticed a lightning bolt icon appear on the screen.

The screen flashed as the sound of thunder rumbled, and the little pink mushroom girl on the top half of the screen shrunk, as did the rest of the racers - save for Jane's giant turtle-dinosaur.

"Hell yea, suck on that," Jane goaded with a grin. She plowed forward, crushing one of the AI opponents.

"Oh, _come on_," Sokka protested, tossing out an arm. "You just _had _to squash poor Baby Luigi. You heartless _bitch._"

"He had it coming."

"He's a _baby_!"

"Sokka," said Katara with surprise. "You sound so _concerned_, I never knew you had a soft spot for children.

"How come there's not a Baby _Wa_luigi?" whined Sokka, leaned back in the chair. "I mean, where's the love there, huh?"

"Baby _Wa_luigi?" Aang didn't seem to find the idea too appealing. "Why would anyone want _that_?"

"Because Waluigi's-a gohnna _ween_," declared Sokka with the character's whiny accent.

"That dude's a creep," Jane tossed in her two cents, weaving around the long and winding turn Aang had been steering around earlier.

"Says the girl playing as the freaking _turtle-monster_!"

"Damn straight. Bowser kicks ass."

"Meh," came Aang, popping his wheel to perform a trick off of a jump.

"I think Bowser's just misunderstood," Katara observed with a level of solemnity that threw her brother off.

"Misunder_stood_?" Sokka scratched the top of one socked foot with the toenails of the other. "The guy's life is so pathetic that he keeps kidnapping the same damn princess over and over again."

"And she's not even the best princess, anyway," Aang added, steadying his wheel for a straightaway.

"Oh, _really_?" Katara raised a brow, entirely curious. "Then who, exactly, is the best princess?"

"Like, _ever_?" Sokka sought clarification. "Princess Jasmine. God. So gorgeous."

"If we're talking Disney princesses, Rapunzel was pretty awesome in Tangled," Aang tossed in. "Especially at the end, when her hair was all-"  
"Wait, what?" Katara puffed out a laugh through her nostrils. "No, like...in Mario...World..."

"Oh. Princess Rosalina."  
"...Rosalina."

Katara giggled at the unified answer.

"That so?"

"Who's that?" Jane grumbled, dissatisfied with 8th place while Aang sat comfortably in 1st.

Katara hazarded a guess, snapping her fingers. "Oh, is she the other blond?"

"Yea."  
"Yep."

"Oh. She _is_ pretty," Katara conceded with a gentle nod.

"_Ha! _Eat dust, bastard..."

"See?" Katara tapped Jane's arm with the back of her wrist as the counter moved to read [7th]. "You're catching up."

"Don't mess me up."

"Oh...Sorry."

"What's so great about Bowser, anyway?" Sokka was still hung up on this idea.

"He's _bad-ass_," defended Jane. "Look at him! He's got claws, and scales, and...and _horns, _and fucking _spikes on his shell. _He's a dinosaur-turtle that breathes fire!"

"_Ohhhhh, _I get it," came Sokka's wily tease as he noticed a connection, observing the ruffled mane of hair on the beast's head. "He's a _ginger, _like _you._"

"What?"

"Oh! _Ha!_" Aang caught on, casually deflecting an incoming enemy's shell with a banana peel.

"Hee, I never thought of that." Katara scratched her hand through Jane's bright hair on the back of her head. Jane didn't seem to react, but this was somewhat expected. Her dull eyes seemed pretty focused on the competition unfolding. For someone who didn't play video games very much, whenever she picked them up, Jane seemed to get highly competitive. Katara found it endearing. It reminded her of her brother. Ironically, however, Jane seemed to curse a lot less while playing games than Sokka did.

"Bowser's just...Gah." Sokka shrugged it off.

"If Toph were here, she'd back me up," professed Jane.

"If Toph were here, she'd say you should be playing as _Dry _Bowser," Aang corrected.

"Whaaa?" Sokka muttered.

"He's like Bowser only a fucking _skeleton_," Jane explained. "Good point, Aang."

"Uh..._huh_. I guess that's pretty cool. But Bowser's all big and fat and slow. He's like, the worst villain ever. A chubby man in overalls beats him every time, and he just keeps fooling himself into thinking he's so bad."

"Bowser's a good guy deep down, he's just lonely," Katara decided. "Cut him some slack, Sokka. Besides, Waluigi's just a total creeper."

"_I know_!" came Sokka's gleeful confirmation. "He's so disturbing and messed up!"

"Fifth," said Jane, focused on the race.

"All right! Go, go, go!"

"So tell me, Aang," prodded Sokka. "Why do you always play as Toad?"

"Because. He's cool."

"He sounds like a frog."

"Aw, hey!" Katara whimpered. "Toad's really _cute_..."

"Still sounds like a frog."

Aang amended Sokka's statement. "You mean, he sounds like a _toad?_"

"_Ohhhhh. _I...get it. Is _that _why all those guys sound all...-?" Sokka cleared his throat and impersonated the quirky voice of the character. "**HeY, wAhOo, YiPpEe! i'M tHe BeSt!**" Another cough and he was back to normal, snarky Sokka. "Yea, _that's _not dumb at all."

"You play as _Waluigi_," Katara grumbled. "He's the most annoying, like..._creepy creeper _ever."

"Yea," Sokka spat. "And I embrace that. I don't go around trying to say he's _awesome _or _cool_. He's a friggin' _psycho. _That's interesting. Toad's just annoying."

"Oh my _shit_," Jane gasped with delight, oblivious of the current debate. "I just turned into a_ giant bullet!_"

Katara rolled her head back and laughed, acknowledging that Jane had never previously paid much attention when this game had been played in her presence.

"Oh, wow," said Aang. "You're in third place!"

As they hit the final stretch, Aang sighed, for he could detect something coming. His kart exploded in a ball of blue flame moments before the finish line. A flurry of shouts and cheers rang out as Jane fought for first with a computer-controlled driver.

"You got this, Jane!" Aang joined in, holding down the acceleration button but fixing his eyes on the second player half of the screen.

The whistle sounded as Jane crossed the finish line, having eked out a victory. The group erupted into an explosion of energy and congratulations were handed out.

"First place, bitches!" Jane growled with a toothy grin, pointing up an index finger. Katara, all too amused by what a big deal such a seemingly small thing seemed to be, gave Jane a pat on the back, while Aang delivered her a high five.

"Eh, way to go, Freckle-Face."

"So, Sokka," Jane threatened. "You wanna put all that Bowser smack-talk onto the track, or what?"

* * *

"So I remind you of this chick?" Toph murmured, unsure as to whether to be pleased or disgruntled.

"Yea, totally. Even plays the same instruments as you."

_Click. Click. Tattatat. Tap-tap. _Meng's fingers were navigating the foggy seas of the Internet to show Toph the work of this musician.

"Ah, here we go. Lemme just pull up something you might like...Oh! Here..."

"What was her name, again?"

"Christina Perri."

"What, like that dumb 'you're hot and you're cold, in and you're out,' and all that stuff...?"

"Pssshh. No, no, Tophie. That's _Katy _Perry. This is Christina. She's...very different."

Toph's ears were tickled by the clicking of a guitar pick against taut strings and the gentle squeal of fingers sliding across frets.

["~I'm so tired~I haven't slept a wink~I'm so-oo tired~My mind is on the brink~"]

"Oh my _God_," Toph gasped. "That's a Beatles song..."

Instant respect points. Anyone who would know a lesser-sung Beatles song and could actually play it? They instantly deserved a listen from her. As she observed the girl's singing, she appreciated the soul behind each strum, each syllable.

["~I wonder~Should I get up~and fix myself a drink?~No, no, no...~"]

"Like her?"

"Shh, shh," Toph shushed her cousin, snuggling down onto her stomach, nestling her head into her pillow.

"Heehee, OK..." Toph could feel the bed's mattress shift slightly as her cousin settled in beside her. Listening to one song became two. Two become four. Four became eight. Meng decided to look up the most recent song.

"Ah, here we go. November 24th - she just put this up the other day."

"What is it?"

"She's been putting up these recordings of live performances she did in a studio. So this one is...-" _Click._ "This one's her most famous song so far. For sure."

"Huh...So what is it?"

"Just listen," Meng teased. "This one's just her on a piano."

"Mm."

["~I know I can't take one more step toward you~'Cause all that's waiting is regret~"]

As the song began, Toph recognized it - bits and pieces. She knew she had heard this at some point recently, but only in passing. That was an edited version, though, and this was a live, one-girl-show recording. The lyrics themselves were daunting and melancholy, but it wasn't the words as much as the rawness in the girl's voice that drew Toph in. Her words were tired, scratchy at times. Flawed. The kind of imperfection that came from long sessions of singing, from singing when your throat was tired but you just couldn't stop. The girl sounded dulled and worn, but she pressed on through this piece with determination, a certain kind of energy oozing out through the physical deterioration.

["~Don't ya know I'm not your ghost anymore?~You lost the love I loved the most~"]

The way the girl played and sung cut Toph to her core. The scent of the coffee shop hit her in the face. The gentle rumblings of students filled itself into her mind, the cold wooden paneling of the stage floor against her bare toes, the wooden stool beneath her...

["~I've learned to live half alive~And now you want me one more time~"]

In that moment, Toph knew, within that deep recess of her mind she would visit on those Thursday nights at the Jasmine Dragon, that this girl played with the same conviction and expression that she herself did. This musician played her music because she _felt _it, because music was how those feelings found their way out. The execution wasn't pitch perfect - in other cases, this would normally irk Toph, especially in regards to her own performances - but with this artist, that didn't seem to matter so much. She played, she sang...the notes flowed out, the lyrics trickled amongst them. It was raw and organic, as opposed to the canned stuff she'd often grow bored of hearing on the radio.

["~And who do you think you are?~Running 'round leaving scars~Collecting your jar of hearts~and tearing love apart~"]

Her voice, her strikes against the keys...It was a bit off at times, because this girl wasn't just playing, she was climbing her own mountain.

Who was this person she sang of? Who hurt her? What did they do to her? Toph could sense the pain and anger blended in with each keystroke. She didn't know why, but someone came to mind when she heard this song: Janey Jane. Toph didn't think she could correlate with the lyrics that Perri spoke, but something deep in her gut told her: _Jane knows this pain._

Was this how others felt when they heard Toph play those songs at open-mic night? Was this what Madison and Meng were talking about when they vaguely described the way she played? Her mind hit a roadblock as the song went on: did she like that idea, or hate it? She couldn't decide. If her music was leaving a genuine impact - beyond the technical sounds being put out - that was great. But if people could hear right through her, then she was taking her heart out of its cozy shell and exposing it. This idea didn't sit well, so she decided to ignore it for the time being and appreciate the rest of the song. Her heart jumped inside her chest. The Beatles were her heroes, but she was beginning to wonder if maybe there was something behind this Perri girl she could get behind.

After it had finished, the clicking and clacking of keyboard and mouse startled her from her relaxed state of absorption.

"Can you see why that's her most famous song so far?" Meng affirmed.

"Y-yea...that was...pretty neat. So how did she get famous?"

"Uh, I think someone heard her song and put it on, like, a TV show or something."

"Oh, really?"

"Yea. It's crazy how people can become famous overnight these days, ya know? Like that Bieber kid."

"_Blech._"

"Just because _you _don't like him doesn't mean he's not famous." _Click. _"He's super cute, anyway."_ Clickaclik. _"Oh, hey! Your videos are done exporting. We can get these on YouTube for ya now!"

"Oh! Totally. Let's do it."

"What's your login?"

"Huh? Oh. Um, don't really have one."

"Hee, sorry. Guess that makes sense...We need to make one for you, then."

"'Kay."

"What should we make the name?"

"Hm..." Toph scratched her hand through her hair, contemplating a decision. "The Blind Bandit," she decided with confidence.

"Ooh. Sounds cool." _Tattataptap. _"Why that one?"

"I dunno. I think I should probably promote the whole...being blind thing, though."

"To like...encourage people."

"Huh?"

"Well, 'cuz...Sometimes when people have handicaps like that, I would...I'd think it'd be cool to have role models who can do awesome stuff even though they have that same problem."

"Oh. Yeeeeea. Somethin' like that. I guess."

"Hee. You didn't think about that _at all, _did you? You just want people to go, 'OH MY GOD, that girl is blind and plays music, that's so awesome.'"

"Heh."

"Hmmm..." _Clackaclataptap. _"Already taken...Maybe if we add some x's in there...?" _Tappatapclattat. _"There we go! All right, so let's go and set this up..."

"And then, like, the 'Bandit' part because I'm a bitch and will steal your heart with my music. Or some crap."

"Huh?"

"Maybe if I become famous that can be my stage name. Got a nice ring to it."

"Whatever you say, Tophie..." Meng, while amused by the banter, seemed occupied with getting things arranged. "Name: Toph Beifong. Hm. What do you want to say about yourself?"

"What, like...a description?"

"Yea. 'About Me.' What should we put there?"

"Hmph." Toph paused to reflect, then spouted out words that her cousin typed out. "I'm Toph. I'm blind. I rock. I will cut your face off with my awesome."

"Whaa...?"

"Yea. That's what we'll put there."

"Sounds like _you, _anyway..." More typing. Typing typing. Toph wanted to hear how her videos turned out, already, enough with all the typing.

"Let's _upload dat shit!_"

"Uhhh...You're doing it again."

"The 'totally freaking you out' thing?"

"Yea."

"My bad."

"Haha, it's OK."

* * *

"Oh, wow, this is so good!" squealed Katara, eyes fixated on the computer screen as they watched their friend perform from her bedroom.

["~Lucy in the sky with diamonds~Lucy in the sky with diamonds~"]

"Don't you think?" Katara nudged Aang with her elbow, adoring his pink cheeks and shy smile, his eyes locked on the moving image.

["~Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain~where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies~"]

"That's great," acknowledged Sokka. "It's cool that her cousin's helping her out with that.

"We're tryin' to listen," grumbled Jane.

"Sorry!" whispered Sokka.

["~Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers~That grow so incredibly high~"]

* * *

["Holy shit, Toph - you just started this channel _today?_"]

"_Yea. _Why?"

The red-head on the computer screen huffed out an incredulous breath.

["You've got, like...five videos up already!"]

"Yea, we've been working at it all day."

"Yep, Tophie's been doing great!" piped Meng from behind.

["Oh, is that your cousin?"] wondered a girl's voice from out of view.

"Hi~!" Meng sang out, waving her arm.

["Er...H-hey..."] A lanky arm was raised and wobbled to and fro.

["Oh, did you get connected to Toph?"]  
["Is she there?"]  
["Did you tell her how _amazing _her videos are?"]

"Ha, hey, guys!"

["Hey!"]  
["Hi, Toph!"]  
["How are ya, Taters?"]

"I'm doing all right, guys. So is my stuff _amazing, _or what?"

["Or _what!_"]

"Shut up, Snoozles..."

["They're really great, Toph. I'm so glad you're looking into this."] The unknown girl's voice again.

"You're gonna help me when I get back to school, right, Katara?" Ah, so this was Toph's roommate.

["Of course! Y-yea! I'd love to!"]

["Maybe we could record some band stuff together?"] suggested the grouchy-looking red-head. So that was Jane, then.

"Ummmmmaybe..."

["...Or _not_..."] Now she looked slightly more grouchy.

["It's really good stuff, Taters, keep it up."] The boy with big ears and wide eyes piqued Meng's interest as he found his way into the frame, cutting off the tension. ["Just don't overdo it."]

"Overdoing it's my style, Twinkle-Toes." And that was infamous 'boyfriend' they had talked at length about. He really was pretty cute - Meng could see why Toph liked him.

["Heh, y-yea, I know. I'm worried you might get exhausted, is all."] What a little sweetie. ["Are your parents proud that you're trying to branch out with this stuff?"]

"I haven't shown 'em yet, soooo...-"

There was an awkward pause. Meng could observe a raised orange brow on the girl - that _was _a girl, right? The adorable boy sighed and bobbed his head. Even when he was disappointed he was the cutest thing.

"Tonight!" Toph insisted in a rush. "Promise!" Another odd silence. Meng didn't know what to make of it, so she quietly endured her discomfort from behind her cousin on the bed.

["You _still _haven't talked with them?"] Katara's face appeared behind the couch, popping up between Aang and Jane. Meng admired her wide nose and tanned skin, her long, bushy hair...Meng found herself distracted by envy. Why couldn't she have easily managed hair like that?

"Guys, can we _not _talk about this right now?" Toph asked the question with some politeness but it was clear to everyone that she was sore about it.

["Sorry, Toph,"] said Aang. ["We're worried, that's all."]

"Yea, yea...I get it..."

["Ya know what you should do a cover of?"] A boy whose face bore similarities to Katara's squeezed in beside her. ["Jizzed in my Pants."]

"No."

["Maybe...I'm on a Boat."]

"No."

["...How ab-?"]

"No."

["Well, _fine, _just do your Beatles covers, then."]

"No."

["I hate you so much."]

"No."

["Aang, make her stop."]

"No."

["You broke it, Sokka,"] joked Jane.

"Janey Jane~"

["What?"]

"You feeling better?"

["I'm OK..."]

"I miss you~"

["Heh..."] A tiny smile on that freckled face. ["You, too, Dead-Eyes."]

["Hey, what about me? You don't miss _me_?"]

"No."

["Are you just gonna say 'no' to everything I say now?"]

"No."

["Damn you to hell in a handbasket."]

"Also, also, _also..._! I miss you, too, Sweetness."

["I miss _you, _Roommate."]

"I _super_ miss Twinkle-Toes."

["Love you, Taters."]

"So someone make sure to tell him that."

["I'm right _here..._"]

"Also tell him that I love him."

["So you miss everyone else, but you don't miss _me._"]

"No."

["_So mean!_"]

["Ah, are you guys doing that...video conference thing...?"] A man's voice, distant.

["Hey, Dad! Yea, we're talking with Katara's roommate."]

"No."

["_Urgh._"]

["Hello, Toph!"]

"Hello, Mr. Sokka-and-Katara's-Dad!"

["Haha. Well, I hate to break up the chat, everyone, but the pizza guy's here."]

Everyone started shuffling out of frame.  
["Oh, man, I'm starving!"]  
"No."  
["Sweet."]  
["I'm pretty hungry, too, actually..."]

Only Aang remained.

["Don't go making out with my computer screen, Aang!"] threatened the raspy-voiced girl. Aang's face went pink and he chuckled. Such a little cutie.

["OK, so we're eating dinner now."]

"'Kay."

["Tell your cousin we're glad she's around for you."] Meng smiled from the background and nodded her head to the boy. ["Let us know if you get any more videos done, and how things go with your parents."]

"I will."

["It'll be _fine_, OK?"]

"Yea..." Toph obviously didn't share her boyfriend's confidence.

["All right. Well...Talk to you later, Taters."]

"Love ya, Babe."

["You did it again,"] he said with a sly smirk.

"I know," she muttered warmly.

["OK. Love you, too. Bye."]

"Bye~"

The video chat closed with a _bwop_, and Toph rolled onto her back, taking in a deep breath.

"God," she sighed out. "Mom and Dad are _not_ gonna listen to me."

"Your parents love you, Lady Beifong," piped Madison from the edge of the room. She was sewing together the holes in Toph's torn jeans. "They're trying to encourage you to grow into a respectable adult."

"So they're threatening to take away my tuition?" Toph snapped back, her head pointed up at the ceiling of her covered bed space. "I can just _feel _the love."

"I-I apologize, Toph. It's not my place to speak. Forgive me."

"No, Madison, it's quite all right," Toph insisted with a tint of plastic formality, rolling back onto her tummy and groping for her laptop's lid. She closed it shut and propped her head over the pillow she'd been using during the chat. "Please, tell me what you think."

Meng cautiously watched Madison bite her lip, drumming her fingers together before continuing her sewing. She felt a bit bad for Madison - the pale-skinned girl seemed like a gentle soul caught in this familial war.

"I...feel that your parents could be handling the situation in a healthier way," she admitted. "But...-"

"But?"

"W-well, forgive me, Toph, but I feel that _you _could be handling things better, as well..."

Toph took the criticism with a sigh.

"Yea," lamented Toph. "I dunno..." She huffed, blowing her bangs around as she often did when feeling contemplative.

"Your parents are _still _funding your education," Madison clarified. "From time to time, they express that they feel it's...perhaps a waste."

"Hmph."

"Again, I do not mean any disrespect, but they _are _your parents, and they _have _been paying for your tuition...I was personally offended when you decided you were not going to come for Thanksgiving."

"Made me kinda sad, too," Meng tossed in. "You're my favorite cousin...And I never get to see you these days.

"Oh," Toph mumbled, the after-effect of a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry guys...I didn't really..._think _about that, I was pretty pissed off..."

"Mm-hm." Meng crossed her arms, considering the hurtful notion that Toph hadn't thought about her or the rest of the family - that Toph only cared about herself.

"Yet you keep avoiding them," Madison curtly pointed out. "They have been wanting to speak with you since you arrived, to resolve these issues, but decided that they would wait until you were ready."

"Yea..."

"Do you understand how much that hurts them?"

"Huh?"

"Feeling as if their own daughter, whom they have tried to give everything to, doesn't respect them?"

Toph buried her face into her pillow. Meng couldn't tell what was going on in her stubborn cousin's head, but Madison lectured on, her true feelings seeping out through the polite mask she normally wore.

"You spend their money, you treat them as if they are horrible people, when they merely misunderstand you. They worry for your well-being, they fear you will be hurt out there on your own."

"I can take care of myself just fine!" Toph insisted, raising her head. "That's _why _I'm at college! To prove I can do that! And-and...I'm not _on _my own, I have some people..."

"Yet it's _their _money that pays for your well-being."

"Urgh." Toph punched the side of her pillow. "I fuckin' _know that_," she growled. "You think I'm happy about that? You think I _want _that?"

"What if you didn't need that?" Madison coyly suggested. "What if you could pay for your own education?"

"What do you mean?" Curiosity gripped Toph.

"As your personal assistant," Madison slyly informed, "I'm aware of your personal finances."

"OK...?"

"You have funds saved from money set aside to build interest when you were a child. You have a separate account that has been relatively untouched for years in your name...Enough to pay for the duration of your tuition, based on my estimates."

"Your estimates?"

"When your father mentioned the conditions of this visit earlier this week, I...was curious." Madison shrugged, finishing the stitching on a backpocket and shuffling the pants around. "Perhaps you can bargain with your parents - suggest that you pay for your education out of your savings in exchange for more personal freedom, perhaps?"

"Hm." Toph was eerily quiet for a few moments. Meng could practically see the gears grinding in Toph's skull.

"Maybe not a bad idea," Meng gave her own opinion. "You _are _a legal adult."

"You should show me what you're talking about, Madison," Toph concluded, pushing herself off the side of the bed.

"Of course."

"What are ya thinkin', Tophie?"

"I'm thinkin' that I need to talk with my parents tonight and get this over with."

* * *

**Lyrics used from a number of different songs.**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=yDl0qPfkSRw - Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds**  
**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=t08cPMs-vl8 - Example of a guitar cover. =)**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=NYnFwi8HJ-A - I'm So Tired (Beatles cover by Perri)**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=dz7BGlgb5Do - Jar of Hearts (live recording by Perri)**


	34. Moody

**A/N: Punny chapter title - we have a little moodiness going on here, but...there's another reason. ;P Sometimes I hate coming up with chapter titles when there isn't a single unifying theme. Oh, well. Just some more character development during Thanksgiving break, starting off with a very important plot event. :)**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 34 - Moody_

* * *

- Friday, November 25th, 2010 -

Toph forced the lump in her throat down with a hard swallow as she stepped onward, her feet shoved into tight shoes. Madison and some other servants had tidied her hair into a tight, round bun and suited her into one of the formal dresses she'd wear for family affairs. To Toph, all of these dresses seemed the same: stiff, binding, uncomfortable. The walk to her parent's chambers was long and distressing. Madison led her by the hand, while Meng clasped the other one for encouragement.

A single thought kept pounding at Toph's skull from the inside, aching to be let out: _I don't want to be here._

Over and over the idea consumed Toph for the duration of the journey across the mansion. It was eventually joined by regret, anger, and fear. By the time they had arrived, she had to take a slow breath just to calm her body, her heart pounding from the inflated emotions. Aggravation with herself for feeling these things in the first place set in.

"Tophie...Are you...OK?" Meng muttered from her left. "Your hand's shaking..."

"Oh." Toph quickly unclipped her tightened fingers from both girl's hands and locked them together before her waist. "Nervous."

"It's fine, Lady Toph," Madison's ever-assuring voice claimed. "Be calm."

"Trying..."

"Take the time you need." Madison's dexterous, calloused hand rubbed Toph's bare shoulder gently.

Toph breathed. That was all she focused on for a few moments. Taking air in and releasing it - nothing more. Moments passed - maybe a minute or two. When the trembling in her hands had ceased and her heart no longer thundered, she lifted her head.

"I'm ready."

She could hear the sound of the heavy wooden doors being shoved open as Meng grunted from their heft, and Madison led her through.

"Master and Madame Beifong, your daughter is here," Madison announced.

"Thank you." The sound of Toph's father stung like icy water. "You may go, Madison."

"Yes, Sir."

Uneasiness was rapidly settling into Toph's stomach again as the sound of Madison's familiar footsteps disappeared behind her and the doors closed. The room was warm and dry, but the presence of her distraught parents prevented Toph from being at ease. She recognized the smell of this room - it was kind of a lounge area beside her parents' bedroom. This always seemed to be the room they'd call her to whenever they needed to talk with her about something serious. The familiar scent of cigars wrinkled her nose, instantly setting her off a bit. The smell was unpleasant to start, but inherently reminded her of all of the other times she'd been here to be scolded at or argued with.

"Come forward, Dear," her mother requested. She obliged, boldly moving forward with larger strides that she'd normally partake without use of her cane. Her parents didn't like her using her cane - it meant she was trying to rely on herself to get around, and there simply wasn't a need for that. No need to even risk hurting herself.

"Are you enjoying time with your cousin?"

"Yes, Mother," Toph quaintly informed. "We've been spending time working on my music."

"Oh, splendid. That sort of hobby really does take quite a lot of work, doesn't it?"

"It...it's not my hobby, Mother. It's what I want to do for a _career_."

"Yes, yes, of course." And there it was, the 'That's nice, Dear' tone. That dismissive way her mother would put her down that drove Toph insane.

"And have you decided what it is you wish to _do _with that career, Toph?" Father's more careful tone immediately pressed its weights on her brain.

"I-I'm still working that stuff out," she admitted. "But cousin Meng is assisting me in finding ways to promote my work."

"So you wish to perform?" Father sounded blatantly skeptical.

"I believe she does, Dear."

"And how, precisely, do you intend to manage that manner of lifestyle with your condition?"

Toph contained her irritation behind the well-worn mask of courtesy.

"Every musician has a team of assistants," she explained simply.

"Hm." Argh. That obnoxious habit of his. He'd just 'hm' his way out of consideration. "What of the Beifong family business?"

"Wh...-? Mom, Dad..." Toph huffed, her locked hands tightening. "We've already _talked _about all of this..."

"Yes, and we assumed you were just being rash, Toph. You're truly going to ignore all of the hard work your family has put into building this company?" Now Mother was getting worked up.

"I'm not _ignoring _it, it's just not what I want to _do _with-"  
"You _want _to shirk your responsibilities and be a musician."

"_Yes, _Dad, I want to be a musician!"

"You aren't capable of supporting yourself without-"  
"I've been supporting myself just _fine_, Dad!"

"Don't interrupt your Father, Toph."

"...He interrupted _me _first."

Toph furrowed her brows in defiance, squirming in her dress during the moment of thick silence.

"How much longer will you keep wasting your life with this fantasy?"

"Pardon?" Toph did her best to contain her rage at the way his question had been phrased.

"Spending your time on this incredulous idea that you will spend your life playing music."

"I _love_ playing music," professed Toph, attempting to garner their sympathy. "And I'm really _good _at it!"

"For someone with your condition, certainly," conceded her Father.

_You just can't fucking _admit it _when I can do anything on my own, can you?_

"With all due respect, Father, I didn't come here to talk about my work."

"Is that so? It seems to be what is most important to you."

"It..._is _very important to me, but there are other things, too."

"Like this boy at school."

"_Yes_, that boy at school."

"And these other students who pull you away from your academics."

"My friends..."

"Your _college_ friends."

"Yes. But you guys are important, too," she insisted, cutting in before her dad could assume any more. She could see where this train was headed.

"So important that you will go days without returning our calls."

"I-I'm a college student! I'm...extremely busy, and-"  
"Busy with your _music. _And wasting time on mediocre activities with these friends you have."

"You can't expect me to be working _constantly, _everyone needs some time-"  
"We can't expect to ever hear back from you, either."

"Could you stop _interrupting me?_" Toph demanded. There was a pause before her father slammed his fist against his chair's arm.

_Fwump!_

"Perhaps at this questionable university your peers don't respect their parents, but in this home you will _not _speak back to your Father. You are a Beifong lady, and you will act like one within this estate."

His words hammered at her, her face warm and her chest heavy as she took deep breaths, her heartbeat eratic. She didn't say a word, deflecting his anger as best she could.

"We've given you nearly three semesters now to enjoy this phase of irresponsibility, but we won't tolerate it any longer."

"A _phase? _You think this is a _phase? _It's who I _am, _Dad." Toph grasped at the headdress holding her hair in a bun and yanked it out, tossing it to the marble floor as her hair fell over her shoulders in a mess. She let it be, proceeding with her assault. "Growing up in this house? Pretending to be this polite, helpless little girl? _That _was a phase, Dad!"

"It sounds as if this university is enforcing rebellious behavior, Toph," observed her Mother with some disdain.

"It's enforcing me to be _myself _for once! I get to make my own decisions! Spend time with who I _want _to. People help me because I _ask _them to, because they _want _to, not because it's their _job _or that they _pity _me."

"I see," muttered her mom. "Spend time with who you _want _to..."

"Ah," chimed in her father. "So as soon as you have freedom - as soon as you're no longer living with us - then we become a burden. We're something to be _avoided_."

"I-I didn't _say _that," Toph attempted to recover, pushing fallen hair behind her shoulders.

"These friends at school whom you've known hardly a year - suddenly they are more important than your family," concluded Father.

"You would spend your holiday with _them _before us," Mother reminded.

The pain in their voices stung like sunburn, making her hesitant to say anything in reply.

They were guilt-tripping her. That was their game. They had done it before, when she had first tried to get into SRU. Yes, that was all this was. Just another ploy to get her to do what they wanted instead of what _she _wanted. Obviously. And she was letting them succeed, so what kind of idiot did that make her?

She swallowed her regret and choked out an answer.

"_They _don't act like everything I do is a mistake! _They _believe in me and let me do things my own way."

"They're your _peers, _of course they're going to do that! How will they know what is right or wrong any better than you?"

"You make it sound like I'm still a _kid_."

"You certainly don't yet act like an adult. You've spent two days now pretending as if your own parents don't exist. Even after we've been paying for your education."

"Just gonna keep on _waving _that over my head? You practically blackmailed me to make me come here!"

"Toph, your father has to work very hard to maintain his business!"

Toph crossed her arms and bobbed her head, far from interested in this lecture over again.

"Yes, I _know._"

"If you don't want to respect our wishes, and you feel so confident about handling matters without our help, maybe that's what you should do. Is that what you want?" Mother sounded rather disappointed.

"Maybe that's what I _will _do..."

"And how are you going to manage that?" Father was full of doubt, like always.

"With the savings I have in my own name," came Toph's bold reply.

No response to that one.

"I've gone over it, and there's more than enough there to pay for the rest of my tuition," Toph explained matter-of-factly. "So if it offends you so much where you feel like your money's being _wasted_ on your daughter doing what she _loves, _then fine. I'll handle it."

"You sound quite serious about this," mumbled her Dad.

"Yes, I _am_," she solemnly confirmed. "I'm sick of being treated like I can't _do _anything! You guys are always bothering me and trying to make me do what _you _want instead of letting me do what _I _want. I don't _care _what you guys think!"

"I see..."

"And I feel like I actually have _real _friends at SRU, instead of all of this fake _bullshit _I have to put up with here! I finally have a boyfriend I actually _love, _and you guys don't even care about _meeting _him!"

"We certainly _do _want to meet him," Father corrected. "But this was a family holiday and he is not family."

"Why does it seem like _no one _I will ever be with will be _family _to you, Dad? Huh? I feel like _I'm _not family!"

"Calm down, Toph," her mother attempted to settle things.

"Don't tell me what to be _calm _about! I'm done with all this pretend shit, like we're some happy little family...And nothing I do is fucking good enough for you guys! I'm fucking _blind _and I can play music for people! Doesn't that seem _special _to you? In _any _way at all? You act like it's a curse, like I should be _avoiding _it, like it's a waste of time. You know what people at school tell me? I'm a fucking _miracle. _That's what they tell me."

"That's what they tell you?" muttered Father with a sigh.

"Yes!" _Sort of. Sometimes. I'm sure some one has told me that at some point..._ "This is something I need to do with my life! Why won't you fucking _understand _that?"

"Toph," her mother pleaded. "Could you please not use that language?"

"Oh, and I'm not even allowed to _talk _my own way, either, right? Every time I'm around you guys I need to...fucking _dress up _and put on a smile and pretend like everything's all rainbows and shit, just to-"  
"Toph, you're upsetting your mother..."  
"-make you guys keep deluding yourselves into thinking our lives are picture-fucking-perfect."

Toph could hear her mother beginning to sob. She huffed with irritation, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And then whenever I try to stand up for myself you pull this guilt-tripping crap to force me back into my corner and be a good little girl again."

"You _are _a girl," Father cut in. "You're acting like a childish hellion."

"_Good! _Fucking good!" Toph thrashed her arms out, letting hair fall across her face as she shouted. "Raise some hell! Stir some shit! If that's what it takes to break outta this damned cage, then that's what I'll do!"

"Where is this coming from?" moaned Mother between bouts of tears. "We raised you to know better than to-"  
"You've raised me like I'm mentally retarded just because I can't _see!_"

"We've raised you to be a Beifong woman, not a _rock star_."

"I'll be whoever the hell I want!"

Toph's heart was slamming against her ribs, her head spinning. She felt as if she had opened the floodgates that had been storing all of this anger. She didn't care if it hurt their feelings. They were going to hear her out, and then she'd be done with it and they could just deal with it.

"I've felt this way for a long while," she continued, trying to calm herself. "All the time, you're always treating me like I'm helpless. Instead of _supporting _me in what I want to do, you _discourage _it!"

"You're young!" explained Father. "You're full of...aspirations. Ideas. But you have to face the reality that you are handicapped - that there are some obstructions that you cannot overcome."

"_Wow, _thanks for the pep-talk, Dad!"

"You have obligations to this family! We aren't able to live this lifestyle because we chase dreams, Toph."

"I don't _care _about this lifestyle!"

"Then I suppose you won't care when you longer have it."

"I _suppose _I won't!"

"This isn't a wise decision, Toph."

"But it's _my _decision, Dad."

"And it's not what is best for you!"

Toph pressed her fingertips into her temples with impatience as her mother followed through.

"Toph...my daughter. You are _blind, _my dear. You _need _others to help you, to take care of you. With this attitude you have, I'm afraid that-"  
"I don't _need _anyone! Christ! Are you even _listening _to me?"

"I've had enough," Father spat. "Your ungrateful words, your irresponsible choices, your lack of consideration...I am finished hearing this."

"Fine! I'm sick of talking about it!"

"Then I suppose this discussion is over."

"'Bout fuckin' time!"

This was great. She had them all flustered and upset, and there was nothing they could do about it. She could finally make a break from this whole situation. No obligations to this family she never cared for. No responsibility to this work her father was trying to force on her. She could go out and make her own life without needig to worry about them. The idea was calming.

"Was that all?" her father inquired.

"I dun_no_, Dad, you tell _me_," Toph barked back. "Anything else you need to say about how I can't do anything for myself?"

Toph relished the silence: a victory. Freedom. Soon enough she could do whatever she wanted.

"Great," she called out with snark. "I guess I'll just go back to what I was doing, and soon enough you won't have to worry yourselves about me." Toph spun around and headed for the double doors with bold strides that eventually wore down to inching steps as she slowly reached her arms out.

"Toph."

"What, Mom?" She groped her hands across one of the door handles and tightened her fingers around the cold metal bar.

"We don't understand why you're acting this way..."

"You _never_ have understood me," Toph sighed with some melodrama. They wanted to rub guilt in her face? She could do it right back.

"We just don't want to see you get hurt. You're our daughter."

"You're a part of this family," her Dad added. "Even if you refuse to act like one..."

Toph snorted out air through her nose.

"I've _never_ been a part of this family."

"Perhaps if you didn't insist on removing yourself from it so much, things wouldn't seem that way."

"I remove myself because everyone treats me like I'm helpless and...and can't take care of myself."

"That's because you _can't _take care of yourself, Toph."

Her teeth grinding together, Toph ripped the door open, bumping it on her toes in her hurry.

"I _can. _I don't need you guys anymore. I can carry my own weight."

Toph stood, hand holding the door open, back to her parents. Her heartbeat had settled, her emotions had stormed out, and now all that remained was cold determination.

"I'll prove it."

* * *

- Saturday, November 26th, 2010 -

"No, I haven't heard back from her yet..." Aang closed his phone and dropped it onto the coffee table with doubt. "I hope everything's OK..."

"No point in worrying," Jane decided flatly. "Not like you can do anything about it."

"I guess."

"OK, seriously?" Jane glared at the television screen. "I'm gettin' sick of seeing this guy's dumb face on pause. His eye is freakin' me the hell out..."

Aang glanced up from his drawing pad to observe the actor's face frozen in mid-speech, his eyes looking in different directions, one enlarged and set in a mechanical monocle. Aang chuckled at the odd expression before going back to his doodle - a wide-eyed creature with enormous ears and webbed skin in the shape of wings growing out of his arms.

"You're drawing that stupid little monkey-thing _again?_" sighed Sokka from behind the couch as he snuck into the living room.

"Lemur-Bat," Aang corrected. "And he's not stupid. He has a _name._"

"Oh-_ho, _ex_cuse_ me." Sokka plopped himself down on the recliner, a thick ham and bacon sandwich in his hand. "What makes that critter so special? He's dumb." He took a large bite of his meaty meal.

"Sokka, stop picking on Momo," Katara scolded as she entered, carrying a pair of plates. "He's really cute."

"See? Katara remembered his name...He's like my mascot."

"You're such a freakin' dweeb, Twinkle-Toes," Jane picked, rubbing her knuckle on his head as she flashed him a mischievous grin.

"Hey, hey," he laughed. "You're gonna mess me up..." Aang gently nudged her arm off and flipped his pencil around to erase an accidental mark he'd just made. Katara set the two plates down on the coffee table before the two and whirled back around to the kitchen.

"Sorry, guys. Something came up at work and Dad has to stay late, so I tried to make some dinner. There's still some leftovers if you guys want, but I made sandwiches."

"What's in this?" Jane wondered, quizzically oggling the food.

"It's a turkey sandwich, Jane," Katara replied with a raised voice from the kitchen. "With some salad dressing, the way you like it."

When had Jane told Katara that was her favorite? She couldn't even remember - but Katara sure seemed to. Jane immediately scooped up the wheat bread and chowed down without any further objection.

"What's mine, then?" Aang asked with some worry.

"Oh." Katara came back in, carrying her own food. "That's peanut butter and jelly. I wasn't sure what else to make you, since you...don't eat meat."

"Oh, cool." Aang set his partway finished work on the couch's arm to his right and eagerly scarfed down his sugary snack. "Ffankff, Kuhtawha."

"You're welcome," giggled Katara as she set herself down on the left side of the couch next to Jane.

"Katara," Sokka piped in, having just finished devouring his own food. "How many more of these do we have to watch?"

"This is the fourth one, Sokka, so we have two more after this. And then we can see the new one in the theater."

"_Geeeeez,_" he groaned. "Can't we just skip 'em and go see the one that's out?"

"No!" Katara was adamant. "Jane hasn't seen them yet!"

"Yea, Sokka," Jane joined in on the bashing. "You made me sit through the Lord of the Rings movies, now Katara gets to make me sit through the Harry Potter ones."

"Pff." Sokka kicked back his recliner and scratched his stomach. "There were only _three _of those..."

"Stop your whining." Katara found her way to the remote. "Everybody ready?"

"Mm."  
"Yep."  
"Bleh."

["How do we sort out the _liars?_"]

"Somethin' is way off with this guy," muttered Jane carefully between bites of her sandwich, observing the crazed man on the screen with the freakish eyeball.

["Another, another. Up, up. C'mon."]

"Neville's such a little sweetie," cooed Katara in regards to the timid boy raising his hand.

["Longbottom, is it? Up. Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology."]

"Hee." She seemed quite amused by his awkward expression.

["Th-there's the, um...the Cruciatus Curse."]

"Mmfh." Jane nodded, her cheeks puffed.

["Correct! Correct! Come, come. Particularly nasty..."]

"He's such a little dork," Katara observed with a smile.

"Yea, just like Aang," Sokka picked, pointing out a lazy toe at his roommate. Aang frowned with some disdain, his eyes glued to his page.

["The torture curse."]

"Oh, no," Jane groaned. "He's not gonna-"  
["_Crucio!_"]

The squeaking from the spider's pain made Jane pout as she watched it writhe in agony.

"Poor Neville," Katara lamented like one would to a puppy, recalling the character's backstory and why the sight of the spell upset him so.

"I'm not like Neville," Aang grumbled.

"Oh, quit pouting_,_" Katara eased. "You don't know his whole story yet..."

["Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him? _Stop it!_"]

"Fuckin' bastard," hissed Jane. "What did that spider ever do to_ you_? Huh?"

"Didn't realize you were so defensive of spiders." Katara scratched Jane's back with affection.

"People act like bugs are lesser creatures. Pisses me off."

["Perhaps _you'd _like to give us the last curse, Miss Granger?"]

"Since when did you like bugs so much?" Katara mumbled. Jane pointed a finger at her chest.

"Biology major?"

"Right..."

["No?"]

"Looks like Hermione feels your pain, Jane," Aang mused, nodding a head to the teary-eyed girl in the film.

["_Avada Kedavra!_"] There was a flash, and the spider squealed once more before it lay motionless.

"Shit, did he _kill it_?" Jane whispered. "What a bitch!"

Aang and Katara chuckled at Jane's overreaction.

["The Killing Curse. Only one wizard is known to have survived it. And he's sitting in this room..."]

"Whoa, wait!" Jane thrust out her palms. "Why is he staring at Harry like that? There's a reason. I know it."

Katara administered a facepalm to herself, toothy grin showing through as she paused the film again.

"_Gawd!_" bemoaned Sokka in jest. "Maybe if you paid more attention instead of talking, you would _know_, eh?"

"Whatever! This seemed important," Jane defended.

"Did you forget?" Katara began the lesson.

"Forget what?"

"How Harry got his lightning scar. On his head?" Katara poked Jane's forehead playfully.

"Ummm..."

"When he was a baby, he got hit by the Killing Curse when Lord Voldem-"  
"**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" **Sokka cut in. Katara shot him a glare before continuing.  
"...When The _Dark Lord_ came to kill his family. His mother protected him with her love, so he only got a scar instead of getting killed."

"Oh." Jane scratched her hair thoughtfully. "'Kay. Yea, I remember now."

"That's what they're talking about."

"Does Neville really like spiders, or something?" Jane wondered out of nowhere.

"W-well...I mean, maybe?" Katara shrugged. "His parents were tortured by that spell, when Neville was a baby. They went..._crazy _because of it...Neville's never really had his parents around because of it."

"_Oh._" Jane scratched her cheek, unsure of how to respond to the morbid idea.

Katara cast a cursory glance to Aang, whose hardened, insulted expression had softened. She couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind, but knew it had to do with the correlation to the character's history.

"There's somethin' 'bout that 'Arry Pot-eh chap wot makes 'im spessohl," Jane mocked, oblivious of the tension behind her.

Katara shook her head, attempting to contain her amusement, and went to turn the movie back on.

"Somethin' wot makes _you _special, too, Jane," she teased. "Not sure it's such a good thing in your case..."

_"Hey."_

* * *

Azula lifted a grouchy finger to topple her black king chess piece. She stared at it, her eyes narrowed in frustration.

"You win again, Uncle," she huffed, tapping an impatient finger against her arm.

"Best three out of five?" Iroh offered.

"That's quite all right," murmured his niece with a sigh.

"You are _surrendering?_" gasped Iroh. He slapped his knee and barked out a laugh. "This must be a _first, _Azula."

"There's a first time for everything, Iroh."

"Indeed there is. Such as...the first time a woman has led the Kurosawa business. Mm?"

Azula smirked as she watched her uncle's wide, strong fingers carefully place his chess pieces back in their proper slots in his intricate chess case.

"I hear she's doing _quite_ a fantastic job," Azula observed facetiously.

"That is good news." Iroh set his case on the kitchen table and waddled over to the tea kettle on his stove. He took a pair of mugs off of his long rack that ran the length of the countertop's wall, and filled them both with steaming tea.

"It hasn't been easy cleaning up the political _nonsense _the previous CEO left behind..."

"I am certain that she will manage." Iroh set the mugs on the table. The one he placed before his niece had a cartoony T-rex and the word 'RAWR' printed beside it. Azula's eyelids drifted down halfway as she recollected the past. Uncle had kept the mug around just for her - she had loved dinosaurs as a child. Her mind wandered back to a memory of a rainy afternoon when she had come to visit. She had caught a cold playing outside with her cousin, and Iroh had served them tea with cookies Auntie had made.

She was stirred to the present, her hands wrapped around the mug, as her Uncle leaned over to pour some honey on, mixing it in with a spoon.

"After all," he mused, "I hear those Kurosawas are quite a determined bunch. Very ambitious. You know?"

"So they say..." Azula sniffed in the familiar aroma that wafted up from her ceramic mug.

"Is something the matter, Niece?" Iroh dropped the spoon into the sink and returned the small honey jug to its home on the countertop. Azula perked her eyes wide open and propped the mug up.

"Of course not." She took a sip, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat. "I'm fine."

"I am happy to see you and your brother getting along," Iroh observed.

"When Zuko isn't sitting atop his moral high ground and administers some respect to his older sister, we get along swimmingly."

"Moral high ground, you say?" Iroh repeated with a coy raised brow.

"Oh, _really, _Uncle," Azula huffed, averting her eyes to her tea, her long fingers still wrapped around the mug, warming her palms. "I have earned it. I am accepting our family's burden while he is still playing dress up as president at school."

"Who is disrespecting _who_, Azula?"

"Zuko is disrespecting our family with his desires to pursue a career that's disconnected from us."

"Don't you think you are taking this a _little _personally, Niece?"

"Of _course _I'm taking it personally! He is my _brother._"

"And he loves you very much."

"Is that what he tells you?" Azula came back with a snippy retort.

"Do not be a fool. It is unbecoming of you. You are too keen to play ignorant, my Niece."

Azula drank more tea, hunched over in her seat.

"_Zuko_ is the one who treats me like...I am some _insane_ person."

"What do you mean?"

"For instance!" Azula raised an index finger. "He's taken to using nicknames such as...God_Zula_."

"Waha!" Iroh burst out. He immediately silenced himself upon noticing the fire in Azula's eyes. "That is...endearing," he defended. "You have your own names for _him _that I imagine he does not always appreciate."

"That..._is _true." Azula sighed. 'ZuZu' and 'Dum-Dum' didn't exactly have stellar connotations, did they?

"You and your brother are very different people, Azula."

"Truly."

"I know for a fact that Zuko is very concerned about you."

Azula's mouth curved downward slightly in a small grimace of doubt.

"I suppose..."

"And I know that his well-being is important to you."

"He _is _my brother. He's a Kurosawa. I won't sit idly by and let him not live up to his namesake."

"Of course. But you two have a troubled past." Iroh intook some of his tea with a loud slurping sound. "But enduring pain is what makes us stronger people, Azula. Take, for example, the way muscles in the body work. They-"  
"When you use them to their limits, they strain and tear, only to grow back together stronger than before. I understand."

Iroh slapped his knee with the familiar "Whaha!" as Azula smirked.

"No need to run me through your gauntlet of metaphors, Uncle," Azula assured. "I'm perfectly capable of comprehending what you mean." She glanced at his amused expression and shrugged. "What?"

"You are sharp-minded, headstrong, and confident, Azula. All things your brother would benefit to develop. But there are some things he possesses that you would do well to take in return."

"Such _as_?" Azula cocked a curious brow.

"Humility."

As Azula absorbed the word with a deep sigh, Zuko entered the front door, a bag of groceries in hand. He entered the kitchen and getting straight to work putting food in its proper place. He glanced at them both, off-put by the gentle silence.

"So...Who won?"

* * *

["The Boy Who Lived. How _lies_ have fed your legend, Harry!"]

"Huh?"

"I think...I think she's asleep, Katara..." Aang poked out a timid finger to Jane, who was motionless aside from some shallow, raspy breathing.

["Shall I reveal what really happened thirteen years ago? Shall I divulge-"]  
Katara stopped the film, craning her neck over to see Jane's face.

Drool was dribbling out from her lips. She was curled on her side, her head nestled in Katara's lap, one arm hanging off the front of the couch. Her feet were pressed against Aang's hip, who was studying another drawing he had whipped up during the course of the movie. Katara noticed that Sokka, too, was sleeping in the recliner, his snores more apparent.

"Heh." Katara turned the movie off and stretched out her arms. "It _is _getting pretty late, isn't it?"

Aang shrugged, tucking his pencil in his ear as he dropped his pad on the coffee table as he stood up.

"Guess you'll have to finish them tomorrow," he grunted, reaching his arms up and scratching his head as he wandered to the bathroom.

Katara observed the DVD's screensaver for a moment, enjoying the quiet of the dark living room. She ran her hand across Jane's hair, intrigued by how greasy it had gotten so quickly since they'd arrived. Jane was stirred awake by the gesture and rolled over, kicking her legs out groggily and yawning wide as she rolled onto her back.

"Ready for bed?"

"Grrmmmm..." Bleary olive eyes stared up with confusion.

"_Someone's _feeling snuggly tonight," teased Katara. Jane frowned in response, her freckles suddenly shrouded in red as she lifted her head up from the lap it had been resting in.

"Shit," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "Mm sorry..."

"It's fine, Hun. We'll rewatch what you missed tomorrow. Off to bed."

"You my damned mother?" chuckled Jane, a hand still held up to her head. "Ah, shi-_tuh_..." She grimaced, her teeth grit.

"Headache?"

"Yeh," huffed Jane. "Fuckin' nightmares aren't helping..."

Katara rose from the couch and headed for the kitchen, continuing her conversation across the countertop island that separated the two rooms.

"When Aang gets out of the bathroom, I'll get you something for your head, OK, Hun?"

"Mm."

"Maybe you shouldn't sleep on the couch tonight?"

"Huh?"

"You can sleep in my bed tonight. If you want."

"I-I dunno, Kat...I don't want to make you sleep on the couch."

"No, it's fine, there's enough room, we could both sleep up there."

Jane felt her stomach lurch at the idea, her cheeks flooding with heat.

"I mean, I didn't know if you'd be comfortable with that," Katara quickly added, turning on the sink and filling a glass of water. "If not, I'm really fine sleeping on the couch. I just don't think it's good for you to...-"

"Th-that's fine," Jane piped up. "It's OK. Yea. We can do that. Thanks..." She shrugged, hunched over the couch as Katara re-entered, handing her a glass. "Just don't want anything to be awkward."

"What would be awkward about it? Sokka and Aang don't seem to mind," Katara observed, referring to how Sokka and Aang had been sharing Sokka's (rather messy) bed during their stay. "But I know you're more...-" She patted Jane's shoulder as she sat down. "-...sensitive to that kind of thing. Especially with that nightmare you keep having. Whatever you want, Jane. I just want to make sure you're comfortable."

The flushing sound of Aang finishing in the bathroom relieved Jane of the tension she was grappling in the moment. She couldn't think of the last time she had shared a bed space with anyone beside Johnny. She often needed that space to be _hers, _not shared by anyone. Even in her time dating Jet, she had never actually _slept _in the same bed as him. It simply didn't settle well with her.

"Good night, guys," Aang muttered as he walked by, casting a glance at the snoring Sokka as he snuck upstairs.

Katara went to retrieve some pain reliever from the bathroom, leaving Jane to contemplate her situation, reminded of her recent loss and topsy turvy mental state.

As Jane received the pills and swallowed, gulping down the entire glass of water, Katara reiterated, "Whatever works, Hun."

"I-I couldn't make you sleep on your couch," Jane offered.

Katara shook her head with that look that Jane was getting used to. The 'Oh, Jane, you're starting to sound like a considerate human being' look. Jane was growing to appreciate that look, whoever it came from, but especially Katara, who seemed specifically invested in the goal of helping Jane act more 'polite' or 'courteous.' In return, Jane wanted to believe she was helping Katara kick back a bit and not get too worked up over everything.

Jane followed up her previous by conceding, "But I don't think it's doing my back much good to sleep on the couch...You're probably right."

"Let's head up to bed, then. Besides, you seem to be so _cuddly _tonight." A raised brow. "Wouldn't want to leave poor Jane all by herself..."

"_Pfff!_" Jane wiped her wet lip with an annoyed glance. She was quite aware of how unlike her that act in question had been, and Katara rubbing it in her face was only maintaining her self-awareness. An intentionally sarcastic "What_ever,_" was all she could counter with. She noticed the boy in the recliner, laid back, mouth agape. "But what about-...?"

Katara smiled, holding back a giggle, and grabbed a blanket from the head of the couch, draping it with care over Sokka's sprawled body.

"There. He'll be fine."

Jane shrugged but followed Katara upstairs, acknowledging her potential awkwardness matched with a sense of relief. It was terribly difficult to feel at home _anywhere _at the moment, especially sleeping in the same bed as another person - someone who wasn't Johnny. The idea clung to Jane's mind like a leech, sucking away at her comfort. Why did such a thing even bother her so much? It was quite the frustration.

"You coming?" Katara whispered from halfway up the stairs.

"Yep," Jane nodded, tip toeing behind.

After reaching Katara's bedroom, Jane scooped up her pajamas and retreated back to the bathroom downstairs to change. Just because they were going to share a bed for a couple days didn't mean she was just going to change in front of her friend. It felt too awkward. A moment of respite in the bathroom gave Jane some peace of mind to consider the entire situation. She felt childish, making a big deal of something that her mind told her shouldn't be.

When she'd returned, Katara was already in bed, having changed into a pair of shorts and a white tanktop. She shifted herself to the side of the bed to make room for the red-head, who nervously slid under the same sheets, careful not to touch Katara's body. The uneasiness rapidly set in, and Jane rolled onto her side, back to her bed mate. Her insides churned, her stomach oddly empty.

"You OK?" Katara probed from behind. In that moment, Jane regretted having even explained her history to her friend. It was a double-edged sword. Because Katara knew about her past, Katara helped keep her comfortable. On the other hand, her efforts also served to remind Jane of the very reasons she could be uncomfortable.

"Mm," Jane shrugged. "I'm fine."

"OK. Good night, Jane. Sleep well."

At least Katara was always trying.

"Night..."

* * *

**A/N: The Harry Potter films are property of Warner Bros. The main scene referenced: http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=wBFkA9mAlX4 **

**Thankfully I have an obsessed roommate who was able to correctly inform me of Harry Potter backstory because I forget the details. ^_^;**


	35. Back Again

**A/N: ****Thanks for your nominations in the ATLA fiction awards going on at FF(dot)net. If you'd like to vote for me, I certainly appreciate it. You may do so at the following links. These links will be updated with polls after nominations are decided! Do NOT nominate for my stuff, you guys have already done that. ^^;**

**http:/citrusproductions(dot)webs(dot)com/vote(dot)htm (You can vote on this website AND the forums below)  
**

**http:/forum****(dot)**fanfiction**(dot)**net/topic/89263/40336362/1/ (Best Modern fic)  
**http:/forum****(dot)**fanfiction**(dot)**net/topic/89263/40332342/1/ (Best Author)  
**http:/forum****(dot)**fanfiction**(dot)**net/topic/89263/40355911/1/ (Best Tokka fic)

**I also have a contest going on at DeviantArt. I'll write a short story for the winner!  
****http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart****(dot)** com/journal/39299432/ 

**Likewise, you can check out SRU fanart/commissions in my profile! More are getting added every month (just adding a batch today, actually)! Thanks so much to everyone contributing. =)**

**Again, thanks for all your support. Please keep the feedback coming. Life has been very crazy as I get ready to move across the country and your guys' comments help motivate me to stay consistent with this story. Starting in May, the rest of this year is going to be very crazy, I imagine, but my goal is try and finish this story by Christmas. We'll see how that goes. I hope to get one more chapter done before the move.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 35 - Back Again_

* * *

- Saturday, November 27th, 2010 -

The morning rays peeked in through Katara's bedroom shades, tickling at her eyes. Her right shoulder was heavy, pinned down. The weight, as it turned out, happened to be a fuzzy orange ball, attached to a skinny, breathing stick of a girl. Katara laughed through her nostrils, wary of moving and causing Jane to wake. When had that happened? Katara had been joking about the 'cuddly' thing, and Jane had seemed rather uneasy about physical contact the night before. Katara worried that Jane was having some attachment issues in dealing with being rejected by Johnny, which might explain why she seemed to be more enthusiastic about being with the group than she generally had been previously.

Katara slowly squirmed, managing to free her arm from Jane's weight, the head then nestling itself into the pillow. Jane groaned and shuffled a bit, leaving Katara with some space to slide off the bed, her friend unharmed and still resting. After a waking yawn, Katara popped on her penguin slippers, beloved relics from high school that she continued to keep around, and trudged her way downstairs.

The smell of bacon and eggs titilated her senses as she tip-toed. Hakoda was in the kitchen, playing an oldies music station while he cooked. Katara observed him staring out of the kitchen's window as an upbeat tune drifted through the morning air.

["~He rocks in the treetops all day long~hoppin' and a-boppin' and singin' his song~"]

Katara immediately recognized the piece and smiled warmly as she drew near, observing Hakoda humming along to the tune.

["~All the little birdies on Jaybird Street~Love to hear the Robin go 'Tweet-Tweet-Tweet'~"]

She jumped right into the chorus, catching her father off guard.

"~Rockin' Robin~"  
["~Tweet~Tweet-Tweet~"]  
"~Rockin' Robin~"  
["~Tweet~Twiddly-deet~"]

Hakoda whirled around and laughed as Katara reached out her arms to him. They connected fingers with one hand and grabbed one another's hips with the other, wildly rocking to and fro in rhythm, accenting the song with affectionate laughter.

"~Blow Rockin' Robin, 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight~"

They twirled around in the narrow kitchen, both bursting out a chuckle when Hakoda's elbow brushed against the active frying pan's handle. They sung the next verse together, recalling days of old.

"~Every little swallow, every chick-a-dee~Every little bird in the tall oak tree~"

Hakoda let his daughter go, smoothly spinning round to tend to the eggs scrambling as they maintained their vocals.

"~The wise old owl, the big black crow~flapping their wings saying 'go Bird, go'~"

"~Rockin' Robin~"  
["~Tweet~Tweet-Tweet~"]  
"~Rockin' Robin~"  
["~Tweet~Twiddly-deet~"]  
"~Blow Rockin' Robin, 'cause we're really gonna rock tonight~"

The tune carried on, and Katara took in a deep sniff.

"Aw, smells _great_, Dad."

"Hungry, eh?"

"Yea."

"Sorry there hasn't been much besides leftover turkey lately."

"It's OK!"

"I'm making you guys a big breakfast to make up for it."

"You didn't really have to do that..." Katara teased. Hakoda turned to her, his lip curving upward.

"I _didn't_," he coyly acknowledged. "But I _wanted_ to." He slapped Katara's arm lovingly, proceeding with his work.

"Thanks, Dad."

"You're welcome, Katara."

"Mind getting some plates for me?"

"Sure thing." Katara scooted to the cabinet and counted out five plates, dropping the stack off on the island countertop beside her father.

"Everyone enjoying themselves?" Hakoda wondered. "How were the movies last night? Going to see that seventh one today, eh?"

"Yea! It looks _amazing_," squeaked Katara with a hop. "But then we'll have to wait a few months until the last one..."

"The last one? I thought that _was _the last one..."

"No, they split up the seventh book into two movies."

"Haha! Of course. Why pass up extra money?"

"Heh...Yea, I guess. There's also just a _lot _of stuff going on. It would've been too long to squeeze it all in. But it's really neat - they get to tell a longer, more involved story that way, you know?"

"At least when Sokka was crazy about Lord of the Rings he only had three movies to worry about."

Katara rolled her eyes, hands on her hips, recalling Sokka having the same complaint earlier. They really were father and son.

"Either way," Hakoda pressed on, "I'm sure you'll have a good time." He propped a batch of scrambled eggs onto a plate.

"Definitely."

"You guys are going to be heading out early tomorrow, eh?" Hakoda cracked a fresh egg on the frying pan's edge, splitting it open, the contents oozing out and sizzling on impact.

"Yea," Katara remembered, somewhat daunted by the idea. "I guess we'll have to...Huh?"

"Another all-day trip. I hope it's been worth it to see your old man." He added another egg to the pan.

"Of course."

"At least I won't have to wait so long to see you again."

"Yea. Christmas! Less than a month." At least _that _idea was relieving, in a way. "Hopefully we can bring Toph along next time so you can meet her, too. She's a riot."

"I can only imagine...Her boyfriend seems like quite a little gentleman. Especially if he puts up with how crazy your roommate sounds."

"Hee. Aang's such a little sweetheart." Katara whirled the island counter and sat upon a stool at the living room's edge, directly across from her dad as he flipped bacon strips. "I think he's a good influence on her."

"What about your other friend?"

"Hm?"

"She seems pretty troubled. Very distant."

"Oh. Jane..."

"I can see why you're friends, though..."

"What do you mean?"

"You have a heart for people like that, Katara." Hakoda glanced up from his preparation to catch a confused expression from his daughter. "People who are so broken they've lost track of who they are anymore. You can see how the pieces are supposed to fit together...even when they can't see it themselves."

"Hm..." Katara pushed bed hair bangs behind her ears as she considered his words. "Thanks..."

"Don't lose that."

"Lose it?"

"Some people get lost in ditches, and you're the type who will go out of your way to pull them out when no one else will. Don't let them pull you_ in_, Katara."

"Jane's...not like that, Dad. You don't have to worry."

"I'm not saying she is," Hakoda clarified. "But I _have_ seen you get hurt in the past, and I wish you'd...be more careful."

"O-OK..." Memories from a failed social life in high school struck Katara's heart like an arrow. She had been a bit of an outcast in those days, longing for the fresh start that college promised. Even then, her freshman year had been a rather confusing, oddly lonely affair where her brother had been her only pillar of consistent support.

"People aren't always what they seem, Katara. But you _are, _Kiddo. You are _exactly _how you seem. And that is a very beautiful thing. You can't judge a book by it's cover, and you're always an open book. I'd hate to see you lose that."

Katara simply nodded, absorbing the idea in. As she contemplated its meaning and consequences, she couldn't help but wonder if being an 'always open book' - someone who was constantly reaching out - was such a good thing. Then again, it was precisely that quality that had drawn her to befriend a certain dorky little art major freshman more than a year prior.

"Good morning, Aang!" Hakoda greeted, slapping bacon strips onto the pile he had amassed on a mat of paper towels beside the stovetop.

"Morning," yawned Aang, dragging his feet into the living room from the stairwell. He was wearing his white newsboy hat, cocking slightly at an angle over his forehead. He paused, partway through the room, and stared at the blanket-covered lump on the recliner that was a sleeping Sokka. Shaking his head and scratching his ear, he slumped into the stool at Katara's side.

Katara grinned at his gloomily groggy demeanor and grabbed the brim of his hat, tipping it over his face. His reply was simply to remain motionless while Katara snickered, only to undo her act to reveal facetiously unamused eyes.

"I've got some muffins baking for you, Aang, since I figured you wouldn't be much for bacon or eggs."

"Mmmm." Aang nodded, glancing back over at Sokka.

"Hey, Sokka," Katara called. "_Sokka._"

"Son, you'd better wake up soon if you want any bacon before it's all gone."

"rRrRrMmMmmmMmRrrR..." The blanket shuffled slightly, then stopped.

"All _right, _well...your loss, Sokka."

"GrRrmMpHhMbLe..."

"You sleep well, Aang?" inquired Katara sweetly, dismissing her brother.

"Mm-hm."

"Have you heard back from Toph?"

Aang shook his head, rubbing sand from his eyes.

"_Huh_," mused Katara, leaning her cheek on a palm. "That's weird. I'd think she'd have told you right away..."

"Me, too. Musta gone badly..."

Katara shrugged at his despondent expression. She very much wanted to offer hope, but couldn't do so with an honest smile. Toph hadn't sounded like she was going to approach the matter very positively in the first place.

"What's that, now?" Hakoda probed.

"Oh..." Katara turned to face Hakoda with a sigh. "We're worried Toph might've had a falling out with her parents."

"_Ah. _I certainly hope that's not the case."

"I hope not either, but...-" Katara shook her head, facing Aang again. "This _is _Toph we're talking about."

"I thought we liked Toph...?" Hakoda seemed confused.

"We _love _Toph," Katara insisted. "She's just...I dunno, she's been acting kind of abrasive lately."

"W-well...we've _all _been in a bad mood. At least, before vacation," defended Aang.

"That's true," Katara conceded. "But you don't have to_ live_ with her, Aang."

"That is _also _true," admitted Aang with a nervous shrug.

"Based on what I've heard about the situation, it sounds like she's been under a lot of pressure," Hakoda contributed.

"Yea, definitely," agreed Katara, attempting to lessen the implications she had put into the air. "I know she's going through a lot, but I'm worried that she kind of asks for all this trouble."

The two men exchanged wary glances, mutually and silently deciding to leave the matter to rest at that. No sense trying to worm into a disagreement between women, they internally concluded.

"Well...Breakfast is nearly done," announced Hakoda. "Is Jane still asleep?"

"I'll go wake her up," offered Katara, heading upstairs.

"So, Aang..." Hakoda prodded at the last batch of eggs. "Is Katara holding up all right?"

"Wha...?"

"She seems more stressed than usual," Hakoda explained.

"I dunno...Those girls, they seem like they've been cranky a _lot _lately."

Sokka's voice at last called out from under his blanket in a moan.

"DrAmA lLaMaS..."

Hakoda blinked at the wriggling lump on the recliner, bewildered.

"Yea," sighed Aang. "They're always making a fuss with each other. It's getting kind of frustrating."

"Heh." Hakoda shook his head. "That's just their way, fellas."

"What are you supposed to _do _when they just keep complaining and finding more problems?" Aang scratched his hair lazily.

"NoOoOoOtHiNg," booed Sokka, finally popping his head out from the blanket, his hair in frizzed tangles. "It never sStAaAhHpPsSs..."

"Maybe they're just really stressed out?" Aang theorized. "Maybe we should be trying to help them somehow...?"

"Honestly, Aang, what I think...-" Hakoda turned off the stove and stuck on an oven mit. "-...is that it might be best to let them take care of these things on their own."

"Really?"

Hakoda nodded, popping open the stove door and carefully pulling out a pan of muffins. The scent of cornbread and strawberries gushed out from the kitchen.

"They don't seem to have any problems with _you, _right?"

"No, I don't _think _so..."

"Then why trouble yourself over it?"

"I dunno...I don't like seeing them all grouchy and annoyed with each other."

"They're _women, _Aang," growled Sokka, trudging toward the countertop and plopping himself in the stool Katara had been using. He stared down the plate of bacon with a glint in his eye. "They don't _want _to solve their problems. They _do _want to be all grochy and annoyed with each other. Their problems will sort themselves out, so we're both better off just staying out of it in the meantime. Don't need them getting mad at _us, _right?"

"Hm..." Aang scratched his nose, tickled by the wonderful smell of his breakfast overpowering the meat and eggs. Sokka reached his arm over and snuck a piece of bacon, to which no one said anything.

"Yea," came Katara from the stairs. "It'll be done any minute here."

"OK. I'll...be down in a sec..."

"Huh?"

"Gonna change."

"Whats-a matter, Freckle-Face?" Sokka cried out with a pinch of snark. "I _like _your cute little bumblebee pajamas. They are _sooo preh-**shuth**!_"

"Shut up, ass!"

"Heheh..."

Katara leaned her head over the stair rail to shoot Sokka a dagger glare, and he replied with a smug wink.

"So..." Aang sighed, shaking his head. "You were just saying about making them _not _be mad at you...?"

"Hey." Sokka reached for another piece of bacon, answering Aang's question in a quiet mutter. "If they just think I'm a smart-ass chauvinist jokester, there's no room for me to be involved in actual _drama. _If they think I don't give a crap, I'm clean of any of that nonsense. The second bullcrap comes up, I just get ignored."

Aang lifted a finger to counter this remark, feeling sure there was some better answer to the situation, but words failed him as the truth to Sokka's theory sunk in.

"_What _was that?" Katara sharply inquired from the stairs. She sounded less annoyed and more amused.

"Girls are stupid!" Sokka answered.

"Of course," Katara acknowledged, sarcastically tossing her arms up as she hit the first floor. While approaching, she pointed an accusing finger at her brother. "You," she blurted in a whisper. "Jane didn't sleep well last night." She plucked a piece of fried meat from his fingers before hit reached his mouth. "Lay off." She chewed it right before his eyes with a sly smile.

"'Kay," Sokka agreed calmly. "But lay off my _meat_, Sister."

"Jane didn't sleep well?" Aang prodded with a dash of concern.

Katara nodded, shoving Sokka on the shoulder.

"Yea, she's had a headache and was tossing around a lot. Now get outta my seat." Another push at her brother, who begrudgingly slid out of Katara's spot and into the third and final stool to Katara's left.

"What's the plan for today?" asked Hakoda, passing plate of food out.

"We have to finish watching the rest of the movies," Katara declared. "Then we can finally go see the new one."

"Ugh."

"No one's _making _you watch them, Sokka."

"Son." Hakoda nodded his head up as he set a plate with extra bacon in front of his boy. "How about I take you out for a while during their little marathon?"

Sokka's eyes perked open, his cheeks already packed with food before Hakoda had even finished his sentence.

"Mm-hm!" He nodded eagerly, his mouth too full for words.

"There. See?" Katara cocked her head to her brother as she drizzled ketchup onto her eggs. "Go have some fun with Dad, get out of our hair for a while."

Sokka swallowed and agreed with his sibling. "Win-win."

The conversation lulled for a few moments as the group ate their food, the sounds of a brass band accenting their meal.

"Hey." Jane strolled over, hands in her jean pockets, a gray sweater on.

"Oh." Aang hopped from his seat, half-eaten muffin in his hands. "Here. Take my seat."

Jane accepted his offer with a mutter of "Thanks," only to dish out another seconds later when Hakoda set her breakfast before her.

"Freckles has her manners down pat," Sokka teased. Katara kicked him in the shin with her slippered foot. "Ow."

"Ketchup on your eggs?" Jane mumbled, turning her head at Katara's plate.

"What's wrong with _that? _It's good."

"Bleh."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"No, but...-"

"Try it."

Jane sighed, curious eyes glancing up from the plate of yellow and red mush to Katara's taunting grin.

"OK, OK..." She rolled her eyes, leaning her forehead against her hand as she let Katara pour an ample serving of tomato paste across her scrambled food, stirring it up thoroughly. Aang chowed down on a fresh muffin while Jane gave the mixture a taste. "Mm." Her orange brows lifted.

"See? It's good, right?"

Jane coughed on the vinegary taste and nodded, pounding her chest as she swallowed, enduring a bout of laughter.

"Sorry, was that a bit much?"

"Nah." Jane shook her fork and took another bite, more careful with her portion.

"Guess it's kind of an acquired taste, huh?"

Jane gawked for a moment at Katara's grin as the girl plowed through her own food at nearly the same speed her brother would move. She caught herself staring and broke her eyes away just as Katara turned to face her.

"It's one of those things that catches you by surprise, right?" Katara observed. "You think you'd hate it but it's actually good. Like pickles and peanut butter."

Sokka carelessly added in his own two cents: "Or ramen and taco sauce."

Jane cringed at both thoughts, barely catching a disgusted look on Aang's face, as well.

"Err..." Jane stabbed another forkful of reddened eggs. "Guess I gotta...give stuff a try before I judge, right?"

* * *

- Sunday, November 28th, 2010 -

Toph plucked at her strings aimlessly, letting her fingers take the notes wherever they saw fit, sliding along the frets with no direction in mind.

"Soooo..." Meng poked her head through Toph's large bedroom window, brushing a curtain aside. She admired the white field below, stretching out to snow-laden trees in the distance. "Just another hour or so 'til ya go home...huh?"

"Yep..."

"Kinda freeing."

"Yea."

"I saw your parents this morning. They...still seemed pretty upset."

"Good for_ them_..." Toph's words rang dry and dull.

The layer of apathy was off-putting to Meng. Ever since the argument Toph had seemed a bit more snippy, even lashing out a bit at Madison the next morning for trying to help with her hair. She had apologized after the fact, but had still insisted on caring for her own hygiene. Meng didn't understand what the cause of of this change of behavior, but had a feeling it had less to do with Mr. and Mrs. Beifong and more to do with Toph.

Meng bit her lip with her buck teeth.

"Errrr...Didja maybe want to work on another video before you go?"

"Nah..." Toph continued to strum absent-mindedly.

"OK. Maybe do somethin' together while we wait?"

More guitar string fiddling, but no response.

"Since...ya know...I-I dunno when we're gonna see each other again?" At this point, Meng was struggling to contain her disappointment in Toph's change of attitude. All of a sudden, after her conflict with her parents, it was as if all the headway they had made over the past few days didn't mean anything anymore.

"We will," Toph calmly assured. Those two words brightened Meng's spirits, at least a bit.

"OK. Good. Maybe I can come visit you at school some time."

"Mm."

"And...like...We've got each other's phone numbers now, and stuff..."

"Yea."

"Should be no problem staying in touch."

"Sure."

Meng narrowed her eyes at Toph's entirely placid demeanor. She contemplated a way to open her cousin up a bit.

"Hey..." She approached Toph, scooping up a hairbrush from the vanity beside the bed. She plopped herself beside the guitar-plucking girl. "Would you mind brushing my hair?"

"Huh?"

"I wanna look decent when my mom comes to get me, ya know? Madison seems busy getting things ready for you to leave, so..."

"Oh..." Toph's confused smirk delighted Meng. Better than the icy complexion she'd been wearing all morning. "Uhh...Yea. Sure." Toph set her guitar to the side, leaning it against a pillow.

Meng gently placed the brush in Toph's extended hand, turning her back to her cousin and untying her hair. She cringed as she felt it jump out in many directions. Toph's stubby fingers grasped at the tangled mess, eventually beginning to brush at it. Meng's body tightened from the pinching that was entailed in the process.

"You OK?" Toph muttered, pausing.

"It's a mess. Keep going."

_Rrrrmmm.  
_A phone vibrated from behind their little brushing session.

"That's yours, Tophie."

_Rrrrmmm._

"You gonna pick it up?" grunted Meng, flinching as her hair was briskly tugged by the brush.

"Nah..."

_Rrrrmmm._

"What if it's important?"

"They'll leave a message."

_Rrrrmmm._

"What if it's your boyfriend?"

_Rrrrmmm._

"Are you ignoring him?"

_Rrrrmmm._

"Toph?"

The buzzing stopped while the hair maintenance continued.

"Tophie, have you still not talked with Aang about what happened with your parents?"

"No."

"How...come?"

A hummed out 'I don't know' trickled forth from Toph's nose. Meng acknowledged that Toph had been receiving texts and calls that had gone unanswered for a couple of days now. She was tempted to try calling them herself, but concluded it was not her place. Still, it raised concern.

"Just don't feel like talkin' about it," was Toph's simplistic answer. "No point."

"Right..." Meng scratched an itch on her knee, the fierce tugging on her hair becoming increasingly irritable as Toph's no-doubt pent-up frustrations found their way out all over Meng's head. "_Urk. _Ummmm..." Meng carefully reached back and stilled her cousin's hands. "Little rough there," she explained. Toph gave pause before continuing at a more gentle pace. "That's better. Thanks."

As Meng's psychotic hairdo found some sanity, a silence hung over the duo. Meng found herself distraught, considering that Toph's reverted attitude was only a sign that her change of pace that week had been merely a fluke and nothing more. Then, an idea hit her.

"Hey..."

"Mm?"

"When you're done with my hair, how about...we record one last song before you leave?"

Meng patiently waited through some hair strokes for her answer.

"Sure."

"Cool."

Toph set the brush down, running her hands through Meng's frizzy mass.

"You've got weird hair, Cousin."

"Thanks...?"

"Heh. I'm glad you've been around this week."

"Me, too, Tophie. I...kinda wish we had gotten to know each other before."

"Yea..."

"But like I said: I'll totally come visit you. For real."

"Awesome."

Meng tackled Toph with a hug, catching the blind girl by surprise. In the first instant, Toph flinched, but relaxed once she realized what was happening, reciprocating the gesture.

"I hope everything works out for you, Tophie."

"Mm."

"I'll go get the camera ready and we can do another recording before you go. Sound good?"

"'Kay."

* * *

"Aren't you gonna try calling her about it, Aang?"

"Why? So I can get blown off again?"

Katara grimaced slightly at the irritation in his voice from the backseat of the Kesuk car. It was somewhat unexpected and unlike him. She took up the role that he normally filled himself in an effort to pacify him.

"M-Maybe she's just been busy..."

"Maybe..." The word was forced out, clearly not believed.

"Or she's just ignoring us," Jane tossed out with nonchalance.

"Here. Right here." Sokka, from the passenger's seat, pointed out a gas station to the right for Katara to park at, tactfully dismissing the topic at once. After they had settled into he lot, Katara went about prepping the car for gas pumping while the other three filed out.

"Sis, you want me to pick you up something?" Sokka inquired.

"No, I'll just wait until later. I'm still full from breakfast."

"Gotcha." Sokka whirled around, slapping his arms across Aang and Jane's shoulders and squeezing them both as they headed for the gas station's front door. "Onward, to our quest," he muttered with satisfaction, puffing out a cloud of vapor into the chilly November air. Jane squirmed out from under his grasp and Aang slapped him on the back in return as they broke off, filing into the store's glass door. The tinkling of its bell greeted them, and they split up, each seeking their own snacks.

"Whoooo-aahhht?" cried a flabberghasted Aang, staring at the potato chip sections.

"Huh?" Jane, a small bottle of orange juice in hand, rounded the aisle's corner and observed with her friend.

"_Ketchup _flavored chips?" Aang gagged out. "That's just...disturbing." Indeed, he was staring down miniature bed bags of Lays' branded with the title 'Ketchup.' Jane was intrigued.

"Like pickles and peanut butter," she thoughtfully muttered under her breath. She reached out and grabbed a bag. "I'll give 'em a try," she announced casually, much to Aang's surprise.

"Oh, yea. I forget," mumbled Sokka, cocking his head at their confused reactions. "They don't sell that kind in the US."

"Weird." Aang shook his head at Jane's sly smirk. "Never knew they existed."

"I'm sure they're fine, Twinkle-Toes," Jane teased, waving the bag in his face as he retrieved a Wunderbar.

"You guys set?"

"Yep."  
"All good."

They checked out and headed back to the car, Sokka triumphantly shouting, "There and _back again_!" for seemingly no good reason.

Jane noticed Katara's despondent sapphire eyes as she screwed the gas cap back onto the car's side, her expression dialing up as she caught their eyes. They all piled in and headed out of the gas station, highway bound.

Aang excitedly explained to Katara how he had not been aware of ketchup chips while Jane appreciated their flavor - not quite as odd as she had expected initially.

"Back to the States with us now, then!" decried Sokka with a British accent. "Off! Off yeh go!" Katara raised a brow, a smile cracking through the dull mask.

"How much longer until _you_ get to drive and I get to be a pain in _your _ass?"

Sokka brushed off her comment, opting to fuss through their CD case and pop in a disc.

"What are you doing?" Katara demanded.

"There and _back again!_" he repeated himself with glee as the disc started up.

["~The Greatest Adventure is what lies ahead~Today and tomorrow are yet to be said~"]

"What in the _fuck _is this?" Jane sighed at the plinking guitar and warbly singing.

"Dear Lord," Katara huffed. "Why, Sokka? Really?"

["~The chances, the changes are all yours to make~The mold of your life is in your hands to break~"]

"Why does this sound familiar?" Aang muttered from behind Sokka, tapping his chin.

"Because we watched this together last spring."

["~The Greatest Adventure is there if you're bold~Let go of the moment that life makes you hold~"]

"Oh...Uhhh...What _is _it, then?"

"The Hobbit." Sokka pointed out an informing finger. "From seventy-seven, baby."

"_Ohhh, _yea." Aang recalled the animated picture.

["~To measure the meaning can make you delay~It's time you stop thinking and wasting-"]  
[_Click._]

"Hey!"

"No. I'm driving right now, Sokka. We can listen to your stuff when _you_ are driving."

"Hmph. You drive a hard bargain."

"I'm not bargaining."

"You drive a hard blackmail."

"Wh-? I'm not _blackmailing._"

"You drive a hard-"  
"I _drive_ a _car _right now, so, just...let me do that, OK?"

"All right, all right...Yeesh."

"Sorry," Katara put in. "You know how I get when I'm driving..."

"Seventy-Seven?" Jane muttered in inquiry in an attempt to cut Katara's tension.

"Yea, the Hobbit cartoon. Back in the day."

"Huh? I thought there were just the three books and then they made 'em into movies?"

"Oh, SmellerJane. You simpleton fool."

"Don't _call _me that..."

"Oh, SmellerJane. You...poor, misinformed-"  
"You _know _what I meant."

"C'mon, Freckle-Face. Keep eatin' those chips and put a smile on that face."

"Yea, yea..." Jane finished up her bag while Sokka played with his phone and Katara channel surfed the radio.

_Rrrrmmmm._

Aang inspected his phone, eager for a potential call from Toph at last.

Nope. Only a text message.

[From: Sokka]  
[Think I'm overdoing it a bit? =P ]  
[Sent: 9:12am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[your always overdoing it man]  
[Sent: 9:12am]

"Still nothin'?" Jane quietly inquired from Aang's left. He shook is head with a sigh and closed his phone, eyes glazing over with worry. Jane tapped him on the arm. "Hey," she whispered while Katara and Sokka debated over a radio channel. "It's _my _job to be cranky and pessimistic. It doesn't look good on you. Quit it." A bashful smile found its way onto Aang's face and Jane smirked. "Thatta boy."

"-just _have _to bother me, over and over. You just can't _not _do it, can you?"

"I'm your brother, Katara. It's my sworn duty to antagonize you."

"Could you _not _do that for a while?"

"Sounds like someone's got a case of the Grumpies."

"God..."

"_Gwum-peeeez._" Sokka leaned across the seat and his sister nudged his face away with her elbow.

"_Sokka!_ Seriously! Cut it out."

"Christ, Sokka," Jane growled. "You're pissing her off. Stop it."

Sokka shrugged, leaning his head against the window as Katara went back to adjusting the radio.

[From: Sokka]  
[Yea. Think I overdid it. ;P ]  
[Sent: 9:14am]

* * *

**A/N: Just would like to point out, I had _never _seen Ketchup chips in the states...but I swear to God, within hours of writing that scene I found Ketchup flavored Pringles for the first time in a store I have visited many times before. I of course picked some up. **

**Also, Taco Bell sauce and instant ramen. Try it sometime. ;) (drained ramen, don't use the powder)  
Oh, and the same thing works well with parmesean cheese and ramen, too. =D  
The things my roommate and I have tried out over the past year and a half...**

**For some reason I feel compelled to point out that I wanted to write a scene with Sokka and his dad but in retrospect I think I'm going to do their meeting as a flashback a little later. So I'm not forgetting about that, I'm just going to show that later.**

**I have this odd feeling this won't be the last time the Hobbit film will be referenced. It was a film I saw a _lot _as a kid - or at least it really stuck with me.**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=RoIDDwTcPQM - The Greatest Adventure**

**Ironically? I am not really a true Lord of the Rings fan. =P**


	36. Forceful

**A/N: This will be the last chapter I write before I move from western New York to the San Francisco Bay Area. Expect a bit of a break - or at least a slowdown in chapter frequency. But, on the other hand, this Aang-centric chapter is twice as long as usual and focuses on a number of different characters. =)**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 36 - Forceful_

* * *

- Monday, November 29th, 2010 -

The bar was quiet, nearly empty on this Monday evening. His face was warm but he wanted more. He tapped the counter.

"Oy," bemoaned the bartender. "'Nother round? What's got yoose so wound up, eh, Longshot?" He grabbed the shot glass and filled it with care, eyeing his leader suspiciously as he slid the tiny glass back. Longshot's brows popped up and back down, and Sneers sighed. "I hear ya, Boyo. Times are nutso."

Longshot slammed the shot down his throat, coughing from the burn and pounding his chest.

"If I didn' know any bettah, I'd t'ink yoose was still 'ung up on a girl."

The corner of Johnny's mouth twitched as he stared, bleary-eyed, at the countertop below him.

"'Course, I know bettah den dat," Sneers facetiously added. "No woman's wort' dat kind o' trouble, am I right? Speakin' of, any word on how Cherry's doin'?"

Longshot nodded his head slowly with a gentle toss of the hand.

"Ah, so she's all right, den. Pretty banged up, she was. Good t'ing you wasn't 'ere dat night. Woulda been some hell."

"It'll come," Johnny sighed, fingers pinching his throbbing temples.

"Yoose know, Johnny..." Sneers turned up the volume on the TV at the end of the counter for the lone customer sitting at its edge. "Witchoo bein' so..._not _troubled by Smelly an' all, and very _much _troubled wit' dis Rhino problem...might be a good idea to see if she's int'rested in enlistin' again, huh? I ain't nevah seen such work wit' a knife. Da girl's a bonafied ahr-_teest_."

Johnny acknowledged Sneers' claim with a single nod.

"How's 'bout we get dat talent back up in 'ere, huh? She looked pretty broken up 'bout...ehm...dat, uh_...break up_. Could be just da t'ing to kindle dose fires, Longshot. Love on da battlefield, n' all dat. _Yoose _know what I'm talkin' about."

Longshot offered no response at all - not even any facial twitches.

"Just a t'ought, Johnny. Dose whackjobs she's runnin' wit' nowadays is makin' her soft. Nevah liked dat one girl - Jet's ex, I mean. Always rubbed me da wrong way. And look what she did to da poor guy. She's gonna ruin ol' Smelly, too. Just yoose watch. Dat girl's trouble."

Johnny sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Yoose t'ink I'm kiddin'," observed Sneers. "It's crazies like dat girl what makes people go all squishy."

Sneers was treated to a raised eyebrow from his leader.

"Ahhmmm...Meant, eh...like...She's all lollipops n' unicorns. Real pussy-like. I can jus' _see it _in Smelly's eyes, Johnny. She's goin' pussy on us. It's all dat one girl's fault. Puh." Sneers tossed up his arms. "But whadda I know, doh, right? Like I says: no woman's wort' dat kind o' trouble."

Johnny tapped his finger against the bar beside his glass, signalling his desire for more.

"This one is."

* * *

- Tuesday, November 30th, 2010 -

"I've _got it, _Twinkles." Toph set her plastic cup on the dispenser's drain, sliding her fingers across the brail print over the buttons. She aligned the cup with her desired choice and pressed the button down. As it dispensed her juice, she huffed out, "See? Under control."

"O-OK...You want me to, uhh...help carry your-?"  
"No, Twinkle-Toes! I'm fine. OK?"

Toph set her plastic cup onto her tray and grabbed its edges with care, lifting it off the counter.

"Let's go," she announced with brisk determination.

Aang was perplexed as Toph marched right past him, heading out to the cafeteria floor. Aang followed her to where she had stopped, mere steps out.

"Um...So where are we sitting?" she wondered.

Aang cautiously grabbed her arm, easing her to follow him as he led her to the nearest table, where Katara, Sokka, and Suki sat. He noticed some of Toph's dark grape juice had splashed out of the cup and onto her tray, but dared not verbalize this.

"Hey, guys!" chirped Katara.

Aang waved to her with some reluctance while Toph set her tray down, sliding into the booth.

"Hi, Toph," greeted Suki - this being their first encounter since being back at school. Toph replied with a simple hum.

As Aang sat down beside her, a single bowl in hand, Katara shot him a concerned glance.

"So what's up with you guys today?" Sokka asked, his plate empty save for a couple of chunks of pizza crust.

"I've been getting a lot of practice done," Toph immediately replied, scooping up some mac and cheese. "Lot more work to do, though."

"There always is," agreed Suki, shuffling her salad around.

Aang shrugged, chewing into his vegetable sandwich - a concoction Sokka believed to be against the laws of nature.

"Speaking of..." Suki motioned her fork to Katara. "You should get in touch with Jane - we should all go through our set list this week. I'm going to try and get us a show somewhere soon."

Aang could swear he heard Toph, food in her mouth, huff through her nostrils while Katara agreed.

"Sure, that sounds great. Maybe Wednesday night?"

"That'd be good, Katara."

"Does that work for you, Toph?"

"I guess."

"All right. Yea, Suki, I'll find out if that works with Jane and get back to you."

"Great."

"That'd be sweet," Sokka chimed in. "You ladies have only had the one performance so far, right?"

"Mm-hm." Suki scooped up leafy greens and tucked them between her lips.

"You guys were so awesome," complimented Aang.

"We were OK," Toph muttered in dismissal.

"We've been practicing ever since," was Katara's optimistic approach. "If we keep at it, we'll sound better the next time we're out there."

Aang feared another negative reaction from Toph but was relieved when Sokka contributed, taking away any opportunity.

"Exactly. It's a process - you just keep at it."

"Speaking of," groaned Suki, "I have some calculus homework due tomorrow that I still haven't finished. And _you..._-" She stabbed his pectoral with an accusing finger. "-...have a research paper to do."

"Ehhhh..." Sokka's eyes spun around in their sockets. "It's not due until Friday."

"And you'd better start it _now _or else it'll turn out like garbage," Suki suggested.

"Just because you're _right _doesn't mean I have to agree with you," Sokka defied, kissing her on the cheek. "Let's head out, then." Chairs shuffled and trays were scooped up. "Have a good night, guys."

"Later." Aang tipped his head.  
"Study hard, Sokka." Katara waved.

Toph fed herself another spoonful of mac and cheese.

"Uh...S-so, Toph," Katara mumbled, her fingers drumming along the table's surface. "Been spending a lotta time in the music building, I guess?"

"Yep."

"That going well?"

"Sure is."

"When's the big recital?"

"Dunno. Forgot."

"Oh. Well...I can't wait to hear it."

"I can't wait to get it _over _with."

"Heh...Y-yea, I bet."

Aang was thrown off by their imbalanced interaction. Katara must have been, as well, as she shifted her attention, biting her lip.

"And...that reminds me, Aang...Don't you have some stuff going up in the gallery soon?"

"I'm not sure," Aang confessed. "I'm gonna submit a couple of pieces to the show going on, but...we'll see if anything gets in."

"Oh. Right." Katara nodded quickly, the loops of hair on her head bobbing around. They were pretty adorable and suddenly hard to not notice. Aang couldn't recall the last time she had worn her hair that way, as it had been a while, but decided in that moment that they looked quite appropriate on her. "I'm sure you'll get something in," Katara assured. "Your stuff's really good."

"Thanks."

"It probably is," Toph grumbled. "But my opinion wouldn't do ya much good, would it?"

"Hey..." Aang slid his hand over her thigh and rubbed his palm across it. "I'm sorry, Taters."

"Don't be," Toph calmly insisted. "_I'm _not."

She patted the top of his wrist and eased his hand off of her, much to Aang's dismay. As she filled herself with more food, Aang followed suit, noticing Katara's empty plate. He met her eyes and she flashed him a look that read, '_What's going on?_' Without really intending to, Aang's distraught eyes replied, '_I have no idea._'

"Um...I guess I should be going, too," murmured Katara, lifting herself from the table. "I've got a lot of reading, but...Toph, we should take a break tonight when you get back, don't you think? We haven't been able to spend time together since before break."

"We'll see."

Toph's nonchalant tone pricked at Katara's spirit - Aang could detect it in those sapphire eyes of hers. And here he had thought the two of them had been doing fine and it was just him Toph was acting weird toward.

"Y-yea, that sounds good, then," Katara managed. "I'll, um...See you later, guys."

Aang offered Katara a sympathetic wave, and she nodded in return, hurrying off. The couple spent a few minutes in silence focused on their meal.

"So...I'm guessing you're heading to the music building after this," theorized Aang.

"Yea. I was wanting to spend some time with you, actually."

"Oh...?"

"Yea. I'll take you to my practice room and show you the stuff I've been working on."

"Sure. All right." Perhaps some time together could help shed some light on what was going on.

* * *

Aang's heart was pounding in his chest, Toph's mischievous grin gleaming at him. She had him pinned on the floor against the wall in the corner of her tiny practice room, beside the piano. She was bent on her knees in the space between his spread legs, his hands latched around her waist. Their chests were pressed together, lips joined. As they kissed, Toph ran her hands from Aang's neck to his head, tossing off his newsboy cap when it interfered. Aang slid his fingertips around Toph's tanktop straps, massaging her bare shoulders.

Toph shifted her approach, kissing his neck and groping at his wrists. As she moved from his neck to his ears, she planted his palms against her bosoms before gripping his hips, leaning her weight to the side and in effect toppling the two of them to the ground. As Toph wrapped her legs around Aang's, he feared that his heart would burst from his ribcage, her abdomen beginning to grind against his own. His own abdomen, in turn, seemed to involuntarily reciprocate the gesture.

Aang's body was at once highly aroused and somewhat nauseous. By the time Toph had initiated french kissing on top of all of this, he couldn't bear the stimulation of it all, pulling his mouth away and removing his hands from her body. He lamented watching Toph's sneaky, satisfied smile wither into an impatient frown.

"What?" Toph growled with some irritation.

"Sorry," sighed Aang. "I'm...I dunno. I guess I'm not in the mindset for this..."

He flinched as Toph grabbed at his tingling nether region.

"Part of you begs to differ," was the sly counter Aang was given. This was entirely accurate, and Aang's blood still rushed through his body at the sensation of her proximity.

"I'm just not comfortable with...with doing that sort of thing today..." Aang wiped his hair back over his head, rubbing saliva from his ear lobe.

With a huff, Toph pushed her bangs from her face and sat up, thoroughly displeased.

"It's not like it's anything we haven't done _before_," she grumbled.

"I-I know..." Aang scrambled to sit back up, his back against the wall again. "But today you're just being kind of...-" He trailed off with a shrug she couldn't see.

"Spit it out," Toph insisted.

"K-kind of forceful," Aang completed his thought, dismayed when Toph's head sagged with an incredulous sigh. "I'm sorry," he added with haste. "I...W-we can still..._do _stuff, just, uh...mmmmaybe not stuff like _that. _Today, I mean."

"Whatever."

Toph crawled over to her piano bench and sat herself into it, tugging a displaced bra strap back into its proper allignment. She sat up straight, hands neatly folded in her lap, poised to begin playing.

"Uhh...Did...What did you want to...-?" Aang fumbled for some kind of resolution to re-establish comfort.

"I need to practice," Toph stated clearly and with some cold disappointment.

"Oh...Right. Yea, that'd be nice to listen to."

"No. I need to practice alone." Aang tried to study her profile to get a read on what was going on. She was certainly annoyed with him, though he didn't feel he was in the wrong.

"Huh?"

"I practice better when I'm alone."

"I-I'll be quiet, I won't say anyth-"  
"Doesn't matter."

Aang paused, staring at her with furrowed brows, frustrated with her on/off demeanor that day.

"I thought you wanted to take me here so I could hear you practice," Aang pointed out, shoving his hat on. Toph didn't acknowledge this statement as Aang rose to his feet. "You didn't want to practice your music at _all, _did you?" Aang pieced her motive together, again getting no response. "You coulda just _said _so in the first place," he grumbled. "You know how I don't like just...just suddenly _doing _that kind of thing. If you just _tell _me that's what you want to do, at least then I-"  
"_Kinda_ can't practice with you flappin' your mouth," Toph briskly dismissed him.

"So that's it, then?" Aang tossed his arms out. "You're just gonna kick me out 'cuz I'm not in the mood for..."

"You're _never _in the fuckin' mood, Aang. How do you know if you like something when you never _try _it?"

"It's not so easy for me!" Aang defended.

"Nothing _is_, is it?"

"Wh-?" Aang was appalled at her stinging words.

"Everything's gotta be all nice and clean and simple or else it's too much for you to handle."

"You're obviously all cranky about stuff with your parents," concluded Aang, deciding right there that this conversation wasn't worth continuing at this rate. "I _know _things didn't go well, Toph. Not that you'll tell me about it."

"Maybe 'cuz it's none of your business."

"_How _is that none of my...-?" Aang wanted to explode at her with his pent up aggrevation but took a deep breath, clutching his hat tightly, and calmed himself. "Why won't you just talk with me about everything?"

"You're wasting my time. I have to work on my music."

"OK. Fine." Aang begrudgingly pulled on his winter jacket, a poofy white coat. He glared at the back of Toph's head as he tugged up the zipper. "I put your walking stick by th-"  
"I _know _where it is."

Shaking his head, Aang dug one hand deep in his coat pocket and opened the sound-proof door with the other.

"Good night."

"Bye."

* * *

- Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 -

Sprawled across his bed, Aang diligently read through his art history textbook, phone at his side. It had taken all afternoon, but he finally got a response back to a message he had sent earlier. The girl in question was one he had met through Facebook, noticing the comments she'd periodically leave for Katara and Sokka. As it turned out, she was a family relation - an older cousin who lived in Toronto. The two had been exchanging Facebook quips for a month or so by now, and had recently exchanged numbers.

[From: Korra]  
[ugh that sucks, man. sounds like she needs a punch in the face. anyway, i wish i coulda come to visit you guys over break.]  
[Sent: 5:46pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[yea its too bad. :( maybe next time? sokka says he wants us to come again for xmas. if we do you can meet my gf too. maybe she'll be in a better mood. :P ]  
[Sent: 5:47pm]

[From: Korra]  
[my cousin says a lotta stuff, so i guess we'll see. how's uncle hakoda, btw?]  
[Sent: 5:48pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[he seemed like he was ok. hes great. really like him.]  
[Sent: 5:48pm]

[From: Korra]  
[right? he's awesome. he seems lonely these days so that's cool he had company.]  
[Sent: 5:49pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[well i gotta go to work now but good hearin from ya.]  
[Sent: 5:53pm]

[From: Korra]  
[peace out aang!]  
[Sent: 5:55pm]

Aang was having trouble getting a good read on the girl. He felt like he hardly knew a thing about her, really, but was intrigued to learn more. So far, the Kesuks had a perfect track record for being people he liked, after all: three for three. Maybe this would make four for four?

After getting situated at his job managing the refreshment desk at the school's gym, Aang picked up on his reading, only to be greeted after a few minutes by a sweaty Haru who had just finished a session of simulated rock climbing, his hair pulled back in a ponytail. Aang couldn't help but grin at the mustache that had been gradually forming itself on his fello dorm mate's face.

"Hey, Leekpai, what's goin' on?"

"Hey." Aang closed his thick book and set it aside, focusing attention on the customer before him. "What can I get ya?"

"Like you gotta ask," joked Haru.

"Peanut M&M's, then..." Aang had already reached back for the yellow bag as he had asked the question in anticipation of the answer. After calculating the simple sale, Aang gave a "There ya go," but Haru lingered, tearing open his bag.

"So, Aang. Dude. Katara's been tellin' me your girlfriend's been actin' weird."

"She did?"

"Yea, man. Yea. What's goin' on there?"

"Oh, it...It's complicated."

"_Ha. _Always is." He popped some candy into his mouth.

"Toph's dealing with some family stuff, and then on top of that there's the end of semester, and...-" Aang waved his hand. "-...everything. Just a lot going on."

"Is she, like, pissed off at Kat or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"The way Katara told me, it sounded like Toph's being a total 'B.'" Another round of M&M's clattered from Haru's hand into his mouth.

"Oh. No, no...I don't think it has to do with Katara. She's acting like that to _everybody._"

"Mm." Crunching on his snack, Haru contemplated the situation.

"I wish I knew what the issue was," Aang lamented with a shrug. "She's starting to really get on my nerves..."

"Wow. That takes a _lot_," Haru observed.

A melancholy smirk wandered onto Aang's face and he nodded, cracking open his textbook.

"I guess. Yea."

"All right. Well...Just thought I'd check in on ya, Dude."

"Thanks, Haru."

"Seriously, man."

"Huh?" Aang looked up from his page. Haru shot him a solemn expresion, complimented by an equally serious tone.

"You look totally stressed and stuff. Try to take it easy, Bro."

"I will."

"Later!"

"Yup."

Some time passed during his evening shift, an after he had wrapped up his reading he moved onto web browsing, occupying his time with a physics-based, puzzle web-browser game.

"Hey, Aang!"

Aang glanced up to see Suki bundled in a winter coat smiling back at him.

"Hi, Suki..."

"Everything OK?"

Aang sighed to himself. Second person in a row now who seemed concerned just by looking at him. Did he really seem that out of it?

"Yea, I'm good. Tired."

"Stressed?"

"_Oh _yea."

"Sorry to hear it."

"It's OK."

Another student stepped up to the counter, and Suki and her exchanged greeting smiles.

"Could I get a Kit-Kat please?" the blonde politely requested.

"Sure."

Aang completed the transaction as Suki inquired about his girlfriend.

"So is Toph doing OK? We're supposed to be practicing tonight and I haven't gotten confirmation that she's actually going to show."

"Have a good day," Aang nodded to the customer, waving her off, before redirecting his focus to Suki. "Uhh..." He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. "Got _me_, Suki. I don't know. Honestly."

"That busy, huh?" She lifted a brow, the other furrowing in that same concerned way everyone's seemed to have been that day.

"Yea. Totally."

"She seemed...kind of _off _yesterday. Or was that just me?"

"Oh, no. It wasn't just you."

"What's going on? Sokka said she's going through some family problems...?"

"Basically," Aang shrugged. "She's being real quiet about it. Even_ I_ don't know the deal."

"Wow. Weird." Suki shook her head. "Sorry, Aang. I'm sure things will work out, though. Toph seems like the kind of person who just needs some time with this kind of thing."

"Yea. You're probably right..."

"Well...Good luck with your schoolwork, then. I hope you can get something in that art show! I'm sure I'll see you around."

"Definitely. Thanks. Have fun at practice tonight."

More time sailed by, more customers were served, and toward the end of his shift, Aang's attention moved to his Facebook page, only to notice a new request: Meng Beifong.

[**Meng Beifong** December 1st at 6:34pm]  
[HEY! it's toph's cousin from the vid chat! how's everythin going? i hope toph's ok. even tho she been mad w/her parents i bet it's still hard to just leave like that you know? now she's on her own n stuff so you better take good care of her!]  
[**Confirm**]

Aang puffed out a discouraged sigh, his chin in his palm, while he considered the ramifications of Meng's message. It made sense of her change of attitude and served to solidify his guess that Toph had shown some animosity. The whole "now she's on her own" bit didn't sound too positive, either.

[To: **Meng Beifong**]  
[Hi Meng! Yea I remember you. Thank you SO MUCH for helping Toph setup her music on the internet! That was great. And I'm glad that she had you looking out for her last week. Shes acting pretty down lately. I guess things with her parents didn't go well huh? :( Hopefully she'll be feelin better soon...It's very crazy right now. Anyway. Thanks again!]  
[**Send**]

"Damn. Looks like I came at just the right time."

Aang was startled by Sokka's words. Unaware of his arrival, Aang blinked rapidly, regaining his bearings. Sokka's head was covered by a winter hat with the House of Aqua's logo printed on it.

"Your shift is over any minute, right, Pal?" he checked.

"Oh. Yea. Yep, just a couple minutes."

"You look _beat, _man. What's goin' on?"

"Got a lot on my mind..."

"Like a certain finicky disabled person?"

Aang smirked at Sokka's blunt insensivity shrouded in humor.

"Yea, something like that."

Aang shut his laptop and stuck it in its bag, closing up shop as Sokka and he continued their discourse.

"What'd she do this time?"

"She's...being difficult lately."

"Even to you, huh?"

"Even to me."

"Hmph." Sokka shook his head, arms crossed as Aang locked up the desk's grate. "Ya know, Bud, sometimes a guy has to stick up for himself."

"Pardon?" Aang popped his winter coat on.

"It sounds like you're lettin' Dead-Eyes walk all over ya. With a girl like her, you gotta get some backbone, Aang. She pushes you? You gotta push her back."

"But...but I don't..._push_...really..."

"Maybe she wants you to learn?"

"Uhh...I dunno..." Aang adjusted his shoulder strap as he signed out on the wall-mounted punch-clock.

Sokka slapped an arm over Aang and let them out the entrance.

"Ya know what? Don't even worry about it right now. It's Man Time."

"I don't think my stomach can take that spicy nacho cheese stuff again tonight, Sokka..."

"Pff. Oy...But no worries, friend. We're gonna sit down, just us guys, and play some Gears of War."

"Blech. I hate that game. It's pointlessly gruesome."

"Not _pointlessly _grue-..." Sokka's snap defense was met with an unconvinced glance as they shuffled through the gently falling snow. "OK. Nevermind. Maybe this won't be _Man _Time so much as..._Gentle_man Time?"

"Haha. Sure."

"Get some Camomile Tea going? Bake some biscuits and talk about our emotions while watching Eat, Pray, Love?"

"Just because _I _am in touch with my sensitive side doesn't necessarily mean I like...-"

Now Aang was getting the funny look, to which he huffed begrudgingly.

"Yea, OK. I probably _would _like any of those things...Shut up."

"We can do whatever you want, Bro. I'm just joshin' ya."

"Let's play some Wii Sports Resort. That oughtta be nice and relaxing, right?"

"Err...Shhuuure, Aang. Whatever floats your boat, Pal."

"What?"

"Nothin'!"

"It's got _Frisbee Golf~_"

"...Are you for real?"

"..."

"C'mon, Aang. That's bogus. You're yankin' my chain."

Aang coughed, still wordless.

"They _do _have Frisbess Golf, don't they?"

"I didn't stutter," Aang cast out mock arrogance.

"OHMAIGAWD Aang, why did you not tell me this _earlier_?"

"I'm pretty sure liking Frisbee Golf should cost you some Macho Points."

"I will _gladly _take such a penalty!"

* * *

- Thursday, December 2nd, 2010 -

The sweeping vista overcame him, the lush jungle far below enriching to the eyes. The mystic temple that resided on the cliff's edge was blurry and out of focus in the distance. Aang stared at it with concentration, trying to make out the details. Once he figured those out, he could actually paint them in.

Aang was slumped before his unfinished piece of art, which had been untouched for five minutes now, his eyes glazed over in thought. His fingers were crusted in green and blue hues, dry remnants of a rainbow plastered to his white House of Aero shirt.

"Concentrating _really _hard on that piece?" The words were slow but with a sharpness - like a rusted knife.

Aang glanced over to his side to see Mai, dressed in a baggy, paint-smattered T-shirt with a picture of a menacing-looking raven printed on its front. She was dabbing her brush at an abstract piece full of reds and grays. At a glance it looked almost like a volcano rim, but the more Aang inspected it the less sure he became.

"Oh. Heh. Hi, Mai."

"You don't look so well, Aang..." The normally dry humor in her voice dropped for a moment as Mai dipped her brush into a tiny puddle of gray before pressing it against her canvas methodically. "What's going on?"

"Girlfriend problems."

"I figured as much."

Aang let a tiny frown slip at her words, frustrated with everyone seeming to notice his mood and butt into it. Mai, however, didn't ask for further clarification like most everyone else was. In a way, this actually threw Aang off and he felt compelled to explain.

"Uh...Yea, so...She's been ignoring me a lot since break..."

"Must be something difficult going on."

"For sure. I think she may have broken off from her family over vacation."

"Hm." Mai's tongue popped from her lips slightly as she examined her work. "Sounds serious."

"And she won't even talk with me about it!"

"Could just be busy. You try calling her?"

"I _have _been trying to call her, she's just ignoring me..."

"Hmph. Sounds like she's being a bit of a tool. And it sounds like _you _are pretty upset about it."

"Well, _yea_. She's hiding stuff from me, and just being a...a big _jerk_." Aang finally prodded at his painting again, picking up work on the temple's base.

"Wow," noted Mai with a sarcastic smirk. "Such _language_, Aang."

A few seconds of busy silence passed, the sounds of brushes padding on canvas comforting their ears.

"Hey, Mai," Aang called out, turning to her. Her back was turned as she had traversed the room to dump out her rinsing water. The word {Nevermore} was displayed in a scratchy font on the back of her shirt. She filled her container with some fresh water. "What do you do when you and _your _boyfriend have problems? Does he try hiding stuff from you?"

"He does," Mai admitted. "I think he does it because he doen't want me to worry, though."

"But it makes you worry _more_."

"Sometimes," Mai smiled at his prediction. "Yea."

"I don't think that's why Toph is doing it, though."

"She might need some space. Probably has a lot on her mind."

"That doesn't make it OK for her to just blow me off like that, though."

"It doesn't _excuse_ it, but it might be the _reason_."

"Yea..."

"It's the end of the semester - everyone's pretty busy. My advice is that you should probably just focus on your work. Not like you can do anything else about it right now."

"I know..."

"I'll tell you what, Aang: why don't you meet with me and Zuko this weekend? We could get some coffee, maybe spend some time together...Just take a break from things. And you could get to know him a bit. I feel like you two would get along."

"Uh...OK. Sure. Is Zuko going to be OK with that?"

Mai shrugged, swishing her brush through her rinsing water.

"He'll need a break himself. I'll make him be OK with it," she coyly decided. "How does Saturday afternoon sound?"

"Yea, that'll work."

"Two PM?"

"Sounds good."

Aang gave Mai an appreciative smile for her concern. She was more of a colleague than a friend, but he appreciated her dry humor and decisive opinions. Getting to know her boyfriend better would be nice. Maybe he'd be someone Aang could get along with - it seemed like he was surrounded by women these days, which probably wasn't helping increase his "Macho Points," as Sokka would say. According to Sokka, Toph had more "Macho Points" than her boyfriend did.

"That's how I always deal with crazy people," Mai pointed out, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What's that?"

"I focus my energy somewhere else until they get the 'crazy' out of their systems."

"Oh. Right."

"When life gives you lemons...get out from under the lemon tree."

"Find an apple tree, or something?"

"Exactly."

* * *

- Friday, December 3rd, 2010 -

"I've been here tons of times, Sugar-Queen, I'm _pretty _sure I can go to the bathroom on my own."

"Y-yea, I...I know, I was just...-" Before Katara could explain herself, Toph was already wandering away, nearly intersecting a waitress who carefully steered around her. Katara snorted bitterly, crossing her arms across her chest.

Aang fidgeted with his white cap before finally removing it and stuffing it beside his coat in the booth, his head warm.

"What died and crawled up _her _ass?" Jane grumbled, nodding her head to the hall Toph had found her way into.

"What_ever_ it was," Sokka theorized, "I think that it was necromanced into a zombie and is crawling its way back _out._" Sokka's joke was met with perplexed expressions, to which he wrote off his reception with a shrug, munching on some bacon-wrapped chicken.

"Yea," Jane muttered awkwardly. "So, I'm gonna get that picture out of my head now. But seriously, what's her problem?" Jane directed the question at Aang, as if he knew - which was reasonable to assume.

"She didn't even show up for practice this week like she said she would," Suki tossed in her two cents from beside Sokka.

"And she keeps avoiding me," Katara snapped. "I'm just trying to help her out like I always do, and she acts like I'm being some creeper."

"Uh, er, _yeeaa!_" Sokka fumbled out with mock indignance. "She is totally...uhh...crampin' my style."

"Shut up, Sokka," Katara growled. "This isn't a joke. Something is _wrong_ with her."

Aang felt his intestines knotting up as everyone's prying eyes glued to him.

"Wh-why is everyone acting like _I_ know?" he balked. "She's doing the same stuff to me, too!"

Katara offered a sympathetic, "Sorry, Aang..." but remained frustrated with the situation.

"Hey, ya know, I've got an idea," said Sokka. "How about we get over ourselves and just enjoy our dinner, huh?"

"Why don't you tell Miss Pissy-Pants to do that, then?" Jane countered, rolling her eyes. "She's the one giving everyone shit."

"Oh, I see," Katara snipped. "We just pretend like it's OK for her to act like that, then. And it'll just _magically _go away."

"I didn't _say _that."

"No, but you don't even care. You'll just turn it into another freakin' joke."

"I'm trying to lighten the mood here, Sis."

"Yea, well...-"

"Come on, everyone," eased Aang nervously. "Toph's having a bad week, we're all getting grumpy with finals coming up...And-and the weather is all cold and affecting our moods, and-"  
"Aang. Bud."

Jane's bony hand patted him on the back from his right.

"I know she's your girlfriend and all - she's great and all that. We all love her and shit. But you can come up with all the damn excuses you want, and it doesn't change the fact that she's being a _bitch. _Even to you, Aang. You don't deserve that. _I _sure as fuck don't deserve it," she said with a facetious grin. "I dunno if everyone else is with me here, but I'll try and play dumb tonight. But you need to figure this shit out, 'cuz I'm done. I don't need this right now. I don't think _any _of us do, and that includes her."

"If she keeps acting this way, Aang, I'm going to do something," Katara cautioned.

"Keep me out of it," Sokka warned. "You girls want to have a PMS party? Don't invite me."

"Hey," grumbled Suki. "I didn't even say anything, I just don't appreciate her attitude..."

"OK, guys, I _get _it," Aang insisted, noticing Toph exiting the bathroom down the hall. "I'm sorry. I'll talk with her about it, but...let's _drop_ it for right now. OK?" He was grateful for the shrugs and nods he received in reply as Toph bumped into a stray seat.

"Shit," she uttered, right beside a family a table away. Gruffly shoving the chair aside, she pressed on, finding her way to the group's booth and shoving her way in besides Aang. Everyone had gotten down to eating, leaving Toph with a curious expression. "Why's everyone so quiet?"

"Guess we're hungry," Aang decided. Toph didn't seem to buy this but she sighed - somewhat loudly - and went about stuffing a crab cake into her face. Crisis averted.

* * *

The music hall approached, but Aang was planning to divert direction to the right, hoping to head up to his dorm instead.

"So, um...Why don't we go up to Aero?"

"Why would we do that?" Toph wondered, her demeanor shrouded in skepticism.

"W-well, Sokka's going out to see a movie with Suki tonight, and...I-I just thought that maybe we could...-"

"What?" Her grip on his hand tightened, her voice subtly intent and interested.

"You know..."

"Cuddle, or something?"

"Y-yea, like...like that."

"We're on the way to the Music Building. Why don't we just go there? I need to practice more tonight, anyway."

"I...I was...It'd just be kind of nicer if we had a bedroom to ourselves, and...-"

"What does _that _matter?" The interest from before had wilted to reveal irritation.

"I'd be more comfortable if we just went up to Aero to do that sort of thing..."

"Oh. Right. Wouldn't wanna get your rainbows tied up in a bunch, would we, Twinkle-Toes?"

Aang got the impression she was being maliciously sarcastic as opposed to just poking fun at him.

"Then we'd have to dick around for an hour before we could _actually _dick around, right?"

Yea. Definitely malicious.

"H-hey, calm down...You don't have to go...announcing it."

"Right. Like no one on campus does anything naughty."

"OK, just listen." He squeezed her hand. "We've been busy all week. I'm kind of in the mood to spend time with my girlfriend..." He ran his hand across her head, which was noticeably messy and unkempt compared to normal. "I thought you would be, too."

"I'm in the mood to actually _do _stuff, not Twinkle-Toe around." Ouch. That one stung a bit.

"OK, sure. I-I am, too..."

"No, you're not."

"What? Of course I am."

"Whatever. If you actually want to have some fun, then just come up to my practice room."

"But...But I don't really like it...there. It's uncomfortable, and...-" Aang's head was filling to burst at this point, the complaints and advice from his friends all piling up.

"Then I guess you aren't _actually _in the mood, like I _said._"

"How can you _say _that?" Aang burst out, screeching to a stop. "You're beautiful! I love you! I _want _to...do...that sorta stuff...I _really _do!" Aang's face was burning, and he was hopeful no one was overhearing their conversation. He reigned his voice back in. "But it's not so easy for me to just _jump _right in like it is for you, and I'm sick of you trying to make me feel guilty about it!"

Toph stood in irate silence, enduring his words, facing ahead, her lips propped out slightly.

"You _told me_ that you would be patient. And I have been trying really hard to...to go forward here. But every time I take one step forward, Toph, you _push _me. Try to make me take _two _steps when I'm only ready for one. I can't _do _that. OK?"

Toph wiped her nose and sniffed, leading Aang to worry if perhaps he was being too harsh. He walked up to her and inspected her face - dry as a bone, other han a runny nose from the winter's chill.

"Do you get what I'm saying?" he checked, placing a hand on her padded shoulder.

"I guess," Toph muttered half-heartedly. She broke off from Aang's grasp, walking forward, tapping her walking stick along the damp, salted walkway.

"Toph?" Aang kept up her pace. "Do you want to talk about this? I don't know what's going on in your head..."

"I have work I need to do, Aang," she spat. "I don't have time to piss around right now. Don't _you_ have work you need to do, or something?"

"I-I'm pretty much caught up, so-"  
"Well, good for _you_! Some of us have to put extra time into our work..."

"Toph, what's _wrong_?"

"Nothing!"

"I _know _you had a falling out with your parents...What happened?"

"Oh, you _know, _huh? Snooping in my business?"

"Your cousin told me about it on Facebook."

"Ugh. Fuckin'...-"  
"It's not like she gossipped or something, Toph. She probably assumed I already _knew _because I'm your _boyfriend _and that you'd actually, I dunno, _tell me _about it?"

"I don't get why all of you need to be prying into my fuckin' personal life, Aang! Quit it!"

"Are you-...?" Aang was staggered by her irrational defensiveness. "Listen to yourself! We're your friends. And I'm supposed to be the person you go to when bad stuff happens...We're supposed to be able to trust each other."

"Yea? Well...-"

"Well, _what_?"

"Just...Drop it, Aang! _Damn_..."

Aang's steps slowed to a stop, and he watched Toph proceed onward, seemingly apathetic to his presence. His mind whirled with anger and confusion until she finally disappeared into the music building up ahead. A couple of students had passed him by during this time, but a third student had come to a stop beside him.

"Whoa...What's up, Aang?" Jane's raspy voice peppered him with concern, catching him off guard.

Aang blinked at her, his vision blurred. He wiped the thick tears from his face in embarrassment and Jane chuckled with sympathy.

"What are ya doin' out here, ya idiot?"

"I was...-" He coughed. "Just, um...headin' back to the dorm."

"Aaaaand...you stopped partway?" Jane wasn't being fooled.

"I think Toph and I had another fight...Maybe?"

"Oh, boy," sighed Jane. She stuck her arm around his shoulder and nudged him along. "C'mon. I'll take ya back to your dorm."

The two of them walked in silence for a few moments, then hit a right at the intersection before the music hall, bound for Aero.

"What are you guys fighting about?" Jane wondered with casual curiosity.

"We're...having some difficulty with the whole...-" Aang poked his index fingers together awkwardly and Jane smirked.

"_Ah. _That. God damnit, Toph," she mumbled, shaking her head. "I've told her she needs to be patient."

"Right? We've been making progress but I need to go one step at a time. I don't think it's so much to ask..."

"It's not," Jane agreed, patting his shoulder, her arm still around him as they walked. "Your space is your _space, _and she needs to respect that. She should come in when you _let _her, not when she feels like barging in..."

"Mm..." Aang nodded.

"Don't you let her force her way in. I know how she is..."

"Heh..."

"What?"

"Katara says the same thing," Aang explained with a light laugh.

"Yea? Well, she's right. You've gotta look out for yourself, Bud." She worked her wrist under his hood and noogied her knuckles against his skull. "Or people will walk all over ya."

Aang grinned at her teasing and squirmed out of her grip.

"I'd prefer to _not _be walked all over..."

"Then you gotta keep your guard up, man..."

"I'd prefer...to _not _do that, either..." Aang sighed, trying to sort out his messed up hair.

"All I'm saying is that you seem to let people shit on you." Jane's olive eyes started at his gray ones. "And people as awesome as you shouldn't get shit on..." The red-head glared at Aang with comically wide eyes given the dark bags that hung underneath them. "_Ever._"

"Thanks, Jane..."

"Lookin' out for a brother, that's all."

"Taking your own advice, though, right?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, like...the Freedom Fighters. You're not...letting them bother you anymore, right?"

"Oh..." Jane scratched at a pimple on her forehead just to give her hand something to do. "Nah. Told 'em all to piss off..."

"Even Johnny?"

"Kinda..."

"It's not easy, huh?"

"Pff. Those guys are tools. Glad I'm done with 'em."

"Even Johnny?"

"That's...more complicated, but...he made his choice."

"Yea. He did."

"I've just been...trying to forget about...all of that. For right now, anyway."

"You still have feelings for him?"

Jane cleared her throat, sticking her hands into her winter vest's pockets with a huff of vapor into the cold air.

"Yea...He's the one who did the breaking, but...I think there's more to it."

"When life gives you lemons...you get out from under the lemon tree."

"Hmph." Jane showed him a raised brow. "Cute."

"Find an apple tree."

"Ha."

"Maybe Johnny just needs time?"

"I dunno. I shouldn't even..._give_ a fuck right now."

"I know how you feel...My friends have been telling me that I should work on things I can actually _do _something about right now while I'm waiting for Toph to...well...turn around. I guess."

"Sounds like good advice."

"If I said Sokka was one of the people that told me that, would you still agree?"

"Sounds like _horrible_ advice. Don't listen to that guy."

A pair of snickers preceded a thoughtful moment of tranquility in the dark winter evening, the walkway accented by periodic street lamps.

"But it's advice you've already been following," pointed out Aang matter-of-factly.

"Hm?"

"The Freedom Fighters are the lemon tree, and...we've been the apple tree. For _you, _I mean."

Aang saw a warm smile find its way onto Jane's face in the dim lighting.

"Heh. Yea, pretty much...I still would like a little bit of lemon, though...Ya know?"

"Yea..." Aang sniffed, rubbing snot from his cold nose. Aero was getting close, and the silhouette of a familiar figure drew near, earmuffs stuck on hehead.

"Oh, _hey, _guys!" Katara greeted, pleasantly surprised.

"Hey."  
"'Sup?"

"Wow, I'm glad I ran into you, Aang. I was just looking for you..."

"Oh?"

"Did you get my text?"

"Oh. Uh...No, I left my phone at the dorm."

"Oh! Haha...I was just trying to see if people wanted to go catch a movie tonight. It's Friday, and everything."

"Sorry, Kat," Jane said with a shrug. "Like I said, I've gotta take care of some stuff..."

"Yea, no problem. I'm sure I'll see you tomorrow." Katara nodded her head back to Aero. "I just stopped by, and Sokka said he needs to finish a paper..."

"The one that was due today?" Aang theorized with amusement. "The one Suki told him to start back on Tuesday?"

"That's the one!" She grinned, rolling her eyes at her brother's folley. "What about Toph? You think she might be interested in going out? Maybe she's...-" Katara bobbed her head nervously. "I dunno, in a better mood?"

"Uhh..._No. _I'm not thinking so," Aang groaned, hands on his hips. He avoided Katara's ever-observant gaze.

"Oh. Sounds like you two had another...disagreement, huh?" Katara seemed to get the picture, anyway, though. "A-all right. Well, we can...-" She shrugged, her eyes bouncing from Jane to Aang. "I mean, we could still go. If you want."

"Sure." Aang nodded, lifting his palms up briefly in passing. "I could use a break. It's been a long day." Some time off of campus to forget about his problems, and some time to ask a good friend for advice: he couldn't really turn that down.

"All right." Jane nodded. She arced her arm to Aang, and when he accepted her hand shake she pulled him in for a tight, brief hug. "Take care, Bro."

"Hey, you, too."

They broke off, and Jane offered Katara a sheepish shrug.

"So...I guess I'll catch you tomorrow, then."

"Sure. I'll let you know when I'm ready for lunch."

"'Kay. So, eh...Night, then, guys."

"Good night."  
"Night, Jane."

* * *

"So I'm just at my wit's end, and I'm _trying _to get her to open up to me, you know? I mean, say _something, _just...let me know what the deal is. And she's just...completely blowing me off. Seriously, I try to meet you at a middle ground, and you're gonna try and pull me over onto your side? Why? It's not good enough for you? What do you _want _from me?"

"Right..."

Katara courteously nodded, focused on driving but paying heed to every word, waiting for the storm that was Aang's frustration to subside.

"I don't think I'm asking for too much here. And she's just being such a _jerk _to everyone. It's like...It's like she's reverting _back _to how she was when we met her. You know?"

"Mm."

"Obviously something changed over break but...but that's no reason to start acting like such a...such a...-"

"A bitch?"

Aang stared at Katara with wide, startled eyes.

"Wh-! I just...She _is_," Katara defended her choice of words in a flustered rush, her cheeks pink. "I mean, I'm sorry, Aang, but...She is _not _on my good side right now. And hearing what you're telling me just...It doesn't surprise me."

"Yea..."

"And she wants to try to pretend like she's just _too busy _to give anyone the light of day. She totally stood us up Wednesday night for band practice. And it's been almost a week now, right? And every single day I try to spend some time with her she just blows me off. And then she's treating you like this, too? You know, if she really cared, she would make _some_ time to at least talk with _you _about what her problem is..." Katara's tone was spiking with ferocity, her hands tightly gripped around the wheel. "She could maybe stop acting so stuck up while she's at it, too..."

"What should I do?" Aang asked simply, hoping to twist Katara's abnormally negative mind track toward a more positive direction.

"_I _don't freakin' know..." Katara flicked her head, bouncing her bang braids out of her line of sight. Aang couldn't help in that moment but wonder if he could convince her to give Toph those little hair loopies...when things were sorted out, anyway. "Honestly, Aang, I'd say you should just leave her alone for a while."

"Really?" That had not been the optimistic response he had been expecting.

"She obviously doesn't want anythig to do with anyone right now, so...I say give her what she wants. She can deal with her little temper tantrum by herself since that's what she wants, and when she's gotten over herself, I'm sure she'll let us know."

"Hm...You really don't think there's anything else I could do?"

"Aang," Katara sighed with sympathy. "Believe me, I wish we could help her. You know me. I'm...always trying to stay on top of everything. To...to fix stuff..."

"You're a fixer, all right."

"Exactly," she lamented, adjusted her hands as she steered the vehicle off to the Wayward exit.

"It's not a bad thing, Katara. If it weren't for you doing that, I mean...think of where Jane would be right now."

"Mm..." Katara nodded gently, a bashful and reflective expression emerging. "But with Toph, it's like...She doesn't _want _anyone to help her fix things. And I mean, that...that's _fine, _that's great that she's so independent, but...if it gets her acting like _this? _Then it becomes a problem. There's nothing you can do to help it. You can only open the door - they have to walk through it. You know?"

"Right." Aang stared out at the night lights of the town's streets as they cruised through. "It feels like I'm opening the door and she's, like...slamming it back in my face."

"I'm sorry, Aang..."

"Not your fault."

"I wish I could help."

"You are, Katara. Thanks. I'm sure Toph and I will get this...whole mess...sorted."

"OK..."

"With this going on this week, it's helped me realize how many people are there for me," Aang reflected. "Each in their own ways. And you...You've always been there, Katara. Right from the start when I got here. You even got Sokka to warm up to me when he wrote me off as an annoying freshman. And now he's one of my best friends. And even Toph: you got us together in the first place. And you convinced Sokka to give Suki another chance. And now Jane, too - I never would've thought we'd be friends, but...I dunno, since you got her to spend time with us, she's warmed up to me a lot. You're like...-" Aang melded his hands together. "-...the _glue_ that holds the Fearsome Fivesome together."

"You really think?" Katara's face flushed from the compliments.

"Definitely! You're our...Canadian Eskimo Glue." Katara chuckled at the title he bestowed. "Our big sister. You're always there. For me, for everyone."

"Heh..." Katara shrugged, a gracious grin on her face. "Y-yea, of _course_ I'm here for you guys...And I always will be, Hun."

"As long as we have our Canadian Eskimo Glue, we'll be fine."

"You _bet_ we'll be."

* * *

**A/N: The main idea I'm trying to illustrate here is that while this Aang doesn't bend elements, in a funny way he "bends" people. He can use all of the elements in the show, but here, he can seem to get along with all different types of people. He may not be the center of the universe, but everyone around him cares about him a lot.**

**I've been intending to incorporate Korra into this story for a while now, but it took some time to decide how I would do it. It's true that we don't know much about her yet, so in a way she will probably be more of a...kinda-OC, based more on a character concept than anything else (very much like Jane has been, really), but this is a total AU so I don't see the harm in playing with the idea. After all, by the time we actually start seeing Korra's story this tale will already be finished, most likely. ;) I guess we'll see how close my interpretation comes to the original character, eh? In either case, she won't be a main character but will probably have a side story that ties into the main story in the same way other characters do, like Longshot, Zuko/Azula (eventually that one will more directly tie in), Meng, etc., all of whom I plan on developing more and connecting to the primary narrative in various ways.**

**I've been working hard to get a lot of content out this month before my big move. This will be the last chapter posted before I move from western New York to the San Francisco Bay Area. I will need to work hard to start a new life out there. I don't know how much time or energy I'll have for continuing this story for a while, but rest assured that I will certainly be working hard to keep up a decent pace - just don't expect this 1-2 chapters a week business you've been getting lately, at least not for a while. ;P ****Thanks for all of your support, everyone. I look forward to continuing this and hope to finish it by the end of this year. Feel free to leave comments/well-wishes, after everything I've been through lately, I could really use some good luck for a change!**


	37. Nonsense

**A/N: Back to schedule programming, friends. Thanks for bearing with me through what has been a very difficult process - and an ongoing on. I'm still looking for work, actually. In case you missed it, I put out an Avatar canon-based AU short ("Affection") and a side-story background with Jane and Johnny ("Sidepocket") not to mention that there's been more SRU art posted in the past few weeks. Notably, an awesome 4-page comic depicting a scene I wrote that actually hasn't happened in the story yet (so some light spoilers there). Here's the first two pages (click the "Download" on the right to see in full view), with pages 3 and 4 linked in the descriptions. Definitely check it out!  
**

**http:/ooamaimomooo(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Please-please-209536707  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 37 - Nonsense  
_

* * *

- Saturday, December 4th, 2010 -

Mai's rusty voice came out clear through the Jasmine Dragon's sound system, her eyes glued to her page as she read aloud at a crawling, thoughtful pace.

"The Black Rose grows.  
It grows straight.  
It will not wait,  
And it shows."

Aang took a sip of his tea and nodded his head slowly, soaking in his friend's poetry as best he could.

"Wilted petals.  
Dagger thorns.  
No water will it take.  
No halo, no horns,  
Only its soil, its soul,  
Burned ash, Black."

"Doesn't seem like a very cheery poem," Aang facetiously whispered to his neighbor, who chuckled.

"That's Mai for you," Zuko replied with a smirk as Mai took a sip of water from her bottle.

"The blue, bright sun  
Gives it light.  
The gray rains come  
And give it much fright."

"I can't say I'm surprised, really," Aang acknowledged. "Seems like her."

"Yet from the same ash comes  
Another flower,  
A different tower,  
Its Red petals shine."

"She used to be pretty private about it," Zuko explained, smiling at her words. "But I got her to be open with her writing."

"The Red and the Black,  
Their roots both trace back  
Down to the same source:  
Remorse."

Mai gave pause, glancing up at the audience – to Zuko, specifically, a glint in her eyes, her skin paler than usual under the bright light above.

"Petals of pride  
Will wither and die.  
Then we'll begin  
Clipping thorns of sin.  
And at last, maybe then  
Will the Roses take water  
Within."

Her piece concluded, she gave a curt nod, eliciting a smattering of gentle applause as she gracefully took her leave of the stage.

"That was neat," complimented Aang. "I'm not really big into poetry, but...it seemed cool."

"Thanks," Mai accepted, slurping some strawberry smoothie through a straw from the plastic cup she had left at the table.

"So what does it mean?"

Mai blinked at Aang's curious face, her eyes shifting to Zuko, who gave an amused brow, clearly in the know.

"Uhh...It's...-" Mai shrugged, sucking more juice as she contemplated. "It's about a couple of old friends of mine."

"Ah. Well...It sounds like your friends have...some kind of..._something..._to sort out. Huh?"

"Heh. You could say that..."

"So, I do art-" Aang nodded to Mai. "-and you do art and _poetry_..." He nudged his paper cup to Zuko and took a sip. "But what about you, Zuko?"

"Huh?"

"He means your hobbies," Mai clarified gently, patting Zuko's shoulder with her slender fingers.

Zuko nodded, rubbing his palm along his defined jawline nervously.

"W-well...I guess you could say I like...er..."

"You like board games," Mai pointed out.

"Oh, hm. Yea. The classics: Chess, Backgammon, Chinese Checkers, Go..."

"Go? Go where?"

"Just 'Go.' You've never heard of it?"

Aang shook his head and gazed into his empty cup for a brief moment.

"Ah. Mmmaybe I could teach you some time."

"Totally."

"I've gotten Zuko into some drama shows, too," Mai tossed out casually.

"Oh, really?"

"Yea, this past month I've been showing him this one – it's _really _good – called Dexter."

"Dexter? Like...Dexter's Lab?"

"Pff! Not _exactly_," Mai snickered, glanced at Zuko, who seemed equally amused.

"Yeea," Zuko slowly agreed. "It's about a serial killer."

Aang's face contorted with discomfort.

"A serial killer who kills _killers_," Mai was quick to amend. Aang's expression worsened and she attempted once more. "OK, I guess that sounds bad, but...it's a good show."

"Uh-_huh_."

"This coming from the girl who loves Edgar Allen Poe and Alfred Hitchcock," added Zuko, kissing her on the temple. She shrugged in compliance.

"I'm a Goth – I won't hide it."

"You shouldn't," Aang agreed. "I'm just...not so sure that sorta stuff is my thing."

"Do you play any sports?" Zuko wondered, seeking some kind of common ground for the sake of socialization – Mai had expressed that Zuko needed more friends in his life, specifically males, so Zuko was at least going to show some effort about it.

"Uh, I ran in Track back in High School," Aang noted. "Think I'll probably try out this spring."

"What about golf?"

"Golf?"

"I think it's the most boring sport there is," Mai put in her two cents, "but Zuko can't get enough of it."

"It's all about patience and precision," Zuko defended.

"I've never played it," Aang replied to Zuko's earlier question. "My roommate is into it, though...I _think._"

"Really?"

"He likes golf video games, and...I _definitely _have caught him watching it a few times on TV," Aang recollected.

"When the weather's nicer out, I should take you guys out golfing."

"Sokka would _love _that."

"Great. Let's do that in the spring some time."

"Sure."

_Rrrmmm._

[From: Katara]  
[Where are you?]  
[Sent: 8:37pm]

"Maybe you can get Uncle Iroh to come along, too," Mai suggested.

"Oh, _yea, _that sounds like a good idea. He hasn't been getting out much lately..."

[To: Katara]  
[im with friends. everything ok?]  
[Sent: 8:37pm]

"Sorry..." Aang apologized, setting his phone down on the table.

"It's fine," Mai assured. "I don't discriminate against cell phones."

"Heh." Zuko sighed and Mai nudged him playfully.

"I'm used to being with someone who's on call at all times..."

_Rrrmmm._

All three glanced at Aang's phone as the screen lit up: [**1 New Txt**]

Aang bit his lip and Mai and Zuko laughed.

"Go ahead," Zuko insisted. "Could be important."

"Thanks," said Aang with embarrassment as he checked it.

[From: Katara]  
[Toph and Jane are having a freaking cat fight and I don't know what to do...]  
[Sent: 8:38pm]

Aang took a deep sigh and bobbed his head down, running his hand through his hair.

"What's up?" Mai checked with a hint of concern.

"More drama," Aang grumbled, trying to decide how to approach the situation.

"Your girlfriend, huh?"

"She's causing trouble again."

Mai cleared up Zuko's confusion by briefly explaining: "Aang's girlfriend is being a tool."

"Ah...That's...er...no fun...?"

"Heh. _No, _it's not..." Aang drummed his finger on the table carefully.

"It's not _your _fault she's giving other people trouble," Mai advised. "You can't go cleaning up all of her messes."

"Mai's right."

"Yea," whimpered Aang in admittance. "Guess so..."

[To: Katara]  
[sorry. that sucks. you should stay outta it.]  
[Sent: 8:40pm]

[From: Katara]  
[I just wish they'd take it out of our room...]  
[Sent: 8:40pm]

Aang was tempted to ask for details – Katara's initial question was implication enough that she wanted his help - but opted to take his acquaintances' advice and stay out of it.

[To: Katara]  
[they can be stubborn. just go out. see sokka maybe?]  
[Sent: 8:41pm]

Aang powered his phone down and stuck it in his pocket.

"Done with that stuff tonight," he sheepishly announced.

"Cool." Zuko smacked his palms on the table. "Anyone up for some Chinese Checkers?"

* * *

- Sunday, December 5th, 2010 -

"Katara?"

_Tattatatatattappaptiptaptap. Click._

"_Katara._"

_Click. Clikka-click._

Toph could hear the muffled sound of whatever idiotic pop music her roommate was listening to today and groaned – quite loudly – before brusquely jabbing her finger forth, colliding with a bony surface that felt to her like a shoulder bone.

"Ow!" _Skuff. _"_What?_" Katara snipped.

"Christ, maybe if you didn't have to listen to your God damned music so loud you'd _hear _me."

Katara let out a tired sigh.

"What do you want?" she cut to the chase.

Toph reached her hands up to the back of the her head.

"I can't get this fuckin' thing to hold my bangs up," she explained begrudgingly, waving a hair clip before her, bangs flopped across her eyes.

"Maybe if you washed your hair a little more often, it'd be easier to manage."

"Maybe if my roommate _helped _me like she usually does, I'd do that."

"Yea? Maybe if _my _roommate wasn't being such a jerk, I might help..."

"That's _real _sweet, Sugar-Queen. Ignore the blind person, leave them to fend for themselves."

"_Please. _Don't even, Toph. Just don't." _Whap. _That sound was Katara slapping her palms on her legs, a familiar noise when she argued. "Whatever happened to 'I don't need your help,' huh?"

"I _don't _need your help, I was just _asking _for it..."

"Oh, _really? _I'm sorry, I don't recall hearing you '_ask' _for _anything..._"

"Whatever," Toph dismissed, chucking the hair clip to the floor.

"I'm trying to work on a paper, Toph – the one I couldn't do last night because _you _had to start an argument with Jane."

"Oh, yea. Yea. Because Freckles _never _starts fights _herself, _or anything..."

"_Toph. _Seriously. Can you just leave me alone? I need to get this _done._ It's due tomorrow."

"I don't get what's so fuckin' hard about helping me with a damned hair clip."

"_You're _the one who's had a stick up her ass," Katara countered. Wow, pretty blunt for old Sweetness. She had to have been pretty ticked. "And telling me how you 'can pull your own weight,' and whatever...I'm just giving you what you want."

"This is 'cuz I haven't been spending any time with you. That's it, isn't it? Pff. You're so fuckin' needy..."

_Tappataptaptiptiptappataptap._

"That's what I thought..." Toph blew out a gust of breath that tossed her bangs around. She grumpily grabbed the strands and tried tucking them behind an ear, but they drooped back down, tickling her face. She couldn't stand this – the back and forth between her and Katara. They'd been like this ever since Thanksgiving break ended, and it was only getting worse. In a brief moment of reflection Toph could see how she had asked for this treatment, but she wasn't going to apologize. Katara would come around and play the syrupy-sweet nice girl sooner or later and try to make amends. She always did. It was...just taking a lot longer than usual this time.

Toph fumbled over her bed, collapsing into her messy sheets. She groped out a hand, feeling the presence of her iPod, and considered for a moment just diving into its ocean of sound, not worrying about practicing her pieces today, and forgetting about the world. A few moments of thought gave way to inner guilt until discipline gut checked her: _You need to practice._

She forced herself back up, her thick hair in tangles, and found her winter boots at the base of her bed. Their furry insides were soothing, and she worked them on. _Zzzrrriiipp. Zzzrrriiipp. _She reached over to the post at the foot of her bed and retrieved her winter coat, sliding into its cozy fabrics. She pulled out the wool mittens in the coat's pockets and covered her hands. These luxuries were reminders of the life she was trying to leave behind, and yet she knew she needed them to go outside. It was maddeningly frustrating.

Rising to her feet, Toph grabbed her walking cane and rushed out the door. In her haste she slammed it behind her without meaning to, but it was—_**WHAM! **_Toph jumped from the shock, bumping her shoulder into the wall beside her. It had been the door to her right – the one across the hall from her room – being shoved shut. Toph puffed out another groan in response to what was no-doubt Jane having an attitude after her initial door slamming.

_Clack. Creee..._

"Hey!" Echoed a voice down the hall – one Toph knew, but not by name. "Keep it down! We're trying to study, here!"  
_Creee...Clack._

"_Ugh..._" Toph draped her fur-edged hood over her head, checked to make sure her instrument locker key was in her pocket, and trudged down the stairs.

* * *

"Come _on, _he was _wide open!_" She slammed her fist onto the countertop, her drop in the verbal bucket being the loudest as everyone around her joined the outcry, all eyes on the massive flatscreen above the bar. She sighed, palm sliding down her face, and turned to the nearest customer, a pudgy mustached man.

"Seriously: I coach high-schoolers who know better than to mess that up," she complained. The man laughed and nodded his head. She was pretty sure he was the father of one of the kids in question, hence the remark.

"Korra!" cried a regular from down the way. "Stop fussin' over that game and give a man his drink, would ya?" The man waved his empty metal mug at her with a playful but impatient demeanor.

"Yea, yea," Korra quelled, grabbing his cup and setting it below the tap he'd started out on.

Korra was a lean, somewhat muscular young woman with the trademark tan skin and bulbous nose that ran in the Kesuk family, with stone-cold sapphire eyes to match.

She topped it off and passed it back to the customer. "There ya are..." She wiped sweat from her brow – it was pretty stuffy in the bar tonight, an abnormally full crowd for a Sunday, but that meant good business. A buzzer followed flurry of gasps and cheers drew her attention back to the TV, where hockey players were celebrating a win.

"Awww, for real?" Korra groaned. She turned back to the customer she'd just served. "See what ya did, Bert? Made me miss that."

"Haha, there she is, slacking off, as always, eh, Bato?"

"You said it, Hakoda. Just like old times..."

Two very familiar men took their seats together a few stools down, both staring at Korra with amused expressions. She frowned at them, hands folded across her chest, but her smirk gave her away.

"Uncle and Uncle," she greeted. "Thorns in my side – just like old times..."

"How are things going, Niece?" asked Uncle Hakoda, the only of the two who was actually a blood relation.

"Still causing trouble?" taunted Bato, Hakoda's best friend. The two were so close that Bato may as well have been his brother. He, too, was a darker-skinned man with a scraggly beard rife with grayed hairs amidst the dark brown.

"Fuck yea," Korra quipped back with snark. "What brings you two geezers out to Toronto, eh?"

"Did you-?" Bato turned to Hakoda with mocking appall. "_Geezers? _Ouch."

"We hardly deserved that, don't you think?"

"Yea, yea, simmer down. Don't get your Depends in a bunch..." Korra grinned wide, pulling out a pair of mugs from the shelf.

"And _again_," Bato cried, hands up. "She's brutal."

"Like father like daughter," Hakoda mused.

"What're you two grumpy old men havin' tonight?" Korra inquired.

"Whatever's on tap," Hakoda eased, casting out an arm.

"I'll have mine on the rocks," Bato declared.

Hakoda pointed a thumb to his partner in crime. "I'll have what _he's _having."

The two chuckled at each other, leaving Korra to wonder if they had already stopped by a different establishment prior to their trip here on her turf. She filled their drinks up, dropping ice in, and firmly placed them down on the counter.

"Drink up, fellas."

"Don't mind if I do."  
"Down the hatch."

The two men knocked their tin mugs together and both took large gulps, breathing out with satisfaction as they simultaneously slammed the mugs back down.

"We decided to come hit the city to get our Christmas shopping down nice and early," Hakoda explained. "Thought we'd stop by and say 'hi' to some family while we were in town."

"Stop by and _hassle _me, more like it," came a sarcastic Korra. "And who's the designated driver, then?"

"The wife," Bato replied, taking another sip. "She's off to go get _me _something at the moment, didn't want me along. Ruin the surprise, and all."

"Ah."

"Ya know, we got _you _somethin', too," Hakoda divulged. "Because you're actually going to _be there _this time. Isn't that right?"

"Heh, well_...Ya _know..._-"_ Korra shrugged, taken aback by the suddenness of the topic.

"It's been three years since you've been to a Kesuk Christmas," Hakoda pointed out, narrowing his eyes at her. "And it's not like there's a man in your life holding you back."

"Pff. Speakin' of, what's the deal _there, _eh?" Bato picked. "Sharp young woman like you with no man under her thumb? Seems like a waste."

"That supposed to be a compliment?" Korra retorted. The two stared at her with raised brows, clearly expecting a proper reply. She shook her head and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You two know the deal," she grumbled, hunching over the counter. She glared at them and spoke with self-loathing under her breath. "It's like ya said: just like old times. Everything I touch turns to shit." She slapped her fist down, then poked her index down twice as she concluded. "Always has, always will."

"Hey, hey, now," Hakoda eased, setting down his mug. She was still leaned over the bar, and he pressed his palm over her bicep. "With an attitude like that, everything-..." Korra shrugged him off, uprighting herself.

"I'm not _your _damned kid, Hakoda. Don't go lecturing _me._" The two Kesuks locked eyes for a moment of tension while the hockey game continued in the background.

"Fair enough," Hakoda eased, taking a swig while Korra was called off to serve a group of women at he bar's edge.

"I swear," Bato muttered, "her fuse gets shorter every time we see her."

"You might be right," conceded Hakoda with a sigh.

"Maybe she's dealing with a mid-life crisis," Bato theorized.

"She's not old enough for one of those, Pal." Hakoda slapped his friend on the back.

"Eh?"

"She's twenty-seven, Bato."

"Pff. _I _had a mid-life crisis when I was twenty-_five._"

"And you've stayed that way ever since."

"Damned right, I have." Bato grinned and raised his metal mug, knocking it with his neighbor's.

* * *

- Monday, December 6th, 2010 -

_Durrmm. Durrmm. __**Durrmm. **__Durrmm._**Durrmm. Durrmm. **_**Durrmm.**_

Jane strummed at her bass carelessly, creating a random string of deep notes. She glared at the sheet music in her lap, her mind too tired to even bother. She'd fucked things up pretty good at the last practice – then again, missing a guitarist probably didn't help things, either.

Suki had managed to get them into a Christmas gig toward the end of the month, just before the end of the semester. They would be performing a few songs as part of a multi-band setlist, but they were a long ways away from even handling just the three songs on their plate properly. She had only just managed to skim through her readings for Tuesday and had wanted to try and polish things up before she got too tired. It seemed she'd underestimated how fatigued she was feeling tonight, unable to focus.

For ten minutes, Jane had been struggling to ignore her cell phone. She'd seen it go off: [**1 New Voicemail.**] She had no idea who it had been, but it was bothering her. Setting her instrument back into its case, she stuffed it under her bed and whipped out the phone, calling up her voicemail.

[_Beep._]  
["Oy, Smelly. Iss Sneers."] Jane groaned. This couldn't be good. ["Lissen up, hey. We's got a problem goin' on, and yoose jus' da dame what can fix it up. Ain't exactly been cooperatin' wit' us lately, but we's gonna let dat pass if yoose wisen up an' stop playin' make-pretend witchoose little gang o' chinks."] _Chinks? _Jane was ticked at the misguided remark, apparently a knock at how her friends were entirely non-Caucasian. ["We both know yoose can't run away forever from da mess you made, Smelly. If yoose need incentive, ya oughta know dat Longshot 'ere wants to see yoose."] Johnny wanted to see her? After days of not returning her calls, acting like she never existed, _this _was his way of telling her he wanted to see her? What a cowardly asswipe. ["So if dat sounds like-"]  
[_Click._]

And yet she couldn't drop the matter. She had shut off the voicemail immediately at the thought, speed-dialing Johnny's number immediately. Her heart pounded as she waited for four ring-backs, until a crackling indicated that the phone had been answered.

"Johnny?"

["..."]

"It's Jane..." She was suddenly aching for _anything _from him. Just the sound of his voice would be enough.

["..."]

"I _know _you're there - you answered." She couldn't stand being back in this land where he gave her the silent treatment. That nonsense was for everyone _else. _She was special, she wasn't supposed to deal with that.

["..."]

"I just got Sneers' message. You...wanted to see me?"

_For fuck's sake, say _something.

["Yea..."]

A nervous laugh sputtered out from Jane at his solemn tone.

"So...So, uh...Is now a good time?"

["Tomorrow."]

"Yea. Yea! That...works, too. When?"

["Eight. Come to my dorm room."]

"Tch. Uh, yea. Sure thing."

[_Click._]

She took a deep breath, still holding the phone up to her her own desperation, she set the phone aside on her desk and fell to her pillow, letting her heart-rate slow back down.

And then it hit her: something was going on with the Freedom Fighters. What 'mess' had Sneers been referring to? That could've been a few things, really...Logic dictated that it must've had something to do with the Rough Rhinos and the circumstances surrounding Jet's death. That meant a pretty sticky situation for Smellerbee, and Jane wanted nothing to do with it – but couldn't let go of Johnny. If getting him back and pulling him out of the gang's politics meant wearing the Smellerbee mask again, she was willing to do it.

* * *

- Tuesday, December 7th, 2010 -

"Uhhhh," Katara's voice wavered as she stood before the TV, pointing the white remote straight down to the floor with two hands. "How do I-...? Is this-...? Am I doing this right?" she whimpered, slowly waving the device forward and back, watching her character on screen mimic her motions, a golf club in hand.

"Yea, yea. You got it," Aang assured. "Now you just have to follow the directions." Katara blinked at him with wide eyes. "On the screen," he added. She turned her head back and nodded. She took a swing haphazardly, her character whiffing a shot and not hitting the golf ball.

"Bahaha...It helps when you _hit _it."

"Shut up, Sokka," Katara giggled with embarrassment, gripping the controller tightly and repositioning herself.

"You have to press...-" Aang began, trailing off when he saw her figuring it out on her own. "Just be careful with it, 'cuz it's...-" Katara took a swing, sending the ball careening through the air. It arced wildly to the left, landing in the rough, eliciting her to grimace. "-...really sensitive," Aang finished his thought, exchanging humored expressions with his friend. He rose from his seat on the couch and gave her a pat on the shoulder, taking the Wii remote from her hands.

"It's OK," Aang insisted as Katara plopped down beside her brother in Aero's basement rec room. During this busy time of ramping up for finals, they'd decided to keep things low-key and in an out-of-the-way place. "Now, watch..." He took a practice swing. "See the bar over there?"

"Uh-huh..."

"See, if you swing too hard...-" Aang waled out a hard swing, and the bar overflowed, wobbling to and fro. "-...you get too much spin. That's what happened. But if you do it just right...-" He took a couple more practice swings, getting his bar near to the brim before hitting the ball, following-through with the remote.

["**Great shot!**"]

"Yea. See?"

"Oh. I get it," Katara concluded as Sokka and Aang changed positions. "I wasn't paying attention before..."

"Heh, that's a first for you, right?" Jane picked, entering the room and leaning over the spine of the couch behind them.

"Where we you?" Katara wondered. "We started golf without you."

"Nah, it's cool," she tossed her hand. "I just had to go to the bathroom. I liked the sword stuff better, anyways," she referred to their previous session a bit earlier.

"For _real? _I hit that thing _perfect_," growled Sokka as his ball collided with an intercepting tree's branches, landing in the rough beside its trunk.

"Take a seat," Katara offered, scooting into Aang and tapping the now open space.

Jane stared for a moment of hesitation, scratching her cheek briefly, and shrugged.

"Er, I-...What time is it?"

Aang whipped out his cell phone and replied, "Seven forty."

"Ah, yea..." Jane nodded, her eyes wandering off. "Actually, I need to be somewhere at eight..."

"Oh. You do?"

"Yea, Kat. I've got, like, some co-op project I need to meet someone for. For class."

"Crap. I _hate _those," Sokka grumbled, handing Katara the remote. "I never get good partners. They always slack off."

"Pff. Tell me about it," Jane sighed, burying her face into the couch's back.

"Speaking of...-" Sokka muttered to himself, tapping his chin.

"OK, well...good luck," Katara bid to Jane. "We'll still be here for a little while if you want to hang out later tonight."

"Mm-hm. Catch you guys later."

"Bye!"  
"Peace."  
"Later!"

As Jane disappeared and Katara readied her second shot, Sokka smacked himself in the forehead.

"Ah, _crap._"

"What?" Aang wondered.

"So she just reminded me...I let someone borrow my textbook, and I need it later tonight to get my homework done. _Frrrraaaaack._"

"Uh...So...Just go get it," Aang chuckled.

"But that means _walking. _All the way across _campus_," whined his roommate.

"Sokka, with how you've been eating lately, you could use some exercise," Katara advised with a swing.

"Hardy har."

["**Nice on!**"]

"How did you do that?" cried her brother in dismay as her ball rolled onto the green. She shrugged n response, seemingly surprised by her own performance. Sokka tightened the laces on his loafers and pushed himself to his feet. "Damn, what was that stuff you had me drink earlier?" he mumbled to Aang, stretching out with a yawn.

"Arnold Palmer," Aang replied. "The Half Iced Tea, Half Lemonade stuff."

"Man," Sokka groaned, leaning back, arms still out. "Remind me next time about how that stuff makes me need to take a piss _real quick._"

"Haha..."

"So you're leaving, too?" Katara checked.

"Yea, I've gotta go get that book. I'll be back in a bit, though."

"Mmkay."

* * *

Jane stared at Longshot's tired face, attempting to piece together the fragments of emotion that were slipping out and decipher what was going on. He hadn't spoken since she had arrived a couple of minutes prior. Laid back in his bed, arms folded over his lean waist, he didn't speak, but then, neither had Jane. She didn't want to talk with Longshot – she wanted to talk with Johnny.

"What's up?" she asked at last, breaking the fragile ice with a gentle nudge.

"It's about the group," Longshot muttered darkly. "They keep insisting that they want you back."

Jane could feel a lump forming in her throat. She thought she was done with all of that, but reflecting on everything that happened, she'd known it wouldn't be quite so simple.

"Why?" she demanded in a quiet tone, hunched over in Johnny's desk chair.

"Because you know things they don't. Things Jet trusted you with."

"So?"

"The Fighters are in some dire straights with the Rhinos. Seems like it has to do with the night Jet died."

Jane's heart skipped a beat as flashes from that evening and the circumstances surrounding it came to mind – things she had chose to forget about.

"I don't-..." She shrugged, giving Longshot her best poker face. "I've got no fuckin' clue, Johnny. I just did what I was told."

"Pretty soon, things are going to come down hard," Longshot explained.

"Fuck 'em!" Jane growled. "Don't care. I don't get why _you _do."

He took a slow, deep breath, and his face changed. The stoicism gave way to something else: to Johnny.

"It's my responsibility," Johnny echoed his sentiment from a while back. "Some of the Freedom Fighters are innocent kids who just don't know what they're doing. I can't let them get hurt because of what Jet has done."

Jane absorbed the raw intensity in his expression as he conveyed this to her, and suddenly things clicked into place. The Freedom Fighters were more important to him than she was, because he needed to protect them – at least, he thought he did.

"So I'm guessing there's no talking you outta this," Jane realized, running a finger against her eyebrow.

"They need me, Jane. The Freedom Fighters need Longshot." He bumped into her knee with his foot lazily. "And they need _you. _They need Smellerbee."

"I don't think so," Jane disagreed, shaking her head.

"If we can end all of this crap," Johnny suggested, "we can leave it all behind us."

That certainly gave her pause. Something to consider: coming back to the FF just to disintegrate it. Maybe then she and Johnny could be together again. But something else was nagging at her – something she kept trying to hide from herself. Just as it reared its head within her thoughts, Johnny spoke again.

"Just think about it," Johnny eased her. "I don't need an answer right now. But we'll need on soon. If you can help us with this mess...you can be in good standing with the Fighters again."

"Mm," Jane nodded, her eyes glazed and unfocused.

"It'd be win-win for everyone."

"I'll think about it," Jane dismissed the matter. She gave pause before getting up from the chair and pushing it under the desk. This felt entirely incorrect: in Johnny's room, with him laying on his bed, not able to touch him, not able to be kissed on the shoulder. And yet that nagging feeling hit her again. She threw the idea away. Johnny had made his decision to break things off. He hadn't _needed _to do that in his patriotic march toward salvation.

"I'll walk you out," Johnny insisted, slipping on a pair of sneakers and following her, much to her chagrin. Again, the awkward tension plagued her, only serving to further remind her of the other, conflicting set of thoughts that went against the feelings she clearly still had for this boy.

She was so occupied with this mental storm that she almost failed to notice a familiar young man leaning against a doorway, a textbook tucked under his arm.

"I _know, _his last test was such a _bitch. _Urgh."

"_Shit,_" Jane whispered under her breath, carefully weaving around the distracted Sokka. What was he doing here, in Ignis House? Wasn't this against some..._code _of his, or something? Entering enemy territory? He was talking with another student – a classmate, it seemed.

"No, I hear ya, man. Well, listen, good luck to ya, glad I help ya out, and...-"

Damnit. They must have been spotted.

"-...I'll see ya at class tomorrow."

_Shit-shit-shit-shit..._

"Jane? _Johnny?_"

Jane whirled around, trying to muster a surprised look. "_Ohhh, _hey. Sokka. Uhhh...Hey."

"Hey..." He stared at her with a suspicious glance, then shifted narrowed eyes over to Johnny. "Aren't you two broken up?" he wondered aloud with a blunt disregard for sensitivity.

They both nodded hurriedly, Jane putting more emphasis into her gesture.

"I was just...-" She fumbled with her hands, not making left or right of how to react.

"Co-op project," Sokka completed her thought, shaking his head slowly with a smirk. "Aahhhh, Freckle-Face. That, uh...-" He waggled his index at her. "-...That was witty. Real cute. _Co-op. _I get it."

"Sokka, it's not what you think..."

"It's not? 'Cuz what I'm thinkin' is...that you lied straight to my sister's face just a little bit ago."

Jane's face was burning up from the accusation.

"Not so sure she'd appreciate that," Sokka added. "All ya had to do was tell us you were coming to see your boyfriend, I don't get what's so hard about that."

Johnny was shaking his palm in defense.

"He's not my boy-...We're still not..._together,_" Jane huffed out, frustrated by this fact. "I was...just needing to discuss some important stuff with him. And...stuff."

"Stuff and _stuff. _Sounds pretty important. Like...Freedom Fighter stuff?"

"Y-yea, OK?" Jane burst out, hands pressed into the sides of her head as she groaned. "It's none of your fuckin' business!"

"You're right, it's not. But you lying to my sister _is_. Are you gettin' deja vu? 'Cuz I feel like we've had this discussion already..."

"Yea, I get it..." Jane's hands fell down to her hips. "I'm sorry. OK?"

"What are you apologizing to _me _for?"

"What do you want from me?"

"What do _I _want? I want what Katara wants: for you to stop getting involved with these people." He sighed at Johnny's downtrodden face. "No offense, man," he shrugged. "You seem all right. But Jet? He _wasn't. _And I'm betting there's more crazy people where he came from."

"Don't fuckin' _talk_ about him like that," Jane growled, receiving an uninterested glance in response.

"Guess I had to have been there to see what a _great_ leader he was," Sokka muttered, adjusting his arm, textbook in tow. "Anyway, I'm going back to see the only other two people in this group who _aren't _being idiots right now."

"You're not gonna tell her, are you?" Jane wondered as Sokka brushed between them.

"Uh, _yea? _She deserves to know."

Jane rolled her eyes and quickly caught up to him, grabbing him by the shoulder and spinning him around.

"Sokka..." she pleaded.

"Freckles...?" he came back, unamused.

"Don't tell her."

Sokka's eyelids slid down dubiously.

"Please. I don't want her worrying about me. Seriously, I'm just trying to tie up loose ends, and...and just be done with all of this shit."

"That a fact?"

"Urgh, _yes, _it's a fact. Stop being such an..._ass. _Just listen to me."

"Just say what you're gonna say, Jane."

Olive eyes hastily swiveled to the side, and she cast a glance at Johnny, who was staring inquisitively from a distance. She clenched Sokka's shoulders, speaking quickly and quietly.

"They put Johnny in charge of the Freedom Fighters, and...some stuff's going down, and...I just want to get him out of it before the shit hits the fan. I swear, I haven't seen any of them besides him since we broke up. I just need some space to clean this up and get it behind me. _Seriously. _Katara doesn't need to be worried about this, it's _my _mess."

Sokka, scratched at his goatee and bit his lip.

"Then you need to keep me filled in."

"_What?_" Jane let her hands fall off his shoulders.

"Someone has to know what's going on, in case anything happens. I'll take my sister's fury if it comes down to it, and as long as you're straight with me, I'll play along. Deal?"

Jane ran her finger through her hair, pushing her bushy bangs around.

"Yea." She extended the arm and Sokka shook her hand.

"But you've gotta get this sorted before the semester ends," Sokka decided.

"Are you kidding?" hissed Jane.

"Setting a deadline is how you get stuff _done_," Sokka confidently proclaimed. "If you're serious, and you want to be outta this, then do it before Christmas break."

"Fff..." Jane wiped her nose and shrugged. "Whatever. Fine."

"Hey. Ginger."

"What?"

Sokka wrapped his arms around her in a short embrace that caught her off guard.

"I wanna see you get out of this nonsense, too. All right?"

"Yea."

* * *

**A/N: The poem at the start isn't quoted from anywhere, I wrote it, intending for it to be a free-verse bit from the mind of Mai. **


	38. Raindrop

**A/N: Someone made a 4-page comic depicting part of the last scene in this chapter. After you read, totally check that out at the end!  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 38 - Raindrop_

* * *

- Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 -

Toph was startled by the jiggling in her pocket, causing her to slip up a chord and grind to a halt. She sighed, removing her hands from the practice room piano keys and pausing as the jiggling repeated – it was a phone call.

"Hey..."

["Toph?"] Damnit, it was Suki. What did _she _want?

"What is it?"

["It's Wednesday. I just...wanted to check to make sure you were coming to practice this time."]

"Yea, I'm coming. I can keep track of appointments, Suki."

["Toph, you didn't come _last _time..."]

"Well, I _am _coming _this _time."

["O-OK, then. You don't...-"]

"Don't _what?_"

["Nothing...It's nothing. We'll see you there, then. Seven o'clock."]

"Yep."

["OK. Well...bye, then."]

Toph hung up the phone and set it beside her hip in her seat, flexing her fingers. She reached her hands out and ran them across the pages before her, the music trickling through her fingertips from tiny bumps on the paper. After studying the sheet music's brail, she proceeded to replay the particular section she was focusing on. Uncounted minutes passed until she was playing it without fault. Satisfied, she moved onto the next portion.

This process continued for roughly another hour until she felt accomplished with her time spent and her stomach gurgled with discomfort – it was time for dinner. She trudged her way to the Avatar Campus Center, her arms weary as she pushed onward with her cane, occasionally being intercepted by snow if she veered off the path. It suddenly dawned on her just how exhausted she was and that she must be losing sleep with the inconsistent, busy schedule she was keeping. Without the daily rhythm she had grown used to Katara providing, she was slipping back into old habits from freshman year of overworking, undereating, and undersleeping.

Her phone began vibrating again and she lamented having not switched the damned thing off.

"What?" she spat out.

"H-hey, Taters..."

"Oh. Aang...What, uh...I mean, how're ya doin'?"

"Mm. I'm OK...We're...heading up for food. You want to come?"

Fateful timing. Toph figured she'd go along with it and see how things went.

"I guess..."

"All right. We're in the ACC."

"Yea. Um...-"

"What is it?"

"Could we maybe eat, like...just us?"

"Just you and me?"

"Yea..."

"Er...O-OK, yea. That's fine."

"'Kay."

Stuffing her phone back in her coat pocket, Toph took a deep breath, the air chilling her throat. She couldn't handle social contact right now. Not a group of people, anyway. They were mad at her, she was mad at them...It wouldn't lead to anything good. She was certain of that. As she approached the ACC, she could hear the crunching of footsteps in snow – a student no doubt steering clear of her path.

She finally found her way into the center, bustling with the normal activity at this time of day. She wandered into the thick of the rumblings of students. While there was plenty of breathing room, the sounds were more daunting than usual. Footsteps approached her directly, and she calmly extended her still-mittened hand to receive his. They muttered their greetings, and Aang helped her remove her winter clothes. He vanished for a moment to hang them up, leaving her to stand alone, overhearing Jane and Suki discussing details of the band's upcoming performance. Sokka would put in his two cents, and Katara would hum complacently inbetween comments.

"Hey, guys," Aang called out to them. "We're gonna go up alone."

"Oh, OK..."  
"No problem."

"Yep."

"OK."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh!"  
"You'll see me _tonight._"

"Mm."

"Yea!"

"All righty, let's go."

Aang took Toph's arm, and she followed his lead upstairs. She collected her own dinner, as did he, and they seated themselves at a small side table. The droning of the busy cafeteria floor irked her to no end, but she attempted to drown it out.

"So...How's things?" she asked, biting into a grilled cheese sandwich. She could hear him chewing and swallowing in a hurry to reply.

"Mmph. Fine. Busy."

"No _kidding. _Same here."

"Practice, practice, right?"

"Pretty much."

Another silent moment of eating passed.

"So..." Toph began. The following words rolled out effortlessly, catching her by surprise. "I split up from my family during break."

She could hear Aang eating whatever leafy thing he was eating this time and went on.

"I was tired of taking their shit. So...Now I need to spend my inheritance on my education. And whatever."

"Oh..."

"'Cuz they said that they would stop paying my way if I didn't listen to them."

"Hm."

"I'm done with them. _So _done."

"Ah."

"Yea. That's the story."

"OK."

"Well..._Okay._ So...?"

"So what?"

"You wanted me to tell you. So I did."

"Yea."

"So...We good now?"

A disgruntled sigh floated across the table and Toph's insides churned with uncertainty. What did she have to do _next?_

"Toph...It's not so simple."

"Then let's _make _it simple."

"You _can't_ just makeit simple..."

"What do you want, then?"

"It's just...there's more going on than just you not telling me that."

"Like what?"

"Uh...Like, ya know...the whole 'you-being-a-jerk-to-everyone' thing..."

"_That? _I didn't start that. Everyone else decided to get on _my _back, because-"  
"Like right now!"

Toph's lips hung open in surprise, and she listened.

"You keep trying to blame everyone else. Everyone was _fine _before..."

"Fine? How was everyone fine? I thought everyone's been all stressed out."

"Yes, but...I think a big part of it is how you've been acting."

"How _I've _been acting?" Toph retorted with an incredulous huff through her nose. "So fuckin' _Jaybee's_ allowed to be a bitch, but _I'm _not?"

"She's been doing a lot better," Aang defended. "And...well, it's...-"

"What?"

"It's-...OK. Like, over break? Everyone seemed great."

"I thought everyone was being all whiny and shit."

"That was on the car ride up. But after that, everyone was good."

"So? That's what happens on break. You take a _break. _So you feel better."

"Yea, but...Even after we got back, things were fine. Until you started acting-"  
"Whoa, whoa, _wait._"

Toph smacked her palm on the table and took a bite of her sandwich, quickly swallowing it.

"Are you tryin' to say that this is all my fault? That it, Twinkle-Toes?"

"N-no, I'm just saying that...-"

"_Well?_"

"-...that I know you had a bad Thanksgiving, and everything, but since you've gotten back, your mood has been-"  
"So I'm not allowed to be in a bad mood after what happened?"

"I didn't _say _that. Of course you are. But you're taking it out on all of _us. _On _me..._"

Toph, still frowning, ate the last of her grilled cheese, an excuse to ponder his words. And here she was, acting like the defensive, PMS-stereotype she hated. The cracks were splitting open in her mind, she supposed.

"So it _is _all my fault, then."

"Wh...-"

"Yep."

"N-no, it's the most stressful part of the semester, and you're dealing with a lot."

"Christ. You accuse me of acting like a bitch, then you go making up excuses for me."

"Huh?"

"So fuckin' flip-floppy, Twinkles. Make up your damned mind."

Why couldn't he be more decisive? All he was doing was making her more confused. Was she supposed to try and clam up and pretend like nothing was wrong? Or was she supposed to just let everything out? Was everyone on edge because of her, or more because of school? What did everyone _want, _and why was no one talking with her about it?

"I don't-...I-I'm not sure what you're saying," Aang stumbled.

"Never mind," Toph sighed, grabbing her glass of white grape juice and chugging it down.

"I'm not, like...trying to blame you, or anything, I'm-"  
"I said 'never mind.' As in, _forget it._"

"But...but I wanted to explain-"  
"I don't _care, _Twinkle-Toes. I don't need to hear it right now. You're starting to act like Katara, trying to fucking _fix _every little thing. I'm having a bad week. All right? Whatever. _My_ problem. If people don't like the way I'm acting they can piss off and leave me alone."

"Toph, your problem is _my _problem, too. I'm supposed to be here to help you."

"How many times do I gotta...-? I don't need your help. What I _need _is to practice my music, and apparently I need to practice some bullshit Christmas stuff I don't care about 'cuz Suki says so."

"OK, OK, I _get _it...Geez..."

"How about instead of worrying about all of this crap we just forget about it right now. How about that?"

"Sure..." He said it with uncharacteristically irate tone that was becoming unfortunately familiar to her lately.

"Listen, Twinkles. What do you have to do tonight?"

"I've got reading to do. Lots of it."

"How 'bout we go and do our own crap, cool off, and then meet up later tonight?"

"Don't you have practice with the girls?"

"After that."

"It's...gonna be kind of late, I dunno if-..."

"Come _on. _Don't you wanna...ya_ know_...-?" Her leg bounced off its toes rapidly and with impatience.

"Y-yea...I _do._"

"I'm sure I can get Katara to go and do...something...so we can have the room to ourselves."

"OK..." Why was he still so hesitant about it? What was the problem? She'd wipe that problem right out of his voice later on.

"I'll give you a call as soon as we're done with practice."

"Yea. Sounds good..." Ah, there it was. Some relief in his voice. Maybe she could finally get through to him tonight.

* * *

"You're overdoing it, Toph," Suki pointed out. Toph could detect in her voice that she was attempting to be polite in her criticism but was in actuality quite irked. This was the third run that she'd cut off prematurely.

"What do you _mean_?" she groaned, confused.

"When we hit that part everything needs to quiet down."

"I _am _quieting down!"

"No, but...-" Katara interjected tiredly. "Hun, it's not enough. You're still too loud."

"Ugh." _Like you know music or something._

"That's great that you're, like, improving and stuff," Suki added, clearly not as pleased with it as her words indicated, "but you're kind of taking over the song."

"It's fucking _Jingle Bell Rock. _I'm the _rock. _I'm sorry that we had to do the most cliché Christmas rock song ever." _If you guys can't keep up, that's not my problem._

"Heh," Jane laughed. "Yea, we could do that one where Santa kills everyone, instead."

"_What_?" Katara squeaked.

"Ya know, the...the one...-? With, uh...-?"

"The Weird Al one," Toph grumbled, plucking an irritated chord and drowning the conversation.

_**Schraaannngg.**_

"Umm...I don't...think that'd be such a good choice," Katara sheepishly objected. _It's called a joke, Sugar-Queen. Chill out._

"We already decided what song we're doing first," Suki matter-of-factly settled the matter.

"No, we didn't," objected Toph. "_You _did."

"I'm also the one who got us _in._"

"Toph, you got to pick the music last time, remember?" said Katara with a sigh.

"What ever happened to 'next time we play for _us?'_" Toph defended.

"This _is _for us," quipped Suki. "Everyone agreed that they were OK playing it – including _you, _in case you forgot – and we're doing this to get our faces out there a bit more. So it _is _for us."

_Why the hell are _you _in charge? You just bang your fuckin' sticks around. I know music better than all three of you combined. It's the reason I'm here at this school._

"We can shove our faces around all ya want, but if we play shitty songs and sound like ass then it's not gonna get us anywhere..."

"Oh, and I suppose you know what songs we _should _be playing?"

"Uh, _yea?_"

"Right. Because you're a music major."

"Makes me a _little _more knowledgeable on the subject than any of you. Just a fact."

"So you obviously know what kinds of music people our age are listening to."

"Pff. Yea. Crap, and lots of it. Buncha pop stars spewin' out the same shit every day, and everyone's all obsessed with Lady Gaga, and-"  
"Toph, you just told me a couple of weeks ago you _like _Lady Gaga," Katara intruded.

"She's got some good stuff, I admit it, but that doesn't make all of her millions of fans any less stupid. They like Katy Perry, too. That's unforgiveable."

"And I suppose you think everyone wants to hear 60's and 70's songs?" retorted Suki.

Toph turned her head in the direction of the voice and specifically frowned.

"Not my fault that there's so much trash on the radio these days..."

_**Durrrmmm.**_

This time it was Jane's bass cutting through the discussion.

"Seriously, guys? I didn't come here to have a fuckin' debate about what's on the radio. We're here to practice."

"Right," Katara rushed to agree. "Let's just...stop fighting and do what we came here to do."

"Fine by me."

"Whatever."

_Why did I even accept to join this crap? I don't want to be a part of some cookie cutter girl band...I'm better than that. I could be working on my _own _stuff right now instead of this democratic bullshit._

* * *

- December, 2009 -

"Is that her?" Aang wondered quietly, fidgeting in his seat to try and get a look at the girl on stage in the strapless black dress.

"Yea, that's her," Katara confirmed in a whisper, checking the recital program as the girl bowed and was led to her seat at he grand piano by the assistant. Unlike the musicians before her, this girl had no sheet music. He wished he could see her face well, but it was useless – they were sitting took far away for him to make out the details, but the curved figure beneath the tight-fitting dress was pleasant enough, anyway.

"Oh, this that blind girl?" Sokka muttered, nudging Katara's left shoulder. She nodded, and Aang peered over from her right to look at the program, scanning for the right piece.

{7. Solo ––Prelude . . . . Op. 28 No. 15 Chopin}  
{Toph Beifong}

The girl sat stiffly in her seat, like a statue, but her arms flowed across the ivories like water. Gentle notes trickled across the auditorium like raindrops.

"She's blind?" Aang mumbled to Katara.

"That's what I heard."

"_Wow. _That's...impressive."

"No kidding. She probably practices every day," Katara figured.

"I _bet_," Aang agreed.

"_Sshh,_" Sokka snipped. "I'm trying to indulge myself in the arts, here."

"Shut up," Katara snickered, slapping him on the leg.

Aang noticed a couple of glowering expressions from people around them and was relieved when his friends quieted. This gave him a chance to truly soak in the music.

Then deja vu struck. Numerous times, Aang had been having a dream lately where a girl, dressed in black with black hair, would play piano. Where she played always seemed hazy, as was the song. He'd try to approach, and she'd stop playing and turn and laugh at him. He could never remember the details, just a pale face and a childish girl's giggling. Something about this girl, specifically, reminded him of this dream he'd kept having. Other women had played piano this same night, but only _this _specific girl had dredged up memories of this dream from his subconscious, a dream he'd kept forgetting whenever he woke up. He couldn't explain it, but there it was, and it nagged at him to meet this girl face-to-face when this concert was over.

* * *

- January, 2010 -

"Hee. See, Aang?" teased Katara, stirring her shake with her straw. "You're blushing."

"I _am?_" Aang slapped his palms against his cheeks and rubbed ferociously, as if this would somehow help.

"You _like _her..." Katara gave him a coy wink, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Is that...-? Is it bad? Is it _obvious?_"

"Ha. I knew it. You just owned up to it. Lucky for you, she's blind, so she can't see how red your face gets..."

"Come on, stop picking on me. Are you for real?"

"I do it out of love, Aang. You're like my kid brother. And yes, for real."

"Gee, thanks...I guess I'm lucky, 'cuz you don't treat your _other _brother near as nice, right?"

"Heh...You deserve to be treated nice, at least. But ya know what I think, though?"

"What?"

"I think that _maybe _this girl might like you back a bit."

"R-really?"

"Yea. Maybe..." Katara knew something. She was totally being a tease about it. Had Toph said something to her?

"Are you _sure, _Katara? I think she finds me weird. And, like...She's all...tough and stubborn. And I'm..._not._"

"Maybe that's the reason why: maybe you're different."

"Different? But...I don't wanna be just..._different._"

"Well..." Katara slurped the remainder of her holy cow milkshake and shrugged. "From what she's told me, it sounds like her last couple of boyfriends she never got real serious with. It was all physical and...that was it."

"Oh..."

"Maybe she thinks you're, like...-" She stared at him with narrowed eyes, contemplating the right words. That sneaky little smile of hers. "-..._safe. _Secure. Ya know?"

"Safe?"

"Secure."

"You think I'm like that?"

"You definitely are."

"Hm..."

"You wouldn't hurt her. Or just use her, or anything like that. You're too sweet for that, Aang."

"Heh...Uh...thanks?"

"Seriously. Don't lose that, Bud."

"I, uh...I won't."

"Good. And like I said...you're probably different than other guys she's known."

"And that's...something she wants? Someone safe and secure?"

"_I _think so, anyway."

Hm. Katara _was _a girl. She would probably know better than he would. Probably? Yea.

"Maybe...should I...-?"

"Ask her out?"

"Y-yea. Heh. That."

"Aang, Hun...The way you two are going, she's gonna beat you to the punch."

* * *

- October, 2010 -

["What _we_ need is a few good _taters._"]

["What's...'_taters,' _Precious? What's 'taters,' eh?"]

["Poh-tay-toes? Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick in a stew..."]

"Bahaha! Bam. Insta-name." Sokka slapped his fist into his opposing palm.

"Say what?" Toph grumbled.

["Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish."]

"C'mon, Aang," Sokka went on, prodding his roommate. "Taters. _Tay-terz._ It's perfect."

"He's got a point, Toph."

"Ugh. You guys are lame. Tater-Face was already bad enough."

["Even _you_ couldn't say no to that."]

"Like a promotion," Jane joked. "Dude. _Dude. _Can I be bumped up from Freckle-Face to Freckles, too?"

["Oh yes we could. Spoilin' nice fish..."]

"All in due time," said Sokka with a wink. "It must be _earned, _Padawan."

"The fuck is a...-?" Jane muttered, scratching her ear as Sokka went back to Toph.

["Give it to us raw and w-r-r-riggling; you keep nasty chips."]

"Taters isn't near as mean as _Twinkle-Toes_," Sokka defended. "You're brutal with that one."

"Psh! Not my fault if poor wittoh Aangy-Wangy can't take a mean nickname."

["You're hopeless..."]

Katara sighed and grabbed the remote, clicking the mute button.

"Chh," spat out Jane. "_Wangy. _Did you just say that? Hey...Hey, Katara..." She nudged her couch neighbor with a slow elbow. "Taha. Toph...Toph just said _wangy._"

"Umm...Heh." Katara shrugged sheepishly as Jane continued to shove her. A couple of wine-coolers and she was acting loopy. Katara had expected her to be a bit more hardened, given her reputation. Then again, she was still slowly whittling away at hers, while Jane had guzzled down two and a half in fifteen minutes. Katara patted her somewhat inebriated friend on the shoulder and eased her off. "You're missing the movie," she pointed out in a mumble as Toph and Sokka went at it.

"I can _so _take your relentless picking," Aang proclaimed, tickling Toph on the side of her ribcage. She grinned and crushed his hand in her armpit.

"I'm just saying we should up the ante here. Kinda one-sided."

"Oh, yea, Sokka?" grunted Toph, still wrestling with Aang's arm. "Hit me with whatcha got, Meathead. I can take it."

"Dead-Eyes."

"_Ouch,_" Toph took offense in jest. _"_Politically incorrect much?"

"Wow, Sokka...That's..._OK_, then." Aang clearly wasn't sure what to do with this, but managed to salvage his hand.

"You said you can take it," smug Sokka taunted Toph.

"No, no, I said it. I'll live with it. Do your worst, Steak-For-Brains."

"Oh, _sweet_," Jane cried. "We get to make fun of you being blind now."

"Jaybee, I already do enough of that on my own," Toph chuckled, squeezing Aang's hand. "But yea. Feel free. Pff." She reach to her right, and Jane bent her head to let Toph ruffle her hand through the unkempt orange hair.

"Dead. Eyes. _Damn._" Jane rubbed sand from her eyes, tipping her bottle of green apple Smirnoff across Toph and Aang. "Sokka. You. Are. A fuckin' genius."

Sokka raised his brow at her, exchanged amused glances with Aang and Katara, and shook his head at her.

"Ginger, you've got the fighting part of being Irish down, but...you _suck _at the holding liquor part."

"'Ey, piss off. I'll kick your ass. I'm not drunk yet."

"Yea, see? Fighting equals...good. Got that one down."

The movie suddenly paused, causing the conversation to settle down. Katara was grasping the remote in her hand still.

"Are we watching the movie, or...-?" She stared at them with some irritation.

"Oh. Right." Sokka nodded. "Yea, Jane hasn't seen these yet."

Jane vigorously jabbed a finger at Toph's shoulder.

"Hey-hey-hey. _Dead-Eyes _hasn't _seen _them, either. Get it? 'Cuz...-" She gave pause, only to let a small, almost inaudible burp escape.

"Christ," Toph chuckled. "Look what you've created, Sokka."

"Eye for an eye," he countered.

Jane snickered, thumping her heel into the couch.

"Assholes," said Toph, crossing her arms but smirking.

"We do it out of love," Aang assured, kissing her on the head.

* * *

- Thursday, December 9th, 2010 -

Toph lay sprawled in her bed. She knew it was Thursday night. By now it was probably too late to go to the Jasmine Dragon, anyway. She'd wasted much of her evening away listening to her iPod and contemplating how the week had been going. The general consensus was: not so good.

She didn't have the energy to go out to the music building, so she'd made due practicing from her room. It being a Thursday night, Katara had gone off to the library to take care of some research. Toph hardly felt like getting out bed at this point, much less wandering through the cold to go play music at the coffee house. She knew that if she did, she'd probably embarrass herself – putting herself into those performances as she often did would at this point expose fears she wanted to remain hidden.

So she lay in her bed, spread on her back, her hand across her forehead. Her stomach had been quite a bother and she felt warm. It was likely she'd caught a fever, if she had to guess. Time passed and she drank music from a seemingly endless tap, her alcohol and addiction.

Eventually, the song hit that she knew would push her over the limit – the song that had been on her mind all day, ever since the night before. As it played, she forced herself to recall what has transpired the previous evening, replaying it in her mind.

["~I forgot to say out loud~"]

"I don't get what the _problem _is!" Toph growled, her cheeks pink. She complained to Aang from her bed, sitting on its edge. "I'm fucking throwing myself at you here, Twinkle-Toes!"

["~how beautiful you really are to me~"]

"I-I'm sorry!" Aang sputtered back, looking down at her as he put his shirt back on, his face even brighter.

["~I cannot be without~"]

"I just...-" Aang sighed, wiping his wet lips with his sleeve. "I don't get what you want from me, Toph. Lately, you've been acting all pushy, and...and grouchy. It's awkward."

["~You're my perfect little punching bag~"]

"Christ," Toph grumbled, huffing a gust of air that tossed her bangs around. "You're such a mamby-pamby, Twinkles. What's so awkward?"

["~And I need you~"]

She stood up, irate and trembling, while Aang explained sheepishly.

"You're _rushing_ me, Toph! We've gone over this so many times...I need to take this slow."

["~I'm sorry~"]

"I'm getting sick of waiting on you!" Toph snapped. "And you keep treating me like I don't know what I'm doing!"

["~I always say how I don't need you~"]

Toph inched closer toward Aang as she continued her verbal assault while he leaned back nervously.

"It's like you don't think I know what's best for me! Like you know better. Just like my damned parents...Why do you think I left them in the first place?"

There was a moment of tense silence, their faces inches apart.

["~but it's always gonna come right back to this~"]

"Ya know what?" Aang snapped, his patience finally worn thin. "Fine, Toph. You obviously don't want me around tonight, so I'll leave you alone. I don't know what your problem is lately, but I can't take this right now..."

["~Please~"]

"Whatever," Toph grunted, folding her arms across her chest.

She flinched from the unexpected sound of her dorm room door being slammed shut. Had he really just...left? Wait...That wasn't right. Aang didn't just up and _leave_ her like that. He always lingered and tried to make everything right...

_Wow, he's never just left like that,_ she mused, standing alone in her room, her arms drooping to her sides, head bobbed. _What the hell is my problem lately? Why do I keep treating him this way?_

["~Please~"]

The frustrated sob that she'd been hiding from him choked out in this moment of solitude, and tears began forming in her eyes.

[~Don't leave me~]

"Toph?"

"Whuh?" Toph gasped, her left earphone having been pried off her head. She flinched, scrambled to sit upright, banging the back of her head against the wall behind her, causing the headphones to slide off onto her shoulders. "Agh, shit," she growled, clutching her skull as it throbbed.

"Whoa, hey." Katara's voiced cooed. It was soft, and gentle, the way it often was. In this moment, Toph acknowledged that while it did grate sometimes, she had grown to miss its absence. "Are you OK?"

"Mm." Toph hummed out with a disgruntled sigh. She sniffled, wiping the water from her face that had formed during her solitude in a sea of song.

"What happened?" Katara wondered. _Rrrrkk. _The bed groaned as Katara's weight pressed down on it.

"Gah," Toph puffed out, one hand staying attached to her face. The dizziness of sitting up so swiftly after laying down so long combined with the impact on her head wasn't doing her any favors. "What do you care?" she finally managed. "Thought you had schoolwork to take care of."

"Oh. Yea, that's where I've been, but...Hun, it's, like...midnight."

Sure enough, just as Toph had predicted days earlier, Katara had shed her snippy act and given in to that sappy caring side that never died.

"What's going on? Huh?" A sympathetic and fair question for Katara to ask, given the physical state of her roommate.

"Fever."

"Aw. I'm sorry." _Cut the coddling, Sweetness._

Katara's slender hand rubbed Toph's neck, serving as a reminder of how sore it was.

"Aang told me what happened last night," Katara explained, bluntly pointing out the elephant in the room. "Sounds like things are only getting worse with you two..."

"Somethin' like that..." Toph took in a deep breath and sighed out the remainder of her sorrows. She pent up all this junk from Thanksgiving and now she had cried two days in a row. So much for superceding PMS stereotypes.

"Toph. I don't know all of what's going on, but...Hun. You need to figure this stuff out." _No shit._

"Yea..."

"It's like you've gone back to who you were when we met you." _Is that really such a bad thing?_

"Well...I'm not sucking at music anymore, at least." Toph groped her mattress and retrieved her iPod, switching it off and stopped the faint trickles of sound from around her neck.

"Heh. That's good. I'm glad you've been productive." _Like you really care about my music._

Katara's hand pushed back Toph's greasy, untamed hair over her back.

"Man, you need to shower," she picked. _You my nanny now, too?_

Toph resisted the urge to snap back, exhausted as she was. It wasn't worth it. She was too tired to have another argument right now.

"Anything I can do to help?" _Leave me alone._

"No."

"OK. I'm probably gonna head to bed in a minute here." _Good for you._

"Yep."

Katara patted her roommate on the shoulder with encouragement, observing the dull vacancy in those white eyes. She stood up from the bed and smiled sympathetically to herself as Toph wrapped up in the blanket, a cloth riddled with music notes. Her face looked like she'd been living out on the street all week, and Katara lamented her friend's stubborn attitude.

By the time Katara had gone through her evening routine of teeth-brushing and changing into pajamas, Toph was snoring, out like a light.

Katara was tempted to hop on her computer, but knew that doing so would cost her precious time to sleep, and instead opted to use her phone to send a quick message before bed.

[To: Aang]  
[So I know things are rocky with you two lately...But we should still do something for Toph's birthday, don't you think?]  
[Sent: 12:09am]

* * *

**A/N: A very Toph-focused chapter to help carry things along.**

**www(dot)youtube(dot(com/watch?v=6gV9gUeFHIw**

**The Chopin piece Toph played in the flashback. "Raindrop."**

**Obviously, the film the group was watching was Lord of Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.**

**www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=eocCPDxKq1o  
**

**Last song was "Please Don't Leave Me" by P!nk.**

**And check out this AWESOME comic a Deviant user made depicting the last music video scene!**

**www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Please-please-209536707  
**


	39. The Calm Before

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 39 - The Calm Before  
_

* * *

- Friday, December 10th, 2010 -

"One more week. Just _one more _week, and then...-" Katara sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled through her mouth. "-...and then we're done."

"Shit, man," Jane grumbled. "When's your first final?"

"Monday," Katara sighed.

"Damn. Sorry. Least I don't have any until Tuesday. Gives me all of Monday to study and crap."

"Yea..." Katara stared blankly at her case for a moment, eyes glazed over.

"Well, you still have the weekend."

She snapped back to attention and unzipped up her messenger bag. "_Sort _of..."

"Sort of?"

Katara nodded and shrugged her shoulders, slipping her laptop into its place in the case.

"Sunday's Toph's birthday."

"Uh..._So?_" Jane didn't seem particularly sympathetic, which had been a consistent attitude all week when it came to Toph.

"So at least _part _of my Sunday is going to be doing that."

"Doing _what?_"

"Helping Aang get everything and...you know...set everything up, and stuff."

"Whoa. Say what?"

"Like, making food arrangements, and baking a cake, and-"  
"Baking a _cake?_"

"I'm not just going to ignore her birthday with everything going on, it's-"  
"Kat, don't even bother. She doesn't deserve it."

"She's going through a lot right now, I can't-"  
"It's not your job. You don't have to."

"I know, Jane. But I _want _to."

Jane stared into Katara's earnest expression with hardened disapproval, but eventually Katara's honest, determined sympathy won her over. She nodded, her discouragement fading away.

"It's just who you are," she concluded with a knowing laugh. "Can't just let a sinking ship go down without trying to drag the captain out."

"I'm not asking _you _to worry about it," Katara defended, slipping her case over her shoulder.

"Nah, no need to explain," Jane insisted. "I get it."

"No you _don't_," Katara defied with an entertained tone.

"Personally? _Fuck _no. What I mean is...I get how that's you."

"I'm not happy with Toph," Katara pointed out, heading out of her room, Jane close behind. "I'm _really _not. But doing this might help her feel better. And if anything...-" She huffed through her nostrils in spite of herself. "It'll help _me _feel better, anyway."

"Because helping others helps _you, _and all that sappy bull?"

"Exactly," Katara cheerfully acknowledged. "Anyway...I'll see you later, Hun."

"And hey. Kat."

"Yea?"

"That...saving the captain from the sinking ship crap? You did that for _me. _Remember?"

"Ha...I...I guess I _did._" Katara knew full well she had done the same for Jane. The second those words had come out of Jane's mouth, Katara knew they were self-referential. But hearing the blunt sensitivity expressed directly from her friend's own lips enforced her confidence that this was a good idea – that reaching that arm into people caught in ditches was something worth looking into. She just had to be cautious, as her father had warned, and not get pulled into said ditches.

"Yea. Like I said, Kat...I get it."

"I'm glad."

"So, yea...Peace."

"Bye!"

Katara fled down the stairs and out into the cold. It wasn't very windy today, and no snow was falling, so that was something of a relief.

She checked her phone for messages she'd missed while getting ready.

[From: Suki]  
[hey girls, remember we have to practice again tomorrow. show is wednesday night. don't froget!]  
[Sent: 8:43am]

Katara smiled as her mind processed pronouncing 'fro get,' a typo. But the reminder only served to further frustrate her. There was still so much studying she needed to do before Monday. Her mind warped at the prospect of somehow getting it all done. And it wasn't like she'd be out of the woods, either, because she had another exam on Tuesday, and so on. Saturday would entail a few hours of practice, Sunday would entail an evening completely taken up...but she knew that would be a needed break of sorts. She worried for Toph and Aang, but knew that if they could just hold out until Christmas vacation, things could get sorted out then.

[From: Sokka]  
[Guys! Tonight. Food. Thing. Where we going?]  
[Sent: 9:02am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[I can't do food tonight, remember? I told you: I need to stay extended hours at tutoring.]  
[Sent: 9:10am]

[From: Sokka]  
[Frick. Forgot. LAME. Trying to educate the leaders of tomorrow. GAWD. Why extended hours?]  
[Sent: 9:11am]

[From: Sokka]  
[Don't you usually get out in time for dinner?]  
[Sent: 9:11am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[Yea, but the kids have their own big tests coming up, too. And I'm a bit behind in my hours, needed to sign up for a few extra.]  
[Sent: 9:12am]

[From: Sokka]  
[No prob, Sis. We'll just do something Saturday, instead.]  
[Sent: 9:13am]

[From: Sokka]  
[Kay, nevermind, Katara's busy tonight. Everyone good for tomorrow instead? I vote pizza.]  
[Sent: 9:13am]

Katara huffed, shutting her phone and stuffing it in her pocket as she slid into the Gyatso Center. Lucky for her, her 9:15 class was on the first floor, so she was on time. Her extended tutoring session that evening would mean she'd go straight from working on her student teaching to working on studying for her own tests. She had been expecting the others to just eat without her, but knowing Sokka, he'd refuse. 'It's the last time we'll do this for the semester,' he'd insist. 'Everyone needs to be there.' And she really _did _want to have a night out to eat...but right after dinner, it'd be band time. Which meant a couple hours _less _she'd have to study. As class started, her mind was preoccupied with debating as to whether or not she should skip church on Sunday just to give herself more time to work.

It wasn't like she'd be able to contribute much to this morning's discussion, anyway...It was on the last half of that boringly long Greek tragedy she hadn't finished. Yet another thing she was behind on.

* * *

"Are you sure your sister's all right?"

"Of course she is," Sokka assured, popping the plastic top onto his paper cup. "Why?"

Suki took a sip of her smoothie and shrugged.

"Lately she seems...I dunno. Quick to anger."

"Oh. That. She's just stressed."

"She's been on edge lately. Having to live with Toph is probably the problem."

"Nah, nah. This is normal. Every semester, when finals roll around, she gets this way."

"Really?"

"_Oh _yea. Getting worried and stressed is...-" Sokka waved his hand through the air, scooping up his cup. "-...her way of forcing herself to get everything done."

"I bet Toph's not helping matters, though..."

"Why is everyone so down on her, again?"

Suki glared at him with surprised eyes as they exited the Jasmine Dragon, climbing up the steps to the early afternoon. The skies were clear, and the sun shone off of the snow all around them. They linked hands and Suki explained with adamant irritation.

"She's been acting like a bitch."

"Oh. Huh. I guess she _has _been kinda cranky..."

"_Kind _of cranky?"

"Now that you mention it, it _does _seem like her and Aang keep having fights and stuff. And he _does _seem pretty down lately...I mean, I don't know for sure, but..."

"Do you and Aang just not _talk _about...anything?"

"Psh. Lord, no," Sokka concluded, sucking in a deep gulp of hot cocoa. "We're men," he said with some jest. "But seriously...We keep that drama _out _of our dorm room. Aang knows that."

"I see..."

"Aang wants to talk? Katara's there for all that girly stuff. But when he needs to relax and play some video games and watch Braveheart and forget about junk, I'm his go-to guy. Ya know?"

"I guess." Suki nodded. Aang seemed like such a sensitive guy, it hadn't occurred to her that he would even want to do 'boy' type things. Then again, he _was _living in Aero House. So really, she shouldn't have been too surprised. "But haven't you noticed the way Toph's been acting?"

"Ha. Suki, Babe...I've hardly _seen _the girl since Thanksgiving."

"Oh..."

"She's been busy with practice and whatever, I just assumed that her and my sis were both just wrapped up in work. Besides, not my place to intrude. If Toph's got beef with me, she'll make sure I know."

"She sure seems to be letting _everyone _know what her problems are lately..."

"That's how she rolls, I guess. And come on, it's not like you're really all that different..."

"What? I'm nothing like that." Suki frowned at the comparison.

"Come _on, _when you've got a problem with someone, you raise a little hell, too."

"Sure, but...Not like _that._"

"If you say so..."

"Toph can be pretty pushy, in either case. Maybe Aang needs some advice on how to handle the situation from a male perspective. You know?"

"Er..." Sokka cringed. "Not really sure that's my strong suit, Babe."

Suki winked at him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Doesn't mean it's not a hand worth playing on the table. Come on. You're his roommate, he needs you."

"Y-yea, but...my GPA_ also _needs me."

"I know, Sokka, but...I'm trying to make you realize that Aang really doesn't seem like he's doing so good, and I _know _you can help him. He doesn't seem like he has a lot _of...boys _in his life. You know?_"_

"OK, I get it," Sokka caved in with a hesitant smile, kissing Suki on the lips. He rubbed his hand on the back of her neck. "I'll give it a try."

* * *

[From: Mai]  
[So. How's that gf thing working out for you?]  
[Sent: 5:43pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Mai]  
[oh hey. not good... :( had another fight other night.]  
[Sent: 5:45pm]

[From: Mai]  
[Suck. Too bad. Things'll get better. It's probably just school driving you guys crazy.]  
[Sent: 5:48pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Mai]  
[maybe. -_- anyway so how is zuko doin?]  
[Sent: 6:02pm]

[From: Mai]  
[Good. I think he wants to hang out with you again and meet your roommate. But he's shy. ;P ]  
[Sent: 6:04pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Mai]  
[oh sure! he could come by saturday aftrnoon if he wants. 2nd floor.]  
[Sent: 6:12pm]

[From: Mai]  
[I'll let him know. Don't let your gf get you down. Things will work out.]  
[Sent: 6:13pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Mai]  
[they always do right?]  
[Sent: 6:14pm]

* * *

["Hey, Tophie...It's your cousin. Ha. I dunno, just felt like checkin' in on you. Aang's Facebook makes it sound like things are rough, huh? Hope you're OK...He's a sweet guy, I'm sure he'll work things out with you. Er...So, yea. What about those recitals? Are they gonna record 'em? I totally wanna hear 'em, OK? Aaaaand...guess that was it. Gimme a call. Miss ya!"]  
[_Beep._]

["NEXT MESSAGE."]  
["Hi, it's Suki. Listen...I've heard that there's a lot of things going on for you right now. And I understand. And I'm sorry if I did something to make you mad. If I did, you know you can just tell me, right? We're adults here. But the way you acted at practice on Wednesday...it brought everyone down. So, I'm not sure...what we can do to help things, but...If there's anything, please, let me know. When we get together as a band, I want it to be good for everyone, you know? So just let me know. Let _us _know. Everyone sounds really worried about you. Anyway...Guess I'll see you tomorrow night."]  
[_Beep._]

["NEXT MESSAGE."]  
["Hey, Toph."] Her stomach lurched. It was Aang. He didn't sound terribly happy. ["Uh...I wanted to talk with you about...the other night. But...guess you're busy. Well...I'd rather talk about it in person, anyway, but...Just give me a call back. _Oh_, wait. Before I go, I just wanted to make sure you're free on Sunday. So...let me know about that, too. OK? Yea, so...Bye."]  
[_Beep._]  
["END OF MESSAGES."]

The air in Toph's lungs rushed out, her breath having been held in a panic. She'd been fearful he was going to say something like the dreaded 'We need to talk' or 'I don't think this working,' but it sounded more like he wanted to...fix things. Suddenly, 'fixing things' didn't sound quite as horrible as she'd been making it out to be.

But Toph wasn't in the mental capacity for that kind of discussion. She had a recital coming up in merely a few days, _and _that brief stint with the Kyoshi Warriors to work on, and then _another _recital after that. Oy. Practice, practice. Diligence and discipline. That's what it would take. She couldn't afford to worry about her roommate, or her boyfriend, or whoever. Recollecting her performances at the Jasmine Dragon, she knew that doing so could make her recitals come out too raw, too...emotional. She wouldn't accept that. Simply wasn't going to happen, and she wouldn't let it.

* * *

- Saturday, December 11th, 2010 -

Jane stared at the lot of them with some remorse as they hefted their weight around – the familiar set of young men she'd come to know on a strictly formal basis, though a couple she'd bump into at the Treetop now and again. Their bodies pumped: up, down. Up, down. She had never been a fan of push-ups – her scrawny arms, no matter how hard she tried, just didn't seem built for them. At least at this juncture she wasn't expected to be doing any, and for that there was some solace to be had. Matched with it, then, was self-directed bitterness and disappointment.

She stood by the sidelines, leaning against an outer wall of the gym floor, munching on a toasted bagel with marmalade. She'd figured that if she was going to get up this early, she may as well enjoy the oft-forgotten breakfast the school offered. She pored over some biology notes in preparation for her upcoming final as she waited for the session to conclude. When everything was in the clear, the very person she'd been waiting for came to her, having noticed her presence.

"Fitz..."

Her heart skipped a beat out of pure instinct as she slammed her notebook of chicken-scratch shut and immediately rose to her feet, back straight and arms at her side.

"Sir," she grunted.

"At _ease_," Zhao belittled her formality. "No need for that anymore, Fitz. You've already proved that you're apparently _above _that."

"Sir," Jane repeated, her figure slouching. "I just wanted to clear up some things."

"That so?" Zhao's ever-skeptical voice pondered. "Well, don't waste your raspy Grandma breath on _me, _kid. It's already a done deal."

"Y-yea, I know," Jane conceded, her voice shaky in his presence. She was so used to having to shout everything she said to him that just _talking _seemed bizarre in the face of his imposing demeanor.

"Then _why _are you pissing my time away?"

"I w-wanted to apologize."

"I already _told _you, Fitz, you're done. You don't get second chances with us, girlie. You obviously overestimated yourself, and when push came to shove, those bony little sticks of yours snapped like twigs."

Fuckin' eh. She was definitely feeling like maybe it was for the _best _that she'd never had to put up with this guy's attitude ever again...

"I'm not trying to get back in," Jane explained, digging her balled fists into her cargo pant pockets to mask her irritation, her face lighting up from the confrontation. "I just wanted to say I was sorry for letting you down."

"Ahhhh..._Oh, _well, gee. How _humble _of you." In classic Zhao form, his gruff voice sarcastically snapped at her with mocking motherliness. "Go have a feast of that humble pie, Fitz, because I won't be joining you".

"I learned, uh...I learned a lot," Jane mumbled, trying to rehearse the key ideas she'd gone over.

"How swell. That's what school is for, girlie."

"So, uh...Yea, I, uh...-"

"Maybe you take what you've learned here and _make _something of yourself. Because you sure as hell won't be doing your country much good as you are right now."

So it turned out that Zhao was just an asshole, and it wasn't simply for show.

"I'll...do that."

"Good. Dismissed."

"Sir." She gave him a finale salute out of instinct and he glowered at her, quickening her exit.

"And Fitz: I don't want to see you tailing us anymore. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

What had she been expecting? She wasn't Katara – she didn't do the whole 'reaching out to people' thing very well. Then again, Katara probably had better judgment in who to actually try reaching out _to. _Zhao's disappointed scorn was something she found herself surprisingly stung by as she made her way back to Aqua. She'd been with ROTC for two and a half years, and she let it all fall apart. Between the aftermath of Jet's death and trying to start an actual social life _and _stay on top of class, the military had fallen by the wayside.

Ultimately, Jane had come to the startling realization that she didn't really know why she even joined ROTC in the first place, and consequently, she had no idea what she intended to do with herself beyond this college education.

Then again, right now, she had other things to worry about, like tying up loose ends. She felt safe in saying that ROTC had not been a waste of her time – even if Zhao felt it had been a waste of his. The Freedom Fighters, though...they were a different matter, and one that still was unresolved.

As Jane stumbled into her room, noticing that Jin had vanished while she'd been away, she sat down on her bed and reached for her cell phone, reviewing the message she'd received overnight.

[From: Johnny]  
[Call me.]  
[Sent: 3:37am]

* * *

"Wow, are you _still _fighting that thing?" Sokka wondered casually, having just removed his earbuds. He could hear the same riotous orchestral track playing that had been ten minutes ago when he'd sat down at his desk to start doing research for yet another paper. At least in this case, it was a final project where there wouldn't be a test. As much as Sokka didn't care for papers, there was some relief in that he was sure he could put in the time and nail a good grade on a paper, whereas an exam was more of a roll of the dice.

Aang was carefully mashing at buttons on a game controller that was wired to his Wii remote, which Sokka certainly found curious. It wasn't something he saw his roommate use very often, anyway.

"Yep," Aang replied to his question. "Still, uh..._Gah_." He character was smacked around the screen. "Still fightin' this guy, yea...Dang."

Sokka observed the screen to see a pale-skinned woman in what looked like some kind of Native American getup swimming through murky brown waters, dueling a dinosaur ten times her size who had a massive mane of sponge. Aang always played as girl characters, Sokka reminded himself.

"I cut his tail off, at least," Aang pointed out, which led Sokka's attention to the monster's severed structure.

"Ah..." He raised his brow, intrigued by the concept of crippling dinosaurs and capturing them for sport. "Awesome. You have fun with that, and stuff."

Sokka took his leave to go to the bathroom, taking his phone with him.

[From: SmellerJane]  
[i talked wit johnny today an somethin bad is happening. dunno wat to do...=_= ]  
[Sent: 2:13pm]

[Reply]  
[To: SmellerJane]  
[Whoa, everything OK? You need to discuss it? I could meet you.]  
[Sent: 2:47pm]

Had this been some social bullcrap, Sokka would have none of it. But this was different – this was Jane trying to break things off from her shady past, and that was something Sokka could get behind.

As Sokka relieved himself on the toilet, another student sat in the stall beside him.

"Dude, Sokka. What's goin' on, man?"

"Haru? How'd you know it was me, you creeper?"

"The shoes, of course."

Sokka glanced down at his feet to see the same old black loafers he had been wearing every day all semester.

"Oh, _ha. _Nice."

He glanced over to see Haru's bare, furry feet for curiosity's sake, and internally conceded that Haru was more hairy than he was.

"So how is studying coming along?" he asked of Haru.

"Ha. _Studying. _I wish I could tell ya, Bro. I'm freakin' terrified of Professor Piandao's final."

"Oh, _dude, _I know. That guy's brutal."

"Right?"

"What class?"

"Western Civ."

"Ouch. Yea, that one's a nasty one. Watch out for those True/False ones, they're a _bitch._"

"Will do."

"He's a tough prof, but you _learn _from him, ya know?"

"Yea, totally. My C average don't show it, though. Haha."

"I can't wait to take his Middle Ages course next semester."

"Middle Ages? With knights and castles and stuff?"

"Exactly."

"Tight."

The young men exchanged a moment of bathroom appropriate bodily noises before finishing their work and flushing.

As they washed their hands, Sokka could feel his pocket vibrate.

"So how's Aang holdin' up?" Haru asked.

"Oh, uh...He seems OK to me."

"He's been kinda, like...I dunno." Haru's eyes narrowed at his own reflection as he recalled their recent encounters. "Short-tempered. Or something."

"Hm. Maybe," Sokka acknowledged the possibility. "You know about stuff with him and Toph, right?"

"Rocky roads, and all that?"

"Yea...They'll figure things out."

"For sure."

"Good luck with that Western Civ test, man."

"Yo, you, too, Sox."

Sokka rolled his eyes as his fellow Aero man fled out the bathroom door. He never _was _going to shed that dorm-wide nickname, was he?

[From: SmellerJane]  
[can you? i m fuckin goin crazy here man]  
[Sent: 2:50pm]

[Reply]  
[To: SmellerJane]  
[Calm down. :P How about I meet you at the JD at 3:30?]  
[Sent: 2:51pm]

Sokka walked in on Aang shuffling through menu screens.

"Got that cock-sucker, did ya?"

"Sure did."

"You killer. I didn't know you had it in ya to murder animals, Aang."

"Wh-? Th-this is just a video game...I'd never do-"  
"Whoa, _heyyy, _I'm screwin' with ya. Geez, Bro." He smiled at his roommate went cynical eyebrows. "Don't gotta be so tense."

"Oh. Heh. Right."

"Anyways, don't you have...drawing? Or painting? Or some crap to be doing?"

"Monkey feathers," Aang sighed. "I have...lots of reading, actually..."

"Ah." Sokka raised a brow at his roommate's choice of vocabulary. That odd phrase seemed to slip out of his mouth every so often. "Well, get _on _that, man. Work, work, work."

"Yea, you're right," Aang sighed, saving his game and shutting his Wii console off.

"Hey, uh...You doin' all right, Champ?"

"I've been better," Aang admitted meekly, sifting through his stack of textbooks on the floor by his bed.

"You want to, uh...talk about it?"

Aang scratched his hand through his hair and took a frustrated breath.

"I, er...Not...not really, no. Not right now."

"Hey, no prob. I know how it goes. Sometimes a bro just needs bro time, right?"

_Knock, knock._

Both boys whirled around to see a young man with combed back hair standing before them, donning a maroon button-down and black slacks.

"Aang. Sokka." He nodded to them both.

"Oh, hey," Sokka greeted, reaching his arm out to this man who he had seen now and again. "You're Mai's boyfriend, I've seen you around, eh...-?"

"Kurosawa." The man shook Sokka's hand firmly. "Zuko Kurosawa."

"Right, yea..." Sokka's brows lowered. "As in, Philosophy Professor Kurosawa?"

"Haha...That's my uncle," Zuko acknowledged.

"Whoa, OK." Sokka nodded, their grip breaking off as Aang took his turn shaking hands. "Doesn't that make you, like...the Class President?"

"Something like that, yes." Zuko straightened his collar a bit with some nervousness.

"President of the Student Body," Aang corrected Sokka, who didn't really care one way or the other.

"What brings an Ignis man like you to Aero?" he wondered.

"Uh, I...-" Zuko turned to Aang, extending a palm.

"I invited him over," Aang explained. "Figured today would be a good chance for you guys to meet."

"Sure, sure," Sokka agreed, popping out of his desk chair. "Take a seat."

"Oh, thanks..." Zuko obeyed, setting himself down and crossing one leg over the other. "So, Aang...You said there was some kind of...golf game...you wanted to show me?"

"Yea, yea...I'll set it up..." As Aang fumbled with his simple entertainment setup, Sokka cocked his head to the side.

"Golf? You a golf man, Zuko?"

Zuko smirked. "I certainly am. My uncle got me into it."

"I've wanted to golf, but, eh...my dad's more of a hockey guy..."

"Ah, Aang mentioned you liked golf. I told him that when the weather gets warmer out, I should take you guys out some time."

"For real?"

"Yea, no problem."

Sokka jabbed a casual thumb to Zuko, turning to Aang.

"I like your thinkin', Aang. This guy's OK in my book."

"Ha. Yea, thought you two might have some common ground there, at least..." He rose from the floor, clicking a remote at the screen to boot up the game. "Since it's bit too snowy outside for real golf, I figured this might be a good substitute."

"Aang's too good at this," Sokka warned Zuko. "I swear, he has a symbiotic relationship with his video games..." He leaned in toward Zuko, lifting a hand over his cheek and whispered suspicious, "It's like he _bends them toward his will. _Know what I mean?"

Sokka's pocket vibrated and he was pulled away from this sudden distraction of company.

[From: SmellerJane]  
[yes yes ty ty! i owe you man. see u there.]  
[Sent: 2:56pm]

"Aw, frick," he mumbled, shutting the phone as he recalled the plans he'd only made minutes before.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"Oh, I, er...I've got somewhere to be in a half hour. I almost forgot..."

"Ah, OK. No worries, we've got time for a game," Aang insisted.

"We sure do," Sokka agreed. "I need to see if Mr. President's real-life golf skills translate to the digital world..."

* * *

The table had been silent for a minute or so now as they waited for Sokka's drink order. Sokka couldn't help but notice Jane's leg bouncing methodically, her olive eyes wide with fright. Both of her bony elbows were stuck into the table, with her mouth covered by one palm while the other hand rubbed against her eyebrow with an index finger. He couldn't recall having seen her quite like this before...at least, not since Jet had died months earlier. She seemed pretty shaken up.

"Er..." He was at a loss for words, hoping she'd begin. She didn't.

"Raspberry Truffle," called out the store clerk, setting Sokka's drink on the counter.

He pushed out his seat but gave pause. Pointing a loose finger behind Jane – toward his drink – he asked her, "You sure you don't want something? You seem, uh...pretty on-edge, Ginger."

Jane simply shook her head, eyes glazed and unfocused, aiming at the table.

"OK..." Sokka grabbed his specialty coffee quickly, sitting himself back down. For the mere seconds he was gone, he worried something would suddenly happen, she seemed that out of it. "Listen, hey. Freckles. _Hey._" He tapped the table with his fingers, managing to grab her attention. "What's going _on_?"

Her eyes blinked rapidly a few times until a tired puff came out.

"I've been getting tons of text messages from the Freedom Fighters," she muttered quietly, under the shroud of the cafe's chatter. "Sounds like there's a shit-storm about to happen."

"Aaaand...What does that mean for _you_?"

"For me? For...What does it mean for _Johnny?_" she grumbled with fret, her eyebrow-rubbing hand sweeping up her head and wedging itself in her bangs.

"Mm..." Sokka scratched at his goatee, his mind reeling with all sorts of shady ideas. "What _kind _of shit-storm we talkin'?"

"The kind where some people are gonna get hurt," Jane darkly replied, glaring at him. Her brooding eyes locked onto his analytical ones for a tight moment of reflection. The fingers on her forehead clenched, ruffling her hair as she huffed. "The night Jet died...-" she began, shaking her head. Sokka leaned forward over the table, intent to see where this was going. Jane's gaze avoided his as she went on. She spoke quietly, struggling to maintain her calm. Their seat alone in the back corner of the Jasmine Dragon, by the stage, seemed solace enough for this conversation.

"See, there's this other group: The Rough Rhinos. They're like...a rival gang..."

"So the Freedom Fighters _are _a gang."

"That's-! Ugh. Kind of? Depends on...who you ask."

"Sure sounds like it."

"Most of the Freedom Fighters don't actually _realize _a lot of what goes down."

"And what _does _go down?"

Jane's teeth ground at his pressing questions.

"_Stuff. _Bad stuff. Like...illegal stuff."

"Ya don't say?" came Sokka's disapproving sarcasm.

"I'm _done _with that shit, Sokka," Jane insisted through grit teeth. "Would you listen to me for one fucking second?"

Sokka's cynical expression faded at her fear.

"Er...Y-yea. Sorry. Go on."

"Now, like...Kat – your sis – she knows about...a lotta that by now. She _didn't _before, but...she's smart, she figured most of it out..."

"Kesuks aren't stupid."

"Yea...But, so...Kat was what was holding Jet's sanity together, I guess. With her gone, he went right back to his old obsession."

"His old obsession?"

"Finding the guys who killed his parents."

"Oh..." Now here was something Sokka didn't know.

"That's...like...It's how Jet and I first...connected. If you could fuckin' _call _it that..." She rolled her eyes in retrospect. "We both lost our parents when we were little. My parents died in an accident, but...Jet's were killed on purpose. At least...that's what Jet always believed."

"Hm. Why would anyone kill his parents?"

"Jet told me his dad was a detective or some shit, but...I dunno if that was true." She snorted in disgust and bitterly recognized, "I dunno _what _was ever true with him now..."

Sokka's heart skipped a beat at the idea, recalling a night from his childhood when his father had been assaulted by a complete stranger. At the time, he had no understanding of why, but eventually the purpose was clear: his father was a police officer, and police had to bear grudges from the people they caught. Sounded like a logical enough reason for something bad to happen, though it lent itself a curious irony – that Jet would turn to a life of crime and forgo what his father had once worked toward.

"It's why he moved here," Jane added.

"Say what?"

"To Wayward, I mean. He tracked down the people who he thought were responsible, and it led him to this town – to the Rough Rhinos."

"So...What? Are you saying Jet was on some vendetta?"

"_Exactly._" Jane pounded her finger into her forehead. "He started the Freedom Fighters as a way to make a living out here while using it as a cover to build his own fuckin' personal army. He just couldn't let it the fuck go. After Kat left him, he went right back to obsessing over that shit, and he started stalking this guy...A guy he was certain had to do with the night his parents were killed."

"Uh...OK?"

"One of the leaders of the Rough Rhinos, right? So one night, things got outta hand, and...-" She rolled her head back with frustration. "-...He fuckin' whacked the guy. Said it was self-defense, but...I'm not sure I ever believed his lying ass."

"So Jet was a murderer, then?" Sokka couldn't tell if this was some manufactured drama Jane came up with or if it was fact, but either way, it sounded intriguing. He always enjoyed a crime story, in either case. "He killed a guy."

Jane stared blankly at Sokka for a moment, her mind seeming to go elsewhere. The memory of that night, out in the woods, helping Jack Chavez bury his victim...cover his tracks...it was all still perfectly clear. It was also the very start of her downward spiral with Johnny.

"Pretty...much. Yea. So, um...The Rough Rhinos weren't exactly happy about that. Or any of the _other _stuff Jet was doing."

"Other stuff?"

"Th-that's not important, it's...Argh." She squinted her eyes and pinched at the bridge of her nose. "Whatever. Point is, they came after Jet to get even."

"To get even for _Jet_ getting even."

"S-something like that, _I _don't fuckin' know..."

"And that's why Jet died."

"He was trying to get away, and...fuckin' crashed on his bike, so...Yea."

"And you think they meant for that to happen."

"No blood on their hands, right? 'Course they fuckin' did."

Sokka nodded, stroking his trimmed chin hairs with care. Quite a conspiracy theorist, this girl was. She sure seemed to believe it, though. And Jane was generally a pretty skeptical girl...

"So they got their revenge. What does...that have to do with right now?"

"Things have gotten outta hand between the two groups," Jane explained. "People have been getting caught in fights, all kinds of shit. But last night the Rhinos told Johnny that the Freedom Fighters needed to disband – _tonight – _or there'd be 'consequences.'" She air-quoted the last word and her shoulders shrugged up with uncertainty.

"Hm."

"So now they all are trying to pull me into this 'cuz I know stuff about what kinds of crap Jet's pulled that they don't. I used to be, like...his right-hand man. Er, chick. Whatever."

"They think this is your fault, too," Sokka pieced together the problem, "That you're responsible for cleaning up the mess Jet made."

"I _guess_," Jane sighed, flopping her face into crossed arms on the table. "_Grah_." She pounded her fist onto the table in anger, causing the flow of cafe discussion to halt for a moment. Her head was too buried in her arms for her to notice their quizzical glances.

"Well...Damn," Sokka concluded, finally taking a sip of his drink. "Sounds like...quite a...erm..._situation_."

"Ya fuckin' _think_?" Jane whimpered, resting her chin on her arms and staring up at her friend, eyebrows arced with uncertainty.

Sokka bit his lip, unsure of how to proceed. He stretched out his arm and patted Jane's shoulder across the table with a couple of rough taps.

"It's gonna be all right, SmellerJayeeeee...-" He froze at her glower. "I mean, er, Jane. _Just_ Jane."

The red-head in question drummed her fingers along the table and Sokka slurped more Raspberry Truffle. He caught a thirsty glint in Jane's eye.

"Sure ya don't want some?"

"I, um...don't really have any money to...-" She shrugged. "The Freedom Fighters were my part-time job, so...-"

Sokka nodded in understanding.

"Sounds like you're gonna need to find new work next semester."

"Heh. Yea..."

"Well, I put in extra hours last week, I can afford to get ya something."

"You don't have to-"

"No, no. It's OK. I _want _to."

"Psh." Jane rolled her eyes and smiled. "That, like, your family motto or something?"

Sokka cocked his chin up, solemnly considering the idea. Come to think of it, it _did _seem like their father had imprinted the phrase into their vocabulary.

"_Huh. _Guess so. Sure."

"'Kay. So, um...If you 'want to' so bad...get to it, Meathead."

"Heh. You got it."

"Bloody Zebra. Please."

As Sokka was off ordering, Jane buried her head into the table again. Her mind whirled with memories and regrets, thoughts muddled as she sought to figure out her own intentions in everything she'd done since the schoolyear had begun.

"What happens now?" Sokka wondered, scooting into the chair across from her at their two-person table. Jane pulled up her head again and rubbed her eyes, yawning.

"Ugh. I don't-...I mean, what _should _happen? You're the...smart guy. Or whatever."

Ah. So this was all Jane's way of asking for his advice.

"Tell them to go screw themselves."

"Huh?"

"You already ditched 'em, Freckles. Let it be. You got yourself out when you did because you had some brains about ya."

"But...Sokka, there's...there's kids in there that don't get what's going on..."

"Not your problem anymore. Isn't that why Johnny's still around?"

"Yea, I think," she solemnly acknowledged. "Grahhhh...The fuck do I _do_?"

"I know your Irish spirit says, 'kick some ass,' and all that, but...Jane...Seriously. Leave it alone."

Jane bit her lip and ground her teeth and scratched her eyebrow. She growled out a string of profanities.

"Shit-ass-cocking-_fuck_!"

Sokka barely swallowed his drink in time to not cough it all up in a spitting laugh. Jane shed a nervous giggle at his reaction and shook her head.

"Shut up," she winced through her embarrassed grin, covered her pink face and taking a deep breath.

"Hey, whoa...You're the one who seems to have so much to say here," Sokka teased. "You obviously feel _very strongly_ about the matter."

"Yea, yea...Ass. But...I know you're right," she admitted, cutting through the comedy and back to the core of the discussion. "I'm..._scared_."

"About what?"

"About...what'll happen to Johnny. To, like...some of those other guys..." The newest recruits, Pipsqueak and The Duke, came to mind, oblivious to the seedy underbelly of things. If they got hurt somehow...

"Ginger, it's hard. I get it. But you made your choice. You left. Johnny took the reigns, he decided to make this his responsibility...that's _his _choice. 'Kay? I'm sure he has some kind of plan – guy's got a good head on his shoulders, I can tell." Sokka wrapped his knuckle against his own temple. "You don't need any of that stuff. You're out. Done. Let it go."

"But...This is my fault. Some of it, I mean."

"Jane...If this is as serious as you're telling me it is, then you getting involved with it again isn't just gonna put _you_ in danger." Sokka's icy blue eyes narrowed at her, and something in her mind seemed to click as he watched her own eyes widen.

"_You_ guys," she muttered under her breath. "Fuck, I didn't even...-" Now she seemed even more freaked out.

"Hey, hey, chill. I'm just...ya know...-" He shrugged, trying to pass off the idea with nonchalance to get her fears to quell. "Just throwin' that out there, is all...You lay low, you stay out of this, things will...blow over. It's all good."

"Bloody Zebra."

"Erm...That's yours, Freckles."

"R-right..." Jane fumbled up out of her chair and scooped up her drink, taking a sip and flinching from the hot temperature as she came back. "Thanks," she mumbled, grasping the cup tightly with two hands.

"You OK?" Sokka checked.

"Mm."

"Like I said: just stay out of things. Lay low."

"Yea...I mean, they...Th-the Rhinos, the night they killed Jet...-" Jane's eyes sunk, staring off into space for a moment. "I got surrounded by a few of them, right?"

"That's how you got dinged up," Sokka confirmed his understanding, pointing to the back of his head to signify his memory of her injury.

"W-well, I...-" She shrugged. "I fuckin' _ran_," she confessed, eyes squinting with loathing. "Like a...-"  
"Smart person."  
"Pff..."

"You could've ended up like Jet did."

"Yea...I know...A-anyway, I'm saying...they haven't talked with me since...and I left the Fighters right after that."

"They probably think they scared you off, then," Sokka theorized. "So as long as you stay under the radar, they won't have a reason to...ya know...-"

"Right, yea," Jane nodded with some relief. "So...So I'm prolly good. Ya think?"

"I think so."

Jane took a slow breath and drank from her cup with care, reaffirming herself. They had no reason to think she'd go to the police, either...She'd be screwing herself over if she did. Yea. Things would be fine. For _her, _at least...

"So...You good?"

"Oh. Yea. Much..._much _better."

"Heh." Sokka rose from his seat and rounded their tiny table. He tossed around her hair a bit. "Even mangy, angry, Irish GI-Jane gets scared sometimes, too," he observed out loud. "Who knew, eh?"

"Who knew?" Jane chuckled.

"I'll catch ya tonight?"

"For sure. Seven?"

"Seven. We'll pick you girls up in front of Aqua."

"Cool."

The two casually waved each other off, and Jane remained at the table, enjoying her drink. In retrospect, she couldn't believe she had doubted trusting Sokka. He was always the one giving her shit, but now she could see it was out of rightful caution. Quite the strategist, he seemed to be, always picking and choosing his battles. Probably for the best, really – her and Toph were blood-thirsty warriors and barbarians who ran in, axes swinging, and look where that seemed to be getting them, right? Jane checked her phone.

["YOU HAVE **ONE **NEW MESSAGE. FIRST MESSAGE."]  
["Smellerbee, where the fuck are you? Why aren't you picking up?"] Christ, it was Cherry. She sounded...weird. Really tired, or...something. ["I know you've heard what's up. Shit's goin' down tonight, Smellerbee. You in? Or out? Help us win this, and you can be one of _us _again."]  
[_Beep._]  
["END OF MESSAGES."]

Jane closed the phone and held it in her palm thoughtfully for a moment, staring at her reflection in the screen's smudged surface.

Maybe it was time to stop swinging her weapon around like a barbarian and start contributing to the Fellowship.

_And _my_ axe._


	40. Jar of Hearts

**A/N: We're finally here, Chapter 40. Black SRU coffee mugs are officially available, for anyone who is willing to buy one - there have been a number of you who have said you would! It's also looking like I _might _be able to print physical copies of SRU when all is said and done for those of you dedicated enough to donate to a charitable cause to obtain them. We'll see. I still need to FINISH the story first.  
**

**www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/print/20234520/**  
**Just click "Mug" underneath "Specialty Products" on the right.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 40 – Jar of Hearts_

* * *

- Saturday, December 11th, 2010 -

Jane stared at the shining, scratched surface of the Zippo lighter, its engraved eagle looking back at her. Setting the device back down, she drummed her fingers across her desk, staring at her Biological Chemistry textbook. As soon as she'd gotten back from her coffee chat with Sokka, she'd spent an hour reviewing the most recent chapters, streamlining her notes into a study guide, and was finally ready to set the work aside. Her stomach was starting to rumble, reminding her that she'd forgotten to eat lunch in her panic earlier that afternoon. She could still hear Katara's music playing from across the hall, meaning that Toph was clearly still not around. She figured she could coax Katara into heading down for some food – it was a bit past five, so it was time to eat, anyway.

As she opened her door and proceeded into the opposing room, sweeping orchestral music gave way to a man's theatrical singing. Jane hadn't been paying attention but Katara seemed to be on another of her 'Broadway Musical Kicks' today. Last week it had been some nonsense about rent being late and AIDS and trisexuals, and how many minutes were in a year...or something. Whatever brand of silliness Jane's neighbor was listening to this week seemed to do with magic and wizards.

["~I never asked for this or planned it in advance~"]

Since Katara's door was wide open, Jane let herself in.

["~I was merely blown here by the winds of chance~"]

Katara was fervently typing away on her computer while the music poured out from her external speakers.

["~I never saw myself as a Solomon or Socrates~"]

"Hey, uh...Kat?"

["~I knew who I was: one of your dime a dozen~"]

Katara quickly wrapped up the sentence she was on and turned her head around.

"Hey!" She sounded oddly cheerful considering how busy things were.

["~Mediocrities ~"]

Katara's hair was tied in a bun for the sake of convenience. Jane didn't like it.

"Umm...Whatcha listenin' to?" she wondered, expressing her confusion and distaste with an amused smirk.

["~Then suddenly I'm here~Respected - worshipped, even~"]

Katara's eyes lit up as she spun, sitting sideways in her chair as Jane plopped herself onto Katara's neatly folded bed.

["~Just because the folks in Oz needed someone to believe in~"]

"A musical," Katara explained. "Wicked," she clarified.

["~Does it surprise you I got hooked, and all too soon?~"]

"What's _this _one about?"

["~What can I say?~"]

"The Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz."

["~I got carried away~"]

"Oh. Uhh..." Jane's eyebrows furrowed at the silly notion. "Sounds, um...-"

["~And not just by ball_oo-oon_~"]

Katara stuck up her index finger and paused the music, then proceeded to hurriedly explain the concept with the enthusiasm she always expressed with her favorite stories, complete with hand gestures waving about.

"It's, like...a backstory to the witch – how she was originally a good person and was friends with the Good Witch Glinda, and she...tried to help people with her magic, but people didn't _want _her to, and-and so she decided 'screw everyone!' and-"  
"Haha, whoooaaa, hey," Jane stopped the train on the tracks. "Geez, ya nerd, I didn't ask for cliff notes on the fuckin' thing..." She grinned, folding her arms across her chest as she laid down on Katara's pillow.

"Heh, um...S-sorry," Katara muttered. "I guess that sounds pretty dumb, but...-"

"Nah, it sounds...uh..._different_."

"It's good. I really like it. It's all about, like...perspective."

"Perspective?"

"How everyone has their own side to every story. How we judge books by their covers, n'...how we treat people affects who they are."

"Huh." Jane casually crossed one leg over the other.

"Are you wearing _toe socks_?" Katara chortled, going off topic.

Jane glanced at her feet to remind her the black and yellow striped toe socks she had put on in her half-asleep daze that morning.

"Y-yea, wanna _make _somethin' of it?" she spat out with a playful balled fist.

"You really like the whole 'bee' thing, huh?"

"_You..._really like the whole..._penguin _thing," Jane countered weakly, slapping the back of her wrist against the small pillow leaned against the wall that she had grown to admire, the cartoony, crocheted penguin on its surface staring blankly at her.

"Fair enough." Katara turned back to her computer. "Anyway, so this song is where the Wizard of Oz is trying to get the witch to join him so people won't hate her anymore, and stuff."

"Why would he need _her_? He's like, the king, or some shit, ain't he?"

"Because...Wait, you _do _know the story, right?"

"If I knew the story, would I be asking?"

"No, no, I mean...The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Like, the original book. Or the movie."

"Oh...Erm, y-yea, I've seen it..." Faint memories of the film from her childhood played out, accompanied by two figures whose voices she couldn't even remember, their faces filled with visages from photographs.

"Right. So you remember the whole thing about the Wizard, then?"

"Umm...Remind me..."

"He's a fake."

"_Oh, yea. _Yea, 'kay." She cleared her throat and growled out in a gruff voice, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

"Heehee, exactly. He's a phony. _But _everyone _thinks _he's this great magician. It's all about perspective. That's what this song is about: how he's only 'wonderful' because everyone treats him like he is. It's like a foil to Elphaba."

"Wait, you lost me."

"Well, Elphaba – that's the witch's name – she starts acting 'wicked' because that's everyone treats _her. _So it goes both ways."

"Hm..."

"Here, listen. It'll make sense." Katara resumed the piece.

["~Wonderful~They called me 'Wonderful'~"]

"_What kind of name is _that?_ Sounds gay..."_

["~So I said 'Wonderful? If you insist'~"]

"_'Freedom Fighters' sounds a lot more tame than 'Smellerbee.' Seriously, what does that even _mean?_"_

["~'I will be Wonderful'~And they said 'Wonderful!'~"]

"_Besides, you don't have to like the name." Jet pointed to the full bar that evening. "But _they _do."_

_Smellerbee scoffed at the crowd, recalling all of the enthusiastic words they had said about this Hispanic man in front of her._

["~Believe me, it's hard to resist~"]

"_You sure do have a pretty dedicated fan club," she observed._

["~'Cause it feels wonderful~They think I'm wonderful~"]

"_Ha, damn right I do," Jet boasted, leaning back in his chair. "These guys would do whatever I asked them to."_

["~Hey, look who's wonderful~This corn-fed hick~"]

_Jet laughed in spite of himself._

"_Ain't that crazy? _Me, _of all people. I moved here a few years back from out west without so much as a change of clothes, and look what I've made of myself."_

["~Who said 'It might be keen to build a town of green'~"]

"_So you're like, a charity organization or some shit?" Smellerbee skeptically probed. She had originally assumed this group was a little more threatening, hence her initial interest._

["~'And a wonderful road of yellow brick!'~"]

"_Heh. Somethin' like that," Jet chuckled, chugging a gulp of his stout. "Little more to it, though. I got a shitty hand dealt in the game of life."_

["You see, I never had a family of my own. So, I guess I just...wanted to give the citizens of Oz everything..."]

_Jet continued._

"_So, you could say that the Freedom Fighters are my way of helping myself – and others – take what's owed to people like us."_

["So you _lied_ to them."]

_Smellerbee's brows narrowed at the shady man with the unlit cigarette in his mouth. Well, gee, wasn't he just a fuckin' modern day Robin Hood. Christ..._

"_I'm startin' to think 'freedom' isn't the only thing you guys fight for..."_

["Elphaba, where I'm from, we believe all _sorts_ of things that aren't true. We call it '_history_.'"]

_Jet's smirk widened into a grin._

"_It's not about what we do, Kid. It's about what people _think _we do."_

["~A man's called a traitor - or liberator~"]

_Jet nodded his head to the full tables behind him._

"_You _really_ think we all make a living off of charity concerts and helping Mom and Pop stores? 'Course we fuckin' don't. But ask anyone on the street and they'll tell you that we're good for Wayward's economy and community."_

["~A rich man's a thief - or philanthropist~"]

"_So it's all just an act," Smellerbee theorized with cynicism. "You just keep up that shit so you can do this other stuff and no one's the wiser..."_

["~Is one a crusader - or ruthless invader?~"]

_Jet leaned over the table, sipping from his bottle, and stared into doubtful eyes of olive._

"_Like _you _never have?"_

_Jane's heart skipped a beat as she remembered reporting her 'accident' with Nils to the authorities a couple of years back. She shrugged, dismissing Jet's question._

["~It's all in which label is able to persist~"]

"_So what do you want with _me, _then?" she inquired, finally taking a drink of the vodka-cranberry she'd been served._

"_You've got the spark, Kid," Jet proclaimed._

["~There are precious few at ease with moral ambiguities~"]

"_I can see it in those eyes: you're good at making people think whatever you want."_

["~So we act as though they don't exist~"]

_Smellerbee smiled at this compliment._

"_Callin' me a liar? Well, ain't _you _the hypocrite?"_

["~They call me 'Wonderful'~So I am wonderful~"]

"_Does it matter? They all think I'm a fuckin' Saint," Jet pointed out._

["~In fact - it's so much who I am, it's part of my name~"]

"_I mean, shit, Kid – you can be whoever the hell you _want _here. No one cares what your real name is, where you came from, whatever..."_

["~And with my help, you can be the same~"]

"_So c'mon." He tipped his head up at her. "Whaddya say?"_

_Smellerbee scratched her eyebrow and sighed, contemplating what to do._

["~At long, long last receive your due long overdue~Elphaba~"]

_She had finally made it to college – this was her fresh start to be whoever she wanted, not 'that she-male whose parents died.' Instead of cowering in public or hiding under a hoodie, she could stake a clam in a reputation where others feared _her _for a change._

["~The most celebrated~are the rehabilitated~"]

_Getting on good terms with this 'Jet' fellow would lead to that kind of reputation._

["~There'll be such a fwhoop-dee-doo~"]

"_I know you're a student, and whatever," Jet noted, "But we take in lots like you these days. We can work with your schedule."_

["~A celebration throughout Oz~that's all to do with _you_~"]

"_So what's in it for me if I go along with this, then?"_

["~Wonderful~They'll call you 'wonderful'~"]

"_You do well with the Freedom Fighters and you get money, respect...power. I can see it in that Irish face of yours...you want power. I'll put ya work and you'll find what you want."_

["~It does sound wonderful...~"]

"_Hm." She wiped booze from her lip. "You sure like bein' fuckin' vague, '_Jet.'_"_

["~Trust me - it's fun!~"]

"_And you seem to like acting tougher than you actually are, '_Smellerbee.'"

["~When you are wonderful~"]

"_Pff. Fuck it," she shrugged, extending a bony arm. "I'm in." Like she had anything to lose._

["~It would be wonderful~"]

"_I knew you weren't as dumb as you looked." Jet squeezed her hand in a tight handshake._

["~Wonderful, wonderful~"]

["One! Two! Aaaaand...-"]

The lyrics stopped as a the instruments took charge, escorting Jane to the present.

"Hm. Sounds like a...fun story," she mumbled. Her stomach gurgled with discomfort.

"Wow," Katara laughed. "Little bit hungry there, Jane?"

"Oh, right." Jane administered a facepalm. "I came in here to see if you wanted to eat dinner before practice."

"Ahhhh," Katara cheerfully replied, jumping up from her chair. "We're going out to eat with the group tonight, remember?"

"We are?" Jane muttered, scratched her head. Of course: pizza night, the last of the semester. She'd gotten so wrapped up in today's events she'd nearly forgotten.

"Yea, don't you remember? The boys are picking us up at seven."

"_Right, _yea..._Ugghhh,"_ Jane groaned, rubbing her stomach tenderly. "It'll be, like, two _hours_..."

"Aw," Katara sympathized. "Is little Janey Jane _hungwee_?" She sure seemed in a good mood for some reason. An about-face from yesterday, when she'd been all stressed out.

"I kinda skipped lunch," confessed Jane with a disgruntled frown.

"Why'd you do _that_, ya goof?"

"I dunno, I...got caught up with my studies," Jane lied, staring at the ceiling.

"Ha, I know whatcha mean," Katara acknowledged. "That's been my entire day so far. Work, work, work, right?"

"Fuck me up the goat ass," Jane sighed. "So much to deal with, all at once..."

"That's school for ya..."

_Not exactly what I meant, but...sure._

Jane's insides rumbled once again.

"Geez, Hun...We need to get something in that stomach of yours." Katara poked a finger at Jane's abs, causing the girl to tighten up and flinch. "My dad got me a care package for finals week with a bunch of snacks," Katara recalled, bending over to search under her bed. "You should have some."

"OK," Jane welcomed the offer, sitting up. She observed her friend on all fours, rear-end sticking out from under the bed while her head was buried underneath. Katara popped back out a moment later with a white box in her hands and a huge grin on her face. She plopped the box on the bed and opened it up, her treasure chest of snacks.

"Haha, whoa." Jane eyeballed the collection of treats.

"Whatever ya want," Katara offered. "Except for the Reese's Cup," she added sneakily.

"What about this?" Jane pulled out a bag of microwaveable popcorn.

"Go for it," encouraged her friend.

"Cool. I'll be back in a minute." She slipped out of the room and into the floor's kitchen area alone. Shoving the bag into the microwave, she took a deep breath, staring out the window and to the snow-covered trees outside, their branches bare. Snow was something she had grown to rather enjoy in her time up north at college. Everyone seemed to hate it, but she enjoyed the solitude it provided. It helped her forget everything else for a while.

* * *

"Uh, could I just have some water?" Aang tossed out his drink request, menu still in hand.

"Come _on, _Aang, live a little," Sokka encouraged. "Can I get two Mountain Dews, here?" Aang laughed and shook his head with a smile, knowing one of those two had his name on it.

"Pepsi, please," Katara requested.

"Not diet?"

"No, Sokka. I'm _living a little,_" she mocked with a wink to her brother. "Sierra Mist for you, Jane?"

"Oh, um...Yyea," Jane nodded, tickled by Katara's correct prediction.

There was silence at the table for a moment while the waitress checked her pad.

"One water, two Mountain Dews, one Pepsi, and one Sierra Mist. Is that all to drink?"

"Toph," Aang calmly probed across the table. "What do you want?"

Toph, cheek in her palm, scratched her ear.

"I'm good," she replied coolly.

"You sure?"

"Yea," she insisted with a hint of irritation.

"What about the _Good Doctor_?" Sokka inquired.

Toph sighed through her nose, ignoring her friend's comment.

"That's all for now," Katara dismissed the waitress, quick to alleviate the tension. "Thanks."

"All righty."

After the portly woman had whisked herself away, Sokka popped open his menu wide.

"OK, guys. We've gotta make this count. Gotta go with tradition here. This is a landmark and everything."

"What's he goin' on about?" muttered Jane to her left to Katara.

"I think he wants us to get what we got the first time you came here with us."

"Ohhhh..."

"I wrote it _down_," Sokka boasted, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper and slapping it on the table.

{- ½ anchovies + sausage, ½ pepperoni}  
{- ½ green pepp + mush, ½ mush}  
{- ham + pineapple}

"Wow, Sokka," Aang chuckled. "Gotta love it..."

"The end of the first semester for the Fearsome Fivesome. Ya gotta do these things right."

Katara smiled and exchanged an amused glance with Jane, who rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"What was mine, again?" Toph wondered drearily, still in the same position.

"You got just mushrooms," Aang answered.

"Ah..."

"Ham and pineapple," Sokka read aloud. "That still catches me by surprise. Never pegged you for a _pineapple _girl, Freckles."

"Meat n' sweet," said Jane. "It's a good combo."

"Ha." Katara tapped Jane with her wrist. "Like me and Sokka."

"Huh?" Jane was baffled as her mind leaped to gutter thoughts, given the context.

Katara then turned her attention to Toph, rubbing her roommate on the shoulder.

"As Toph would say, 'Meathead and Sweetness.'" She wiggled an index finger back and forth between herself and her brother. "Right?"

Toph finally shifted her position, sitting upright now.

"Sure..." She didn't seem too entertained.

"Ya know, we could get that Dr. Pepper for you," Sokka offered. "I know you're strapped for cash now, but me and Aang are already buying the pizzas, it really wouldn't-"  
"Fine, whatever," Toph snipped. "Tradition, blabla, I fuckin' got it. Wouldn't wanna mess _that _up..."

Aang reached his arms across the table and grabbed Toph's hands carefully.

"Hey, Taters," he murmured. "C'mon, try to have some fun."

"I know," Toph grumbled. "I am..."

"Anything we can do to help you feel better?" Katara wondered quietly as the waitress arrived, setting down their drinks.

"No," Toph replied half-heartedly.

"Are we ready to order?" asked the woman.

"Why yes...-" Sokka paused to glance at the lady's name tag. "-..._Sandra, _we sure are."

"And what'll it be tonight?"

As Sokka rattled off their multi-part order, Jane frowned at how Katara and Aang seemed to be non-verbally coddling the girl who insisted on being a grouch. She had to catch herself and be reminded of a girl named 'Smellerbee' who used to be the same way.

"-and that'll all be under one check, aaaand...-" Sokka glanced to his right to Aang and Toph, hands still connected. "Sooo...Were we a 'go' on the Good Doctor?"

"Whatever," Toph sighed, breaking her chain with her boyfriend and shoving her hands in her lap. Sokka nodded, brows lifted up, and finished with the waitress.

"Can we also get a Dr. Pepper, too?"

"Sure thing. The pizzas should be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Great. Thanks."

"When's that recital, Toph?" Katara wondered as the group fell into silence again.

"Tuesday evening," came back a dull response.

"OK," Katara kept her optimism up. "What time? Maybe we can come?"

"Um...seven o'clock..." The words spilled out with uncertainty.

"Hm." Katara tapped her lips thoughtfully. "Well, I'm totally free then. You guys?"

Aang and Sokka both nodded and Jane shrugged.

"We should be able to make that, then."

"'Kay..."

Whatever direction Katara had been intending for the flow of conversation to go from there, Toph had stalled it. Aang was doodling on the activity sheet that served as a table mat, while Sokka overlooked.

Jane's pocket vibrated and she stealthily checked it underneath the table.

[From: Jet]  
[u comin or wat?]  
[Sent: 7:26pm]

God damnit, why did Sneers and Johnny have to keep using Jet's phone like that? They both had their own, didn't they?

"What'd she say? Fifteen minutes?" Jane wondered aloud.

Sokka recovered from his distraction.

"Er, the pizzas? Yea."

Jane stared him down for a couple of seconds with a dire look that no one else caught.

"I need to get some air for a bit," she announced, rising from her seat.

"Oh, I'm come with you," Katara decided, making a move to follow suit.

"Geez, Sis, give the woman some space," Sokka discouraged her with some exaggeration in his voice to lessen the blow.

"What?" Katara was obviously out of the loop and confused.

"Heh, it's OK," Jane assured her friend in a mumble. "I just need a bit of time to myself, is all. Clear my head."

"O-OK," Katara quickly nodded, retracting back to her seat. "Yea, that's fine..."

"I'll catch you guys in a bit."

"Enjoy the _snow_," Aang bid with a wary tone.

"I will," Jane replied matter-of-factly.

Stepping out into the brisk evening, Jane took in the familiar atmosphere of downtown Wayward on a winter's night. She cautiously made her way down the street, fortunately shrouded in lamps. Her sights set on the bar across the road, her insides began to churn. Thinking about this was one thing, but actually confronting it was another.

She gave in to her weakness and dug through her pocket, pulling out an old box of cigarettes she'd bought months back. It had been weeks she'd gone without a smoke after months of whittling down her use, but the stresses of the day had led her to intake one earlier in the afternoon, and it was about time for another, her mind whirling in a frustrated tornado of conflicting emotions. If Katara had known she was falling back into the habit, Jane would no-doubt be in deep water. This reminder stacked on top of of the fact she was already hiding from Katara the truth about maintaining contact with the Fighters...She was doing exactly what Jet had done to the girl: lying to her and keeping her in the dark. This didn't sit well with Jane. But at least she was about to do something about it.

She grasped the cigarette in trembling fingers, taking a shaky breath as she pulled out the Zippo from her black winter vest pocket. In that moment, the eagle on its metal surface stared at her, and she glared back. She couldn't even light a damned cigarette without thinking about it. About _them. _About how they took Johnny away from her. About how _he - _Jet - took him away from her, even in death. Watching the steam from her breath dissipate in the frigid air, she paused for a moment, staring at the entrance to the Treetop Pub, its interior bustling with activity on this weekend evening. She wanted to go inside. She wanted to plunge right back into their fray and find him. They had already welcomed her back - it would be easy, simple. She could reclaim what she had lost. Maybe she could convince Johnny to leave with her and let them settle their gang war on their own.

**~I know I can't take one more step towards you~'Cause all that's waiting is regret~**

She reached her hand out toward the door's handle...

**~And don't you know? I'm not your ghost anymore~**

...her palm gently pressed down on his tombstone.

{Jack "Jet" Chavez}  
{1984 - 2010}  
{May he find his Freedom}

**~You lost the Love I loved the most~**

_"They need me, Jane. The Freedom Fighters need Longshot."_

**~I learned to live half alive~**

[From: Katara]  
[Jane? Where did you go?]  
[Sent: 7:32pm]

**~And now you want me one more time~**

_"And they need _you. _They need Smellerbee."_

**~And who do you think you are?~Running 'round leaving scars~**

_There Jet was, entering the bar with that stupid crazy blond latched to his arm. It sickened Jane to her core. No more than a month after he had left her, even._

_Had he ever really cared about her that way in the first place? Or was it all some act to get her to join his club?_

**~Collecting your jar of hearts~And tearing love apart~**

_"At least Cherry knows what fucking _gender _she is, Bee."_

_"She's psychotic, Jet! She's going to make _you _go crazy, too!"_

_"Sure. And then I'll find someone else. But in the meantime, I'm gonna have fun."_

**~You're gonna catch a cold~From the ice inside your soul~**

_"You're not even going to tell her the truth about what we do, are you, Jet?"_

_"No. Katara doesn't need to know, Bee."_

_"She's catching on..."_

_"But _you _aren't gonna tell her anything."_

_"Because if I _did_ you know she wouldn't give you the light of day."_

_"I guess so."_

**~So don't come back for me~**

_"Don't you get it, ya retard? You were Jet's right-hand. With him gone, someone had to take his place."_

**~Who do you think you are?~**

_"With _you _gone, someone had to take _your _place."_

**~I hear you're asking all around~**

_["Shit's goin' down tonight, Smellerbee. You in? Or out?"]_

**~If I am anywhere to be found~**

_["Help us win this, and you can be one of _us_ again."]_

**~But I have grown too strong~**

"No..." Shaking her head with doubt, Jane pulled her hand away from the door, stepping back, the crackling of salt on the sidewalk emerging from under her boots.

**~To ever fall back in your arms~**

_I don't _want _to become one of you again. I am _not _a Freedom Fighter. Not anymore...I need to find my _own _freedom..._

**~And learn to live half alive~**

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[sorry. i needed to go for a walk. get some air. brb.]  
[Sent: 7:34pm]

**~And now you want me one more time~**

As Jane finished her text message, the door before her swung open, causing her to jerk her head up, dropping the unlit cigarette from her lips. It plopped onto the damp sidewalk as she stared at Sneers.

"Aha! _There _ya are, Smelly! We were startin' to get worried!"

**~And who do you think you are?~Running 'round leaving scars~**

"Well? Yoos comin' inside or what? 'S colder 'n a witch's fuggin' tit out here."

Jane's orange brows furrowed and she glared at the bartender standing in the doorway.

**~Collecting your jar of hearts~And tearing love apart~**

Picking up freshman students, recruiting them to join this cause for "freedom." Dirty money, cheap thrills, violence, reputation, street cred. That's all it really was. How many kids had gotten hurt? Had foolishly lost their virginity, or contracted something, or gotten addicted to something? All for the sake of this seemingly noble-minded group? Robin Hood and his Merry Men? The Freedom Fighters collected an army of ignorance and programmed them. And for a couple of years, Smellerbee had been their loyal robot. And they had torn her already fractured life into smaller pieces.

**~You're gonna catch a cold~From the ice inside your soul~**

Even in death, Jet was still haunting her. His ideals, his gang - tugging, pulling, yanking at her ankles, trying to drag her back into their ranks. Taking her love away from her and practically using it as bait. Even in death, Nils was still haunting her, too, her crumbled security evidence of his post-mortem grasp on her. She was scrambling to put these shards of Jane Fitzpatrick back together. The four people in the Pizza Hut across the street were helping her do that. And even with all four of them working together, she was _barely _managing to get it done.

**~So don't come back for me~**

"No."

"Whuzzat?"

"_No. _I'm not coming in."

**~Who do you think you are?~**

"You ain't helpin' us? Whadda fuck, Smelly, ya don't-?"  
"Don't _call _me that! Shit, Sneers, I'm not _one _of you anymore! My name is _Jane. _Jane Fitzpatrick_._"

"Damn, don't get yoos panties in a bunch. Whadda hell ya want, then?"

**~Dear, it took so long just to feel all right~**

Pounding fists into a mattress. Thrashing in her bed. Screams of frustration and anguish muffled by her pillow.

**~Remember how to put back the light in my eyes~**

_"C'mon, Jane. Being part of the group means being part of group hugs."_

**~I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed~**

_"Nah, it doesn't matter to me, Babe. I'm not one to judge."_

_"Rrrreally?"_

_"Nah, it's cool, Bee. What you were before doesn't matter. It's who you are _now _that counts."_

_"You mean it, Jet? You won't have a problem with it?"_

_"Psh. 'Course not. Scout's honor."_

**~'Cause you broke all your promises~**

_"Could it hurt ya to try to act a little more like a damned_ girl _sometimes?"_

_"Shut the hell up, Jet! You know about-"  
"Why did you even choose to _be_ one if you refuse to _act _like one?"_

**~And now you're back~**

"_Smellerbee. _Or _Jane, _whatevah da fuck. What didja come 'ere for?"

Jane bared her teeth at Sneers as the chubby man scratched lazily at his greasy stomach.

**~You don't get to get me back~**

"I came here to tell you to leave me the hell alone." She thrust a violent index finger into his lumpy pectoral, tugging at the collar of his shirt viciously with her other hand.

**~And who do you think you are?~Running 'round leaving scars~**

"You. Them. The Freedom Fighters. You're creeps who use kids to do your dirty work. I am _done. _Don't talk to me. Don't talk to my friends. Stay the _fuck _out of my life."

Sneers, aghast by her violent outburst, lifted up his palms defensively.

"Wh-whatever yoos want, Sm-Sm...J-Jane."

**~Collecting your jar of hearts~And tearing love apart~**

"Johnny's the exception," she muttered, shifting a nervous gaze off to the snowy sidewalk for a second. "Anyone _else _bothers me? Or my friends? I swear - fucking _swear _- **I will cut them**_._"

**~You're gonna catch a cold~**

_"You'll always belong to _me_, Little Cousin _It_. Now get down."_

**~From the ice inside your soul~**

"Are we clear?"

"Y-yea, sh-sure."

"Clear as fuckin' _crystal, _right?" Jane jerked him toward her, bumping her forehead into his own.

"Y-yoos got it."

**~So don't come back for me~**

"Good." She forcefully shoved Sneers away, bumping him into the wall beside the entrance door.

**~Don't come back at all~**

Jane turned her back to Sneers, observing the cigarette she'd dropped on the ground. She crushed it defiantly with her right boot, smearing it into the wet sidewalk.

**~And who do you think you are?~**

Jane grabbed the metal lighter from her pocket, stroking its eagle emblem with her thumb under the street lamp. Jet had made a lot of bad decisions. In that moment, Jane wasn't sure if she had ever figured out if she'd forgiven him. But it didn't matter either way. He had found his freedom, and she never would herself if she continued to let the group he'd left behind pull on her strings.

**~Running 'round leaving scars~**

Her cold fingers flicked the lighter open to observe its flame one last time. With a sharp gesture, Jane violently flung the Zippo to the concrete, still ignited. It clattered on the stone as she walked away, letting its puny flame flicker alone as Sneers stared at her back, befuddled.

**~Collecting your jar of hearts~**

Jane's boots crunched against the fresh snow on the sidewalk's edge before she crossed the relatively empty street.

**~And tearing love apart~**

_You take ignorant kids. You took _Johnny_. You don't get to keep_ me_, fuckers._

**~You're gonna catch a cold~**

After she had hit the other end of the street, she paused in the parking lot, hands dug deep into her vest pockets - the winter vest Toph had bought her back before Thanksgiving - and she appreciated the warmth they gave.

**~From the ice inside your soul~**

She glanced back at the Treetop Pub with remorse, her heart heavy. Not everyone in that place would still be alive in the morning. Of this, she felt pretty certain.

**~Don't come back for me~**

_Piss off, Freedom Fighters._

**~Don't come back at all~**

_Never again. I'm with _them _now._

**~Who do you think you are?~**

Jet's mangled body, dumped by the curb from the crash.

**~Who do you think you are?~**

Nils' blank, lifeless eyes, his face swollen and terrified.

**~Who do you think you are?~**

The Treetop Pub: loud, lit, and bustling with activity. Jane sighed out a cloud of vapor and shook her head, turning her attention back to the red-roofed restaurant before her. She opened her phone to observe the photograph saved on its background: five smiling faces.

[From: Katara]  
[Hun, pizza's here. You coming?]  
[Sent: 7:36pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[yep back in a sec]  
[Sent: 7:37pm]

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was finished pretty quickly because the Jar of Hearts scene was actually written back in December to help me stay on focus - though I had to edit a few minor details. There should be a comic form of the end of the scene made by a trusted artist in the future, and I'll be sure to share.  
**

**"Wonderful" is from the musical Wicked. Probably my favorite musical besides Les Miserables. Expect more of it. Katara's "Broadway Musical kick" is naturally inspired by my own habits.  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=bF0o9iR21bY  
**

**"Jar of Hearts" is by Christina Perri.  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=8v_4O44sfjM**


	41. Control

**A/N: A bit of light-hearted fun in this chapter to help keep things from being too depressing. ;P  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 41 - Control  
_

* * *

- Sunday, December 12th, 2010 -

"Everything...OK?"

Aang didn't reply. He merely stared out the window as an elderly man hobbled across the street while they waited for the light to change. Katara tried again.

"Aang? Hun?"

"Yea?" he murmured, still gawking out the window.

"What's up with you? Huh?" She spoke with slow, worried words, putting her foot down on the pedal as the light turned green. "You seemed...kind of depressed back there at church..."

Aang shrugged and yawned, his eyes squinting shut. He wiped sand from them and readjusted his hat.

"I thought you and Toph seemed to be doing better at dinner last night," Katara observed with a hopeful tone. "And she was _way_ less aggressive at practice, too."

"I guess," Aang complied with a single nod.

"So...I mean...What _is_ it, then?"

"It's just...I'm not sure about stuff like I was before..." That sure didn't sound optimistic...

"What...do you mean?"

"Like, with...Toph...and stuff. I don't know how to make things..._work._"

Katara bobbed her head to the side with understanding.

"Aang...I know it's not easy," she conceded. "But a real relationship never _is. _They take a lot of commitment, and dedication." Aang nodded and sighed at this.

"Which Toph doesn't seem to have..."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's this easy for her to just...fly off the handle and become a crazy person," Aang lamented. "I didn't even do anything _wrong _and look at how she's been acting...What if I messed something up? Something serious? _Then _what would happen?"

"Hun, you wouldn't mess anything up like that."

"You make it sound like I'm perfect," Aang grumbled. "I screw things up sometimes,_ too_..."

"I know, I didn't mean...-" Katara's compliment to Aang's character seemed to have backfired. It was rare to see him in such an actively pessimistic mood. "This is just a rough spot, Aang. It'll get better, you just have to stick with it."

"A rough spot? Katara...This is how she was when we _met. _I'm pretty sure this isn't a 'rough spot.'"

"She acted like this before because...she felt like she couldn't be herself. But she _can _around us. Around _you. _She needs time to...figure some things out. I bet that's what it is."

"She's not the only one figuring things out," Aang grumbled.

"OK." Katara gripped the wheel tightly as they hit the open road that passed through the countryside, back to SRU's campus. "I feel like there's more to this than her acting all grouchy."

"Yea..."

"So...You gonna tell me?"

"W-well it's also...the...you know...The awkward stuff."

"The...touchy-feely stuff?"

"Doesn't exactly work out all that great with us...Not lately, anyway."

"Do you...? What, you aren't...like..._attracted..._-?"

"_Nooo, _no, no," Aang quickly dismissed the notion. "It's not like that. I'm...it's very..._She_...is very attractive. To me."

"I'm...missing something here, Hun. Sorry."

"It's hard to...make things _work_," Aang vaguely attempted to explain. "It's like...trying to draw with a pen that doesn't work?"

Katara's eyes bulged open wide with an uncomfortable expression that Aang caught, though her attention was still on the road.

"Errrr, _no! _N-not what-!...Gosh, that...didn't come out right," Aang sheepishly insisted. "Everything..._works. _But they don't seem to...work...at the same time...?"

Katara's brows sunk downward in contemplation, her fingers drumming along the wheel.

"Like you're on different wavelengths?"

"R-right! Exactly. It's...like that."

"Mm..." Katara nodded. "Toph's...compl-...um, vented about that lately...It sounds tough."

"It _is. _I _want _that sort of thing to go well, but...Hm. Oh, hey. I know. It's like...going swimming at a pool. I need to walk down the steps, one at a time. But Toph just jumps right in - she canonballs."

"Ah, OK. Yea."

"I need to take it slow. I feel OK waist deep, but she pulls me into the deep end, and-and then I can't swim, and I start choking, and all the chlorine, and...-"

"We _are _talking about, like...sex. Right? And not swimming?"

"Wh-wha-? Sex?" Aang went pale and flashed his palms up defensively. "N-_no, _we haven't even-...There's been no...being naked yet. I-I mean, she definitely has gotten her hand down in-"  
"I get it," squeaked Katara. "That's...fine!"

"Sorry..."

"Ha...No, it's OK," said Katara with an endeared chuckle. "It's just funny. It's cute how you talk about it like that."

"Huh?"

"I dunno, it just makes you sound like this innocent little kid or something. You know?"

Aang huffed and bobbed his head.

"Oh, I...That was...I meant, like...it's cute. It's...adorable."

"Right. Little lost puppy. I _know._"

"Aang..." Katara murmured apologetically. She took a hand from the wheel to briefly massage his shoulder. "I mean it in a _good _way. I bet Toph feels the same, she'd just never admit it."

"I'm sick of everyone saying how _cute _I am, or...or how I'm so _perfect _and _innocent._"

"I don't...-? W-we say things like that because...they're _good, _because...-" Katara sighed, needing to recollect her thoughts. "Aang. You're always acting so kind, and thoughtful. You don't give in to doing selfish things, you try to help others...And the reason we say that stuff is because...well...-" She shrugged, and a laugh came out through her nostrils. "You make it look so _easy. _It's just...part of who you are."

"How is that _good_?"

"It...it just _is. _You...I-I dunno, it's...like you just have a...really pure heart. Yea." She nodded her head to herself, concurring with her own phrasing.

"Hm." Aang took a moment to absorb this notion. "Pure heart," he repeated. "That's...funny."

"What is?"

"'Pure heart.' Those exact words - that's what me and Sokka always say about _you_."

Katara's cheeks turned pink and she shrugged.

"Sokka...says that about me?" she prodded in embarrassment, trying to sway the conversation down a different path than where it was heading.

"He does," Aang confirmed. "I appreciate that you think that way about me. I guess that...makes more sense. Usually people make fun of me about that stuff, but...I see what you're saying."

"People probably just pick on you about it because there's...not really much else. You're a...really nice guy. I mean, it's hard to think of..._bad _stuff about you to make fun of."

"Pff..."

"I'm serious," Katara insisted with a smirk. "You make us look bad, being a gentleman all the time."

"Emphasis on the _man_."

"Emphasis on the _gentle._"

"Aww..."

"Haha."

The pair shared grins until Aang's humor rapidly decomposed.

"But I still don't know what to do about me and Toph..."

"Hm. That _is _tricky," Katara confessed. "You _have _talked with her about all this, right?"

"Yea...Lotsa times..."

"And I mean, of course you love her."

"Mm-hm. I do. Really. I know she loves me, too, I just...don't know _how._"

Katara was unsure of how to further contribute to the conversation, but Aang went on with his own idea.

"With finals happening, and...her birthday being _today..._I mean, it's probably not a good idea to focus on this stuff right now. Ya know? I should just...leave it on the back burner. And just try to not worry."

"For now," Katara specified. "Yea. That...sounds like a good idea. For a while, at least."

Katara made to switch the radio on, but Aang reached out an arm.

"Er, I'm...not in the mood for...radio. Right now."

"Oh...Sorry. No problem."

"It's OK."

"You know, Aang...Bud...I'm the one who's supposed to do all of the worrying, remember?"

"Heh. I remember..."

"Everything will work out for the best. So for today, just focus on helping your girlfriend have a fun party."

"Yea." At least he was speaking with a bit more conviction. "Let's do it."

* * *

Jane reviewed her text messages - the ones she had recently _sent, _anyway, because she hadn't received a single one since the night before. No word on what had happened with everything. It was disconcerting.

[To: Johnny]  
[is everythin ok?]  
[Sent: 10:34pm]

[To: Johnny]  
[r u all rite? srsly whats up?]  
[Sent: 12:09am]

[To: Cherry]  
[teh fuck is goin on? longshot wont get back to me]  
[Sent: 12:23am]

[To: Yojimbo]  
[did something happen last nite?]  
[Sent: 9:46am]

[To: Johnny]  
[ur worryin me man. lemme know ur ok!]  
[Sent: 9:54am]

[To: The Duke]  
[wtf went down last nite?]  
[Sent: 11:17am]

She checked the time: [1:25pm]

She had just finished trying to call Johnny with no luck. She needed to take her mind off of things - find a distraction. Jane wandered into Katara's bedroom, the odd songs from that musical still pouring from Katara's computer. Katara was folding freshly washed laundry and had been singing along but stopped when Jane entered.

"Heya, Jane."

"'Sup?"

"Waiting for Toph's cake to finish baking." She popped out of bed and stopped the music player.

"Oh..."

"After church, Aang and I swung by the grocery store and grabbed some stuff. He's cooking a _whole ton _of tater tots at Aero, and I'm working on the cake - I went with carrot. That's not stereotypical, right? Toph would hate a stereotypical party. Don't you think?"

"Um...I-I guess...?"

"We're going to eat cake, and-and tater tots, and...drink root beer. Lots of root beer. And Dr. Pepper. 'Cuz you know how much she loves those..."

"Mm..." Jane shrugged, watching Katara continue to fold up her shirts.

"And we'll watch the Pirates of the Caribbean, because Toph loves the theme song, and mocking the dialogue, and doing her Jack Sparrow impersonation."

Katara seemed...pretty into this whole thing. It made Jane kind of confused. And annoyed. Her attention was redirected when Katara picked up a black tee that read: {ʇɹıɥs-ʇ puɐʇs bǝʞ ןɐıɔıɟɟo}

"Isn't that...mine?" She immediately reached out for it, causing Katara to pause.

"What?" She flipped the shirt around and snickered. "Oh, hey...It's your upside-down shirt."

"Yea...Damn, I've been looking all over for this thing...Where was it?"

Katara handed it over and tapped her curious, puckered lips twice, staring at the collection of clothes she was folding, which Jane suddenly noticed were primarily Toph's.

"I was just tidying the room up. Toph's half has been super messy...You probably just left it here at some point and it got swallowed into the Beifong Black Hole."

"Prolly..." Jane crumpled the shirt into a ball and whisked it over to her room to drop it carelessly into her dresser. "Hey, Kat," she called back inbetween rooms. "I thought you were still pissed off with her...Why are you working so hard?"

Katara's enthusiasm shed a layer to reveal nervous fidgeting.

"Wh-? I'm not...This is...I-I just want my roommate to start getting better..."

Jane narrowed her eyes and Katara smiled weakly back. Jane knew full well that Katara's words were true...but there was more to it than that.

"I know, Kat, but...Why the sudden change?"

"Argh..." Katara huffed, finishing up a pair of torn jeans and dropping them onto Toph's clothing stack. "Like I said before...helping other people helps me not worry about my _own _problems. I really want to see Toph and Aang get better. And...I mean, poor Aang, he's trying so hard, and he doesn't know what to do..."

"Psh. Guy's got himself into a big mess," Jane agreed with some sympathy.

"I hate seeing Toph this way, but...she's choosing this. But Aang? He's not. He's caught in the crossfire. I can't stand seeing him acting all...-"  
"Depressed?"

"_Yes. _It's not like him. I thought the other day: maybe if I can help make Toph's life easier right now, she'd start getting in a better mood again, and then Aang would start feeling better, too."

"Two birds with one stone."

"Exactly. And there's certain things I can help out with that Aang can't. Like keeping the room clean. Or...or baking a cake."

"I getcha." Jane nodded. "Pff. You're a crazy girl, Kat. No way in hell I'd bust my ass so much like you do..."

"Being a good friend isn't always about...busting ass...There's different ways to help someone, you know?"

"Sure. Like cussing them out when they're being a slut," Jane joked, referring to her recent spat with Toph.

"Sometimes...some people need that," Katara honestly declared. "A slap in the face..."

"Hmph. Wish I knew what _I _needed right now," Jane grumbled.

"What's that?" Katara wondered, having not made out Jane's muttering.

"Aw, I...just have a lot on my mind lately. That's all."

"Ah...How are things with...Johnny?"

"They're...stuck. I dunno. I kinda feel like...maybe it's just not meant to be..."

"Really?" Katara whimpered. "You think so?"

"I mean, c'mon, Kat...He doesn't wanna let go of the Freedom Fighters. And I can't be involved with them. Not ever again."

"_Oh..._You've...decided on that?" At least the whimpering had given way to hope.

"Y-yea...'Course I did. I told 'em I never want anything to do with 'em...Ever."

"Ah...And that includes Johnny, too...Doesn't it?" Back down to mopey.

"It...-" Jane cocked her head to the side with uncertainty. "It _does. _For now, anyway...I still want to...be _sure, _but...until I hear from him, there's no point bothering with it...Ya know?"

"Yea...You're right." Katara finished the laundry and set it inside her basket on the bed. She scooted off and gave her friend an unexpected hug, which Jane bashfully accepted.

"Guess that means I'm gonna have to start-...Pff. Fuck, I dunno...-acting like decent human being, or some shit." Jane smirked, digging her hands into her pockets.

"Heehee." Katara went to her computer. "Yea, you're going to need to turn a new life now, right?"

"_Ha. _Yeaaaaa...Dunno 'bout that one, Kat."

"Oh, don't worry." Katara flashed an embellished, sadistic grin over her shoulder. "_I can help you with that,_" she advised with a creepy voice, clicking her mouse. Another song from that quirky musical started playing, opening with dialogue, and Katara mimicked it.

["Elphie...now that we're friends, I've decided to make you my new project."]  
She spoke with the same sweet-as-molasses tone of the frighteningly peppy witch.

["You really don't have to do that..."]  
Katara likewise acted out the rougher tone of the darker witch. Then it was back to Preppy McHappyton.

["_I know_. That's what makes me so _nice_!"]

"Oh, _God_," Jane moaned, rolling her eyes. This 'nice' girl sounded barf-worthy. Katara snickered at her friend's reaction and began to sing along, pressing her palm with drama into her chest.

["~Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I~"]

"Kat, what are you...-?"

["~And let's face it: who isn't less fortunate than I?~"]

"Christ..." Jane shook her head.

["~My tender heart tends to start to bleed~"]  
Katara lifted the back of her wrist to her forehead before rushing to Jane's side and grabbing her by the shoulders.

["~And when someone needs a makeover, I simply have to take over~"]

"You're creepin' me out..."

["~I know - _I know_ - exactly what they need~"]

"_Do _you now?" Jane raised her brows. She had witnessed this type of behavior before - during mid-terms. Maybe the girl simply went a little nuts under pressure and needed to let her crazies out through...song and dance?

["~And even in your case~Though it's the toughest case I've yet to face~"]

Well, at least it was giving her more...singing practice, right?

["~Don't worry~"] Katara balled her fist before her face. "[~I'm determined to succeed~"]

"You're really doing this..." Jane pointed aloud, tossing her head back and chuckling.

[~Follow my lead~"]

"Seriously?"

["~And yes, indeed...you...will...be...~"]

Katara jabbed her index finger into Jane's forehead, gleefully smiling at how Jane flinched, leaning her head back.

["~Popular~You're gonna be popular~"]

She clutched Jane's wrists, planting one on a bony hip and hanging the other limply into the air.

[~"I'll teach you the proper ploys~When you talk to boys~"]

She let Jane's arms fall and swung around behind her, slapping her on her rear.

["~Little ways to flirt and flounce~"]

Jane rushed to shoo her friend away, her face lighting up, but Katara went on, wiggling an index finger about.

["~I'll show you what shoes to wear~How to fix your hair~"]  
Jane's shoulders popped up in reaction to her hair getting ruffled from behind.

["~Everything that really counts to be popular~I'll help you be popular~"]

"Are you sleep deprived, Kat?"

["~You'll hang with the right cohorts~You'll be good at sports~Know the slang you've got to know~"]

"Does that make you guys my cohorts?"

Katara wrapped an arm over the red-heads shoulder.

["~So let's start, 'cause you've got an awfully long way to go~"]

"Ouch," laughed Jane. "Not cool..."

["~Don't be offended by my frank analysis~Think of it as personality dialysis~"]

["~Now that I've chosen to be come a pal, a sister and adviser~There's nobody wiser~"]

"Have I mentioned how much you're freakin' me out?"

["~Not when it comes to popular~I know about popular~"]

[~And with an assist from met to be who you'll be~instead of dreary who-you-were...well, _are_-"]

"_Damn, _that's cold..."

[~"There's nothing that can stop you~from becoming popu-lerr..._-larr_~"]

Katara began prancing through the room, grabbing her laundry basket and bringing it to the dresser, singing all the while.

["~Laa laa~Laa laa~"]

She opening Toph's drawers and began sorting articles - shirts in one drawer, pants in another.

["~We're gonna make you pop-u-lar~"]

Jane had to pick out Katara's voice from the one in the recording, but she could tell Katara was getting better. Definitely better than she had been months back when they'd started the band.

["~When I see depressing creatures with unprepossessing features~"]

"Did you just call me a 'depressing creature?'"

["~I remind them on their own behalf to think of~"]

"Hm...Guess I _am, _though, huh?"

["~Celebrated heads of state or specially great communicators~"]

Katara had ditched the last half of laundry sorting to dance over to Jane and playfully smack her knuckles against the freckled one's noggin.

["~Did they have brains or knowledge? - Don't make me _laugh!_ They were popular! _Please_ -"]

Katara grabbed the bee-antennae headband they'd used for Jane's Halloween costume from the top of her dresser.

["~It's all about popular~It's not about aptitude~It's the way you're viewed~"]

"Ya know, just sayin'..._You _aren't popular, Kat. You're a nerd."

["~So it's very shrewd to be~very very popular~"]

Katara smashed the headband onto Jane's head and flicked one of the wiry antennae.

["~like me!~"]

"And a dork."

Katara sucked in a deep breath and whirled Jane around to face the mirror in their room. She pinched Jane's freckled cheeks and leaned her chin on Jane's shoulder, speaking with flamboyancy.

"Why, Miss Elphaba, look at you. You're beautiful."

She made her eyes twinkle with melodrama, and Jane's face went as red as a tomato. She bobbed her head and ripped off the bee-band. The characters in the musical spoke in this moment of tense silence.

["I-I have to go..."]  
["You're_ welcome_..."]

"Hey, you _are_," Katara complimented, breaking out of the act for a moment, speaking over top of the dialogue. She let go of her friend and patting her on the shoulder before jumping back into character.

"Pff...Whatever," Jane murmured, her head sinking into her shoulders.

["~And though you protest your disinterest~I know clandestinely~"]

Katara swung to Jane's side and gave her a quick hug.

["~You're gonna grin and bear it~Your new found popularity~"]

"Seriously. _Dork_," Jane picked, attempted to recollect her composure.

["~Laa laa~Laa laa~"]

Katara joyfully jumped back to her task with the clothes.

["~You'll be popular~Just not quite as popular~as~me~"]

Her voice cracked on the last long, drawn-out note, and she giggled in spite of herself. The song concluded, Katara took a deep breath, pleased with herself.

"That was fun. Admit it."

"_Ha. _Maybe for _you, _Miss Broadway-wannabe."

"Hee. The first time I heard that song, I thought about me and you."

"Like you're so popular..."

"Haha...Yea, I know..." Katara shrugged. "I'm totally not. But, really...admit it," she sneakily insisted. "I kinda reformed you."

"Say _whaaaa_?" Jane protested.

"You used to be all violent and mean and...and insecure...And look at you! You don't smoke, you don't get into bar fights, you don't carry a knife around everywhere...and you're doing better at your classes, and you've got that ROTC thing going, and...I mean, come _on,_ Jane. You've really cleaned up a lot this semester. Doesn't it feel..._good?_"

Jane bit her lip, turning away. Katara's facts weren't entirely accurate, but...

"Yea. I...I _have. _And it _does. _And - OK, I admit it - that's been...a lot of because of you...There, ya happy?" She stuck out her tongue for half a second before retracting it and crossing her arms. "But, uhh...Actually, there was something I needed to tell you..."

"Oh?" In an instant, Katara was immediately concerned.

"It's...about ROTC. I...kinda dropped out..."

"What?" gasped Katara.

"It was just...too much. On top of everything else. I talked with Zhao about it - _fuck, _was he pissed - and I...quit." She shook her head. "He was gonna kick me out, anyway...Figured I'd make things easier..."

"I don't-...But I thought that meant a lot to you..."

"It..._did,_" Jane acknowledged. "Like...back in September. But...life has gotten so _complicated _since then. I didn't need that shit. It's...draining. And I mean, _damn, _like...I don't remember why I joined in the first place. You know? Like, _fuck, _what would I be doing with myself? That's a _big _fuckin' deal, Kat - years of your life big."

"No, no...I understand." Katara wrapped her arms around her waist wistfully, looking down. "It makes sense...I guess I'm just...sorry."

"Hey, not _your _fault. Or your problem."

"I just don't know what to say..."

"I was getting so stressed out about that, and projects, and finals, and stuff with the Freedom Fighters..."

"What's been happening?"

"It's...nothing to do with me, really. I'm..._done. _I swear. They've just...been really hasslin' me."

"Rrgh," Katara growled. "I can't _believe_ those guys. They need to leave you alone!" Whoa. Fairly defensive outburst for Katara. Jane felt honored, in a way.

"Y-yea, they do...So I told 'em off. But...God damn, I was so on-edge from everything, I even broke down and had a cigarette yesterday."

"What? For real?"

"Y-yea..." Where was this coming from? Why was she all of a sudden spilling her guts out.

"Geez, Jane...You shouldn't...-" Katara sighed, fingers on her forehead. "That's really bad for you..."

"I _know, _I know...I haven't had another one since, and...and it's been _weeks_."

"Yea, you're right. I'm...proud of you. I know people who've tried for years and still deal with it..."

"It's...hard," Jane confessed. "But I've...-" She glanced up at Katara and smiled. "-...got some good people around me to...help...and stuff."

"Aww, getting all sappy on me..."

"Did I say 'stuff?' I meant 'shit.' And there was supposed to be a 'fucking' somewhere in there, too."

"Heehee."

"Just been so much to deal with - and then Toph on top of it all, right?"

"_Tell _me about it...Oh! Oh..._shoot. _Cake. Cake-cake-cake..." Katara dashed to her bed and grabbed her cell phone, checking the time. "Oh. Phew. Still have a few minutes on that..."

"Freak out much?"

"Hey, I can't mess this up. I need everything to go smoothly, you know?"

"Heh. You can be a little neurotic sometimes, Kat."

"Do...Do you really think so?" Katara mumbled sheepishly.

"_God, _I'm just teasing you, woman! Seriously...chill out, huh?"

* * *

"Sokka, could you put this stuff over on the table there?"

"What, this?" Sokka lifted the plastic grocery bag containing plastic cups, napkins, and tableware.

"Yea, yea. Over there." Katara pointed to the table where the paper plates and soda bottles were located.

Sokka began unpackaging the contents of the bag, setting things up, while Katara placed the cake at the opposite end of the table. Appa's was moderately busy with it being dinner time, but Katara had shown up in the afternoon before the rush to reserve their spot at the flatscreen off to the side. The particular section of the restaurant was somewhat secluded, so they'd be able to enjoy their movie without disrupting others.

"All right. Aang should be coming by with Toph in a few minutes, and Jane's on her way. What about Suki?"

"Suki will be a little late, but she'll show up in the next half hour or so."

"Great."

Katara clapped her hands together, rubbing the palms with anticipation as she surveyed everything. Small bowls: Skittles and M&Ms. Large bowls: Ruffles and tortilla chips. Salsa, French Onion Dip...Extra French Onion Dip (Katara knew she'd indulge in this, so she got two containers) Some carrots and celery sticks...A mess-load of tater tots - some a bit overcooked. Silly Aang. Kethup for the tots. Two bottles of root beer, three bottles of 'The Good Doctor.' A carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, hand-crafted with love and care. Disposable plates, forks, and cups. A DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean...Everything they needed for-wait. What was this?

Katara inspected the box of glass bottles suspiciously, catching a large word bubble printed on the side.

{**THE QUENCHIEST!**}

She picked up a bottle and examined it closely.

{**Cactus Juice**}  
{_It'll quench ya!_}

The bottles were green, with odd bumps along their surfaces.

"Where'd you get this soda from?" Katara inquired.

"Haha...That ain't soda, Sis," Sokka snidely advised.

"What..._is _it, then?" Katara came back, her demeanor sharpening.

"Uh, it's wine cooler? Duh. We've got more than enough soda."

"And...why is it _here?_"

"Er...'Cuz...Toph asked me to bring some booze...?"

"Why would she do that?"

"'Kuuuhhzzz she's turning twenty-one?"

"She's turning _twenty_."

"Really? 'Cuz I thought...-"  
"She's twenty, Sokka. She's not legal yet." Irritation was swiftly growing in Katara's voice, but Sokka played it cool, attempting to settle her.

"Psh..." He tossed his arm. "Hasn't stopped us from drinking _before_..."

"Y-yea, maybe...in a dorm, or...or some place private, but...we're out in public, Sokka. And both Aang and Toph aren't old enough to legally drink yet."

"Oh, stop your _fussing, _it's not a big deal."

Katara's bulbous nostrils flared up, her fists clenched at her hips.

"Not a big deal?" she snapped, struggling to keep her voice down as she closed the distance to her brother. "What if we get caught?"

"Nobody _cares_, Katara..."

"And why'd you bring so _much_?" Katara growled, waving her arms to the other two boxes Sokka had tucked under the table.

"Err, so everyone could have more than one?"

"Urgh..." Katara pinched at the bridge of her nose, eyes shut with pent up rage. "This isn't a booze party...No booze."

"No one's making _you _drink any," Sokka huffed. "Damn...Cool off, Sis."

"But...But this isn't...-"

"This isn't _your _birthday," Sokka insisted.

"But...we can't afford to get in trouble if-"  
"It won't happen. _Man, _calm down."

"I...need to go to the bathroom."

Katara had to consciously unclench her fists, unlock her teeth, and take a deep breath as she entered the public women's restroom down the hallway. She took her time, giving herself a few minutes to try and settle herself. Maybe her brother was right. By the time she'd managed to quell her emotions and return, Aang and Toph had arrived.

"It's not like Dr. Pepper is the only thing I drink," Toph muttered.

"We got Root Beer, too," Aang added.

"And I brought what ya asked for," Sokka gleefully informed, patting his fingertips together as he smirked. "That stuff I told ya about that you asked for." He lifted a bottle and kissed its surface.

"Huh?" Aang scratched his upper lip, befuddled.

"Ohhh, _yes_." Toph grinned. "Nice. We can pre-game it up and then head out to that club down town."

Katara froze in her tracks, her shoulders rising as the nostrils expanded again.

"But...Taters, you're not old enough to be drinking yet...not out at a place like..._that..._" He clearly didn't seem too enthused by the idea, himself.

"Don't be a party-pooper, Twinkle-Toes. I bet Sokka can sneak us in. Right?"

"Errrrmm..." Sokka's blank expression turned to his sister.

"Absolutely not!" Katara proclaimed.

"Who fuckin' died and made _you _Birthday Girl, huh?"

"It...It's illegal, Toph. And...we already set this whole party up for you, and...-"

"Yea," Aang joined in. "There's candy and chips and cake and I made _Tater _tots for ya."

"Whaaaa...?" Toph cocked a brow. "Is _that _what that smell is?"

"Yes, yea." Aang kissed the side of her head. "Just for you."

"Oh...I kinda...ate a lot of french fries at lunch, I'm not sure I'm much in the mood for more potatoes..."

Aang and Sokka gasped with drama, appalled.

"Dead-Eyes has a potato limit?"

"No way..."

"Meh, it happens sometimes," Toph nonchalantly tossed aside their embellished reaction. "What kinda cake is there, anyway?"

"Carrot cake," Katara piped up, attempting to keep up a cheerful tone.

Toph sighed and picked at her nose.

"Can't win 'em all. At least Sokka brought the right kinda drink."

Katara's teeth ground together, side-to-side, her hands trembling. Sokka attempted to redirect things.

"Errr, w-well, we also...have the Pirates of Caribbean to watch, sooo...we can all quote the movie and...like...make fun of it. And stuff. 'Cuz you like doin' that."

"Seriously, Sokka? Gah. I'm fucking _blind - _hello?" She tugged at the skin below her eyes. "Why would I want to do something like _that _when I get to decide what to do?"

"Uhh..."

"That's a _terrible _idea. We should do what I said and go out somewhere."

"We're going out somewhere?" Jane asked, lost in the discussion as she wandered over.

"Toph wants to go out freaking..._clubbing_," Katara growled.

"Aw, Sugar-Queen, I'm so _sorry_," Toph mocked, her back facing Katara as she felt around the table, grabbing some Skittles without actually knowing what they were. "Didn't realize it was up to _you _what we did on _my _birthday."

"It's...it's _not,_" Katara conceded, running her hand through her hair nervously. "But...but I don't think it's a good idea. I'm not going to go, and...and I doubt Aang will, because he knows he's not old enough yet." She glanced at him with some pleading encouragement.

Aang's face shone with embarrassment as he was placed on the spot.

"Come _on, _you'll man up and go, won't ya?" Toph checked, crunching down on her bounty. "Fwiggin' awshum...Shkihtlshz..."

"I-I...Th-that's not really my kind thing, Toph...And Katara's right, we're not old enough..."

"Oh, for real?" Toph whimpered. "Don't fuckin' _Twinkle out _on me on my damned birthday, man..."

"I-I'm not, I...-"

"_I'm _not goin' out to drink," Jane tossed out her decision bluntly. "I just wanna chill."

"Figures," bemoaned Toph, reaching for more Skittles but scooping up M&M's instead. "Can't believe you guys...My own fuckin' birthday and nobody'll do what _I _wanna do for a change..."

"Hey, Toph," Sokka jumped back in, cracking open the cap of a bottle of the drink he'd brought. "C'mon, we can go do that...some other time. We've already got food and stuff right here, and Katara made you a cake, and-"  
"Didn't _ask _for a cake. Wouldn't have been carrot if I had..."

Steam was practically spouting out from Katara's ears as a slew of irreverent words reeled through her head, itching to spill out.

"What _is _that stuff?" Jane wondered. Sokka tossed her a bottle. "Huh...Cactus Juice?"

"It's stronger than it looks," Sokka advised. "Here, Aang, you want some?"

"I, uh...-" Aang was forced one and stared at it with confusion, as if he didn't know what to do with it. He attempted to twist off the lid with no luck. Jane snickered and pulled out her keychain, removing the cap for him with the right tool. "Heh...Thanks...?"

"Aang, you shouldn't be drinking that," Katara warned with a pout. "And Toph shouldn't be, either," she added with distaste.

"Yo. Sweetness. Back the hell off. My boyfriend's a big kid, he can make his own decisions." Toph jammed her candy into her mouth with a stubborn expression. Her brows rearranged, perplexed due to the unexpected flavor, but she still maintained her grumpiness.

Everyone turned their attention to Katara, whose eyes were closed. The corner of her mouth twitched, her nostrils were wide, and her brows were arched down.

"Control freak," Toph added, having gulped down her chocolate.

At this, Katara promptly whirled around and left. Jane coughed, choking on her Cactus Juice. She had already downed half the bottle. Wiped her face with her sleeve, she set the bottle down on the table, let out a sound that was somewhere between a hiccup and a burp, and sighed.

"Toph, why'd you have to freak out like that?" Aang moaned.

"I know she can be kind of...well..._like _that sometimes," Sokka admitted, sipping from his own bottle. "But ya didn't have to be so harsh on her, Dead-Eyes."

"Hmph."

"_Christ, _Toph." Jane shook her head. "Can you _not _be a bitch for, like, _five _minutes? I mean..._Shit. _Really?"

"Oh, shut up, Jane," Toph huffed back. "I didn't tell her to leave, I just told her to stop acting like this is her party."

"_She's _the one who planned this whole thing, and put all the work into it!" Jane defended. Toph, too, began drinking the desert-themed beverage with an aloof posture.

"Jane's right," agreed Aang.

"Whatever. Not my fault she _left. _Shows how much she cared about doing this for _me._"

Jane furiously ran a finger across her eyebrow, contemplating what to do. She saw in Aang's eyes that he felt bad about what had happened and wanted to go bring Katara back, but she knew he wouldn't be stupid enough to leave his girlfriend to do so. Always trying to make everybody happy, that boy...

"I'll go get her..." Jane groaned, crossing her arms and heading off.

On her way out, Jane came across a perplexed Suki.

"Oh. Jane...What happened to Katara? She just, like...stormed right past me. I don't even think she knew it was me..."

"Agh. _Toph _happened to Katara..."

* * *

**A/N: Again, 'Popular' is from the musical 'Wicked.'**

**youtube(dot)com/watch?v=y_uM8bUnlGQ**


	42. Past

**A/N: The latter portions of this chapter took a bit of a different turn than I planned but it's for the best. The chapter ended up feeling more unified in theme than I thought it would somehow...It also turned out longer than I thought. It's Christmas in July time!  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 42 - Past  
_

* * *

- Sunday, December 12th, 2010 -

Where had Katara gone off to? Jane had gotten sidetracked explaining the situation to Suki - and thus preparing her for when she reached the others - that she had lost her friend. Surely Kat had headed back to her dorm room, likely to drown her frustrations in chocolate. Why couldn't Toph just tone down her bitchiness for a while? If Jane could do it, then Toph should be able to, right? Jane couldn't shake the image of Katara's fuming, pained face. This had been a packed week with lots of things to do, and Katara had wedged time into her busy schedule to arrange everything for her roommate, and had been carelessly cut down for it. Normally, Jane would've concluded that Katara simply shouldn't have bothered - in fact, that was what she had said in the first place, wasn't it? But Kat cared too much - couldn't just let Toph dig herself deeper.

As she headed into Aqua, Jane's mind rattled with ideas of how to approach the situation. Her ineptitude at comforting others with anything besides sarcasm and swearing struck her in the face like a mallet. She'd simply have to give it a try. She hit the second floor, Katara's door wide open as another song from that wizarding musical rushed out.

["~No good deed goes unpunished~No act of charity goes unresented~"]

Jane rolled her eyes at the lyrics. Was Katara being a bit melodramatic here, maybe?

["~No good deed goes unpunished~That's my new creed~"]

"Kat...Yo. Kat." She cried out through the music to Katara, who was at her desk, a closed text book in her lap as she fumed.

["~My road of good intentions led where such roads always lead~"]

"Katara," Jane repeated, grabbing her discouraged friend by the shoulder.

["~No good deed goes unpunished~"]

"C'mon, cut this shit, huh?" Jane sighed and tapped Katara's touchpad, stopping the song. "Don't let her get to you, man. She wants to be a bitch? Let her be a bitch. Don't try doing nice stuff for her, then."

Katara's flared nostrils and sunken eyebrows glared at her friend, her arms crossed over her waist.

"This is the part where you say 'I told you so,' right?" she pouted.

"Heh..." Jane shrugged sheepishly. "Probably with a 'fucking' or a 'bullshit' in there somewhere, but...Yea." Jane belched and pounded her chest. Probably shouldn't have drunken that stuff so fast...It wasn't settling well. Probably should've eaten something...

"I should've seen this coming," Katara growled. She shoved her textbook off of her lap and it thudded to the floor. "I can't believe I wasted all afternoon on her...Such a spoiled brat...So full of herself..." Katara pushed past Jane and fell onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling while her eyes swelled up.

Crap. She was about to have a breakdown, wasn't she? Jane was absolutely baffled as to what to do about that prospect.

"So...So stop _worrying _about her, Kat..." She made to sit beside her friend. "Forget about her for now."

Katara rose to give Jane space, sitting cross legged, face in half buried in her palms.

"Why does everyone act like that's so _easy_?" she moaned. "What? Is there some...some _switch _that...that people can just turn _off _and stop caring?"

"Ermm..."

"'Cuz if there is then mine's freakin' busted. OK? And...and she's my roommate, I have to live with her. And share the same space, and...and...it always gets so awkward now when she's around...Urgh. I can't _take _this junk anymore...I...should've spent today studying, not...not baking a freakin' _cake _that no one cares about..._Ctch..._" Katara choked out a sniffle and a tear rolled down her cheek.

This was about more than a cake, clearly.

"It took so long to get there," Katara groaned. "At first...I-I never thought she'd ever...get along with me."

"Um...Y-yea, Toph can be...-" Jane trailed off, shaking her head.

"So I worked _so freaking hard. _To try to understand her, to relate with her...to...to show her that I cared - because I do, I _really _do - and...when I offered to be her roommate, and she said _yes, _I was..._so _excited. You know?" Jane nodded hurriedly, simply letting Katara dump words out. She couldn't really connect, exactly, but...it seemed like what Katara needed to do at the moment, through her shaky breathing and occasional sniffles. "And...and then when you started hanging out with us, I just _knew _you two would..._agh..._would get along. And now? You just argue. And...now that's all _I _do with her, too...And she's being so..._urrgggh..._so insensitive to Aang. It makes me wanna just...-" Her fist clenched up and she ground her teeth together before releasing it and letting out another sob.

Geez. Katara sure..._cared. _A lot. Maybe...a bit more than she should...if it got her like this.

"And then _Sokka_," Katara went on. "I can't _believe _him...Just...all acting like..._rrrgh._" Jane didn't understand what that comment was about, but...well...Sokka _could_ be himself. That was all she felt she needed to know. The feeling was probably mutual. Perhaps he'd said something dumb before she'd shown up, in this particular case. She knew she could sometimes have the same effect. "There's just been...so much..._soooo _much...-"

"Shit going on."

"Y-yes! Exactly!"

"You can say it, Kat," Jane picked, patting Katara on the shoulder with a robotic nervousness. She tried to keep her cool and carry through with this 'being supporting' business. "Let it out."

"Huh?"

"Ya don't gotta impress _me, _Sugar-Queen. Psh. Just...say exactly what you feel like saying."

Katara snorted out a sigh through her nose - Jane could never get over what a funny, bulbous nose it was - and inhaled deeply, then spewed out a bunch of words, pushing through verbal constipation.

"Stupid-bitching-ass...fucking-whore-_graaahhh_...cunt! _Bleehhh._" She slapped her hands over her eyes and puffed out a gust of air, cheeks burning.

"_Woooow, _hey, way to go, there," Jane encouraged, knuckling Katara's side. Katara dropped a pale giggle.

"You're a bad influence," Katara joked in a whimper.

"Bet your ass I am. And a-...What was it Sokka called me yesterday? A 'ruffian?' Yea. I'm a hell-raising ruffian. You watch yourself, Kat, I'll turn you to the dark side."

"Tch...Th-they have cookies," Katara attempted to add in jest, still coping with sniffles. Something unhinged, and suddenly Katara arms were wrapped tight around Jane's waist, her face buried into a bony shoulder as water trickled from her eyes and she sobbed a few times. Jane's entire face was on fire, and she squirmed her arms out, holding them in the air for a moment, perplexed. Eventually she gently set them around her friend.

'A shoulder to cry on.' This was a phrase Jane had heard before, but never knew first hand what it felt like. No one really ever came to her with their problems unless their problems were _with _her.

"UmMmMm...Ih-it's...OK," she mumbled out shakily, her heartbeat climbing at the physical proximity.

"Sometimes..." Katara coughed out. "Lately, sometimes I worry if...I'm just a witch waiting to turn 'wicked.'"

"_Huh_?"

Katara took a clearing breath, still attached to her red-headed friend.

"Like I care about stuff so much that...that I'll go crazy or something..."

Where was this coming from?

"Crazy?"

"Yea...like...something will snap. And I'll just...freak out."

"Er...uh...N-no, Kat...Th-that's...not like you..."

"That's why it worries me," Katara bemoaned.

"L-listen, you're...you're not making any sense."

"I _know, _I'm sorry..."

"N-no, it's...OK. It's _fine_, I...erm..."

"Oh." Katara removed herself from Jane's body and ran her eyes over her sleeves, then dabbed at her face with her palms. "Geez, Jane, I...didn't mean to make you feel awkward..."

"Heh, noooo, no...It's...OK. And stuff. I don't...mind. Just...I dunno how to help ya..."

"You did," Katara assured.

"Sooo...We gonna head back to the party?"

"Um...In a bit..." Katara dug into her eyes, wiping out gunk from them.

* * *

["~The rum is gone~The rum is gone~"]  
["~Why is the rum gone?~Why is the rum gone?~"]

"Seriously?" Katara sighed as they re-entered the party to see the group dazedly singing along to nonsensical YouTube remixes on Aang's laptop. If there was one playing, there had been some before, and there would some after - of that, Katara was certain.

Katara paused the video, which was easy given how everyone's attention was scattered, and took a deep breath.

"Awwww, heeeyyyy," Sokka growled out, stabbing a finger at his sister.

"Fuggin-whatzit?" said Toph irritably, sprawled across Aang's lap. "Who turned it off?"

"Are you _all _drinking that stuff?" Katara muttered sheepishly.

"Gaaahh, it's Sugar-Tits," Toph dismissed.

"_Excuse _me?" Katara burst out.

"Chill _out, _Katara. Everybody's having some. It's better than I thought it'd be," Suki observed, taking a small sip.

"I tried one," Aang pointed out, his face pink as he tapped at an empty bottle.

"Stuff's gooood," Toph decided. "Even...even _yooood _like it, Sweetness."

Katara cocked a brow at Sokka, who certainly looked groggy.

"How many have _you _had?" she whispered to her brother accusingly as Jane greeted the others.

"Ahpffff..." Sokka tossed his hand out limply. "Four..."

"So you're on your fifth," Katara observed the half empty bottle in his other hand.

"Guess soooo."

It seemed Sokka was right in saying the stuff was more potent than it seemed.

"Why are you getting...drunk?" Katara demanded quietly, pulling Sokka aside.

"Rrmmm...'Cuz it's a perty n' I feld lieggit?"

"What...-?" Katara glared at him disapprovingly. "But what about...-? I thought you said you were never going to get drunk again..."

"Say _whuuuuhhh? _Whyyyy wood I say thit?" he spurted out hastily, his head flopping left and right.

Katara's eyes bulged wide and she grabbed him by the cheeks, forcing their faces close together.

"Because of _Yue_?" she advised sharply.

"Pbbblll..." Sokka spat out his tongue in what equated to a sigh. "Why'd ya gotta...goan say _thaaaattt..._?" He lazily pushed her arms away. "Tawffff wuzz right, yerr such a pooper..."

"A party pooper?" Katara grumbled back. "I'm not a-...I _set up _this party..."

"Hehehe...Budeye _made _it a partee," Sokka slyly countered, winking at her.

"Is everything OK?" Suki keenly wondered from behind her boyfriend's back.

"'S all gooood," Sokka assured. "My lil' sis iz juss bean fussee..."

"Sokka," Katara called back, extending an arm that went ignored.

"Sheez so _meeeennn_," cried out Sokka in woe, clutching his chest dramatically.

"How's that?" Suki snickered.

"Saynn I'm not supohsta git drunk 'cuz o' my _ex_."

"Huh?" Suki's not-so-inebriated eyes shifted with suspicion to Katara.

"He...-" Katara pointed her hands at her brother as he sat down at the chair before his computer. "He said he was never going to get drunk again because of...-"

"Katara," Suki snipped while Toph and Aang exploded with laughter behind her. "That's in the past. You have to let stuff go."

"But...I didn't-..._He's _the one who said...-"  
"So let _him _make his own decisions."

"_Yeaaa_," Sokka played all offended. "_Geeezzz._"

"How is acting all careless going to honor her memory? If she could see you right now, how would she feel?"

Sokka frowned at his sister's bitter words.

"She's _not_ here," Suki snapped. "And if she _was, _she'd want him to be happy."

The two girls exchanged a rare moment of social tension. Katara was feeling rather overloaded by how much of that was happening today. The thought crossed her mind in that moment that it was of her own design - albeit unintentionally. That perhaps she really was being a control freak and caring too much about other people's business.

"I guess," she conceded to her brother's girlfriend with sigh, running her hand across her head.

"Try to calm down," Suki advised, dropping her guard down. "Everyone just wants to have some fun. We're almost done with the semester. Take a _load off _or something..."

"Hey, yeeaa, yerr puttin' evreebuddy on _edjuh,_" Sokka added in his two cents.

"Fine, fine, OK," Katara gave in with a shrug. "You're right, I'm sorry," she hastily apologized, simply wanting to be done with the matter. What was Sokka's problem? Yue died in an accident because of a drunk driver. She knew he'd decided he'd never get drunk again. If she recalled, he had originally intended to just not drink at all. For whatever reason, this semester had marked his gradually getting over that, apparently. It bothered her. She hadn't seen him like this in...she couldn't remember how long. It was before Yue's death, that was for sure. How could he just drop it like that?

"Have a drink, Katara," Suki recommended, noticing her standing awkwardly with a pensive look about her.

Maybe she _was _taking things too seriously. Toph's incessant cries of 'control freak' rung through her ears.

"Yea..." Katara walked past them to the table full of food. She could certainly tell that a lot of it had been consumed - which was good - though the sodas were hardly touched. She twisted open a barely tapped bottle of Dr. Pepper and poured himself a cup. As she dug into the french onion dip, she observed Toph slobbering all over Aang's neck as he exerted an expression that seemed both disgusted and humored. Jane was thrusting up a fist and cheering this action on, but Katara's brows furrowed a bit at the sight. She couldn't tell if Aang was actually enjoying himself, or...-

"Wooditt kill ya to _smyyyyilll?_" said Sokka, bumping his elbow into her arm. She winced as the impact caused soda to fly from her cup and splash onto the floor, some getting on her white sneakers. Lovely.

"_Sokka!_" she groaned, moving away from him and setting her cup down. Her hand was already starting to get sticky from dried soda, and she grabbed some napkins to clean up the mess.

"Don't party too hard over there, Babe," Suki scolded Sokka with a chuckle.

_Why, exactly, did I come back here, again?_

As the voice clips of Jack Sparrow came back, repeating in the background, this question became quickly inflated in Katara's mind.

"Hey, you a'ight?"

Katara was stirred from her thoughts as she dunked soaked napkins into the trash.

"Oh, um...-" She shrugged at Jane's oddly concerned face. It was weird, seeing her going out of her way to express worry, but something Katara was altogether happy to see, regardless. "Heh, my brother kinda...-"

"Yea, I saw," Jane chuckled. "You oughtta go clean up."

"Right..." Katara was half-expecting Jane to follow her, but that didn't happen as she wandered alone to the bathroom once again. As she rinsed her sticky hands, she contemplated her reflection: bags under her eyes - slightly bloodshot eyes, at that - strands of hair poking out every which way...

Everyone seemed to be having a merry old time without her. In fact, all she seemed to be doing was 'party-pooping' things up...

She took a deep breath, buttoning up the winter coat she had never bothered to take off, and slipped out of the bathroom, heading outside. Once outside, she sought refuge beneath an oak tree next to The Ring's sidewalk. It was evening, the air bitter, but the lack of wind made it tolerable. She pulled out her phone and dialed a shortcut key.

[Calling...]  
[**Dad**]

Her nose began to run a bit as she waited for an answer. She dabbed at it with her gloved wrist.

["Hey, Kiddo. What's up?"]

"Hey, Dad..." Just the sound of his voice offered her some relief, like the smell of hot cocoa after a walk in the snow. "I...just wanted to say 'hi.'"

["Haha, well..._Hi_, there, Sweetheart. How are things going?"]

"Tch. Y-yea, they're...I mean...Things are so crazy right now, with finals week starting tomorrow..."

["You prepared?"]

"Heh...Of course...I always am, right?"

["That's my girl. What about your brother?"]

Katara's nose wrinkled with irritation as her mind jumped immediately to Sokka's stupored state.

"He's...You know...I'm sure he's on top of things, too..."

["You're probably right. I bet Suki's keeping him in line, too."]

Katara didn't agree with that idea in that moment, but kept such doubts to herself, sniffling and wiping at her nostrils.

["You all right, Katara?"]

"_Yea, _yea...Little cold out, that's all."

["What are you doing outside this late?"]  
[_Beep._]  
[**1 **New Text Message.]

"Oh, it's...I needed to get some air..."

["Sounds like you need some air that's a bit warmer."]

"Mm..." Katara's face began to melt, water beginning to distort her vision. There was no foreseeable cause, it was just trickling out, like it had back at the dorm with Jane. "I miss you," she choked out.

["I miss you, too."]

"I miss _Mom_."

Katara didn't know where the words had come from. They had just slipped out, a natural followup to the previous statement, it seemed.

["I know. So do I,"] Hakoda replied with a somber tone.

"I'm...having a crappy day," Katara whimpered.

["I figured. I'm sorry, Kiddo."]

"Not your fault..."

["Just another week, right? A week from now you'll already be here."]

"Yea...That'll be nice..."

["Your grandma's even going to make it out this year."]

"Neat," Katara half-heartedly mumbled. "It's been a while..." Her last memory of old Gran-Gran wasn't a pleasant one, but optimism couldn't hurt. Gran-Gran lived over in Nova Scotia and seemed somewhat stubborn when it came to making the trip for holidays. The last time they'd seen her was for Thanksgiving the year prior.

["Oh, and I'm really trying to get your cousin to finally show up."]

"Korra?"

["Yea. have a good feeling about this year."]

It had been even longer since Korra had shown up for a family get-together, but then they had caught up with her in Toronto over the summer, at least.

"Oh, wow...That sounds great, Dad. Rounding everyone up...huh?"

["You guys are, too, aren't you? Bringing the whole pack along again, right?"]

"Oh...R-right, yea..." Assuming all of them were still interested in coming, which Katara felt less than certain about.

["Great. It'll be a full house!"]

"It...Yea...It sure will..." Another heavy sniffle.

["You should get inside, Sweetheart. Don't need to be getting sick right before finals."]

"You're right..." Katara pushed off of the tree, retracing her footsteps in the snow back to the ACC. "I love you, Dad. Can't wait to see you."

["Love you, too, Katara. Good luck."]

"Thanks...Bye."

["Good night."]

[From: Jane]  
[yo wherd u go kat?]  
[Sent: 9:46pm]

Katara tucked her phone into her coat pocket and glanced up at the clear night sky, soaking in a moment of tranquility.

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Sorry, Hun. I'm exhausted. I'm heading off to bed.]  
[Sent: 9:48pm]

* * *

- Monday, December 13th, 2010 -

Katara's sleep was disturbed by the sound of Aang belting out a goofy laugh from outside her door. She could hear Toph's muffled voice scold him.

"_Shhh! _God," she snickered, trying to contain herself. "I dun wanna...fuggin' waygup Mizz _Fuzzybrichez_."

"Oh. _Ohhhh_, yea," Aang slowly agreed. "Yea, that's...no good. We don't...wanna wake her up."

The room was pitch black, aside from a crack of light that filtered under the door from the hall. Katara wiped saliva from her lips and groggily glanced at her clock: [**2:17am**] What the hell had they been doing all this time?

"'Kay-'kay. Nite."

The door creaked open and Katara caught a glimpse of their silhouettes. Toph was pushing Aang away, who seemed to be leaning in to kiss her.

"No goodnight kiss?" Aang mumbled with disappointment.

"Gotta gohduh bed, Twinx..."

"OK..."

"Goonite."

"Good night."

The room plunged into complete darkness again as Toph closed the door behind her and shuffled her way through the bedroom. A small thumping sound was followed by a grumbling of "Fuggit," as Toph likely bumped her toes into something. She collapsed into her bed while Katara lamented the experience she'd just witnessed in her half-asleep stupor. She slipped back into slumber, but was reawakened by Toph's snoring across the room. She groaned, burying her face under her blanket. She had a final the following day. Whether or not she had prepared enough, she couldn't say, which was why she intended to wake up early and cram in some more studying.

* * *

Jane awoke with her head throbbing and her elbow sore. As she crawled out of bed she realized that her left knee seemed pretty tender, as well. As she got changed from the jeans she'd worn the day prior to her camouflage cargo pants, she observed a nice bruise on said knee. How she had acquired this, she couldn't recall. She groaned in spite of her actions the night before and fumbled through her desk drawer for her hormone medications. Had she remembered to take them yesterday? Fuck...probably not.

She downed them with a glass of water, then went back to the bathroom sink and filled another glass to guzzle down. A bit metallic, but water was still water, and she clearly needed it with this hangover. She checked her phone, only to see that there were no new messages. That meant she _still _had not heard a word from any of the Freedom Fighters.

It was Monday - the first day of Finals week - which meant that everyone was busy. Not her, though. She didn't have any finals until Tuesday. Perhaps a brief trip to downtown was in order to try and get some clarification on some things...

The ride down was a therapeutic affair set to the tune of an AC/DC disc that had been sitting in a jewel case in her glove compartment. And why the hell did they call them that, anyway? No one ever put _gloves _in them...

Jane rustled up some change from where she stored coins in a drink holder below the radio to buy a peanut donut for breakfast while she stopped by a station to add some gas to her car. She only had a few bucks left on her card, so she couldn't even fill the damned thing up...After having stalled her inevitable visit, she swung by the Treetop Pub. It was closed, which was odd, given that it was open every afternoon. Finishing off her donut, Jane checked the time to be sure: [**1:23pm**]. Yea, it definitely should've been open, but it wasn't. This added to her nervous disposition.

[Calling...]  
[**Sneers**]  
["~~~...I'm sorry; the number you have reached is not in service, or temporarily disconnected. Please-"]  
_Click._

Jane took a deep breath, opting to hide her phone away once again. She _could _try calling more people...but doing so could lead to her only feeling more anxious. What the hell could have happened? Grah. Other things. She needed other things to do for now. She hopped back in the car, drowning her concerns away in "Highway to Hell." Parking back on the main campus lot, she dipped back into her change well. There happened to be enough for a cup of coffee.

Jane exited the car, a bitter winter wind sending a chill down her spine, and crossed salted sidewalks to reach the Jasmine Dragon. Acoustic Christmas melodies trickled through the place, which managed to win Jane over despite her normal distaste in the holiday spirit. There wasn't a line at all, at least - probably because everyone was either taking a test or studying for a one. About five students peppered the place, each one surveying a notebook or textbook of some kind.

"Why, hello there!" greeted the peppy woman at the counter. Her eyes were a very pale, dull brown, and yet their expressiveness made them pop out like jewels. "How may I help you?" she offered with a cheer that creeped Jane out. Maybe instead of jewels they were more like sequins.

"Uh...Erm...I-I just want a cup of coffee..."

"What size will that be?" The girl tapped some buttons on her register.

Jane fiddled with her change, her eyes wandering to the girl's bosoms, accented by a rather tight sweatshirt.

"Laaahhrge?" She quickly looked up at the prices and squinted, re-averting her eyes to her coins. "_Small! _I mean...small."

"Heehee, gotta make sure you've got enough change there, huh?" picked the girl, hands on her hips.

"Heh, y-yea, kinda scrounged this up and needed a caffeine fix...Ya know?"

"I sure do. Small coffee? That'll be $1.50, Miss."

"Yup..." Jane handed over the proper amount in exact change, noticing the girl's name tag: {Ty-Lee} with a little heart drawn next to it in marker. Ulgh.

"Thanks!" The girl rang up the order and merrily handed Jane an empty cup. "There ya go~"

"Mm."

"Have a nice day!"

Jane wandered off to the side where the coffee containers sat. A rather odd girl, that one. But with looks like that, she probably didn't have any problems with the guys. A small splinter in Jane's insides pricked at her with jealousy. She filled up with hazelnut-flavored coffee, added a bit of sugar and some milk to cool it down, and plopped down at an empty table while a guitar gently played "Little Drummer Boy" in the background. She noticed a fresh copy of the school's newspaper sitting before her and decided to scoop it up.

{**The White Lotus**}  
{Monday, December 13th, 2010}

And there it was, right on the front page: a photo of Sneers, in handcuffs, being put into a police car.

{_Local Bar Shut Down_}  
{by Ginnie Ackland}

Oh, right. Jane's roommate wrote this: Jin. The girl was hardly ever around, and it wasn't any wonder with how much work she seemed to put into the paper.

{Late last Saturday night, authorities received multiple notices concerning a disturbance that broke out at a local bar: the Treetop Pub. Upon arriving at the scene, the police had to quell a dispute involving a couple dozen individuals - possibly more. Witnesses in the neighborhood claim that shots were fired and paramedics had to be brought on location to hospitalize three individuals. At this time, no casualties have occurred. The manager of the bar, a young man in his late 30's, tried to flee the scene and was arrested while resisting police. The man's identity is still unknown at this time, and he refused to cooperate with authorities in shedding light on the matter. Allegedly, the disturbance broke out due to a conflict regarding a drug cartel that used the pub as a base of operation and a local rival gang. Authorities would not confirm or deny this, and we were told that further investigation would need to be conducted in order to clarify the situation.}

{With its manager behind bars, the owner of the building - who claims to have no involvement or knowledge of any illegal activities - has shut down the pub for the time being. When asked about what transpired Saturday evening the theorized cause...-}

Jane set the paper down, her brain aching. She slurped down some coffee and flipped the paper over to its backside, where a sudoku puzzle rested. Well, she'd found the answers she'd been hoping for...Most of them, anyway. One rather large concern still hung in her mind, but she decided it would have to wait. She wouldn't let its mystery concern her with finals going on.

* * *

"~Have a holly jolly Christmas~And in case you didn't hear~"

Mai sighed, her hands unsteady as her roommate's sing-along continued. The marathon of caroling was making her project fairly difficult to complete.

"~Oh, by golly, have a holly jolly Christmas~this year~"

"Lee?" Mai moaned, trying to cut through the saccharine tune.

"Oh?" Ty-Lee peeped, muting her computer. "What's up, Mai?" Ever oblivious, as always. Silly goose.

"I was just...wondering if maybe you could put on headphones while you...listen to that." She layered her words with a sympathy and careful tone often reserved for Ty-Lee.

"Oh..." Ty-Lee's expression withered a bit. "I'm...annoying you. Huh?"

"It's not _you, _Lee," Mai assured with a small smile. "It's...that I need to get this project done, and...the music is kind of distracting."

"Uh-huh." Ty-Lee nodded her head in understanding. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bug you."

"It's OK, really. If I could just get some silence for a while and finish this, then you can...-" She waved her pencil in the air vaguely. "-...holly jolly all you want."

"Would I even be able to get _you _to join in? Huh? Miss Creepy-Crawler?"

"_Maybe_," Mai chuckled.

"Yay." Ty-Lee grinned, plugging in earbuds and flashing Mai a thumbs up as she resumed her listening. Mai smirked in reply and went back to her work, only to notice her cell phone was lit up.

[From: Zuko]  
[Hey. How is everything going?]  
[Sent: 6:23pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko]  
[Good. I'm finishing up my anatomy project. You?]  
[Sent: 6:35pm]

[From: Zuko]  
[Both exams went well. I'm sure I aced them.]  
[Sent: 6:36pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko]  
[That's great. :) I'll see you tomorrow for lunch?]  
[Sent: 6:37pm]

[From: Zuko]  
[Sure thing.]  
[Sent: 6:40pm]

A half hour passed, and Mai finished up her work. Ty-Lee had gotten involved in another of her music video binges, and a glance over the shoulder confirmed that today's topic was "True Blood." Bleh. Mai decided that later she'd pull her misguided friend aside to watch more "Lie to Me," their current mutual show-of-choice. It could be difficult, finding something that they both could follow, but every semester one of them managed to come up with something. Before Mai could redirect Ty-Lee's attention, she got another message.

[From: Aang]  
[would you guys be intrsted in goin to see the girls band wednsday night?]  
[Sent: 7:13pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[You mean the band your friends are in, right? When and where?]  
[Sent: 7:13pm]

[From: Aang]  
[thats the one! its at the fire cave at 8!]  
[Sent: 7:14pm]

"Hey, Ty-Lee..."

"Yehssss~?" Ty-Lee slowly spun in her wheeled desk chair.

"You heard of the Fire Cave?"

"_Hmmm!_" Ty-Lee tapped her chin thoughtfully. "That's the concert bar downtown, I think. Yea, _yea._" She nodded to herself, her eyes lighting up. "One of my exes took me there once."

"Well, my friend wants to know if we'd be up for going there Wednesday night."

"Totally! Obviously! Certainly!"

"Indubitably," Mai gruffly concluded in jest.

"Ghee-hee."

"So, you done looking up that silly vampire nonsense."

"Heeyyyy," Ty-Lee whimpered. "Vampires are sexy."

"Not _those _ones..."

The two shot playful dagger glares before Mai suggested, "How about more 'Lie to Me?'"

"Yessss."

Mai's phone went off before Ty-Lee could load it up.

[Call from...]  
[**Mother**]

"Lee, I should take this - it's my Mom."

"'Kay-'kay. I'll let it _loooaaddd._"

"I'll be back in a minute."

"Tell her I said hi!"

Mai whisked her way out of their room and pass through the hall of the third floor of Terra house, retreating to the empty lounge area.

"Hi, Mom."

["Hello, Dear. I just wanted to call and check in. I know things must be busy right now."]

"That's an understatement..."

["But is everything well?"]

"Yea, it's...fine. It's good."

["And how is Zuko?"]

"He, ehm...He's doing better. He seems...not stressed out at all. Which is..._good. _Just...weird, with how busy it is."

["That's nice to hear. It must be a relief."]

"It is."

["Did you ladies get our package?"]

"Oh! Yea! I'm...sorry, I forgot to...thank you guys."

["No need."]

"The gingerbread was great, Ty-Lee loved it."

["Wonderful."]

"She says 'hi,' by the way."

["Oh, that girl is just a little ray of sunshine."]

"Ha. That's an understatement, too..." Mother and daughter shared a laugh. Mai could make out a small babbling in the background.

["_Yes, _it's Big Sister,"] Mother explained to the voice.

"Can I speak with him?"

["Of course, Dear. Tom-Tom, Big Sister wants to say 'hi.'"]

The tiny voice of Mai's baby brother greeted her.

["May-May."]

"Tom-Tom."

["_May-_May."]

"_Tom-_Tom."

["Yoooo...Yoo come?"]

"What's that, Little Guy?"

["Yoooo..._come. _Now. Peez?"]

"Aww...Haha. I can't come yet, Guy. This weekend."

["Come, May-May."]

"I _will, _Tom-Tom," Mai assured, a smile crawling over her face. "Just a few more days, OK?"

["...Moh dayz. OK?"]

"Yes, just a few more."

["Moh dayyzz. Yooo come?"]

"I sure will. I can't wait to see you. I love you, Buddy."

["Yoo luv too. May-May, yoo luv too."]

"Heh. I'll see you soon. Give the phone back to Mom, Little Guy."

["Mommie. May-May fone."]

["He's become quite the talker lately, hasn't he?"]

"No _kidding. _Wow. It's so crazy..." Mai briefly lamented how she couldn't be present to watch her only sibling grow, but it made her time spent with him that much more valuable.

["He's becoming a sneaky little fox, that's for sure."]

"I believe it."

["Just like _you _when you were his age."]

"At least you have experience to work with this time, right?"

["We sure do."]

"OK. Well...I should probably get going...but I'll see you on Thursday."

["All right, Dear. I love you."]

"You, too."

Conversations like that made Mai wonder why things with her family seemed to be better now that she wasn't living with them. It was hard to complain, of course. She figured she probably had not been the easiest child to raise, at that, and things seemed better now, anyway. She took solace in the prospect of spending break with her toddler brother and her family as she re-entered her dorm room.

"My mom says 'hi' back."

"Cool, cool."

"Ready to watch this show now?"

"Do it to it!"

* * *

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[**December Sucks**]  
[Posted on _December 13th, 2010 at 11:43pm_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[So remember how a while back I was campaigning against alcohol and vowed how I'd never ever ever get drunk. Soooo...I guess I lied. _ I drank an ass-ton last night. And I feel like...a ton of ass.]

[This month marks the two-year anniversary of the day someone important to me died in a car accident due to a drunk driver. This December has been easier than the last one, for sure, but you can never forget that kind of thing. Over the past few months I've been trying to learn to let go of all of the..._junk_...that's been holding me back because of that whole thing. I lost my mother when I was young, too, and I'm at peace with that, but this still bothers me for some reason. I think it's just that I need more time. Sometimes that's the only thing that can fix this stuff, but sometimes you need more than just time.]

[My girlfriend has been helping me learn to let go of stuff and just let the past be the past. I think she's right. I'm never going to be able to get over this until it stops holding onto me. On the other hand...my sister called me out on drinking last night because of how I said I'd never get drunk again. That I wasn't 'honoring the memory' of the person who died. Maybe she's right, too. What's the point in making vows if you don't follow through on them? I don't want to be irresponsible and end up doing something stupid and getting someone hurt. Hell, I do enough stupid stuff when I'm _not _under the influence!]

[But drinking is so much fun. Don't get me wrong, I don't drink just to run away from my problems, I only drink in company. Then everyone's on the same level of stupidness and things get interesting. ;D ]

[I guess I'm just rambling. I don't really know what to do. I just know that I hate December because I have to worry about projects and papers and finals and being reminded of people I've lost. It's just a big festival of _suck._]

[Sometimes, when my sister gets upset about stuff that's happened in the past, it really seems to hold her back. She has a lot of trouble letting go. I can't be like that. I love her to death, but we'd both be better off if we leave the past where it is. I feel like it'd be more dishonorable to live in a cycle of guilt than to try and learn from what we've lost and appreciate what we have and embrace it. Seriously: if I died tomorrow, I'd want people to go on living, and being silly, and doing what made them feel good.]

[Edit -_ December 14th at 12:21am_]  
[Went outside to think on this. Clear skies. First quarter moon tonight. Freakin' gorgeous. Cried like a damned man-baby. FML.]

* * *

**A/N:**

**"No Good Deed" from "Wicked."  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=4I8pneJkxBY**

**~DING~DONG~DING~DONG~  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=sooHzHHh4kM**


	43. Escape

**Chapter 43: Escape**

* * *

**A/N: It feels like Christmas in July, doesn't it? Hopefully I'll actually have the entire Christmas arc written out by the time July is over. ;)**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 43 - Escape  
_

* * *

- Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 -

"Man, I don't wanna hear the fuckin' excuses, Toph," Jane scoffed.

"What's it matter to _you _if Sugar-Queen gets her panties in a knot, anyway?"

"She put a lot of work into getting everything set up for you on Sunday, and you just pissed on her for it."

"Big deal. I didn't ask her to do anything."

"Doesn't make you any less of a bitch for blowing her off."

"I didn't _blow her off, _Shamrocks, I fuckin' told her to _chill out. _She was gettin' all control-freaky on everybody."

Jane sighed at Toph's stubborn stance on the matter. She was wasting her time trying to get the girl to see the error of her ways.

"Grugh...Whatever," she dropped it. "Do you know where she _went_?"

"How the hell would _I _know? Like we share schedules?"

"You're _roommates._"

"It's _finals week. _Get off my back. Christ. They invented _phones _for this."

Jane couldn't deny her own ignorance. She probably should have been smarter and tried calling rather than asking for Toph's aid.

"We done?" Toph barked after a moment of silence while Jane dug into her pockets.

"Yea..." Jane ignored the sounds of piano flowing into her back while she exited the room, shutting the door with some defiance. She dialed Katara number, and was immediately sent to voicemail.

["Hey, it's Katara. I must be busy at the moment, but I'm sure I'd love to talk with you. Leave me a message and I promise I'll get back."]

[~_Beep!_~]

"Um...Hey, Kat, it's Jane. I was just, uh...checkin' in, seein' how you were doing. I'm about to head out to my final. Are you sure we wanna go to that recital tonight? I mean...it's not like Toph will _know _either way..." Jane's words dribbled out before she could stop them from coming - she knew Katara was still going to go, regardless. Why this was, Jane couldn't comprehend. "Um, so...I'm just saying, is all. Anyway, so...Yea. Good luck with...stuff...today. Gimme a call when you're done. All right. Bye."  
_Click._

Jane spent a few minutes cramming for her test and bolted out across campus. She ate lunch alone - everyone else seemed to be occupied, as it was - trying to memorize various aspects of Buddhism theology while she fed. World Religion was _not _a course she much preferred, and thus she had stalled taking the mandatory class until now. That's what she got for attending a liberal arts college, anyway. Aang had raved about what a stupendous course it was, but Jane had to concede that such things were _not _common ground they shared. And then, at a moment she least expected, they appeared.

"Smellerbee?"  
"Oh, hey, it's her!"

Wide-eyed, she looked up from her scribbled notes to see two familiar, somewhat nervous-looking freshman gawking at her from the side of her small table.

"The hell...?" she whispered in awe. "Wh-...? Guys, is everything...-?" Her question slowed as she watched their faces go pale.

"Can't _talk _about _that_, remember?" Pipsqueak insisted through grit teeth, trying to play chill and failing.

"Huh?" Jane was baffled. "Guys, I'm not _part of that_, remember?"

"Ohhhh..."  
"Oh, right..."

"What...-? Ugh...The fuck _happened_? The police showed up?"

The two boys winced at her interrogating.

"Longshot said we weren't supposed to talk with _anyone_," The Duke quietly explained as the two sat beside her.

"About _what_?" Jane intensely demanded, joining in on their quiet tones.

"We weren't there that night," Pipsqueak explained. "Longshot forbid anyone who was a student from showing up to Saturday's meeting."

"He...He did?" Jane mumbled, somewhat aghast. Had he done this to protect them?

"I think he knew what was going to happen," The Duke theorized. "He put an order out that none of us were allowed to talk about the Freedom Fighters in public or with any non-members. Not a peep."

"Doesn't that mean you guys are...breaking his order?" Jane slyly pointed out. Pipsqueak slapped a hand on his mouth in shame and The Duke nervously scratched at his neck. "It's OK, guys, I'm...just teasing. God..." She smirked and rolled her eyes, biting into her pork sandwich.

"I hope Longshot's OK," The Duke muttered. "Have you gone to see him?"

Jane nearly choked on her food. She pounded her chest and coughed, then swallowed down the correct tube.

"Wh-...What?" she hoarsely squeaked.

"He's...in the hospital, Bee," Pipsqueak explained. "We thought...you'd know about it..."

"Ugh..." Jane grabbed at her forehead in frustration. When she'd read in the paper that some people had been hospitalized, she should've figured Johnny would've been involved. "Guys...I don't _know _anything," she insisted to them. "I'm _done. _I've _been _done for a while...Remember?"

They both shrugged awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. Hadn't she made it pretty clear she wanted nothing to do with the whole organization by now?

"Fuck," she grumbled, her appetite suddenly waning as she worried. Sure enough, the answer to the question she'd been ignoring had found her. "I'll...probably stop by...some time," she pushed out with a sigh. "Thanks for...letting me know, guys."

"Yea, no problem, Smellerbee."  
"Sure thing, Bee."

"He's right, though, we need to not talk about this stuff from now on. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am."  
"Mmhm. Yea."

"Right. So...I've got a final to go to."

"Of course."  
"Ohhhh, right."

They shambled up from their seats and waved to her.

"See you guys," she said expectantly. They sure were taking their time leaving.

"Bye, Smellerbee."  
"See ya!"

Jane took a moment of solace to contemplate the situation. Did she _really _want to go see him? After all, he had dug himself into this hole. She'd tried to get him out. But he had to be too fucking stupid to listen to her. Grah. For now, she had other things to worry about, anyway.

* * *

[To: Jane]  
[Aren't you coming? =/ She's almost on...]  
[Sent: 7:43pm]

Katara fidgeted in her seat at the small music hall. To her left, Aang was practically nodding off to sleep and Sokka had procured his Nintendo DS. Jane hadn't even bothered to show _up. _Some plan _this _had turned out to be...The cheerful, dancing melody that had been running for what felt like a small eternity drew to an end and a light smattering of applause poured across the space they occupied.

[From: Jane]  
[sorry somethin came up. dont worry bout me have fun.]  
[Sent: 7:45pm]

Katara had a sneaking suspicion that Jane was simply holding her grudge against Toph and wasn't going to show out of spite. It was sadly true, however, her excuse: Toph wasn't going to notice, much less care. Still, it was the principle of the thing...

Katara immediately snapped to attention as Toph was guided on stage, her guitar case in hand. Katara was pleased with the work she had managed to do with her roommate in the time before the recital. The girl had gone from looking like a street punk to a respectable lady. Her hair was tied up into a bun, she was still wearing the flat tops Katara had helped her dig up, her face was masked accordingly, and her black, shoulderless dress - the one she always wore to recitals - looked prim as ever.

The two had shared a very awkward afternoon in preparing. Toph had acted more robotic than usual toward her roommate, which meant practically no insults or name-calling, and no cursing, either. On the one hand, Katara appreciated this, but on the other, she felt confident it was only out of necessity - Toph needed someone to help her groom for her recital, and Katara was the only one who could really do it. It was a bittersweet process, but Katara was still confident that once the dust settled after finals, she'd be able to help who she felt was a misguided musician get back on track, and everyone would be all the better for it.

"Guys, she's on," Katara whispered, nudging Aang gently, his eyes popping open. Sokka continued his game, much to Katara's disapproval, but she knew it was useless to try making a scene about it. She reviewed the program.

{Toph Beifong}

{Solo ––Moonlight Sonata . . . . Op. 27 No. 2: 1 . . . . Beethoven}

{Solo ––Moonlight Sonata . . . . Op. 27 No. 2: 3 . . . . Beethoven}

As Toph began to pluck at her guitar strings, Katara immediately recognized the tune - a melancholy piece, but one she had always heard on piano before. It was refreshing to hear such a timeless song in a format she wasn't acquainted with. Toph's face stared blankly outward, almost to the ceiling, while her hands strummed with methodical timing. This...wasn't the way Toph played guitar...Never when Katara had been watching. It was as if a clockwork doll were playing, and not the girl she knew so well. The notes all came out properly, it seemed, but no emotion did. To Katara, this was a bit unsettling, and eerie, yet the music was elegant and beautiful regardless.

"Wow, she's so good," Aang muttered. "Isn't she?"

"Yea. This is normally a piano piece," Katara explained quietly.

"Oh, really? Neat..."

"It's kinda boring," Sokka whispered, still playing his game, only to be shushed by someone in the row behind him. He flinched, staring at Katara and Aang, and the three of them all worked hard to contain laughter for the sake of formality.

* * *

Jane sighed, staring at the hospital door.

{312}  
{Jonathan Johnson}

So much for this matter waiting...She gave in to her doubts and concerns and had made the rash decision to simply go and see him. When she'd arrived, she'd been informed that visiting hours would be ending in a matter of minutes, so she had little time to spare. She slowly opened the door, attempting to make as little noise as possible, and carefully snuck inside. The bed closest to the door was occupied with an elderly man, fast asleep. A curtain divided the room, and the TV on the far side was on. Jane could feel her insides quivering at the prospect of this situation.

["Today - still wanted by the government - they survive as soldiers of fortune."]

Jane swallowed her saliva and slowly crept across to the second half of the room, only to see Johnny's abdomen wrapped in heavy bandages, his arm hanging in a cast, and various tubes plugged into his body. The sight sickened her with worry in a way she couldn't recall having felt before.

["If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe _you _can hire...The A-Team."]

"Johnny...?" She mumbled sheepishly. As strings and electric guitar played together on TV, Johnny's eyes wandered from the television set on the wall to her pale face. He looked exhausted, sickly, his hair a mess, stubble on his cheeks and chin. He smirked at her. "What the _fuck_, Johnny...?" Jane whispered in shock, her rubbery legs taking her to his side. He said not a word, but his eyes remained locked on hers. "Don't...C'mon, don't gimme..._that_," Jane croaked as quietly as she could, her eyes welling up with tears. "Not the silent shit. Not today, man..."

Johnny closed his eyes and took a deep breath, speaking to her with eyelids still shut.

"They got me...but not before I got a couple of _them._" He grinned with some pride.

"Fuckin' _eh,_" Jane growled, her eyes burning with rage as tears streamed out. "What if they'd...-?"

"They didn't." His eyes were still closed and he spoke so peacefully. It was infuriating.

"But what _if _they _did_?"

"That sounds like _worry _in your voice..." he teased, his voice rough.

Jane choked on a laugh. What an idiot, trying to act all cool...

"W-well...it's _not. _You're fuckin' _stupid..._" Her words attempted - and failed - to cover up her humored concern.

"Sometimes, _someone _has to be..."

"If I knew this was gonna happen...-"

"You'd have run. Because that's what's smart. That's what you've had to do before..."

"Gargh...Shit, man..." She turned away, wiping at her face. "So...I mean, what _now?_"

"A few months..."

"Huh?"

"Doc says it's probably...-" Johnny groaned from discomfort. "-...a few months 'til I'm back in shape..."

"Wh-...? What about _school?_"

"What _about _school? I'm gonna have to drop out...Like I have a choice..."

"So you're...what? Staying here? Until you're better?"

"No, no...Soon they're transferring me back to Amarillo..."

"Where your folks are," Jane acknowledged, stomach wailing.

"Yup..."

"How-?...I-I mean...But...We need to...-"

Johnny sighed as Jane trailed off, turning back to face him.

"We need to...figure out what we're doing," Jane finished at last, staring at him with some slight desperation.

"Jane," Johnny huffed, clearly uncomfortable but unable to do much about it. "We're not doing anything...You're not gonna see me until...hell...September, looks like. And that's assuming we're both still going to the same school. Assuming I'm even able to get back _in _to SRU after all this..."

Oh, shit. Jane hadn't even thought of that. Being tied into a domestic disturbance might have been one thing, but a drug-trafficking ordeal? His chances of being accepted back into school were probably not looking so good...A fear wrenched at her intestines - what if it was discovered that _she _was involved, too? For Chrissake, she helped bury a _body. _What if _that _somehow got out?

No, no...That wouldn't. Everyone was going mum on it. Yea, exactly. Nothing to worry about. No one had any reason to get themselves in trouble...Then again, some - like Sneers - already _were..._

"Miss Fitzpatrick?"

"Wha...-?" Jane spun around to see a nurse staring quizzically at her.

"It's eight, ma'am. Visiting hours are over. Jonathan needs his rest."

"O-oh, right...yea..." Jane scratched her eyebrow roughly and gave Johnny another glance. "I'm coming back tomorrow," she firmly advised. "It's not just...ending like this."

"Heh..." Johnny shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Looks like those friends have made you go soft, but you're still damned stubborn as ever..."

Jane took this as a compliment as she saw her way out, her mind swirling. Johnny could've died - like Jet had. And for what? Had this been his plan the whole time? Take over the captain's wheel, shove the children on lifeboats, and sink the fucking cursed ghost ship?

* * *

Toph's fingers glided across the keys like the furious hooves of herd of buffalo on the run. The notes she struck were quick like lightning, ice-cold and precise. Katara was awestruck, and Sokka had even paused his Goomba-stomping to observe the seemingly miraculous skill on display.

"Heh, she's _so _good, isn't she?" Aang gloated, observing their shock.

"No _kidding,_" Sokka weakly agreed.

"I...I guess that's...what happens when you spend all of your time practicing, right?" Katara managed to theorize as the marathon of music proceeded. She couldn't shake the notion that the girl on stage wasn't _really _Toph - like before on the guitar, the motions were mechanical and exact, but it was soulless in a way. All execution, but no feeling or conviction behind the sounds erupting from the grand piano. Katara _knew _how Toph performed music she cared about - she'd seen it often enough at band practice, and had grown wary of Toph's change in attitude more recently at her distaste in the band's current venture. Katara couldn't place her finger on it, exactly, but just like during their recent practices, up on the stage this evening, Toph just seemed...somehow _off. _Not herself. This was perhaps what she had to do when she performed for school? It made enough sense. But then again, she had been like this with the Kyoshi Warriors recently, as well.

"She...just keeps _going_," Sokka squeaked under his breath, jaw slightly agape.

"Really something, right?" boasted Aang.

"I can't even comprehend how someone who can't even _see _can do that," Katara confessed. "She must have a lot of natural talent..."

"It's a thing of beauty," Sokka concluded.

"You said it," Aang agreed.

After Toph's second piece concluded, she received a fairly enthusiastic applause, which was due in part to her friends' excitement, and quietly was led off-stage as quickly and quietly as she'd shown up. The group likewise took her lead and slipped out of the hall and into the lobby of the music building.

"She rocked it," Sokka reiterated.

"Yea, no kidding," said Katara. "Practice pays off, doesn't it?"

Aang nodded, his expression a bit wistful all of a sudden. Katara's instinct told her it was probably the thought that her music was more important to her than he was, but she didn't really know what to say to this at that moment.

"We'd better get back to Aero," Sokka decided, at last shutting off the DS and handing it over to Aang. "More tests tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

"All right, guys. Good to see you."

"Good night, Sis."

"Bye, Katara!"

"Bye!"

And off the boys shot through the dark, snowy evening, bound for their dorm. Unsure of what to do with herself, Katara stood in front of the music building's entrance for a moment of uncertainty before the door swung open behind her, Toph trudging across the sidewalk, rattling her cane against one edge's snow pile.

"Toph?"

"Katara?"

"Hey...Are...-? You're not staying to greet people?" Katara understood that generally at events like this, the musicians would often linger in the lobby to greet their audience. After all, that had been how Aang had met Toph in the first place.

"Nah. I'm just glad to be done."

Katara approached Toph and linked her arm under Toph's. This was a more nerve-wracking affair than she originally anticipated it to be - things were still tense between them, but she knew they'd never improve if one of them didn't try to back down. Toph seemed receptive to Katara's guidance, but continued swiping her cane along the ground with her other hand.

"Was that your last thing to do?" Katara wondered.

"I've still got one last thing to deal with tomorrow, and...then we've got that crap with the band..."

"Then we're done!"

"Yea...Guess so."

"I can't wait. I'm definitely ready to go back and see family. And you get to come to this time, too!"

"Mm-hm..."

"My dad's been curious to meet you."

"Ah..."

"It'll be fun. We all need a break."

"_Tell _me about it..."

"Yea..." Katara had been itching to say something for the past couple of days, and now finally seemed like the right time to do it. "So, um...I just wanted...to apologize...about-"  
"It's OK."

"Really, I didn't mean to-"  
"Don't worry about it."

Katara wasn't sure whether to be relieved that Toph seemed to be dismissing the matter so easily...or be concerned about it.

"It happened. It's done. Let's leave it be."

Toph's somewhat cold disposition put Katara a little on-edge, but at the same time, it was hard to ignore her logic.

"O-OK. So...You think we're going to be ready for tomorrow night?"

"I dunno. I _guess. _We sounded OK last time."

"We'll have to make the most of practice tomorrow."

"Yea."

* * *

- Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 -

The tall grass whipped in the wind, the rains pouring down in a drizzle. The beast lumbered through the cold, wet woods, his shaggy fur a mess. Spines and sticks poked out at every angle, his face soiled and his feet sore. His huge eyes were dull from exhaustion. The white fur on his head gave way to a dark patch in the rough shape of an arrow pointing down.

Sokka observed the title of the piece:  
{Lost Days}  
{Part 3}

To the left were two more pieces in the series - the 2nd depicting the beast ready to engage in a battle with a giant...pig...porcupine...thing? The one before that showed the beast sleeping in a barn beside bales of hay. The images were pencil-drawn in black and white, hanging on the walls of the small art museum.

"Damn," Sokka nodded. "These turned out pretty baller."

"Thanks," said Aang, admiring the work of a fellow student.

"Real sweet that they got in."

"I'm pretty happy. I was just hoping even _one _would get in."

"Guess they liked to see all of the pieces lined up together, huh?"

"Guess so."

"Man, all you _creative _people," Sokka grumbled.

"Huh?"

"You draw, Toph does her music...Even the other girls play instruments. What do _I _do?"

"Um...You...Eat?"

"That doesn't _count, _Bud..."

"Well, y-you cook. Sometimes."

"_Sorta. _Hm. Maybe I could get more into that..."

"You like studying history, too."

"_Yeaaa, _but that's not, like, a _creative _hobby..."

"Video games can be really creative. You play a lot of those..."

"But I don't _make _them...I don't _create _anything."

"I saw that level you made in LittleBigPlanet. With all the orangutan ninjas."

"Heh...Not exactly what I meant."

"You seem pretty critical."

"Guess I am. I want to pick up some kind of...making-things-hobby."

"You should try and find something that works with what you love most."

"Maybe..."

The two casually strolled out of the gallery and out into the chilly afternoon air.

"So you're done?" Sokka checked.

"_Yes, _thank God..."

"Bah. I've still got one more final tomorrow..."

"Have fun."

"Yea, right...Well, at least when we're all done with this crap everything can go back to normal, right?"

"Uh...I sure _hope _so..."

"'Cuz all those girls have been driving me freakin' crazy lately."

"Yea..."

"Can you _believe _how Katara flipped out at your girlfriend's party?"

"Er...Y-yea, that was..._weird_."

"No doubt. She's been freakin' _odd _lately."

"Has she?"

"You haven't noticed? She's always like this at the end of the semester. She gets all tense and her screws get loose...Just a simple bump and her gasket blows."

"Oh..." Aang shrugged. Sure, she had seemed a little overbearing at the party - which she had worked pretty hard to put together, actually - but Aang wasn't sure he could see what Sokka was talking about. Either way, he was probably right in that things would get better by week's end and everyone could take a load off...Though this didn't excuse him from his issues with Toph.

"It's like they've all rotated," Sokka humored himself.

"What do you mean?"

Sokka spun his index fingers around one another as he replied.

"Toph's become super bitchy and defensive like Jane, Katara's become really pushy and grouchy like Toph, and Jane's become kind of...I dunno, worrying all the time...like Katara."

"Whoa..." Aang's eyebrows raised in acknowledgement. "Ha, yea, that's...kinda true, I guess..."

"For real," Sokka reaffirmed his observation. "It's bonkers. But at least you and Toph are getting along better, eh?"

Aang's eyes averted downward and he shrugged.

Sokka added, "She was all over you at the party."

"She _was_," Aang admitted. "She was...also drunk..."

"So?"

"_So? _I want my girlfriend and I to get along _without _needing...booze...to do it."

"Hmph." Sokka frowned with concession at this statement, crossing his arms as they paced through snow.

"And besides, she was...still doing that _thing _that she does..."

"Which is...?"

"She gets all forceful and stuff. It...makes me uneasy. And then...And then later, when _I _try to initiate, she just brushes me off."

"She does?"

"All the time lately..."

"_Oh. _Well...Suck. That's annoying."

"_Yea._"

"Maybe you just need to talk it out?"

"We've _tried,_" lamented Aang. "Over and over. Lately, all it does is get us into fights, so we just...stop. I dunno..."

"Sounds rough, man..."

Aang sighed and shook his head, his feet tiring of marching through the snow.

"Not your fault."

"Just a few more days, Dude. Then you won't have school to deal with and can...maybe look into that."

"Mm..."

* * *

The band on stage riffed out a pop-infused set of chords, the three members casual and aloof as they played their next peppy rendition of a Christmas classic.

"~You'd better watch out, you'd better not cry~You'd better watch out - I'm telling you why~"

They were dressed to match - each wearing red T-shirts with fireballs printed on them and black jeans. Their guitarist, a tall and skinny brown-haired kid, took lead in singing, while a butch guy with slicked black hair calmly smashed at his drums and a mousy brunette girl strummed at her bass.

"~Santa Claus is coming to town~"

"_Blech_," Toph mocked a gag from their table at the back of the bar.

"I like them," squealed Ty-Lee. "Especially the drummer..."

"Why am I not surprised?" Mai teased with a knowing glance.

"They don't seem so bad," Katara offered her opinion in defense against Toph's.

"Your tastes in music are a little less sophisticated than mine, Sweetness."

Katara's brows lowered with some irritation.

"Either way, we're gonna be _better_," boasted Jane.

"_Yea, _we are," Suki agreed, offered Jane a high-five.

"I don't think this their normal style," Katara explained to Toph. "I've heard these guys before. They're usually...more reggae? Or something?"

"Whatever. Right _now _they sound stupid."

Katara sighed as her memory recollected the last time she'd heard this group: back when she was dating Jet.

"Well, we're on next," Suki advised. "So we'd better get ready."

"Good luck." Sokka kissed his girlfriend on the forehead.

Aang made to kiss Toph in turn, but it kind of missed as she rose from her seat, reaching her arm over and ruffling his hair around.

"Cheer us on, Twinkle-Toes," she slyly advised as Katara took her arm and followed Suki and Jane to the back of the stage, shoving their way through teens and other college students.

"Seems pretty busy tonight," Zuko noticed. "Is this place usually like this?"

"Naaahhh," Ty-Lee insisted. "It's usually pretty calm, but once or twice a week they'll have stuff like this and _BAM_!" She clapped her hands together. "Buncha people show up."

"You come here a lot?" Sokka wondered.

"Heeee, not really," Ty-Lee shrugged, shaking her head. "I used to come - one of my exes used to like this place a lot...But I know a lot of people who come all the time."

The Fire Cave was a small concert-hall mixed with a ball, so to speak. It had a 'pit' before the stage for people to congregate and dance and shout, and a bar area toward the back, with some tables interspersed on the sides, as well as a balcony with seats up on the second floor. It was a dimly-lit place, living up to its name, and seemed a little bit grungy around the edges.

"Seems all right, I guess," Sokka mumbled, glancing around. "I've been to worse, anyways..."

Aang sipped at his glass of water, seeming to tune out of the conversation until the song ended and the applause shook him back to attention.

"That was the Flamey-O's," announced the concert's host as the applause died down. "Flamey-O's...Thanks guys." The band disconnected their instruments, waving the audience off as they headed into the backstage, only for the girls to come in, filling their places and hooking up their own guitar and bass. As Sokka admired Suki readjusting the drum set to her needs, Aang took the slice of lemon from his now empty glass and began sucking out its juice. The girls weren't wearing a uniform of any kind, but Suki had managed to convince them to at least all wear Santa caps for their performance. Jane and Toph had begrudgingly accepted the compromise.

"And coming up next we have The Kyoshi Warriors."

Applause ramped back up again, especially from the group's corner of the restaurant. Sokka whistled rather loudly, and Aang tried crying out a cheer, only to choke on a lemon seed and need to hack it up.

Toph plucked out the opening to "Jingle Bell Rock" and the band took off playing the song in its classical style, with Katara belting out the lyrics.

"~Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock~Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring~"

"Oh, wow," gasped Ty-Lee. "They're so cute, all up on stage. Even the cranky one."

"_Which _cranky one?" Sokka joked.

"I think she means Aang's girlfriend," Mai theorized. "The black-haired one."

"Yea, that one," Ty-Lee affirmed. "She's really bringing down everyone's positive aura. What's her problem, anyway?"

"_Me, _apparently," Aang huffed, running his finger along his cup's brim.

"She's the one that's being a tool," Mai explained to Ty-Lee, whose eyes widened while her lips formed an 'O' in acknowledgment.

"You seem like such a sweet guy," Ty-Lee sympathized to Aang. "I don't get why she'd have a problem with you..." He shrugged doubtfully in reply.

"She's probably just feeling insecure about something and is taking it out on you," Zuko guessed. "That's what my sister does to _everyone_."

Mai sighed thoughtfully and nodded her head.

"That _is _what she's doing," Sokka agreed. "She recently had a big falling out with her folks, so...That's probably the source."

"It's more than that, but...-" Aang mumbled, but let the conversation die down after that. he was starting to get annoyed with how his troubles with Toph seemed to be the only topic of discussion he was involved in lately.

"It'll pass," Sokka encouraged, slapping his friend on the back and laying the matter to rest. "But...OK. So let me get this straight...Your name's Ty-Lee."

"Uh-huh!" Ty-Lee bobbed her head cheerfully.

"You...don't look Asian. At all. In the slightest."

"Hee." Ty-Lee shrugged. "Wellllll, maybe that's 'cuz I'm _not._" She winked, holding her index to her nose. "I'm pretty white. Also, I'm from North Carolina."

"But...That name sounds pretty Asian," Sokka observed, still confused.

"OK, OK," Ty-Lee stuck out her hands, preparing to explain. "So, technically - _technically _- it's _Ty_lee. Like Tyler, but a girl."

"Uh...-?" That didn't seem to help change Sokka's opinion of how odd the name was.

"But it just sounds better like Ty-_Lee_, don't you think?"

"Sure...-?"

"Way cuter, right?"

Sokka suddenly regretted having asked.

"Do people every say anything?" Aang wondered.

"What do you mean?" Ty-Lee responded to his vague question.

"About how everybody you hang out with looks all Asian. Like we do. And stuff..."

Ty-Lee tapped her chin carefully, observing that everyone present at the table around her did basically fit that description. Aang reiterated.

"'Cuz Jane says people find it weird sometimes."

"Find _what _weird?"

"They make fun of her about it once in a while. How she hangs out with all, like...Asian-looking people, I dunno." Aang shrugged, his mind conceding to itself that he didn't really know where he was going with this.

"_Huh_," Ty-Lee's head cocked to the side and she puckered her lips in thought, eyes glancing elsewhere. "Now that you mention it, no one ever says anything about that..."

"Probably for the best," Zuko decided.

Their thoughts were interrupted when a lean young man wearing tight pants and a plaid button down squirmed over to their table. His hair was dyed black and slicked over so it covered half of his pale face. He walked with a bit of a hunch and paused when he reached them, everyone staring his way.

"Yo...Ty-Lee? Ha, that _is_ you," he muttered.

"_Oh! _Hey!" Ty-Lee squeaked back. "I sure am me! You're looking like you, too, Ron-Jon. What's goin' on?"

Ron-Jon shrugged and flipped his hair, though it ended up falling right back where it had been.

"Was just wondering if you might be interested in getting a drink, maybe dancing a bit?"

"I _love _dancing! And I _am _pretty thirsty..." Ty-Lee turned to Mai with a puppy-dog pout. "You don't mind, do you, Mai?"

"Knock yourself out," Mai dryly advised with a contained sigh.

"Cool! OK, I'll see you guys later!" Ty-Lee bounced from her chair and took off with the emo-styled runt.

"Ty-Lee," Mai groaned to herself.

"She...sure seems to like attention," Sokka noted.

"Yea, she's...like that a lot," Mai admitted. "She came from a pretty big family where she always felt ignored, so...now she acts kind of eccentric."

"That's _one _way of putting it," Zuko scoffed, receiving a sharp elbow jab.

"So where are you guys all from, anyway?" Sokka wondered.

"I'm from Connecticut," Mai confirmed. She nodded to Zuko. "He's from...Well, Japan, really."

"Ha, I was _born_ there," Zuko explained. "But I grew up in Los Angeles."

"Wow, no kiddin'!" Sokka expression acknowledged his surprise. "That's...a long ways away from here..."

"What made you come here to PA?" Aang questioned with curiosity.

Zuko shrugged, rubbing his upper lip.

"It's, uh...Well, basically, it's because my Uncle teaches here."

"_Ahhh_..."  
"Oh, OK...That makes sense," said Aang.

"Me and Katara," Sokka began, pointing over to his sister while she sang. "Our mom used to go here - and I really liked it, so...Yea. And my sis, well...She just _couldn't _be without me, obviously..."

"Oh, wow," Zuko chuckled. "My mother went here, too."

"_Whaaat_?" Sokka said with skepticism.

"Yea. My Uncle and her were friends when they went here together - that's how my dad met her."

"And his older sister went here," Mai continued, "He followed in her footsteps." Zuko frowned at this remark, and Mai's dry smile teased him.

"Get outta town...Small world." Sokka shook his head at the coincidence.

"Hey, Sokka, maybe _you _have an uncle who teaches here, too," Aang joked.

"That would be a little creepy, Aang," laughed Sokka. "Only biological uncle I have is up in Canada.

"Canada?" probed Mai.

"Yep! We're Canucks, baby! Our whole family's up there."

Aang seemed to withdraw again, getting lost in swirling around his sucked-on lemon slice in his cup.

"What about you, Aang?" Zuko probed. "Where are _you _from? How'd you find this school?"

Aang's expression tensed up, his grip on his cup tightened, and he swallowed.

"Wh...Well, I-I...-"

The girls finished their first song, receiving a healthy portion of applause. Sokka, noting Aang's worried expression, paved an escape for him.

"Whoa, dude, you OK? You're lookin' kinda sick there..."

"I'm...-" He trembled a bit, shaking his head, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Hey, c'mon." Sokka tugged on his arm and pulled him out of his seat. "You probably need some air. Get your coat on. We'll get you some more water."

"Y-yea, OK..." Aang fumbled with his coat and managed to pop himself into it.

"Sorry, guys, we'll be back in a bit," Sokka assured.

"OK," Mai responded, waving them off.

"He _has _been looking a little off tonight," Zuko realized. "Hope he's not down with something."

"It _is _that time of year," said Mai.

"Guys-guys-guys!" Ty-Lee squealed out to them, an awkward-looking Ron-Jon beside her. "They're starting a new song! C'mon, _let's dance!_"

"Oh, brother," Mai sighed, a smirk forming on her face. "She's just full of energy today..."

"Shall we humor her?" Zuko dully pondered.

"We shall." Mai lifted up from her chair and took Zuko's hand, leading him to the crowd.

* * *

**A/N: A little bit of a lot in this chapter. I've been wanting to expand the "Fire Nation" guys a bit more, so you've noticed more Mai/Ty-Lee and now some Zuko lately. Ron-Jon is, by the way, an interpretation of Ruon-Jian, a very minor character who shows up in The Beach episode. Likewise, the Flamey-O's are a reference to a band that performs in the episode The Headband. There will be some more references to both those episodes in the future, since both contain minor characters that can help add some variety to the cast of school students. I'm trying to more specifically reference and homage various elements of the show while still making them seem organic.  
**

**Lotta YouTube links in this one!**

**Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Movements 1 and 3, on the instruments Toph plays them on, respectively.**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=kS8eVFq1ZdU**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6s**

**I admit that the guitar performance in this video is more "raw" and real, but the piano performance has that icy, precise intensity and mechanical-ness I think of when I try to describe Toph performing for school. Not that it's BAD to play music this way - often that kind of emotionless accuracy is required. But it still conveys that Toph approaches her music one way when its personal, and another when its for someone else (school, her parents, etc.).  
**

**A-Team Intro**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=_MVonyVSQoM**

**Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Green Day)**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=qwGPzRd3XIY**

**Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms)**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=BWXqmukiD3U**


	44. Survived

**A/N: As I continue my journey of trying to make things work out in California, I seem to be running into a never-ending wall of resistance, and yet things continue to work - just _barely _enough to squeeze by. Writing about people getting ready for Christmas only serves to remind me that come Christmas, it's not looking like I'll have anyone at all to go see. But, with some luck, I'll be finishing this story about then. I'm dealing with a hell of a lot of feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt right now...I really hope life can start changing that, because after a couple of years it gets to be a bit much. In the meantime, I guess I can always show those feelings to other people through these characters.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 44 - Survived  
_

* * *

- Thursday, December 16th, 2010 -

"Yep. Done. Fucking _doooonnnne._"

["Wow. Nice~ Must be a big relief, huh?"]

"You bet your _ass _it is..."

["You sound better than last time, Tophie."]

"I _am _better than last time, Cuz. Way better. My hands can finally take a damned break. Hours of slamming piano keys and plucking strings and rolling over braile...poor girls need a rest, ya know?"

["Heehee."]

"Looks like we're heading out tomorrow. Christmas break. _Argh, _can't wait..."

["Finally get to relax with Aangy, right?"]

"Yea...I do."

["Should be good for you guys. Things have been pretty rocky, I know..."]

"Mm..."

["They gotten better?"]

"Uh...Y-yea, a little..." Toph caught herself biting at her dry lip.

["Ah. That's good. Looks like you've been too busy to do any new videos lately."]

"Oh, um...Pff. Yea, been way too crazy..."

["You should take some time to do that during vacation. Maybe do a Christmas song or something."]

"Huh...Yea, I..._guess _I might be able to do that..."

["You still have the camera, right?"]

"Yea, yea. I do. Naw, I'll...get around to it. You're right, I need to work more on that stuff."

["I noticed what you've got up so far has gotten a few views."]

"Oh, yea?"

["Yea, you've hit about a hundred or so on each vid so far. It's a start. But we both know you can do better...Heehee."]

"Hell yea, I can."

["Ah, shoot...I've got to be somewhere in five minutes...I've gotta go."]

"See ya, then, Meng."

["Bye, Tophie!"]

Toph closed her phone and stuffed it in her pocket, taking a deep breath as she found her way to her keyboard at the foot of her bed. She unplugged the headphones and ran her fingers across its surface, finding her 'home' and testing out a few chords. She set to work figuring out the opening parts of "Carol of the Bells" as a means of practicing a song to record later but also to take her mind off of her own self-doubts which were quickly crawling to the surface with schoolwork out of the way.

* * *

- December, 2010 -

Aang carefully studied the way Toph's fingers glided across ivory bars, creating a melody akin to a chorus of melancholy bells. It was a familiar Christmas tune, though not his favorite. It struck him as a bit too sad for Christmastime. As Toph finished, however, she smirked.

"That's my fav," she told him. "There's a lot of sappy Christmas songs, and that's all good, but _that _one's the best Christmas song."

"Hm..."

"For the longest time, I hated Christmas songs. Never thought I'd find one I'd get along with." She chuckled, playing the main melody by itself slowly with one hand as she went on. "And then _this _song came around. It called out to me. I couldn't ignore it even if I wanted to. Just...latched itself right into my brain and wouldn't let go. It's different than other Christmas songs."

"Ah."

"By the way, I'm making allusions to _you, _Dude."

Aang paused, uncertain of how to respond.

"I've been keeping to myself at this school because I know what it's like to get burned by people, and I don't want to leave myself open like that again. Somehow...you seem to be clawing your way in, anyway. Relentless bastard," she snickered.

"I have a habit of breaking through walls," Aang tried to boost his confidence and ego in her presence. "I try to, anyway," he added, his humility prodding at his conscious.

"That so?"

* * *

- Thursday, December 16th, 2010 -

Katara guzzled down the last of her juice in a large gulp, scooping up her tray and bolting to drop it onto the washroom's conveyer, Jane following suit.

"We'll meet up at the guys' room and figure out a plan from there," she explained, continuing their conversation concerning plans for celebration.

"Ah, OK. I'm gonna be a little late," Jane advised.

"Huh? How come? Aren't you done with finals?" Katara stopped to grab a banana from the fruit baskets on their way out.

"Yea, I am," Jane calmly replied. "I've gotta go take care of something before we head out tomorrow."

"Huh?" Katara shot her a suspicious expression as they traversed down the stairs to the ACC's main lounge area. "Not something..._Freedom Fighter _related, right?" she checked with a bit of sharp concern.

Jane stared her straight in the eye and quickly replied, "No. Definitely not something with _them_." She frowned, expressing disgust at the idea. "I haven't heard from them in...a _while._" She scratched at her brow while she spoke. "Nah, I have to hunt down a student I lent my textbook to so I can trade that back in tomorrow morning before we leave."

"Oh, _shoot_," Katara gasped, slapping herself in the forehead lightly. "I still haven't returned _mine. _Thanks for reminding me."

"Heh, no problem." Jane shrugged with relief. Had Katara not yet heard the news about the group? No-doubt she had been so frantic with finals that she had missed the latest White Lotus issue.

"Another all-day car ride for us, again," Katara lamented. "Ugh...Maybe we'll have more fun this time."

"As long as you bring that box of Christmas cookies, we can always stuff those in anyone's face once they start bitching."

"Not if I eat them all first."

"Tsh. You wouldn't. You'd get so fat."

"And full of cookies and happy."

"And fat."

"Yea? Well...Maybe all the more reason for me to let _you _eat some with how skinny you are."

"Hurr-hurr." Jane rolled her eyes. "Jealous..."

"Not about your cup size," Katara devilishly picked.

"_Wow, _that was low..." Jane mock whimpered, folding her arms and pushing out her lips in a fake pout.

"You started it," Katara cast off with a prissy tone and a shrug. "Don't dish if you can't take. Right?"

"So some of me _is _rubbing off on you, too..."

"Bleh."

"I know. It's horrendous."

"Blehhhh."

"It's not _that _bad."

"Buulllehhhhh." Katara's expression had evolved into an exaggerating gag, tongue flailing about.

"Fine. You win. Jerk."

* * *

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[Katara likes The Flamey-O's.]

[**Katara Kesuk** If today was your last day, if tomorrow was too late, could you say good-bye to yesterday?  
Would you live each moment like your last, leave old pictures in the past, donate every dime you had?]  
[3 hours ago]  
[Aang Leekpai likes this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Uh oh. Someone's breaking out the song lyrics...Nickelback? Really? Wow, must be a bad day...]  
[3 hours ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Shut up. =/ ]  
[3 hours ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - you really do care a lot about making each day count huh?]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - Lately I wonder why I even bother...]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Aang Leekpai** - hey dont think like that! we need our canadian eskimo glue to keep everyon together,m remember?]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - i meant that in a good way -_- ]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - Thanks guys...]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - I'll insult your bland taste in pop music any time. ;) ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - Not you. =O ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - Yikes, someone has a case of the Grumpies today, huh? ;( Need that pudding medicine?]  
[53 minutes ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - wtf?]  
[41 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - Oh snap, I'll need to tell you that story later. xD ]  
[32 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - =_= ]  
[Moments ago]

* * *

Jane simply sat, staring at his peaceful state for a few minutes. He slept in a way she hadn't seen him sleep in a long time: completely relaxed. It was relieving to her to see him in such a state, and brought back that old stirring sensation that wouldn't seem to disappear. Except for when...-  
"Unh...-?"

Oh, he was waking up.

"Hey, Johnny," she sighed out. She was hunched over in a chair by his bedside, her back to the winter evening outside the window, the pale orange glow of street lamps below.

"Agh," Johnny acknowledged in a grunt. "She's back for Round 2..."

Jane face melted into a mess of briefly-lived despair she couldn't control, tears rapidly building. She managed to control the fire before it could spread and took a deep breath.

"Fuck yes, I am," she insisted shakily. "You can't just...get rid of me..."

"Leaving isn't the same as 'getting rid of.'"

"Rrgh, don't _say _shit like that, man..." Jane's knees bobbed up and down with impatience, her hands tucked between her legs.

Johnny's brows slid down slyly.

"We both know it's not me," he bluntly advised.

"Wha...-?" Jane was baffled by what came across as an accusation.

"It's not me you should...-" He shuffled his head across his pillow. "-...be sticking around with..."

"The fuck...-?"

"They seem to do much more...good for ya...Bee."

"You mean...the guys?"

Johnny's eyes searched up to the side for a moment as bobbed his head a tad.

"Made you change. Change in ways...I knew ya could...but could never get to happen myself..."

Their eyes remained locked for a silent moment of contemplation.

"Heh." Johnny smiled coyly. "I see it in your eyes..."

"See...See what?" Jane mumbled, on edge. What was with him?

"There's someone else," Johnny muttered. The instant Jane's eyes widened and her lips cracked open, he quickly blurted, "Nah, nah...I get it. It's OK. Probably better for you, anyway..."

"How-...? Johnny, don't...say this shit again. Like I'm...running off with someone else..." Her cheeks flushed from the awkward discussion.

"No, no...Last time? I was lying..."

Jane's brows tilted at this nonchalant admission.

"With Jet, we're talking about," he clarified. "Right? When I broke up with you? Oohhhh..." He shook his head slowly. "I knew it wasn't like that...I said that to drive you off. Had to be...convincing. Get under your skin, make you not _want _to come back..."

"How could...-?"

"We were no good for you. I hated seeing you...stuck. And look right here." He nodded his head to his arm cast and chuckled in spite of himself. "Got you outta _this, _didn't I?"

Jane's teeth ground together, but she understood. She'd been played, in a matter of speaking. He really was taking the fall for everything they'd done, wasn't he?

"Fuck," she groaned in frustration, eyes averting to the tiled floor.

"I was sick of how Jane had...disappeared. And all I was seeing was Smellerbee. I had to...do something about that...Psh." His eyes rolled up as he recalled things. "Had to let _them _do something, really..."

"Johnny, you don't need to...fuckin' break off like that..."

"Jane, Jane, Jane..." Johnny huffed. He sure was a bit more talkative than usual tonight. And kind of odd, altogether. She fancied it must've had to do with his injury and all the drugs he was likely loopy on. But at least she was getting the truth from him. "It's done. Don't you get it? I'm not going to be coming back to school after this...But you _will. _And so will all those other kids, like Pipsqueak and The Duke..."

"Oh, so...so you get to be some God damned _martyr _or some...some bullshit?"

"I don't..._know. _Whatever you want to call it, I'm just...glad it's done and over with. And...if you can't let it go, and keep...going down this new path of yours?" Johnny's eyes pleaded with her, though his words were steady. "It'll make this all worth nothing. You can't do that now."

Jane's emotions were swelling with intensity from all of this coming out. It sounded like he was _relieved _to be rid of her. What an ass. She'd trusted him with everything. More than anyone else in her whole-...Well, _almost _anyone else, anyway. More than any other _man, _that was for fucking sure. And look where that had put her: same fucking place as always. Hung to dry once again.

She slammed her fist into her thigh in aggravation as the reality sunk in - this might be the last time she'd see Johnny.

Fucking lying bastard...playing games with her.  
But he had been doing it to protect her.  
Still fucking _lied.  
_As if she hadn't been lying _herself _lately.  
He was just going to completely abandon everything they'd built.  
But it was because he loved her and wanted something better for her.  
That wasn't _his _choice to make.  
But he'd already made his choice, and she'd already made hers.

"It's not like...I'm gonna disappear off the face of the planet...ya know."

Jane was rubbing snot from her nose with a nearby napkin, unused from Johnny's dinner. She was at a loss of what to make of all this.

"Still got my...cell number, 'n...ya know..."

"Right, 'cuz...you're _such _a...conversationalist," Jane tried to joke through her tears.

"Hmph," Johnny breathed out a laugh.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Jane was startled by the nurse. No, no, no. Not yet. They couldn't. She needed more time.

"Miss Fitzpatrick...?"

"Uh..."

"It's five past eight, we really do need to get you out of here..."

Jane's face began burning with embarrassment as the nurse approached. She was holding a snot-filled napkin and her face was wet.

"I'm sorry," the nurse offered her sympathies.

"'Kay..." She nodded, taking in a deep breath and slipping into her winter vest. She glanced down at her friend with remorse. "Will you...still be here when I get back?"

"Can't say," Johnny honestly admitted.

Jane shook her head and leaned over to give him a hug as carefully as she could. It was insult added to injury, not even being able to give him a proper hug. She was tempted to kiss his lips as she drew her face away, but refrained. It would've made it that much more difficult to break away, and they didn't need that. And besides...they were still broken up, anyway. Stupid idiot...bastard.

"Guess I'll...see you around," Jane choked out as she followed the nurse out, looking back over her shoulder.

Johnny managed to lift his free arm to his head and pinched his thumb and index just before his forehead, giving a slight nod and a wink. A weak smile found its way onto her face as she could see the invisible cowboy hat on his head that he was tipping to send her off.

* * *

[**Facebook - Aang Leekpai**]

[**Aang Leekpai** is sooooo glad that finals are done. ^^ ]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk, Katara Kesuk, Mai Chiao, and 4 others like this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - DAMN STRAIGHT. Time to party! You ready to party?]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Aang Leekpai** - i got da sonic if you got da boom!]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - plz tell me da boom is that cactus stuff.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Meng Beifong** - CONGRATS! :D :D :D ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - Jane Fitzpatrick Yea, I've still got a few bottles left over. ;) ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - I thought we were going to the Midnight Breakfast...]  
[45 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai** - ohhh yesss we have to go! im in the mood for pancakes]  
[42 minutes ago]

[**Korra Kesuk** - way to go, little man! have fun. see u soon!]  
[39 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- im not little...:'( ]  
[37 minutes ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - Katara Kesuk i'm in. Ill take cinnamin buns over booz any day.]  
[34 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - Jane Fitzpatrick You're just full of surprises, Freckles. :P ]  
[32 minutes ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- Aang Leekpai you have yet to prove that. ;P ]  
[30 minutes ago]

[**Suki Kyoshi** - me and sokka will meet you guys at the acc in 15 minutes?]  
[28 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai** - sure! Katara Kesuk do yo know where toph is?]  
[27 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - She's taking a nap but I'll wake her up. ^_^; ]  
[24 minutes ago]

[**Mai Chiao** - we're already here, you guys are welcome to join us if you want.]  
[20 minutes ago]

[**Mai Chiao** - if you can FIND us...]  
[20 minutes ago]

[**Zuko Kurosawa** - Good luck, it's crazy down here.]  
[19 minutes ago]

[**Tylee Moretti** - omg omg french toast stix cannot wait! :3 ]  
[17 minutes ago]

[**Tylee Moretti** - ===SRSLY FRENCH TOAST STIX!1! =^_^= ]  
[16 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai** - wow uh...you really like frnch toast sticks huh?]  
[Moments ago]

* * *

- Friday, December 17th, 2010 - Last day of the semester

"Good God," Sokka drooled. "This is possibly the best idea this college has ever had..."

"Hash browns," Aang teased Toph, wiggling her head around. "_Haaaassshh brrroowwnnnsss~_"

"Yea, yea," she smirked, arms crossed, wobbling a bit from her balance being tossed about.

"You see those other guys?" Katara wondered tiredly, stretching her neck to try and look through the line as students filed out, their plates full of breakfast food. It was a mystery, where they'd gone off to by now.

During the last night of the semester, SRU celebrated a most curious event: Midnight Breakfast. Some students were still studying for that last final of the week the next day, some were getting ready to head home...No matter the case, the college used Midnight Breakfast as a way to help relieve tension, congratulate a semester well done, and give students a great opportunity to mingle one last time before break. The faculty helped serve the food, so it was also a nice chance to see the staff outside of class, at that.

"I forgot all _about _this," Suki pointed out. "My other school never did this kind of thing."

"That's because this school is _better_," Sokka concluded simply.

As they flowed through the line - which was moving at a good clip, full of exhausted college students ready to eat and go to bed - Katara observed the professors who were serving. She recognized the one at the end of the line, an elderly man with a long goatee, hair white as snow. She found it curious how the top of his head was bald, but some hair trailed down in the back. She didn't find it terribly flattering, but his bushy white brows and the blatant wrinkles on his forehead further sealed tight her notion that he wasn't one to care much for appearances. His frigid eyes were sharp like knives and he seemed to always be scowling anytime she passed him by on campus. This evening was no exception.

Her attention was diverted as Sokka poked her in the rib quite invasively and grinned.

"When we get back out, I need to tell Ginger about The Grumpies," he taunted.

Katara's eyes narrowed at him.

"Don't," she grumbled.

"Aw, come _on_," Sokka picked, tugging at her shoddy ponytail.

"Stop," she grunted at him, brows arced in a plea.

"OK," Sokka calmly conceded, backing off and retreating to Suki's side in front of her.

"What are The Grumpies?" Suki asked.

"Heh, tell ya 'bout it when we find our seat."

Aang seemed all too eager to help Toph load up her plate, his eyes glowing with anticipation of eating himself, though Toph appeared too sleepy to be so excited.

She held out her plate, accepting the food that each professor was hand-serving. She greeted them all with courtesy, and as she got to the end, the elder with the white hair and the grouchy look placed a cinnamon bun on her plate.

"Could I actually get an extra, please?" she requested with all politeness.

"Only one per student," the man firmly replied, passing one to the next student, who walked around Katara.

"Ah, right, it's just that my friend out there just wanted one of these, and-"  
"Then she should have waited in line."

He immediately dismissed her at that and continued to serve. Katara controlled her frown and gave up, heading over to where her friends were filling cups with orange juice and milk.

"What was that about?" Aang asked, immediately seeing the remnants of her irritation.

"Oh, just...I couldn't get an extra one for Jane."

"Guy sounded pretty protective of his _buns_," Toph muttered skeptically. Katara figured this was supposed to be humorous, but it seemed to fall flat.

"Yea, well...-" Katara trailed off, huffing. "That's Professor Pakku," she groaned. "From what I hear, he's..._like _that."

"Oh, snap," said Sokka, having just gulped down half a glass of orange juice. He went to refill it. "Isn't that guy the prof you have _two _classes with next semester?"

"Yes," Katara begrudgingly replied, her jaw tight. "The other English majors don't seem to like him much, either..."

"I'm sure he can't be that bad," Suki tried to lessen the idea as they exited the serving area and entered the bustling cafeteria. For being past midnight, it was even more busy than an average meal.

"A lot of students say otherwise," Katara bemoaned.

"You're a tough girl, you can take 'im," encouraged Sokka. "Besides, I'll bet he's not as bad as the math professor I had for Calculus."

"Who was that?" Aang asked.

"Uh...Jeong? Jeong, yea," he nodded. "_Man. _That guy was..._intense_."

"Oh," Aang shakily sighed.

"Heh. Got him in the spring?"

"Yea..."

"Have _fun _with that..."

Aang gave a nervous laugh and Toph slapped him on the back.

"What's the worst he can do?" she said. "Fail you?"

Aang's face drained a bit.

"I-I'm no good at math," he whimpered.

"Yea, well, you were no good at _kissin' _'til I had my way with you," Toph teased cockily, sliding her hand down to his rump and grabbing at it briefly. "Sometimes a teacher who kicks your ass is how ya learn."

"Girl's got a good point," Sokka agreed. "Man, I did bad at first, but...By the end, I really picked up my grades. Guy's a good teach if you stick with it."

"You'll be fine, Aang," Katara added encouragement as they filtered through the tables to the one Jane had found for them. "We'll both deal with our grumpy teachers together."

"_Aha!_" Sokka cried triumphantly. "Speaking of _grumpy_...-!" He set his food down to Jane's right, who seemed off-put by his commanding presence.

"God," Katara puffed out, palming at her pink face as she sat to Jane's left.

"'Kay. So." Sokka jammed a sausage into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. He gruffly cleared his throat and told the story to Jane. "When we were little kids-" He pinched his fingers in the air. "-my sis had a serious problem with temper tantrums."

"Tssh, really?" Jane seemed rather amused.

"Oh, _yea, _it was _bad. _She used to get into so much trouble when she was little."

Jane turned to Katara with an entertained and curious look. Katara's eyes shut briefly and she shrugged.

"Yea, it's true," she admitted, barely holding back a devilish smile.

"So our dad used to say whenever she was throwing a fit that she had been infected with The Grumpies."

"Heh." Jane smiled, imagining tot Katara with an exaggerated scowl across her face, screaming in tiny baby words at her brother.

"Like it was a disease. And so Katara - I mean, she was...pff...what, like, five? Or something? She actually thought it was a real illness, right? So it was...Aw, man, it was the _funniest _thing. She'd go from, like, yelling her head off like a banshee to, like..._terrified_ that she was gonna die from this...-" Sokka was beginning to laugh along with those around him. "-...this _disease_. And so Dad would-...He'd tell her that he always kept medicine for The Grumpies. And he'd...-" Sokka stared at his sister with elation, entirely humored, and Katara, arms crossed, lip bit in a sheepish smile, shook her head at him. "Well, he'd give her pudding, tell her that was the cure. So it became this thing where whenever she was acting up real bad, as _soon _as she was told she had The Grumpies, she'd remember about it, and _bam, _she'd get all worried and start asking for pudding."

The table chuckled, Katara struggling to contain her own snickers in spite of her previous self. Jane shot Katara a sly smile, admiring her friend's flushed face - it wasn't every day that Katara had reason to feel so embarrassed, after all, she Jane relished seeing this side.

"Pudding's _is _the damned cure," Toph agreed, rolling up a dry pancake with her bare hands. "Pistachio, man, all the way."

"You done?" Katara checked, brows raised at her brother as she readied her counter strike.

"When she was six, our mom had to finally tell her one day when we didn't _have _any pudding in the fridge that she _wasn't _gonna die, and that she just needed to be a good girl. It took, like, fifteen minutes to convince her to calm down."

"Yea, yea, OK," Katara wormed her way through his story. "I was a toddler. What about _you _and that time you and Dad went camping and you couldn't sit right for a week because you wiped your butt with poison ivy? _Oorrrr_-" She jabbed out her finger at him before he could speak. "-_why_ don't you tell them about the day we went ice fishing and you got _two _fish hooks stuck in your thumb? Huh?"

"Haha, wow, the gloves are coming off," Suki announced, thoroughly intrigued.

"Now it's on like _Donkey Kong_!" Toph jeered.

"_Two _hooks?" Aang asked, bewildered.

Now Sokka was the one smiling with red cheeks and shaking his head in shame.

"He tried to get the _first _hook out with _another _one," Katara explained matter-of-factly and with great satisfaction. A chortle burst out of Aang's mouth and he slapped the table.

"_Wow, _way to go, MeatHead."

"He was _fifteen_, by the way," Katara made sure to point out.

"Boys will be boys," said Suki, kissing Sokka on the cheek.

"My, my, we seem to be enjoying ourselves at _this _table!" came the warm voice of Professor Kurosawa, a pitcher of orange juice in hand, dressed in a Santa Claus outfit. "Quite the rambunctious crowd!"

They said their hello's to the Professor and he topped off their drinks.

"It is quite a relief to be done with your schoolwork, is it not?"

"Like you wouldn't _believe_," Toph grumbled.

"Yea, it's great," Aang agreed.

"It is always important to take time to be merry and remember the old days," Iroh advised in his slow, thoughtful tone. "Holding on to those sweet memories reminds us of how to make new ones like them." The group mumbled their agreements and he nodded to them. "I hope you all create memorable stories during your time away. Enjoy your vacation, and have a Merry Christmas - all of you."

"Merry Christmas!"  
"You, too!"  
"Merry Christmas, Professor!"  
"And to all a good night!"  
"Suit looks good on you!"

As Iroh sauntered off to the next table, the group shared a moment of peace, eating their food and soaking in the atmosphere. They'd survived another semester. It was a wholesome feeling.

"Oh, hey, Jane," Katara muttered, having finished her scrambled eggs. "Take my cinnamon bun. That's the only thing you wanted, right?"

"_Oh, _nice. Yea, thanks..."

* * *

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk** And would you call on friends you never see, reminisce old memories, would you forgive your enemies?  
And would you find that one you're dreaming of, swear up and down to God above that you'd finally fall in love?  
If today was your last day...]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Jane Fitzpatrick, Aang Leekpai, Hakoda Kesuk, and Korra Kesuk like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk** - hey chin up, you're done. xmas break! also, you'll totally find the right person some day no sweat.]  
[49 minutes ago]

[**Hakoda Kesuk** - Sweetheart you do live every day like your last and we are proud of you for that. I know your mom is, too.]  
[Katara and Sokka like this.]  
[45 minutes ago]

* * *

**A/N: Midnight Breakfast is this thing my college did during finals week. Actually, as I recall, we had ours at the _start _of finals week, but I like it better having it be at the _end _here.  
**

**Nickelback's "If Today Was Your Last Day."  
**

**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=lrXIQQ8PeRs**

**I know that at some point in the past I have literally used those song lyrics for my own Facebook status. ^_^;;**

**Obviously, this chapter continues my efforts to progress time along, show you some things about how the characters are dealing with stuff, and make lots of references to the show and allude to some of what's to come.**

**Katara being all polite and caring now but a terror when she was a tiny kid is...exactly how I turned out, it seems. =P Apparently I was a monster before the age of 6 but as it turns out I've become quite a gent, so my parents say. Anyway, a lot of things from this chapter are little nods to my life and to Avatar, though I'll give you a free pass and point out that the basic idea of the fish hook story was borrowed from the show. ;)  
**


	45. Colleagues

**A/N: Well, this chapter turned around pretty quick. Guess I've been eager to finally get this outta my system. ^_^;**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 45 - Colleagues_

* * *

- Friday, December 17th, 2010 - Last day of the semester

"I gotcha, Teo." Sokka scurried to the front door and pulled it open, holding it so his fellow Aero Man could wheel himself outside into the brisk winter morning.

"Thanks, man. You guys have a good Christmas!" the young man in the wheelchair bid as he rode himself down the sidewalk to the van waiting out front.

"You, too!" Sokka called back before retreating back inside. He checked his phone for the time: [8:12am] What was taking Aang so long to get downstairs?

Having already dropped off his backpack in the car, he headed upstairs to find an answer to his question. As he traversed the halls, he passed a groggy Haru.

"Dude, hey," Haru greeted with the yawn, having just exited the bathroom. They both walked down the hall together toward their respectful bedrooms.

"Oh, heya. You finally done?"

"Psh. Naw, man...Got one more final today..."

"Ohhh, _suck._"

"No lie. But I'll deal. You guys headin' out?"

"Yea, once I can get my roommate to get his ass in gear, heh."

"Ha. Yea? Cool, man." Haru reached his door and paused. "Yo, Sokka."

"Eh?" Sokka swerved around to meet him. Haru reached out and the two shared a rough hug with hard slaps.

"Merry Christmas, Bro."

"Yea, Merry Christmas."

"Later."

"Good luck!"

Sokka popped into his room to see Aang warily stuffing clothes into his duffel bag at a snail's pace.

"Hey, Bud, come on, come on! We're running late. What's takin' ya so long?"

"Oh..." Aang coughed and sniffed, wiping snot onto his sleeve. "Y-yea...Sorry..."

What was his deal today? He'd been great the night prior.

"You, uh...You sick or somethin', Aang?"

"Er...I guess," Aang mumbled with a shrug, wiping gunk from his eyes as he reached for a tissue from his desk to blow his nose.

"Sorry, man," Sokka quickly offered sympathy. "But we seriously gotta haul ass. Can I help?"

"Uh, well...-" Aang looked around the room. "Could...you maybe pack up my computer for me? And-and the tablet, too?"

"Sure, sure..." Sokka noted that Aang's computer was in the process of shutting down at that very moment, so he went about sliding Aang's digital tablet into place before unplugging the now turned off laptop and popping that into the padded portion of the Aero branded messenger case. "All righty, we're set," he announced, watching Aang zip up the duffel bag. "Get your coat on, eh? Time to truck off."

"Mm-hm..."

* * *

"Kat, you're gonna be in a _car _all day, don't...fuss with your hair. Christ..." Jane shook her head with dull eyes and a crack of a smile, perplexed at Katara's insistence to brush her thick bushy hair, which looked just fine the way it had been before.

"If I don't-...Well, it'll get all...tangled, and...-" Katara was muttering her reasoning, but shortly thereafter decided she was finished and set the brush with the rest of her grooming supplies. She stuffed these into her backpack, loaded it onto her shoulders, and picked up her suitcase. Jane found it entirely amusing that Katara had a _suitcase. _She claimed that she wanted to look more professional when she needed to, but Jane's conclusion was simply that Katara was silly and liked weird formal things like suitcases and pipe cigars, noting the wooden, never-been-smoked-with cigar she kept on her bookshelf above her desk.

A toilet flushed in the next room over and Toph came stumbling out, yawning like a sleepy tiger as she spoke slowly.

"We fuggin'...-" She stretched her arms out, bumping her wrist into Jane's shoulder, who shrugged it off. "-bleh...reddy ta go yet...?"

"I, um...Yea, I'm ready," Katara decided with a concise nod to herself as she put on her coat.

"Cool. I'm set," said Jane, patting her backpack and zipping up her vest.

"All right," said Katara. The boys should be here any minute..." Katara cocked a brow at Toph's unprepared state. "Toph, are you all packed?"

"Yep..."

"Good. OK. You need help getting your stuff on?"

"Nah, I got it," Toph grumbled, stubborn in finding her boots and coat on her own. Katara exchanged tired glances with Jane as they waited for Toph to perform this task. The girl just wouldn't let people help her, would she?

Katara set her suitcase outside the door and grabbed Toph's bag for her, placing it outside as well.

"Here, I'll get your bag, Toph - Jane, could you help her get downstairs?" Jane winced at this, still holding a bit of a grudge against the blind girl.

"Yea," she sighed with a shrug. Katara gave her an appreciative smile that made her feel less down on helping out, at least.

"I'm gonna go run this stuff downstairs, so...-" Katara dug through her pockets and pulled out a key. "Here," she handed it to Jane. "Make sure to lock the door on the way out, too. And Toph, you have your room key, too, right?"

"Yea, yea..." Toph was finishing the task of getting into her coat.

"OK. Great. I'll meet you guys down in the main lounge."

"Mm-hm." Jane nodded her off, watching her strain herself with the weight of three loaded bags with some confusion. Couldn't Katara have let _her _carry one? Ah, well.

Jane popped her own backpack on and stared at Toph with a slight frown.

"Uh...You ready, Dead-Eyes?"

"Yea..."

"Right...So, uh...-" Jane stuck out her hand toward Toph's arm. "Here, I'll...-"

Toph raised her hand and bumped it into Jane's before they fumbled fingers and begrudgingly clutched one another's palms. They shuffled out and Jane locked the door behind them. The journey through the dorm was awkward and silent, and Jane quickly grew an appreciation for how skilled and patient Katara seemed to be at aiding her roommate around. Jane's patience, on the other hand, was much shorter, and she struggled to contain her irritation as they neared the end of their brief travels together. They came to the empty lounge area on the first floor where Katara was nervously pacing back and forth talking on her phone.

"-so just swing on by the door and we'll just come right out." She sighed during a pause. "I _know, _Sokka...I _know! _We'll...make it work somehow..." She picked at the corner of her forehead and nodded as she listened. "Yea. Uh-huh. OK...See you in a minute." She closed her phone and dropped it into her coat, noticing her two friends arriving. "Ah, there you guys are. They'll be here in a sec."

"No problem," said Jane as Toph squirmed out of her grip. "Hey, did you bring those cookies for the ride?" she checked, her mind wandering to the trip they had in store.

"_Agh, _no, I...left those up in the room," Katara huffed.

"I got it," Jane quickly insisted, unslinging her backpack bolting off.

"They should be on my desk," Katara shouted in the distance.

Jane was jealous as she unlocked their door - why the hell was their door's lock so smooth and easy while hers had to be so damned finicky? - and rapidly scoured Katara's desk. She found the tin of cookies, but noticed an orange bottle tucked away behind them, beside her alarm clock. She recognized the blue pills as Katara's medication, and wondered why they were still up here. Good thing she'd had to come back up here, then, right? She scooped them up as well, blasted into the hall, skidded to a stop, spun back, locked the door behind her again, and finally made it back to see that the girls were already outside, and Katara was struggling to jam her suitcase into the back of the car.

"I _told _you we might not have enough room," Sokka advised from the front seat of the car.

"I _heard_ you before," Katara sighed back. Toph stood beside the car, while Aang sat in the backseat patiently.

"Hold these," Jane commanded to Toph, pushing the cookie tin against her. She hopped over to Katara's side and observed the jam-packed trunk and her friend's discouraged expression.

"Gah, here..." She yanked out her own backpack and rearranged the nearby bags. "There, try it now."

Katara now had the space she needed to set her suitcase in.

"Thanks, but...Now we don't have space for yours..."

"No big, I can put it on the floor in the back."

"Oh. Right." Katara nodded. "OK, sure..."

"By the way...-" Jane pulled out the orange bottle of pills she'd snagged on her way out. "-ya _might _want these, ya think?"

Katara stared at them for a moment and Jane caught the slightest glimpse of a grimace before a controlled smile took over.

"Oh, yea...Thanks," she muttered politely. "I...must've forgot them in the rush of everything." Jane had spent enough time around the Freedom Fighters to know a lie when she saw one, which begged the question: Why would Katara intentionally leave them behind?

"Good thing I found 'em, then," Jane calmly concluded.

"Heh, yea." Katara took them and nodded. "Thanks."

"Hey, Snoozles, mind if I sit up front?" Toph called out, clutching the cookie tin, running her fingertips along its edges.

"Er...-" Sokka shrugged, blinking at her. "If Katara's OK with it," he replied through the open window.

"You don't want to sit in the back with me?" Aang asked rhetorically in a dim, disheartened tone.

"I don't _always _need to sit with you, Twinkle-Toes," Toph groaned. "So fuckin' clingy," she added under her breath, though Jane was close enough to hear this last part.

"Um...-" Katara, who had just finished shutting the trunk, whisked by and took the cookies from Toph. "Yea, it's fine, Toph. Go...right ahead." She nodded quickly, scurrying to the passenger's seat. She opened the door for her roommate, guiding her in and shutting it behind. "I'll sit in the middle," Katara offered to Jane, sliding herself into the least comfortable seat of the car, stretching her legs out so her feet rested on opposing ends of the bump between the two front seats.

Jane followed, dropping her backpack between her own legs on the floor. She closed the door behind her, and Sokka rolled up the electric windows, cranked on the heater and took a deep breath.

"Woot!" he cried. "Time to get this show on the _road_!" The still running car chugged out of the parking lot and onto the road, winding around campus toward the path to Wayward and their destination, the northbound highway. As Aqua House faded away behind them, Sokka cleared his throat through the silence and asked, "So, anyone up for some Christmas music?"

* * *

["~Silver and gold~Silver and gold~Everyone wishes for silver and gold~"]

Sokka sang along joyfully as he drove, the radio having been turned up a bit to drown out Toph's snoring, her head in her coat's hood, propped against the window.

["~How do you measure its worth~just by the pleasure it gives here on earth?~"]

Jane was watching snow-covered trees fly by to the right, while Aang was glooming to the left, his eyes glazed over and his expression dull.

["~Silver and gold~Silver and gold~Means so much more when I see...~"]

Katara had gotten caught up in singing age-old music with her brother that she hadn't noticed his mood until now.

["~silver and gold decorations on every Christmas tree~"]

"Hey, what's up, Bud?" she asked quietly, underneath the music, shrugging her shoulder against his.

"Mm," he grunted in reply, avoiding her gaze.

"Sokka said you were looking kinda sick when you left...You OK?"

Aang bobbed his head to the side and sighed.

"Is it because Toph isn't sitting with you?" Katara wondered in a teasing tone, poking at his arm. He swatted her hand away and leaning his head against the window, his face barely containing a scowl. "Sorry," Katara mumbled in a sheepish apology, confused.

"What are you two babbling about back there?" Sokka wondered as the song concluded.

"Aang's in a bad mood," Jane bluntly replied, furiously typing away on her phone.

"Oh. That," Sokka acknowledged. "Yea, you've been lookin' down for the past few days, man. You have a fever, or something? We could stop and get you-"  
"I'm fine."

Aang's firm answer gave everyone in the car pause. Toph shifted her head a bit, smacking her lips a couple times before the snoring picked back up and the next song began, an instrumental rendition of "We Are Santa's Elves."

"Seriously, Aang," Sokka pressed on. "If you need, like, some NyQuil, or whatever, it's really not a big deal-"  
"Can everyone please just leave me alone?" Aang snipped, his fists clenching.

Sokka flashed a brief glance through the mirror to his sister, who glanced back with a bit lip and wide, worried eyes.

"Ummm..." Katara reached for the cookie tin below her lap on the car's floor. "How about I...break these out? A-anybody want one?"

"Oh, hell yes," Jane muttered, closing her cell and leaning over with anticipation to grab a handful of Christmas pastry.

"You want any, Sokka?"

"Uh, sure...Just, er...-" Sokka reached out his right arm, continuing to steer along the highway with his left.

Katara placed a couple of cookies in his hand and he stuck one in his mouth, chewing with delight as he drove.

"You...want any?" Katara asked Aang with some trepidation.

"No, thanks..."

"OK." Katara took a few for herself and closed the tin back up, her mind whirling with theories as to her friend's current mental state. Hadn't things been on the up and up? Katara knew this had to do with Toph - it _had _to. And it wasn't just that she was sitting up front. Had something happened the night prior between them? No, couldn't be...Right after midnight breakfast, Katara had taken Toph straight back to the room and they'd both passed out for the night. And during the breakfast itself, they'd seemed...fine. Toph had been, well...still kind of abrasive, but Aang had seemed in a decent mood. Urgh, it wasn't adding up. What was she _missing_?

"Hey, Sis, what's the time?"

"Mmm...-" Katara swallowed her cookie. "Um, like...10:30? Ish?"

"'Kay. We're gonna hit New York in a while. You mind taking over for a bit when we do?"

"Yea, sure."

* * *

["~Would you call old friends you never see?~Reminisce old memories?~Would you forgive your enemies?~"]

Katara drummed her hands along the steering wheel as she glided down the highway, the traffic starting to pick up a bit in the early afternoon. Now she was the one in charge of the music and singing along. Christmas music got a bit old after a few hours straight, and after enduring Sokka's picking about her song choice, she was enjoying the non-holiday song that had been most on her mind lately.

["~Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?~Swear up and down to God above that you'd finally fall in love?~If today was your last day~"]

Katara admired the glimmering afternoon, skies clear and sun bright.

["~If today was your last day~Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?~"]

Jane callously observed dead, snow-covered cornfields with crossed arms, her eyes sharp as her mental gears ground together about something Katara couldn't discern.

["~You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars~Regardless of who you are~"]

Toph strummed her fingers through the air, playing a bit of air guitar in time with the song.

["~So do whatever it takes~'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life~"]

Aang was stuck in the middle seat, stirring in his thoughts. His expression had changed from earlier. Katara knew this look he wore - it was the look he got whenever he was thinking about his family.

["~Let nothin' stand in your way~'Cause the hands of time are never on your side~"]

Sokka was leaned back to Aang's left, a wide grin on his face as he texted on his phone.

["~If today was your last day~And tomorrow was too late~Could you say goodbye to yesterday?~"]

Katara made a turn as she hit the corner of the field, the sun now at such an angle that it got in her eyes, shining off the snow. She pulled down the sun cover, noticing an old photograph of her mother and father in their younger years. A needle poked at her heart and she pulled it out, focusing on the ride once again.

* * *

"Come on, Aang. You haven't eaten anything all day. You have to be hungry by now..."

"I ate at the midnight breakfast, so...it's not like it's been _that _long..."

Katara drummed her fingers on her hips with a scolding eye. Aang's own eyes glanced sideways with concession.

"OK, OK, yea...I'll eat something..."

Katara gave him a sly grin of victory as she accepted her change and the grocery bag from her purchase at this gas station store and pointed him to the snacks.

"C'mon, let's pick something out for ya."

As they waddled to the correct aisle and Aang scratched his head at the selection, Katara popped the question she'd been meaning to approach since they had entered the store.

"So, um...Are you doing better?"

"Not really..."

"Oh...Uh...Is...everything OK?"

"No." Aang eyes remained focused on the packaged food. He was definitely being evasive.

"Did something happen last night?"

"What does it-...?" He began, jaw tightening. He exhaled slowly, wiping his hand over his face in frustration. "I found something out," he blurted. "Something I didn't want to know..."

"_Oh_..." Katara's brows bent down as her perplexed mind reeled with possibilities.

"I'll...tell you about it later," Aang decided quickly, tossing the matter aside. "Now's not a good time."

"Y-yea, OK. Fair enough."

"Here, I'll...take these." Aang nonchalantly picked a small package of rice cakes. Katara giggled at his choice. "What?"

"Haha, it's-...Ah, I just think it's funny, is all."

"Nothing's wrong with rice cakes..."

"No, no, you're right. I'm sorry, I don't know why I thought it was funny. You're...the only person I know who eats those, I guess."

* * *

"Soooo...I got here a little early, then?" Korra paced through the kitchen, hands stuffed in her jean pockets.

"Yea, the kids are still a ways out," Hakoda replied as he swept pine needles into a dustpan. He had been settling the pine tree into the living room when she'd arrived.

"Ha. Kids, huh?"

"You got me," Hakoda chuckled. "I know, I know...They're about grown up now. I guess it's hard for me to remember that some times. They're still in school after all."

"True..."

"I actually need to head back into the station in a bit here. But you can make yourself at home."

"Just like old times."

"Haha, not exactly, but...-"

"So what about Gran-Gran?"

"She won't be showing up until next week, once we're closer to Christmas."

"Ah...Damn. It's gonna get pretty crowded in here..."

"Heh, you said it. But I'd rather it be too crowded than too empty."

"Yea..."

"So how are things going over in Toronto lately, anyway?"

"Ch. They're been better," Korra grumbled, leaning against the kitchen doorway.

"Oh?"

"I've been running into some problems with the owner of the bar I work at."

"Aren't you the manager?"

"I'd like to _think _so, but the owner's been bustin' my balls lately."

Hakoda smirked at Korra's figurative statement as he dumped the fallen needles into the kitchen's trash bag.

"So I'm not sure where that's gonna go," she continued. "I've been lookin' into other options, but-...Feh. We'll see."

"I certainly wish you good luck. You're a hard-worker, Korra, and you don't take 'no' for an answer, so I'm sure you're bound to find something worthwhile."

While Hakoda had been talking, Korra's text-tone had gone off, and as she nodded to his words, she opened it up.

[From: Aang]  
[u were rite -_- ]  
[Sent: 5:09pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[about what?]  
[Sent: 5:09pm]

"Well, I should be off. There's still coffee in the pot if you'd like some."

"Yea, thanks, Uncle."

"See you tonight!"

"Yep!"

[From: Aang]  
[bout what you said mightve happend...]  
[Sent: 5:10pm]

The side of Korra's face tensed up for a moment in pity of the guy. Deep down she had hoped her guess has not been true, as it had just been a hunch based on personal experience.

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[shit, man. that sucks. you guys talk?]  
[Sent: 5:11pm]

[From: Aang]  
[not yet stuk in car all day]  
[Sent: 5:12pm]

Korra poured herself a mug of coffee, still hot from Hakoda's fresh batch while he had been home. She contemplated the circumstances, and didn't like the prospects. College students and their damned drama...She counted herself lucky for having skipped out on that part of life. The only school she'd attended since 12th grade was bar-tending school, and that had been all she'd needed.

* * *

"Hey, Twinkles, you startin' to miss me back there?"

"..."

"Twinkle-Toes?"

Katara leaned over to see him leaned against the window. The bright lamps from the gas station they were parked at revealed that his eyes were closed and he was motionless.

"I think he's asleep, Toph."

"No, I'm awake."

"Oh..." Katara felt a lump forming in her throat as she leaned back in her seat at his side. He had spoken with some controlled anger. It was unnerving.

"What's your _deal?_" Toph grouchily inquired, turning her head so her ear was directed at her boyfriend. "Everyone's doing fine but _you_. What's the issue? You need to me to sit with you or something?"

"Why don't you ask Douglas what the issue is?" Aang grumbled.

Katara's stomach lurched. That sounded ominous. She scanned Toph's profile to see the girl's lip hang open just a bit, her eyes widened for a moment before she raised a brow.

"What does _Dougie_ have to do with anything?" she wondered. Katara heard Jane laugh through her nose and saw her cross her skinny arms with some contempt.

"I had a _feeling _you didn't tell him," Jane cockily sighed, shaking her head.

"Tell him _what_?" Toph snapped. "What are you guys-?"  
"He apologized, you know," Aang cut her off. "About what happened. And how do _you _know?" Aang demanded of Jane.

"Doug, right?" Jane checked. "'Violin' Doug. Short kid. Freshman."

Aang and Toph responded simultaneously.

"Yea."  
"What _about _him?" Toph deflected.

Katara leaned back in her chair, clearly out of this loop. This wasn't going to end well, she just knew it.

"Dougie's my neighbor in the music building," Toph explained. "He practices violin in the room next to me. We talk sometimes. Like...you and that raspy girl."

"Mai?" Aang testily specified.

"Yea, her," Toph quickly agreed. "We're like you guys. We're colleagues."

"As opposed to...-?"

"I dunno, Aang, you tell _me._"

"Doug's a Freedom Fighter," Jane tossed in. "Calls himself 'The Duke.' He told me what happened a few days ago. I had to set him straight. Glad the little twerp had the balls to confess."

"You knew?" Aang groaned. "And you didn't tell me?"

"Hell _no, _I didn't. It's not my place, _or _my business," Jane defended herself. Aang's anger at her evaporated as he saw her point.

"Yea, you're right..."

"OK," Katara growled, flashing her palms up. "_What _happened?"

"Doug got _lied _to, that's what happened," Jane scoffed. "And now Aang's gettin' lied to, as well."

Toph was facing straight ahead, hiding behind the seat. They all drowned in thick tension for a moment as Sokka merrily strode out of the station, guzzling a fresh bottle of Mountain Dew.

"Toph?" Katara called out calmly.

"I...kinda had a thing with...that kid," Toph begrudgingly confessed.

"_Kinda_?" Aang snipped, staring out the window as Sokka popped open the gas cap. "Doug wrote me an e-mail last night and told me what happened."

Oh, boy. This was the last thing anyone needed right now. Katara's insides boiled with aggravation while the gears in her brain cranked out the logistics.

"OK, OK!" Toph groaned, squeezing her head with both hands. "Dougie and I...spent some time together this month."

"Doing _what_?" Katara snapped with some hostility, her voice trembling with disappointment. Sokka swayed back and forth outside, pumping the car full.

"Are we in fuckin' high school here?" Jane sighed, rolling her head back. "You _cheated _on him, Toph. Christ, just _say _it."

"Fine! I did," Toph spat. "I cheated on him. And...and I'm sorry, and I shouldn't have and-...What the fuck else do you want me to say?" she whimpered, her voice peaking in tone.

"I can't believe this," Katara groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Well, it's not like I was getting any from my _boyfriend_," Toph grumbled under her breath.

"_Excuse _me?" Katara seethed. "Are you...-? What, is that...your _excuse_?"

Aang's fury had dissipated and he had retreated back into his shell.  
_No, Aang, don't think like that..._

"Don't try to justify it," Jane lashed out. "You did it. It's done. Aang doesn't fuckin' deserve that after all he's put up with."

"No, he _doesn't_," Katara agreed, steaming.

The door opened and Sokka ignorantly poked his head inside.

"Yo, sorry to cut into whatever debate you guys're getting so _excited_ about, but, uh...-" He laughed through his nose and took a sip from his bottle. "Anyone else need somethin' to drink before we hit the last leg here?" Sokka eyeballed the group's intense expressions and his face drained a bit.

"Could I have some water?" Aang choked out.

"Er, _yea, _'course ya can," Sokka nervously sputtered, shutting the door and heading back to the building ahead. The heavy silence hung over everyone for a few moments.

"I'm _sorry_," Toph solemnly professed, slowly turning her head in an attempt to direct it at Aang, who wasn't looking. "Aang...Babe," she pleaded, her white eyes glassy, tears building. "You know that...Right?"

"Yea," Aang darkly replied, not moving an inch. Toph extended her arm out to him, but he ignored it outright.

Katara's head was shaking with disapproval.

"Unbelievable," she muttered quietly, her eyes burning. She knew she didn't really have the same right as the boy to her left, but she felt betrayed herself. At least she'd gotten the answers she'd been wanting, and now Toph's strange mood as of late seemed to make sense.

Toph took her untouched hand back and let it sag into her lap. She sniffled, covering her face with her hands for a moment.

Sokka arrived, still cheery but a bit shaken by the silence. He passed Aang his bottle of water and started the car up.

"Uh...Everybody OK?" he direly wondered.

"Oh, yea, business as usual," Jane was quick to scoff. "Toph did something stupid. Again."

* * *

**A/N: The Christmas music specified is from the OST to the classic film "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=kJ17ySUjGt0**

**Nickelback's song again:  
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=lrXIQQ8PeRs  
**

**I barely hinted at this situation in Chapter 28 during a scene in which The Duke and Pipsqueak saw Toph performing at open mic night for the first time. I originally planned on leading things up a bit more, leaving more breadcrumbs and such, but decided against it. Sometimes when your significant other cheats on you, you can tell, you see it coming. Sometimes, you have no idea, because you trust them so much the idea doesn't even occur to you. I wanted to portray this particular aspect of the plot the way I've experienced it first-hand - having no idea and finding out out of nowhere. Thankfully, at least in my case, I was actually told personally by my significant other. Not everyone is so lucky, though. Toph's evasive, abrasive nature, and all of the time she was spending in the practice room were a good cover for this to happen, while her somewhat sudden change in mood recently was meant to be a reflection of her feeling guilty and trying to make amends.  
**

**I barely hinted at this situation in Chapter 28 during a scene in which The Duke and Pipsqueak saw Toph performing at open mic night for the first time. I originally planned on leading things up a bit more, leaving more breadcrumbs and such, but decided against it. Sometimes when your significant other cheats on you, you can tell, you see it coming. Sometimes, you have no idea, because you trust them so much the idea doesn't even occur to you. I wanted to portray this particular aspect of the plot the way I've experienced it first-hand - having no idea and finding out out of nowhere. Thankfully, at least in my case, I was actually told personally by my significant other. Not everyone is so lucky, though. Toph's evasive, abrasive nature, and all of the time she was spending in the practice room were a good cover for this to happen, while her somewhat sudden change in mood recently was meant to be a reflection of her feeling guilty and trying to make amends.  
**


	46. Need

_What I Learned at SRU__  
Chapter 46 - Need  
_

* * *

- Saturday, December 18th, 2010 - First day of Christmas break

"-so I was like, 'Aw, fuck _this_,' and called over Big Kostya." Korra stretched her arms out. "Now, seriously, Big Kostya's, like..._this _big - no lie - so he goes to the guy and he's all, 'Vee godda prohblem here?' Oh, _man, _bastard looked like he was gonna shit his pants. Took off like _that._" She snapped her fingers with a satisfied grin, and Jane laughed at her story. "Haven't seen him since."

"Ha, wow. What a creep," said Jane. "Good thing you had a spare Russian friend around, right?"

"Fuck yea. You always keep a Russian man in your corner. They've got your back."

"You need it with weirdos like _that _guy..."

"I've dealt with _all _kinds..."

"Yea, I've had some odd run-ins myself," Jane bragged, watching Katara pour herself a mug of eggnog.

"You want some?" Katara asked, holding up the cartoon.

"Erm..._Yea, _sure," Jane complied.

"So are people crazier down south?" Korra wondered. "I've heard some weird-ass stories..."

"Heh...I wish I could say they weren't true, but...yea, everything's bigger in Texas, including the fuckin' whackjobs."

"People's hearts must be bigger down there, too, though," Katara slyly worked in the thought, handing Jane a filled mug.

Jane shrugged, then finally nodded.

"Yea, I mean...People are more outgoing and...stuff. Sure, yea. Like...hospih-...Hosspih-tibble...?"

"Hospitable, yes," Katara giggled. She sipped some of her drink, savoring its thick liquid. "Oh, _God, _so good," she dreamily hummed.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sokka called out from the living room. "You guys better not drink all the 'nog! Save some for me!"

"We can always get more, ya crybaby," Katara taunted.

"Yea, yea...Anyways, guys, the Tangerine Bear is gonna be on in a few minutes."

Jane's eyes bulged with confusion.

"The _fuck _is the _Tangerine Bear_?" she chortled.

"Lord," Korra sighed. "And so it begins...He _still _does this?" she asked Katara, who was smiling wide, eyelids lowered with warm nostalgia.

She nodded in reply and took another sip, making her way to the living room.

"Sokka has this big thing about watching all the kids' Christmas movies every year."

"_Tradition!_" Sokka decreed boldly as Katara came in and sat on the couch beside him.

"Christ," said Jane, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "Sometimes I worry about that cousin of yours, Korra."

"We _all _do," Korra assured, digging a box of cigarettes out of her back pocket and popping one out. "I'm goin' out for a smoke. You want one?" she offered Jane. Jane bit her lip and shut her eyes with a nervous laugh.

"I quit a while back, I'm trying to stay off it."

"No kiddin'? Good for you, man. Good _luck. _Frick, I don't think I could. Not yet, anyway." Korra zipped up her leather jacket and stuck her winter cap on, heading out into the backyard.

Jane took a large gulp of the spiced eggnog, enjoying the almost alien taste. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had it. She flopped onto the couch besides Katara, who she could giving Aang a worried stare as he drew quietly in the recliner off to the side.

"How are you doing, Aang?" Katara asked. "You thirsty?"

"Nuh-uh...I'm fine."

"What're you drawing?"

"Oh, just...sketches. Just fiddling around."

"Ah. Cool..."

"Where's Gimpy at?" Jane muttered, eyeballing a car commercial on the screen before them.

"Upstairs," Sokka explained.

"She still asleep?" asked Jane incredulously. "It's two in the afternoon..."

"She probably just...-" Katara shrugged, trailing off. "I dunno, probably feels guilty," she concluded with some bitterness.

"Good," said Jane.

"Let her have some space, then," Sokka grumbled. "Have some time to think, all that. Anyway. Bear. With the upside-down smile. It's starting."

* * *

"I'll go get her," Aang sighed, setting down his sketchbook and groaning as he finally removed himself from the recliner. He'd been practically glued to it all afternoon, leaving multiple pages filled with various doodles. Katara passed him by with a steaming hot pan of cornbread, while Sokka was in the kitchen, stirring the tuna salad. Aang trudged across the living room and to the stairs, crawling up and finding his way to Katara's bedroom. The door was closed, so he knocked twice before entering. She was sprawled on her stomach, chin wedged into Katara's pillow, her large green headphone stuck over her head.

Aang hesitated for a moment, studying her profile for a read, but her bangs covered what part of her face wasn't buried. He slowly approached her, calling out her name. She didn't reply, or even budge. Must not have heard him. He extended an arm and tapped at her shoulder. She slowly rolled onto her side and removed the headphones.

"Yea?" Her voice was rusty and small.

"Hey...It's, uh...time for dinner."

"Oh." Toph's brows arced with regret at the sound of his voice and she turned off her iPod, leaving it on the bed as she scooted off. "Would...you help me downstairs?" she mumbled hopefully.

"Sure," Aang complied, taking her hand and leading her along. He was careful not to let their sides touch, staying ahead of her all the while.

They exchanged no words until reaching the dining room, where Toph eked out a "Thanks" before sitting herself down.

"You hungry, Toph?" Hakoda asked, aware of the social situation.

"Actually, yea."

"Good, good. We've got a pretty nice meal set up tonight, so I hope you've brought your appetite."

"Mm..." Toph fiddled her thumbs together.

"Damn, that smells so good," observed Korra with anticipation, pulling up a metal folding seat and sticking herself to Toph's left, rubbing her hands together.

"Hey, is this that homemade cornbread I had last time?" wondered Jane from across the table.

"Sure is," Katara boasted with pride from the living room behind Toph. "My mom's recipe."

Toph's mind was locked onto the impatience of waiting for Aang to sit down. Small talk continued as the table was filled with a few different dishes. At last, the seat to Toph's right scooted, and she heard him sit to her right. She immediately stuck her hand over into his lap, but as it touched, she quickly realized that it was Katara's leg, not Aang's, and her friend's soft hand rubbed itself over her wrist and carefully removed it.

As Sokka and Korra dug into the tuna salad, Katara folded her hands in her lap and bobbed her head, closing her eyes for a moment of silent prayer, her brows furrowing with focus. As they opened, she inhaled peacefully and watched as the others gathered their food. Jane was across from her, with Aang across from Toph, and Sokka and Hakoda residing on each head of the table, while Korra had squeezed herself in between where Toph and Sokka sat. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they had managed to get everything on the table.

"So, how did you guys spend your first day of freedom?" Hakoda inquired, chewing into a leg of chicken.

"We watched some weird Christmas cartoons I never knew existed," said Jane.

"It's just the beginning," Korra warned, scooping a healthy portion of tuna salad onto her plate. "Just you wait, Fitzpatrick. It only gets worse from her."

"I have _barely _begun," Sokka maniacally announced, raising his hands like a mad scientist.

"God save us all," Hakoda joked.

"I think it's too late for _that, _Dad," snickered Katara, cutting a square of cornbread out. She watched Aang timidly accept the pasta bowl and scoop his salad out, and noticed Toph was sitting, head bobbed, hands stuck between her thighs. "You...want some cornbread, Toph?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"Sure."

Katara gave her slice and glanced across the table.

"We've got some chicken and tuna salad, you want some of both?"

"Yea."

"OK."

Katara did her best not to let out a wary sigh. Aang was acting fairly unresponsive today, while Jane was still antagonistic toward Toph. Even Korra seemed to be ignoring the blind girl, which Katara figured understandable given the context - Korra only knew Aang, not Toph, after all. Sokka was being himself and thus staying out of any and all awkwardness and side-taking, which left Katara feeling responsible to try and look after Toph. As a friend, a roommate...hurt and surprised as she was, she still felt like it was her duty. The afternoon had given her time for her temper to calm down, at least enough to be OK assisting her friend.

Dinner was an odd affair, with Sokka and Korra dominating the conversation, each seemingly trying to verbally out-do the other. Hakoda shared a story about a hobo dressed as Santa that had to be physically removed from a Tim Horton's coffee shop, Katara and Jane shared their experience playing songs at the Fire Cave bar, and Aang and Toph both remained pretty silent throughout, offering simple responses when asked questions and occasional laughs when humor got the better of them.

After dinner, the group ended up huddling around the living room to watch various programming and unwind and when midnight hit, Katara was ready for bed. Everyone's sleeping arrangements weren't ideal, but certainly workable. Sokka and Aang shared the boys' room, while Katara and Jane shared her bed, Toph opting to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag Katara had once used for camping. Korra took the couch, which Katara felt bad about, but her cousin insisted up and down that it wasn't a problem. As she drifted off to sleep, she contemplated how to approach the next day.

* * *

- Sunday, December 19th, 2010 -

"You sure?" Katara asked with some disappointment.

"Yea, I'm...just not in the mood," Aang yawned, scratching his lean stomach as he followed Katara into the kitchen. She was still in her pajamas, waiting on her coffee to finish and her toaster pastries to cook.

"Oh..." She frowned thoughtfully, drumming her fingers on the counter. "Well, um...I don't think anyone else is going to come, so...m-maybe _I_ shouldn't go, either..."

"Up to you," Aang shrugged with indifference, sitting at a stool across from her.

"Mm. I suppose I'll stay home, then," she decided with some guilt. The Sunday before Christmas, skipping out on church? As far as she could recall, she'd never done such a thing. But going to church alone simply didn't feel right, and her father - the only other one besides Aang she knew would go - was still in bed, resting up from a late night before. "So. Aang. You want some coffee?"

Aang shook his head.

"No, thanks...My stomach's been acting up lately...Coffee would make it worse."

"Maybe some tea, then?"

Aang shrugged drearily.

"Sure..."

Katara eagerly grabbed their water-heater and filled it partway, then plugged it in and switched it on. Her pastries popped out, and she decided to let them cool off as she grabbed a pair of mugs from the hooks above the kitchen counter. Across the way in the living room, Korra murmured something inaudible in her sleep and rolled around, burying her face into the small, decorative couch pillow.

"Sooo...You doing OK?" Katara quietly asked, pouring her coffee. Aang watched her hands, avoiding her inquisitive and concerned gaze.

"Not really," he answered honestly.

"Anything I-..._we _can do to help?" She scooped a couple spoonfuls of sugar into her drink.

"I don't know."

"All right. Well...I'm...really _worried_ about you two." Katara opened the fridge door, pulling out a container of mocha-flavored creamer. "I mean, you and Toph have been struggling lately as it is, and...-"

"No kidding..."

"I'm just...-" Katara sighed, dumping some creamer into her coffee. She pulled out a spoon from the silverware drawer, shaking her head. "I want what's best for both of you guys..."

"What do you think that is?" Aang asked with a hopeless huff.

Katara stirred her coffee, her insides trembling with doubt and fear for her two friends.

"Um..._Not _fighting all the time? _Not _cheating? You both deserve to be happy..."

"Seems like neither of us _are_..."

"Yea..."

Katara couldn't bear to look at his distraught expression and instead diverted her attention to the steaming plastic pitcher behind her. She switched the heater off and unplugged it, filling the second mug with piping hot water.

"Listen, I...-" She hesitated, reaching into the cupboard for an Earl Grey teabag. "Aang, I'm not you, and I don't know what's best, but...I _do _know you and Toph pretty well by now..."

"And...?"

"And...W-well, it's...-" She sheepishly shrugged, dipping the bag in and out of the water. "I just think you two should..._consider_...that maybe this isn't working..." She treaded very carefully with her words for right now. She wasn't going to try and decide what the correct way was to go about this situation, because she knew there _wasn't _a "correct way," and she didn't really want to see her two friends go through a breakup...But she couldn't ignore the possibility, and she knew Aang was too loyal a person to seriously consider the idea without someone else bringing it to his attention.

Katara slid the coffee mug across the island to her friend at the stool and studied his face. When she'd brought up the idea, his lips had briefly tightened at the pain of the concept.

"I-I'm not saying...that it's what you should do," she was quick to clarify. "I-I mean, this...this is...a big deal, and...I _know _you love her. And I know she loves you, too...But it's...you know...a good idea, to...to be open and consider all your options...Th-that's all I'm saying."

"I know," Aang calmly acknowledged, nodding his head as he wrapped his fingers around the mug's handle. Katara fidgeted with her hands, her foot tapping nervously on the tile floor. She took a sip of her coffee, still too hot to gulp down.

"It's-...You know, it's really important in a relationship to...to be able to, like, work stuff out. So you can't just...drop things the second they...they head south, I mean, that's-...It'd be stupid." She sighed in spite of her own rambling and pushed disheveled bed bangs from her eyes. "I really think you two-..." She drank a bit more. "Well, I mean, you need to...try working this out, you know?"

"Mm-hm..." Aang sipped at his tea.

"I'd just hate to see you two keep...being stuck in...in a place where you're both hurting..."

"Yea."

"A-anyway, so...that's-...I mean, I don't know what else to say."

"It's OK. You're right, we..._seriously _need to either change something, or...stop trying..."

"Exactly. Right. And, like...you've _seen _how she's been: she's torn up. She feels really bad."

"Yea, well...She does _now, _after she's been caught..."

"I know, I _know_...But she loves you so much, Aang."

"Obviously not _enough_," Aang disagreed with some resentment. "And it's, like...she's _right_, though_._"

"Huh...?"

"I'm so...freaking...I dunno, like, I'm so messed _up _that I'm not a good enough boyfriend where I can't make her happy, and...she needs to-"  
"No, stop it."

Aang's down-putting rant was cut short, and he looked up at Katara as she firmly shook her head.

"This isn't your fault. It's _not._" She glared at him, sapphire eyes ablaze with adamant resolve. "Don't you even _try _blaming this on yourself, Aang Leekpai."

He frowned at her, and her eyes welled up at the sight of his self-doubt.

"I'm not _perfect, _Katara," he insisted coldly. "I've made mistakes, too."

"But...that doesn't mean you _deserve _this." Now she was beginning to get shaky, her fingers quivering around her mug, which she set down.

"Yea? Well...Toph should have a boyfriend who's...going to give her the attention _she _deserves..."

"That's-...Who says you _can't _be that person?"

"I...I don't _know _if I can," Aang grumbled.

"What about what _you _deserve? Huh?" She thrust her palms up, her head pushed forward. "You're so-...Argh..." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. This wasn't even her relationship, why was she getting so worked up? "You know what your guys' problem is?"

Aang raised a discouraged brow, allowing her to continue.

Korra groaned in the background, and Katara blinked at the couch for a moment until the noise settled. She lowered her voice and leaned over the island counter, pointing her finger at Aang and rattling out her thoughts with a rushed, heightened whisper.

"You're so...freaking worried about giving Toph what she wants that you're ignoring what _you **need.**_ And then...then you can't be yourself, and..._then_ you can't be the Aang that _Toph_ needs. And...like..._she's _so wrapped up in what she _thinks _she needs, she's ignoring what _you _want. Maybe you should stop thinking about Toph for a minute and think about _you, _and let her think about _her. _Because...I mean, if you two can't be happy with yourselves, how can you expect to be happy with _each other?_" Her thoughts spilled out into the open, she puffed out air through her flared nostrils and rubbed at her eyes, turning away and letting the steam billow out. She was getting super involved here. The 'Katara-needs-to-fix-everything' complaints started buzzing in her ears. "I'm sorry," she muttered a few moments later, staring out the back window. "But I'm so sick of seeing you two get hurt," she reiterated her cause.

"It's...it's OK, Katara, we'll...figure this out. I-I mean, I might just not...be...-" Aang grimaced and shrugged. "-..._manly _enough, or something. M-maybe I need to grow up and try-"  
"You're more manly than you think," Katara insisted, that fire back in her eyes. "A lesser man would've ditched her the second they knew she'd cheated. But you-...It's like that didn't even occur to you."

"I...guess. Yea...I want to try and make this work...You know?"

"For you, Aang, it's like forgiving her wasn't even a choice, it's just how you _are_." Katara turned around to see his face brightening at her words. "Maybe you don't get it, but...that's _hard _for most people." He popped his shoulders up at this comment.

"W-well, some things are...hard for _me, _too, like...being all...intimate...with my own girlfriend...I mean, jeez...Who has trouble with _that_?"

"It's not the _same, _Aang. And, well...don't let that get to you, different people go at different paces. Listen." She squinted, veiling her eyes with her fingers for a moment. "Being...a _man_? It's...not about all that crap, anyway. OK? It's about being true to yourself. That's how you _usually _are. You need to stop letting yourself doubt who you really are, and stop letting other people tell you who to be. _That's _how you act like adult. You know how everyone says how girls need a guy who's confident, right? Well...It doesn't mean someone who's _full of himself. _It means someone who's happy with who they are."

"O-OK..." Aang was staring at her with wide, confused eyes.

"You are..._such _a great guy. You should be happy with who you are. Stop being so..._down _on yourself. Yea, you make mistakes. Everyone does. Don't get so hung up on that. OK?"

Aang nodded quickly, and Katara could see she had his attention.

"Stop letting Toph push you around, and just...be _you_. You're upset, but you haven't yelled at her about it, you haven't cheated on her, and frankly, you haven't given her reason to cheat on _you. _She made that choice, _not _you. You're handling this...more maturely than most people your age would. Pff. More than most people in general. And anyway, if Toph can't appreciate you the way you are _right now, _just who you are in this moment, she's _never _going to be happy with you."

"But...but aren't people supposed to grow and change and stuff like that? I thought we're supposed to make each other become better people..."

"Of _course, _Aang. Yea. Definitely. But you need to both be happy with who you are right _now, _or there's no point." Katara swallowed more coffee as she recalled the doubts she had about Jet the first day they'd dated. She'd thought he'd change, get better, and that had been incorrect. "You can't..._expect _people to change..."

"So...So what do I _do? _What do both me _and _her do?"

"I...don't _know,_" Katara spat, slurping back at her coffee. She waved her arm while she gulped, and continued after she pulled the mug away. "There's no right answer here, Aang. You and Toph need to figure out what's best for both of you..."

"And I just...need to follow through on my own decisions," Aang deciphered. "That's what you're saying."

"Yes. That's what I'm saying."

"So I should think about what I want, not what Toph wants?"

"Well...Right now? _Yea._"

"Hm..."

"What _do _you want, Aang?"

"**...ahrrrghmmm...**"

Korra's head lifted up and she yawned, stretching out her arms.

"God," she grumbled, crossing her legs and wrapping her blanket around herself. "What are you two arguing about?" she whined. "Isn't it...too early to argue...about shit...?"

Katara's jaw dropped a bit as her eyes darted to the digital clock on the stove.

"It's...almost eleven," she defended. "And...we weren't _arguing..._"

"Psh...yeah, _OK. _Makin' a lotta noise, what_ever_ you're doing..."

"Sorry," Aang quickly apologized, swiveling the stool's seat to face her.

"It's fine, it's fine," Korra settled, flashing out her hand. "You college kids can have your damned drama for all I care..."

Katara's lips tilted with resent at the statement. She bit her tongue and refocused on her toaster pastries, still patiently waiting to be eaten. She took them out and slapped them onto the plate she'd set down.

"Um...So, you hungry?"

"I guess..."

"I'll make you a couple of these. Sound good?"

"Sure."

Katara took a big bite out of one, the gooey berry filling a relief through this stressful encounter. She retrieved Aang's breakfast and plunked it into the toaster. Another bite, another sip, watching him wallow in his realization of the difficult choice ahead of him.

She walked around the counter and, without warning, wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his back, squeezing tight.

"Everything's gonna be all right, Bud. We're all here for you. For _both _of you. OK?" She lifted herself off and patted his head affectionately, watching him nod.

"Thanks."

"Any time."

"Yo," Korra called out, staring at them with a grumpy, bewildered expression. "Kat, can you get me a Molson from the fridge?"

Katara nodded courteously and went to the fridge, her mind not quite processing her cousin's request with everything else going on. When she got there, she gawked around, confused.

"Wait, um...What was that, again?"

"A Molson? The beer? Should be some in the door."

Katara picked up a bottle and shook her head, walking over to the living room with a humored expression.

"_Really?_" she teased. "You're drinking beer first thing on a Sunday morning?"

"Breakfast of fuckin' _champions, _Cousin, haha..." Korra pulled out her keychain from her pocket and popped open her bottle, letting the cap fall to the living room floor.

"Oh, my word..." Katara smirked at the sight of the young woman, huddled under a blanket, guzzling the bottle like a thirsty infant.

* * *

Sokka burst through the front door, grunting as he dragged the black case in along with him.

"The hell have _you _been?" Jane wondered, crunching on some caramel popcorn from the couch.

"Made a stop to Uncle Bato's place." Sokka kicked off his boots.

"Who's that?"

Sokka pulled off his coat and hung it on the coat rack as he replied.

"Er, technically, he's not our uncle, but he's a friend of the family."

"Ah. So...Why did you bring a guitar case...?"

Sokka nodded with a smirk and scanned the living room, which only contained Jane and Korra.

Sokka popped open the case and pulled the weathered acoustic instrument out.

"I thought maybe having a guitar to play might...I dunno, help Toph out a bit..."

"Oh..." Jane instantly became disinterested, which Sokka expected. He wasn't terribly keen on Toph's actions of late, either, but at his sister's advice, he figured he'd try and show some good will by giving her an outlet to occupy herself.

"Shit, is that the one Bato used to play when we were _kids?_" Korra chuckled incredulously, noting the familiar device.

"One and the same," Sokka proudly declared. "He said he hasn't touched it in ages, so he didn't mind if we borrowed it for a while."

"Why didn't Toph bring her own guitar if she wanted to play?" Jane asked.

"Well, er...We didn't really have _room, _remember?"

"Oh...Right..."

"And it's not like she can really watch TV...Where _is_ Toph, anyway?"

"Upstairs," Jane bobbed her head, her gaze remaining stuck to the screen before her.

Sokka lugged the antique upstairs and saw that Katara's door was open, her room empty, while the door to his own room was closed. He knocked twice and entered, seeing Aang and Toph sitting side by side on his bed, both wearing disparaging looks. Sokka's instinct was to make a joke about how they'd better not have been doing naughty things on his bed, but his self-restraint kicked in just in time to prevent this reflex.

"Hey, guys," he calmly greeted. "Er, I didn't mean to...-"

"It's OK," Toph muttered. "We were just, uh...-"  
"Talking," Aang finished her sentence.

"Right."

"OK." Sokka raised a brow at Aang, who shrugged, eyes drained of energy. "So, yea. I managed to get that guitar for ya, Toph."

"Oh...Really?"

"Sure did. It's right here." He carefully extended it to Toph's lap, and she took it with the same caution one does an infant.

"Thanks," said Aang to Sokka, who nodded. Aang turned back to Toph as he stood up from the bed. "That's cool, you can...play your music and stuff." He spoke with some tired relief.

"Yea..." Toph grasped the instrument and plucked a few strings with her fingers.

"And...yea. If you want to record something, we can do that, too," Sokka added, hands in his pockets.

"'Kay. Thanks, MeatHead."

"No problem."

Aang glanced at Sokka with some trepidation, and he could see the worry in his friend's face quite clearly.

"Hey, er, Aang...Why don't we let Toph jam a bit and...we'll go get some lunch?"

"Sure. Toph, you want us to...make you something? You hungry?"

"Oh, uhh...Y-yea. Kinda."

"Anything...in particular?"

"Nah, just...Ya know. Whatever."

"All right..."

The boys filtered out, closing the door behind them as guitar strings vibrated from within the room. Sokka was glad to be out of the bubble of social awkwardness, at any rate.

"_So. _You guys...talked?"

"Yea, it's...weird. I don't even know what we're doing..."

"Sounds tricky."

"Mm-hm."

"Well, hey, man, just don't forget that we're all here for both of you guys. Ya know?"

"Yea." Aang took a deep breath as they hit the bottom of the stairs. "Thanks, Sokka."

"Hey, where'd Katara go?" Sokka suddenly inquired as they entered the kitchen. Aang shrugged, brows up to indicate his lack of knowledge.

"She went for a walk," Jane explained.

"She was...freaking _out,_" Korra iterated.

"Huh?" Sokka was perplexed.

"What _was _she yelling about?" Jane asked with curiosity. "I could hear you and her from upstairs for a bit there..."

"Nah, it was...stupid, she was overreacting," Korra dismissed. "I told her she should take a walk, cool hr jets. I dunno what her issue is today..."

"She _did _seem kind of...like...touchy," Aang mumbled, nodding with some agreement. "This morning, I mean," he clarified to Sokka.

"Yea, she fuckin' woke me up," groaned Korra. "Isn't she supposed to get _better _when school's over?"

"Whh...-" Sokka gave pause, contemplating what could be the matter. "Uhhh, yea. I-I mean, usually. What did you say that got her upset?" he asked Korra with a tint of suspicion.

Korra rolled her eyes and turned her head away.

"I don't know, she just...blew a damned lid. _You _know how she gets..."

Sokka caught a glance of Jane who was churning equally suspicious thoughts in regards to the situation, as if she seemed to have an idea. Korra huffed off the whole matter.

"I'm sure she'll be better when she gets back," Aang concluded, eager to put everyone at ease. "So, Sokka...Lunch?"

"Oh, right."

* * *

"She's all set, Dead-Eyes."

"'Bout damned time, I thought you were fallin' asleep over there, Snoozles."

"Nah, that'll happen once I start hearing you _play_."

"Ohhhh," Toph mocked. "Funny-funny."

"Anyway, yea. So just tell me when you want me to start recording."

Toph fidgeted on Sokka's bed, sitting cross-legged in her sweat pants and T-shirt, her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Everything look...good?" she wondered dubiously.

"_Well, _I mean, as good as we can make _you _look..."

"Haaaahaaa-_shut up. _Dick..."

"Callin' 'em like I _see _them," Sokka joked mercilessly. "I guess it'd be hard for you to, like...get that. Since you can't-"  
"_Yea-yea-yea. _Cut the chatter and let me get to my work."

"Whoaaaa, OK." Hm. The humor angle didn't seem to be playing out quite as well as Sokka had hoped.

"Where's Aang?" Toph testily grumbled.

"Downstairs."

"Right. Could you, like...make sure he doesn't come up until I'm done?"

"Huh?"

"I...don't want anyone interrupting me," she murmured with a frown. "OK? Just...Yea."

"Sure, no problem. You got it."

"'Kay. So...You can start recording. And leave. I'll let you know when I'm done."

"Uhh...Sure." Sokka pressed the button on the video recorder and flashed a thumbs-up, immediately realizing this was a useless gesture in this case. "You're on."

He took a few steps back, opened the door, and closed it, remaining inside the room. Toph sighed, her brows arced with irritation.

"Hey, Asswipe, I know you're still _here_," she growled. "I need solitude here. Ya fuckin' mind?"

"Worth a shot," Sokka squeaked, swiftly exiting the room. He took some slow steps toward the bathroom and closed the door, but remained in the hall, curious. He could make out her talking to the camera but couldn't hear what she was saying. The guitar strumming picked up, though, and she sung.

"~Yesterday~all my troubles seemed so far away~Now it looks as though they're here to stay~Oh, I believe in Yesterday~"

Sokka soaked in the gentle chords and her voice, lamenting the circumstances his friend was stuck in.

"~Suddenly, I'm not half the girl I used to be~There's a shadow hanging over me~Oh, Yesterday came suddenly~"

He suddenly regretted peeping in on her music, now comprehending why she was needing privacy.

"~Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say~I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday~"

Sokka knew Toph was a stubborn one who didn't really let him in - or most people, really - and he now understood that this was her way of getting those things out.

~Yesterday~love was such an easy game to play~Now I need a place to hide away~Oh, I believe in yesterday~"

He carefully made his way down the stairs, scratching at his head as he considered what he could do to help his two romantically troubled friends. He came to the living room to see Aang drawing more doodles, the television set on a channel that was playing recordings of Christmas carols. He quietly rested himself onto the couch and took in the powerful orchestra like one takes in a warm hot cocoa after a walk in the cold. Oh, wait - maybe he felt like that because Jane and Katara ere drinking some over in the kitchen. He suddenly had an urge for some, but was too lazy to get up now that he was relaxed. And for that matter, he couldn't hear their discussion, but he could see the look in their faces that it was some manner of girl-gossip.

"Ya know," he said to Aang peacefully. "This is nice."

Aang looked up from his drawing and smiled at his friend, who was pointing his arms out to the Christmas tree, its gentle lights casting a glow across the room. The ornaments weren't yet hung, as was Kesuk tradition, but the tinsel and lights were still a elegant sight.

"Yea. It is," Aang agreed with a satisfied nod before they both went back to appreciating one another's company in the bask of the holiday spirit.

Over in the kitchen, Katara was fuming, but keeping her voice low enough where it'd be drowned out by the music.

"Seriously. Can you _believe _she'd say something like that?"

"Heh, _yea, _I can," Jane chuckled. "Your cousin seems pretty blunt."

"No kidding."

"Kinda ignorant, too. I mean, it's not like she _knows _all of what's going on."

"Right? I know...Exactly. So it just-...Urgh. It made me so _mad, _that she would accuse me of that..."

"Yea, yea. I get it. I mean, it's not _like_ that, right?"

"_No_! Not...not at all. Of _course_ not."

"So she's just assuming shit. Don't let it get to you. She doesn't know any better and it doesn't do anyone no good."

"Yea..." Katara huffed, running her hand through her hair and setting her mug down on the counter, arms crossed.

"Prolly was just trying to look out for you."

"I guess..." Katara grumbled, her eyes smoldering with indignation.

"Hey, Kat. Listen, uhhh...Are you_ sure _you're OK?"

"What? O-of course I'm OK. I'm fine. Fine."

"'Cuz...Just saying...you seem really on edge today..."

"Wh-? No, no. I'm...a little worried. That's all. About Aang and Toph."

"Yeeaa..." She skeptically scratched her chin. She knew this was true, but still... "Everyone's been saying how...I-I dunno, how you seem to be overreacting a bit...To everything."

"That's...-! I'm-...I don't know what you're talking about, things are...-" Katara's grip around her own arms tightened, and Jane placed her own mug down, grabbing her friend's hands and making them detach.

"You takin' your meds?" Jane sternly asked in an even more hushed tone. Katara's eyes popped wide with surprise for a split-second before her brows furrowed.

"What does that...-?"

"Soooo...That's a 'no,' then," Jane swiftly concluded with a snarky look that said, 'You wanna keep playing the lying game? 'Cuz I'll win.'

"I don't...see why it _matters,_" Katara bitterly groaned. "It's _my _meds, it's _my _business. It's not like I need them..."

"But if you don't take 'em it's gonna...cause some _issues,_" Jane pointed out, jabbing Katara in the breast with a sharp finger. "If I didn't take _my _meds, it'd give _me _some problems." She pointed to herself now. "You wanna see that?"

"N-no, of course not," Katara quickly complied, knowing full well about the hormonal medications Jane had to take regularly because of her condition.

"Right. So...When was the last time you took _yours?_" Jane knew they were supposed to be taken daily.

"A...a few days ago." At least she was being honest again.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sokka, who belted out loud song lyrics from the couch with the enthusiasm of a sugar-hopped tike.

"**~DON WE NOW OUR GAAAAAAY APPAREL!~**"

Both girls turned their heads to gawk at Sokka with perplexation, and he goofily stared back with a toothy smile.

Katara rolled her eyes and huffed, Jane shook her head, and back they went to their serious conversation in quieted tones.

"_So. _We don't like seeing _you _fuckin'...wiggin' out 'cuz you're being stubborn. Take your pills, Kat." She let go of her friend's shoulder with a solemn stare. "I mean it."

"Y-yea, OK," Katara hurriedly assured, jittering her hands around as she spoke. "I'm...sorry, I-I didn't realize...-"

"Hey, _whoa, _chill. Just...take your medicine. And feel better. And shit." She snickered. "OK?"

"R-right." Katara sputtered a nervous laugh.

As the TV started playing "Jingle Bells," Hakoda and Korra entered the house, each bearing a paper bag of groceries.

"Hey, guys," greeted the man of the house. "Ah. Looks like we're really getting into the Christmas spirit, eh?"

"Damn straight," Sokka cried, getting up from his seat. "You guys need any help?"

"Nah, we're good," Korra dismissed him. "Back to your laziness."

"Don't gotta tell me twice." Sokka gleefully plopped back down.

Katara quickly grabbed her cup and rounded through the kitchen doorway, into the living room space, and sat at one of the stools, making room for her family to put things away. Jane followed suit.

"Hey, ladies," Korra greeted putting her bag on the island before them. "You doin' better, Kittie-Kat?" She winked at her cousin, who grimaced.

"Don't call me that," Katara groaned with a sigh.

"Sorry, sorry," Korra spat out. "Messin' with ya, Cousin. You OK?"

"I guess," Katara grumbled with a tinge of irritation.

"Hey...Forget that stuff I said earlier. All right? Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers."

"Oh, that's...-" Katara's face flushed a bit, her eyes darting to the side. "Thanks," she muttered out, supposing this was Korra's way of apologizing. "And, um..._I _didn't mean to...totally freak out."

"Done and done, no harm, no foul."

"So it's going to be some leftovers for tonight, guys," Hakoda announced. "_But, _I did pick up some mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert."

"Woo!"  
"Nice!"

"Haha, the boys sure are easy to please, aren't they?" noted Hakoda.

"Little things amuse little minds," Jane loudly decreed.

"Aw," Aang cried.

"Damn, Shamrocks! It's the season of _joy _and _love. _Why must you be such a bitch?"

"In my blood, I guess." Jane grinned, finishing off her hot cocoa.

"One of these days," Katara advised sneakily. "you ought to show that stupid brother of mine why they call you 'Fighting Irish.'"

"_Oh, _you can count on it."

* * *

**A/N:**

**The Tangerine Bear:**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=beGhi_CQrtg**

**Yesterday by the Beatles:  
Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=T_SDHfswB30**

**Christmas Carol Medley:  
Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=_CA2vdo9eOk  
**


	47. Cut Loose

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 47 - Cut Loose_

* * *

- Monday, December 20th, 2010 -

"_Ohhhh, _come _awwwnnn_," Sokka roared at the TV screen. "I swear, the computer has it out for me..."

"That's why it's called 'Chance Time,'" Aang teased. "There's a chance you can get screwed."

Sokka fumed, gripping his controller in his hand like an angry drunk holding a half empty bottle.

"Yea? Well...Princess Peach is...a whore," he grumbled. "Sooo...Hmph. Who needs her, anyway? Stealing my damned stars...grumgpllgflff..."

"Now we can both have zero stars _together,_" Aang laughed.

"I _never _beat you at Nintendo stuff," Sokka whined. "I was finally _winning _for a change, too..."

"There's still, like...ten turns left," Aang shed optimism. "We still got this. Now c'mon, there's another minigame coming up."

"Aang had brought his Nintendo Wii along for the vacation, and Sokka had decided that morning that it was high time to make use of it. The two of them were knee-deep in a retro game Aang had downloaded onto his system, sitting on the floor in front of the TV.

"Dude, you guys are losing," Korra observed casually as she came from the kitchen, munching on a package of snack crackers.

"Not for long," cried Sokka as the screen changed.

"Whoa, what the _hell_? You're...riding in tanks?"

"We sure are," Aang chuckled, navigating his slow vehicle with care, a green shell with treads, a canon, and a Yoshi head sticking out on top.

"You guys are _still _playing that?" Jane mumbled with a sigh as she and Katara came from the stairway.

"It can take a while," Aang explained.

"_Ahahaha_, suck it, Peach!"

"Nice one, Sokka."

"Oh, oh, ohhhh! Who's gonna win?" Korra called as Aang and Sokka were the last two left, firing canon shots at one another. Sokka's Donkey Kong tank was sent flying through the air in a comical fashion, leaving Aang the victor and the recipient of some cheers.

"You got _served_," Korra picked on her cousin.

"Second place is better than third."

"Anyone else want to play?" Aang wondered, receiving some shakes of the head. "We could save and turn this off and put on something else," he added.

"Like bowling?" said Katara.

"Haha, like bowling."

Katara gave Jane a curious glance and Jane shrugged in compliance.

"Sure, I'm down."

"Let's do it, then," Aang declared, entering the Wii Home menu and exiting the game.

"_Heyyyy, _we weren't done!" Sokka groaned.

"It saved our progress, crybaby," Aang poked, smacking Sokka on the arm. "We've been hogging the TV for a while. We should share."

"Yea, yea, OK..." Sokka let out an exaggerated huff and shrugged. "I _guess _women are allowed to play video games, too..."

"You _guess_?" Jane snipped, giving her friend a sharp jab on the back.

"I _guess_," Sokka reiterated. "Besides, what do you need to worry about? You don't count as a woman, anyway."

Jane flashed him a surprised look of offense and punched him again.

"All right, _children_," Katara mocked them as she sat down beside Korra on the couch. "Let's settle down."

"Yes, _Mother_," Sokka taunted back.

Aang booted up Wii Sports Resort and dug out his Wii remote, handing it to Katara.

"Hey, you guys can play, I'm gonna go check on Toph," he explained to her quietly while Jane and Sokka traded insults.

"Yea, all right," Katara gently responded, taking the controller.

As Aang quietly retreated upstairs, he could hear Toph plinking away a gentle melody. It was cut short, started back up again, stopped...She repeated the part she was tripping up on a couple of times before she took off. Aang lingered just outside the door and listened for a bit, taken by her voice, the bare emotions she sung out as he recalled their talk from the day prior.

"~I took my love and I took it down~I climbed a mountain and I turned around~"

His hands reaching out, only to be pushed aside. Rejected. Undesired.

"~And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills~'Til the landslide brought me down~"

Guilt on her shoulders like a massive weight. Insecurity over his head like a thundercloud.

"~Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?~Can the child in my heart rise above?~"

_"What do we do from here, Toph? Where do we go? What can I do to...make this better?"_

"~Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?~Can I handle the seasons of my life?~"

_"Well, maybe you need to...fucking _grow up, _Twinkle-Toes...Shit happens..._I _don't know...Why are you asking _me?_"_

"~Well, I've been afraid of changing~'Cause I've built my life around you~"

A sigh from her cold lips.

_"Like I know what the hell _I'm_ doing...I thought _you'd _know..."_

"~But time makes you bolder~Children get older~And I'm getting older, too~"

His body lunging forward, squeezing her in a rough embrace.

_"All _I _know is...I'm afraid of losing this, Toph..."_

"~I'm getting older, too~"

Aang cracked the door open slowly and entered. Toph's fingers continued to pluck away, her eyes glazed and solemn.

"Who is it?" she forced out over her own music.

"It's me."

"...Hey..."

"That's, a...er...It's a nice song. Kind of...sad..."

"Yea...Kinda the point. I guess."

Aang cleared his throat and laid down on the bed behind where Toph sat on its side.

"So, uh...You can, ya know...keep playing. I'd like to hear the rest."

"Y-yea. All right..."

* * *

- Tuesday, December 21st, 2010 -

"Between us, I'm honestly thinking of quitting before the year is out."

"Say what? _Quit_?" Jane seemed appalled. "Why would you quit?"

Korra shook her head, staring thoughtfully at the floor.

"The big cheese and I don't see eye to eye, which is gettin' outta hand. And I need to stretch my fuckin' _wings, _ya know? Try somethin' new, be my own boss."

"I hear ya..." Jane paused, contemplating an idea that popped into her mind. "Ya know, hell, you should look into the bar downtown by our school. They need new management."

"No shit?"

"Yea. They literally got shut down 'cuz the old manager got the boot. I _bet _they need a new one."

"Damn." Korra tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'm not picky right now, and there's _nothin' _out here for me, no openings right now."

"Seriously, look into it. And hey, you'd be right nearby, we'd get to see you all the time."

"Heh, not sure I want _that_," Korra laughed, shoving Jane on the arm.

"What don't you want?" Katara inquired blindly, coming into the kitchen from the living room, where the others were watching a Christmas comedy.

"Oh, ha. The Irish one here says there's bar near your school that needs new management."

"Oh?" Katara cast a curious glance to Jane.

"Yea, the Treetop," Jane quickly confirmed. "Sneers got the boot. Fuck, he got _arressted_," she added with a satisfied chuckle.

"_Really_?" Katara was instantly intrigued.

"The whole Freedom Fighter op is done. Over."

"Wow...That's...great. How did you find out?"

"It was in the newspaper," Jane was fast to explain.

"Oh, wow." Katara nodded, crossing her arms thoughtfully.

"Wait, say what now?" Korra mumbled, lost.

"What _happened_?" Katara asked, brows furrowed.

"Uh, well, the paper said some serious shit went down. Shots fired, whole nine yards."

Katara's eyes popped wide.

"Whoa...W-well...God, is everyone OK?"

"Er, I-I'm not sure, some got put in the hospital, and...-"

Katara glared at Jane with concern with a look that expressed fear for Johnny's safety.

"Johnny got...pretty messed up," Jane sheepishly admitted.

"My God, I'm sorry," Katara murmured, rubbing Jane's shoulder.

"Who are we talking about?" Korra firmly demanded with impatient.

"Oh, the Freedom Fighters, they used to be this gang that hung out at the bar all the time."

"Yea, Jane used to be one of them," Katara pointed out. "Good thing she _left_..."

"Yea, no kidding," Jane sighed, feeling queasy at maintaining a veil of ignorance about the entire thing. Perhaps she should've been more careful about bringing the whole thing up and waiting until Katara wasn't around. Too late to take it back, though.

"Whoa, wait...This the same gang that...-?" Korra gave cautious pause.

"Yea, my ex," Katara mumbled with dismissal, filling in Korra's blank.

"It's how I met Kat," Jane explained solemnly.

The television teamed up with laughter from the next room to interrupt their conversation.

["**PUT DAT COOKIE DAHOWN! _NOW_!**"]

"_Whoa, _don't get between a man and his _cookie_," Toph giggled.

"Yea, no kidding," Sokka agreed.

"Sounds like he cares more about the cookie than his _wife_," Aang observed, humored.

Katara lingered her attention on their banter in an effort to avoid confronting her memories.

"So, erm...About the bar, then," Korra poked in, setting things back on track. "I should call this guy, you're sayin'?"

"Totally. Couldn't hurt. Would you _really _wanna make the move, though, if you got it?"

Korra balked at Jane's concern.

"Listen here: I'm sick of this place I'm working at these days. Retarded hours, psycho customers, blow-hard boss...And I can't find a God damn opening anywhere around here. Skipping town wouldn't hurt a bit. Fuck, probably would be a _good_ thing."

"Have a history you're trying to get away from, too, huh?" Jane theorized with an observant glance.

"Maybe," Korra conceded with a shrug.

"Heh. I know how _that _goes...Let's go hop on one of the computers, look up the guy's number for ya."

"Let's do it up." Korra strolled out to the living room to ask Aang if they could borrow his laptop.

"Hey, uh...Kat?" Jane tapped her friend on the shoulder, stirring her out of her stupor. "I'm gonna go help your cousin and crap. You, uh...need anything?"

"Huh? Wh-...No, I'm fine." Katara gave her a perplexed glance, as if to ask what it is she looked in need of. She briskly pushed it aside. "Yea, go ahead and help her."

"Go take a seat or something," Jane eased. "'Stead of standin' around the kitchen staring into the next room like an idiot." She slapped Katara's back as she took off, and Katara smiled warily.

"Yea, come watch the movie with us," Aang called out to her.

Katara gave in and entered the living room while Korra and Jane scurried upstairs. Toph was on the recliner while Sokka and Aang sat on the couch with Hakoda. Hakoda rose up with a yawn and passed by his daughter, giving her an affection pat on the arm.

"This old man needs his sleep," he groaned. "Try not to stay up too late tonight, guys. I've got an early start tomorrow."

"No problem, Dad," Sokka assured. "We'll head to bed as soon as this movie's done."

"Good night, everyone." Hakoda waved as he entered the hall where the stairs rested.

"Night!"  
"Good night, Dad."  
"Good night."  
"See ya."

Katara plopped herself down inbetween the boys and ignored the ongoing film for a few seconds to relish the moment: it was like good old times the year prior, the four of them and a movie - Toph was even off to herself, just like she had used to be in the earlier days. It had been a year since the blind girl had joined this group of theirs, and while a lot had changed, the past few weeks had seen a lot revert to the way they had once been. Katara couldn't help pondering the possibilities of what another year could rearrange.

* * *

- Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010 -

"Say _what? _I've been...-" Toph's jaw dropped. "We can _drink _out here?"

"Uh, _yea_," Korra muttered with a shrug. "Why not?"

"I thought we weren't old enough!"

"Didn't you just turn, like, twenty?" Sokka recalled.

"Yea..."

"Oh, _ha._" Sokka chuckled and nodded his head up at Korra. "Down there they have to be twenty _one_ to drink."

"_Shit, _that's retarded..." Korra rolled her eyes. "OK. We're going out tonight, and I'm gettin' everybody some drinks. That'll be my Christmas present to all you."

"Sounds good to _me_," Toph cheered.

"I'm down," Jane concurred with a grin.

Katara, hiding in the back of the crowd, scowled at the prospect. The age for drinking in their region meant that everyone present was officially legal.

"Let's go, then," Sokka encouraged calmly. "You comin', Sis?"

"Uh...I, um...-"

"I think I'll go, too," Aang decided after some hesitation. With affirmation, he set down his sketchpad and wandered to Toph's side, clutching her hand. Her excitement was diluted at their contact and she calmed herself with a sullen sigh. Katara got the inkling that Toph wasn't expecting Aang to come and his presence made her feel less excited about it.

"You're not going to stay here alone, are you?" Hakoda skeptically wondered from the kitchen while everyone shuffled into their coats. "Go on, Katara."

"But..._Dad_," Katara grumbled, leaving her brother's side and sneaking to her father in the adjacent room. "You...You're OK with this?"

"Why shouldn't I be?"

"Be-because-...Well, it's-...What about...-?"

"Katara." Hakoda gave his daughter a quick hug. "Your brother's learning to cope with it. I think you should, too. Go out, you'll have fun."

Katara shrugged and offered a nervous smile.

"Sure...Y-yea, I'll...give it a shot."

"_Ha_," laughed Toph. "She means _literally._"

Katara's eyes dulled at the comment. She had no intentions of drinking any shots, she simply wanted to be a part of the social event. As Katara sighed to herself and trudged behind the group that was piling out the door, Hakoda bid them farewell.

Since Akiak was a pretty small town, the bar that Hakoda had suggested Korra visit was within walking distance, so the group made smalltalk as they trudged through the bitter winter evening. Sokka made sure to point out that they had yet to watch through the "proper" Christmas films and bragged of how he still had VHS tapes containing the 60's classics "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman," while Katara pointed out that if they were going to watch those then "Winnie the Pooh and Christmas, Too" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" were musts, as well.

"If we were Winnie the Pooh characters," Jane theorized, "then Katara would be Rabbit."

"_What?_" Katara whimpered.

"You know it's truth," Jane countered, squeezing Katara at the hip and smirking at her blush.

"That makes me Tigger, then, doesn't it?" Sokka boasted.

"Then Aang's _Piglet,_" Korra teased.

"Hey, Piglet is awesome," Aang contested. "Don't diss Piglet."

"Well, who am _I, _then?" Toph demanded.

"Gopher," Sokka decided quite quickly. "Obviously."

"Who's _that_?"

"The guy who whistles when he talks?"

"Hm..." Toph frowned, clearly confused.

"Korra can be Roo," Katara concluded, "And if I'm Rabbit, that makes Jane..." She slyly tapped at her cheek. "...Kessie."

"Who the fuck is _that_?"

"Heehee."

"Why do I feel like I'm being mocked?"

"Who's _Kessie_?" Aang wondered.

"Are you making up Winnie the Pooh characters?" Sokka called her out.

"No way!" Katara defended. "It's not _my _fault none of you are up on your Pooh lore."

"Good _God_," sighed Sokka.

"Hey, don't even give me that," snipped Katara competitively. "You had your...your Digimon obsession, and your-"  
"Hey, I grew up when Digimon stopped being cool."

"Winnie the Pooh never _stopped_ being cool," Katara defied with a boisterous "Hmph."

"What about a Charlie Brown Christmas?" Aang inquired.

"Have that one, too," Sokka complied. "_Of course._ Another classic."

"The only Christmas cartoon _I _ever liked was the Grinch," Korra scoffed.

"Have you covered, as well."

"What, do you collect kid's movies, or something?" Toph accused with amusement.

"I did when I was a _kid,_" Sokka clarified. "No use throwing away perfectly good films, you know. What about you, then?"

"What _about _me?"

"Didn't you have any Christmas stuff you liked as a kid?"

"My parents weren't exactly big on getting together around the TV with me, for _obvious reasons._" She suddenly bit with a defensive tone.

"Er...Y-yea, sorry," Sokka eased. "No worries, we'll introduce ya to some good ones."

"A lot of the classics have lots of music," Katara tossed in. Toph sighed at this, blowing her bangs from her face.

"We take a left here?" Korra probed, slowing to a stop at the street corner they reached.

"Yea," confirmed Sokka, pointing out their destination in the distance.

"Ya know what I need to do?" Korra randomly threw her thoughts out.

"What's that?" Jane took the bait.

"I need to go fucking _snowboarding._"

"You snowboard?"

"_Oh yes. _Hell yes, I do."

"Bad-ass."

"Why, do you?"

"_Baha, _like hell I do," Jane chuckled. "I've never even been on a mountain, or...snow...boarding place."

"You're missin' out, man."

"I have to agree with Korra, for a change," said Sokka. "There's nothing quite like the icy outdoors."

"You Canucks are fuckin' _crazy _to live out here," Jane belittled with a shiver.

"Yea, it's _cold,_" Toph concurred. "Like, _more _cold than PA. I'm not a fan."

"We gotta get some spirits in you kids," Korra taunted. "That'll warm ya right up."

"_Kids_?" Toph questioned with skepticism. "Aren't you just a few years older than us?"

"Hey, while all you have been takin' classes and livin' in dorms, I've been out in the _real _world makin' my way," said Korra testily.

"Come to think of it," Aang once again tried to break the tension, "Korra, how come you're not spending Christmas with your family?"

"I _am, _Aang. Hello?" She spread her arms to her cousins.

"No, I mean...Like, your parents."

Korra shrugged and turned her head back to the sidewalk.

"They live too far away," she explained simply. "Over toward the west coast."

"Oh, wow," Aang muttered. "How'd they end up over there?"

"Once I graduated high school, I was ready to tear it up, take care of myself. Guess they...had plans elsewhere." She stared up at the sparse street lamps they passed.

"You always _did_ need space," Katara sympathized.

"Ain't _that _the fuckin' truth?" said Korra quietly in recognition. "Enough about that. We're here," she announced as they approached the steps to the bar.

"Woot-woot," Sokka chimed with glee. "Time to cut loose."

* * *

"Noooo, no-no-no," Katara moaned as she shook her hand, her head spinning. She rested it in her arms on the counter and sighed warily.

"Bahaha, we've finally _done it_," Korra declared pridefully, setting down the glass she had been trying to push on her cousin.

"Whudwee doo?" Jane wondered from Korra's left, scratching her scalp roughly.

"We got Kittie-Kat drunk," Korra affirmed, nodded her head to her cousin on the opposite side of Jane.

"So freegin _bawss_," Sokka cried from Korra's right. "How...-? Howzit do it?"

"Say what?"

"Howz...-" Sokka waggled his finger. "Wit da drunk. Howz it get drunk?"

"I'm...I'm not _drunk_," Katara insisted, lifted her red-faced head from the counter with a huff. The world seemed constantly off-balance by just a bit - enough to make walking require effort.

"_I _fuggin am!" Toph squealed with a maniacal giggle.

"Yes. Yes, you are," Aang patronized her with a gentle shoulder pat. He seemed to be the only one who was clearly sober, having only taken a single drink a while back.

"Twinx. Yo. Yo, Twinx," Toph pushed at his arm, gripping it tight. "I ever sed how bewtifool yer eyes werr?"

"_Huh?_"

"_Hahaha! _Awwwww, fuggin' _kiddin' _dood. I can't..._seeeee _anything! Geeeezz, idiot..."

"Drunk dohn feel so bad, rite?" Jane encouraged Katara, nudging her knuckle on Katara's arm. Katara smiled sheepishly, running her hand through her hung down hair.

"It's, uh...It's different," she admitted. "Not as...Um...It's not so bad as I thought it'd be..."

"You really _have_ never been drunk before, have you?" Korra realized.

"Haha, nope. Nope..."

"The _hell, _woman? Why not?"

"I just...-" Katara shrugged, her eyes drooping as her head bobbed around slightly. "-..._ya _know. Never drank enough. At...at once, I mean..."

"You're a pansy, you need girlie drinks," said Korra. "Some fuckin' flavored vodka. That's what you drank. That's your weakness."

"Heh. I...guess so," Katara admitted.

"I liek drung Kat," Jane's raspy voice concluded. "Yer all...reelax and shit."

"Pff. I'm...freakin' _dizzy_, I don't have a choice," Katara belted out, humored by herself.

"Myyyy lil' siss is _grownupp!_" Sokka wailed. He choked out dramatic sobs. "Sheez founduh joyz o' _booooze._"

Katara felt a pang of guilt form at his words from within her somewhat inebriated stature. Even in her slight stupor, she couldn't understand why her brother could go from being so dead-set against alcohol to encouraging his sister and friends to become intoxicated.

"Aang!" Korra shot out her index his way, her movements a bit slow and off balance. "What's this? Huh? You don't look drunk at all."

"Errr, I-I'm doing fine," Aang shakily replied.

"Naww, come _on, _we're here to have some _fun, _Kid."

"I _am_," Aang insisted firmly.

"He's happy," Katara assured Korra. "Just...leave him be."

"Mehhh, you wimps..."

"Oooooh," Jane suddenly hooted, dredging up her cell phone. "Kat-Kat-Kat...Kenya texx?"

"Huh?"

"Texxin', how good kin ya texx when yer drunk? Eh?"

"Oh, haha..."

Katara followed suit and got her own phone out. She opened it up.

[From: Jane]  
[woooooooo yrr fruunkl]  
[Sent: 11:12pm]

Katara burst out a laugh at Jane's illegible words.

"Wh-...What is _this_?" She chortled.

"Iz me cheern ya on..."

"OK. OK." Katara shook her head and navigated her buttons to form a text herself. She focused and managed to type out a complete sentence with no errors, just as she normally could...It was just a lot more _difficult _when her hands moved like they were weighed down. "There...I can still...text right," she bragged.

[Sending...]  
[Sent!]

"Oh, shoot," she spat, slapping herself in the head.

"Whut?"

"I just...told everyone on Facebook that...that I'm drunk," Katara sheepishly mumbled, hand over her eyes.

"How is it that the _Irish girl _can't hold her liquor as well as _Kittie-Kat _can?" taunted Korra.

"Heeeyyy, yeaaa," Sokka chimed in. "Are you _suuuure _yoor drunk, Siss?"

"Pfff..." Katara nodded, still clutching her head as it stung for a moment. "I'm...sure as hell not _sober_..."

"_Ha! _HA! **HAHA!**" Toph trilled. "Shoogah-Queen said a bad werrd! Hoohoo..."

"Shut up," Katara giggled with embarrassment. "You guys are a bad influence..." She gestured her hand around herself.

"Mohsly mee. Mohsly I am," decided Jane, pointing to her own collarbone as she sucked down another shot.

"_Yea, _mostly you," Katara laughed. "A hell-raising ruffian," she referenced an earlier conversation with a sly smirk.

"Whhrrr," uttered Sokka, scratching his fuzzy chin as she eyeballed Katara cautiously. "Shee _duzz_ seem pritty relaxxed..."

"Yea, she _must _be a bit smashed," Korra agreed with him. "How is she holding it down better than _you two_, anyway?"

"Aapphhhhblll," Sokka spat - literally. "I've...bin dringen _sooo much _moar...Helloh?"

"Yeh, yeh," Jane agreed. "I been...takin' shotz, n' shit..."

"I've only had three drinks," Katara held up her fingers.

"You drank 'em _fast_," Korra pointed out.

"They..._tasted_ good," Katara squeaked with a shrug. Her sight blurred even more and she planted her head back into her arms on the counter.

"Sweetniss needz _sweetniss _in'er drinkies," said Toph, slamming her empty bottle of stout on the wood.

"K-Katara, you OK?" Aang checked.

"Mm?" Katara rotated her head to look up at his concerned face. In her leaning down on the counter her body had tilted over toward him, and he seemed bashful at her proximity. This hadn't been her intention, so she corrected herself and scooted over to the right until she seemed straight. "I'm just...really dizzy," she mumbled dismissively.

"We needa make ya _morre _dizzeh," Jane grunted.

"Noooooo," Katara whined playfully.

"-way more than you."

"Whuuuh?" Sokka growled. "No way. Noooo way..."

"Face it, Sox, I can hold it down better 'n you."

"Mehhhhh..."

"You drunk-dialed your girlfriend yet?" Korra picked.

"Psshhh..._Dat_...is a grate idea..." Sokka slyly tapped his finger against his nose and pulled out his phone.

Katara's attention was pulled back to her left.

"...Noo, no...I _meeeen _it. I'm...so fuggin' sorry," Toph was near bawling, her arms wrapped around Aang's waist. "Gawd, luv yoo so much...'M a fuggin' bitch...I am..."

"H-hey, it's...it's OK, Toph..." Aang rubbed the back of her neck solemnly.

"'S _not _okayy. How kin...-? Fuuuckkk. Imma worss gurlfrend ever...fuggin'..._urgh._" Tears were building in her eyes, while Jane and Korra laughed at the message Sokka was leaving on Suki's voicemail.

"Everybody messes up sometimes," Aang comforted with a sigh.

"Argghh, so sorry, Baybe...so fuggin' sorrie..."

"I know..."

Katara admired their moment of bonding, her hope for them rekindled. They were still trying. That was more than others in their position would've done. A surge of snickers brought her back to the right, where Sokka chirped out his farewell.

"'Kay, I luv yoo **bai-bai~**" He hung up and let his own laughter spill out.

Katara smiled at her brother's foolishness and rested her head back down with a peaceful sigh. This really wasn't so bad. Maybe not something she'd want to make a habit of, if only for the sake of those around her having less self-restraint, but...This was fun.

* * *

- Thursday, December 23rd, 2010 -

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk** would like to prove that she is perfectly capable of texting complete sentences while intoxicated.]  
[12 hours ago]  
[Korra Kesuk, Jane Fitzpatrick, and 6 others like this.]

[**Hakoda Kesuk **- Sounds like you had fun after all right?]  
[3 hours ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- -^_^- Maybe... ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Suki Kyoshi **- haha, tell your brother he's a complete idiot. now it makes sense.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Tylee Moretti **- wooooww did you get drunk? for reals?]  
[47 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Tylee Moretti She sure did. ;D Suki Kyoshi If it makes you feel any better, I meant every word.]  
[43 minutes ago]

[**Suki Kyoshi **- how would that make me feel BETTER? :P ]  
[34 minutes ago]

* * *

"I already did my Christmas shopping," Katara pridefully remarked with a wink. "I'm all set."

"Aagghhh," Jane growled. "I haven't been able to do most of mine yet..." She scratched her head in contemplation. She'd only gotten Katara's present so far, but she wanted to get the others something, too. "What about you, Aang? You need to go do shopping?"

"Nope," Aang calmly responded from the recliner, drawing away. He clearly wasn't just scribbling this time because he was using his fancier pencils. Prior to his drawing, he'd asked Korra what her favorite animal was, seemingly out of thin air, so Jane had a pretty good idea of what he was doing.

"**HAPPY _BIRTHDAY!_**" Sokka shouted along with the snowman on the television.

"You fuckin' memorized _all of these_?" Toph picked on him.

"I could take you," Katara offered to Jane, sidestepping the conversation Sokka and Toph were having.

"Sure," Jane immediately agreed. "Sounds good."

The morning had consisted of lots of water drinking to help alleviate the varying degrees of hangovers the group experienced. Aang was entirely free of this burden, naturally, and by now the only two still feeling the effects were Sokka and Korra, the latter of whom was taking a shower to wake herself up. Katara finished off her coffee and nodded her head to Jane.

"We can head out in a few minutes, get it out of the way."

"Awesome."

"Make sure you're not out too long," Hakoda advised. "Your grandmother will be here this evening."

"Yea, no problem. We should be back in time," assured his daughter. "Anyone else need to go out and get stuff?"

"I'm set," Sokka called.

"Actually..." Toph crossed her arms thoughtfully. "I, uh...haven't gotten everything yet."

"OK," Katara was quick to agree. "Then we'll make it a girl's day out."

Jane didn't approve of this but wasn't going to make waves. If Katara was willing to go out to a bar, then Jane was going to be willing to go out shopping with girls and...crap like that. As long as no nail-painting was involved.

* * *

"So, yea..." Toph took a bite of her fast-food french fries. "I've had his ready since Thanksgiving break..."

"That sounds...really sweet," Katara cooed, sending Toph her encouragement. "I'm sure he'll really like it, Toph."

"Yea..." She sighed with a sullen slump, leaning her head against the window in the backseat.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" Jane asked. There was a moment of silence with no reply. Katara gave Jane a quick sideways glance of confusion. "About Aang," Jane clarified. She laughed through her nose. "I mean, you really fucked things up, Dead-Eyes..."

Toph's expression hardened.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" she snarled. "It's none of your _business, _back the hell off..."

"You don't _know _what you're gonna do," Jane concluded. "You better get your ass in gear soon, then, or he's gonna have no reason to stick around."

"Jane..." said Katara with disapproval.

"You have some shit you've been meanin' to say?" Toph barked back.

"Guys, come on, let's not-"  
"No, _let's_," Toph hissed. "I _know _you're all talkin' about me behind my back, you oughtta let it all out."

Katara sighed, her fingers adjusting around the steering wheel of the car while Toph munched more of her fries down.

"We're talking because you _fucking cheated on Aang_," Jane snapped. "And I'm sorry you can't _see_ it, but he's _heartbroken_."

"I know that! You think...that I don't _know that?_"

"Then stop trying to pretend like nothing's wrong and _do something _about it!"

"I'm _trying! _OK? Christ!" Toph shook her head as she dwelled on her thoughts. "I mean, what am I _supposed _to do? Huh?"

"Show him that you're still interested, maybe?"

"The hell does _that _mean?"

"I think what she's talking about," Katara butted in as gently as she could, "is that you seem to be keeping Aang at a distance. Like you don't want to be around him. He's been trying to...well, you know...initiate. Things. And it's like you don't want any of it."

Toph winced at this truth being shoved in her face.

"Gah...It's hard, I don't-...It's so damned difficult. I can't stop thinking about how I've hurt him..."

"I know you feel guilty, Toph," Katara sympathized. "But if you keep trying to avoid that, you're going to avoid _him, _and he's going to give up..."

Toph huffed and went about her eating.

"I'll level with ya," said Jane. "I'm pissed at you. OK? I thought you were _better _than that. I've been cheated on. Dumped his sorry ass the second I knew."

"Jet?" Toph guessed.

"Yea," Jane grunted. "But Aang, that guy's a...God damned _nice guy_. He should've kicked you to the fuckin' curb by now. But he didn't. You need to be working your ass off to show him that he's not making a mistake by giving you a second chance."

"I've kinda got a lot going on right now," Toph snapped. "It's not so easy."

"Don't even _give me _that," Jane countered. "Don't act like you're the only one who has to deal with shit. We _all _do. Grow up and get on with it."

"Hmph..."

"Toph. I'm serious. Listen, I don't _like _having reason to want to punch your face in. You're...cool. Your whole...being '_you_' thing. And not giving a fuck what anyone else thinks. That's sweet. I dig it. But sometimes you can't pull that shit. If what Aang thinks _does _matter, then you gotta prove it."

"W-well...Maybe if Aang told me what the hell was going _on_ with him I'd know what to do..."

"Toph, Sweetie..." Katara glanced at her frustrated face through the mirror. "I think Aang feels like when he tells you how he feels, you just...put him down."

"What do you mean?"

"Like...W-well, I mean, you're always making fun of him for...for being a 'pansy,' and...and things like that..."

"That's...-! He needs to...man up a bit! I mean, I don't get his _deal, _he gets all fuckin' wishy-washy any time I get anywhere _near _his schlong. What kind of guy _avoids _that?"

"Toph, how could you _say _that?" Katara sighed. "After what he's been through?"

"I just...ugh. I don't get why that would stop someone from...-" She trailed off.

"You don't _get it, _do ya?" Jane growled. "Ya know, I see it now. You're the kind of girl who's always on top, huh?"

Toph's face turned pink and she frowned.

"Yeaaaa. Ha. Yea, you're one of _those._ You don't get what it's like for him."

"Oh, like _you _do?"

Jane paused, her teeth grinding together as she settled herself from bursting out.

"_Yea, _I think I _do. _I don't know...exactly what the guy's gone through...Because if that's my business, then I'm sure he'll tell me. But I don't _need _him to tell me to know what it's like."

"What are you _talking _about?"

"All right, Toph. I'll tell you. But not a God damned _word _to anyone else, OK?"

"...Fine."

"I was raped," Jane bluntly explained. "That kind of thing, that...changes how you feel about that stuff."

Toph's mouth was slightly agape now.

"Fuck," she mumbled. "I...didn't know..."

"Now ya do. I'm tellin' you this because I _know _how hard it can be when you're with someone who doesn't give you _space, _who tries rushing you into that crap."

"But...I've been...trying really hard to be patient..."

"Toph, you've been, just...-" Katara bit her lip and considered how to phrase this. "You're either hot or cold with him. Either you're pushing him too much or you're keeping him away. He tries to be affectionate and you just...reject it."

"He does the same thing!" Toph objected.

"I-I know, I'm-...That's what I'm _getting at_."

"I've got _needs, _ya know? I can't be...putzin' around forever."

"Yea, _clearly,_" Jane bitterly remarked. "And ya put your needs before his."

Toph puffed out angrily, her head bobbed.

"It feels like we're running on different engines," Toph grumbled. "Whenever I'm ready to go, he needs a pit stop, and...when he gets in gear, I'm outta gas."

"Not on the same wavelength," Katara commented.

"Exactly...I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

Jane shrugged and shook her head, while Katara drummed her fingers along the steering wheel.

"Maybe...-" Katara squirmed through her words hesitantly. "I don't know, Toph...I-I mean, have you considered that...that maybe this isn't_...working...?_"

And here she was, presenting to Toph the same notion she'd brought to Aang's mind.

"Sometimes," Toph timidly admitted. "But I'm not gonna just give up. That's for losers."

"R-right, I wasn't...meaning to say that...-"

"You think we should break up or something? That's bullshit, Katara."

"No, no, I didn't mean-"  
"You love someone, you fuckin' work it out. You stand your ground."

"Y-yea, that's...what you two should try doing."

"Just a second ago it sounded like you were saying somethin' else," Toph testily observed.

"I know, I'm sorry...I was just...bringing up the possibility, because...W-well, sometimes there's things you _can't _work out...Right?"

"This ain't like that," Toph insisted. "If Twinkle-Toes didn't think we could fix this, Jane's right - he woulda took off by now."

"Of course, he's...a great guy. He wants to make things better, too," Katara hastily agreed, regretting her decision to bring up the possibility. "I just want to see both of you happy, that's all."

"I don't see how breaking up would make us _happy_..."

"If you're so fuckin' determined about it," Jane cut back in, "then follow your own advice and _do something _about it."

"I will!"

"Good."  
"That's great, Toph."

"What do I gotta do to get you two off my back?" Toph confronted. "I'm fed up with this soap opera bullshit."

"Maybe tone down the attitude," advised Jane. "Face up to your mistakes, be a God damned grown up."

"Toph, I hate to say it, but I'm with her. You've been...really acting immature, and...saying a lot of hurtful things lately."

"Is this about that God damned birthday party?"

"_No, _Toph. Urgh. See, this is what we're _saying_!" Katara slapped the steering wheel in frustration and had to let her foot up on the pedal as they dipped over the speed limit. "You need to turn everything into this, like...personal battle. Yes, OK? I was ticked off about the birthday thing...I put a lot of time and work into that, and it was...-"

"You just shitted all over it," Jane concluded.

Katara sighed but nodded.

"Yea...It _really _got on my nerves..."

"OK," Toph complied. "I...was in a pissy mood, and...maybe I shouldn't have been such a bitch. I'm sorry."

"I appreciate that," said Katara with some relief before continuing. "But, Toph...this is way more than that. It just seems like you're practically trying to start fights with everyone, and you're always passing the blame."

"I guess," said Toph begrudgingly.

"And it's like...it _isn't _all your fault, you _are _going through a lot, and we _know _that. What makes it so hard is that when we try to _help _you, you bite our hands off..."

"That's because I didn't _ask _for anyone's help. I don't need anyone taking care of _my _problems."

"That's..._fine. _Then I..._won't _try helping you, if it's such a freaking problem..."

"Katara," Toph snorted. "I meant, like...I'm trying to take care of myself, I'm sick of feeling like I need to rely on everyone all the time."

"Part of being an adult is knowing when you _do _need others to help you," Katara advocated.

"Thanks for the lesson, _Mom_."

"Toph...Drop it, OK? Drop this _tough _act. For five seconds. Just hear me out."

"...Go on, then. Say what you gotta say."

"We all love you, Toph. I know it's hard, your family's...kind of gone. Aang knows what that's like."

"_I _know what that's like," Jane added.

"Right. And me and Sokka, we've lost some family, too. We get it. That's why we're this...tight group, you know? We have each other's backs to...I don't know...to compensate, I guess."

"Hm."

"Being part of the group means...-"

"-being part of that, too," Toph finished Katara's oft-recited line.

"Right. I mean, we're all...still learning."

"I sure as hell still am," Jane sympathized. "I'm used to only lookin' out for myself, this whole process has been...odd."

"What I'm getting at, Toph, is that if you need us to do something - or need us to _not _do something - you need to be more open about it, instead of just...barking at us when we screw something up. That goes double for Aang, because I know he's not feeling too great about all of this, he's lost."

"I guess..."

"It's like you've given the worst to him because he's the closest to you."

"Yea...I've been quite a heartless bitch," she chuckled to herself. "Every other guy's smart enough to take a hike once they get that."

"Aang is _not _every other guy," Katara commended her friend with a smile.

"He sure ain't," Toph sighed longingly.

"Things look bleak right now, Toph, but they'll get better. I promise."

"Yea..."

"I've been pissed at you, Toph," Jane further explained, "because I see you giving shit to Aang, giving shit to Kat, here. You wanna give _me _some? I'll take it. And I'll give it back. We're both like that. But the other guys, they don't do that. I'm not gonna sit around and let these goody-two-shoes get dumped on when they don't deserve it. You get that?"

"I get that," Toph repeated her understanding. "I'm sorry, guys," she groaned, grabbing at her forehead. "I don't wanna keep doing this, the arguing and...crap."

"It's going to happen once in a while," Katara knowlingly cautioned. "But I'm trying to be here for you."

"I _know, _I can tell..."

"And I'm a fellow bitch, I feel ya," Jane laughed.

"Yea, thanks for that," said Toph, humored.

"So let's try puttin' this bullshit behind us," Jane decided. "And then we can save Christmas, or whatever the hell."

"Sounds good to me."

"Here, stuck out your hand so I can fist bump you."

"_Ow_, that was my _hand._"

"Geez, Dead-Eyes, you're supposed to be _tough._"

Katara felt some peace as the clouds in her mind cleared a bit, the banter between Jane and Toph reminding her of earlier days. She realized that from the beginning of the conversation, it had been Jane, in fact, who had brought all of this up, likely with the intent of this very result. She felt pride at how her red-headed friend was changing.

* * *

**A/N: I'd like to point out that I'm 24 and I only just got drunk for the first time a few weeks ago, so you can probably guess what elements are borrowed from that experience. ;)  
**

**Appropriate cover of Landslide by Fleetwood Mac:  
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=2uBO1cBKH3A**

**Ahnold loves cookies:  
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=8lKz5Bd54RU  
**


	48. The Spirit

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 48 - The Spirit  
_

* * *

- Thursday, December 23rd, 2010 -

"No, yea, _haha, _laugh it up, good times, hardy-har. But dude. Guys. I'm fuckin' serious." Korra stared down at them over the couch's spine as they played their game of Mario Party, awaiting the girls to come back from their shopping. "How do you put _up _with the bullshit?"

"Korra." It wasn't his turn, so Sokka glanced up at her solemnly. "Katara's my _sister. _She's been a drama llama since she was _five. _I've got a lotta practice. But you gotta understand - as much trouble as it can be, it's this 'college drama' you keep talking about that made this group what it is."

"Don't think I'm following."

Aang sighed and offered his own two cents, eyes still on the screen as he concluded his turn.

"Korra, the reason why our group can be...'dramatic'...is because we all really care about each other."

"Yea," Sokka chimed. "I mean, that's why people like watching 'drama' on TV, right? Because, like...you really care about what's going on. And crap."

"So it's a _good _thing? That's bullshit."

"No one said it was a good thing," Aang firmly clarified. "But bad things...can _lead _to good things. When you let them."

"Aren't _you _the little philosopher, eh?" Korra picked.

"I'm just saying, Korra...sometimes these things bring people together. I think that's what happens with us."

"Orrrrrr it tears you apart," Korra objected. "Don't act like that doesn't happen."

"It's happened to _you_, huh?" Sokka guessed.

"Maybe," Korra grumbled, obviously not keen on things being redirected back at her.

"It _does _happen," Aang acknowledged.

"Katara lost a lot of friends in high school because she's...well...how she is." said Sokka in passing as he tapped away at his controller.

"I believe _that_," Korra mumbled. "She's wound tighter than a...er...really tight. _Thing_."

"Good one," Sokka awarded a dry compliment.

"She just really cares a lot," Aang defended with a smirk as he won the minigame they had been playing.

"Bitch," Sokka seethed in quiet competition at his neighbor on the couch.

"She doesn't want to see people get hurt, but she doesn't want to get hurt herself, it's...-" Aang sighed and scratched his head. "I don't know. It's just her way, I guess."

"Seems like she just puts everyone on edge."

"But she's also what holds us together," Aang insisted. "She's always the one reaching out, you know? Trying to keep everyone happy."

"Ha, yea, no way _I'm _gonna do that," Sokka sneered. "That's too much damned work."

"You can't let Katara hold _everything _together," Korra pointed out. "Like this shit with you and your girlfriend? I feel like Katara's doing more about it than _you _are, Little Man."

Aang's face twitched with some resentment at her nickname that she kept using for him.

"I've been _talking _with Toph about all of that," Aang grumbled. "What do _want _me to do? I don't know where to go from here."

"Aaaaand now we're officially gossiping, I think," Sokka sighed.

"Dump her ass," Korra dismissed. "She fuckin' _cheated_ on you. If she could do it once, she'll do it again."

"You really believe that?"

"Once a cheater, always a cheater."

"Yep. Totally gossiping now..."

"Toph's not a bad person," Aang defended. "She's just...made some mistakes. I have, too. We all do."

"Yea-yea-yea, but that's a mistake that shouldn't get made. Period. You weren't enough for her, so she went searching elsewhere. I get that, whatever. Excuses are _still _excuses. If she can't give you loyalty, don't fuckin' give it _back._"

"Korra, I _love _Toph," Aang proclaimed, turning his head to glare at her from the couch. "I can't just..._leave _her like that. Just because she made a mistake."

"Maybe she 'messed up' because she doesn't _really _love you back."

Aang huffed at this and turned back around as Sokka played out his turn.

"You guys _do _realize you're being drama llamas right now. Right? This very moment?"

"Whatever," Korra defied in a grunt. "I'm just sayin', if my boyfriend cheats on me, then obviously I must not be _good enough_ for him, so he can fuckin' take a hike for all I care."

"Maybe you don't have a boyfriend because you don't forgive," Aang theorized.

"Or _maybe _it's 'cuz all the good guys out there are retarded like _you _are and stick around with chicks who shit on them."

"You don't _know _me, Korra, and you _definitely _don't know Toph."

"Do I need to?" Korra pointed her finger at Aang's face sharply. "We can all see it in your eyes, Aang: she broke your squishy nice-guy heart. Trying to hold onto that is pointless. She's just going to do it again."

Aang snorted out a huff and turned back to his game while Sokka sheepishly swallowed, wary of what might happen next.

"I never asked for your advice, Korra," Aang coldly informed. "You may think you're...an 'adult,' but...I don't think you understand how adult relationships work any better than I do."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means that real relationships are about...working through stuff when they're bad, instead of just quitting."

"Aang. Bucko. There's a difference between 'quitting' and being given the _shaft. _Being betrayed."

"Urgh, I wasn't..._betrayed._"

"Oh? Really? So your trust hasn't been broken? Not one bit?"

Aang tried to ignore her and play the video game with Sokka - watching the AI celebrate its victory - and Korra shrugged.

"Yea, I thought so," she sighed. "Stop defending her. She fucked up. No, that doesn't make her...some God-awful person. I get it. But she _still _fucked up, Aang. That has consequences."

"We done now?" Sokka growled. "Cuz, I know you're...trying to help. And stuff. That's great, and all that, but...Let's face it: being sympathetic ain't exactly your strong suit, Korra."

"This isn't about _sympathy, _Sokka, it's about getting your pal here to realize that if he doesn't nip this in the bud he's just gonna be worse off later on."

"OK! I get your point!" Aang cried in aggravation. "Everyone seems to have a freaking opinion! And they all...contradict each other! I'm sick of it. There's no _right way _to do this, so...Why can't everyone just let me make my own decision? Huh?"

Korra crossed her arms and paced out of the living room, toward the kitchen. Sokka gave Aang a good pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, dude. Keep it chill, all right?"

"How can I...-!" Aang took a deep breath, restraining himself. When he spoke again he was calmed. "Sokka, how can I 'keep it chill' when everyone's ramming their ideas down my throat?"

"Everyone here is just concerned about you two. They're tossing their two cents into the bank, but...it's _your _money, Bud. You decide what to buy with it."

Korra came back with a bag of pretzels and munched a couple down, sitting in the recliner besides the boys.

"Listen to your idiot roommate," Korra advised casually. "Sometimes that crazy brain of his has a good idea or two."

"Thanks?"

"Aang. Dude, hey...I didn't mean to piss you off."

Aang didn't look at her, nor did he reply in any way. She continued.

"Seriously, I say this 'cuz...I've never seen a relationship where someone cheated and...it worked out."

"Doesn't mean it can't happen," Aang meekly protested.

"Didn't say it can't, just...sayin' I've never _seen it. _Toph seems like an all right girl, she's just...bein' a klutz. It happens. I've sure been one, in my day. I may not know you too well and shit, but I _do _know that you're a softy, and softies get walked on. I think it'd be smart if you stuck with a decision, whatever it's gonna be, but if that girlfriend of yours won't grow up, then it's not gonna _matter _what you decide: she's going to keep being stupid."

There were a few moments without dialogue while the music and sound effects from the TV drizzled over them.

"I guess," said Aang at last.

"You boys can keep playing your video games and pretending like nothing's wrong and all that kiddie shit. It's not gonna change anything, though. If you're gonna hang out with drama llamas then stop standing around watching and...I dunno, be a fuckin' shepherd. Reign 'em in. Or something."

Sokka scratched his goatee in contemplation at this remark while Aang sighed quietly through his nose, clearly wanting to be done with the whole conversation. A few quiet minutes passed by, Hakoda came downstairs and made himself some late lunch, and the girls arrived, Katara rushing to hide the couple of bags of presents in her room.

"Yea, I know," Hakoda spoke into his phone, slapping tomatoes onto his toast. "But she's doing OK?" He added the couple of strips of bacon he'd just fried up. "Good, that's great." Last came the lettuce. "I just hope she hasn't been causing you too much trouble..." Hakoda planted the other piece of toast on top and crushed the whole BLT together. "Ah, all right. Good. Thanks again...Mm-hm. See you soon."

"Who was that?" Katara wondered brightly, retrieving a mug from behind him.

"Oh, it was Bato."

"_Ohhh_," Katara murmured quietly, her eyes shifting to the living room, for she knew what was being discussed. "Right." She smiled sneakily.

"Mm-hm."

"That's going to be awesome."

"I sure hope so."

"So, um..." Katara nodded her head, wandering to a new topic. "Gran-Gran hasn't shown up yet, huh?" she asked with some trepidation.

"Not yet, but I'm pretty sure she'll be here soon."

"Ah. OK." Not an ounce of excitement came from Katara.

"You guys still playing that stupid game?" Toph groaned, standing by the door, getting her boots off. She reached out her arms to her side, and Jane grabbed her by the back, leading her to the living room floor and setting her down in front of Aang. No one replied, and Toph twiddled her fingers in her lap for a moment. "Where you at, Twinkle-Toes?"

"I'm here," Aang calmly responded from directly behind.

"Oh. Hey," she greeted with a lighter disposition than she had been as of late.

"Hey," Aang came back with his same, somewhat dulled voice.

Toph carefully scooted back until she gently bumped into Aang's knees.

"Hey, uh...Toph, we're kinda trying to play..." Aang tugged at his controller, and Toph could feel the cable being pulled from under her rear end. She hopped off and let him take his cord back. "Thanks." Hm. He didn't seem much in the mood at the moment. She decided she'd try exercising some patience.

A half hour passed before the doorbell rang and an elderly woman with white, frizzled hair in a bun was welcomed in by Hakoda. The two hugged before Hakoda brought her in to a crowded living room.

"Gran-Gran!" Sokka greeted with enthusiasm, springing up to give his grandmother an embrace.

"Hello there, Sokka," her weathered voice chimed. As they broke apart, she glanced across the living room. "And where are my granddaughters?"

Katara lingered, standing beside the couch, while Korra jumped from the recliner and offered yet another warming gesture to the elder relative.

"Ah, Korra, it's been too long," said Gran-Gran with vigor.

"It has," Korra agreed, some family affection sliding out from her otherwise ardent attitude.

Aang caught a glance of Katara's irate eyes glancing to the floor. He nudged her arm with an expectant look, and she perked up, staring at her grandma with a grin Aang recognized as as a plastic one for show.

Katara approached, hands tucked behind her back.

"..._Hey_...Grandma," she burst out with a tint of awkwardness, oozing out civility.

"Hello, Katara." The nice manners were reciprocated.

They hugged in a brief, more formal manner than the others before Gran-Gran quickly refocused her attention to the rest of the room.

"And these must be those college friends I've heard so much about."

"Yup." Sokka nodded and pointed them out. "We got Aang - he's my roommate. And then the red-head's Jane, and the runt on the floor over there is Toph."  
"_Hey_, who you callin' a 'runt?'"  
"She's Katara's roommate," Sokka explained overtop Toph's indignation.

"My, quite the busy household we have this Christmas," observed the woman, unbuttoning her winter coat with care. Hakoda took it and hung it on the rack while Korra swiped the nearly empty bag of pretzels from the recliner, offering Gran-Gran a seat.

"Yea, we managed to get people to show up this year," Katara pointed out with a dash of passive-aggressive snark, her arms still behind her back. Hakoda gripped at her shoulder and raised an eyebrow down at her, which she caught for a moment, only to quickly avoid.

"I won't be a bother to anyone," Gran-Gran assured. "It'll only be a few days you'll have to tolerate this old hag"

"Don't you worry about that," Hakoda insisted. "If you need anything, just ask for it."

"Yea, you hungry? Or thirsty?" Sokka rapidly checked. "You look thirsty. Ya know? I'm gonna go make you some tea."

"Haha. You get to it, then, Sokka. I'd be foolish to turn down your offer." She squinted her eyes at the television. "What's this, now, that you're watching?"

"Oh, it's, uh...-" Aang scratched his head and shrugged, Toph's head wedged between his knees with a pleased expression. "It's just a game we're playing."

"O_ho, _I see. One of those..." She scanned the screen some more, trying to make left and right of the dimmed pause menu.

"We can...turn this off," Aang hastily decided, resetting the system back to its home menu.

"Do you want to watch anything, Granny?" asked Korra, digging her hand into the bag she held.

"No, no, that's all right. I'd much rather see my family's faces and hear about what they're all up to..."

"Korra's gonna be moving," Jane spat out with nonchalance.

"Ehhh, we'll see," Korra quelled with a hesitant shrug, popping a broken snack into her mouth.

"Oh? Where to?"

"She might be getting a job near our school," Sokka called out from the kitchen, where Hakoda went to join him.

"Down in the states?" said Gran-Gran with some surprise. "That would be quite a big move."

"It would," Katara added. "I'm sure Grandma could give you advice, Korra, since she knows all about moving far away."

Gran-Gran took this comment in stride and went with it.

"If there's one thing I'd recommend, Korra," she said with an uplifted index, "it's that you make sure you know why you're moving before you go anywhere."

"Erm..." Korra's eyes wandered and she ate yet another pretzel.

"Moving from one place to a completely different one can be very complicated and difficult. As long as you can remember why you moved in the first place, it will always give you a base to stand on when you have to make hard decisions."

"_Mm._" Korra frowned with contemplation at the idea as she chewed, seeming to seriously ponder this.

"So, Korra, why _do _you wish to move?"

* * *

- Friday, December 24th, 2010 - Christmas Eve

"What are you drawing now?" Katara wondered, poking her head over the desk. Aang swiftly closed the notebook before she could steal a glance.

"Hey, hey! No peeking."

"Aha. It's mine, isn't it?"

"Yes. You can't see until it's done."

"All right." Katara smiled, humored by his defensive reaction.

"So, Sis," called Sokka from across the bedroom, sticking the small box in his dresser drawer. "You think she'll like it? I mean...I know she's not usually into jewelry and stuff..."

"Toph will like it just fine."

"What about the thing I got Jane?" Sokka went on. "You think she'll actually _use _it?"

"Haha, she _will_, Sokka."

"Oh, oh, and...-" He jerked his head to Aang, who was staring right at him.

"Sokka." Katara rolled her eyes and smirked, hands on her hips. "Everyone will like what you got them. OK?"

"Yea, you're probably right...But what about Suki? Oh, man, I just don't know..."

"Psh, OK, well, maybe you_ should_ be a little worried about _that _one."

"H-hey, I worked really hard on that!"

"Oh, I'm _sure _you did," Katara chuckled. "That's what scares me."

Sokka pouted at his sister's teasing and shoved his drawer shut.

"Christmastime is supposed to be about _love_ and _kindness_," he seethed with drama. "And you're just being a devil-woman."

"Aw, poor Sokka," Katara picked.

"Actually, Katara, come to think of it..." muttered Aang carefully. "That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask...How come you're being...not so nice...to your grandmother?"

"Huh?" Katara turned to him with a sheepish grimace.

"What are you so mad at her about?"

Katara bit her lip and gave her brother a nervous look.

"Don't look at _me_," Sokka grumbled, bending down to pick up some dirty laundry he'd left at the foot of his bed.

"I guess...that I just don't think she should have moved away," Katara let slip her feelings on the matter.

"She used to live around here?"

"Yea."

"Why'd she move?"

"I...guess I don't really know, come to think of it..."

"Knowing _you_," said Sokka, tossing a dirty sock into his hamper, "that's probably part of the reason you're mad - because you don't understand why."

"Yea," Katara sighed in recognition of herself. "It just...makes me mad how after Mom died, she could just...leave Dad alone like that - her own _son - _and then not even come visit him for so long..."

"Katara, Gran-Gran has devoted, like..._geez_...decades of her life to Dad. I think she deserves some freedom in her old age."

"I guess...but...Dad's all alone. I mean, who does _she _have out in...Nova _Scotia_?"

"Maybe that's the point," theorized Sokka, sitting down on her bed. "Maybe she just wants to keep to herself in her later years. You've never wanted that? To keep to yourself for a while?"

Katara's eyes bulged with confusion.

"_No,_" she blurted. "Never. Why would anyone want to be alone?"

"Ha." Sokka shrugged and shook his head. "Everyone needs some time to themselves, Sis. I'm sure even you do."

"I know it might seem like she's abandoning you in a way," Aang conceded. "But you shouldn't hold that against her. She's your family and I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt anyone. Like Sokka said...she's a grandma. And I mean, come on...you two are just about grownups by now. She's put in her time. Don't you think?"

Katara plopped down beside her brother and took a deep breath.

"Maybe you two are right..."

"Damn, I am _liking _this whole...-" Sokka gestured his finger vaguely at Katara. "-...you..._listening _to me and chilling out..._thing. _You've been doing it a lot this week. Keep that up and we're gonna just get along swimmingly."

"Sokka. We _already _get along _'swimmingly_,' shut up." Katara smirked competitively.

"Seriously, you've been getting better, don't let ol' Granny keep you down. She doesn't deserve it, and you don't need it."

"OK, OK," Katara continued to concede. "I'll try..."

"'Atta girl." Sokka slapped her on the back.

Aang stared at them over his shoulder with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"Katara, I can't finish your Christmas present if you're still _here, _and it's Christmas Eve. Come on," he groaned with exaggeration. "Gotta get this done, right?"

"Heheh, all right, fine." She rose from the bed and waved them off with a prissy remark. "I get the hint: I'm just not wanted."

"This is the boys' room," Sokka announced. "No girls allowed, remember? Stop breakin' the rules."

"Behave yourselves," his sister mocked as she shut the door behind her.

"So how's it comin' along?" Sokka asked in a hushed voice, leaning over. Aang showed him the work in progress. "Oh, frickin' _sweet, _it's got four arms and crap? _Nice._"

* * *

"No, it's OK, Dad," Katara insisted quietly. "I'm over it. I'm sorry..." She took a moment to soak in the oldies music pouring from the living room's stereo set.

"I'm glad to hear it. It's all right." Hakoda extended his hand. "How about we forget all about it and you give your old man a dance, like old times?"

A smile found its way onto Katara's face as she accepted and slowly trotted across the tile floor with her father to the familiar, smooth-singing Christmas song.

["~I'm dreamin' of a white Christmas~with every Christmas card I write~"]

"Is that Bing Crosby?" Toph chirped from the living room.

["~May your days be merry and bright~And may all your Christmases be white~"]

"Eh, he ain't no Freddie Mercury, but he's got a sexy enough voice about him," she admired casually, seemingly to herself.

"Gag me," Korra mumbled. "I can't stand this old-fashioned stuff."

"Got a problem with the classics?"

"Meh. Just not my thing. I care about what's new, what this generation's into, I guess."

"Ew. So all that club-thumping dub step and shit?"

"Sure. I guess."

"Not really a music person, are you?"

"Ha, nope. I have to listen to whatever's on all day at work, I guess I just learn to tune most of it out."

"You sad, sad, person. C'mon, Granny Kesuk," Toph vied for support cocking her head over, "tell her what's what. She oughtta respect the old stuff, doncha think?"

Gran-Gran laughed and slapped her knee with a feeble arm.

"But she doesn't have to _like _the 'old stuff.' In my experience, sometimes it's not healthy to cling onto what was. It might stop you from appreciating what's yet to come."

"But come _on, _they just don't make music like they used to..."

"Of course not," Gran-Gran agreed slyly agreed. "Why should they? We'd be stuck in a rut. No one wants that."

Toph frowned and picked her finger in her ear, sprawled across the couch with one leg crossed over the other.

"Good point, old lady." Toph clenched her fist and whispered to herself, "You win this round...but the war rages on." Korra, who was within earshot of this comment, stared down at the blind girl with an off-put expression.

"What was that, Dear?" wondered Toph's 'opponent.'

"Nothing!" Toph sweetly replied.

Korra shook her head with a mixture of amusement and confusion as her glance turned to the kitchen. She watched her cousin and uncle wearing wide and warm smiles dance together and ignored the part of her that envied their connection.

Jane came back from the bathroom and listened to the song for a moment.

"Oh, heh. Damn, this'll be my first white Christmas in a _long _time," she observed.

"Huh?" Korra gave her a curious glance.

"Janey-Jane's from _Tehksuss,_" Toph explained with an exaggerated accent, rocking her foot back and forth.

"Heh, guess what they say is wrong, then," remarked Korra.

"What's that?" Jane wondered with suspicion.

"Everything _ain't _bigger there, 'cuz you're a fuckin' _shrimp_!"

Jane groaned and rolled her eyes at the joke. Wait, what? Even the old _lady _was laughing? What the hell? For one God damned day, could people stop rubbing in her face that she was a twig? She got the point the fiftieth time.

"Whatever, I'm just sayin', we don't get a lotta snow where I'm from."

"Bet you're damned sick of it by now," Korra guessed.

"_Christ, _I sure am," deplored Toph with a huff.

"I like it," Jane admitted. "Not sick of it yet. Somethin' about the cold...I dunno. I enjoy it."

"Nice," Korra gave a redeeming nod. "Not too often I see someone from the states who feels that way.

"I'm not like most people..."

"By the way, what are Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum doin' upstairs still, anyways?"

"I dunno, Dead-Eyes. I heard some kinda techno music or some crap. And shouting. And I think an explosion?"

"Gah, probably more stupid internet stuff."

"Probably."

"So, Granny Kesuk," Toph wondered as Jane passed through to the kitchen. "Has Sokka _always _been into all this dumb, nerdy stuff?"

"Heheh...Oh, yes. Always." She spread her teeth. "Star Wars, Lord of the Rings...all of these...strange Asian things. You know, I recall this one Christmas where he asked for cards. Lots and lots of cards. But not _normal _cards - oh no, that would've been too simple and easy - these strange collector's cards, with elves, and wizards and monsters all over them."

"_Ha, _sounds like Sokka to me," Korra scoffed.

"Whoa, whoa, _seriously? _Sokka was into trading card games?" Toph flashed a mischievous look.

"He was incredibly particular about them for quite some time," Gran-Gran went on. "It astounded me how much it cost just to get the right ones for him. I mean..._really_...they're just cards. Pieces of paper with pictures on them."

"Heh, to each their own," Toph slyly countered. "Wouldn't want your grandson stuck playing Old Maid and Go Fish forever, right? Gotta let him try out the _new _stuff. Eh?"

"Haha...Well-played, Dear," Gran-Gran saw through Toph's remark and

Katara came whizzing through the living room, beaming with anticipation.

"Where you...-?" Jane made to follow her but stopped with a shrug.

"Sokka! Aang!" Katara called. "_Guys! _It's time to hang the ornaments on the tree!"

"Oh?" Jane turned to Hakoda.

"You're about to see one of the most honored Kesuk family traditions."

"Aha..." Jane nodded to him slowly, digging her hands in her pockets.

"Meh, I'll stay right here, if you guys don't mind," grumbled Toph.

"Haha, that's perfectly fine, Toph," Hakoda assured with some sympathy. "Is there perhaps a holiday favorite of yours I can put on?"

"Oh, a song request?" Toph's face contorted through the decision-making process in a split-second. "How about O Come Emmanuel?"

"Sure thing." Hakoda adjusted the CD's around while Katara and the boys came downstairs.

"So, _Snoozles_," Toph was quick to taunt from her relaxed position on the couch. "Your Granny was just telling us about your _card _collection?"

"What?" Sokka raised a brow before realization struck. "Oh, heh, you mean my Magic cards?"

"Magic?" Aang mumbled with uncertainty.

"Yea, yea. Magic: The Gathering. Ya know? The card game?"

"Hm...Think I've heard of it."

"The hell is _that_?" Toph grunted.

"Uhhh, _well, _I'd show you, but, eh...that'd kinda be pointless. Sorry, Gimpy."

"Pff. Yea, well...it's probably retarded, anyway."

"It's really good. I'd still play it if I had someone to play it _with._"

"Well, you should show _me_ some time," Aang offered.

"You got it. Maybe tomorrow."

"Wait, you still _have _your cards?" Jane asked with doubt. "The ones your Grandma got when you were a kid?"

"Hell _yea, _I still have 'em!" Sokka boasted. "Hello? Freckles, _geez, _by now you oughtta realize I _keep _the things I get, because I only ever ask for awesome things." He raised his brows cockily.

"If by 'awesome' you mean geeky as all hell, then _sure,_" Jane ribbed back.

"Well, I'm glad that my efforts are still appreciated, then," said Gran-Gran with some surprise.

"For sure, Gran-Gran! I still have, like, _everything _you've ever gotten me for Christmas."

"Heheh." The elder nodded with a smile.

The mystic Christmas hymn Toph had asked for began playing, and the blind girl breathed out peacefully.

"Everyone ready to decorate the tree?"

"Everyone?" Aang was at a loss.

"Uh, _yea, _you're helping, Aang," Katara encouraged, digging through the box of ornaments. "This is a family tradition, after all."

Aang shed a bashful smile and watched Katara sift through the relics.

"Here, Sokka, take yours." She stuck out an arm holding a plastic container with his name written on it. he swiped it from her. Katara divied up the ornaments - some for her father, some for herself, some for Gran-Gran. She gave pause at the last container and looked up to Aang with glowing eyes. She lifted up the final package of ornaments, labeled like the rest with black marker set on yellowed masking tape.

{**Kya**}

"Here, guys...I'll split these up for you." While Sokka went about hanging his ornaments, Katara heard Toph humming the mystical melody playing in the background and hesitated. "Toph," she called. "You sure you don't want to hang a couple?"

"Hate to break it to you, Sweetness, but I'd probably poke my eye out on a tree branch before I managed to hang one up. Not like it'd make a _difference_, but...Just sayin'."

"Well, it's...-" Katara stopped herself and bobbed her head to the side. "OK. I just don't want you to feel left out."

"Seriously, I'm good," Toph comforted with amusement.

"All right, well...Jane, you, too."

Jane shuffled over, bony hands still in her jean pockets while Katara plucked out a blue ornament with a waterfall hand-painted on its surface.

"Here, Aang, you hang this one."

"Whoa," whispered Aang. "Are these...your mom's?"

"Yea, they are."

"Gee, uh...Thanks. It's an honor."

"Haha, they're...Christmas ornaments, Aang," Katara dissolved, though he could tell that it was a big deal to her, too. "Here, Jane, you take this one." Jane accepted the styrofoam ball like the antique it was. It had a strap of red ribbon that stuck out on top, with a small round bell attached at the bottom. Jane jiggled it to hear it jingle and rotated it, carefully observing the messy child's writing that spelled out a word in green paint.

{M_O_**M**}

Jane smirked.

"Cute. You make this?"

Katara blushed slightly as Aang stuck the waterfall ornament up behind her.

"Yea, when I was seven."

"Ain't that just freakin' adorable?" Jane dryly remarked.

The following few minutes were a cozy, humble affair of somber hymnal singing in the background while light jokes were made concerning the various ornaments hung. Korra was given some of Hakoda's to hang, her favorite being an old beer can, one she herself had given him a couple of years back as a makeshift ornament. Jane wouldn't let Sokka live down his yellow Power Ranger ornament, to which he had to defend that she was the "cutest" and thus the one he liked most. This comment seemed to overlook Jane's intent in picking on him about it in the first place. Aang was endeared by the Winnie The Pooh ornament that Katara hung up last, the chubby character wearing a Santa cap.

"We don't get to see you much, Korra," said Hakoda as he pulled out what was perhaps the oldest piece in their collection: an aged tree-topper star. "You should hang the last one up." The plastic gold star was set around a clear sphere which housed a nativity scene in the style of a stained glass painting. The topper had a plug that trailed around the back. Hakoda plugged it in for her and gently handed it over. She stared at it with wide eyes for a second.

"Isn't it supposed to spin?" she mumbled in recollection as the light turned on inside the center.

"The bulb will heat up soon, and the heat will make it rotate," Hakoda deciphered its technology for her.

"Wow, that's pretty neat," Aang awed.

Korra cautiously set it atop the tree, adjusting it to ensure it wouldn't fall over.

The group stood back and studied their handiwork while Hakoda clicked at the stereo buttons with a grin until the proper song played.

["~Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh, Christmas Tree~Of all the trees, most lovely~"]

"Oh, brother," Toph laughed.

"The right song for the right time," Hakoda insisted.

Katara nudged her elbow into Aang's rib as she whispered to him.

"He _always _makes sure we listen to this song after we decorate it..."

"Nothing wrong with tradition," Aang concluded with a smile.

"All right, time to break out the eggnog and cookies!" Sokka cried with glee, rubbing his palms together as he made his way for the kitchen. Toph overwrote the lyrics of the song playing for her own.

"Oh, eggnog, please, Oh, eggnog please~Make me some freak-ing eggnog~!"

Aang came around the couch and flicked a finger at her nose. She yelped and flinched up her arms in defense. He took advantage of her weakness and poked her in the stomach, only to giggle as her arms moved down. He continued to poke at various places until she began swatting her hands out at him, opting to try offense rather than defense.

"Not liking this game!" she growled playfully as she continued to endure pokings despite her efforts.

Katara chuckled at their interaction and drummed her fingers along her arm thoughtfully.

"She's sure doin' better today, huh?" Jane murmured underneath the racket.

"Yea, I think everyone is." Katara rubbed Jane's back twice and nodded to herself. "I was worried this moment wouldn't be...the way it's supposed to. But it is. You know?"

Jane shrugged, not entirely sure what Katara meant.

"Whatever you say, Kat."

"Heehee, I meant, like...Here we are, Christmas Eve, the tree's hung up, we're about to all...settle in for the evening, and everything...And everyone's_ happy_. Everything feels..._right. _Like a proper Christmas."

"Oh. Well...yea. Didn't see _that _coming with the way things were going before."

"Exactly!" Katara gave her friend a victorious wink. "The Christmas Spirit conquers all!"

"_Psh. _Yea, O_kay_, there, Sugar-Plum Fairy."

"Come on, Jane. Even _you _are feeling all warm and fuzzy, I can see it in those brooding eyes."

"Oh, I'll be feelin' warm and fuzzy, all right, once we get your cousin to spike my eggnog."

* * *

**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14  
White Christmas, Bing Crosby  
**

**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=DPHh3nMMu-I  
O Come, O Come Emmanuel as performed by Enya  
**

**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=9_3ngTHs6gA  
O Christmas Tree  
**

**christmastreetoppersforsale(dot)com/uncategorized/bradford-christmas-star-revolving-nativy-tree-topper/  
Here's the type of tree topper. You can imagine that some of the ornaments - specifically, this one - are inspired by real-life ones my family has. Some aren't at all, though. ;) But this tradition certainly is real, and it's pretty much the only one my family has ever had. I will certainly be emulating it when I have a family of my own.  
**

**And yes, I am making a bit of allegory about the upcoming Legend of Korra series with Gran-Gran's remark about "old and new." ;) It's silly to assume that just because something's new it will be inferior to the old. It'll be different, at the very least, and that's not inherently bad.**


	49. Twinkly

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 49 - Twinkly  
_

* * *

- Saturday, December 25th, 2010 - Christmas

Katara's eyes creaked open as trickles of morning sunlight poured inbetween her window's shutters. She blinked at the dust particles drifting through the calming sprinkle of rays and yawned deeply, stretching out her legs and flexing her toes. She was careful not to budge her right shoulder too much, as a warm ball of orange fur was planted over it. Katara carefully squirmed out from under her friend's head, smirking at Jane's agape mouth as her face sunk into the pillow with a snort. As she slid out from under the covers, she wrapped her arms across herself and shivered. She exchanged her socks for padded, wool ones and threw on an ugly but warm winter sweater from her closet. It had the general shape of a reindeer knitted into its material with abstract lines around in an assortment of colors that baffled. An old floorboard beneath the carpet creaked from her weight as she crossed over it, and Toph stirred a bit from a few feet away, pulling the sleeping bag over her head. Katara breathed out, expecting a cloud of vapor, but was thankful that she didn't see one. That meant someone else must've already turned the heat on. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand: [**9:48am**].

Downstairs was quiet and serene, the dim sunlight passing through the windows. The tree was sparkling with all of its lights on, a batch of presents nestled underneath. Korra was in a lump on the couch like usual, while Hakoda was in the kitchen, Aang sitting on one of the stools at the counter that divided it from the living room.

"Good morning," Katara greeted them.

"Merry Christmas," said Aang with a yawn.

"Ha. You, too."

"You guys sleep well?" asked Hakoda, spreading some cherry preserves on toast.

"Bleh," Aang sputtered.

"Sorry, Bud." Katara rubbed his back gently. "_I_ slept all right."

"We're going to need to get everyone up soon," Hakoda advised. "Bato will be here soon with a certain _package_." Hakoda said in a hushed voice to his daughter while he gave Aang the light breakfast snack he'd prepared.

"A_ha_," Katara knowingly replied. "All right. I'll go wake the girls in a few minutes."

"Do you want some toast, as well?"

"Yes, please."

A few minutes of small talk later, more toast was ready for more housemates, and Katara had managed to drag the girls out of bed while Aang was struggling to get Sokka up.

"Sokka, come on. Gotta get up. Christmas-time. Presents."

"Yea, _come on, _Snoozles!" Toph shouted from the hall. "Get your ass outta bed!" she teased.

While Jane trudged downstairs, Katara left Toph in the hall for a moment to assist Aang.

"Here, I'll show ya a trick," she said with mischief, reaching out her hands and wedging her fingers into her brother's armpits. His body tightened and squirmed, holding back snickers. "That's right, get _up_," Katara taunted. Sokka suddenly burst out a laugh, popped open his eyes and breathed out a plea for her to stop. "There ya go, Aang. I give you permission to abuse this in the future," Katara slyly advised her friend as she headed back out of the room and led Toph down.

"Whyyyyyy?" Sokka gasped desperately, clutching at his sides with a yawn.

"Haha, that's what happens when you won't wake up, I guess," Aang picked. "And _I _won't be afraid to use this power, either."

"Grrraaahhh..."

As the girls traversed the stairs, Jane stood in the living room, gawking at Korra with some surprise. The young woman was stretching from her spot on the couch, wearing a white t-shirt with a red Canadian maple leaf on it. Jane couldn't help but notice Korra's shockingly muscular arms - she'd not seen her friends' cousin in anything but a long-sleeved shirt until now. Korra was pretty ripped to backup her boasts of being so tough. Jane found herself envious. Her muscles weren't what they had once been, and even at her leanest, she had never had such toned biceps on her own stickly limbs.

"What?" Korra grumbled with a grouchy frown at Jane's staring.

"Heh." Jane crossed her arms. "You awake yet?"

"Bah." Korra tossed her arm, scratching the back of her head. Her brown hair was in a hundred directions and she had dark bags under her eyes. "Merry fuckin' Christmas," she bid Jane with a snarky smile.

"Pff. Yea, you, too," Jane laughed. As Katara and Toph entered the living room, Jane shook her head at Katara. "Where did you get _that thing?_" she asked, pointing to Katara's chest.

"Huh? _Oh._" Katara shrugged and offered a humored smile. "Uh, yea, Uncle Bato got this for me a couple years ago."

"That man has _quite _some taste," said Hakoda, walking through. "By the way, ladies, there's some toast and jam in the kitchen, feel free to help yourselves." He nodded to Katara. "I'm going to go wake your grandmother."

"Sure thing."

"Oh_, man_," Toph cried, rubbing her stomach. "I'm freakin' _starving_..."

"Haha, let's go get you some food, then."

"Food. I heard it, someone said food."

"Sorry, Sokka, no meat yet," Aang eased him as they descended. "But that cherry jam is really good. I've never had it before."

"Oh, cool. I forgot we still had some of that...It'll have to make due for now."

"We'll have a proper meal after presents," assured Hakoda. "Bato will be showing up in a little bit, so we need to be ready."

"_Oh right_," Sokka whispered, wide-eyed. A childish glee spread over his face, and Aang raised his brow. While Sokka cupped a hand over Aang's ear and gave a short explanation, Toph was crunching down her toast.

"Haha, hey, careful, you're gonna get crumbs all over...-" Katara gave up with an amused sigh as Toph didn't heed her any mind, making a mess of her food, licking sticky preserves from her fingers when she was done. While she smacked her lips together with a satisfied grin, she flinched at Katara's calm hands sweeping crumbs from her sweatpants and sweatshirt. In her tending to her friend, she noticed the girl's bare toes were pink. "Aren't your feet cold?" she worried.

Toph shrugged.

"Maybe a little, I dunno."

"Um...Do you...want _socks?_"

"Nah, I'm good."

"I'm...going to go get you some socks, you goofus." Katara pushed Toph's bangs out of her face before heading upstairs. Toph lingered while the racket of the others eating filled her ears. She supposed that her feet _were _pretty chilly...

"So Twinkle-Toes," said Toph casually, standing in the middle of the living room. "You _better _not have made me a drawing, or you're dead."

"Haha..." Aang laughed off her threat, but didn't clarify.

"No son of mine is going to sleep on a chair," Gran-Gran could be heard from the stairway a moment later. "You're a hard-working man, you need your rest more than I do."

"It's fine, Mom," Hakoda put her at ease. "I'm not going to have my own mother sleeping on the floor. You can use my bed while you're here."

"If, um...If it's a problem, maybe we can let Gran-Gran borrow _my _bed?" Katara offered timidly from the base of the stairs, a pair of fresh footwear in hand.

"Now, now, you and your friend don't need to be throwing out your backs while you're still young."

"W-well, I didn't know Dad was sleeping on one of the chairs," Katara mumbled with some guilt. "I mean...-" She turned to Jane as she entered the living room. "Jane, would you be OK sleeping on the floor for a while?"

"Oh, erm..." Jane shrugged, talking quietly. "I-I don't mind, but...I mean, do we have enough blankets, and...stuff?"

"It's fine, we can just keep sharing," Katara whispered back, not wanting to let her grandmother know anyone was being inconvenienced. "I mean, if you're _OK, _I don't want you feeling weird, or...-"  
"No, nah, it's-...I'm good, things have been fine." Jane nodded quickly, pushing

"You're sure?"

"_Yea, _yea...It's cool."

"OK," Katara called back with a louder voice as she passed socks to Toph. "Here ya go," she muttered in passing before going back to her relatives. "Yea, me and Jane can crash down here."

"What about me?" Toph muttered, rubbing her hands across the socks as if to test that they were up to standards.

"Oh, w-well, there's room for all three of us, I mean...once we get the presents out from under the tree there'd be space over there for you, if you want."

"Sure, whatever works," Toph complied as she strutted forward, blindly finding the coach and plopping down.

"Thank you, Dear," Gran-Gran expressed to Katara. "I'm sorry to be so much trouble when you have company up."

"N-no, Gran-Gran, it's...totally OK. We're...heh...we're _college _students, we...have slept on the floor before. It's no big deal."

"Sokka, just so you know," Hakoda began as Sokka pulled out a banana from the fridge for his snack. "You'll probably want to leave some room in that pit of yours tomorrow."

"What's that?"

"Because your gift from me is that I'm taking you out to a proper buffet downtown."

"Downtown?"

"Found a place in Toronto. It'll be a father/son trip. Sound good to you?"

Sokka grinned wide as he peeled the banana.

"Sounds like a good present to _me!_"

"Sooo...What're we all doin'?" Toph wondered. She could hear paper crinkling straight ahead, behind where she knew the coach sat.

"Sorting stuff out," Aang explained. He hefted a long box from under the tree, taking care not to knock anything off the pine branches.

{To:_ Aang_}  
{From: _Katara_}

"Whoa, what the...-?" He was baffled by its size. Definitely wasn't something they had brought with them on the way over.

"Heh, so she really _did _get one...I don't know _what _Kat was thinking," Jane skeptically mused, scratching her chin.

Aang raised a brow to her and shrugged, passing Jane the clump of gifts labeled with her name.

"Hey, you find what I got ya yet?" Toph wondered.

"Nope, not...not yet," Aang grunted, bending down to crawl under the tree. He finally found what he'd been looking for - it had gotten pushed back. The small box wasn't wrapped but had a tag with Toph's name written on it. Aang stared at it, his expression waning with doubt for a moment. He took a deep breath and got up, trotting over to Toph. By now Katara had come back and was forcing Toph to stick pink and white striped socks on.

As he waited for Toph to finish this, he glanced at Katara with a fretful look. She smiled reassuringly back at him and nodded, gesturing him to go ahead.

"Hey, er...-" Toph was sitting on the coach at this point, wriggling her toes to test the comfort of the socks. "Here's your gift." Aang placed the box right in Toph's lap and she immediately grabbed it, touching its surface with all her fingers. She popped it open and carefully poked her index into it. Squishy padding. A split-second later, she came across a smooth, dry texture. Round. She pinched it with her pointer and thumb and carefully pulled it up from the box. It was...definitely a ring. Not metal, though. She found it most curious.

"Whoa..."

"Uh, yea, it's...-"

"Wood."

"Right. I, uh...I made it."

"You made this?"

"Heh, yea...I needed some help, but, uh...Yep. I hope it's the right size..."

Toph thumbed it with care. Its surface was smoothly sanded and pleasant to the touch. She slipped it onto her right ring finger. Its shape wasn't a perfectly circular ring, but it fit snugly.

"Feels pretty good," she observed. "Wow...This is...really neat, Twinkles."

"Cool. I'm...glad you like it."

"Why wood?"

"Huh?"

"Well, like...How come you made it from wood?"

"Oh. W-well, I mean...I wanted to give you something I made, and...I dunno. For some reason, wood seemed...like a good choice."

"Grows from the earth," Toph mused.

"Haha, yea."

"I got you something _I _made, too."

"Oh?"

"Yea...Hey, Katara, could you...-?"

"Right." Katara retrieved a square, nearly flat package and gave it to Aang. It was inscribed with Katara's handwriting, unsurprisingly.

Aang opened it up with careful curiosity, revealing a jewel case with a cover. It was a photo of Toph frowning with a Santa Claus hat pushed over her face. The title of this album read:  
{A Very Twinkly Toed Xmas}  
{_The Blind Bandit_}

Aang burst out a laugh from the unexpected bizarreness of this present.

"Jesus," Toph sighed. "I really _do _look retarded in that picture, don't I?"

Katara leaned over and Aang twisted it for her to see, still slapping his leg and snickering. Katara snorted out through her nose in humor.

"Wow, Meng did...a pretty awesome job with that cover, Toph," she complimented. "Picked the perfect picture for you."

"Yea-yea-yea, it's not about the silly cover, it's about the music," insisted Toph impatiently. "C'mon, stick it in."

"OK, OK," Katara conceded with a chuckle, popping the disc in. "Little insecure there, huh?"

"Little insecure there, _eh_," Sokka corrected as he trotted in with a half-eaten banana in hand. "Come on, Sis, we're back in Maple-Land."

["So this is an album I made for old Twinkle-Toes."]

"What the hell?" Sokka muttered, immediately glancing at Toph while the girl's voice played through the stereo.

"Toph made Aang a CD," Katara briefed him. His brows raised and he nodded with surprise.

["Aaaand...yea. I dunno."]  
["Pfffff. Tophie, you're not so good at introductions."]  
["Blah...OK, hey...I got it."]  
["Yea?"]  
["We are the Blind Bandit, and we're here to sell-out and stuff! ONE! TWO! ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR!"]

Sokka exploded a laugh and Aang, who was already giggling from the cover, joined him. Katara smiled and rolled her eyes as guitar chords were strummed out.

["~It's Christmas at ground zero, there's music in the air~The sleigh bells are ringing and the carolers are singing while the air raid sirens blare~"]  
["rrrrooooooOOOOOOooooo..."]

"What the-...? Is that _Meng _making a siren sound?" Aang blurted.

"We've got a full-on professional production goin' on here," Toph gloated.

Gran-Gran rested in the recliner and raised her frail arms, snapping her fingers and swaying slowly with a dry smile on her face.

"Granny likes it," Korra observed, still bleary eyed as she bent over to her small pile of gifts. She reached for one, only to have Hakoda rush over to stop her.

"Ah-ah, you have to open yours last," he taunted as Korra observed a huge present that looked like a potato sack of sorts.

"Whaaaat?" Korra whined. "The heck _is _this, anyway...?" She rotated a thick, disc-shaped present from Sokka.

"You'll find _out_," Sokka belittled with a wink. "Have some patience, woman."

"I ain't no _woman_."

"Ya sure aren't a _lady_," Sokka countered. "Heyoooo..."

"Now, Sokka, that's no way to talk to your cousin," Gran-Gran scolded with a sneaky chortle.

"I'm _sorry, _dearest cousin Korra," Sokka sweetly apologized with a stupid smirk. Korra punched him on the shoulder and he laughed through the pain.

"Jane, why don't you open what me and Sokka got you?" Katara offered, handing the packages over.

"Oh, um...Cool." As Jane tore them open, Aang discussed with Toph how he had never heard this song before, while she explained how it was about nuclear fallout. "Whoa..." Jane's eyes lit up as she opened the box from Katara. A pair of tall, boot-length converse greeted her - striped black and yellow. "You're shittin' me," she said with furrowed brows and a smile. "These are _rad_."

"Now you don't have to wear those gloomy big boots all the time," Katara suggested.

"Whoa, _dude, _this is too cool," Jane cried as she lifted a metal belt buckle with a fat bee on it. "Thanks, man!" she said to Sokka.

"Pretty soon every frickin' thing you wear will have bees on it, you loon," Sokka warmly replied. "Aang, here."

Aang opened his gift from Sokka to find a classy white tie with the House of Aero logo toward the bottom and elegant, swirling lines running across it, like wind.

"Whoa, this is nice," murmured Aang.

"I figured since ya gave your last tie to Shamrocks over there, you needed a new one."

"Ha, yea...Thanks."

"No problem."

While Gran-Gran and Hakoda exchanged different articles of clothing - which seemed to be the trend this year - Katara opened up her box from Toph. It contained a black hoodie with a white section down the center, two eyeballs on the sides of the hood, and a beak pattern on the hood's end.

"Oh, _wow_!" Katara gasped. "A penguin hoodie? This is _soooo cute_. Thank you, Toph!"

"Yep. Glad you dig it. I just figured you'd want something like that."

"It's perfect, I love it..." Katara went straight to work pulling off her Christmas sweater and popping the hoodie over her pajama shirt. She then examined what Jane got her. She peered into the box, Jane staring at her with keen, narrowed eyes. Katara's face went red and she closed the box immediately.

"_Jane_," she whispered with amused embarrassment.

"Whaaat?" Jane reacted with a shrug. "You like penguin stuff, don't ya?" she teased with a mischievous grin. "Now you can wear penguin stuff inside _and _out."

"You're...you're...-" Katara waggled her finger, smiling a goofy grin, but a conclusive statement never came out.

"I sure _am_," Jane dismissed with a laugh.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Sokka chirped, ripping open a familiar-shaped gift. "_Yesss. _Thank you, lovely sister. Thank you~"

"Haha, you're welcome."

"What is it?" Jane inquired.

"Only the _best film of 2010_!" Sokka decreed, stuffing the movie case at Jane boldly.

"Scott Pilgrim Versus the World?" Aang guessed.

"Ehhhh, that's so close. That's second place," Sokka admitted.

"Inception?" Jane read the case with a perplexed look.

"_Bluuuuu-Raaaayyyy_," Sokka whispered, stroking the case like an animal. "Oh, **GAWD, **brilliant...You are watching this. I am going to _make _you watch this, Freckles."

"Sure, sure, _geez_...Psycho!"

"Sokka's easy to please," Korra informed Jane, leaning against the wall behind them. "Just get him movies. Or video games."

"Get Jane bumble-bee stuff," Toph announced.

"Katara collects penguin things," Sokka bellowed, just to join in.

"I guess we're all kind of easy to get gifts for, huh?" said Katara with a shrug.

"Since when did I become the _jewelry _person?" Toph demanded, jiggling her foot in the air. A tribal-styled ankle-bracelet with small seashells was wrapped around it.

"I think that's just a coincidence," Katara decided, looking at Sokka with a smirk, for she knew what he'd gotten her, as well.

"Well, I _do _like this, it's cool," Toph offered her gratitude.

"I figured that since you like to be barefoot a lot, it might look nice on you."

"Sure..." Toph tried to act aloof, but Aang could tell that she was liking the tactile presents.

"Toph won't look as nice as _you _will when you put on what _I _got you," said Sokka with a snarky eyebrow wiggle.

"Oh, God," Katara sighed as Sokka handed her a square box. She popped it open and her jaw opened a bit. "You think I'm gonna wear _this_?"

"Why _not?_ It'll look good on you."

"What is it?" Jane asked.

Katara, shaking her head, pulled out a red and black plaid fedora and stuck it dully on her head. Sokka shoved over and pushed the hat around, tilted it at the proper angle.

"_There_ ya go, much better," he commended with a pleased nod.

"_Whoa! _Shit, Kat, that looks _awesome_!" Jane complimented, offering her friend a cat-call followed by a laugh.

"What the heck is it?" Toph asked Aang, who was gawking as Katara attempted to pose her hand over the hat and pucker her lips out theatrically, only to crumble apart into a giggle.

"Oh, it's...a fedora," Aang explained. "A very...freaky-colored one."

"Probably still works on Sugar-Queen, though."

"_Yea_, actually."

"If she can make looking like a flightless bird 'cute,' then she can probably handle...whatever it is that hat entails, heh."

"Holy _balls, _this is...heavy," Sokka grunted, pulling his gift from Toph out from beside the tree.

"Haha."

"What did you _get me, _Dead-Eyes? How'd you even get it in the house?"

"I had some help, MeatHead."

Sokka tore open the box to find a few cases of various drinks. Not normal drinks, of course.

"Daaaaang, this is _sweeeeet~_" He pulled out a can of Red Bull and a can of Monster. "Hm...Which one first?" He eyeballed each before crying out, "Rawr," and going for the Monster first.

"Just don't go fuckin' _crazy _with 'em," Toph warned. "Don't want you running naked across campus again."

"Huh?" said Hakoda with a confused and concerned look.

"Funny story," said Katara as Sokka's face went red like a tomato. "I'll tell ya later."

Aang opened his present from Jane and smiled at the new notepad, pencils, pens, and erasers.

"Hey, Jane, thanks for the art supplies, I'll totally need these for the new semester."

"Yea, I couldn't think of anything I knew you could use, so I went for that."

"Seriously, thanks."

"No big deal."

"Oh! That reminds me! All of your guys' stuff I made you!" Aang bounced up from his seat and went to his messenger bag in the corner of the room while Jane opened her present from Toph.

"What was that you were saying about _jewelry_?" Jane scoffed, lifting up a pair of skull-shaped earrings.

"Ha, I asked Katara to help me find something with skulls on it. Seemed appropriate."

"Heh, well, at least I won't be entirely black and yellow, right?" Jane observed, pushing back some hair and attaching a single earring through the small piercing in her left ear. "Whatcha think?"

"Hee, it's cute," said Katara. "But we're gonna need to trim that hair down or else no one will be able to see it." She ruffled the opposite side of Jane's head. "Gettin' shaggy."

"So...What _is _this?" Toph wondered, waving a silver-colored card in the air she'd opened. "Some kinda gift card...?"

"Oh, yea," Jane answered. "I didn't really know what you'd want, so, erm...I got you an iTunes card. There's $25 on there, I figured there was probably some kind of, like...musician you'd wanna support, or somethin'...Since you talk about that sometimes."

"Oh, cool..." Toph whapped herself in the forehead with the card. With her current state of being relatively money-less, it'd be cool to still be able to support a fellow musician. "Yea, I think I've got some ideas. Thanks."

"What duh?" Sokka spewed, staring at a cluster of tins of strong mints.

"Altoids," Jane explained. "You talk so damn much and eat so much junk...and with all those energy drinks rotting your teeth out, ya know...I figured-"  
"Heeeeyyyy."  
"Haha..."

"What's this, Katara?" Hakoda asked, holding up a leather bound journal.

"That's our journal," Katara informed.

"Oh?"

"I just thought that it'd be cool if we shared a family journal. You, me, Sokka...We pass it around and all write things in it over time. Then the next generation of Kesuks will have all of our knowledge in one place, right?"

"I see..." Hakoda opened the book and noticed the first few pages were full.

"Sokka and I already got you started," Katara explained.

{12/14/2010}  
{The semester's almost over, and I can't wait to head on vacation. Our college friends will get to come spend the break with us and it'll be a perfect time for our Dad to get to know them. When you have a Dad as amazing as we do, you can't help but want to share.}

As Hakoda read on, Aang showed Korra her drawing he'd made.

"I'm going to get these all framed for you guys when I get back on campus, he assured."

Korra stared at the serene, bold face of a polar bear, its black eyes stern and strong. It stood on all fours, noble and elegant despite its stature. The freezing arctic landscape rolled behind the beast, a mountain of ice far in the distance.

"Damn, Kid, you're pretty good," Korra muttered.

The next page had a bold warrior with fierce eyes standing atop a cliff, one greave planted on a rock. His head was covered by a leather helmet fashioned after a wolf's head, and his fur-edged cap rustled in the wind. He raised a glorious arm in the air, wielding a metal boomerang as he shouted a battle cry.

"_Whoamaigawd, _that's me!" Sokka squealed like a girl. "Freaking _baller_!" Aang laughed at his reaction and flipped to the next page.

An adorable creature stared at Katara with beady eyes, whiskers poking from its pointed snout. It stretched out its four arms - flippers, really - and waddled along.

"That's so _adorable_," Katara cooed.

"It's an otter-penguin," Aang explained. "I remembered that you said otters were your _second _favorite animal, soooo...I worked my magic. I think he turned out pretty neat."

"Oh, it's beautiful, Aang," Katara insisted. "You've gotten _better _this semester..."

"I've been drawing a _lot_."

"It shows!"

"All right, then, please don't tell me you drew me some creepy bumble-bee mishmash monstrosity," Jane pleaded as Aang turned the page.

"Nope."

Jane stared at the detailed shading of the girl in the drawing. The drawing stared back with dull-set brows but a hopeful glimmer in her eyes, hair thick but groomed, no signs of acne but face dotted with spots. She was smiling, her cheeks blushing just a little.

"You little _creeper_," Jane laughed. "You drew a portrait of _me?_ How did you...-?"

"Remember when I took that picture a few days ago?"

"Oh-_ho,_" she nudged his arm. "That's...I-I dunno, it...is awesome. I actually look fuckin' _decent_."

"Hey, you're cute, shut up," Katara scolded Jane's self-mocking comment.

"Yea, Katara's right, you have a really unique face," Aang explained.

"Oh, _that_'_s _great, that doesn't make me sound ugly, or anything..."

"No, I meant...-!"

"Haha, you can't talk with Jane from an artist's perspective," Katara warned Aang. "She's too sensitive," Katara grinned and tugged at Jane's ear, causing her to blush.

"I mean that you have a face that can send off totally different vibes, it all depends on how you frame it," Aang tried to encourage.

"So, like I said," Katara jabbed, "we chop some of that hair down a bit and then people can see that leopard-spot face better."

"Psh. Thanks," Jane sarcastically chuckled with an eye roll, looking away while her pale skin flashed pink.

"Man, you need some self-esteem boostin', army girl," Korra sighed. "Lemme show ya how it's done." She glowered over Aang, knuckles on her hips, eyes narrowed. "So, Aang - Short Stuff...Am I hot, or what?"

"Errrmmm..." Aang's face went pale as he grimaced, more from fear at her beefy biceps than anything else.

"Fuckin' _right, _I am!" Korra cawed, smacking him on the back. "Jane, ya gotta _own _your look. Ya get what I'm sayin'?"

"Whatever," Jane huffed, not appreciating the limelight being shoved in Korra's direction. It was easy for _her _to make it seem so simple. She was clearly on the 'woman' end of the biological spectrum with curves and bosom and even fucking _muscle _to match. Jane was a twig who had to take pills to remind her body that it was a girl, much less a 'woman.' Damnit all...

"_Hey, _now," Toph snipped, leaning her head over the coach's spine. "I know lil' Twinkle-Toes here is a stud-muffin and all, but hey, back off, sisters, he's _mine_."

Korra frowned at this remark, clearly not so keen on such a comment given the recent history involved, while Katara smiled weakly and Jane nodded in approval, slapping Aang on the shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry, there, Gimpy, Aang's more _man _than I think I can handle," Jane joked. Aang shook his head dubiously at their picking, pushing his bangs so they slicked to one side, and Katara gave him a quick side-squeeze before dragging over the large present she'd gotten for him as Gran-Gran tried on large, puffy ear-muffs from Katara.

"Here." Katara scooted the gift along the carpet to Aang.

"Oh, right, super-huge-weird present," Aang reminded himself. He was picked on for having trouble opening the box but when all was said and done he managed to pull out...

"A _skateboard?_" Aang studied the device as if it were a pinup magazine. He rolled a wheel and smiled as it spun. He admired the design on top - black with a large blue arrow pointing forward. "Oh, _sweet, _the college logo..."

"I painted that on there for you," Katara told him with some pride. "You like it?"

"Whoa, whoa, since when was Aang a boarder?" Korra called foul.

"W-well, I'm...I'm not," Aang admitted. "I just...kinda was always curious about it, but...just never got around to getting a skateboard."

"You remember back in the spring?" Katara pointed to him, straightening the fedora on her head. "You said how skateboarding always looked cool to you, and if you _had _one, you'd learn how."

"Y-yea, I-...That _does _sound familiar..."

"So now you have an excuse to go out and get some exercise when it gets warm out."

"Totally! Thanks, Katara...I'll definitely use this...For sure."

Katara could see his eyes spark with a bit of ambition as he marveled at the gift. Maybe picking up a hobby like this could help him shake off some of this 'not-manly-enough' nonsense he let cling to him.

"Whoa, pretty spiffy," Toph congratulated her boyfriend. "Gonna have to watch out, you're gonna tear it up on campus when all the damn snow melts, right?"

"What do we have left?" Sokka scooped up the last two gifts that weren't Korra's.

"Hey, Toph," Sokka lightly bopped her in the head with the box before stuffing in her hands. She scowled at his brutality and opened it. Another jewelry case.

"_Christ, _what's giving you guys the idea I'm a jewelry person?" She pretended to be offended, but her lips hung open when she reached the actual piece - it was long, a string composed of many pieces. They had straight-cut edges, but the sides of each stone had a rough, gritty texture. It was unlike any other stone she'd ever felt. "_Whoa, _dang, what is this, some _space _rock or something?"

"Haha, I _wish," _chuckled Sokka. "That's a bracelet made from _volcanic rock._"

"Straight from the source," Toph observed with an impressed smile. "I dig it. 'Kay, let's slap this sucker on..." She felt the edges and found the clasps, then tried to wrap it around her left wrist. It was entirely too large. "Uhhh...Hey, Snoozles, did ya pick up one made for football players by mistake?"

"Oh, heheh, naw, Toph, you're, uh-...It doesn't go there."

"Say what, now?"

Sokka hesitated, but reached out and took the bracelet with care, slinging it around Toph's upper arm and connecting it.

"Damn, this thing...feels _awesome_," Toph squeaked, tightening her fists. "I feel like, even more bad-ass than usual now! With all this bling I've got goin' on."

"You _look _a bit more bad-ass," Sokka acknowledged, stroking his goatee as he squinted at her arm critically. "I do believe I've contributed my superior fashion intellect to _all_ of you today."

"What does that make _this, _a fuckin' tiara?" Korra joked, holding up the present from earlier.

"Ah, right, Bato's waiting outside," Hakoda muttered to himself, closing the journal he had been reading and slipping into a pair of boots as he fled out the front door.

"Last one's for Katara," said Sokka. "It's from Dad."

"Oh. Hm." After discovering the gift, Katara held it up in the air by its long chain for all to see. It was a rustic, polished pocket watch with an embossed lighthouse on its front.

Jane whistled in awe. "Wow, classy stuff."

"Whoa, is that an antique?" Aang wondered.

"I...I don't know," said Katara.

"That was your _other _grandmother's," advised Gran-Gran with a sage finger. "Your father found it when he was doing some summer cleaning."

"What is it?"

"It's a pocket watch, Dead-Eyes," Sokka explained, humored by her constant inquiries.

Katara pressed the button on top to pop it open, studying the old mechanism at work, ticking the second hand along its axis of roman numerals.

"It's...gorgeous," Katara murmured with delight. Jane smiled at the childish glow in Katara's eyes. She pictured Katara in her black slacks, blouse, denim vest, wearing that odd fedora she had on, her wooden relic pipe in her mouth, suitcase in one hand, checking the time on this watch in the other. At least now it all added up - Katara collected old relative heirlooms.

"Now all ya need's a monocle and you'll be set," Jane teased.

"Huh?"

"With all the other stuff you've got, I mean. Old man stuff."

"Oh, _ha, _yea, I...guess it's kind of a style I like, huh?"

"Because _that's _not weird at all. Old-Man Style."

"Not as weird as a bumble-bee fetish."

"Uhhhh, you did _not _just go there."

"Pretty sure I did."

"I will punch you," Jane threatened devilishly, balling her fist.

The front door was suddenly flung open and Hakoda and Bato entered.

"All right, Korra, front and center!" Hakoda commanded.

"Psh. Yes, _Sir_." Korra came up to them as Bato followed inside, greeting everyone with enthusiasm. He held in his hand a large box with metal grating - the kind one carries pets in. Korra's eyes bulged wide at this sight, and she glared at Hakoda with an incredulous expression.

"Remember when we stopped by town a while back?" Hakoda explained as the rustling of newspaper could be heard from inside the cage. "Well, heh...We knew you were feeling a bit lonely by yourself, so...we thought it was only sensible to get a companion for my lonely niece."

"No _way_," Korra mumbled with disbelief, slapping a hand on her forehead. "No fuckin' _way_..."

"Oh, yes. Very 'way.'" Bato set the box down as a tiny bark escaped. Gasps and 'Awww's' filled the room.

"That sounds like a dog," Toph cried out, eager to express her vicarious excitement.

"Well? Aren't ya gonna meet her?" Bato taunted. "Shouldn't leave her waiting any longer, she's been a patient little lady this whole time for you."

Korra spun around, hand still stuck to her forehead with shock as she stared at the rest of the group. She smiled sheepishly at them - the first time either Aang or Jane had seen such a look on her face. She whirled back around and unlatched the door. She yelped out in surprise as the infant dog raced out, nearly making a dash for the crowd by the tree. Korra scooped up the precious pet with both hands and held her up in strong arms. The creature had pure white fur and bright blue eyes.

"What kind of dog is it?" Katara asked.

"A Husky," Korra breathed with awe, trying to contain the critter as she squirmed around. "I always wanted one when I was a kid, but...-"

"Never too late to make a friend," said Hakoda, petting the puppy on the head as it gawked about curiously, confused at its captivity. Korra seemed equally perplexed as to what to do with the fledgling animal, and opted to try rubbing her palm across its head. It pressed down its paws into her bosoms and leaned forward as she grimaced from the claws scratching. Some frantic licks across Korra's face and all was forgiven.

"So what's this new friend's name?" Aang wondered.

"Er, sooo...-" Korra rubbed her cheeks on her shoulders to get saliva off and gazed into the energetic eyes of this companion. "We're gonna call you 'Naga.'"

"An appropriately odd but awesome name," Jane laughed. She seemed to be surrounded by people with strange names. Why wouldn't the dog have one, too?

"Makes me think of snakes," Katara muttered to herself out of nowhere.

"So, er...Is she, like, potty trained...and stuff...?" Korra wondered with some fear.

"More or less," Bato decided. "We've had a few weeks with her to get it out of her system, aaaand...all over the carpet a few times, haha."

"Can't _believe _you guys," Korra grumbled with embarrassment. "I'm not _five, _I'm _twenty_-five..."

"And it's something you've always wanted," Hakoda reminded.

"No day but today," Toph chimed out.

Sokka shook his finger at his cousin.

"You _are _always complaining about how lonely you are..."

"_Whaaat_? That's not..._complaining_, that's...-"  
"Do we _need _to pull up your Facebook and show you what I'm talkin' about?"

Korra glowered at Sokka with disdain, her pride chipped, as she carried her new pet over to the trio of presents in her name. Things immediately added up. She didn't even need to open them: a dish for food was the disc-shaped one, a bag of dogfood the huge, heavy one, and...probably a leash? Something like that for the last. Naga yelped out with eager energy, pushing her legs out, so Korra sunk to her knees to let the puppy roam.

"All right, _geez_, there ya go..."

As Naga raced across the living room like a sugar-buzzed child, Korra got back up and bashfully hugged her biological uncle and makeshift one.

"Thanks, guys..."

"Glad you came for Christmas this year, _eh_?" said Bato. "I'd say it's a_boot _time ya got yer own pet."

Korra snorted out a laugh at his exaggerated accent.

"Just _aboot,_" she sarcastically replied.

"I can hear a puppy," Toph cried. "But it is not in my lap for to petting. Theez eez prohblem."

As Naga lost interest in Katara and went over to Aang, he scratched behind her ears and picked her up, carrying her over to Toph while Katara dialed the volume up on the stereo, which had been toned to a near mute level for presents.

["~From his beard to his boots he was covered with ammo~Like a big, fat, drunk, disgruntled Yuletide Rambo~"]

"You gotta get off the couch," he advised, to which Toph immediately slid onto the floor. Aang set the animal in Toph's lap and she laughed maniacally.

Sipping at his energy drink, Sokka glanced around the room, nodding to himself.

"I'd say that went well."

"Yea," Katara agreed.

["~And he smiled as he said with a twinkle in his eye~'Merry Christmas to all - now you're_ all gonna_ **_DIE_**!'~"]

"Wow, Taters, you sound...a _little_ too excited singing this song."

"Heehee..."

"That look...isn't making you look any less crazy."

* * *

"Sounds like...uh...quite a time."

["Ha, you could say that."]  
["May-May. _Maaayyyy_-May."]  
["What's _that, _Tom-Tom? Huh?"]

"Haha, is he showing you his new toys?"

["Yea. That, emm...looks like a...fire truck."]  
["Ffyyy-tuck."]  
["Right. Yea."]  
["Voom."]  
["Uh-_huh. _Hey, Tom-Tom, Big Sister's on the phone right now, OK?"]  
["May-May fone."]  
["Yea. Go show Daddy that fire truck."]  
["Daddy fyy-tuck?"]  
["Right. Mm-hm."]  
["Voom!"]

Zuko was smiling wide at the sound of this interaction. Mai seemed to become three times more patient when dealing with her little brother. He wondered what he needed to do to get such luck.

"So I'm going to guess he's doing pretty well."

["Yea, he's a little loopy from cookies,"] Mai laughed. ["But how are things over there?"]

"Oh, they're...eh. You know. They're all right."

["_Just _all right?"]

"I don't know. It's kind of awkward. Azula's on the phone with our father."

["_Oh. _I can...see how that'd be kind of weird."]

"She seems annoyed that I won't talk with him."

Mai sighed.

["Zuko, don't let her push you around. You have pretty good reason to not talk with him."]

"I know. I think...that Azula understands, she's just...being _her._"

["Heh, yea, I know what you mean..."]

"But, anyway, so...I have some good news."

["Oh?"]

"I got an e-mail from the President a couple days ago. He wants to put me in charge of a new project."

["Huh? What _kind _of project?"]

"Well, he...wasn't very clear, I'm waiting to hear back, but...some kind of, like...recreation..._thing._"

["Whhhow, so very specific."]

"Ha, yea, I-...Like I said, it doesn't make much sense yet. But I guess he said he really liked how I was campaigning for unity across all the dorms, you know? He told me he thought I'd be the right man for the job. So, I'm guessing it must have something to do with that. Or something?"

["Hm. Yea, that could be kind of interesting, I'm sure. Well, congrats, Zuko. That's pretty cool, it sounds like the President sees what _I_ do in you."]

Zuko laughed nervously through his nose. "Thanks, Mai."

"ZuZu, are you done yammering with girlfriend?"

"Aaaand there she goes..."

["I'm not sure who has it worse off - me being a babysitter or _you _being baby-_sat_."]

"Very funny."

["You have a Merry Christmas, Zuko. I'll talk to you soon."]

"Yea, you, too. Love you."

["Love you, too."]  
[_Click._]

"What did you need, Azula?"

"You know, Father is very disappointed that his own _son _refuses to speak with him on Christmas."

"Good, let him be 'disappointed.' Kind of an understatement considering how I feel about _him._"

"So incorrigible," Azula muttered under her breath. "Regardless, Uncle is about to hurt himself trying to set up that gourmet coffee maker you got him. And why did you get him a _coffee _maker, anyway? You _know _he's a 'tea person.'"

"Iroh likes coffee, too," Zuko affirmed following Azula into the hall. "Just because he likes one doesn't mean he can't like the other."

"It just seems pointless to me," Azula dismissed.

"Why are you so snippy today all of a sudden?"

"What was that?"

"I mean, as snippy as you _usually _are. You've been kind of relaxed all week."

"Hmph. Well, I have a real business to tend to, not some mock politics. So when something goes wrong it falls to me to resolve it."

"Something went wrong at work?"

"You're the one who didn't want to be involved with it, so I'll spare you the burden."

"Uh...O_kay, _then..." Zuko and shrugged, letting it roll off.

"Aha, there you are, Nephew," said Iroh as they entered his kitchen. "I fear I may ruin my drink here..."

"Oh. Haha, no, no, Uncle, you...have to put the little cups-...See, these are the flavor for the drink, right?"

"Mm-hm..."

"You just put these in this compartment here, and then the machine makes it into coffee." Zuko prepared the device in a few seconds and had it start running while his phone vibrated.

"My, that's...much more simple than I expected," Iroh chuckled at his own ignorance. "Technology makes things so easy these days..."

"Heh...It makes some things more difficult, actually," Zuko muttered with a shrug as he pulled out his phone, still shaking.

[**Incoming call...**]  
[**FATHER**]  
[Ignore]

* * *

**A/N:**

**A lotta references in this chapter, but I wanted to point out the prominent ones. Naga is of course the animal companion Korra will have in th upcoming series. A lot of readers originally wanted Appa to be an animal, but I just didn't see it fitting right. Appa works better as a location, which is often what he served on the show. He's like a gathering point for the characters. Plus, college students often can't have pets - not in dorms, anyway. Korra, however, isn't a college student. It just made sense. So now some of you wanting to see a little bit of an animal show up, there you go.**

**Toph's arm bracelet is of course a reference to the meteor rock Sokka gave her in the series. I imagine it looking like this.**  
_**farm5(dot)static(dot)flickr(dot)com/4117/4885892999_9b76465cde(dot)jpg**_

**dragonratjewellery(dot)com/images/18%2004%202011%20IMG_1065(dot)JPG**

**As for Katara's hoodie, think...something like this, but with the "beak" toned down by a LOT, and only on the top part. =3**  
_**lookbook(dot)nu/look/1200285-Pingu**_

**Sokka was originally going to give Katara a different kind of hat, but I love fedoras myself (I wear one a lot these days), and I've played a bit of Catherine, and one of the characters has one like this.**  
_**storage(dot)siliconera(dot)com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/catherine_orlando_thumb(dot)jpg**_  
**I couldn't resist. It's totally something Sokka would get his sister, and totally something that's a bit stylish but also just a bit weird, and I think this version of Katara would wear it.**  
**And also look sexy in it. I won't deny that ulterior motive. Girls + fedoras = pretty cute.**

**I promise that Weird Al covers do not make the entirety of Toph's album. =P But two are, so just use your imagination and imagine guitar covers of them. xD**  
_**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=t039p6xqutU&ob=av3e**_  
_**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=HTGlUMvbhSw**_

**The past couple of chapters are starting to allude to things that will be tying together a lot of questions people have had, so I'm excited to start rolling out those ideas as things come around. I wanted to include New Year's in this chapter, but it came out longer than I thought, probably the longest single scene in the history of the story so far. So by the end of Chapter 50 the story will officially have hit 2011 territory. ;)**


	50. Auld Lang Syne

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 50 - Auld Lang Syne  
_

* * *

- Sunday December 26th, 2010 -

"Urgh, it just...makes me so _mad_..." Katara slammed her car door closed with a huff. Aang shrugged from the passenger seat.

"So just don't let them bother you."

"That's...really hard when they act so stuck up about it."

"I wouldn't...worry _that _much about it, Katara. I mean, that's...how those kind of people are about that."

Katara sighed, drumming her fingers along the steering wheel in that way she always did when she was anxious.

"See? That's...the _problem. _Everyone just writes it off, like...'Oh, that's just Christians for you, they hate gays.'"

"But not all Christians are like that," Aang assured, trying to placate.

"No, I _know, _it's just...ugh. I hate being associated with people who act like that. Like it's some awful thing."

"W-well...-" Aang shrugged again, unsure of what to say. "People will think whatever they're going to think. Just forget about it."

"You're right," breathed Katara, trying to purge out her irritation as she started the car. She clicked on the radio, readjusting it to find a station that came in as they pulled out of the church's parking lot.

"So when are Sokka and your dad gonna come back?" Aang wondered casually as different songs fizzled across the speakers.

"When Sokka fills that stomach of his."

"_Ha! _Like _that_ can ever happen..."

"Hey, never say never." Katara managed to tune into a song halfway through.

["-of my heart takes time~Half of my heart's got a right mind to tell you that I can't keep loving you~(can't keep loving you)~"]

Aang felt a knot in his gut as the song dredged up everything he'd been struggling to hide lately and he sighed, staring out the window as the small neighboring town they had come to for church was quickly fading away.

"So. Aang," said Katara blissfully, seeming oblivious to the undertones the music was setting in Aang's head. "What do you think about the whole...thing...where Korra might be moving to Wayward?"

"Er...It-It's cool, I guess. Sure."

["~Oh, with half of my heart~With half of my heart~"]

"What? You don't sound so happy about it..."

"Eh, I dunno. I thought Korra and I would...get along better than we actually _do, _I guess..."

["~Your faith is strong, but I can only fall short for so long~"]

"Hm. Well, you and Korra _do _seem pretty much like opposites, huh?"

"Yea..." Aang couldn't stop from focusing on the music.

["~Down the road, later on~You will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart~"]

"Hey, I wouldn't worry. I mean, you and _Toph _are practically opposites, right? And _you _two get along."

["~But I can't stop loving you~"]  
["~I can't stop lo...-"]  
Aang twisted the knob on the radio down to mute it, his face twitching in a grimace at Katara's words.

"Oh, sorry, was...was the music bothering you?"

Aang could hear it in Katara's voice - she was in the dark. Katara was usually so good at picking up on the details, and Aang was quite familiar with the tone she carried when she was being cautious about such things - a tone she was lacking in that moment. How could she have missed this?

"Yea, I...kinda don't like that song..."

"Oh...I'm sorry, I didn't...-" Katara shrugged, shaking her head. "_Oh._" Ah, there it was. "Gosh, Aang, I didn't even think about...-"

"Don't worry about it."

"W-well, uh...We still have Toph's CD in the player, we could keep listening to that, maybe?"

"Nah."

"Right. OK, yea." Katara's head bobbed up and down in compliance with a wincing expression as if she'd said something horribly incorrect. "Sure, we...don't need any music, if you don't want."

"'Kay."

"Umm...So, did you...maybe need to talk about anything?"

"Huh?"

"You know...Because, I mean, if that was upsetting you, it..._probably _means that something's on your mind."

"Yea, but...-"

"But...you don't want to talk about it."

"What's left to _talk _about?" Aang's words ignited with a spark of anger.

"I-I don't know. N-nevermind, I wasn't...-"

"Me and Toph...We've spent the past week talking and talking and trying to pretend like there's no problem when there _is_."

"Yea..."

"And the problem is...is _us. _Just...just _all of it. _Argh..."

"M-maybe you two just need to...to get some time alone. Like..._real _time alone..."

"Fff. Maybe. _I _don't know..."

"Aang. I know this is all difficult, but...you really need to decide what it is you're going to do."

Aang stared out the window with no reply.

"Because, like...if you're really wanting to make this work, then you need to start acting like it."

"What?"

"Both of you, I mean. And if you...aren't feeling it, then...you should probably break things off before you both get too comfortable again."

"What are you...-?"

"Like, getting your hopes up and everything. You know?"

"You don't think we'll make it," Aang scoffed in recognition.

"Wh-? I didn't _say _that, Aang, I...-"

"You're thinking it."

"Y-yea, _kind of_," Katara admitted. "But it's not _my _relationship, it's not like I know what's best..."

"I'm thinking it, too," Aang huffed, burying his cheek in his wrist with gloom.

"Oh, Aang," Katara sighed. "You were feeling the same way a week ago. And then a couple days later, you were better. And then worse, and better again. It sounds like you really don't know what you want yet."

"Am I _supposed _to know already?"

"N-no, not...not necessarily, but if it was _me, _I just...-" Katara's eyes wandered from the road for a brief moment as she thought. "Well, if I was really in love with someone, I feel like it wouldn't even _be _a decision, I'd be one-hundred percent about it."

"Even if they cheated on you?"

"Even-...Yea, even if that. If I _really _was in love, then I'd know it was just...a one-time mistake. And I'd forgive them, and...and I'd work hard at fixing things. It wouldn't be a _choice, _I'd just..._do _it, because...because I was in _love. _You know? I-I'm not sure if that makes sense, or...-"

"No, it...it makes sense...I suppose."

"I mean, like...Do you forgive her?"

"What? Toph?"

"_Yes, _you...you dork."

"Of course I do."

"See? You make it...sound so easy."

"Isn't it? When you love somebody?"

"_Exactly._"

"So...then I _do _love her."

"Oh, I don't think you should doubt that at _all. _But that doesn't answer all your questions."

"Rrm," Aang whimpered out a frustrated growl. "Yea...It's whether I'm _in _love. That's the question."

"Yea. And, like I said...you really need to figure that one out, and soon. Or else...or else you two could just...make things _worse._"

"Mm-hm..."

"I'm sorry, Aang, I didn't mean to make you worry about all this."

"No, no...You're right. I really need to make a choice and...stick with it." Aang sighed to himself. "Stand my ground," he mumbled wistfully.

"Yea...But, you know...Maybe for now, you should just try to relax and enjoy vacation. It's almost a new year, a fresh start. Right? Take it easy for a while."

"A whole year..."

* * *

- Friday, December 31st, 2010 - New Year's Eve

The days to follow were calm and joyful as the group wasted their time away, forgetting the problems that school had brought. There will still Christmas movies to be watched even after Christmas itself was over, leftover cookies and ham to consume, and plenty of lazing about to be had. Korra continued to look into any job leads she could, having not heard back on the one in Wayward as soon as she would've liked. Granny Kesuk had decided to extend her stay at the request of her family, admitting that she didn't particularly have anything to attend to back home. Toph continued practicing various pieces, while Aang took a break from drawing. Katara had decided to get back into reading the Harry Potter books - a third time - while she had some spare time on her hands. Sokka had grown to miss his girlfriend and started chatting with Suki on the phone for an hour or more a day. Jane didn't really have much to do with herself, so Aang decided to try showing her how to play various Nintendo games, just to see which ones struck a chord with her. When New Year's Eve came around, though, the group decided they'd celebrate it the "proper" way by going out, having food and drink, and being merry.

The Fearsome Fivesome plus one headed over to the only bar in town - after Korra insisted on 'pre-gaming,' which only Toph and Jane seemed interested in partaking - and got to work cracking jokes and eating fish fry and drinking up.

"Wooooo!" cheered Sokka observing the clock as the bar grew louder in anticipation. "Ffffive minits, folx! _Fiiiiiive minitz!_"

"Two-thousand-ten can suck it!" Korra roared.

"Damm strayt!" Jane jeered.

"Auuugghhh," Aang moaned, flinching his arms up. "Thaaaat's my ear..." With an exhausted breath, he gently nudged the dogged efforts of Toph away from his face, her tongue slacked out of her lips for a moment before she lazily wiped at her face with her sleeve.

"Heeee, iz a yummee ear..."

"Ew..."

"You _lyke _it, Tinkles...Shudd_app_."

"Pfffbll." Aang attempted to blow a raspberry but it failed in a pathetic fashion.

"Doood," Sokka howled. "Aynng, yoo...man, yoo droolin'."

"Wuzza?"

"_Pssshh_," Katara snorted, slapping her hand on her flushed face and pointing to her neighbor, who was rubbing his wrist across his lips with a look that blended confusion with irritation. "Aang...I'm thinkin'...you've had _one too many_."

"_Yoooo _havin' had e_nuff_," Jane grumbled, slapping her palm down and glaring at Katara from her left.

"Ha...I _don't..._think I'll take advice...from the drunken crazy girl..."

"Not fuggin' _drunk. _Juss...buzz'd."

"_Bzz-bzz._" Katara gave her red-headed friend a sly grin. "The Bee is buzzin'..."

"Buzzzzz."

"You are _drunk_."

"So _whut? _Yer-..." Jane's eyes lost focus only to recollect their attention on Katara's forehead. "Hey, ermmm...How come yer hair's...not right?"

"Wha...?" Katara reached her hand up, trying to find whatever problem Jane was referring to.

"Yer...loopies," Jane grumbled out, twirling her finger near her own head. "No loopeez today...Wut the hell, man?"

"Uhm...I, uh...-" Katara shrugged, baffled by this tangent. "I undid them this morning, I...don't know, just wanted a break from them...I guess?"

"Maaaan, yoo juss look _beddur _with 'em..."

"Uh...Thanks? Haha..."

"N' yer...necklace..." Jane jabbed her bottle's tip toward Katara's collarbones, where no jewelry rested. "Ain't been...wehrnit lately..."

"Oh, right...I just...-" Katara shrugged. Where was this coming from? "It's not like I _always _wear it..."

"Blehhh...Yoo shood. Iz cute. N' yer mom...sheez like a part o' yoo n' stuff."

"I...Y-yea, I suppose..."

While Katara attempted to understand what this had to do with anything, Toph pestered Sokka down the row.

"Yoh, MeetHedd, tellmee...Izzee drunk?"

"Hummawhuh?"

"Twinx...He drunkerwut?"

"Uhhmm..." Sokka squinted at Aang, who was staring down into the bottom of his glass. "Errmmm...Dunno." He shrugged off Toph's inquiry, then asked louder, so Aang could hear, "Heeey, man. Aang. Bro. Dood. Face. Yoo drunk yet?"

"Um..." Aang's eyes were droopy as he blinked back. He shrugged and smiled. "Mmmmaybe? Heh..."

"Therez yer answer, woman."

"Rrmmm..." Toph frowned, crossing her arms as she grumbled at Aang, "Whyyy yoo no wanna kiss your jee-eff? Huh?"

"I...didn' say...I didn' wanna do...-"

"Mebbee yoo need moar booze. Huh?"

"Haaa...Nooo, I'm good..."

"Moar booze!" Toph pounded her fist with enthusiasm into the counter.

"Hey, whoa, simmer down, sister," Korra quelled Toph. "I'm thinkin' you've had good and plenty.

"_Chriiiissst,_" Toph groaned. "Not meeee, _himm. _Need mah man good n' hammed."

"Hammered," Sokka corrected.

"Wutevah..."

"Hammers hurt," Aang whimpered.

"Heehee," Toph giggled mischievously. "Not _alllll _hammerz hurt..." After a moment to ponder this, Aang finally caught wind of her perverted intentions.

"'Ayyyy..." Aang smacked her shoulder and she recoiled with laughter.

"Yoo two err _crayyzee_," snickered Jane, slapping her stomach.

"I think...we _all _are," Katara decided before taking another sip of her drink.

"_Threeeee minnitz_!" Sokka announced with a belch, to which he was commended with light applause and cries of disgust.

"God, we must be buggin' the other people," Katara sighed to herself as an entertained smile fell over her face.

"Aw, fuggem," Jane protested, waving a wrist in dismissal. "Dringupp, _damm._"

"Jane Fitzpatrick, is there a _reason..._you want me to get drunk?" Katara suspiciously wondered, taking another swig.

"Sheeee juss wantsa take advantage of ya, Shoogerr-Queen," Toph jeered with a chuckle.

"Aaand...tha's a problim?" Jane countered sneakily.

"Ya know...wut _I _think izz...-" Sokka poked himself in the forehead. "-...she juss wantz to see yoo do summin' stupid."

"Ohhh, no," Katara shook her dizzy head slowly, waggling her finger disapprovingly, though she was grinning wide. "You guys...are _not _getting me to do anything dumb..." Jane whapped her shoulder roughly and Katara shook her head some more. "You're _bad_," she scolded Jane, who shrugged in reply, not interested in denying the claim. To her right, Sokka and Toph were playing a game.

"Rrrock, payper, sizzerz, _shoot._"

"_Rock._"

"Awwww, man..." Sokka sighed at his loss, his fingers drooping. "Threee outta five. Rrrawk, payper, sizz-"  
"_**ROCK.**_" Toph pounded her fist into the table.

"_Geeeezzz, _you're...too friggin' _good _at this..."

"Sokka," said Korra with a calm pity. "You're losing to a _blind _girl."

"Buuut c'mon, dude, she's...so freakin' _goood_."

"I'm not a fuckin' dude. And she's just...doing _rock _every time, man. And you keep doing scissors."

"Dat's 'cuz scissors are..._sharrrpp _and awesome..."

"**_ROCK_**."

"Heeeeeyy we're not..._playin' yet. _Dayumm, wooman!"

Aang chuckled at their odd interaction and turned to his left to see Jane guzzling down the last of a bottle of beer while Katara gaze starry-eyed at the TV screen, which depicted hundreds of people at Time's Square cheering, though it was impossible to hear the set with all of the commotion going on. While she stared at the screen, face bright and relaxed, Aang smiled at her, please to see his friend calm and at ease for a change. She noticed him staring and gave him a keen, raised eyebrow.

"Whhhyy are you smiling at me like that?" she asked, curious as to what he seemed to find so amusing.

"Oh...I was...smiling?" Aang came back, looking away to the screen and rubbing at his eyes. "Guess I should beeee...-" He yawned. "-...frrrrowning at you instead, riiight?"

"I _saw _that look," Katara pressed with a sly index point as she adjusted her hat's brim. "Just 'cause I'm...wearing a silly hat...and getting..._slightly _intoxicated...You think it's dumb."

"Pfff, nooo. It's _goofy._"

"How is that not _dumb?_"

Aang finally willed his glance from the screen back to her while Jane ordered another bottle.

"_These guys _are dumb," he laughed, nodding his head as Toph jerked her arm off of the countertop.

"_Gawd, _don't goh..._tuchin' me _wiff yer grubby man handz, MeatHead..."

"Whaaa? Tha's...how you _play,_" Sokka defended. "Payper gohz _over rock_."

"Rox _crush paperz. _Rock crushes _all_."

"OK, yea," Katara conceded with a snort. "They _are _dumb..."

"Shuttit, _Sweetnizz, _'r I'll...punch yoor vagina."

"_Hey, hey,"_ Aang soothed, rubbing Toph's head like a dog. "We're jokin', Taters...You're gettin' cranky."

"We'll...get crankee if we _wantsss it._"

"OK, there...Gollum."

"Damn," Korra scoffed at the group. "You guys are all loopy to _start _with, but get you buzzed and it's just-..._Pff._" She tossed her hand, unable to decide on the best word to describe the situation. She glared at the TV screen after making this comment and suddenly burst out, "And by the way, what the _hell, _man? Why the fuck we watchin' _Times Square_? This is _Canada_!" Korra brooded over this while the others finished off their drinks and prepared for the countdown.

The group joined in on the count from 'ten' to 'one' with everyone else in the bar and millions others counting in tandem across the time zone. The unifying celebration of another year ending and a new one beginning bridged the gap across religion or culture, hearts ablaze with nostalgia and optimism as they clattered their empty mugs and bottles together in a flurry of laughs and hollers. The bar's manager adjusted the stereo system in the back, and the speakers hung above the counter started playing a soothing guitar melody while a Gaelic-flavored version of Auld Lang Syne poured across everyone's ears.

["~Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?~"]

"C'mere..." After slamming her mug down on the counter, Toph groped her hands to her left, secured them around Aang's waist, and leaned over him, the side of her head on his shoulder.

["~Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?~"]

"Happy Noo Yerz, Twinkle-Tohz...Luv ya."

["~For auld lang syne, m'dear~For auld lang syne~We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet~"]

"Happy New Year, Toph. Love you, too..."

["~for days of auld lang syne~"]

The two held onto each other in a solemn moment of bittersweet comfort while those around them continued to cheer.

["~We twa hae run about the braes, and pu'd the gowans fine~"]

"Happy _fuckin' New Year_..."

["~But we've wander'd many a weary fit since days of auld lang syne~"]

"Dang, Korruh, don'...soun' so friggin' _happy..._Heh."

["~We twa hae paidl'd in the burn frae mornin' sun till dine~"]

"Hell, I don't get why _you're _so happy, Sox. You're a senior. One more semester."

["~But seas between us braid hae roar'd since days of auld lang syne~"]

Sokka puffed out a long, drawn out sigh as he ran his hand through his hair, his intoxicated mind trying to process the gravity of that truth.

["~For auld lang syne, my dear~For auld lang syne~We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet~"]

"I'll...cummup wit' a plan," he assured, regaining confidence in himself.

["~for days of auld lang syne~"]

"Ah always do..."

["~And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp~and surely I'll be mine~"]

"Wow, it's a new year," Katara blurted out, shaking her head. "So much has changed in just one year..."

["~And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne~"]

Jane nodded, her head swerving up high and down down low as she rubbed at her eyes.

["~And there's a hand, my trusty fiere, and gie's a hand o' thine~"]

"Made another best friend," Katara said with a glowing smile, grabbing Jane's hand and squeezing it tight.

["~And we'll tak a right gude-willy waught for auld lang syne~"]

"Heh...Hooda fugga _thunkit_?" Jane muttered with a stupored smirk. "Black n' whyte...saltin peppurr..." Jane burped out a hardly audible spot of gas and pounded her chest.

["~For auld lang syne, m'dear~For auld lang syne~"]

"Peanut butter and jelly..."

"Naw, naw..." Jane waggled her finger knowingly and referred to a previous concept they had periodically brought up. "Peenud budder n' _piggles_."

["~We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet~for auld lang syne~"]

"Heehee...Yea. Ramen noodles and taco sauce," Katara agreed, remembering the conversation. She cocked her head to the side and stared at Jane's bright red face.

"Hehh...Dat's us," Jane concluded.

["~For auld lang syne, my dear~For auld lang syne~"]

Jane stole a glance of Sokka, his face buried in a palm, while Korra stared at the TV screen and Aang and Toph, now both on their feet, swayed gently to the music. It was a euphoric atmosphere, music and laughter and merriment all around. Jane's drooping eyes wandered back to Katara's, and she found herself lost in the pools of curious sapphire.

["~We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet~for auld lang syne~"]

In her drunken, dreamy state, Jane's inhibitions had gone into hiding. She leaned forward the mere inches between their faces, arced over the counter, and puckered out her thin lips against Katara's. It was a quick, simple gesture, swift enough that it left Katara no time to react until the action had passed. Immediately after this long-desired act had played out, Jane retreated to the safety of her arms, folded across the counter, while Katara blinked with confusion, her lips slightly stuck out in sheer instinctive reaction to the contact.

She stared at the fuzzy ball of orange before her, whirled a glance over her shoulder to conclude no one else had seen, then turned back.

She tried to speak, but her insides quivered from shock and nothing would come out until she cleared her throat.

"Ummm...I, uh...I have to..._go_...to the bathroom," she squeaked awkwardly, her eyes widening as her slowed-down mind finally caught up with what Jane's affectionate feat entailed. She wobbled out of her seat, head spinning from alcohol and fear, and pushed her way into the public restroom.

_What just happened? Where did that come from? Was it...just Jane goofing around? Yea, of course it was. Right? I mean, she's...totally drunk. And we're all just being silly._

Katara sucked in a gasp of air and forced it out slowly, scratching an itch on the back of her head while she suddenly noticed her own petrified expression in the mirror.

_Let's not kid ourselves, Katara. No use trying to ignore it any more._

Katara washed her hands just to give them something to do while her mind rushed in circles around this elephant in the room she'd eased into the corner. She struggled to come up with kind of explanation as to why Jane had decided that _now _was the time to express this in the open. Perhaps more importantly, Katara was aggrevated with the prospect of concluding what she herself had done to convey that kissing out in public, out of nowhere, was something she would find acceptable...Was she presenting herself in some way that portrayed that this was something she'd be OK with? For the life of her, she couldn't think of any reason why. What she _did _know was that it was stressful enough trying to help Toph and Aang patch up their problems. Jane had been doing so well lately, she had thought, and the idea of crumbling that progress apart was discouraging. Should she confront Jane about it tomorrow, when they were both sobered up?

At this notion, Katara realized how much her head was pounding, and how the water from the sink was still running, her fingers beginning to prune up a bit. She hurriedly shut the water off and dried off her hands, groaning to herself ocver the situation she was now being forced to confront.

As she came back to the bar, Sokka was loudly conversing with Suki over the phone, saying God-knew-what, while Korra seemed to be brooding to herself. Aang and Toph were speaking in somewhat hushed voices, and Katara keenly observed from their body language that they were both discouraged about something. As Katara took her seat, she looked over to her left to see her neighbor, who rotated her head just enough to reveal a curious, intent eye that drooped from exhaustion.

Katara stared back, her intestines wrenching with uncertainty.

"Uhh...Y-you OK?" The words tumbled out without any real thought.

Jane's single visible eye closed and she spun her head back around so it was hidden. Her body twitched from a hiccup, and Katara wanted to laugh at the endearing sight, but knew better.

"H-hey, uh, guys?" she called out across the counter to her right. It was still somewhat difficult to speak, her language skills hazed over in a cloud. "Maybe we oughtta...like...head out now...? I mean, it...it's midnight, and...-"

"_Whaaaaaat_?" Sokka groaned in reply. "Oh, _nooo_-no-no," he rapidly spat into his phone. "Nnnnot you, Sooki-chan...Lil' Sis is, all, lyke...'**wee gotta go home, boo-hoo, iz layte,**' n'..._stuff._"

"You loons all look like ya need sleep," Korra agreed with her cousin's suggestion. "Let's pack it up and head out. Yo!" She waved her hand to the bartender so they could pay up for their drinks.

The walk home was a bit quiet, the group lulled and relaxed by their drinking and food, each ready to pass out and rest for the night. Fortunately, Akiak was a tiny town and they traversed the cold streets in a matter of minutes. They all funneled into the living room via the front door, and Sokka immediately trudged upstairs.

Aang and Toph hugged and gave each other a kiss - a longer one that was cut short when Toph yawned partway through it. This resulted in a quiet chuckle between the two. Jane flopped herself onto the floor in front of the couch and Aang went up to follow Sokka, leaving Katara to guide Toph to the back of the couch and unfold the sleeping bag she was borrowing. When Toph snug and secure, Jane curled up on the floor in _front _of the couch, Korra spread herself out across the centerpiece furniture itself, and Katara hesitated for a moment.

"Yoo gohn ta bed yet?" Jane mumbled, half-asleep, flapping open the wide comforter she had been tangled in to allow Katara a space to lay down.

"Uhh...N-no, not yet, I'm...gonna do some reading," Katara decided, her brain still coping with damage from the tornado that had struck it back at the bar. The Christmas tree was still up, its lights casting a glow across the living room - enough light that she could continue her Harry Potter binge on the recliner. "Good night ladies," she said to the batch of them, receiving a cluster of mumbles in reply.

As Katara picked the book up from where she had placed it on the floor beside the chair, she carefully opened up to the spot where her bookmark had been tucked, found her place, and went about her reading. It took a only a few minutes until she began to tire of this.

{"I can't come with you," said Hermione, now blushing, "because I'm already going with someone."}  
{"No, you're not!" said Ron. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"}  
{"Oh, _did_ I?" said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously. "Just because it's taken _you_ three years to notice, Ron, doesn't mean no one _else_ has spotted I'm a girl!"}

Katara sighed to herself and quietly closed the book, the all-too familiar sound of Toph's heavy breathing the only sound in the room. Katara could feel her consciousness drifting off. She hadn't taken her medicine yet tonight. Grah. Nevermind that. Despite her lack of desire to take them, Jane had been keen about ensuring she took them each night since the day she'd been confronted about it. Besides, she'd drinken a bit, probably didn't want to...go mixing drugs with alcohol or something, right? Either way, she was ready to sleep. She lazily tugged the afghan blanket that had been sitting over top the recliner and wormed her body beneath it, pushing back the chair as far as it would go so she could lay back in it.

* * *

- Saturday, January 1st, 2011 - New Year's Day

"_Auuughhhlllgg**uuuhhh.**_" Toph's theatric moaning could be heard emanating from the floor by the Christmas tree as she clutched at her head, curled into a fetal position.

"Sounds like someone had too much last night," chuckled Sokka from the kitchen, sipping at his coffee, his hair still damp from the shower he'd just taken. "You gotta drink some _water_, Dead-Eyes."

"_Bleehhhh_..."

"_Yar-yar-yarp!_"

"_AaAaAaAaugGhH..._" Toph whimpered. "Puppy attack..." Naga scampered around, and Toph rolled onto her back, flashing up her hands to block any licking that she might receive. "_Hurrff!_" she grunted out as Naga hopped onto her stomach and ran up her body, bouncing off with imprecise puppy legs and sprinting off toward the kitchen. "_Owwwww_," Toph continued to wail like a child. "Korra, your dog just trampled my boobs..."

"_Ksshh_," Korra laughed at Toph's misfortune as she stretched out her arms. She clapped her hands together and called for her fledgling pet in a normal tone. "Naga! C'mere, girl." The puppy ended up obeying, more out of being hyper and seeking attention than by recognizing her name.

"Fuck," Toph continued to whimper. "Now my head _and _my boobs hurt..._aarrgghhh..._"

While Sokka smiled at his hungover friend on the floor and shook his head, a messy-headed Jane trudged into the kitchen, head drooping, eyes glazed over.

"Well good _morning, _Sunshine!" Sokka blissfully greeted her, eyebrows bobbing up and down as he swung his fist with enthusiasm.

He received a dagger glare, and Jane's nose wrinkled with disdain at his cheer.

"You look like you slept_ well_," Sokka continued to mock her as she went about preparing her own cup of coffee.

"Fuck off," Jane grumbled with irritation.

"_Whoa, _hey..." Sokka shrugged at her hostility. "Didn't mean to step on any toes, Freckles." He leaned over her shoulder as she dropped a single spoonful of sugar into her drink and asked her with a softer, more serious tone, "Hey, what's up?"

Jane tapped her finger on the mug's rim a couple times as she considered how to reply.

"Hey, umm...-" She cleared her groggy throat and drank a bit of coffee. "I do anything..._dumb_...last night?" she wondered in a whisper. Sokka cocked a confused brow her way and leaned against the counter.

"Heh, like..._what? _We all did dumb stuff, Ginger..."

Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Nevermind," she huffed.

"No, no, hey," Sokka eased. "Ya just...gotta be more specific." At this remark, Jane's face began burning.

"If you'd seen it, you'd have remembered it," she cryptically replied.

"Hm. Er...OK?"

"Nothing, just...whatever." Jane drank some more, savoring the warm, black liquid going down her somewhat sore throat. She stared out into the living room at the girl in the recliner.

About a half hour passed while the rest of the house woke up, Sokka and Korra were cooperating to create some breakfast.

"Oh-ho," came Gran-Gran as she settled herself onto the recliner that Katara had abandoned and tidied up mere minutes before. "Something smells quite delicious. Is that my grandson in the kitchen cooking up such a storm?"

"_And _your grand-daughter!" Korra pointed out, waving a spatula in the air.

"Haha...You managed to get stubborn little Korra to help out?"

Korra dropped her arm and went back to flipping pancakes.

"I'm not a kid anymore," she complained under her breath to Sokka, who shrugged with nonchalance.

"Hey, now ya know how Aang feels when you call _him _stuff like that," he coyly observed.

"Heh. Good point...Stickin' up for the little guy."

"Bros before hoes."

"You callin' me a ho?" Korra growled, flashing a competitive smile and a balled fist at her cousin.

"Foh shoh," Sokka mocked, tightening his arm to endure the pound it received.

"Katara, dear," said Gran-Gran with some concern as she watched her grand-daughter pace around the living, room, fretfully tidying it up. "What's the matter?"

"_Oh, _it's...nothing, I'm just...just trying to clean up," Katara pushed the words out as she adjusted the couch cushions Korra had thrown out of balance. "So, um...So, Toph, you feeling any better?"

Toph, still on the floor, but sitting up now, was rubbing sand from her eyes, an empty glass in the other hand. She seemed to have made up with Naga, who was sitting in her lap, enjoying being pet.

"Dunno. Guess so..."

"Good. Those painkillers should help. Do you need more water?"

"Nah, I'm good..."

"OK. Here, let me take your glass."

Katara glanced around the room, noticing that neither Jane nor Aang were present - likely upstairs. She took the glass to the kitchen, gently placed it in the sink, and observed her brother hard at work frying sausage in a pan.

"Hey, um...Sokka, when you have a minute...could you let me know?"

"Yea, sure thing, Katara. You all right?" Sokka didn't bat an eyelash, but Korra shot a sideways glance.

Katara avoided Korra's inquisitive glance, still looking at her brother, who was intent on his cooking.

"Um, w-well, not really. I need to talk with you. It'll be quick."

"Sure. Hey, chill out, huh?"

"I'm trying..."

Katara sought shelter in the restroom, where she tried to fix her hair into something besides a frizzled mess. A bushy ponytail would have to serve her for now. After she did her business and returned downstairs, she found Aang and Toph at the counter chowing down on food while her brother and cousin finished the next batch of food. Jane was on the couch and Gran-Gran was already halfway done with her food on a tray in the recliner.

"Morning," Jane greeted.

"Hey..." Katara muttered back sheepishly, avoiding her friend's glance and making her way to the kitchen again.

"Good morning, Katara," said Aang at their first interaction of the day.

"Oh, good morning, Aang," Katara warmly replied in a moment of stirring out of her nervous whirlwind. She hovered over her brother's shoulder.

"Just about done here," Sokka advised her.

"I've got it," Korra offered. "Go talk with your sister. She's fuckin' weirdin' me out..."

"What?" Katara mumbled in offense.

"You're...skitterin' around, all crazy and shit. Calm down."

"Rrmm?" Toph uttered with curiosity, her face full of a hash brown patty that had been popped in a toaster.

"Anyway," Korra went on, taking Sokka's cooking tool from him. "I got this. _Git._"

"_Yar-yar-yarp! Yarp!_"

"Haha, I'll feed you in a minute, calm down..."

"OK, thanks," said Sokka as he let her keep the reigns. As they passed through the living room, Sokka told Jane, "Hey, Freckles, breakfast is ready."

"Cool."

"It's quite good, Sokka."

"Glad to hear it, Gran-Gran."

After they reached Katara's bedroom, she took a deep breath and exhaled while Sokka flopped casually onto her bed.

"So what is it _this _time?" he sighed. Katara frowned at him, somewhat confused.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Oy. You...always seem to have some kind of problem you need me to help you resolve. That's all."

"That's-...! Come on, Sokka, I'm not...-"

But Sokka's expression made it clear he wasn't going to be convinced otherwise.

"OK, OK...I get your point. But...This is important."

"And someone else's business."

"_No. _See? You always...jump to conclusions. I hate that."

"I call 'em like I see 'em."

"Ugh, you're sounding like Korra."

"And that's bad?"

"N-no, I just-...Listen, nevermind. Something happened last night, and...I need your advice."

"Hm. Did something happen with...Jane?"

"How...How do you know?" Katara's cheeks began the process of collecting the color of embarrassment.

"I _don't,_" Sokka laughed. "But she was acting weird earlier, too, and mentioned something happening last night."

Katara huffed out a sigh, pulling her ponytail across to the front of her shoulder and tugging at it habitually.

"Well, yea, something _did _happen. She, um...she kissed me."

"Ffff, yea, I figured it was some kind of practical joke like-"  
"_No, _Sokka. She _kissed _me."

Sokka's unamused, tired face morphed to perplexation and surprise.

"Like..._how_?"

"On the _lips_."

"Aaaand...you...did _what_?"

"I...I don't _know, _it...it wasn't very _long, _I didn't exactly have time to react, and...-"

"Like, _kiss _kiss, or...just a peck?"

"W-well, I mean...I guess it was kind of just...a '_peck_,' but...Sokka, that was-...Jane doesn't kiss people at _all _unless it's...-"

"Sooo...You're thinking she's got a thing for you?"

"Ugh..." Katara groaned, still pulling at her hair, only now with both hands. "Y-yea, I...think she does..."

"Whoa."

"_Yea, _'whoa.' I-I mean, what am I supposed to _do _with that?"

"Well, ermm...Who knows? I mean, like...I'm assuming it's not reciprocated?"

"Of course not, Sokka...I'm...not like that."

"Gay, you mean."

"Well, _technically, _bisexual."

"Which is what we're learning Jane is."_  
_

"Y-yea, basically."

"Mm...That's kinda hot."

"_What_?"

"Hmm..." Sokka rubbed his chin hairs slyly. "You don't think...If Suki and I asked Freckles if she wanted to-"  
"_Sokka._"

"_God, _I'm joking, calm down..."

"Ugh. You're _always _joking..."

"OK, OK. I'm being serious now. So it's just a one-sided thing, then."

"Right..."

"Aaaand...Somehow, you two haven't talked about it. Since it happened."

"_No, _it was...like, right after the ball dropped, and...we headed home, and...everyone went to bed..."

"And you..._ha_...you're actually _avoiding _talking something out with someone for a change."

"_Sokka, _could you please stop...doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That _thing..._where you just, like...spin things around on me."

"Oh. Sorry, it...wasn't like that. Calm down, huh?" He grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit beside him. "For reals." She winced as she sat, finally letting go of her hair and grabbing at her forehead. "How are you sure it wasn't just...I dunno, like...some kind of drunken...impulse? I mean, she _was _pretty out there last night."

"No, it...it's been there for a while. I just...never really acknowledged it until last night..."

"Either way, you really need to be all straight-up about it before you go assuming things."

"Hmph. Yea, you're right..."

"Besides, what the hell were you expecting _me _to tell you?"

"I don't know!" She slapped her hands down into her lap. "I just...needed to tell someone. _God, _I don't want more...awkwardness going on with us..."

"You and Jane?"

"_No, _like...our whole _group. _Ugh, you...you and Korra are _right, _we're just...freaking 'drama llamas.' We can't even have a vacation without _something _going all..._stupid._"

Katara dug her fingers into her forehead in anger and blew steam through her nose.

"If I didn't try so dang hard," Katara lamented, "maybe things would go smoother..."

"Maybe," said Sokka with an honest shrug.

"_Agh, _but I can't just sit and...not do anything."

"I know. I get it. Hey." Sokka gave his sister a gentle push, rocking her over to the side to snap her awak from her turmoil. "Chill out. Geez."

Katara sighed and leaned over on Sokka's shoulder. He grabbed her side and pulled her into a sitting hug.

"Whole world's not on your shoulders, Sis. For real, relax."

"Yea..."

"New year, new semester...Ya gotta be all right with accepting change."

"Ha. I know...So do _you. _Pretty soon you're going to be all..._graduated_."

"Lord, don't remind me..."

"Still, this semester ought to be easier than the last one, right?"

"_Bah_. Katara, this is your third year of college. You don't seriously believe it ever gets easier, do you?"

* * *

**A/N: ****Let's get a little bit of country in here, huh?**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=VLFa-co-0-8**

**Any fans out there catch the reference to the first episode of A:TLA?**

******Auld Lang Syne - one of the most well-known songs in the world, I'm sure. This is an old-fashioned take on it.  
www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=acxnmaVTlZA**

**Book quote is from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  
**


	51. Caution

**A/N: I understand a number of readers were surprised by what happened with Jane and Katara during the last chapter - yet a lot of readers were like, "OMG, it's about time." Jane's bisexuality has always been a part of her character, and her attraction to Katara is one I've alluded to many times in a number of ways, I just haven't been blunt about it because I felt like that would be silly. I even went so far as to show that Johnny "Longshot" could even tell Jane had something for Katara during their last interaction. If you didn't really see it coming, then I suppose you can relate with Katara, and if you could see it all along, then you can relate with Jane. Either way, if you were to go back and re-read chapters since Jane and Johnny broke up, I'm sure you'd notice a lot of foreshadowing and things I did to hint at this situation. ;)**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 51 - Caution  
_

* * *

- Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 -

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk** "The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution." ~ Albus Dumbledore]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Aang Leekpai, Mai Chiao, Meng Beifong, and 8 others like this.]

[**Aang Leekpai **- gotta love dumbles] - [Katara & Tylee like this.]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Mai Chiao **- I'm still not sure if I love or hate all of the sayings like this he had...But I do like this one.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Tylee Moretti **- heeeee dumbles! ~heart~ cute aang =3 verrrrry cute]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- only you would give a beardy ol guy a nickname like DUMBLES, little man.] - [Sokka likes this.]  
[50 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Ha. His name is DUMB-ledore. Just saying.] - [Zuko likes this.]  
[42 minutes ago]

[**Zuko Kurosawa **- Snape's cooler, anyway.] - [Sokka and Mai like this.]  
[34 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- =O DISLIKE! Where is the dislike button? Albus is not dumb!]  
[22 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- i think youre all forgettin that neville longbottom is cool to the max.] - [Katara and Meng like this.]  
[13 minutes ago]

[**Meng Beifong **- omg neville! =D]  
[11 minutes ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- isn't he that pansy boy?]  
[8 minutes ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **- yea he is. reminds me of someone...Aang Leekpai]  
[6 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- D: D: your such a jerk.]  
[5 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Haha, aww. =P I like Neville. He's cute. Nice guys like you and him are rare, Aang. And he's brave, too. You'll see, Jane. Few more months and that last movie comes out!]  
[3 minutes ago]

* * *

[**Facebook - Korra Kesuk**]

[**Korra Kesuk** god dam! puppys are fuckin HARD WORK!]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Hakoda Kesuk **- But theyre worth it!]  
[23 minutes ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- i'll admit it, she's a terror and i love her already. thanks uncle.] - [Hakoda likes this.]  
[13 minutes ago]

* * *

[**Facebook -Jane Fitzpatrick**]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **fml fml urrrghhhh...]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- whoa everything ok? :( ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- stay solid, fitz. -fistbump-]  
[51 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- I love how we're within shouting distance of each other but are using FB to talk.]  
[44 minutes ago]

* * *

- Monday, January 3rd, 2011 -

"Are you_ shittin' me?_" Jane growled at the television, slapping her controller against her crossed legs as she waited for her go-kart to land back on the ground. A whistle blew a couple seconds later. "_Damnit to hell, _Waluigi, I fuckin' hate your ass!"

Another whistle, complimented by Aang's chuckling.

"Second time in a row he's taken first place from under your nose."

"Pointy-nosed bitch. Can we go back to the one where I can blow fire on everything?"

"Haha, sure..."

Aang went about switching discs while Toph yawned in the recliner, scratching her stomach and picking wax from her ear.

"So booorrrreddd," she moaned.

"Oh." Aang gave pause. "We could...do something else. What did you want to do?"

"I don't know..."

"Uhh...O_kay_..."

"Something."

"Well, like...what _kind _of something?"

"_I don't know_."

"OK..."

"Hey, Gimpy," Jane grunted, "Don't act like it's _our _fault you're bored."

"You two have just been playing video games all afternoon."

"We supposed to entertain you all of a sudden?"

"No, but..."

"Dead-Eyes," called Sokka from the kitchen, pouring food into Naga's bowl and petting her while she scarfed it down. "Boredom's your own problem. If you need something to do, you oughtta figure out what the crap you want first. Chill out."

Toph sighed and rubbed an itch on her nose while Korra and Katara came downstairs.

"-like he just dropped off the fuckin' face of the earth."

"Hm. That _is _odd."

"So..._Fff. _Who knows what's up with that. But I've been applying to other places. Somethin' will pan out."

"Definitely. You just need persistence."

"Hey," Jane greeted them both, bobbing her head up while their game booted. Katara gave a light wave and Korra nodded as they passed by, heading for the kitchen.

"Oh, uh...-" Korra stopped at the back-end of her puppy, who was vigorously chewing away at dry food in her ball. "You feed her?" she asked Sokka, who was making himself a roast beef sandwich.

"Yup."

"I was just coming to...-" Korra gestured her hand toward Naga and shrugged. "You didn't have to feed her, dude."

Sokka and Katara exchanged a sly look and Sokka tossed his arm.

"I wanted to, Cuz. Don't sweat. Naga's a Kesuk, we've all got to look out for her."

"Yea, I'll remember that next time she pisses on the carpet. Anyway, there still any of that stuff left so I can make one?" She pointed at his half prepared meal and he nodded. "Awesome..." Korra rubbed her palms together as Katara wandered into the living room.

"Whatcha up to, Kat?" Jane wondered as Katara passed by.

"Oh, um...Nothing, really." Katara continued down her path, finding Gran-Gran making her way down the stairs.

["Bowser!"]  
["Pi-Pi-Pit!...Pit! Pi-Pi-Pi-Pit!"]

"_Christ, _Twinkle-Toes, that's annoying!" Toph grumbled as Aang fiddled with the character select screen. He paused with a cautious, innocent look on his face.

["...Pit!"]  
["Bow-Bow-Bowser!"]  
["Pi-Pi-Pi-Pit!]  
["Bow-Bowser! Bowser! Bow-Bow-Bowser!"]

"_Uggghhh, _I hate you bastards..." Toph growled, smashing her hands over her ears, though a smirk worked its way over her face as Aang and Jane shared a laugh.

At the base of the stairs, Katara asked her grandmother, "Is Dad up yet?"

"Yes. He's getting ready for work."

"OK."

Katara scampered upstairs to find her father in the open-doored bathroom, combing his hair.

"Hey, Dad."

"Ah. Hi."

There was an awkward moment in which Katara tentatively lingered outside the bathroom door, hands latched behind her back.

"Can I...help you, Katara?"

"Oh, I, um...-" Katara nodded hurriedly. "I know you're...getting ready for work, and...everything. I just..._really _could use your advice on something..."

"All right. Well...Go ahead."

"Sooo...-" Katara rocked nervously, considering her circumstance. Suddenly the urge to tell him the entire truth was emerging. She decided against revealing the details. "Um..._Yea. _So, the other night, at the bar on New Year's. Something weird happened."

"Oh?" Hakoda was now straightening his tie.

"Mm-hm. Everyone was, uh...Well, we were...getting pretty..._drunk_. I guess..." Katara felt like slapping herself in the face. Probably not the kind of thing her father wanted to hear.

"Haha. Even _you_?" Oh, good. He seemed more entertained by this than anything.

"Heh, y-yea." Katara meekly shrugged. "A little..."

"And something embarrassing happened," assumed Hakoda with a knowing smirk.

"Right...Yea..."

"Haha...That sort of thing can happen on New Year's."

"It was, um...W-well, it was _super _awkward, and...I-I don't know what to make of it. Everyone's acting like...nothing happened." Katara knew that this was because no one else seemed to _know, _but she felt it best to be as vague as she could with this matter.

"Hm. And have _you _acted like nothing happened?"

"Umm...Y-yes, I guess so..."

"Then maybe they're just following suit, which makes sense. If it's so awkward where _you're _pretending like it didn't happen...then maybe they just want to spare you further embarrassment."

"Oh..." Katara scratched the back of her neck while her father adjusted his collar. "That, uhh...That _does _make sense..."

"But it still bothers you."

"Mm."

"Why haven't you talked with them about it?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Kind of unlike you," Hakoda observed with curiosity. "Normally you're pretty confrontational."

"Yea..." Katara shrugged. She didn't really like that particular word to describe it, but...it _was _pretty accurate.

Hakoda was slapping some cologne along his neck now. The familiar scent was comforting to Katara and she nodded in compliance.

"I'll, umm...I'll talk with them about it. When there's a good opportunity."

"I see. Well, just be honest, Katara. That's what you're best at."

"Haha...Right."

"I'm heading out now." Hakoda hugged his daughter and tidied up her hair a bit. "You take care. Hun."

"Hee. Thanks, Dad. Love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

- Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 -

[**Facebook - Jane Fitzpatrick**]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** uggghhhh why am i so fuckin stupid!]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk likes this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - It's that Irish blood. It's in your genes.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick –** stfu.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- i dont know whats going on but we should play more ssb, maybe thatll help?]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- You're not stupid. Don't be so hard on yourself. ~hug~ ]  
[52 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- That's what she said. 'Hard-on yourself.'] - [Korra likes this.]  
[43 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- =_= ] - [Sokka likes this.]  
[40 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- why are you still at the library jane? get off the cpu and come play games with us. :) lunchtime!]  
[21 minutes ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **- bleh fine. ok.]  
[10 minutes ago]

* * *

- Wednesday, January 5th, 2011 -

[**Facebook - Aang Leekpai**]

[Aang likes Winnie The Pooh.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- I can't decide whether to laugh or cry.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Aang Leekpai - **are you gonna say that every time i like something you dont think is manly?]  
[56 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk** - Haha, did watching that movie remind you of how adorable the 100 Acre Wood is?]  
[46 minutes ago]

[**Meng Beifong **- hehehe! i think your roommates losing his grip on u aangy. dont let him win!]  
[32 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- He lets his girlfriend call him 'Twinkle-Toes.' That's not manly at all. I think he may be a lost cause, but I won't give up.]  
[28 minutes ago]

[**Mai Chiao **- Oh, no. Winnie The Pooh, Aang? I'm not sure if we can still be friends...;P ]  
[21 minutes ago]

[**Tylee Moretti **- didnt u used to liek poohbear when u were little mai? i know you did...] - [Aang and Zuko like this.]  
[13 minutes ago]

[**Korra Beifong **- ok aang, this is getting out of hand. maybe we need an intervention? ;P ] - [Jane likes this.]  
[12 minutes ago]

* * *

[**Facebook - Aang Leekpai**]

[**Aang Leekpai **does not like watching people fall in pits of needles. or being burned alive. or choking on poison. or cutting out their own necks...-_- ]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Meng Beifong **- D': waaat?]  
[54 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Had a good twist ending, though, didn't it?]  
[43 minutes ago]

[**Mai Chiao **- Sounds like my kind of movie.]  
[37 minutes ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- haha, maybe you'll think twice about liking kids cartoons on your fb from now on!] - [Sokka likes this.]  
[32 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk - **Geez, you guys are mean...^_^; Sorry, Aang. I tried to get you out of it.]  
[25 minutes ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **- bah he's gotta face the dark side of humanitt sometime right?]  
[13 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Um...I think he's probably seen enough of it...=\ ]  
[8 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- could we stop talking about this? i don't want to see any more of those movies.]  
[3 minutes ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- aw, little man's afraid of scary movies. :P ]  
[1 minute ago]  
[_Are you sure you want to remove this post?_]  
[Remove Post]

* * *

[To: Jane, Sokka, Korra]  
[Guys, I know that you were just trying to have fun today, but Aang's really sensitive about that sort of thing. I really don't think watching a Saw movie was a good idea for him right now.]  
[Sent: 7:04pm]

[To: Sokka]  
[And you! =[ Sokka, you should know better!]  
[Sent: 7:05pm]

[From: Sokka]  
[Sorry, Sis. I actually feel kinda bad about it now, after the fact...]  
[Sent: 7:08pm]

[From: Sokka]  
[Also. Don't forget the mint chocolate chip ice cream while you're out. Toph won't shut up about it.]  
[Sent: 7:12pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[She's going to get fat if she keeps eating like this. =P Anyway, how are her and Aang doing?]  
[Sent: 7:15pm]

[From: Sokka]  
[Hell if I know. Those two keep having their on-again, off-again nonsense. Today seems like an off-again.]  
[Sent: 7:20pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[=_= I'm really worried about those two...It's like they can't make up their minds over what they want.]  
[Sent: 7:30pm]

* * *

- Thursday, January 6th, 2011 -

["Heya! This is Meng - but not _really _Meng, it's her voicemail. You should leave it a message and Meng will probably-likely-pretty-possibly get back to you later."]  
[**BEEEEEP.**]

["Hey, Cousin...Uhh...It's Toph. Yea. Where you at? Gah. I need to talk with you, I need your advice. I'm kinda freakin' out here..."] A sigh. ["I'm getting worried Aang's gonna call it quits...The way he keeps talking this week, I just...ugh. And I keep thinkin', like...that there's someone else. Ya know? Agh. _Fuck. _I know, I'm...such a hypocrite? Right? Aang wouldn't cheat. He's too goody-goody for that. Ya know? Ah, _fuck, _there it is again. See? I'm, like...saying bad things about him. Rrr. OK, just...gimme a call back when you can. 'Kay. Bye."]

* * *

Toph's snoring was loud from her side of the living room floor. Katara felt some guilt as she observed her friend tossing in her sleep. She'd nodded off early, having stayed up late the night before in what Aang had described to Katara as "a fight" but she had explained as being "a bunch of bullshit." Katara didn't quite understand the details, but it was frustrating to see her two friends both back to being irate and not knowing what to do about it. However, on this night, Aang, too, had fallen asleep early, and Sokka was upstairs in his bedroom chatting with Suki on Aang's laptop. Korra was out late doing who-knew-what, which left Katara and Jane, the latter of whom was wary of going to sleep while Katara read on the recliner.

"What's wrong?" Katara inquired with care.

"You keep staying up all night...fuckin' _reading, _or whatever," Jane grumbled. "Shouldn't you come to bed and get some sleep?"

"Oh...I, um...I just...am getting so soaked up in it, and...-"  
"You've read those books already."

"Uh...Y-yea, I have, it's just...-"  
"So why are you avoiding me lately?"

"Huh?"

"It's about the other night."

"I, um...-"

"New Year's?"

Katara, struggling to swallow a lump in her throat, shot a worried glance at Toph, who mumbled in a grouchy tone and rolled from her back to her side.

"Where is this coming from, Jane?" Katara whispered out. "I mean..._all _of it..."

The two stared each other for a moment of uncertain tension until Katara sighed and set her book down.

"OK," she concluded. "Why don't we...go out on the back porch? Or something?"

Jane huffed and flipped off the comforter, groggily getting to her feet while Katara headed to the door, popping on slippers and a coat. Jane followed her lead and the two shuffled through the kitchen door in the back of the house. Entering the enclosed back porch area, Katara admired the dim glow of the Christmas lights that were strung about the small, chilled room. Screen windows were all that separated them from the outside, and Katara smiled weakly at the gently falling snow in the faint light. She sat down in one of the two wicker chairs that faced the outside, and motioned Jane to sit down, as well.

They both took a deep breath and enjoyed a moment of tranquility before Jane shivered, sticking her hands in the pockets of her pajama pants. She was wearing a gray thermal shirt she'd borrowed from Sokka. It was kind of loose on her but it had its appeal – and more importantly to Jane, it kept her warm.

"So, erm...-" Jane shrugged, clearing her throat. "Whaddya thinkin'?"

"Huh?"

"Ya know...'Bout that...'moment'...we had. The other night."

"You mean...when you kissed me," Katara mumbled, the words flopping out with hesitation.

"Y-yea, when we kissed."

Katara coughed and cocked her head to the side begrudgingly.

"It was, um-...I mean, _we _didn't really kiss. _You _did the kissing..."

"Oh."

A few seconds of silence passed, and Jane stared at the ground. Katara watched her scratch her arm, her eyes shedding some scorn.

"So you're gonna try and tell me you didn't enjoy it," Jane concluded with a bitter tint.

"W-well, it's...not like I really _know _if I...-" Katara trailed off, her hand falling into her palm. "Jane, it's just that I don't..._swing_...that way...?"

"'That way,'" Jane repeated her friend's phrasing, clearly irate. "So you've already tried that, then?"

"Hm?"

"You've already experimented," Jane clarified. "And it's not your thing?"

"Uhh, n-_no, _I haven't...tried anything like _that_," Katara quickly explained.

"That's what I thought," Jane huffed. "So you wouldn't actually _know _if you'd like it or not."

"What?"

"How would you know if you've never tried it?"

"Jane, what are you...-?"

"You're _honestly _going to try and tell me the thought's never crossed your mind?" Jane grumbled, shooting Katara a brief glare. "That you _never _considered it?"

Katara sighed and rolled her head back against the chair's spine.

"Jane, I...guess I _wondered _about it. I know you haven't been super open about...being bisexual and everything, but...it's not like I didn't figure it out."

"And?"

"_And? _And I...I'm _not, _so...it's not like there was much to _consider._"

Jane rolled her eyes at this and Katara sighed in frustration.

"What do want me to _say_, Jane?"

"That's it, then, huh? Just gonna pretend like there's nothin' here between us now."

"There's..._not _anything...like _that._"

"Oh, right. So all of this time, being so concerned about me, and...and all the things you've done, that's...what? It's...'not anything?' I'm supposed to believe that?"

"Jane..." Katara pressed her wrist into her forehead. "I really care about you...And I'm _really sorry _if...if somehow I said, or...or _did _something that made you...made you think that I...felt something that...that I don't feel." She looked up with a despairing, apologetic expression to her friend, whose nostrils were flared as she glared out at the screen windows, visible vapor seeping from her nose in the cold.

"Ah. So it's...just too disgusting to even consider," Jane uttered with a bitter bite to her words.

"Gah, _Jane, _it's not like that. You're beautiful just the way you are. OK?"

"Not beautiful _enough_."

"Stop it," grunted Katara, who was now growing irritable herself.

Jane huffed through her nose and shifted her position in the seat before Katara went on.

"I understand why you're feeling this way, Jane. And I never meant to hurt you. I guess I won't, like...deny the_ possibility_? But...I just am not comfortable with it. You have to respect that."

Jane was stoic, with no reply to offer.

"We're...just so _different_. I didn't think you'd ever feel something like that."

"Well...Toph and _Aang _are pretty fuckin' different, too..."

"They are," Katara sighed. "And...Well, that's not exactly working out so well for them, now, is it?"

"Opposites attract, and shit, don't they?"

"Sure. Y-yea, definitely, but...-"

"Whatever. Obviously I just...got my fuckin' hopes up..."

"I really didn't mean to send...the wrong kind of message."

"Mm-hm..."

"I-I mean, I thought that...you were still going to try and make things work with...-"

"Johnny?"

"Right..."

"He's dropping out. Going back home."

"_Oh..._I, um...I didn't know. I'm sorry..."

Jane laughed in spite of herself, remembering Johnny's words the last night they'd seen each other.

_"There's someone else," Johnny muttered. The instant Jane's eyes widened and her lips cracked open, he quickly blurted, "Nah, nah...I get it. It's OK. Probably better for you, anyway..."_

Maybe not as 'better' as he had thought...

"I'm such a fuckin' idiot," Jane said to herself.

"What?"

"I let myself think things would work out. But they never do. I get my hopes up, thinkin' that there's someone who wants me in their life, and...then they don't."

"Jane..."

"I'm goin' to bed..." Jane rose from her seat, and Katara extended an arm.

"Wait a minute."

Jane paused, her back to her friend, and she awaited Katara's follow-up remark.

"I know this must be hard. What can I do to help?" She got up as well, making her way over to comfort Jane.

"I don't...fuckin' know," mumbled Jane, her lower lip quivering. Katara took Jane's shoulders from behind and eased her to rotate around.

"Just because I don't have feelings like that for you doesn't mean I don't love you," Katara insisted. "You know that, right?"

"Yea..." Jane's face was bright and hot, her eyes building up tears.

"Hey, hey..." Katara comforted, rubbing Jane's skinny arms. "It's OK..."

"Wh-? No, it's _not,_" Jane choked out through a sheepish half-laugh, half-sob.

Katara smiled at her friend's sudden emotion and hugged her tightly.

"Look at you, Fitzpatrick, getting all teary-eyed on me," she teased, eliciting another laugh.

"Only _you, _Kat," Jane huffed with humor, wiping at her face. "Your...God damned touchy-feely-ness is...rubbin' off on me...Tch."

The two held one another in a sympathetic embrace for few moments until Jane nudged herself out with a deep breath, scrubbing her eyes dry.

"Better?" checked Katara.

"Heh...For now," Jane nodded with a yawn and a shiver combined. "F-fuck, I need some sleep..."

"Yea. Let's get back inside. Don't need you getting sick."

* * *

**- **Friday January 7th, 2011 -

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[So. I've spent the past, like...3 weeks...in a house. My own house, actually. And, well...There's my dad, who's not around much because he works a lot. My grandma, who's an elderly woman. My cousin, who's a manly woman. My sister, who's an emotional woman. My friend, who's a woman who tries to be a manly woman. My other friend who's just stubborn and crazy and sometimes emotional and uses music to pretend she's not as emotional as she actually _is _(she's an odd one, have I mentioned that?). My roommate, who's a woman trapped in a boy's body.]

[Suffice it to say that I am about ready to NOT be living with this many women in the same building

[It's been a good break, though. Way more fun than any other. It's just all a bit much after a while, if that makes sense. Not gonna lie, I'm getting pretty worried – only one more semester left until I graduate, and I have NO IDEA what I'm going to be up to when that time comes.]

[I have a TON of crap to sort out in the next few months. Anyone got any ideas on what a History Major could do for work in this economy? x_x ]

[Posted on _January 7th, 11:04pm_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[**2 Comments**]

[**The_Blue_Spirit**]  
[Wow. I do not envy you. I'm not so sure I could handle that myself. As for work...I'm afraid to say, I have no ideas. Frankly, I'm worried this country's just going to get worse.]  
[Posted on _January 8th, 1:37am_]

[**GhostWitchMalu**]  
[maybe you learned something from all that girl time?]  
[Posted on _January 8th, 4:11am_]

* * *

**- **Saturday, January 8th, 2011 -

"Come on, Aang, you don't...really _mean _that. Right?"

Aang huffed and shook his head, slumping his posture as he adjusted his hat so it better covered his head.

"Agh, I just...don't know if I can take this - if _we _can take this."

"Hm." Katara shrugged, catching a glance of his bitter expression as they walked down the salted sidewalk of Akiak. "I guess I don't know what to say anymore, Aang," she conceded to his pessimism with a sigh. "I know you've been really thinking hard about it this week."

"Don't you think it's _sad_?" Aang complained. "How, lately, Toph only ever seems to have fun when she's _drunk?_"

"Mm." Katara popped her shoulders up again. "Yea, I don't know..."

"Ugh. And she just keeps snipping at me over every little thing."

"I guess I _have _noticed that...I won't lie, it's been bothering me. But, no offense, Aang, you've been acting a lot more distant and grouchy toward her, too."

"I know...You're right. You're _so _right. Agh..."

As they rounded the corner and headed down the produce aisle, there was silence as Aang ran through their situation in his head, continuing to get his gears stuck at the same place, while Katara tried to read him.

"What are you thinking?" she wondered with solemn doubt.

"I just...keep hitting this same feeling, whenever I try to think about it," Aang lamented. "Me and Toph have been having trouble making this work for...weeks. Months? Rrgh. Months. I'm just...really starting to feel like...we're just wasting our time."

"Mm..." Katara sighed through her nostrils. She didn't want to verbally express support in this idea - she was trying quite hard to let Aang make up his own mind and simply be someone he could dump on - but over the course of Christmas break she had found herself believing more and more that perhaps they'd both be happier and better off if they did, in fact, call things off. It was a difficult situation.

"What do _you _think, Katara?"

Katara's heart pounded at the question.  
_I think that Toph isn't the best fit for you, and you aren't the best fit for her..._

"_Oh._ Well..._I_ think...that...-"  
"Toph and I should break up."

"Huh? N-no, that's..._not_...what I-"  
"Katara, you can stop trying to be polite." Aang spoke with a tired irritation that threw Katara off. "I can tell what you're thinking. You're doing that..._thing._"

"Wh-what thing?"

"That thing where you try to be polite because you don't want to seem rude, and you don't like seeing your friends fighting."

"Oh..." Katara felt her face heat up at how he'd read her.

"Sokka agrees with you...So does your cousin. And, uh...some other people," Aang mumbled.

"What's that?"

"Everyone seems to think I should break up with Toph..."

"Mm..." Katara felt her insides squirm at the doubt and fear in his face. She rubbed his padded shoulder and sighed out a cloud of vapor as they approached the grocery store. "You sound like you've made up your mind on it, then..."

"I guess so."

* * *

[Subject: RE: Operation Unite]

[President Bumi,]

[After much consideration, I have decided that I would, indeed, like to accept your request and undertake this project. It sounds as though you've already made proper arrangements for a location, and the budget you've outlined seems reasonable. I will recruit advisers and student staff to assist with planning and construction per your outline, and we will aim to have everything set up for a February opening as you desire. I will maintain weekly progress reports as you've asked and will advise you of any major developments as they come.]

[I appreciate this opportunity and will not let you down. This undertaking will truly help bolster the sense of community here at SRU - of this I am certain.]

[Respectfully Yours,]  
[_Zuko Kurosawa_]  
[_Student President, Saint Roku University_]

* * *

**A/N: A few more subtle references to the Avatar universe, and some allusions to things to come. The next chapter ought to crack the shell wide open on Aang's backstory, which I know a lot of readers have been wondering about.**


	52. What Is

**A/N: I'm actually not sure how I feel about this chapter, but it ought to answer a lot of questions I've brought up about Aang's history. I'm sure I'll poke a bit more into it in the future, but I felt with Aang's backstory it'd be better to show brief scenes over a period of time - to show rather than tell, and let you guys connect a lot of the dots. I guess my disappointment with myself is that Jane's backstory chapter was more solid and concise, whereas this one hops around a lot. Oh, well. Hopefully this chapter turned out OK. The next chapter will also be very Aang-centric, too. Between this chapter and the next, we're looking at possibly the most directly referential chapters to the show itself in the whole story.**

**Also, definitely be sure to check out the group on DA if you haven't! Lots of great fanarts. There's even an amazingly drawn swimsuit groupshot now~ (fanservice within fanservice, huzzah!)  
http:/s-r-u(dot)deviantart(dot)com/**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 52 - What Is  
_

* * *

- Sunday, January 9th, 2011 -

Blood.

Everywhere.

Under his bare feet. Between his toes. Between his fingers. Across his hands.

Everywhere.

Blood.

...

...Aang...We need you, Aang...We need you...

...Aang. Hey. Snap out of it.

Dude, _wake up_...

Huh?

"Aang! Quit freakin'."

"_What?_" Aang yelped out with a flinch, his eyes wide and bleary as he gazed at an equally tired Sokka.

"Dude, you were having a nightmare," groaned Sokka, half-asleep. "Chillax."

"Whhrr...?" Aang rubbed at his eyes as Sokka rolled over onto his side with a great yawn.

"Go back to sleep," mumbled his bunkmate. But Aang didn't desire to go back to what he'd just been witnessing. He decided he'd attempt to calm him nerves by getting some water. He slid out from the sheets into the cold night. **[1:32AM]** read Sokka's fat, digital clock.

Aang crept downstairs, taking care not to let the boards creek too much. He was surprised to find Katara, still awake, reading a book on one of the stools at the living room's edge. A faint glow fell over her from a small light in the kitchen that lit up the stove across the countertop. She turned around, confused by his presence. When he reached the kitchen, she whispered out to him.

"_Hey, _Aang...What are you doing up?"

"Ha...I should ask _you _that...Don't you have to drive tomorrow?"

"Um...Y-yea, I do, but...not until a little later in the day..."

"Still...We need to get up early."

"I know. You're right..." She sighed and closed her book with a shrug, watching him pour water from the filtered container they had in their fridge. "Are you all right...? You look pretty...I dunno...spooked."

"J-just a nightmare, that's all..."

"Oh...I see. Didn't you have one last night?"

"Huh? How did you...-?"

"Sokka told me...It's because you watched that movie, isn't it?"

"Er, what? No, that's not...-" Aang shook his head and began to drink, using the water as an excuse to not reply.

"It's OK. I understand. Just...try to get some good sleep. You're really stressed out, so...not sleeping is probably not helping."

Aang swallowed the last of his water. "_Yea,_" he begrudgingly agreed as his mind drained out the blood and horrific images to replace them with Toph and his pain and confusion in regards to her.

"Everything will be OK, Bud," Katara said with an exhausted but nevertheless comforting smile.

"Thanks, Katara." Aang gently placed his glass into the empty sink. "Good night."

"Good night."

After Hakoda and Gran-Gran passed their hugs to the group, Korra sheepishly slipped through the front door with Naga on a leash.

"_Yarp! Yar-yarp!_"

"Looks like Naga's gonna miss you guys," she observed with a melancholy shrug.

"Well, we're sure going to miss her, too," Katara assured with a knowing wink at her cousin before they hugged. Sokka was next in line.

"_So. _Korra. Cousin. It's been real, and it's been fun...-"  
"But it ain't been _real fun_!" the two of them finished in chorus with silly grins as they gave each other high-five hugs.

"Keep it real, Sox."

"You, too, Korra."

"_Yaarrrrp. Yarrp-yarr..._"

"Heeeyyy," Toph whimpered as she cautiously drew near. "Why you all grumpy with me, Naga?"

"_Aarp?_"

"Pff. She's just a fuckin' loony pup," Korra chuckled. "C'mon, girl, it's Toph. Chill."

"Time for us to go, Naga. Gotta head back to this..._school_...bullcrap."

Naga whimpered and started pawing her way up Toph's pants. Toph slowly bent down and let the husky lick at her face while she attempted to pet her.

"Yea, I'll miss you, too, Mutt. But I _won't_ miss those fat feet of yours." Toph stretched back up to full height and reached out her arms for Korra to give her a quick hug in which backs were slapped.

"You're pretty tough for a gimp," Korra teased.

"You're pretty girly for a _man_," Toph joked back. As their hug broke, Toph slammed Korra in the rib with a surprisingly solid punch.

"_Fuck, _man!" she grunted, eyes narrow and keen on Toph's joking mannerisms. "The hell was _that_?"

"How I show affection. Thought you'd apprec-"  
_Whump.  
_"_Owww!_" Toph grasped at her shoulder. "Damn, that...fuckin' hurt," she laughed out half-heartedly.

"Don't dish what ya can't take," Korra advised slyly.

"Yea, I'll...remember that," Toph said as she sucked in air through her teeth. "_Fricker, _you have a good arm..."

Jane was next, and the two kind of shrugged at each other awkwardly for a moment before Korra rolled her eyes and cocked her head back, opening here arms.

"Let's get this over with, Jane..." she exaggerated irritation.

"Oh, _God, _ugh, so annoying..." Jane joined in as they hugged with mock disapproval. As they broke off, Korra put out her fist, and Jane bumped it with a smirk.

"Watch yourself, red-head."

"I'll try. And, uh...hey. I'll look into what's goin' on with the bar in Wayward. I'll let you know what the deal is."

"Sounds good."

Aang remained, standing reluctantly by the Kesuk car with his hands in his pockets, gazing at the winter sunrise while Sokka and Katara worked on loading the trunk. Korra left Hakoda with the leash and hesitantly made her way across the gravel driveway.

"Yo. Aang."

"Hey..." He looked pretty tuckered out.

"Slept on the wrong side of the bed, eh?"

"I guess..." His eyes were half closed and he shrugged.

"Psh. _Every _side of the bed is wrong when Sokka's on it."

"_Hey!_"

"Anyway, uh...Dude. C'mon, why the pouty face?"

"I'm tired..." He blinked and rubbed at his face before widening his eyes to Korra. "Sorry, I just...-"

"Nah, man. It's cool. _I'm _sorry..."

"For...For what?"

"For bein' such a bitch lately." Korra huffed and bobbed her head to the side. "I heard that you, uh...went through a lotta shit in the past..."

"Mm..."

"Had no idea, man. Guess I've been an ass."

"It's OK...You're just...really different from me, is all."

"Heh. I'm like an..._anti-Aang_, right?"

"Fff!" Aang nodded in amusement. "Yea, you..._are_ like my opposite."

"Hey, Little Man." Korra slapped him on the shoulder. "Opposition breeds potential. Or, uhh...Wait, how did that go?"

"What?"

"Err...I don't remember. Whatever. Somethin' like how dealing with your opposites makes you buffer. As a person, and junk."

"Oh, haha...Yea, you're right."

"See? I can do this...philosophy shit and stuff, too. Watch out, I might take your place one of these days, be the nice guy everyone looks up to and whatever. Leadin' people to 'The Light' and all that bull."

"Heh. _That _would be quite a sight to see," Aang acknowledged with a humored sigh. "Maybe we'll see you around some time?"

"No _way _you've seen the last of me, man."

"Good."

Aang offered Korra her final hug of the morning, and the group began filing into the vehicle. Numerous "good-bye's," and "I love you's" were exchanged, and off the group sped, southward bound for Pennsylvania.

* * *

- Monday, January 10th, 2011 -

Aang fumbled across campus in a half-awake stupor, rushing to get to the auditorium. As he drew near, a steady stream of students was filtering in. He saw a puff of bright orange amidst the flock and waved up his hand. Sure enough, it was Jane. She met him halfway, close to one of the stage-side entrances to the building.

"Whoa, hey..."

"Hi, Jane..."

"Shit, you look _beat_...You all right?"

"Ehh..." Aang shrugged as they dawdled beside the door, letting other students pass them by.

"Not pissin' the bed, are ya? With those nightmares and crap?"

The corner of Aang's mouth twitched and he squinted his eyes for a moment before recollecting his cool.

"Uhh, it's-..._Yea. _Not fun. Really stressed."

"Right. After that, uh..._chat_...we all had, and...with the new semester, it's...well, it sure makes sense."

Aang didn't want to think about the discussion the group had on their way down to PA while passing through New York state. It was an involved five-way debate about all sorts of things, branching out into different tangents. Once it hit 'relationships' and how they should operate, Aang quickly grew frustrated with the conflicting opinions and gave up on the discussion. His friends had clearly been pressuring him throughout the conversation to have 'the talk' with Toph that each seemed to believe ought to happen after the many discussions he had endured with both his girlfriend and those closest to him.

"Anyway," Aang dismissed Jane's implications. "Do you know where the others are?"

"Yea, Kat texted me, said they're up on the balcony floor toward the back."

"Oh...OK. Yea, gimme a sec..."

The two headed in, diving straight into the cloud of commotion that was the auditorium before an event. In this case, it was just before lunchtime on the first day of classes for the spring semester, and the school president was giving his biannual student address. Aang and Jane weaved around students until Aang reached the side of the stage. He poked around, sneaking behind the curtain, to which Jane was baffled and confused, and reached an arm out to stop him, only to follow him in.

"Ah-_ha! _There he is..." came the sly, crackling voice of Bumi, waggling a wrinkled finger at Aang. "How are things going, m'boy?" He was holding a bowl of lettuce leaves and crunched at one as he awaited a response.

"It's, uhh...I've been better," Aang honestly answered in haste, scanning the gentleman's outfit. "I just, well...wanted to say 'hi,' and...good luck on the speech. And everything."

"You know me, Leekpai. A whole crowd isn't gonna shake _me _up." Another leaf chomped down - he chewed each one with a rhythm in successive bites.

Jane gawked at their casual interaction with wide eyes. President Bumi was wearing a dark purple suit with a lavender tie. A small sunflower was pinned to his chest.

"What do you think of my new outfit?" Bumi wondered with an aloof shrug. "Come, now. I want your honest opinion."

Aang scratched his head curiously.

"Er...I...guess it's _fine_...?"

"Excellent."

Jane was slack-jawed, unable to utter a word.

"_Oh, _uh, hey." Aang extended an arm to Jane, gripping her shoulder and pushing her forward. "This is Jane Fitzpatrick, she's one of my best friends."

Jane's teeth were bared with fright as Bumi leaned forth, eyeballing her with suspicion as she was swiftly reminded of days with the Freedom Fighters.

_Shit, does he recognize me? We used to give him a lotta hell a while back..._

"**MMMMMMM.** Seems like a good egg to me," Bumi firmly concluded, nodding as he stroked his white chin hairs. "_But, _then again, I've been known to eat _bad_ eggs. So what do _I _know, right?" A chortle erupted as he grabbed Jane's hand - one bony set of fingers crushing another in a vigorous shake. "Nice to meet you, Miss." He squeezed the flustered Jane by the shoulder tightly and jabbed a finger at Aang, advising her, "Keep an eye on this one, ya might learn a thing or two. Heh."

"Y-yes, Sir..." she squeaked.

"_Gahaha, _looks like I've scared your little friend, Aang."

"She's just a bit shy."

"Nothing wrong with that. Shyness is just another word for caution. And you can't be too cautious when it comes to people." There was a glint in his eye as he slipped his hands into his pockets and nodded thoughtfully to himself. "After all, look at _me_, even _I _don't know what I'll do next..." he flashed them a manic grin.

"Aheh, heheh..." Jane attempted to laugh politely, red as a tomato.

"Well, Kiddo, looks like I'm on in five," Bumi coolly advised. "Thanks for dropping by. Give me a call, we'll need to meet over a meal and catch up. It's been a while."

"Yea, it has," Aang agreed. "Knock 'em dead, Bumi."

"Don't you know it? I will."

Just as suddenly as they'd entered the stage did they exit, heading straight for the back where the stairs resided.

"The _fuck_...?" Jane gasped to Aang with a snicker as they clambered up the stairs. "You know the _president? _That guy's a _psycho..._" She seemed highly entertained after the fact.

"Yea, I've known Bumi for a long time," Aang explained. "He's great, haha."

"Man, that's so bad-ass. How the hell do you know him?"

"Friend of the family," Aang immediately replied, only to be struck with the somber reminder of his circumstances.

"Family? But I thought...-"

"Y-yea, it's, uh...kind of a long story, but...I guess I ought to tell you some time, huh?"

"Oh, wh-whatever works for you, dude. I was just...wondering."

"No, no, I...-" Aang paused in the stairwell corner, drumming his fingers carefully on the rail. "Remember how before, we were...saying, or..._doing_...things that got you upset, because of your...-" He spun his finger around. "-...history?"

"Yea," Jane nodded, eyebrows furrowing with concern.

"There's...some parts of _my _history that...maybe you ought to know about, too..."

"Oh...Sure, um...OK."

"Uh, but...later," Aang settled the matter.

"Totally," Jane agreed, releasing the solemn topic as they hit the balcony section and found their three friends in the back, sitting in seats at the backmost row.

Sokka was playing Tetris on his phone, Toph was lounging about listening to music on her iPod, and Katara was reviewing a class syllabus. They exchanged their greetings and sat down, and the speech commenced shortly thereafter. The curtain opened to reveal Bumi at the lecture podium, a downward arrow carved into its front side. His presence was met with applause and even a few cat calls.

"Yes, yes, yes..." He quelled them, wobbling his hands about to encourage the crowd of students as they settled to allow him to speak. "It _is _that time again, my friends. Indeed, it is. Quite exciting, I know." A student toward the front belted out a '_woo-yeah!_' and Bumi chortled. "Exactly! This fellow here gets what I mean. Come, now." He flicked his wrists up, gesturing the student body that was present to rise from their seats. "Chop-chop. Up and at 'em. I know it's quite early for you folk, so let's all have a good shout and cheer ourselves on the start of a semester, shall we?"

Some students started bellowing out calls and grunts, and Bumi egged them on until the entire building echoed with the cries of hundreds of voices in a chaotic clash of jubilant energy. His snorting laugh reverberated amongst their cheer as he clapped his hands. As he waited for the commotion to die down, he ate a green leaf from his bowl sitting on the podium, then drank from a bottle of water to wash it down.

"Doesn't that feel better?" He cleared his throat. "Now, then. On the off chance that you may not know me, I'm President Bumi. If this is your first semester at Saint Roku University...welcome. We do things a bit differently here. We bend our minds at SRU to get the job done. _Mind-benders, _we are."

Aang yawned and stretched out his arms, leaning back in his seat as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

A hallway. Dusty clouds drifting through the air.

"Toph. I need to talk with you."

"What do you want, Pansy-Boy?"

"It's about me. About us."

"What _about _us?"

"I think...that we should break up."

"How do you plan on doing _that _when you're not even wearing any _pants_?"

"_Wh-what?_"

A cold draft. Eyes prying through the hallways walls. Eyes everywhere. Staring. Deep staring from all sides.

Applause.

Aang's eyes popped open as his heart skipped a beat. He was back at the auditorium.

"You must all open your brains to the possibilities. Always remember that there's never just one answer to a problem. As a fellow scholar of mine once said: 'Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy!' You'll all face challenges in the coming semester - every last one of you. Don't take them lightly - or too heavily, for that matter. Simply...take them. Things will get rocky, I promise you that. And when they do, I hope you will all think like _mad geniuses_."

Bumi waved to the rabidly clapping audience of students and took his leave, chewing down another leaf while exiting off stage with his other hand in his pocket.

"_Shit, _man, that guy is..._awesome_," Jane murmured with an impressed sigh as the throngs of students rose from their seats and began filing out. "I can't believe we used to give him so much crap..."

"Huh?" mumbled Aang, still recovering from his exhausting nap.

Jane ignored his half-hearted inquiry and said, "Damn, Aang, now I _really _wanna know how you and him are so buddy-buddy."

"You don't _know_ about that?" Toph incredulously asked. "_Yea, _man, it's, like...the whole reason he's here..."

"N-no one's ever _told _me," Jane defended her ignorance.

"The hell, Twinkles?" Toph teased, jabbing at his stomach. "Way to leave Janey-Jane in the _dark, _geez..."

"Heh, I, uhh...-" Aang shrugged and trailed off, sneezing as his thoughts derailed.

"God bless you," said Katara, who was quickly accompanied by a few more "Bless-you's."

"Little sicky, there, Babe?" picked Toph, nudging her fist into Aang's stomach, which wasn't helping.

"Wh-? '_Sicky_?'" Katara giggled. "Did you just say...-?"

"You called me 'Babe.'"

"What are you talking about, Sicky?"

"OK, I'm escaping the gushy-ness," Sokka flatly declared.

"Haha, I'm with him," Suki chuckled. "It's time for lunch, anyway."

Up at the cafeteria, Aang pulled Jane aside while everyone was grabbing their food.

"Hey, uhh...How about I tell you about..._stuff_...over lunch...?"

"Oh, erm...Shhhuuure?"

"Hey, Taters, I-"  
"Yep. Go for it," Toph conceded warmly, having overheard. "JayBee needs to learn the Secrets of the Hidden Aang."

"Legends of the Hidden Temple," Sokka contributed, out of nowhere, piling some macoroni and cheese onto his plate.

"Shrine of the Silver Monkey," Katara added with a grin.

"Frickin' _eh,_" Sokka growled. "Those damn kids never knew how to put that stupid thing together right! Always pissed me off!"

"Heehee, I know, right?" Katara giggled, adding a chicken sandwich to her meal.

"Huh?" Suki was baffled.

"Did you not watch Nickelodeon when you were young?" Sokka gasped.

"We didn't have cable," Suki replied simply.

"Put together the Shrine of the...-?" Toph sighed. "Nevermind. I don't wanna know."

"'Kay, well...-" Aang shrugged with an impatient puff. "We'll catch you guys later."

"OK," said Katara, giving Aang a cautious glance.

"Have fun, you two," Toph teased. "Don't blow her mind too much."

"I'll try."

"What's this about?" mumbled Suki.

"Aang and Jane need to have a chat."

"Oh...?"

"Don't worry about it, it's cool."

A couple minutes later, the two friends had found themselves a booth at an edge of the cafeteria by a one of the wall-sized window panes. The two sat on opposing booths and minded to themselves for a few moments, chewing into their meals.

"So. Jane. I know that...you kind of had a rough past...I'm not _exactly _sure what happened, but...mine hasn't exactly been full of rainbows, either..."

* * *

{**DOMESTIC DISPUTE ENDS IN BLOODSHED}**

Bumi sighed at the newspaper headline, pinching at the bridge of his slightly crooked nose. He set the paper down on the table. He didn't need to read what the press was spinning on the matter. He already knew the details second-hand.

"What a mess," he sighed with a deep melancholy that his companion hadn't seen in quite some time.

"A true tragedy," lamented the elderly man sitting across the table from Mr. Bumi.

"I'm awfully sorry, Gyatso," Bumi offered his sympathies. "I simply don't understand it. The boy certainly didn't deserve this..."

"No. Not at all..."

Gyatso, a slender old man with tanned skin and a bald head, drank down the hot liquid in his tiny sake cup as memories swirled. His grandson, barely six years old, face streaming with confused tears, his hands and clothes red with dried blood. So much blood...The officer who'd shown up on the scene had reported they'd found the child on the kitchen floor, arms wrapped around his dead mother's waist, sitting in a pool of her blood. The father was across the room, a red-stained telephone at his side. Investigators were still attempting to crack the code of truth to determine what had happened, but all signs pointed to a dispute between the two.

"It's beyond my comprehension," Gyatso huffed, scratching at his beard. "So selfish, to leave their own child caught in this..."

"To leave him alone," Bumi added with disgust. "It's obvious that Aang was _not _at the forefront of their thoughts in this whole situation."

"I _begged _them to seek legal action," Gyatso defended his own lack of intervention. "They wouldn't listen..."

"So..." Bumi took their sake bottle and poured himself a puny cup. "What will become of the boy?"

"Why...I suppose that's where I come in," Gyatso advised with a thoughtful nod, accepting the bottle from his old friend and preparing himself another shot.

"_You?_"

"His mother made no specification in her will, but my son and I discussed it some time ago, and..he _did _express it in writing. Assuming the courts go through with his decision, the boy will be in my care."

"Mm..." Bumi rubbed his hand across his head, between the tufts of fading hair at either side. "Will you be able to manage on your own? Ha. I mean, Gyatso, my friend...you're getting a bit old to be caring for a kid, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Gyatso admitted with a weak smile. "But Aang is my grandson. I won't leave him twisting in the wind."

"Fair enough." Bumi patted his comrade on the shoulder. "If there's anything I can do to help, you just let me know."

* * *

"Hmmm..." Aang rubbed his chin, studying the board carefully. He scooped up a pile of colored stones from one dip in the board and began dropping them, one at a time, in the divets in the board as he moved around.

"A wise move, Aang," Gyatso complimented the boy with a smirk. As Gyatso considered his next play in their Mancala game, the mail slot on the front door popped open, and a few envelopes slipped through. "Would you get the mail?" the elderly man politely asked.

"Yea!" The excited young man scampered across the wood panel floor to the front door and eagerly grabbed the mail, sifting through the sparse pieces. He found one relevant to what he had been hoping for. "I got one!" he cheered. Gyatso chuckled as Aang dropped the other envelopes on the floor and tore open the one of interest. Inside was a card with a grouchy bulldog wearing a birthday hat pinned to his head - the animal looked entirely unamused. Inside, the card read, in handwriting: {_This is how I feel today, because I cannot see you turn 8. Have a good birthday, Aang._ _- Bumi_}

"Who's it from?" asked Gyatso as Aang sat down at the board on the floor.

"It's from Bumi."

"Haha. That's wonderful."

While Bumi served as a principle at a high school across the state, he would come visit his friend Gyatso on occasion and in turn see Aang. Aang rather enjoyed these opportunities because Bumi was an grown man who, like Aang's own grandfather, indulged in childishness.

"_Heeeeey!_" Aang shouted in accusation, jabbing his finger disapprovingly at the board. Some stones had been rearranged in a way that was in violation of the rules, granting Gyatso multiple extra points. The two had a laugh.

"You seem to be doing better today, Aang," said the grandfather. "I'm glad."

"Oh. Oh. Oh." Aang bounced up and down, cross-legged on the floor. "We should have _ice cream._"

"Hoho, now _that _is an excellent idea..."

* * *

"And then there was the one time when we spent all weekend baking pies and _hurled them _out of the car at people downtown! _Maaaan, _that was so funny..."

Jane was leaning back, rubbing her full stomach with an entertained smile.

"Damn...Sounds like a cool old dude. No wonder him and Bumi got along..."

"Yea...It was pretty great..." Aang yawned, rubbing at his eyes as he stabbed his fork into a piece of broccoli.

"So...Like, Gyatso – they named that building after him."

"Heh. Y-yea, they did..."

"Frick. You're like, _all _connected to this school, huh?"

"Yea...Well, it's...-"

"Shit, what time is it?" Jane grumbled with a sudden start, her eyes popping open. She leaned forward and dug her phone out. "Argh, damnit. I've got class in a few minutes..." She scratched at her forehead feverishly.

"Oh." Aang nodded.

"I'm sorry," Jane huffed with an apologetic look. "I don't mean to-"  
"No, no, it's OK..."

"We should meet again, though. Seriously."

"Right."

"Maybe again tomorrow?"

"Er, y-yea, that's fine."

"'Kay." Jane was rushing up to her feet and stacked her dishes together. "Peace!"

"Later!"

Aang sat alone now, poking at his vegetables as his mood dipped back into one of somber regret. It was therapeutic to be explaining this to his friend, but painful at the same time, to be reminding himself of the past.

* * *

[From: Zuko Kurosawa]  
[Subject: Operation Unite]

[Hello, Aang,]

[President Bumi has assigned me with a very complex task, and I'm going to need a lot of help. He suggested I contact you - I get the impression you know each other? I need someone with a strong sense of visual design to help me get this project off the ground. I'm not exactly sure what he had in mind, but the President specifically recommended you. It's a bit complicated to explain, so it'd be easiest if we met up, and you could let me know if you're interested. I'm sure you're very busy with the start of the new semester, but you _would _be getting monetary compensation from the college for your work.]

[Please give me a call and we can arrange a time to meet. I really think you'd like working on this with me.]

[Respectfully Yours,]  
[_Zuko Kurosawa_]  
[_Student President, Saint Roku University_]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko Kurosawa]  
[Subject: RE: Operation Unite]

[hey zuko. sure. i can meet you sometime and we can talk about it,. :) sounds mystrious...is it secret or something? i will call tomorrow. good nite!]

* * *

- Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 -

Aang rubbed at his aching eyes as he stumbled out of class. He wiped his nose with his sleeve – it was suffering from runniness every now and again, and was quite irritating, but not as much so as the class he had just been in. The professor's demeanor was brutish and hostile compared to what he had grown accustomed to. Maybe he was just a mean, grouchy old man? After all, the guy had a couple grizzly scars across his face. Yeesh. Aang cringed at the thought of what could've caused them. The rumors he'd heard from some classmates entailed that the professor had been a veteran in Vietnam...But could that really be true?

"It's _totally _legit," Jane confirmed to Aang in the lunch line as they gathered their meals together.

"R-really?" Aang was shocked at the boldness with which Jane declared it. Not even a moment's hesitation.

"Professor Jeong, right?"

"Mm-hm."

"Yea, he definitely was in the war..."

"No kidding?"

"Tch. _No kidding_," Jane groaned, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, Aang. The guy who ran my ROTC training? General Zhao? He was in the army _with _Jeong. Jeong was his commanding officer."

"Wh_aaaat_?"

"I _know, _right?"

Aang was befuddled by this notion. Jane wouldn't make something like that up...She _could _make things up. She had been known to in the past, according to his intuition and observation. But why would she spew nonsense about a professor? It had to be true...

"Just...so _weird,_" Aang concluded, filling his drink.

"I guess..." Jane shrugged off the topic. It seemed she had overcome any interest in it a while back. "So, ya gonna tell me what the hell happened with your family, or...-?"

"Oh, right! Yea, yea...Of course...Here, let's, uh...-" Aang grabbed his plate and meandered into the cafeteria's dining area, finding solace at an empty booth. Aang liked booths – preferred them to tables, every time. They were comforting.

Aang coughed, his throat packed full of mucus. He truly wasn't feeling too pleasant.

"Today goin' better than yesterday, man?"

"Oh, erm...-" Aang shrugged.

"That's a 'no,' then."

"Heh..." Aang gave Jane a sheepish shrug, taking a drink of milk as she chowed down into her seafood salad.

"You sick?"

"I, uh...guess so. That first Calc class seemed pretty rough, too...Anyway, how are you doing?"

"Well, _my _classes seem like they'll be good. I'm taking one on insect biology – it's gonna fucking _rock._"

"Oh, cool. Yea, 'cuz you love, like...bees...and, uh...-"

"Hey, hey, I _love _bees, but they're not the _only _cool insect."

"Haha. OK, OK...Well, that's great for you, then."

"Totally. Now, ehh...all I gotta do is figure out what the _hell _I'm supposed to do with all of this crap I'm learning."

Aang sighed and drank some more.

"With this economy, I feel like we're _all _doomed to be lost in debt forever."

"Fuckin' _eh, _I hear _that_..." Jane groaned in forboding. She quickly shook off this depressing thought. "Enough shootin' the shit, though. C'mon, Little Man: tell me the rest of your story."

"Don't call me that," Aang flatly advised. Jane's expression went pale as she blinked a few times, stunned at his defensive tone.

"Y-yea, sure...Fair enough," she dismissed. "Sorry, I didn't...-"

"It's OK." Aang sniffled, staring down at his meal, his hunger great.

Jane tapped her fork on her plate, trying to figure out a way to redeem the energy of the interaction.

"Sooo...Back to you and the old guy...?"

"Right. So I grew up with Gyatso for a while..."

* * *

"Aang needs to have freedom and fun. He needs to grow up as a normal boy," Gyatso defended.

"You cannot keep protecting him from what has happened," said his brother vehemently.

"Gyatso," sighed the man in the suit, setting his suitcase on the table. "I know you mean well, but you are letting your affection for the boy cloud your judgment."

"All I want," Gyatso insisted with a rational calm, "is what is best for _him._"

"I understand that," said the lawyer, nodding politely as he tipped up his glasses. "But circumstances, as they are, have limited our options..."

"So, what are you proposing?" wondered the protective grandfather.

"As I said...we only have a few options here. Some different members of the Leekpai family have stepped forth to claim custody."

"Gyatso," added the crusty, crotchety man at his side. "You are too _old_, my brother...Aang needs someone who can be depended on in an emergency, who has the strength to care for a growing boy. Aang will be twelve soon."

Gyatso puffed out a deep, contemplative breath, drumming his fingers against the table.

"If we don't let a Leekpai family member take custody, your grandson is going to be given up to the system, Gyatso. _Foster care_. Is that really what you want?"

"I suppose I really have no choice, then...You're right."

Gyatso's brother nudged him and nodded.

"The family reunion is in two weeks, isn't it? You can let Aang spend time with each candidate, and let him decide what is best."

"Very well," Gyatso accepted the terms laid out with a peaceful but melancholic demeanor. "I will explain the situation to Aang when the time is right."

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine Ten.

Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.

In.

Out.

Aang opened his eyes.

His muscles were relaxed, his mind felt cleaned.

Gyatso sat before him, legs crossed, eyes closed. He had tanned, wrinkled skin, his once-strong muscles beginning to deteriorate. Lately, Aang was beginning to worry about the man's health. Fortunately, with his lifestyle, he seemed to keep active and eat healthy and lean, but no amount of greens and exercise could hold back the hands of time.

Time. Aang did not know how much time had passed since he had begun. Probably not very much – it was hard to maintain his focus today. He quietly rose to his feet, stretching out his limbs. The small temple was empty at the moment, meaning the others who had been present when Aang had started his meditation had filtered out.

Aang had grown to appreciate this small temple like a second home. His grandfather had been managing it with his brother for a couple of decades, now. Their small, community temple, "Winds of the South," saw a fairly consistent crowd of participants, primarily elderly folk.

"Does something trouble you, Aang?" Aang didn't understand how he was this way, but Gyatso seemed to always speak with a carefree, optimistic tone, each sentence slow and relaxed.

"Oh, uhh...No, I just...think I'm done."

"I see. How do you know you are done?"

"I-...Wait, what?"

"You said that you _think _you are done. Clearly, then, you do not _know _that you are."

"Er...-"

Gyatso continued to speak, eyes still closed, hands still curved into his meditation stance.

"Perhaps you should try to meditate some more. In doing so, perhaps you will come to a more resolute decision."

"O-OK..." Aang sighed and sat back down. What was Gyatso getting at? He sucked in a deep breath and attempted to return to his zen state.

In. Out. In. Out.  
One. Two. Three. Four. Argh. Leg falling asleep.  
Darnit.

"Ech...Yes, I _know _I am done for today..."

"Good. Very good."

"Huh? Didn't you want me to...meditate more?"

"Haha, why would I want you to do that which you do not desire?"

"Uhh...-?"

"Aang, I was merely illustrating that you cannot give up on something until you _know _that it is what is in your heart. It is wise to give something a second chance before you dismiss it. But some things must come to an end sooner than others."

"All right..." Well, at least that made enough sense. "But...What if I know right away? The first time?"

"Then you _know. _Act on what you know to be the best path for yourself, not on what you _think_. The mind is a powerful tool, certainly. But, given too much power, and it can make things more complex than they truly are."

"Hm..." Aang scratched his head, nodding to himself.

Gyatso opened his wrinkled eyelids at last and smirked slyly.

"Sometimes, Aang...it is best to not let the mind make all of life's decisions for you. The winds across this earth do not adhere to soley linear pathways. They alter the flow of weather every day."

"But...If I were to be like...air...all the time...then how could I be grounded? How could I ever make good choices?"

"Haha, that is precisely why I said '_sometimes,_' my child...Just as the planets itself is composed of different elements, so, too, should you build yourself from different experiences. Rounded and balanced – that is what true virtue requires."

"Hm...I think I get what you mean," Aang decided, considering his grandfather's advice with great care. "Uhh...I'm gonna...go make some tea...You want some?"

"I think I do," said Gyatso.

Aang nodded and took a step, only to freeze in realization and turn his head to see the old man's grin.

* * *

"No! I won't do it," cried the young Aang, his face flushed with anger, tears building. "They can't take you away from me, Gyatso..."

"We will still see each other, Aang. Have no fear."

"_No! _You're my grandpa! They can't just do that!"

"I am an old man, my child. I know it is difficult to understand, but I cannot take care of you like I used to."

"I don't care! _I _can take care of you!" Aang pleaded with desperation. He stamped his untied sneaker into the grass. The park was chilled, the skies cloudy and gray. Leekpai family members were spread across their reserved section of the park, some meditating off in a clean patch of grass, others making the final preparations for dinner.

"This is _wrong_," Aang grumbled, his lips quivering as he pounded his foot again. He crossed his arms as his face went sour. "Everyone keeps _leaving._.."

"_Aang_," said Gyatso. "Do not say such things. I will never leave you."

"_They _left...Mom and Dad just...went away and left me." The tears began rolling, Aang's arms still folded across his chest with anguish. Gyatso knelt down, his knees cracking, his back aching, and leaned forward, hugging his grandson.

"I know, Aang. And I am sorry. But we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is."

* * *

Aang's wide eyes stared up at the bus with childish wonder and fear. This vehicle would take him away with _them. _With these strange people - his 'family.' But Aang only knew of one person who truly felt like family: Gyatso. Aang understood what getting on this bus meant: his last time under Gyatso's care. After this ride was over, he wouldn't be living with Grandpa anymore - of this, he was certain. What could he do to prevent this fate? Even if only to extend his freedom - his time with the one person who seemed to truly care about him - was there anything he could do?

The engine whirred in that long, obnoxious way he had grown to loathe from riding to school. The raindrops, at least, dulled the vehicle's irritating grumbles. The plethora of strangers around him were weaving all around him, filtering onto the bus, all trying to squeeze into the single doorway at the front. A few curious faces stared down at him as they passed by. He didn't want to be with these people. He clutched his umbrella tightly.

There had to be something he could do. Anything to stall for time, to avoid these bizarre people. Lightning cracked the sky in two, and thunder rippled across the drenched park.

He could run away. He could hide – not get on. Grandpa Gyatso was already asleep on the bus – the poor man had been tuckered out from the events of the day. Aang had overheard that they were running late, too, and many of the family members had to catch a plane back home.

Perhaps they wouldn't notice if he simply...didn't get on? Then Gyatso would _have _to come back, on his own, after everyone from that bus was gone. Right. Yea. This would work. And then they'd all realize he was _serious_...

Aang carefully wormed his way out of the line, sneaking back to the structure that they had occupied that afternoon. His heart raced as he trampled through the wet rain, sneakers soaked, pants stained with grass. He found relief from the rain underneath the open shelter. It was filled with picnic tables, and he hid himself beneath one that was tucked in a corner beside a short stone wall. He waited a couple minutes with baited breath. Eventually, he could hear someone squishing toward him.

"-...thought I saw him head off this way..."

Aang didn't recognize the voice – all of these relatives seemed to blur together in his mind.

"See him?" asked a more distant voice.

"Nah. He probably just needed to grab something he forgot...Nope. Nobody in here."

"Probably got back on already. C'mon, we gotta head out, we're running behind schedule."

Another moment later and the whirring of the bus ramped up. It was moving. It rumbled along, and Aang waited for the sound to fizzle away into the rain. He poked his head up over the small stone barrier that he had hid behind. The bus was already out of sight, somewhere on the road inbetween thick forest trees.

"Woohoo!" he cried in triumph, thoroughly pleased that he had tricked them all. Now Gyatso would _have _to come back.

* * *

Aang peered with caution down the cliff's face. And there it was. He could make out the shape at the bottom...

"_Whoa, _there, Kiddo," cried the man behind him. Aang's shoulders were grabbed and he was yanked away from the edge. "Better watch out, there, OK?"

"Y-yes, Sir..." Aang nodded to the police officer, still in shock from it all. Aang turned around, away from the edge of the road, to observe the dented minivan. The cracked windshield on the driver's side was smeared with maroon, the seat empty.

"Dear God," murmured the park ranger that had found Aang earlier that evening. "What..._happened_ here?" he asked of the officer, taking a deep breath through his nose and wiping sweat from his mustache.

"Rainstorm got pretty heavy," the officer shrugged, shaking his head. He stretched out his arm, arcing it along the sharp curve in the road. "This is a nasty turn, too. Rain-slick road, bus driver was probably going faster than he should've...driver of the minivan was _definitely _going faster than _he _should have...-" The policeman smacked his palms together. "Bam. Bus swerves out, they slam the brakes...everyone takes a tumble down the cliff."

"Lord," sighed the ranger, adjusting his hat's brim. He exchanged solemn glances with Aang before directing his attention back to the official. "Any survivors?"

The officer shrugged, sucking in air between his teeth.

"No idea. Saw them take a few live ones outta the wreckage, but...they didn't look so good."

"Jesus..." The ranger stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at the pavement for a few seconds. "Well..." He nodded his head toward Aang, who shivered from the damp night air as a gust of wind swept by. "What about the boy, here? We've gotta get a hold of his next of kin."

Aang swallowed hard as he considered the night's events. Was Gyatso OK? It was possible...The policeman had said they had gotten a few out...

But Aang's hope quickly disintegrated as the blood-stained car glared his way, a reminder of the impact. The edge of the hill had been pretty steep, and from what Aang had made out of the bus' rubble...it had been really bad. Grandpa Gyatso had been wheezing and wobbling just to get around, let alone endure..._that. _Aang's young but sharp mind rapidly pieced together the probable situation he was now caught in.

Grandpa Gyatso was dead. The Leekpai family – including anyone who had been trying to take custody of him – was also dead. A single evening had changed everything. Save for a few, distant figures...Aang was now alone.

The boy was jolted from his melancholy by a firm hand from the police officer.

"I'm sorry, Kid. I don't know what to say, but...it's a miracle you're alive. If you ask me, somebody upstairs was looking out for you..."

Why couldn't that 'someone' have been looking out for Gyatso, then? Or any of the others?

"_I will never leave you."_

_You lied, Gyatso. You're gone. Everyone always leaves...eventually._

* * *

Aang burped, his food finally finished. He took a deep breath and glanced across the table.

"And, uhh...Yea," he awkwardly concluded. "That's how I ended up in foster care."

Jane was slack-jawed, her food only half-eaten. She came around and went about eating some of her meal, processing everything she'd been told.

"_Shit_," she breathed out between bites. "That's-..." She shook her head, chewing. "I dunno, man. Just..._damn._"

"Heh. Y-yea, I get that from people..." Aang shrugged. "It is what it is."

"But you're, like...so _nice._"

Aang laughed at this. Everyone always said that.

"I'm sorry, dude," Jane went on. "Seems like we've all got skeletons in our closet, huh?"

"Yea..."

"But, so...how did you end up _here, _then?"

Aang swallowed, his face beginning to boil. He bobbed his head, cocking his cap's brim to cover his eyes.

"It's...W-well, so I was put into foster care..."

"Yea?"

"And, uhh...I got kinda passed around through the system a bit."

"Mm." Jane grimaced at the idea, seeing Aang's prior turmoils spilling out into his expression. "You got abused, huh?" she muttered in recognition.

Aang sighed and gave a gentle nod, still avoiding Jane's concerned glance.

"Dude. It's cool," Jane firmly assured, bending her neck down to try and peer underneath Aang's hat. "I've been there, man. I _know _how it goes..."

"What happened to _you_?" Aang mumbled, finally establishing eye contact once again.

The two of them exchanged wary looks, eyes hardened from the memories they both carried with them.

"Hey. Whoa, there, Cowboy. Can't go...drawin' your gun on me when I've got mine to your face."

"..._Huh_?"

"Pff." Jane exploded a laugh through her lips. "I dunno. Just...finish _your _story first, Bucko. Then we'll move on to me."

* * *

The beautiful campus was empty on that spring morning. The past few months had been a blur. Aang had rushed to complete the last of his high school curriculum, and his old friend Bumi had pushed him into applying for the college he had recently taken up presidency at. Over the years, Bumi, the wily old man, had been one of the few figures who had maintained contact with Aang. Fresh from high school and now of legal age to be free from the foster care system, Aang was quickly growing excited about the changes life had in store. For once, _he _would be in charge of his day-to-day business – where he slept, what he did on the weekends, who he lived with, what he ate...The possibilities bewildered him.

Seeing the campus for the first time was refreshing. This place would soon be his new home. The open grass, the periodic trees, the forests and foothills in the distance...It was glorious.

"So...What's that building right there?" Aang wondered, jabbing a finger to the structure at the center of the circular sidewalk.

"That's the Avatar Campus Center, m'Lad," said Bumi with a snorting chuckle. "The cafeteria, the coffee shop, the student lounges...They're all inside."

"Ah. So it's...kind of like a hub? Or something?"

"Precisely. A place open to all students, faculty, and visitors alike."

"That's pretty cool..."

A bronze statue of an elderly man with a robe and a long beard stood at the base of the stairs leading to the entrance. His eyes were fierce and defined, and the pattern of a dragon was carved into the stone at his feet, circling his metallic form in a ring.

"Who's _this _guy?"

"Ahhhh..." Bumi grinned tapping his forehead knowingly. "That's old Roku."

"_Oh, _like...the name of the college."

"My, aren't we sharp as a tack?" chortled Bumi, slapping Aang's shoulder.

"Well...but...who _was _he?"

"The statue? Or the saint?"

"Huh?"

"The _statue _is made in the likeness of the college's founder, Miyazaki Roku, a descendent of _Saint _Roku - the guy they named the school after."

"Miyazaki Roku?"

"He was a great man, I understand."

Aang inspected the statue, seeing the metal plate at its base.

**[MIYAZAKI ROKU]  
[Heart of the Dragon]**

"The college had that statue built in his honor when he passed away."

"Really cool..." Aang rubbed his hand along the etched dragon pattern. "And then...-" Aang turned away from the metal man to set his sights on the academic building in the distance. "So...that over there...?"

"That's the Gyatso Center. Mmm-_hm._" Bumi nodded proudly. "Named it after your grandpappy, they did."

"How come? I mean, I know he used to teach art courses here a long time ago, but..."

"Gyatso was a prominent figure here at SRU back in the day. He pushed for a lot of changes that have stuck ever since – like building a chapel down beneath the auditorium, freeing up the regulations a bit, and he ran a lot of community service projects that helped get Wayward on its feet after the Great Depression."

"Oh. _Wow._ He...never told me about all that..."

"Gyatso was a humble man...I think he was kind of embarrassed when they named the building in his honor."

"Hm..." Aang's mind was feeling a bit blown by all of this. This whole time, his grandfather had been a respected figure at this school, and he'd never known. And now Bumi, his friend, was in charge of the administration.

"Now, then. With all that hullabaloo taken care of...-" Bumi's eye twinkled and he pulled out an envelope from his pocket. "-...it's time to show you why I brought you here today."

"What is it?" Aang peered at the envelope, confused but excited. He took the paper from the old man's hand. It had a wax seal stuck into its back with the college's logo embedded in it – a downward arrow.

{Aang Leekpai}

"What _is _it?" Aang repeated, his face turning pink.

"It's something you've earned, Aang. You've had a hard time of it over the years, and I'm sorry I haven't always been able to be there for you."

"N-no, Bumi, it's...it's OK, I...-"

"But despite all the adversity you've faced, you've risen above it. You got straight A's in high school. You put in volunteer work constantly."

"Ha. That...that wasn't a big deal."

"It may not seem like it – because I've come to know that it's simply who you are – but most people with your upbringing simply don't have the courage and kindness that you've grown into, m'boy. And it's the ones like you, Kiddo, that I think we should put our hopes in for a better future."

Aang was bashful, unsure of how to react to these compliments. He was almost afraid to open the pristine envelope, but Bumi explained the details.

"When Roku founded this school, he built it on the idea that greatness hides in each of us. That the world doesn't make us who we are – _we _do. He believed that the grace of gods could reside on the earth through _us_ if we made the right decisions. It was in that spirit that he named the building at the center of campus the 'Avatar.' The arrow that symbolizes this school represents the idea of not looking upward and outward, but _inward. _Inside yourself."

"Oh...So...That's why it points down, instead of up? Because it means, like...how we should...look back to go forward?"

"Heheheh...Something like that. So, what you'll find in that envelope is a scholarship that Roku put together before he died. Every so often, an incoming student who has illustrated the ability to rise up through harsh times is given this. It may not be the most financially beneficial aid, but it will certainly help – and it's more about the recognition than the money. The Avatar Scholarship exists to honor the hard work kids like you put into being everything you can be."

"Whoa...I-I don't know what to say..."

"Pheh. Then don't say a word, Lad!"

Bumi put his arm across Aang's shoulder and squeezed tight.

"A few more months and the crazy journey will begin. Gahahah. It's quite a treat to have you coming to this school, Aang. You'll do some great things here, I'm sure of that. _But..._Now that all this serious business is taken care of, I think it's time we paid a visit to the old amusement park and give those roller coasters a ride, for old time's sake."

"That sounds good to me!"

"Let's get in my Porsche and see how far we can get if I steer with just my chin."

"_Whaa?_"

"Shit-balls, Aang," Jane lauded, rubbing her hand through her hair in awe. "That's..._awesome. _No _wonder _you seem to care so much about this place. Heh."

"Yea, it's...got a lot of personal meaning for me," Aang concluded.

"You do a good job at, like...hiding it."

"What do you mean?"

"How you're all, like...connected to these old dudes, and stuff. Like, other people would totally brag about it, and whatever."

"I don't want to rely on my ties to people to do well here. I want to get good grades, and...make a difference because of _me_, because of my own choices."

"Damn straight. Sounds like a plan to me!" Jane stuck out her fist, and Aang bumped his knuckles against hers.

"But yea, so...Now you know a bit about me. So...what about _you, _Jane?"

* * *

- Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 -

"Wow, seriously?" Aang was excited but nervous at the same time.

"Yea, I'm...pretty pumped," Zuko admitted with a nod, straightening his button-down collar. "So...you're in?"

"Oh, _totally, _it's...really neat-sounding. I'm just...worried if I'll be able to handle it on top of school, and...everything else."

"Well, for right now, you can take it easy. We need to do some reconstruction on the place first, and until then, we won't really physically need you there. For now, I'd say, just...Well, how about this? It's...what – Wednesday? Sometime before Monday, why don't you try sending me some of your concepts, and we'll go from there."

"Sure, I, uh...Yea. I can do that."

"Great!" Zuko extended his arm and Aang accepted his firm, rigid handshake.

"Cool." Aang nodded in compliance, his mind already trickling out some designs. "Sooo...I guess I'll get back to you about it later this weekend."

"All right. Looking forward to working with you, Aang."

"Yea. You, too."

"Have a good day!"

"Yup. Bye!"

As Aang exited the Student Government office and made his way across campus under the gray skies of late winter, he tried to absorb his schedule for the week. He was still in a state of illness, which was coming and going depending on the hour, he had Pottery homework he needed to get started on, Calculus homework he'd been neglecting, some reading he wanted to get done, he was behind on e-mails, and now this project with Zuko..._Urgh. _His brain felt like bursting. Gah, and he had a shift at Aero's snack desk, too...

_Rrrrmmm._

[Calling...]  
[Toph]

_Aaggghh..._

Toph. In all of the insanity of the first week, he had been keeping Toph at a distance, his mind mulling over the situation. It had to be dealt with, as well, on top of everything else.

"Hey...What's up?" Aang asked in a rushed, tired tone.

["Umm...Don't sound so _happy_, Twinkle-Toes,"] Toph grumbled. ["I was just callin' 'cuz we haven't...like..._done..._anything. Lately. Are you seriously that busy?"]

"_Yes, _I am seriously that busy right now," Aang whimpered, his throat sore as he inhaled the bitter air. He choked out a cough.

["Aw. C'mon, Sicky, don't be such a downer. Come to the dorm, Katara's gonna make some soup. That oughtta help."]

"Augh, I...Toph, I just can't tonight..."

["...Are you OK? What's going on?"]

"N-nothing, it's...just that I have a _lot _on my plate right now, and I'm..._sick, _and I really need to get some work done tonight and go to bed early..."

["Erm...Well...Fine. Whatever ya want, then..."] Aang could detect the sting of rejection in Toph's brutish tone. ["I was just offering."]

"Sorry...I'm...I'm really sorry, Toph."

["Nah, it's OK. Don't worry about it, just...do whatever ya gotta do. Can we at least have lunch tomorrow? You've been eating with Janey, which is cool and all, but...-"

"No, _yea, _totally. We'll get lunch together."

["A'ight. So...If ya change your mind, we'll be here all night."]

"Uhh...Sure..." Aang blasted out a sneeze which was accompanied by a groan.

["Chill out, Sicky, take it easy. Drink some...orange juice, or something. I dunno. Take some medicine?"]

Aang smiled weakly at Toph's feeble attempt to express concern.

"Yea, I'll..get right on that. Anyway, uh...Love you."

["Have a good night, Twinkles."]

"Yea...You, too."

Aang huffed out a sigh as he closed his phone, his hand numb from holding it up to his ear in the icy breeze. His throat was raw, his eyes were tired, his back was stiff...his mind was packed full of anxiety. This wasn't the start of the new year he had been hoping for, and dredging up memories of his past on top of this exhaustion was making him feel depressed.

_But I can't concern myself with what was. I need to act on what _is. _Right, Gyatso? But...how am I supposed to do that when what _is _happens to be...so _much?

* * *

**A/N:**  
**SHRINE OF THE SILVER MONKEY!**  
**Youtube(dot)com/watch?v=s8ZUOJApfL0**

**This chapter has a LOT of direct quotes and references to certain episodes of the show, specifically "The Storm," "The Southern Air Temple," and "The King of Omashu."**


	53. Nightmares and Daydreams

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 53 – Nightmares and Daydreams_

* * *

- Thursday, January 13th, 2011 -

Storm clouds. Lighting streaking the sky. Thunderclaps.

His leg kicks against the pavement. Again and again. Kick, kick, kick.

The board underneath his other foot rolls forward beneath the red sky.

_Krackoooom._

Lightning shattering the ground at his feet. His body hitting the concrete. His legs stuck inside the stone. He claws his way up. He sinks.

Out of the ground now. On his knees. Stairs before him. A doorway. A hallway. Standing now.

Her back faces his. Black underwear. Pale skin. Her shoulder blades tighten. She balls her fists. She turns around.

Toph?

Long hair hanging over the shoulders. Black, thick bangs draped across the face.

Aang reaches out. Pushes hair aside.

No eyes. She has no eyes. A blank face, just a mouth.

She smirks.

Sinking...sliding...She is gone. Somewhere down. Inside the floor.

She is gone.

Screaming, shrieking.

Sokka?

He is sucked into a wall of conglomerate stones, crying for help. Faces of others, embedded in the wall around him.

Aang reaches out. Presses the wall.

He is engulfed by the rocky walls.

He is gone.

A gasp. A cry of fear.

Katara?

They surround her. Masks. Horrible masks. Halloween masks.

They throw green bottles. Bursts of flame. Fire. Flickering, flashing light. Heat.

Aang reaches out. Hands into the fire.

It is too hot. He cannot proceed. Blood-curdling scream.

She is gone.

Sobbing. Grunting.

Jane?

Blood.

Everywhere.

Under her bare feet. Between her toes. Between her fingers. Across her hands.

She grasps at the knife in her stomach. A lioness' face. Olive eyes stare up at him with anguish.

Everywhere.

Blood.

Aang reaches out. Pulls at the knife.

The lioness head on the hilt roars at him, bites his fingers.

She sinks into the ocean of red.

She is gone.

Green. Grass. Trees. Blue skies. Golf course.

Suit. Tie. Combed over hair. Fierce eyes.

Zuko?

He waves. He bends over, golf club in his hands.

Black, shiny hair. Red streaks. Cold, dull eyes. Nose ring.

Mai?

She lifts her finger to her lips.

"Shhh..."

Zuko swings the club. _Clok. _The ball sails through the air. Flames. It ignites, like a comet.

Light applause.

Golf ball lands. Explosion expands. Everything destroyed. Flash of light. Everything is white.

**...f...fff...fffffffFfFfFfFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-!**  
"**GUGH!**"

Aang's eyes burst open, his body frozen, chest in pain. He gasped and clutched at his pectoral, his heart pounding like a drum. The room was dark, practically pitch black.

Sokka's rough breathing drizzled across the room. Aang reached his hand onto his nightstand and grabbed his phone, clicking a button to turn its backlight on. [**5:12am**]

"Ughh..." Aang shut his eyes and rolled onto his side with a great yawn.

* * *

After an uneventful – slightly awkward, even – lunch with Toph, Aang found himself at the art building, struggling to get his first pottery project to look like a shape that wasn't..._lumpy._

"_Graaaughhh..._" Aang let his pottery wheel slow to a stop and pounded his palms into the sides of his head with frustration.

"Whoa..." Mai's doubtful voice came from behind.

"Oh, h-hey, Mai..."

"Am I...interrupting something?" she asked dryly.

"No," Aang groaned, leaning back in his chair with exasperation. "I'm just...going crazy over here..."

"Are you sick?"

"Yea," was Aang's pitiable reply.

"You've seemed kind of out of it since you got back from vacation. Still stressed about things with the girlfriend?"

"Don't remind me," winced Aang. "I can't even think straight about that, there's so much other stuff going on right now..."

"Like that building project with Zuko?"

"Heh, yea...There's that, too."

"You sound like you're getting stretched too thin, Aang."

"Ugh...I _am_."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"I guess not..."

"OK. Here's something I just thought of." Mai walked over to Aang, grabbed his shoulders, and eased him up out of the chair. "Go to your room and relax."

"Whaa...? I can't just...forget about my work...I don't want to let people down."

"Aang." Mai's unamused eyes glared at him. "You're not doing yourself any favors here. Take a rest. Come back to it tomorrow."

"But...but it's _due _tomorrow..."

"Better to hand it in late and not _kill yourself._"

Aang absorbed her unrelenting stare until he couldn't defy her any longer.

"All right, OK..."

"Have your friends over. Try to take your mind off school for just a day. I'm serious – it'll help."

"Thanks, Mai..." Aang reached out and gave the skinny goth girl a hug. She gently tapped at his shoulders in her own attempt to reciprocate.

"Take a load off tonight, Aang. I mean it."

"I know. I will."

* * *

["I believe in no 'god.' No...invisible man in the sky. But there _is _something more powerful than each of us - a combination of our efforts, a 'Great Chain' of industry unites us. But it is only when we struggle in our _own _interest that the Chain pulls society in the _right _direction. The Chain's too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide. Any man who tells you _different _either has his hand in your pocket...or a pistol to your neck."]

"Wow," murmured Katara with a perplexed sigh. "This guy...doesn't sound too happy with life..."

"Heh. Andrew Ryan?" Sokka confirmed. "_Yeeaaaa, _he's, uh...Well, he's not exactly kind."

"Or religious," Katara was keen to point out.

"_Or _that," Sokka agreed.

"I'm not so sure I like him," Aang grumbled from behind his sketchpad at his desk.

"Awww, why _not?_" Toph teased from his bed, one leg crossed over another.

"I mean, I think he has a good idea – that it's important to try to make something of ourselves, but...I dunno, it just rubs me the wrong way."

"Yea, he doesn't exactly believe in 'morals,' ya know?" Sokka pointed out.

"Heh. Sounds like my kinda guy," Jane decided.

"So you're into the thin mustaches, then?" teased Sokka.

"Ew. No. Shut the hell up." She smiled and kicked at Sokka's chair.

"Twinkle-Toes."

"What?"

"What are you _doing_ over there?"

"Drawing."

"I thought you had us up to _take a break_ from work."

"Whh...It's just that I can't really afford to _not _do my work..."

"Ah, to hell with your work. Come on." Toph was spread out across Aang's bed. She reached out her arms in the direction of Aang. "Smoochie-smooch. Lovey-dove. Whatever. Girlfriend wants to snuggle."

"You _never _want to snuggle," Aang muttered testily.

"Uhhh...I do _now_," Toph countered, slightly confused. Everyone else in the room was suddenly silent.

"I'm...just not in the mood, Toph," Aang sighed. "Maybe later."

"OK..." Toph's tone was now irritable to match Aang's.

Ominous groans erupted from the screen, causing Toph to flinch.

"Wh-what the hell is _that_?" she growled.

"That's a Big Daddy," said Sokka with sadistic glee. "And I'm about to _kill him._"

"Why would you do that?" Katara ridiculed. "He's so sweet...He's just protecting that Little Sister...Come on, Sokka, you don't _have _to kill him, do you?"

"If I don't, then I can't get my superpowers."

"You get _superpowers _in this game?" Jane asked with sudden interest. "Can you get fire?"

"Bleh. Why would I want _fire? _That's a stupid element," Sokka dismissed.

"You can," Aang answered Jane's question flatly, to which Sokka offered an alternative.

"BUT. I can shoot _killer bees _from my arms, instead. Ehh? _Ehhhh~?_"

"Are you shittin' me?"

"Aren't I always, Freckles?"

"But you're going to _save _the Little Sisters, at least. Right?" Katara pleaded.

"Meh."

"_Right_?"

"Mehhhh...Little Sisters don't deserve saving."

Katara gasped, appalled.

"You're such a _jerk, _Brother_._"

"I sure am, Sister."

"They're not even real, anyway. Who cares?" Aang muttered under his breath, scratching his pencil against his pad.

"What crawled up _your _ass?" Toph asked quietly as Sokka and Katara bantered with each other while Jane usurped the controller, attempting to figure out how to use the 'superpowers.'

"I've got a lot of junk going on, I can't sleep right...I'm cranky."

"No shit."

Aang furrowed his eyebrows at Toph's hostility – something he was _not _in the mood for – and set his sketchpad down in his desk's drawer. He headed to his dresser.

"_Whoa, _I can shoot ice from my fingers?" squealed Jane.

"You can?" now Katara was intrigued.

Aang was pulling out a pair of sweatpants and his Aero hoodie. He retreated to the bathroom to change.

"What are you doing, Twinkles?"

"He's not here, Dead-Eyes," Jane picked, having given the controller back to Sokka.

"Huh? Where did he go?"

"I think I saw him get his running clothes...?" Katara recalled, confused.

"Oh." Sokka nodded in realization as he blew a masked man away with a shotgun. "Yea, he's probably going for a run."

"Say whuh?" Toph was baffled.

"He's been jogging every night," Sokka explained. "Trying to get in shape for Track tryouts."

"That's great," said Katara. "Getting some exercise...But he's sick right now, isn't he? We should probably try to convince him to stay and rest..."

"Let him do whatever he wants," scoffed the blind girl from the bed. "He's bein' a whiny baby today."

"He's not feeling well," Katara firmly explained. "He must be really stressed out..."

"Doesn't mean he has to be a bitch about it."

"Oh. Right. Because _you _never get at _all _grouchy with your friends when _you're _stressed out."

"Shut up, Miss Fussy-Britches, didn't ask for your opinion."

"_**EERRRRRKKK!"**_ blared Sokka, imitating a horn sound. "Drama Alert. Let's keep the trash out in the dumpsters where it belongs, ladies."

"I wasn't...being _dramatic_," Katara grumbled defensively.

"You...kinda were," Jane disagreed.

"_Toph _was the one who was...-" Katara let her sentence fall short as she watched Aang swoop in through the door, drop the clothes he'd been previously wearing on his bedroom floor, and immediately head back out. "Whoa. _Aang!_" she called, heading out the door. He was already down into the stairwell.

"Let him go," Toph called from the bedroom. "He needs to go have a hissy-fit? Let him."

"He's _sick_. It's snowing outside. He shouldn't be running."

"What_ever, _Sugar-Queen. Let it go. He'll be fine."

"She's right, Sis," came Sokka. "He's been doing this all week."

"Maybe that's the reason he's _sick _in the _first place?_"

There was a pause.

"I think _she's _right, too, _Bro_," concluded Jane.

"It's not _my _fault," Sokka defended. "I'm not his nurse."

"We can't just let him wear himself out like this," Katara insisted. Jane patted Katara's arm to jolt her from her concern.

"Kat. He's already gone. Let's worry about it later, huh?"

"...Ugh. All right..."

"Sounded like he just needed some time alone," Toph asserted. "I don't know what his deal is, but...if he just up and left, it's prolly 'cuz he doesn't want to put up with anyone right now."

"Yea, why does it bother _you_ so much, anyway?" Jane dismissed Katara's concern. "Give him some space."

"_I am, _OK?" Katara snipped. "I get the point, guys! All right? It's done. Officially _'let go' _now. Don't have to drill it in so deep."

"Sometimes we _do, _actually," Toph disagreed. "It's pretty thick up there, and-"  
"_Seriously_, ladies," Sokka grunted. "Tryin' to play a game here. Damnit, Aang, why'd you leave me alone with these _females_?"

* * *

- Friday, January 14th, 2011 -

Mist. Damp, cool mist, clinging to his skin. His footsteps echo across the hall.

Black hair flows in the wind. Bitter, icy eyes of white. Pale skin. Devil's smirk.

"All right, Toph. Your days of tyranny are over. I can't let you keep controlling my life – I'm here to end this. And this time, I brought pants."

Zippers. Buckles. Chains. His pants are secure.

"So it seems." A creepy giggle. "But...are you prepared for your.._Calculus test_?"

"Wh-...? C-Calculus test? I forgot all _about_ the Calculus test!"

X*n  
d/dx (sin(x))=cos(x)  
**"Waaaughhh!**"  
"Heeheeeheehaaa!"  
u(dv/dt)  
-sin(x)

"GLLGGH-!"

Aang sputtered out coughs as he flinched himself awake from the sea of numbers and letters he'd been drowning in.

[**5:47am**]

Dangit! He had a test today! What a mean professor, assigning a test on the first week! He couldn't fail. He had a scholarship he needed to maintain.

Aang stumbled out of his bed and grabbed his phone, flipping it open and using its screen as a makeshift flashlight while he scooped up his Calculus textbook, a pencil, and a notepad. Drearily scurrying from the room, he was careful to close the door quietly so as not to disturb the slumbering Sokka.

* * *

Aang pulled out the bottle of ibuprofen from the pocket in his backpack and popped out a couple. He wiped sweat from his forehead – _man, _his head felt so warm today – stuck the pills in his mouth, and bent over the water fountain, swallowing some of the tinny water down. He scraped the odd flavor from his tongue with a groan. This building's fountain always tasted bad. Couldn't they honor his grandfather's name better with a fountain that tasted _not _like metal?

He reminded himself that he had to continue to detach himself from these things. He didn't want professors or students thinking he had it easy because of his connections to the school, after all.

He surveyed the tight hall that wrapped in a half circle around the end of the Gyatso Center. The building had three floors of classrooms on one end, and on its smaller end, three floors of offices for professors. Aang found the room he was looking for in a corner of the first floor: {Dr. Jeong}

Aang noticed a banner of sorts – like a scroll – hanging on the wooden door before him.

{If a fish lives his whole life in a river, does he know the river'sdestiny?No. Only that it runs on and on, out of his control. He may follow where it flows, but he cannot see the end_. _He cannot imagine the ocean.}

"...Ooookay," Aang muttered under his breath. He took a moment to contemplate what this meant, but his illness-hazed mind had difficulty.

He rapped on the door three times with the tips of his knuckles.

"Enter," bellowed the cold, hardened voice Aang was learning to endure in the classroom.

Aang gulped, took a breath, and went in. The office was fairly stark and dimly lit. The frizzled, white hair of the mathematician could be seen as he worked at his desk with a red pen in hand. He twisted his neck, noticing Aang's presence, and sighed to himself. Papers shuffled, and Aang's test – the very one he'd taken earlier that afternoon, was thrust upon him.

Red marks speckled its pages, a large {_**D**_} scribbled – and circled – by his name.

"There you are. Now leave."

"Um..." Aang coughed, disheartened by his expected grade. "Pr-Professor Jeong, I was-"  
"_Doctor._"

Aang bit his lip. One of _those _teachers...Just his luck.

"_Doctor _Jeong...I...I was wondering if perhaps I could...get some help understanding what we went over this week."  
_This _first _week. In which you shoved us under an avalanche of number and letters and cosine and _urgghghhh...

"You wish to understand the discipline of Calculus?"

"Of course."

"To master _any _discipline, you must first master discipline itself. But you have interest in this, so I have no interest in _you_."

_Ouch. What the heck? You've only seen me, like...three times._

"W-wait a minute, how would you know? It's only been a week, and-"  
"Your posture. Your attitude in class. The results you've produced thus far. All of it. I can tell – you have no desire to learn this material. Now...Get out."

Aang frowned in frustration at the back of his teacher's head.

"Please," he persisted. "I _have _to learn."

"Are you _deaf_?" Jeong exploded, whipping his pen against the table and whirling in his chair. "How can I teach you if you refuse to listen?"

_What does that even _mean? _You're not _saying _anything!_

Jeong lectured onward.

"Attend class. Study the assigned readings. Perform the exercises. That is how every other student succeeds in my class, and if you wish to succeed, that is what _you _will do, as well. Now..._Get out_."

Aang huffed through his nostrils – er, nostril. Singular. Since one of them was too plugged. Argh. He spun around, closing the door behind him. He glared at his poor grade as he headed for the exit, rubbed at his tired eyes, then crumpled the test into a ball and chucked it into the wastebin by the door.

So much for that. It would seem he was on his own.

* * *

- Saturday, January 15th, 2011 -

Toph's hands dug into Aang's skin, grabbing at his muscles like a barbarian clutches meat before swallowing it.

**"OW! AH! TOPH-!"** Aang yelped through the pain, his body tight and tense as Toph's not-so-delicate fingers pinched at his nerves without relent. **"I THINK...THIS IS...BRUISING ME."**

Toph stopped, her palms planted on his back. She frowned at his remark and pushed him away with irritation.

"Sorry," she snipped with sarcasm. "I forgot you have_ baby skin._"

Aang winced, rolling his head slowly around his neck in an attempt to stretch his aching body.

"Th-thanks for trying, Toph..." Aang scooted out from the couch a bit, cross-legged on the carpet of the 2nd floor Aero lounge room.

"Whatever..." Toph grumbled, leaning back on the couch's spine.

"So, Aang," said Katara from beside Toph, "I remember you said you were having trouble in your math class...Did you end up asking the professor about it?"

Aang sniffled, reaching for the box of tissues he'd set down in the room. He sneezed mighty - 'Bless you's' - and moaned like a zombie.

"I_ tried..._He's a stubborn old man, he won't help me. Just said, like...'Go read your books, pay attention in class,' bleh...Nothing useful..."

"I'm sorry," Katara sympathized. "I know what it's like. The one professor I have in English, he's...ugh. I swear, he's sexist."

"Who?" Sokka wondered, his curiosity piqued as he played his video game on the TV screen before them.

"Pakku," Katara said with some disgust, arms folded over her lap. "I raise my hand in class, and he never responds to me. Honestly, it seems like he never responds to

_any _of the girls."

_"Whaaaat_? Shit is whack," Jane scoffed. "That's bull, for real. You should, like...complain about that. Or something."

"I'm_going _to, if he keeps doing it..."

["Now, would ya koindly head to Royan's office and _kill the sunnuva bitch_?"]  
"_Heheh, _with pleasure, my Irish friend...With pleasure," Sokka squealed at the television.  
["It's toyme to finish this..."]  
"Hells yes, it is..."

"Wow, are you already at the end, you MeatHead?" Toph wondered, picking wax from her ear.

"I dunno, sure_ seems _like I'm close..."

"How much have you been_ playing _this?" Katara wondered with some skepticism. "Have you been staying on top of your classes?"

"Ohhh, _hush. _It's not your concern. I'm doing fine. Better than _Aang _is, from the sound of it."

Aang whimpered, slapping his hands on his forehead before opening his messenger bag and pulling out his Calculus book.

"Er...No offense," Sokka timidly added.

"Aang, don't worry so much," encouraged Katara, stretching out her leg and jabbing his back with her socked toe while Aang flipped through the pages. "It's just one class. Everyone has their weaknesses in school."

"Yea, like...-" Sokka scratched at the stubble on his neck. "-...I'm taking Public Speaking right now. I_ suck _at it. So bad. Like, _hardcore _bad."

"Heh, yea, and I can't do_ art _for _crap_," Toph jeered at herself with a smile.

Aang ignored their comments, hunching over his book and scanning its text with dreary eyes.

"Aang, you were up since, like...five in the morning studying that book," Sokka sighed. "Put it_ down_."

"_What_?" Katara spat, eyes wide. "Aang, how much _sleep_did you get last night?" she demanded, struggling to keep her concern shrouded.

"A couple hours," said Aang with almost irritated nonchalance. "I had to finish my art project before bed, and then I forgot about my test."

"You know," Katara advised with courtesy, "There _is _such a thing as over-studying..."

Aang shut his eyes tightly for a moment, grinding his teeth together, then slammed his book shut, tossing it to the floor. He sprung to his feet and glared at Katara with rabid, bloodshot eyes. He jabbed a finger accusingly at his friend.

"You don't get it, do you? I'm sick, I'm getting sloppy in all of my art, and I don't understand _any _of my Calculus." His left eyelid twitched involuntarily, index still pointing. "Not even the basics!" Katara smiled sheepishly at his escalating attitude, slowly reached out her arm, and lowered his hand.

"Dude, it's all right," Sokka dismissed his roommate's doubts. "You don't _need _to understand Calculus. _No one _understands Calculus. I mean, come _on, _you deal with...imaginary numbers. Numbers that don't _exist_. Because _that's _useful. So you'll take a hit on your GPA. So what? Make up for it with your other classes..."

"O-OK, well, I still have to work on everything_ else_," Aang insisted, scratching at his scalp in frustration. "I'd better spend the whole day working..." He gathered his discarded book, slung his bag over his shoulder, nodded to the group, and stalked off down the hall, shutting his bedroom door behind him.

Katara and Sokka exchanged perplexed, nervous glances, while Jane gawked as Sokka's on-screen character was slain due to his lack of attention. Toph was picking her nose with her pinky.

"I don't get what his_ problem _is," Toph grumbled. "All of a sudden, it's like he's got _so much _to worry about? As if. I think his brain is a little bit twinkled-out 'cuz he's not getting enough sleep."

"He_ does _have a lot going on," Katara politely inserted some defense, her mind having trouble keeping at bay a wary foreboding about Toph's future with Aang. "Mmmmaybe you should try and help him relax...?"

"I_ was _trying," Toph snapped. "I've _been _trying. All week."

"Oh. Right," Katara squeaked, not wanting to start another argument, though not agreeing with Toph's weak explanation.

"Hoho, lookit**_ that_****!" **Sokka cheered, clutching his controller tight. Jane, who was sitting beside him, observed the screen.

"Ryan Industries?" she read aloud. Large gears were spinning wildly beside the overhead sign, steam pouring all around.

"_Steampunk~_" Katara sang.

"I hear that," Sokka concurred.

"You were flat at the end there," Toph critiqued.

"I don't care," Katara brushed aside the comment.

The sound of an old radio screeched from the television as the man to whom this fictional business was named after taunted Sokka's character.

["You can taste it, can't you?_ Andrew Ryan_."]

"Oh-man-oh-man-oh-man, this has gotta be, like, the end and stuff..." Sokka said with excitement.

"Well, hurry it up, then," Jane egged him on impatiently.

"I'm_ hurryin', _Ginger. Keep your skinny Irish ass in your seat, will ya?"

* * *

- Sunday, January 16th, 2011 -

Circle. Circle. Circle. Circle.  
Arrow. Arrow. Arrow. Arrow.

Aang's pencil seemed to be running on auto pilot, scribbling out circles and arrows – elements of the college's logo – ad nauseum.

"Aang," Katara said apologetically, "It's nine in the evening. You really should get some sleep."

"But I forgot my pants and my math test!" Aang explained, mad with concentration on his repetitious drawing.

"Was I like this when I was hopped up on energy drinks?" Sokka whispered to his sister from his desk.

"Actually, you were worse," Katara conceded quietly. "But it was only for a few hours...This has been _days._"

"Uhh..." Jane popped into the doorway, confused. Her boots and vest were on – she was ready to head out. "We leavin' yet?"

"I'm...just trying to get Aang to get some sleep," Katara muttered weakly with a shrug.

Toph leaned out from behind Jane, also dressed to walk out in the snow.

"Hey, Sweetness, I know you need to be our Mommy and everything, but Twinkles is gonna pass out when he's ready to." She wandered her way into the room, bumping her boot against the corner of Aang's bed as she stumbled through.

"Right," agreed Sokka. "He'll fall asleep when he's...sleepy. I mean, it's just a matter of-"  
"_**AGH SOKKA!**_" Aang screamed, seemingly out of nowhere, chucking his notepad down onto his desk and jamming his finger at Sokka's chest.

"_Aaaugh!_...What?"

"You've gotta practice your root beer chugging. _Right now._"

"Huh?"

Aang began to rattle off his explanation with flapping arm gestures while Sokka frowned dully.

"In my dream we were at the AerOlympics and it was time for the Soccer event and you couldn't keep up because you got sick from the Root Beer event because you couldn't hold it down and you threw up **ALL OVER **the gym and we lost the whole thing because of you!"

"But that was just a _dream!_" Sokka defended vehemently. "I'm a _great _chugger!"

"Then drink that beer!" Aang cried out, grabbing a brown bottle out of Sokka's mini fridge and shoving it in his face. "Drink it fast!"

"'Ey, gimme me one o' those," Toph requested from behind, to which Sokka nodded at Katara, enabling his sister to retrieve one for Toph, as well.

Sokka stared at the bottle that had been placed in his hand, then at Aang. He pointed to the bottle, then to himself. Aang nodded swiftly. Sokka begrudgingly retrieved his keychain and used his bottle-opener to pop the cap off the IBC root beer bottle. He glared again at Aang, his brows furrowed. Aang, teeth clenched nervously, bobbed his head up and down once more, and Sokka began to drink.

Aang sighed with relief and turned to see Katara passing the other opened bottle to Toph.

"**TOPH DON'T DRINK THAT!**" Aang shrieked, causing Toph's eyes to bulge wide with shock, and she choked on her first sip of root beer. Her fingers grasping the glass tight, she coughed a few times before responding to Aang's demand.

"_Why? _Is it fuckin' _poison, _or something?" she grumbled, wiping her lips with her sleeve.

"In my dream we were all in the car riding downtown in the ice and you had to go to the bathroom and you kept bugging Sokka about it and he was driving and so he was all distracted and then a truck came and you wet yourself and it messed him up and he slipped on ice and we the truck and **were killed. **_We died because of your tiny bladder_!"

Toph raised her brow, utterly perplexed, and took another swig of IBC.

"The _hell_...?"

"Psssh," Jane laughed through her teeth. "Tiny bladder..."

"I don't have a tiny bladder!" cried Toph with embarrassed indignation.

"You have to go to the bathroom, like, every hour," Jane picked.

"Th-that's just 'cuz I don't see the point in holding it in forever and a day..."

"Oh, _yea, _sure," Jane laid the matter to rest, unconvinced.

"**JANE **you need to start dressing like a girl more because in my dream we were in the parking lot of the grocery store and one of those gang guys mistook you for some dude and attacked us and you had to go to the hospital because you were _stabbed_."

"Umm..." Jane's humor went flat and she glared at Aang's exasperation. She pushed some of her hair aside, behind her ear, to reveal her skull earring. "That...better?"

"It's a start!" Aang puffed out with relief.

"Now just grow some boobs, and you'll be all set," Sokka joked from his desk. Jane's face flared with insecurity and she kicked his shin, which he absorbed without protecting himself or complaining.

"Actually, you look like you've been puttin' on a bit of weight, Freckles," Sokka added, trying to study her form through her padded clothing. "You look better than you used to." This was both demeaning and complimenting to her at once, and she dismissed the conundrum by rolling her eyes and stalking off to the doorway. Katara smiled at Sokka, as if to express some gratitude for his own brand of flattery.

"Anyway...Listen, I'm fuckin' _bushed,_" Jane grumbled."I'm headin' out."

"Yea, me, too," said Toph.

Toph reached out an arm, to which Aang flinched and pulled away, but Katara eased them together, regardless. Toph hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. His teeth were gnashing together nervously, but he kissed her on the head.

"Calm the hell _down, _Aang," Toph mumbled in his ear. "Seriously."

"Y-yea...OK...OK..." Aang nodded, clearly eager to break their hug apart.

"G'night, Babe. Love ya."

"Night..."

Toph gave pause, and her eyes glazed over with some disappointment, but she shrugged it off and wandered to Jane's side, who took her arm.

"Aang, Bro, get some _sleep_," Jane advised. "Peace out, guys."

"Latah-Gatorz!" said Toph. As they both vanished down the hallway, Aang began to freak out again.

"**Katara!**" he continued, tugging at his own hair. "You need to start wearing your hair up 'cause in my dream your hair got got in a bus door and it drove off with you stuck to it and-"  
"Aang." She stopped him. "Come on. _Sleep_," Katara urged pleadingly. "For me?"

Aang blinked at her furiously for a moment.

"A man chooses, a _slave obeys_," he grunted feverishly. He went back to his art. "A man chooses, a slave obeys...A man chooses, a slave obeys..."

"Oh, dear," Sokka murmured dubiously as Aang continued to repeat the line, over and over.

"_Aang._" Katara closed her eyes, and for a brief moment she feared tears of worry would leak out as she bit her lip. She opened them again, puffed out a sigh, and stared at her friend with a troubled concern. She placed her hand on his cheek in an effort to ensure she had his attention. "I know you're really stressed out right now...but you really need to get a grip. You're unraveling."

Aang blinked at her, wide eyed, recognizing the truth behind her firm words. He took a deep breath and attempted to collect himself.

"You're right...I'm...I'm losing my mind..." He pulled himself away from her hand's touch and began to pace left and right in a short interval, rotating his hands around each other and tapping the tips of his fingers in a frantic tick. "B-but...It's like, every time I think about how stressed I am, I just get **more stressed.** I'm like a big, growing snowball of nerves!"

"Of course you are," Sokka nonchalantly agreed from the couch, as if Aang's mental state was a logical reaction. "It's a new semester, you're expected to help the class president on a super important project, you're sucking at your math class, you're depressed about your family, and..._Oh! _Right. And you need to break up with your girlfriend. And you'd better do it tactfully, too, or she may never talk with any of us ever again."

"_Sokka,_" hissed Katara."You're not helping..."

"_What? _It's true. That's the deal, he knows it..."

Katara smacked her brother on the back of the head with a highly disapproving scowl.

"Aang, don't listen to this _idiot _over here, you don't have to do anything but what _you _think is right."

"Gah..." Aang growled. "I don't even want to _try _thinking about that stuff right now...I need...need to finish this stuff for Zuko..." Aang sat himself back down in his chair. Katara, refusing to leave him in this state, took the drawing pad and chucked it in his desk's drawer. She pulled his weak body from its seat and dropped him in bed. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes.

"Worry about it later, Aang. Now..._Sleep._"

Aang yawned out a protest that couldn't be made out, and closed his eyes.

"Jesus," Sokka sighed. "I've never seen him like this..."

Katara picked up Aang's phone and began tinkering with it.

"Uhh...Sis? What are you doing?"

"Turning off his alarm."

Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head at his sister's compulsion, going back to his own schoolwork.

* * *

- Monday, January 17th, 2011 -

[From: Zuko Kurosawa]  
[Subject: RE: Project Unite]

[Hello,]

[You haven't returned my calls or my last e-mail, and I never heard back from you this past weekend. Is everything all right? We're really going to need to start getting these design details together to get this up by the time the President wants it. Please let me know what's going on.]

[Respectfully Yours,]  
[_Zuko Kurosawa_]  
[_Student President, Saint Roku University_]

"_Uuughhhhhrrrggghh..._" Aang pounded his head against the table in a practically empty Appa's. He got up from the booth and began pacing around an empty table, biting his lips and performing the habitual finger-tapping routine he had the night before. His hair was sticking out in various directions, his skin looked clammy and a bit pale, bags of skin hung under his eyes...Katara, carrying their two trays of lunch food, cringed at the sight of him.

"Wow, Aang, you don't look so good..." She approached him cautiously. "You sure you can't just lie down for a little nap?"

"I _told_ you," Aang insisted, rubbing at the sand in his eyes, "I can't go back to sleep..."

Katara recalled what Sokka had told her – that about an hour after she had left, Aang had woken back up and had gone back to trying to work again, which he had done into the morning.

"Aang, staying up all night can't be good for you," Katara pressed her concern as she set the food down beside Aang's laptop. Aang took a deep breath and turned away from her.

"Actually, staying up all night has given me some time to think, and I've realized some big things, Katara."

"Huh? _What_ big things?"

"I see everything so clearly now...What really matters – why I'm really doing this." He nodded to himself in affirmation before turned back to his friend. "I'm doing it to make things right between Toph and I, but _more _than that...I'm doing it for _you_, Katara."

He stared her down, his gray eyes burning with desire. Katara blinked at him sheepishly.

"Aang...What are you saying?" she asked with a solemn, knowing expression. He drew close to her.

"I'm saying...I love you."

Diving forth, lips connecting together.

Reciprocation. Arms wrapped around. They break apart.

"What are we _doing_?" she whispers with childish delight.

He bellows out words with power and authority. Winds blow. Sunset. Music.

He leans her back. Luscious hair caught in his fingers. Sparkling eyes.

"What our hearts have been telling us to do for a _long_, long time. Baby, you're my Forever Girl."

"Aang?" Katara's nervous voice shattered his daydream, pulling him back to reality. "I was...just saying how you should take a nap?" Aang gawked at her, face burning bright with embarrassment as he realized he had his arms around her. "What are you _doing_?" she demanded with some doubt, her fingers digging into his shoulders. "You OK? You kinda...passed out on me there..."

"Oh!" Aang yanked his arms off of her back and pushed himself away, back onto two solid feet. "I was, uhh...daydreaming, I guess."

"Ah. What did you daydream about?"

"Yuhhh...Living underwater...?"

"Oh..." Katara stared at him blankly as she processed this. "Sounds neat," she concluded with a shrug. "Maybe because of all that BioShock that Sokka's been playing?"

"Uhhh-! Y-yea, actually! Exactly! _Yes. _I was a...a Big Daddy. And...everything."

"Heehee. I get it." She pointed between the two of them. "You had your arms out because you were protecting me."

"Huh?"

"I was a Little Sister, right? In your daydream?"

"_Oh. _Heh...Ha. Haha. _Yea_, that was-...Uh-huh!" Aang nodded nervously, finding Katara's logic relieving. Sure, that made enough sense.

"Hee. That's cute, Aang," Katara chimed, patting him on the shoulder. "You'd save me if psychotic crazy hobos came," she said with a tone that was humored but also endeared.

"Ha. Haha! Hahhhh. Yea." Aang swallowed the lump in his throat as he sat down, sweat trickling across his forehead.

What. The heck. Just happened? He'd just been blatantly daydreaming romantic nonsense about _Katara. _What was _that _about? Where was that coming from? Toph was his girl, not Katara. It was probably just some hormonal thing. Like the one dream he'd had about Jane and the flower field. At least this one hadn't been as awkward as _that _one. _Agh. _All these naughty thoughts...Really, this was...kind of expected, in a way. Right? He was...a growing young man, constantly hanging out with all of these cute girls. His subconscious was going to consider things he never would _act _on...Yea. He was totally out of it, anyway. Starting to lose track of what was real and what wasn't.

By the time he'd brought himself out of these ideas, his screensaver had turned on, rotating a slideshow of his own artwork. With a pair of curly fries getting mashed between his teeth, he stared at a drawing of the Lemur-Bat, Momo – his personal mascot. The monkey-creature blinked at him with a creepy stare of bright green eyes. It spoke to him in a tiny, scratchy voice.

"You, my friend, are just a few plums short of a fruit pie."

"_Eaugh?_" Aang whimpered at the image, running his finger across the touchpad to turn off the screensaver.

"What is it?" wondered Katara.

Aang rapidly shook his head, as if to shake off his hallucinations.

"Did you...just hear that?"

"Hear _what_?"

"Er...nothin'. I'm gonna fill my drink."

Aang swallowed his fries and jumped up from the booth, meandering around the restaurant, circling each table he passed by, empty cup in hand. Toph returned from the bathroom with Jane, who was mocking her about the 'small bladder' bit from earlier. Sokka arrived at their seat as well, having just retrieved his mail from the campus post office. Aang was pressing each soda dispenser button for a half second at a time, moving his cup under each spout – but he kept missing, his cup always one off. He returned to their booth with an empty cup and tipped it up to drink nothing from it. After realizing this, he went _back _to the front again to attempt the task again.

"Aang...We're all starting to worry about you..." said Katara.

"You've been awake too long," said Sokka.

"And you're acting downright weird," said Toph.

"It's creepin' us the hell out," said Jane.

"You've got to take care of yourself," said Appa. "You can't go on like this."

Wait. Said Appa?

Aang rubbed his face and stared at the bison with the arrow on his head, his bright, silly smile embossed into the sign for the restaurant on the wall beside him. Aang whimpered in spite of himself and wandered back to his seat in a daze, his cup_ still _empty.

Jane sighed and nudged Toph into the booth beside her boyfriend, took Aang's cup, and went to put water in it for her confused friend, who was chewing at his curly fries again. Despite her inability to see what was happening, Toph's intuition could clearly read the tension and distress emanating from Aang, and she frowned with worry, leaning against him and wrapping an arm around his back, slipping her hand under his shirt onto his waist. His body was trembling, and she scratched at his belly in an attempt to comfort him.

"Janey-Jane's right, Aang. You're...really creepin' me out, too..."

"I'm...sorry...?"

"OK, listen," said Katara, tapping her finger on the table. "Why don't you go see a counselor today?"

"Huh?" Geez, he really was out of it.

"A _counselor,_" Katara patiently repeated. "I'm going to call the office and see if they can get you an appointment today...I feel like this is kind of an emergency."

Toph kissed Aang's cheek and breathed out a sigh onto his neck.

"We'll get you better soon, Sicky..."

* * *

"That is right, Aang. I recognize the name. Professor Leekpai was a personal friend of mine during his time here."

"Yea, I...hear a lot of people respected him."

"He was a good man. I am terribly sorry about what happened."

"N-no, it's fine, I...don't really want to talk about that."

"I understand. What _do _you wish to talk about, Aang?"

"I feel like I can't be the person I _want _to be."

"Oh? And what do do you want to be?"

"I just...I-I wanna be a good person. And...do good things...and...-"

"Yes, yes..." The counselor's voice was soothing and gentle. He was an elderly man of middle-eastern ethnicity and had a bushy beard. "You are seeking balance. You wish to bring peace to those around you."

"_Right. _Yes. Exactly," Aang concluded, still speaking with rapid words. "What do I _do_, Mister Pathik?"

Counselor Pathik nodded sagely, running his long fingers across his facial hair.

"You must gain balance within yourself before you can bring balance to the world."

"OK. OK, sure. Yea. Sounds good. Let's...let's do that..."

"You are having difficulty sleeping because you are being pulled in so many directions. Perhaps if we focus on each problem, one at a time, it will enable your weary mind to contain it all and let itself be at peace."

"Yea! Yea-yea. So, like, there's my artwork, which I'm really _stinking _at, and my math class, which I don't understand at _all, _and then there's-"  
"Haha, steady, steady, now...One at a time, Aang."

Pathik reviewed the sheet that Aang had filled out, surveying his responses to the questions.

"It seems that you are bearing the heavy weights of shame on your shoulders. Look at all the guilt which burdens you so. What do you blame yourself for?"

The wreckage of a bus at the bottom of the steep hill.  
A girl needed to cheat because her boyfriend could not make her happy.

"I...I ran away from my family," Aang groaned. "If I'd...been cooperating that, they would've left earlier, and...not been rushing, and...maybe they'd still be alive...Or-or my girlfriend. She was so...depressed...because I wasn't a good boyfriend, that...she had to cheat with someone else to feel better..."

"Accept the reality that these things happened. But do not let them cloud and poison your energy. If you are to be a positive influence on the world, you need to forgive yourself."

"OK..." Aang's face contorted with doubt at this idea, but he took a deep breath to mull over this notion. "Shhhuuure. Yea. I can...work on that."

"And clearly, you feel pain right now. This pain eats away at your joy, it blocks you from relaxing."

"Oh, uhh...I guess so."

"What is causing your pain, Aang? Not what is worrisome or difficult, but...what is _painful_ to you right now?"

"Well..." Aang wiped some snot from his nose with the tissue in his hand and collected his thoughts. "Not having a real family...I try to not let it bother me, but...this week, it's just on my mind a lot."

"I see. What else?"

"Toph...M-my girlfriend. She..._cheated _on me...I feel like it's my fault, like...I wasn't good enough..."

"But you must forgive your own faults, Aang, and recognize that this was a choice _she _made."

"Yea...But...that just makes it hurt _worse. _She _chose _to...betray my trust..."

"Mm..."

"And now it's like...she's choosing how I am supposed to act. Who I am supposed to be. She's holding onto me, expecting me to...I don't know...'_man up._' Or something. Like she doesn't love me for who I am, just...as _me._ I always thought she _did_..."

"Indeed. It can be quite traumatic, facing these truths."

"I just...don't know what to _make _of...everything..."

"You have indeed felt a great loss. But love is a form of energy, and it swirls all around us. Gyatso's love for you has not left this world – it is still inside your heart, and is reborn in the form of new love. Let the pain flow away."

"New love?"

"Any kind of love, Aang. The love Gyatso once felt for you, you now feel toward your friends."

"Oh...Right. I guess I was still thinking about Toph."

"I see. Well...Let us talk about her, then."

* * *

- Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 -

"Yea, he's sleeping like a baby today..."

["That's great, Tophie. Maybe tomorrow he'll be feeling all better?"]

"Tch. Yea, I _hope _so...He's been so fuckin' _out of it _lately."

["Aw. Yea, poor guy. I read his Facebook yesterday, he...didn't sound so good."]

"That's an understatement."

["So, like...what about you guys?"]

"What, you mean..._us_?"

["Yea...I'm guessing you still haven't...figured things out?"]

"Ugh. _No, _Meng. OK? Geez, I told you...Don't worry about it. It's...our business. I don't get what needs to be '_figured out,'_ anyway, we just need to go back to where we were and...go from there."

["Oh...W-well, I didn't mean...-"] Meng trailed off, suddenly aware of the minefield she was forcing her way into.

"And ya know what? Why does everyone keep saying that? We need to '_figure out_' stuff. Or '_work on_' stuff. I fucked up, and...it's better now, and...we just need to start being a _couple _again, is what we need."

Meng was silent, recollecting the things she had seen on Aang's Facebook, issues Toph had described over the phone, and things she'd heard from Aang directly, as well.

"Ya know?" Toph huffed, seeking affirmation.

["Mm,"] Meng gave a neutral hum of understanding. ["Things will work out,"] Meng attempted to assure, suddenly irate with her cousin and trying to mask it. ["Just...Give it some time, I guess..."]

"Yea. Twinkle-Toes will be back and at 'em soon enough and I'm sure he'll finally be in the mood to actually _do _stuff."

["Sure."]

"But...Yea. So, you were saying...? About the YouTube channel?"

["Oh, _right. _Yea, your videos are definitely getting some views lately, Cuz. It's great."]

"Gimme digits, woman. What are we talkin', here?"

["Yea, yea. Sooooo~! The Carol of the Bells one? You got eight-hundred views in the past few weeks."]

"Ah. Is that..._good_?"

["Yea, for someone just starting out! Sure. And your other videos...Probably about fifty to a hundred views on each every week."]

Toph whistled out her impression.

"Nice. Any comments?"

["Ermm...Yea, a few. B-but I don't really have time to...-"]

"Sure. Okies. I should letcha go then, Meng."

["'Kay."]

"Have a good night, then."

["Night, Toph."]

* * *

******A/N: Lot of direct references to the show here. A bit from "The Guru" and "The Deserter" but mostly from "Nightmares and Daydreams." Also some bits from BioShock, a most wonderful game.**


	54. For Good

**A/N: We went through a lot, Theresa. Here's looking at you, Kid.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 54 – For Good_

* * *

- November, 2010 -

Toph's fingers were crawling over the ivories. Not dancing. She kept slipping on incorrect notes, losing her home keys, _urgh. _She slashed her hands across the piano in aggravation, then reached for her thermos on the floor to her left, beside the seat. She twisted the cap open and slurped down some of the hot cocoa that Katara had made. Fff. Like she couldn't make any herself. But whatever. Katara had to be a maid and mother and make sure everything was prim and proper, right? Maybe that was better than Toph's own mother. Stupid bitch, always telling her what to do and acting like she was a retard. Grah. Well, soon enough, she'd have to face them, and they were gonna get a few earfuls. She'd show them for-  
_Knock. Knock._

The soundproof door to Toph's practice room clicked open and she frowned. Who the hell was bothering her while she was practicing?

"Who is it? Whaddya want?"

"Hey, Toph."

"Douglas?"

Toph's musical neighbor, Douglas was a young man who played violin in the next room over. They'd strike up small talk on occasion while taking breaks from their work, but she had never paid him much heed, and as far as she knew, he had never paid her any, either.

"Just thought I'd come and check in on you," Douglas timidly explained. "You seemed...kinda upset out earlier.

"Oh...Well, yea. I am," Toph bluntly acknowledged. "Don't worry about it."

"Why don't we both relax for a bit, rest our hands?"

"Um..._Yeeaa. _I'm a little busy, man. Don't really have time."

"O-OK. Sure. So...See ya later, then. Good luck."

"Mm-hm. You, too."

* * *

**"~I wanna hold your hand~"**

Toph strummed the final chord, and the room burst into applause. Her insides torn, her eyes threatening to drip from the unknown mysteries that were worming their way out against her will, she raised her hands to express acceptance of their praise, slung her guitar over her back, and carefully wandered off stage as the smattering died down. She fumbled for her walking stick, thankfully right where she had left it, and briskly found her way out of the Jasmine Dragon.

"Wow," muttered a short blonde boy, scratching his head, staring at her as she passed through the glass double doors and up the stairs. "Pipsqueak, didn't she seem familiar to you?"

"Uh..." Pipsqueak ran his hand across his rough black hair. "Hm. Yea, The Duke. Sure looks familiar to me. Isn't she one of those people from Smellerbee's gang?"

"_Right! _Yes, of course...And she was in the band at FestivALL, as well..."

"Toph Beifong, right?" came the voice of Jin, the clerk behind the counter who was preparing The Duke's drink. "Yep, that was her all right."

"She's st-...Just...It's stunning-" The Duke murmured, impressed, "-how well she can perform without any sense of sight."

"You're telling me," Jin agreed, drizzling whipped topping onto the beverage. "She comes here every Thursday Night for Open Mic, and every time she plays...it's like she's really just pouring her _soul _into it, ya know?"

"Yea," confirmed Pipsqueak. "She seemed real sad..."

"She did," Jin lamented with a shrug, passing The Duke's freshly brewed drink. "I live across the hall from her, and her and her roommate have been arguing a lot lately. From what _my _roommate tells me, that girl's got a lot on her plate."

"Well, she's a talented musician," observed the blond boy, straightening his tie as he stepped aside and let Pipsqueak take his order.

Jin smiled and bobbed her head to the side thoughtfully. "They say good music comes from the heart."

"Hm." The Duke tapped his chin thoughtfully, his mind glued to the image of the beautiful Asian girl and her guitar. "So it does..."

Later that evening, at the music building, where his nickname and association with his club were shed, Douglas focused on some Music Theory homework in the carpeted hallway until he was pulled from his task by the elegance of blind stumbling that was Toph Beifong, coming out of her practice room.

"Hi, Toph," he greeted with a sheepish wave, only to feel like a fool for doing so.

"Uhh...Hi," mumbled Toph. From his position on the floor against the wall to her side, he couldn't see her face – which was pointed straight ahead. Black hair was flopped over her eyes, the rest bound into a ponytail. Her face was sweaty and her expression worn. After a moment of silence in which Douglas admired her hair, she spat with impatience, "Ya _need _somethin'?"

"_Oh. _I, um...couldn't help but notice that you seem very stressed this week."

Toph snorted out a sigh through her nose.

"Somethin' like that..."

"Y-you know, I heard you earlier tonight. At the coffee shop."

Douglas felt a butterfly in his stomach when he saw her cheeks light up at this comment. He lathered on some praise to sweeten the deal.

"It was really beautiful. I've never seen you play like that."

"Ah...Uhh..." Her grip on the cane tightened. "Heh...Y-yea, that's...just this stupid shit I do." Her empty hand found its way up to her ear and she twirled a lock of hair. "Ya know. When I'm bored. And stuff."

"Stupid? Don't say that, it's...it's really nice. Like a different side of you."

"Was it really that weird?"

"In a _good _way. Yea...It was."

Toph bit her lip and removed her finger from her hair.

"Uh...Well, thanks, Doug."

"Yea, you're welcome."

"Anyway..." Toph tapped her stick on the carpet twice and scratched an itch on her arm. "It's kinda late, so I'm headin' to bed."

"Sure. Good seeing you, Toph."

"Yea...Later."

"Good night!"

* * *

- December, 2010 -

Douglas studied his music sheet with care. His internal debate as to whether to add notes to his arrangement was interrupted when a quite flustered-looking Toph Beifong stomped her way up the stairwell and onto their floor.

"Toph! Hey..."

"Hmph," snorted Toph, her expression sour as a lemon as she marched straight past him. She felt her cane along the corner of the wall, then wandered around to the door of her own practice room.

"Toph? Whoa, wait up..." Douglas dropped his clipboard to the floor and scrambled to his feet, flying off in pursuit. He caught up to Toph as she pushed her door closed, attempting to slam it in vain, but its mechanisms caused it to slow down before shutting, allowing Douglas space to wedge himself in. "H-hey, Toph...What...-?"

"Leave me alone." Toph whipped her walking cane into the corner of the room to the right of the piano and rushed to shove off her winter boots. Douglas watched her fuss about, finding himself aroused by her aggression. As she finally managed to kick her boots to the floor, Douglas spoke up.

"What's...wrong?"

"I said '_leave me alone._'"

"Wh-whoa, hey!" Douglas flinched at her snapping. "I didn't mean...-"

Toph whirled her head around, her face damp, bangs sticky from tears. The familiar butterfly began its fluttering within Douglas.

"Do you think I'm in the mood for your fucking smalltalk today?" snarled Toph, eyes white like the moon – a moon on fire, its glow veiled by a jungle of black vines.

"N-not at all, Toph. I...-" Douglas stuffed his hand in his pocket, somewhat relieved that at least she couldn't see the bulge forming inside his tight slacks. "I'm sorry..."

"Whatever," she grunted, turned back to her piano. "Get out..."

Douglas swallowed his fear and remained for a moment, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"What _happened_? I've never seen you like this..."

Toph mashed a hand onto the keyboard, creating an undesirable sound.

"I had a falling out with my parents, and my pussy-ass boyfriend just got into a fight with me, all right?" She unzipped her winter coat and chucked it with her other things. "Fuckin' happy, now? _God..._Pryin' into my business..."

"Wow, I-I'm sorry, Toph...I had no idea things were so rough...Is there...-" He gulped again, trying to keep back his nervousness. "-...anything I can do to help?"

Toph groaned in frustration, digging her fingers into the back of her scalp, her hair hung down and messy.

"The _hell _are _you _gonna do to...-?" Toph grumbled but trailed off with a sigh. Douglas was apparently impervious to her traditional tactics of scaring people off. This was problematic, and was only getting her more angry, so she decided to switch gears. "Ya know what? Fine. You _really _wanna help? My back's a god damned mess. Work out the knots. _That _would help. Otherwise, get out."

Was she...serious? Douglas had to swallow yet again, clawing at the back of his neck at the prospect of touching this seductive creature. In a flash, he concluded it was worth the risk and walked to her seat at the piano, reaching his hands out and carefully moving her thick hair so it hung across a shoulder, out of the way. She snorted out a laugh, seemingly surprised by his boldness as he dug his fingers into her fleshy back. She flinched at first from surprise, her muscles tightened.

"H-hey, you...gotta relax or else it's pointless," Douglas pointed out, pressing his thumbs into the lumps stuck beneath her shoulder-blades. Whoa, she wasn't kidding: her back really _was _a mess...She grunted and groaned at each motion, twitching in pain.

"Fuckin' serious?" she mumbled, teeth grit as Douglas worked to smooth things out. She gripped the back of her seat to maintain her position, letting her head hang down. "You just..._urgh._..pass out massages to girls, or something?"

"W-well, I was...just wanting to help you..." Douglas could sense her unease and stopped. "If...you don't _want _me to, I'll just...-"  
"No, no, it's...-" Toph sighed. "That was helping. Keep goin'."

"Shhure...Yea, all right." Douglas felt warm and tingly all around, now considering whether or not this was appropriate. Then again, _she _seemed all right with it...and he had already started. It'd be rude to stop at this point. Not that he _wanted _to stop...

"Sooo-...A_h, fuck, _that one hurts..."

"Right here?"

"_Ow. _Ow..._Agh..._Yea. Right there. _Shit, _what did I do to myself...?"

"Maybe just...sleeping on it wrong?"

"Prolly..._Ulgh. _Gah..."

Douglas had to be careful with his hands, which were beginning to get a bit shaky at her heavy breathing. She spoke with pauses inbetween his motions, her speech numbed by the pain.

"You seemed...pretty quick to...get your hands...on me, there...Bucko..."

"Heh...It's-...I mean, I'm pretty good at back massages, is all."

"That...a fact?"

"Yea, my mother...she does this for a living..."

"Aha_aaaah_...Ow...No _wonder_..."

"You really need to take better care of your back, Toph..."

"Pff..."

"I'm serious."

Douglas found his way to the ends of her ribcage, taunting himself with the edges of fatty tissue that lingered nearby. Toph's whole body tightened up and she sucked in air.

"_Shit_...The _fuck...?_"

Douglas tread carefully. Definitely some knots here, too...Those he wouldn't be able to work out.

"Wow...Your...umm...It's real bad here."

"_Damn. _No kidding," Toph whimpered.

"Well...I can't really help there, so...-"

"Shoulders."

"Mm?"

"The shoulders, man...up."

"Here?"

"Higher...Higher. _Ohhh, _ow. Y-yea, right there...It's...-"

"Oh, _ouch, _that...feels pretty bad, too..."

"See what I mean? _Gah_..."

"You sound like you're feeling a little better, though. Kind of ironic given how much this hurts, huh?"

"Heh...It _is _helping...Never thought you'd...actually _do _it..."

"Wouldn't have asked if I could help if I didn't mean it."

"I see that now."

"So...What exactly is going on? Like...you mentioned your parents...?"

"_Christ. _Shit hit the fuckin' fan..."

"I'm all ears."

"Tch. If you _wanna _hear me bitch, well...that's your call."

-break-

_Knock. Knock-knock-knock._

The door behind him opened. He paused from his violin playing and was pleasantly surprised to see Toph Beifong in all of her beauty slouching against the doorway.

"Doug? That you in here?"

"Hey, Toph!"

"Hey..." She was somber today, but...not hostile like the last time they had seen each other a couple of days prior.

"Everything OK? How's your back?"

"Oh, uhh...Back's better...Yea."

"Aaaand...everything else?"

"Meh. Not so much..." Toph came right in, poking her cane out and working her way around Douglas' boots and sitting against the wall. She was wearing a pair of tattered jeans with barefeet, a black tanktop on. Quite curious clothing to be wearing at this colder time of year, but...Douglas couldn't complain, allowing himself room to ogle a bit.

"What's going on?"

"Fuckin' school. Stupid crap, I'm so sick of this. Can't wait until break."

"Yea...I know what you mean. I'm having a lot of trouble on my-"  
"My boyfriend and I are over."

A lump formed in Douglas' throat and he contained it enough without needing to cough.

"O-Oh...I..._Really_? Wh...-?"

"I'm so fuckin' done. He's such a pussy. I can't take it. Trying to lecture _me_ about my own family. The hell does _he _know? He never had to deal with hyper-protective parents, anyway!"

"Hm..."

"It's like I'm some gross mangy animal to him, he won't let me touch him, and..._Argh. _Fuck." She thumped her foot on the carpet in anguish.

"No way. You're...I mean, you're _beautiful, _Toph, I'm sure it's not that he doesn't think-"  
"_Ha. _'Beautiful.' Like that word means anything to me," she cut him off, huffing out a gust of air that tussled around her bangs. "We've been dating for almost a _year _now, and the most we've done is dry-hump."

Douglas was beginning to be swiftly caught up in that warm, tingly sensation again as she twirled at her hair.

"I mean, _christ! _While he's dickin' around – I mean, the _opposite _of dicking around, really, because he's so fuckin' sensitive about it – I'm...-" Her fists were balled up in frustration. "Girl's got fuckin' _needs, _ya know?"

"Yea. Yea, definitely..."

"I'm so _sick _of getting' my chain jerked around. Like some stupid horse chasing a carrot on a stick, or whatever."

"Makes sense..."

"And it's, like...He's _amazing. _Seriously. I mean...I've never met another guy like him, much less _dated. _Right? But good _God, _why does he have to be so _chicken-shit _about stuff?"

"Sounds annoying."

"I know! Ugh, it _is. _Months and months of this bull. And he's always needing to _talk about our feelings, _like that fuckin' matters. I don't wanna _talk, _I wanna..._touch. _And...and feel a real connection."

"I know the feeling..."

"So...Ya know what? I'm done with him. Fuck it." She sniffed. Douglas' eyes, which had been suffering difficulty in focusing on her veiled face and roamed elsewhere, finally observed that she was crying a bit. "Me and him, we're over." She wiped her nose with her wrist and groaned.

"You OK?" Douglas went to her side.

"No," Toph honestly replied.

"Hey, things are...W-well, they'll be OK."

"Yea, _right_...I'm a fuckin' wrecking ball, Doug. You don't _get it. _I destroy every damned thing I ever care about..."

"Whoa, whoa...Don't say stuff like that." Douglas put his hand on her shoulder, noticing her arms wrapped around her stomach.

"What's it matter to _you, _anyway?" she grumbled.

"Am I not allowed to care?" Douglas retorted, his blood boiling at the intimacy of this moment.

Toph felt light-headed, her heart-rate elevated at their proximity. Her insides burned with tension built up over the past month, bottled inside without release. This guy was into her. That much was painfully obvious at this point. Based on their interaction earlier, she could tell that his hands were at least pretty functional. Besides, she'd made up her mind – she was breaking things off with stupid Twinkle-Toes, anyway. That relationship was dead in the water at this point.

Fuck it. A girl's got needs.

She clutched his wrist and pressed his palm against her breast. His other hand instantly took hold of the other, and she craned her neck forth, lips puckered. He reciprocated.

Minutes passed.

By the time Toph's consciousness had caught up with her body's impulses, she was shirtless, leaning over her colleague, her palms against his meager pectorals, his hands hugging her buttocks, her bra slipping at the abrasion.

Whoa, holy shit. What? OK, OK...Still wearing pants. Hands hadn't touched the inside of anything she was still wearing...That was...Well, it was better than being butt naked. Oh, but _christ, _did her body want to be. In the heat of this particular moment, her mind was barely able to overcome the chemicals swirling around to remind itself that her satisfaction had little to do with any particular trait that this young man possessed other than his own mutual desire for physicality. He seemed timid, scrawny, like the very boy her heart still clung to, and yet he reached out and took her back. Rather reckless. Reckless, it seemed, was what she needed right now.

But as she could feel her loins swell, she drew a quick breath and rolled off, bumping her head against the wall and curling up in recoil.

They both huffed for a few moments, neither having any idea of how to react to this turn of events.

Toph suddenly found herself swimming in a flood of guilt and relief - a muddy, confusing mess. It made her all the more angry, and yet it offered sweet release at once. She was torn, facing the truth that while this only made her realize her love for Aang all the more, it also satisfied a desire – no, a _need _– that she did not have the patience to wait for Aang to fulfill.

* * *

- Friday, December 17th, 2010 - Last day of the semester

"I can't _believe _this. This whole time, Toph? _Really_?"

Toph's insides were churning, guilt compounded over guilt.

"N-no, Dougie, it's...more complicated than that, I-"  
"You _lied _to me, Toph! You said...You said you and your boyfriend were _done!_"

_Shit. Shit-shit-fuck-argh. __How did he find out?_

"I know! _I know_!" she snapped back, stepping backward and bumping into the wall.

"_Wow. _You just..._Really? _Just...I don't even know what to say..."

"I'm _sorry, _Dougie, I just-...We've been...really enjoying each other's company, and I-"  
"No! We haven't! We've been...enjoying each other's...-" He groaned. "What we've been doing all month? That's not _company, _it's...-"  
"I know this seems bad, but...but _come on,_" she pleaded at his anger. "We've been...having some fun...I-I mean, that's...all it was, right?"

"Maybe to _you_, but...but this stuff is kinda new to me, Toph. I really liked you..."

Uh-oh. 'Liked.' That was a past-term word.

"I was...confused, Dougie. Things...turned out to be more complicated than they used to be. B-but I mean, like...Is it _really _that bad? We're...both people here. Not kids, right?"

"You're trying to _justify _it?"

"I'm just _saying_! It's...a natural part of being human, I don't see why we can't...let the past be the past."

"Are you..._listening _to what you're saying, or are you just spewing this stuff out?"

_Ugh. Why are words coming out of my mouth? I'm such an idiot._

In this moment, Toph was able to step outside of herself and acknowledge her selfish impulses. She recognized that she was merely making up excuses – the excuses she'd been letting her conscience lean on over this month to let herself feel OK with her own actions. She'd been using Douglas as a vessel to relieve her sexual tension. She'd been using Aang as a wall to hurl her frustrations upon.

Toph dug her fingers into her scalp and took a deep breath.

"Dougie. I'm sorry. I fucked up. OK? I get that."

"W-well..._Good. _Because...you did."

"But it's not like you haven't been enjoying it."

"Stop it...Please..."

"Come _on, _you're not innocent in all this yourself."

"Y-you're right. I'm not." He cleared his throat. "We have to tell him."

"_What_?"

"Your boyfriend. He has to know about this."

"W-wait a sec, here...I don't think...that's such a good idea."

"You don't...seem to be the best person at having good ideas," Douglas eked out through his timidness.

Toph frowned at his remark.

"Whatever..."

"He's _your _boyfriend, so...I think it'd be best if _you _told him."

Toph's lip fell open in appalled irritation.

"Nuh-uh. No fuckin' way. I'm not doin' it."

"Are you serious?"

"Why does he need to know? We're on thin ice as it is..."

"I guess you don't really love him if you can't be honest with him, then. Huh?"

Toph groaned at his accusation. Inside, she was seriously contemplating its potential truth, while he went on.

"You cheat on him, and then now you're going to hide it?"

"All it'll do is make things worse, Dougie. You wouldn't get it."

"Worse? They must be bad enough where you need to...look for someone _else _to make you happy...I don't see how it can get worse than that..."

Toph slammed the back of her head against the practice room wall twice, arms dug deep into her hoodie's waist pocket.

"Fine. Made your fuckin' point. Happy now?"

"Do you do this to him, too?"

"Huh?"

"When he points out that you're being immature...do you just...snap at him like this?"

Toph's face was hot with embarrassment at this situation already, but having Douglas rub in her face this matter that she had recently become acutely aware of was...rather difficult to deal with. She couldn't bring herself to give the honest answer - "yes" - but she had lost her edge in the discussion, unable to continue lying to this kid who could see right through it by now.

"Toph..." Douglas placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing with his thumbs. "You're...a beautiful girl. And...when you're not being...so grouchy...I really like being with you. But...this isn't right. Maybe your boyfriend can...stay with someone who lies, and...freaks out. And makes excuses. But I can't. I'm sorry. We can't spend time like this anymore."

Toph's eyes were trickling out drops now. The past couple of weeks had been long, rough, and crazy. She'd been investing a lot of time into this kid, ignoring her other friends...Ignoring the guilt it was causing. He'd been filling a gap in her life that, left unfilled, had been making her rather irate. And now he was cutting himself out.

What if Aang did that, too?

"B-but...we can still...spend _time_...right?"

"I'm...I don't know, Toph. Not for a while...Your boyfriend needs to know about this..."

Toph grunted in despair at his resolute decision.

"No, he _doesn't._"

"He _does. _And if you don't tell him..._I_ will."

"Fine," Toph spat, brushing at her wet eyes. "Do what you want."

"I'm sorry, Toph," Douglas apologized with a firm tone. "I didn't intend to...make things so awkward."

"Yea? Well...Way to fuckin' _go_, Dougie."

"We _both _did a great job messing things up. You can...stay dirty if you want, but...I can't do this."

With that, Douglas exited the practice room, leaving Toph to wade in her muddy bath of regrets.

* * *

- January, 2010 -

"Y-yea, and, so...-" Aang swallowed, light-headed and anxious. "Wh...what do you think?"

Toph sat across, elbows on the table, her cheeks patiently in her palms. She was smirking, her face pink.

"I think that's kind of sweet," she complimented. "But I already knew you felt that way."

"Wh-? You..._did_? How did you know...?"

"_Heh. _You haven't exactly been subtle lately, ya Weirdo. But...Katara told me."

"She did?"

"I asked."

"You already knew I liked you?"

"_Yuhp_."

"But...Why you'd have me..._tell _you like this, then?"

"Pff. _Duh. _'Cuz I wanted to see if ya had the balls to do it."

"But if...you liked _me, _and you _knew _I liked you...how come _I _had to be all...nervous and confess?"

"Women like to see confidence in a guy."

"Why do girls always say that?"

"'Cuz. It's true."

"Confidence isn't all that counts..."

"Hm. I dunno. It_ is_for a lot of girls."

"That's...kind of dumb. I think bravery is more important. And...and, like, being kind. And humble. And...things like that."

"Tch. Oh, really? How's that? Braveness is the same _thing _as confidence."

"No way – being brave being standing up even when you _aren't _confident. When you're scared."

"Like you did just now. To me."

"Uhh...Y-yea, I guess _so_...But...I think it's more important to be kind to people than...confident about yourself."

"...Go on," Toph eased, leaning back in her booth and listening carefully.

"W-well, it seems like girls are always looking for guys who are 'confident,' and whatever, but...a lot of guys who think highly about themselves, they tend to be the kinds who think _lowly _of others. You know?"

"Hm..."

"Even if that's not true, it's...just that I think there's something to be said about being humble."

"Heh."

"...What?"

"See, you're confident in your own beliefs. I've known that from the day we met."

"...You think so?"

"You and me, we're alike in that way – once we set our mind to something, we stick to it. You just...stick to things like...being _nice _and polite, and junk."

"And you're a meanie who pushes people around. Like you did just now."

"_Whaaaa_? How am I a meanie here? Huh? Tell me that."

"What, are you kidding? You just...had me be all awkward and...and confess that I liked you when you already _knew. _You didn't have to deal with the nervousness. That's...like cheating," Aang pouted with a chuckle.

"Ha. That's my style, dude. If you wanna dance with me, you've better learn to let me lead."

"What does _that _mean?"

"It means...Let's do it."

"Date?"

"Why not?"

Aang's stomach was queasy but his mind was at ease. Toph stretched her arms across the table, palms up.

"Gimme." She wiggled her fingers inward, grasping for his own. He sheepishly placed his hands within hers, and she gripped them tightly for a moment before running her pudgy fingertips all along his wrists, feeling them out. "Hm. You have good hands," she decided. "That's a relief."

"Heh...That's...great to hear...?"

"Your hands are dry...but also soft. Kind of girly hands. My last boyfriend had, like...beefy, sweaty hands."

"Oh..." Aang let out a confused laugh. "I see..."

"So, yea. Good hands. Great job on that one."

"Thanks..."

"Well." Toph was still rubbing her hands over his. "That was simple enough. This whole...deciding-to-date thing."

"Heh...M-maybe for _you_..."

"Meh. You need to not make things so complicated. You pick that up from Miss Sugar-Queen or something?"

"What...?"

"Katara. The prim-n'-proper one?"

"O-oh, I...Not really. It's just...kind of a big deal to me, so I...thought really hard on it."

"What's to think about?"

"It's-...Well, this is my first time, and all..."

"Awww, Aangy-Wangy's never had a girlfriend? For serious?"

"_Yes, _for serious."

"No _way. _You're like...eighteen? And you've _never_ dated anyone?"

"No..." Aang restated with an extra layer of self-conscious shame.

"That's about to change. C'mere..." She slid her hands up his arms as far as she could, gently tugging him to lean across the table. Aang glanced around. The cafeteria was empty, only a few lights still turned on.

"Wh...-?"

"If we're gonna start _dating, _doncha wanna start kissing?" Toph teased.

"Oh...Y-yea, I do, but...I-I'm not sure right _now _is such a good time..."

A brow raised on Toph's face and slipped her grip back to his hands.

"_Oh. _You...sure?"

"Ih-it's not you!" Aang hastily assured, swiping his thumbs over her wrists to reciprocate. "I need some time, is all. To...get used to you...? I-I mean, you're _really _cute, and...everything."

"Pff. Well, you're as good-looking as anyone _else _I've dated," Toph snickered. "So I'm set."

"You're set?"

"Yup. I think I'm good. We wouldn't wanna take your training wheels off too fast, Weirdo..."

"I'm just the type who...needs to take it slow."

"Fair enough. But c'mon, we gotta do _something _here. Ruinin' the moment, man. Mind if I feel you up a bit, at least?"

"_Huh_?"

"Your _face_, Dork."

"_Oh. _Ha...Yea...I guess?" Aang tilted his head across the gap and planted her hands over his cheeks. She slowly ran her palms – calloused and rough – along his lean head, through his short hair, and grabbed at his ear lobes.

"_Hell_-oh," she called with an impressed whistle. "What big ears you have."

"All the better to...er...listen to you...talk loud...with...?"

"Ho-_ho_. Picking on me, eh? You're catching on quick to how this works." She softly slapped him on the face with affection and pinched his cheek. "I'll teach you everything you'll need to know about having a girlfriend, Aang."

"Sounds like an adventure, Toph." Aang removed the fingers that had been stretching his face and landed a gentleman's kiss just above her knuckles.

"Aw, gee. How sweet." Toph's tongue popped out and blew a raspberry. "I'm gonna have to shake this nobleman's nonsense from you, Weirdo."

* * *

- Friday, January 19th, 2011 -

[From: Jane]  
[you told her yet?]  
[Sent: 6:03pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[no...-_- not yet. soon.]  
[Sent: 6:04pm]

[From: Sokka]  
[So. How'd it go?]  
[Sent: 6:10pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[hasnt happened. still waitin.]  
[Sent: 6:11pm]

[From: Katara]  
[All right, it's sent. Good luck, Hun. ~hug~]  
[Sent: 6:34pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[thanks..]  
[Sent: 6:34pm]

Aang observed the time, then observed Toph beside him, slurping away at pistachio pudding.

"So, uh...-" Aang's voice was cracking, his throat full of junk. He was still a bit ill, so he cleared his throat with a cough. "Wanna head up to your room after you're done?"

Toph licked her lips and a light but audible burp popped out.

"Sure," she replied with no preference.

The walk to Aqua was nerve-wracking, Aang's mind swirling with all kinds of lamentable thoughts. Toph's arm was wrapped around his waist, her other hand inside his pocket, clasping his hand as she relied on him to guide her.

Would this be the last time they walked, side-by-side, in this particular way?

"You all right, Twinkle-Toes?"

"Yea, I'm...kinda tired."

"Still catchin' up on sleep from this past week, is that is?"

"I guess so..."

"You were pretty damned loopy for a while there. Not acting like yourself."

"I bet...I haven't _felt _like myself lately..."

"You'll get better soon. Just have to get all that shit outta your head, ya know?"

Aang sniffled and coughed, his throat sore.

"Yea..."

They discussed some of the bizarre facets of the dreams Aang had been experiencing – without any of the parts involving embarrassing bits, naturally – until they got back to Toph and Katara's room. Toph threw herself onto her bed, rubbing her full, tender stomach.

"So, um...-" Aang began, his voice hardly a whisper as he sat in the chair to Toph's desk, turning it to face the bed.

"Hey, you wanna listen to some of those videos I did I haven't shown you yet?"

"Oh, your...your YouTube stuff...?"

"Yea, Meng put up some more for me. Go run a search."

"Yea, sure..."

Aang's expression winced at his own lack of assertion, but it couldn't hurt to humor her a bit.

[YouTube]  
[The_Blind_Bandit's Channel - … ]

[Name: Toph Beifong]  
[Channel Views: 4,621]  
[Total Upload Views: 15,369]  
[Age: 20]  
[Joined: November 25th, 2010]  
[Latest Activity: 1 day ago]  
[Subscribers: 547]  
[About Me: I will cut your face off with AWESOME!]  
[Hometown: Wayward, PA]  
[Country: United States]  
[Occupation: Singer and Song Writer]  
[Music: The Beatles, Christina Perri, P!nk]  
[Schools: Saint Roku University]

"Wow, you've got...a decent following so far, huh?"

"Hell yea, I do. The Blind Bandit is stealing hearts. Heheh."

_Like how you stole that other boy's heart? And _mine?

Aang tried to let his itching aggravation go as he scrolled along through Toph's page.

"Which ones haven't you seen yet?" she inquired.

"I, uh...None. I'm all caught up."

"_Wha? _No way."

"You had me look this up last week."

"Aren't there some new ones?"

"Er...Nah, I don't...see any, I mean-"  
"You're probably not looking right."

"Wh...-?"

"Meng put up a couple new ones just yesterday. She told me."

"You sure? Maybe they're just not up yet..."

"_Ugh, _nevermind. Just...play something."

"Huh?"

"Anything. Just...pick one, I don't care."

Aang's head was trickling with sweat, his intestines burning with anxiety.

"A-actually, there was a song I wanted to show you..."

"OK...?"

"B-but before that, I um...I needed to talk with you."

"About what?" Toph's expression flashed with impatience as Aang took a deep breath.

"Well...Um..." He sputtered a cough and wiped at his sandy eyes. "It's...it's about _us_..."

He lifted himself from his chair and planted his knees at the side of Toph's bed as she rolled onto her side to be closer to him. He watched as her keen face absorbed his doubt.

"You want to break up," she acknowledged simply, her brows furrowed with a deep-thinking, solemn face she did not often wear.

"Yea," Aang squeaked out. It was both relieving and confusing that she knew. His gut reaction that was she knew because she herself was thinking it. They both had, for some time, neither brave enough to confront the idea openly until this moment.

Toph's melancholic but rational expression was veiled in black bangs, which she suddenly brushed aside, tucking behind an ear. This conveyed to Aang that her pale eyes were watering up, her eyebrows suddenly arcing with pain.

"No," she whispered with disapproval. She reached out her hands, pawing at Aang's head by accident but working her way around. He pulled up his own hands to grasp hers, and she squeezed tightly. "We can't do that," Toph whispered with an alarming desperation Aang had never seen her display.

"But...but we're just not _working_," Aang pointed out, his own eyes filling up.

"Sh-sure we are," Toph tried to convince him in futility. "I know it's been rough, Babe, but...I'm _trying_, we...can still make this happen..." She was struggling – and failing – to hold back sobs.

Aang squinted his eyes shut for a moment, having difficulty coping with the sight of her anguish, her fingers trembling around his wrists.

"We _did _try, Toph...We did."

"We can just..._quit..._"

"It's not...quitting when...you've already lost," Aang sighed with a choking cough to match her sobs.

"No, no, no..." Toph whimpered, detaching her grip fumbling upward to envelope his face with her palms. She leaned her head off the bed, kissing him on the lips with a furious misery. Aang had to push past his impulses and break their kiss apart prematurely.

"I'm sorry, Toph...I'm really sorry..."

"I can't lose you, Twinkle-Toes," Toph gasped out. "Not _you..._"

"You're not," Aang insisted. "You're not losing me, I-I'm not going anywhere..."

"But...But we're breaking up...?"

"That...doesn't mean have to _lose _each other..."

"Oh..." Toph breathed out shakily, blinking wildly to shake tears down her cheeks. "I guess that's...I-I mean, are you sure we can..._do _that...?"

"Why _can't _we do that?" Aang rhetorically pondered.

"Won't it be...super _awkward_?"

"I don't know," Aang confessed. "Probably...? For a while, anyway..."

"I-I guess...we'd eventually be OK with it. People _do _break up...all the time...and stuff..."

"I don't want to lose you, either, Toph. I don't want to have to let go. But...we just need to...change how this all works..."

"It's not as easy as...flipping a fucking _switch, _Twinkles..."

"I know, I know! It'll...be a process, but we have to not let ourselves slip back into things..."

"Huh?"

"We have to...agree to break things off. Otherwise we'll just be...stuck in _this_. What we've _been _stuck in."

"Oh. Right. Yea, that's...fine. Let's do that. We'll...make it a clean break. I guess...?"

"It'll be OK. Our friends won't just...let us not be friends anymore."

"Pff..._Especially _not Katara."

"Ha...Especially her."

Toph was readjusting her position, now sitting upright. Aang got back up in the chair and the two sat, face-to-face, and grabbed each other's hands again.

"I'm still your friend, Toph. I'm always going to be your friend."

Toph inhaled wide and puffed out, her tears calming as she swiped them off her face with her sleeve.

"Yea..." she sighed out with a tiny smile of ease and wrapped her arms around her stomach, unsure of what to do with her hands.

"So...I guess that...settles _that_, then," concluded Aang with some bewilderment. Weeks agonizing over this and it was all settled in a matter of a couple minutes.

"Guess it does..."

"I, um...-" Aang turned to Toph's computer, having already muted its function read out its text, and logged into his e-mail account. "I ran into a song that...I think you should listen to. It makes me think of us."

"Oh...Right." Toph scratched at her forehead, and her hair came tumbling back across her eyes.

Aang accessed the e-mail Katara had sent him earlier and loaded up the video. When it was ready to start playing, he turned the volume back on and let the music wash over them.

[**"~I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason~"**]

_"What makes you so special? Why do you wanna be friends with me, anyway?"_

_"I don't know. I just do. That isn't good enough for you?"_

[**"~Bringing something we must learn~"**]  
[**"~And we are led to those who help us most to grow~"**]

The mysterious girl at the piano, her attitude pulling him toward him for reasons he couldn't understand.  
The strange, sensitive boy who wouldn't leave her alone. And she didn't _want _him to, deep down.

[**"~If we let them, and we help them in return~"**]

She learned to let him take care of her - not because she was blind, but because he desired to lessen her frustrations.  
He learned to let her ease him into new things - not because he was ignorant, but because she wanted him to have new experiences.

[_"~Well, I don't know if I believe that's true~"_]

Toph had gotten up off the bed and had moved forth to give Aang a hug.

[_"~But I know I'm who I am today because I knew you~"_]

Aang took her and reciprocated. They clung in a long embrace, but one that had a different tone than other hugs they had shared.

[**"~Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun~"**]

A timid boy comes out of his shell to befriend a stubborn musician.

[**"~Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood~"**]

She teaches him to stand up for himself more, to be more assertive.

[_"~Who can say if I've been changed for the better?~"_]

_"Just gonna let her keep calling you that, Aang? It's not manly!"_

["_~But because I knew you...~_**I have been changed for good**~"]

_"Shut up, Meat-Head. Twinkles here is just a different kind of man."_

["_~It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime~_"]

His lips against her forehead, comforting her when she is furious.

["_~So let me say before we part~So much of me is made of what I learned from you~_"]

_"Admit it, Toph - some of him's been rubbing off on you."_

_"Meh. If you say so, Katara." She stuck out her tongue._

["_~You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart~_"]

Her hand against his chest, assuring him when he is insecure.

["**~And now whatever way our stories end~**"]

The future: uncertain, clouded in fog.

["**~I know you have re-written mine by being my friend~**"]

A year later, two different people than they were before.

["_~Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea~_"]

A lonely girl is pulled from her self-doubts and isolation by an enthusiastic boy.

["_~Like a seed dropped by a skybird in a distant wood~_"]

He plants truth and love in her heart, teaching her to accept others.

["**~Who can say if I've been changed for the better?~**"]

Two unhappy, stressed-out friends, struggling to repair what is broken.

["**~But because I knew you~**"]  
["_~Because I knew you~_"]

They rely on each other, they hurt each other, they hold each other.

["**~I have been changed for good~**"]

Through their challenges, they learn more about who they really are.

["_~And just to clear the air, I ask forgiveness for the things I've done you blame me for~_"]

_"I'm sorry," Toph whispered, lip quivering. "I know I hurt you...I fucking hate myself for it..."_

["**~But then, I guess we know there's blame to share~**"]

_"It's OK," Aang replied shakily. "We've been in this together. I messed things up, too..."_

["_**~And none of it seems to matter anymore~**_"]

They were both in tears once again, the song stirring up memories and confusion and pain.

["**~Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun~**"]  
["_~Like a ship blown from its mooring by a wind off the sea~_"]

They sway slowly, holding each other tight. Neither wants to let go, but they know they need to.

["**~Like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood~**"]  
["_~Like a seed dropped by a bird in the wood~_"]

Love remains. Beneath the layers of romance, a love still burns - a different kind of love they did not expect.  
They grasp it tight.

["_**~Who can say if I've been changed for the better?~**_"]  
["_**~(I do believe I have been changed for the better)~**_"]

Tears. Trembling breath. Shaking hands.

["**~And because I knew you...~**"]  
["_~Because I knew you...~_"]

They let go.

["_**~Because I knew you...~**_"]

"I'll always be here for you, Toph."

["_**~I have been changed...~**_"]

"I know you will, Twin-...Aang. I will be, too."

["_**~...for good~**_"]

* * *

**A/N: Since this relationship has been reflective of my own, I wanted the breakup process to feel similar - you knew it was going to happen, and...the actual breaking up was oddly simple. Now, the after effects of this, well...that's something else entirely. Again, I'm not entirely pleased with this chapter. Unlike much of SRU, this stuff was swirling around in my head since the beginning. Well, there it is. Time to move onward, our characters still have a lot to work through before the schoolyear is over.**

**Oh, and it's worth pointing out that while my ex did cheat on me for similar reasons to Toph, she was more mature than Toph and actually told me fairly shortly after. Ours was a much longer, more drawn-own process, but I did want to reflect that drawn-out struggle over the past chapters of awkwardness.  
**

**"For Good" is from Wicked.  
youtube(dot)com/watch?v=IX1LdLv00aA**

**Special Art made for this chapter:  
jinjinbun(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-For-Good-256198967**


	55. Recovery

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 55 - Recovery  
_

* * *

Dust. Heat beats down. He adjusts his brim to block the burning rays.

"Think we kin take 'em?" her raspy voice inquires with caution.

He spits. Wad of cheap tobacco splatters in the dried earth below his boot.

"Ah ain't a quitter," he replies through grit teeth. "_Yer _bounty ta collect, Darlin'."

Sour frown underneath a field of freckles.

"Toldja stop callin' me that," she grumbles. The streaks of blood - makeshift facepaint - across her cheeks are beginning to crack apart from the heat. Bony fingers flex around her holster. "Fair 'nuff, though..."

"Ya'll lovebirds done sayin' yer prayers?" roars the dark stranger's voice from down the dirt street.  
_BLAM..._  
The couple is left unfazed by the warning shot in the distance.

He chuckles to himself. Tightens his cowskin gloves, arrows carved into the hide over his knuckles.

"The Spirits are on our side today, Miss Bee," he assures his companion. "Yer 'bout to put an end to 'im, once n' fer all."

"Long time comin'," she huffs. Spurs rattle as they slowly approach the silhouette in the distance. She walks faster than he does, pulls up ahead. Slender, muscular legs in such short denim.  
Er, whoop...Not the time to go meanderin'.

"It ends tuhday," he threatens in a shout to the criminal across the way. "Yer a wild animal needs tuh be put down."

"Ya reckon so?" taunts the blonde man. His face is shrouded in the shadow from his ten-gallon hat As they draw near, the opposing figure before them stretches out his arms. "My, my. The Killerbee Kid and the Wind o' the West. Well, ain't _yoo _two been gunnin' holes across the state? Fine work, ah hear."

"'Bout to stick some lead right between yer _eyes, _Nils," hisses the girl with the flaming orange hair. Olive eyes pierce with hostility.

"Now, what in tarnation you blowhards come 'round mah town fer? What I done to _you_?"

"Quit beatin' the devil 'round the stump," commands Killerbee. "We all know yer a hard case. Me n' mah boy come heeled with a notion to put ya under fer yer crimes."

"All this work, jus' for lil' ol' me? I'm dreadfully flattered."

"Hobble your lip, damnit!" She seems quite impatient. Her hand whips up her pistol and pulls back the hammer, aimed for her enemy.

"_Whoa, _pull in yer horns, ma'am!" Nils pleads, arms up. "I ain't meanin' ya no harm..."

Ranks pour into the road from the alleyways. A flurry of clicks as guns are cocked.

"_But..._If ya be meanin' _me _some, ahm afraid I can't keep the peace."

"Ah, shut yer big bazoo!" Killerbee cries in defiance, her arms quivering as she steps back, pulling her hand away from her gun. She bumps into him, and he holds her from tripping back.

"Hey, uh...Miss Bee, maybe it's time we oughtta skedaddle, rethink our-"  
"Ah don' care a continental!" she whispers back at him with fury. "It's time tuh shoot, or give up the gun!"

"Now, then!" Nils interrupts. "Ya'll best throw up the sponge now. Had yer fun, chil'un. But ya belong to _me, _Bee. Always have. Always will. Ya know that good n' well by now. So put 'em up, n' come quietly."

His teeth grind at the mysterious man's words.

"There ya go, shootin' yer mouth off," he scolds. "Miss Bee ain't belong to _no _man..."

"Gheh," Nils bursts out a laugh. "This sack o' bones ain't never been a _'Miss', _and that's a fact." He turns his attention to the girl with the facepaint. "Now, what's with this nonsense, Whore? Yer partner in crime's right as a trivet. Ain't yer style at all."

"I'm proud to know 'im," she declares, tightening the cloth band around her forehead. She clasps his hand in her own. His stomach lurches, light and queasy. "More n' _anyone _kin say 'bout _you_, Nils."

"'How come we ain't been shot dead yet?" he cautiously inquires underneath his breath. Seems too convenient to be truth.

"Don't copper yer damn bets," she expresses her disapproval of his lack of confidence. "He jus' plays to the gallery."

"Now set yer guns down good n' slow so we kin sort this all out," Nils suggests.

_**BANG.**_

Chaos. One of the ambushers is struck in the skull. He collapses as all barrels point skyward in search of the sniper.

**_BANG. BAM. POP-POP. BANG._**

Hell breaks loose. Bullets fly.

"Get a wiggle on!" Killerbee cries, grasping his arm by the wrist and dashing into an alleyway, blasting a thug in the face with her magnum as they pass. "Hee_hee!_" she giggles with triumph. "They don' call 'im Longshot fer nothin', eh?" Their backup is the perfect distraction to kick up dust and make for a good getaway.

In the madness, he caps three. One in the shin, another in the shoulder, a third in the knee. More are gunned down from the rooftops.

Suddenly, they are cut at the pass by Nils. Killerbee, gun at the ready, fires one off without a second's delay, straight through his heart.  
_Thump._

"There's the kit n' caboodle," she shouts with triumph. "Not so hard as we thunk!"

Horse. Poor, scared animal is nearby, kicking and neighing. He hops aboard as Miss Bee spits on the corpse. He slips out his knife from his boot, cuts the horse's rope, swings by and catches her, pulling her on. Slender arms around his waist.

"Not quite as ah expected," he admits. She chuckles.

"Forgot the plan, didja? Ain't no matter. Yer still someone to ride the river with."

A kiss on his cheek. His face is hot. He considers what to-  
**BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!**

With a gasp, Aang snapped awake, bumping the back of his skull against the wooden heading to his bed. He rolled over, rubbing his tendered spot, and groans at his alarm clock. He groggily reaches for the {Snooze}.

**BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!**

_Urgh, _what the...?

Across the room, Sokka moaned out in anguish as he acknowledged that the alarm was for him on this Saturday morning. The beeping was put to rest at last and Aang sighed out peacefully.

"Why're you waking up on _Saturday _morning?" he wondered warily, closing his eyes and readjusting himself.

"Friggin'...gotta fill in at work," Sokka whined. "Someone quit, needed me to cover 'em today..."

"Sucks, man," Aang sympathized through a yawn. There were no more words as Aang began drifting back to sleep. His nether region was tightened, and as he realized this, he sighed through his nose. He was half-asleep, sure, but awake enough to realize what he'd just been dreaming about. Another awkward, embarrassing dream...The girl in question seemed to vary by the day. What was _wrong _with him? He had only just broken up with Toph the night prior. He wasn't ready for anything with anyone else. And besides...Jane? She was way too different...Right? _Argh, _no, didn't matter either way, because he wasn't looking into anything like that with anyone else right now. At all. Whatsoever. Period.

* * *

- Saturday, January 20th, 2011 -

~. ~-~-~. ~-~-~-=! ~-~-=-=-_!

"Urgh..." Toph huffed at her fingers' sluggish performance. The strings weren't bending to her will the way they usually did. Her touch was off.

_Creek._

Gentle footsteps crawled across the room to the opposing desk chair. Toph could hear her roommate begin crunching into a bowl of cereal. She drummed her fingers impatiently along her guitar.

"You hungry?" Katara asked politely.

A moment's hesitation passed before Toph sputtered out a 'Nah.'

"You sure?" Katara saw through. "I've still got some cereal left, I could go make you a bowl..."

Toph sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils. Katara had been extra sugary-sweet since yesterday. She had known all along about it. Probably knew _before _the fact, didn't she? How come she wasn't saying anything? Just...being all super nice and shit?

"Sure..." Toph sighed out, adjusting her strings. Maybe that was the problem.

"OK!" Katara sounded all peppy and enthused to be of some service.

_Creek._

She opened the door and scampered off down the hall - the supplies to prepare cereal were tucked in the floor's community kitchen space. Toph took her moments of peace to pluck some more at the stubborn instrument with unsuccessful results.

"Are you...all right?" came Katara's sympathy. Toph hadn't even noticed her re-entry.

"Huh? Why, do I look..._not..._all right?"

"W-well, you just...look pretty...-"  
"Let's cut the bullshit and just call it like it is."

_Clok. _Plastic cupl set down on the desk nearby. The bed shifted slightly at Katara's weight to her right.

"I'm sorry, Toph..."

"Me, too..."

That familiar, tender hand rubbed at Toph's back as she could feel her insides squirm with dissatisfaction. She set her guitar on the mattress behind her and cautiously reached out for the cup. Katara knew how Toph liked her cereal - mixed with milk in a tall cup to make it easy to consume. The gentle massage continued while Toph took a large gulp.

"You guys really tried," Katara acknowledged. "But...you've both been so miserable lately..."

"Yea," Toph admitted with some resentment.

"Things will get better, though," Katara encouraged.

Toph didn't agree with this notion. Things would be worse. Now everything would be all awkward. And now she was the bad guy. She was the one who'd fucked things up, after all. Regardless of any mistakes Aang had made, this was how the group would see it. And fuck it, maybe that was how it should be, anyway. She _had _screwed things up pretty hardcore...

"Toph?" Katara checked, nudging her roommate gently. "Talk to me..."

"What's there to _talk _about?" Toph groaned, thrashing up her shoulder to shake Katara off. "I'm not some fuckin' broken heart you can fix, ya know?"

Katara was speechless for a moment, which clued Toph in to the notion that she had left the right impression.

"Patch me back up with some duct tape?" she ranted on. "I don't think so."

"Toph..."

"I wasn't happy. I messed up. Then _he _wasn't happy. The end. Nothin' else to say." Toph drank more cereal. Ech. Honeycombs? Really, Katara? Lame...

"O-OK, I'm sorry, I didn't...mean to get you upset, I was-"  
"_HA! _Get me upset, huh? Little late, Sugar-Queen. Nothing you have to say or do can affect me right now. I am how I am, and...that's how it is. I'm dealing with it, so...you should, too."

"You're...sure there's nothing I can do?"

"You can shut up and drop it. _That _would make things a bit easier for us _both._"

"Right," Katara squeaked, getting up off the mattress. "Sure thing. I'm sorry."

"Whatever, it's no big. Breakups happen. I don't remember _you _needing therapy when you and that spic broke it off. And I mean, hell, he _died, _and shit. You seemed to get by pretty OK. I think I can manage."

Katara shuffled across the room, back to her desk, spilling out a frustrated sigh. Heh. There it was, pressed a button. Now she'd back off for a while.

* * *

[From: Sucka]  
[Yo, Freckles. You're still looking for work, right?]  
[Sent: 10:42am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sucka]  
[uh yea. i guess. why?]  
[Sent: 11:30am]

[From: Sucka]  
[There's an opening down here at Appa's. Told my manager I knew someone who needed a job and could start this week.]  
[Sent: 12:04pm]

[From: Sucka]  
[You interested?]  
[Sent: 12:05pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sucka]  
[yea. frycook or somthin?]  
[Sent: 12:07pm]

[From: Sucka]  
[You got it. Cool. I'll have you come meet the manager tomorrow. Sound good?]  
[Sent: 12:10pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sucka]  
[sure.]  
[Sent: 12:11pm]

* * *

"_Augh!_" Aang cried out, his body tightening as he clutched his controls with white knuckles. The slicing sound of a piercing pitchfork made him flinch as he was attacked from behind. A distant chainsaw was revving from somewhere off screen.

"Jeez, just..._shoot him_," Sokka sighed.

"I'm trying!" Aang whimpered, as his character on screen pulled out a knife.

"No, _other _button."

"_What _other button?"

"The _'R' _button, man!"

The character on screen pointed a pistol with a red laser sight and after a moment started popping bullets haphazardly into the small crowd of creepy farmers before him.

"Might wanna try _hitting _them, Bud."

"I _am _trying!"

"Chainsaw Guy's gonna get you."

"Where is he?"

"Probably behind you."

Aang spun his character 180 and yelped out in surprise at the large man with the burlap sack over his head who was charging his way, running chainsaw held in the air.

"Poop-dangit-aagghh..." Aang panted out as he shot a few ineffectual pistol shots into the enemy's large gut before his character's head was sawed off.

[{You Are Dead}] displayed across the screen in large, bloody letters. Sokka nodded slowly, staring at the screen as he slapped Aang on the back.

"Monkey-feathers..."

"Good effort," Sokka patronized. "Good effort..."

Aang groaned and set the controller down before Sokka's entertainment setup.

"Ugh, I don't think I wanna play any more of this game..."

"It _is_ kinda hard."

"It's...not even that, it's...really violent"

"It's Resident Evil, Bro, what'd you expect?"

"I...I don't know. But...Why'd you have me _play _it? You _know _I don't like this stuff..."

"Aww, c'mon, do you need to go back to your kiddie games? This too intense for ya?"

Aang frowned at Sokka's teasing comment and rolled his eyes, huffing out a sigh as he clicked off the electronics and stuck his feet into his hiking boots.

"Whoa-whoa, hey, where ya goin'?" Sokka pressed, now regretting his efforts at humor.

"Art building. To work on...stuff..."

"Hey, wait, man, I was just...-"

"I'm not in the mood, Sokka," Aang grumbled out, zipping up his vest. "I'm just now trying to get over all the stuff Toph used to say, I don't need _you _picking on me, too..."

Sokka blinked at this comment as Aang headed out the door.

"Dude, I didn't mean to-"  
_Click._

Aang closed the door behind him before Sokka could finish his sentence. With a shrug, Sokka rearranged things and began shuffling through the digital store on his PS3. After he'd queued up a few downloads, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Sokka called with flowery whimsy, expecting his girlfriend. He turned his head and puckered his lips, only to see his sister come through the door. She raised her brow at him and he immediately reverted his expression. "You're not Suki," he mumbled sheepishly.

"Definitely not," Katara replied with amusement. "Where's Aang?"

"He got all whiny and stormed off to the art building."

"Whiny...?" Katara wondered with some concern.

"I dunno, he's all bent outta shape from the breakup and junk. Nothing I do cheers him up. I tried giving him nachos, getting him root beer, watching some UFC, playing some video games..._Man. _Nothin'. Still mopey."

"Umm...Did you...maybe try _talking _with him about it?"

Sokka stared at his sister with narrowed eyes.

"_No?_" He snorted through his nostrils. "Do I look like a friggin' therapist? Besides, he doesn't exactly seem in the mood to talk."

Katara sighed, twirling a finger around some strands of air as she lamented the situation.

"Yea, Toph...hasn't been very receptive, either..."

"Maybe because she feels like you're trying to choke her with attention when she just wants to chill out?"

"Well...M-maybe," Katara conceded, "But trying to drown Aang in junk food isn't really good for _him, _either."

"If you're so worried about him, why don't _you _try cheering him up?" Sokka jibed. Katara's eyes darted downward, away from his snarky gaze, and she nodded.

"Y-yea, you're right. Maybe I _should_. He's really hurting right now - and Toph is, too. I _know _she is. I'm really worried about those two..."

"Ya can't fix everything, Katara," Sokka huffed, turning back to his TV screen.

"You should try spending some time with Toph, then."

"Say what?"

"You're right, Sokka. Toph doesn't want me to try helping her feel better right now, but she usually gets along well with you."

"I get along with everyone," Sokka concluded.

"I'm just saying, you could make a little effort to try to take her mind off things, make sure she still feels cared about. I don't want her thinking that...just because they broke up, we don't want her around...You know?"

"I guess," Sokka muttered, not too keen on the prospect of trying to keep Toph of all people in a good mood. "Why not have Freckles do it? She's...a girl. And stuff. And they get along."

"Sokka, Jane's...not exactly the best at comforting others, especially stubborn people like Toph. Those two get along, but they also...totally flip out on each other."

"Ugh," grunted Sokka, acknowledging Katara's point. "OK, OK...I'll...have lunch with her tomorrow or something. If she wants to."

"Great."

"Only if she _wants _to," Sokka specified. "And I'm not making her talk about her _feelings _or anything like that."

"No, that's...that's good," Katara assured with a hurried nod. "I think that's what she needs right now."

"If _you _know so well, how come _I'm _doin' it?" whined Sokka with a shrug.

"I told you, she gets along better with you."

"Yea, yea..." He waved a hand in dismissal. "I'll see what I can do."

"About what?" inquired Suki as she slid into the doorway past Katara.

"About Toph," Katara sighed, crossing her hands thoughtfully.

"_Oh,_" puffed out Suki warily. "Yea, she-...Well, she's been..._Toph_...lately..."

"Do _you _have any ideas, Suki?"

Suki's eyes rolled around slowly as she considered Katara's question, then snapped back as she raised an index.

"Actually, I've been thinking about it today, and...Maybe she just needs more music."

"Huh?"

"Maybe we should try getting the band back to practicing now that we're all settled into school, and...I dunno, try and get The Kyoshi Warriors to play more. Maybe give Toph a little freedom in deciding some stuff, you know?"

"Really? You'd do that?" said Sokka with some skepticism.

"Sure," said Suki with a shrug. She didn't look thrilled at the idea, but she did look sincere. "Toph's had a lot of crazy stuff happening lately...And, while a most of it _is _probably her fault...she still needs us to be there. Right?"

"Exactly," said Katara. "I think that's a good idea, Suki. Let's try that."

"Wooooo!" cheered Sokka with relief. "So I'm off the hook."

"_No_," scolded his sister. "You still need to do it."

"Do what?"

"Take Toph to lunch," Sokka mumbled, as if this idea made no sense.

"Oh. Hey, yea, that's a good idea. You could probably help cheer her up," said Suki. "She gets along pretty well with you.

"_Why _does everyone think that, again?" groaned Sokka, cocking back his head with some disbelief. "She's crazy and stubborn and-"  
"She laughs at your idiotic jokes, at least," Katara interrupted his negativity. "Just...be stupid and make her laugh. Come on, Sokka," Katara pleaded.

"Yea, yea..."

"It's nice to know you can be obedient when needed," Suki teased, patting Sokka on the head while he frowned.

* * *

"What do you think it means, then?" Aang wondered with a tint of exasperation.

"I think...-" Mai tapped her bony chin carefully as she studied the splotchy image of a flock of crows she had created. She began dabbing some gray around their bodies to create feathered effects. "-...that you've been through a complicated relationship, with a bit too much drama, and...now you're just wanting something to fill that gap. Something...simple."

"Mm-hm," Aang hummed out in agreement, pretending to focus on his drawing in his chair behind her, but finding himself unable to. That sounded about right, at least - what she was saying.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Aang. It's pretty natural."

"It is?" He wasn't so sure of that.

"Definitely. But...don't read too much into your dreams. That's all they are - just weird thoughts you have while you sleep."

"Y-yea, but...don't they, like...express what my subconscious is...thinking? Or wanting?"

"Ffft, not necessarily," Mai was quick to express doubt. "Sure, maybe part of you might feel that way, but...you can't take that to mean you should act on every dream or whatever. Otherwise, you'd be dating, like, three girls at the same time."

"Th-that's not what I want..."

"Well, _duh._" Mai laughed through her nose. "The point is, stop letting all of these dreams and everything dictate what you want. Let _reality _decide that, Aang."

"Find an apple tree," Aang slyly referenced their recurring inside joke.

"Haha, right." Mai smiled a small smile through dull eyes. "Lemons are good and everything, but...Maybe Toph was a lemon tree, and lemons aren't your thing. So find an apple tree instead. You're not going to find one inside your imagination, my friend."

"Right..."

"Anyway, why are you so...eager about this?"

"About what?"

"I dunno, it sounds like you already want to start dating someone else and it's only been...what? A _day_?"

"B-but I don't!" Aang protested.

"Then stop _worrying _about it."

"OK..." Aang sighed to himself as he took his friend's advice, letting the conversation slide off as they both focused on their artwork.

* * *

- Sunday, January 21st, 2011 -

"It's not hard, Ginger. You just...cook stuff. Seriously. Easy-peasy. Don't sweat."

"Meh..." Jane shrugged begrudgingly.

"Don't gimme that," Sokka warned. "I gonna help land you a job, woman. Be a little grateful, eh?"

"Fff...Thanks, and shit," Jane lathered on more disinterest. "Naw, but really," she wiped it off, "thanks, man. I...could probably use a job."

"At least you'll be working with someone you _know, _right?"

"That's true..."

They popped open the door to the basement of the campus center and went in through a back door to the food preparation area of Appa's. The manager stood casually, back against a wall as another student grilled a lone burger. She was sipping at a milkshake, her eyes sharp and cunning. Her dark hair was tucked underneath a white cap with a blue arrow pointing down across the forehead - the uniform for the restaurant. She had dark eyeliner around her eyes. She wore a matching apron with a nametag: {June} She was yawning out of boredom as they entered, and Sokka smirked at her laziness.

"Oh," she sputtered dryly when she noticed their presence. "Sokka," she acknowledged his presence. "Brought your little friend, I see."

"Hey, June," Sokka greeted back. "Yea, this here's Jane." He pounded her on the back and pushed her forward a step. "Jane, meet June."

"Hey," said June, devoid of any enthusiasm.

"Hey," Jane replied in kind.

"So. You need a job." _Slurrrp._

"Yea..."

"All right." _Slrrp._

June shrugged and whirled off the wall, shake still in tow, and headed to a backroom. She came back with a cap matching her own and planted it firmly on Jane's head.

"You got it, then." _Slrapp._ "I'll need ya here on Tuesday to start."

Jane blinked, wide-eyed, at this pale-faced woman. That was it?

"Uhh..." She readjusted the hat so it fit better on her head.

"Neato," Sokka said with light triumph.

"'Neato' for _you_, maybe," June scoffed. "Now I gotta do paperwork."

"You hate paperwork," Sokka recalled.

"I _hate _paperwork," June coldly repeated.

_Slrruup._

"_Well._" Sokka cleared his throat through the silence. "Cool beans. Told ya I'd find someone."

"You did. I'll give ya a damned medal. Pin it to your hat, look real pretty, Sokka."

"Haha. We'll see you Tuesday, June."

"Yep," June sighed out a dull breath. "Have fun, kiddies." _Slurrpp._

* * *

The two sat down at the small, square lunch table, and Toph immediately dove into her food without a word.

"How ya holdin' up, Dead-Eyes?" Sokka asked calmly, smooshing his tuna melt down with his palm. He wiped his palms together, brushing the crumbs off to the floor. "I heard things have been a bit rough."

Toph chewed her food without a word. She was wearing that snooty, self-righteous look Sokka was familiar with, her head tucked into the hood of her green Terra house hoodie.

"Guess it's been a bit crazy for everybody," Sokka went on. "We all need to hang out again, am I right? Been a few days..."

He took a bite of his meal and the two enjoyed some silence for a minute or so.

"I fucked things up pretty bad, huh?" Toph mumbled with some contempt, pausing in the middle of her binge.

Sokka took a hit of his Mountain Dew.

"Tch. _Yea_," he bluntly agreed. "Sure did."

"Everybody hate me now?"

"Uh, _no?_"

"How come I haven't heard from anyone since Thursday night?"

"Everyone's been busy with stuff, Toph."

"Sure..."

"Seriously. C'mon, Toph, cut the grumpy act."

"I'm not grumpy."

"Like hell you're not."

"What_ever, _like _you're _some fuckin' expert. You're just doing this because Katara made you."

"How'd you know about that?"

"'Cuz you just told me just now."

"You sly, sneaky little bastard."

"Pff. Like you give a damn enough to go outta your way and put up with me."

"Hey, hey...Sure I do."

"You don't care about _anyone _lately. You just sit in your room and play your video games, and when there's an issue you write it off, like...it's all just PMS and you won't hear any of it."

Wow. Lotta hostility. Katara hadn't been kidding.

"That's because it _is _all PMS," Sokka pressed humor onto the situation. "But that's not the point, Toph. I care about you. We all do. You and Aang are dealing with a lot from this whole situation, and-"  
"Can't even make up your fucking mind."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Ya gonna be a sarcastic ass and joke me to death one minute, and then be all super analytical and shit the next."

Sokka frowned, folding his arm up on the table and putting his chin in his palm. He stared at her icy white eyes for a moment to reflect.

"I knew this wouldn't be a good idea," he sighed.

"Me, too," Toph huffed.

"Why can't you calm the hell down, Toph? You just make things worse for yourself."

"You say it like I give a fuck."

"Because I know you _do._ Obviously, you weren't happy about how things were going with you and Aang. That's why you cheated. But now that it's over, you don't know how to deal with it. Things are rough with your parents, and now things are rough in your social circle. I get it, Toph. You don't know where to go."

"Since when did _you _start psycho-analyzing me, Sokka?" Toph growled, pounding her fist into the table. "I don't need your fuckin' psychiatry. Not like you're good at it, anyway."

"I'm trying to explain that I get where you're coming from, and help you figure out what you need."

Why was he even saying all this? Hadn't he decided from the start he was _not _going to do exactly this? What he was doing?

"Whoop-dee-fuckin'-_doo. _I'm fine. What I _need _is for everyone else to stop acting like they know what's best for me."

"Ah. Well." Sokka rose from his seat and scooped up his untouched food. "Don't gotta tell _me _twice..."

"H-hey, wait a sec," Toph grunted. "Where ya goin'?"

"Not up for the theatrics, Toph," Sokka flatly explained. He walked past her, grabbed her hood, and pulled it off - she was indoors, after all, and it was making her look pretty emo, especially with her hair over her eyes. "Lemme know when you're ready to grow up a bit, huh?"

Toph's face burned with indignation, her fists balled in her lap.

"Ya know what? Good, leave me alone."

"Will do," Sokka called back with enthusiasm.

* * *

**A/N: Hope you had fun with the first section of this chapter. And yes, there are parts that don't quite logically add up. It's a dream. =P Dreams often do that. June is of course referential to the bounty hunter from the show.**_  
_


	56. Ball and Chain

**A/N: Sorry it's slowing down a bit. I've been mentally/emotionally drained since so much of this story was leading up to the breakup. But there's definitely places the plot and our characters still need to go.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 56 - Ball and Chain  
_

* * *

- Monday, January 22nd, 2011 -

[From: Zuko Kurosawa]  
[Subject: RE: Project Details]

[I like that idea. We should meet up this week and go over the logistics. When would you be able to start doing the actual artwork?]

[Also...We need a _name _for this place still. Any thoughts?]

[Respectfully Yours,]  
[_Zuko Kurosawa_]  
[_Student President, Saint Roku University_]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko Kurosawa]  
[Subject: RE: Project Details]

[i could prolly start on wed. as for name..i like the word unite so we should keep that in it i think.]

After finishing off his inbox, Aang checked his phone to see he had a voicemail.

["Hey. It's me, Twinkle-Toes...Uh..."] She coughed briskly. ["Y-yea. So, I was just...wondering how your weekend went. Didn't see you at all, and...I-I was just hoping we could hang out. Sometime. Soon. As a group, I mean. Sooo...That was it. Call me back...?"]  
[_Beeeep._]

[To: Katara, Sokka, Jane]  
[hey guys, when do we wanna hang out? its been a little while..]  
[Sent: 11:54am]

[From: Katara]  
[I'm free tomorrow, I think Jane and Toph are, too.]  
[Sent: 11:56am]

Aang drummed his fingers on his desk for a moment, staring at his contact list as he contemplated whether to call Toph back...Well, he still needed confirmation from the others first, right? Best to wait on it, until he had an actual time he could give her.

* * *

[**Facebook - Aang Leekpai**]

[**Aang Leekpai **went from being "in a relationship" to "single."]  
[4 hours ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk likes this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Free from the ball & chain. Bros before hoes.] - [Korra likes this.]

[**Korra Kesuk **- good for you, little man! she's cool and all but you need someone who aint gonna pull that shit on you.] - [Mai likes this.]

[**Meng Beifong **- :'( :'( ]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Sokka, you're such a jerk.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- It's not like she's gonna SEE it...]

[**Suki Kyoshi **- i'm sorry, aang. i know things have been hard for you two.]

[**Tylee Moretti **- O: omg omg srsly? wat happened?]

[**Mai Chiao **- There's an apple tree out there for you yet, Sir. Go and find it.] - [Aang likes this.]

[**Messages**]

[**Meng Beifong**]

[i'm so sorry aangy...i kno u guys tried real hard..toph talkd with me a lot abot it..shes so so sorry about wut happened you know? but i understand why you guys broke up...i'm here for you if you need amnyone to talk to kk?]

[**Aang Leekpai**]

[we'll live. it was a long process but we'll be ok. im worried about toph, tho. i feel like shes gonna do that thing she does. you know what i mean?]

[**Meng Beifong**]

[i no wat you mean...-_-;; shes been kind mean to me this week too. dont takkit personaly. she loves you as a person even not as a bf. you kno that rite?]

[**Aang Leekpai**]

[yea i know that...thanks.]

[i've gotta go tho. ttyl.]

[**Meng Beifong**]

[kk! toodles!]

* * *

"So, Sokka...How's that practicing coming?"

Sokka belched in reply to Aang's inquiry, flopped back in his chair lazily, an empty brown bottle in one hand.

"_Nice_," Aang complimented with a deep huff from exhaustion.

"What about you, man?"

"I've been trying to keep up my exercise routine and stuff..."

"Yea, seems like you're running every day now."

"Yea." Aang took a deep breath and rested himself in his own chair for a moment. His lungs were still pumping a bit from his jog. "I _have._"

"2nd Aero is gonna take the Gold this year," Sokka decided, sticking out a fist. Aang blinked at it warily for a moment before realizing it was a gesture to be reciprocated, then tiredly knocked his knuckles against Sokka's.

"_Yea, _we are," Aang agreed. He sighed out a "Whew!" as he stood back up, his legs a tad wobbly, and grabbed a clean towel from his closet, kicking his shoes off.

"I can't freakin' _wait_," Sokka said with another satisfied burp.

"Me, either..." Aang stripped down to his briefs and let loose a yawn.

"AerOlympics, man...Gonna be tight..."

The annual dorm event was days away. A twelve-hour affair, AerOlympics were a tradition of the House of Aero for years now, and the boys were quite eager to experience them again. With this occasion came some lamentation for Sokka as he watched Aang head off down the hall to shower his sweaty self. After all...this would be the last time Sokka would be participating in AerOlympics. This only led his mind to wander to the ever-looming idea - the one Suki refused to let him forget: in just a few months, he'd be graduated. And she would be, too. And he had to figure out what he was going to be doing with himself. His brain boiled at the prospect, so he took it off the burner and checked his YouTube subscriptions.

["Epic Meal Time - we've got a whole bunch of alcoholic unicorn blood. 'Bout to make a dangerous chili. Whashoo know about _that, _previous-level-safety-conscious cooking shows? You ain't got what we got!"]

Ah, YouTube. When he was too lazy to play video games, he could appreciate the same vice his sister often sought to relieve her own frustrations.

* * *

Katara drowned herself in the odd canine sounds emanating from her computer, earbuds firmly wedged into her head. Toph had been progressively more sour toward her since the breakup, and especially after Sokka's failed attempt at cheering her up - which she couldn't understand how that had gone wrong - Katara felt confident that Toph had decided that since she couldn't confront Aang with her sorrows and surely wasn't going to confront _herself, _that she was going to take out all of her aggression on her roommate. Her well-meaning, deeply-caring, wishing-she-could-help-but-couldn't-seem-to-no-matter-what roommate. Grah.

But the husky in the video continued to make bizarre sounds she didn't even know a dog was capable of making, and that somehow seemed to help her feel better.

Across the room, Toph was equally absorbed, large green headphones planted across her head whole she practiced on her keyboard, too lethargic to care about using a real piano in her practice room. As a matter of fact, it was this element of things that was playing out much differently than her episode back in December. Before, Toph had been hiding away at the music building all the time. But now, she seemed to be avoiding the music building like a plague. Katara was certain this had to do with the boy Toph had been seeing which had been the source of the whole mess, but had certainly not dared to make any implication about her hunch aloud. Hm. At least Toph was being productive. Which reminded Katara of some English homework that needed to be done. Urgh. That Pakku, he'd sprung up a pop quiz on them, and she felt she'd barely passed. Asking vague true or false questions..._grr. _What good was that, anyway? She felt certain she _knew _most of the facts she was supposed to, but those stupid questions were phrased in such a way that-...argh. It didn't even matter.

Katara cracked open a textbook to begin the ridiculously long reading portion Pakku had assigned. A few pages into her struggle, the door was knocked.

_Tok-tok._

Katara twisted her head to see Jane poking her face through the half-open door. Toph hadn't even noticed, of course, and was still tapping away at her keyboard. Jane cast a nervous glance toward Toph, then quietly snuck inside. Katara smiled at the yellow-and-black toe socks and stuck her Hermione Granger bookmark on her current page, closing the still-fresh text and setting it beside her laptop.

"What's up?" she asked quietly.

"Not much," Jane muttered with a shrug. "Working on a writing assignment for my entomology class."

"Is it about _bees_?" Katara dryly teased.

"No, actually. Mosquitoes."

"Ew..."

"Hey, don't knock mosquitoes, Girly. They're an important part of the food chain."

"Oh, really?" Katara expressed her skepticism with a crooked brow. "And how's _that_?"

"They're the lifeblood of lots of animals, ya know," Jane informed, wedging her hands in her tight pockets. "If it weren't for them, tons of aquatic animals wouldn't have anything to eat."

"Hmph." That _did _sound reasonable enough, given that the pesky things laid their eggs in water...

"And then adult mosquitoes end up getting eaten by birds and bats. So they're food for water _and _sky critters."

"Aren't we being all smart today?" Katara complimented with a taunting smirk.

"At least I'm learnin' _some _kinda crap, right?"

"Haha. I guess so..."

"So, uhh...-" Jane bobbed her head toward Toph, who was still blissfully unaware of this conversation. "How's she holdin' up?"

Katara sighed and cast a worried glance across the room.

"I really don't know," she admitted.

"We should round up the boys tomorrow night, hang out all Fearsome-like. It's been a while."

"Yea, definitely. I told Aang tomorrow should work."

"Cool." Jane gave pause, her eyes remaining fixated on Katara's face until those sapphire eyes moved away from Toph at last and up to her own. "Yea, all right," she grunted out, standing up on her tip-toes to stretch. "Better get back to work, then."

"'Kay. Have a good one, Jane."

"You, too, Kat."

* * *

- Tuesday, January 23rd, 2011 -

"See? Piece o' cake. You got this, Freckles."

Jane was too focused too respond to Sokka's encouragement, anxious from the wait. It was just a burger and fries she was cooking, and yet she felt like she was supposed to be..._doing _more of something here. The oil was frying, the burger was grilling, the buns were toasting beside the beef...Hm. The beef - was it ready to be flipped yet? How could you _tell_? What if she waited too long and it burnt? She fidgeted with the arrowed cap on her head. Urgh. It was making her head itch. She never really wore hats...And she had to tie her hair in a short ponytail, too. Fuckin' eh. Safety reasons, and some bullshit. Naturally, she had to have _just enough _hair to be "too long," but not enough to actually have a real ponytail, like she used to growing up. Meaning she was stuck wearing a stupid hat with her hair pulled tight so it could stick out from the back of the dumb thing. Meaning Sokka would not shut up about how "cute" her skull earrings were, because she figured that if her hair was going to be stuck back anyway, she might as well make the best of it. Had he been serious? Did she look nice with them? Was it something Katara might like?

"Jane? _Might _wanna flip that sucker some time..."

"Oh." Jane startled herself from her self-conscious concerns and flipped the burger. Mm...Maybe a _little _crispy around the edges, but...it'd be fine...

Sokka patted her on the back and chuckled.

"Chill out. For real. It's just a burger, woman."

"Shut up..."

"She didn't ruin it, did she?" wondered June casually from a few feet away, putting together a BLT wrap for another student.

"Nah, it's all good," Sokka assured, making his way to the counter to take an order. "They wanted well-done, anyway. Hey, there, what can I do ya for?"

After another hour of steady grilling and frying, things slowed down a bit, and June advised that she was going to take a smoke break. With nothing to accomplish for a brief stint, Jane took a deep breath and leaned against the wall beside the fryers. She wiped sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.

"Crazy stuff, huh?" said Sokka, sipping from a milkshake he'd made for himself.

"No shit," Jane sighed. "This is harder than I thought..."

"Stick with it. Builds character. Or something."

"Pff."

"So, uh...How's Toph getting along?"

"Oh, erm...-" Jane shrugged warily. "No idea. Seems to be keeping busy..."

"Ah. Suki's been trying to get in touch with her, but she hasn't been answering her phone, apparently."

"Yea, well...You know how she gets."

"Heh. I sure do..."

"But, uhh...Yea, Suki was saying something about trying to do a show for, like...a youth group, or something?"

"Sounds about right."

"I guess that'd be cool..."

"Yea, you girls should do it."

"Probably...So, what about Aang?"

"Huh?"

"You asked how Toph's doin'. How's _Aang_, though? He seems like he's kind of been avoiding people lately, too."

"Maybe. I mean, I think he's just caught up in his work, and junk. And running, and all that."

"Oh, right. Didn't he want to do track or something?"

"I _thought _so, but...He hasn't said anything about it. We've got AerOlympics comin' up, though."

"Oh? When's that?"

"Friday."

"Isn't that the thing where, like...you guys do sports and shit? Against each other...?"

"Haha. More or less."

"So what event are _you _doing?"

"Root Beer Chug. Eat Crap."

"Uhh...What?"

"Root Beer Chug - drink root beer as fast as ya can."

"Eat...Crap?"

"Heh..."

"Nevermind, I don't wanna know..."

"Damnit, though...Everyone's so freakin' busy. Kind of annoying."

"You said it..."

"And this is my last semester, too..."

"Oh, _yea! _Shit, dude...What are you gonna do after school?"

Sokka groaned, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I don't _know_, Ginger...And Suki's been starting to put on the pressure."

"What's _that _mean?"

"It means, like...she's trying to get me to...commit...a bit more. Like, figure out what I'm gonna do with my life, and whatever."

"What, like get married or some bull?"

"No, no...Not like _that_. Not yet, anyway...Gah. Let's just forget about all that, stresses me out."

"No prob."

"Anyway, so...-" Sokka fumbled through his recent memories for a subject swap. "-...did you hear about what Aang's working on?"

"What? An art project?"

"Er, sorta? The thing with Zuko."

"Zuko...That Jap dude? With the combover?"

"Haha. The student President?"

"Yea, yea...Whatever."

"Aang's helping him with a building project."

"Oh...kay...?"

"He was telling me a bit about it. Turns out, the school bought the bar. The one you used to go to."

"The Treetop?"

"Across from the Pizza Hut, right?"

"That's the one."

"Whoa, wait. Wait, wait. The _school _bought it out?"

"Yup. They started doing some remodeling this weekend. Turning it into, like...some rec hall or something."

"No shit?"

"Yea."

"Huh..._That _must be why the owner stopped replying to Korra's messages..."

"Guess so."

"Man, that fuckin' _sucks. _I wanted Korra to work there..."

"Meh. I'm sure she'll find something."

"Probably..."

"Anyway, you could ask him about it tonight. Who knows?"

"Yea..."

Sokka, who had been leaning on the wrap and sandwich prep table, bounced off when a student came up to the front counter. Jane tried to clear her head and get ready for another meal to make. It was a good thing Sokka was working with her, or she would probably go crazy. The irony of that idea was amusing.

* * *

"You invited them _here_?" Toph whined. "Way to fuckin' let _me _know, Katara. Thanks."

"I-I thought you wanted to hang out with them, too," Katara defended, confused. Since when did she need to run it by Toph that the boys were coming up? It had never been an issue before...

"When did I say that?"

"I asked you yesterday, and you said you were gonna be free tonight..."

"So? That doesn't mean I want to hang out with those clowns..."

Katara did a double take. Hadn't Toph just been complaining the day prior that she missed Aang and Sokka? That she wanted everyone to hang out as a group, like usual, to help take the edge of the awkwardness?

"Well..._OK, _then," Katara snipped, baffled. "We'll just hang out in the lounge, or something."

"Whatever floats your boat..." scoffed the irritable musician as she flopped into her chair, reaching for the power button on her keyboard. "I've got more practicing to do."

"Have fun with that," Katara sighed as Toph popped on her big headphones. As she reached under her bed for her shoebox of snacks, Katara's mind cranked out ideas as to how to ease Toph into spending time with the group. She pulled out a Snickers bar and unwrapped it, exiting the room but leaving the door wide open. She crossed the hall to the closed door and knocked twice.

"Come in."

Opening the door halfway, Katara poked her head inside the dimly lit room. Jane's roommate was at her desk, feverishly typing away at a word processor.

"Hi, Ginny...Jane around?"

"Oh, hey, Katara," sighed Jin, continuing to slam keys, not even looking around. "She said she was going to get something to drink and hang out with _you _guys, I thought..."

"Ah." Katara nodded slightly and left the ever-busy girl to her work. She decided to head to the main entry lounge to see if that's where anyone was. The front desk snack bar was there, so perhaps Jane was still nearby? A brief trek later and Katara found her red-headed friend sitting on a couch in the open lounge area beside Aang. They were both drinking cans of soda and chuckling as she first saw them.

"No fuckin' way," Jane gasped out, recovering from laughter.

"It seriously happened," Aang insisted, the remnants of a humored grin on his face.

"He sure is somethin' else," Jane observed, shaking her head slowly as she lifted her can of off-brand orange soda to her lips.

"Hey, guys," Katara greeted as she approached them. "Where's Sokka?"

"That idiot decided to invite his girlfriend, so he went to pick her up," Jane scoffed.

"He'll be back soon," said Aang. "I brought his stuff, though." Aang nodded his head to Sokka's backpack, on the floor beside the couch. "We could set everything up." A plastic guitar poked out from Sokka's pack. Guitar Hero, huh? Clearly the boys were meaning to try and get Toph involved tonight...She was reminded of some simpler evenings when the plastic instrument would get passed around and played while Toph would strum and sing in genuine terms along with the 'fake' performances.

One specific memory that hit Katara's mind in that instant, while Aang picked up the pack and they headed upstairs, was when Toph had decided, via Guitar Hero, on a 'theme song' for the town in which SRU was located: "Carry On My Wayward Son," given the name of their burg being Wayward. After occupying the thankfully empty second floor lounge area, Aang began connecting Sokka's PS3 up, while Jane went off to the kitchen area in the next room to get out some snacks she'd gotten ready for the group.

"Where's Toph?" Aang wondered with some hesitation as he turned on Sokka's console. It beeped and whirred to life, a short burst of orchestral strings pouring from the lounge TV's old speakers.

"She's...being weird," Katara sighed, dropping herself down into the recliner in a corner of the small room.

Aang's eyes wandered away from Katara and back to the TV.

"Sounds about right," he mumbled testily.

"That sounds like passive-aggressiveness, Aang," Jane teased dryly from the kitchen, her voice carrying through the doorway at the end of the room. Aang sighed at her remark, which rang true.

"Maybe when everyone's here and we have this set up we can get her to come hang out," Katara offered her optimism.

"She's the one who wanted to get everyone together in the first place, wasn't she?" Aang muttered. Hadn't this come to pass because she had left him a voicemail?

"Huh?" Katara was clueless to his fact, though.

"All right..." Aang grunted out, ignoring his own comment and starting up the game, skipping past the company logos and getting straight to the main menu screen.

"So, what is this we're playing?" inquired Jane, the sounds of wrappers crinkling accompanying her.

"Rock Band 3," Aang called back complacently.

"With just one guitar?" Jane double-checked, somewhat confused. "Don't you guys have the other instruments somewhere?"

Aang's face contorted with irritation for a moment.

"We weren't exactly in the mood to drag a drumset down here," he replied with that testy tone from before.

"Gotcha," Jane concluded as she came back in with a large bowl of various snack-size candies. "Don't need to give _me _the passive-aggressive shit, dude," she sighed with some doubt as she set the bowl on a coffee table and flopped onto the lounge couch.

"Sorry," Aang mumbled, clutching his head in his hand.

"Are you OK?" Katara wondered.

"Been getting headaches a lot," Aang dismissed her concern.

"You _have _been handling a lot of stress lately," Katara offered an explanation.

"Yea..."

Jane observed the sympathy in Katara's face as her eyes lingered on Aang's profile. Jane's insides churned briefly with jealousy and she peeled open a Kit-Kat bar in an attempt to swallow her disgruntlement with chocolate.

"Here, I'll go get you some Advil," Katara offered, rising from the seat and heading off down the hall. She cruised through her open dorm room door to Toph, who was still hacking away at her keyboard like a lumberjack to a tree. Katara retrieved the Advil bottle from her dresser drawer, pausing with hesitation as her gaze lingered on her stone-faced roommate. She made the decision to let the matter go for now, and popped out a pair of pills before setting the bottle back and preparing a glass of water from the kitchen room.

The living room was abuzz with the sound of Jane playing solo on a song Katara didn't recognize, while Aang was still sitting on the floor, cross-legged. Katara gave him the pain reliever and water, which he accepted with a grateful smile.

"Did Toph want to come hang out?" he wondered before swallowing.

"She seemed really caught up in her work, so...I-I didn't want to bother her," Katara explained.

"Aw, c'mon," Jane insisted, flicking away at the plastic strum bar, eyes attached to the screen. "Let's go get her to come out here."

"Yea..." Aang worked his legs up straight and stretched out his arms.

The music paused as Jane froze the game to account for Aang's body now blocking her sight.

"Oh," Aang sighed through a tint of exhaustion, dragging himself to the side. "Sorry..."

"'S cool," Jane dismissed casually with a slightly flick of her wrist.

Aang stood drearily, rubbing his temple with one hand as he pulled his phone from his pocket with the other. The music continued.

[From: Sokka]  
[On our way. Just got to Aqua, picking up some snacks and heading up.]  
[Sent: 7:43pm]

"The others are almost here," Aang announced, dropping his phone back into his cargo pants.

"Great," said Katara.

"I'm gonna go get Toph to come out," Aang decided. "Uh...-" He stuffed both hands in his pockets sheepishly. "Does anyone wanna come with me?"

"Oh." Katara sprung up from her seat, just as Jane expected. "Yea, definitely."

"I'll man the fort," Jane assured, shooting their backs a slightly irked glance as they shuffled out together. Aang wasn't some baby that needed coddling, and Toph _sure _as hell didn't need anyone trying to fix the mess she'd made for herself. Why couldn't Kat just let it be, and let things work themselves out?

A couple minutes later, they came back, Toph in tow, her arm stubbornly wound around Katara's.

"-because we thought it'd be cool to do it like old times, where we can pick songs you know and you can play the real guitar while we play the fake one." Aang was explaining their motivation for getting Toph out to see people.

"That sounds really neat," Suki encouraged. Oh, they must've picked up those two on the way back, then.

"We should do Freebird," Sokka decided, to which Toph spurted out an incredulous huff.

"Ah dun think so," she muttered dubiously.

"OK, OK," Sokka conceded. "But we'll pick some Beatles for you."

As Katara let Toph free, the blind girl ground her teeth together and stuffed her hands in her hoodie pockets.

"Should I go get your guitar?" offered Aang, halfway out the door.

"No," Toph bluntly dismissed. "I don't want to..."

"Oh..." Aang's brief enthusiasm in the moment was snuffed out like a candle.

"I just..._really _need to practice my stuff, guys," Toph sighed, working her way to the doorway step by step, arms out. At the rate she was going, she'd run smack into a wall, so Aang leaped at the opportunity to help readjust her. "Get off me," she growled as his hands barely touched her shoulders, harshly shrugging to keep him at bay.

"I'm sorry," he squeaked.

"I can walk to my fucking _bedroom _on my own," she continued to defend her independence, groping the doorway and winding around into the hall.

Aang paused, watching her fumble past a dorm room door. His face boiled over with frustration.

"Why'd you _call me_?" he demanded, seemingly out of nowhere. Toph froze in her tracks, back still to him.

"What...?"

"You called me," Aang reminded. "Yesterday? Saying how you wanted to hang out with everyone? Why do you think we're all _here_?"

Toph huffed quite audibly at this.

"I never said I wanted to hang out _tonight_," she grumbled. "I told you to call me _back_, which you _didn't. _Thanks for that, by the way."

Monkey-feathers. He _hadn't _called her back...The awkwardness of it had intimidated him a bit too much. Katara had assured she'd made Toph aware of the plans, so he'd concluded there was no reason to call her back...

"I got everyone else to come here tonight," Aang argued, stepping wholly out of the lounge. "I didn't think I needed to call you to tell you when Katara said she'd let you know about it."

"Yea? Well, Katara didn't tell me it was gonna be _here _and that I was, like, fucking _mandated _to show up."

From inside the lounge, Sokka and Suki were exchanging awkward looks, while Jane continued to play Rock Band and Katara feebly held up a finger, as if attempting to stop Aang without the true will to go forth with this action.

"The hell's goin' on?" Jane groaned, their banter outside throwing her off.

"I don't know," Sokka confessed.

"-had just _called me_ like _I asked you to, _we coulda set up a day when I actually had fucking _time _to hang out, instead of just, like, _assuming _I want to just _throw myself _at social bullshit."

"_You _were the one who was saying you wanted us to hang out - as a _group _- 'sometime soon.' That was what you said."

"_Some time, _not...not _any _damned time you decide."

"Christ," Jane sighed from the lounge. "Are they just having at it in the fucking hall?"

"They are," Sokka confirmed dully.

"I'm confused," Suki mumbled sheepishly.

"Guys," Katara pleaded in vain, poking her head out into the hall. Aang was a few feet down, and Toph had moved a bit further away than she had been at the start.

"See? This is...This is _exactly _one of the reasons why things weren't working," Aang informed Toph, his temper slipping. "You try and pin everything on _me._"

"Right, _right_," Toph countered with sarcasm. "Yea, that's it. That's just all I fucking do. All the time."

"You_ do!_ I'm sick of it! We're not even _together _anymore and you're still doing it!"

"Like some damned lecture from you is gonna help anything..."

"So, is this how it's going to be?" Aang countered, his anger swelling out. "Just going to go back to how things used to be? Where you run away from everyone? We try to help you and _heaven forbid _we try to cheer you up?"

"Shut up."

"Run away from your parents, run away from _me, _run away from...from our friends. That's your solution to everything..."

"Wow," Sokka whispered. "He's really...sluggin' it to her."

"Good for him," Jane mercilessly remarked while she continued to slap the strum bar. "She deserves it."

"-think _you are, _fucking telling me how to act. The hell is the deal, Twinkles? You decide to grow a pair _now? _Maybe if you'd done that earlier we wouldn't _be here_."

"_I'm _not the one who went...fooling around with-"  
"If you'd actually been a _boyfriend _instead of a _pussy, _I wouldn't have _needed _to-"  
"_What? _Are you _serious? _You _knew _for a long time that I-"  
"Guys? Come on, let's...-"  
"-starting to think that maybe too much of _Sugar-Queen _is rubbing off on you, and I wonder-"  
"-and forgave you when you did that to me, you have no idea how much that-"  
"You're going to bother other people..."  
"-'cuz all of sudden you two seem _real fuckin' _buddy-buddy. Funny how that is, since-"  
"-too stubborn to admit when you're being selfish and have to _project it _onto everyone around you-"

By now they'd worked their way down the hall to its end, their spat echoing through the narrow passage, A door nearby door popped open, and a disgruntled Jin emerged.

"What's with all this _yelling?_" she demanded, cutting off their jabs at each other. "Some people have _work _to do..."

The rage in Aang's eyes withered away at this, while Toph stomped into her bedroom, slamming the door shut rather loudly, to which Aang flinched, still recovering from schock.

"I-I'm sorry, Ginny, I didn't mean to...-"

"I don't know _what, _exactly, you two are dealing with, but I don't need to know," Jin grumbled. "And neither does the whole floor..." Her snip had dialed back a couple notches at Aang's apologetic expression.

"Right, I apologize," Aang quickly made to rectify.

"Accepted," Jin dismissed him simply, closing the door slowly and returning to her work.

Aang stood, dumb-founded at his own verbal explosion, while Katara inched her way down the hall.

"What just _happened?_" she asked in a hushed voice when she reached him, easing him to follow her back to the lounge.

"I'm...not sure," Aang confessed. A few seconds later, they entered the lounge, and Aang was still grasping to figure it out. "I...I don't know what came over me..."

"You just showed her what's _what _- that's what happened," Sokka concluded. "You don't need to take her crap anymore, so _don't_."

"I..._guess_," Aang nervously conceded. He wasn't comfortable with the way Sokka seemed to be making Toph out to be the villain.

"Maybe you two just need more time apart," Katara sighed with a frustrated shrug. "Or-or you two need to..._talk, _and...figure out what's going on..."

"No, I _know _what's going on," Aang firmly resolved. "We're..._done. _Like that. It's not going to work out."

"OK," Katara agreed hurriedly. "Then you need to sort out your differences so you aren't trying to argue over who wronged who."

"Even though Toph totally fucked you over," Jane voiced her opinion with a dry, blunt edge. Katara winced at this insensitive comment, and Jane barely caught a glimpse, immediately regretting her openness.

"I think...these two may on to something," Suki voiced her thoughts, extending out her fingers to Jane on her right and Sokka to the left. "Toph can be super controlling. And you shouldn't let her manipulate you any more."

"Manipulate me?"

"Yea," advised Sokka, slapping Aang on the shoulder while Katara walked past them to the kitchen. "That thing where she guilt-trips you into feeling like she's right?"

Was that really what Toph was doing? It sounded...kind of malicious. Toph could be...thick-headed, and certainly insistent and even selfish, but...Was she really meaning to just make him feel guilty? Aang doubted this. "You need to cut her off at the pass, Bro."

"Huh..." Well, that one idea seemed correct. He could stand to defend himself a bit more. It felt..._good_, in retrospect, saying those things to Toph. Things he'd been too scared to really push out before, when he'd been afraid of hurting her feelings. But...No, he was _right. _She needed to stop this stuff where she pushed everything away. It wasn't healthy. He still deeply cared for Toph, and couldn't stand the idea of watching her revert back to her old self - the Toph that kept to herself and forced others away.

"She can piss off," Jane dismissed. "She wants to shit on us for trying to do something for her? Whatever..."

Katara emerged from the kitchen carrying a six-pack of Dr. Pepper cans.

"Hey, here's some...drinks, guys," she mumbled with an exhausted tone. Aang could see it in Katara's face. She really was disapproving of all of this Toph-bashing, as well, but was biting her tongue about it.

"Oh, nice," said Sokka, reaching down. Suki slapped his arm with a scolding frown.

"You don't need that," she cautioned. "You _just _had a soda downstairs before we came up here."

"Er...-" Sokka winced at the prospect of this loss, but the prospect of Suki's disfavor won out. "Yea. Right. I don't...need it."

"Exactly." Suki smiled with a hint of pride at his self-restraint and rubbed his shoulder.

Aang wasn't particularly in the mood for soda, himself, but he wanted to show appreciation for the girls bothering to get it. It wasn't a coincidence, the flavor they'd picked out. He dug his hand into the bowl of candies on the coffee table and pulled out a Reese cup. He stared at it with a melancholy look while the other shuffled into comfortable seating arrangements.

Why couldn't things have played out differently? Had this entire relationship just been a colossal waste? He couldn't accept that idea. It wasn't true. He'd learned a lot. But had _she_? And why did it matter so much to him to feel assured that she had?

"Aang?" Katara was looking up at him. He was now the last one standing, still gawking at the orange wrapper, his fingers sluggish in their efforts to open it. "You want a seat?" Katara wondered, sitting on the couch. Jane was sprawled out on the opposing end, her bony feet in Katara's lap. As the red-head noticed that Aang required seating, she was quick to align herself upward, scooting to the middle cushion to allow Aang to sit on the end while she enjoyed side contact with Katara.

Sokka and Suki were sharing the seat across the way, and Sokka was beginning to doze off. Suki ran her hand through his hair, commenting on it to him in a quiet tone, while Jane passed the guitar to Katara.

"I-I don't know how to...-"

"You got this, Kat. Just do it." Jane patted her palm on Katara's leg with encouragement.

"Um, y-yea, I just...have to...-" Katara was rearranging her fingers around the plastic device in her hands. It had been a long time since she'd tried playing with this contraption.

"Here-here-here," Jane rapidly insisted, stretching her arm around Katara's back. Pressing their bodies together, she wrapped her fingers across Katara's and showed her the proper poise, relishing the moment.

"Yea, thanks," Katara instantly shot her gratitude, relieved when her friend wasn't so close.

"Oh! _Ohhh_," cried Aang, pointing at the screen. "Yoshimi! Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots!"

"_Huh?_" Katara chirped out, baffled, while she tapped the directional pad to scroll through songs.

"That's a good one!" Sokka agreed through his head massage.

Katara selected the song in question, clueless at furst, but as the music booted up, it began to come back to her. She'd heard it before when they had played this game before. It was...definitely different.

As the mellow melody flowed across the room and Aang sang along to the silly lyrics, Katara smiled, plucking away at the bar and flinching in spite of herself when she missed the occasional note.

Aang enjoyed the cooled down mood, at once appreciating the company of his friends after such an exhausting and busy weekend while also lamenting Toph's inability to partake. She'd...figure herself out. He hoped.

* * *

**A/N: http:/youtu(dot)be/eah23WvLYsQ**  
**Aw yea.**

**http:/youtu(dot)be/TIHI4KQO59w**


	57. Reading Into It

**A/N: Life's been crazy. Settling into more permanent living sitch, focusing on my jobs, getting to know a new girlfriend, playing hella Batman: Arkham City and Binding of Isaac (and Uncharted 3 and Skyward Sword yet to come!). Please leave some feedback on how things have been going lately. Haven't been getting as much feedback lately, and that really does seem to motivate me to help stay consistent!**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 57 - Reading Into It  
_

* * *

- Wednesday, January 24th, 2011 -

"I like it..." Zuko rubbed his chin as a smile slid across his face. "This is good."

"Cool." Aang was relieved. If Zuko kept liking all of his first efforts, then he wouldn't need to re-do stuff like he often did with his schoolwork.

The two stared down at Aang's sample design, a sketch toassed across a sheet of paper. It evoked the same color scheme and design of the college's logo, including an {R} with a downward arrow to mimic the college's imagery theme. The name for this building had been decided.

{**United Republic**}

"All right," Zuko settled that matter, handing the sheet back to Aang. "So, for today, I was thinking you could get started on painting that back room, where we'll have the fooseball and ping-pong tables, and everything like that." Zuko gestured his hand to the room at the back of the pub, where a student worker could be seen through the doorway, sweeping up the hardwood floor.

Aang nodded in compliance as Zuko handed him the next sheet, a larger, more detailed draft of a wall mural concept Aang had devised for the rec room.

"Sure, I'll get started," Aang responded, aware of and prepared for this project.

"Great." Zuko gave him a pat on the back. "I look forward to seeing the results, Aang."

"You bet." As Aang sauntered into the room, he placed his marker-drawn sample down on the floor and popped his cheap, knock-off MP3 player's headphones into his ears to begin listening to an assorted mixture he'd slapped on earlier that morning for this event. The various buckets of paints he required were lined up before him, and he rubbed his hands together with anticipation of seeing how well this abstract imagery turned out.

This room had to _pop _at you when you entered it. It had to exude the unity of the different dormitories, of the different lifestyles and mentalities of Saint Roku University. He had to capture it in a way that simple, elegant, and effectual. Colorful. Streamlined. He decided in that moment that he may need to edit his original concept to achieve these ideals. Before, he had been regretting the decision to partake in this project, but now with some of the weights lifted off his shoulders, he was eager, elated, even. He set straight to work, paint brushes slathering the walls with rich idealism.

* * *

Toph dragged herself out of her practice room, fingers aching, back sore, head pounding. She was wishing she'd brought some pain relievers tonight but she'd neglected to do so. She hadn't achieved a level of satisfaction with her work that she'd been wishing for, either, so more practice awaited tonight, lest she wanted to pile the workload onto the next day. Which she didn't - Thursdays were supposed to be her nights for _her, _after all, and she hadn't given herself one since the last semester. She wandered out of her door and slowly maneuvered to her right, fingertips sliding along the rough wallpaper before reaching her neighbor's practice room door. A lump formed in her throat, and she knocked twice.

After a moment of uneasy waiting, nothing happened. The doors were sealed to be soundproof, so she couldn't hear if Dougie was inside playing or not. She grabbed the long, metal handle and twisted-erk. What? Locked? But...these doors only locked from the inside. Meaning Dougie _had _to be in there...As a discouraged frown found its way across her face, she reached for the small glass window and pounded it with her knuckles - twice. Seconds passed, still nothing. She tried thinking in terms of sight as best she could. Windows were things people could 'see' through, right? So he should totally be able to see her through the window. What the hell, man? She knocked again - two slow, deliberate thumps. Still nothing.

He was totally ignoring her.

Her guts were burning with indignation. This was how it was gonna be, huh? He had his fun, and now that was the end of it? He was going to pretend she didn't exist?

Aang's criticisms from the day before boiled inside her. This had to be have been how he'd been feeling. That truth was aggravating.

With an audible "_Rrgh_," Toph slapped her palm against the wall of her own practice room as she retreated around the corner and to the water fountain across the way. After spilling some across her face, she slurped down a few long gulps and wiped her lips - and cheeks - dry with her sleeve. Gah. How could he pull this shit on her? Well...Whatever. Fuck Dougie, then. He wanted to play the ignoring game? She was a _master _at that game.

* * *

"So...Where _is _everybody?" Jane mumbled, perplexed. She sat down at the booth across from Sokka, who was halfway through his dinner.

"Got_ me_," Sokka shrugged as he took a gulp of root beer. He had been drinking so much root beer this week it was beginning to lose its taste.

Jane sighed as she settled into her seat, pushing back hair behind her ears. It was getting long enough where she was doing this frequently. On the one hand, it served as a good excuse to show off her earrings, which everyone said looked nice on her. Jane had been feeling oddly interested in trying to look attractive lately. She knew fully well the primary reason why...

"Have you seen Katara lately?" she asked Sokka, carving her slab of grilled chicken apart.

"Not really," Sokka replied. "Hell, I haven't seen _Aang _much lately..."

"_Yea, _he seems, like...super busy."

"Probably distracting himself."

"Makes sense..." Jane chewed on a cut piece of meat as she contemplated things. She suddenly noticed Sokka's plate was...green. So much green. "Whuvvafug?" she spouted between her food.

"Mm?" Sokka raised an eyebrow as he chewed on a slice of tomato. Jane swallowed.

"Dude. You're...eating _salad._.."

"...Yea...?" Sokka stabbed at a stack of spinach drenched in french dressing.

"Are you _feeling well?_"

Sokka shrugged, inserting the leaves into his mouth.

"Suki, right?" Jane mumbled, cocking her head to the side.

"She's been trying to get me to eat better," Sokka explained.

Jane shook her head skeptically.

"No, seriously," Sokka insisted. "I've been packing on some extra pounds. It ain't good..."

Jane eyeballed Sokka for a moment. It was hard to gauge the accuracy of this statement when his body was veiled by a table.

"I'm still eating meat, _too, _you know," Sokka assured.

Jane shook her head slowly.

"Pussy-whipped."

"Hey, shuddap."

Jane slicked her wrist.  
"_Whoo-pssh!_"

"Just trying to be healthy. Not everyone can afford to gain weight like _you_."

Jane frowned and rubbed at her stomach. Her once pronounced abs were faded by now.

"And look better, I mean," Sokka clarified, blatantly waggling his eyebrows up and down as he scarfed some cucumber slices. Jane smirked at his roundabout compliment. She couldn't deny that he'd been helping her feel better about her looks in his own misguided way. She no longer felt like a stickly pile of bones, which was nice given that she had been trying a bit harder to look more like a girl. Not _too _hard, but...enough where it was nice to hear people could notice. Sokka just happened to be rude and blunt enough to make her aware. Katara had been tossing on compliments, as well, which made Jane wonder what the intention was.

"I see your point," she scoffed out fake arrogance, leaning back in her booth. "You _could _stand to lose a few pounds."

"Gotta look good for the gee-eff," Sokka let her teasing roll off his back.

"Yea," Jane agreed, taking a sip of her cherry juice.

"So, uh...You and my Sis figure stuff out with you two?" Sokka wondered.

Jane felt her insides twist. Was he referring to what she _thought _he was?

Oh, hey. She was choking on her juice. She pounded her chest and coughed her throat clear.

"Whh...-?"

"'Cuz you two still seem like you're kinda awkward about it."

"How'd you...-?"

"She's my _sister._ I heard about it, like...New Year's. Day after the party."

Clearly, Jane had been underestimating their trust in each other...What _else _had Katara told him?

"Oh..." Her face was flushed.

"Heh." He was amused by this. Asswipe.

"W-we didn't really...-"

"So you're still holding out for it."

"I-I'm not sure _what _I'm doing. _Why _is this any of your business, anyway?" She was snapping a bit. Defensiveness was getting the better of her.

"I'm just curious," Sokka tried to put her at ease. "Chill out. I ain't judgin'. I'm not a hater."

"She talked with you about this? What'd she say?"

"She told me what happened on New Year's. Hasn't brought it up since."

"Does it...weird her out? Or...-?"

"I'm not the person to ask, Ginger."

"Is something going on with her and Aang?" Jane sniped with accusation, eager to remove pressure from herself.

"Not that _I'm _aware of," Sokka mumbled, off-put by her sudden question. "Why?"

"'Cuz...It just seems like they're acting really..._whatever_...I dunno." Her body language was heightened, her words spilling out quicker.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Sokka wondered with skepticism.

"They're all..._you _know...like-...Kat's all _super _concerned about him and shit."

"That's just how she _is_," Sokka sighed. "In case you forgot, she was like that about _you _a while back, too."

"Right," Jane muttered. How was this not clicking in his head? Wasn't he supposed to be all smart and shit?

"Katara just worries a lot - you _know_ that. And right now, Aang and Toph are where her guns are aimed 'cuz they're both acting weird."

"Weirder than usual," Jane clarified.

"Exactly. I wouldn't read so much into it."

Jane crossed her arms over her waist, unconvinced by Sokka's analysis. She glanced up at him after a moment, noticing his apathetic expression while he ate. She concluded that - at least right now - nothing she'd say would get him to understand, so she decided to switch topics.

"So what about _you _and _your _girl problems? Is she worried about _you_?"

Sokka snorted a laugh through his nose, his mouth full. He swallowed.

"_Me? _Since when did I have problems, here?"

"You're eating a _salad_, Sokka."

"Didn't we just go over that part?"

"Why does Suki care what you're eating, all of a sudden?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and set down his fork for a moment, staring across the table as Jane chewed on more of her own food.

"We're both graduating soon. We just decided it'd be smart to try and develop some good habits so when we move out of school we'll be in a healthy...flow..." He waved his hand off in an awkward, uncertain gesture.

"You two are moving in together after school?"

"Whrr...-?" Sokka raised a brow. "I didn't say...-"  
"Then what'd ya mean?"

Sokka's eyes blinked a few times, his jaw stuck out in contemplation.

"I-...OK, so..._maybe _we will," he decided with a shrug. "It's not-"  
"Where ya movin' to, then?"

Sokka squinted with frustration and shook his head.

"No clue, Freckles," he spat. "Listen, there's no point in fussing over that right now."

"Because you have no idea," Jane rubbed in. If he was going to be callous about her feelings for Katara, then she'd just be callous right back.

"Guess not," Sokka grumbled, leaving the matter at that. The tension they'd built up for one another left them slightly divided for the rest of the meal.

* * *

It had been a long and weary day of school and work, and Katara had been stuck dealing with a particularly dense and stubborn student for the last hour of her shift, who insisted that he needed help but refused to listen to any of the advice she had to offer. Urgh, such a waste of time...But enough of that. The day was done, and she was ready to relax in her room for the evening. After she crawled up the stairs, each step slightly harder than the last - wow, she was so tired - she could hear muffled piano notes coming from her bedroom door. She gave pause, listening to the notes. She pressed her ear against the door to hear Toph's gentle singing.

"~I'll watch the night turn light-blue~  
~But it's not the same without you~  
~Because it takes two to whisper quietly~"

Toph's fingers could be heard waltzing across the keys in a lamentable fashion. She was singing softly, with longing, a hint of desperation, regret clinging to the melody.

"~The silence isn't so bad~  
~'Til I look at my hands and feel sad~  
~'Cause the spaces between my fingers~  
~Were right where yours fit perfectly~"

Katara felt kind of like she was reading Toph's diary in some way. While it was beautiful in an almost haunting way, Katara couldn't bear to continue invading on what she knew was Toph's outlet anymore. She built up the courage to press through the door casually.

"~I'll find repose in new ways~  
~Though I haven't slept in twoo_ooo_...-?"  
Her fingers froze, slipping up and striking an off-beat, unpleasant chord.

"Oh, um...H-hi, Toph," Katara greeted, acting aloof as best she could. "That sounded nice. What was that you were playing?"

Toph's eyes were wide, like she'd been caught in the act of doing something inappropriate.

"N-nothin'," she squeaked, clearing her throat as she clicked on her keyboard. "Just some, uh...personal tinkering with stuff...Ya know."

"Oh. Cool." Katara unslung her backpack and closed the door before kicking off her shoes. "That's probably good for you, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Diving into your music," Katara elaborated, untying her ponytail and shuffling her hair before yawning into their bedroom mirror. Bleh, bags under her eyes...She really was pretty exhausted.

"Oh...It's not really a big deal or...anything," Toph awkwardly dismissed Katara's encouragement, removing herself from her chair and fumbling her way to bed.

"You didn't have to stop playing, you know," Katara offered, changing into pajamas. Toph had grown to pick on Katara about her changing into pajamas, but she didn't care. They were comfy.

"Nah, it's...-" Toph trailed off, grunting as she flopped herself into bed, jeans and all.

"It _is _kind of late," Katara added an explanation for her roommate's benefit. "I'm going to sleep, myself."

"Right..."

"OK. Well. Good night, then."

"Yep."

* * *

- Thursday, January 25th, 2011 -

"With all due respect, Professor Pakku, I don't understand what's wrong with this paragraph." Frustrated and struggling to hide it at this point, Katara handed the paper to the elderly man at the desk for him to double-check. They'd been talking for a few minutes now about this writing assignment, and his reasoning for marking her off wasn't making sense. There weren't any grammatical errors. Sure, maybe a few structural things he'd pointed out could be argued but...the entire closing paragraph?

"I wrote it right there, Miss Kesuk," Pakku sighed, tapping the back of his pen at the red word scribbled beside the bracket that encased the set of sentences.

{_style_}  
{_run-on_}  
{_citation?_}

Pakku handed the paper back and Katara stared at it, baffled, pushing loose hair behind her ear and scratching the back of her neck as she tried to comprehend.

"What's...wrong with the style?"

"For starters, it's incredibly boring," Pakku scoffed. "That's something the entire piece is marred by, of course, but in particular, your closer is simply uninspired."

What was _uninspired _about it?

"Umm...-"

"You're attacking the author, not the _work_. Quite inconsiderate, given his contributions."

Katara bit her lip as she dropped her hand from her neck. Despite her effort, air still slipped out in a slight sigh through her nose, instead.

"And that first sentence simply doesn't read well," Pakku went on. He noticed her confused expression and gave her a dull look. "Read it aloud," he insisted. She blinked at him, then at her paper, then back - he was serious. She cleared her throat and began reading her last paragraph.

"{Despite the praise he receives, even to this day, Shakespeare's attitude toward women is disrespectful and ignorant, with _The Taming of the Shrew _serving as a clear indication that he has no-}"  
"And you're _still going_," Pakku sighed, cutting her off. "And it just goes on. It needs to be segmented. Though, frankly, it ought to be removed altogether."

"Why?" Katara demanded as politely as she could through her anger. "How else am I supposed to close this? That's the whole-"  
"Where's your citation?"

"I...beg your pardon?"

"You say that Shakespeare is 'disrespectful and ignorant.' Where's your evidence to support this?"

"It's...-" Katara tapped at her sheet. "I have a whole bunch of examples in here, I thought-"  
"So his _work, _you could say, is disrespectful. But not _him_, by proxy."

"Well...I-I don't see how it makes a diff-"  
"The work's themes and ideas don't necessarily reflect the person who wrote them, Miss Kesuk."

"Then...what's the _point _of him _writing _it, if that's not what he _thinks _about it?"

"If you can't understand _that_, then I'm not sure you'll be able to take much away from my classes."

Pakku shrugged with nonchalance, stroking at his white chin hairs as he swirled his chair around, attending to his work, leaving her to stand in befuddlement.

That was it? What was that supposed to _mean?_

"Have a good day," Professor Pakku dismissed. Katara's hand tightened over her sheet and she fled from his office, restraining herself from slamming the door behind her. What did he mean? Why did he insist on treating her like some stupid idiot, no matter what she said? She'd hoped that perhaps he just acted like in class, but no. Nope. He was just a grumpy old man. That was all there was to it.

* * *

After a dinner alone - because no one was returning her messages - Katara trudged her way to the small resource room in the Gyatso building. She had a desk set up - no frills - and placed her laptop upon it, booting it up. She was filling in for a co-worker tonight, checking over papers for students and helping them straighten things out before handing them in. It was a job suited well to Katara's nitpicking and desire for order. Since class had started this semester, she was trying to use this new job as a means of exerting such energies out of her social life, but wasn't so sure this was succeeding. She had just run a scheduled shift the day before, and then offered to cover someone else. She could use the money, especially after what she'd spent on Christmas, and it wasn't like it was very difficult work, anyway.

She was all set up, so it was just a matter of waiting for a student in need to show up. After her computer was booted up, she was digging through her backpack for a drink and a red pen she needed to mark papers. Ha. Yea, that was it. Pakku wanted to scribble all over her paper with...dumb nonsense? Well, she'd correct people's papers the _right _way. So there.

["_~bwop_~"]

The familiar sound of her Skype receiving a chat message stirred her from her pack as she pulled up a bottle of orange cream Sobe drink and set it on the desk.

[**Skype** tm]

[Thursday, January 25th, 2011]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - yo yo yo!]  
[6:03 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Oh. Hi, Korra. What's up?]  
[6:04 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - chillin like a villain. you?]  
[6:04 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Working my new desk job. Nothing happening yet.]  
[6:04 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - desk job? gross.]  
[6:05 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - anyway so whats the deal with you and aang?]  
[6:05 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Huh? What do you mean?]  
[6:05 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - like you've been spending hella time together and you seem all worried bout him?]  
[6:06 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Um...I haven't really spent much time with him. We've all been super busy...=_=;]  
[6:06 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - And of course I'm worried. Him and Toph just broke up. I'm worried about them _both._]  
[6:06 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - yeeeaaaa...but c'mon, i remember how you two were during break.]  
[6:07 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Yes, and I told you back _then _that it wasn't like that. I still don't appreciate you saying this...=S ]  
[6:07 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - i'm just saying what i'm seeing cousin. you really don't dig him like that?]  
[6:09 pm]

Katara's insides were quivering at this conversation. Why was Korra suddenly asking about this _again? _Hadn't she explained herself during Christmas vacation?

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I haven't really had time to think about it like that, Korra. We all have a lot going on, and they _just broke up_.]  
[6:10 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - soooo...]  
[6:10 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - yes?]  
[6:10 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Toph is like a sister to me, and Aang is like a brother. I'm really sad for both of them, even though I know this is what's best for them.]  
[6:10 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I don't want any rumors of something that's not going on to mess things up and make it worse for them. OK?]  
[6:10 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - So could we please just drop this stuff?]  
[6:11 pm]

After typing out her irritations, Katara huffed into her palms and rub bed at her face before yawning. She was already getting sleepy and it was barely past six. Ugh.

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - kk. didn't mean to ruff your feathers. geez.]  
[6:13 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - but i heard it from j.b. think shes jealous. might wanna clear that up.]  
[6:13 pm]

Katara's face contorted into a whimper. And now _this, _too? Couldn't she just, like..._not _be surrounded by all this romantic drama? She never asked for any of it...

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - You mean Jane? We already talked this out.]  
[6:14 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - if nothin's going on with you an the little man then why dont you get a taste of some irish cream? ;D]  
[6:15 pm]

Katara's gut jerked at her cousin's crass phrasing. It'd be best to just ignore that.

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I'm hetero, Korra.]  
[6:16 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - so you already had your bicurious stage?]  
[6:16 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - What? _No. _I'm straight.]  
[6:17 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - how do you know if you never tried?]  
[6:17 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I don't want to try, Korra. That's...just not who I am.]  
[6:17 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - haha i'm not surprised. you always were a stick in the mud.]  
[6:18 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - No, I'm not. I just know that I'm not into that kind of thing.]  
[6:18 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - if you never TRIED then how do you KNOW? you just THINK you arent.]  
[6:19 pm]

Katara's hands were tightening the longer this conversation went on. She was done with it. Her patience had already been pushed by that stiff professor, and now her cousin was saying all of this...this _stuff. _Trying to make her uneasy on purpose. Grr.

She clicked the [X] at the corner of the window and ignored the conversation, opting instead to work on some reading while she waited for a paper that needed correcting.

* * *

Toph cleared her throat, sliding her hands along the lovely wood in her hands. She slowly pushed the worn, familiar stool of the Jasmine Dragon's stage a bit closer to where she knew the mic was. The gentle presence before her Helped shuffled her into place, and she could hear the mic being placed before her. They felt familiar, somehow. A soft hand patted her on the shoulder before light footsteps exited the small, wooden stage.

Toph took a deep breath, her passageway clear. She'd practiced this song for the past few days. She'd just drunk some hot tea to sooth her throat and eaten some food before that. Full stomach, hydrated, steady hands...But was her _mind _ready for this? She tapped at her mike.

"Check, check," she muttered, hearing herself loud and clear to her sides. Ugh. She sounded so stupid. "I'm uh-...Hey." She cleared her throat. "Gonna do mah thing..."

She struck a few practice strums, testing that her guitar was in tune - even though she'd tuned it before she left. She took a deep breath, shook her wrist to loosen it up, and began playing.

"~I'm scared today, more than I told you I was yesterday  
Give me a moment to catch my breath  
And hold me every second left~"

Her sandal tapped against the stage floor in rhythm, her face pointed downward, hair blocking her audience from seeing her eyes.

"~Proud of me, that's the only way I want you to be  
Look at me and love what you see~"

His warm, gentle hands around her back. Secure and safe.

"~I won't make it alone, I need something to hold~"

She missed that feeling. So fucking bad.

"~Kiss me on my shoulder, and tell me it's not over  
I promise to always come home to you~"

_If I could go back and try again, I'd do it differently. I'd make you proud, make you feel the way you should've._

"~Remind me that I'm older - to be brave, smart, sweet, and bolder  
And don't give up on what we're trying to do~"

_But I still love you, and you still love me...right? You're still my friend, aren't you?_

"~Don't count the miles, count the 'I love you's~"

_I don't care what kind of love it is anymore, I need any kind I can get._

"~We made it out, and all the other people are asking how  
This doesn't even sound like truth to grow from a bruise~"

She had heard it in his voice during their argument - he was different. He'd changed some through all this pain she'd caused him.

Was she changing, too?

"~But one day we will realize how hard it was, how hard we tried  
And how our hearts made it out alive~"

Their tears melding together one last time, that evening in which the decision was made.

"~Kiss me on my shoulder, and tell me it's not over  
I promise to always come home to you~"

"Here ya go." Ty-Lee handed her customer an empty cup after accepting payment.

He smiled weakly at her and wandered to the coffee dispensers on the counter to his left.

~"Remind me that I'm older - to be brave, smart, sweet, and bolder  
And don't give up on what we're trying to do~"

As he listened, he was reminded of how her singing was as sweet as ever. She always sang so much better here than in her practice room.

"~Don't count the miles, count the 'I love you's~"

Douglas poured some hazelnut coffee into his cup, sighing to himself as Toph continued to play.

"~And these are words I wish you'd said~"

_Words _I _should've said myself..._

"~But that's not how it went~"

_Because I messed up._

"~'Cause you gave up on us in the end~"

_I'm the one who really gave up on _you, _though, huh?_

"~And I won't make it alone, I need something to hold~"

The stinging reality of this truth frustrated her so much. It made that line maddeningly hard to sing each and every time.

And it needed to be sung. Because that was the only way she could get the words - the idea, the need - out of her.

"~Kiss me on my shoulder, and tell me it's not over  
I promise to always come home to you~"

Mai, who had been sitting at a table near the stage in the back of the shop, had lost track of her poetry writing. This girl's singing was too distracting.

"~Remind me that I'm older to be brave, smart, sweet, and bolder~"

What Mai did with words - leaking out emotions she couldn't figure out how to express otherwise - this girl did with sounds.

"~And don't give up on what we're trying to do~"

Poor girl. Mai had been pretty hard on her in discussions with Aang. She _deserved _it, but...still. Being faced with the train wreck afterward, laying its pain out on display...it made Mai feel sorrow for the other half of this situation she had witnessed from the outside.

"~Kiss me on my shoulder, and tell me it's not over  
I promise to always come home to you~"

Douglas frowned at himself as he sat down at an empty table near the front counter, blowing at his steaming cup. He had to force himself to avert his eyes from her stunning, smooth, melancholic face.

"~Remind me that I'm older - to be brave, smart, sweet, and bolder  
And don't give up on what we're trying to do~"

Her words filled Douglas with remorse, pity, anger...and yet he insisted on coming here, on listening.

He wondered what was she saying with her music _this _time.

"~Don't count the miles, count the 'I love you's~"

Her song complete, Toph took a deep breath.

She took solace in knowing that she had the Jasmine Dragon to come to, to sing her heart out - somewhat literally - where her friends wouldn't know. She had been missing this place for the past month during vacation and the beginnings of school, and now - more than ever - she knew she had to rely on it and her music to maintain her sanity.

* * *

**A/N: Another Christina Perri song.**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=XOZzbbsD8P0**

**The other song referenced will show up in its entirety soon. ;)  
**

**United Republic is referencing the city that Aang and Zuko founded after the events of the series but before The Legend of Korra.  
**


	58. Go for Gold

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to the House of Brave Men, Shenawana Hall. As iron sharpens iron, so did we sharpen each other's spirits - a true brotherhood if ever I had one.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_

_Chapter 58 - Go for Gold_

* * *

- Friday, January 26th, 2011 - AerOlympics

"**CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG-CHUG!**"

The crowd of young men cheered as the four, lined up in a row, guzzled down root beer. Sugary brown liquid dripping down his cheeks, Sokka's insides were fizzing and ready to burst from the two bottles he'd just rapidly consumed.

"C'mon, Sokka!" he could hear Aang bellow from the crowd before him.

"You got this!" Haru encouraged.

A man with a beanie hat on was tossing his arms frantically in the air, shouting like a maniac as the race to consume the last bottle was underway. His eyes bugged out and he began frothing at the mouth like a rabid psychopath.

Sokka shut his eyes at this sight and swallowed each painful, rushed gulp through the racket until there was no more. When he was finished, he slammed the glass bottle on the table before him and opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out to prove it had all gone down. A fellow Aero Man checked his throat and flashed a thumbs-up. By now there was already whooping and cheering, as another team had already stolen first place. While Sokka coughed and sputtered on soda, he received slaps on the back and head while the noise overwhelmed him.

Sokka was leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily, his stomach tender. Trash cans were nearby in the event that someone needed to hurl out what they'd consumed. Sokka was thankful he didn't seem to require this as another student from the first floor of Aero leaned over and puked out his beer into the can. A few seconds passed and things died down in the cafeteria hall. President Bumi, who had been watching things from the front of the crowd and applauding along with the students, made his way to the event's participants hands up in the air.

"Excellent show, gentleman! Quite entertaining..."

He folded his wrinkled, weathered hands across one another and smiled wryly.

"Well, now. The first event has concluded. It is with great honor that I shall present the first set of medals."

With this, Bumi raised up a small piece of circular metal. It glinted in the cafeteria's lights. It was a brown bottlecap.

"First floor takes fourth place." Bumi's deceptively firm hand dropped this cap into a tin mug labeled {FIRST}.

"Basement floor takes third." A red cap was placed in a pewter mug which read {base}.

"Second floor takes second." Bumi dropped a silver cap into a glass steiner marked {**Second**}. At this point the cheers of each respective floor were overlapping one another and increasing in volume.

"And the first gold medal of the Seventeenth Annual AerOlympics...-" Bumi held up a shining gold bottlecap for all to see. "-...is awarded to the Third floor." As it plinked into the empty bottom of a handmade {_third_} pottery jar, the Aero men of the respective floor went nuts, hooping and hollering. The table that the Root Beer Chug took place at was pounded vigorously. Various students across the cafeteria were off put or amused by this entire series of events. From a distant booth in the corner of the hall, Jane sighed, rolling her eyes.

"The fuck are they _doing_?" she grumbled, mixing around her macaroni salad.

"It's AerOlympics," Katara reminded. "That thing? You know, where the boys do all of their...silly 'sports' and like...weird stuff?"

"_I _heard they run around naked like stupid cavemen," Toph remarked with a sneaky smirk.

"Psh." Jane shook her head, stuffing some food in her mouth.

"Boys will be boys," Katara applied the phrase with an endeared smile as she watched from afar Sokka and Aang tossing their arms up amongst the crowd of men who were parading their way out of the cafeteria. She noticed that Aang had caught sight of them, and he waved goofily in their direction. "Goofballs..."

* * *

Aero House quaked with the stomps of a hundred men. After the flurry of boys had jogged straight from the ACC back to Aero after dinner, they'd congregated in large, furnished basement lounge to begin their annual ceremonies. Their resident director had just finished his speech - more or less the same one that was passed down each year to begin this seemingly sacred event. He was a stocky fellow, probably recently out of school himself, with his head shaved bald and a bushy, orange tangle of beard to highlight his bright smile. The stomping and macho shouting eventually died down, and the director was able to speak once more.

"All right, gentlemen. We're going to move on to the Squeeze Hand Relay next. Line 'em up!"

An hour or so later, the dorm's students were split up across a few floors, with various events happening simultaneously. One lounge was taken up by board and card games like chess, checkers, and poker, while another played host to air hockey and Foosball, and the basement's large TV was used to host the video game events. It was a building wide male bonding session packed with competition, friendly trash-talking, and a unifying sense of brotherhood.

Aang was watching four of his dormmates compete in a tense game of Foosball when Sokka sauntered into the room, a packet of Tums in his hand.

"How's your stomach holding up?" Aang wondered with an amused smirk.

Sokka groaned, patting at his tender tummy.

"Not so sure how it'll do when we get to Eat Crap, buuuut...I'll survive. How'd _you _do?"

"I got second in Smash Bros."

"Second? I thought for sure you'd win that one."

"Nah...This other guy was super good. I just couldn't get him."

"Well, still...Second ain't bad."

"Do you know how we're doing overall?"

"Last I checked, we're in first."

"Whoa, really?"

"Yea, we're rockin' it so far."

"Nice."

"**OHHHHHH**!"

The Foosball table exploded with noise as a goal was made.

A student poked his head into the room, gesturing Sokka.

"Sokka! Time for Eat Crap, man. Get your ass in gear."

"Ulllghhh..." Sokka winced before taking a deep breath and sucking up his regret.

"Heheh. Have fun," Aang encouraged, slapping him on the back. Aang wasn't going to watch this particular event. Rows of men rotating to consume edible but difficult-to-eat objects was not something he thought he'd find terribly appealing. After watching Foosball conclude, Aang meandered back to his room for a brief break. He sat down with a bottle of water and drank, trying to prepare himself for his next event. His phone, which had been left idle on his bed, had a new message.

[From: Katara]  
[Hey, good luck tonight with all those silly games, Bud. =) ]  
[Sent: 6:48pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[hey thanks. its pretty crazy.]  
[Sent: 8:36pm]

Aang was left to simmer in his thoughts for a few minutes about his recent argument with Toph and how things were going rougher than he had originally hoped. Consequently, this made him linger on Katara. Grr. No, he shouldn't be thinking about all of this. His dreams had let up, he was sleeping better, getting more done...He simply needed to ride it out, and take things easy. Before he knew it, it was his turn to get called to participate. By the time the herd of Aero Men had been corralled to the track and soccer field, Aang was feeling uneasy. He was tired, his mind was clouded...he didn't really want to participate anymore. It was so easy to sign a sheet, but to have to run around a track - with a bunch of comrades counting on you - was another matter.

Cat calls were made as the men participating stripped off their shirts to face the brisk, late winter night, but Aang was going to remain fully clothed, thank you. After stretched his limbs, he knelt down in the ready position, his thoughts blurry and lost.

The whistle blared through him, startling him from his concerns, and he ran.

His lean body rushed through the bitter air, his sneakers pounding the pavement below him. He propelled himself forth, feeling as if he were the wind itself for just a second. The visceral rush felt like a short eternity as he rounded the last leg of the track, realizing in this moment that he was in first. Reality smacked him hard: the shouting, the cheering, his legs burning, his heart exploding, the air stinging his lungs with each gasping breath. With each step he could feel his legs weaken, his ribs ready to burst from the lungs beneath pressing against them like hammers. A taller, more muscular lad from the third floor was suddenly in front of him. He couldn't bear the pain from it all. He was slowing.

Suddenly, it was over. Hollering rang through his ears as he stumbled to the chainlink fence that surrounded the field. He grasped at it, dazed from his exertion. As he recovered from the event, the ground around him suddenly become full of clothes. He glanced up to see nearly every man who had just been watching this event was either but naked or in the process of transformation toward this end. A stream of flesh of every color and shape made its way around the track in a trickle, with some pushing far ahead and other lagging behind. Aang chuckled at the sight - one that he had seen the year prior - and coughed out the cold in his chest.

Sokka came wheezing toward him, arms stretched out to show off his bulky pectorals which lacked toning.

"_woOOOooOoOo..._" he managed out in a gasp, joining his roommate at the fence while the flurry of men poured around them, filing back into their clothes. After (nearly) everyone was no longer in the nude, the group hobbled back to their dorm in the dark night. When they had nearly gotten back, Sokka, who was still regaining his breath, slapped Aang on the head.

"Ow! What...-?" Aang flinched after the fact, expecting another.

"You...you quit," Sokka criticized, throwing out words between breaths. _Yuck, _and what nasty-smelling breaths they were.

"No, I didn't," Aang defended himself.

"I...freakin' saw it," Sokka puffed out. "Just...gave up...near the end..."

Aang sighed, squinting from the rank smell his friend's mouth was radiating, and cast his eyes away, hands sunken into his pockets.

"Can't do that...when the goal's...in sight...Gotta...make that..._push_...to the end..."

"You OK?" Aang asked with skepticism, deflecting Sokka's advice.

"Go for the g_o_L**d**," Sokka cried, his voice cracking at the end. "I did..."

Aang rolled his eyes. Sokka's team had won the gold medal in the Eat Crap challenge, largely in part to Sokka chomping down a clove of garlic and a can of sardines.

"You sure _did_," Aang patronized. "Yech. Now you smell like an idiot."

"Say what...?"

* * *

The gymnasium reverberated with cries of triumph and cheer. Men were tackling each other, slapping one another's buttocks, carrying their fellow man around in victory...It was a time of celebration, a rewarding end to another amazing event. Aang was beside himself, swelled up in the cloud of brotherhood that surrounded him. The resident director was slapping the shoulder of respective resident adviser who managed the third floor. They had won in the overall standings, when all was said and done. A simple but large plastic goblet was the trophy that was held up in the air - passed onto the winner each year, it was nearly two decades old, dinged with scratches and some minor dents from its travels across the building. The cheering went on, and a couple students took the liberty of spilling out the bottlecap medals from their cups into the air like confetti. The metallic lids shimmered in the bright light before clattering to the recently buffered wooden floors.

A random boy that Aang didn't recognize came streaking by wearing nothing but a pair of aviators on his eyes. His voice hollering out a woop as he jumped on another student's back in a hug from behind.

"**Oh God!**" cried the young man, chortling as he struggled his way out.

"Surprise sex!" bellowed Aviators, as more third-floor Aero men dog-piled over top one another.

"Way to go, dudes!"

Aang's attention was diverted to Haru, who jogged past he and Sokka, delivering high fives.

"You too!" Sokka called back, giving him a wave.

"That was _epic!_" said Teo, the boy in the wheelchair from first floor that Aang occasionally interacted with whilst he was wheeling his way out.

"I know!" Aang agreed.

"Damn," sighed Sokka with satisfaction. Ew. Oh, bleh. Sardiney. "That was some goooood times."

Aang took in a deep breath, absorbing the whole thing. This was his second time. This would be Sokka's last. It was a crazy, exciting day in the year of a life at college. So much activity, so much spirit, and kinship. Whoever had come up with this idea - the AerOlympics - must have been...a mad genius.

* * *

- Saturday, January 27th, 2011 -

"That's too bad," Katara sympathized. "But you guys did your best, right? And you all had fun. Isn't that the whole point?"

_But did I _really _do my best? _wondered Aang to himself as he shuffled his salad around.

"_Tch, _the whole point was to _win_," Sokka disagreed. "That's why it was a competition, not some Kumbaiyah campfire session."

"Your floor got second place at the end, right?" Toph reiterated. "Stop your bitching. Just a stupid bunch of kiddie junk, anyway..."

Sokka gave her a dagger glance and jammed out an index she couldn't detect.

"The AeroOlympics are _sacred_! A tradition passed down for generations..."

"Pff. Yea, _real _sacred. Because eating mystery shit from plastic bags is _sooo __holy._"

"You couldn't possibly understand," seethed Sokka in his theatrical manner.

Suki, from his side, frowned with disgust as he spoke, leaning back slightly, her nose wrinkled tight.

"I can't believe you _ate _all of that garbage," she complained. "Did you even _try _brushing your teeth?"

"_Yea_," Sokka insisted. "Like, three times!"

"Garlic and sardines don't go away very easily," Aang pointed out, trying his best to contain a laugh.

"Oh, is _that _what that smell is?" Toph snorted. "That's your _breath, _Meat-Head? I thought someone was eating roadkill for lunch today."

"HA-HA, very funny, I-"  
Before Sokka could even finish his thought, everyone leaned back in their seats, away from him.  
"Oh, come on, is it _really _that bad?"

Suki was pinching her nose now.

"Nut dunna kith yew," she cautioned warily.

"Fine, I'll just...not _talk _the rest of the day, then," Sokka scoffed, bitter in the face of their cruel mockery.

"For the best," was Toph's curt advice.

"Maybe if you weren't such a damned retard we wouldn't be so mean to you."

As Jane rubbed this in, Toph pulled out her phone, which was vibrating.

"Uhh...Hey, could someone tell me who this is...?" she mumbled, sticking her hand out over her food. Katara, from her left, poked her head over Toph's shoulder.

[Calling...]  
[**Parents**]

"Um...It...looks like it must your mom and dad," Katara informed with doubt.

"What?" Toph spat, her fingers clenching tight across her phone. "Are you serious?"

"Y-yes, it...it says 'Parents' on there..."

"But...That doesn't even make sense," Toph grunted, the device still rumbling in her palm. "Urgh. Whatever..." She clicked a button on the phone's face, causing the call to be ignored, and tucked it away in her sweatpant pocket.

"Maybe it's something important," Suki considered. Toph frowned at this comment.

"Maybe it's more of their _bullshit_," she growled.

"It might be that they're trying to make up with you," Katara pushed for optimism. "I _know _they haven't exactly gone about things the best way, Toph, but they _are _your parents, and I'm sure they do love you..."

Toph's face was beginning to boil over with impatience as she chewed on a grilled cheese sandwich.

"You won't know if you don't answer their call," Aang pointed out with a stern sigh.

"I don't _need _to, Twinkle-Toes, I'm pretty sure I know them better than _you _ever did."

"I'm just _saying_..."

"He has a point, Toph," Katara interjected. "You can't just write them off when you haven't spoken with them in so long."

"This is _lunch, _guys," Toph snarled, "not some damned family therapy session."

"Oh, right," Aang huffed, rolling his eyes as he swirled a tomato around in the dressing at the bottom of his salad bowl. "We're idiots. The solution to every problem is just to _ignore it _and do whatever we feel like."

This created a moment of thick tension, with Aang glaring down at his bowl, and Sokka and Suki trying to keep to themselves across the table.

"Back off, Twinkles," Toph dismissed through grit teeth. "Not your fuckin' obligation anymore."

"Then maybe you should stop _calling me that_," countered Aang, leaning forward in his chair to stare at Toph across Katara, who sat between them.

"Huh?" Toph cocked a brow, confused amidst her irritation.

"Aang. My name is _Aaaayyynnn-guh. _I'm sick of your stupid nicknames. It's awkward and...and childish."

Toph's eyes widened with some pain at this, and Katara wondered if she was the only one at the table who detected it.

"...This whole-..._all _of this shit's 'awkward' now," said Toph in frustration, slapping the remnants of her sandwich down. "I'm supposed to fucking put on this _show _for all you, and you all just judge me, anyway!" She huffed out air through her nostrils like a bull, tossing her long bangs around, hands tucked in her green Terra hoodie. "I didn't ask what all you asshats thought I should do about _my_ deranged family. I don't tell any of _you _what to do with _yours_, do I?"

"Some of us don't really _have _families," Aang reminded her.

"I am so fucking _done_ with all the guilt trips, OK?" Toph snapped, pounding her fist against the table. Her milk splattered around, and various food items were disheveled.

"Maybe you're tripping so much because you _are _guilty," Aang continued to berate. "If you stopped blowing up on everyone and admitted when you were wrong, then this wouldn't-"  
"_Stop it!_"

Aang and Toph, both scornful and steaming, paused their words, but the air was still heavy with retribution. Katara's firm command had only put things at a standstill. Katara could feel her face heat up with embarrassment as students from nearby tables slowed their chatter, all staring at their group. In the distance, Jane was cautiously making her way over, a plate and drink in hand, and a tired expression on her face.

"We're in the cafeteria," Katara scolded the two of them, toning her voice down. "You two are acting like...like morons," she grumbled, fists clenched in her lap. She turned to her left and stared into Aang's cold expression with disappointment. "Aang, I know you've been hurt in all this, but you _know_ better." She shut her eyelids for a moment in frustration as she turned to Toph, biting her lip with controlled rage. "And Toph, you need to get a _grip_. I know this isn't easy for you, either - for _any _of us - but we don't know what to do with you...just blowing a lid every time some stupid little thing sets you off."

"Right, 'cuz _I'm _the villain in all this..." Toph's nostrils were scrunched tight as she huffed out through them again.

"That's not what I said," Katara calmly insisted.

"Yea, ya _did. _Fuckin' Twinkles gets a slap on the wrist and I get railed on."

"That's-...I wasn't...-" Katara was fumbling to explain herself, just now realizing that she _was _being harsher on her roommate than the boy beside her.

"Ya kinda deserve it," Jane casually tossed in her thoughts toward Toph, having finally reached the table. She stood, taking a sip from her glass of milk.

"You talkin' to _me_?" Toph grunted indignantly. "_He's _the one who started this crap today."

"_Yea, _'cuz ya keep flippin' out over every goddamned little thing. Chill the fuck out."

"We can't keep doing this, guys," Katara whimpered, trying to contain this social nightmare.

"Ya don't have to," Toph decided, scooting out her seat and standing up, pulling her cane up off the floor with her. She bumped into Jane on her way through, nearly spilling food over.

"Christ, watch out," Jane snipped.

"Would if I _could_..."

"Toph?" Katara began to rise from her seat in a panic. "W-wait, what did that mean, 'don't have t-"  
"Let her go." Katara was stopped by Aang's hand pulling on her arm. They exchanged lamenting looks, but Katara accepted his solution.

Jane set down her food and took a deep breath.

"_So_," she sighed out loudly, blinking at those around the table. "That was fun. Arguing. Yep. Gooood stuff."

"I didn't mean to...-" began Katara, sighing at herself with doubt.

"It's my fault," Aang placed the responsibility on himself. "I...shouldn't have gotten so defensive."

"Or criticized her out of nowhere," Sokka pointed out with nonchalance.

"I was-...She needs to...-" Katara smirked at how Aang was struggling to meekly insult Toph. "-...grow up. You know?"

"_That's _true," Sokka conceded with a simple shrug.

"She's not here anymore," Suki observed. "So let's not worry about her for right now."

"I hear that," cheered Sokka, raising his glass of water.

* * *

**A/N: As with many elements of SRU, some aspects of the events portrayed in this chapter very closely mirror how our dorm's olympics went...and others I added/altered for my own tastes in the story. I've been struggling to piece some stuff together and this chapter is more homage with some development in there. I tend to stray from focusing on the boys a lot, and this is something for them. The next couple of chapters ought to come together with much more impact, so bear with me. =)  
**


	59. Build

**A/N: So I have a question. Please leave a review/comment and leave your feedback. Should I start inserting the music links right into the chapters themselves, when the songs start playing? I may start doing that - and consequently fix that when I inevitably go back and re-edit this whole story. Which reminds me - since a number of smaller details changed from when the story was conceived until now, if you notice any logistical inconsistencies, please feel free to point them out to me.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 59 - Build_

* * *

- Sunday, January 30th, 2011 -

"...a...wh...ol...fo..."

Aang flinched awake, bumping his head against the car's window. He had been stirred by a nudging hand on his shoulder.

"Tch!" Katara, at the wheel to his left, barely contained a chuckle. "So you _were _sleeping on me," she teased.

"...Huh...?" muttered Aang with a groggy yawn, still gathering his senses. The dim sunlight of Sunday morning bounced off the snowy fields around them, pricking at his sandy eyes.

"So you didn't hear a word I just said," Katara observed with an endeared smirk.

Aang shook his head, eyes still hanging half open. Where was he? What was this? He couldn't really remember even getting in the car. Was he dreaming again, or something?

"I was talking about what happened yesterday at the cafeteria..."

"What...?" He rubbed at his face.

"You and Toph? How you both keep bickering at each other?"

_Ohhh, _bleh. Definitely not a dream. Katara was talking about Toph and it was all serious. No way this was a dream.

"Right..." mumbled Aang, turning away from Katara and staring out the window. It was dawning on him now: Sunday morning. They were on their way to church.

"I was...just saying that maybe it'd be a good idea if you two-...I don't know..." Katara sighed, casting a glance up at her mirror to steal a look at Aang's expression. She couldn't tell if he was just groggy or grumpy at the subject. "-...should maybe give each some space for a while?"

Aang laughed a snort through his nostrils.

"Try telling _Toph _that," he noted with a tint of bitterness.

"Huh?"

"She's the one who's been...trying to spend time with me lately. And then she just...flips out, and..._rrrgh...-_"

"Oh..." Katara wasn't sure she understood what Aang was talking about, but decided it best to leave things be, as it was clearly a sore subject. "Well, you both really need to calm down and give it some time."

"I know..."

"So...Um...I guess that's all I was getting at."

"'Kay..."

Katara's fingers drum-rolled along the leather steering wheel casing as Wayward drew close.

"Listen. Aang..." She swallowed, her insides jittery. Why were her insides jittery? "Is there anything I-...W-well, _we, _like...the group...can do to help you? Um, you _and _Toph, I mean..."

Aang shrugged, shaking his head as he turned his head to look at her concerned determination.

"Anything to make all this easier?" Katara reiterated. "I know that...that breakups can be really difficult..." She took a slow and deep breath as her grip on the wheel tightened, her memories threatening to flood over. The air poured out of her quivering lips, and she tried her best to hide it. "Even when it was your own choice...a-and you knew it's what was best..." She scratched at her nose, tactfully rubbing traces of water from her eye as she did so. Aang noticed.

"It...It's not really that bad for me," Aang lied, trying to lessen his own doubts in the face of how Katara's last relationship had ended. Here he was, getting all grouchy and gloomy, but...his ex was still _friends_ with him...Well, probably. At the very least, she was still _alive. _Which meant he didn't have that lingering cloud of guilt that he could only imagine Katara was being reminded of.

"All this arguing with you two...-" Katara went on, her stomach churning. "-...I just can't deal with it. Seeing you two hurt each other, and...-" She stared at the familiar sign as they passed by: {**Welcome to WAYWARD**}. "I just care about you too much to keep watching it..." She cleared her throat. "_Both _of you, I mean...Toph...She's...like a sister to me. And...and I _know _that's kind of silly, because it's only been...what...a year? But that's...how it is."

"Yea..." Aang nodded vehemently. "No, that-...I get it. We're like this...makeshift family. You know?" Aang felt sure this conversation had happened already at some point, but his mind was too muddled to do much about it - chances were that Katara's must have been, too.

"Exactly," Katara said, flicking up her wrist. "It's like...watching a domestic dispute, or...something..."

"OK," Aang was quick to ease her. "I'll...try to talk with Toph about it, and...we'll just need to give each other some space. I promise it won't happen anymore. The arguing, and the fighting..."

Katara's face flashed a weak smile for barely a second before she concealed it with a calm, cleansing sigh.

"All right...That would mean a lot. And I know Sokka and Suki would appreciate it, too..."

"Heh...Y-yea, we've probably been getting on their nerves with all of this...drama..."

"Just a little."

* * *

"Wait, like...right _now_?"

Aang had gone from church to a lunch alone with Katara back to Wayward with Zuko to continue working on the wallart for the Unite Republic's rec lounge, back to campus for dinner, to the art building to wrap up homework and...just as he was getting ready to take his shoes off after a busy day...-

"_Yea, _right now," Sokka demanded. "Put those sneakers back on, man. It's serenading time. Can't leave those ladies waiting, right? It wouldn't be gentlemanly."

Aang sighed, begrudgingly sticking his sore feet back into his converse shoes and re-tightening the laces. It wasn't everyday that the men of Aero went serenading, after all...Another of the brotherhood's traditions, this one entailed a flock of young men sneaking around campus as quietly as they could in the dark evening, while many were studying, gathering in front of each of the two girls' dorms, then breaking out in unanimous song, wooing them with their attempts at harmony.

As they were putting on their jackets - it was bound to be pretty cold out by now - Aang was smacked with a realization: he'd be singing love songs to women when he no longer had a specific one to sing _to._ The idea was...kind of awkward in his head, though trying to explain why didn't work out.

"Wow, this...will be weird."

"Why's that?" Sokka questioned as he locked their door behind them.

"You know...How I'm _single _now...and everything."

"Huh?" Sokka raised a brow. "Not sure I follow..."

"I don't have anyone in specific to sing _to _anymore."

"Erm...I thought the whole point was that we were singing to _all _the ladies..."

"Well, _yes, _but...-"

"Besides, you can, like...sing to _Freckle-Face _or something."

"Wh-what?" Aang popped back, his cheeks lighting up.

"Maybe we'll sing a _country _song and you can romance your little _cowgirl_," Sokka picked, opening the door to the stairwell.

This now marked the third and most embarrassing time Aang had regretted telling Sokka about that dream.

"Shut up," he grumbled. "It's not like that."

"Oh, sure, sure," patronized Sokka with wide eyes and a polite nod. "And all those dinner dates you were taking her on - all of a sudden - don't mean anything. And it's not like you two have been acting odd around each other or anything at _all_..."

"Huh...? N-no, we were talking about, like...our histories, and everything."

"Exactly."

"Wh...-?"

What in the heck was he getting on about? As far as Aang was aware, Jane _did _seem kind of annoyed with him lately, which was no-doubt related to how he was constantly moping around and starting arguments with Toph...Sokka's radar was obviously off, but since he seemed oh-so-convinced, there was no point in trying. Was he really serious, though? Nah, he was just being stupid. Yea, that glint in his eyes. He _was _just causing a ruckus. What a jerk.

"Stop screwing with me, Sokka..."

"I'm just _saying_...You both just seem to be on each other's minds a lot lately."

Huh? What did that mean? Had Jane been talking with Sokka about him, or...-?

"Uh, Sokka, I think you're misreading things..."

"Maybe, but...Have you thought about it?"

"N-not really," Aang spat out in defense. Darnit. Lying again. "We're...completely different people, Sokka, I don't think anything like that would work out..."

Sokka paused as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"She's right, you really _are _too easy to mess with when it comes to this stuff." He grinned.

"Who?"

He didn't get an answer as Sokka strolled through the front hall and out the doorway into the winter air, which was filled with the bustle of a herd of college boys. After practicing their pair of songs for the evening - Aang was still having trouble remembering the lyrics to one and needed a printout to read off of - the pack set off for Aqua House.

"Sokka," Aang said quietly to his roommate as they made their descent across campus. "Could you please not...pick on me about anything like that? It doesn't really help..."

Sokka glanced over to notice Aang's genuine irritation and frowned.

"Hey, Bud, lighten up a bit, huh? You just seem all down in the dumps, and acting weird. You just went through a breakup - crap happens. Instead of focusing on how bad that is, I'm just saying it might be better to indulge yourself in something - or some_one _- else. Ya get me?"

_Like what you always do when _you_ get depressed? _Aang found himself tempted to say.

"It's not that simple for me, Sokka..."

"Listen. Bro. Aangster."

"That one _better _not get put in your...nickname rotation."

"Why not?"

"It's stupid."

"Fair enough. Anyway-anyway, OK. Listen." They were whispering now, drawing closer to the first girls' dorm on their trip. "All I'm saying is that Jane's a pretty awesome girl. You both seem to...have that whole..."insecurity" thing going on. It's like a starting point."

_Gee, thanks. Yea, rub that stuff in. I'm feeling better already. Yup.  
_

"Aang, what I'm getting at is that if you're _dreaming _about the girl and get all embarrassed when I bring her up, maybe it wouldn't hurt to experiment?"

"_What? _I'm not gonna-"  
"I just mean a date, dude, chillax."

"I can't...-!" Aang spurted. What was Sokka's problem? Dancing all over this sensitive subject...He definitely didn't get it.

"A date and date-_ing _don't have to be the same thing! It doesn't always have to be some grand huge commitment. God. Calm down."

"I'm not like that, Sokka. I'm still...dealing with a lot of stuff here..."

"OK, OK, I get it. You're afraid, and all nervous, and everything..."

Aang's teeth ground together a bit at this, which he was taking offense with. He was getting kind of fed up with being treated like a spineless wimp.

"And I mean, going out on a date _is _a scary thing," Sokka went on. "So it makes sense. But maybe it would help you realize that all this garbage with Toph isn't as important as you're making it out to be."

"Sokka, just...please stop. Stop. OK?" They'd reached their destination now, and were huddling together in a clump along the sidewalk that led to Aqua's main entrance. "Sometimes being a...a stupid idiot, and acting all dumb to be funny, it...it can make things _worse_..."

Sokka's lips hung open just a bit as he realized how carried away he'd gotten, and that instead of lightening his roommate with some humorous advice, he'd in fact gotten him actively agitated.

"Sure. Yea...Sorry," Sokka sputtered out, swallowing a lump in his throat. Aang was one to spout out steam very often - and when he did, it was almost always at Toph, it seemed - but right now, Aang was most certainly about to boil over through his calm body language. It was somewhat intimidating in this moment. Yeesh.

Their resident director stood at the front of the group, glancing back at them with a large, satisfied grin, his hands on his hips as he nodded approvingly.

"Ready guys?" he said to them with anticipation. They nodded and remained quiet, familiar with the procedure. The men were group under the lights that cast a glow in front of the entrance, the sidewalk behind them black in the winter evening. The RD, whom Sokka insisted on referring to as "Captain Red-Beard" rather than his real name, shattered the night's tranquility with a thundering roar.

"**HOOOOOOOOLD!**"

The men before him were hushed. He called again.

"**HOOOOOOOOLD!**"

Girls in their dorm rooms could be seen stirring about through their windows as some were opened, giddy faces poking out.

"**NOOOOWWW!**"

At the RD's command, the lot of them pounded their feet, clapped their hands, grunted and shouted...anything to make loud noise. This dragged on as more young women gathered.

From the second floor, Katara was opening the window near the end of Toph's bed, scanning the crowd for two particular crazy men.

"Fucking _Christ_," Toph groaned at the racket, ripping her headphones off and slapping the power button on her keyboard. "Can't hear myself _think _with those ass-tard cavemen doing their...-" Katara couldn't hear the rest of Toph's complain as it was trailed off, drowned in the cries from the outside. As Jane strolled into their open door, she

"Where are _you _goin'?" Jane wondered as the screaming from outside died down.

"To the bathroom," grunted Toph, waiting for Jane to pass.

"Didn't you just go to the bathroom?" Katara prodded.

"That was for Number Two," Toph testily informed. "Now I have to go Number Three." With that, she marched out, feeling her palm across the wall to find her way.

"Number...Three...?" Jane muttered, turning to Katara with a confused look. Katara's eyes were dulled as she rolled them, lids half closed.

"She means she going to...uhh...have 'fun.'" Jane appreciated the way Katara's cheeks were warming up just at the thought - one she looked pretty unhappy about knowing.

"_Ahhh-_haha," Jane laughed in realization. "Oh, that's...er...good to know," she said loudly as the boys began to sing.

**+ ****http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=QXJL5B3Lb3s** +  


**"~Why do you build me up (Build me up)~"**

Katara was happy to be distracted, and spun around, peering out the window. A chilly breeze blew by, sending a shiver up her spine.

**"~Buttercup, baby, just to let me down (Let me down) And mess me around~"**

Jane wedged herself into the window, as well, and the cast a wide grin down at the crowd of young men.

**"~And then worst of all (Worst of all) You never call baby When you say you will (Say you will)~But I love you still~"**

Standing in the sidewalk, peering up at two familiar girls from the second floor, Aang was relieved that the third wasn't there.

**"~I need you (I need you)~More than anyone darlin'~"**

It made it easier to focus on the face he found himself interested in.

**"~You know that I have from the start~"**

Gah. Those sapphire eyes were staring right at him. His cheeks were burning, he could feel it.

**"~So build me up (Build me up) Buttercup~Don't break my heart~"**

He looked elsewhere, eyes glancing across different windows and different faces.

As the song went on, Aang found himself fumbling up lyrics, so he simply tried to mimic as best he could. When he'd look back up, those eyes would still be looking at him with a bright smile.

* * *

- Monday, January 31st, 2011 -

"Great work today, ladies," Suki congratulated everyone as instruments were being packed away.

Katara watched Toph mechanically lock away her electric guitar in its case, her eyes glazed over and dull.

"Yea, you were really on top of it tonight, Toph," she threw out an earnest compliment. Toph had seemed more focused than usual on their music, and hadn't caused any trouble at all. Then again, she had hardly talked...Just like she was right now, showing no reaction.

"Hey, you, too, Kat," said Jane, giving Katara a casual thumbs up as she slung her bass over her back. "Your singing was pretty spot-on."

"And this really is a good song choice," Suki pointed out. "I hadn't heard this one before, Toph. Thanks for showing it to us."

Toph had her case in one hand, her cane in another, and was standing complacently, waiting for everyone else to finish up.

"Did you need help with anything?" Katara wondered, noticing that Suki's drumset was still arranged.

"Oh, no, thanks. I'm going to stick around and work on some of my own stuff."

"Oh, OK..." Katara nodded and went to Toph's side. "Hey, Toph, do you want me to help carry your-"  
"I got it."

"R-right. Sure. Um...-" She glanced over to Jane, who looked all set. "Ready to go?"

"Yep."

"All right. Have a good night Suki."

"Peace," called Jane.

"Good night!"

Katara checked her phone as they exited the practice room in the basement of the auditorium.

[From: Aang]  
[hey did you eat yet? were gonna get food at appas.]  
[Sent: 7:21pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[Not yet! I'll come meet you guys there and see if the girls want to come.]  
[Sent: 7:47pm]

"Hey, are you girls up for getting food at Appa's?" Katara checked with the group as they exited the building.

"I thought we were going to make spaghetti back at Aqua?" Toph pointed out.

"Well, yes, it's just...the boys just invited us."

"I'm down," said Jane with a shrug.

"What about you, Toph?"

"Uhh...Nah. I'm fine. Just wanna get back to the dorm. I'm tired."

"Oh. OK..." Katara wasn't going to force it. Maybe Toph was acknowledging the risk of her having another fit or something? "Are you-...Well, like...What are you going to eat?" There was no way the blind girl was going to fool around with boiling water in a setting she wasn't terribly familiar in.

"I'll...figure something out," Toph shrugged.

"I could...make you food when we get back," Katara offered. Grah. She desperately wanted some hang-out time with the boys and _not _have a fight break out for a change, but...she didn't want Toph to feel ditched, either.

"Don't worry about it," Toph bluntly dismissed her kindness. "I just said I'd take care of myself."

"Right. Yea. I was just...-"  
"I know what you were doing," said Toph tiredly. "I'm _fine, _OK? Seriously..."

"Of course. I wasn't-...I-I mean, yea. All right." Katara's words were hasty as she snapped her thought around. The more she explained herself, the more agitated Toph would get. Of that she was pretty certain. "So, um...I guess we'll just...head off to see them, then..."

"Yup..."

"OK...Well...I'll catch you later tonight." Katara wanted to reach out and give her wary roommate a hug, but opted not to.

"See ya."

"Later, Toph," bid Jane. After they'd broken off and were close to the ACC, Jane piped up, "So, erm...What's up with her _now_?"

"Huh?"

"Toph. She's, like...acting all emo or something."

"Oh...Yea, I...don't really know what's going on..."

_Aang probably talked with her earlier today about them giving each other some space. Shoot, I'm such an idiot, trying to get her to come with us...That probably just rubbed it in..._

"A-actually," Katara corrected herself, "I just remembered...Aang was telling me yesterday about how he and Toph are going to try and, like...take a break from each other for a while."

"Uhh...Say what?" Jane seemed baffled by this. "They already broke up, right...?"

"Yea, yea, I meant...like, they both need some time to...to heal. You know? I think that's why they keep arguing. There's still some bitterness there, and...-"

"So this was _your_ idea," Jane guessed.

"What? I-...Y-yes, I guess..."

"Heh...Sounds about right..." Jane nodded and cocked a shoulder up. "Prolly will do those two kids some good, though."

"Yea, I think so, too."

* * *

- Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 -

Discouraged, Katara closed her phone and put it back in her pocket. Toph wasn't picking up. Sokka and Suki were going out for dinner, Jane had already eaten and was busy with schoolwork, and Aang was downtown working on that community project that seemed to be taking up so much of his time lately. Katara decided she'd save a meal and make the dinner she had intended the night prior. Maybe Toph would be at the dorm and it would allow her to make up for the night prior. After being late to class and being chastised by Professor Pakku before being allowed to leave afterward, she had already made her big mistake for today. It'd be nice to do something to make up for it.

When she got back to her dorm, however, she was disheartened by a surprise guest.

"-..._care _whether or not you meant...like...whatever," Toph huffed out the end of a sentence as Katara entered the room. Her burning eyes were doused, left to smolder a bit at the sound of Katara's entrance. Toph was sitting on her bed, and Aang had been sitting in Toph's desk chair, facing her. He spun his head around to see her, and while Toph's eyes had been on fire, his were stoic and cold.

"Umm...Hey, guys," Katara shakily greeted as she closed he door behind her, ensuring Toph knew who had just entered. There was an awkward moment of silence until Toph blew bangs from her eyes and went on with her ranting, regardless of Katara's presence.

"Anyway, the point is, Twinkles, that this whole-"  
"_Aang._"

"Ugh...Whatever! This whole thing is bullshit, it's not exactly fair."

"It's not like I'm saying you shouldn't hang out with everyone _else, _Toph..."

"No, no, _right, _of course not...Except when the hell am I gonna get to?"

"I didn't say...that you _couldn't, _I just said...I thought it might be a good idea if _we _didn't spend time together for a while, because when we're with the group we make this...tension...and when we're alone, _this _happens."

Katara snapped out of her confused trance in the break between words, perplexed as to why the conversation was continuing in her presence. She unslung her backpack, setting it beside her bed, and hung her winter coat up on the rack attached to the back of their door.

"I _know _what you said, Tw-..." She sighed. "I heard it the first time, when we talked _before. _What _I'm _saying right _now_ is that it's fucking unfair."

As Katara cautiously sat down in her desk chair, she caught a glance of Aang's profile. She could see it in his eyes - that bitter expression, the one he wore anytime he thought about how Toph had hurt him. The words hung on his face: _'The way you treated me was unfair, the way you cheated on me was unfair, the way you try blaming our breakup on me is unfair_.' But nothing like this came out.

"I know it isn't," Aang solemnly agreed with Toph's comment, tempering his own anger. "And I'm sorry. But I didn't want this to happen. I thought we co-"  
"That's it, then? Just gonna...fuckin' dump me on the side of the road altogether?"

"N-no. No, no, never. I'd never do that."

"You're doing that right now."

"No, I'm not. I'm only saying that we spend some time apart for a _little while_. Temporary."

Katara woke up her laptop and tried to pretend like she could casually focus on checking e-mails, or...something. Grr. She had to hold her tongue. Wait, maybe she ought to just leave...?

"Uh-_huh,_" Toph acknowledged sarcastically. "Aaaand...That's different _how_?"

"Wh-...? B-because it's _temporary_, Toph. I'm still your friend. We _all _are," he insisted, casting a glance to Katara for approval. She nodded.

"R-right. Definitely. We all care about you, Toph, we don't wan-"  
"Did we _ask _for you to butt in here?" Toph snapped at her roommate. "Why are you still here, anyway?"

"Umm...Because this is _my _room, too," Katara testily replied, her sympathy swiftly draining.

"Can you not tell that we're trying to have a conversation here?"

"I figured if it was supposed to be so _private _that someone would've _asked _me to leave when I got in..."

"So when it's other people, you'll bend over backwards to be all sensitive about their crap, but when it's _me, _'who cares?,' right? I'm just-"  
"Toph, please stop," Aang firmly requested. "Katara's right. This isn't just your room. We can keep talking somewhere else."

"Of _course _you'd jump to defend Her Highness," grumbled Toph, picking wax from her ear with her pinky. "I'm sure she has _nothing _to do with any of this..."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Katara asked, egging on Toph to carelessly toss out her hold accusation.

"Don't even _pretend_ like there's nothing going on with you two," Toph spat impatiently. "Just because I'm blind doesn't mean you can _hide _shit from me."

"What?" mumbled Aang, distraught at the blunt force of Toph's words.

"Toph, there's nothing like that going on between us," Katara was quick and rigid to declare. "We haven't done anything like that, and I think you're just overreacting because you're stressed, an-and upset, and-...Aang's like a little brother to me, and you're like a little sister."

Toph's jaw was cocked at Katara's sudden outward stance on the subject. Aang's back was to Katara, still facing Toph, and Katara couldn't read exactly what was on his face. She found herself considering the notion that maybe the reason this idea was in Toph and Jane's heads had more to do with Aang than her.

"Fine," Toph groaned, fed up with the explanation. "Doesn't even matter. Whole fucking reason we're talking here is 'cuz I don't think it's right that I'm not allowed to hang out with everyone but _Aang _is."

"You are, too, Toph. No one's saying you can't," said Katara. "But things...just get so awkward now when you two are both together with everyone else."

"And that's _my _fault?"

_Actually, _yes, _it pretty much is, Toph. You made this mess._

"It makes things difficult for _everyone, _and it's not good for either of you _or _the rest of us."

"I don't want to keep making everyone feel uncomfortable," Aang calmly explained in addition to Katara's defense.

"So why don't _you _avoid our little damned club if you're so worried?"

"Because I still want to see my friends."

"And I don't?"

"_Do _you?" Aang retorted, stealing the words from Katara's mouth.

"I-...The fuh-?..._Yes_," Toph declared, wiping her hair back over her head. "What kind of question is _that_?"

"You keep _doing _that..." Aang muttered in a tired tone.

"Doing what?"

"Every time I try to make a point you just...turn it back around on me, and turn it into a question I'm supposed to answer. Just keep switching it back on me."

"And you're not doing that to _me_?" The words popped out of Toph's mouth before she recognized exactly what she'd just said.

"Like _right now_. Jeez..."

Toph sighed, her hand still on her head. She let it droop down into her lap, frowning. Aang took this opportunity to drill things home. Katara could tell that throughout this whole exchange, Aang had been struggling to remain calm, to keep his temper under wraps, and even now, he was still speaking in a controlled manner.

"Toph. You don't seem to understand." He slowly shook his head, wiping his eyes. "You go to band practice - you argue with Suki. We ride in the car - you argue with Jane. Sokka has a meal with you - you argue with _him. _Your roommate tries _so hard _to help you, and you argue with _her. _Your boyfriend gives you more patience than...than any other person he ever _has, _and...and you just will _not _stop arguing with _him, _even after it's all said and done."

Aang's words were loaded, but delivered in as rational a manner as he could contain them. Toph was speechless, but maintained her signature grumpy frown in the face of her own faults. That look when Toph _knew _you were right, with her dark, brooding eyes and crooked jaw, refusing to admit that she was wrong...Katara _definitely_ was familiar with that one.

"Toph, I love you. Katara loves you. Sokka and Jane - they love you. And...I'm sure there's other people, too - people you probably aren't giving enough credit to. Maybe even your parents - how would you _know, _when you won't speak with them? But that's all your business, not mine anymore. But what _is _my business is how your stubbornness and arguing is hurting me. And our group. And _you. _There's a wonderful, strong person inside you - but you have so many rough edges and clutter on top. And I tried..._so hard_...to help you get out from under it all...And look where that got me." Aang's eyes were wet now, his voice trembling a little. "You keep saying how everyone's being so 'dramatic?' It's _you. _You're the source of all the drama going on right now. You say that I'm supposed to 'grow up' and not be a wimp? _You're _the one who hides from your problems, who won't admit when you're wrong. And this feels like the twentieth time someone's tried explaining this to you, and it won't go through your head. I'm sick of trying. I just can't tolerate this...this _nonsense _anymore. I feel like we're bringing out the worst in each other right now." Aang got up from Toph's chair and tried to place a hand on Toph's shoulder, but she swatted him off in a flinching gesture. "I think it'd be best if we gave each other some space until we both get ourselves figured out."

Aang knew Toph wasn't going to respond to him, and he sighed, his heart heavy with this decision to break away. He gently pushed Toph's desk chair in its proper place, leaving the angry girl with her arms crossed over her waist to contemplate his words. As he walked past her, Katara wanted to reach out and offer some physical assurance of support in his actions, but couldn't find it in her to go through with it.

As Aang scooped his winter coat off the ground, avoiding eye contact with Katara, he made one last comment.

"If we're going to be Fearsome, it should be because of how strong we are. If we're going to be a Fivesome, we can't be divided. I'm sorry, Toph. I'm not trying to be a jerk."

Toph's eyes closed shut, and she looked ready to say, '_I know_,' but a choking grunt came out instead.

"I really care about you, and I'm not going away. I'm still going to be here. I'm just giving you the space you need to...clean up the mess you've made for yourself."

With that, Aang was gone, leaving Katara to watch a forlorn Toph wrestle with herself. Her own stomach quivering with pain and sorrow at the whole situation, Katara did what seemed to come naturally to her - she pushed the music note blanket aside and sat next to Toph in silence. A few seconds passed, and Katara stared at the floor, waiting for what she knew was coming.

A strained "_Gyuh_" coughed out of Toph's lips as her breathing trembled, tiny trickles drizzling down her cheeks. A sniffle came next, serving as Katara's cue to put her arm around her roommate's shoulders and ease her into a hug. Toph whimpered out her tears, releasing the frustrations and hurt that had been shut inside for some while.

Through the extended process of grieving, Toph didn't speak a word. Katara knew her pain had less to do with Aang and more to do with the truth of his words - that she was dealing with issues she couldn't seem to resolve on her own. While she poured ample sympathy over Toph in comfort, Katara's mind kept lingering to Aang - the confidence in his voice, his vulnerability outshone by his resolution. The way he'd controlled his emotion, executing what he believed to be best when she could tell his compassion didn't favor it. It was a courage she hadn't seen come out of him in quite some while - if ever.

* * *

- Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 - Groundhog Day

The grass was still covered in shallow, crusted snow, but the sidewalks across campus were dry, the salts laid down the day before having done their duty. His wheels rolled across the walkways with a low, rhythmic rumble. He pressed one foot against the concrete and pushed himself forward. He was achieving the same sensation of speed he felt when sprinting, but with much less exertion. It was as if he were gliding across campus.

This was the first time he'd actually ridden the skateboard Katara had given him beyond quick fooling around inside the dorm halls. The weather was finally allowing it - at least, for today. He was on his way to the art building to work on a project for the evening. The street lamps across campus lit his way, and the lack of students traversing to and from class made his ride easy.

His memories traveled back to the AerOlympics in this empty spot of time. He was still angry at himself for giving up at the track event. He'd pushed too hard too early, and then had given up at the critical moment. If he'd really cared, he'd have pushed himself. He'd have made himself do what he thought he couldn't. Right? Katara's words from the evening prior still stung. He was like a little brother? Was that really all? He felt guilt pounded at him as he found himself frustrated with this. He shouldn't be so concerned over these matters.

Then he saw her, and his guilt faded. He couldn't seem to resist but getting wrapped up in these ideas. In her winter vest, with those cute earmuffs - crescent moons on them, so adorable - her hair tangled into a delightful mess of a ponytail. His skateboard seemed to take on a will of its own and led him her way. She didn't notice it was Aang in the dim night until he slowed to a stop before her.

"Hey, Katara," he called out, eager to appreciate just a moment alone with her. It seemed rare these days, with all of them busy with school, and work, and the like.

After a second of gawking, they both fumbled to initiate conversation, tripping over eachother's words.

"Aang, I...-"  
"Katara, I...-"

"You go first!" Aang rushed his offer out with a nervous smile, holding his skateboard up with one hand, the other tucked in his coat.

"OK..." Katara smiled back with the same sheepishness. She spoke with an affectionate, reflective tone - the way one speaks when looking through a cherished photo album. "We've been through so many things together, and I've seen you grow up _so_ much. You're...not that little goofy freshman I found all alone. Not anymore." A smile worked its way through her nerves as she watched Aang's face turn pink under the pale street lamp. He looked away with a bashful shrug. "I guess what I'm trying to say is..." She extended her mittened hand and patted at his shoulder, sighing out a cloud of steam into the frigid winter air. Her next words were gentle and deliberate. "I'm really proud of you."

While Katara dropped her hand back down, Aang's chin shrunk into the scarf wrapped around his scrawny neck as butterflies swarmed his stomach, fueled by her compliment.

"Everything's gonna be different after today, isn't it?" he mumbled with some doubt, uncertain of how to proceed with the situation ahead of them.

Katara puffed out a melancholy sigh through her wide nostrils. She rubbed the back of her neck, then nervously tugged at a tied lock of hair that hung over her cheek.

"Yes," she solemnly agreed. "It is..." The two shared a silent moment of contemplation as to how this whole mess would be solved, and that mutual knowledge - that they would both work toward solving it - only seemed to heighten their building tension. "For a while, at least," Katara added with a hopeful shrug.

They blinked at one another for a few seconds, their chests swollen with a confused blend of emotions.

The butterflies in Aang's stomach were now on fire, frantically flying around inside him.

"What if I've just made everything worse?" he mumbled with uncertainty, clawing at his abdomen from inside his vest pocket.

"Aang, don't say that." Katara's brows furrowed at his doubt. "Of course you haven't..." She drew a bit closer, peering at his gloomy face with an insistence to brighten it.

Aang's heart was pounding at her proximity. He had just broken up with Toph...he shouldn't be getting involved with someone else. But...she was so _amazing_...What if he waited too long, and someone else-...Did she _really _just look at him like a brother?

Where was all of this coming from? Why did it all have to slam at him like this so suddenly? What was _wrong _with him?

"Aang? Are you all right?"

His eyes popped up at her sapphires, her concerned expression captivating in the shadow of the street lamp.

He leaned forward a few inches, grabbing Katara's shoulder and pulling her toward him.

He pressed his lips against hers with a tenderness he had reserved for that very moment. At first she cried out in surprise, muffled by the kiss. Wide-eyed and panicked, Katara was startled by this gesture at first. But her eyes quickly found their way closed after a moment, though she was slowly willing herself away from him. After a couple of seconds, she managed to break away, her lips still puckered. By the time she'd opened her eyes, Aang's skateboard was on the ground. She reached out her arm, but it grasped at air as Aang wheeled off into the night.

Once again, the boy had caught her quite off guard with his suddenly courageous behavior.

Katara's mind was reeling. She had convinced herself that nothing like this was going on between them, and now, like a smack in the face, she had to face these questions head-on.

Irritation pricked at her, as well: what was she doing to make people think she was "easy," just...just jumping out and _kissing her _out of nowhere? What was with that? Grr.

Then the weight was piled on. She had just assured Toph that this very thing wasn't happening. Jane had seemed rather keen on their interactions, which led Katara to believe that her red-headed friend was still coping with her own attraction. She didn't even want to _think _about what Sokka's reaction would be. There was already _enough _dramatic frustration swirling through their social circle..._Argh. _What was going on? She didn't need any more complications on top of everything...She'd find a way to set everything straight. Somehow...

* * *

**A/N: I wrote up an analysis of this chapter - the kinds of messages/themes I'm intending to express and explore - for anyone curious as to my mental approach when I write out scenes.**

**http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/journal/Analysis-of-a-Chapter-267794542**

**The last scene of the chapter is very directly borrowed from/paying homage to Aang and Katara's first kiss in the show, the scene before the Day of Black Sun battle occurs. ;) And now more complication is thrown into the mix.**


	60. Roads We Have to Walk

**A/N: So while this chapter's been a longer wait than usual, I bet, it's also another lengthy one ;) I wanted to cram a lot into this one. You can blame Skyrim in particular for the delay in this chapter. With Zelda about to launch, I can't make any promises, but I am always pushing to continue this story to the end - which there will be one down the line, and I look forward to getting there with you all. ;)** **The last scene of this chapter is very abstract, I hope you guys get what I was going for.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 60 - Roads We Have to Walk_

* * *

- Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 - Groundhog Day

"Ugh, I don't..._get _it..." Toph dug her fingers into her face in aggravation, shoving skin up and down as she lay on her back, talking to the computer sitting beside her on the bed.

["Um...No offense, Tophie...Sweetie...but I _think _that's been the problem this whole time..."]

On the screen pointed at Toph, her cousin Meng cast dull, sympathetic eyes on the snippy scowl that formed as a result of the comment she'd just made.

"You're _totally _helping..."

["I'm sorry, Cuz...But...based on everything I've heard, this just...sounds like-"]  
"Wait up a sec. Everything you've _heard_?"

["Eh..."]

"Like...heard from people that aren't _me?_"

["I wasn't-...It's not that I was trying to snoop around, or-or anything like that, I was...-"]

"So...What, then? Aang was gossiping about me to _you, _too?" Toph smacked her palms against the side of her head, squinting to contain her frustration.

["He wasn't _gossiping, _Toph,"] Meng snapped in defense. ["I asked him what was going on, 'cuz I was worried, and-"]  
"So you couldn't ask _me?_"

["Not like _that, _I was asking how _he _was doing, you know? And he opened up to me a bit, and...it seemed like he wanted my advice. Since I know you and stuff."]

"Oh. So _you _told him to be a dick and just..._push _me away?"

Meng was biting her bottom lip with her own scowl, but took a deep breath through her nose.

["No, Tophie. I didn't tell him to _do_ anything. Except...to try his best not to hurt you. That's all."]

A shot of guilt pierced through Toph's stomach at her cousin's words. Toph knew Meng was telling the truth - she could detect it in that tone.

["You really oughtta stop...overreacting so much,"] Meng sighed. ["I don't know exactly what Aang told you, but...maybe instead of freaking out ya could _think _about it...Maybe a_ little_ bit?"] Meng tried squeezing in some gentle empathy at the end.

"Urgh, but...-" Toph slammed the back of her head against her pillow. "I don't want to _think, _or whatever bullshit. I just want things to go back to how they were before."

["Well...I don't think they _can_."]

"Oh, great. Thanks. Feeling even better now."

["Toph, I mean it. Ya can't just...go cheating on your boyfriend, and...yelling at people all the time...and expect things to fix themselves. Because...that's not how it works."] Meng's words were escalating with emotion now. ["When you do stuff like that, it hurts people. You can't just tell them to 'suck it up,' that's..._dumb. _It doesn't work that way. If you aren't careful, Toph, you might lose _more _people...just like...-"] She was teary-eyed now, arms crossed over her chest. She puffed out a trembling sigh. ["Is that what you want?"]

"Nnn...No, Meng..." Toph managed out, swallowing lumps of shame, detecting Meng's unnatural tone. "I'm just trying to...be independent, and...-"

["Good! But don't be such a _jerk _about it."]

"I-I'm not gonna do what your dad did," Toph was quick to assure in a solemn mumble.

["You mean, like...up and leave? You kinda already _did _that..."]

Toph rolled onto her side, trying to make sure her face was pointed toward the source of her cousin's voice.

"Meng...I didn't-...I wasn't trying to leave everybody, I...-"

["Yea, you were. You don't care about this family. You said so yourself. Tons of times."]

"Whh...-" Toph's mind was whirling about in circles. Where was this conversation going? Meng had seemed so understanding about all of this before. Was she just having a sucky day now, or...-? "Maybe if people hadn't been so...so fucking _stupid _to me in the first place, I wouldn't...-"

["Right. Yea, because having a mom and a dad who give you _everything _you want and need, that's _so horrible. _And having...like...a personal _maid, _and everyone always talking about how _beautiful _you are, and how _amazing _it is that you're so good at music, and...-"] A sniffle. [...Yea. Such _jerks. _All of 'em. Who wants to be treated like a _princess_, right? So _awful, _I bet..."]

Whoa. Meng was...jealous? Sounded like this was all stuff that had been held in for a while, too...

["I'm sure being the center of attention was just _so hard_ for you. Even after you _left, _everyone wouldn't shut up about how sad it was that you would try and go off on your own, but how _brave _you must be, and...and when everyone found out about your music on the internet-..._hmph_...It was _all you_. Didn't matter that _I_ was the one who convinced you to do it, who helped you get it all working in the first place, and..._stuff._"]

"Hey, hey," Toph weakly worked through Meng's boiling over. "I really am glad you did that for me, Meng..." There was a pause with no reply. "Like...Like _seriously, _thanks for doing all that. It's been...really awesome."

["Mm..."] She didn't sound terribly convinced. ["Everyone gives you so much and you just..._throw it away. _That's why this is happening. You have a super cute, super nice boyfriend, and you go and...-"] Meng trailed off. ["I'm almost in college, and I've _never _had a boyfriend. _Ever. _You've had, like...a _bunch. _And you're jerks to _all _of them..."]

Meng's flood of suppressed rage and envy was gushing out over Toph like a wave of acid. It burned deep. The only family member she had left that she'd learned to care about, and...she couldn't even treat _that _person right...

["Everything's always gotta be about _you _and _your _problems, and what _you _want, and...I'm just supposed to agree with _everything _you say, huh? Just hang around so you have someone you can complain to. And you don't want me talking with any of your awesome friends, or...anything. Just wall me off from all of them? I have enough trouble just trying to hold onto the friends I have _here_, everyone's so busy, and...sometimes I even wonder if they _care. _You have this, like..._group_. That you always see. All the time. It's...like a freaking TV show or something. But in real life. And you're so busy being a _jerk _you can't even see how _amazing _that is."]

"Wow, Meng," Toph mumbled. "I didn't know that you...-"

["Of _course _not. You never _asked._"]

"Whoa, hey...Calm down a bit, huh?"

["What's wrong? Don't like it when _you're _the one getting yelled at?"] Man, she was just twisting that knife, wasn't she? What the hell?

"Meng, what...is going _on? _What's wrong?"

["And _now _you ask how _I'm _feeling, after I shout at you a bunch. 'Cuz that's your language - yelling. I don't even care right now. Aang's right - you need, like...a time out or something."]

"OK, _OK, _I get it, I'm gonna try...I want-"  
["_Good, _so...do that. I gotta go..."]

"Wait! Whoa, hey, wait up, Cuz, I'm-"  
[~_sshhhhhooOOOOmm-BWOP!_~] The SKYPE conversation ended.  
"-...sorry...Ugh." Toph grasped at her laptop's screen and slammed it shut. "_Fuck._"

Toph wanted to convince herself that Meng was just being bitchy. Just having PMS or something. But that part of her that was trying to claw its way out - the part Aang had dragged halfway out the night prior - knew better. It stung something fierce - the one person she'd been looking to as external support in all of this crap, and now she was realizing that even _that _person was mad at her. What was she supposed to do with all this?

_Clicktsnik.  
eeeekk..._

The door. Was it Katara?

_Tip, tip, tip. Scfff._

Huh. Weird. That was definitely Katara coming in and sitting in her chair, but...no greeting.

_Clik._

Getting on her computer, no doubt. What the hell? She was being really quiet. Katara pretty much _always _announced herself when she came in, or...at least said 'hi' or something...Great. More weirdness. Just what Toph needed.

"What's up with _you_?" Toph wondered. Her voice, she now realized, was trembling a bit, her mental state still shaken from her cousin.

"Huh?"

"You seem quiet."

"Oh...Y-yea, I guess..."

"Sooo...The hell's the deal?"

"I-I'm sorry," Katara muttered. "I don't-...Just a lot on my mind."

"Like..._What?_"

Katara blinked at Toph with a nervous smile - thank goodness Toph couldn't see it.

_Like, oh, how your ex boyfriend who you can't get over just kiss-raped me and I think I kinda liked it I mean I don't know if I liked it because it was so sudden and I was caught off guard and oh GodohGodyou'dbe sopissedifyouknewwhatdoI-  
"_Fine, whatever. Forget I fuckin' bothered to ask..." Toph rolled onto her stomach, chin on her pillow.

"Oh, n-no, Toph, I'm...I'm sorry, it's just that I was...-"  
_Clikka-clik. Clik.  
_"-...checking e-mails, and...I was reading."

"Something happen?"

"Whh...Why would you...-?"

"You're all freaked out."

"Ha. _Ha_ha..."

Toph shuddered at the sound. That was a bizarre, nervous laugh she had never heard slip from Katara's mouth.

"_Yeaaa. _You're creepin' me the hell out."

"I'm, umm..._really _tired...Heh."

"Sounds _like _it. Christ. Get some sleep or something."

"Shhhhure. I will. But it's...ya know...not _that _late yet."

"...Right."

_Takka-tappa-tatta-tatta-takka-taktaktak._

There she was at the keyboard.

"...Uhh...'Kay. Well...Have fun. With that."

"Yup!"

"I'm...gonna practice." Toph squirmed out of her bed. Damn, whatever was wrong with her roommate, it was swiftly getting under her skin and making her even more uncomfortable than she already was. As Toph popped on her huge headphones, Katara scanned her e-mails, struggling to take her mind off of recent events. Like the taste of Aang's lips, which were-_-ech, _no. Stop. Thinking.

[Saint Roku University Mail] - [Katara Kesuk]

[Alice, George, ... ] - [Peer Reviews] - [9:23pm]  
[Suki Kyoshi] - [good job ladies!] - [7:09pm]  
[Dr. Pakku] - [Shakespeare Article] - [1:23pm]  
[Facebook] - [You've received a friend invite] - [12:48pm]  
[Jane Fitzpatrick] - [hey] - [11:16am]

[From: Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[Subject: hey]  
[Sent: 11:16am]

[phones dead. was wondering what you were up to tonight. been forever since we went out somewhere.]

Katara could certainly use a distraction. She poked her head to the still open door. The one across the hall was closed. Katara cautiously sneaked over, knocked on the door, and a few moments later, Jane's curious face greeted her. In an instant, it lit up from dull and tired to alert and joyful.

"Hey-_ehh_, Kat. What's goin' on?"

"I just got your e-mail," Katara quickly explained with a shrug. "Sorry, I've been out all day. What did you have in mind?"

"Ah..." Jane ran her hand across her neck as her eyes rolled up in thought. "Was just thinkin' we could go out, get our mind off homework for a while."

"Right. I...would like that," said Katara with an optimistic smile through her stress.

Jane went wide-eyed for a moment at her friend's sudden enthusiasm.

"Erm...Cool. Yea. We could...go out for food."

"Sure." Katara nodded, her eyes wandering back to her room.

"Just, like, Wendy's, or...or something," Jane hastily clarified. "Nothin' fancy."

"Right."

It was getting a little late, and Katara had in fact already eaten dinner, but all of this mental strain was kicking in her comfort-food cravings.

* * *

Chowing down on a chicken sandwich and some chocolate soft-serve ice cream, Katara's worries had melted away in lieu of discussing TV shows she was following with Jane, who seemed more receptive than usual to the girl-talk.

"_No, _it's different," Katara insisted, defending her tastes from Jane's picking. "Seriously."

"Uh-huh..." Jane's cheek was on her wrist, elbow to the table as she plucked curly fries with her other hand.

"Really."

Jane's brows made her skepticism clear as she slurped on her soda. Katara went on to explain.

"No, no...See...Stuff like Big Brother and Jersey Shore is stupid. It's just...people being all...-"

"Dramatic?" Jane finished her friend's thought with a snarky smirk.

"Y-yes," Katara conceded.

"Which you don't find interesting at _all_..."

"No, that's-..." Katara was irked by Jane's snipe, yet had no counter. "It's different."

"I don't see it."

"You're miscon-...No, see, let me finish what I was saying."

"Go on..." Jane seemed highly entertained by how flustered Katara was getting. She grabbed her cup and slurped through her straw.

"Those shows are just about people being stupid. But, like...the ones _I _watch are actually _productive._"

Jane _apphhh_'d out a laugh of disbelief in mid-sip, spitting out droplets of soda onto the table.

"Ewww," Katara snickered, leaning back in surprise.

Jane laughed in spite of herself, arm over her face, and swiftly wiped up the small mess with a napkin.

"Productive?" Jane managed out after their laughter had died down. "How the hell's that crap productive?"

"It's...it's artistic."

"Don't make me cough up all over the table again," teased Jane.

"I mean it! In my shows, it's always about people improving a craft."

"Taking fuckin' glamor shots ain't a _craft_..."

"Sure it is. Why _isn't _it?"

"Filling your face up with gunk and puckering your lips for a camera isn't a _craft._"

"Exactly. But being a good model takes a lot of work, and it's _more _than just posing for a camera."

"And making a dress out of _trash _is art, too, huh?"

"Well..._Yes. _It is."

"Pff...Christ..." Jane rolled her eyes, humored by Katara's seriousness. "You're somethin', Kat," she said with amused endearment.

"They're _contests, _Jane, where people can get exposure if they're good at what they do. I really like that."

"Clearly."

"I want to teach some day, but Toph - she wants to be a musician. It's because of stuff like American Idol that people like her can make a name for themselves, you know?"

"Oh, is _that _her plan now? Get herself on TV?"

"No, I'm just...saying."

"People could be doing better things with their time than sitting on their asses and watching people work so hard at shit that doesn't _matter_," scoffed Jane before she munched on some potato wedges. Katara studied her friend's head, sunken into her shoulders, the tint of remorse hanging from her lips. It was a sore subject that didn't need to be directly approached, and one Katara had rapidly learned to leave by the wayside: Jane being booted from ROTC.

"OK, sooo...What do _you _want to do?" Katara asked gently, sucking soft-serve from her straw.

Jane's shoulders bobbed up and she pushed hair behind her ear.

"Dunno."

Katara drummed her fingers on her cup as she considered how to encourage.

"What about your major?"

"What _about_ it?"

"You don't want to do _anything _with your Biology major?"

"I sure as fuck don't want to be a _teacher_, if that's what you're saying..." Jane sighed, and scratched at her now exposed earlobe, glancing up at Katara. "I'm not a psycho like you," she said jokingly. "Soon as I'm done with school I never wanna see it again."

"Haha...Well, OK. So...If you're going to pick on _me, _what about you? What do _you_ watch on TV lately?"

"I don't...really _watch _TV..."

"Oh, whatever. _Netflix. _I've seen you on it. What do you watch on your own?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Katara grinned knowingly. "Maybe...Animal Planet? Discovery Channel stuff?"

Jane's cheeks went red.

"...Sometimes..."

"Heehee." Katara delivered a devilish nudge on Jane's arm. "Maybe you need to...take up _beekeeping_."

"Ha. Ha," Jane's deadpan replied. "So friggin' funny..."

"You could be a farmer," Katara said with a facetious wink. "You know, we _always _need farmers..."

"So you're saying I'm not smart enough to do anything _else._ Anything scientific."

"Not at all. I just think being a farmer would suit you more. Overalls, gallon hat, boots...Gettin' yer _grits _all dirty."

"I'd look retarded. Already been there, done that."

"So now _you're_ saying that you'd look good in a labcoat? I don't think so."

They shared goofy smiles, Jane's face still bright with embarrassment.

"So you _do _want to be a scientist," Katara egged on. "We'll get you a nice little pocket protector. And some thick-rim glasses. You've already got the freckles, you'll look cute n' dorky." Katara nodded in mock self-approval.

"Then we'll match, 'cuz you already look cute n' dorky all the time," said Jane quietly, finishing off her drink.

A strange silence fell over the two as subtext came knocking at the door.

Jane got up from her seat, somewhat suddenly, clearing her throat.

"I'm, uh...I'm out. Gonna...re_fill_." She blinked awkwardly at her empty cup for a moment. "You need...-?"

Katara shook her head with a quick gesture, avoiding Jane's glance. As her friend wandered off to the soda fountain, those uneasy feelings Katara had come here to forget about stared at her through the glass window she was sitting beside. Jane sat back down a few moments later, drinking from her straw, and staring curiously at her friend.

"So, uhh...Have you thought about things?" Jane mumbled, her intestines tangled.

"Huh?" Katara pulled her gaze from the window toward two nervous, olive eyes.

"About...y'know...-" Jane shrugged, her eyes wandering about. They came back Katara. "-...about us."

Oh, boy. No, _no_, not this again. Why this? Why now? Was Sokka suddenly the only person she could be around without there being any awkwardness now? The whole point of going out tonight was to get _away _from all this complicated stuff, to work on ironing it _out _of her relationship with Jane, not...-  
"Guess not, then," Jane grunted with a bitter downward curve of the lips.

"Jane..." Katara paused, removing her hands from her ice-cream cup and setting them in her lap. "I thought...that we'd already talked about this."

"Kind of..." Jane conceded, swallowing hard.

"I told you that...I'm not like that."

"Not 'like that?'" Jane grumbled testily.

"I-I meant...that I'm not...-"

"It's not a fuckin' _curseword, _Kat," Jane huffed out, rubbing at her eyebrow. "Bisexual. That's the word. _Bisexual._"

Yikes. Katara hadn't meant to give Jane that kind of impression - that she looked down upon bisexuality in any way.

"R-right. Bisexual. That's-...I'm not-..." She tugged at her bushy ponytail, giving her hands something to do.

"Still haven't tried it," Jane concluded with a discouraged shrug. "Scares ya _that _much, huh?"

"No, no, not at all," Katara spat out in an effort to alleviate the self-infliction Jane was exhibiting.

"How do you _know _then?"

_Urgh, _what was with everyone all of a sudden getting on her case about all of this stuff?

"I'm not interested in trying that kind of thing out, Jane," Katara insisted with a firm sigh.

"Not right now."

"Nnn...No, not right now," Katara grunted, not appreciative of how Jane was forcing the topic around.

"Because there's someone else."

"I didn't _say _that."

"Yea, it's _funny _how you keep _not_ saying it," Jane countered, eating more fries. Neither girl was giving eye contact at this point, each irked by the other's implications.

"Listen." Katara's leg was bouncing up and down on its toes underneath the table, her arms wrapped around her waist. "I'm...dealing with a lot right now, and...I need some space with this whole...-" She loosely grasped her hands up and trailed off, shaking her head.

"'Kay..." Jane muttered with dull pessimism. "Get it."

"I'm sorry," Katara whimpered. "I just want everything with our group to stabilize. Everything's too confusing right now."

"Gotcha..."

Seeing Jane's torn expression was painful. The girl's heart had been cracked, split in half, duct-taped back together, broken apart again...Why did Katara have to serve as part of the problem? The whole point of becoming friends with Jane in the first place was so she could _help_...Help put that broken person together again.

"You OK?" Katara asked quietly after a minute of silent eating.

"I'll live," Jane shrugged, pulling out her cell phone and checking for messages in an effort to contain her refreshed disappointment.

"Hey..." Katara got up from her booth and rounded the table, sitting beside Jane. She reached out her arms to offer a hug of sympathy but was pushed away as Jane's irritation intensified. "I'm sorry," Katara reiterated with a frustrated shrug. "What do you want me to do?"

"What I want doesn't matter," Jane affirmed, continuing to scroll through her phone. "Told you - I'll _live. _Ya don't have to look down at me all the time, I'm a big girl now, Kat..."

"All right..." Katara took a deep breath as she went back to her seat, unsure if anything she could say would brighten the mood back up. There weren't any more laughs or smiles for the duration of their meal or the ride home, and both girls bid each other good night as soon as they arrived back in Aqua. With Toph gone - no doubt at the music building - Katara took advantage of the empty room to sail off into uneasy slumber.

Making herself the driving force of "goodness," trying to help everyone around her...It was worth it, she was sure...But it also put her smack in the middle of everyone's problems, which was becoming a massive weight in light of discovering she now had her own issues to figure out. It was nights like this that Katara wished she could...flip some switch, or something - be like Sokka. Just detach from things and not get involved. Rely on logic and reason alone, and acknowledge that she had no obligation to any of this. But whenever she considered this prospect, the Kesuk family motto always hit her on the end: _I didn't do it because I _had _to, I did it because I _wanted _to. _But what _did _Katara want to do with all of this?

* * *

- Thursday, February 3rd, 2011 -

Aang stood in the doorway, hands crossed over his chest as he surveyed his work. One wall's mural was complete, the opposite one half finished. He took a deep breath as he stared at the empty space that needed filling.

"My, things sure seem to be coming along smoothly."

"Mm?" Aang turned around to see a plump, familiar old man surveying his work.

The man stroked his smooth, white beard.

"I can see why my nephew chose you - you have quite a talent for abstract art."

"Uh..." Aang shrugged, flattered by the professor's compliment. "Thanks, Professor."

"I'm not sure we've been properly acquainted." The man put out a wide, wrinkled hand. Aang shook it, surprised by the girth and muscle in the handshake. "You are Aang, correct?"

"Aang Leekpai, Sir."

"Baha. I have outgrown formalities. Just call me Iroh, if you please."

"Sure..." Aang nodded weakly, confused by the man's presence here in the ex-pub.

"You know, it brings me great joy to see this place being reborn," Iroh noted, glancing at Aang's multicolored artwork on the wall. "This building seemed to be the source of much trouble in town in recent times. It makes me quite proud to see Zuko working with such spirited students to rejuvenate it."

"Yea, it's...great," Aang agreed. "It's an honor to be a part of it."

"I hope it has not been making things troublesome for you."

"Huh?"

Iroh turned around to face Aang.

"The work, I mean. I understand you have been quite busy lately, from what Zuko has told me."

"Oh, I...Y-yes, well...College life, you know?" Aang shrugged off his concerns. Today he'd felt quite lifted and light, heavy burdens thrown off his shoulders. Life had gone from feeling like a dark cloud of doubt and stress and fear to a bright open sky of possibilities.

"But you do not look as stressed as he does," Iroh chuckled.

"Actually, I'm...doing pretty good."

"I am glad to hear it. Perhaps you can rub some of that ease onto Zuko."

"Oh?"

"The pressures of office and school can be a bit much."

"Ah...Yea, I can imagine."

"My nephew can use all of the support he can find right now," Iroh explained. "So I do appreciate your help, Leekpai."

"It's no problem, I'm glad to work on this."

"Good, good...Well, I must be off," Iroh concluded.

"Right. Uh...Nice seeing you, Iroh." Aang scratched at his arm. He was still a bit confused as to the man's visit.

"And you, as well." Iroh's strong hand pounded Aang's shoulder as his other hand handed him a card. "A little something to express my gratitude. Farewell."

"Bye!"

Aang examined what he'd just received. It had a green dragon logo he knew well printed on it.  
{1 FREE Drink}  
{**Jasmine Dragon**}

* * *

"Nah, you're good," Toph mumbled out, uneasy at the noise this girl was making setting things up. She recognized this ditsy moron as Ty-Lee, that irritatingly quirky girl Aang's classmate often hung out with. Apparently Jin wasn't working the Jasmine Dragon Thursday nights this semester, which meant every time Toph came in for her weekly therapy-err, open-mike session, she had to tolerate the busybody and her oh-too-cute mannerisms before any music could be played.

"'Kay. Well, you're all set then," Ty-Lee whispered, clicking on the equipment.

"Yea," Toph agreed, running her fingertips along the coffee shop's keyboard, traces of dust clinging to her prints. She welcomed the sensation. The subtle grime, the air filled with the scents of coffees and teas...It had yet to grow old. "Check-check," she spoke, directing her voice straight ahead. She could hear herself projecting across the room. "Hey, guys," she muttered, to which she received some light applause, a few cheers, and...was that a cat-call whistle? Anyway...

She cleared her head, letting the therapy of the stage take over.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=1qWxptQqsw4 +

"~The stars lean down to kiss you~And I lie awake and miss you~Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere~"

Ty-Lee, having just finished Toph set up, arrived at the table at the back of the shop, near the register. Still wearing a green apron with a black dragon printed on it, she sat beside her roommate, who was closing up her composition notebook.

"~'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly~But I'll miss your arms around me~"

Lean arms, wrapped tight around her waist. Soft, slender hands, rubbing her stomach.

"~I'd send a postcard to you, dear~'Cause I wish you were here~"

Toph's hands danced across the keys like two star-crossed lovers.

[~]

"I never realized how _good _she is," Ty-Lee muttered in awe to Mai, who was keenly observing Toph's mannerisms. "I mean, guitar _and _piano...?"

"Yea..."

"~I'll watch the night turn light-blue~But it's not the same without you~"

Toph's hands slowed to a pause as she sung gently:  
"~Because it takes two to whisper quietly~"

The notes took off again with longing.

"~The silence isn't so bad~'Til I look at my hands and feel sad~"

Fingers intertwined, locked together tight - peeled apart.

"~'Cause the spaces between my fingers were right where yours fit perfectly~"

Her hands, grasping at air. Grasping for _him. _Gone/

"~I'll find repose in new ways~Though I haven't slept in two days~'Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone~"

_"I love you, Taters."_

_"You, too, Twinkle-Toes."_

"~But drenched in vanilla twilight~I'll sit on the front porch all night~"

Douglas, sitting on a side table, alone, kept catching himself glancing up at her elegant melancholy in motion, only to pull his gaze back down to his music history reading.

"~Waist-deep in thought because when I think of you I don't feel so alone~"

"Gee-whiz," Ty-Lee sighed, her eyes glimmering with sympathy. "Poor girl..."

"She's got a lot going on," Mai admitted, a finger twirling at a long lock of hair as she contemplated.

"~I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone~"

"I get what you mean now," observed Ty-Lee. "About how she really sings her heart out."

"~As many times as I blink I'll think of you...tonight~"

The burning pain of his words, searing the scratches and scars on her heart.

"~I'll think of you tonight~"

And yet, so many _less _scars than had been there before he had come into her life.

"~When violet eyes get brighter~And heavy wings grow lighter~I'll taste the sky and feel alive again~"

His arms, his words, his kindness...He'd shown her what it was like to fly - high above her fears and doubts.

"~And I'll forget the world that I knew~But I swear I won't forget you~"

The Beifongs were no longer her life. And having him as her lover wasn't, either - but she couldn't let things end like this.

"~Oh, if my voice could reach back through the past, I'd whisper in your ear-...~"

_I never meant for any of this._

"~'Oh, Darling, I wish you were here'~"

_I'm sorry. I want you back. Even just as a friend. I still need you._

[~]

Toph's body swayed to and fro with the hopeful notes she played. Notes that asked for forgiveness, for a second chance.

"So...They really broke up for good, huh?" mused Ty-Lee. "That's so...tragic..."

"It is, Ty," Mai agreed solemnly. "But sometimes it takes some rain to make the flowers grow."

"Wow...That's so _deep_," Ty-Lee whispered, awe-struck by Mai's remark, which had been borrowed - but Mai didn't bother to confuse her roommate with this detail. The piano stopped, and applause overtook the coffee shop. The shop's door bell, signaling entering customers, went off through the racket, causing Ty-Lee to bounce back to her position at the counter. Mai studied Toph's dulled demeanor as she took her leave, pondering what kinds of thoughts were floating in the blind musician's head. As a young blond man took the stage, violin in hand, Mai soaked in the classical music. By the time the gentleman had finished, she realized that Zuko and Aang were at the counter, getting themselves drinks. A surprise - she hadn't expected to see either of them here.

"Hello, _gentlemen,_" she teased as they sat down at her table. Zuko planted a gentle kiss on her cheek and took her hand as he settled down.

"Hey," Zuko greeted. His eyes were weary, a bit of skin sagging beneath. Aang, on the other hand, looked much better than he had when they'd last met.

"What brings you two here?" she wondered.

"Iroh gave me a coupon for a free drink," Aang proclaimed with a grin.

"We finished up for the day, thought it'd be nice to just relax for a while."

"I see..." Mai smiled at Zuko's optimism. He was making a friend. This was good. "Well, don't let me spoil your 'bro-time.'"

"Haha, it's good," Aang insisted.

"Yea, you should stay here," Zuko advised, rubbing Mai's wrist with his thumb.

"All right...So, how's the...United...uhm...-?"

"United Republic," Aang announced, holding up a finger.

"Heh. Yea. How's the 'United Republic' coming along?"

"Remodeling is going well. A lot of things need to be rearranged. But it's, erm...it's good." Zuko nodded to himself and yawned, to which he received a light back scratch from Mai. "Aang's almost done painting the rec room."

"It's going to look _awesome_," Aang promised.

"Ha. I'll have to see it when it's done - make sure it's up to standard," Mai picked. "After all of your art I've seen, you've got a high bar to match, Aang."

"Heh. Thanks..."

"Once we get closer to finishing it, we're really gonna need to find some student workers, and someone to manage the place."

"Ah. Right." Mai nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds like it'll be a bit tricky."

"Probably. I guess we'll come to that bridge when we cross it."

"You mean...Cross that bridge when you come to it?"

"Uh...Something like that. However it works..."

"Heheh..." Mai smiled and kissed Zuko on the forehead. "You need to get some good rest tonight. Are you sure coffee is such a good idea right now?"

"_ZuZu!_" Ty-Lee teased from the counter, setting a cup aside. "Drink's ready!"

"Ugh..."

Aang and Mai snickered a bit as Zuko trudged to retrieve his drink.

"You seem to be doing a lot better," Mai noted.

"Yea, I'm _feeling _a lot better..."

"Did...anything happen with you and your friend?" Mai asked with a coy brow raised.

"Heh..." Aang's cheeks began to light up. "I-I'm not sure...Maybe?"

"Ah-_ha_," said Mai with piqued curiosity. "So maybe you're more ready for a new relationship than you _thought_?"

Zuko sat back down, sipping at his hot drink.

"I-I guess so," Aang admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Whoa, whoa...What's this, now?" Zuko asked. Mai was happy to see that Zuko's cup was filled with tea instead of coffee, which would hopefully relax him enough to get a good night's sleep.

"Aang's apparently quite the _stud_," Mai teased, sending a grin at her colleague and friend. "Ladies are just lining up to go out with him."

"Haha, is that so?"

"N-no, not at all," Aang brushed aside the notion. "I just...realized that maybe I have feelings for someone...I didn't really know I did..."

"Seems kind of fast," said Zuko thoughtfully, taking a sip. Aang's eyes widened at his observation.

"Oh, it...it _is_," he admitted. "I-I mean, it's...not like we're..._doing _anything. Like dating. N-no, definitely not anything like that..."

"Right," Zuko nodded in understanding. "Don't want to rock the boat, or anything like that."

"Y-yea, exactly," Aang agreed, the notion suddenly overflowing his mind.

_I'm such an _idiot_! What was I _thinking?

"But you're talking about it?" Zuko theorized, having a suspicion he knew who this was about. He'd been wondering if there was something going on with his friend and Katara.

"Oh, erm...-" Aang shrugged. "A...a little, yea. We're-...I-I mean, it's just, like...a _maybe _kind of thing...You know?"

"You should probably take it one step at a time," Mai attempted to calm him down. "From what you've told me, it's a bit of a complicated situation. Just make sure that you talk things out with her, one way or another."

Aang blinked at Mai's confident advice, baffled. Wait, was he supposed to be continuing to pursue this, or...not rocking the boat?

"Yea, I'll...think on it."

"See, now we've got the poor guy all riled up," said Mai, smirking at Aang's embarrassment.

"Irish Cream~" Ty-Lee sang out from the counter.

"Oh, that's mine," said Aang, jumped up from his chair.

"We're talking about Katara, aren't we?" Zuko mused quietly to his girlfriend.

"Heh. Yea, I'm pretty sure we are," Mai replied.

"She's a real nice girl," Zuko recalled with a slow nod.

"A real nice girl is what that guy deserves," Mai concluded.

* * *

+ http:/youtu(dot)be/J6kRViduPAg +

Toph's sandals, clapping against the salted sidewalk beneath her feet. Her hood drawn to keep her ears warm, her walking stick sliding across the bumpy walkway.

**~I walk a lonely road~The only one that I have ever known~**

They all hate her now. She can't fix things - only break them.

**~Don't know where it goes~But it's home to me and I walk alone~**

All that she can create is music, because words will not come out right.

_~Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you~_

Aang, running along to reach his class on time. His mind whirls with possibilities.

**~I walk this empty street on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams~**

Jane, marching through the snowy street downtown, desperately checking her phone.

**~Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone~**

[To: johnny]  
[still havent heard back yet. everything ok?]

_~By now you should've somehow realized what you gotta do_  
**~I walk alone, I walk alone~**

Katara - her gaze on Aang. Gray eyes of courage, determination, decision.  
What is she supposed to do?

_~I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now~_  
**~I walk alone, I walk alone~**

Katara - her gaze on Jane. Olive eyes of longing, despair, hope.  
What is she supposed to do?

**~My shadow's the only one that walks beside me~**

Toph - she is lost, angry, her fortress walls cracking.

**~My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating~**

Jane - she is afraid, discouraged, her blade dulling.

**~Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me~**

Jane wonders if she really belongs here.

**~'Til then I walk alone~**

Toph hides behind her piano, each note a brick, stacked to rebuild the wall that has fallen apart.

_~Every day I wake up and it's Sunday~_

Katara, knelt before the Cross.

_~Whatever's in my head won't go away~_

_What am I supposed to do in all of this, Lord?_

_~The radio is playing all the usual~_

Aang's smile, a consistent comfort and goal.

_~And what's a 'Wonderwall,' anyway?~_

Jane's scowl, pricking guilt and confusion.

_~Backbeat; the word is on the street's that the fire in your heart is out~_

[To: johnny]  
[srsly i really need to talk wit you. get back to me.]

_~I'm sure you've heard it all before, but you never really had a doubt~_

They eat their meal together. Sokka jokes, Suki laughs, Aang consoles Katara's stress.

_~I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now~_

Jane is silent. How can he care for her more than _she _does? Katara has become everything to her.

**~I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind~**

Toph plays her songs in solitude. She is split in half.

**~On the border line of the edge and where I walk alone~**

Should her walls fall down as she bends to the will of others?  
Should she not tolerate those who cannot accept who she is and what she wants?

_~Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you~_

Aang alludes, hints at his feelings, but Katara will not return them.

**~Read between the lines what's fucked up and everything's alright~**

Jane pushes, pulls, insists on being given a chance, but Katara will not offer it.

**~Check my vital signs to know I'm still alive and I walk alone~**

Toph argues with her roommate - the only way she knows how to tell if Katara still cares.

_~Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you~_  
**~I walk alone, I walk alone~**

Another day - will Aang invite Toph back? Is her sentence over?  
No. He still ignores her.

_~By now you should've somehow realized what you gotta do~_  
**~I walk alone, I walk alone~**

Another day - will Katara stop pushing Jane away?  
No. She still keeps her distance.

_~And all the roads we have to walk are winding~_

The week passes. Classes, tests, projects. They push forward despite their doubts.

_~And all the lights that lead us there are blinding~_

Their motivations burn. Their desires seem like lights at the end of tunnels.

_~There are many things that I would like to say to you~_

Aang walks Katara home from his dorm. Small talk. He wants to discuss that night.

_~But I don't know how~_

He doesn't know what to say. She pretends like it didn't happen.

**~I walk this empty street on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams~**

Toph's sandals.  
Crunching through the snow.

_~Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you~_

Toph's sandals. Aang's sneakers.  
Crunching through the snow.

**~I walk this empty street on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams~**

Toph's sandals. Aang's sneakers. Katara's fur-edged boots.  
Crunching through the snow.

_~By now you should've somehow realized what you gotta do~_

Toph's sandals. Aang's sneakers. Katara's fur-edged boots. Jane's tall bee-striped converse.  
Crunching through the snow.

**~Where the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone~**

Toph's sandals. Aang's sneakers. Katara's fur-edged boots. Jane's tall bee-striped converse. Sokka's loafers.  
Crunching through the snow.

_~Because maybe~_

"Um...Well, good night, Aang."

"Yea...Good night, Katara..."

**~My shadow's the only one that walks beside me~**  
_~You're gonna be the one that saves me~_

Toph is alone right now. The only one who speaks with her is Katara.

**~My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating~**  
_~You're gonna be the one that saves me~_

Jane is confused. The only one she truly cares about is Katara.

**~Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me~**  
_~You're gonna be the one that saves me~_

Aang is determined. He feels affirmed that she is the one he must pursue.

**~'Til then I walk alone~**

Toph trips, bumps into a low-hanging branch. Her feet are frozen as she wanders home on her own.

Is it really her home? Is _anywhere _home anymore?

_~Sing with me~Sing for the year~_

Sokka sucks in a deep breath of clean, frigid air.

_~Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear~_

He smiles up at the pale, clouded sky, the light snowflakes sprinkling down.

_~Sing with me, if it's just for today~_

Life is pretty simple these days. He feels like he didn't have a care in the world.

_~Maybe tomorrow the Good Lord will take you away~_

He whistles, hands stuffed in his pockets, as he saunters down the sidewalk, wondering with optimism what tomorrow has in store.

"Sokka!"

His eyes popped ahead to his left to see his sister running up to him.

"Oh, hey, Sis. What's up?"

Katara galloped through the snow, each step sinking her booted shins in ice.

"I was hoping I'd run into you," she called out, waving to him. He met her on the edge of a sidewalk leading to the ACC. "Where are you going?" she asked, pounding snow off of her feet.

"I was going to go grab lunch," he replied.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Sure," Sokka said with a shrug. "It's been a while."

"Yea, it's-...Heh...This week has been busy," Katara muttered with a forced smile. She seemed..._off. _Sokka hadn't really seen her for a few days, but she'd been a little odd all week. Something was going on...

"Yea, sure has," Sokka agreed. He wrapped his arm around his sister's back and led her onward. "How're you holdin' up, eh?"


	61. Confused

**A/N: SRU now has a FACEBOOK page and TWITTER page. Twitter's harder for me to figure out what to do with, but Facebook will be a place for reminiscing over memories and quotes, showing off references I've used, and later on for teasing sneak peaks at stuff, such as my recently announced project, "The Tales of Wayward," which I will probably work on as we get closer to the end of this story.**

**facebook(dot)com/pages/What-I-Learned-at-SRU/194514817297584  
twitter(dot)com/#!/SaintRoku  
destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/journal/The-Tales-of-Wayward-More-Details-270709933**

**Just want to point out that this chapter picks up right where the last one left off - continuation of that scene, and a week has passed during that abstract montage scene.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 61 - Confused  
_

* * *

- Friday, February 11th, 2011 -

"Wow. Shocker," Sokka sighed to his sister sarcastically, shaking his head as they swiped their student IDs to get into the cafeteria. "Putting yourself in the middle of everyone's drama makes your life _dramatic_? Who-would-have-thunk-it?" He cast an amused glare at her while they grabbed utensils and plates.

"I know, _I know_," Katara pleaded, cocking her head back in frustration. "Sokka, I'm not expecting you to understand."

"Heh. Good, 'cuz it defies logic. You're a crazy person."

"I just really need to talk with someone right now, and...-"

"I'm the only _not _dramatic person to talk with." Sokka rolled his eyes as he they entered the line to the main entrees.

"W-well..._Yes. _I guess so..."

"All right. Lay it on me," Sokka muttered in a tired tone, his back facing her.

"Um...Can we maybe...get our food and sit down first?" Katara requested, miffed by what she perceived to be her brother brushing her concerns aside.

After they'd collected their meals and found a small table, Sokka stared blankly at her for a moment as she fidgeted with her fork, shuffling her mixed vegetables around.

"Soo...?"

Katara blinked up at him, then took a bite, half of the food she'd scooped up falling back onto her plate.

"It's all..._bleh. _I don't even know where to start..."

Air puffed out of Sokka's nostrils with impatience as he scratched at his scruffy, unkempt goatee.

"Well, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Freckles has been giving you issues?"

"Agh, yes...Kind of...Did she tell you?"

"Nnnot exactly, but...We _do _work together, so...I got the feeling. She's not exactly good at hiding when she's in a pissy mood."

"Yea..."

"Tell her to give you some space, right?"

"Pretty much..."

"She's still not over you, huh?"

"No..."

"_That's _kinda awkward..."

"I know, right?" Katara clenched her hands up at her sides. "I just wanna...like..._smack her _upside the head, and be like, 'hey, let it go!' _Urgh. _Ya know?"

"Heheh...I know the feeling."

"And all this _bullcrap _with Aang and Toph, it's really frustrating. They're both avoiding each other, and I'm stuck in the middle."

"Weren't you the one who _suggested _they avoid each other in the first place?"

"Th-that's-...I-I guess so, but...but _still, _it's...aggravating."

"That's what you get for getting involved, Sis."

"Oh, so I was...what? Supposed to just sit and watch them keep fighting with each other?"

"Fff. Hell if _I _know."

"Exactly. So don't go...all acting like I'm some idiot here..."

"I wasn't, yeesh. Chill out." Sokka frowned at Katara's wide eyes and flared nostrils - tell-tale signs that she was in quite a fussy mood.

"Everything has to be so _complicated. _It's been like this for...for weeks now. Months? I don't even know...Sokka, why do I keep getting myself involved in all of this complicated junk?"

"Why are you asking _me_?"

"Because I feel like I _shouldn't _be, but...but I just keep doing it."

"You know the reason why you get involved, Katara."

"Huh?"

Sokka took a sip of root beer and stared at her knowingly for a moment. She look perplexed. He reached his arm out toward her neck, grasping at it, to which she flinched and leaned back slightly. The motion caused the object Sokka had been grasping to slide up from under her sweater - a smooth piece of round sapphire attached to a band. Her mother's necklace.

_I'll never turn my back on people that need me._

"Sis, I'm not gonna tell you to not...be _yourself. _I know better than that."

"And that _infuriating_ English Professor, and...everything else..."

"Yeeehhp. Sure is school, ain't it?"

Katara, her forehead buried in her fingers at this point, took sighed out deeply.

"You ever miss the old days, when...-" She wiped her sleeve across her drippy nostril. "-...Saturday mornings were the best thing ever?" She laughed weakly in spite of herself.

"Yea," Sokka said with a warm smile. "Dad would cook french toast and we'd sit on the couch with Mom and watch cartoons...And she'd pretend to get all into it with us..."

"Heh..."

"Simple days, simple times," Sokka noted with a slow nod. "Ha." He waggled an index finger as a thought hit him. "What is it Shamrocks says...? 'Little things amuse little minds?'"

Katara smirked, recalling the phrase that Jane would use from time to time - usually in reference to Sokka.

"Yea...I know," Katara muttered with a sniffle. Stupid nose, getting all runny... "We have to deal with bigger...things for...better reward...It's just been...a bit much lately."

"We should go out tonight."

"Huh?"

"Go out, see a movie. Ya know, something we can do together without all the social pressure. Ya get me?"

"Hm." Katara pushed hair behind her shoulder and took a bite of her vegetables. "That sounds like a really good idea, actually..."

"Awesome. Let me get in touch with everyone, then, and I'll get back to you when I've got everything worked out."

"Oh..." Katara stared at Sokka with confusion. Wait, whoa..._Sokka _was going out of his way to set up a social outing? That was...a nice departure.

"Hm. Prolly shouldn't invite Toph, though, huh?"

"What's that?" Katara muttered, snapping back to her senses.

"'Cuz of how her and Aang are trying to keep their distance and junk. And I mean, c'mon...movies don't exactly do a lot for ol' Dead Eyes, am I right?"

"Yea," Katara agreed, trying to cope with the situation. She didn't like the idea of leaving Toph out of a group activity, but at the same time, it was Toph seemed to _want _given her actions over the past few days. And Sokka was right - why would Toph want to go see a movie, anyway? Especially when she was sick? The foolish girl was stubborn and insisting on walking out in the cold in sandals - on her own, she claimed to not like the lack of feeling that boots subjected her to. It was probably best for her to stay in and rest up, anyway.

"Then it's settled. Movie night."

"Movie night."

"So, um...Would I be able to get your thoughts on some of the details going on here?" Katara wondered.

Sokka sighed through his nose and bit his lip cautiously.

"Honestly, I'd really rather just stay _out _of all of this stuff...No offense."

_Wha? But...you're my _brother, _you've always been around for me to bounce ideas off of...What gives?  
_

"O-oh...Sure. I understand," Katara mumbled in reply, perplexed and distraught. She had been hoping she could get Sokka's no-nonsense reassurance and advice on the finer points of these matters.

"Is school going all right, though?"

"Ermm..." She swallowed her personal concerns. Maybe she shouldn't be burdening Sokka with them, anyway. "It's...Y-yea, it's OK, just having a hard time with that Pakku jerk..."

"The more I hear about the guy the less I want to ever meet him."

"Consider yourself lucky that you _haven't _yet..."

* * *

"Man, it's been..._forever _since we went to a movie..." Aang yawned from the backseat, rubbing his full stomach. He'd eaten a hearty dinner and was ready to relax.

"Yea, like...since Thanksgiving, maybe?" Sokka guessed from the steering wheel as they drew close to Wayward.

"It's good to get together," Aang continued to push out his enthusiasm. Katara couldn't help but smile from the passenger seat at the joy in his voice. She glanced at the mirror above, seeing Aang's eyes glowing with excitement. How could he be in such a great mood, with all of this social tension going on? In the middle of the backseat, Suki was relaxing, and to her left Jane was staring out her side window, dull and unamused.

"Yea, it is," Katara agreed with Aang's statement. "We've all, um...-" She coughed a couple times and wiped her nose. "-...been pretty busy these days, right?"

Silence fell over the car.

"It's good to be at the weekend again," Suki offered up awkwardly, trying to break the ice.

"Hell _yes, _it is," Sokka agreed heartily.

"Hey..." Jane cast a sly look toward Suki. "How come you're not sitting up front with your boyfriend, anyway?"

"Huh?" Suki replied, jaw slightly agape. Sokka had requested that Suki sit in the back due to "social stupidness," but Suki was not entirely aware of the details. She was just doing as asked.

"What, are _you _guys avoiding each other, too?"

"Uh, _no,_" Sokka quickly replied.

"Ah, so it's _Kat _who's the one playing keepaway..." Jane's scowl projected to the front mirror, causing Katara's eyes to immediately avert.

_No, no, God, no, not this again..._

"I don't see the problem," Jane continued to cast out with passive-aggressive flair. "I mean, I'm sure _Twinkle-Toes _here would be happier with you in the back seat..."

"What...?" Sokka mumbled, confused and oblivious.

"Oh, is...is there something between you two going on?" Suki probed with gentle optimism to the right side of the vehicle, wiggling a finger between the two.

Aang struggled to act aloof and shrugged.

"Psh," Sokka discounted the theory with an eyeroll. "Sounds to me like Shamrocks here is just projecting her problems out on everyone else."

"Seems like something that's been going around lately," came Suki's stiff words, her eyes closed, lower jaw out. Sokka swallowed hard, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel sheepishly.

"Hey, _I'm _not projecting _shit, _I'm just pointing out how when two people _date _they shouldn't hide it..."

Katara's fingernails dug into her jeans while her nostrils popped open wide.

"I'm not dating anyone!" she growled, glaring at her friends through the mirror as she wiped at her nose. "OK?"

"So all that touchy-feeliness with you two is just me makin' shit up?" Jane retaliated.

"Oh, _stop it_," spat out Katara, without thinking. Another cough. Words lacking forethought poured out in defense. "Aang's just a good friend. He's like a little brother to me!" She just wanted Jane to leave her alone and push back any suspicions.

In the moment after she said these words, however, she immediately cast her gaze to Aang, who was watching snowy fields pass by. His expression stung with disappointment. The very sight pricked at Katara with a focused, deep needle of regret.

_Agh. No. Shit. Grrrahh. I didn't mean that! No, that came out wrong! No, no, Aang, stop pouting. With the pouty face. Awwww..._Damnit.

"_Ah_," Jane nodded slowly, seeming to relish this admittance. "Guess I must be...reading into things, then." She shrugged with nonchalant satisfaction. "My bad..."

"It sounds like _all of you _are having a problem with assumptions," Suki threw out her opinion with a cautious sigh.

"That's _women,_ bein' sensational for ya!" Sokka jeered with a stupid grin. Maybe if he pulled attention toward himself, they'd all stop being drama llamas on each other?

"That's _Sokka_," Katara grunted, "being _sexist _for ya!"

"I'm just joking..."

"That's _all _you do," Suki sighed from the backseat. Guhhhh, and there it was again. She wouldn't let up...What did Sokka have to do to please her all of a sudden?

"Hey, _someone _has to try to lighten the mood. Right, Aang? Bro?"

But Aang's attention was lost. Was he even listening at this point? Sure didn't _look _like it...

"Sweetie," Suki huffed, "Your '_Bros_' are not going to help back you up when you're graduated in a few months and don't have a _job_..."

"Heh," was Jane's commentary to this, an amused smirk on her face.

"Could everyone _stop, _please?"

Silence fell at Katara's thundering request. She wheezed out a pair of sickly coughs.

"Is it...-? Can we just..._not _be in a car together without...without all this?" Her voice was cracked, throat beginning to get sore._ "_I mean, it's so-...Urgh. _Toph's _not even here, and we're _still_ at it! What's _wrong _with us?"

"What's wrong with _you_?" Jane wondered, baffled by Katara's overreaction. "Missing out on your meds lately, or something?"

"Huh? That's...-" Katara shook her head in slight, quick motions as she suddenly realized that she couldn't recall when she last took them. That was a bad sign.

"Fff. Figured as much," Jane's eyes wound around in their sockets. "No wonder you're wiggin' out..."

{**Welcome to WAYWARD**}

"Maybe _this _is why we haven't been doing anything together lately, guys," Suki pointed out with a tired tone. "Seems like you all have..._things_...you need to figure out..." Piercing eyes pointed to the mirror and in turn the driver. "Let's agree to stop this and just watch our movie. How does that sound, everyone?"

* * *

"Where are _you _going, now?" Sokka muttered with confusion as Aang rose from his seat.

"Oh, I...actually need to go to the bathroom," Aang explained in a rush, scurrying out of the chair at the end of the movie theater row and out the double doors. His eyes adjusted to the light and he headed for the bathrooms. His head was still in a panic over what had transpired earlier on the ride over. He hadn't been able to take his mind off of it. The familiar, beautiful bush of brown hair he'd come to admire was instantly recognizable from between the two bathroom doors.

"Katara..." Aang was frowning with disappointment as he stared at Katara's back while she drank from the water fountain. "Did you really mean what you said earlier?"

"Huh?" Katara feinted ignorance, wiping her lips with her sleeve. "Whhhat are you talking about?"

Aang's eyes wandered away from her nervous curiosity. "Back...with the others. In the car, when you said I was just like a...'brother' to you, and you didn't have feelings for me..."

Katara felt like throwing up her popcorn in that moment. The rejection in his eyes was scalding hot against her heart, which was simultaneously sinking like a stone.

"I didn't mean...-! That's...not what I said, I...-"

She was in damage-control mode. Aang knew it all too well - she was just trying to avoid hurting his feelings. Was this why she'd been avoiding him all week?

"So it's true, isn't it?" Aang snapped with quiet bitterness, jamming his hand in his pocket. "We kissed the other day, and...I-I thought that meant we were gonna..._be_ together..." He ran a trembling hand through his hair. "But we're _not_."

"Aang..." Katara whimpered with a sniffle, latching a hand to her arm with a wistful, sideways glance. "I don't _know_..."

"_Why_ don't you know?" Aang demanded in desperation, flicking out his wrist.

"Because we're...-" She dropped her arms in anguish, eyes rolling upward in thought. "-in the middle of a_ lot_ of stuff right now, and you only just broke up, and...-" Her eyes sneaked off to the side as she dabbed at her nose. "-...we have other people to worry about. This isn't the right time..."

"Well...When _is_ the right time?" he grumbled with an impatient shrug.

"Aang, I'm sorry, but...-" Katara huffed through her nostrils, closing her eyes to avoid her trepidation of looking at his own. "Right now I'm just a little confused..." She tugged at one of her twin braids, stroking both hands down along it with a mixture of anxiety and doubt.

Her eyes bulged open wide as Aang's lips smacked against hers without provocation. She tightened her mouth and pulled away immediately, nostrils open wide with discomfort and irritation.

_What the hell? OK, it was kinda cute the first time, but..._No. _Not gonna work the second time, Bud..._

"I _just_ said I was _confused_!" she snapped through grit teeth. Her eyes flamed out her aggravation at Aang, and she ignored the pain of watching his expression crumble into that shock of rejection again. "I'm going inside," she huffed, whirling around, unable to stand the sight and all the more enraged that it affected her as much as it did. More hacking was forced out as she made her exit.

Aang watched in stupefied silence as she stomped off. Oh, crap, why had he done that? He just couldn't help himself, could he? He pounded at his forehead with his palms and growled out in anguish.

"Urgh, I'm such an_ idiot_..."

A hole in his chest, Aang sighed to himself, disposing of waste in the restroom while his mind burned with regret. Ashamed of causing the disturbance, Aang waddled back to his seat at the edge of the row, beside Sokka, who was leaning forward in his seat, captured by the film. His head sunk between his shoulders as his arms wound themselves across his lean waist, which felt like it was shriveling up.

"Oh, hey," Sokka whispered, completely unaware of Aang's discouraged mood. "Here's what you missed..."

But Aang wasn't paying attention. While Sokka rattled off details, Aang could only be bothered to focus on that lovely mane of hair in the seat just ahead of him, lamenting the notion that he'd never be able to run his hands through it. _Gullgh, _ah, what was _wrong _with him? How could he be so selfish? What would Toph think about this? She'd be devastated...And clearly, Katara was uncomfortable. Man, he'd really messed everything up good...And even Jane seemed all flustered - what was up with that, anyway? Probably just defensive about how Toph would feel about this...Agh..Sokka was right: getting tangled up with women led to all kinds of problems.

* * *

- Saturday, February 12th, 2011 -

[From: Aang]  
[we goin to church tomorrow?]  
[Sent: 11:23am]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[No. I'm sick. Have a good day.]  
[Sent: 11:26am]

Katara groaned to herself as she closed her phone and dropped it onto her bed beside her pillow. Her nose tightened and tickled, eliciting her to frantically grasp for a tissue from her nearby supply so she could sneeze into it.

"_Grughhh_..." She dropped the tissue in the small trash bin beside her bed, staring up at the ceiling drearily.

_Stupid Aang. Making everything complicated. Stupid Jane, being all pushy. Stupid Sokka, not even caring...Stupid _Toph, _getting all sick and making _me _sick! Rrrrgh..._

_"...rRrgHhHaAgHh.._."

Speaking of Toph, her snoring had picked up and was practically deafening now. Just great. Katara had lost sleep over Toph's illness-induced snoring and had to wake the girl up a few times to make the noise cease long enough to fall back into slumber.

"_Toph,_" she called with irritation.

Another loud, extended snore.

Katara's fist balled up, she punched at her pillow and she clambered out of bed, sluggishly making her way to Toph's bed. She administered a grumpy shove to her roommate, who was sprawled on her back.

"Zuhfugg...?" groaned Toph before pouring out a foul-smelling yawn.

"You're snoring again," Katara curtly explained.

"ShhhhiiiiIiIiIiIiittTtTt..." Toph slowly rolled onto her stomach as she moaned out the word like molasses. Her stomach gurgled out loudly. "Ullghh..."

"When was the last time you ate?" Katara asked in exhausted words/

"_I _dunfuggin know..."

"If you don't _eat _you're not gonna...-" Katara sniffed as she could feel her nose running wet. "-...get better..._Guh_..." On that note, Katara opened the half-drinken water bottle on her desk and took a few gulps before throwing herself back into bed, face-first into her pillow.

_Tok. Tok. Tok._

Both girls could hear the door open up, and Katara rolled over onto her side to confirm that it was, indeed, Jane.

"What is it...?" she asked, her nose stuffy.

"Oh, err...I didn't...know you guys were still sleepin'..." Jane mumbled awkwardly, retreating back to the doorway.

"We're _trying_ to..." Yep. Katara was still pissed at her about yesterday. Expected.

"Oh...'Kay...Sorry..."

After closing their door, Jane shuffled back to her bedroom. Asking Katara out to lunch was clearly not an option. In her empty room, she took a bottle of room temperature Mountain Dew she'd purchased from the snack desk the night prior and opened it up. She took her hormonal medications, washing them down with soda, and checked her phone, considering asking the boys what they were up to.

[From: johnny]  
[what did you need?]  
[Sent: 11:02am]

Her heart lept with excitement. It had been weeks since she'd heard from her friend, and at this point she was thirsting for some kind of social interaction outside of this group she'd gotten herself entangled in.

[Reply]  
[To: johnny]  
[hey! just want to catch up. you online? we culd chat?]  
[Sent: 11:32am]

She sat in thought for a couple minutes, sipping on her soda as she booted up her computer.

[Calling...]  
[**johnny**]

Oh, he was...calling her? In the blink of an eye, she turned the device on.

"Hello?" she breathed out with her raspy voice.

["...Hey."]

"_Hey_...What...erm...'Sup?"

["Still on the mend."]

"Yea...Gettin' better?"

["You could say that."]

"...Cool. That's...good."

["What's going on?"]

"Nothin'...I just, uhh...missed you a bit. Ya know?"

["Yea."]

_Don't you miss me, too?_

"Shit's...kinda whack right now."

["Uh-huh."]

"Uhh...Toph and Aang broke up."

Well, it was some kind of conversation, wasn't it?

["Ah. That's...too bad."]

"Yea..."

["You're holding up?"]

"Pff, yeaaa...I'm fine..."

["Good."]

Jane swallowed a lump in her throat as she wondered if he was struggling with the same mixture of emotions that she was.

"Sooo...Yea. That's been kinda awkward..."

["I believe it."]

"But...uhh...-"

["Mm..."]

"You?"

["Taking it easy..."]

"You're...heh...not in _jail, _right?"

["_No, _no..."]

"S-so...that's a good step."

["Yea...I guess so."]

"Uh...Wanna tell me...about how all that went down?"

["Oh, er...Sure..."]

* * *

- Sunday, February 13th, 2011 -

Zuko scrutinized the resume in his inbox, still confused by the whole thing. Aang seemed quiet confident in this candidate's ability, but Zuko had his doubts. He checked the time: [3:05pm]. They were late. Not a good sign. He glanced around the empty student office, aware that everyone else was probably taking the afternoon easy. He still had a stack of reading and homework to finish, not to mention some more technical papers that needed his attention. There was already enough he had to worry about without waiting around for-  
["...~..."]

His phone went off. He verified the number on his display to match the one on the resume. They matched. He answered the phone.

"Hello?"

["Hey...Is this...uh...Mr. Kurosawa...?"]

"This is he. And this is Miss...-" He stared at the name for a second, bewildered. It sounded so familiar... "-...Kesuk, is it?"

["Yea, that's right."]

"Ah. Good. I've been waiting for you."

["Oh. Sorry, I literally just got in the door, Sir."]

"You can just call me Zuko."

["...Right. Uh...OK, Zuko."]

"So...Korra..." Ah, _that _was right...This was Katara and Sokka's cousin. That explained the familiar last name. And the distant location of her address. Canada? "I was told that you're interested in the open position we have?"

["Definitely."]

Zuko cleared his throat. "I couldn't help but notice that you're...quite far away from our location. You _do _realize we're in central Pennsylvania, right?"

["Oh, I know. Got family that goes to school there there."]

"Yea...Katara and Sokka. Correct?"

["Right. You know them?"]

"Yea, a bit...Regardless, you're...willing to relocate?"

["Obviously."]

Hm. Bit of snark, there. Zuko wasn't sure if he liked that or was off-put.

"I see. And...what makes this position worth such a huge move?"

["Uh, well...Keeping college kids in line, small town...nothing I can't handle. I'm ready for serious change of scenery, and being someplace where I can keep my eye on my kin - that's a big plus, eh?"]

"Mm...Well, as long as you're completely aware of what you'd be getting yourself into...Now, I have a few questions I need to ask..."

* * *

"Argh, no. Suki..." Sokka shook his head with disapproval. "I _really _don't think that's such a good idea..."

Suki glared at Sokka with crossed arms and a raised brow of skepticism.

"Oh. And I suppose _you _have a better one? Since you're Mr. Idea Guy?"

Sokka gaped at her snippiness, unsure of how to reply at first.

"Errr...You could...not get _involved_...? I'm pretty sure that's the best plan here."

"How can you _say _that, Sokka? These are our friends. And I'm sorry, but yesterday? That was ridiculous. What's going on with everyone? You seem like you're just trying to check out. And from what I can tell, Toph probably feels like she doesn't have anyone in her corner right now."

"Uh-_huh. _And...you're thinking that ought to be _you_?"

"Well..." Suki shrugged, surprised by just how defensive Sokka was being over this. "I don't see _you _doing anything to help..."

"It's not my _business_..."

"OK. Fair enough. You know what _should be _your business? Figuring out what you're going to be _doing _in a few months..."

"I _told _you, I'm...working on that."

"You'd better be. Sokka, this is serious stuff. We need to get our act together if we want to not be _miserable _once we get out of school."

"Right, yea, I _know_..." Gurgh, he'd heard this already.

"I'm not just going to sit idly by while our friends push themselves apart. I don't feel like there's much I can do, but I _do _know that I've made connections with some folks downtown - folks who'd be interested in Toph's music. The way Toph talks about it - and the way Katara tells it to me - Toph's music is about the only thing she feels like she has any control over right now. And I want to help her with that. Maybe iron out some of the wrinkles she gets with me."

"All right, I getcha..." Sokka sighed, scratching at his goatee thoughtfully.

Suki smiled weakly at him and placed a comforting hand on his rugged cheek.

"Things are going to fine, Dear. We just need to be assertive." She ran her hand through his hair, which was tied up in a tight, short ponytail toward the top-back of his head. "And you need to shave, and stop wearing your hair in a ponytail," she snickered, untying the band and scratching her hand through the thick, dry hair that fell down.

"It's a Warrior's Wolftail," came a sullen Sokka.

"Of course it is..." teased Suki as she kissed him on the cheek, his prickles feeling funny against her lips. Sokka stretched his arms around her waist as she leaned against him in their corner booth at Appa's, embracing their mouths together.

* * *

- Monday, February 14th, 2011 -

["YOU HAVE **TWO **NEW MESSAGES."]  
[~_BEEP_~]

["Toph, it's your father again. You still aren't picking up your phone. If you aren't going to use it, it's a wonder we ever got it for you to begin with...Your mother and I have been talking, and we-"]  
["MESSAGE DELETED. NEXT MESSAGE."]

["Hi, Toph."] Suki? ["Just calling to check in on you. I heard you and Katara are sick? Hope it's not too bad...Anyway, I actually wanted to talk with you about something. I know we've been kind of stalling about playing together as a band, but...I've noticed you still seem hard at work at your own music. Katara showed me your YouTube channel - you've got some nice stuff there. I was thinking maybe I could help you get a small-time show downtown. The Fire Cave is always interested in performers, you know? So...Get back to me. OK?"]  
["END OF MESSAGES."]

Toph, sprawled on her back, her phone open on her stomach, yawned a great yawn - it was cut short as she suffered shortness of breath, causing the yawn to mutate into a wheeze. She whimpered at the discomfort. Her fuzzy mind lingered on Suki's offer. Seemed like everyone was turning their backs on her lately - yea, yea, her own fault, blabla bullshit, whatever...So why did _Suki _want to try and help? What was her angle? Didn't matter right that second, anyway. What mattered was that she needed to take a dump. Which required getting out of bed. Blagh. As she forced her self out of bed, she fumbled her hand over her alarm clock, tapping the familiar button.

["TWELVE TWENTY-FOUR PEE-EMM."]

'Kay. So much for classes today. Fuck...Whatever, she was sick. Psh, like she was _learning _anything at her classes, anyway...

* * *

[**Facebook - Korra Kesuk**]

[**Korra Kesuk** is movin to PA, bitchezz!]  
[3 hours ago]  
[12 people like this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Wait, say what? O_O ]  
[3 hours ago]

[**Korra Kesuk **- got the job! moving in a couple weeks! you can't escape me MWAHAHAHA!]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Aang, Sokka, Katara, and 2 others like this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Holy crap! That's amazing!]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- I'm so happy! That's great! ^_^ ]  
[32 minutes ago]

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk **Dear Life: mind letting up a bit, please? =_= I don't know what you want from me. Regards, Katara.]  
[4 hours ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **- sounds like you need to figure out what YOU want..]  
[3 hours ago]  
[Mai Chiao likes this.]

[**Meng Beifong **- HUUUG. hang in there katara. we're all here for ya!]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Katara Kesuk and Aang Leekpai like this.]

[**Facebook **- **Aang Leekpai**]

[**Aang Leekpai **is such a big stupid idiot! ugghhhh.]  
[45 minutes ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk and Korra Kesuk like this.]

[**Meng Beifong **- what happened? :( ]  
[41 mintues ago]

[**Suki Kyoshi **- hey, don't blame yourself just because everyone else is having problems. you didn't do anything wrong.]  
[32 minutes ago]  
[Meng Beifong and Zuko Kurosawa like this.]

[**Zuko Kurosawa **- Sounds like you need another round of drinks at the Jasmine Dragon.]  
[24 minutes ago]

[**Mai Chiao **- What my Darling Zuko means is that we're going to be there tonight after 7. You should join us. ;P ]  
[11 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- k i'll see you guys there.]  
[2 seconds ago]

* * *

**A/N: The scene at the theater is of course referencing the scene from The Ember Island Players.**


	62. Mean It

**A/B: For those interested, I have recently announced I'll be working on a short-story series that will be crossover-fun, inspired by The Tales of Ba-Sing-Se in combination with the wild west dream Aang had. They'll be called The Tales of Wayward, and I've detailed the plot concept I have for the first one in my DA journal: http:/destiny-smasher(dot)/journal/**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 62 - Mean It  
_

* * *

- Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 -

{**The White Lotus**}

Zuko scanned through the pages of the previous weekend's edition of the local school paper. By this point, he'd already caught a lot of the headlines, so he decided to start flipping through some of the smaller, more miscellaneous articles while he waited for Mai to arrive for breakfast.

{The building project, in its final stages of construction, will be located in downtown Wayward - a quick trip for students. Tentatively dubbed 'The United Republic,' the establishment will be owned and operated by Saint Roku University and is scheduled to open at the end of the month. Students wishing to apply for part-time work can contact President Zuko Kurosawa for more information via e-mail.}

Bleh. Boring. Why would he want to read about what he was already spending a lot of time on? Next.

{The local indie sensation The Flamey-O's have been accumulating quite the attention this semester, having been recently included as part of multiple local concerts, including last week's Bloomsburg Bonanza-}  
_Ugh_. Music? Pass.

{_Philadelphia Fires Continue_}  
{by Ginnie Ackland}

{A week after the tragic death of a family of three, yet another home was found burned to the ground this weekend by the Philadelphia Police Department. The remains of father and husband Daniel Dawes were found inside, though his wife and son were away with relatives during the fire. This marks the third serious fire-related incident of this nature in two weeks, and authorities have suggested that the events are connected, suspecting arson. The nature of what has been the exact cause of these fires is still under investigation, and no known connection between the victims has been made public. The police say they have yet to determine any suspects or motives behind these incidents. In the meantime, the supposed serial killer behind this arson has been dubbed "The Combustion Man" by various media outlets due to the unknown causes of the fires. Anyone who may have any information on this matter has been asked to contact the PPD for-}

"Hey, Zuko."

Zuko set the newspaper down, eyes tired and wide, and blinked up at Mai's pale skin, an apologetic smirk about her.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she set her breakfast plate down. "Your food's probably cold," she lamented, glancing at his barely-touched meal.

"Oh, uh...-" Zuko shrugged, taking a sip of his morning coffee and glancing to the bright winter morning outside the cafeteria's window. He yawned wide, scratching sand from his eyes.

"You don't look like you slept well," Mai mumbled with a tint of disappointment, stabbing her fork into a pancake.

"I slept fine," Zuko assured. "It's just...I didn't sleep as much as I had _wanted _to..."

Mai sighed through her nose as she chewed on a glob of cooked dough. The awkward tension stuck while she swallowed.

"ZuZu, I understand how busy you are, but if you're literally losing _sleep _over all of this, it might be time to re-think your priorities..." She continued to delicately consume her food.

Zuko shrugged again, slowly shaking his head. He took a mouthful of eggs in.

"Hey..." Mai's eyes narrowed with concern and she reached out a hand to Zuko's, still wound around his coffee mug. Her eyes burned into his. "You're doing it again, Zuko. If you're having problems, you're supposed to talk to me. I'm your girlfriend."

Zuko forced down his eggs and coughed, nearly choking on some. He gave a weak smile in spite of his clumsiness and took Mai's dry, cold hand, squeezing it back.

"You're right, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"OK, then," Mai said, her expression cooling off. "Then tell me: what is it?"

Zuko took a deep breath, grasping Mai's hand tightly as he ate more food with his other hand. Mai took another bite, as well, giving him some time to formulate his words.

"It's just been busy, and...more stressful than I was expecting," Zuko sighed. "All of this planning and working on the United Republic, on top of everything else I have to deal with...Oh, right, and _class? _That, too. And then to make things even _better _I get this group of protesters who are saying that with the way the economy is, the school shouldn't be 'wasting money' on extraneous projects like this..."

"You just need to take things one step at a time."

"And let's not forget Azula," Zuko pressed on, venting out all the steam. "On my heels about how _pointless _all of this is..." He grunted as he glanced at the paper. "I read about how people are getting killed, and can't afford a living, and how many troops we still have mobilized in the middle east, and...-" He growled to himself. "It all makes me wonder if maybe Azula's _right _- that I'm just wasting my time here."

"How could you _say _that?" Mai was quick to retort, her feelings stung. "Lots of people here look up to you - _need _you..."

"But there's so many _more _people out there who _also _need someone...Maybe that someone is supposed to be me."

"Hold up a minute," Mai huffed, shaking her head at his words as she retracted her hand. "Zuko, I know you have...grand aspirations, and all, but...Seriously: one step at a time. And stop trying to make it sound like what you do here is so pointless..."

Zuko blinked at her fickle attitude, his mind lingering on the way her trimmed black bangs gracefully hung over her forehead.

"OK," he puffed out, rubbing his eyes some more. "I didn't mean it like that...I want to be doing more good, or..._something_..."

"Grand aspirations," Mai muttered with a doubtful sideways glance.

"You make that sound like it's a bad thing," Zuko grumbled with perplexation.

When Mai's eyes turned back to him, a thin brow raised, he read her expression through the context:_  
Do you want to end up like your father?_

"There's nothing wrong with focusing on smaller things," was what Mai's mouth said. "They aren't inherently less important."

"Right..." Zuko took a swig of coffee. "I understand that, Mai, I...-"

"I'm not mad at you."

"I know..."

"But I don't want to see you fall into the same pitfall your father did."

"But I'm not _going_ to," Zuko insisted, pained by his girlfriend's hint of doubt.

"Zuko...Your sister used to say the same thing when we were younger..."

Zuko's stomach churned with unease, which he covered with some more eggs. He clenched his fingers around Mai's tightly.

"My sister didn't have someone as amazing as _you_ tokeep her on the right path..."

* * *

_Tok-tok-tok._

Toph rolled over in her bed slowly, her stomach sensitive to movement.

"cOmE iN..." she groaned out as loud as she could.

___Clicktsnik.  
eeeekk..._

"Toph?" It was Suki. That was...kind of surprising. No one had come to visit Toph in some time, unless occasional pop-ins from Jane counted.

"hEy..."

"Whoa...Are you OK?"

_______eeeekk..._  
Clicktsnik.  


"nN...-" Toph was cut short by a tingling sensation in her throat, eliciting a harsh cough. "_hEgH..._nOt WhAt i'D cAlL iT, nOoO_..._"

"Gosh..." Toph could barely hear Suki sitting down in Katara's chair. Fuckin' ears had to be plugged up, too... "I heard you were sick, but...I didn't know you were stuck in bed..."

"iT's WhAtEvEr..."

"Well...Maybe we should discuss this some other time, then, when you're feeling better."

"wHaT iS iT...?"

"A while back I sent you a voicemail - not sure if you got it or not - about me helping you get some work playing music around the area. I mean...it...seems a bit pointless right now, given your condition, but...-"

"sUrE..."

"What's that?" Suki hadn't heard - fuckin' voice was nearly gone. _Urghh._

"sAiD yEa...LeSsDoOiT..."

"_Oh. _Of course. That's...great. OK. I know you're sick, but it'll take some time to make some arrangements, anyway."

"kAy..."

"Umm...All right. Let me know when you're feeling better, and...we'll work something out. Get you out there."

"MmM-hMm..."

"OK. Well, I hope you feel better soon."

"yOu AnD mE bOtH..."

"Then you can hang out with us next time we go out. I felt bad that you got left out last time."

"...hUh?"

"But I guess you wouldn't have had much fun, anyway, being sick and all..."

_Skfff._

"Is there anything I can do before I leave?"

"uHh...n-NaH...aHm GoOd..."

"OK. Rest up, make sure you're getting lots of fluids. Have a good night."

"yEp..."

* * *

Sitting in the floor lounge, doing homework on her own, Katara scanned her contacts list once again after a while of waiting.

[**Skype** tm]

[Tuesday, February 15th, 2011]

[_Chief_Hakoda_] - [Offline]

Argh. Dad must've been too busy tonight to get online...She'd left her Skype open all evening through her homework, but still no dice. Wait, what was this...?

[_fortuneteller114_ - hi katara. you ok?]  
[9:47pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Oh, hey, Meng. Sorry, I've been busy.]  
[10:19pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- its fine. you holdin up ok?]  
[10:21pm]

Katara hesitated at her keyboard. She sneezed into a tissue and wiped at her nose.

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Not really...=_=; I'm sick...]  
[10:22pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- Plus everything else...]  
[10:22pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- aw. i'm sorry. :( HUUUG.]  
[10:22pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- Thanks. ^^ ]  
[10:22pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- what about tophie?]  
[10:23pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- I'm not really sure...Why?]  
[10:23pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- oh...guess she's keeping busy then.]  
[10:23pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- Well, she's really sick, too. I'm sure it's not personal if she hasn't talked with you.]  
[10:24pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- no, it is. we're not talkin right now.]  
[10:25pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- I see. =/ You're not the only one...]  
[10:25pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- i know. things sound trickty w/the breakup thing]  
[10:26pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- Yea. They are...]  
[10:26pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- i got mad and kinda freeked out on her..]  
[10:26pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- Ha...Toph seems to have that effect on people...^_^; ]  
[10:27pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- exactly.]  
[10:27pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara _- BRB]  
[10:28pm]

[_fortuneteller114 _- kk!]  
[10:28pm]

Katara sneezed again, filling another tissue with gunk. She groaned as she dropped it into nearby waste basket and retreated to the floor's kitchen one room over to fix a bowl of tomato soup in the microwave. She took the couple minutes of downtime as she waited for it to cook to ponder her circumstances yet again. Sokka was ignorant about what was transpiring between her and Aang, but even Suki had seemed suspicious about it...Could she _not _get involved with someone without complications? Was it simply not possible? _Urgh, _and what was she supposed to do with it, anyway? She couldn't bear the idea of leaving Toph devastated over the matter...But on the other hand, leaving Aang to dry after the surprisingly courageous advances he'd made didn't seem too good an idea, either. She hadn't had any contact with Aang in a couple days now. The time was giving her space to consider how she really felt about him...Right from the start, a year and a half ago, she'd always looked at him as a timid, lost little kid who she'd look after.

But that simply wasn't the case anymore.

["-_BEEEEEEEP_-"]

Katara was startled by the loud sound of the microwave, but quickly recovered, cupping the hot bowl in her hands and slowly making her way back to the couch of the lounge, careful not to spill any.

[AquaGirlKatara - I'm back.]  
[10:33pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Soooo...Why did you and Toph argue?]  
[10:33pm]

[fortuneteller114 - just the same stupid junk she won't stop doing...]  
[10:35pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - She wants to get better. I know she does.]  
[10:36pm]

[fortuneteller114 - me too. but using me to make herself feel bettr isn't goin to help.]  
[10:36pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - I think you're right. She needs some space right now.]  
[10:37pm]

[fortuneteller114 - well that's what i'm giving her.]  
[10:37pm]

Katara lightly blew at her soup, which looked about ready to consume by now.

[AquaGirlKatara - I understand.]  
[10:38pm]

[fortuneteller114 - so what's going on with you? i saw in your fb you seem upset?]  
[10:39pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Everything's strained lately. Just social awkwardness, and then school on top of that.]  
[10:40pm]

[fortuneteller114 - ah i get it.]  
[10:40pm]

[fortuneteller114 - so what's the deal with you and aang anyway?]  
[10:40pm]

_Grruuughhh..._

Katara's disposition twisted even further into the realm of irritation as she slurped her soup.

[AquaGirlKatara - Huh?]  
[10:41pm]

[fortuneteller114 - tophie seems convinced you two have a thing now...?]  
[10:42pm]

Katara was progressively getting more fed up with all of this gossiping about her and Aang's business.

[fortuneteller114 - i noticed you two aren't talking on FB lately, either...]  
[10:42pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - We kissed.]  
[10:43pm]

_Wait, shoot...Argh, why did I just type that out without thinking?_ _Ugh, gotta clarify..._

[fortuneteller114 - oh! O_O ]  
[10:43pm]

[fortuneteller114 - wow...guess that makes sense tho.]  
[10:43pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - But we're not involved or dating, it was a mistake, I would nev]

Katara's fingers stopped moving when she noticed what Meng had written. She paused, contemplating Meng's thought. "_Makes sense?_" Then Meng added more.

[fortuneteller114 - i mean it just always seems like there's something there w/you 2.]  
[10:44pm]

Katara deleted her previous thought before she posted it. Why did even the long-distance person assume this? Katara wasn't...some _floozy _or something, home-wrecking and such...

[AquaGirlKatara - We're not dating or anything. I don't really know why it happened.]  
[10:44pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - To be honest I feel like it was wrong. Like we shouldn't have. I'd never want to hurt your cousin like that.]  
[10:44pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - _Please _don't tell anyone about this.]  
[10:45pm]

[fortuneteller114 - it's ok i get it, katara. i won't tell anyone. that's your business.]  
[10:46pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Thank you.]  
[10:46pm]

[fortuneteller114 - that explains why aang's been acting so weird, tho.]  
[10:46pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - Yea...]  
[10:47pm]

[fortuneteller114 - geez. that really is a tricky sitch.]  
[10:48pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - =_=; I know...]  
[10:48pm]

[fortuneteller114 - so do you have feelings for him?]  
[10:49pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - I don't know.]  
[10:49pm]

[fortuneteller114 - that's why you two haven't been talking then. you guys aren't sure?]  
[10:49pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - More or less...]  
[10:50pm]

[fortuneteller114 - i hope you figure that out soon.]  
[10:50pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - What if I _do_, though? Then what?]  
[10:50pm]

Katara typed out, [We can't just] but Meng was quick on the draw.

[fortuneteller114 - you date him, silly. :P ]  
[10:50pm]

Sniffling, Katara rubbed her sore throat before eating more soup, deleting her previous half-sentence, and trying again.

[AquaGirlKatara - But Meng, we have to think about Toph's feelings. Doing that to her? It's...just not appropriate.]  
[10:51pm]

[fortuneteller114 - neither is cheating on your bf. or all buncha crap tophie does.]  
[10:52pm]

Hm. Not a bad point.

[fortuneteller114 - i love her but she's been making stupid choices. her feelings aren't your rsponsibility right now.]  
[10:52pm]

[fortuneteller114 - YOURS are.]  
[10:52pm]

Katara sighed, scratching her hand through her disheveled hair while wistfully humming along to the music she had playing.

[AquaGirlKatara - I appreciate your thoughts, Meng.]  
[10:54pm]

Katara couldn't accept the idea of ignoring how Toph would be affected. But Meng was Toph's cousin...and Katara knew that she was the only family member Toph had expressed actually feeling attached to. So the girl's opinion wouldn't get ignored, either.

[fortuneteller114 - think about what you want and no one else. that's how you'll really figure it out.]  
[10:55pm]

[fortuneteller114 - once you do, whatever you feel? you tell em either way. it's all about saying it like you mean it.]  
[10:55pm]

[fortuneteller114 - and hang in there. everyone will make it out ok. HUG]  
[10:55pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - All right. Thanks, Meng.]  
[10:56pm]

[fortuneteller114 - have a good night.]  
[10:56pm]

[AquaGirlKatara - You, too.]  
[10:56pm]

* * *

- Wednesday, February 15th, 2011 -

Katara entered the room to catch Toph at her keyboard practicing with her big, green headphones. Having come back from her shift of correcting papers for students, she was mentally fatigued. Coat, backpack, shoes, hair...She took everything down and collapsed into her chair. She was feeling a bit dazed, still ill, and took out her bag of Wood Frog cough drops to start sucking on one. The things didn't taste very good, but they helped clear her passages, and that was the important part. As she finished the drop, Toph wrapped up her practicing.

"yOu'Re BaCk..." Toph's hoarse voice caught Katara while she was browsing through YouTube.

"Oh..." She turned around in her chair. "Hey, Toph..." Her own voice wasn't exactly healthy, but wasn't nearly as bad as Toph's.

"oUt HaViNg FuN?"

"Umm...No, I just got back from work, actually."

"mM. sO wHeN _aRe _YoU gUyS aLl GoInG oUt AgAiN...hUh?"

Katara was confused, and couldn't tell if Toph was being spiteful or...what.

"I...I don't know, we haven't really...-"  
"gOnNa LeAvE mE oUt AgAiN, tHoUgH, rIgHt?"

"Are you talking about last weekend?"

"YeA, tHaNkS fOr ChEcKiNg To SeE iF _i _WaNtEd tO gO..."

"Toph, it...-" Katara rolled her eyes. More snippy hostility from her roommate. _Exactly _what she was hoping for when she got home. "It was _Sokka's _idea." She sputtered out a couple coughs. "We went to a movie. You've been sick. And, frankly, you've been giving off the impression you don't really want to hang out." She took a tissue and clamped at her nose, which was starting to run again. "_Dot tuh menchun..._-" She snorted gunk out in the tissue. "-...that you and Aang are supposed to be giving each other some space to avoid all the trouble." _Let's leave out the part where we all had temper tantrums, anyway, shall we? She doesn't need to know._

"sO nOw I jUsT dOn'T gEt tO sEe AnYoNe. SoUnDs FaIr..."

"No, Toph, ergh..." Katara sniffled, reaching for another tissue. "There wouldn't have been room, anyway, and...movies aren't really your kinda thing, right? Besides, it's...not like you have any _money _right now to go to one..." Yea, that was a good reason. Everyone didn't need to always be paying for her. It was her own fault she didn't have any spending money.

"gRrMm..."

"B-but I mean...things will get better, right? I'm sure you and Aang will get past everything, and...-" _God, I sure hope so..._ "-...Suki is going to try and help you find work playing your music. So soon you'll have some spending money, and by then we can probably try to get everyone together again."

* * *

- Thursday, February 17th, 2011 -

June's shifty eyes glared at her student worker from the opposite corner of the room. The red-head seemed to have a permanent scowl glued to her face all shift. Sokka handed her a slip of paper detailing a wrap order, so she broke away from her staring and went to work on it.

"Hey - what's eatin' you?" June inquired. She received no response as Jane continued to tend to a bacon cheeseburger on the grill. "Jane. Hey." She snapped her skinny fingers. "Talkin' to ya, here."

"Yea?"

"Somethin' crawl up your ass, or what?"

"No."

"Then wipe off the grump. Sick o' lookin' at it."

Jane's face scrunched up with rage for a brief moment before she sucked in a breath and slowly breathed out, calming herself. Their backs were facing each other, so June didn't notice this detail, but Jane was nevertheless confused. What did her fucking manager care? She was doing her job, wasn't she?

"You're not gettin' sick, too, are ya?" Sokka wondered as he came back from the next room with a finished milkshake.

"Nah," Jane replied with a shake of the head, adjusting her uncomfortable cap.

["Billie,"] came Sokka's voice over the speaker system. ["My milkshake is bringin' that boy to the door."] Some chuckles from the students that populated the restaurant. The one who ordered the shake came up and grabbed it with a grin as Sokka nodded to him, then turned around to face his friend.

"_Better _not be sick," June said with threat. "I'll send your ass straight home."

"I'm _not,_" Jane insisted in a grumble.

"Then what's got your boxers in a bunch?" June taunted casually, finishing up the wrap she was on. Jane flipped the burger and the accompanying bacon. As she reached for a slice of cheese to slap on it, she sighed.

"Just people yankin' my fuckin' chain, all right?" she snipped, not budging her gaze from the grill. June sent a dull and confused glance to Sokka, who shrugged as he accepted the wrap.

["Yo, Cassandra. Got a tunafish wrap with your name on it. Literally."]

"You ever try yanking _back _when they do that?" June retorted.

"Yea. Doesn't usually work out so well."

"Uh-_huh_. Enjoy your brooding, then."

"Sure thing," Jane murmured with some dejection.

"I'm off to the bathroom," June advised with a nonchalant wave coupled with a yawn, sneaking out the back door.

"Ginger, lighten up, eh?"

"Back off..."

"All right," Sokka defensively surrendered with a shrug. He checked to make sure there was no line, then leaned against the front counter and stretched out his arm. He waited a moment, watching Jane wipe sweat from her head.

"Just a shitty situation." And there it was, as Sokka expected. Women often needed just enough space when they were fussy, but they'd often spill their beans just when they wondered if you really cared or not. "Katara's sending mixed messages and...then there's someone _else _who just...-" She let the rest fade away while she used her spatula to stack the burger onto a paper plate. "But I'm fine," she said with a firm look, passing the plate to Sokka, who nodded solemnly. Better her sucking it up and facing things for what they were than freaking out, as far as he was concerned.

"Gotcha," he replied, taking the food and its tag and setting it on the counter. After calling out for the student and watching them take their food, he stood, scratching at his goatee. He recalled Aang's frustrated attitude as of late, and the way Jane seemed to be getting jealous over all this Katara/Aang business. Maybe he could do something about it. "So you're feeling torn between two people."

"I...-" Jane's eyes darted away from Sokka's glance. "_No, _I'm...-" A passive shrug and she let the rest roll off into nowhere.

Pff. Lying. Typical Jane, right?

"You want me to talk with Aang?" offered Sokka with a blunt, exhausted tone. It wasn't that he wanted to get involved, it was that he wanted to see all this nonsense end. Jane's face went red, her eyes sparking with indignation.

"_What_?" she grunted, appalled. "Why would-?"  
"'Cuz he's been actin' a little odd lately, and seems to be under the impression that you're avoiding him."

Sokka was amused by Jane's confused expression.

Sure, keep on playing dumb, Freckle-Face.

"I'm not-...!" She spat out in a rush, jerking her head in a quick shake. "That's fuckin' retarded, you don't know what you're...-" Words faded into mumbles as she bobbed her head to the counter behind Sokka. A pair of customers were waiting, so Sokka whirled back and took their orders, letting the subject go for the evening but contemplating how to alleviate the situation.

* * *

"Sorry, Mai. I dunno," Ty-Lee apologized with an airy shrug from behind the coffee machine. "Haven't seen her all night."

"That's weird," muttered Mai, drumming her black-nailed fingers along her notebook's cover while that somewhat familiar blonde kid played violin on stage. "Wonder why she wouldn't show..." She spoke these words to herself more than anyone else, as Ty-Lee hummed playfully, crafting a coffee concoction.

"Hey, Mai!" Ty-Lee chirped as she set a drink on the countertop. "We should watch more TV tonight, doncha think?"

"Erm...Sure," acknowledged Mai with a shrug, still thrown off by the lack of guitar-playing blind girl.

"Double Mocha Latte~" sang Ty-Lee out to the crowd of customers, cutting through the sweet, sad violin notes. Mai sidestepped as a customer retrieved their drink.

"I vote for more Lie to Me," insisted Mai's roommate, which received a nod in reply.

"Yea, all right..." Hm. Ty was pretty into that show lately. And it was more than just 'OMG that Dr. Lightman IS SOOO HOTT' - although Mai knew fully well this was a factor. Regardless, the girl actually seemed into the show for the way it analyzed human emotion and physical reactions, which were concepts more intellectually involving than Mai might otherwise give her beloved friend credit for. The more she dwelt on it, the more Mai noticed that Ty-Lee seemed to be trying to exercise the principles from the show into her daily life, with mixed results. It was entertaining, especially when Ty-Lee practiced face-reading on Zuko, since he was a very easy target to read accurately, and also easily flustered.

"-gonna rag on me 'cuz I ordered a 'Bloody Zebra?'"

"No."

Mai suddenly realized that while she'd gone off into thought, a pair of familiar young men had entered the Jasmine Dragon.

"But the whole reason I ordered it is 'cuz I wanted to hear you complain about how violent a name it is."

"Uhhh..." Aang shrugged, his hands nervously in his vest pockets. His eyes sauntered off, intersecting Mai's, then lit up with relief as he waved. "Oh! Hi, Mai!"

"Hey, Aang," Mai greeted with a nod of the head, pleasantly surprised. She took a couple steps forward to approach them. "Hello, Sokka." Sokka, in a black overcoat, reciprocated her nod.

"'Ey, there, Doom-n'-Gloom. Lookin' sharp today," he pointed a finger at her hair, which was tied up in a messy bun held together by a makeshift chopsticks: a pen and pencil.

"Thanks," she replied dryly.

"No," disagreed Ty-Lee from the machine she was working at. "What's _really _looking sharp tonight is your _coat_," she tittered. Sokka smirked, adjusting the coat's collar.

"It _is, _isn't it?"

Mai rolled her eyes at his 'suave' demeanor. What a tool. Didn't he have a girlfriend, anyway? Ty-Lee...didn't know any better, but he ought to. While she prevented herself from barfing at Sokka and Ty-Lee's smalltalk, she noticed that Aang looked rather lost in thought, no-doubt down on himself after what she had heard happened at the movie theater.

"So, Aang - how's Toph doing?" Mai wondered, hoping to get his mind off of himself while simultaneously finding out why the musician was absent.

"Erm..." Aang blinked, dumbfounded for a moment. "I, uhm-...She's pretty sick, I guess. I heard her voice is practically gone."

"Oh." Mai nodded, glad to have the pieces click together. "That's too bad..."

"Yea..."

"Hope she gets better soon."

"Me, too." Aang's expression was lathered in doubt and guilt, which refocused itself on Sokka in irritation as the young man accepted his coffee from Ty-Lee, both of their faces gushing with sexual tension.

"-so this weather's no big deal for me, really. I grew up in harsh, frigid-"  
"Sokka," Aang cut him off in impatience. "You have your coffee now. We going?"

"Eh?" Sokka gaped at Aang, coffee cup in his hands. "Er, y-yea." He sheepishly waved off Ty-Lee. "Sorry - gotta jet. Nice seeing you ladies!"

"Bye~"  
"Good night."

As they exited the double-doors and emerged up through the stone steps to the cold campus, Aang shook his head.

"What's wrong with you?" he grumbled to Sokka, who seemed puzzled. "You pull me aside to...to scold me about how I'm conducting my love life, and then you do _that_?"

"Whaaaat?" Sokka bemoaned incredulously. "That was-! That was _flirting_."

"Flirting."

"Shameless, harmless flirting."

"Oh, and I suppose Suki would be just _dandy _with that?"

"Umm...Yea. Probably."

"Probably."

"She'd be _fine._ _Geez, _Bro, what's your deal all of a sudden?"

"I don't _have _a deal. You just...shouldn't be doing that."

"I didn't _do _anything. I talked. That was all."

"You _ogled._"

"I _ogled,_" Sokka repeated, eyebrows raised in gaping bemusement

"_Yes, _you did."

"Were you ogling _me_ ogling _her_?"

"I-...! _What__?_"

"Because that's pretty messed up, Aang."

"No! _No, _I was-...Urgh, stop being stupid."

"See, and you're still acting all weird now that we're talking about girls again."

"No, I'm not."

"I'm telling you, I think Shamrocks has a thing for you, so if you like her_ back, _then you should just tell her, and get it-"  
"I do _not_!"

"Riiiight, because having sexual fantasies about your friends doesn't mean _anything_."

"I didn't have...-!" Aang fumed, his hands rumbling with aggravation. "I don't have feelings like that for Jane," he clarified with resolve.

"Uh-_huh. _So you're getting all touchy over some _other _girl you like?" Sokka theorized rhetorically.

"I-I didn't _say that_," Aang swiftly sputtered, sighing out a cloud of steam into the evening air.

"There's nothing wrong with _liking _someone after you break up, Aang," Sokka nonchalantly advised. "Just don't do anything rash about it unless you really _mean it_."

Aang had slipped into that silent, unresponsive mode he fell into when he didn't want to discuss something.

"Because you can't just take back that kind of thing," Sokka went on solemnly. "But you also shouldn't waste time, because there's only so much of it you get, my friend..."

* * *

**A/N: The stuff between Mai and Zuko is sort of inspired by a scene they have in the upcoming canonical comic I read recently entitled "The Promise (Part 1)," which just happened to tie in well with what is going on with Zuko right now. Meng's SKYPE name is a reference to the episode she appears in: Episode 1 x 14, "The Fortune Teller." The news story about the serial killer is, of course, a nod to the technically un-named character from Season 3 of the series.**


	63. Recurring Theme

**A/N: If you've been looking for an Avatar fandom community that's small enough for some actual consistent interaction, I'd recommend where I recently got sucked into, the Avatar Portal. We could use some more active members. theavatarportal(dot)org**

**Also, don't forget the SRU Facebook page. I recently uploaded a...erm...pretty _interesting _photo album there. ^_^;  
Facebook(dot)com/pages/What-I-Learned-at-SRU/194514817297584  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 63 - Recurring Theme  
_

* * *

- Friday, February 18th, 2011 -

Sokka parked his vehicle with care in an empty space by the sidewalk. As he turned off his car, he took a deep breath, tired from his long day. This extra errand had extended his evening, which he did not enjoy. He exited the car, locking the door behind him, and appreciated that the weather had been kind that day - the snow almost seemed like it was maybe _possibly _disappearing...?

{DiMartino Ave.}  
{Konietzko St.}

_Freakin' weird-ass street names, but...this is the place._

Sokka found his way to the two-floor house on the corner of these two streets, and walked up the brick steps to the stone patio, which contained two folding chairs surrounded by a small collection of empty beer bottles. Sokka rang the doorbell and waited, wondering what to expect. Frat boys? Jocks? Nerds?

The door popped open swiftly and Sokka was greeted by a portly young man - a bit older than himself - with dark brown hair slicked back in a ducktail. His face was rounded with soft features and a fat nose, and he had gentle brown eyes. He ran his fat hand through his hair, one hand still on the door.

"Uh..." he muttered, confused.

"I'm Korra's cousin...?" Sokka managed out awkwardly, studying the man's UFC-branded T-shirt.

"_Oh!_" The host's eyes sparked with interest, and he welcomed his guest with an open arm. "Come on in!"

Sokka walked into their abode, the difference in temperature comforting. He was shocked: given the state of the patio, he'd been expecting a bit of a pig sty, but their house seemed quite neat and tidy, and even smelled good, to boot.

"_Bro!_" the pudgy host shouted to another part of the house as he closed the door. "The guy's here!" He turned his attention back to Sokka. "Oh, er, you can just...-" He gestured his head to the metal coat rack sitting beside the door. Sokka obliged and hung his coat while the baby-faced gentleman nodded slowly.

"Live here with your brother, huh?" Sokka muttered with curiosity, glancing to the stairway the guy has yelled toward.

"He'll be here in a sec." The man reached out an open palm, which Sokka took. "So you're Sohkuh, huh? Nice to meet you."

_Damn. Ow. Hand. Crushing..._

"Fff. No, no." Sokka smirked coolly, shaking off his wrist from the harsh shake. "The name's Sokka - it's pronounced with an 'ah-kuh.'"

"Uh-huh. I see..." The man tapped his chin and nodded slowly, then jabbed his thumb into his chest. "I'm Bolin." He bobbed his head to the side. "That's my brother, Mako."

The other gentleman was thinner, a bit taller, and had the same olive complexion as his brother, but with sharper, thinner features. His eyes were cold and unamused, and his hair was spiked up in the front in that preppy, pseudo-faux-hawk way Sokka found himself morally opposed to. He offered Sokka a lethargic, half-hearted wave.

"Hey."

"Heya." Sokka tried to act as aloof as this fellow did so as to remain unfazed.

"Here..." Bolin nodded to the leather couch in the center of the living room, easing Sokka to sit, while Mako took to the recliner at the other side. As Bolin rested his buttocks beside Sokka's, he rubbed his palms together. "So! Errmm...Yea. So you're...Canadian, huh?"

"Yuppers."

"Cool, cool..."

"Student at the college, right?" Mako checked.

"Yea, sure am."

Mako went on. "So your cousin - Korra - she's transferring?"

_Ugh. Typical Korra. You hardly talked with them..._

"Haha! Noooo, no. She never went to college, and she never will, I can promise you that. She just got a job out here, is what happened."

"Oh?"

"Where?" inquired Bolin.

"Ya know where that pub used to be? The one they're doing construction on?"

"Across from the Pizza Hut, right?"

Sokka nodded to Bolin.

"Yea, that one. It's this, like...rec center..._thing..._She's gonna be the manager."

"Whoa." Bolin's eyes bulged, impressed. "Nice..."

"So she'll have steady income," Mako noted. Jeez, this guy needed to lighten up.

"Uhh...Yea, that's the goal," Sokka muttered.

"And you're sure she isn't going to mind rooming with two guys?"

Sokka scratched at his goatee, puzzled by Mako's question. If Korra wasn't sure, why would she have applied in the first place?

"_Yeaaa, _I don't think that'll be a problem," he concluded. "Honestly? I think she'd prefer living with guys instead of girls. I actually think that's probably what drew her to your guys' ad." Sokka barely caught a glance of Bolin shooting his brother a sly eyebrow waggle. Sokka didn't approve.

"Pay your bills, keep things clean, don't cause a racket. That's all we're looking for," stated Mako flatly. "It's pretty simple. Our last roommate couldn't handle that."

"Yea, I-...That all makes sense," Sokka agreed. He worried a bit about the 'keep things clean' part, but Korra would just have to deal. She didn't have much time, and this was the only open place in town in her budget. "I'm sure she'll get along fine with you guys." Sokka had noticed a few pieces of sports memorabilia strewn about the living room. Korra was into stuff like..._sport__s..._She'd fit in.

"Then it sounds like we just need to take care of semantics," Mako concluded, his mood seeming to lighten ever so slightly as he rose from his chair. "You have the first month's rent?"

"Sure do," said Sokka with a nod, also getting up. He went to his coat and pulled out a sealed envelope Korra had mailed to him, containing the check required. "And she'll have the security deposit for ya when she moves in."

"Then let's settle some paperwork."

As Mako proceeded to the hall and up the stairwell, a swift, furry creature came streaking into the living room. At first glance, it looked like an elongated rat, flying along at breakneck speed to Bolin. Its presence made Sokka flinch in fright, but Boli outstretched his arms and the little devil jumped right into his lap, playfully squirming around.

"_Eyyy, _Pabu!" cried Bolin, chuckling whilst the animal crawled up his shoulders and around his neck.

"What _is _that thing?" Sokka mumbled with uncertainly, leaning back to the side, stepping away from the couch.

"This here's our pet ferret!" Bolin cheered, grasping the critter and holding him up toward Sokka. His length body wriggled around until Bolin set him down on the rug, and off he scampered away.

"Heh..." Sokka shrugged. Quite a hyper-active little beast. "Korra _did _mention she has a puppy, right?"

"Yea, yea, no prob," Bolin dismissed any concern. "It's all good. Pabu's a friendly guy. We welcome animals here."

"That's...good." _Heh, 'cuz my cousin is quite a crazy animal, herself..._

"Playing with that rodent of yours, I see," Mako sighed, brushing by the beast as he entered the living room once more, this time a folder in his hand. "Well, we don't want to leave you waiting - I'm sure you have classwork to take care of. Here's the papers."

* * *

[**Facebook - Sokka Kesuk**]

[**Sokka Kesuk **is now friends with **Bolin Volcan**.]  
[5 hours ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk ** Describe your last poop using a movie title.]  
[3 hours ago]  
[15 people like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk **- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.]  
[3 hours ago]  
[3 people like this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- A River Runs Through It.]  
[3 hours ago]  
[4 people like this.]

[**Aang Leekpai** - charlie and the chocolate factory]  
[3 hours ago]  
[6 people like this.]

[**Zuko Kurosawa** - The Last Samurai]  
[3 hours ago]  
[3 people like this.]

[**Katara Kesuk** - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince]  
[3 hours ago]  
[7 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - blood diamond]  
[2 hours ago]  
[8 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - 28 days later]  
[2 hours ago]  
[8 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - night of the living dead]  
[2 hours ago]  
[8 people like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk** - Christ, Jane. lol.]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Jane Fitzpatrick likes this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - This one's for Toph Beifong and Mai Chiao : Big Trouble in Little China.]  
[2 hours ago]  
[6 people like this.]

[**Katara Kesuk** - The Breakfast Club.]  
[2 hours ago]  
[7 people like this.]

[**Mai Chiao** - Charming, Sokka...-_- ]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk likes this.]

[**Aang Leekpai** - xmen the last stand]  
[2 hours ago]  
[3 people like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk** - Escape From Alcatraz.]  
[2 hours ago]  
[9 people like this.]

[**Katara Kesuk** - Why can I not stop laughing at all this? xD ]  
[2 hours ago]  
[5 people like this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - Because I have finally broken you. ]:) ]  
[2 hours ago]  
[4 people like this.]

[**Bolin Volcan** - mad max beyond thunderdome!]  
[2 hours ago]  
[6 people like this.]

[**Meng Beifong** - eat, pray, love =3 ]  
[2 hours ago]  
[7 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - blazing saddles]  
[1 hour ago]  
[10 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - tombstone]  
[1 hour ago]  
[9 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - the good the bad and the ugly]  
[1 hour ago]  
[12 people like this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - Jesus, Ginger. You're getting really into this...]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk** - The Twilight Saga: Eclipse]  
[48 minutes ago]  
[13 people like this.]

[**Katara Kesuk **- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn]  
[41 minutes ago]  
[14 people like this.]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **- http:/fortressofeden(dot)files(dot)wordpress(dot)com/2010/03/toilight-paper-macro(dot)jpg ]  
[35 minutes ago]  
[15 people like this.]

[**Aang Leekpai** - scott pilgrim vs the world]  
[35 minutes ago]  
[8 people like this.]

[**Bolin Volcan** - iron man]  
[18 minutes ago]  
[5 people like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk** - the Incredible Hulk.]  
[15 minutes ago]  
[7 people like this.]

[**June** **Hale **- ricochet rabbit & droop-a-long]  
[7 minutes ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk likes this]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- That's an OLD ASS cartoon, June, not a movie. But...damn, that's still a good one.]  
[5 minutes ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- I am so proud of you guys...:D :D :D ]  
[2 minutes ago]

* * *

- Saturday, February 19th, 2011 -

[To: Aang]  
[Hey, Bud...Where are you? Still haven't heard back...]  
[Sent: 4:58pm]

Katara sighed as she closed her phone, dropping it into her coat pocket. She hadn't spoken with Aang in days. Geez...A week, maybe? Wow, that was...really weird for them. She didn't like it. Her insides ached at the idea that she was getting ignored by him.

_Gah, but I've been pushing him away, I asked for it. But he was an idiot, he was the one being pushy. Urgh, and Toph, she'd-no, no. Stop it. Focus on _your _feelings, not hers._

Katara's brain was swirling in the uncomfortable stew of doubt it'd been caught in all week. She still didn't know exactly how to handle the cards she'd been dealt, but...she knew one thing: she missed Aang.

"Earth to Kat: food."

"Oh. Heh. Sorry..." Whoa, they were at the cafeteria already? Yikes, she didn't remember the walk from Aqua to the ACC at all...

"Ya gotta stop all this broodin' and crap," Jane picked, jabbing a fork at her shoulder. "Doesn't suit ya."

Katara had to give Jane credit - given all the awkwardness that had transpired, Jane seemed content putting in the effort to keep things afloat. The old Jane - 'Smellerbee' - she'd never bother doing that.

"She's right, Katara," came a familiar voice from behind them. She whirled around to notice that it was that trio she knew casually through Aang. The one speaking was...Tylee, right? "It's bad for your skin."

Jane's eyes rolled as the lot approached, and she kept her back to them, but Katara noticed that Sokka and Suki were alongside them.

"Hey, guys!" her brother greeted. "Mind if we have some extra company tonight?"

"Sure," Katara agreed, pleased to have a large batch of folks to eat food with. Jane wasn't too thrilled at the prospect, but...well, she'd get over it.

After everyone had collected their meals and congregated at the large table, Katara found herself coming in on Zuko explaining this project he'd been working on.

"-and that's all well and good, but I think if we had a place better suited for recreation, we could not only have a place for students to come together, but also a place where people from downtown could feel welcome, too. Get SRU more connected to the community - to the people."

"What, like high school kids, or somethin'?" Sokka mumbled with a dubious frown.

"Well, _yes_," Zuko replied with a shrug. "I mean, I don't see why it'd be so horrible."

"It's going to be downtown in Wayward, anyway," Mai pointed out.

"They still gonna serve actual _drinks _there?" Jane wondered with skepticism. After all, this place used to be where she drank her booze.

"We'll have some after-hours events, I'm sure," Zuko replied. Jane shrugged at that answer, because to her, it meant, 'Not really.'

"_Oh-oh-oh-oh _you should host an ice cream social!" Ty-Lee squealed, waving her hand wildly from two seats away from Zuko.

"Urm...Yea, I'm sure we will..."

"And do an egg-hunt when it's Easter time!"

"Uhh..."

"And a _bake sale! _For _charity!_"

"Hm..."

"And-and-and...-"

Mai set her bony fingers on her rooomate's shoulder, causing her to suck in a deep breath and let her rampant ideas settle.

"So..." Katara mixed her spoon through her applesauce. "Aang seems like he's been pretty busy with the United Republic lately...What, exactly, is taking up all that time?"

Zuko raised a brow at the girl posing this question.

"Well, he's...working on some complicated wall murals, and...-"  
"That's all I thought he was doing." My, Katara seemed kind of hostile about the subject for some reason...

"No. I mean, that was the base of it, but he and I have been talking a lot about other details. He's been helping me organize things, design the layout of the place, decide on staff to hire to keep it runn-"  
"Sounds like a _lot_ more than what he signed up for."

"Katara," Mai interjected with defense, not appreciating the way her boyfriend was being passively ripped on. "Aang and Zuko agreed on all of this beforehand, and he knows that if he needs a breather he just needs to ask for it."

"He's receiving compensation for his work from the school," Zuko added. "And he _wants _to do it..."

"Yea, Sis," Sokka skeptically muttered from her side. "He's been telling me about it all the time - he's totally into it. I don't get your deal."

While Sokka kept his brow raised, Jane's olive eyes rolled in their sockets as she munched on her

"And if it weren't for Aang's involvement, your cousin wouldn't have gotten the job," Suki pointed out.

Katara huffed through her nose, sucking down some fruity sauce. They were all right. And she knew why she was really upset - she hadn't been able to see Aang ever since their little "incident," and was choosing to believe it had to do with him being busy, rather than him ignoring her.

"Well, I...haven't seen him all week, and he hasn't been responding to my texts today," she grumbled in a fuss, continuing to eat.

"He's been doing schoolwork all day up at the art building," Mai casually explained. "I could take you up to see him after dinner."

"Oh..."

"See? You're all good. Take a chill pill," Sokka eased, slapping her on the back. She had grown to _really _hate that phrase - 'take a chill pill' - and Sokka seemed quite oblivious to the personal sensitivities it brought up. "Everything will work itself out just fine."

"Like you and me and _finding jobs_ in a few months?" Suki sighed. Yikes, she sure seemed blunt about rubbing that in Sokka's face these days...It made Katara worry a bit, but she had more than enough to deal with right now, and Sokka likely didn't want her fiddling. Ugh, Lord, what was her problem? Getting worked up about other people's business even _now _while stuck in her her myriad of _crap._

"Oh, yea, that's coming up pretty soon," Zuko noted with a hard swallow.

"Mai here's got a _photography_ internship lined up," Ty-Lee bragged in mysticism on behalf of her friend, who shrugged passively at this.

"It's work, I guess..."

"With how things are going, _some _work is better than _none_, is the vibe I'm gettin'," Sokka expressed his own doubts.

"Exactly," Suki agreed. "The fact of the matter is that a lot of us that graduate right now are probably going to need to bite the bullet and take a job we hate for a while..."

"One that doesn't even have to do with our _degrees_," grumbled Sokka. "Not that mine is _good for any__thing_..."

"Oh, stop your bitching," Jane picked with a tired frown. "Start looking for work instead of complaining."

Suki's expression flashed with some pleasant surprise.

"She's right, you know," she said to Sokka, who nodded dully.

"Yehhp. Recurring theme. I get it..."

"You know _another _recurring theme?" Suki said with a laugh through her nostrils. She pinched at the patch of fur hanging from Sokka's chin. "You'll look a lot more professional if you cut off or at least _trim _this small _animal _that's starting to grow on your face..."

* * *

"Aang? He's been doing all right," Mai assured as they hiked side by side toward the art building. She was surprised that their walk had been free of subject up until now. "Been keeping busy. Zuko's had him hard at work on their building project, sure, but...He's just been cooped up in the art building a lot, too."

"Ah." Katara nodded thoughtfully. Mai noticed that she seemed kind of nervous.

"Have you been able to see it yet? The United Republic."

"Oh, um...No..."

"It's...beautiful. Aang's quite a talented kid, you know?"

A crack of a smile formed on Katara's face, and an earnest "Yea" spilled out. Mai smirked at that tiny smile on Katara's face, for she was quite familiar with it - it seemed to show up on Aang's face a lot lately, too.

"You should go check it out sometime. It's not finished, but his wall art is really something."

"Y-yea, I'm sure I'll...get to see it some time..." Back to that discouraged look. Whatever had happened a week ago, it had put both Aang and Katara into some kind of tizzy...While curious and a tad concerned, Mai knew they'd work things out on their own and wasn't going to wedge her way into it. She simply didn't have the energy for that kind of thing, and wondered how on earth Katara _did_. Keeping just a couple of people in her life stable and happy seemed hard enough, but it sounded like Katara was often juggling that whole group of people...

"I'm sure he's not meaning to ignore you," Mai put out some encouragement as they entered the building. "Like I told you, he's been busy - of his own accord."

"No, I...I get that..."

"He won't know you're here," Mai whispered with a sneaky grin. "Let's see how long it takes 'til he notices..."

"Oh...kay...?" Katara muttered back, confused but entertained by the gloomy girl's mischief.

As they quietly passed through a sea of sculptures, drawings, paintings, and supplies, they found Aang hard at work up in the loft, as he usually was, his back to them while he worked feverishly on a painting.

"Hey, Aang," Mai greeted with nonchalance, delivering a sly wink as she went over to her own piece, a charcoal work depicting a mountain range.

"Hey," he grunted back calmly, dabbing at his canvass.

"How's that coming?" Mai asked.

"Getting there..." Aang replied, staring at his work with careful eyes. He set his brush down for a moment in his easel, scratching at his hair underneath his white newsie hat before readjusting and grabbing the brush again. Katara snuck up behind him and eavesdropped over his shoulder from a distance. Her jaw dropped open partway.

The incomplete work depicted a young woman in elegant white robes, her hair braided in complex tangles, a full moon casting an eerie glow upon her. The lower half of the painting was still unfinished, but Katara couldn't help but notice the familiarity of the woman's face: it looked an _awful _like her own...

She felt her cheeks burn hot with embarrassment. The sight before her overwhelmed with its flattery while Aang unknowingly dabbed away at the piece, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he squinted at it. A snicker tumbled out of Katara's mouth, accompanied by some timid words.

"That's beautiful, Aang..."

"_Yughh?" _came a deep-toned, shaky groan of surprise while Aang swirled around, his hand suddenly trembling. "_Whoa, _hey. There. Katara. Wow. You...are _here._"

"Umm..." She shrugged. Oh, brother. Now _his _face was all red, too. "Yea, I've...been looking for you, and...you weren't answering my texts..."

"Ahah. Heh. Right..." Aang bore a set of unwary teeth, seeming to hover in front of his painting, as if to hide it. "It got left. In my room. I mean. So. Yea. Sorry 'bout that. My bad."

Neither one seemed capable of breaking eyesight, each gaping at the other in silence. Katara suddenly remembered that Mai was _right there_, witness to this. Ugh, because this was oh-so-subtle.

"Ah. That...makes sense...I was just-...Well, you know, it's been...a _week _and all...And Mai, she knew you were here, so...-"

"Yea! That. Makes sense. Yep." Aang nodded his head briskly.

They both twisted their heads to Mai, who was playing ignorant, scribbling at her drawing. Katara was struck with the idea that she'd been setup. Mai deserved more credit than she'd been getting - the girl was a sneaky one! She knew this whole time, didn't she?

"UhHhHh..." Aang shrugged, setting his equipment down on the floor carelessly. "Y-ya know, I've been...workin' hard all day on this, maybe I oughtta...go get some air..."

"Yea, you should," Mai said dryly. "It's actually pretty nice out."

"Shhhuuure. Katara, how about I walk you back to the dorm?"

"Sounds great," Katara said with a shaky laugh. "Have a good night, Mai."

"Have fun, you two."

"Y-yea, we will," Katara chirped out sheepishly, pulling Aang out in a rush. Moments later, they were out of the building, swiftly pacing side-by-side down the sidewalk toward Aqua, hand-in-haaaaa-_Whaaaat?_

Katara's fingers practically popped off, her hand springing off of Aang's.

"_Sorry_," Katara squeaked, "I didn't...-"  
"It's OK."

Katara tugged at her hair and Aang fidgeted with his hat. They both stuffed their fists in their coat pockets afterward.

"Listen," Katara initiated, "Aang, I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, and how I was blowing you off last weekend, it was-"  
"No, I was outta line, I _totally _shouldn't have done that..."

They both smirked at each other's apologies.

"I didn't mean to...leave you hanging," Katara mumbled, her voice trembling with uncertainty. "You know that, right?"

Aang felt a lump in his throat clearing. It was comforting to hear that. He still couldn't work out words, so he nodded, instead. Their eyes pulled apart again.

"I could...give you a list of excuses," Katara continued. "But it's really just that...I don't _know_ yet..."

"And you don't want to hurt Toph...I don't, either..."

"Yea..." _Or Jane...But, um, we don't need to get into that_.

"Sooo..." Aang cleared his throat. "What do we _do_?" _All this uncertainty is killing me..._

"I think...we...-" _Ugh, I have no idea..._

"You're still thinking about it," Aang conceded Katara some mental space.

"Rrrright." Katara nodded, her eyes following the rivets in-between blocks of sidewalk. "Heh...Sorry..."

"Ha, no, it's-...I-I get it..."

"I'm just not sure what do to do with all of this, Aang."

"Whhh...Which means you want to do _something_ with it...?" he peeped with some hope.

"Ulgh, uh...R-right, _maybe_. I-I mean...-" Her shoulders popped up hastily.

_Shoot, I shouldn't have said it to her like that. Grr, Aang, why can't you stop being so stupid?_

"No, I know," Aang spat out in courtesy. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm...just gonna...stop saying words now. Heh."

"There's just some..._stuff_...going on that's making this more complicated that it needs to be," Katara muttered, pulling her hood up over her head as her ears were starting to freeze from the evening air.

"Mm..."

"I guess...I just need some more time to figure it out, and by then...I'll...know what to do with..._us_..." _Jeez, I'm making it sound like such a problem, some big burden...Is that what it really is to me? That just doesn't sound right... _"It's just all _complicated_."

"Yea. It's...cool. I know how...complicated...stuff like that can be. Ya know?" _Well, if she _really _didn't like me at _all, _she totally would've just dropped it by now..._

"Yea..." _Shoot, __rubbing in what just happened, nice move, Katara. _"Right, I guess...you _do_. Huh?" Katara was now realizing that she'd been treading water this whole week, this cloud of gobbly-gook looming over her, and yet she hadn't genuinely sat down and sorted out how to untangle it just yet. Now she was feeling like an idiot. "So, Aang, um...Tell how the United Republic's coming along...?"

"Errhhh...Sure! Yea..."

While Aang rattled off details, Katara decided that it was telling - that even though she didn't know what she wanted out of all of this, she _did _want to spend time with Aang. That _had _to mean something. She had to get to the bottom of that desire.

* * *

- Sunday, February 20th, 2011 -

"Ah. See, now...Sokka, that's your problem right there: you watched Fox News at _all _to begin with!"

A round of chuckles between the two of them.

The man before Sokka was in his 40's, his face slightly wrinkled, his smile sage and calm. He had a trimmed, half-grayed goatee and mustache, and was wearing slacks and a tidy brown sweater. He was Professor Piandao.

"Pff, hey..." Sokka shook his head slowly as he took a bite of his croissant. "You should be glad I watch the news _at all. _I mean, the only news anyone my age watches anymore is, like...comedy stuff. Like Colbert and Stewart."

Piandao smirked.

"Fox News _isn't _comedy? I think you're mistaken."

More laughs.

"OK, OK, but...seriously." Sokka slurped some coffee. "My generation, man...The only news we get is through entertainment. It's kind of sad, really..."

"Knowledge has to be sugared up and canned for consumption. Like everything else these days..."

"Yea."

"There's not really much you can do about that other than to be vigilant yourself."

"I know..."

Piandao sighed to himself, dunking his oatmeal cookie into his coffee and taking a bite while they both reflected on this idea.

"It's a shame," Piandao remarked. "All of these problems we've gotten our society into, and the economy is collapsing on itself. It's a bit ignorant to expect you guys to repair this broken culture you're being dumped into - all on your own, anyway."

Sokka's head drooped, and he rubbed at his eyes while he contemplated his predicament.

"God, I don't even..._care _about our culture, I'm just worried about finding a _job _in a few months..."

Piandao continued to dunk his cookie, and waggled a finger to Sokka.

"Why are you so worried? You're about to graduate with a degree and a lot of experience."

Sokka's fingers rattled along the table and he leaned back in his seat.

"That's exactly it."

"Oh?" Piandao's brow lifted with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

"Despite all the work I've put into school, and all this time...I just don't know how in the _hell _I'm ever going to manage after all of this. Because I'm an idiot. Because I'm lazy. Because...because if my girlfriend and my little sister weren't constantly on my back to get crap done, I'd...-" He sighed, his head rolling back as he stared at the ceiling. "-...I'd probably just _fail_ at everything."

Piandao smirked with empathy as he finished off his cookie.

"For someone who's supposed to be competing in a job market, brimming with self-confidence and all...you're not doing a very good job at selling yourself."

"I know," Sokka mumbled, his head rolling back around as he stared down into his coffee cup. "Everyone keeps telling me that I'm almost done, that I've nearly finished...that I'm a 'man' now, that...that I'm ready to take on the '_real world,_'" he flashed irritated air quotes, "and be an adult and...everything. But the truth is...I don't know if _am _an adult...Or if I _could _take care of myself, much less someone else..."

"Mm...I see," Piandao said cautiously, thoughtfully. "Then I suppose you'll be spending the following months finding out just how 'adult' you really _are__._"

Sokka drank a long gulp of his coffee, which was warm by now, but still creamy and sugary, as he liked it.

"I suppose _so_..."

* * *

**A/N: Bolin and Mako will be the two protagonists alongside Korra in the upcoming sequel series, and Pabu is their pet fire-ferret. The names of the street names are references to the creators of A:tLA, and June's last name is a reference to her voice actor (one of my favs in the biz), Jennifer Hale, while Bolin/Mako's is just Latin for "Volcano," of course, which is because Bolin bends earth and Mako bends fire. The Facebook thread really happened recently, I just stole the idea (and a few of the movie titles). Piandao is of course Sokka's swordsman teacher, so you can imagine he will play a similar role here. And BTW, just to make it clear, the entire purpose of the FB thread - being pointless and juvenile - was to reiterate this element of Sokka's character: his childishness.  
**

**Lastly, the scene with Aang painting is depicted here:  
http:/saki-kagurazaki(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Com-Aang-and-Kitara-261709795**

**Actually, I have one last thing to say. Please check out this fanfic, which to me feels like someone took what I wanted to do with Worst Field Trip Ever and is doing a lot of the same ideas better. I really don't read fiction lately myself, to be honest, but this stuff is truly worth reading. It's Toph-centric, exploring similar ideas as WFTE did, if that's your kind of thing. ;)  
Fanfiction(dot)net/s/7436037/1/Nothing_is_Illuminated  
**


	64. Collide

**A/N: So, a bit of SRS BSNS here before we get into this chapter. It's the Christmas season, and I am struggling with a lack of consistent workflow and thus lack of money to, I dunno, make a living out here. _ I will not be able to see my family for Christmas (they are as broke as I am), and since my girlfriend just graduated (and thus has no job), and moved back home (4 hours away) it looks like we won't be able to see each other until at LEAST after new year's, because neither of us have money. It's not even looking like I will have enough to pay rent this month because last month was really slow for freelance writing for me (while this month has been fruitful) and my hours at my store have been decreased. I'm working two jobs but both are JUST part-time enough to keep me busy and not quite enough to cover my needs. It's frustrating.**

**I am distraught. I've tried looking for alternate work earlier in the fall but nothing seemed to turn up, but I have this fear that if I do manage to find pointless work, I will be miserable, having to take long commutes across multiple busses every day (instead of just some days) and be too tired to do what I'd like to (and unable to ever see my GF, who has become a large motivating factor given everything that has happened to me this year).  
**

**Thus, I am asking if any of you, my readers, might happen to know of any way I might be able to try earning a bit of extra income with my writing (or any other way, honestly). Or even if you'd be interested in donating to my cause of simply wanting to see my GF this month/surviving another month's rent, or commissioning me to write you a short story, etc.**

**I do have a PayPal:**  
**Eddy(dot)Fettig09(at)Houghton(dot)edu**

**And if you think you might be interested in giving me some work, please feel free to e-mail me at that address or send me a message through this website with what you have in mind. I am incredibly grateful for all of the support you guys have given my work across multiple websites and wrote a journal about that here:**  
**destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/journal/A-Word-of-Thanks-274192717**

**I'm just not sure what I can be doing to help myself out of this whole situation, but felt that it couldn't hurt to ask.**

**With that business out of the way, I hope you all enjoy this heavy chapter - I put a lot of myself into it and it's probably the chapter I have combed over and tweaked the most so far (something I actually don't do a lot). It's one of the most important chapters in the whole story.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 64 - Collide_

* * *

- Monday, February 21st, 2011 -

Jane sighed as she set the prepared wrap on a plate, dropped a pickle spear next to it, and placed it on the counter. She dully announced into the speaker system.

["Aang."]

From their normal booth at Appa's, Aang and Sokka were having a lunch break together, having both just gotten out of class. Sokka's food had been finished first, and he was already partway through eating it. He had cautiously watched Jane's uncertain expression as she'd announced Aang's name, and the way she'd suddenly turned away as soon as he moved from his booth. By the time he went to go get his food, she was back at the grill, adjusting her cap and uneventfully ignoring him.

"Thanks!" he called to her over the counter with a bright smile. She didn't respond, tending to a batch a curly fries that had been in their oil just long enough. Aang shrugged it off, still puzzled about her friend's attitude. He just couldn't comprehend all of the women around him lately. As he sat down with his veggie wrap, his back to the workspace Jane resided in, he took a large bite of out his pickle.

"You go ahead and eat your _vegetable sandwich_," Sokka scoffed. "She's made_ me_ a burger, so I'm gonna have to tell her how it is. Ginger's still trying to work out the kinks."

"Mm," Aang nodded, his jaws slicing the pickle absentmindedly.

He'd been considering asking Sokka about this for a while. After all, Sokka _was _her brother...and he knew her better than anyone, right? After he swallowed his pickle, he paused.

"So, Sokka...You know some stuff about ladies, right?"

"_Some_ stuff?" Sokka went wide-eyed. "Come to your senses about what I was sayin' huh?" A sly grin formed. "You've come to the right place, my friend." Sokka waggled his eyebrows in a way that made Aang slightly uncomfortable. "What can I do ya for?"

"Well...So, I mean, I know we've been talking about it really vaguely and all, but...so...-" Aang huffed, then spoke in a clear voice. "I _have _been having some awkwardness with this girl, right?"

Sokka's eyes had wandered away from his roommate while he was speaking, planting themselves suspiciously on the red-headed grill-cook.

"Ya know, Bud, I've thought on it a bit more, and I _think_ I know who ya mean," Sokka cockily assured, keeping his voice low. _You can keep denying it, Bud, but I know what the deal is here._

Aang's jaw went agape. Had Sokka finally figured it out?

"You _do_?" he choked out in a loud spat. "And you're_...OK_ with it?"

"Of _course_ I am," Sokka spewed hastily, keeping his tone low. His gaze averted back to Jane, who was gawking at them, having apparently overheard Aang's outburst of shock. She looked disconcerted. This made Sokka amused. "And, to tell you the truth," he went on, voice lowered, "I've been picking up a subtle vibe that she likes you, too."

"She...She _does_?" Aang whispered, matching Sokka's decibel level. Aang practically couldn't eat anymore at this point.

"_Oh_-yea - she's _crazy_ about ya," Sokka was quick to insist, like it wasn't anything at all. "All ya have to do now is not mess it up." He jabbed a finger at Aang's chest.

_Sokka's right! I can't ruin this, it's such a complicated situation...  
_

"W-well, how do I do _that_?" Aang's eyes were blinking furiously. Finally! Maybe he'd get somewhere this time in a talk with Sokka on the matter.

"The number one mistake nice guys like you make?" Sokka shook his head slowly. "Being_ too nice_."

"You can be _too_ nice?" _Monkey-feathers! Maybe that's why she was avoiding me before? I'm being too...'into' her? Giving her too much attention?  
_

"Oh, yea. If you wanna keep her interested, you have to act aloof - like you don't really care one way or the other."

_Huh, I guess that..._kind of _makes sense...? Katara _has _been saying how she needs space, and...everything._

"Well...OK..." Aang ruffled his hair, contemplating it all. "Hm..." He got up with his cup, which was still empty, and paced over to the soda fountain, in a mental daze.

["Jamal."]

Jane placed the next meal on her list onto the counter, then shimmied down the window to where Aang stood, addle-brained, filling his cup with raspberry tea as Sokka observed with delight.

"Yo," she greeted, suddenly interested in interaction. Aang was too lost in thought to pay her much heed. "Everything all right over there?" Jane grunted out with curiosity.

Aang simply shrugged to this, popping the cap on his cup as he scratched at his head feverishly, beginning to walk away.

"Er...R-right, cool," Jane called back. "I've got my _own _stuff goin' on, anyway. Catch ya later."

"Mm," Aang hummed back with a zombie's shrug.

"Wow..._That-kid-is-good_..." Sokka muttered to himself, going to stroke his beard, only to realize it wasn't there, having been shaved off the night prior. It was rough and scratchy, like sandpaper. This bothered him. Sandpaper-face wasn't manly. And yet shaved was what it needed to remain if he wanted proper make-outage that night.

* * *

- Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011 -

Sokka's search was proving to be unyieldingly frustrating. An hour of internet searching and he couldn't seem to find very many leads on jobs he felt confident he could actually apply for, but he tossed some applications out there, anyway. Grah, everyone wanted work experience that he didn't _have. _What was he supposed to do with that? He was relieved when his sister arrived, catching him off guard without any previous contact.

"Yo," he greeted with nonchalance from his desk, trying to mask his underlying stress.

"Hey, Sokka," Katara nodded as she lingered in his open doorway, her attention distracted as she glanced down the hallway.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I was...just around." She stepped into the room.

"Oh?"

"Aang's, um...-" Her hands were wedged in her coat pockets. "-...out working on art...stuff. Huh?"

"Uh, actually, I think he went out for a jog." Sokka thumbed to the window of their room.

"Oh. Right. Well...That's cool." Katara nodded.

Sokka rubbed at his fleshy stomach from beneath his wrinkled, greenish-plaid button-down. He pinched at a bit of flab.

"Startin' to wonder if maybe I oughtta follow his lead..."

Katara shrugged at this, pulling her hands out of her coat.

"Erm...I dunno. You look fine to me."

"Meh..." _I'm your brother, your opinion doesn't count in these things._

"Suki's been badgering you to get in shape. That's it, isn't it?"

"Yea..." Sokka huffed through his nose, running his hand through his hair, which was tied up in in a tight tail. Now that Katara thought on it, he'd been wearing it like that when he _wasn't _with Suki, and had his hair down when he _was_ with her. Normally he had been leaving it down all of time, so...what was with the change?

"Well..." Katara shrugged. "That sort of thing is up to _you_...You know?"

"Right." Sokka's jaw slid to the side in contemplation while Katara's hands fidgeted with one of her tied locks of hair that hung over her shoulder. There was silence for a moment.

"Rockin' the hair droopies a lot lately," Sokka remarked with a slow gesture of his index in her direction.

"Huh...?" Katara's hands popped off of her hanging locks and onto her temples in confusion.

"The, uh...-" Sokka waggled his finger across his sideburn. "The hair droopies." Katara suddenly realized Sokka was referring to the tied locks she'd sometimes set in front of either ear.

"As opposed to hair _loopies_," Katara dully sought clarification. Her brother needed a stupid name for _everything._ She flicked one of the hanging locks with her wrist. "These?" she grumbled.

"Exactly. You've been wearing the loopies _and _the droopies a lot lately. What's up with that?"

"Uhh...-?" A raised brow and a shrug while she checked to ensure her forehead 'loopies' were still in tact. "Just...feel like it, I guess..." _I remember Aang used to say that he liked them - thought they made me look 'unique.'_

"Ah." Sokka rubbed at his chin, which was bare.

"You shaved your little beard off," Katara observed with impatience, almost as some weak-willed counter.

"Yea," Sokka sighed. "Suki doesn't like the scruff..."

"You look nice, though."

"Thanks. You, too."

More silence, as both pondered their own circumstances.

"I, uh...haven't heard much from Aang lately...Is he doing OK?" She hadn't gotten any messages from him since their last encounter on that walk from the art building.

"_Pff,_" Sokka tossed his arm. "Totally. If anything happens, I'll report it straight to you, Miss Madame Lady All-Seeing Overseer Lady." _When I hook these two up, I am gonna so rub it in your face, Sis._

"Uhm..." Katara's jaw slid to the side with some irritation at his foolish name, but she decided to let it pass this time. She sighed and rolled the topic off. "So...Sokka, when you have a big, _super _stressful decision you have to make...What do you do to help you decide?"

"I make a list," Sokka had immediately replied, like it was nothing. Like it was so simple.

"A list." Katara was thoroughly unimpressed with this answer.

"Yea. Ya just...write down the pros and cons of the choice you're thinking of making."

"Hm..." Katara twirled her finger through a hair 'droopie' for a moment. _Gee, lotta freakin' help, Sokka..._

Sokka's eyebrows furrowed. "Why? What's up?"

"You don't want to know," Katara wrote off the matter, still a tad bitter about his insistence on not hearing her out earlier in the week.

"Ah. Gotcha..." His eyes remained suspicious for a moment before his gaze was averted back to his computer.

"So..." Katara's eyes rolled across the room, and she found herself regretting her impromptu visit. No Aang, _and _no help from her brother. "How's things going with getting Korra that place?"

"Good," Sokka obliged, clicking at his USB mouse. "She's pretty much set up now. Just needs to...ya know..._move _out here."

"Oh. Cool. So...we're helping with that, right?"

"Yea, next weekend."

"Neat. That's...just so crazy. She'll be right nearby."

"I _know_. I'm actually kinda stoked. It's funny how things work out sometimes, am I right?"

"Yea..." Katara nodded. She wasn't as enthused as Sokka, but then again, she and Korra didn't mesh quite as well. Now that she thought about it, she realized that maybe if Korra _was_ nearby, they'd get more acquainted with each other, and feel more like family. Katara liked that prospect. "OK, well...Anyway..." She nodded, stepping back to the door. "Just thought I'd say 'hi.' I actually have some homework and stuff to do."

"Oh." Sokka was actually a bit disappointed, but he let it roll off. "Sure thing. Good seein' ya, Sis."

"Yea. You, too, Sokka."

As Katara turned around, Sokka caught her with his words.

"Would it hurt to call me 'Bro?' Eh? I mean...I call you 'Sis' all the time..."

Katara stopped in midstep and looked back over her shoulder with an amused smirk at his mock-puppy-eyes. She could see through the layer of glazed sarcasm that there was actually some intent.

"No, it wouldn't," she said with a warm smirk, her eyelids sliding just a tad closed in endearment. "Have a good night, _Bro_," she teased.

* * *

_{"The consequences of our actions are so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed."}_

Her classes were complete. Her reading for Wednesday had been read - well enough, at least. Her homework was finished. Her roommate - recovered from illness, elsewhere, probably being a stupid stick in the mud.

Katara stared at her paper, surveying the two columns she'd scribbled down.

_I can't believe I'm actually doing this..._

{Pros}  
{+ Sweet}  
{+ Thoughtful of others}

{Cons}  
{- Hurting Toph}  
{- Awkwardsauce}

She tapped her pen against her lips thoughtfully before writing more.

{+ Cute}

Hm. Cute. Did that...count? Wasn't that obvious? If she was considering dating a guy, wasn't that supposed to be a prerequisite? Then again...she had dated Jet. And Jet hadn't been 'cute.' It was very different. Hm...Even her boyfriends back in high school hadn't really been 'cute,' either...Sure, that counted for something...If anything, it differentiated Aang. Her attention went back to the {Cons} section.

{- Hurting Jane}

Was that fair? Would she really be hurting Jane if she decided to date Aang? It _would _kind of be, like...going back on her word, in a sense. Crap. She _had _been saying there was nothing going on like that...Urgh, but...that was just because Jane had been so forceful about it. A-and that's _really _what she had thought at the time! Right? So, if Jane got hurt, it wasn't her fault. She'd never asked for any of that. Gah, no. This did _not _count. No, no. She scratched lines through the words in frustration.

{- H===ng J===}

Bleh...But if Jane didn't count, why did Toph? Well, because..._because. _It just did. That was a different matter...Yea. Urgh, but...What about what Meng had said?

_[fortuneteller114 - i love her but she's been making stupid choices. her feelings aren't your rsponsibility right now.]_  
_[fortuneteller114 - YOURS are.]_

Katara amended the first item on the {Cons} list.

{- Hurting Toph (?)}

Hm. What else was there?

{- Insecurity}

Aang had seemed pretty down on himself a lot lately. Toph had taken things he was already self-conscious of, dragged them out into the open, and stomped on them. Over and over. Although, Katara found herself wondering exactly what Aang was feeling insecure about these days. He _had _been wary about the sexual aspects of his relationship with Toph - about how needed to "take it slow." For Toph this had been horrible, she couldn't stand it. Katara found herself wondering if this was _really _a bad thing for her, though. Maybe taking things slow was what she'd been missing this whole time with past guys - she found herself just...kind of jumping into the physical side, and so that was what had become the basis of things.

Aang wanted to take things slow, but...did that really make him insecure? Especially when he seemed to sure about what he could for others? Hm. Katara knew Aang was unsure of himself in some regards, but this was a decision from _her _perspective, not Toph's or Sokka's, who would call him "un-manly." In this regard, she altered the writing.

{- Insecurity (?)}

She moved back to the {Pros} section, having covered what had come to mind for negatives.

{+ Brave}

The word spilled out on the paper before Katara really _thought _about it. Brave? Aang? _Really_? Why'd she put _that _down? Aang was a cuddly teddy bear, and-...Well, wait...

Because he stood up to Toph - which wasn't easy because _damn, _she could be pretty cut-throat and tear you down...Because he had the courage to end such a close romance that he knew wasn't working, even though he'd risk losing one of the few friends he had. Because he was going to college in the first place, despite no safety net, practically no outside support. Because he was pushing to use his art to help others, which meant putting it out there and opening the floodgates for criticism. Because, despite all of the social awkwardness, he'd expressed his feelings to Katara through _action, _putting yet another of his few friendships at stake. Because he was learning to stand up for himself, and what he believed in, and not take crap from people, even - _especially _- the people he loved.

Because he strived to keep his friends in balance with one another.

Yea, he was brave.

_{"There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."}_

Katara caught herself biting on the end of her pen when she'd reached the end of this thread of thought. Another word tumbled out.

{+ Wise}

Because he was constantly thinking of his own faults and how his choices affected those around him. Because despite his past, he didn't let himself be consumed by rage and regret and pain. Because he could be humble and learn from his mistakes, and thus was growing and becoming confident in his abilities. Because he could tell the difference between an argument that would actually get something accomplished and one where people simply got hurt. Because he understood that power wasn't a goal in and of itself, but rather a tool to be used in finding peace. Because he never accepted the notion he knew enough but instead accepted that there always more to learn.

Because he understood that the variety of people he specifically put in his life - each element they brought with them - was something he could learn from.

Yes...Aang _was _wise for his age, huh?

_{Prov. 18:15}_  
_{The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.}_

{+ Tenacious}

Katara bit her lip as she surveyed this word. (In doing so, she slipped into the puddle of recalling the taste of his lips - it was that physical spark, that action of his, that had generated the word in her mind. He'd gone out and kissed her - that had been brave. And then he'd kissed her _again _when she expressed uncertainty. OK, _that _hadn't been so wise, but...it was also irregular for him. And it had shown tenacity, either way - despite her wibbly-wobbly stance on the whole thing, Aang seemed rather insistent on trying to win her over in his own way, because...well...Katara wished she knew, actually. Then again, Aang had been so determined to work things out with Toph, as well. He was just..._like this _when it came to loving someone, it seemed.

But it wasn't just that - the romance. Aang had come to be so...unrelenting when he actually decided what he wanted to do. He'd decided he wanted to get in shape, and he'd been running - every day, it sounded like. He wanted to _do _something with his art, and he was dead-set on continuing the United Republic project with Zuko. Most importantly, Aang worked so hard to maintain his connections to everyone - he was insistent on staying friends with Toph through the pain, through her pulling and pushing and fussing. It reminded her of how she was like this, herself - refusing to give up on people.

_{"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."}_

{+ Virtuous}

Yet another word simply poured itself out from her pen, seemingly on its own, too. Katara stared at it for a moment. She recounted the many discussions she had shared with Aang after he'd come with her to church, about all manner of things - talks that would spill from church to the ride home right into lunch. They'd discuss so many matters of the world, of life - and how to live it. Early on, she'd been surprised at how such a seemingly naive boy could possess such strong beliefs hidden by his sweet exterior. But by now, she _expected _their values to line up. How she viewed the world, what she believed was "best" and "right" and "just"...Aang consistently felt the same way. When it came to the things that _mattered, _Aang's sight matched her own.

The last person she'd given her heart to - Jet - had lost so much...and he had let the pain consume him. He let it _excuse _him to do horrible things, to spread that pain to others. Good intentions or not, it had caused pain.

Aang had lost far more than Jet. He hadn't just lost his parents - he'd lost _everyone_ - and yet he _chose_, so deliberately, to still spread love and kindness, instead.

The world had robbed him of a mother, a father, brothers, sisters, cousins..._family. _It had shoved hurt, and neglect, and abuse down his throat.

And yet, when he spoke, peace emerged. Heh. When he wasn't all adorably stuttering. Heehee.

God, if _Aang_ wasn't virtuous, then...who did she know that _was?_

Katara's brain was buzzing, a hive of pride at her friend's qualities. She enhanced what'd she'd written.

{+ **Virtuous**}

How could she have been so _stupid _before? Dating a guy like _Jet? _A brooding, selfish, arrogant man who had only acted out of desire. He'd acted on what was best for _him. _Y-yes, he...had been pretty _hot_. With rippling muscles, and an utterly _throbbing_-...Ahem. But...but _still! _Seriously? Yes, the sex had been_ so satisfying_...in the same way that...a filling _meal _was. Nothing more. A...biological need, and nothing more. Looking back, the physicality of their relationship had been driven by hormones and lebido, not-...Ugh. She didn't know. Nothing that _mattered_? Like...like _love_? Or affection, maybe? Mutual respect?

She remembered how insecure she had been back in high school, worried about her looks - people would make fun of her frizzy hair and her fat nose and how she'd carried her books, and how she'd dressed, and how she was a klutz sometimes, and how she'd stutter when she got nervous, and how she'd fuss over everything, and be a "teacher's pet."

Jet - Haru, even - had made her feel...pretty and elegant. Something she had wanted to feel for so long. And what a petty, childish thing to focus on that had been. Her body, their bodies...that had become the focus. But with Aang, he made her _spirit _feel beautiful. Just her existence, her words - that what was brought him joy and comfort. Other guys would gawk at her breasts, or her hips, and Aang would stare at her _face, _and listen to her words with baited breath. Katara had...done a _lot _with Jet, more than she had ever thought she would have. And she regretted it now. But with Aang...they would touch each other in so many subtle, small ways that meant so much _more,_ even when romance wasn't even on the table. The motivations, the source of the contact, it meant so much more than the actual physical touch did.

Jet had been practically her opposite, and she had poured so much attention into him...He had been such a broken..._child. _Lost and confused, misled and uncertain of his own identity in the world, lying and scheming and being _paranoid _about losing all of that social power he'd horded. And being around him - dating him - had made _her _paranoid. His anger, his obsessiveness, his overreacting and selfishness, it had rubbed off on her, and pulled her away from her friends. But despite that, she had thought she could..._fix _him. Ugh. Such a weakness of hers, always wanting to _fix _everything and everyone...

Aang was just as broken as any person. But the difference was that he didn't _need _any fixing. When something was wrong, he 'fixed'_ himself_.

With Jet, Katara had struggled to make him grow up into the kind of guy she could respect. She'd pushed to make him realize how the people around him could help him become strong.

Aang already _was _the kind of guy she respected, and he'd _made_ himself that way because he already _knew _how to gain that strength from those around him.

Katara was rapping her pen against the paper in a mental frenzy, stupidly giddy with how she had never really matched these pieces up in her own mind, having let herself get deluded into seeing Aang for what he had _been _instead of what he had _become_ in just a year and half's time.

But...but, whoa, wait up here. What _if _they dated? What if she made a mistake? What if - God forbid - she somehow managed to really hurt him? The way Toph had? How would he react? Well...How had he reacted to Toph?

{+ Tenacious}

Aang had tried so hard to make things work, even when his heart had been cracked down the middle and she'd blasted his 'manlihood' into the ground. He had _refused_ to give up on their friendship...

{+ Brave}

...but Aang had also learned to stop letting Toph push him around, and he'd stood up for what he'd felt. How much he'd been hurt, how wrongly she'd treated him. He'd let his anger out at Toph...

{+ Wise}

...and then he had let that anger go. He didn't punish her or pursue any kind of revenge. He'd done nothing in retaliation...

{+ **Virtuous**}

...No, that wasn't entirely right. It was _easy _to do nothing. But it was _hard _to forgive. And he had forgiven.

_{"Soon the time will come when you must make the choice between what is right and what is easy."}_

Aang had chosen to forgive Toph without a second thought. That was...just how he _was. _He had _chosen _to keep Toph in his life when - in many's eyes - she didn't deserve it. And in making that choice, he'd made himself stronger, and Katara had faith that - as soon as she pulled her head out of the dirt - Toph would become stronger, too.

Another concept joined the others now.

{+ Natural}

Aang didn't make Katara feel uneasy and wary like Jet did. She rarely had reason to be upset with him. She had _never _doubted putting trust in him. She never was putting on an act around him, she never felt like Aang wanted her to act any differently than she already _did, _and vice versa. Jet had wanted Katara to change, and Katara had wanted Jet to change. Toph had wanted Aang to act differently, and Aang had wanted Toph to act differently.

But Katara and Aang never seemed to run into this issue.

When Katara had conversations with Aang, even when they stumbled and stuttered, somehow their words flowed like water.

When either of them were feeling down, the other would uplift them like wind under their wings.

Bent over her notepad on her bed, cross-legged, Katara was at this point sipping on a mug of tea she'd brewed at the start of this process. It had cooled down during her brainstrorming, an indicator of how long she'd actually been contemplating all of this. Her brain full of vigor and realization, Katara surveyed the list.

{Pros}  
{+ Sweet}  
{+ Thoughtful of others}  
{+ Brave}  
{+ Wise}  
{+ Tenacious}  
{+ **Virtuous**}  
{+ Natural}

{Cons}  
{- Hurting Toph (?)}  
{- Awkwardsauce}  
{- H===ng J===}  
{- Insecurity (?)}

Katara scratched her head with the back end of her pen. Was it really...so lopsided like that? All of the {Pros} were things she found herself..._attracted _to. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually...and it made her friend, who she had always found kind of cute but dorky, all the more attractive - in a way she couldn't explain. But...Grah, most of the things she'd put in the {Cons} she wasn't even so sure deserved to be there. Bleh. Was her judgment really so clouded? Whenever she thought of a problem, a flaw...it had nothing to do with _her. _It was...something that impacted _others._

When Jet had problems, he'd let pride, his perception of 'honor,' get in the way, and he'd pushed Katara - and Jane, and Johnny, _everyone_ - outside. When Aang had problems, he let people in because he knew that admitting humility was the first step to overcoming his mistakes.

Aang was always pulling in people all around him - all different kinds. He seemed to be able to get along with anyone, even those who were so opposite of him, like Toph. Katara, likewise, worked to hold those people _together. _They always seemed to be working as a team to keep everyone in balance, now that she thought about it.

Katara always found herself running around trying to 'fix' everyone's problems, _especially _the men - no, the _bo_ys _- _she had dated.

But Aang was the one person she _did not have to_ _fix._

Drawing in a deep, peaceful breath, Katara looked over at the drawings she had hung on the wall, above the foot of her bed and beside the doorway and light switch.

An Otter-Penguin, waving its four fins out, curiously staring at her with the cutest button eyes as it waddled along - the drawing she'd received for Christmas.

A willow tree, swaying in the breeze, with stars inexplicably hanging from the tips of some of its branches. It rested on a small hill, alone, a large crescent moon arching over top from the left - the drawing she'd received when she was depressed over her breakup with Jet.

With everything that had been going on this schoolyear, and for all of her attention to details, Katara had lost sight of the obvious. She'd lost perspective on the bigger picture.

_{"Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end - if not always in the way we expect."}_

* * *

- Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011 -

_{It's a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up.}_

[To: Aang]  
[So...What do you think? Are you free tomorrow morning, or was 8 too early?]  
[Sent: 6:12pm]

The day had gone by in a blur. Still no response from Aang all day. Katara could feel her heart sinking inch by inch as each hour had passed that day with no word back from him. Suddenly, in a day's time, what had been so confusing and uncertain and muddled was so..._clear_.

Katara found herself meandering to the ACC, aimlessly. Wait, wait...No, there had been _some _reason...Man, her brain was so addled and giddy. It was like being drunk, in a way. Heehee.

_Rrrmmm._

[From: Jane]  
[yo yo. you down for dinner tonite?]  
[Sent: 6:17pm]

Katara grimaced at the message as she stood in a hallway of the ACC. Some students were passing her by, grabbing their coats off hooks from the rack attached to the wall. Katara sheepishly squirmed out of their way, having been engulfed by her phone.

"Sorry..."

As they all romped off, she contemplated a reply, heading downstairs to Appa's.

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Sorry, I'm eating alone tonight. I'll catch you back at the dorm.]  
[Sent: 6:19pm]

In Appa's, things were rather busy, as it was All-You-Can-Eat-Pizza Night. Katara found herself weaving around fellow students and even some members of the community who'd migrate with their families for the occasion.

"Hey, Sis!"

"Wha-?" Katara flinched from the slap on the back she received, her shoulders tightening as she was ripped from her thoughts. "Sokka?"

"Yo! Here for dinner?" Sokka stretched his arm out to 'their' booth near the counter of Appa's. Aang was sitting on one end, nearly finished with a plate of pizza, while Toph was-_...Toph?_ Wh-what was _she _doing here? Neither seemed to be paying her presence any heed.

"Uh, n-no, I was just, um...-" she sputtered in a delayed response to Sokka, when he'd started easing to the table.

"Our voodoo magic summoned you here, didn't it?" Sokka concluded with a smug grin. "Me and Aang were just chillin', and who comes grumpin' about but ol' Dead-Eyes, here." They reached the side of the table. "She had been lulled here, just like you, unable to resist our spell."

"Bite me," Toph grunted, leaned back in her seat with a sour expression.

"Oh..." Aang finally acknowledged her presence with a dulled expression befitting of him. "Hey, Katara. I didn't see you there."

"Ya really oughtta get in line," Sokka advised, dragging her into the thankfully short row of people lined up in front of the register.

Katara's mind was mush. It was like a stream-of-conscious except her entire _body _was 'streaming,' just carelessly moving from one place to the next. She'd been this way all day. After a couple of people in line had check out, she turned her head over her shoulder to see Sokka and Toph discussing something. Whatever it was, Sokka seemed rather serious, which was curious. Aang was just eating his food like he had been, without a care in a world, it seemed.

_Pff. Hello? I'm _right here. _You're not..._looking _at me, Aang. Come on._

No amount of telepathy seemed to be working.

"Hey. So whatcha want?"

"Eh?" She whirled around to see the bleak, half-dead expression of Sokka's boss staring her down with unenthused impatience.

"Your _order?_" June elicited, her tone dead as a door nail.

"O-oh, just...the pizza deal."

"_Shocker_," June sighed, ringing her up and taking her money, which she paid with her debit card, having forgot she didn't have any cash on her at the moment. "Next up!"

Katara whisked herself out of the line and headed for the food. Her heart hopped when she saw Aang with his plate empty - haha, he always ate the entire pizza crust - approaching the line.

Butterflies that she had never known were in hiding were suddenly fluttering like mad through her stomach, and she could feel her face turn hot, so she struggled to play it cool and just...get her food. Yep. That was all she was doing. No big deal.

"Sooo..." Aang placed his crumb-riddled plate on the serving counter and leaned his back up against it, setting his elbows upon it. He watched her set a slice of Hawaiian pizza on her plate with a shaky hand and remarked with tired tone, "Pineapple, huh?"

"Um...Y-yea." Katara blinked at him. What what his _deal_? "You...want some?" she muttered, backing off to give him space to take one.

"Erm..._You _know me," Aang shrugged with as much nonchalance as he could muster, grabbing his plate casually and swiping a slice from the next pizza over, keeping his eyes on Katara all the while as she scooted down, taking a mushroom piece. "I don't care _what _I eat..."

"Uh," Katara sputtered out, confused. "OK, then," she grumbled, staring him down curiously. Her eyebrows twisted in confusion. "W-wait, but...you're a vegetarian," she pointed out, jabbing a finger at his plate.

"Whuh...?" Aang blinked down in shock, only to see he'd picked up a meat-lover's piece.

Katara frowned, craning her neck over her shoulder to see that Sokka and Toph were preoccupied with some kind of conversation that seemed to involve Toph getting irritated at him. What else was new?

"Aang," Katara firmly called in a lowered tone. "What's going _on _with you? You're acting all..._stupid._"

Aang gawked at her frustration and shrugged, scratching his head as she picked up the incorrect slice from his plate and put it on her own.

"I...I, uh...-" Aang shrugged, off-put by her sudden burst of attitude. He'd been...backing off, and giving her space, like she'd asked - like Sokka had suggested. What was the problem?

_Maybe 'aloof' isn't really my style..._

"And _why_ are you ignoring my messages?" Katara demanded with a hint of anger. Aang watched her expression flicker with regret as she stared down at her food for a moment. "It's...not like you," she mumbled with a softer tone.

"Sorry," Aang pushed out an apology. "I-I thought...that you wanted me to leave you alone, and...then Sokka said I should...-"

Katara's heart skipped a beat. She blinked at Sokka and Toph and feared that Toph's annoyed expressions were in fact due to _her _and not her brother - that he was spilling the beans about things.

"_Sokka? _Wh...Wh-what?" Her head cocked forward with intensity. "Does he _know_ about this..._our..._situation?"

Aang was slack jawed.

"He...he _said_ he did...?"

"_Crap,_" Katara grunted in a panic, her heartbeat elevating. How could her brother be such an insensitive _ass _and just _blab _something like that? "No, no," she bemoaned, pounding at her forehead. "We can't go letting everyone think that...that we're _doing _something like that!"

Aang's face drained and he took a step back. Katara instantly wanted to just suck up what she'd just said and spit it back out differently.

_Damnit, why do I keep _doing _that?_

"I-I _meant..._because it's all...up in the _air_," Katara explained. Aang shrugged, occupying himself with pizza selection. "No, seriously, I-...See, this is _why _I've been trying to find out if we can meet tomorrow morning."

Aang's gray eyes regained some of their spark.

"You have...?" He scratched at his arm sheepishly.

"_Yes_," Katara growled. "So we can actually _talk _about this stuff now that...-" She pushed hair back behind her ear and shrugged. "-...I've had some time to think. Haven't you been checking your phone?"

"I-I've been...kind of ignoring it lately," Aang mumbled with a wary grimace. "Sh-sure, yea...I can do that."

Katara sighed, running her hand through her tamed thicket of hair. _Argh, _it was such a mess right now, she hadn't...thought she'd run into him, she would've...brushed it, or...something.

"Well...O_kay. _Then...let's meet. And eat breakfast. Eight o'clock?"

Aang nodded feverishly at this as they regrouped, ready for the worst. Toph was backlashing at Sokka, continuously pushing her baggy bangs out of her face as they refused to stay off of her nose.

"-don't get why the fuck ya don't just _break up _with her if you're so unhappy," Toph was spitting out, uncaring and unsympathetic.

Sokka gawked at Toph's blunt words while Katara and Aang sat down - both girls on one side, both boys on the other. The tension was heavy - they'd walked in on some kind of minefield, it seemed. Pff. But that was just typical with Toph, wasn't it? Hmph.

"_Toph_...!" Sokka finally managed to squeak out, appalled. "How could you _say _that? I_ love_ Suki..."

"'Cuz breakin' up just seems like _the proper thing to do _around here when the shit hits the fan," Toph's words cut through the group like knife. "I mean, _these two_-" She fluttered her hand to her left, Aang and Katara's direction. "-both called it quits as soon as things got tough with _their _Signif's, and _Old Smeller _ditched _her _man, too, so why the fuck _not, _Sokka? Huh? Then we can all be a club. The 'Break-Eachother's-Hearts' Club."

All three who were listening to this were just staring at Toph with confusion. On one hand, Katara was relieved that they had _not _been discussing what she had _thought. _But on the other, Toph was even more off-kilter than she hadn't stopped.

Sokka rolled his eyes, biting his lip with a "_Snrk._"

"_What?_" Toph snipped.

"It's just that...'The Heartbreaker's Club' has a better ring to it."

"You and your _stupid-ass bullshit._." Toph buried her face in her palm, clawing at her bangs, all patience lost.

"Oh, right, and _you _don't do dumb crap _ever_," Sokka retaliated, tilting his head.

"No, see, _I _do dumb shit all the time, _apparently_-" she cocked her face so it was pointing in the general direction of Aang and Katara, "-but I don't go fucking _flip-flopping _and trying to act like I'm all high-and-mighty and smart one second later."

"I'm..._not _doing...-"

"And ya know what? At least when I go after someone just because I want some ass, I'm...pretty _clear _about it," Toph continued, words carelessly tumbling out with seemingly no structure.

"_What_?"

"I mean, for fuck's _sake, _Sokka, we all know you've just been dating Suki 'cuz ya can't get over whats-her-face movie-star chick and having someone to _bone_ makes it all feel better."

It was as if in all of her avoiding everyone she'd just been biding it all to really hurt someone, and Sokka happened to be the one catching her wrath today.

Katara read Sokka's face. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes stung with indignanation. Toph had really gotten to him this time.

"Leave."

Toph stubbornly sat in her seat like a stone, despite knowing full-well what Sokka meant, and who he was talking to.

"That was out of line," Aang asserted his opinion as Katara removed herself from the booth, allowing Toph - who hadn't even gotten food, anyway - space to exit.

"Not _my _fault the truth hurts," Toph snarled. "You all wanna rub in _my _face what makes _me _tick, huh? This is how it feels. Pretty unfair, huh? You can all sling your mud but at the end of the day, I'm just gonna sling it harder."

"Why would you _say _something like that?" Aang demanded, unfazed by her attitude and writing off her attempts at power-asserting.

"'Cuz Sokka here's so fuckin' lost in _La-La-Land _where everything's a big _joke_, and he _wonders _what the problem is. Maybe Suki's having so many _issues _with you 'cuz you are a **Fucking. Moron**_. _Or didja not figure that one out yet, _Mr. Genius?_"

"That's-!"Aang spit out, but Sokka lifted his arm, cutting off Aang's words.

"No, no. She's right," Sokka testily conceded. "If anyone here knows how to _mess things up, _it's her. Right?"

"_Yup!_" Toph cawed sarcastically, grasping for her walking cane, blowing at her bangs. "That's me, Queen of the Cunts!"

Katara could feel the presence of others around them staring at their social mishap - which felt like such common problem this semester - and she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sokka and Toph never had gone at each other like this.

"_What _is your-...?" Katara began, but adjusted her track with a huff. "See? _This _is why we can't do this right now, because you..._you__..._don't know when to just _stop_!"

"I _never _stop," Toph sneered, sliding out from her seat. She forcefully jammed her shoulder against Katara's on her way to leave, drawing up her hood over her face as she clattered her cane along the tiled floor of Appa's.

In the wake of their friend's unsettling wrath, the three spent a few moments of silence trying to shake off the tempers that had been flared.

"_God, _what is..._wrong _with her?" Katara finally groaned. Her eyes were watering. "Urgh, she's trying to fit in one day, and the next she's such a..._bitch_. Tch..." She wiped at her face and took a deep breath.

Aang reached a hand across the table and rubbed her shoulder in a wide, sweeping arc as he often did. Her heart glowed at the contact.

"Hey, it's OK," he assured as he took his hand away. When Katara's eyes were cleared up, she noticed he had his arm around Sokka in a moment of brotherly love she rarely ever saw. Katara knew when Sokka was holding back tears, his eyes flickering, and this was one of those moments.

"Don't let her get to you," Aang advised. "She's just acting this way because she's in a bad place."

"Psh," Sokka made light of it, in-taking a sharp breath as he eyed his half-eaten slice of pizza. "Yea...In...the Kingdom of _Cunts_, apparently. I'm not surprised they made her their queen." He bit into his food.

"She's just projecting her own stuff onto you, Sokka. Come on. You know that."

"But she's _right, _I _am _a moron." _Is she right about the rest, though?_ "I'm a screw-up, I have to turn everything into a damned _punchline._"

Katara was going to deny this, but paused to see what Aang's reaction would be. She was giving in her to newly discovered deep interest in what he had to say.

"OK...Well...Maybe she _knows _that's how you feel about yourself, and that's why she said it." Sokka was chewing at his dinner with dull melancholy while Aang spoke. "But if you keep letting yourself think that way, that's what you _will _turn into..."

Aang let his arm fall, and Katara found herself staring at the determined spark in his eyes.

"As long as you keep working at all of this stuff, everything's gonna turn out fine, Sokka. Just keep at it."

"So now we just ignore the Psycho-Bitch?" Sokka moaned between bites. "Heh, sounds like a plan to _me. _I'm sick of her _bullshit._" He huffed. "This week, I've been trying to hang with her-" He stuck his palm out to Katara. "-like _you _told me to, and ya know what? It's _pointless._ I try to just forget the drama, and she gets all silent and pouty. I try to be more serious and..._that _shithappens." He pointed angrily toward the hall Toph had ventured off to. "All she has to say about anyone lately is trashtalking. And if that's how she feels, then maybe we oughtta think about going back to having a _Foursome_."

Sokka snorted through his nostrils like a bull, and there was a pregnant pause, as the innuendo dawned upon all three of them.

"_Wow, _Sokka," Katara jibed with wide eyes of mock-disgust. "That's pretty disturbing given that we're _related_."

"Shuffubb," Sokka whimpered out a half-laugh, half-whimper, his mouth packed full of pepperoni and sausage. He swallowed, coughed haphazardly, and pounded at his chest, clearing his throat, while Aang and Katara snickered. It was kind of amusing how ironically rare this particular joke came up given the name of their self-assigned 'group name.' "I _meant..._-" He put up a dominant index. "I _meant _that if Her Majesty Beifong wants to rule over a kingdom of _bullshit _and _immaturity, _then screw it. I say _let her._"

"Sokka, you're just saying that because she was a jerk to _you _for a change," Katara decided, adding in a bit of teasing, striving to scrub off his frown. "And let's face it, you _are _kind of a wuss like that."

She grinned stupidly, glancing at Aang for approval. _See? I can be funny! I can!_

Aang smirked a bit at Katara's efforts to lighten the mood, but he seemed more interested in going back to the seriousness.

"Sokka, Toph...can be really destructive, and can hurt the people she loves, but...-"

"_But _nothing!" Sokka grumbled. "That's such _crap._"

"She needs us, Sokka," Katara insisted, joining Aang in his rally in her defense - quite ironically. "We can help her get through all of this."

"Katara, you're got a heart of gold, and all that good stuff-" Sokka turned up his palms to concede this notion, "-but you can't help someone who _won't help themself._"

Aang sighed, scratching his head as he flashed Katara a thoughtful glance. She became aware of the fact that her cheek was in her elbow, and that she'd been gawking. Aang continued, looking off into the crowd of people enjoying their evenings.

"She _will_, though," Aang expressed his belief. "I know she will. It'll just take some time."

"I'm not sure you _noticed, _Aang, but Toph doesn't really seem to accept the idea of _changing _herself."

Aang sighed, rubbing his finger under his nostrils to relieve an itch. He paused after this, his eyes sharp the whole while with thought, then presented his case.

"Toph's life has..._changed _so much recently, and...she's going through some...pretty difficult times. You know? She's...just trying to figure out who she _is_, and...she needs to be on her own to do that. It's...how she _works._"

Katara nodded in agreement while Sokka shrugged at this, his mood clearly derailed by Toph's malicious words. Aang concluded his thought.

"We can't just...lock her out, though. Don't get me wrong, she _is _totally being a jerk, and she _obviously _doesn't want us around right now, but...if she needs us, we have to _be here _for her...Because no one else _will _be..."

The butterflies in Katara's stomach had settled, replaced with the tingling warmth of a campfire. God, Aang's..._Aang-ness_. _God. _Just, all of it...It was so...sexy? Somehow. Was that...even _allowed? _For a boy to be so..._like this_...that it was _sexy? _Katara could practically feel her loins burning as Aang's contemplative eyes crossed hers for approval, his lips hanging open just a tiny bit.

Likewise, Aang felt his own nether-regions tingle with elation at how deeply she was staring at him, her smooth chin sitting in slender fingers, her eyes glowing with pride at his words.

"_Meh_," was Sokka's reluctant response, ignorant of the sexual tension hanging thick in the air mere inches beside him. The two quickly cleaned up the mess they'd made from having sex with their eyes and ate a bit of their food while Sokka finished his thought. "I guess you're right, Aang. Frick, man, I'm sorry. That devil-woman has done _you _way worse than me..."

"Haha, it's OK," Aang laughed weakly, his knees still weak from that rather pleasant moment of admiring Katara's face.

"Nah, I mean...I still care about her, too," rambled Sokka. "I'm worried about her - girl's going freakin' _insane, _I swear."

"I...think we _all _have been, a little bit," Aang sighed. "We wouldn't _have_ all of this drama if we weren't all super close, though. You know that, right?"

Sokka shrugged, disinterested in ever acknowledging any good-side to 'drama.'

"But, anyway, I don't even care, even _if _Toph wasn't a part of the group anymore, I'm still going to be here for her when she _does _come to her senses, because that's what real friends do."

When the heck had this happened, huh? When had little freshie Aang grown up under her nose like this? She didn't know how or when, but...she was glad. And she was also glad she had finally figured out how much she appreciated it.

"You know, Aang," Katara pressed out affirmation with that admiring smile she hadn't been able to remove, "Toph's really lucky to have you as a friend...even if she doesn't really know it..."_  
_

_{Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.}_  
_{Philippians 4:8}_

* * *

- Thursday, February 24th, 2011 -

+ youtube(dot)com/watch?v=91mTH0ROqno +

Aang yawned, rubbing sand from his eyes. Steam seeped up from his hot cocoa. He gazed out the open cafeteria window. Winter was gradually fading away.

**~The dawn is breaking, A light shining through~**

But the beauty of the sunlight paled in comparison to _her_, robbing his attention completely as she sat down across from him with her breakfast.

**~You're barely waking and I'm tangled up in you~**

Words began to flow like water and they lost themselves in each other - like always.

**~I'm open, you're closed~**

Katara smiled at Aang's tentative reservations.

**~Where I follow, you'll go~**

He spoke of unity - between their friends, between all the students.

**~I worry I won't see your face light up again~**

Her heart stung at the guilt he expressed about their affections, how they could others.

**~Even the best fall down sometimes~**

"I never meant for Toph to feel so..._lost_."

**~Even the wrong words seem to rhyme~**

"But...Aang, l-like you said, it's OK. I-I mean...-"

**~Out of the doubt that fills my mind~**

"But Katara, the more I think on it, the more I worry...-"

**~I somehow find...You and I collide~**

"-...but I guess that doesn't change how things _are..._"

**~I'm quiet, you know~**

A timid freshman, scribbling art on a couch by himself.

**~You make a first impression~**

A cheerful introduction from a blue-eyed angel.

**~I've found I'm scared to know I'm always on your mind~**

All of the ways she'd touch him, talk to him, always so concerned for him.

**~Even the best fall down sometimes~**

"I didn't mean to leave you hanging, Aang..."

**~Even the stars refuse to shine~**

"No, it...makes sense. It was my fault for going about it that way..."

**~Out of the back you fall in time~**

All of Katara's memories of Aang, running together.

**~I somehow find...You and I collide~**

Their worries and doubts were discussed, hiding their desires.

**~Don't stop here~**

Aang, heading down the sidewalk for class after their meal.

**~I lost my place~**

Katara, contemplating how they hadn't decided on anything, merely hashing technicalities and potential downsides.

**~I'm close behind~**

"Aang!" She called out, traveling down the steps. "Wait up!"

She crossed the distance in the morning sun as a few students trailed the walkways around them.

**~Even the best fall down sometimes~**

They stared at each other, their eyes locked in a pleading, longing balance.

**~Even the wrong words seem to rhyme~**

"Wh...What's..._up_?" Aang squeaked out. "You...forget something?"

**~Out of the doubt that fills your mind~**

"Yea," Katara teased. "I did. Come here." Katara spread open her arms, wiggling her wrists inward.

**~You finally find...~**

Aang let himself fall into her arms, and their embrace was tight - more so than usual.

**~...you and I...~**

They managed to pull their chests apart, hands still grasping at hips, eyes melding together.

**~Collide~**

Katara arced her neck, doing what she had wanted to all morning.

**~You finally find...you and I collide~**

She was the one attackingwith a kiss, for a change.

**~You finally find...you and I collide~**

And another. And another. Slow, gentle, slight.

They lost themselves in each other for a few moments - their lips, their arms, their hopes, intertwined.

_{When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; neither will the flame kindle upon you.}  
{Isaiah 43:2}_

* * *

**A/N: Special thanks to DA user watson4795 for the conversations we've had this week, her intense, open support, and for helping me refuel my own faith in myself. And for helping come up with one of this chapter's more poignant lines. ;D  
**

**So many sources of reference here. From episodes like Fortune Teller to Southern Raiders to nods to Iroh's {Wisdom} in Bitter Work, I'm obviously alluding to themes and elements from the show but in different contexts. Hopefully at this point, you can kind of see how I'm approaching Aang, as a character, from the "mastering all the elements" angle, in that SRU Aang 'bends' _people, _in a sense. That idea will become more important closer to the end.**

**What's that, dear reader? Me, analyzing why Kataang would logically make sense and in doing so indirectly (and maybe a bit intentionally) knocking on how Zuatara doesn't make as much sense from a literary standpoint because it relies on Katara acting _opposite _of her character? ;D WHAAAAT? No way...**

**trollface(dot)jpg  
**

**Oh, but, ahem. The text-based quotes - in line with Katara's literature-theme, are taken from two sources: the Bible, and the Harry Potter books.  
Song is by Howie Day.**

Yes, I worked in _hella _nods and references to the elements, and that biblical quote at the end feels so perfect to me in regards to Katara's affection for Aang.


	65. Lonely

**A/N: So I hope you've all had a Merry Christmas. Thanks to the various ways some of you guys have contributed to my life - financially, emotionally, and mentally - my Christmas has turned out to be much less stressful than I thought it would. Thank you so much for your support, it helps out and means more than you know.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 65 - Lonely_

* * *

- Thursday, February 24th, 2011 -

Their session complete, Toph sat idly for a few moments, listening to the thundering cacophony that was Suki slamming away at her drumset, just for fun. Hm. Playing a musical instrument...'just for fun.' The notion was amusing, and Toph could admit to herself that she'd lost sight of it some time ago.

Cymbals clashed at the end of Suki's solo jam, and Toph relished the reverberating sound as it vibrated through the air.

"So," said Suki simply, after the sound had settled. "You sounded good. I think we'll be ready."

"Mm," hummed Toph, an approximation to a reply.

"What are you up to tonight?" Suki inquired with calm curiosity.

"Nothin', just back to the dorm," Toph fibbed. It was Thursday today, though. After dinner, she'd have to get ready for her ventilation via music at the Jasmine Dragon.

"Ah, I see," Suki acknowledged. Toph could hear the sounds of a drum set being tidied up, various clacking and thudding. "Well, I'll give you a call when I've got confirmation, but like I said, Saturday looks like it's going to work out fine."

"Mm..."

There was a minute of silence, Suki wrapping up her packing while Toph sat with her guitar case, frustrated and confused.

"You OK?" Suki peeped, catching Toph off guard. Clearly, she must've been wearing her irritation more plainly than she had meant to.

"...Why are we here?" Toph asked flatly.

Suki paused, zipping up her jacket as she considered the meaning of Toph's question.

"I'm...assuming we're not discussing philosophy," Suki facetiously theorized.

"Since when did _you _start pickin' up smart-assing, Miss Powderpuff?"

"I guess a bit of Sokka must be rubbing off on me."

"I _meant_, like...why are you _here, _practicing with me?"

"Because...When you want to sound good, you practice."

"_Ugh._" Toph frowned in agitation. "You can stop the _act, _I know you're pissed at me, too."

Suki smiled at this, as she'd kind of been waiting for it come up.

"Actually, I'm not."

"Yuh-huh..."

"Why would I be?"

"_Gee, _maybe 'cuz what I said to Sokka last night?"

"I wouldn't know about, now, would I?" Suki shrugged it off.

"Oh, _really? _He wouldn't tell you?" Toph grunted in doubt.

"I wouldn't _let him_," Suki corrected with some snark. "I'm apparently not a part of your guys' _'group_,' so I'm not going to be a part of all of your social problems, either." Toph could detect some indignation in Suki's tone, though it was clearly being masked - something Suki seemed quite insistent on doing a lot.

Sitting on the floor against the wall with disinterest, Toph scratched at her ear, considering a counterattack.

"Then why the hell are you helping me?" Toph asked with some suspicion.

Suki sighed, amused by Toph's stubborn mindset. It seemed like every conversation was a battle.

_Because you, my dear Toph, keep causing problems for everyone, including Sokka.  
_

"Because I could use some practice and extra income, and you, Toph, could use a _drummer_."

"Fff..." Toph was dissatisfied with this answer. "The Blind Bandit is a one-lady band."

"I know. I'm just temporary backup."

"But I don't _need _backup."

"That song? Toph, it just won't sound right without percussion..."

Toph let it pass. Suki was actually right about that one...Not that this would be admitted out loud.

"Besides, you need someone to help you manage things and get shows set up, right?" Suki dragged her equipment to the door. "You told me your cousin helps you get videos on YouTube and reply to comments...And you're way too hot-headed right now to deal with technicalities in arranging gigs. Let's not kid ourselves, Toph: you're not exactly a 'people person.'" Feeling some freedom in her apathy to the social mires, Suki left Toph to contemplate this notion as she exited the room.

* * *

Cross legged on her bed, Toph was habitually picking her toes - for the second time, which was really just for the satisfying toe-picking sensation. Her feet were still warming up to the indoor temperature, having turned into icicles outside in her sandals. She hadn't expected it to get so cold so fast today, but winter was still poking its retarded head around. She massaged her chilled feet as her computer cycled through her music library at random. A couple minutes later, she dipped her bare feet beneath her blanket and sat in contemplation. She didn't feel like practicing. She didn't feel like _eating_, despite having not gotten dinner yet. She didn't even really feel like paying attention to listening to her music, which at this point was a classical cello piece. She scooted herself to the foot of her bed, groping around the bed posts.

_C'mon, it has to be here, I haven't used it in-...Ah. Found it._

Having found the familiar object, she pulled it up from where it'd been hanging and set it in her lap. Running her calloused fingertips across the messenger bag, she stroked the multitude of buttons and pins, each texture a fragment of a memory. Each touch a thought of _him._

Her personal radio suddenly startled her from her from her stupor. A caressing set of "Ah's" accompanied by a playful piano. Her heart skipped a beat at the sound as the last time she'd heard the song came filling her mind like water into an already sinking ship.

She tossed the bag aside, squirming across her bed and fumbled for her laptop. Ah. Fuck. C'mere.

["~Her eyes, her eyes...make the stars look like they're not shin-"]  
She smashed the space bar with her thumb, her muscles tight.

Silence.

It gave her a single moment to be reminded of how it had all been a lie. A fucking lie. To Aang, to...to _herself. _What a load of bullshit she had fed herself, and then...regurgitated all over him.

This idea that she had been happy with Aang, just the way he was. Obviously not. She..._should've _been...She should've been happy, but...-

Still leaning over her laptop, her body arched from her bed, Toph realized she'd been biting down on her lower lip, and let go so she could puff out the breath she'd been holding in.

_Fucking Christ, Toph. It's done. Over. Deal with it. Move on. He doesn't need you. And you _sure _as fuckin' hell don't need him. You don't need any of them._

Toph finally pushed herself from her desk and swiped her phone as she did so. She plopped onto her pillow and carefully felt for the right digit that she had put on her speed dial, then pressed it, lifting the phone to her ear.

_Fuck. Yes, I _do _need them..._

First ringback.

Mm, it'd been...hell. A while.

Second ringback.

She'd pick up. Yea. After all this time?

Third ri-  
[-_BEEP!_-]  
["Heeeey. It's Meng."] Wait, what? Voicemail? ["Leave me some lovin'!"]  
[-_BEEP!_-]

No. That wasn't right. Meng's phone always waited _five _rings before voicemail. Not...three and a half.

She hung up. Meng must've seen that it was _her _calling and ignored it. The idea...hurt.

She tried another speed dial. What was her roommate up to?

["Hell_o?_"] Katara sounded quite confused, irritated even.

"Hey..."

["What do _you _want?"] Eesh. Definitely irritated. There went any plans to ask for company...

"Umm...Just wonderin' if...you maybe knew where Sokka was?" Maybe she could turn things around, make it into...an apology?

["Why?"] Katara snipped. ["So you can demoralize him some more?"] OK, yea. Toph _did_ deserve this.

"_No, _Miss Fussy-Britches," Toph snorted. "So I can try apologizing to him..."

["Uh-huh...Based on your track record with apologies, Toph, I find that a little hard to believe."]  
["Oh, it's _her_,"] Toph could hear Sokka's voice grumble in the distance.

"He's there?" said Toph eagerly.

["She says she wants to talk with you,"] Katara explained with a thick layer of disbelief.

["Yeeaaa,"] Sokka sighed. ["Not really in the mood for her crap right now..."]

["Well, _what-do-you-know_?"] Katara mocked to Toph with that disgusting syrupy-fake voice she'd use when she was angry. ["Sokka's a bit busy right now. Guess you'll have to try again later."]  
["-_Click!_-"]

"The fuck...?" Toph's heart sank. What was Katara's deal? She was usually the forgiving one...Meng's warnings from earlier - about screwing up a good thing - were suddenly present and haunting. Toph couldn't take this.

_Should I calling him? Would he pick up? He might. I mean, no harm in trying, right...?_

She speed-dialed Aang.

["THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALED - "Aang Leekpai" - IS CURRENTLY UNAVAIL-"]  
["-_Click!_-"]

"_Urrgh._"

Toph dropped her phone into her pillow and flung herself from her bed, stalking off to the door, keeping her arms out to catch anything in her path. She found her way out and into the hall, and could sense the familiar slapping of Jane's bass coming from across the hall. Good, _someone _she could talk to. She groped for the door, found her way to the handle, then pounded at the surface obstructing her path. The bass paused.

"_Yep!_" Jane vaguely greeted. Toph pushed the door open. "Hey..." Jane's more personalized greeting was drained of any energy. Her bass exercise continued.

"What's up?" Toph asked, loud enough to be clear over Jane's deep instrument.

"Just practicin'," replied Jane coolly.

"Ah..." Toph took a couple steps in, fidgeting her hands together. For a few moments, she simply stood and listened to the blunt bass smack the air around her. After about a minute, it stopped again.

"You _want _somethin'?" Jane asked with a tinge of irritation.

"Umm..." Toph scratched her ear awkwardly, uncertain of how to answer.

_I just fuckin' want someone to hang out with..._

Jane huffed at the long silence.

"If ya don't _need _nothin'-" Jane advised sharply, "-mind givin' me some damned privacy?"

"I was...-" Toph mumbled out quietly - too quiet for Jane to hear.

"I don't care," Jane rattled off. "Go...back to ruling the _'Cunt Kingdom'_ or whatever you call it..."

_Ugh, she knows about that? What, someone gossip about me again?_

"Listen, I just wanted some company for a while, OK? I'm not trying to start-"  
"All _I _want is some damned _privacy_. Some other time, Dead-Eyes...Jesus..."

Toph's fist balled up, and she jammed it in her jean pocket while Jane explained her stance.

"This bullshit where you're a bitch one day and then come crying back the next? Not gonna fuckin' fly, Toph. Katara and Aang might put up with it, but I'm not _near _as patient as they are."

Toph's clenched fingers ran through her hair, her mind buzzing with undirected anger. She was struggling just to not lash out in hostility.

"I'm...a bitch," she sighed out, trying keep her moods balanced. "OK? I know it...I just...need to feel like I'm part of the group again. 'Cuz this all fucking _sucks ass._"

Toph could hear Jane setting her bass down.

"Naw. Naw...Toph, that's your fuckin' problem: you keep trying to pull people in, and then...ya just push 'em back. What _you _need is to take a hike and sort your damned _shit._ _That's_ what you need."

"Wh...-?" What kind of friend advice was that? "The fuck, Jane? 'Take a hike?' Thanks for the _sympathy, _I-"  
"_No_," Jane cut her off. Toph could hear her standing up and walking over. "None of that crap. You don't no sympathy from me. No guilt-trippin' garbage."

Toph could feel the heat of Jane's breath on her forehead, they were so close. Toph's body flinched tight and Jane grabbed her shoulder, then softened from the tension while Jane jabbed a finger into her sternum.

"We always are on about how similar we are," Jane mused. "But ya know what thing that makes us different? You're a fuckin' _Drama Queen. _I just want to hang back, lay low, just be a part of things, but _you?_ Heh. You _always _gotta be the goddamn center of _everyone's_ attention." Toph could feel her face flushed red with embarrassment at the accusation, which she was finding herself unable to deny. "**Fuck that**," Jane's sharp words sliced at Toph's mind as the force of skinny hands pressed Toph away. "I'm sick of watching everyone else trip over themselves all for _your _sake. You wanna stay a part of the group, Toph? Here's my advice again, real slow: _Sort. Your. Shit. _I had to do it, too, ya know. Ask Katara. Or Aang. Or even _Sokka. _Sometimes? I had to be alone to do it. And yea, I can be a bitch, too, but I don't try to make _every. Fucking. Conversation..._a battle, where I have to _vanquish _everyone else in combat." Jane whirled her arms in the air, trying to look stupid, only to remember this was pointless. "Someone pushes me, I push back, but I don't go looking for a fight with every single person. _Christ. _ And _you _can't stop spraying your PMS all over everyone, so _maybe _- just fuckin' maybe - ya oughtta spend some time _alone _where ya can't go spreadin' all your self-destruction on the rest of us."

Her rant complete, Jane grabbed Toph by the hip, whirled her around, and and pushed her out the door so fast she had to prop herself up on the opposing wall to keep from falling.

"Take your own fuckin' advice, Toph." Jane recited Toph's repeating catchphrase with a mocking tone: "'_Stand yer ground_.' If _I _can learn how to act like a damned decent human being around my friends, I'm sure _you, _in all your fuckin' wisdom and 'amazingness,' can figure it out, too. Let us know when ya _do_."

_Fwum-CLAK._

"It's not 'amazingness, it's..._awesomeness_," Toph mumbled pitifully to no one.

Toph was somewhat relieved when the verbal assault was over, if only because she doubted that Jane had been able to detect the tears welling up in her eyes by the end - being shoved in her own dung heap by the one person she thought could understand her situation...it was pretty unpleasant, to say the least.

Back in her room, dejected, she rubbed her face to make sure it was dry. She retrieved a small, treasured object from a pouch in that messenger bag from before - right where she'd left it a while back - threw herself onto her stomach in bed, and began to slowly toy with the item. She rubbed her thumb across the wooden, sanded surface and slid the ring onto her finger. It was a bit of a loose fit. Not quite right. Her heart had sunk like a stone in a sea of regret and perpetual confusion as she recalled the many things she'd said and done since the new year had begun.

Maybe being alone _was _what she needed right now.

Just Toph and her music...

* * *

- Middle School -

"Oh, come _on, _now, Pickle, it's not so bad..."

Toph could hear the comforting, antiquated voice approach as she cowered on the floor beside the bed, her face buried in the quilt that hung off its side. She let her tears soak into the multi-textured fabric that carried that familiar old-lady scent.

She flinched at first when wrinkled skin made contact with her bare shoulder.

"It's just me, Toph," comforted the voice. "It's just Gram-Gram."

Toph sighed out a trembling breath, reaching her hand upward, across her chest, to clutch the weathered wrist on her skin. The sniffled were still happening, against her will.

"'M-m...so _sick_...o-of it..." she fumbled out.

"Of what, now?"

"J-Just...always b-being leh-...left out..."

"Aw, now...Toph, I know how you must be feeling, but think about the things you said to them."

"They _deserved _it," Toph protested, rubbing at her face. "They were treating me like I'm _stupid._"

"Pickle," sighed her grandmother. "I was there. And I really don't think they were. They were trying to be polite."

"I don't _want _people to be polite."

Grandmother laughed through her nose, startled and amused by the contradiction.

"Toph, my Dear, then this is what happens - you get left out."

"_Good_. I don't care!" Toph grumbled, backtracking over the reason she had stated was her problem in the first place. "They're all jerks, anyway."

"But what about your cousin, mm? She was nice to you."

"Mm-_Meng_? She's...Sh-she's _weird. _An-and...creepy. And sh-she smells funny..." Thick, heavy sweet smelling perfumes, and..._blech._ And besides, Meng was a loser. Toph didn't want to be associated with losers.

"Toph," Grandmother disapproved. "You shouldn't talk about her like that."

"Ihh-...It's true!" Toph defended, coughing out a sob.

"Your cousin's a sweetheart, even when you're so mean to her..."

"_Great_, the only...p-person who whu-wants to be around m-me...is a..._w-weirdo_..."

"Very well, then...What does it matter who wants to be around you?"

"Huh...?"

"Who do _you _want to be around?"

"Erm...I-I don't...-" Toph snorted on another sob. Ugh. Damn, wouldn't stop...

Grandmother's presence lifted off.

"Tell you what, Pickle. I'll give you some time to think on that."

"N-no, don't...-!" Toph groped out an arm into the air toward the voice. "Don't go, I...-"  
"I'm not goin' _anywhere__," _Grandmother assured.

_Clik. Clik._

"Just going to introduce ya to an old friend of mine...Keeps _me _company whenever _I'm_ feeling lonely..."

The sound tickled Toph's eardrums. Rustic, mellow, soothing. Toph recognized it as the sound of Gram-Gram's guitar. The sound of flesh patting against its wooden surface were like sparking stones that ignited into song.

_Thup. Thup. Thup-thup-thup-_  
"~Hey Jude~Don't make it bad~Take a sad song and make it better~"

Toph could feel her frustrations drying up, her heart settling, her breathing calming.

"~Remember to let her into your heart~Then you can start to make it better~"

This mystical force of 'music' that Gram-Gram always seemed to rely on...If only she could make it herself. Bandage her own wounds with song...She had tried learning music - piano - and upon discovering her interest in it, her parents had drilled into her brain that music was about discipline, and rigorous practice. The keys were always cold, and hard, and stiff to press. But..._this _instrument - the guitar - just by nature of the sounds it produced, seemed like it worked differently.

As Gram-Gram continued to play, Toph found the lyrics sliding together in an incoherent warbling, the essence of the music and the sounds enveloping her.

By the end of the song, her tears had dried, her heart had lifted.

It was like magic.

She had to learn how to do it herself. Then she'd never have to feel awful like this again - never weak or powerless.

Just Toph and her music.

* * *

- Thursday, February 24th, 2011 -

"She's...-!" Ty-Lee gasped, pointing frantically at the stage.

"Yes," Mai dryly acknowledged with a mildly interested smirk. "You should get back to work," she nudged with a cock of her head.

"_Oh_," Ty-Lee squeaked, shuffling back to the counter to serve the next customer in line.

Mai's attention went back to that which she had been waiting to see. The blind girl in her Terra hoodie, her face noticeably more acne-riddled than it had been two weeks prior- and her dirty, unkempt bangs over her face surely weren't helping matters. Fussing over appearances put aside, Mai could tell that Toph's spirit seemed...fairly broken. Curiosity pricked at her, but she resisted dwelling on the 'why' and landed her attention purely on the poetry of sounds she predicted was about to unfold.

Rather than her trusty guitar, as usual, Toph was seated on the same stool she usually utilized, but was planted in front of a keyboard - the one that the Jasmine Dragon owned and lent for such purposes.

+ http:/youtu(dot)be/HO4e4nCYBEo +

Toph's fingers slid across the keys, half alive, half dead.

"~Two A.M. - where do I begin?~"

Late nights in the music building.

"~Crying off my face again~"

Music falling apart as tears splash onto the keys.

"~The silent sound of Loneliness~"

Doors knocked upon, never opened.

"~Wants to follow me to bed~"

Doubts overshadow desires as nightmares crawl in.

"~I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most~"

Here on stage sat The Blind Bandit.

"~I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well~"

Inside her shell of ebonies and ivories, Toph hid, nearly forgotten about.

"~Dancing slowly in an empty room, can the Lonely take the place of you?~"

The wooden ring Aang had made - still on her finger while she played tonight.

"~I sing myself a quiet lullaby~"

When longings of them - of _him_ - threatened to overcome...

"~Let you go and let the Lonely in to take my heart again~"

...she'd stem the tides with music, like stone pillars lifting her up from the floods.

"~Too afraid to go inside for the pain of one more loveless night~"

Confronting those demons...the idea was too much. She wasn't strong enough.

"~But the Loneliness will stay with me and hold me 'til I fall asleep~"

It'd be easier to lose everything and be lost once more - just like before.

"~I'm a ghost of a girl that I want to be most~"

The Blind Bandit was supposed to be a confident, determined musician...

"~I'm the shell of a girl that I used to know well~"

But the girl inside was a cowering child. Pathetic.

"~Dancing slowly in an empty room, can the Lonely take the place of you?~"

Am anklet of seashells. A bracelet of volcanic stone. A ragged voice of comradery.

"~I sing myself a quiet lullaby~"

From afar, Mai felt her soul touched by this girl's words.

"~Let you go and let the Lonely in to take my heart again~"

It reminded her of herself, years ago, swimming in apathy with poetry as her life preserve.

"~Broken pieces of...~"

Toph's heart ached, the pieces scattered by her own hand.

"~...a barely breathing story~"

Mai's oft-forgotten emotional scars seethed, reminded of their origin.

"~Where there once was love...~"

His warm, soft body, captured in Toph's arms.

"~...now there's only me...~"

Hands slip off, he drifts away. Wait, no...she is falling...

"~...and the Lonely~"

She is plunged back into the sea of no touch, no taste, no smell...

Only sound, crafted by her own aggravation.

"~Dancing slowly in an empty room, can the Lonely take the place of you?~"

She had lived a lonely life before. She would do it again if she had to.

"~I sing myself a quiet lullaby~"

She could always carry her own weight with her music.

"~Let you go and let the Lonely in to take my heart again~"

As Toph's torrential rain of sorrowful tunes drizzled to an end, she received the same, familiar smattering of applause, but the claps rung more hollow than ever. Just hands, slapping around, chunks of flesh hitting themselves. They did not speak to her. They did not touch her. Their scents were overpowered by coffees and teas and baked goods. Somehow, an audience just wasn't good enough tonight.

As Toph unceremoniously dragged herself off stage, Mai's stunned mind, touched by this unspoken connection, screamed out to say or do something...But logic and reason took control, reminding her not to get involved. It was precisely that kind of action which would cause her undue stress, and exactly that which she knew had Aang and Katara worked up. Better to let those who dealt with social problems by choice decide the fate of such a thing.

It was at that very moment, at the end of that line of thought, that an idea popped into Mai's mind.

* * *

- Friday, February 25th, 2011 -

[From: Mai Chiao]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: Concern]

[Hi, Katara,]

[I know it's not really my place, and I really don't want to intrude on whatever might be going within your social circle, but I just wanted to let you know that I saw Toph today and she _really _wasn't doing well. Aang tells me you have a knack for cheering people up, and she _is _your roommate, so I thought I'd pass the message that I'd like to meet up with you some time to discuss this matter.]

[- Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.']

* * *

**A/N: I guess I feel the need to point out that Katara's snippiness with Toph actually has some roots in guilt she's feeling over things with her and Aang, though we'll explore that more next chapter. Just thought I'd point that out.**


	66. Doom

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 66 - Doom_

* * *

- Friday, February 25th, 2011 -

[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Mai Chiao]  
[Subject: RE: Concern]

[Hi, Mai.]

[Toph's just...been _like _that lately. She's a pity party one day and then a terror the next. None of us know what to do with her. I appreciate the concern, though. Thanks for letting me know. But I don't think it's anything unusual given her track record - unfortunately.]

[~ Katara]

Katara felt a pang of guilt after she sent the reply. After all, she _had _been pretty mean to Toph the day prior...But it wasn't like Toph didn't deserve it, right? And people had to stand up to her or she'd never quit.

She sighed, sucking in a deep breath as she put her laptop to sleep and slipped it into her backpack. Making her way out of the library, satisfied with the research she'd collected, she took a moment to breathe in the fresh air. The stone statues of owls, wise and solemn, guardians of the doors to the treasure trove of information and stories. They'd keep watch over her as she waited for him to show up. Her heart was light and giddy. She hadn't been able to see Aang since Wednesday morning, when all the pieces had clicked so wonderfully.

With nothing better to do, she found herself noticing details about the structure's entrance she hadn't before. On the wide, circular patch of sidewalk leading into the multiple glass doors of the building, there was a detailed arrangement of masonry - a long serpent wound around in a large ring, encompassing words etched into the concrete.

{Enter ye who seeks to be}  
{He who knows 10,000 things}

She smiled at the sight. It was rather neat - she'd never stood around in front of the library long enough to bother paying attention to what she'd walked over so many times. There was so much beauty she had never noticed until she'd simply stopped and _observed._

It reminded of her a certain someone - the someone that she was waiting for.

"Hey, Katara," came Aang's tired greeting after a few minutes, lighting up her heart like a campfire.

"Hey!" she chimed, stretching out her arms and letting his wary body fall into her own. Their bodies pressed tightly, yearning to savor heartbeats hidden under thick coats. Their backpacks made things less than optimal, but it was still heartfelt. Katara eagerly administered a peck on the cheek, to which he pulled away, much to her dismay, his face lighting up red. She found this utterly adorable.

"Wh-whoa," Aang whispered frantically, eyes darting left and right. He stepped back, pulling himself away from her. "We have to watch out - people don't need to know about us yet...Remember?"

Katara's heart ached with impatience. While they hadn't seen one another since that initial spark of reciprocated romance, they had agreed that, for the time being, it'd be best to keep their newfound relationship low key until things with their friends were...a bit more settled. And it had really been _her _idea in the first place. A bit of regret crept out from her inner desires, but logic and consideration stuffed it back inside.

But as much as she tried to hide it and make Toph out to be a villain in all of this, Katara's gut knew the girl would be hurt if she found out about things. They'd need to tell her sooner or later, but with the way she'd been acting, it'd be best to give it some time - this was the decision they had reached. And Sokka? Yeesh, the guy could be protective...Katara worried how he'd react to know his roommate was dating his little sister...And Jane? She _did _need to get over herself, but all the same...it'd probably sting the poor girl a bit, too, and she'd been trying very hard lately to be a team player.

"Y-you're right, I'm...-" Katara bumped her mittened hand against her forehead. "-...really sorry, I just...-"

"It's OK," Aang muttered with a bashful shrug, a smile slipping through the cracks in his concern. "Not gonna say I didn't _like _it..."

They exchanged stupidly giddy grins before heading off. Katara immediately hid her hands away in her pockets to remove the temptation to wrap one around Aang's, while he followed her lead in this regard.

"So, what did you want to do?" Katara asked while they walked. She had no idea where they were going, and assumed he did, at least.

"Oh, just...you know...talk."

"Talk?" Katara's slippery, sliding glee was losing its balance.

"Fff," Aang laughed, dissolving her worry away as quickly as it had come up. "No, no, not...like _that. _I meant, just...I dunno, like we always do." He shrugged up his shoulders. "Nothing serious."

"Right." Katara nodded, trying to put her blinders on and ignored the potential irksome things that had been cast to the sidelines. They needed to take things slow here. She could do that, because she knew it'd be worth it.

* * *

"That the last of it?"

"Sure is. Thanks, guys..." Korra wiped some beads of sweat from her forehead while Hakoda and Bato inspected the backseat to make sure nothing was going to get bumped around during the trip.

"Looks like we managed to squeeze it all in there," chuckled Bato. "I'm impressed. Didn't even manage to crush your dog, either."

Hakoda laughed and gave his chest a proud pound.

"The Kesuks have always been good at packing just what we need," he offered an explanation while Naga barked for attention from inside the car.

"You sure this is going to be enough?" Bato doubted, rubbing his chin, creating a scraping sound from his five-o'-clock shadow.

"I'll be _fine, _guys," Korra sighed, endeared by their concern. "I'm moving into an already-settled place, remember? And it's not like I need much to get by with, anyway..."

"I'm sure you'll get by well enough," Hakoda assured, administering a solid back slap. "You're a hardy one."

"That she is," agreed Bato. "Can't say the same for me," he groaned, bending over and giving his own back a few thumps. He waddled over, straightening out and opening his arms. "Guess we'll be seein' ya when we see ya, eh?"

"Yea," said Korra, welcoming her makeshift uncle's hug.

"You look out for your cousins down there, now," Bato advised as he made his way to his rusty car. As he started up and pulled out of the shoveled driveway, Hakoda waved his good friend off.

"Seems like the Kesuks can't be kept away from that town," he muttered to himself wistfully.

"Huh?" Korra was puzzled as to what her uncle was on about.

"Korra, I don't think it's a coincidence that you got this job," Hakoda expressed with a solemn nod. He looked at her, in her jeans and leather jacket, that same ambitious spark in her eyes that Kya had once had so long, before...-

"Obviously," Korra scoffed at his mysticism. "I knew a guy who knew a guy - networking, man. It's how shit happens, right?"

Hakoda laughed through his nostrils as a bittersweet smile crept over his face.

"Very true, Korra..."

Korra raised a brow at his melancholic mood, covered up by that strange smile. She had seen it enough growing up to recognize it as the one he wore when he thought of his deceased wife. The weight of such stuff was heavy to bear, so she shoved it off her shoulders.

"Sooo...I oughtta head off, then." She tilted her torso in the direction of her own vehicle.

"Wait," said Hakoda. "Before you go...there was something I was hoping you could take with you." His face changed again, this time more hopeful. He turned for the front door. "I'll be just a moment."

While Hakoda rummaged inside for whatever this 'something' was, Korra took in a deep breath of Canadian air. She couldn't remember the last time she'd gone south to America. Part of her wondered how different it would be down there. She wondered if she'd get along with her prospective roommates.

"_Yar-yar-yarp!_" The chipper, squeaking barks of her pet rang out from the passenger side window of her car, where a white puppy was clawing at

"Calm the hell down," Korra scolded her pet in amusement, walking over and reaching an arm in to stroke the lively animal's head. There was a whimper. "_Ah, _bathroom break before we go, huh?" She opened the door and kept a watchful eye on her little beast as it tinkled a tiny stream, creating a small yellow splotch in the white patch of lawn. The animal scrambled back to her master to receive an ear scratch. "'Atta girl..."

As Korra scooped the pint-sized dog up and set her back in the car, Hakoda came out with a lather-bound journal. He handed it to Korra, who took it with caution.

"Could you please give this to Sokka and Katara?"

"Oh, err...Sure." Korra gave a brisk nod, handling the book carefully. Then she remembered - it was the journal Hakoda had received for Christmas from his children. More serious, emotional junk...she simply didn't know how to handle it. Hakoda was acting strange. She furrowed her brows at him, perplexed. "What's with all the doom-n'-gloom?" she grumbled precariously, tucking in the journal like an antique to her waist. Her insides squirmed uncomfortably from the tension as Hakoda's eyes became dulled like battle-worn blades.

"I guess I...have a habit of worrying about you kids," Hakoda explained, offering a sheepish shrug that concealed something deeper. He took her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. She knew this would be the last time she'd see him for a while. "But I just need to remind myself that you'll all be in good hands." Korra accepted the tight hug from Hakoda and was relieved to have the emotional-ness settled.

"We'll keep an eye on each other's backs, Hakoda," she insisted as she waved to him and approached her car, her puppy yipping out for her.

"I'm certain you will," Hakoda called back, sending her off as he stood alone in his driveway.

* * *

- Saturday, February 26th, 2011 -

"Whew. That was, umm...simpler than I expected," Katara sighed out peacefully as she took the wheel of their car. "She really didn't bring that much with her, did she?"

"Nah," Sokka shrugged, taking the passenger seat. "Just what she needed."

"Her roommates seem all right."

"Yea, I'm sure they'll get along good."

"We'll have to see Korra later this weekend when she's all settled in."

Katara started up the car. The engine hummed to life, and she turned down the radio's volume while it blared some pop song she didn't know.

"So, where off to next, Captain?" she asked eagerly.

"Erm..." Sokka shrugged. "I thought we were just gonna head back."

"Psh, why not do something down here in town while we're here?" Katara suggested with assertiveness, pulling out of the driveway. "Least we do is grab some food, am I right?"

Sokka was finding her tinge of jumpiness a bit odd lately. Just a few days ago she'd been all weird and nervous and down, and suddenly everything seemed different and she was peppy and...a bit odd. He'd seen her like this before..._When _had he seen like this before?

"Yeeeaaa," he slowly replied. "I am _not _one to say 'no' to food..."

"Great!" Katara casually drove toward the busy section of Wayward, randomly humming out notes to this song she didn't know, entirely calm and pleasant. Katara - driving, with cars all around - was calm. That in and of itself was a sign. She spoke out in a flittering flurry of cheery words. "How about Taco Bell? Yea, let's do Taco Bell. I'm in the mood for Taco Bell."

A boy. That's what it was. Katara was thinking of a _boy._ Who the heck _was _it, though? He hadn't seen her hanging out with any _boy _lately...Unless it was...

A _secret boyfriend. _

Oho, coy little sister though she was, she couldn't hide it from _him._

"Aren't _you_?" Katara asked him about his hunger for tacos as they pulled into the driveway of the restaurant she'd blathered about.

"Uh, yea, let's do it." Damnit. Who could it be? Grah, this was going to bug him. He was supposed to be Mr. Detective, here. Then again, Toph seemed to have had a _secret boyfriend _on the side that he couldn't have known about, and he didn't even know about Jet for a little while, so...maybe this was like that? Freakin' girls and hiding their boyfriends.

* * *

- November, 2008 -

"But _why_?" Sokka insisted. This made no sense to him.

"Because...-" She sighed contemplatively, palm on her forehead in distress. "If they knew about...this...-" Her eyes - those serene pearls - glanced off, away from him. "-...then it would cause a lot of...problems."

Problems? What was she blabbering about? _What _problems?

"Yue." Sokka reached out his hand and clasped hers. She squeezed back, a weak smile attempting to mask her doubts. Any smile of hers was like a slice of moonlight that shone on them - soothing and mysteriously elegant. "Your family sounds...er...less than understanding," Sokka confessed, given all he'd been told. "But I don't think they'd really be _that _upset just because you have a boyfriend."

Yue's head bobbed in self-penalty.

"Or...is this because I'm _Canadian_?" Sokka slowly jabbed in a joke. He delighted at the tiny smirk Yue exhibited through her frustration, as short-lived as it was. "Nah, nah, I get it, don't need to deny it," he continued to play it off. It wasn't working this time, though. Sitting together on the side of a hill that overlooked one of SRU's campus corners, the night sky was relaxing, the air just a bit nippy. He admired the silvery quality of her platinum blonde in the dusk, bobbed back into an intricate braid of tangles.

"Sokka," Yue muttered, latching her arms around his waist and scooting to sit closer to him. She stared at his eyes - they always made her think of the Aurora Borealis for some reason. "You don't understand," she whimpered, her own quivering eyes falling to his lips. She leaned forth and kissed him, and he accepted it with vigor as he had every time now, seeming to melt into goo in her arms. She left it at only one, slow, savory kiss, pulling their faces apart. "I like you, Sokka...a _lot_," she assured him, almost painfully, for the idea of losing what they had found in each other in these past few weeks was a burdensome prospect. "But maybe we shouldn't be together..." Yue detached her arm from him.

"_Why_?" Sokka demanded as calmly as he could, his heart wanting to burst out of his chest in protest.

Yue's face winced with guilt as she swallowed her fear.

"I'm engaged."

Sokka's heart was struck with a hammer, and his face went blank with shock.

"You're...-?" Only this single word managed to escape as his mind whirled around in circles.

"I'm sorry," Yue pleaded. "I should've said something sooner, but...I didn't want...-"

Thick, heavy silence for a moment.

"So...What am I in all this?" Sokka finally managed to force out, some anger bubbling out from the pot of passion.

"No, Sokka, it's not what you think," Yue swiftly tried to conduct damage control. "I don't even _like _him, I've hardly seen him since...-"

"Since _what_?"

"Since it happened," Yue sputtered in a slight panic at Sokka's understandable irritation. "I don't-...I _never _planned on marrying him, but my family...-" She huffed out her anguish, simply relieved that he hadn't up and left at this point. "They arranged everything with him before I had any say, and I couldn't just outright turn my back on everyone, it...-" She shrugged, staring at his confused, hurt expression with desperation. They shared in this moment of bewilderment until Sokka his his hand, placed it on her leg, and rubbed gently in an effort to calm her down while he tried sorting this all out in his own mind. At least everything was making sense now - why she only ever went out on dates with him at night, why she insisted they keep things on the down-low for the time being, and why she never wanted to take any pictures with him. Here he'd thought it was simply because she had an overprotective family.

Oh, how wrong Sokka had been.

"I'm not sure I get what's going on," said Sokka, expressing his doubts. "All of this stuff with your family, but...What do _you _want?" Sokka asked solemnly. He eyeballed her hand - nope, no engagement ring. He didn't _think _he'd seen her with one...

"I want to be with you," Yue insisted, placing her palm upon the wrist that was on her leg. "I've never felt this way about anyone before..."

Sokka's spirit was swelled with hope once again.

"Me, neither," he reciprocated with some anticipation. "Yue, you're beautiful, and...so nice, and selfless..."

"And _you _are...funny, and charming, and..._real_. And..._normal._"

"Huh?"

"Sokka, everyone I've worked with, anyone I've ever been with...it's always so _fake. _So...plastic." Sokka had to remind himself of her background as an actress. "Everyone's always about appearances."

Sokka shrugged, flattered that his own...being stupid and 'normal' was somehow enough to make her happy.

"But _you_," Yue continued, "Sokka, you...don't care what others think. You're just..._you._" She smirked, staring at his head with fondness. "You wear your hair all...funny," she remarked with a giggle as Sokka self-consciously tugged at his 'wolftail.' "And you have so many silly shirts..." She wriggled her hand to his collar and tugged at the Hawaiian-themed clothing that rested beneath, her cold hand smooth and soft on his neck. "And it's so...strange...Because even though you _do _act so..._differently_...and odd all the time...-" She grinned, flashing her teeth at him. "-...you're just being _yourself_."

"Heh..." Sokka could feel his face burning up with embarrassment. By now the hands on Yue's leg were entwined. "C'mon, that's not...so great," Sokka dismissed her compliment. "I'm a total goofball."

"But you're so _intelligent, _too," Yue lathered on more praise. "You can be so silly and make me laugh...but when it's important, you're so caring, and strong, and smart."

"You...really think so?" Sokka shook his head with skepticism. "I don't...get it. It's not really like that. I'm just an inconsistent idiot..."

"It _is_ like you're two different people, in a way," Yue coyly explained. "Like Yin and Yang - push and pull, light and heavy. Funny but serious...Two sides of one coin - and I like _both sides._"

She worked her arms around him and squeezed, and his heartbeat elevated. The scent of her perfume, the fluffy edges of her luxurious coat tickling his lips, her wispy hair on his cheek, her gentle touch...Could someone this beautiful _really _like some immature, crazy idiot like himself?

"I...like you, too, Yue," Sokka managed out, humbled by her generous words. He placed his hands on her back. "So...So, wait, here...Does this mean we're still going to try to work this out?"

Yue kissed his neck with a brief peck.

"I'm sorry about all of this," sighed Yue with regret. "I didn't want to hurt you. And yes, I _do _want to be with you. But I need to keep this a secret for just a while longer."

* * *

- Saturday, February 26th, 2011 -

"_Sokka_. What are you getting?" Katara repeated, stirring him from his lamentable thoughts.

"Err..." He blinked at the large menu hanging outside their window. Katara giggled at him. "Just a...Beefy Five-Layer and...mm...-"  
"A Baja Blast," Katara gleefully concluded, knowing what Sokka always liked to drink here. "You sure you don't want anything else?"

"Mmm...Nah, I'm good."

Katara shrugged, seemingly surprised, and directed her voice to the microphone outside her window. After placing the order, she pulled through to the line, and paid for their meal.

"Wow, Sokka," she remarked humorously as they waited for their food. "Just _one _burrito? You sure everything's all right? Haha..."

"Heh..." He shrugged it off, trying to be cool. Ever since Toph had ripped at him the other day, he found himself occasionally slipping in wet puddles of memories of his time with Yue - a time that had been cut tragically short. He couldn't decide who he was feeling more upset with: Toph, for being a bitch to him, or Suki, for..._not_...being like Yue. Guh.

"Then again," Katara mused, "I guess if you're wanting to lose some weight, you _should _be eating less Taco Bell, _Bro_, heehee."

"Fff..." Sokka nodded complacently, trying to appear as amused as his sister strangely was.

"Thank you," Katara accepted their bags of food and drinks, passing them along to her passenger. "Have a good night!"

As they drove off toward the edge of Wayward that led to SRU, Katara slurped at her raspberry tea, humming along to whatever Lady Gaga song was playing that Sokka didn't care to familiarize himself with no matter how many times he heard it.

If Katara really _was _all aflutter for some guy that he didn't know about...she probably had a good reason for not saying anything just yet. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt.

* * *

Everything was...different.

More voices. More clamor. More smells and sounds. Lots of beer, too. She could definitely smell that. Fuckitall, she wanted some...Stupid _water. _She guzzled some from the bottle she'd been given. Part of the agreement was that she wasn't to drink any alcohol, given the whole...technically not being legal to drink yet. Grah.

Whoa, were those...cat-calls? Hm. On the one hand, they were probably from guys older than she'd prefer. On the other hand...they were cat-calls. So that was...kinda cool. Didn't exactly get _those _at the coffee shop, right?

This place wasn't like the Jasmine Dragon at _all. _She didn't even remember the name Suki had given - some dive a town over. Didn't matter.

At the end, she looked at it all the same.

Just Toph and her music.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=muqV_ze9Yks +

She passed on introductions, quelling the jittery audience with electric guitar riffs, receiving a couple cheers off the bat for her music choice. She called out 'Na's' with the tune she was playing and took off, Suki pounding the drums somewhere behind her to the left. She felt her foot across the cement stage floor, observing the scratchy cross made of tape that had been placed before the mic. Sanitary to play barefoot in a place like this? Hell if she cared.

"~I guess I just lost my husband; I don't know where he went~"

_Good riddance._

"~So I'm gonna drink my money; I'm not gonna pay his rent~"

_Some booze sure would taste good right about now._

"~I got a brand new attitude; And I'm gonna wear it tonight~"

_And fuck anyone who's got a problem with that._

"~I wanna get in trouble; I wanna start a fight~"

_That's what I always want, anyway._

"~I wanna start a fight~"

_And I'm damned good at it._

"-I wanna start a fight!-"

_So piss off._

"~So, so what? I'm still a Rock star~"

_That's all that matters._

"~I got my Rock Moves; And I don't need you~"

_None of you._

"~And guess what? I'm havin' more fun~"

_Sure is easier._

"~And now that we're done, I'm gonna show you - tonight, I'm alright; I'm just fine; And you're a tool, so~"

_Always doing better when I don't have a prick roommate butting into my business._

"~So what? I am a rock star; I got my Rock Moves~"

_Damn straight I do._

"~And I don't want you tonight~"

_Stupid prissy bitch doesn't understand me, anyways._

"~The waiter just took my table, And gave it to Jessica Simp (shit!)~"

_Fuckin' Meng, trying to take the credit for my talent._

"~I guess I'll go sit with drum boy, At least he'll know how to hit~"

_Suki knows how to play, and leave me the fuck alone._

"~(What if this flops on the radio? Somebody's gonna die)~"

_Only reason I wouldn't make it is if people can't appreciate what's good._

"~I'm gonna get in trouble, My ex'll start a fight~"

_Twinkles grows a pair _after _I need him to man up._

"~He's gonna start a fight~"

_Then he goes pickin' fights with me? Pff._

"-**We're all gonna get in a fight!**-"

Toph kicked the bottle of water she'd set down out into the audience. She couldn't make out exactly what kind of reaction she got, but it didn't matter.

"~So, so what? I'm still a Rock star~"

_And he's just a pussy artist, anyway._

"~I got my Rock Moves; And I don't need you~"

_He was just holding me back._

"~And guess what? I'm havin' more fun~"

_I'm better off without his baby-skin sensitivity._

"~And now that we're done, I'm gonna show you - tonight, I'm alright; I'm just fine; And you're a tool, so~"

_He can go and let himself get stepped on for all I care._

"~So what? I am a Rock star; I got my Rock Moves~"

_But I'm gonna stand my ground, get what I want, do things my own way._

"~And I don't want you tonight~"

_Anyone who gets in my way can fuck off._

The drums pounded and Toph let her guitar take a breather, reaching out and grasping the mic and pushing her anger out slowly through the speakers.

"~You weren't there; You never were~"

_Some parents _you _guys were..._

"~You weren't at all; But that's not fair~"

_Didn't let me learn to take care of myself._

"~I gave you life; I gave my all~

_I tried playing your stupid games._

"~You weren't there; You let me fall~"

_And when I left, you didn't even bother trying to take me back._

The tension rose back up to a swell. The guitar drowning out her voice as the word faded.

"~So, so what? I'm still a Rock star~"

_Well, look where I'm going now._

"~I got my Rock Moves, And I don't need you~"

_Told you guys I'd do what I wanted._

"~And guess what? I'm havin' more fun~"

_Feels good, knowing how wrong you were._

"~And now that we're done, I'm gonna show you - tonight, I'm alright; I'm just fine; And you're a tool, so~"

_I never needed you two. Ever._

"~So what? I am a rock star; I got my Rock Moves~"

_Don't ever want to hear your voices again.  
_

"~And I don't want you tonight~"

_Ever._

"~No no, no no...I don't want you tonight~"

_At least Twinkles _tried.

"~You weren't there~"

_Even if he was a fuck-up in the end._

"~I'm gonna show you tonight~"

_I'm a fuck-up, too._

"~I'm alright; I'm just fine; And you're a tool, so~"

_But I'm fine with that._

"~So what? I am a Rock star~"

_Because at least I know how to get what I want._

"~I got my Rock Moves~"

_Sling mud, and I'll sling it back harder._

"~And I don't want you tonight~"

_Until all you idiots leave me alone._

"~Ba-da-da-da-da-da~"

* * *

"And you're _OK _with that?" Zuko growled into his phone, taken aback.

"Oh, _please, _Zuzu. Everything must always be so black and white with you."

"This isa _little_ different."

"As if you would understand. You _left_, remember? Before you even understood what you were leaving."

Zuko took a deep breath, working to maintain himself. He glanced into the living room of his Uncle's house to see Mai on her laptop on the couch, patiently awaiting the end of this phone call.

"I understood _enough_," he insisted, keeping his voice down. Mai was playing some of that indie-rock music she'd gotten into recently. It was loud enough where he was sure she couldn't hear him right now. "Enough to know I didn't belong there," he amended his statement. "And you don't, either."

"Father seemed to think differently," Azula coolly replied.

"_Father _seemed to think a _lot_ of things," Zuko seethed in a whisper. "And in case you forgot, his decisions didn't exactly do us any favors."

"Maybe that's where we differ, Brother: you think this is all about you, or me. Well, it's not."

"No, it _isn't, _which is exactly why you shouldn't-"  
"You can play around and goof off with that silly old man all you-"  
"Don't talk about him like that."

Zuko's blood was starting to boil. He'd believed that his sister was starting to see reason, but if she was really going to go along with what he _thought _she was, he had given her false credit.

"Or what?" Azula mocked. "What are you going to do about it, _Dum-Dum?_"

"I won't have to do anything," Zuko quipped sternly. "If you go through with this, I-"  
"With _what_?" Azula played dumb. "What_ever _are you talking about? I'm simply doing my job: the one you were supposed to help me with."

"You know _exactly _what I'm talking about," Zuko sighed. "And I promise you, Azula, if you go down that road, you're going to end up where Ozai did."

"Is that _so_? That sounds like a challenge to _me._"

Zuko rolled his eyes at her arrogance.

"And you do know how much I enjoy rising to challenges, don't you?"

Pinching at his nose with irritation as a headache was coming on, Zuko decided that it was best to drop this for right now until he could figure out a proper course of action.

"You're going to regret it later on," he warned in that 'like-you're-going-to-listen-to-me' tone Azula often received from him.

"Perhaps," Azula sneakily conceded. "Or maybe _you'll _regret having not done your part to repair what Father broke."

"That's what I _am _doing," Zuko defended. "That's what we're _all _doing."

"If you _say_ so," she brushed him off casually. "I suppose we shall see in due time, Zuko."

"Yea..."

From the living room, Mai was on the lush, padded couch, enjoying the scent of camomile tea that Iroh had prepared for her, finishing up her e-mail reply.

[From: Mai Chiao]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: RE: Concern]

[Listen. I don't mean to sound pushy here, but I really would like to talk with you about your roommate. I understand - it seems like she's just digging herself deeper. That's the problem. I'm sure there's things I don't know about here, but there's also some things I don't think you know, either. Can we please just meet some time?]

[Sorry if I'm coming across as bossy but I can't let my conscience drop this. Hopefully that makes some kind of sense to you.]

[- Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.']

She sent the message as Zuko huffed into the living room.

"Sounds like Azula's back to her old self again," she tried to make light of his stress.

"Something like that," he groaned, setting himself down on the couch beside her. He wound his arm over her back and drew her in, kissing her on the head. His rough hand on her shoulder was comforting, the smell of his cologne still lingering on his neck, luring her into a soft hug.

"Just give it some time, Zuko," she advised calmly. "She's all the way across the country - it's not like there's much we can do about it right now, anyway."

"Mm..." Zuko wasn't so pleased with this prospect.

"You have enough to deal with right now, anyway," Mai reminded him, their temples pressed together. "We should both just focus on what's in front of us for now."

"Yea."

They clasped hands together and simply enjoyed the touch, the proximity, as they often did. It never seemed to get old - the comfort and security.

"Whatever Azula does," Mai expressed to Zuko, her dry voice warm like crackling embers, "_I_ think you're doing everything you can."

"I hope it's enough," Zuko lamented. "Or else we're in trouble."

* * *

**A/N: A little of...most everyone this chapter. No Jane this time, though. But everyone still has their roles to play, it's just a matter of giving them all time. Song lyrics by P!nk, one of Toph's idols.**


	67. Like Water

**A/N: Now, don't get used to me posting chapters so soon apart - I've had a really slow week because I've had no hours at work. Seriously, if anyone is interested in commissioning me to write something for them, feel free to send me a message, I could use the work. Likewise, if you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and might know of any place looking for workers, I'm all ears._  
_**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 67 - Like Water_

* * *

- Sunday, February 27th, 2011 -

"I just...feel like I learn more from _people_," Aang hesitantly explained. "Not just...from a book. You know?"

Katara nodded thoughtfully as they walked down the cafeteria steps to the main lobby of the ACC.

"No, I feel the same way. Even with school, too - I feel like I learn a lot more outside of class than I do from the classes themselves..."

Side by side, heading out the front door of the campus center, they both had chins up and smiles on.

"Yea, I'm starting to think that, too," Aang agreed peacefully. "I'm getting the hang of it, though - balancing things out."

"You seem to be doing a lot better than you were before, so that makes sense," Katara acknowledged as they made their way down the steps. Katara paused halfway down, causing Aang to slow to a stop, confused.

"What's up?" he wondered, looking back. Katara was grinning sneakily, eyes narrowed and sly. She looked around them conspicuously.

"Nobody's around," she announced quietly, and with a mischievous tone. "What if we...kissed?" she suggested, cheeks heating up with anticipation, eyes half closed and sparking. Aang reciprocated, folding his arms to cover the tingling sensation that was building below his waist.

"Us..._kissing_," he facetiously contemplated the notion like it was a foreign concept.

"It _is _a crazy idea," Katara scoffed playfully, closing the distance between them.

"_Us_," Aang repeated, feigning serious thought as he rubbed his chin. "..._Kissing_."

Katara snickered and wrapped her arms around his lean waist - if she wasn't mistaken, he _had _trimmed up a bit lately from all that exercise. Likewise, Aang found his hands unconsciously latched onto Katara's hips. She was wearing jeans today - jeans that had a softer texture than normal. He liked that.

Lips found their way together against better judgment and lingered in their longing. Seconds passed.

The door behind them burst open as Sokka came rushing out to meet them.

"Hey, guys-**Ahh!**" He froze in place, reeling back at the sight, arms flailing up in the air. He nearly doubled over himself while the two lovers popped apart, eyes wide and faces flushed. In that moment, the pieces in Sokka's mind flung together.

Oh, how wrong he'd been.

"_Nothing!_" Aang spat out, rapidly waving his hands up in response to a question that hadn't even been asked. "We're not doing _anything_ out here!" he pleaded in a sheepish squeak.

Katara eyes ignited with indignation as she pierced her index finger through the air to her brother, walking up the steps she'd been standing on.

"Haven't you ever heard of _knocking_, Sokka?" she growled, trying to keep her voice down - a failed effort.

Sokka gawked at her, brows furrowed testily.

"Uhh..._First of all_? You're supposed to knock before you go _inside, _not before you go _outside!_" he countered, annoyed with his sister's mini explosion. "And _second, _as my sister, you really shouldn't be kissing anyone in front of me." He frowned, hanging his tongue out in exaggerated disgust. "It's your sisterly duty to avoid giving me the **oogies**!" he yammered, seeming oddly calm about the whole thing.

_**"'****Oogies'?****"**_ Katara roared, appalled by his childish reaction to all this. "Aargh! You are _so _immature sometimes!" Her finger was still raised, drawing closer to her brother, like an unsheathed sword, ready to slice. "What about you and _Suki, _huh?"

Sokka shrugged as Katara stabbed her finger into his chest, eyes on fire, nostrils flared open wide like geysers.

"I've had to sit and watch you and _her _snog all over the place, left and right!" Katara seethed. "I don't even wanna _hear it!_"

"_Whaaat?_ That's rih-dick-uh-luss!" Sokka flamboyantly retaliated, leaning into her accusing finger. "At least you know we're _dating, _so you know to turn away!"

"This is _our _business! No one asked for your..._stupidly childish _opinion!"

As the siblings exploded at each other with embarrassed, vicious verbal jabs, Aang stared, wide-eyed and worried, their words blurring together in a run-on rant. His stomach was churning with fear. Sure, Silly Sokka was making fun, but _Serious _Sokka was going to strangle Aang in his sleep. He sighed with trepidation at the prospect, but was somewhat relieved that somehow _he _wasn't the one getting chewed out...

"Uh, Sokka?" he tried to push through their argument nervously, raising his palms up. "_Sokka!_"

Steam billowed from both Kesuk noses, and Sokka stuck his palm up to Katara's face.

"Time out," he quickly dismissed her, much to her aggravation. While she squawked out an offended huff, he turned to Aang. "Yea, Aang?"

"I, um...-" Aang shrugged, shaken by everything. "Whhhhat did you come out here to tell us?"

"_Oh!_ Right!" Sokka's eyes flashed in remembrance and he seemed to forget about the entire argument in an instant. "We need to head downtown." He smacked the side of his fist into his palm. "They're doing the opening ceremony soon, and Korra told me I need to get you there."

"Huh?" Aang blinked, wide-eyed. "B-but that's...not for another few hours."

Sokka shrugged, brows lifted.

"I dunno, she said she needed you down there ASAP."

Aang nodded quickly, turning to Katara, who was trying to lower her temperature. She sighed out her frustrations.

"Then let's go," she decided.

"All right. Then _let's go_." With this, Sokka dashed past them, bee-lining to the nearby parking lot and toward their car.

As Katara and Aang followed, Katara tried to wind her fingers around Aang's - Sokka already knew, she figured - but he pulled away. She shrugged it off, acknowledging that he was understandably worried about what Sokka would think.

What had just transpired hung in the air, and they both wanted to discuss it, but knew there wasn't any time or privacy. Katara felt pretty certain, however, given Sokka's reaction, that he was somehow...completely fine with the whole thing. This was unnerving to her, but only because this would mark the first time Sokka had _not _been over-protective over any of her boyfriends. She couldn't help but find it strange.

They both made to sit in the backseat, and Sokka clucked his tongue wildly.

"_Awww, _no! You're up front, Sis. I don't need no **oogies **in the back seat."

Katara rolled her eyes with an "Urgh" and marched to the front.

She collapsed into the seat like it was a chore and clipped her seatbelt, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest while Aang drummed his fingers across his knees in the back.

Sokka turned on the ignition and off they went. After a minute or two of bizarre, tense silence, Sokka finally spoke.

"So, erm..._That's _what's been goin' on," he openly observed. "Ya know, that explains a lot."

"Ya _think_?" Katara snipped.

"Well, you two _have _seemed happier lately..."

Aang was tempted to announce how much better he'd been feeling, but squashed this desire for the sake of his own private parts.

"And Toph _has _been bitchier than normal," Sokka added.

"She doesn't _know_," Katara rapidly informed, suddenly swelling with worry.

"_Oh_." Sokka was off-put. "Damn...You, uh...you'd better keep that a secret for the time being, 'cuz she would _totally._..-" He glanced to his side in all seriousness, only to see a flash of his sister's dull, impatient glare before his eyes danced back to the road. "Ah. _Right!_" he acknowledged what was suddenly obvious.

"We _are _going to tell her," Aang put in his two cents. "But...not quite yet..."

"This isn't something we had..._planned_ on," Katara was quick to add. "I-I mean, it...it just _happened_..."

"Well, hey," Sokka casually carried on, adjusting his mirror slightly. "Ya know, that's how this stuff goes, am I right?" How in the hell was he so..._OK _with this?

"And-and it's not like we've been keeping this all...under wraps, or...or anything like that," Katara pressed on with her hasty explanation. "This-...W-well, it was-...Like, we only _just _figured this out a few _days _ago, and we haven't even-"  
"_Chill_."

Katara's shaky flurry of defense was cast aside by her brother.

"Geez, Sis...You're not in _court, _this ain't no trial," he laughed, trying to placate her. "I didn't ask for a novel. Simmer down."

Aang, still keeping fairly quiet in the back, was becoming more and more relieved the more Sokka spoke - quite the opposite of how he'd expected this to go down. Katara was confused. It simply wouldn't click that this could be so...easy. There was _something _she wasn't getting - there simply _had _to be. Sokka turned up the radio and everyone let their stresses get swallowed up by song until they reached their destination. This chunk of downtown Wayward was a bit busy, with a number of people humming around the newly refashioned building that Aang had contributed toward. A metal sign had been attached to its frontside, depicting interlocking gears on either side.

{**UNITED REPUBLIC**}

"Looks like your stop," Sokka advised. Aang hesitated for a moment, still unsure as to where the matter of him and Katara sat, but opted to wave them off and get swept into the buzzing student workers that were conducting their energies into the building.

Katara let the radiowaves waft through the car for a few minutes as they wheeled around and headed back for SRU's campus. When she felt like her mind was about to burst from the confusion, she lowered the volume dial.

"So you're just..._totally _OK with this," she dubiously proclaimed.

"Yea," Sokka bluntly replied, starting to get a bit annoyed with her insistence on doubting him. "I am."

"_You_," Katara grunted. "Elder brother who has _never _let me date anyone without giving me trouble."

Sokka shrugged at this, wide eyed, as the sense behind it was clear as day in his mind.

"Sis, you've never dated anyone I actually _knew_."

Katara did a double-take at this, eyebrows set low in consideration at first, only to gradually raise when the dust in her mind cleared.

"Katara, why would I _not _be OK with you and _Aang_?" Sokka spit out an incredulous laugh at her. "He's like a _brother _to me. I love the guy. I know him, I _live _with him. He's...a _good guy. _Which is a _first _for you."

He smirked in her direction, and she offered and embarrassed shrug.

"W-well, yea, he...he _is_...I just didn't think you'd...-" Another popped shoulder. She felt kind of silly now for second-guessing him.

He gave her a slap on the shoulder as he drove along the straight road back to school.

"I don't have a reason to be protective over you when I already know you're in good hands," Sokka concluded his logic, and she watched a warm smile pour over his face.

"Yea," Katara sighed out peacefully, relieved that this was so simple. Her brother's effortless support was a positive sign to her that she had made a good decision.

"Just...ya know...Don't go all gettin' mushy and making out in front of me and everything'll be fine."

"Psh...Did you forget about you and _Suki_ in the past few minutes?"

Sokka swallowed carefully at the thought.

"No, I haven't," he muttered, the luster in his tone fading.

* * *

- Monday, February 28th, 2011 -

[From: Katara Kesuk]  
[To: Mai Chiao]  
[Subject: RE: Concern]

[OK...]

[I'm not really sure what you're talking about, Mai, but...All right. I think I know how you're feeling. So, yes, I'd be willing to meet up with you to talk about this. What did you have in mind?]

[~ Katara]

After reading the reply she'd received, Mai's attention was brought to the television, which was broadcasting the evening news.

["-which took place yesterday evening, where Mayor Kuei was present to help commemorate the grand opening of the new facility."]

Mai observed the quaint-looking man, middle-aged, with his elongated face and small, quaint glasses. He spoke cleanly and clearly to the news reporter, with a kind of authority unexpected from his stature.

["Personally, I'm very excited that the college has gone through with this project,"] said the mayor. ["I think it will be a great opportunity for our city and the students of their campus to interact and bring our two communities closer together."]

Mai smiled at the comment. She had heard some rumblings from her boyfriend about his involvement in helping promote the project to the town of Wayward, but hadn't heard the man himself speak on the matter. She could feel the crackling embers of her heart glow warm with pride at Zuko's work - his ideas brought forth by his own efforts - getting recognized.

["It's been a couple of months of hard work-"]  
"**Omigosh-omigosh** _Zuzu_ is on TV~!" squealed Ty-Lee, slapping her hands together tightly as she interrupted what Zuko was saying.

Mai smirked at her friend, who then gaped wide-eyed, pointing her finger excitedly at the screen.

["-lot of people have all pitched in to make this happen. It's been an honor to be a part of this, and I hope it helps our campus reach out and connect with people we haven't quite been able to interact with before."]

["The Kurosawa family seems to have a long history with Saint Roku University. Have they had any influence on this decision?"]

["To be honest, the United Republic was my own idea - my family's history with the college may have helped me reach a position where I could make these ideas a reality, but frankly, I'm acting independently."]

Ty-Lee hopped up again with another squeak.

"Look-look! In the background! It's _Aang!_"

Indeed, the young man was hovering the background, shaking hands with Mayor Kuei in the hullabaloo.

["-that in light of recent budgeting issues, many are questioning how the college is able to fund such a project when they're cutting off tenure from some of their respected professors."]

Zuko replied with his professional demeanor, expressionless and courteous.

["You'd have to speak with the college's president concerning those kinds of matters."]

While the news reporter continued to discuss the topic, Mai tuned it out, opting to focus on the half-scribbled sketch on her notepad. Zuko came walking into the Terra house lounge, talking on his phone.

"-what you're saying, Uncle, but I really don't see what else I can do about it right now..."

They were talking about Azula. Mai had become pretty familiar with overhearing vague conversations about the topic. It concerned her - something more serious was going on, but Zuko would never divulge the details, even getting actively upset when she tried to press them from him. It had become a bit of a sore topic, so Mai had been trying to quell her doubts and simply do her best to offer encouragement from the sidelines. Something seemed to have happened in the past week that had got things sparking issues back up after what had sounded like a breakthrough over the holidays.

Mai waved a dainty hand to her boyfriend, who nodded and waved back, occupied by his call.

"Right, but...Yes, I understand, it's-...OK, all right. Yes, yes, I'll be there...Mm-hm...I love you, too."

With that same tired sigh Mai had grown wary of hearing, Zuko let himself collapse onto the lumpy couch and cozy up beside Mai, who set her drawing on the nearby coffee table.

"Zuko!" Ty-Lee chirped. "You were on _TV!_"

"Uh, yea," Zuko shrugged, a bit embarrassed. "That was-...Yea."

"_Soooooo _awesome~!"

"Sure...Uh, thanks?"

"You looked like you carried yourself pretty well out there," Mai observed. "How was it?

"It went well," Zuko decided with a light nodding gesture. "The place is looking great, and the new manager seems really...energetic. She's had experience with this kind of thing before, so it seemed like she hardly needed any training."

"Sounds good."

"Yea, it's all been going smoothly, I think."

"Then I'm guessing that's not what your phone call was about," Mai keenly pointed out.

"No," Zuko mumbled in admittance, scratching at his ear.

Ty-Lee gasped.

"Azula's being a big _meanie _again, isn't she?" she realized. "That's what you were talking about."

"Wh-?" Zuko's eyes darted to her and he shook his head. "No, that wasn't it," he firmly replied. "It's about the school, not her."

"You're _lying_," Ty-Lee immediately spat out with a stern point of her finger.

Zuko grunted and rolled his eyes.

"Just because you watch that stupid show, it doesn't mean-"  
"Deflecting," Ty-Lee snipped, cutting him off.

"I'm not _lying_," Zuko insisted. "It has to do with the school."

Ty-Lee slits for eyes scanned him suspiciously for another moment.

"_That _part's true," she admitted. "What's _Godzula _have to do with the school right now?"

Mai was quite interested in this and was opting not to say anything in Zuko's defense when he glanced her way.

"It's...just politics," he yammered. "You wouldn't understand."

"So she _does _have something to do with the school," Ty-Lee sneakily concluded, sidestepping the insult to her intelligence.

"I never _said_ that..."

"Like how you never said it to the news lady."

"Oh, so..._What?_ Is this some _conspiracy_, now?" Zuko huffed.

Ty-Lee blinked at him, cocking her head to the side.

"I dunno, Zuko," she innocently replied. "_Is _it?"

Zuko's head rolled backward and he groaned.

"You're not some _detective, _Ty-Lee. Mind your own business."

"So it _is._"

"_No! _There's no-...There's nothing like that. Kurosawa Industries used to be very involved with the school, but we're _not _now, and Azula's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong and trying to bring up old problems. That's _it,_ OK?"

Both girls stared at him for a moment. He was burning up with irritation and stress. Mai slid her lithe fingers over the back of his neck and gave Ty-Lee a brief, gentle glance.

"OK~" Ty-Lee chimed with a peppy shrug. "I was just messin' with ya, Zuko. _Man, _you're so frikkin' _serious _all the time..."

Mai smirked. Her roommate wasn't always as stupid as she pretended to be.

"OK, guys," Mai settled their matter. "Come on, now, we're here to hang out. Ty-Lee, would you mind making some popcorn?"

"Sure!" And off Ty-Lee pranced to the kitchen down the hall.

"You set her up to that, didn't you?" Zuko grumbled, arms crossed over his stomach.

"I did no such thing," Mai confidently remarked. "But I'm glad you think we're both crafty enough to plan something like that out, haha."

"Some of this stuff is serious, and it's not your guys' business," Zuko firmly advised with a bit of a glare. He puffed out a sigh and retracted his frustration. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to...be a jerk about it."

"It's OK," Mai assured, continuing to run her hand across the back of his head. "I get it. It's personal, family stuff. My dad's a politician, remember? I know how that goes."

"Yea..."

"Come here," Mai whispered, raising her other hand to Zuko's jaw and pulling him in for a kiss. They enjoyed a romantic moment together until Ty-Lee's voice interrupted.

"_Awwwwww~!_"

Lips that were pressed together curved into smiles as they slowly pulled apart.

"Don't mind me!" Ty-Lee giggled, munching on some kernels of popped corn in a puffed up cheek. "Juff emjoing da ffoh."

Mai smiled and got up, grabbing the DVD case sitting on the table and making her way to the television to set up the movie she had rented.

"So what's this movie about, again?" Zuko wondered, eyeballing the dreary cover, with some girl making a snow angel. {**Let Me In**}

"_Vampires~!_"

"Ugh."

"Fff," Mai was amused by Zuko's immediate distaste. "Yes, but...I heard it's actually _good._"

"Guess we'll find out," Zuko scoffed.

* * *

[From: Mai Chiao]  
[To: Katara Kesuk]  
[Subject: RE: Concern]

[Thank you for understanding. By the way, Aang told me about what happened recently. I'm very happy for you two. I know it can be kind of awkward at first - I was friends with Zuko's sister for a long time before he and I started dating, so it was kind of weird for a while when we started. But things got better.]

[I was thinking we could meet over coffee at the Jasmine Dragon. Thursday evening work for you?]

[- Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore.']

Katara's attention was diverted from her computer as her open door was rattled. She looked up to see a curious Jane peering thoughtfully in.

"Hi," Katara greeted.

"'Sup?"

"Just...ya know...-" Katara closed her laptop, directing full attention to her friend. She tugged at her hair nervously, adjusting the ponytail it was set into. "I needed to talk to you about something."

"That's..why I'm here," Jane muttered with a shrug. "I got your text earlier."

"R-right, so, umm...-" Katara wiggled her hand, inviting Jane to enter. "Would you mind, um, closing the door, Hun?"

Jane did as asked and plopped herself onto the side of Katara's bed.

"Somethin' up?"

"Haaah," Katara half-sighed, half-laughed. "K-kind of..."

"Sooo...-?" Jane's eyes narrowed. She didn't seem in a patient mood today. "I've got work in a few minutes."

"O-OK, I just...-" Katara fidgeted with her hands, fingers squirming over each other. "I just thought you should know that...just a couple days ago...-" She sucked in a deep breath and just let the words roll out. "Aang and I started dating." She looked down as she said it, seemingly ashamed. There was silence. Almost wincing, Katara looked up to Jane's face, calm and dulled - as it had been when she'd entered. The girl shrugged.

"_Big _fuckin' surprise," she mumbled, her eyes shifting now that Katara was looking at her. "Saw _that _one comin' from a mile away..."

"So, y-you're...not upset?"

Jane shook her head, turning her wrists upward in compliance.

"Psst. I mean...Kinda pissed that you were _lying _about it before, but...-"

"I'm sorry," Katara was quick to apologize. "I wasn't-...I-I hadn't really thought about it until _after _the fact...This all _just _happened..."

"Yea, yea," Jane eased, flicking her wrist downward in dismissal. "It's...whatever," she popped up one shoulder. "You can date whoever the fuck you _want_, Kat," she insisted in a tone that was lacking any hostility. "Christ, no one's stoppin' ya."

As Katara's face lightened up into a relieved smile, Jane arranged her own face to match its relief.

"Fff, I mean, _shit_, Kat..." Jane scratched at her eyebrow. "You deserve some fuckin' _happiness, _am I right?"

"Thanks," Katara breathed out peacefully. "I've just been really worried about, 'cuz of...everything that's happened."

"Don't _even_," Jane casually rolled the matter of her back. "That was-...I was stupid, I shouldn't have...-"

"I didn't want to see you get hurt."

Jane appreciated the firm honesty in Katara's tone when those words rolled out.

"I know," she mumbled back, struggling to stop her cheeks from getting too flushed. "But..._fuck, _does Her Royal Bitchfest know about this yet?" Jane changed gears, nodding her head to the empty bed across the room.

"No, she, um...-" Katara's fingers began habitually twirling the edges of her ponytail. "She doesn't know about it yet."

"There's gonna be fire and brimstone when she does," Jane snickered, making light of the situation.

"Ugghh, I _know_," Katara bemoaned, leaning forward in her chair as the twirling continued. "We have no idea how to break it to her yet."

"Heh. Secret's safe with me," Jane offered. "No fuckin' _way _am I touchin' _that _shit with a ten-foot pole."

"Oh, y-yea, thanks. You and Sokka know about it now." Katara let go of her ponytail and folded her hands into her lap. "Aang and I will tell Toph sometime...I'm trying to wait for her to cool off a bit, you know?"

"Tch." Jane's eyes opened wide with doubt as she grimaced. "Good luck with _that _one..."

"I know," Katara whimpered.

A moment of silence. Jane's insides were swelling with different emotions.

"Bet you two are gettin' it on nice, though," she tried to set up some encouragement, bringing the topic back to Aang.

"_Yea_, we are," Katara agreed, and the fears on her face instantly washed away at the thought. "He's just-...I dunno. I really have a good feeling about this."

"Yea," Jane nodded along. "That's...-" She paused, then nodded again. Her finger rubbed at her eyebrow again but she caught herself, instead pushing her hand back over her shaggy mess of orange hair. "Nah, that's great, Kat." She swallowed, trying to focus her thoughts on her happiness for Katara instead of the dejection that was trying to crawl over her. "Fuck," she laughed out. "I'm happy for ya."

"Thank you." Katara, beaming with joy, reached out and hugged Jane tightly, which made Jane's body tingle and tremble for a moment with mixed sensations.

"Sooo, I gotta get to work," Jane grunted through their hug. It broke apart, to her regret and relief.

"Right!" Katara cheerfully acknowledged, her eyes bright and practically sparkling with excitement. "Yea, have a good time."

"Apff. _Will do_," Jane facetiously replied as she got up from the bed. "Catch ya later."

"Bye!"

As Jane entered her own room - her roommate also missing, as usual - she took a moment in privacy to take a deep, shaky breath. Her insides were mangled. She felt at once elated and hollow. It hadn't been since Christmas that she'd seen Katara's face so...warm, and alive, and at peace. It had been such a pleasant sight. And yet, she also know this was the definitive nail in the coffin regarding what she had wanted most happening between herself and the girl.

Katara seemed very happy, and that was great.  
But Jane felt rejected and disappointed.

A confused sob seeped out as she sat on her bed, but Jane sniffed, rubbed at her dampening eyes, and breathed out, nice and slow.

Katara's happiness was more important than her own. Katara deserved to be happy.

Jane refused to sink back into that hole, the one Toph seemed to have eagerly _dug herself _into. She wasn't going to let her own desires get in the way of everyone's happiness.

Katara had taught her better than that - and look where she was now.

Maybe if Jane could be patient, she'd know what that felt like, too.

She stuck on her Appa's work cap and slapped some deodorant in her arm pits and looked in the mirror hanging on the backside of her door. She adjusted the bumblebee belt buckle Sokka had given her for Christmas. Today, that was the 'bee' thing she had decided to wear. She didn't much care for her appearance in this stupid hat. Made her look like a dude. She fussed with her T-shirt - it was tight, and the push-up she was wearing helped a bit, at least. Her jeans were getting pretty tight, too - she'd gained weight over Christmas break, for sure. For all his stupidity, Sokka had been helping her notice these things, pervert that he was.

_I guess now it doesn't matter if Katara was noticing them or not, though..._

On her way down, she took out her phone and sent a message.

[To: johnny]  
[so..how you doin? that leg any bettr?]  
[Sent: 4:46pm]

* * *

- Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 -

"Nope. Still hasn't murdered me in my sleep," Aang chuckled. "I think I might be in the clear."

"Heh..." Katara gave a wistful smile as they walked down the steps of the back end of the ACC. The cool evening air had traces of fog lingering inbetween puddles of light case down by street lamps along the sidewalks. "You want to go for a walk?" Katara asked, staying close to his side.

Aang nodded in compliance. They admired each other's shy faces for a moment.

"Yea, it's nice out."

They took off across the winding sidewalks of SRU's campus, their destination aimless, losing track of time in the dusky air, vapors starting to billow from their lips.

They made jokes, and discussed how everyone so far had seemed so accepting of their blossoming romance.

Everything just seemed to be flowing.

Like water.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=usR7mMHUhlY +

**~I opened my eyes last night and saw you in the low light~**

They passed by the lamp Aang had found Katara by the night they'd first kissed.

**~Walking down by the bay, on the shore, staring up at the planes that aren't there anymore~**

Aang caught Katara gazing up to the moon, veiled in cloud.

**~I was feeling the night grow old and you were looking so cold~**

He took his white newsie cap and planted it on her head. She blushed. He smiled.

**~Like an introvert, I drew my over shirt Around my arms and began to shiver violently before~**

He pulled up his hood, covering his chilled head after a gust of wind blew past them.

**~You happened to look and see the tunnels all around me~**

The wind picked up, and Katara clasped at the hat on her head to keep it from blowing.

**~Running into the dark underground; All the subways around create a great sound~**

A set of windchimes hanging near the entrance to the Gyatso building ringed pleasantly nearby.

**~To my motion fatigue, farewell, with your ear to a seashell~**

Katara's hand lingered on the hat with affection after the gusts had calmed.

**~You can hear the waves in underwater caves~**

Aang extended his arm, sliding his fingers down to her wrist, until their hands interlocked.

**~As if you actually were inside a saltwater room~**

They journeyed, side-by-side, both blushing and smiling weak smiles.

_~Time together is just never quite enough~_  
**~When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home~**

Their conversing had lulled to an end, but this was just fine.  
They were simply enjoying the expressions of affection swirling around.

_~What will it take to make or break this hint of love?~_  
**~We need time~**  
_**~Only time~**_

Their hearts full of hope, and confidence, they wondered...  
What could stop this seed from growing into a tall tree?

Nothing.

_~When we're apart whatever are you thinking of?~_  
**~If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?~**

Fussing over classes and work.  
Reading and homework, alone in their rooms.

_~So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?~_  
**~All the time**  
_**~All the time~**_

Just an hour or two of time together, and the world melted away.

**~Can you believe that the crew has gone and wouldn't let me sign on?~**

Katara thought on Aang's lofty goals, and how he'd somehow been meeting them.

**~All my islands have sunk in the deep, so I can hardly relax or even oversleep~**

She thought of the pain and the confusion he'd gone through back in January.

**~I feel as if I were home, some nights, when we count all the ship lights~**

But here they were, still afloat after the storms, adrift together on a raft.

Like it was always meant to be.

**~I guess I'll never know why sparrows love the snow~**

Aang thought on Katara's strong-willed desire to help others, and how she'd helped him.

**~We'll turn off all of the lights and set this ballroom aglow~**

He thought of how comfortable it was to be with her - to touch and be touched, despite his earlier doubts.

_~So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love? All the time~_

They drew closer together, hands over hips, bodies eager to lean on each other.

_~Time together is just never quite enough~_  
**~When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home~**

Katara laid her head on his shoulder as they walked, and he set his own cheek on rough, scratchy hat on her own head.

_~What will it take to make or break this hint of love?~_  
**~We need time~**  
_**~Only time~**_

"How are you doin'?" he asked after their long silence.

"Good," she sighed pleasantly.

_~When we're apart whatever are you thinking of?~_  
**~If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?~**

"So, Katara." Aang lifted his head back up as they slowed.

"Yea?"

_~So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?~_  
**~All the time~**  
**_~All the time~_**

"I love you," Aang announced simply.

"I love you, too," she replied, as easy as that.**  
**

_~Time together is just never quite enough~_

Their faces both lit up with attraction.

_~When we're apart whatever are you thinking of?~_

They kissed for a bit, each gesture a small mystery.

_~What will it take to make or break this hint of love?~_

As they pulled apart, Katara's face lingered close to his, and she rubbed her nose against his own.

_~So tell me darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?~_

"That's an eskimo kiss," she explained, their foreheads pressed together._  
_

_~All the time~_

"Better get used to those, Aang," she coyly teased.

_Aang delivered one onto her face next and she giggled._

"It looks like...-" She kissed him on the lips softly, and they slid noses together yet a third time. "-...Canadian Eskimo Glue is keeping our noses stuck together...

* * *

**A/N: Yes, that first scene references both Cave of Two Lovers and The Promise at the same time. I've always found the idea of Sokka being _mad _at Kataang to be retarded and silly. Realistically, Sokka would totally approve - in The Promise he's not upset with Aang at all, he just turns it into a childish joke at Katara's expense. Song is Saltwater Room so the lyrics are by Owl City.**


	68. Old People

**A/N: So I know I'm lucky in this regard, but at _my _college - Houghton College, the one SRU is based off of - it really was commonplace for faculty to interact with students in a social way. We had a small campus and it was a 'morally upstanding' environment (ie fairly religious, actually) so there weren't widespread fears or concerns about students and faculty interacting in a social way. Some of my best friends in college were professors, and in fact, one of my closest college friends I am still in contact with was a professor. With that in mind, I'm sure there's some cultural gaps for many readers given this chapter (and other scenes in the story) so I just wanted to make clear where I'm coming from.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 68 - Old People_

* * *

- Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 -

"Argh, _shit-shit_..." Korra flicked her wrist through the air, flinging steaming droplets to the waxed tile floor. She growled in spite of her own mistake as she hurried to the sink and doused her hand in cold water. By the time she'd cooled off her skin and prevented it from blistering, she noticed the portly man with the white beard mopping up the spilled liquid. "Oh," she muttered with some embarrassment, hurrying over. She attempted to take the mop but he just continued to clean. "Erm...I can...-" She trailed off, glancing at her damp hand to ensure it hadn't been burned.

"Tea is a delicate craft," the elderly man's slow, careful voice explained as he finishing up, wringing the mop over a bucket and setting it aside. He elaborated as he dried his hands. "You have to treat it with respect and care, you see..."

Korra grimaced at the thought, glancing off with doubt.

"Uhhh...Yea, being 'delicate' ain't exactly my thing..."

"Waha..." Iroh grinned at her uncertainty. "Then perhaps you'd best leave the tea-making to the careful ones, and take on the rougher tasks."

"Huh? But...I'm supposed to be the _manager_, I can't just go...lettin' other people do my work."

"Ahhh, but it sounds to me like you are forgetting what your job here _is_," Iroh pointed out as he set a new pot of water brewing in the kettle. After turning on the stove, he turned back to the young woman. "Being the manager does _not _mean doing everything - it means making sure everything gets done."

Korra's jaw slid open, brows bent down in confusion.

"Uhhh...-?"

"You are the one in charge, Miss Kesuk," Iroh advised as he began to take some stray ingredients from the large fridge and prepare himself a turkey sandwich. "That means you have to ensure the right people take on the right tasks, you see - not that you must do everything yourself. You are only one person, after all..."

"_Yea, _but...-" Korra grumpily fussed with her hand, eagerly tempted to voice her thoughts: _I'm the only person who won't fuck everything up._

"Have you taken some time to get the know the staff yet?" Iroh wondered.

"Erm, it's...only been a couple days, I haven't really...done that yet."

"You should," Iroh firmly advised. "Once you understand your staff, you will be better equipped with the knowledge of who you can most rely on for any given task."

"Mm..." Korra nodded. She wasn't sure she appreciated this old fart trying to tell her how to do her job, but she couldn't shake away a sense of respect for the guy at the same time. At least he wasn't being a dick about it.

"Korra?"

The woman's attention was diverted to the entrance to the kitchen by a young man, one of the student workers.

"What's up?" she asked, making her way over.

"It's just gettin' a bit busy out here, is all," the student meekly informed her.

After a few minutes of tending to customers, serving them drinks, cleaning up a bit of a mess a kid made, keeping said kid and his brother under control, and setting a pizza in the oven for a family who had just come in, Korra wiped some sweat from her forehead as she noticed Iroh finish his sandwich, a steaming mug of tea in his hand now.

"Goodness," Iroh remarked. "You look exhausted."

Korra resented the remark and puffed out a breath, shaking her arms to loosen them up.

"Wha?_ Tss_." She threw an arm. Ow. Said arm was pretty sore. What the hell could she have done to it? "Nah, I've got this," she shook it off, rolling her head around her neck. Damnitall to hell, her shoulders were stiff like a son of a bitch...All day, it'd been like this. She must've slept on it wrong. New mattress to adjust to, and all...

"How's that pizza coming?" asked her student worker, popping his head in.

"Oh, it's comin'," Korra waved him off. After he disappeared, she checked to ensure to herself she'd prepared everything correct. Training had been a bit of a whirlwind affair. Korra hadn't had much experience worrying about food prep, especially not such fast-paced stuff. Her insides tightened with discomfort, seemingly out of nowhere. "Hey, uh...-" Shit. Forgot his name. Who was this guy, again? "Sir, would you mind, uh...-?" She gestured toward the oven as she made her way to the employee restroom.

"Waha, certainly, my dear," Iroh let her rest easy as he took a large gulp to finish off his tea.

Acknowledging that she'd been ignoring her own bodily needs, Korra took respite in the restroom, aggravated with how stressful all of this was. She had underestimated what kinds of duties she'd need to worry about here, and choosing to stall the move until just before work started meant she didn't have to worry about the financial pinch so much, but she had no time to settle in. Life outside of work was still crazy - she was still figuring her way around town, she was without a lot of odds and ends she had grown accustomed to, and she had two new roommates - instead of zero - to worry about making sure she didn't offend.

[To: Bowlin Ball]  
[Today is kicking my ASS. What's goin' on tonight?]  
[Sent: 8:43pm]

She knew to text Bolin if she wanted a response sooner rather than later, since she had noticed that Mako seemed to not really pay his text messages much heed. Ironically, when she needed to make a call, Bolin seemed less likely to pick up, whereas Mako seemed to answer pretty swiftly.

[From: Bowlin Ball]  
[just got off work. gonna netflix it up. no plans.]  
[Sent: 8:44pm]

After washing her hands and studying her face - did she really look tired? - Korra sauntered back out, to where Iroh was just taking the pizza out of the oven.

"Pizza," he noted, "is like a team."

Korra paused, gawking at him, puzzled.

"You need to make sure you use ingredients that work well together if you want everyone to be satisfied."

Aha. That was...erm...witty? Or something? What a cooky old guy. Who _was _he, anyway? Why was he here? She racked her brain. She should know this.

"Uhh...Yea, I guess so..."

"You _could _make just a plain cheese pizza," Iroh continued. Ugh, what the fuck was this, Aesop's Fable time or...something? "But when the cheese stands alone, it...can be a bit underwhelming." He took a sniff of the hot dish. It was still barely bubbling on its metal sheet. "On the other hand," he offered a sage finger waggle, "if you simply toss together toppings on a whim, not everyone may be able to eat it."

She rolled her eyes at his rambling while he finished his thought.

_Good god, can this looney get to the fuckin' point? In plain English?_

"It is all about balance, you see." He pointed to both halves of the pizza Korra had hastily thrown together. One half had vegetables - green peppers and onions and olives - while the other had sausage and salami and pepperoni. "You must not only pick the right ingredients, but you must decide where the go - and what they go _with._"

"Mm-hm," Korra hummed impatiently. "Well, that's...an interesting way of looking at it," she brushed aside his makeshift lecturing. She knew her way around an establishment. This one was just...a little different. And bigger. Gah. Fuck, was it bigger. Korra slid the pizza tray onto a wooden paddle and went to carry it out.

Things were slowing down, at least - good thing, since they'd be closing up shop soon enough. She couldn't complain about _that_, at least - staying out until ungodly hours of the morning was not going to be the norm with this job. She grabbed some dirty dishes on her way back to the kitchen.

"We all set on stuff?" she asked her employee on her way back in. Was he really _her _employee? Nah. The school had hired him, she just...managed him...She stole a glance at his nametag while she passed him by. {DOUGLAS} Hm. Seemed like a geeky enough name for the little blond shrimp.

"Yea, we should be fine for now," he informed her as she whizzed back through the double doors, hands full of leftovers and porcelain.

As she set the plates into the sink and went to work washing them, the gentleman who'd been overseeing her for the past while hovered in the background, reading a newspaper.

"You know," he said casually, eyes scanning the pages, "I used to be acquainted with your aunt when she attended SRU."

Korra wasn't surprised - she knew Auntie Kya had gone to the school in her younger years, hence the reason her cousins Katara and Sokka were there _now. _And this fogy looked old enough to still have been around back then.

"Ya don't say," she grunted out, scrubbing her green scratchpad to unstick whatever hardened material had gotten glued to this damned...fucking-..._Grahhh._

"Yes, yes. In fact, she used to write for this very paper," Iroh reminisced. "She was quite the prolific writer for her age."

"Ah..." Korra nearly had this gunk._ Grrzzzrrrmm..._

"Mm. But I get the impression that you are not much interested in the written word, are you?" he probed.

"Not, uh...not so much," she confessed. Whew! Hot damn, finally got that shit off. "My cousin, though - she's all into English and crap. Writin', readin'..."

"She must take after her mother, then," Iroh said warmly.

"She does," Korra acknowledged with a bit of pride. Katara definitely did seem to do that.

"I am thinking that you are not here because of any familial influence, though," Iroh observed with a steady glance at her expression waning back to apathy.

"I dunno," Korra shrugged. "I mean, sure - my cousins go here and shit, so that's how I even found out about this place, but...Nah, it's not like anyone told me to come, or nothin'."

"Ah. You seem quite independent for how young you are, making such a big move to another country."

"I needed work. Needed a new life, a new start - and Zuko seemed to think I was the right one for the job, so here I am."

Korra gave the man a careful glance as she set a clean plate on the drying rack. He looked just the slightest bit confused for a moment, but seemed to quickly recover.

"Well...Your presence here is...refreshing," he assured. "My Nephew made a wise decision." Oh, _that _was it! This guy was Zuko's Uncle. One of the school's higher-up professors, and such. "You seem to be a determined young woman with a good head on your shoulders. I think that in time you will prove to be a fine leader."

"Yea...Thanks..." She was off-put by their conversation, and was relieved when he bid his farewell and left her to finish her evening of work in peace.

* * *

Toph's hands stiffly struck each cord in slow, mechanical motions, in tune with her fellow students. It all was a wash of motions, cold and dry, no feeling. Toph's mind was cracked and frazzled. She hadn't relaxed in a few days now - her performance at that bar over the weekend had been close, and she had been told she'd be getting her payment from that soon. In the meanwhile, she'd been burying herself in practice and focusing on classes.

_Argh. _Fuckin' idiot to her left was playing off-key. His trumpet was overpowering her piano with stupid idiot retarded..._off-key-ness._

She tolerated it until the end of the piece, to which the Professor seemed appropriately dissatisfied.

"Hrm...We're getting there, I suppose," he sighed. "Ralph, you fell behind a bit, but you made a good recovery. Tasha, I noticed that you seem to be struggling with the eight notes. Toph, you seem to be playing a bit off today." Toph felt her right eye twitch with indignation at this remark. "Is this piece too difficult for you?" And insulting her skill, too? Oh, because she was _blind, _right? Fucking moron Professor, this particular guy was always giving her trouble.

"_No,_" she insisted in a grunt, then cleared her throat and wore her layer of mock courtesy. "Not at all, I'm fine. I think you might be confused, my part was pretty spot-on."

"That's not what I took away from that performance," the man sighed. "You were too quiet."

Toph chewed at her lower lip while he spoke, then retaliated.

"The guy _next _to me on the trumpet was too _loud_."

She could hear him and his two friends mutter to each other.

"..._Was _I?" he whispered with embarrassment.

"You didn't sound it to me..." said the tiny-voiced girl further down.

"I hate when people point fingers..." came the dull, always disinterested prick that sat with them.

"Everyone was doing their part, Toph - in this kind of setting you really need to play with more conviction, increased volume."

Ugh, this guy was really getting on her nerves lately.

"He was _off-key_," Toph defended herself, her tone losing its polite edge.

"You should worry less about your classmates and more about your _own _performance," the teacher advised, his own tone growing more aggressive.

"And _you _should worry about the students who actually doing it wrong."

There was a tense pause of discourse in the band room. Toph didn't care if there were some other students seeing her with an attitude. Fuck them. Like any of them even tried to act like her friends.

"Toph," the professor sighed, "I'm trying to be sympathetic to your condition, but I can't-"  
"_I'm fine._"

"She doesn't sound fine to_ me_," The tiny voice.

"I don't think she's _ever _fine..." The bumbling one.

"I hate when people hold up the class..." The dreary one.

Toph's teeth were grinding together.

_I can _hear you, _fuckwads..._

"If you are _fine_," hissed the teacher, "I would appreciate some respect and courtesy to the class. You're wasting everyone's time right now."

"Look," Toph spat out impatiently. "Can we just take it from the top again?"

With that, the professor opted to ignore Toph for the rest of the period, assisting other students with the parts they were having trouble with.

After all was said and done, Toph heard those same three annoying idiots talk to each other in hushed voices as they left.

"What's _with _that girl, talking to Yeo like that?" Tiny.

"Man, I'm surprised he didn't kick her out of class today..." Bumbly.

"I hate that chick..." Dreary.

Toph remained at the piano seat until the sounds of students had filtered out. She wanted a chat with this teacher alone.

"Was there something you needed, Beifong?" The Professor asked tiredly.

"Yea," she snipped. "I wanna know why you were givin' me a hard time, Professor Yeo. I played _perfectly_."

"First of all, that is _not _true," Yeo corrected. Pff. Toph _knew _what her fingers had done. "And secondly, your attitude over the past few sessions has been demoralizing to the class."

Toph huffed a gust of air at her bangs, tossing them about. She fiddled with a few chords from their song gently over the keys while he spoke.

"I won't deny that you have impressive skills for someone that can't see, Toph."_  
Psh, thanks for the compliment, prick._  
"But your temperament seems to fluctuate drastically from week to week, and it affects your performance. I can't help but wonder if perhaps your are stressed from the challenges of the classes you're taking."

"_What_?" she squeaked incredulously. "No. That's not it at _all_."

"Are you sure? Your mood seems drastically different this semester. Have you considered perhaps dropping a course?"

"_Excuse _me? Why..._Why _would I do that?" Since when did professors even _suggest _something bogus like that?

"I'm simply advising that you consider it, Toph. I've heard from some of the other teachers that your work has been suffering a bit this semester, and to be honest, it may be wise to cut a course off of this semester if it's going to be a detriment to all of the rest."

Toph couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was complete bullshit. She was _not _going to drop a class. She was doing _fine_ in her classes. How could she _not_ be? She was gifted. And fuck all if she was in a pissy mood, so long as she did her work. Since when was it Yeo's business?

"Uh, _yea._" Toph pushed herself up from the seat and reached for her cane. "My mood is _my _problem, no one else's." She got up and began making her way out. "I'm doing all of my work, I'm playing all of my assigned pieces, I'm-"  
"You're constantly getting into conflicts with your fellow students..."

Toph paused in the middle of the room.

"While that may not be much of a problem in your private lessons, it _is _a problem in my class. This is a _band_ class, Toph. One person can bring everyone else down, as you did today. Next class, I expect to see improved behavior, or I may need to make the choice of cutting a class much _easier _for you..."

Dismissing the grumpy, stuck-up man, Toph forced herself out of the room, stuffing her frustration and stress inside with everything else.

* * *

- Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 -

"But...Those books have brought a lot of people into reading," Katara defended. It figured that the guy would hate on Harry Potter, wouldn't it?

"So have the _Twilight _books," he muttered with disdain. Katara shrugged, trying to hold back a frown. She hadn't given that particular series a try yet, but she felt confident that _he _hadn't, either.

"But Harry Potter is _completely _different," she continued to rally for the series. "J. K. Rowling put a lot of thought into creating a world, and-"  
"One full of stereotypical nonsense, with trite, one-dimensional sayings from a hypocritical mentor figure."

_Well..._Yea, _Dumblebore can...kind of be a hypocrite I guess, but...but that's part of the point, it makes him more realistic, he's trying to prevent people from making his own mistakes..._

"You've read them?" Katara wondered, somehow dubious.

"Unfortunately," Professor Pakku sighed. "Ms. Rowling went so far as to deliver _seven _ungodly piles of rubbish for me to sift through."

Katara nearly choked on the slice of cucumber from her salad when he'd said this.

_If you hated them so much, why did you _read _all of them?_

After she recovered, she swallowed, her eyes watered slightly, and pressed him for a reason.

"Um...I-if you don't mind me asking...whhhhy did you...did you _read _them if you...um...dislike them so much?"

Pakku smirked at her discomfort.

"Because the more one reads, the better one is able to see what is trash and what is gold," he answered plainly. "I can properly criticize that wasteful series, having read it in its entirety."

"I...I see..." Katara forced a shrug to get herself to try to _not _think of presenting counterarguments. She had found in her experience with the man that such efforts were futile.

No matter how hard she tried or how determined she was he always seemed to have the edge over her. She chalked this up to experience with age. But she didn't have to _like _it.

Pakku had requested they meet over a meal to discuss the issues she'd been experiencing in his class - her grades had been lower than she would've liked, and he was a busy man, suggesting a meeting over food. Wonderful, _that _made her feel so important, that he didn't even have time to meet in his own office. But after they'd hashed out some issues that she had to admit were reasonable, he'd gone into prying her literary tastes out of her.

"So, what else, then?" Pakku wondered, carving into his slice of steamed fish.

What did he care what her favorite books were, anyway? He was just going to write them off.

"Um...W-well, there's...this one book I really like. It's called _The Moorchild._"

"Mm..." Pakku's thin, ghastly brows furrowed with curiosity.

"It's...about this girl. But she's, like...half human, and half fairy..." She saw Pakku's interest immediately wither at the word. He just didn't care much for magic and fantasy, did he? "No, no," she quickly sputtered. "Not _Tinkerbell _fairy, but, I mean...like a..._creature _kind of fairy. Like a forest...beast...spirit. Thing."

While he chewed on his meal, she was frustrated with her own inability to explain. While he paid more attention to his food than her, the side of her lip twitched downward in irritation.

"It's a story in medieval Scotland, I guess, so based off of old-time Scottish mythology. It's really foreign and neat, and...I dunno, it's a kid's book but it's surprisingly bitter and sad."

"And...you _like _sad stories?" Pakku wondered.

"N-no, not...necessarily, it just...-" She shrugged, stabbing at some leaves of her salad, bathed in ranch dressing. "I guess I just like it when a story isn't afraid to explore tragedy, and how not everything in life works out...even if it's a kid's story..." She lifted the stack of vegetation to her lips, but paused. "_Especially _if it's a kid's story," she clarified with a touch of melancholy before putting it in her mouth.

Pakku had paused, studying her suddenly forlorn expression with solemn silence.

"I suppose that's something we can agree on, Katara," he said with dry sympathy. "It's an idea kids ought to learn while they're growing up - not everything in life works out."

Katara nodded, surprised at the coldness in his eyes - the regret. She figured it made sense that such a grumpy man would have regrets, at least.

"I lost my mother when I was little," she quietly confessed.

Pakku nodded.

"So I heard." He nodded slowly. "I'm sorry for your loss."

She hadn't asked for his pity, or sympathy.

"I've managed just fine," she defended, tone peppered with pride in the face of this man who always seemed to be putting her down. "I've had my brother and my father - and I've made some very good friends here, too. We all look out for each other."

"Mm. That makes sense, given your writing."

"Huh...?"

"The way you write - the themes you pick, your mannerisms. They're quite...-" Pakku was stroking his beard thoughtfully now. "-...feminine."

Katara's hand tightened around her fork as she skewered a cherry tomato.

"I get the impression that you seem to care a great deal about enforcing your concerns on those around you," Pakku continued. "It's clear in every assignment you've turned into me."

Katara's teeth crushed the tomato, the refreshing juices splashing through her mouth as she held back a frown.

"And you get quite defensive when those values are questioned," Pakku added, taking a bite of his own food. Katara eagerly swallowed her tomato so she could speak.

"I care a lot about people," she spat. "I don't see how that can be such a bad thing..."

"Miss Kesuk, anything in this world can become a 'bad thing' in excess."

The frown she had been holding back folded out.

_Kindness? Love? No way, there can never be too much of those things..._

"Are you saying I should care _less _about people?" she mumbled. Fear was causing her words to tumble out when inside they rang steady and solid.

"I'm suggesting that maybe you care less about what other people _think_ about you."

Oh, great. So he was going to try and turn all of his criticisms at her into some kind of _lesson_? Typical Pakku, always had to spin everything just so and make himself look better. What a hypocrite...

"What makes you think that?" she asked with a testy sigh through her nose.

"I'm just a professor in one of your classes and you seem quite bothered by what _I _think of you," Pakku pointed out, amused.

Katara blinked at him, eyes wide but brows set low, in a brief bout of embarrassed analysis.

"I suppose so," she conceded, trying to mask her shame with a courteous voice. She stood up, took her near empty plate and glass, and nodded to him. "I guess that means I shouldn't worry about offending you with my absence - I have to go to work."

"Understandable," Pakku acknowledged with a wry smirk. "I appreciate your time."

"Good evening."

* * *

"That is quite wonderful, Aang."

"Yea," Aang said peacefully. "I just have this...really good feeling about it."

"It pleases me to see that you have come to terms with this and found happiness through your turmoil."

Aang nodded, but his mind was suddenly swerved off course with the thought of 'happiness.' Happiness, this thing he'd found, while Toph languished in what seemed to be quite horrible feelings...

"Ah, but something still troubles you," Pathik noted. "It is about your friend Toph, isn't it?"

"Mm-hm." Aang nodded precariously. "I'm worried about her. We haven't...really talked in a little while, and it sounds like she's not doing so well."

"It _does _sound like a difficult situation," Patjik noted, scratching his chin beneath all of his facial hair. "You are still burdened by the weights of guilt."

Aang felt his head shrinking into his neck a bit at this comment.

"Kind of," he confessed meekly. "I feel like it's kind of inconsiderate to jump into another relationship so soon..."

"This is an understandable doubt, Aang. However, you must remind yourself that you already did try to bring her happiness."

"I, uh...I guess I did..."

"I do not feel it would be wise to continue to believe that Toph's happiness is your responsibility. We all find our own happiness in this world, as do we find our own sorrow. No one gives it to us - nor do they take it from us. They merely give us the reasons."

Aang wasn't sure how he felt about that idea. After all, Toph had given him a lot of trouble, and he felt like he'd given her a lot, too...

"Look at all that you have lived through," Pathik went on. "You have experienced such great loss - and yet even these things do not keep you from love, from happiness. It is by your own choice that this occurs."

"Hm..." _That's...a good point, though._

"You have done nothing in this with the intent to hurt your friend. She does sound heartbroken - this much is true. But your heart was broken, as well. You have simply made the effort to put the pieces back together, Aang. If Toph wants to be happy, she will have to do the same - sooner or later. You cannot take this control away from her – nor should you."

"I suppose you're right," Aang sighed. "So...So what should I do to help?"

"You must tell her the truth," Pathik put it simply. "Your friend cannot decide how to accept these things if she is not aware of them."

"But...I'm just really afraid of hurting her..."

"You must overcome this fear, Aang."

"I know..."

"And you must remember that you are not alone – and neither is she. I think that, if anything, it would be best to make sure she is aware that she is not alone, either."

"R-right, of course," Aang agreed. His thoughts currently dictated that this was _not _how Toph was feeling lately. She seemed to be quite distant and lonely, from what he could tell. It couldn't hurt to remind her that this didn't have to be the case if she was willing to be more peaceful about things.

But Toph? Being peaceful? That was the thought which was sparking doubts within him.

"I'm not sure how...agreeable...she's going to be, is the thing," mumbled Aang dubiously.

"There is no way of knowing until you seek the answer, mm?"

Aang swallowed the lump that had been in his throat.

_Right. Assertive. I need to stop letting my judgment get clouded by fear. Toph is my friend - she will understand._

"You're right," Aang affirmed. "I just need to tell her the truth, when I have the right time."

"I do believe that will be best for everyone."

"Hm." With a deep breath, Aang reached for a peppermint in Pathik's wooden bowl on the small table beside them. It was shaped like a turtle shell, flipped upside down to form a bowl that sat on rounded, wooden stands to match. It seemed exotic, and foreign, and...neat.

"Well...Was there anything else you would like to discuss today?" Pathik wondered with a calm smile.

Aang rubbed his chin for only a moment before the idea hit him.

"Actually, _yea. _I've been trying to think of ways to use my art to reach others."

"Ah, yes, you have mentioned this in the past."

"Well, that place I've been working on? It opened this week."

"Yea, yes, I heard. It sounds like it has been quite the busy place."

"Really? That's great. I actually haven't had a chance to go and visit."

"Perhaps you should."

"Yea...Then I could finally see what all of that hard work looks like with..._people _there...or something."

"You must be proud to have been a part of such work."

"I am, it was...an awesome opportunity..."

"And...you are wondering where to direct your energies next."

"Heh...Yea, basically."

"Well, you _do _have this new, blossoming flower of love in your life..."

"_Oh_," Aang spat out, feeling like idiot. "Y-yea! You're right...I should make her something, huh?" He reflected on the things he'd made for Toph - the origami flower, the wooden ring. Yea, he'd made stuff for Katara, but not specifically with romance in mind... "Thanks for the idea!"

"Haha...I have not made an ideas, Aang - that is up to you."

* * *

"Of _course_, it's classic."

"So what's your favorite scene?"

"Mm..." Piandao took a moment to sink his teeth into his cinnamon bun as he considered the question.

"My sister's favorite is where Samwise helps Frodo up the volcano at the end - and that's pretty awesome, I gotta say - but my favorite is when Gandalf sticks it to the Balrog, and then he comes back and he's all like-" Sokka arced his arms up to his sides, wrists twisted inward. "-'Sup, bitches? Yea, I come back like Jesus.' _Man, _he's so bad-ass."

"Haha. I see..." Piandao nodded, amused by his student's reply.

"What about you?"

"Me?" Piandao looked upward, trying to recall how it went. He swallowed a swig of his warm tea, savoring how it slid down his throat. "Well, there's this scene in the second one, where Samwise gives Frodo this...kind of speech, about how great stories usually have this darkness that has to be overcome..." He nodded sagely to himself. "But the important part is how it ends with him talking about how those stories, they always involve people who _could _have chosen to give up and turn back, play it safe - but don't." Piandao's hand remained gripped on his cup.

Sokka sipped at his coffee, seeming to have forgotten this part.

"He says to Frodo, 'They kept going. Because they were holding onto something.'" Piandao smirked. "Frodo asks, 'What are _we _holding onto, Sam?' And Sam replies, 'That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo...-" He lifted his finger and tipped it slightly twice, then lowered it, grasping at his cup as he finished. "-...and it's worth fighting for."

Sokka took in the words as his professor drank more tea.

"Huh...That _does _sound like a pretty cool line...Hmph, sounds like something my sister would say," he decided out loud in bemusement.

"Is that so?"

"Yea, she's really into that whole idea - that there's good in everyone, and all that, and that you should...go out of your way to find it."

"Sounds like your sister has a big heart."

"She _does_..." Sokka acknowledged with a nostalgic, small smile, glancing down. He remembered how gung-ho she'd been about being with Jet, about how 'heartbroken' the guy was, how she was going to 'fight' for him...and how that had turned out. But later, she'd stuck up for Aang a lot in the whole debacle of the 'Aang/Toph Breakup Extravaganza' that had lasted weeks and now...-

"But I get the feeling you do, too, Sokka."

"Huh?"

"You seem to hide it with that sense of humor of yours...but you're quite protective of the ones you love - aren't you?"

Sokka cleared his throat as Piandao's eyes burned into his own.

"Er, I...-" He shrugged. "I am," came an earnest reply.

"Then you already know _exactly _what I'm talking about."

Sokka blinked thoughtfully at the man's stern, slightly wrinkled face.

For all his talk about staying out of drama, and writing off how motherly and crap his sister could be...Sokka didn't often stop to compare his own brotherly protectiveness. Now that Piandao had remarked on it, he remembered how he'd kept Aang away from Toph during the 'Aang/Toph Breakup Extravaganza' and had stuck up for him right alongside his sister...Or how he'd been so critical when this girl who called herself 'Smellerbee' seemed to be butting into their lives. He'd been a bit paranoid about letting Suki drive when they had started dating again - after the accident with Yue, letting his girlfriend take the wheel had been an impossible prospect for a while. In his own way, maybe he _was _a bit 'dramatic,' too, sometimes.

Did this all make him a hypocrite, or something?

"Hold onto that," Piandao advised. "I get the impression that you and your sister are quite close."

"Of course."

"Well...Haha...Not all siblings are like that, Sokka."

"Er...Mm-hm. No, right, I-...Obviously. Yea. It's-...What we've got is special. For sure."

"I think that the reason you are is because you both believe that philosophy: that you're both worth fighting for."

"Damn straight." Sokka felt more affirmed with this idea now, hearing it from someone else's mouth.

"Ha. That's the spirit. Now, you just need to find an occupation that will let you take that spirit and go places with it."

"Ulgh..." Bleh, _that _topic...

"Now, Sokka, I've been doing some thinking...But why did you get into History?"

"Uhm...Dunno, it...just seemed right. Ya know?"

Piandao's gaze was solid like a statue. That answer wasn't going to cut it.

"I guess I just really like learning about...how all the dots line up. How we are..._where_ we are - - all the things that tie us together as a culture. Inventions - all the ideas we come up with and then _make _a reality. How those things relate, and...-" He was mashing his curved hands into each other. "-...then looking at how we as a species have cut each other up, and trying to understand _why_, and...-"

"Cut each other up?"

"Oh, like...War. How human beings just can't seem to _not _fight. And I mean, don't get me wrong, I _love me _a good fight. But I think it's really important to understand _why _the fight happens, and look back at how our ancestors went about it. Sure, today, we can hide behind our technology and crap, but back then...back in, like, _Medieval Times,_" he referenced the class he was taking under this teacher, "I get the feeling that they probably approached things with a totally different mindset. They had to be more creative, more crafty, to get _anything _done, from...from farming to...making_ metal, _and making stuff _ou__tta _metal. I mean, I bet they really had to strategize over so many things back then on a day-to-day basis, when we just take what we've got for granted. 'Cuz really, when I think about it, we're all just sittin' on all of the hard work everyone _before _us has put it, right?"

"Hm...That's an interesting way to look at it," Piandao remarked, still grasping his hands around whatever point Sokka had been trying to fuse together. "You like history, and you like thinking about technology and ingenuity, so it's no wonder you seem to like science fiction, and fantasy - the whole point is to create all of those things from your own mind."

"_Yea, _totally!"

"So...Have you ever tried your hand at it?"

"Huh?"

"Creating your own history."

"Uh...Not sure I follow, Prof."

"A world, a fantasy - have you ever made one of your own?"

"Wh-...?" Sokka jabbed his finger at himself. "_Me? _Make up...-?" he squinted, confused. "What, like, create my own _fantasy _world, or something?"

"Sure," Piandao encouraged. "Or even taking someone else's and...adding your own two cents to it."

"Beg your pardon?" Sokka was confused. What, like...fanfiction, or something? Pff. Sokka would leave that nonsense to his _sister, _and her gushy romantic endeavors. Or...whatever it was she did when she wrote about Harry Potter. Hm. He actually didn't _know. _But it _h__ad _to be just dumb, sappy garbage. Who the hell would just take someone _else's _ideas and copy them? What a waste of time...

"Hm, not quite your thing?" Piandao read his face. "Some of my colleagues growing up, they went on to be very creative people."

"Oh...?"

"One of them, he's like you - he loves fantasy worlds and history - he works for a company that creates trading cards with creatures on them used in a game of a strategy. He helps come up with the ideas of the world, the history behind the different images. He seems to really enjoy it."

"What, like...Magic?"

"Heh, well, the way he talks about it, he _does _make it sound like a miracle job for him."

"Ha," came out Sokka's awkward, stupid laugh, against his will. "Oh, er...No, no, I meant...Magic: The Gathering. It's a card game, like what you're talking about."

"Ah, I see. Well...perhaps, I...don't really know what it's _called_..."

"Well, there's a bunch like it, that's just the most famous one."

"Could be."

"Wow, that sounds like an awesome job," Sokka humored the thought. He imagined designing some epic story of mythological proportions, like...like _God of War_. Then maybe he could make the third one end better. Or-or-or working with people on some big fantasy movie! The possibilities suddenly were opening up in his mind. How had he never thought about this sort of thing before?

"Well, it's not an easy field to break into."

Oh. Right. That was...probably why.

"Yea," he lamented, chin sinking into his palm.

"I'm just bringing it up as an example. It doesn't sound like you want to be a History teacher."

"_Hell _no," he groaned. There was a moment of silence in which Piandao - who happened to be of this profession, he just remembered - lifted a curious brow his way. "N-not that there's..._anything _wrong with that line of work, it's..._very important_," he added in a bellowing seriousness. "Sharpen us young minds right up-" he slammed his fingertip into his temple. "-good n' proper!"

"In that case," continued the professor, letting this slide, "I believe that in looking for a career path to follow, you should use _exactly _what you've been talking about: ingenuity. Be crafty, think outside of the box. Don't let yourself get swept up in what's common, or obvious - take a chance, take a risk toward what you _really _want. Don't just settle for what's easy, or simple."

"Hm..." Sokka went to run his finger across his goatee hairs but...nope. Nothing but stubble. Man...

"There's some good in this world, Sokka, and it's out there waiting for you," Piandao concluded. "And that's worth fighting for, isn't it?"

"_Yea_," agreed Sokka, letting the man talk him into some enthusiasm. They knocked paper cups together in a toast.

* * *

- Thursday, March 3rd, 2011 -

"For fuck's sake, girl," June sighed, framing her palm against her forehead briefly in dismay. "You're _surrounded _by food here. _Eat _something."

Jane shook her head passively, sitting on the chair in the side room, where the pizzas were baked and the milkshakes mixed. She was sitting complacently, texting on her phone.

"C'mon, it's your break," June insisted gruffly. "You even eat lunch today?"

A dismissive shrug. June rolled her eyes at this reply.

"Jesus," she sighed to herself. "Listen, it's pretty slow, lemme know what you want, I'll whip it up for ya."

"Not hungry," Jane called back, prepossessed by her phone.

"Not hung-...?" June gawked in disbelief. "Not _hungry? _You have _got _to be shitting me...Shamrocks, you're a fucking _twig_!"

Jane was really starting to get sick of being called that. She had been putting on some weight lately, how could people still think she was a 'twig?'

[To: johnny]  
[lol yea. havent seen or heard from those dicks since. you musta scared em off, cowboy. ;) ]  
[Sent: 2:35pm]

"I'm makin' you one of my Swiss Shroom Wraps," June announced as the sound of sizzling meat hit the grill.

[From: johnny]  
[Hopefully we've seen the last of them.]  
[Sent: 2:36pm]

"Who are you talkin' to, anyway?" June probed, leaning over to peer through the doorway. "Chattin' with your _boyfriend_?" she teased.

Jane frowned with some irritation after June's face disappeared.

"I don't _got _a boyfriend," she huffed, her lips puckering out in a slight pout.

"Really?" June was surprised. "Tough lady like you? I'd think all the guys would want a piece o' ya. A break from all those fuckin' princesses out in the world."

The edges of Jane's lips curled up in gratitude at June's words. The woman was pretty attractive and tough, herself, and Jane didn't doubt that what she had just said in fact applied to herself. Her self-esteem withered a bit, though, the more she dwelt on this. June was buxom and curvy and threw herself out there at people, drew attention to herself...and Jane was the opposite of these things.

"Nah," she dismissed June's theory. "Boys don't like _twigs_."

"Pff!" June walked into the doorway, greasy spatula in hand. She spoke with a scolding but sympathetic "C'mon, don't be such a bitch about it, kid - ain't like you..." June studied Jane's avoidance while the girl pretended to be enveloped in her phone still. "Someone screw you over recently?" was June's hypothesis.

"N-_no_," Jane sputtered, her face heating up in a rush as a myriad of Katara's expressions flashed through her mind.

"Come off it, sister," June scoffed, going back to tend to the burger she'd put on the grill for her worker. "I just read it all over your face - someone broke your angry, Irish heart and you're playing the whole 'Unfeeling Ice Queen' act. Been there, done that. It's a waste o' time, don't bother."

"Nobody did anything wrong," Jane insisted with a sigh. Who'd she think she was, trying to pry into business that wasn't hers?

"You're a good liar, Shamrocks, but ya ain't _that _good."

"Fuckin' Christ..." She rolled her eyes, dropping her phone down into her lap. "I made a move on someone and nothin' happened but an awkward shitstorm. OK?"

"So get over it. Move on. Forget about him."

"That's what I _am _doing! But I'm not gonna cut her out of my life, or somethin', not after all she's done for me. Just makes it...hard. For right now."

"_'She', _huh...?" June was obviously amused, though Jane couldn't see her expression. "Can't say I'm surprised," she mused at the thought.

Jane could sense that by now her cheeks were on fire, so it was probably for the best that June wasn't looking.

"Yo," came June's voice. Jane saw her profile in the doorway as she took down a new order, all casual-like. Jane was still on break, so she didn't worry about it, opting to go back to her phone.

[To: johnny]  
[yea, me too. old bar is all fixed up new, just opened. doing good, i think.]  
[Sent: 2:39pm]

[From: johnny]  
[ ('u')=b ]  
[Sent: 2:40pm]

A smile came over Jane, tiny and endeared. She'd missed his cute little smiley faces that he'd text her. Hell, she just missed _him. _At least he sounded like he was doing better...

"Just 'cuz ya got rejected doesn't mean it's fine to call it quits, kid," June lobbed more undesired advice. "C'mere, yer food's ready."

With a disgruntled frown, Jane slipped her phone into her pocket and came over. June was working on the new customer's order, but it seemed that the Swiss Shroom Wrap was all done, still warm on its plate on the central table of the food prep room.

"Put some meat on those bones," June quipped, waggling her spatula at the plate as a prompt. Jane took a bite - the cheese, mushrooms, and meat melted together into a delectable and greasy combination.

"Thanks," she muttered after swallowing the first bite. "Never knew how good this shit was."

"It's good 'cuz _I _made it," June insisted. "Don't let that idiot Sokka ever make one for you, he'll just fuck it up."

"Heh...He's good at that." Jane took another bite.

"What? Fucking?"

Jane nearly choked on her burger, much to Jane's amusement.

"Whff...-?" she managed.

June shrugged, a sly grin on her face.

"Don't tell me ya haven't wondered. _I_ see the way you two look at each other, the things that come outta your mouths."

_Ugh. _Seriously? Could Jane just _not _have any friends without some kinda sexual shit coming up _somewhere, _somehow?

"Tssh! Uhhh, _no_," Jane denied the notion outright. In her gut, she acknowledged the tension June was referring to, but...-

"Whoa-ho," June mocked defense, lifting up her wrist. "I stand _corrected_, then. Heh."

"Guy's a total asswipe," Jane wrote it off. "I mean, we're friends n' crap, but..._nuh-uh._" Jane's belief was that the only reason she let that sexual tension junk even exist between the two of them was because there was an unspoken, mutual agreement that it was never going to go anywhere. "Besides, he's got a fuckin' _girlfriend, _I ain't no homewrecker." _Unlike _some _people I know..._

"Does he, still?" June muttered to herself. "Thought they broke up..."

"What? No..."

"Way he's been acting, sure seems like it," June shrugged while Jane ate some more. Damn, this stuff was good. "Besides, the guy seems to want to stick his dick in every other lady's pants."

"Heh, _that _is a fact," Jane chuckled. "But he's not gonna cheat on his girlfriend..."

"Shame," June flipped over the meat she was currently tending to. "I see in your eyes, though - _both _of you two. I know what your problem is, just figured you could fix it for each other."

Jane's brows hung low over her dull eyes as she mashed her mandibles together. June smirked as she twisted her head to jane.

"Neither of you two have gotten it on with anybody in a while," June concluded. "_That's _what your problem is - ya just need a good screw."

Jane managed to hold back her choking this time. What kind of boss talked with her workers like this, anyway? What a psycho...

"I was just figurin', way you two act around each other, could be a kind of an 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' kinda thing," June rambled on. "But fuck if I know, right?"

A part of Jane was suddenly humored by the idea, which quickly led to thoughts that she crushed like the cockroach they were. Urgh. Wait. Nope, didn't crush it good enough.

"Yeeeaaa, we...wouldn't do that kinda thing," Jane managed out. Fuckin' eh, her cheeks were burning up again at all this talk. ARGH, stupid...cockroach...The thought of _that _wasn't leaving her mind so easily as she'd like, wouldn't die, like a damned stupid cockroach.

"Meh," June shrugged. "Maybe for the best, then, right?"

Whew. Finally squashed it. Yeesh.

"You're...crazy," Jane laughed out, utterly perplexed by this whole discussion.

"_That _is a fact," June repeated the line from the moments before with a wide smile. "Made ya _think _about it, though, didn't I?"

Damnit, June looked right at her - no doubt she was red-faced.

"_Hey, _I'm...in his _age_ _group,_" Jane defended. "You're, like, what, twice our age, or somethin'? Stop bein' gross, I ain't cool with...thinkin' of _you _thinkin' of..._us_...and _that._"

"So you're sayin' he _would _be interested in that kind of thing?" June probed.

Jane rolled her eyes at the woman's words, but deep down she did find herself wondering about it now.

June cawed out some delighted laughter at the social unease of the discussion.

"See? Ya got _one _guy in your life who'd be interested in bonin' your twiggy self," June encouraged, in her own odd, crude way. "And that other kid - little twerp with the hat? Drew your face all pretty-like, didn't he? Wouldn't have done that unless he thought it was good-lookin', too, doncha think?" Oh, right...Aang's drawing of Jane's face, her Xmas gift - Sokka had brought it up when he'd been trying to defend his now clearly debunked 'theory.' "And whoever you're talkin' with on the phone, there? Betcha same goes for them, too." June bumped Jane in the shoulder with her elbow. "Stop bein' so pathetic, who gives a fuck whatcha look like, anyway, kid? Big tits, little tits, fat, skinny, _whatever_ - ain't about what everyone thinks, it's about what _you _think. Someone calls you a stick, tries to say you're ugly? They can piss off. Am I right?"

Jane blinked at her, mouth full of food, baffled. Hadn't...June herself just called her names like, _twice _in this conversation?

"Beauty's in the eye of the beholder, Shamrocks, so start..._beholdin' _yourself a little higher."

Jane was biting at her lip now, but June's sneaky purpose in all of this was clear at this point.

"You...got a _creepy _way of makin' people feel better," Jane sighed out with some relief. Somehow, she _was _feeling a bit better...

"Being a creeper and _still _being respected, somehow," June feigned complex contemplation. "Ya know, it's a gift, I myself wonder what to do with it."

"Yea? Well...Thanks. 'Creeper.'"

"Anytime, Fuzzball."

* * *

**A/N: _The Moorchild _is in fact my all-time favorite standalone novel, and I am of a course a Harry Potter fan, as well. Also, yes, I squeezed in another reference to The Promise, for those hardcore enough to catch it. ;) Also, man, this chapter turned out way longer than I originally planned. ^_^; 'Yeo' is actually a name borrowed from my friend jasminedragon, the name she gives to one of the Earth Kingdom's leading five generals in her brilliant story _Nothing Is_** Illuminated.**  
**


	69. Dirt

**A/N: Wow, can you believe it? One day later and _another _new chapter, even after such a huge one last time. I'm spoiling you guys. Or, ya know...I'm lacking in work. _ This chapter is a rare case of basically one single scene carrying the whole thing, featuring an interaction that I imagine is very uncommon in the Avatar fandom. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 69 - Dirt_

* * *

- Thursday, March 3rd, 2011 -

Katara twirled her finger through her raggedy ponytail. She'd tried brushing it, but it was no use - today it was just going to be all puffy and stick out every which-way, so at least a ponytail could attempt to tame it. She was waiting, alone, at the Jasmine Dragon, sitting at a table near the glass, double-door entrance so she could make sure she didn't miss her 'date' tonight. She hadn't actually stopped by the coffee shop in a while. Not _stopped_ by. She'd come in occasionally and grab some caffeine in a cup to help give her a boost, but she hadn't really sat down to do a nice heart-to-heart in some while in this place. She often forgot how atmospheric it was.

A young boy was playing violin up on stage. It was lovely, a merry little tune. She recognized his face...one of those kids from the Freedom Fighters, if she wasn't mistaken. She was warmed to see him doing better things with himself than being led around by them.

[From: Korra]  
[Yo. What's the deal? Too busy to come visit?]  
[Sent: 8:23pm]

Oh, _shoot. _Korra! Katara had helped her cousin move in, but life had been going so quickly lately that it had slipped her mind to go visit. Geez, that...would be a good idea. Round up the group and go see her. Wow, how could she be so inconsiderate? Too much schoolwork, too many things to do...and what little free time she'd been dealt this week had gone right into spending time with Aang. She felt it was important for them to build a strong base level of comfort with each other at this phase.

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[I'm so sorry! Yes, very busy. It's been crazy. We'll come see you soon, I promise. This weekend? Is Saturday good?]  
[Sent: 8:24pm]

And there Mai was. After putting her phone away, Katara saw Mai, wearing black cargo pants and a sleeveless t-shirt with a grafitti-styled skull on it. A ring in her nose, her finely-trimmed black bangs streaked with red highlights. Their eyes met, hers an amber color, the single spark of life in her whole appearance, and even then, they were laced with dark rings of makeup. She had a mysterious elegance about her, Katara had to admit. She reflected on what she knew of Zuko - so serious and stuffy, dating such a gloomy-looking girl with off-beat, gothic fashion. And yet, she was beginning to believe that there was more to Mai than just a dull, dark face.

"Hey," Mai's dry voice crackled out with a dainty wave before she lifted an index finger to Katara's greeting and went to order herself a drink. Oh, ha. Ty-Lee was working at the shop - Katara just remembered that the two of them were roommates. Speaking of which, wasn't the big black kid near the front of the shop roommates with the kid playing violin...?

As Katara recalled a brief phase of her social life that had thankfully ended, Mai sat down beside her, and the two smiled to express their mutual social interest.

"Hi, Mai."

"How have you been doing, Katara?" Mai asked with a sly smirk. "A new man in your life and everything..."

"Heh," Katara shrugged with a timid grin. "I guess you kind of saw that coming, didn't you?" she credited the girl, recalling the night she'd been led up to Aang at the art building.

"Something like that," chuckled Mai with a knowing gleam in her eye.

Katara finally decided to slurp at some of her cappuccino, which by now was cooled off enough where it could actually be consumed comfortably. The music that had been playing died down, and as the gentle clapping of the audience picked up to thank the young, fair-haired boy for his playing, Katara and Mai got swept up with it. As the boy took his leave from the stage, the other one - the hulking, dark-skinned lad - followed him toward the front door, taking his traveling mug with him.

As they passed by, the big fellow's face lit up as his eyes crossed Katara's. He waved enthusiastically, and Katara, with some embarrassment, waved back.

They shuffled out of the shop, the boy seeming to have a pessimistic scowl about him all of a sudden.

"You...know those guys?" Mai wondered.

"Um...Y-yea, kind of," Katara mumbled, observing them as they walked up the stone steps back to campus. It was a bit cold out tonight, the steps glistening and damp under the entryway light that shone outside of the cafe's entrance. "I, um...don't actually know their _names_..."

"Well, I don't know who the big guy is - first time I've ever seen him. But that kid, his name is Doug." Katara's stomach twisted around when she heard this. "He's this shy little guy, but he sure can play, right?"

"Yea..." Katara muttered, her head swimming. Doug? As in, the guy who Toph _cheated _with? _That _Doug? Oh, man, he'd better hope she never saw him again or-...N-no, wait...he hadn't _known. _Yea, that was right, he had been the one to confess the whole situation to Aang when he had found out...OK, right. Yea. Whew. No need to get so worked up...

"You OK?" Mai probed, confused by how Katara was still gawking out through the empty glass doors.

"Oh, I'm fine," Katara sighed out with a nervous laugh. "Sorry. It's nothing, my mind went somewhere else."

"Ah..."

"Mai~" sang out Ty-Lee from the counter. "Drinkies!"

Mai's eyes rolled around while the left corner of her mouth slanted up just a bit, and she got up to retrieve her beverage.

"Omigosh," Ty-Lee squeaked out in a whisper to Mai. "That's her _roomie, _right?"

"Shh," Mai hushed her friend sternly. "Yes, it is."

"Ohhhhhh, man." Ty-Lee's wrists were bundled together in front of her face with flamboyant fear.

"I just figured showing would be better than telling."

"_Ohhhhh_, gosh. Goshy-gosh."

"Toph _is _on the list tonight, right? 8:30?" Mai wondered, popping the cap off of her drink. Steam billowed out at her.

Wide-eyed, Ty-Lee pulled her gaze away from Katara, who was casually glancing through a stray issue of the White Lotus that was sitting on their table, and looked up at Mai, nodded nervously.

"Why are you so weirded out?" Mai sighed, irritated at Ty-Lee's overreacting.

"_Mai, _she's gonna _find out_..."

"That's...the whole _point_, Ty..." Mai's eyes glanced off to the side as she fought to keep her patience under wraps.

"But then it's gonna pop their social _bubble_!" Ty-Lee hissed, her voice still hushed.

"No, it's _not_, ugh. Stop being melodramatic." Mai blew a gentle breath at her drink to help cool it down before snapping the top back on.

"OK, OK," moaned Ty-Lee, pouty-lipped and forlorn.

"Anyway...Thanks," Mai said, trying to wipe away any potential scorn she may have slung on Ty-Lee's delicate face. "Just...please try to calm down, all right?"

"Oh, right." Quivering eyes of doubt dissolved to reveal confidence. A small salute. "You can count on me~"

Both girls shared encouraging smiles before going back to their business.

"Hey, sorry about that," Mai offered an apology as she sat down. "My roommate needed to talk with me about something, I guess."

"Oh, no problem," Katara put her at ease. They both drank in silence for a moment. "Guhhh, sooo...-" Katara awkwardly groped for whatever topic Mai had been no-doubt well meaning in wanting to bring up.

"Yea," Mai acknowledged, setting her cup down. "All right, Katara. All of this...social muck, with you and Toph-...I mean, I don't know the details, obviously, but I hear things from Aang. I see things on Facebook. And recently, I've been running into Toph once in a while, and...-" Mai was aware that her her tone was lacking the kind of hint at concern she found herself able to get out around Zuko. But Zuko wasn't here. Somehow...it made it harder for her to get the emotions inside outward - she had no base with Katara, like she with Aang or Ty-Lee.

Katara was immediately confused as a result. Mai's body language was stiff, even though her words seemed to be expressing fear.

"I'm worried about Toph," Mai put it bluntly, her eyes dull and despondent. "It's not my place," she immediately conceded, even though Katara wasn't objecting. "I get that. It sounds like you've been just ignoring each other, and you know what? You have good reason. Toph really hurt Aang. I may not be his girlfriend, I may not even be his _good _friend, but I can I can _see it _in his eyes whenever he talks about her. Believe me, I am _really _happy for you two. I knew Aang would find someone else that would look after him, and really take his feelings into account. I may not know you that well, but...again...-" She shrugged with a weak smile. "-...His _eyes, _when he talked about you? They...heh...they practically glow." Katara's blushed a bit at the thought.

"Really?"

"Seriously. He seems so much better than he was just a couple months ago. But...Toph...I'm really getting a bad feeling about her."

Why would Mai think this so much? Mai seemed like the type to keep away from other people's baggage, so...why the concern for Toph?

"I...um...-" Katara was puzzled. "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Mai...There's a lot of-"  
"She's coming."

Katara was startled by Ty-Lee, who had called out to Mai in as calm a manner as she could from about ten feet away at the front door. That's when Katara saw Toph, in her green Terra hoodie, face veiled in messy, dirty hair, a bit damp from her walk outside. Seemed like it was sprinkling again. She was in her sandals and sweatpants, her guitar case slung over her back.

"Wh-?" Katara's attention was drawn to Mai with a brisk wave of the hand. When she looked, Mai had a dire glare, her index finger up to her lips, signaling silence. Katara retaliated this command with an indignant set of furrowed eyebrows, but Mai was persistent, shaking her head, lips still pressed by her finger.

Realization struck - Mai didn't want Toph to know they were here. But..._why_? Because they were talking about her, or something?

Whoa, wait. Why was _Toph _here? Since when did Toph carry her guitar to the _cafe? _She didn't even like going to the cafe. She used to talk about how she didn't like it there...

Stage. Kid with the violin.

Katara checked - the microphone was still there, set up.

Toph was...here to play music?

The blind girl found her way in, shuffling her cane along the floor with care. Ty-Lee was already there to greet her.

"Heya."

She received no response.

"Here, um...I'll get you set up like usual."

Ty-Lee extended an arm, winding her own around Toph's, which elicited a cranky sigh from the musician.

As they made their way through the cafe, there was a handful of cheers, enthusiastic greeting, and then a small applause of about five people was clamoring for her to start before she had even reached the stage.

She'd been here before. And from the looks of it, a few times.

By now, Toph was outside of earshot if they whispered, with all of the other noise going on. While Ty-Lee helped get her set up on stage, Katara whipped her head to Mai.

"Wait, she performs music here?"

A nod from Mai.

"How long has she been doing this?"

A shrug.

"Why are we being all _quiet?_" This was all sinking Katara in a deep vat of awkwardness. "This feels _weird_," she insisted when Mai offered no response.

"Sshh," Mai spat out at last with some impatience. She could tell she struck a nerve and immediately rectified. "Just..._watch, _everything'll make sense." She waggled her hand toward the tiny wooden stage, and Katara sighed, deciding that this was all for a reason. It made sense now - Mai had arranged it specifically so Katara would be here to see Toph play music. But...Katara had seen Toph play music before. She didn't get why this would be any different.

But then Toph started to play.

And it _was _different than anytime Katara had seen her perform before..

+ http:/youtu(dot)be/fE4KJ6EHnw8 +

"~I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel~"

Head, smacking against the wall of the empty practice room.

"~I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real~"

Because her hands couldn't play right, her words couldn't come out right.

"~The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting~"

Katara's jaw was agape. There Toph was, on stool, dirty and damp and clearly distraught.

"~Try to kill it all away...But I remember everything~"

Katara's hands found their way around her stomach. Somehow, this was difficult for her empathetic self watch - all the raw emotion.

"~What have I become, my sweetest friend?~"

The emotion Toph tried so hard to hide. Katara could see why. It looked...painful.

"~Everyone I know goes away in the end~"

_Grandma. Mom and Dad. Aang. Meng. Katara. Sokka. Jane.  
_

"~And you could have it all: my empire of Dirt~"

Katara moved her glance to Mai, worried she might start crying at any moment.

"~I will let you down...I will make you hurt~"

Katara nodded slowly to Mai, to express that now she understood what Mai had been getting at.

"~I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair~"

_You try to tell yourself how great you are._

"~Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair~"

_But you're broken. Damaged goods. No fixing a stubborn idiot like you._

"~Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear~"

These were just song lyrics, right? But...from Toph, the way she was playing them...no. Not 'just' lyrics.

"~You are someone else...I am still right here~"

Katara's heart was aching with longing and disappointment and fear and...love.

_I am right here, too, Toph._

"And you could have it all: my empire of Dirt~"

_Oh, Toph...What are we going to do with you?_

"~I will let you down...I will make you hurt~"

Damnit, and there it was...

Katara took a slow, deep breath, brushing tears from her face. Mai smiled sympathetically. Katara really _did _care a great deal...

"~If I could start again, a million miles away~"

Katara drowned herself in the remnants of her coffee as a means of trying to cope with all of these hormones and 'motherly desires' that were overbearing.

"~I will keep myself, I would find a way~"

The song concluded, Toph was given a paltry applause - which Mai and Katara both joined in on.

Her thought for this past week out there for all to hear, Toph packed up and left and unceremoniously as she'd shown up.

Katara was speechless. Her right middle finger was entwined in the hairs on the edge of her ponytail, her other hand grasping at her cup while she stared as Toph trudged up the steps, back into the evening. Alone.

"Mm...maybe I should...-" she began, getting up from her seat.

"No, let her be," Mai advised. "I don't think it'd be a good idea if she knew you were here..."

"Wh...B-but why _not_?"

"Katara," Mai sighed, waving her wrist gently to ease the girl to sit back down. After she'd done so, Mai explained. "Toph is in a bad place right now - being able to play her music like this? It's her emotional outlet."

"R-right, of course," Katara agreed. That much seemed clear now. "But she...she needs us, she's...-" Katara scratched at her head, baffled by this. Toph acted so tough and angry, but..._that_...-

"She _does _need you," Mai agreed. "But she also needs _this_: the music, the...-" Mai waved her skinny hand in the air vaguely. "-...therapy of it. What you saw up there? That came out because she wasn't worried about anyone who actually _knows _her seeing it. Don't you get it?"

Katara swallowed, intimidated by Mai's resolve on this matter. Katara nodded after a moment, believing she comprehended things.

"It's like her...escape."

"Exactly."

"She's so stubborn and..._infuriating_...putting up her walls, she needs some place - some way - to come out and breathe once in a while. Is that-...? I-I mean, am I getting this?"

"I think you are."

"But isn't this...unhealthy?" Katara mumbled, her eyes clouding with doubt. "I just...didn't really think that she was really _hurting _this much, I don't...-" She clutched at her forehead as guilt, shame, and confusion made her dizzy. "She needs to be able to talk to us, we're her _friends_, after all..." Katara sighed to herself. "She can _talk _to me." This was muttered more quietly, seemingly directed at herself. "Why doesn't she_ know_ that...?"

"I'm not sure," Mai honestly replied. "But if she's anything like I was a while back...-" Mai tipped her head thoughtfully to the side. "-...she probably has just been needing some space to be on her own for a while."

"That...that doesn't seem like it makes sense," Katara grumbled, head still planted on her palm, supported by an elbow. "I could see it - and hear it: she's lonely right now."

"Yea, she is...Because she's wanted to be lonely."

"She didn't look happy with that to me."

"I don't think she _is_. Maybe she's at the point where she's ready to...stop being lonely."

"Yea..." Katara wasn't sure what Mai was getting at. The idea of _wanting _to be lonely didn't compute in her brain. But Toph definitely didn't look like she wanted that anymore, even if Mai had been right about before. "So what am I supposed to do with this, now?"

"Whatever...you think you can," Mai muttered. How was _she _supposed to know? She was just the messenger.

"Ugh...Yea, but...-"

"Katara, isn't this your _thing_?"

"Huh?" Katara finally raised her head up to look back at Mai, who was leaning against the chair, arms laid plainly in her lap.

"Helping people? Being loving, and...going out of your way for them? All that sort of thing?"

"I...I guess. I _try _to do that..."

"So just...I dunno..._do it. _Do...what you _do._"

"But you just told me _not _to do that!"

"What?"

"Just now! When she left!"

"_Oh. _No, that...was because the timing wasn't right. Toph still needs this place as her safe-haven, where she can express herself without fearing what her friends think."

"O-OK, I can...understand that, but, so...what do I _do? _When am I supposed to try helping her?"

"You _live _with her, don't you?"

"Um...We share a _room, _but ever since her breakup, it's like she wants to pretend I don't exist. All we do is _argue_."

Mai gave a nod to this. That _didn't _surprise her in the slightest. How the two of them ended up as roommates was a mystery. What kind of person would...room with...their opposite? Er, wait...Maybe Mai hadn't given much thought to it, but her and Ty-Lee were as different - maybe even moreso - than Toph and Katara. And they seemed to work out just fine...Why was that?

"It's because you both don't _understand _each other," Mai concluded.

"That...that's because she's so _intolerable, _she refuses to listen to me."

"She probably has a _reason_, then, Katara," Mai tried to advise as gently as she could. "Do you know _why_?"

"Uhh..." Katara was dumbfounded for a moment. "Because...Because I'm...'motherly?' Or something?" Mai's eyes stayed locked. There was more to it than that. "OK, OK, because...-" Katara sighed, head tilted back. "-...I can be kind of pushy sometimes with what I think is best for her..."

"Sounds like you're getting somewhere. Now, does _she _understand what _your _problems are?"

"Well, I've tried _telling _her enough times," Katara groaned.

"You mean, you've _argued _with her about it?"

"Er...Y-yea, a lot..."

"So you haven't really..._talked. _Like...just sat and _talked. _About any of this."

"I don't...-! N-no, I guess no, but she's so _stubborn_."

"You seem like you're pretty stubborn, _too_, Katara. No offense."

Katara was getting a bit aggravated, but she kept her cool, and tried not to take this personally. Mai meant well. That much seemed clear. No way she'd drag Katara into this if she didn't have good intentions, it surely wasn't benefiting _her _in any way to try to get involved.

"What I'm getting at, is that it sounds like you and Toph don't seem to have a good understanding of how to really live with each other - or if you _do, _you're both ignoring it. Believe me, it can take some effort, but me and Ty-Lee are...like night and day. And we get along fine - because we understand each other, and we've learned to work around our differences."

"OK." Katara nodded in comprehension. "So how do I make that happen? Toph's never _around _now, and she never will talk to me anymore. Every discussion has to be this...this battle for _power _with her."

"Listen, I wish I could give you advice on that, but I _can't_," Mai lamented. "But Katara, the fact is, she deserves to know that you and Aang are dating. Whatever you do, I say you use that as your base to work from."

"Yea..." Oh, _Aang_. Duh. He had dated Toph. Surely _he _would have some idea as to what to do... "We'll tell it soon," Katara assured.

"How soon?"

"I...I'm not sure, maybe-"  
"Decide on a day."

"What?"

"If you don't commit to something, you might just keep procrastinating."

"Oh...Y-yea, that...heh...I guess that's true, huh?" Man, for such a gloomy girl who seemed to act all apathetic, Mai seemed...pretty rigid and insistent on a lot of these matters.

Mai caught an irritated vibe from Katara that seemed to be increasing the longer this conversation went on, and she started to consider if she was passing into the line of hypocrisy yet.

"I'm sorry," she sighed out. "I'm coming off as really pushy, right?"

"Um..." The way Katara's face grimaced for just that split-second was a 'yes.' "Kind of, but...I know it's because you want to help."

"Right. OK. Well, I...didn't mean to get so bossy about it, I only wanted to show you what I was talking about - that Toph's really dug herself in deep."

"Yea. Thanks, Mai. I get where you were coming from now. I think you did the right thing."

"If you really think, then I hope _you _do the _better _thing and actually help that girl figure out what her problems are."

"I will."

"From everything Aang's said about you, I know you won't just let this go on this way now."

"Uh-uh." Katara shook here head with vehement agreement. "No way, I love Toph. I'm going to do what I can for her."

"Then let's just hope she's learned by now that she needs to accept that help if she wants to get herself out of whatever damned hole she's lodged in."

There was some peace between them. By this point, some girl had been singing a folksy song with no accompaniment in the background, but their conversation had taken too much priority for either to really pay it any heed.

"Well, umm...Guess I should get going, then," Katara decided, feeling that their conversation was about at its end.

"You sure?" Mai asked. This gave Katara pause. Their...discussion was finished, right? Mai had said her peace. "Like, do you have somewhere you have to be, or...-?"

"N-no, not...specifically," Katara admitted, drumming her fingers on the table.

Mai hadn't liked where the discussion had ended - on this awkward, forced note. She wasn't going to accept that. And besides, she actually felt like she was maybe making a _friend _here, or something. This wasn't common. Dwelling on Toph had ultimately served as a reminder for Mai of how she had once been, and how she could stand to have a few more faces in her life. Sure, it meant a little more work, but...Zuko had taught her by now that taking things seriously, investing effort into them, could pay off sometimes - she just decided that she'd try to pick and her choose her battles carefully.

"Why don't you stick around for a while longer?" Mai asked casually. "Extra cup of coffee on me," she sweetened the deal.

"Oh..." Katara felt kind of touched. So this wasn't _just _about Toph? Katara wasn't ever one to turn down a potential friend, regardless of their sense of fashion. "All right, sure. Thanks."

Mai got up and nodded her head, gesturing Katara to follow with her empty cup for a refill. As they hit the counter they met Ty-Lee, grinning wide at them.

"Evening ladies! Back for more?"

"Just going to get her a refill," Mai advised, pulling out the cash from her wallet. After they'd paid it off, Katara went to refill at the counter off to the side with the dispensers. "So, Katara," Mai initiated. "Aang's told me you're big into English?"

"Mm-hm."

"Just by Facebook, I can tell you do a lot of reading, but...what about _writing_?"

* * *

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk** had a very insightful chat with Mai Chiao tonight. Don't let that makeup fool you, she's got a big heart somewhere underneath all that gloom. ;) ]  
[2 hours ago]  
[Mai Chiao, Tylee Moretti, Aang Leekpai, and 2 others like this.]

[**Mai Chiao **- Gee, thanks. :P I'm glad we got a chance to get to know each other better.]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Aang Leekpai likes this.]

[**Tylee Moretti **- ^_^ yaaaaaayyy girl bonding time!]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Katara Kesuk likes this.]

[**Aang Leekpai **- see? nothing to worry about.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Mai Chiao **- Oh, it's understandable. I'm super intimidating.]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Zuko Kurosawa **- Especially when you wake up in the morning. ;D ]  
[47 minutes ago]  
[Sokka Kesuk likes this.]

[**Mai Chiao** **- **O_O Then I guess I'd better not scare you like that from now on...]  
[23 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Uh-oh. Your man's in the doghouse tonight.]  
[12 minutes ago]

[**Mai Chiao **- Got that right.]  
[8 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai** - HAHAHAHA.]  
[4 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- See, Aang, you can learn lessons from Zuko's mistakes. ;) ]  
[Moments ago]

* * *

**A/N: Song lyrics are copyright Nine Inch Nails, but Johnny Cash's brilliantly touching performance is really touching and emotional and was the perfect song for this phase of Toph's character arc and consequently for really getting the point across of how she performs her music differently in this setting than she does in the band with Katara or at recital.**

**Edit: My reader-turned-friend DA user Kawayui-Kage directed me to an acoustic cover that I substituted in here instead of the Johnny Cash one because it's a girl and actually conveys that youthful, melancholy singing I imagine really well. Thanks!  
**


	70. Stand

_What I Learned at SRU__  
Chapter 70 - Stand  
_

* * *

- Friday, March 4th, 2011 -

It was awkward.

This familiar space - the smells of caffeinated drink and the sounds of idle chatter...only now there was a wash of calming pop music or something pouring from the speakers, a gentle background to all this. The Jasmine Dragon just didn't feel right in this way, from this place - on a chair at a table and not on that stage.

All the more difficult and confusing was the presence of Aang and Katara in this same location. Why were _they _here? This was _here _place. They weren't ever supposed to be here. Why had they agreed to meet _here_, of all places? And what was going on?

That last question, however, seemed to make itself apparent to Toph when the conversation started. Both Katara and Aang were speaking in hushed voices, seemingly fearful of how Toph would react.

Their fear didn't match her own, though.

"So spit it _out_, then," she grunted, immediately disinterested in their pleasantries. They both seemed awfully calm and polite, on some similar wavelength of pacifism.

"We just want to make sure you get where we're coming from," Aang explained. "You know, that we cover all our bases here, and that you don't feel like everyone's ignoring you. I'm just...trying to figure out the best way of putting it..."

"Right," Katara agreed. "I mean, this has been a big mess for...for _all _of us, and we're just trying to sort it all out."

"Yea, and you've been acting really...erm...well, _difficult_ lately, and so I don't really know what-"  
"No, Twinkle-Toes!" Toph snapped, fists balling up. The nickname slipped out. It was habit. "Just...No." She sighed. "You've gotta stop thinking like that. _Christ!_ There's no different angle, no clever solution...no fuckin' _trickety-trick_ that's gonna to fix this." She prodded her pointer finger into Aang's chest. "You've gotta face it head on."

A frown fell over Aang's face, and he exchanged glances with Katara, who was just as annoyed with their friend's hypocrisy. But Katara's expression quickly shifted, and Aang understood - they just needed to let it go right now and be straight with her.

"A-all right," he muttered. Then his voice grew conviction. "Katara and I just started dating."

Yup. And there is was. Fuckin' beautiful. Just _fantastic. _She knew it. She fuckin' _knew it._

But that didn't make the finality of it sting any less.

"It's only been a few days," Katara hastily pointed out. "We wanted to tell you sooner rather than later, but with how you've been acting lately, we didn't know if-"  
"A few days, huh?" Toph spat out her doubt.

"..._Yes_," Aang confirmed with a tint of irritation.

"We didn't want to hurt your feelings," Katara continued, trying to move away from the negativity Toph was trying to brew. "But this is our decision."

Ugh. Toph could _sense _it, they were...doing something lovey-dovey. Looking at each other, no-doubt. Whatever 'magic' such a thing entailed. _Ulgh, _she could hear it, skin sliding over skin. A thumb, over a wrist? Fingers over an arm? Whatever. It was gross and wretched. Aang was supposed to be _her _person to touch that way.

"Of all the girls you coulda picked, had to be my _roommate_, right?" Toph growled out. The words hadn't had thought put into them, they'd just slipped.

"Toph, that's...just how it _happened_," Aang defended. "I didn't _plan _on this."

"Yea, this was pretty unexpected for us," Katara lathered innocence onto the subject.

Psh, bullshit. Toph had seen it coming a mile away, how could they _not _have?

And...and was that _more _skin rubbing she was hearing? _Grrr._

"Well, _whatever_," Toph scoffed at the whole thing, slumped back in her chair, her arms folded around her chest, like a wall to block them from seeing inside.

Or was it a wall to block what was inside from coming out?

"Lah-dee-dah," Toph's dark words dismissed their happiness. "Way to fuckin' go. Not my damned business, why are you telling me?"

"We thought you deserved to know," Aang insisted with peaceful resolve. How was he so _calm _about this?

"And we miss you, Toph," Katara added with some soured sympathy. Bitch, please. I didn't ask to be missed.

"_Ha_," the laugh came out, a mechanism to hold back the tears that were welling up against her will. "Yea, bet you all _really _miss the Cunt Queen. Haven't had enough of Miss Mudslug giving you trouble?" Fuckin' Christ, her voice was starting to shake. Come on, get a grip.

"Toph," Aang sighed. "We're worried about you. _I _am worried about you."

A choked out laugh from Toph. Or was it a sob? She had tried to make it _sound_ like a laugh...

"We want you to feel like part of the group again," Katara cooed. "Because you _are_."

"'Kay..." Toph eked out with half-hearted grumpiness.

Tense silence hung over all three of them like a fog. Aang wished he had ordered some coffee so he could drink some in this odd moment.

"That all?" Toph asked dryly, and with some impatience. Her breathing was beginning to rattle, her pale, useless eyes trembling to hold back tears.

"Um...Y-yes, I suppose," Katara mumbled. "But...But I mean, d-did that all make sense?"

"Mm-hm."

"All right...Sooo...Are you...Are you OK?" Katara's voice was soothing and thick with that motherly tone that often irked Toph to no end.

"Yea," she replied plainly. "Can I go now?"

Another pause, this one even heavier than the last one.

"Sure," Aang agreed. "If you want to..."

"'Kay..." Toph relished her relief, her exit, her escape. It was like her heart was going to puke any moment, and she couldn't stand them seeing it. She grabbed her walking stick and fumbled out of her chair, bumping her elbow on it as she did so and ignoring the pain - which was easy given the burning in her brain. "Bye," she spat out, her voice cracking as she went to leave.

+ http:/youtu(dot)be/aZkd91HXng4 +

Fingers tickling strings, somber sounds spilling out across the cafe. Nothing existed in those moment but her guitar and the music. How she longed for one of those therapeutic moments right here, right now.

**~She never slows down~**

Toph rammed her shoulder to push out through the double doors of the Jasmine Dragon. The rushing noise of rain suddenly surrounded her, each step splashing drops of water onto her toes. Great weather for sandals. When had it started raining? Whatever, she had to get out of here, get somewhere else. The music building, her room...anywhere but here. She couldn't be around those two right now.

**~She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone~**

As she trudged across campus, the water beat down on her, each drop like a frozen needle.

"Shit," she seethed to herself as she picked up her pace, frantically sliding her cane across the wet sidewalk.

_Scrrt-spsh. Scrrt-spsh. Scfff-spsh._

The tension from moments before was swelling, and now that she was by herself, her head felt like exploding._  
_

**~feels like it's all coming down~**

How could this happen? How could he do this to her? Hardly any fucking time at all, and he was already throwing himself at someone else. Not just someone else, her own _roommate. _Had this been how it was all along? He'd been pining for Katara this whole time? Just biding until he could dump his grumpy girlfriend aside? Her parents had betrayed her, and now the two people she trusted most, conspiring behind her back. She just couldn't trust _anyone, _could she?

**~She won't turn around~The shadows are long~**

_"You wish they were proud of you, that they respected you. You feel like they're ashamed of you. But you're too stubborn, and you won't confront them about it. You don't want to _deal _with any of this, so _instead_, __you try pinning it all on them, turn them into villains, and then whenever it gets brought up, you act like this...this _crazy _person!"_

**~And she fears if she cries that first tear~**

She was beginning to lose focus, the stinging downpour freezing her feet. Her free arm was clutched around her stomach, which felt queasy. She choked out, suppressing tears as her face heated up.

_Not gonna fuckin' cry. Not a damned baby._

**~the tears will not stop raining down~**

The canons of fury she'd been firing off at everyone else stopped and redirected their course back at their owner.

_You're such a hypocrite. Selfish, arrogant cunt. You brought this on yourself. This is all your own fault. Grow up and take your own advice.  
_

**~So stand in the rain~**

Her numb cheeks barely felt the tears as they flooded out, mixing with the rain. Thick bangs stuck to her face. She flicked her head to push them away but they just fell back down. She growled in frustration, pressing on through the slush.

**~Stand your ground~**

_"I'm saying that when you've got a fuckin' problem you don't be a pussy and run away from it. **You stand your ground**. You face it head-on. Gotta be solid - like a rock."_

**~Stand up when it's all crashing down~**

_How could he give up on me so easily?_**  
**

She had been building up speed, desperate to escape this waterfall of ice, and in her haste, she slipped on a patch of sidewalk slicked over with ice, made even more hazardous from the rain. She tumbled off to her right, dropped her cane and pushing her hands out to catch herself. Her fingers sunk into a slimy mess. Snow, rainwater, mud...She couldn't tell what was what, but when she came to a moment later, she could feel half of her face plastered in it, her hair now heavy with muck. Her jeans were drenched and grimy, her hands burning from scrapes the cold, her hoodie a soaking weight.**  
**

**~You stand through the pain, you won't drown~**

_"No, Twinkle-Toes! Just...No. You've gotta stop thinking like that. _Christ_! There's no different angle, no clever solution...no fuckin' _trickety-trick_ that's gonna to fix this. You've gotta face it head on."_

**~And one day what's lost can be found~**

Toph struggled to push herself up from the ground, her entire body quivering. She coughed, mucus building in her throat, her nose now runny. She realized now that she didn't know where her cane was, and her right sandal had slipped off in the fall.

_Of course he left me. I let him down. Turned my back on him - on _all _of them. No one trusts me anymore. And why _should _they?_

**~You stand in the rain~**

Jane's harsh words joined Katara's in biting away at Toph's shattered confidence.**  
**

_"Then stop trying to pretend like nothing's wrong and _do something _about it!"_

**~She won't make a sound~**

Toph shook off her memories and got to her knees. She slammed her trembling fist into the ground, splashing mud across her knuckles.

"_Fuck_," she grunted at herself, teeth chattering.

**~Alone in this fight with herself~**

_"__For how much you love telling off everyone else, you _really _suck at dealing with your own issues," Sokka grumbled. "You wanna be so damned independent? Go for it. This is _your _mess, _you_ clean it up."_

**~And the fears whispering, 'If she stands, she'll fall down'~**

Toph lifted her hands from the sludge and wobbled onto her feet, but as she attempted to unbend her knees, her right foot, now lacking traction, gave way and she went right back down to one knee, catching herself before she hit the ground a second time.

**~She wants to be found~**

Supporting her shivering, drenched body with one knee and one scratched-up hand, Toph clutched at her stomach as it churned with uneasiness. A sob spilled out despite her every effort to contain it.

She wished one of them was here to pull her up, but no one was around. She had to take care of herself, just as she had been saying she wanted to.

Well, _that _sure was working out well...

**~The only way out is through everything she's running from~**

_"So, are you going to stomp off like usual?" Katara rhetorically insulted. "Run away from me because I'm telling you that you're acting immature? Because you refuse to try solving your own problems?"_

**~Wants to give up and lie down~**

Her head pounded, her face stung, her hands throbbed...Anguish and guilt coursed through her veins. It was all too much to handle.

**~So stand in the rain****~Stand your ground~****Stand up when it's all crashing down~**

_I can't take this. Just can't fucking deal with it...What am I supposed to do? What does everyone _want _from me?_

******************~You stand through the pain, you won't drown****~And one day what's lost can be found~************You stand in the rain~**  


Toph crawled her way to the sidewalk, its hard surface welcoming. She groped around, retrieving her misplaced sandal and squirming to get it onto her foot, grit wedged between her toes. She found her cane nearby and choked out with relief, tears still drizzling out of her face.

**~So stand in the rain****~Stand your ground~****Stand up when it's all crashing down~  
**

_____"You love someone, you fuckin' work it out. You stand your ground."_

___Guess I need to practice what I preach and shit...  
_

******************************~Stand through the pain, you won't drown****~And one day what's lost can be found~**

_What a bitch I am, trying to act like Aang was the one who needed to do something. He was trying all along._ I_ was the one who gave up on _him_...  
_

******************~So stand in the rain****~Stand your ground~****Stand up when it's all crashing down~**

Her teeth clattered against each other, muddy hair stuck to her face, her useless eyes squinting to keep the gunk out. She pulled her hood over her head, stuffed her hands in its waist pocket, and puffed out a shivering groan as she rubbed lethargic hands together to try and regain feeling in them.

******~You stand through the pain, you won't drown~**  


Leaning on her cane for support, Toph forced herself onto her feet, huffing from exhaustion and determination.

**********~And one day what's lost can be found~**

"...awwfff..."

As she carefully skidded her stick against the sidewalk, shaking uncontrollably as she willed her way across the seemingly flooded campus, voices called out behind her.

_Nothing will be the same. What do I do?_

**~You stand in the rain~**

"...awphh...?"  
"...oph!"

"G-guys...?" A hand tucked in her pocket still, Toph limped her body in a 180 to direct her attention to the familiar calls.

"Toph!" Aang's concern warmed her.

"What _happened?_" Katara's petrified voice called out. Splashing steps got louder as they drew close.

"I...I fell," Toph confessed, coughing out a sob. Not from the pain, not from the childish act of slipping, just stress seeping out through her face.

"Toph..." Aang sighed with a sniff.

Katara's familiar arms enclosed Toph's body in a tight hug.

"Y-you're gonna get...all dirty," Toph half-heartedly joked. Katara ran her hand over Toph's inundated hair, her breath warm on Toph's neck. Aang came at her from the other side, and Toph's queasiness intensified before fading away into relief. They clutched at her body as if to hold the broken pieces together, to cover up the person that was now exposed from her shell to the rain.

That shell, that mask.

A lonely, angry girl with pale, cold eyes - white like snow. Her hands slid across the ivory keys, each note like a frigid raindrop.

"Why don't...we head back to Aqua?" Katara offered with sympathy. "Get you cleaned up and warm."

Toph sensed some kind of silent communication between Aang and Katara. Likely some approval or some such.

"Yea, you should...go do that," Aang agreed calmly. His hand rubbed at Toph's shoulder. Fuck, how she missed that hand... "Don't need to get sick again, right?"

"Fff, yea," was Toph's meek reply.

A lingering quiet, only raindrops echoing around. A shiver swept down Toph's spine and she shuddered. Katara's arm wound over her.

"We'll catch you later, Aang," Katara bid him farewell. Just by the tone, Toph sensed a pang of desire to kiss Aang, but they didn't. Obviously out of some kind of pity for her, right? Like she couldn't handle it?

Well...Maybe, right then...she _couldn't _handle it.

* * *

"How she takin' it?" Jane wondered in a hushed tone with concerned curiosity. The sound of the shower from the bathroom one room hour served as a backdrop to their conversation.

"I can't tell," Katara honestly confessed, shaking her head. Both girls sighed, mentally drained. They had expected some full-on volcanic eruption of hormones...but none had come. Or maybe it was just waiting. That was what Katara feared.

"Looks like your _head _is still screwed on," Jane observed with some humor. "_That's _a good sign..."

"Heh, yea..." Katara tousled her loose-hanging hair a bit before scratching at an itch. Her hand then flopped into her lap. Jane caught herself staring and looked off around the room when Katara's gaze lifted. It was so weird for her, thinking on all this. She'd spent days in fear over this very event, like it was some ominous doom, some social apocalypse. How uneventful it had been - simple words exchanged, and hardly any objection. Katara could only rule out that Toph was hurting and for once, instead of snapping back and running away, she was just holding it inside.

The shower's streaming patter quieted.

"Uhh..." Jane nodded slowly to herself. "So, I'm gonna head off, then...Good luck."

"Yea...Good night."

Jane vanished, and moments later, Toph entered, taking careful steps in a towel.

From her chair, Katara spun round, facing her computer screen. She read while Toph got dressed.

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk** is in a relationship with **Aang Leekpai.**]  
[2 hours ago]  
[18 people like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk **- FUCKING CALLED IT! ;D ]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- You did? How in the hell would you have known?]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Sokka Kesuk **- Also, **OOGIE OOGIE ****OOGIE ****OOOOOOOOGIE BLEH.**]  
[2 hours ago]

[**Jane Fitzpatrick **- for some bigshot detective you really suck at figurin out this shit. ;P ]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Aang and Katara like this.]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Sokka Kesuk Shut up, you baby.]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Suki and Jane like this.]

[**Aang Leekpai **- uh oh. it's fb official now, we get to hear from the peanut gallery.]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Katara and Mai like this.]

[**Tylee Moretti **- eeeeeeeeee! u guys are 2 kewt together! :3]  
[1 hour ago]

[**Suki Kyoshi **- Is this that '**oogie**' thing you told me about Katara? That doesn't even mean sense, you've seen US together all the time...]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Katara Kesuk likes this.]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Suki Kyoshi I KNOW, right? That's exactly what I said! Sounds like a double-standard.]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Suki Kyoshi likes this.]

[**Suki Kyoshi **- Sounds pretty CHILDISH...]  
[1 hour ago]  
[Jane and Korra like this.]

[**Meng Beifong** - omg i'm so happy for you guys! ~heart~ ]  
[56 minutes ago]  
[Aang and Katara like this.]

[**Mai Chiao **- Looks like someone finally found that apple tree - right in their own backyard. ;) ]  
[51 minutes ago]  
[Aang Leekpai likes this.]

[**Korra Kesuk **- For rizzle. I need to be caught up on what the fuck's been goin on. You all need to visit.]  
[42 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Ew. You just said 'for rizzle.']  
[37 minutes ago]  
[Mai and Zuko like this.]

[**Korra Kesuk **- True dat. My nizzle.]  
[36 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- I'd avoid picking up all that slang you're getting exposed to if I were you.]  
[30 minutes ago]

[**Hakoda Kesuk **- wow, so you have a new boyfriend? this sounds like it ought to be an interesting story.]  
[21 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- O_O; I'm sorry, Dad, I meant to call but I kept forgetting, and it's been so stressful lately, and I've been so busy...I'll call tomorrow, I promise! ^_^; ]  
[17 minutes ago]

[**Zuko Kurosawa **- Look what the internet is doing to our generation. But seriously, I wish you two the best.]  
[12 minutes ago]

[**Aang Leekpai **- thanks!]  
[4 minutes ago]

[**Katara Kesuk **- Mai Chiao Zuko Kurosawa We should go on a double date sometime. =) ]  
[Moments ago]

_Fwumph._

Katara's attention was pulled from her screen to the bed to her left, across the room. Toph had thrown herself down, face-first into her pillow.

"How are you doing?" asked Katara gently.

A hummed 'I dunno' drizzled out from underneath the pillow. Stepping through her trepidation, Katara crossed the sea of uncomfortable tension and sat down on the edge of Toph's bed.

"Toph?" she probed.

Toph rolled over onto her side, her eyes guarded by tangles of damp black.

"What?" she sighed out.

"Talk to me," Katara eased, extending her hand. Toph's shoulder immediately flinched and shrugged it off.

"Talk about _what_?" she grumbled. "'Bout how you stole my boyfriend from under my nose?"

_Ugh_, here it was...

"Tch," a tiny laugh in spite of herself came from Toph. "More like, how I _lost _my boyfriend..."

With no sense of what direction this was heading in, Katara remained still and quiet, just letting her roommate go on.

"Why do you guys keep insisting on pulling me around?"

"Huh...?"

"I'm a _bitch, _I don't give a shit, I say whatever I want, and you _still_ want me nearby? Still want my 'friendship'? The fuck is _wrong _with you?"

"Toph, you...-" Katara's impulse was to react in irritation but she calmed herself. "You keep _saying _you don't care, but we both know that's not true..."

A few seconds of quiet reflection. Toph scratched her nose with no reply.

"I mean, we have our limits, Toph - everyone does - but we're your friends...so when you make mistakes, we're going to forgive you."

A puff of air from Toph's lips. She rubbed a finger at her eye.

"You think _Aang _forgives me...?" she darkly contemplated.

"Toph, _yes, _of course he does...He told you that."

"Yea, but...I don't get what he wants from me."

"He wants to keep being your friend."

"I _know, _that's...what I don't _get_." Toph sat up, cross-legged, and scooted back against the wall, hands drooped into her lap. "Guys don't ever want to go back to just being friends, Katara, they move on."

Yet another reason why Aang was different than most guys, Katara decided.

"Well...Obviously, Aang thinks you're worth it to stay friends with."

"Fff. I don't have a goddamm clue _why_." Toph could feel of the thin shoulder straps of her tanktop slipping down her arm, and she pulled it back into place with impatience.

"Because he _loves _you, Toph..."

"Yea, loves me _so much, _breaks my fuckin' heart and jumps on the next girl over..."

"_Toph, _please stop it," Katara stamped down on Toph's immaturity. "We've done this crap enough times. I'm not in the mood for it, and I _really _don't think you are, either..."

Toph's scowl worsened, dialing up its ferocity as she squirmed, scrunching her blanket between her bare toes.

"You know, _I _love you, too. Now...Come on, Toph. _Talk _to me..." Katara slide across the bed, planting her back on the wall right next to Toph. "What are you _really _thinking?"

_That...you're a whore, and...you took him away from me...And you all are stupid, and...**Arghhh**..._

Toph's body twitched in surprise when Katara's soft hand settled on her rough, calloused one. Her fingers tightened, balling into a fist in an effort to resist.

"Huh?" Katara verbally prodded, her hand remaining fixated on Toph's.

Toph could feel her eyes watering up, that familiar rising motion of tears that she'd gotten so used to suppressing. Everything she'd been feeling minutes before, outside, hammered at her mind like pounding rain wind-whipped in a hurricane. The confusion, the pain, the anger, the loss, the regret, the hopelessness, the loneliness...

_I'm tired. So...tired..._

A stifled "_Guh_" was the only answer Toph could vocalize as her hand rotated to let their fingers lock together. She welcomed the physical contact - the comfort. That reassurance, that security of skin - the comradery, the care...The proof of concept that someone _gave a fuck_ about her after all the trouble she'd caused. Toph's eyelids were heavy, and tiny rivulets of water seeped down her cheeks. She sniffled, wiping at them drearily with her free hand.

"It's all right," Katara whispered. "Go ahead. Let all that stuff out." Plain, simple words, spoken like a big sister she'd never had. Like a _mother _she had never had...

Teeth grit and cheeks burning, Toph slumped to her right, letting her head sag onto Katara's shoulder. The texture of fuzzy pajamas tickled her face, the faint remnants of some kind of perfume lingered from the girl's neck, no doubt something she'd worn for Aang. Toph never wore smelly stuff for Aang. Did he _like _smelly stuff? _She _liked smelly stuff...he'd worn some for her sometimes...but she'd never really thought much to do the same.

She just never really thought much of everyone else, did she? Ugh. So stupid...No wonder Aang liked Katara, she was always thinking of everyone else, even her bratty, bitchy roommate...

Toph was especially grateful for it, though - that which she often chastised Katara for.

Toph's back was enveloped by one arm, while the other let go of the blind girl's hand and covered the other side, both hands meeting at Toph's bare shoulder.

"Why am I so fucking stupid?" Toph squeaked out at last. "It's like I..._want _to be alone, but...but I _don't_ want to be alone..."

Katara smiled faintly at Toph's hormonal state while Toph continued to ramble.

"I don't...even make _sense_," bemoaned Toph over herself, her eyes wide and brows arced low.

"Nope, you really don't sometimes, Hun," Katara chuckled, rubbing her thumbs over Toph's shoulder.

"Just...fucking...auuughhh..." Toph's eyes slammed shut as more water poured out from her face. She grasped hands over Katara's waist, offering a hug of gratitude. "Hurts so much," she grumbled through clenched teeth. "Don't...know what the h-hell I'm do...doing..." Agh, damnit, and now she was sniffling like a baby. Fuck it. She didn't even care anymore.

"I know," Katara's calming voice anchored her. "It's OK..."

"H-how do you...ffffucking put uh-_up _with...mm-me?"

Katara placed her forehead on Toph's temple as her own emotions swelled across.

"Same way Sokka puts up with _me_, Hun - just looking out for my little sister...'Cuz I love her. You know?"

Katara had referred to Toph as a 'little sister' a couple of times before...but Toph had never felt like she actually understood how Katara _meant it _until that moment, held in the arms of someone who simply wanted to be there, a shoulder to cry on, a voice of reason in a storm of doubt and guilt. Was this what having an older sister was like? Was this what having a _mother _was supposed to be like?

"Th-thanks," eked out Toph, her brain melted into a puddle by now. All of this emotional strain and suppression getting squeezed out...it felt like playing so many of her 'therapy songs,' all at once. "Sssorry, I'm...acting ah-all mess...messed up..."

"It's _fine, _Hun. Just let everything out."

Toph took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself, end the sobbing. A moment of peace.

Nope. Still more shit there needing to come out. Her face contorted with sorrow as she cried out more of the anguish and rage, folding over and dropping head into Katara's lap. Arms curled in, knees tight, she lay in almost a fetal position, the soft pajama pants on warm flesh a soothing pillow. Her skull tingled as Katara's delicate fingers ran through her hair, straightening out what was no-doubt a disaster. It was..._nice, _she had to admit: someone there to straighten it out for the sake of _wanting _to, not out of pity or obligation.

Toph's breath kept skipping and choking as the drops kept rolling off her face.

She didn't even know what else to say, but did it matter? Katara already knew. She understood. That was...what Katara was _always _doing - trying to understand, trying to patch up the holes. Toph felt like such an idiot. She'd had this person here, all along, who stuck by her even when she was so cruel and inconsiderate...and she'd just been too stubborn to accept the support.

Maybe her struggle for complete independence was overrated.

A few minutes of intimate serenity slipped by as Toph let Katara's physical gestures quell her exhausted state.

Katara, in the meantime, was observing how what she'd feared to be an exploding volcanic eruption was more of a massive flow of magma bubbling out and spilling off down the sides.

"I'm done," Toph said at last when her trembling had settled down.

"Oh..." Katara's hands lifted.

"No, no," Toph giggled. "That was-...No, that's nice, you can...keep doing that." Katara laughed, too, and went back to petting Toph's head. "Yea, that's the stuff," Toph encouraged the gesture.

"So...What do you mean, then?"

"Oh, I'm-...I meant, like...I'm done being a bitch."

"Haha, no offense, Hun, but I feel like that's just...part of who you are," Katara teased.

"OK, _yea, _but...you know what I mean."

"I do..."

"I can't...do this. Being a loner, and...and all that shit. I guess...maybe I'm not so independent like I thought..."

"Toph, you know...having people here for you, that doesn't mean you're not strong, or that you can't be who you want to be."

"Mm..." Toph was still unsure about that idea. She just cried like a little child in her friend's lap. That wasn't strong. That couldn't be.

"But do you get it, now?" Katara wondered.

"What's that?"

"That I'm not going anywhere. That you're stuck with me."

Toph smiled brightly.

"Yea."

"And I know the others feel the same way, Toph...We all have been missing our little Mudslug."

"Heh. I've been...missing my Fussybritches."

"Hee. Well, now we just need to get you back with everyone else."

Toph savored that idea, like imagining the taste of a rich dessert she hadn't had in so long. And then she hit a clump of sour.

"But...isn't everyone still _mad _at me?" Toph mumbled. "Like...I've been a total tool. They _should _be, so, like...what do I _do_?"

"We'll...figure that out," Katara decided, acknowledging the validity of Toph's doubt. "It'll be all right, Toph, I promise."

Toph sighed with some relief. 'It'll be all right, I promise.' Those words kept echoing, filling her with confidence. Toph knew that with Katara in her corner, it _would _be all right, because if there was anyone as stubborn as she was...it was Katara. That mutual trait would be beneficial here, wouldn't it?

"Feeling better now?" Katara asked, her voice warm and glowing.

"Mm-hm," Toph hummed out pleasantly, still enjoying fingers running over her head.

"See? You had a breakdown, and you didn't die," teased Katara.

"I _know, _what the hell? It's like I'm...maybe a normal human _being _or something..."

"_Ha, _let's not be hasty, now..."

"_Hey. _I will end you."

"No, you won't. You still need me."

"Mmm..._That's _true. Your usefulness has not ended. _Yet._"

"So now you've gotta promise me that you'll remember that I'm always here for you."

"Mehhhhh..."

"Come on."

"OK. _Gosh. _I promise...But now you need another nickname."

"Huh?"

"This is, like...a big step here, Katara, come _on. _That means you need another name."

"Uhh...Ooookay?" Katara snickered, baffled with her roommate's insistence on this habit. She was just as bad as Sokka. Maybe even worse.

"Uhh...So, lessee...erm...-"

"Drawin' a blank, huh?"

"Nah, no, shuddup...It's just-...Okay. We're gonna go with Sister-Face."

"_What_?"

"Oh, don't throw a tantrum about it."

"You know, adding the word 'face' at the end of things wears thin after a while," said Katara with a sly grin. Her logic concluded that Toph was really aiming for 'Sister' or 'Big Sis' but simply was too stubborn to let that be it.

"So sue me, I'm lazy," Toph confessed. "Unless you'd rather I stick with _Fussybritches_."

"Haha, no, that's...fine."

"Yea, see? So...deal with it, Sister-Face."

"I will."

"By the way..."

"Yea?"

"I love you, too, Katara. I needed..._this_. So, thanks..."

"Always."

* * *

**A/N: Song lyrics are by Superchick, _Stand In the Rain._ Here's some more recent SRU art that's relevant to this chapter.**

**http:/kawayui-kage(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Stand-in-the-Rain-WIP-255311772**  
**http:/eevee445(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/late-night-fight-What-I-Learned-at-SRU-279483806**  
**http:/kawayui-kage(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Idle-State-279268508**


	71. My Town

**A/N: It's been a big month for SRU - lots of big chapters lately that focus on themes that have been building for a long time. The first issue of The Promise, and some leaks of Legend of Korra (which you can be sure have played their part in inspiring this chapter. There's been a lot of great new SRU artwork as well, and I've also received a lot of support of all kinds, a bunch of you guys crawling out of the wordwork to say 'hi' and leave some feedback, and I've been the recipient of much generosity from some of you superfans, for which I am quite grateful. Thank you so much - you guys know who you are and are humble about it, too. ;) I'm extremely grateful.**

**I put together a video blog analyzing the main characters I write about within the series. I plan on doing a Part 2 that is SRU focused later. Feel free to e-mail any questions to D3stiny(dot)Sm4shergmail(dot)com and if I get enough questions I'd be happy to do a Q&A vlog for you guys. =)  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=mljzVVerD4s  
**

**Also, guys, SOPA. This shit is serious. If you still haven't sat down and looked into it and _why _you should be concerned. DO SO. If SOPA passes things like FF dotnet may not be able to exist anymore.  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=9h2dF-IsH0I  
http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=EBy7yooz3MM**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 71 - My Town_

* * *

- Saturday, March 5th, 2011 -

Korra took in a deep breath, eyelids heavy, muscles sluggish and unresponsive. She rose from bed - a laborious task - and stretched. She scratched at her rear end through her plaid-patterned boxer shorts and trudged to her dresser. She was thankful to even _have _a dresser. The last person here had just left it, apparently. One man's trash was another's treasure, and all that, right? Pulling a T-shirt over her sports bra - the white one with the Canadian maple leaf on it - reminded her of how sore her shoulders were. Likewise, putting on a pair of sweatpants served to reiterate her aching muscles. She spent a few minutes stretching to help work out the kinks, then made her way downstairs, lumping her hair into a single ponytail rather than the style she normally fussed it into.

Being a Saturday morning, the house was quiet. Korra wondered if anyone was even still home sleeping, or if people had gone off to work. As she stumbled into the kitchen, she noticed the full sink of dishes that had accumulated over the past couple of days. She ignored it, opting to fix herself some sunny-side-up eggs and toast for breakfast. Peering into the fridge, she observed that the orange juice she had purchased a couple of days ago was already gone. _Grah. _She'd only had one glass of it, too. Whatever cockbite had drunk it all would get a fist in their jaw if she found out. Maybe she'd mark her _name _on it next time...

After consuming a rather unceremonious and quiet breakfast, Korra couldn't stand staring at the sinkful of dishes. What the fuck? Did she have to do _everything_?

Halfway through this task, her attention was pulled from the voice of one of her roommates.

"Oh...Morning, Korra."

It was Bolin. Rubbing sand from his eyes, he was in a bathrobe. Looked like he'd just taken a shower.

"No wonder the water got cold so fast," he mumbled, glancing at how Korra had the sink trickling out hot water while she scrubbed at the dishes.

"Yea, well...nobody's been doin' this shit and I was sick of lookin' at it," she snipped, taking his comment as some complaint toward her for actually doing the menial chore.

"Err..." Bolin raised a brow at her back, struggling to not stare at the way her brown sweatpants hugged her hips. "I was going to do them before I left for work," he meekly put out.

"Yea, well...-" Korra trailed off grumpily. She was tempted to call him out on this, dubious as to this idea. Bolin didn't seem to contribute much to the house chores, she'd concluded over this week.

"Seriously," insisted Bolin, scratching his stomach with a yawn as he pulled out a box of Captain Crunch cereal from the cupboard. "Don't worry about the rest, I'll do 'em."

Korra finished off the spaghetti-stained plate she'd been working on, wondering to herself if it was a good idea to give him the chance to be lazy and not finish the task.

"Nah, I've got it," she concluded after a moment's thought. He'd just fuck it up, anyway.

Bolin laughed through his nostrils as he poured his breakfast out into a bowl.

"You don't have to do everything around here," he told her. "It looks like you haven't been sleeping good...Isn't today your day off?"

"I haven't," Korra bluntly confessed. "And it is."

"Then geez, woman, take a _break._"

Back still to him - she had yet to establish eye contact with him - her expression twitched with some irritation. She didn't take _breaks. _She got shit done. No 'stopping partway through' nonsense.

"Listen, uh...Don't you have work to go to?" Korra muttered. "Don't waste your time worrying about me. I'm fine."

Bolin frowned a bit at her put-off. She'd seemed to be getting increasingly more foul-tempered since she'd moved in. It was disconcerting. He couldn't help but wonder if she was the same way to his brother.

"It's still a little bit before I go to work," Bolin noted, chomping down a spoonful after he'd settled at the small, two-chair kitchen table. "I could do the rest of those dishes, really. It's no big deal."

"I've _got it_."

"'Kay..." Bolin shrugged, shaking his head a bit as he continued to eat. Korra finished her task after a few minutes of silent work and retreated back to her room.

[To: Kitty Kat]  
[Yo. You said something about us hanging today?]  
[Sent: 10:48am]

In her nearly empty bedroom, Korra rolled her head around her neck a few times. _Damnit, _so sore...

_Knock-knock._

"...Yea?"

The door creaked open, and Mako's unassuming gaze scanned across her room briefly.

"Good morning," he greeted, seeming perplexed for some reason. "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

"Yea," she grunted out, rotating her arm around its shoulder socket. _Pop-crackle-snap._ Ow...Awgh...

"Ah...So, what are your plans for today?" The hell was this? These guys all wanting to get in her business - what was up with that?

"Uh, whatever, I dunno," she sputtered out. "Gonna go hit the gym for a while, then I'm supposed to meet up with my cousins later..."

"I see," Mako nodded calmly. "Good to hear you're getting to see your family. Let me know when you're leaving to workout. I need some exercise, myself."

"Er...-" But he'd already left and closed the door behind him. Had she _invited _him to come with her? Yeeea-_no. _She hadn't. He's just gone and invited himself. Well, whatever.

* * *

_Pap. Pap-pap. Pat-pap. Pap._

Korra's taped fists battered at the bag with swift motions. She lifted up a leg and struck it with a clean kick. Again. Again. Again. Then back to the fists.

The black bag dangled around from its chains, swayed slightly with each strike, her partner in a graceful, forceful dance which she led.

"Kickboxing, huh?"

Her stream of energy, her flow of physicality, was cut off by his voice. Breaths heavy and arteries pulsing, she adjusted the red sweatband on her head as she turned to face him. She nodded in reply, her ice-blue eyes on fire from the fuel of adrenaline. She'd been missing that feeling, having not had a proper workout in weeks due to everything involved in the move.

Mako was lifting handweights as he nodded back in approval.

"Good way to workout," he acknowledged. Like she gave a fuck what he thought about it. They blinked at each other for a moment, both faces glistened with perspiration, before Korra continued. She rotated around a few feet so he was out of eyesight while she went on to whaling, intentionally offering him an opportunity to observe her womanly figure in motion, which he obliged. Korra was fully aware that she had figure and muscle, and had no problem asserting that over any men nearby. In a way, it was her means of sticking it to them - taunting them was her method of establishing dominance when causing black eyes and bloody noses wasn't a reasonable option.

_Pap. Pap-pap. Fssph._

"You seem pretty fit to be working as a restaurant manager."

Korra paused and swallowed saliva, lungs growing weary.

_OK, yea, _thanks_, pal. Didn't ask for your commentary. If you're gonna admire my ass at least do it silence, eh?_

Mako seemed to take the hint - maybe he'd seen the subtle scowl that had formed on her face during that brief moment of awkward silence - and settled himself onto a cycling machine nearby. The gym got busier as lunchtime drew near, and Korra was relived to have time to practice without worrying about socializing.

After finishing up and showering, Korra waited near the entrance for her roommate to head out. Her hair hung heavy with water over her shoulders, which Mako laughed at when he arrived, only for her to snipe at his own hairdo and how it was the first time she'd seen it free of a pound of hair gel.

"-so it's refreshing to _not _feel like my eyes might get gouged out by your forehead."

"Heh, I see..." Mako went to open the door for Korra, but she scurried ahead quick enough to catch it first and see him out. A curious glance later, Mako picked on her in retaliation for her jibe at his hair while they exited. "So you're going to mock my sense of fashion when you wear _three _ponytails on your head all of the time?"

Korra smirked at his competitive sarcasm, ruffling at her damp hair, which made her head even chillier in the still chilled weather, the last remnants of winter still adrift.

"Touche..."

"And besides," Mako dryly prodded further, "I don't think you have any business ridiculing anyone's dresscode when you insist on looking like the _Fonz _all the time..." He tipped his head subtley to the leather jacket she always wore.

"Phss," she scoffed while they walked along the sidewalk. She studied his coat and the long, winding decorative scarf he had around his neck. "You're one to talk, Doctor Who."

"Huh?"

"Doctor Hh-...-" She could tell by the look on his face he had no idea what she was referring to, and rather than embarrass herself over such a nerdy thing she wasn't even interested in, she let it drop. "Nevermind, you just...look like a moron with that scarf."

"Hm-hm," Mako laughed gently, shaking off her attempt at an insult while he straightened the article in question. He bobbed his head up, directing Korra to observe the nearby restaurant, a local sandwich shop. "Up for grabbing lunch?"

Korra sighed out in response to the exercise exerted thus far today and nodded with a moment's hesitation.

"Yea...Sure, all right."

Standing by the counter in the small shop, they had a bit of time to burn while waiting for their orders to be completed. An overhead television was playing the midday news.

["-was a forty-seven year-old accountant who lived alone. No eyewitnesses have turned up in the investigation of this most recent incident in what has become a series of arson-related crimes being attributed to 'The Combustion Man,' and authorities have not divulged any information regarding the motives or identity of-"]  
"Glad we never have to worry about _that _kind of thing around here," Mako pointed out, drawing Korra away from the news report. "Guess that's one of the advantages of living in a small town - crime's hardly a problem, you know? Everyone knows everyone...that sort of thing."

Korra considered that notion - that Wayward was a small town - and couldn't deny that she had experienced more difficult people in a single day at her own job in the city than she had all week at the United Republic.

"Ah, good," she said with some facetiousness. "Guess I don't have to worry about being _raped _on my way home from work out in _this _town, huh?" She flexed an arm with a cocky eyebrow to Mako, who glanced at her, seemingly unamused.

"I suppose not," he agreed with a twitch of the shoulder.

As Korra looked at the ashen ruins of what used to be a house on the screen above, she pointed at it and expressed her opinion.

"See, problems like this? It's 'cuz cops gotta people _down_ on shit, not be afraid to put on a little pressure, ya know?" She smacked her fist into the palm of her other hand, and Mako cast her a slightly befuddled sideways glance. "Not just sit around waiting for guys in uniforms to do something about it."

"Erm...I...suppose," he muttered.

"Sometimes ya gotta fight fire with fire," Korra insisted. She realized the irony of the statement, given the burned building on the TV. "Uhhh...like, I mean...as a metaphor," she hastily mumbled. "But, like, maybe sometimes _not, _if there's _literally _fire. Like maybe this guy...-" She waggled her hand off toward the television as she let her sentence hang.

_Diggin' myself a nice fuckin' hole here, guy probably thinks I'm a loon._

Mako was relieved when their sandwiches, wrapped and ready to go, were set down on the counter, and he quickly took the opportunity to interrupt the conversation before Korra could try to pick it back up, take his food, and start to leave, thereby implicating Korra to follow suit.

"What do _you _think, dude?" Korra wondered as they left.

"I think that what you're proposing sounds a bit like anarchy. Vigilantism."

Korra huffed as she unwrapped her cheddar tunafish melt, its aroma tickling her nose like a lover on a Sunday morning. She chewed into it and savored the flavor - it was quite delicious, and the place wasn't as expensive as the ones she had been used to.

"What's wrong with _that_?" she asked, curious as to Mako's reasoning. "People standin' up for themselves, I mean," she jabbed in extra words, hoping to dilute the notion she was some whack-job.

"That's...-" Mako's expression twisted with disbelief as he shot a sideways glance. "Korra, listen to yourself. You're suggesting utter chaos. Citizens attacking criminals?"

"Survival of the fittest."

"We don't live by that kind of law in modern day society." Mako sighed as he pulled the wrapping off the edge of his six-inch turkey sub and chowed down.

"Probably why so many people are fuckin' blobs who can't take care of themselves," scoffed Korra, taking two large bites and filling her mouth. They both walked side-by-side, swallowing their respective morsels of lunch.

"It's not our job to take the law or justice into our own hands," Mako asserted. "That's what the police are here for - to maintain order."

"_Fuck _the police," Korra grumbled.

"...Didn't you say your _uncle _was a cop?" Mako grumbled, quite annoyed with her dismissal.

Korra frowned in spite of her own lack of foresight, swallowing another clump of fish and cheese. While Mako was confused and impatient with her temperament, he had to admit - at least to himself - she looked quite endearing with her childish pouty eyes, cheeks puffed up with food. Making herself look like an idiot had its own charms despite her wild claims. He sincerely hoped it was hyperbole, merely for the sake of discussion.

At last, Korra swallowed, having given herself an ample set of seconds to contemplate.

"Canadian cops are..._different_," she deduced, eliciting a laugh from Mako.

"Mm-_hm. _I see...Because...Canada is so well known for its..._aggression_."

Korra lifted a fist of threat.

"You talkin' shit about Canada?" she jibed in exaggeration. "I'll fuck you up." She glared at him, pressing all due serious as her lips jittered, barely containing a laugh. "Foh rizzle," she concluded, the edge of a snort falling out.

"Uh..."

"My nizzle."

"Heh, um...N-no, that's-...You can stop now," Mako assured, off-put by her mock-gangster words.

Mako cleared his throat through an awkward moment of silence, and while Korra finished off her sandwich, she took pride at what she interpreted to be a smirk on Mako's face - an achievement with this guy, as far as she was concerned.

* * *

"Shit, man, it's...like I gotta do _everything_ around here," groaned Korra, emerging from the backroom and setting herself back down at the round, wooden table full of guests. The United Republic was humming with steady activity this afternoon. The recreation room - the one lined with wall art Aang had spent so much time getting up - was busy with billiards and chess and foosball played by SRU students, a dartboard in a corner of the main area was occupying a trio of elderly gentleman, and a few others were enjoying some beverages and food around the group.

"OK, whoa, hey," Sokka said, flashing out his palms at her. "If it's your day _off, _shouldn't you stop working?"

Korra groaned, slapping her forehead while her other arm popped up.

"It's not _my _fault no one knows what the hell they're doing," she defended the meddling she'd just partaken in. An official assistant manager hadn't been hired on yet, and the one that the college had intended to take the position bailed out, leaving Korra to rely on a more experienced student worker till fill in as keyholder for her days off. She didn't like it.

"Whoever's lookin' after the place today seems to be doin' fine to me," Sokka put off her worries, sticking his hand out to the peaceful, satisfied setting around them.

"Yea, place look like it's up and running good," Jane observed before slurping on her tall glass mug of orange cream soda.

"Food's good," Toph offered a compliment from her edge of the table as she groped her hands around the second half of her club sandwich. and chewed into it.

"Yea, this stuff's _all_ right," Sokka put in his enthusiasm while stabbing a fork through his Cesar salad - it was healthy for him, and all, right? He wiggled his fork toward his bowl of soup while he chewed and added afterward, "And that French Onion? _Daayyyummm._"

"Yea, guy who's on today makes a mean soup," acknowledged Korra, kicked back in her chair.

"Place has a cool vibe to it," Jane muttered as she looked around at the various odds and ends that littered that wooden walls. It was perplexing to her, in a way, to see what had once been the Treetop Pub transformed into a place full of photographs and artwork and signs and all manner of paraphernalia. "Like what ya guys did with it..."

"Yea, it's...got, like...a 'homey' feeling," concurred Toph in-between bites, a hint of timidness hanging on her words.

"A lot nicer than it used to be," said Katara, smiling as she looked around, as well. She scratched Aang's back with affection as she pointed toward the room he had worked on. "And the art you did is so beautiful."

"Yea," Toph piped in. "It's...yea, it's...really cool."

She received a few perplexed glances at this remark, and while she couldn't actually see this, she could feel their presence at her own lack of thought before she'd spoken.

"_Uhhh, _that you...did it, I mean. It's...probably nifty-looking. And stuff...I bet..." Toph practically shrunk into her seat with embarrassment. She was going a bit overboard with the compliments, huh? Especially when they were one she couldn't physically mean. Katara smiled sheepishly with some pride at her friend's efforts and slipped her an encouraging gesture beneath the table by patting her on the leg.

"Yea, it really is," she insisted, refocusing attention back on Aang and sparing Toph more social awkwardness. "It's...so wonderful that you had the chance to do that," Katara continued to gush. "I mean, it's so pretty, and it's going to be there for...like..._years_. You know? I'm so proud of you, Sweetie."

"Omph," Aang reacted, his mouth full of pizza. His eyes squinted with pride as he swallowed. "Thanks, Sweetie."

"_Bleh_," Sokka groaned out, quite audibly, from beside Aang.

"Stop it," Katara scolded in a quick snip, leaning back to shoot her brother a glare behind Aang's back.

"I'm just _saying_," Sokka protested, arms flapping with aloofness. "If I'm gonna have to put up with you guys and your **oogies** all the time, you could at _least _put a little effort into petnames. Eh?"

Toph snorted out a laugh.

"What's with you and your goofy names for everything?" she picked on him with a smirk glinting from beneath her well-combed bangs that insisted on veiling her eyes tonight.

Sokka was not pleased with her jibe - he was still angry at her over everything that had transpired, most notably what she had said the last time they'd interacted. She was still on his shit list right now, and her weird efforts at trying to be all...polite, and bubbly? That wasn't gonna fly with him today.

"It's a _gift_," he replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm accented by a scowl that Toph could feel just from his tone. "You're one to talk, anyway, hypocrite."

"Heh, dude's got a point," Jane was quick to agree from her seat in the middle of them. She wasn't pleased with Toph, either. As far as she was concerned, Toph still had some making up to do before she could go acting like nothing was wrong anymore.

Toph's face jerked with a frown at their negativity - _Come on, gimme a fuckin' break guys...Please? _- but she heaved out a breath through her wrinkled nose and a moment later, the grump melted away.

"Fff...Yea, guess you're right," she conceded their point. "I _do _like my nicknames..."

"Uhh," Katara forced out the sound before an actual thought had processed - she simply didn't want to see the familiar cycle of cynicism disrupt anything. Toph had been acting pretty deliberately polite this evening, being the first time she'd been with the entire group in some while. During their long evening of realization and bonding, Toph had asked Katara for advice on how to work at getting along with everyone better, and based on how she was acting tonight, Katara was led to believe that for a change something had gotten through the girl's head. "No, we...we've got other names," she hastily spat out, pushing a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

"Such as...?" Sokka seemed entirely too interested, his attention hanging on Katara's words as he gulped down a spoonful of brown soup and cheese.

"Umm...-" Katara's face heated up with embarrassment. This was...suddenly very strange. She had spent a few times together with Aang now since they had started dating, and everyone present now already was aware of it, but...this was the first time Aang and Katara - the couple, the boyfriend and girlfriend - had been in a group setting like this, with everyone here and openly knowledgeable about the relationship.

"She's my Eskimo," Aang chirped with a dreamy grin as he ruffled the back of her head gently. They exchanged glances and for the briefest of moments, it was just the two of them at that table. That childishly innocent smile, those sharp eyes...She hadn't grown tired of them yet, and she wondered if they'd ever really go away. "And I'm her Penguin," Aang explained with some goofy pride, beaming as he put a mushroom-studded slice into his mouth.

"Oh, God," Jane chuckled with a pitying head shake.

"Uhhh _yeaa_," Sokka sighed, looking a bit confused. "That's...-" His head was tipped to the side, chin tucked in a tad. Katara was scanning his every gesture, trying to get a read on his reaction. "-...uh, well...At least you have proper nicknames, then," he scoffed with a shrug, closing his eyes in arrogance. As he went back to his food, though, Katara's watchful gaze noticed a small, teeny-tiny smile, like a speck of glitter, pass over him. He was pleased. He thought it was cute, but that wasn't 'manly' to think, of course, so not one had to know. Having reached this conclusion from her observation, Katara smirked and

"Ya know, Sister-Face," Toph offered from the left, "I, uh...I could maybe help with those nicknames...In case you're...ya know...lacking inspiration." She said it with a joking implication that the ones in question were horribly lame, but Katara didn't care. She nudged Toph in the shoulder as a means of slight retaliation, and they both shared a giggle.

"I think your nick-namer must be broken, Dead-Eyes," Sokka flatly expressed. "'_Sister-Face?' _Kinda lame. And lazy."

Katara saw Toph's lips curve down at Sokka's dismissal and she in turn shot him a frown in scolding.

"_I _like it, and it's _my _silly nickname, so that's all that matters, Mr. _Meathead,_" Katara defended, keeping her voice sugary but making clear Sokka saw her irritation.

"Well..." Bemused, Korra decided to cut off whatever odd social undertones were flowing around. "_I _think you guys are all idiots for obsessing over that shit, haha."

"It's our...stupid names n' crap," Jane told her with a warm, dry tone. "It's part of this crowd, Kor."

"And the humdiddles," Sokka pressed eagerly. "Don't forget the _humdiddles_."

"_And my axe!_" Toph bellowed.

"Hey, that's _my _line," Jane quipped, a bit relieved to see some kind of humor coming from Toph, at least. That was better than her fumbling over herself to be all polite and crap.

"Yea, yea, OK," Korra cut them off at the pass. She wasn't in the mood for their weird in-jokes right now. "That's great and all, but-...C'mon, guys," said Korra with some humor, stretching her arms out and flicking her fingers inward. "Tonight's supposed to be all about _me, _right?" She received some laughs and grinned with satisfaction.

Some time passed, and the building emptied a bit while Korra spun yarns of her move, getting acquainted with Wayward and her job, and some stories from back in Toronto. Eventually, a trio of men - middle-aged, it looked like - shuffled in. They were dressed up in leather and denim, a stereotypical 'biker group' of sorts, complete with tattoos and raggedy facial hair. Sokka was enamored - very manly, big buff guys, with motorcyles, no doubt. That stuff was pretty cool.

Jane, however, felt her innards lurch at the sight. She recognized these men. One, a thick, barreled Caucasian, had a balding head but a thick, bushy mustache and a beard to match that was tied at the bottom. The second man had bulging, muscular arms protruding from a sleeveless vest, fierce mutton-chops over his Hispanic face, and his hair slicked back into a rat tail. The third was a Native American man, slender and lean, his hair in a topknot. In particular, the third man sent a shiver down Jane's spine, as she immediately recognized him by the tattoo over his face, a rhino's head curving over his left eye. Likewise, the bare-armed man had similar body tattoo on his right bicep.

Jane felt her head shrinking into her neck, heart skipping a beat as soon as she identified who these men were. It had been a while. She had hoped they had disappeared after the big shootout incident the semester prior.

"That's why you always keep a Russian man in your corner," concluded Korra in regards to her most recent story. "They've got your back."

"I feel like you've told us this story before..." muttered Aang, trying to recall if this was in fact the case. Toph smirked at this comment.

"That's 'cuz she _did _Tw-...Aang. Haha."

"_Did _I...?" Korra scratched at her head. She easily lost track of these things given that she was used to working in a place where she was interacting with new people all of the time.

"Hey, _you_," bellowed the burly bearded man from across the room as the small gang approached. All heads at the table twisted around toward the entrance beside Toph, who merely tilted her head in interest. "You the manager here?" The man had a smooth voice despite his rough appearance.

Korra got up from her seat with a casual sigh, hands on her hips.

Jane's heart had woken back up and was pounding now. What were the Rough Rhinos doing here? Whatever it was, she was certain it couldn't be good. Her head bobbed, hands clenching around her knees, she hoped they wouldn't notice her.

"What's goin' on?" Korra asked with her stern authority.

"Are you Korra Kesuk?"

"I am."

The three men all studied her bold, impatient expression for a second or two, trying to make a read from a distance of about twenty feet.

"Uhhh...-" Her eagle eyes narrowed as she caught their stares. The fuck was up with _these _clowns? "Can I _help _you guys with anything?"

The rat-tailed fellow snorted out a laugh.

"_This_ is the new mask they're hiding behind, huh?" he scoffed at her, shaking his head. Korra didn't even have time to express her perplexation at this remark as the next one spoke.

"Nice hair," picked the top-knotted man, to which Korra flashed an indignant look.

"Yea, you, _too_," she reciprocated, annoyance at the edges of her words.

The entire table behind Korra was tense and silent, practically motionless aside from Jane eating her soup quietly, head down.

"There a problem?" Korra reiterated her impatience. "Somethin' you guys need?"

"We came to deliver a message," announced the bearded one. Korra rolled her eyes at this.

"For Chrissake," she sighed. "What? You one of these gangs I've heard about?" she dismissed. "For fuck's sake, cut the theatrics. What's your deal with me, eh?"

"The Rough Rhinos just want to make sure you know your place in this town," said the furry-faced man in a calm, quieted tone.

"And what place is _that_?" Korra replied, crossed her arms around her chest with some intrigue.

"Anywhere that's out of our business," he clarified.

Their eyes clashed together like two swords, sparks slipping out from the friction. She didn't know what these punks were on about, and she didn't give a shit, either. People weren't just going to be sauntering on in her and giving her crap, she wasn't going to tolerate that. Maybe she couldn't go and throw idiots in jail out there, but in _here? _This was _her _house, she was in charge, and she would resort to what she needed to in order to keep undesirables but asserting otherwise.

"Look," she snapped. "I don't know _who _you clowns are, or what you're here for, but I don't want none of it. So maybe _you _guys oughtta be staying out of _my _business, out of _my _building, if you're just here to pick a fight."

Katara was grimacing with worry, while Toph beside her was grinning with some excitement. Jane's gaze had finally lifted up, her olive eyes wide with shock at Korra's bold attitude. Was she _retarded? _Did she have _any idea _what she was dealing with here? These were the guys who had been causing the Freedom Fighters problems for a good while, the ones who had practically killed Jet - who had _almost _killed _her_...

"Korra," Sokka whispered from his seat, trying to get her to back down a bit. "What are you _doing?_"

But she ignored him, her glare steady and solid on this man. Some...what? Biker thug who was trying to establish his 'turf?' Nuh-uh. No way.

"Don't play dumb with us, girl," said the dark-skinned man with the facial tattoo. "We know who you work for."

Korra shrugged her shoulders incredulously.

"The fucking _college?_" she growled out, frustrated at whatever games they were playing. "Yea, _soooo _intimidating," she mocked, wriggling her wrists around. "Grow the fuck up, people. This ain't some damned _turf _for you to cop a squat at." She adjusted the collar on her leather jacket, seeming to be flashing her attitude with it. "Not some hideout for thugs or biker gangs. Get me? This is a place for everybody. And it's _my _place. So if you've got some beef, you take it with me - right here, right now." She stabbed her index finger down toward the wood paneling below her feet.

Sokka was scratching at the back of his neck with some fright at the situation, while Aang, too, was observing with great concern at what he hoped wouldn't break out into violence.

"Hey, Korra," Sokka called out, more loudly this time, rising up from his chair and going to Korra's side. "Ya know...I don't think these guys are really here to pick a fight or anything," he hastily spat out with some sheepishness. "They're...probably just here to scope out the place." He shrugged to the men with a nervous smile. "Sorry guys, this ain't a bar anymore, heh. I mean, they've got some stuff on tap and all, but...-" Korra elbowed him in the rib, and he stumbled back a step and a half.

Then, the moment Jane had been dreading happened. The bearded man - the one she knew by name as Kahchi, as she'd had some bad run-ins with him in the past - noticed her due to Sokka's activity, as she had been sitting beside him. Their eyes crossed paths with a dangerous glint, but Kahchi saw a fear in the red-head's eyes she had never possessed before in his presence. It was unsettling to him, as was this entire situation. He recognized some of these kids - that meddlesome Smellerbee that had caused him quite a stir some time ago...Jet's squeeze before he had met his rather...unfortunate fate. And these other kids, they were ones that Smellerbee had been corralling around lately. And here they all were, with this woman - Korra Kesuk. This couldn't be a coincidence. Mongke, their boss, would certainly not be pleased to hear about this turn of events.

"You don't seem to be comprehending what we're trying to tell you," Kahchi warned, his lips spiced with threat.

"Uhhh, _no,_" Korra objected. "See, the point is...I don't _care. _If you boys aren't here to relax like everyone else, then you can go ride your little scooters off to some place else and play make-pretend over there. OK?"

Kahchi's teeth scraped together, his jaw sliding to the side. So this was the kind of game they were playing still? Had Jet's death not been a bold enough message?

"Just what do you think you _are_?" Kahchi snarled.

Korra's eyes glinted with some ferocity as she advertised her fearless intentions, cracking her knuckles while an audacious smirk emerged.

"_Why _don't you come and find out?" she dared with a cheeky spark in her words.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=4fj5iIkQ-YE&t=1m48s +

**~When the sun goes down, the stars come out like the ghosts of yesterday~**

Korra had dealt with enough bullshit back up north, people questioning her authority, her strength, her determination.

**~So drink 'em down, 'Cause some things never change~**

Not anymore. This was a fresh start, and that shit wasn't gonna fly.

**~Baby, sing and get loud~**

Some old cronies thought they were hot shit?

**~We ain't gonna fuck around~**

_Ha. _That was funny.

**~When the sun goes down, let me hear you say~**

Kahchi accepted her challenge and lunged forth, pushing out his fat fist.

**~This is my town~**

Korra captured his knuckles in her palm, letting her arm slide back to absorb the impact.

**It's my town!**

A counterpunch to the face.

**It's my town!**

A twist of the arm.

**It's my town!**

A knee to the groin.

**~This is my town~**

She landed a swift kick to his head.

**It's my town!**

Tumbling to the side.

**It's my town!**

Head colliding with a table.

**It's my town!**

Body collapsing to the ground.

**~This is my town~**

Gasps of shock, a yelp from the blind girl.

**~The streets you walk give you a reason~**

Getting into scraps every week growing up.

**~'Cause it's all you got, and that'll never change~**

Never backing down, a bully toward bullies.

**~So keep singing that song and we can live forever~**

Excelling in physical education, undertaking training programs.

**~One little laugh for the ones who passed away~**

Scumbags on the street took people like Aunt Kya away.

**~When the sun goes down, the stars come out like the ghosts of yesterday~**

Anytime she saw creeps like that, she wanted to beat the hell out of them, rob them of any chance of doing that.

**~So drink 'em down, 'cause some things never change~**

There'd always be assholes in the world - she'd just be a _bigger _asshole and wipe them off the map.

**~Baby, sing and get loud~**

"Korra!" Sokka cried out from behind her. "What are you-?"

**~We ain't gonna fuck around~**

The hispanic man came next, and she was ready.

**~When the sun goes down let me hear you say~**

Before he had been able to draw too close, she'd stuck up her foot, letting his own momentum combine with her kick and stun him in the stomach.

**~This is my town~**

She shoved her shoulder at him, pushing him away.

**It's my town!**

Fumbling backward.

**It's my town!**

Crashing over a chair.

**It's my town!**

Arriving on the floor.

**~This is my town~**

The one with the facial tattoo came next.

**It's my town!**

A knife.

**It's my town!**

She charged head on.

**It's my town!**

Through his panic, she wrenched it from his hands.

**~This is my town~**

She pressed it to his neck, her teeth flashing with sinister pride at her actions. They'd underestimated her. She relished the embarrassed astonishment in his eyes for a moment before tossing the knife to the floor and grabbing him by his coat. She spun around, pulling his lean body around in a circle with all of her might as she let out an angry roar of empowerment. She let him fly, and he crashed through a

"_Woohoo!_" she hollered with gratification as she thrust her fists up, her breathing heavy. "Suck on _that, _bitches!"

No one else was cheering, though. In fact...wait...

"_Aaaaghhh..._" Sokka's voice, howling in agony.

Korra whirled around. Why was Sokka laying underneath the table?

"What the _fuck just happened?__!_" Toph shrieked out, hunched over in her chair, hands clutching at her stomach.

Katara was on her knees, inspecting her brother, who was curled up, hands on his head.

"He hit his head," Katara explained, trying to quell all of the commotion. "He's OK, just a bit bruised."

"And in _pain!_" Sokka whimpered dramatically. "_Pain! _Very much! So many of the pain. _All the pain._"

"How'd _that _happen?" Korra demanded, perplexed.

"You swung a _person into him_," Aang accused, pointing his hands out at her in disbelief.

Korra's mind reeled. Sokka had been nearby, but had he really been _that _close? She'd...knocked him over when she'd spun that guy around...? That didn't even-...No, how could-...?

"_Damnit_," Sokka hissed, his forehead covered by his hands. "Agh, _damnit!_" he repeated, letting his sister slowly ease him up.

"The fuck's _wrong _with you?" Jane roared across the table with raging fingers digging through her hair, infuriated at Korra's display. This could be very bad...

What was the deal? Sokka had gotten in her way, what had he been expecting, huh? She had just protected them from a bunch of creepy thugs who'd come messing around - it could've been so much worse if she hadn't stood up to them. Right? How could they be so ungrateful? And Jane, what a fucking hypocrite, like she'd never had to deliver a beatdown to anyone...

"_Seriously_," Toph seethed, trembling in her seat while Sokka continued to bemoan his minor injury. "The _hell _is going on?"

Katara, seeing that Sokka was all right, immediately placed a comforting hand on Toph's arm.

"Our cousin's acting like a _psychopath_," she sighed out, flashing Korra a rather disapproving glare.

As Korra scanned Aang and Jane, she realized they were all giving her the same look - and for that matter, the few others who were still in the restaurant were just as flabbergasted and appalled.

The defeated men were struggling to get themselves out, befuddled by Korra's strength - she was buffer than her hairstyle would lead one to believe. Her victory was kind of a flop at this point, though, and she couldn't really congratulate herself much when her cousins and new friends were all pissed off at her.

"I was...-" She tossed out arms to the grumbling men who were seeing their way out. "-...protecting you guys...from...-"

"Thanks for the _protection,_" Sokka flared out at his cousin. He wobbled into his seat after Aang had realigned it, and Aang administered a back pat. "I get that you love finishing bar fights and everything Korra, and good on ya, but this _isn't a bar._"

Korra was feeling shame sweep over her, and she hurried to the furniture that had been toppled, correcting it as a means of avoiding guilt for a few fleeting moments.

Sokka was right: this _wasn't _a bar. This wasn't Toronto, or anywhere else she had lived before. Maybe trying to take charge and establish supremacy with fists really wasn't the best option here.

Fighting fire with fire was pretty fun, but as much of an idiot as Sokka was, Korra wasn't too proud with having bumped him in the head.

"I'm _so _fuckin' sorry, dude," Korra oozed her apologies over him after she cleaned up the mess. As she approached, she was puzzled. Should she..._touch _him? Like Aang and Katara had? Nah...No, that didn't seem right. "I didn't know you were so close, and...-"

"Why'd you even _do _that?" Sokka grumbled with a sharp inward gasp as another pang of pain shot through his skull.

"What?" Korra grunted, baffled at the accusing sting of everyone's looks and words. "_They _came at _me_."

"Why'd you start shit with them?" Smellerbee demanded. "Those were some of the Rough Rhinos - the people who _killed Jet? _Those are _not _the people you want on your bad side..."

Korra's ice blue scratched against Jane's olive green for a moment.

"_They _came in here, in _my _place, stirrin' the pot. I was just defending what's mine."

"This place isn't _yours,_" Aang sighed. "This is _everyone's. _That's the whole _point_..." Man, even Aang was ticked at her, huh? That was unsettling to her. She didn't like that. Aang didn't get pissed very easily, but then again, he really didn't like violence, right? No wonder he'd be upset with her.

"O-OK, you're right," she confessed with a shrug as she sat down. "I'm _sorry, _all right? Guess I...overreacted."

"You think so?" Katara quipped with sarcastic irritation. She stood up from her chair. "I think we should probably head out for the night," she mumbled, taking Aang's hand as he followed suit.

"We're leaving?" Toph eked out, still startled by what she'd heard. Katara gently took her arm and eased her up.

Jane slurped down the last of her soup as Sokka, still grumbling inaudible things to himself in a daze, put his coat on.

Katara offered her cousin a disappointed stare for a few seconds, letting some empathy out with her frown.

"We'll see you later, Korra," she said with a more gentle tone. "Have a good night."

"Bye," Toph bid, still a bit confused as she was pulled along.

"Night," said Aang.

Sokka gave her no farewell - she knew she didn't deserve one from him.

Jane lingered a bit. This was disconcerting. What business did the Rough Rhinos have with Korra? What was the deal? Likely not good. It made her worried.

"Yo," she huffed out in a hushed voice while the others made their way out. Korra hung on her words, desperate for any kind of resolution. "Those guys? _Bad _crowd. Watch your back."

And with that, Jane scurried along after the rest.

Korra moaned to herself, elbow on the table, cheek squished by her wrist.

_Damnit. What's wrong with me? No fuckin' restraint. And what was with those guys. 'Watch my back...?'_

* * *

**A/N: "Fuck the police": http:/30(dot)media(dot)tumblr(dot)com/tumblr_lp0wiwzme21qe1ntwo1_500(dot)jpg**

**And yes, I paid reference to Episode 1 of Legend of Korra, since there's been some leaked footage.  
**

**Song is by Hollywood Undead.**

**Thanks for being such awesome fans, guys, I appreciate all of your support.  
**


	72. That

**A/N: I'm not 100% sure how many of you guys even _read _these, but! But! Thank you ever so much for the continuous flow of feedback and support. It keeps me going strong. Also, I've realized I could lower the price on SRU mugs, so maybe that will encourage some of you to get them. I cut out any profits to myself, so you guys are literally paying the base price for them (I believe it's about $7 or $8). You can find those here: http:/www(dot)deviantart(dot)com/print/20234520/**  
**(just choose "Mug" on the bottom right)**

**Also. There's going to be a book signing and seminar with Gene Yang, the guy behind the new Promise comics, in Berkeley, CA on Feb. 11th - I'm planning on being there.**  
**And there's also going to be a DeviantArt get-together in downtown San Francisco on February 18th. I _might _be there...?**  
**http:/hq(dot)deviantart(dot)com/devmeet/**

**If any of you guys out there are planning on attending either, please let me know, I'd love to meet people. I guess that generally applies to any of you living in the San Fran Bay area.  
**

**Lastly, some more wonderful SRU artwork keeps coming in. If you haven't checked them out, give it a look:**  
**http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/favourites/41510260**

**Once again, many thank-yous to all of you for your thoughts, support, and everything else you guys do. I'm extremely grateful.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 72 - That  
_

* * *

- Sunday, March 6th, 2011 -

Bolin cautiously gazed out of the living room window to see the forlorn young woman crouched over on the porch steps, her knees tucked in, arms crossed over her legs. A thin trail of smoke was dripping upward from her head, leading Bolin to figure she was consuming a cigarette. Thankfully, she had gone along with the house rule of doing that kind of thing outside. Mako was also a smoker, but was always considering of his brother's distaste for the habit.

Korra had been very quiet since she had gotten home the night prior, and Bolin was quite curious as to why that was. Last he recalled, she was going to see her cousins, so the fact that she had seemed down in the dumps since she'd returned had him figuring something hadn't gone well.

The door behind Korra opened up slowly, and she turned her head, cigarette loosely hanging from her lips, to see her roommate with two tall, silver cans of beer in hand. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot and dull, but Bolin gave her a sympathetic smile as he approached. She scooted to one of the sides of the shallow wooden staircase to allow Bolin a spot to rest beside her. He thunked down and set one can to his side, cracking open the other and sticking it toward Korra's face.

She raised a brow at him, and he smirked.

"You looked like you could use a drink," he explained simply. She gave a slight nod at the reality of that observation and accepting the offer. Bolin could feel his eyes sting and his nose tighten at the wisps from Korra's nicotine source, and she roughly pulled it out of her mouth, kicking what was left of it to the sidewalk in front of them and snuffing it out with her sneaker.

"Sorry."

A cough came out of Bolin's mouth despite his best efforts to contain it.

"Nah," he forced out, shaking his head. "No big."

Korra smirked at his slightly tensed expression as he tried to act manly in the face of the leftover gray wisps. As he opened his own can, she took a gander at what had been given to her - a lengthy silver can with a gold star emblazoned near the top.

{**SAPPORO**}

"Sapporo, eh?" she mumbled with an approving nod. "Good stuff. So you _do _have some decent taste, after all."

Bolin tilted his freshly opened can in her direction.

"Hey, gimme some credit," he chuckled.

She smiled and knocked the edge of her drink against his, and they both took a swig. Bolin sighed out with satisfaction before noticing Korra continuing to guzzle down a few extra gulps. She puffed out a breath of relief as she rested her beer-hand in her lap. Bolin's spine tingled as a cold breeze swooped by, and he was enraptured by the way the wind played with Korra's various tails of hair, like living wind-chimes.

"So, uh...What's eatin' ya?" Bolin wondered after their moment of solitude.

Korra rubbed at her drooping eyes and sighed.

"Last night didn't go so well," she confessed in a grumble.

"Why? What happened?"

Korra didn't reply, drinking some of of her beer. Bolin joined her in this endeavor, but remained intent on an answer. He probed further.

"You didn't get along with your cousin's friends or something?"

"Nah," Korra casually dismissed. "_Nah_, they're-...They're all right. They're cool." Bolin was surprised to see a tiny smile sprinkle over Korra's sharp face. And it wasn't one of those 'tough' smiles, or 'smart-ass' ones, just...a genuinely affectionate one. It sent another shiver down his spine, in the good way.

"Soooo...-?" he prodded.

"Oh, it...-" And it was gone in a flash as Korra's eyes went shifty. She took another sip to stall time. "Some punks showed up, starting messing around...Had a bit of a scuffle..."

Bolin's head reeled back an inch at this. A 'scuffle?' With this girl, that probably meant a knife-fight or something. She looked pretty OK to him...He'd seen her the night prior in a tanktop after she'd gotten home and readied for bed. Those buff arms hadn't had a scratch on them, her wild hands were rough and calloused maybe...And her face was bold and spotless, practically. If she'd been in some kind of 'scuffle,' she sure didn't look any worse for wear.

"What, like...a fight?" wondered Bolin dubiously.

"Heh..." Korra shrugged and scratched the back of her neck with some embarrassment. "Wasn't much of a _fight - _I floored their asses."

"_Ha!_" Bolin reacted in humor, not quite contemplating the potential truth at that point. "That's how it went down?"

"That is how it went down," was Korra's smooth response, with more beer down the hatch.

Bolin blinked at her cool, collected confidence with a raised brow as Korra stared out to the road before them, a minivan passing lazily by.

"Gave 'em a one-two?" Bolin jabbed out his fist at thin air.

"Somethin' like that," she snickered. "Fuck, man, I...threw a guy into a a table."

"Whaaaat?"

"_Ha, _for real."

"Were these, like, little shrimpy dudes, or...-?"

"No _way, _bigger n' _you, _Pudgy," she knuckled his meaty shoulder, and his humored expressed wilted a bit at the name. He _was _certainly stockier than he brother, no matter what he tried. "Oh, come _on_," Korra scowled at his ever-so-slightly injured ego. It was a little cute. Reminded her of Sokka. Though this guy had way better eyebrows - bushy, thick things that accented each expression he made with an earthy tone of authenticity. "So you're a bit stocky, whatevs," Korra tossed aside any excuse for self-deprecation. He seemed to roll off her efforts of cleaning up what hadn't been meant as an insult in the first place. "You look _fine_, Jesus," she huffed with a light-hearted laugh to enforce her intent.

Bolin smirked a bit at this and ran his hand across his head with some amount of relief. Korra found herself appreciating the funny way that one bit of hair seemed to keep flopping out over his forehead no matter what the guy seemed to do with it.

"But naw, man," she went on, finding herself uncomfortable with the odd tension that Bolin was _clearly _just fine with based on the way his face was pinkening. "Like, we're talkin' three rolly-polly biker thugs, right? Like, mid-life crisis kinda guys." She sucked down another swig, slamming the can beside her as she mimicked her previous actions with her arms. "One comes at me, I take him down. Pow. Pow. _Wham. _Second comes at me with a knife - no fuckin' lie - I knock from his hands - _bam. _Third guy, I'm like, '_Fuck this shit,_' grab 'im, swim him around, _whoosh, __kaburfff._ Down for the count."

"_What?_" Bolin was exceedingly doubtful. "I want proof."

"Psh. Why don't you ask Sokka, then?" Korra dared. Her expression became sullen and she retreated to her alcohol again. "Fuckin' whacked the idiot in the head with all that flailing around..."

"Huh...?"

"Sokka," she grunted, a bit impatient with having to reiterate her mistake. "He...kinda got in the way, and...I hurt him a bit."

"You...Hurt him 'a bit.' So, like...is he..._OK?_"

"Tss! That moron's _never_ OK," Korra joked. More beer. "But...errm...Naw, I...-" She tousled at her back ponytail for a moment of regret. "He's _fine, _I just...gave him a bump on the head. Maybe."

"Ah," Bolin nodded, those intriguing, furry brows settled downward. "So...Kinda creeped them out a bit..."

"_Yeeeaa_..."

"That's too bad...Sounds like you kicked some ass, though."

"Yea, but...also kicked the wrong _kind _of 'ass,' too."

"Meh. You apologized and crap, right?"

"_Obviously._"

"Just _saying_...They'll be cool with you later, just...give it time."

"Mm..." Korra nodded thoughtfully. She caught a glance of Bolin ogling her-...Oh, wait. He was staring at her profile, a bit, huh? Her face. Heh, damn straight, silly fool could appreciate beauty when he saw it, at least. She could give him credit for _that, _since he had asked for some earlier. Plus, he knew that beer was her comfort food. So that was pretty nice, too.

And like his brother, he seemed to know when was a good time to shut up, which was the case at that very moment - finishing off beer, soaking in the afternoon sun as the weather desperately struggled to shift gears into spring.

_Sritcha-skritch. Skirrritch.  
_"_Yar-yarp! Yarp! Yawwwrp!_"

Korra flinched from her relaxed state at the sounds of her puppy clawing at the door. Poor Naga, they'd left the girl trapped inside by herself. She scurried to the door, careful to not let the frisky dog run wild before attached her leash.

"Yea, yea, I get it, time for a shit," she laughed to her overactive puppy, who was flopping all around, tripping on Korra's sneakers, whimpering with impatience. As the front door opened, Naga went flying out, and Bolin leaned wildly to the side as Naga tossed aside an empty can, fleeing for the yard. Korra giggled at the silly creature and looked down at Bolin while her dog did her business in the grass. She felt some guilt in that moment, that she was so wrapped up in stuff with this new life, she wasn't paying enough attention to her new companion.

"Man, that pup seems like a lot of work," Bolin laughed.

"Yea, no kiddin'...Thanks for helping out, by the way," she remarked, thinking back on how Bolin had been helping care for the dog when she was busy.

"No sweat," Bolin assured with an flick of the wrist. "I've got a critter, I know how it goes..."

"Speakin' of which, where's he been at lately?" Korra questioned.

"Oh, uh...-" Bolin shrugged sheepishly. "Think your dog has been scaring him a bit, he's been hiding in our room lately."

"Heh," Korra smirked at her puppy friend while puppy feet scraped against the ground, finishing off the task.

_Already fending people off your territory, huh? That's my girl._

"Your little mongoose gets a bit intimidated easily, eh?" Korra taunted with sly eyes down at Bolin.

"He's a _ferret, _and...-" Bolin's lips squirmed into just the slightest of pouts. "-...maybe a little..."

Korra grinned at his cute bit of cowardice and messed up his hair a bit while she passed over him, adding a few more bits of unkempt hair to poke around his forehead.

"I'm sure he'll get used to having her around."

* * *

- Monday, March 7th, 2011 -

Korra's hands, balled in tense fists in her jacket's pockets, were shaking. She was missing her nicotine. Making a trip to campus during her lunch break meant no smoking, as it was forbidden on the school grounds. For her, this was a bit problematic, especially since she'd skipped her morning 'snack' of cigarette. It wasn't doing much for her mood, but she was stomaching the discomfort. She had to. Fuck, what choice did she have, _really? _She'd done family done.

"Oh, uhh...-" Sokka glanced at the small tome with intrigue. "Thanks," he muttered, still harboring a bit of grudge against his foolhardy older cousin.

"Yep," Korra acknowledged. "Sorry that I...ya know...forgot about it earlier."

"No, it's...-" Grah. He didn't like saying the word to her after how the other evening had gone, but..."It's fine. You've been...busy. Tweaked out."

Korra felt a slight tingle in her hands. Ugh. Tweaked out, indeed. She'd be fine, though. Probably would pick up a six pack before heading home, maybe watch some TV with the guys. Damn, that sounded...fucking fantastic right now. Much simpler, much easier than this fine mess.

"Seriously, man," she grunted out, facing the elephant in the room head-on. "I was fuckin' outta line, I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to ya?"

Sokka's stern, slightly confused expression went from her to the leather-bound journal in his hands, and when it came back to Korra, the top layer had shed off to reveal some empathy.

"Tell ya what." He gave her a smug wink. "You take me out to drink. Get me some booze, shoot the shit...And we'll call it even."

Korra's guts loosened with relief. She could at least count on Sokka to be reasonable. She flashed her teeth at him, canines glinting with mischief.

"Deal," she sealed it.

"I'll send you a text later when I know what my week's lookin' like," Sokka assured her.

"Cool."

"I've gotta head off to class now, though."

"Yea, yea," she nodded hurriedly. _Elgh,_ collegeclasses. Good thing she passed on _that _crap. No envy at all. She bobbed her head off toward the door of the ACC behind her. "I've gotta get back to work - don't want them settin' the place on fire, right?" They shared a chuckle, and this small gesture between them erased any remnants of doubt.

"Catch you later, Kor."

"Peace out."

As Korra vanished back to the town from which she now hailed, Sokka opened the book he now possessed as he wandered off to his afternoon class.

{_1/13/2011__ - Hakoda_}  
{_Ate out with the guys at work. Had barbeque. Reminded me of the day we had a cookout and Sokka grilled his first steak, but nearly chopped his finger off cutting it. And Katara_ _burned__ her first steak. I learned that day to be careful __with trusting the kids with dangerous things like that too soon. At least back then I had Kya around to keep an eye on them when I wasn't looking. But I guess now they have each other._ _Perhaps, time will-_}

Sokka's butt vibrated, distracting him from his father's handwriting. He pulled out his phone, tucking the journal in his arm pit while he walked.

[From: ~ Suki]  
[we're still meeting tonight, right?]  
[Sent: 12:51pm]

[Reply]  
[To: ~ Suki]  
[Yea...]  
[Sent: 12:51pm]

Sighing to himself, Sokka dropped the phone back into his pocket. Suki had wanted to get together that evening, and lately, whenever he and Suki got together, it led to arguments and passive aggressive nonsense he hated. But he was trying, here. Staying on top of his schoolwork, picking up extra shifts at Appa's, ironing his jeans, even. He disliked ironing enough, but his _jeans, _even, man. He was going to be this 'adult' he needed to be, or he'd die trying. Preferably without the 'dying' part.

* * *

"I just...can't comprehend why you won't consider pursuing something more _practical._"

"Oh, _yea_," Sokka snipped back, "And being in a _band _is such a practical career path."

"It's not a _career _path, it's my _hobby_."

"So...-" He spiked up his shoulders. "What? You're not gonna go anywhere with it? Just somethin' to do until college is over?"

"Uh, _yea_," Suki replied, eyes snapped open, as if this were common sense. "That's pretty much the idea between us girls, Sokka. How would that even _work _after school?"

"I just...thought that...-" Sokka's eyes wandered to his glass of Sprite, half empty. He was trying to hold back until their pizza arrived. "Well, what about Toph? She's trying to get into music."

"Toph's _blind, _Sokka," Suki huffed. "It's not like she has a million options, you know..."

Sokka crossed his arms over his chest with skepticism.

"So, then...what's with you and her going and playing stuff...at..._places?_"

"We've only done that once so far," Suki sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "And that's for _Toph, _that's...me helping her establish her own name."

"_Not _a Kyoshi Warrior thing?" Sokka double-checked.

"_No,_" insisted Suki. "The Kyoshi Warriors are just...something us girls are doing this year. Toph actually wants to make that - the music - her _career. _I want to keep it a hobby."

"So then you're making the Phys-Ed stuff your career."

"Exactly. Because that's a lot more _practical._"

"And me keeping my options open _isn't?_"

"There's a difference between 'keeping your options open' and 'ignoring what makes sense.'"

"How does it not make sense, though? I'd be perfect that kinda thing."

"That's _great, _Sokka, but you can't go putting all your eggs in that basket. It's childish."

"Taking the risky path - actually trying to _make _something with my life before I get stuck somewhere. That's childish," Sokka concluded, his tone conveying his disbelief.

"_Stuck _somewhere?" Suki quipped, offended by his phrasing. "Stuck with _me, _you mean," she derived with irritation.

Sokka swallowed hard, seeking relief from a sip of soda. A heavy silence fell over them as a pizza was laid out, and Sokka bided his time until the server vanished from their sight before clarifying.

"Suki, I didn't mean-"  
"I think you _did_."

Stern, eagle eyes pierced Sokka's like arrows.

"Every time we talk about this," Suki went on with impatience, "you always make it sound like it's be some _horrible _thing for us to settle down somewhere."

"I...-" Sokka was fumbling for words now. Even meaty pizza with delightfully fragrant scents couldn't tease his attention away in this conversation. "It's a little soon to be thinking of that sorta thing, though...Isn't it?"

"We're about to graduate, Sokka. In the real world right now - the one _outside _of all of this fantasy junk you surround yourself with - people have to go where there's _work, _not just...wherever they _feel _like going."

"Well, that's...not how I look at it," Sokka confessed, trying to bolster his words with some rigidity.

"I know," Suki sighed, glancing down at their meal. "That's what I'm getting at..."

Oh, jeez. That didn't sound good...

"What?" probed Sokka, fearful for what was coming next. "What are you getting at?"

Suki's face twitched with impatience, and she flung up a wrist as she replied as calmly as she could.

"That what we want with ourselves doesn't seem to be matching _up_."

Another awkward silence as Suki seemed to be scanning Sokka for some kind of reaction to prove her wrong.

"That's...kind of expected," said Sokka, attempting to explain away what her statement implied. "We're going to be looking into different fields of work, soo...-"

"I'm not _talking _'fields of work,' I'm talking about how we're going to _live. _Sokka, if we can't live in the same place, what's the point in even continuing to do this?"

Well, it was time for pizza now. Meat. Meat and cheese would help settle him down. He took a bite of a slice, then dropped it onto his plate as he contemplated how to respond. That was the question that had been hanging over both their heads for a while now. 'What's the point?'

"We can...work something out," Sokka grasped at straws. "Isn't that what people do?"

"They can _try_," Suki acknowledged with a shrug. "Sure, sometimes, but-...Sokka, I can't spend the rest of my life with someone who can't man up and do what needs to be done."

"_What?_"

"I have to hound you just to dress decently, and be on your back just to get you to look for work, and this is _school _still. And you're like two totally different people. One day you're all serious and thoughtful and...then the next, you're a...complete _idiot._" Suki's eyebrows twisted with some regret at her words, but she kept going, confident that this needed to be expressed. "And I never have any idea which side of you I'm going to be seeing at any given moment. It's...confusing. And frustrating."

Sokka was eating his pizza while he let Suki rattle this off to him. It was disheartening.

"I think maybe it's because we're in our Senior year, and...trying to figure ourselves out," Suki went on, trying to be more gentle. "But I'd like to think I have my future planned, and...ready. And you, Sokka? You don't."

"Sooo...Where does that leave us, then?"

"It means...that maybe we should take a break until you've decided what you want to do."

Ugh. That sounded...retarded. 'Take a break?' Did that mean breaking up? Or did that mean taking a step back? Or did that mean...something else?

"What does that even _mean_?" Sokka grumbled out, drinking more soda to fill the hole which had suddenly been opened in his stomach. "'Take a break?'" he specified.

"You know..." Suki shrugged, shaking her head slightly as she considered how to phrase it. "We back off for a while."

"So, like...we break up?" Sokka asked, words trembling just a tad.

"I...I _suppose_," Suki muttered, seeming unsure herself. "Is that what you _want?_" she asked testily.

"I...don't _know_," Sokka replied, his own aggravation building up. Did she want to break up or _not? _He was in no mood for flip-flopping around. "It sounds like you don't really want to be with me, honestly..."

"Not with...who you've been acting like lately, no," confirmed Suki. "I guess I thought that as we got closer to graduation you'd...grow _up _a bit..."

"Uh-_huh_."

"And you...don't seem like you know how to do that," Suki puffed out, deciding there was no use trying to be nice about it at this point.

"So, then, you _do _want to break up..."

"_Sure,_" Suki snapped quietly, finally taking a slice of pizza from the half that contained green peppers and olives. "Yes, fine. I guess maybe that's what I want, since it sounds like what _you _want..."

"Sooo...That's it, then?" Sokka mumbled out after a couple seconds, watching her eat her veggie piece. "We're gonna burn this bridge?"

"_No, _that's not what I want," insisted Suki. "I _like _you, Sokka..."

"...I like you, too," Sokka eked out with some longing.

"Yes, but...we need _more _than just 'liking' each other. If we give this a break, then we can just focus on finishing school, and...see where things are in a couple months."

"See, _now _you're making it sound like you want us to stay together..."

"I _would _like for that to happen," Suki repined with a curt nod before drinking some of her iced water. "But only if things are actually going to _work out._"

"OK, so..." Sokka squinted for a second, on edge with deciphering all this. "Lemme get this straight, then: we're going to break up...-" Suki nodded at his pause. "-...with the open possibility of...getting back together." Another nod, to which Sokka added his own, now feeling he comprehended what was going on. "All right, then," he sighed with some relief. "Then...that's that, I guess."

An uneasy minute of food consumption went by, both minds buzzing from the disappoint of their situation.

"That means we're still going to be friends, right?" Suki wondered.

"Yeehhhsss...?" The word rolled from Sokka's tongue slowly, with some confusion. Why wouldn't they?

"OK, good. I'd like that."

"Yea, of course."

"Right. So...-" Suki blinked at Sokka's forehead and the slightly purplish spot that she'd been wondering about. "-...you going to explain what happened to your head?"

* * *

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[Welp. GF and I called it quits. You could probably tell from my posts lately that I wasn't really happy, anyway. She obviously wasn't. Probably for the best, and all that shit everyone always says. :/ ]

[I don't get it. I feel like I'm supposed to be sad. Or heartbroken. But I'm not. I'm just...doing OK. It doesn't make sense.]

[And that, as they say, is that.]

[Posted on _Monday, March 7th, 10:13pm_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[**2 Comments**]

[**The_Blue_Spirit**]  
[It probably just means she really wasn't that special to you, or else you'd have more reason to be upset. That's how I'd look at it.]  
[Posted on ___Monday, March 7th_, 11:56pm]

[**GhostWitchMalu**]  
[what they said. ^^^]

[plenty of fish in the sea, and all that shit everyone always says. :P ]  
[Posted on _Tuesday, March 8th, 3:11am_]

* * *

- Tuesday, March 8th, 2011 -

Katara stared at his hardened expression as he flipped a page in his history textbook, seemingly lost in the words. She hadn't really known how to react to the news. On the one hand, it hadn't been so surprising, given how miserable he had been lately, and how Suki had seemed to be avoiding the group. Somehow Sokka had made their breakup seem quite uneventful. Maybe it simply _had _been. After all, Sokka _was _a very different person than she was - just because all of _her _breakups had been loud, messy affairs didn't mean Sokka was doomed to such a fate. She couldn't help but assume he was hiding the pain and the rejection from it, though. She had seen him try so hard to do all of the little things Suki had wanted of him. It must've been discouraging to still be pushed away in spite of all that effort. Maybe it was really just-  
"Ya need somethin', Sis?"

Katara's statue gaze crumbled and she returned his tired expression with a weak smile.

"I'm fine, you know," Sokka advised pensively. "Seriously, I'm good. If I need any kind of therapy session, I will _let _ya know. Promise. Uh-kay?"

Katara shrugged from her spot on the seat across from him. They were sitting on opposing couches in the lounge of the ACC, wrapping up some assignments after class while waiting for dinner.

"Sorry, Sokka," she mumbled. "I'm...worried about you, is all. I mean, that's...ya know, not an easy thing, and...-"

"I get it, Katara, I know," Sokka allowed her calmly, understanding quite well how she worked. He felt the slightest bit agitated that she felt the need to even explain herself, as if he was too shaken up to remember how she was. "It's fine. I appreciate it. Like I _said_: I'll let ya know."

"Right, of course," Katara eased him, nervous about ruffling his feathers. "I'm sorry."

"You're _good,_" he insisted with a sympathetic laugh. "Just...do me a solid and keep the **oogies **outta my sight for a while, OK? How about that?"

"Yea, definitely," she nodded in a rush. "You've got it...'_Bro._'" He smirked at this, his eyes already back to scanning his pages, and she took a deep breath, shifting her attention back to her laptop.

[**Skype** tm]

[Tuesday, March 8th, 2011]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - bout damn time. i never even saw that woman's face.]  
[4:28 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I know. She was never really big into our group...]  
[4:33 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - screw that. sokkaboy's better off w/o her.]  
[4:34 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - It does seem that way...]  
[4:34 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - speaking of. you guys are still friends with that cheater?]  
[4:35 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Huh? =/ ]  
[4:35 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - pricky blind chick. thought she wasn't hanging w/you guys but she was there on sat.]  
[4:36 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Oh...Yes, for a while, but...things are getting better.]  
[4:36 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - gotcha. that's weird.]  
[4:37 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Weird? What do you mean?]  
[4:38 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - seems so awkward after everything. dating your roommate's ex-bf and you're still friends?]  
[4:39 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Well...Yea...=( Why not?]  
[4:39 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - heh. you're just as stubborn as she is.]  
[4:39 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I guess so. ^_^; Sometimes that's good, though.]  
[4:40 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - i can dig it.]  
[4:40 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Foh rizzel?]  
[4:41 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - mah nizzol.]  
[4:41 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - =P ]  
[4:42 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - B) ]  
[4:42 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - =B ]  
[4:42 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - ;D ]  
[4:42 pm]

[_Kool_Kanuck_Kesuk_ - oops. back to work and shit. ttyl.]  
[4:43 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Haha, bye, Korra.]  
[4:43 pm]

Hm. Korra was a bit of an odd one, roughing people up like a bouncer and then being all friendly. The first half of their chat had revolved around how out of line Korra's actions had been, how dangerous things could've turned, and Korra seemed generally receptive to these complaints, which was refreshing after struggling with Toph for weeks - months? - to fix her mistakes.

Katara had been rotating between a talk with one cousin and another during this time before their dinner meal.

[_fortuneteller114_ - when shes redy she can let me know.]  
[4:36 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I think she's kind of nervous, or scared.]  
[4:38 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - good. she should be.]  
[4:39 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I really do think she's sorry, Meng. She's been trying to get better.]  
[4:39 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - that's good an stuff but i haven't seen it. she hasnt been tryin with me.]  
[4:40 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I'm sure she will, though...]  
[4:41 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - im gonna wait until she does.]  
[4:42 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - OK, but...Why don't you try giving_her _a call?]  
[4:43 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - cuz i dont wanna talk with her until she wants me around.]  
[4:45 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I bet she does, though...]  
[4:45 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - not enough yet to actlly apologize.]  
[4:47 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - I guess...]  
[4:48 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - ive got lotta stuff to wrry about right now. senior year, gettin ready for college..]  
[4:49 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Yea...]  
[4:52 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - when tophie really wants me back she will let me know.]  
[4:55 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - OK.]  
[4:57 pm]

Katara's chat was interrupted by a pair of soft lips on her head, and she instantly recognized the sensation to be Aang greeting her. Her shoulders pricked up as gentle fingertips trailed down her back, tickling her through her sweatshirt. She giggled softly and leaned back against the couch, reaching her arms up and grasping as Aang's hips blindly.

"Hey, there, Mister Penguin," Katara quietly cooed up in his direction as he bent over to give her a cheerful glance.

"_Ahem!_" Sokka coughed out rather blatantly from a few feet away. Aang's head tilted back up to Sokka, amused by his ever-present mocking, but Katara spoke up before Aang had the chance, seeing as how Aang wasn't sensitive to the context just yet.

"Sorry!" she squeaked out, her hands flying off of Aang's sides and into her lap. The motion was so quick, her computer almost tumbled out of her lap. She quickly typed into it.

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - Gotta go.]  
[4:59 pm]

"Why'd you even _pick _to name yourself that, anyway, Aang?" Sokka wondered.

"Huh?"

"'_Penguin?_' Do you just like being called stupid, girly nicknames, or something?"

Aang responded with a silent pause.

"_I _gave him that name," Katara sighed out. "_Me. _It was _my_ idea..."

"...Oh." Sokka's glance wandered precariously back to his book.

"Yea, 'n then I decided she was 'Eskimo,' 'cuz...Well, yea," Aang trailed off with an embarrassed laugh.

"'Cuz we're Inuits," Sokka mumbled dryly. "Yup. Ingenious..."

Katara noticed her laptop screen flash, and she finalized the discussion before slapping the computer closed.

[_fortuneteller114_ - have a good one.]  
[4:59 pm]

[_AquaGirlKatara_ - You, too.]  
[5:00 pm]

"'Sup, guys?" came Jane's voice as she approached, setting herself down beside Sokka, who seemed to hardly notice her presence.

"What's up with _him?_" Aang whispered in Katara's ear while Sokka continued to read, ignoring Jane's small talk while she discussed her day.

"He and Suki broke up last night," Katara explained as simply as she could. Aang was her boyfriend, and she trusted him - she wasn't going to be hiding stuff from him. Besides, the sooner he knew, the better, since now he'd understand why being cuddly in front of the guy could make him a bit grumpy.

"_Oh_." Aang sounded a bit surprised. "I thought they were trying to work things out..."

"Apparently not," Katara concluded with a shrug.

"-fuckin' _slammed _the table with his fist. _Duuuude, _he was so crazy," Jane finished rattling off about a professor from a class that day.

"Yea..."

Jane had grown observant enough to tell that something was weird with Sokka, but she opted to let it roll off rather than try and get involved.

"We goin' up to eat?" Jane wondered. "Or we waitin' for Dead-Eyes?"

"Toph should be here any minute," Katara explained.

Sure enough, after a couple of minutes of discussion - in which Jane explained the situation which led to her professor hitting a table - Toph came wandering into the building, carefully traversing the steadily more crowded campus center while students were making their way to where food was being served, like wildebeests to a watering hole.

"_Toph!_" Katara shouted, instinctively waving her arm in the girl's direction.

Sokka was leaned back on the couch quite far, the entirety of his legs sticking out into the open space.

"She can't _see _you," he flatly advised, to which Katara retracted her arm, cheeks sparking with some shame - it had just been a reflex, and her mind was in about five places right now...

"Toph," she called out again, leading the girl over. As soon as Toph's cane hit the side of the couch Sokka sat on, she set it down, propping it against the furniture and unslinging her backpack.

"Yo," said Jane.  
"Hi," said Aang.  
"How are you?" asked Katara.

Toph face wore a light smile as she worked around the couch's corner, hand grasping at its arm while she found a place to sit.

"I'm doing all r-_agghh!_" A shrill, squeaking cry slipped out as she tumbled forth.  
_Fump!_

Toph stumbled over Sokka's knees, her top half sent flying to the ground. She managed to catch herself with her hands enough where her forehead made contact and her palms scraped up a bit with rugburn from the scratchy carpet.

While Aang flinched from the sight, Katara extended an arm in an instant - a pointless reaction - and Jane jerked her body into the back of the cough, keeping clear.

Sokka, however, instantly snorted out a laugh at Toph's misfortune.

"Urgh, _shit_," Toph sighed out, on her knees, while Sokka pulled in his legs, still chortling to himself. "You did that on _purpose, _didn't you?" Toph darkly decided, pushing herself up until she was sitting on her shins.

"Wh-? _No way_," Sokka defied, at least trying to hold back the laughter now. "That's what made it so hilarious..."

"You asshole," Toph growled, flinging out her fist blindly in his direction, smacking his calf out of luck. Now Jane was snickering, jumping off of the couch to spare herself any risk of getting caught in the crossfire.

"_Ow! _Whoa, hey!" Sokka pushed himself up over the spine of the couch while Toph whiffed her fists into its cushioned padding. Sokka slipped around, nearly falling onto his back but sloppily managed to catch himself, limbs flailing every which way. And now Katara and Aang were chuckling, too.

"C'mon, where'd ya go?" Toph snarled, her initially angry tone giving way to a playful threat as a grin seeped across her face. She let herself succumb to the lighthearted humor at her minor accident. People laughing because of her was a lot better than being quiet and weird and grouchy, right? "Little _fucker_," Toph squealed, crawling up across the couch, still thrashing her hands about. She heard him laugh at her from straight ahead, beyond the structure she was perched on, and she leaned forth to attempt to slap him one, only to lose her balance once more. Her name was cried out at her, warnings cast out too late.

Her body tightened as she felt gravity pull at her, easing her headfirst. Before she made contact with the ground, hands gripped at her shoulders, propping her up just enough to catch herself. The meaty, clunky hands were familiar - Sokka's. Stupid oaf had grabbed one of her shoulders and wedged the other hand in the opposing armpit, preventing her fall. There was a loud sigh of relief from Katara off behind them, and then Sokka let slip one last, weak laugh at the situation.

"Geez, Dead-Eyes, gotta watch yourself," he scolded her with a humored tone, pushing her stunned self back onto the couch.

"You're a _nut_," Jane scoffed, giving her a pat on the back as she sat, stupefied. Why had she gotten so riled up in the first place, anyway?

"Are you OK?" Aang wondered.

"Uhhrrr..." Toph twitched her shoulders up. Sokka's hands had been lingering there, as if to ensure she wouldn't toppled over again. "Yea, I'm-..._pfff_," her face warming up with awkward embarrassment, she rotated her arms around their sockets to loosen them up. "I'm all good. But _Meathead _over here's gonna get it," she barked out, propping up her fist again in an attempt to shake off the strange moment of physical contact.

"I'm _pretty _sure you just demonstrated that trying to punch at things you can't _see _doesn't end so well for you," taunted Sokka. Toph attempted to jab a right hand at the direction of his voice, but got nothing but air. _Argh, _damned slippery bastard. "_Daaang_!" he squawked, his voice offset to the left. "You don't learn your lessons, do you?"

"She's pretty thick-headed like that," Jane pointed out, flicking a finger at Toph's left temple and smirking at the way the girl's body jolted from surprise. The left fist now sprung into action, but Toph lessened the force so that it delivered a soft blow to what she presumed to be Jane's stomach.

"Gulgh," Jane embellished pain, only to grab Toph's ponytail and give it a brief jerk - eliciting a girly yelp - and retreat away from swiping arms. Sokka took this opportunity to yank on Toph's ear. Another squeak, and more limb tossing.

While shouting and childish tomfoolery ensued, Katara smiled up at Aang, still standing above her, and her face melted into a dreamy smile, which Aang reciprocated. They kissed, Aang's head upside down, and then looked back up to see Toph, arms shielding her head as she laid in a fetal position, her body stuffed into a corner of the couch.

"Why hadn't I thought of this before?" Katara said to Aang while Sokka and Jane lobbed joking insults. "Immature acts of violence - _that's _what they needed to start getting along again..."

"You little _bitches!_" Toph forced out inbetween giggles. "This isn't funny!" she decried, eyes squinting as her sides were ready to burst at the seams from the laughing. "This is...cruel and _unusual _punishmeh-_ehhnt_! I'm _blind, _you dicks!"

"This is how we _show affection_!" Jane cackled with maniacal ardor, using Toph's own words against her, at which she gleamed.


	73. Poetry

**A/N: The first scene was written out to give story context to this wonderful drawing:  
http:/eevee445(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-At-the-Jasmine-Dragon-282007170**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 73 - Poetry_

* * *

- Wednesday, March 9th, 2011 -

"How much longer until you have to leave?" Zuko asked with nonchalance, thumbing across the glass screen of his iPod as he scrolled for something to listen to.

From the across the table, Mai grasped her mug of tea, glancing to the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter of the Jasmine Dragon.

"A couple more minutes," she advised with a shrug. Her time with Zuko this afternoon hadn't been as rewarding as usual, but this was a bit expected. She was admittedly in a somewhat short-tempered mood - hormonal cycles affected even _her, _after all - and Zuko had a tendency to withdraw when he knew that her 'time of the month' was transpiring. She did appreciate his means of being considerate after the fact, but during the process often found herself somewhat irritated at what she'd perceive to be him ignoring her.

Zuko, likewise, wasn't in the best of moods, either. He'd caught wind of some complaints from people who had visited the United Republic the weekend prior concerning some kind of fight that had occurred. He was wary about the details, fearing it to be have been started by the same troublemakers he'd heard so much about from his Uncle. Korra had seemed very apologetic about the whole thing, oddly - apologetic that she'd broken a chair, not that she'd reacted with violence. This, too, was disconcerting to him.

After he'd selected a track, he popped an earphone into his left ear, leaving the right one free to hear anything around him. The sound of a melancholy violin began to play.

"Ohhhh~"

He flinched at the sound of Ty-Lee, who was suddenly gawking over his shoulder. She was wearing her Jasmine Dragon apron, and had a carrying tray tucked casually behind her back. She had been aiming to take it back to the spot where dirty mugs and plates were left, but had been sidetracked by Zuko's device.

She lifted a finger, head cocked to the side with piqued curiosity as she ogled his iPod's screen.

"Is that Lady Gaga?" she said with some awe, noting the current album's picture.

Zuko's wrist flicked up at her as he scowled with embarrassment.

"_No, _of course not, don't be stupid," he spat out in a rush, immediately flipping his player to another album with a slip of the thumb.

Mai, who was in the middle of guzzling down the last of her drink with close eyes, opened one lid in bemusement as she glanced across the table.

"Then what _was _it?" Ty-Lee pouted, indignant at the way he was trying to brush her away.

"Nothing," Zuko grunted. "Just-...Aren't you supposed to be working?"

She frowned, lips puckered out with disdain.

"Ya don't have to be a jerk about it," she huffed, practically stomping off.

Mai sighed with relief, her liquid consumed, and set it on a coaster.

"It _is _Lady Gaga, isn't it?" Mai asked dully with a tiny smirk.

"_She _doesn't need to know about it," Zuko defended. Mai shrugged at this, not sure that she could follow that logic.

"If you say so..." She wiped some cupcake crumbs from her black pants and got up, stretching her skinny arms out with a small yawn before scooping up her mug and delivering it to the tray Ty-Lee had just set down by the entrance to the shop. "See you later, Zuko," she bid him off with the slightest of waves.

"Yea, have a good time," Zuko called back, still tinkering with his toy.

As Mai climbed up the stone steps to the campus beyond, she shivered, her shoulders bare in a bleak, brown shirt. It was supposed to be spring time, but it didn't seem quite there yet. At least not today.

She wanted it to rain. After she got back to Terra House, preferably, and get something warmer on. She'd love to have an evening where she could sit outside underneath the overhang in front of Terra's entrance, snuggle up with her Kindle, and while away the evening. The rain was therapeutic, the thunder as soothing to her as the sound of ocean waves licking a shore.

But, for now, a bit of time trying to socialize with some girls that weren't Ty-Lee was on her agenda for the evening. Katara had invited her over to her dorm room to spend some time with her and Toph. At first Mai hadn't been so sure about this, but Katara had gone so far as to 'theme' their evening as some kind of 'poetry sharing time.' Clearly, Katara had been paying attention to details in their interactions, and knew that poetry was how to get Mai interested. She was a bit puzzled as to how Toph fit into things, but she gathered that Toph was in a 'reformation' phase of sorts, and that some social discourse might do her some good. While Mai didn't really care for this one way or the other, it was no skin off her back. Zuko was being a bore today, anyway.

As Mai passed through the halls of Aqua House, she felt more like she was squirming around, avoiding the noise and commotion she'd encounter. Two girls sprinted down the hall, nearly bumping into her, dashing for the 2nd floor lounge so they could watch TV. Ugh. And there was some kind of gigglefit erupting from another room down the way. Mai was reminded of why she was a Terra girl: all this noise and 'community' wasn't what she wanted where she lived.

At the far end of the hall, near a corner stairwell doorway, Mai encountered an open dorm room where she could see Toph pounding away at a keyboard with precision, her ears covered by massive green headphones. Mai rapped her bony knuckle on the open door, and Katara, who was flipping through a book at her desk, craned her head around, smiled, and slipped a bookmark into her text, closing it and setting it aside.

"_Hi, _Mai," she cheerfully greeted, scrambling up from her seat and opening her arms out. Mai kept hers at her sides.

Mai was not in a hugging mood today, and cringed a bit at the way the girl threw herself out.

"Hey," she replied with her rusty voice.

Katara broke away and glanced back at Toph, oblivious to their presence in her music, it seemed, and nodded slowly, turning back to Mai and welcoming her in.

"_Sooo - _how are things?"

"They're...fine," muttered Mai, rubbing her hands together. They were still a bit cold from the outdoors.

"Good." Katara was shuffling through the shelves in her closet and pulled out a duo of ceramic mugs. "You in the mood for tea?"

"Nah, I...just had some, actually," Mai replied with a humored, tiny smile.

"OK." Katara placed a gentle hand on Toph's shoulders, and the girl paused, cocking her ear up to her side as she slipped one earphone off.

"Yep?"

"Mai's here, Hun."

"Oh, cool." Toph popped the headphones off, setting them on the keys in front of her, then clicked the music-making device off. "Hey," she greeted to no direction in particular.

"Hi, Toph," Mai answered from Katara's desk chair.

"Did you want any tea, Toph?" Katara asked.

"Uhhh..." Toph scratched her nose. "Shhhuuure...?"

"Haha, all right. The mint one?"

"_Yee_ah."

"Sounds good. I'll be back in a minute, ladies." Katara courteously nodded her head to Mai, two empty mugs in her grasp, and whisked away down the hall.

"What's up?" Toph asked, pointing her face to the area Mai's voice had come from.

"Not much," Mai answered with some apathy. "Caught up on my schoolwork, so..._that's _good, I guess."

"Heh, yea..."

A pause, both girls feeling pressured to keep up discussion, but neither knowing which direction to go in for a few seconds.

"So you're...doing better?" Mai asked.

"Heh...Yea, kind of," Toph mumbled sheepishly.

"Kind of?"

"Eh...Lotta stuff just feels weird, is all."

"Mm..."

"Like everyone's expecting me to...I dunno...be a certain way, or something."

"Heh. Yea, I know how that goes."

"Yea..." Toph didn't actually get what Mai meant by this, but was just trying to play along. "So, uh...Katara said we're doin' poetry 'cuz...that's your thing?"

"It's my 'thing,' mm-hm..."

"Ah...You write poems, or just read 'em?"

"Both."

"That's cool..."

"Do you ever write _songs?_"

"Psh, me?" Toph grunted as she sat herself cross-legged on the rough, carpeted floor._ "_Nahhh, I can't write for shit." She covered her blind eyes with a hand and grinned. "Kinda not my thing. I just play stuff."

"Mm. Sooo...Kind of like someone who draws."

"Huh?" Toph's eyebrows twisted with confusion. That didn't make _any _sense to her, especially with the whole...covering-her-eyes-to-remind-about-the-blindness..._thing._

Mai smirked and shrugged, proceeding to explain.

"Well, sometimes you have people like me, who write, and then other people, who draw - they give the words a visual form, so others can 'see' it. I guess that's like what you do. You take the songs others have written and actually play them out, give them...an 'audio' form, you could say." She shrugged again in spite of herself. " Mm-mm. That's how I look at it, anyway..."

"Nah, that...makes enough sense," Toph conceded, contemplating the thought.

"Katara was telling me you've started playing songs on your own, basically - doing some local shows?"

"Heh..." Toph wiped her thick bangs from her eyes and smiled with a hint of pride. "Somethin' like that. One of...my friends...she helped me get a local gig downtown a while ago. Said she had another one lined up for me later in the month."

"That must be cool. Kind of like a job - getting paid to do what you love."

"What I'd be doing anyway."

"Yea...That's great."

"Yea, it's...pretty cool." Toph sighed to herself, being reminded of Meng, and how her cousin had helped her work at pushing herself more in the first place. She missed Meng.

In that moment of quiet, Mai wondered why Toph seemed lamentable, but Katara entered with steaming mugs, tagged strings hanging off the sides. She set herself down besides Toph and slowly passed one in Toph's direction. Toph stuck out a hand, and Katara tenderly aided Toph's wrist to the mug. Once she felt that Toph's hands were securely locked around it, she let go.

"Careful, it's hot," she warned casually.

"Thanks," said Toph, whipped her hair from her face again, though this seemed like a lost cause.

Mai didn't like the prospect of sitting on the floor - there were three chairs in this room, right? What was the deal? She cast off her distaste with a 'whatever' attitude and set herself down to complete this makeshift circle.

"All _right_," Katara said with pep. "So Mai...You want to go first?"

"Huh?" _What's she-...Oh, right._ Mai tilted herself to the side, pulling a now wrinkled piece of folded up paper from her rear pocket. "Ah, yea. Uh...sure. I'll go."

Mai cleared her dry throat and read the poem she'd printed off.

**_{The Lake in spring of youth it was my lot_**  
**_To haunt of the wide world a spot}_**

A frustrated teenager with bobbed hair and gloomy eyes, angry with her parents but not allowed to tell them for fear of being shunned.  
Tattered sneakers making way around a fountain in the park, the trickling water a relaxing sound to her ears.

**_{The which I could not love the less -_**  
**_So lovely was the loneliness}_**

Brisk autumn afternoons beside the fountain, poring through books she'd lend from the library.  
Others ignored, walked away, mocked, and vanished; but words - oh, lovely words - they were her steady friends in a land of isolation.

**_{Of a wild lake, with black rock bound,_**  
**_And the tall pines that towered around.}_**

No snow, no winter, in this land - instead, a season of rain. Even on these days, she would retreat to her fountain, raincoat and umbrella in tow. On these wet days of solitude, she found herself contemplating her own ideas.

What could she say in written words that she could not speak? And how? And why?  
The words began to write themselves out across the steadily filling walls of her mind.

**_{But when the Night had thrown her pall_**  
**_Upon that spot, as upon all,}_**

Spring evenings, bitter and jaded. Notebook laid out on her lap. Where words once floated from book to eye, now they seeped from fingertips to pages.  
Foolish father, what did he know of her best interests?  
Silly mother, how could she pretend to understand?

**_{And the mystic wind went by_**  
**_Murmuring in melody}_**

Face stained with red streaks from makeup mixed with tears. Tears - such a wretched thing she despised, for they never came out when she wanted them to, only when someone else was there to see.  
At least her friend, unbelievably peppy and ditsy as she was, didn't laugh or jest but instead encourage the tears, teasing them out. It was painful and unpleasant, like leeches - pink, oh so pink, lace-ridden leeches - sucking out the poison.

**_{Then - ah, then I would awake_**  
**_To the terror of the lone lake.}_**

The devil girl, so cruel and horrid - taking pleasure in bringing pain to others. In one sense, it was admirable, the ability to control the emotions of others. It seemed that Mai's immunity to such tactics - paired with her cheery friend's complete susceptibility to them - provided the nefarious rich girl enough amusement to start spending time with them.

**_{Yet that terror was not fright,_**  
**_But a tremulous delight}_**

Days with Azula, tiring and confusing, yet periodically interesting. Their worth paid out in excuses to spend time with the brother - the moody, raven-haired man with pale eyes to match her own, with moments of cold frustration and flaming temper at his sister. Toned face, dry skin, sharply dressed, smelling of expensive cologne.

**_{A feeling not the jewelled mine_**  
**_Could teach or bribe me to define}_**

Sitting together on the cement edges. Zuko, at her fountain, asking about the notebook in her hands. Embarrassment flooding her pale skin.

Some of the words contained within - words about _him._ She couldn't have him know.

**_{Nor Love - although the Love were thine.}_**

His mellow voice, coaxing her to share the words in ways she hadn't seem him speak to anyone else.

Azula and Ty-Lee approach. Giggles abound. Mockery of the pages - of the _words._

**_{Death was in that poisonous wave,_**  
**_And in its gulf a fitting grave}_**

Zuko, rising to protest their jokes. Defending Mai's honor, so he thinks.

Azula, nudging his shoulders, tipping him off balance against the fountain's edge.

Mai, arms outstretched to prevent his fall.

Fountain water, splashing all over them.

**_{For him who thence could solace bring}_**

A mess of coins and wet clothes. The words, washed and runny, pages soaked.

He growls with anger and rises. Face boiling, fingers like a trembling volcano, ready to burst.

**_{To his lone imagining}_**

The day after. She sits at her fountain like always.

Alone for today.

Fresh notebook, furiously marked with fresh ink.

**_{Whose solitary soul could make}_**

Brain mashing out new words. New thoughts.

New _feelings_...of _him._

Confined peace she sometimes needs - all the better to appreciate what she has.

**_{An Eden of that dim lake.}_**

A heavy pause. Mai exhaled deeply, dropping the paper in her lap as she sifted her hand through bangs of black with red highlights.

"That's a pretty poem," Katara commented with some solemn awe. "Who wrote it?"

"Poe," Mai replied bluntly.

"Edgar _Allan_ Poe?"

"Yea."

"Is he a favorite of yours?" _Guh. I read the poem. Doesn't that say everything that needed to be said? Not in the mood for all the social courtesy, here.  
_

"Mm-hm."

"Neat. He...seems like your kinda style." Katara offered a bubbly smile at Mai, who managed to hold back an eyeroll. She got that Katara was trying to be polite and considerate, and...really, that was great. All the power to her and everything. But right now, Mai just was quickly feeling in the mood to not be here. She was getting 'solitude withdrawals,' a common occurrence during her period, and now only heightened by reading that poem.

"Anyway." Katara took a sip of her tea and smacked her lips together. "You _sure _you didn't want any?" She tipped up her mug in Mai's direction. The girl swallowed, acknowledging after her reading that she was still feeling thirsty despite her recent dose.

"Uhm...OK," she nodded once with a light smile. "Yea, I'll take some, please."

"Great."

"You have any Earl Grey?"

"Sure do." Katara got up from the floor, still carrying her mug, and took another sip as she made way for the door. "Be back in another minute."

Another awkward moment of quiet. Mai noticed Toph digging her pinky finger through her ear. Eulgh.

"So, uhh...-" Toph kept picking at her earwax while she spoke. "My poem's actually gonna be, like...a _song._"

_Psh. Big surprise. Kinda cheating, isn't it? But...whatever. I guess that counts._

"Ah..."

"You think maybe you could bring it up for me?"

"Huh?"

"My, umm...-" Toph pulled her ear out and wiped whatever had gotten on her ear onto her sweatpants. Blech. "My iPod, it should be up on my desk..."

Mai twisted her head to look - couldn't see from the floor. She got up and walked a couple steps over to the desk, seeing the scratched up device sitting next to an alarm clock.

"Should already be on the right song," Toph advised.

Mai clicked at the buttons below the screen and observed.

[**Juke Box Hero**]

She shrugged at this, being a song she'd never heard, and handed the device to Toph - who, naturally, didn't know to take it at first. Mai Gently set it down in Toph's lap in a slightly awkward fashion, confused as to the 'proper' way to handle such things.

"Thanks..." Toph grabbed it with her no-doubt grimy hands and clutched it like a jewel with glint in her smile. They appreciated a minute of respite - at least Toph was smart enough to appreciate some silence.

Katara came in, and while at first Mai was a bit disappointed at the sudden break in the thin ice of quiet, a fresh mug of liquid heat was welcome.

"You all set, Toph?" Katara checked.

"Yup." Toph swirled her thumb around the ring, turning up the volume, then clicked it to start playing.

+ http:/youtu(dot)be/c7tzi8wkYgI +

Family gathering at Gran-Gran's. Toph escapes the frustrations. Goes upstairs.

A deep, thumping rhythm lures her.

**_["~Standing in the rain, with his head hung low~"]_**

She's in the hallway.

Alone.

**_["~Couldn't get a ticket, it was a sold out show~"]_**

Adults in a room - no children allowed. The thumping still tugs at her.

**_["~Heard the roar of the crowd, he could picture the scene~"]_**

Laughing. Bottles clinking together. That drumbeat...Grandma's record player?

**_["~Put his ear to the wall, then like a distant scream~"]_**

Head against the door, ear pressed down tight.

**_["~He heard one guitar~"]_**

Awe.

**_["~Just blew him away~"]_**

Unlike any music she's been practicing.

**_["~He saw stars in his eyes, and the very next day~"]_**

Stealthy visit to a music shop with the aid of Gran-Gran.

**_["~Bought a beat up six string in a secondhand store~"]_**

A used Gibson that Gran buys her as a birthday present.

**_["~Didn't know how to play it, but he knew for sure~"]_**

She tinkers...It's tricky. Calloused hands.

**_["~That one guitar~"]_**

She learns.

**_["~felt good in his hands~"]_**

Fingers strike strings.

Strength.

**_["~and it didn't take long to understand~"]_**

_"You've got quite a natural talent, my Pickle."_

**_["~Just one guitar, slung way down low~"]_**

Gran-Gran's acoustic, given as a Christmas present the next year.

**_["~was a one way ticket, only one way to go~"]_**

The same one she plays on that stool at the coffee shop in college.

**_["~So he started rockin', ain't never gonna stop~"]_**

Strings strum - fairy dust flies from them.

**_["~Gotta keep on rockin', someday gonna make it to the top~"]_**

She wants to steal hearts with this magic - like a thief.

**_["~And be a Juke Box Hero - got stars in his eyes - he's a Juke Box Hero~"]_**

Directionless white eyes, glowing with determination.

She'll become the Blind Bandit.

**_["~He took one guitar - Juke Box Hero - stars in his eyes~"]_**

Blindness wouldn't stop her. She would succeed.

**_["~Juke Box Hero, (stars in his eyes)~"]_**

She'd show everyone how strong she could be.

**["~_He'll come alive tonight~"]_**

Suki is inside the bar, setting up for the gig they have arranged.

**_["~In a town without a name~"]_**

She waits out back.

**_["~in a heavy downpour~"]_**

Alone.

**_["~Thought he passed his own shadow by the backstage door~"]_**

Mistakes, regrets...They come to keep her company.

**_["~Like a trip through the past~"]_**

She escapes into the music, running headlong...

**_["~to that day in the rain~"]_**

...colliding with the wet, snowy sidewalk.

Broken.

**_["~And that one guitar...made his whole life change~"]_**

Grandmother's old instrument, her treasure.

**_["~Now he needs to keep on rockin', he just can't stop~"]_**

She could take on the world with that guitar in her hands.

**_["~Gotta keep on rockin', that boy has got to stay on top~"]_**

Chords became walls, keeping them all out.

**_["~And be a Juke Box Hero, got stars in his eyes~"]_**

Lyrics became holes, letting some in.

**_["~He's a Juke Box Hero, got stars in his eyes~"]_**

Gran-Gran had shown her light, even with useless eyes.

**_["~Yeah, Juke Box Hero, stars in his eyes~"]_**

Antiquated wood in her hardened hands.

**_["~With that one guitar, (stars in his eyes)~"]_**

_You'll always be with me in this guitar._

**_["~He'll come alive...come alive tonight...!~"]_**

As the song went into a wild solo, Toph grinned wide, starting to pluck rapidly at air to imitate the performance, but quickly contained herself, scrolling the volume back down.

She coughed a bit, pounding her chest briskly.

"Yea, it's...uhh...-" She didn't know what to say. Mai didn't mind - it was for the best. The song had said it for her - like all the other times. Toph was dead-set on pursuing her dream of being a musician.

"It's really fitting, I think," Katara approved.

"Mm." Mai had finished her tea already - soothing to her throat.

She watched Katara slide a consoling hand over Toph's shoulder as the girl's face dissolved into a vacant expression - the one Mai saw Zuko wear when the subject of his mother came up.

"Now _you _gotta go, Sister-Face," Toph pushed, easing attention away from her and any emotional leaks her roommate had been covering with Sister-Face duct tape.

Katara smiled, concluded their contact with a gentle patting, and opened up the book she had set aside from before, peeling away to the mark she had placed.

"'The Armful'," she read aloud.

**_{For every parcel I stoop down to seize}_**

A sympathetic hug for Aang when he's discouraged and hurt.  
A long chat with Jane about leaving the Freedom Fighters.  
Petting Toph's head, sobs and tears spilling into Katara's lap.  
Studying Sokka's forlorn face as he contemplates his future.

This is what she has reached for lately.  
Things are more simple now than they have been in so long. But back then...

_**{I lose some other off my arms and knees,}**_

Neurotic. Obsessive. Controlling. Demanding. Clingy. Dramatic.

"You think too much." _There they go._  
"You explain too much." _Another one leaves._  
"You inquire too much." _Still another - gone._  
"You worry too much." _But...It's because I care._  
"You care too much." _Doesn't everyone want to be cared about?_  
"You give too much." _That doesn't even make sense._  
"You ask for too much."_ I don't mean to..._  
"You love too much." _Fine! Be that way...You know what? Screw you, too._

_No, no...Even better - screw _everyone.

_No good deed goes unpunished, does it?_

_**{And the whole pile is slipping, bottles, buns,}**_

Freshman year of college.

_Why do they leave? What's so _wrong_ with me?_  
_I'm trying so hard...Why does this happen?_

_URGHHH. Why does everything have to be such a mess? I clean and I clean, and I work and work, and then one person comes and messes it all up!_

_Over and over again! I have to be missing something. That has to be it. Something is wrong with me, and I can't figure out what is..._

_What am I supposed to do?_

_"I dunno, Sis...Maybe you should try taking medication. Dad does."_

_"What? Wh-...Why would you even_ say_ that? I'm...fine. I don't need pills to help me feel better..."_

_"I'm just saying...You seem to be spazzing out a lot lately. Depressed and angry all the time..."_

_"I am...?"_

_"Always complaining about people. You act_ all...dramatic."

_"I do...?"_

_"Seriously, meds helped Dad get through his troubles, you know? Might work for you, too."_

Truth, spoken from her brother's lips - of days past, back in high school.

Father, slipping into depression. Isolation. Practically abandoning them in spirit, in mind.

_**{Extremes too hard to comprehend at once}**_

_Why did you have to leave, Mom?_  
_Why did I have to take your place?_  
_I didn't ask for all that. All this._  
_Why did I take it, then?_

Dad, always gone. Never home.  
Straight to bed when he arrives.  
Straight to work when he wakes.

Pulls himself away.

Years of high school. Caring after the house.

Always cleaning up after her father and brother. Keeping everything in order.

Clinging to whatever can be found.  
Friends come and go. No one stays. Not _really. _Not the way she needs.

Her only cousin, Korra...moves away - to Toronto.

Junior year.

Gran-Gran...moves away - to Nova Scotia.

Senior year.

Big Brother...moves away - to college.

Dad - practically gone for so much of this time. Years, taking their toll, sinking him into depression.

Mom - always gone. A wisp. A fleeting memory. A black candle, tiny flame flickering.  
Dad is like a wisp himself, for a while.

She becomes so jaded at the world that no one _wants _to be her friend, anyway. And why would they?  
She'd just scare them off, anyhow, right? Intimidate them with her compulsiveness...

_"You care too much."  
"Weirdo."  
"Who _does_ that? Creeper..."_

Graduation draws near. Hakoda's turmoil mends with the help of medication, counseling. With renewed purpose, motivation.  
It's a bit late, though. Sokka's gone. And Katara is going to be gone soon enough, too.

Tears. Bitterness. Anger.  
She tries to suffocate it all in his arms.

Hysterics.  
"How could you leave us, Dad? I mean...I know you love us, but...all this time...W-we've just been so _lost _without you..."

"I'm _so_ sorry, Katara..."

_**{Yet nothing I should care to leave behind.}**_

Graduation.  
Freshman year of college.  
Friends quickly made - lost just as fast.

Let them go.

_I can't. I just can't do it...How can-?_  
Let go!

_No! I won't..._

**LET. GO.**

_No!_  
_**I**_  
_**WILL**_  
_**NOT.**_

Fine. They _will_.

_I don't...care._

But you _do _care.

_OK. Yes, but...I already lost Mom. Forever. I'm not going to lose anyone else unless I _have_ to._

But people will leave. That is the nature of things. You have to let that be.

People come, and people go.

That is life.

_I understand why they leave. I really do. I know they have to go..._

_So...Why do I still _feel_ this way? I'm so sad, and angry...and _**hurt**_..._

_I don't want _anyone _I love to ever feel this...emptiness. Ever._

_**{With all I have to hold with - hand and mind,}**_

_I'll never, _ever _turn my back on people who need me._

_I know I didn't have to do it...I did it because I _wanted _to._

_Being part of the group means being part of group hugs._

_God put me on this planet to be good to others. To __do. To _act.

_Not to sit back and watch. Not to keep being left behind._

_And most important: not to let anyone _else _get left behind._

**_{And heart, if need be - I will do my best.}_**

_I can do it. Yes. Everyone. I can help everyone._

_We can do anything as long as we stick together._

_I'll keep everyone together.  
_

_I can fix everyone's problems. Who _else_ is going to?_

_No one else cares the way I do...Sure, maybe as _much_ as I do, but..._  
_ Not the same way._

_Not the way that makes people _act.

_Right?_**_  
_**

_**{To keep their building balanced at my breast.}**_

_If I had done nothing, where would Jane be?_  
_Still lost, maybe even dead.  
_

_If I had done nothing, where would Toph be?_  
_Still alone, still broken.  
_

_If I had done nothing, where would Sokka be?_  
_Without a sister. Without someone who _understands_ him the way I do - both parts of him._

_If I had done nothing, where would Aang be?_  
_Not in this group, where he is cared for. Not in my arms. Not being given the love I have for him._

_If I had done nothing...this group wouldn't even _exist.

_**{I crouch down to prevent them as they fall;}**_

_"Aang, I'm sorry, but...Right now I'm just a little confused..."_

_So much bitterness and anger at Toph, so many stupid, childish fights. Fights about breaking Aang's heart, hurting Sokka's feelings, upsetting Jane, disrupting the peace she's worked so hard to build..._  
_Fights about how much she cares about Toph, only to be cast aside, forgotten, cursed out, ignored. Unappreciated. Pushed out._

_Arguments with Sokka about his relationship with Suki, about his drinking alcohol after his promise, about what to do with the Aang/Toph...disaster._

_"Jane...I really care about you...And I'm _really sorry _if...if somehow I said, or...or _did _something that made you...made you think that I...felt something that...that I don't feel."_

_**{Then sit down in the middle of them all.}**_

_I love Aang. I admire his kindness, his determination, his virtue. It took us so long to figure each other out. But now we do. And he is _beautiful.

_I love Toph. I admire her tenacity, her confidence, her will. We have our moments, but we share the same stubbornness. She's my _sister.

_I love Sokka. I admire his intelligence, his versatility, his humor. He maybe doesn't 'get' me...but he knows__ me better than anyone. He's my _brother.

_I love Jane. I admire her vehemence, her flexibility, her decisiveness. She has made such tough decisions, left behind so much, taken risks...She's _changed_. _

_And she hasn't looked back. She knows how to let go - we always talk about how much she 'learns' from me...I could stand to learn that from _her_..._

_**{I had to drop the armful in the road}**_

Being kissed by Aang on his terms.

Letting go.

Setting it all down.

Taking a deep breath.

Figuring out what was best for _her, _and not trying to worry about everyone else.

Kissing Aang on _her_ terms.

Picking the pieces back up.

Carrying on.

_**{And try to stack them in a better load.}**_

Katara's hand was running through her hair as she finished, and she sighed shakily. Fingers still stuck to her skull, she pinched book closed with the other hand and set it in her lap.

That _same _look in her eyes - but Mai knew enough that Katara had definitely lost _her _mother, as well. She couldn't genuinely sympathize with all of these people around her coping with loss. What had she lost? Nothing, really. Rich family, little trouble...Well, before Azula and Ty-Lee came into her life, anyway...And even then, Zuko had come, too, to counterbalance things.

So long as she'd been quiet and done as she was told, Mai's youth was an uneventful affair, leading her to this life of poetry, and photography, of art.

Zuko had come along and tripped her up - made her _feel _something that she couldn't simply contain inside forever.

"Oh, I get it," Toph mumbled. Katara smiled warmly at Toph's efforts to try and focus on the positive. "It's, umm...like, how...you're _carrying _stuff, so it's...-" _Ugh. If you really _must _analyze it so bluntly, Toph, you could at least do it coherently... _"-like how yer...always tryin' to carry all our problems. And shit."

Katara was grinning at this point, apparently amused by her roommate's comments.

"Heehee. Yea, that's...pretty much what it makes me think about," Katara explained and with a shrug.

"Always lookin' out for us, Sugar-Queen." Toph landed a careful jab into Katara's arm.

Bleh. All this sisterly love and junk. Yea, let's just make Mai feel left out, shall we?

Katara just needed to surround herself with 'Yes Men.' Or women, or...whatever. Whoever gave her approval, they were in. Everyone else could leave. That was sure how it seemed. Hell, Toph was the same way, really. Maybe even _worse _because at least Katara tried to be polite about it.

Both stubborn girls, set in their ways, firm in what they felt was right for them. Well...That was just _great_...Flaunting it off all the time. Toph did it with her music, Katara with all of her...Facebook statuses, quoting all the stuff she'd read...Trying to say and do all the 'proper' things all the time.

They were both the same - refusing to let the world change them.

And yet they were total opposites - like she and Ty-Lee were.

But Mai had learned to get along with Ty-Lee by changing her actions. Not just by expecting the other person to accept her.

Then again, perhaps she was writing off what Katara and Toph had too soon...

In her hormonal state, Mai could still acknowledge that the little things were bothering her tonight.

Really, what did it matter if they were different from her? Wasn't that the entire reason she'd _come _here tonight? To expose herself to...people who were _different?_

Ugh. Mai hated it when she was right...especially about her own fickleness.

She managed to survive the evening without any recourse or incident, and this was for the best. Katara and Toph were more volatile people than she. It wasn't just an ability but a _reaction _to control herself.

Discussion went from the poems to some of their favorite stories, or movies, or bands. Mai was pleasantly surprised at how their talk deviated _away _from the stereotypical things she expected girls like...well, Katara, at least...to always be chattering about. Even Jane from across the hall poked in for a bit before hiding away again in her studies.

If this kind of bonding could do well for _her_...then maybe it was exactly what Zuko could use in his times of stress, as well.

* * *

- Thursday, March 10th -

[To: Korra]  
[Hey, soooo...Remember that offer? With the booze? How about tonight?]  
[Sent: 1:35am]

[From: Korra]  
[wtf Sox, its way too late...]  
[Sent: 1:38am]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[LOL. No, I meant _tomorrow _night, but it's...technically Thursday. So tonight.]  
[Sent: 1:39am]

[From: Korra]  
[oh. foshoh. i'm down widdat. got tomorrow off.]  
[Sent: 1:40am]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[Good. Because goddamn. I need to get fuckin' smashed.]  
[Sent: 1:41am]

[From: Korra]  
[on a thursday?]  
[Sent: 1:42am]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[DON'T JUDGE ME! Don't feel like waiting until the weekend.]  
[Sent: 1:43am]

[From: Korra]  
[ok, ok! i'll pick you up and we'll have drinks.]  
[Sent: 1:44am]

* * *

**A/N: The Lake - by Edgar Allan Poe. Juke Box Hero - by Foreigner. ****The Armful - by Robert Frost. **  
Some references to various episodes from all over the place. I felt like expressing more vague representations of backstory to leave the details to the imagination. I hope it worked.  
I also wanted to show with this chapter that Mai isn't, like, some perfect person or anything - to reinforce the notion that she, too, gets irritated with people and doesn't want to do with them, but how she tends to internalize it.  



	74. Kick

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 74 - Kick_

* * *

- Thursday, March 10th, 2011 -

"Whaaaat...?" Sokka frowned, eyes wide with disappointment as he glared at the frosty mug Korra had set down on the counter in front of him. "This is..._beer._"

"Uhhhh..._Yah._" Korra punctured his masculinity with an amused glare. "It's _beer._"

"But...I wanted-"  
"Girly shit."

"...Yea," Sokka whimpered.

"We're here to _drink_," Korra advised, pounding his back with her hand. _Oulff. _Damn, friggin' _monster _hands. "Not get drunk."

"What's the difference?" Sokka countered, wrapping his hand around the icy cold glass precariously, like it were some foreign technology he hadn't been trained in the use of.

Korra saddled in on the stool beside him.

"Difference is that we take it slow, steady, _enjoy _it. Shoot the shit. Isn't that what you said you wanted to do, anyway?"

"Mm..." Sokka's lips curved awkwardly in admittance.

"Oh, fuckin' get over yerself," Korra chuckled, latching a muscular arm over his back and tugging him toward her in a brief embrace. "Damn, Sox, you don't wanna go gettin' sick on me, do ya?"

"Nah," Sokka shrugged, taking a sip of the bitter stuff. He had really been pining for something fruitier, something he could just guzzle down and get at least buzzed right off the bat with...

Korra gulped down some of her Guinness and sighed.

"Look," she offered, "I'll get ya somethin' girly after you down that one. All right?" Ah, that was more like it. He could do that. Oh, but...-

"Sure, but...Beer before liquor: never been sicker. Liquor before beer: you're in the clear. Right?" He lifted a brow at her, but she rolled her eyes.

"Heh, that's a buncha bull, dude. Long as you're not a _retard _and watch what ya drink, you'll be fine."

"...Right..." Sokka sighed deeply and shrugged, hunching over the counter.

"Erm..." Korra blinked at his rapidly deteriorating mood. _Damnit, not this crap...I don't know how to _handle _this crap..._"Hey-hey-hey." She nudged him with her fist. "What's the dealio, man?" He snorted a laugh. "...What?"

"'_Dealio_?'"

She glowered at him with indignance, her nostrils expanding - just like Katara's did.

"Shuddap," she spit-fired, getting back on track. "Don't tell me you're hung up on that Asian chick..."

"Suki," Sokka sighed out, staring at his beer. It was lighter in color than his cousin's was.

"Yea. Her. _Shit_, man...You were miserable."

"_What? _I wasn't _miz_-" Sokka froze partway through his sentence when his eyes met Korra's quite cynical ones.

"You were eating _salad_," Korra reminded with a sardonic smirk. Sokka offered a cold rebuff to this and drank more of his bitter beverage.

"When was the last time you got screwed, Sox?"

Sokka choked on his drink, sputtered, pounded his chest - a wide-eyed stare at his cousin, who '_apff_'d' at him - swallowed hard, then stuck up a defiant index. The finger trembled with all due animus...but no reply.

"_That _long, eh? Well, what good's a girlfriend if-"  
"We broke up!" Sokka growled impatiently. But it didn't have that Classic Sokka 'over-the-top' flair to it. Fuck-it-all, she'd actually made it worse. Ugh, _damnit._

_Just like old times. Everything I touch turns to shit._

Now Sokka was chugging the beer a few gulps at a time. Korra watched him do this twice.

"Uhh...Er..." Korra was at a loss. Still blinking at her distraught cousin, she pounded the side of her fist into the table in a plea of desperation. "Tender!" she called, finally pulling her gaze away from the wreckage. "Can we get an...erm...-" _Fuck fuck fuck, what does Sokka like? Um-um-ummm..._ "-...appletini! Over here?"

As the barkeep readied Sokka's 'girl drink,' Sokka heaved out an irate huff, wiping his lips with his shirt's sleeve. He unbuttoned the top clasp of his dress shirt to give his warm neck space to breath.

"Sorry, Sox," she mumbled, slurping down some of her own alcohol. "I thought...ya know...-"

"That I was over it?" Sokka grumbled. "I..._am_," he groused with a grumpy shrug. "It wasn't working, but...the whole thing? Just makes me miss Yue more..."

"..._Oh_." _Shit. Hadn't thought of _that.

"She was the _perfect _girl for me. Ya know? Fucking...-" Sokka clasped his chest against his chest in anguish. "-..._perfect._"

"Nobody's perfect," Korra sternly advised. Sokka scowled at this.

"Yue was close enough, then," dismissed the heart-broken young man with a whining tone. "And now she's gone..."

"Sokka, lemme ask ya somethin'..." Korra fidgeted in her seat, rotating sideways as she stuck out her palms at him. An appletini was set in front of her, but she ignored it.

"What?"

"You really believe in all that _soul mate _bullshit?"

"Fff. That's what Yue _was_, man..._Argh._" He bumped his head into his arms on the countertop, letting it rest there in frustration. "I _had_ my soul mate. And I _lost _her..." He was practically moaning now, his face buried in his arms. "That perfect girl for me? She's _gone. _I'll never be as happy as I was with her. She was The _One._"

Korra sighed steam through her nose. Stupid emo crap. That wasn't Sokka's style, and it sure as hell wasn't going to help him to take it up now. She slid the green, blurry drink in a fancy glass over to him.

"That's _bullshit, _Sokka," Korra snarled, smacking him on the back of the head.

"_Ow! _Geez!" Sokka glared at her with confusion. "Thought you took me here because you hit me in the head _already!_" he seethed with some resentment.

"Oh, get the fuck _over _yourself," Korra refuted. "It hurts - I get it. But this crybaby crap? That's not _you._ OK? Fuckin'...-" She wiggled her hand at his appletini. "-..._drink_. Eh?"

Sokka did as he was told without much retaliation to this command. Korra went on. Sokka hadn't opened up to his sister about this. She _knew _he hadn't, deep in her gut. Sokka was coming to _her, _the bitchy-tough-as-nails cousin, for a _reason. _He wanted some tough love. Good. She'd give it to him.

"Yue wasn't _'The _One', Sox. There _is _no 'One.' That's so much _shit. _Yue made you happy, man. _That's_ true. But she's not the _only _one who could do that. Damn, like, _Suki _made you happy, too, for a while, right?"

"Not like _Yue _did..." Sokka eyes were glazed over.

Korra's face contorted with disgust. The hell _was _this, eh?

When their glances crossed paths, she testily pointed to his drink again. He guzzled more down.

"Some _other _chick will some day," she insisted.

"...Well...What about _you, _huh?" Sokka muttered. His face was already getting pink. Damn, had he already chugged down that mixed drink? He went and took a sip of his beer. Man, guy with a purpose to get hammered. Ugh. This wasn't what she'd planned on, but...she _did _owe him.

"What _about _me?"

"I'm just some idiot, but...you're like, Miss Tough Girl n' shit. Got your act together. Bet all kindsa guys line up for you. It's _easy _for you to say junk like that..."

"Sokka," Korra spat out with some wrath, "Guys fuckin' _run for the hills, _dude. I'm a walking disaster area."

"Somethin' we share in common..."

"Oh, _fuck _that," Korra griped at his attitude. "I _mean..._Guys are afraid I'd _crush 'em _to death."

"Uh-huh...And I bet those _roommates _of yours aren't interested at _all_..."

"Like I care," Korra reacted with umbrage. "What does _that _matter?"

"Oh. Uh-huh. Like there's _nothin' _going on with either of 'em."

"The _hell, _Sox?" Korra pounded the counter, causing the beer in her mug to loll around before she grabbed it and downed half the glass.

_When was the last time _you _got screwed, Kor_, _old girl?_

The dark Guinness washed away at the tension, the urges she'd been struggling with.

"Listen," she clarified firmly. "You hardly fucking _know _those guys. Hell, _I _hardly know those guys. What makes you think I'm gonna be jumping down their pants _already_, eh? Before I even know _shit _about them?"

"Just _saying,_" Sokka protested. "You _could _if you _wanted._"

"Damn _right _I could," Korra agreed boldly without skipping a beat. "But...-" She had lost track of where she was going to go with that...

"Could? You _would_," Sokka teased with a toothy grin. "You're easy like that, remember?"

Heh, he was getting some of that jokester bullcrap back in his system. Must've been the booze talking. What a featherweight fool.

"You callin' me a ho?" was Korra's reposte.

"Foh shoh," Sokka cawed.

Korra shrugged, then drained the rest of her beer. She called for another, and slapped her cousin's back as he had finished his and was ready for more, in kind.

"I'll bet there's some girl out there _stupid _enough to go along with your retarded humor," Korra picked. "Just a matter of her finding you, is all."

"Tsh..." Sokka shook his head slowly. "I don't _want _someone stupid, like me. I've got plenty of _dumb _to go around as it is..."

"HA! Good point, man..."

"Don't...Don't _agree _with me!"

"Don't act like a teenage drama queen, then!"

Another round of drinks. Another round of jokes.

* * *

- Friday, March 11th, 2011 -

Another day...still no reply.

Meng was getting restless. Grrrr, when was she going to hear back from them? How long did she have to wait? She was supposed to have heard back by now, right? Were they sending it by _snail mail? _So she had to wait on that, then...What if they said 'No?' Would she just not hear from them at all? Rrrrgh. She had to wait either way. Ugh, just...waiting on everything. Meng was getting sick of waiting on everything.

Life was on hold.

That was how things had been since the New Year. Waiting for high school to end. Waiting on acceptance letters for school. Waiting for the family to stop being so preoccupied with the selfish girl who'd _left the family _and maybe worry a bit about the one who was always trying to be there for everyone, including said selfish girl. Waiting for said girl to actually _show _'Hey, Meng, I actually _do _care about you and am sorry for mistreating you,' and maybe actually hear back from _her _for a change...

Meng cast a cursory glance to her dresser. Her iPhone was sitting idly by – no new messages – her Hello Kitty charm staring up at her innocently. Beside the phone was a small pile of photographs she'd had printed off a while back. They had all been photos from Thanksgiving break – ones of her and Toph. They'd been sitting there, ignored, ever since she'd finally gotten the prints back. She frowned with some disdain and regret at the photo sitting on top. They both looked so happy.

It stung like a needle. Like Toph had been deceiving her the whole time, pretending to care but – just like when they were little – still thinking she was a freak, a weirdo.

_'She's trying.'_

That was what Katara had been insisting in their passing internet interactions lately. Trying? What proof was there, then? How did Meng know that wasn't just Katara filling the situation with hope? Maybe Toph _was _acting different, but from Meng's corner of the world, there was no difference. Toph hadn't offered a proper apology - had she even apologized at _all?_

As Meng turned her attention to YouTube, she sighed with frustration to herself.

[YouTube - Broadcast ... _ []] X ]  
[The_Blind_Bandit's Channel - … ]  
[Inbox]  
[Comments (23)]

Meng sifted through the viewer remarks that had been digitally pasted to Toph's videos - it had been a little while since she'd taken a gander at them. She was tempted to express the same inconsiderate deflecting that she herself had received from Toph over the past couple of months. Why not, right? Why reply to these words with kindness, or gratitude? Toph didn't seem to believe in such things. Meng recounted back to previous incidents where Toph had reacted with disgust or apathy to user feedback and Meng had instead opted to give a more positive reply. After all, it was Toph's own good, and it wasn't like she'd _see _it, anyway...

Now Meng was regretting those white lies.

A familiar sound interrupted her from her activity - it was her Facebook chat sound.

She clicked to another tab and saw a small, square photo depicting Katara's cheek being kissed by Aang. _Aww._

[**Katara Kesuk**]  
[Hey, Meng...I saw your status.]  
[Is everything OK? =( ]

[**Meng Beifong**]  
[hey]  
[just a bad day..]

[**Katara Kesuk**]  
[I know what it's like.]  
[Feeling alone like that, I mean...]

[**Meng Beifong**]  
[yea]  
[i remember u told me bout it.]

[**Katara Kesuk**]  
[It'll get better, though. College is way different than high school.]

Yes, she _knew. _She'd _heard. _Over and over. Why couldn't high school just _end _already? She was fed up with over-demanding family up in her face all the time. It was no wonder Toph had struggled so hard to find some freedom. The end-of-high-school crunch was really making the Beifong family collectively crack down on Meng, a process she had been warned about.

Since the new year had kicked in, she'd been receiving various newspaper clippings and internet links from her mother and other relatives directing her to various schools when they had found out she was applying for colleges. It had been a bit overwhelming and irksome, having everyone around her seeming to be directing her to where they thought she should go rather than letting her find her way. The whole thing had definitely been lending Toph some credibility in her expressed frustrations, but Meng still felt that outright abandoning her parents hadn't been a wise choice.

Toph was never thinking anything through. Certainly not thinking about the hurt feelings of her cousin. Hmph. Even if Katara was right and Toph _was _trying to nice to everyone, Meng was seeing any of it, so that just meant she was getting excluded. So it was lose-lose either way.

Huh? Oh, another message from a little earlier.

[**Aang Leekpai**]  
[hey meng]  
[just wanted to say I dunno whats going on but i'm sorry and hope youre ok.]

[**Meng Beifong**]  
[thanks aangy.]

"Meng!"

Her mother's voice called to her from down the hall. She feigned ignorance. Today was a day to be in an ornery mood. It was Friday, she was done with the school week, she just wanted to dig into her otaku goodness and let all of this social/academic nonsense melt away.

[Crunchyroll - Watch ... ]

She scrolled through her list. What was she in the mood for today? Ouran Host Club? Naruto? Maybe that 'Suzumiya' thing one of her forum friends had told her about...?

"Meng..."

Wu's voice was coming from doorway, pulling her away from her anime browsing.

"You have _mail_," Wu sighed at her daughter's tendency to be sucked into her computer screen. "You know, the kind that gets _delivered _to the house?"

"Oh..." Meng fumbled out of her seat, fidgeting with her Gundam Wing tee shirt - it was a bit big on her scrawny self so it would get misaligned when she sat in her computer chair - and scooping up the trio of envelopes from her mother. "Thanks," she mumbled half-heartedly.

"Dinner will be ready soon," Wu advised curtly before waddling down the hall.

Meng drearily sifted through the letters. The first was junk mail. She chucked it toward her waste bin, but missed. Meh. She'd pick it up later.

The second was from Uncle Lao: Toph's dad.

She let out quite an audible groan at the sight of it and didn't even bother to open it. She already knew what was inside that envelope - clippings from newspapers and magazines about how to prepare for college, or what degrees were most practical in the current economic slump, or pamphlets from fancy schools for girls who wanted to become lawyers, and engineers, and doctors...

But...what was this one?

Was it...? _It was. _It was it was it was it was it _wuhhzzzzz._

She shredded a corner off of the envelope, wedged her finger in, and haphazardly jimmied it open. Her fingers trembled with anticipation as she unfolded the letter.

{We are honored to inform you of your acceptance to Saint Roku University. On behalf of the faculty and other members of-}  
Wait, wait. Back up.

{acceptance}

That was the only part Meng needed to read before shrieking with delight. She tossed the letter up in the air, elbows tucked in, hands wiggling like mad as she hopped in place.

"Are you all right?" Wu cried out in shock.

"Yea!" Meng sang back. She was grinning like a fool now. She proudly strutted out of her room, down the hall, and to the kitchen.

"What in heavens is the matter?" Wu demanded, quite off-put by Meng's explosion.

Beaming, Meng stuck her hands on her hips.

"I got accepted into SRU," she boasted.

"Ah..." But Wu didn't seem terribly happy for her. Meng fussed with one of her bushy, frizzled braids of hair, eyeballing her mother's cautious movements as she tossed around vegetables on the frying pan.

"So, uhhh...-" Meng was stroking her bulbous growth of hair, lamenting its insistence on never cooperating with her hairbrush. "It was where I was most hoping to go to school, and...-"

"Mm..." That passive-aggressiveness Meng hated so very much. Her mother would never outright say anything when she was upset, would she? Ugh.

"It's exciting," Meng muttered, but the mood was dead.

"So this school is going to provide a strong program in the major you've finally decided on?" Wu 's gaze finally lifted from the food to stare at her daughter sternly.

"_Well..._L-like I said before, I haven't...really _decided _on my major yet, and...-" Her eyes ran away from her mother's, studying a crack in the floor tile by the corner of the stove. "-...and it's a liberal arts school, so it'll...-" She looked back up to see the same firm gaze. "-...you know...help me figure that stuff out."

"You _did _apply to those other schools your uncle suggested, as well, yes?"

"Y-yea, of course..."

"Have you heard back from any of those ones?"

_Well, yea, a couple, but...I'd hate those schools..._

"Uhhh...I, uh...-"

"I've eaten too much bitterness to see you end up like your irresponsible cousin." Ooh, that one stung a bit. "Or your _father, _for that matter." Owie. One-two. Right in Meng's gut.

More stir-frying. Meng's mouth was agape, her chipped tooth exposed, making her look all the more childish in her oversized anime T-shirt and purple corduroy pants. Wu sighed - rather loudly, really - at the sight. Meng's mind was faltering a bit. How could Mom _say _something like that? Dad had been...stupid. Meng would never be like Dad. Ever. And Toph? No _way. _They were...totally different people. Forget Toph. Toph could keep wallowing in all her selfishness. Meng wasn't going to be like that. She'd make friends in college and she'd hold onto them, not...be an idiot and push them away.

"I'm..._not _going to do that," Meng finally managed to dictate. "Mom..." There was a bit of pleading, asking for an apology with that one word.

Wu took a deep breath and turned off the burner, still fiddling with the vegetables on the pan with her spatula.

"I know, Dear," she puffed out tiredly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that..." She gave Meng a weak smile and reached her hand out, pinching the girl's cheek. Meng squinted and flinched, but she appreciated the comfortable, recurring parental gesture. "It's been a long day..."

"Yea...Me, too...Thing are...super confusing right now."

"You're getting ready to leave the nest," Wu observed, scooping some clumps of freshly-cooked rice onto plates. "Haha..." She smiled wide, once again surveying Meng's wildly mismatched attire. "But you still have some eggshell on your head."

"Huh...?" Meng was perplexed at this analogy, but Wu simply smiled.

"After what has happened with your cousin," Wu explained, dumping the vegetables on the piles of rice, "we are all concerned about what your fate will be, Meng."

Meng frowned at this as she sat down at the tiny little metal table on the side of the kitchen. Three chairs - the fourth side tight against the wall.

"_Yea, _and everyone's freakin' me out...Like I'm supposed to know what I need to do with my life right _now_."

"You aren't the best at planning these things," said Wu with some regret, grabbing two pairs of chopsticks. "And I worry that maybe you spend a bit too much time staring at that computer screen..."

Guh. And there it was, that same old crap. She could hardly use her computer for a few days, or even ignore it for a weekend, but every single time Mom caught her on it, it was the bane of her existence and it was the _only thing she ever did, ohhhhh no._

Meng folded her arms crossly as she folded up in her wooden chair. Wu set down the plates and sat across from her daughter. Meng huffed out her stress as anger at her father swelled up from how the topic had been brought up. Wu slid the small soy sauce bottle from beside the napkin holder at the table's center to her daughter's side. She knew Meng liked drizzling extra soy sauce on her rice.

"It's because that's where all of my _friends _are," Meng bemoaned. "And even _now, _the only one I knew in person - Toph - she's...been so stupid and mean, and I...just can't take it any more."

"Then forget about her, Dear," Wu soughed, shaking her head with pity. "Toph treated you poorly, just like she did her parents..."

_Pff, no, Mom, her parents...were over-protective, and forceful, and...just kinda jerks. What did _I _ever_ _do to deserve being used and tossed aside? I need to follow Aang's advice - start sticking up for myself, not putting up with stupidness. If I don't make Toph fix her mistake on her own, she's never going to learn. If she _really _appreciates me, then for once she can come to _me.

"I just want to have some real friends," Meng grieved, her eyes watering up from all of these thoughts. Her father, Toph, trying to finish high school, having no _idea _what to major in at college..."But I'm a _dork, _I'm a _weirdo,_ people don't wanna be around me in _person_, but...on the internet, it doesn't matter what I look like. Ya know?"

Wu's heart ached for her child. Such a stunning creature, so beautiful in her own eyes. Unfortunately, Wu had to confess...with a wardrobe like that, and the strange demeanor she carried, it wasn't any wonder Meng had trouble making friends at her age.

"You can be a 'weirdo,' and a 'dork,'" Wu shrugged off these labels. She smiled warmly at her daughter and watched her splash some soy sauce on her stir-fry. "You may be different, Meng. And I worry about what you will do out there on your own. But I hope you won't forget that...-" She waited until Meng, grasping at her chopsticks, met her eyes. "-no matter what happens, you are still my Dumpling."

* * *

"I just wanna know why we ate at _Appa's _tonight," Jane muttered, leaning back in the booth and rubbing her full stomach tenderly. Maybe she _shouldn't _have eaten Aang's leftover bean chili...But it had been so _good_, even for meatless chili.

"It's Toph's turn for eating out, and she chose Appa's," Sokka shrugged. It was pretty simple to _him. _Toph was in the restroom at the moment, despite having had to go when they'd arrived. They'd picked on her, as they often did, about her 'tiny bladder,' which she laughed along with instead of the usual denial.

"But...we eat here all the _time_," Jane sighed. Ugh. At this rate, she might need to hit the shitter herself.

"So when it's _your _turn, we'll eat where _you _feel like," Sokka tiredly dismissed Jane's remark. "No point complaining."

"I wasn't _complaining,_" Jane defended. "I was just...-" A bony shoulder popped up. "It's kinda odd, is all. Funny, I mean. It's just kinda funny."

There was a soft humming coming from the table next to Katara - it was Toph's phone. Katara peeked her head over to glance at the phone's screen before she spoke, seeming to ignore it.

"I think Toph just figured she'd make it easy on everyone," Katara theorized. Eating at Appa's meant not having to make a car trip anywhere. Plus, it meant everyone could use 'transfer meals,' since Appa's was owned and operated by the college, which basically meant no one had to pay anything extra, even.

"And ya know...What's _with _that, anyway?" Jane grunted out as her throat bubbled with an uncomfortable burning.

"Huh?"

"Toph tryin' to be all..._nice _and shit. Like some switch got flipped. The hell's up with her?" Jane squirmed in her seat on the edge of the booth. She drank some of her remnants of water.

"Yea, somethin' happen recently?" Sokka prodded. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not missin' ol' 'Queen of the Cunts,' and all, but...-" He shrugged up his arms in expectation of some history on this situation.

Katara blinked at her brother with some confusion for a moment, then over at Jane, who was also eying her with suspicion. Aang's head was resting on her shoulder, his body slumped over. She couldn't tell if he had dozed off or was just resting quietly. He'd had a busy week, she knew, and had stayed up late the night prior to finish a project. She lifted her hand up to his head and rang her fingers across his scalp, scratching with affection in slow, methodical motions.

"Toph...-" Katara sighed, still petting her boyfriend's head.

"Things hit her," Aang's voice finally chimed in, relaxed and calm. "Hard," he added.

"Like a...fist?" Sokka considered, putting his knuckles into his opposing palm.

"Heh..." Aang grinned, his eyes half-closed as he smiled pleasantly from the sensation massaging his head. "I mean, like...Everyone being upset with her, and why. I think it just all hit her last week, and she..._gets _it."

"You mean all the crap we've been trying to get through her fuckin' skull?" said Jane tiredly. "Finally drilled that hole deep enough?"

"Yea, that's...pretty much it," Katara acknowledged with a light nod. For a moment, she considered mentioning Toph's...breakdown. She decided not to - it could help explain things to Sokka and Jane, but at the same time, she felt like it'd be breaking some...unspoken..._something._ "She's made a lot of mistakes. She sees that now."

"_Tch,_" Sokka snorted. "Well not _really_ 'sees,' 'cuz...-"  
Katara's dagger glare stopped his corniness dead in its tracks. He coughed awkwardly and waggled a hand, allowing her to continue.

"This isn't a _joke_," Katara huffed. "She's really trying to turn things around, guys."

Jane and Sokka exchanged glances of consideration at this.

"You _know _what that sort of stuff is like," Katara added. "Jane," she specified, calling her red-headed friend's attention. Dull olive eyes met Katara's somewhat expectant glance, and Jane felt a bit of remorse from this reminder.

"Y-yea, I do," she mumbled in her gravely voice with a feeble shrug. She rubbed at her chest with irritation from her heartburn. Sokka belched, smacking his chops together as he watched Toph making her way back over with caution. "I get it," she conceded quietly.

"Oh, hey, Toph," Katara spurt out, noticing the girl's presence.

"Uhhh...Hey?" Toph mumbled back, reaching her hand out to feel for the table. They'd been talking about her - she could tell. The question '_What were ya talkin' about?_' lingered on her mind but she resisted the temptation.

"You got a call just now," Katara chirped.

Toph replied with an ornery "Mm."

"It was from your Dad," Katara advised as Toph plopped herself down beside her roommate.

"Yep..."

"Isn't that, like, the third time he's tried calling you this week?"

"I dunno..." But Toph knew full well that Katara's memory was accurate.

"Shouldn't you...maybe call him back?"

Toph was restraining herself from lashing out at Katara's snippy, forced suggestiveness.

"Maybe...later," she grunted out.

"It could be important."

"O_kay._"

Katara's hand stopped running across Aang's head and she took in a deep breath through her nose.

"Meh, if it was, he'd leave a message, right?" Sokka tossed away concern. Katara frowned at him again, illustrating her disapproval at his example.

"I guess so," Katara agreed begrudgingly. "But...still...I mean, he's trying to get in touch with you. Speaking of, have you talked with Meng at all lately?"

"...Not...yet," Toph mumbled. Ugh. So many things still hurt right now. The disappointment in Meng's voice still echoed around the corners of her mind. It was hard enough just being around Katara and Aang all lovey-dovey...and Sokka and Jane, too, after all that she'd done (which she knew they didn't just forget). Meng she knew she'd really hurt, too. She couldn't balance that on top of everything else. Not yet.

"Ah. Well...I bet she'd love to hear from you," Katara tossed the idea out, feigning innocence, but Toph figured Katara had been speaking with her cousin. At least it...sounded reassuring...?

"She'll work it out," Aang said quietly, nuzzling his head across Katara's collarbone, his skull grazing the edges of her bosom. She smiled and kissed his forehead gently. Toph's stomach churned at the slight sound of it, and Sokka rolled his eyes at them.

"**Oooooogie**," he protested flatly, arms crossed over his stomach.

"You _said_ it," Jane agreed with a smirk, picking at the remains of her curly fries.

"We can always _leave _if we're that _offensive t_o your delicate sensibilities," Katara taunted deviously, flashing them a grin. Sokka didn't like that grin. That was a mischievous grin she'd put on...

Aang lazily worked his arm around Katara's waist, lifted his head up, eyes closed, and squeezed her, landing a long, soft kiss on her neck. Her should crept up, and the mischief in her smile melted, giving way to ecstasy, and she giggled.

"_Ewwww_," Sokka continued to whine. He thrust out his arm, nearly stabbing Jane's head with his index finger. "This is a _public _dinner, and there are to be _no _**oogies **present! All **oogies **must report to...erm...somewhere else!"

"Heheh..." Katara latched her hand on Aang's jaw and caressed it once before letting him go. "What do you think, my Penguin?" she wondered, tickling his ribs to stir him. "Are you done eating?"

Aang nodded, rubbing at his eyes after he recovered from the minor tickle attack.

"I'm ready to go," he declared with exhaustion, stretching out his arms.

"Good _riddance_!" Sokka shooed them off, flicking his wrists as if they were cockroaches.

"Excuse us, Toph," Katara chimed politely. Toph obeyed, getting up from her seat and letting them pass. After they'd gotten up, Katara told her, "OK, you're good now," and at that, Toph sunk back into the booth.

"Leaving?" Toph muttered, a bit startled at their sudden desire to disappear. Another tiny kissing sound. Urgh.

"Well, no **oogies **allowed here, soooo...we'll just take them '_somewhere else_!'" Katara boasted with a badgering intonation at the end, giving her grudge-faced brother a wink and a finger wag.

"Shit, what time is it?" Jane grumbled, twisting her neck to see the clock hanging up on the back wall of the restaurant. She grabbed her paper plate and cup and began to scoot out of her seat, as well. "I've gotta get to the lab; group project," she growled. "Ten minutes late," she added in haste, dumping her trash in a nearby bin and zipping off. "Later!" she yelped with a quick wave, fleeing the scene in a hurry.

There was silence for a moment. Then a loud _'shhllurrrrpph'_ as Sokka sucked through his straw at the remnants of his cup of root beer.

"Be back in a sec," he grunted. Toph stuck her hand out in his direction.

"Hey, whoa, wait," she stopped him. "Fill me up, too, would ya?" she asked, groping around the table for her cup. Ah, there it was.

"That's got Katara germs on it," Sokka advised, amused. Oh, oops. Wrong one. Before she could react, Sokka grabbed the one he knew was hers. "I got it," he assured. "Whatcha want?" he called to her as he traversed Appa's, making way for the soda machine. It was a bit busy, being a Friday night, but most of the rush had died down at this point.

"_Duh?_" Toph mocked. "The Good Doctor! Hell-_oh!_"

Sokka rolled his eyes with a smirk as he dunked some ice into their cups.

Toph fidgeted in her seat as she waited. She had a sneaking suspicion Katara was bringing Aang back to their dorm room, and she sure as hell didn't want to walk in on...whatever was potentially going to happen there. Maybe she'd head over to the music building and practice for a while?

_Tukk._  
Her cup being set down in front of her.

_Phhfff.  
_The cushion of the booth across from her deflating slightly from Sokka's weight.

With care, Toph grasped her stubby hands around her cup and took a sip from the straw.

"Thanks," she muttered out when the idea struck her. "Oh, and...uh...'Please,' or something. From before. When I asked for the refill," she scoffed at her own attempts at politeness.

"_Ha_," chuckled Sokka, scrounging up the waste Katara and Aang had left behind. His sister normally didn't forget to clean up after herself. She must've been-...Ugh. He shuddered...-_horny,_ or something._ EW EW EW. NO. Scratch that!_

"Hey, I'm _tryin' _over here," Toph defended herself regarding the open topic of courtesy she'd just mentioned. She took another sip. "Turnin' a new leaf, all that shit. Right? Gotta start somewhere."

"That's my sister gettin' to ya, eh?" Sokka sighed, bemused by how Katara would advise _him _to not let Suki baby him and tell him how to act, then go and coddle Toph like some toddler and try training her like a dog to act polite in front of company. Well...That's what _had _to be happening, right? Why _else _would Toph be bothering to act all 'nice' and crap?

"Heh, guess you could say that," Toph mumbled, her head tilting downward a bit. "She's been...ya know...lookin' out for me lately."

Sokka studied her face with a keen eye. He couldn't quite make a read. Toph was usually so straight-forward to 'get,' but for the past week, she..._wasn't._

"She been giving you a hard time?" Sokka wondered. Toph's eyes widened with some embarrassment at this idea.

"Whh...Well, she's...ya know...being _Katara, _and stuff..."

"Sooo..._Yes?_"

"Nnno, it's-...I dunno." Her brows slanted down and her lips curved in a weird way. She scratched at her forehead, her heavy bangs flipping around.

"Meh. Well, I'm just sayin', if she starts giving you a hard time, let me know. I'll get her off your back."

Toph smiled weakly at his offer and she sighed. He didn't understand. Why _would _he, anyway? It's not like he knew what she was going through...Pff, he was a _MeatHead, _anyway, like he'd be able to get it.

"You doin' OK?" Sokka double-checked after seeing her space out for a moment.

"I'm fine," she grunted. "Why?"

"N-nothin'," Sokka rushed the word out, fearful to rile her up. "Ya just...are actin' a little odd these days."

"Yea?" she snipped with some hostility. "Well..._yea,_" she huffed out pointlessly, dropping her chin into her palm, elbow down on the table. She blew a gust of air at her forehead hair. "You seem pretty OK for having just broken up," she pointed out, redirecting the focus on him. Besides, he _did _seem pretty mellow about the whole thing. Toph suspected maybe he was just playing the same game of hideaway she'd been.

"Uhh..." Sokka raised a brow at her remark and shrugged to himself. "Yea, I...guess I am," he acknowledged with a smidgen of offense. "It's not like I didn't see it coming," he mumbled with introspection. "I mean, come on - I'm a _screwup. _I'm a friggin' goofball, ya know? Looking back, I still wonder why Suki even gave me the light of day in the first place..."

Toph's milky eyes glinted with a darkness as her nose wrinkled in self-disgust.

"I know what ya mean," she snarled to herself with desolation, bobbing her head a bit.

Sokka hadn't caught her expression change, and at this point her hair was veiling her face too much, but he'd certainly _heard _the self-loathing come out of her. So _that _was what it was all about, was it? The almighty mud-slinger was actually feeling _down on herself_? What a change of pace. It put some alternate context into Sokka's own contemplation and let him look on the bright side: at least he hadn't _cheated _on Suki...or caused a metric ton of drama for everyone. Right?

Then again...maybe that was just because he didn't seem to _care_. Eck. That notion didn't settle too well with him, either.

"Guess us screwups just need a kick in the teeth once in a while," Sokka mused tiredly, leaning back against the booth with a deep sigh.

There was a long silence after this remark as the two of them brooded on their shortcomings, slurping away at soda. Toph's stomach was squirming with discomfort after a minute or so of idle background chatter. Last Friday: falling apart on the sidewalk in the rain. _That _had been quite a kick in the teeth. And Sokka was right - she'd needed it.

"I...-" she began. Her throat dried up on her. She cleared it with a rough cough and tried again. "I, umm...had a breakdown last week," she confessed, out of the blue. The second the words had spilled out she desperately wished she could take them back. Why had she just said that? Why in the _fuck _had she just let Sokka know about that?

Sokka could practically feel the heat of embarrassment emanating from Toph's cheeks from across the table. When he didn't reply, shocked by her sudden admission, Toph was compelled to explain. Explaining was better than the awkward silence. She had grown so sick of silence during her days of isolation from her friends.

"It was-...I-I mean, like, I found out about...Katara and Aang. Right? Like, _so _fuckin' awkward. And...I-I dunno, it just...kicked me in the teeth," she sheepishly muttered, using his own phrase as she tousled her ponytail nervously. That awful empty-stomach feeling was overpowering as she struggled to face the surge of emotion from that night, clawing its way out from the recesses of her mind. She blinked briskly, her eyes dampening beyond her control. _Ohhhh, _no. That wasn't gonna happen. She wasn't going to start bawling in front of fucking _Snoozles _over here. He'd never let her live it down. Shit, she'd probably already crossed that line, anyway. Ugh.

"Didn't feel so good, did it?" Sokka observed with a tint of coldness. "The penny dropped, huh? Well..." He frowned, scratching at the scruff on his face that was forming from a lack of shaving. "That's what _I _felt that day you brought up Yue..."

Guilt blended in with guilt. Regret with regret.

"Y-yea, about that, I-"  
"It's OK. You were _right_."

Toph's lips hung open slightly, uncertain as to how to react.

"For once, I knew what it was like to be _you_," Sokka explained, deciding he'd offer a confession of his own in exchange for her openness. "Being forced to face the truth I was running from. And junk." He blinked with some confusion in spite of himself. "Does that make sense?" he murmured with some doubt.

"_Totally_," Toph agreed, eager to try and regain ground she'd been losing from his favor as of late. "And...Like, _really..._I'm sorry," she insisted on completing her apology.

"It's fine," Sokka dismissed with an arm toss she couldn't see. "You _are _a female, after all: being a bitch is genetic."

Toph's face fumed with offense at that remark. She would've punched him for the insult, but...damnitall, every time she tried _that _lately - on him, specifically - she only seemed to end up getting _herself _hurt in the process.

From Sokka's end, seeing her embarrassment dissolve into irritation was a treat. Katara had been quickly becoming resilient to his picking lately, so if Toph had weakness exposed...Hell, why not?

"Yea? Well...So...-" Toph's gears were practically crunching together, Sokka could see it. "It...It's just like _you. _'Cuz...you're a _guy, _and...so...you have a dick. 'Cuz you _are _a dick...And...-"  
"Yeeeaaa, you oughtta _stop _before ya hurt yourself, there, Dead-Eyes..."

Toph's lips puckered out with dismay at her failure. She was too muddled by emotion to make comebacks right now.

"It's all good, your brain is filling up with _estrogen _from all of this _emotion, _so of course I wouldn't expect you to be in any condition to make proper banter."

What a little bitchy..._man-bitch! Ugh. _He was lucky she was blind, or she'd pop him one in the-...Oh, hey. Wait a sec...

She thrust her foot out, hoping to catch him unawares in the shin.

_Bumff!_

She gasped in pain, having stubbed her toe - fuckin' flip-flops - on the metal pole holding the table upright.

Sokka snorted out laughter at her pain. Geeeeeez...Hilarious. And Korra thought _she _was a 'walking disaster area?'

"Remember that part _just now _when I warned you about _hurting yourself_?"

"Shuddap-shuddap-shuddap!" Toph roared, biting her lip and sucking in air from her minor, self-sustained injury.

The students in the booth behind her were looking at the back of her head with puzzled glances, which only tempted Sokka to chuckle more.

"Hoooo, boy," Sokka sighed with relief. "Thanks, Taters. I needed that."

"Don't call me that," Toph whimpered out, crossing her legs onto the booth and tenderly touching her toe, examining it with her fingers. "That's-...I don't wanna be called that anymore..."

"Not _my _fault you're obsessed with-"  
"I'm serious."

Sokka went slack-jawed. Man, what the _hell? _Toph was going back and forth tonight. Stupid, brash, and silly one second, then all serious and brooding the next. Back and forth, black and white, like Yin and Yang, and-...Oh. Huh. Amusing.

"It's-...That..._name_...is from when I was...-" She couldn't seem to bring herself to _say _it. "But I'm _not _anymore, and so...-"

"O-OK, yea, all right," Sokka tried to put her at ease. Pff, man. Having to put _Toph _at ease? What was going _on _tonight? "_That _why you keep, uhh...catching yourself?"

"Huh?"

"From calling him 'Twinkle-Toes.'"

"Oh..." Toph's head seemed to shrink into her shoulders a bit. "Pretty much..."

"Hm..." Sokka was curiously intrigued by this. A 'girly' thing, he supposed, letting something like an endearing nickname have some kind of deep, invested attachment. He hadn't struck Toph as the type to feel that intensely about it. If he had to guess, it was because she usually _wasn't._ "You weren't lying, were you?"

"About...?"

"About having a breakdown."

"_No_. I wasn't," Toph hissed back, insulted that he'd doubted her integrity when she was being so open with him.

"So, uhhh...I see that now."

"Good." Oh, great. Now Toph was fuming, her eyes oddly quivering with the beginnings of tears. She sniffled. Sokka leaned forward to take a-..._Whoa-ho, _wait. She _sniffled? _Oh, man...Sokka tried to ignore her seemingly random sniveling and drank from his soda. He hoped she'd stop. It was awkward. What was _he _supposed to do about it?

"What's...-?" Sokka managed out.

Toph coughed, choking on her own sob. She spoke, her voice squeaking a bit.

"I'm...umm...-" Another cough to clear her throat. "Just...thinking about stuff...Sorry..."

Sokka's expression collapsed into empathy as he pitied the blind, near-to-tears girl in front of him. Argh. He'd been so down on himself these days, but when he tried comparing his own mistakes against hers, he had to admit...her grave was a lot deeper than his. If what Katara had tried to explain to him was correct, she finally understood this, and was hoping to get some help _out _of said grave.

He thought hard about this. What did every girl he knew _really _want when they were crying, or about to cry, or having just _finished _crying...?

He got up from his booth and tapped her shoulder with the back of his wrist.

"What...?" Toph groaned, abashed with her lack of control over...fucking..._emotion. _Rrgghh.  
_Look what you've done to me, Katara..._

"C'mon. Get up," Sokka advised calmly.

Toph hesitated. She wasn't exactly in the mood to get up and about, she was using all of her energy to stem the tides of stupid female hormones. Sokka's hand tapped her again. She huffed through her nostrils and begrudgingly abided.

She took in a sharp intake of breath as she felt Sokka's chunky arms tighten around her, pressing their chests together. He squeezed – a bit too tight for comfort, really, and _hulgh, ulff_...smacked her back roughly (such a _guy_ thing). In her emotionally vulnerable, mixed-up state of mind, she felt her face boil over with flustered distraction. Her body tingled, shivering with an unpleasant attraction. The last thing she needed right now was _another _clusterfuck of emotions to get tossed into the blender.

"It's all good," Sokka tried to quell her doubts. He had some experience dealing with little sisters who were overreacting to...well...nothing. This was just like that. Hugs seemed to be the magic key to getting irrational women to calm the hell down, right?

Toph's mind was whirling, her heart pounding in her chest. Was he gonna let her _go? _Any fucking _second now..._

"Ya done?" Sokka asked, breaking their bodies apart, hands planted on her shoulders. She looked...terrified. Haha. Poor Dead-Eyes. Girl didn't know how to cope with a simple hug, huh?

Toph's lips hung open just slightly, her head dizzy from the blood that had rushed to it, her lungs sputtering out shaky breaths. She wriggled herself from out of his grip and wiped at her face before the tears that had built up could slide out.

"I'm _done_," she said, making clear her agitation. "Next time I wanna be _touched _by your fat, meaty..._meat-hands_...I'll..._say so_," she snipped, making out his uncharacteristic gesture to be molestation. "I don't like being touched all of a sudden like that," she hastily reinforced her startled reaction.

"Well...I don't...like seeing women start_ crying _in front of me," Sokka grumbled testily. Go _figure. _He tries to do the friendly, gentlemanly thing of showing kindness, and support, and...touchy-feely _friendship _and she swaps personalities _again._ Didn't women _like _hugs when they were all...over-emotional, and leaking estrogen everywhere?

Maybe Toph was having her period. Yea, that had to be it. That would explain a lot.

"That's great," Toph threw a tizzy, groping around for her walking stick. "Now I know to...to not let that _happen _around you anymore." Got it. She felt her palm around the tabletop, fingers outstretched to find that cup.

"Didn't realize that a simple _hug _was so offensive," Sokka bemoaned her attitude. How come _Aang _was able to do touchy-feely stuff and even people like _Jane _were OK with it? Was there, like, some special way of doing it that he didn't understand? Did he lack the _feminine finesse _to execute a simple fucking hug without upsetting Miss MudSlug here?

He suddenly realized that Toph was sucking down soda from her straw, already heading off on her own. Those students from before were eyeballing him, giggles on the tips of their tongues at whatever awkward moment they'd witnessed secondhand. Sokka ignored them and pursued Toph, frustrated with her idiotic mood-swinging.

"Hey, don't you want somebody to walk you to...erm...wherever you're going?" he attempted to offer. It was the gentlemanly thing to do, right? Maybe if he just kept trying that route...

"No." _Yes. Yes. Warm man-hands on my shoulder. Nice. Warm. _"I know how to fucking _walk _on my own, Sokka..."

"A-all right, but-...What did I-?"  
"_Just-!_" Toph screeched to a halt. "...Leave me alone." _Arms. Warm arms. I fucking _miss _warm, boy arms._ "Please."

"Did I do something wrong?"

_No. Nooooo, no, no. Silly boy.  
Urghhh. Fuck. Shit. Shitty shit fuck fuck. This is wrong. Not you, _me. _That's what's wrong._

"Ugh, no, I'm...just...PMS-ing, OK? So...whatever." She started off down the hall again, running her fingertips along the textured wall. "I need some space. So...Good night."

Aha! He _knew it. _Silly girls and their silly hormonal..._things. _Friggin' eh. Sokka knew better than to think he could figure women out. Even _Toph _succumbed to double-X-chromosome nonsensical tendencies, it was just that Aang and Katara were the ones to serve clean-up duty.

Pff. Good riddance. This whole 'emotional support' bullshit was _not _his strength, clearly.

After Toph had found her way outside to the chilled night air she gave pause. She set her half-full cup of soda on the sidewalk at her feet, and pressed her palm against her left chest.

_**Bud-ump, bud-ump, bud-ump.**_

Her heart hadn't really slowed down since those arms had been around her. She then scraped her fingernails against the base of her neck out of frustration, tugging at her ponytail.

_Damnit all to fucking __**hell**__. I can't do this again. I can't go through this again._

_I can't hurt someone else like that again. I won't do it. No way._

_It's just a thing. It's whatever. I'm a fucking heart-breaker. It'll pass._

Questions raced through Toph's mind. Why had she opened up to Sokka in the first place? Why had she swelled up with attraction at their proximity? Surely it was simply because she was all emotionally fucked up and confused right now. And he was freshly single, too. Right? So it was just the...'When-Harry-Met-Sally' Syndrome thing. Yea. Jane had _just_ been telling her about it, she'd had the same thing with Sokka just, like...whatever. Like the other week, or something? It was a passing thought, a basic, human natural instinct..._thing. _A phase. And she got over it, because she knew it was _ridiculous. _This was the same thing. Toph was just desperate and fucked up in the head and didn't even _know _what she wanted.

She'd just wait for this phase to pass.

She didn't need another kick in the teeth right now.

* * *

**A/N: The 'you callin' me a ho?' / 'foh shoh' thing is a reference to one of Korra's first scenes, in a Facebook sequence. One of my goals with this chapter was to illustrate some of Meng's perspective, because I very much want to iterate that Meng is not really in the wrong here – that she has legitimate reason to feel offended by her cousin and that she's already got enough to deal with right now where, for once, she would like ****_Toph _****to initiate.**

**Oh. And yes. I did make a jab at the idiotic Legend of Korra ship wars that are already going on. ;P You know, about these characters we pretty much know nothing about? Just saying.**

**http:/eevee445(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-Cousins-283660070**


	75. Blessing

**A/N: A few odd notes here.**

**http:/www****(dot)**deviantart**(dot)**com/print/24965340/ - Jasmine Dragon logo designed by an artist friend of mine and dedicated reader.

**http:/saint-roku-university****(dot)**tumblr**(dot)**com/ - SRU Tumblr account

**http:/www****(dot)**facebook**(dot)**com/pages/What-I-Learned-at-SRU/194514817297584 - SRU Facebook account

**http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/favourites/41510260 - SRU Art Gallery (more getting added all the time!)  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 75 - Blessing_

* * *

- Saturday, March 12th, 2011 -

"Uhhhh..." Suki paused awkwardly after the band's commotion had settled.

"What's up?" Jane wondered, though she felt confident she knew the answer.

Suki exchanged a concerned glance with Katara, who looked a bit exhausted.

"Well, it's just..."

"It's me," Toph sighed in self-degradation. "I'm sucking it up tonight. I get it." _Damnit. I can't even play tonight. The hell's wrong with me?_

There was another tentative silence for a few seconds as the other three girls, while acknowledging the truth of that statement - that Toph was playing poorly this evening - contemplated how to react to her out-of-character brooding. Toph was usually the one criticizing _them, _and it was because she had the most experience and talent. So what was the deal today?

"Toph, it's...-" Suki attempted to console her. "We all have our off-nights sometimes. It's fine."

"Yea," Toph muttered in self-loathing. _Having an 'off-night' is different than realizing what a fuck-up you are..._

Suki huffed through her nostrils with impatience at Toph's attitude and pulled herself together immediately thereafter.

"All right, let's just...give it a another try, then."

"Nah, I'm...done for tonight," Toph sighed, giving her electric guitar an angry and brief strum before unplugging the instrument. _I'm just bringin' you all down..._

Katara, confused and a bit distraught, rushed to help Toph pack up and be ready to head out.

"Uhhh...So I guess we're just gonna stop early tonight?" Suki announced, her tone conveying her frustration through courtesy.

"Oh, erm...-" Jane, her bass still slung over her shoulder, shrugged, watching Katara coddle after Toph. "I _guess,_" she conceded.

"Sorry, guys," Toph begrudgingly apologized. "You can keep going on without me, I'm just...out of it."

"It's all right, Toph," Katara eased, rubbing her roommates shoulders briskly.

"Well, we _do _have a show coming up, and...we kind of need to be in practice," Suki advised.

"What about tomorrow?" Katara offered politely. "I'm free tomorrow."

"I'm game," Jane agreed.

"Yea...That would work," Suki sighed, still miffed at their practice time being cut short. It would be more convenient to just hammer stuff out right here and now."

"Does that work for you?" Katara asked Toph, shaking her gently by the arms.

"_Rrmph_," Toph grunted out her grumpy agreement. _Don't see how I'll be any better by then..._

"OK." Suki puffed out a gust of air once more, her grief clear. "I'll give you a call Katara. I'm thinking probably, like, two or three?"

"Sure." Katara nodded. "Sorry, Suki."

"No, it's...-" Suki began, trailed off, shaking her head and tossing her arm with dismissal.

The girls tidied up, leaving the equipment that wasn't theirs and taking what was. They bid each other a good night and went on their way, which meant Suki headed for Terra and the rest headed for Aqua.

"What happened back there?" Jane asked after they had walked through some silence for a minute or two. "You sick again or somethin', Dead-Eyes?"

Toph's stomach _was _feeling queasy, but not in the way a physical illness would cause. Her mind was lingering on the regrets of the past few months, and ever since her encounter with Sokka the night before, she was having trouble getting his voice - his fucking _arms _- out of her head. It made no sense, and it pissed her the hell off.

"A lotta shit on my mind," Toph mumbled, her arm tangled around Katara's.

"Ah." Jane nodded cautiously at this. Toph - _thinking about stuff? _That was fuckin' _weird._

"Well, there's a lot going on lately," Katara sheepishly acknowledged her stress. "It's fine. I felt like that a little while back. You'll be all right, Hun. We have your back."

Jane considered that for a moment. Katara's words from the night before wouldn't leave her alone.

_"You _know_ what that sort of stuff is like...Jane."_

Jane cleared her throat, grinned, and gave Toph a soft punch in the gut. Toph winced and whimpered grouchily.

"C'mon, you're supposed to be the tough one here," Jane teased. Toph didn't really react much to this, and Jane decided to give up on it. Toph was like a rock, often unfazed when she set her mind to a certain attitude.

After arriving back at Aqua and unloading, Toph got ready for bed while Katara checked her e-mail. Jane, in the meantime, went through her phone.

[From: johnny]

[ =( ? ]

[Sent: 6:13pm]

Jane smirked, lifting an eyebrow. He seemed to have a habit of 'initiating' text message conversations with a symbol or a smiley or some nonsense.

[Reply]  
[To: Johnny]  
[sorry i was at practice. whats up?]  
[Sent: 8:02pm]

She set herself down at her wooden desk chair with a tired sigh. She glanced over at the empty desk to her left. Jin was gone - as usual - doing whatever the fuck it was that Jin was always doing. In that moment of solitude Jane found herself frustrated with her living situation. The room was always empty. No Johnny to come visit, no roommate around...She found herself going across the hall all of the time. But then she took that thought backwards - wasn't it _good _that she even _gave _a shit about seeing people? Smellerbee would've _preferred _locking herself away...but Jane wasn't going to live life on her own anymore, no matter what. She was dead-set on this idea.

Jane took a gander at her computer, refreshing a couple pages. No e-mails. Nothing from Facebook. Another glance at her phone. No reply yet.

She closed the internet browser and faced a background wallpaper of a photo of her and Katara, both red-faced and laughing, from New Year's. Korra had been taking pictures to document the event (and to make fun of people later) but Jane had grown super attached to this particular photo.

She scrolled back to the main menu screen of her cell and paused, carefully examining the photo background: a closeup of her and Johnny during a date over a year ago, when he'd taken her to a shooting range for Valentine's Day.

Jane decided to take this opportunity to take her evening hormonal medication. She trudged over to her dresser, sung open her underwear/socks drawer, pulled out the plastic container that separated her daily dosages, and plucked out her pills. She stared at them for a couple seconds, a sharp spike of reflection rattling her brain. She looked up to the mirror hanging on the back of their door, observing herself. Since the new year, her friends had been making remarks about her looking more "girly." She studied herself harshly and concluded this was, in fact, true...But her face. Her face was still just as blunt and boyish as always. Sunken eyes, bagged skin drooping underneath...And her hair was a shaggy mess.

She picked up the room temperature bottle of water that was half consumed, still sitting at her desk from earlier that day. Clenching her pills in one hand, she unscrewed the cap as her mind trudged through frustrated thoughts.

_I'm not quite a guy, not quite a girl._

_The girl inside me wants Johnny._

_The boy inside me wants Katara._

_And I can't have either._

_At least...not yet._

She swallowed her doubts down with the gulp of water and medication as a light knocking at her open door pulled her to Katara's pensive expression.

"Hey."

"Mm," she hummed back, tipping up her head as she finished guzzling down extra water.

"Did you still want to hang out for a bit?" Katara asked.

"Oh. Yea," Jane nodded. She wiggled the bottle in her hand. "Just had to take my pills."

Katara's eyes popped wide open and she sheepishly smiled with a nervous twitch.

"_Right_, I...almost forgot about my own..." She whirled back around and went straight into her room to consume her own daily dosage as Toph squirmed around in her covers on her bed.

Jane glared at Katara's flustered mannerism, admiring the attraction of her dorky and quaint scurrying that was sprinkled over top some concern.

"Night, Toph."

"Night, Sister-Face."

Katara closed the door behind her. She was still in jeans and a sweatshirt, clearly not ready for sleep just yet. As a matter of fact, it was just past eight - how was Toph already so tired? Seemed kind of early.

"_So!_" Katara clasped her hands together before her waist, prancing back into Jane's room.

"Lookit us druggies," Jane noted with some humor.

"Heh, yea..." Katara shrugged haphazardly, leaning herself in the doorway arch as Jane sat at her chair.

"At this rate, Dead-Eyes is gonna need some fuckin' pills, too," Jane sighed, amused by the girl's mood-swinging. Katara laughed through her nose at the remark, then entered the room, closing the door behind her with care. "What's goin' _on _with her, anyway? She gonna be all right?"

Katara puffed out a dreary sigh and collapsed herself on Jane's bed, her head sagging down as she hunched over the side.

"She's taking everything out on herself," Katara decided.

"Good," said Jane with solid resolve, as she had been every time this topic seemed to get brought up. Katara's head bobbed left and right in stingy agreement.

"Yea, it...means she's accepting everything, and...I know she wants to make everything right. I think she's just intimidated by it all."

"Dug herself a deep hole o' shit," Jane nodded. "...And I, uh...know the feelin'..."

Katara quickly looked up at her friend with sympathy and Jane's glance danced away as she shrugged.

"Seems like you're always the one pulling us outta pits," Jane murmured thoughtfully. "But...like...-" Jane's sentence froze up as she stared down at her bee-striped toe-socks. She wriggled her right toes, her arms hung on the corner of her chair. "I dunno, I wanna...do somethin'. To help Toph, I mean."

Jane's gaze caught a smirk of pride from Katara out of the corner of her eye, and her heart fluttered at this before she grounded herself.

"I needed _you..._a-and the others...to get me outta shit creek when I lost my paddle," Jane explained. "So...I wanna...lend Toph...my _paddle_...?" she waggled her wrist around loosely, hoping the metaphor had come out right. Katara snorted out a laugh, and Jane smiled. "Hey, shut up, it...made sense in my head."

"I get it," Katara assured.

"So I was thinkin', Kat...What's a musician Toph likes a lot?"

"Huh?" Katara's face perked with surprise at the question as she tapped her cheek, immediately seeking answers.

"Besides the Beatles," Jane added, to which Katara nodded.

"I know she likes P!nk," Katara muttered carefully.

"'Pink'...?" Jane mumbled, confused. Someone named after such a girly color did _not _sound like Toph's cup of tea.

"I'm _sure _you've heard her stuff before," said Katara with confidence. Jane blinked at her, dropping her arms into her lap with a slight shake of the head.

"Oh, come _on_, you totally have," Katara pressed. She slide across the bed and leaned over Jane's lap, immediately accessing her laptop's keyboard and pulling up YouTube in an instant. Jane's body burned at the proximity, Katara's tangled hair hanging a few inches from her face, her neck trickling out traces of the perfume she wore for Aang. Jane scooted her chair back a bit to give distance between them, and Katara seemed too absorbed in the screen to notice this awkward gesture.

"It makes sense, really," Katara prattled. "Her and P!nk have a lot in common. A lot of her songs have, like, this message behind them, about being true to yourself, and stuff like that. And they're both, like, totally tomboyish, but still feminine, at the same time. You know what I mean?"

Jane nodded gently at Katara's words, still recovering from the tension her body had been seized by.

"Here, lemme show you this one song. You _have _to know this one..."

* * *

- Sunday, March 13th, 2011 -

"You're sure it's not going to be a big deal?" Aang squeaked quietly as Katara casually tugged him along into her dorm room.

"Toph's off practicing, I bet." She closed her door behind them. "It's _fine, _Hun, really."

Aang swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry despite having just eaten lunch.

"But...-" His eyes were nervous, his gaze scattering all about - everywhere _but _Katara, to try and keep his cool. It was failing. "But what if she comes back, and...and we're-"  
"It's _fine, _ya goof..." Katara locked the door with a sly smile before approaching him, wrapping her arms around his waist. His palms found their way to her hips and they stood, torsos combined, faces glowing with intimacy. Katara nuzzled her nose against his and he grinned playfully at the gesture. She tucked her chin against his slender shoulder and ran her fingers along his spine, rolling across each scapula as the fabric of his T-shirt warped from the gentle waves of her caressing.

His thumbs massaged her sides timidly as she reached up around his ears, popping off his hat and dropping it to the floor. She stroked his scalp, running her fingers through his hair. It was a bit long at this point, compared to his usual - longer than she'd ever seen it before. Probably an inch, inch and a half long by now? She savored the way he exhaled slowly at her touch when she went back down to the base of his neck.

"Heh...You need a haircut, Penguin."

"Mm?" Aang rubbed his ear against the side of her neck.

"Maybe a buzzcut...?" Katara ruminated.

"_Pff_, you think I'd look good bald, or something?" Aang remarked quietly, amused by the idea.

"Actually...-" Katara leaned her head back, cocked it to the side, and squinted carefully at his face, which was pink and smiling rather giddily. "-..._yes, _I think you would," she decided in a courteous tone. He laughed and rubbed his hands briskly around her waist.

"Well...I'm not sure I wanna be _bald _bald," Aang compromised, "but sure...I can go back to the short hair."

"_Super _short hair," Katara haggled coyly.

"Right," Aang conceded with a sharp nod. It was only fair, after all, given all of the loopy, droopy, crazy beautiful things Katara did with _her _hair for _his _sake. Katara laughed in a smooth hum, her eyelids sliding closed as she parted her lips around his own. One kiss became two, and three, and four. Sneakers popped off, Aang's back collided with Katara's mattress. Aang seemed motionless, his hands remaining firm against her hips. As Katara eased herself down upon him, he seemed to squirm, his eyebrows arcing with doubt while she could feel the blood in his loins rushing from beneath his jeans. She gave pause.

"Is this...-?" she whispered with some concern, suddenly realizing they hadn't quite gone this far with their physicality yet. "A-are you OK with...-?"

"Uhh...I...-" Aang looked a bit perplexed.

Katara immediately rolled over, landed at his side.

"I'm sorry," she quickly muttered. "I know that...you need to take things slow..."

They had made out a number of times by now, and cuddling quite a bit, but they hadn't really done much concerning the _pelvic _region just yet, and she could immediately tell he was wary about it at the moment.

Aang's breathing was controlled and heavy as he stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

"No, it was-...I'm fine, it just...-" He smiled weakly. "I wasn't expecting to...go right _into...stuff..._like that...? Like, right now I mean, and...it's not that-"  
"I understand," Katara eased him, snuggling up against his side and putting her arm over his chest.

She scratched across his T-shirt, then poked her thumb playfully at each of the four colored dots on its surface.

"I'm sorry," Aang sighed out.

"You're good," Katara giggled, ever amused by his courtesy.

"But...but I _want _to...do that kind of thing," Aang grumbled. "But it's like...I don't want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable..."

Katara found this remark amusing, given things she had done with boys in the past. In retrospect, she had done them more out of a desperation for attention, clinging to the feeling that someone found her beautiful and worthwhile...But here it was so very different. Here, it was because she found _Aang _beautiful.

"You won't," Katara advised softly as Aang pet her head in reciprocation of her rubbing his stomach. She wormed her hand below his shirt, amused by the lack of hair. He had slight traces of a six-pack, too. It was adorable. "Even if you _did, _I would let you know, Aang."

"Y-yea, but-...It's-...I don't know what to _do _with it," Aang puffed out, frustrated with himself. "I guess I'm so...self-conscious about it, I just...don't want to make anyone feel...-"  
"Violated," Katara concluded solemnly, and with some sympathy. "The way others have made _you _feel..." She wore a serious look on her face and clutched at his jaw, turning his head to look to her. She kissed him on the forehead, then stared at him in earnest.

"It's...just difficult for me to...initiate. I guess," Aang grumbled with some shame, his eyes quivering a bit with meditation as their gazes remained locked.

"Aang." Katara brushed at his jawline again. "I understand, Sweetie. It's _fine. _We can take things at your own pace. I will _never _try to make you do something you're not comfortable doing." Her retinas burned into his own. "_Ever_," she insisted adamantly.

"Well...W-well, yes, but...I-I mean, _thank you, _that means so much, and...and I mean, I feel the same way about _you, _but I'm-...I don't _know _what's comfortable or not for me, and...-" Aang huffed in spite of his own lack of confidence, his own lack of...making _sense._ But Katara understood him well, regardless.

"We can just take it one step at a time," she coolly laid the matter to rest. She kissed him on the cheek, and he rolled onto his side to face her, clutching at her hand tightly. "You've been wronged in the past," Katara lamented gently. "And I'm not going to let that happen again. We're going to do this _right._"

Aang smiled bashfully at her and kissed the back of her wrist. He leaned over her way and pressed his nose against her own, straining his neck to stretch from his laid down position. Their eyelids remaining half open during this gesture, which evolved into a kiss, and then dissolved back into another abrading of noses.

"My Eskimo won't ever leave me out in the cold," he mused as they broke apart. He readjusted, nestling his head on her pillow, and she wriggled up with him, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. "That's good to know," Aang murmured with serenity.

* * *

He carefully hung the sign on the glass double doors - a lethargic end-cap to the evening's tidying up.

{**Closed**}

With a deep, wheezing breath, he planted his hefty weight onto a wooden chair, alone. The shop was deserted, officially closed for the night. Iroh cast his glance on a copy of The White Lotus newspaper, folding neatly on the table, left for any student to pick up and read. Many of the other tables in the Jasmine Dragon had papers on them, as well. He was already thoroughly exposed to the contents, even though it was fresh off the presses. He helped manage the publication, after all.

With a restful sigh, Iroh reflected on his day. Teaching a couple classes, helping give feedback on the newspaper, having a deep conversation with one of his new students that semester...

Iroh's entire life revolved around Saint Roku University. It was no wonder he had stayed there for so long, even after he had lost them...Where else was there for him to go? So much of him was _here_ and always had been.

Iroh checked the clock on the wall above the counter at the front of the shop. It was ten past eight now.

"Hummm..." He frowned, stroking his beard thoughtfully. They were running late...

_Kla-kling-ling...ling..._~  
The windchimes that hung above the entrance, signaling when customers entered.

Iroh's brows shoved down over his dreary eyes as he turned to the door. He had left it open out of convenience for them to come right in, as he often did...but they normally weren't so late. But...wait. It hadn't been who he had been expecting.

Had this other person completely _ignored _the sign he had hung up? He gawked as the girl in the green hoodie shuffled to the counter, tapping her cane carefully in front of her. Her pale, milky eyes, half veiled by black bangs, were drooping to match his own. She yawned and scratched at her rear end, her eyelids slipping half closed every few seconds as she stood patiently at the counter for a few seconds.

"Hello?" she called out, a bit perplexed at the silence. Damn, it was _really _quiet here tonight...

Iroh's elderly memory finally caught up with him - this was that blind music major that he had heard Zuko and Mai mention now and again, the one that spent time with Leekpai and his friends. Iroh had met her a few fleeting times. What was her name, again...?

"Erghhh..." He slowly rose from his seat, his back shooting out a mild pain from top to bottom. "I'm sorry, Miss, but...we are closed..."

"Ummm..." Toph cocked her head in his direction. She _knew _that voice. It was Zuko's Uncle - that professor. No doubt about it. Oh, right, this was _his _shop, right? Heh...

"I suppose you...emm...must not have known from the sign," Iroh observed aloud with a stroke of curious pity.

"The...door was open," Toph awkwardly mumbled, depressed that she couldn't even do something as simple as buy tea without fucking it up and bothering an old man. She turned to leave, holding her palm out for the exit.

"Wait, wait," Iroh called to her slowly, peacefully. He chuckled. "If you would like, I just brewed a pot of tea. You are welcome to some."

Toph's hand slowly sunk into her hoodie pocket, and she smiled weakly, her back still to the professor.

"Shhhhure..." she hesitantly replied. She turned around. "It's fine?" she dubiously wondered.

"Wahaha..." Iroh made his way around the counter to the still steaming kettle on the stove he had prepared. He went about preparing two mugs of tea - the special recipe he had concocted himself, from which the shop had been given its name. "Of _course _it is fine, my Dear...Please, ehh...-" He gave pause, suddenly realizing his guilt at not offering the girl a seat. But she had already found one by herself. "It will only be a moment," he assured in recovery.

Toph doggedly slung her elbows onto the table, and her head sagged. She puffed out a tired breath. She'd spent her entire _day _struggling, practicing, especially after another poor display for the Kyoshi Warriors...She felt a bit better now than she had when she'd left her session with the band, at least, but...still. Ugh. No social contact that day other than what little she expressed during practice. She'd gotten a phone call from Sokka, but no voicemail. Just knowing he had called her had made her heart thump just a little bit rougher than usual. It had been a bit frightening. She had absolutely no reason to feel that way. Meh, it had probably not even been important or he would've left a voicemail. Probably just asking if she had wanted to _eat _with him and Aang or something. Pff. Fucking Meat-Head. Always food on the brain...Always making her laugh and smile. But...wait. Argh. Damnit.

_It's just a phase_, she had assured herself, convinced of her own desperation. Once she'd gotten herself out of this self-pitying shit-fest slump that nonsense would go away, too.

_T-tonk._

The gentle clatter of ceramic mug against wood stirred her. She realized her head had found itself lounging in her arms on the table.

"Here is your tea," Iroh offered kindly, sitting himself down beside her. She had flinched back to full consciousness, eyes wide and heavy with fatigue. They seemed to gaze off into nothingness for a moment.

"You...seem quite _tired _to be out all alone at this hour," Iroh mused.

Toph's face twisted into a ever-so-slightly insulted smirk.

"_You_ seem too _old _to be _awake _at this hour," she jibed back without thinking. _Oh. Oops. Shit. That was...pretty rude._

"_**Wahahaha**__!_" Iroh instantly belted out a laugh, slapping his knee. "Perhaps I am," he acknowledged, his voice warm like a campfire, melting her concern away.

_Shhlllpph._

She could hear him taking a cautious sip of the hot tea, and she could smell its rich fragrance taunting her. She groped her hand along the tabletop slowly, carefully, as she did every other day, until it was gently slid into her grasp. Her face twitched with an indignant frown at this action, but she scooped up the mug anyway. She attempted to drink just a bit, sucking in air along with it when her tongue writhed in agony at its heat. She choked on the vapors, coughing out a few droplets into her sleeve. There was a strange silence, her arm covering her mouth, until she pounded at her chest, coughed once more, then sighed. Daaaaaang, this was some strong stuff.

"Fffff**uck**," she gasped out. "Uhhhaiiii mean..._frick._" She grinned sheepishly. "This is...errrmm...-"

"A bit_...bracing?_" Iroh wryly finished her thought.

"Aheh...Y-yea...I think I need some sugar in mine..." Toph squirmed to rise from her seat, but Iroh managed to get up first.

"Now, now...I will fetch some for you."

Toph struggled to hold back an anguished sigh of frustration, but one still seeped out and she masked it as she sunk back into her seat.

"One lump? Two?"

"Uhhh...-" Toph pondered the liquid she'd just consumed. "Better make it _three_..."

His fat, padding waddles that made for steps returned.

_Plip, plip, plip._

She could feel his presence pitying her circumstance as she reached back for her mug - on her _own _this time, thank-you-very-much...

"I _know_ what you're thinking," she grumbled testily. "I look like I can't _handle_ being by myself..."

"_I _wasn't thinking that," Iroh was quick to push out the truth. He took another drink.

"You wouldn't even let me put sugar in my drink," Toph grunted. "Hell, you didn't even let me pick up the _mug _on my own..." Her nose flared with irritation as she hunched over in her seat, hair drooping over her face.

Iroh sighed at her attitude, rubbing his chin contemplatively.

"I did those things because I _wanted _to, and for _no other reason_," Iroh's crackling voice insisted.

Toph regretted having doubted him after hearing this words. She knew sincerity when she heard it, and he was being quite sincere. She felt like a bit of a bitch for acting all aloof with him – a professor, showing generosity to her despite being tired himself, no doubt. Fucking _damn, _she just couldn't get anything right today..._Urggghh._ She had to stop needing to let this shit slide. She had to be able to manage this crap without some voice of reason explaining it to her.

She drank a bit more – very carefully this time – and hummed with approval before clearing her throat again.

"People see me and think I'm weak," she explained her aggravation. "They wanna take _care_ of me. But...I can take care of myself _by_ myself...

Iroh nodded slowly to himself at her words, his hands folded beside his mug. He looked back at the clock. Eight fifteen.

"You sound like my nephew," he lamented, recalling Zuko's words and actions as of late, and how tired and stressed and defensive he had been acting – very much like this young woman. "Always thinking you need to do things on your own, without anyone's support." They both gulped down a bit more tea. "There is_ nothing wrong_ with letting people who love you _help_ you," Iroh was quite clear in getting this point across. His eyes widened as he considered the context of their conversation. "Not that I_ love_ you, urhh...I hardly _know_ you."

Toph let loose a childish giggle at the old man, who was charming her over. She was reminded of her recent cry-session with Katara. Part of her continued to remain angry at herself for letting that happen...but another part relished the relief of that evening - letting everything out. Iroh was probably right - there was nothing wrong with that. Then again, she was an independent woman, now, right? Free of her parents. She had to learn to be able to take care of herself, right? She decided to try and change the subject, slipping back into the whirlpool of confusion this topic kept dumping her into.

"So...How _is _your nephew these days?" she asked. "I haven't heard from Zuko lately."

"Ah." Iroh's voice changed gears. "I have not been able to talk with him much lately..."

"Busy with his _presidential duties, _and stuff? Like starting up that restaurant thing?"

"Yes. I'm sure that is part of it..." There was some hesitancy. Something else was there, hiding under that tone.

"Part of it?"

"Over the past couple of years...his life has changed a lot, and our family has been going through pretty difficult times. Zuko is trying to help someone who is very important to him - to me, as well - but I fear he is beginning to lose hope."

"Mm..." Toph's stomach quivered with sympathy and worry. She recalled hearing about how his mother had passed away a couple of years back, and was sure this was the source of what Iroh spoke of. "Uhh...Sorry about that," she muttered out, wanting to make amends for her rudeness at the start.

"I appreciate your sympathy," acceded Iroh. "I know that Zuko has been putting so much of himself into this new project. It is...his way of coping. Finding hope. Really...-" He grunted, readjusting himself in his set and clamping both hands on his mug. "-...I think it has brought hope to many of us at SRU."

"Huh...?" Toph was perplexed.

Iroh smiled knowingly, aware that the girl before him couldn't fully comprehend what he meant, given her lack of knowledge - and that was for the best, really. But he could probably explain the base level to her. That was harmless.

"You may have noticed that our campus seems very disconnected from Wayward."

"Mm-hm." Toph agreed with that - for a town so close to the college, she couldn't think of anyone she actually _knew _from the town...

"The truth is, our school and that town both need each other. SRU brings a young adult population that helps fuel the small businesses in Wayward, and our campus is fairly isolated on its own. Despite our co-dependence, we still function as two separate communities. Two segregated groups of people who pass each other by, but without connection."

Toph leaned back in her chair, drinking slowly as she listened. What he was talking about was kind of glancing over her head, but just the sound of the man's peaceful, wise voice was soothing to her ears. Toph of course could not relate with the idea of being hypnotized by a campfire's flickering hues, but she was willing to bet this elder's voice elicited a similar effect, and she was pleased just to listen to him speak.

"I witnessed some of the activities of violence that took place last winter," Iroh lamented, harkening back to the fight that had broken out between the Freedom Fighters and the Rough Rhinos. "It is quite telling of the state of things in Wayward. You see, the United Republic is a symbol of our community reaching out to theirs - trying to help their community find peace and balance with our own, and also within itself."

All Toph was hearing from this was _Yadda-yadda-politics-community-yadda-yadda-love-eachother_. But the quality of his careful, plodding words and the old rasp in his voice reminded her of Grammy. And that was perfectly fine and made it all worthwhile.

"It was my nephew's idea to create a place where our students and staff could be expected to mingle with Wayward's citizens, and I have already heard of friendships formed there from the events that were arranged." Iroh smiled wide and finished off his drink in a large gulp. "It is amazing what some free ice cream can accomplish, don't you think?"

Toph smirked in his direction, her head hung down lazily.

"It sounds like you're...really stoked about all the stuff your nephew's doing," she observed with some warmth. It was reminding her of how Gram-Gram used to speak of her with pride.

"Of course," said Iroh simply, with some elation. "He is a sharp young man with ambition. I know he is going to do great things with his life."

"Mmm..." Toph's heart sank a bit at that notion. She'd been telling herself ever since she got to this school that she would do great things herself. And what had she accomplished? She'd broken _two _guy's hearts, gotten a bunch of people pissed at her, made some enemies within her own major, hurt the _only _family member who cared about her, _and, _the grand cherry on top...she'd cut her own parents out of her life.

So much for 'great things.'

"Sounds like he's doing a lot better at that than I am," Toph grumbled. It was a bit selfish, taking the focus away from Iroh and onto herself - the words had just tumbled out before she'd really thought about them. Ugh, fuck. Like they always _did. _She seriously needed to start doing something about that. Well...No use taking it back, it was out now. "All _I've _done since I got here is fuck everything up." _Shit! __Er, 'shoot.'_ "I mean..._mess _everything up."

"Hahah...No need to censor your frustrations with this old man. My ears can handle it. They are old, but not frail."

"Psh." She grinned.

"Now, then...I am sure you haven't ruined as much as you are making yourself believe."

"Rrrm..." A grunt of doubt. "The whole point of college is learning to be an _adult, _right? Take care of yourself...Seems like every time I actually try _doing _that - really try to carry my own weight, and take care of myself _by _myself - things go to shit."

"Heh. As they often do. I get the impression that independence is highly important to you."

"Well, _yea. _I hate it when people think I need their help, just because I'm blind."

"So you don't accept _anyone's _help."

"Umm...Y-yea, sometimes. That happens."

"Perhaps it would be wise to change your perspective."

"I...don't think I understand."

"Ask yourself this: do you ever need help?"

Toph's nose wrinkled. Her eyes squinted stubbornly.

"...Yea. I do." The words were pushed out against the inner forces trying to hold them inside.

"But it _isn't _because you are blind. Is it?"

Her eyelids loosened.

"...No," she answered. This time she spoke with much more serenity and understanding than a moment before.

"That sweet, kind girl I always see you with...Does she help you because you are blind?"

"Ermmm...Well, _yea, _if I wasn't, she wouldn't need to do so much stuff for me."

"But she does not _need _to do _anything _for you. You walked to this shop all on your own. You said so yourself - you can function all of your own."

"Umm..."

"Dogs can walk on their own, yet a caring master will walk his dog."

"Err..."

"Flowers can grow on their own, yet a caring hand will still garden them."

"I _guess_..."

"I think...that your friend watches over you not because it is necessary, but because it is her own way of showing her love for you."

"Yea." Toph could certainly get behind _that_ one...

"Your condition is not the _cause_ of her action - it is simply the obstacle she chooses to help you overcome."

"I think I see what you mean."

"I would have prepared your drink for you even if you _could_ see."

"Right...I get it."

Iroh took a deep breath. He could tell by her tint of impatient he had probably overdone it a bit.

"Well...My apologies. You must pardon an old man and his enthusiasm. Wahaha..."

"Heh...It's all right. Sometimes...I need a good kick in the teeth." She felt her stomach fluttering like moth wings.

"Eh?"

"Haha. I mean...You're right. Guess I shouldn't just...always assume people are only nice to be because I'm blind. But...-" She stuck her elbow on the table, cheek in palm, and puffed out air at her bangs. "I hate having to rely on others. But now, I don't even feel good about _myself._ I've made so many _stupid _mistakes lately...I don't even _know _how to go about...fixing it." Toph's drummed her fingernails against the now empty mug with pensive uncertainty.

Iroh rose his seat, and placed a wide, wrinkled hand on her shoulder.

"While it is best to believe in one's self, a little help from others can be a great blessing."

He left her to ponder this as he cleaned up their drinks. Toph yawned, stretching out her arms and retrieving her cane from the floor. She got up, as well, and waited until she heard him approach.

"I think I'm finally starting to realize that," she agreed with him, refocusing her thoughts on things like lying in Katara's lap, and Sokka's arms around her. She turned to leave, but caught herself. "...Thank you," she piped up in a grateful, chirping tone. The man had certainly filled her with some confidence.

"My pleasure," said Iroh. "Sharing a drink with fascination people is one of my life's true delights."

"Haha. No, I meant...like...Thank you for what you said." She inhaled briskly, feeling refreshed from the beverage and It helped me. "It helped me," she informed with with timid gratitude. She tapped her stick before her, pressing forward, eager to face the future.

"I'm glad," said Iroh peacefully, watching her reach the door and open it.

"Oh, and...about Zuko. I hope you guys are able to help that person."

Iroh sighed solemnly at this and nodded to himself.

"As do I."

___Kla-kling-ling...ling..._~

* * *

**A/N: References to the episode 'The Chase' in that last scene, of course, with a dash of 'Tales of Ba Sing Se.' =)**_  
_


	76. Chance

**A/N: A bunch of SRU artworks have been added to the gallery, including a fantastic preview pic of a future scene with Jane and Korra.**

**http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/favourites/41510260**

**Anyone following the SRU Tumblr account got a preview of this chapter, so those more dedicated folks out there can feel free to keep an eye out, I'll probably keep doing that.**

**http:/saint-roku-university(dot)tumblr(dot)com/**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 76 - Chance  
_

* * *

- Monday, March 14th, 2011 -

"Right. See? You've got it," Aang encouraged, rubbing his elbow against hers, his hands occupied with the game controller in his hands.

"Uhhh...-" Katara's voice was shaky as she was trying to keep up with the pace of what was on screen. "S-so, like...-"

The on-screen vehicle leaned heavily into a turn, the little mushroom-man in the driver's seat twisting the wheel fiercely. Katara immediately reacted, flicking her control stick left and right. Sparks began flying from the wheels of their car before it boosted forward. A childish squeal popped out of Katara's lips.

"I've got this," she chirped, her tone regaining its confidence.

"OK, so you also gotta watch out," Aang cautioned as a box in the top corner rotated through items. "'Cuz you're also in charge of the items, too..."

An alarm began beeping at them, and the pink-dressed princess in the backseat held up a banana peel.

"So, like, right there, it's a red shell, so you...-"

But Katara had already dropped the banana peel, cancelling out the oncoming attack.

"I _remember _how to play Mario Kart, Goofus," she teased. "This one's just...different."

Aang had introduced Katara to Mario Kart a while back, but this was the first time she had ever played _Double Dash! _before. It was quite enjoyable, both of them playing as characters in the same kart. He had figured she'd find it endearing and...about as romantic as Mario Kart was capable of being. When they won the first race and she kissed his cheek, he knew he'd made a good choice. A few grand prix sessions passed by as they both got into things. Aang was charmed by how cute Katara was as she was taking this somewhat seriously, interested in learning how to play effectively.

"Looks like penguins and Eskimos make a good team," Katara announced as their characters celebrating earning another trophy. She was endeared by how Aang had come up with his own activity for them to do together, and pleasantly surprised by how much she was enjoying it. Mario Kart had previously proven a bit crazy for her to comprehend in the past with all of the items flying around, but letting her boy take the wheel while she learned how to shoot shells and deflect attacks was making things easier to take in. He was easing her into things one step at a time this way.

After their victory, Katara's arms wound up snugly wrapped around Aang's waist.

"Hey, Sweetie..."

"Yea?"

"I was playing as Princess Peach, but...how come you played as _Toad?_"

"What's wrong with Toad?"

"Nothing." She laughed through her nose and ruffled his hair. His scalp was super dry, his hair almost like hay today. "I just-...I dunno, I figured you'd play as Mario."

Aang shrugged and dropped a small smooch on her shoulder.

"Mario's...like...the _hero_," he muttered. "But Toad's the royal retainer. He looks out for the princess and does anything she needs for him..."

Katara frowned slightly at this, a bit perplexed.

"But Mario _saves _the princess..."

"W-well, yea, but...you don't need _saving_,_" _mumbled Aang with a sheepish grin.

"I guess _not_," Katara agreed coyly. A curious explanation from a curious young man. She was fascinated by his mindset, and he was tickled by her questions, always seeking to understand him.

She ran her fingertips beneath his shirt along his hairless stomach.

"You lost some weight over the past couple of months, didn't you?" she noted. Just because they hadn't been dating earlier didn't mean she wouldn't notice this kind of thing.

"Heh..." Aang shrugged timidly, but she read him easily. '_Yea, I did._'

"All that jogging, right?"

"Mm..."

She leaned herself against him as he clicked the game to go back to the menu screen.

"Weren't you doing all that running to try and get on the track team?" she asked, suddenly reminded of his previous goals.

"Oh, uhh...-" Aang swallowed hard and shrugged half-heartedly. "Yea, I...I was..."

"'Was?'" She rubbed her head against his twice, opting not to put him on the spot with eye contact. His hands set his own controller down and rested on her arm.

"Yea, I didn't get in," he clarified. "Things, uh-...Well, my priorities changed," he explained with warmth, reaching to his side and rubbing blindly at her jaw with his thumb.

"Ah-_haaahhh_..." Katara's eyes slid closed and she kissed his neck lightly. He was wearing a different cologne today than usual. Whatever it was, it was working. Still sitting, they awkwardly pressed abdomens together, hugging tightly as Katara left kisses like raindrops across his neck. She could tell he enjoyed it, and he reciprocated afterward. As he did so, the back of her mind juggled the question, '_Is he comfortable? How come it seems like I'm always initiating? Am I maybe messing something up here?_'

They made out for a minute or so and she tried to let the lingering doubts go...But they kept hold. After they broke apart, arms still across backs, she whispered a question.

"Is this all OK?"

He nodded slightly, and rubbed her nose. She distracted him with more kissing, and clasped at his wrist. She knew Aang well enough to understand that with some things, she'd have to show him it was OK in order to get him to know he was fine initiating in these matters. She planted his palm against her chest, and it lingered there, motionless. A moment passed, and then the hand quickly retracted at the sound of the door opening. Lips leapt away from each other, chins tucked on shoulders, and hands went back around waists as Sokka walked in, only to freeze in place two steps into the room.

"_Gyughhh_," he shuddered. "**Oogies **in my bedroom?" he seethed, eyes narrowing at Aang, who smirked up at him.

"It's _his _bedroom, too," Katara quipped back cheerfully, not even turning to look at her brother, who huffed through his nose at the remark.

"Yooouuuuu guys..." he growled at them, index finger quaking in the air as he stomped over to his side of the room, unslinging his backpack. "You're lucky that I've got a meeting to go to, or I'd...-" He pulled a folder out and tucked it under his shoulder.

"Go to your meeting, _Bro_," taunted Katara. Aang grinned widely, and Sokka pointed at him with silent accusation before heading back out. Closing the door behind him and walking down the hall of Aero, he smiled brightly to himself with relief that his sister and his roommate both seemed to be so enamored with each other. It was reassuring, in a way - two wonderful people he loved finding some happiness in people who could give it back to them. It was a beautiful thing, he had to admit.

A beautiful thing he remembered all too well.

He wondered what he'd have to do to find such fortune once again.

Was there even a chance?

* * *

Sokka was floored by this proposition. Was this for real? He realized his jaw was agape when Piandao cracked a smile at his stare, and he wiped his clammy palm across his face to sober himself from the excitement.

"I had a hunch you might feel that way," said Piandao knowingly. "Which is why I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

At this, Sokka allowed himself to smile and a baffled laugh escaped him.

"I don't even know what to say," he breathed out, staring down at the folder in his hands. He swallowed hard, then looked back up with a hurried, "Thank you!"

"Don't thank me just yet," chuckled the professor. "It's not like this is set in stone - you have to impress my friend first."

"R-right!" Sokka sputtered, fumbling with the folder and sticking it across the desk to Piandao's extended hand.

"Let's have a look at what you've got here," the man muttered to himself as he opened the contents onto his desk. Sokka watched Piandao adjust his external USB camera. Piandao was waiting for the video connection to start up - the video chat Sokka had _no forewarning about._

Sokka's mind raced with possibilities. A shot at a paid internship? This could be exactly the kind of opportunity he'd been looking for. The professor had advised Sokka to bring some samples of the ideas they had discussed off and on in their conversations so he could take a look at them. The goal, Sokka had just been informed of moments prior, was to compile these works into a portfolio Piandao would endorse to his personal friend - the one who worked at the trading card company - in the hopes of landing Sokka an internship there. While it was highly unlikely that he'd be doing something like designing their cards, any kind of experience in that sort of creative kettle could prove valuable - and with some luck, he was told, he might be able to find a job within the company.

Piandao's theory revolved around Sokka's fascination with history, wars, battles (and the tactics employed), and mythology - all the kinds of ideas that went into designing the kinds of strategy games his friend's company worked with.

With the idea - the possibility - now planted into his head, Sokka's mind was reeling, and he was swimming in a quickly flooding state of creativity when Piandao cut off his thought.

"We're all set up?" Piandao was speaking, seemingly to no one. Then the computer speakers replied.

["Yea, we're all good here."]

"Great. So, I have my friend Sokka here - that student I told you about - I just figured I'd have him show you some of his ideas, just to give you a feel for what he's about."

["Sounds good, let's see it."]

"Sure thing."

Sokka's hands were tightening around the edges of his chair. Who was this man on the other line? The monitor was pointed away so he couldn't see, and yet..._arghh, nooo_...Piandao was rotating the spheric camera around to face Sokka, who sheepishly waved and nodded to it.

"Sooo...What's _this, _exactly?" Piandao asked him with a perplexed look, flipping around a print to him.

+ http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Wangfyre-Dovahkiin-279642450 +

Sokka shrugged, his face flushing pink briefly as his professor flashed it before the camera.

["Wow, that's pretty solid work."]

"Oh! That! Yea." Sokka's intestines were crawling. "That's, uhhh...something my friend drew up for me," he explained, hoping to draw focus away from the image. He'd tossed that in more to show Piandao in a personal setting, not..._this._ "I designed it, it's just...I can't _draw, _and so...-"

"But what _is _it?"

Sokka's brain danced with mischievous thoughts of the fantastical story his mind had crafted to tell the tale of the warrior presented in the picture. A great bearded oaf with a magic sword who saved the innocent and nobly slayed the dark dragons that plagued the mystic lands, belting out words of magic to cause...mystic...magic..._stuff_...to transpire. And such things.

Yes, the character _did _look startlingly like himself - but with a much more luxurious beard (handsome devil!). _Yes, _aspects of the design were _borrowed _from somewhere else. And OK, _yes, _the more he thought about it, the more it _was _a somewhat blatant self-insert of himself into a fantasy world of a video game he was anticipating a _lot _and...-

_Oh God. What hell hath I wrought? __I'm no better than Katara and her Harry Potter fanfiction. How have I not seen the error of my ways until this moment?_

"Yea, it's-...W-well, my friend and I, we kinda like, made a version of...of _me, _but like...in this fantasy world and...and I dunno, it's...just a design. I just thought it was cool."

"I _see_," Piandao mumbled, eyeballing the picture, then Sokka, then the drawing once more. "As I'm looking through these, it seems a _number _of them are drawings..."

["Yea, lotta neat creature designs in there."]

"Yea, that's right," Sokka nodded, hoping the particular print Piandao had brought up would fade in with the rest.

["But you just said you don't draw."]

"Th-that's true, those are pictures I designed, I had him put them together. Like, the concepts, I meant. I came up with a lot of the concepts."

["You got the files for these?"]

"Huh?"

["Digital. Do you have digital copies of this stuff?"]

"_Yeaaa, _yea, I can...ya know...e-mail those to you with the application."

["Great."]

Piandao nodded thoughtfully in response to this brief exchange as he continued to scroll through the stack, making sure to show the images to the camera to give an impression.

"So you coordinated with your friend on these images?" Piandao checked.

"Exactly. Because, like, I'm an 'Idea Guy,' you know?" Sokka rambled on, hoping he was making sense. "It took some work to coordinate those designs, and...and like, I've got docs in there that lay out the mechanics and lore of the world, so...-"

"It looks like you...already have the concept to a strategy game laid out here," Piandao noted, intrigued.

"W-well, yea, I guess I just thought it might...I-I dunno, be a good way to...-"  
"Run us through it."

["Yea, what's the hook to it?"]

Sokka blinked at him, wide-eyed, his stomach emptying. All of these personal, generally private ideas he'd been brewing over the past year with Aang in his spare time, laid out on paper in words and images, and here he was being asked to _explain _it? He hadn't prepared for _this_.

"Err..." He gawked, jaw slightly agape, pointing dumbly at his own project.

As Piandao slid the folder across his desk his student, Sokka began fumbling around, trying to remember what parts of his concept would make the most sense to start with. he was having difficulty with that prospect.

"W-well, as you know...this idea that my roommate and I came up with...f-for a strategy game. I mean, I _know _you know that, because - _apff_ - why else would I be here, showing it to you? A_hehhhh_nyway!" Sokka went to scoop up one of the images but dropped it, and the paper floated downward, dodging his clumsy hands as he fumbled to pick it up. He grabbed it from the floor carefully and quickly dropped it back onto the table, his brain degrading with worry and self-doubt, his stomach empty and gurgling.

"So, this world we came up with-" he began, his stupid hands hastily sifting through the jumbled pile - Piandao had rearranged them, _argh_ - to find the correct drawing. "-the map for that's right here. No-_uhh _wait-_uhh _wait-_uhh _wait-it's _here._" He stabbed his finger into a very rough drawing of a map. He was talking a mile a minute by this point, caught on the spot. "So the world's made up of these four different races and they each are able to use different kinds of powers and they're been at war for like a _hundred years _and so that's _bad _for them but it's _good _for us because it sets up this place for all of these battles to happen right?" He wasn't even looking at Piandao at this point, just rattling out words incoherently. Sokka interrupted himself with a long-winded huff. "I'm sorry. Let me start at the beginning." He bobbed his head for a moment of recollection before bursting out a rapid-fire string of narrative that had Piandao concerned yet bemused.

"Katara-and-I-met-Aang-last-school-year-now-I-didn't-like-Aang-at-first-but-I-grew-to-love-him-over-time-and-then-my-sister-_really-_grew-to-love-him-more-recently-but-I'm-getting-ahead-of-myself-and-so-anyway-Aang-and-I-became-roommates-and-so-we-spent-a-lot-of-time-together-and-"

Piandao tuned him out for a few moments, carefully observing the concepts laid out in his bullet-point documents - and a crudely drawn flow-chart - complimented by rough sketches of various stylized figures using the 'powers' Sokka must have been referring to. It seemed like it had some potential, and at least wasn't so stereotypically Tolkien-esque in its design, which he was admittedly expecting after hearing about the lad's interest in such fantasy worlds.

"-got-the-idea-from-how-the-campus-has-the-four-dorms-with-the-four-elements-theme-going-on-and-so-it-just-made-sense-to-turn-them-into-"  
"OK." Piandao thrust up his palm , growing nervous himself, hoping to ease Sokka down. "Sorry," he apologized to his friend. "I put him on the spot here - this was an impromptu thing," he advised. "But we can get all of the digital files sent to you later to look at it in detail. But Sokka," Piandao eyeballed him sternly, hoping Sokka would get his act together, as this wasn't the best first impression. There'd have to be a little damage-control afterward. Perhaps this hadn't been such a great idea, to spring it upon the poor kid on a whim. "Just explain to us the basic ideas of how it works."

Sokka's eyes were wide, his heart thumping fretfully, fingernails digging into the wooden arms of the chair he rested in.

"Y-yea, I can try and do that..."

* * *

- Tuesday, March 15th, 2011 -

Aang was concerned. Sokka had seemed discouraged all day. Aang knew his meeting had not gone well, as Sokka had briefly explained it, but he hadn't discussed any details. As Aang sucked down his water through a straw he stared at his roommate, his worry refusing to lift. Sokka was nibbling at a Philly cheese steak, reading a text book to make up for time he should have been studying the night before, drowning his cares in video games.

Toph was complacently by Sokka's side, eating her twin-set of fries (curly and steak-style, respectively) without much to say. The others were elsewhere, unable to partake in an extended lunch on this day. Eventually, though, she ended up speaking up through their quiet meal.

"What's the _deal _with you guys?" She received an awkward glance from Aang and a cold shoulder from her booth neighbor. With furrowed brows, she nudged Sokka's arm with her palm. "Huh? Not nappin' over there, are ya, Snoozles?"

"Wha...-?" Sokka snapped out of his trance.

"Tch, what's _up_? I don't need to _see_ to tell that you're all gloomy."

Sokka puffed out a sigh and cast his gaze to Aang, who was offering a curious look. He shrugged, seemingly drained of all mental strength, and gave in to their prodding.

"I had a meeting last night with my professor - the guy helping me try to find a job I actually _care _about?"

"Piandao," Toph recollected his name effortlessly, having been _quite _attentive when Sokka had been rattling on about their friendship a few days prior.

"Right. Well, so...last night, I went to his office, and he had me do, like, a sort of informal interview for an internship."

"Whoa..." Toph didn't know what else to say, knowing little about what _kind _of internship it was, or what this even entailed.

"Yea. It would've been a great opportunity..."

"..._Would _have?" Toph knew this wasn't going anywhere good, but hell, Sokka deserved some good luck at some point, right?

"I messed _up, _Toph..."

"...What?" Sokka? Messing up? He was the _idea guy. _He wasn't supposed to 'mess up.'

"Going for that internship was my moment of truth - and I completely _flopped it_," he groaned with self-aggravation, his voice cracking. "I just..._fell_ _apart._"

"Sokka," Aang sighed out, insisting on speaking up now that it was out in the open. "That meeting wasn't your moment of truth. That was just public speaking, and..._nobody's_ really good at that."

"_Katara_ is," Sokka countered, offering Aang a disparate look.

"_That__'s _true," Toph was quick to agree.

"It wasn't even public speaking," Sokka further contested, glaring down at the remnants of his lunch. "It was just _two people_."

"Look," Aang adamantly pressed, slightly cutting one hand through the air while he stabbed a cherry tomato with the other. "Your moment of truth isn't going to be in front of a webcam talking to some stranger. It's going to be out in the real world, doing what you love."

"But..." Sokka's glance rolled away from his friend. "I don't know _what _I love..."

"Wait, wait...A _webcam_?" Toph interjected.

"Guh, yea, it...-" Sokka snarled out in frustration, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "-...was this really unofficial kinda thing, just like a video chat, and I just..._blew _it."

"Sooo...It wasn't _actually _an interview, then?" Toph checked.

"No, but...-"

"Then...make sure you nail the _actual _thing, right?"

"But I've already made a bad first impression," Sokka grouchily dismissed. "I just look like an idiot now."

"Fuck that," Toph was quick to spit out with a tint of disgust. She lightly slapped at his shoulder, practically scolding him for his lack of zest. "I don't know if _remember _this, with that Meat-Head of yours and stuff, but I used to be the _master _of bad first impressions."

"_Used _to be?" Sokka taunted. Toph's heart sparked with glee at that hint of the Sokka she knew well, and she made a point to turn her head his way and project a frown, lifting an arm quickly to make a shot - her elbow ended up banging against the hardwood top of the booth and she flinched, retracting her assault as he snickered.

"Smart-ass," she seethed, rubbing her elbow - _shit, _must've hit the funny-bone. _Argh. _"My _point_ is that just because you screw up at first doesn't mean you can't make it right. I mean...-" Her insides squirmed with a touch of awkward memory, a tingle of longing as she dwelt on the past. "Tw-..._Aang _over here still managed to win me over even when he pissed me off at first..."

Aang grinned at her analogy, acknowledging how true it was, but fed Sokka his take on things.

"I _think _what she means is that she was a _total jerk _at first but that we still ended up as friends..."

Toph crossed her arms over her lap and gave an "Mm-_hm_" of concurrence. "Even fuck-ups can make things right if they work for it."

Sokka hummed and hawed over their encouragement, taking a couple bites of his meal, and the others did as well.

"Yea," he finally admitted. "Maybe I can just...make sure everything's totally in order for the application."

"And-and-_aaaand_...-" Toph forced in an amendment, leaning into his side. _A-ha. You're wearing a T-shirt today. Bingo. Oh, don't mind me, just appreciating my arm touching yours, heh, that's all. _ "-...if you give it a solid try even after looking like the goofball we _know _you are, maybe you'll trick them into thinking you're...I dunno..._determined, _or something..."

Sokka shot her a snappy glance of indignation before easing her off of him and shaking his head, a smirk coming through.

"Toph's right," said Aang. "You can't just give up before you even _try_."

"OK, OK," Sokka gave in to their positive spirits. "I get it. Don't count your rotten eggs before they're chickens..."

"...Uhhh...-?" Toph's confusion melted into a giggle. "_Yeeeaa, _that...didn't make any sense."

"It did in my head," Sokka huffed, the lack of energy in his brain getting the better of him.

"Sounds like _you _need some coffee," Toph advised.

"Or some Red Bull," Aang chimed in.

"Uh, yea-_no_," Toph curtly disagreed, readjusting in the booth with care, foxily arranging herself under the guise of shirt-realignment so that the edge of her leg was just barely brushing against Sokka's. She coyly slipped an arm across his back, squeezed, and jabbed an index finger into his shoulder. "We gotta keep this guy _away _from that stuff or else he'll go runnin' around _nekkid _again."

Sokka was non-plussed by their proximity but amused at her bringing that situation up - _again _- and he shook her off him gently.

"Ya know, I don't get why _you _would care," he retorted. "It's not like you're capable of appreciating my _exquisite physique__._" He slapped his own beefy palm against his arm. Toph could detect just by the sound that it was more flab than fab, but it was endearing to let him think highly of himself like that, and her mind wandered to the gutter ever-so-briefly, contemplating how incorrect his statement was: she _could _appreciate such things, but eyes weren't the tools she had to use...

"Oh, _right,_" she scoffed. "I think you must be _deaf, _'cuz I said we wanted to _prevent _you from de-clothing. I'm already blind, we don't need anybody _else _losing their sight, too."

"I'm sorry," Sokka flatly rebutted, "I can't hear you over the sound of how_ awesome my muscles are_." He flexed his arm repeatedly in front of his face, evidently for his entertainment, but Aang found it amusing in some capacity. He was joking, at least, so that was the right direction to go.

"Whaaaaat?" Toph called him out with disbelief. "Aang, tell it to me straight: 'muscles?' _Really? _I'm not buyin' it..."

Aang's mouth was full, and he shot Toph a bewildered look, but he didn't have time to respond. Sokka's face pouted for a split second, his ego dampened, and he grabbed Toph's hand carelessly, latching it onto his half-heartedly flexed bicep.

"See?" he insisted. "Muscle."

The pressure was on now - Toph's innards were tingling and she could feel the blood seeping through her face, though she frowned with a plastic disapproval to mask it while the very kinds of thoughts she was _trying _to keep out were wrestling with her logic. OK, yea, he _did _have some muscle in there somewhere...

"Tssh, yea, maybe a bit underneath the _flab, _dude..."

"You _could _work out a bit more," Aang passively tossed out advice from his own recent experience.

_True, _Toph's mind conceded, _But then he'd be a bit less squishy, and...he seems fine as a squishy sack of meat, I think._

"Meh," Sokka blew off the idea. "Too much work. Ya can't force perfection."

"Don't _we _sound a bit full of ourselves?" Toph teased.

"Oh, _please_," Sokka retaliated. "Like you don't act that way when it comes to music."

"Obviously. That's because I _am _perfection when it comes to music." She grasped her hand from his arm to his neck to his head - upon locating it, she administered a condescending pat. "You, though?_ You're _just delusional." He swatted her hand away, his lower lip sliding sideways in embarrassment.

"Hey, that reminds me," Aang cut into their moment of banter. "Are you actually playing on Thursday?"

"Say _what_ now?" Toph spat out, barely recovering from her flirtatious encounter as she played innocent, pointing her head toward Aang.

"For Saint Patty's Day? Aren't you guys playing at the concert thing?"

"Oh! Duuude, yea, we are," Toph declared. "For the first time in...a _while. _Right?"

"Holy _crap_," Sokka gasped, smacking his own forehead. "It's _Saint Patty's Day _on Thursday..."

"Yea," Aang slowly went along with him as Sokka stared at him, jaw agape. "Aaand...this means...-?"

"We gotta _drink_," Sokka blurted out in a hushed voice, as if he were stating the obvious.

"Fuck yea," said Toph with a smooth smirk. Aang shrugged at this. He wasn't opposed to alcohol in a social setting, but he _was _technically underage for such things. The United Republic was having a local band concert to keep college students occupied, and no booze was going to be present, so Sokka's scheming was a bit disconcerting.

"Well, there's...not going to be drinking at the concert," Aang tossed out the fact calmly, indifferent to the matter.

"We'll figure something out," Sokka assured. "Maybe pre-game it, or something."

"Uh, but how is it pre-gaming if you're not _gaming_ when you go out?" Toph pondered this ever-pressing question. At this moment, anything Sokka said was ever-pressing in her ears.

Aang had to hold back his objection - namely, the fact that the girls were supposed to be performing as a band, and that alcohol wasn't a keen idea before such a task - but he held it in, deciding there wasn't a point and that they'd end up concluding that on their own in time.

Sokka shrugged fiercely at Toph's muttered inquiry.

"_I_ don't frickin'...know._ I_ didn't make up that phrase."

"So maybe it'll be more like _post_-gaming," Toph decided, acting like she hadn't heard a word he'd said.

"_Whatever _'gaming' it ends up being," announced Sokka, fanning his hands out, "I'm gonna make sure it's, like...multiplayer. Co-op. Something. 'Cuz drinking's no fun when you do it alone."

And there Toph's mind went, back to those insatiable thoughts. There would have to be some 'Number 3' in the bathroom tonight. Fuck, now the idea was in her head, and nothing to stop her from acting on it...And by the way, what the _shit? _Where was this even _coming from, _anyway?

"Sokka, you're talking about something _bad_, aren't you?"

Toph's heart skipped a beat at the sound - it was Suki's voice.

"_What? _Poppycock," cawed Sokka, puffing up his chest. "I am a proper _gent, _milady."

"As _always_," Suki sighed with amusement, rolling her eyes. "I'll have to look forward to seeing this 'gent' come out at some point."

"Oh, how it _will_," Sokka hissed defensively. "The naysayers and the doubters, they will eat their crow."

Suki snickered at his over-acting, and Toph bit her lip with impatience. The fucking hell was _this?_ What did Suki want?

As her laughter faded, she cast her eyes to Toph, who's leg was jittering up and down from her toes - barely touching Sokka's with each motion.

"I heard you crazy people from the other side of the restaurant, but I just wanted to check in with you, Toph: I never heard back from everyone, but is tomorrow night at six going to work?"

"Six is too early," Toph answered briskly, happy to protest with passive-aggressiveness. "Need time to eat before the cafeteria closes."

"Seven, then?" Suki rolled along, not minding one way or another.

"Sure, that's fine," Toph mumbled.

"Great, I'll double check with the others, but if you see them, would you let them know for me?"

"Would if I _could_," Toph snipped back, her agitation bubbling over at the girl's presence leeching away Sokka's attention. She tilted her head to the side, pushing back her heavy bangs and pointing to her own face. "But I can't '_see _them,' so, umm...-"

"Sorry," Suki sheepishly blurted. "Uh, but...if you run into them, it'd-"  
"Which is more likely, given that, again, _I can't see_-"  
"_Right!_" Suki whimpered, whacking her own forehead with her wrist. "Sorry again. But if-...Yea...Let them know, would you?"

Toph didn't respond to this, though, but Suki was bidding her farewells.

"Catch you tomorrow, Toph. Have a good one, guys."

"Yea, see ya, Suki," Aang managed to work out after gulping down the last clump of his salad. He'd been consuming it as fast as he could, suddenly aware of the time and his need to head out.  
"Tootaloo," Sokka coolly waved her off, much to Toph's chagrin.

A silence fell over them, and Toph was using the last of her fries as a distraction.

"You and Suki still seem pretty...OK with each other," Aang observed quietly.

"We are," said Sokka, nodding to himself with satisfaction. "I mean, it's just technicalities that weren't working out, we didn't have some big _blowup, _like...-" He caught himself and zipped his lip, but before he could manage to recover his train of thought, Toph brought to attention the elephant in the room.

"Like me and _Aang_?" She puffed out a disgusted gust of air at her bangs, tussling them about.

"Well, I wasn't-...But..._yea, _I mean...basically." Toph could _hear _him swallow hard from shame. _Heh, that's right, better watch that mouth around me, Buster._

"Hey, it...is what it _is_, right?" said Aang, down-playing the entire situation and trying to move on. "What's past is past. Just because you break up doesn't mean you can't still be friends, right, Toph?"

"Right," Toph rigidly acceded.

* * *

**A/N: What a coincidence, we're about to hit chapter 77 (lucky number!) which will be about St. Patrick's Day, and what holiday is about to transpire? I don't think I could've planned this myself if I'd tried. Tidbits in this chapter were based on tidbits of the start of the episode _Day of Black Sun_.  
**


	77. Shamrocks

**_A/N: Woooot! It took a lot of work, but here's a St. Patrick's Day chapter on St. Patrick's Day._**

**_This chapter is pretty damned long, so I hope you enjoy it. Took a lot out of me. xD  
_**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 77 - Shamrocks  
_

* * *

- Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 -

The grill sizzled, vapors clinging to her nostrils with the numbing scent of beef. The oils bubbled as they toiled away at the potato slices, crisping them. Hollow eyes stared down, half alive at the food, lanky arms operating like machinery, flipping meat and shaking off french fries. Behind her, she overheard a student talking with her boss.

"What's up?"

"Dude. June. Whoever that new guy is, you gotta teach him how to make a burger, man. Look at this crap."

"Mmmm..." June hummed with that impatience she carried when dealing with a customer she was irritated with. "Aaaand what am I lookin' at?"

"It's burnt, man," insisted the customer, jerking his head in Jane's direction as she turned to face whatever issue was transpiring. "That guy messed up my order, anyway - he gave me pepperjack when I asked for provolone. I can't _eat _pepperjack."

Wait, Jane was the only student worker here this afternoon..._'He?' 'That guy?'_

"Uh-_huh_," June sighed. "Well, sorry 'bout that. We'll get it fixed for ya." She took the plate from the student's hand.

"_Thank _you," said the equally impatient student. "Might wanna show _him _how to make a proper burger."

Jane's gaze was practically a glare by now, but the kid was avoiding eye contact. June dismissed his final remark and dropped the burger - one bite taken out - into the large trash bin in the corner of the room, then proceeded to get a fresh patty from the freezer and slap it down on the grill beside Jane.

"Wh...-?" Jane felt indignant at the gesture, as if she was being made incompetent. "The order slip _said _pepp-"  
"You're good," June coolly tossed aside Jane's defensiveness. "I wrote down the wrong thing. No big. Mind takin' the register for a bit?"

Jane huffed, adjusting her blue-arrowed cap and shuffled to the counter at the front to help the customer who'd been waiting for the past minute or so.

"Hey," she grunted out, struggling to mask her flustered, tired mindset.

"Yo, dude," greeted the customer casually as his eyes looked up to the overhead menu. He was a stocky guy with an arrogant glint in his eyes, a pair of sunglasses propped on his forehead against greased black hair. He rolled his head around his shoulders, winding his arm around to loosen it up. "Angie, girl," he called out, twisting his head back. "Whatchoo want, girl?"

"I'm fine, Hyde," his friend called back from a table immediately behind him. She was an olive-skinned, mousy brunette with her hair tied in a ponytail.

"You sure?" Hyde checked. "You even eat lunch yet?"

"Yea, me and Shoji got food already," Angie explained in a way that suggested the topic had already been discussed. Jane then noticed the tall Asian kid sitting beside Angie at the table. She felt like she recognized these guys from somewhere...

Hyde shrugged and turned back to Jane with a stupid grin on his face.

"That's my girlfriend," he bragged to her with a quieter tone. "Don't _tell _me you wouldn't tap that."

Jane's eyebrows contorted with perplexation at the young man's brash attitude.

"Uhhh...?"

"Anyway, Bruh-" Jane's lip twitched with contempt at his incorrect assessment of her gender. "-I'm up for a Chicken Deluxe."

"Need anything else with that?" Jane managed out through grit teeth.

"Nah, man, it's all good."

Jane rung him up and June started the new sandwich order. As she waited at the register, rubbing at her bleary eyes with periodic yawns, June gave the previous student his correct order. After this transpired, June went back to finish the chicken. While waiting on that, Jane observed the trio of students at the nearby table having a heated discussion of some sort. Seeing the three of them together - the stocky kid, the brunette, and the Asian - made it all click together in her head: they were the Flamey-O's, that local band she often didn't pay much heed to, and the one Toph often criticized for being "generic."

June set down the paper plate with the Chicken Deluxe on it and Jane called into the intercom with her flat, raspy voice.

["Hyde..."]

She keenly observed the the way Hyde begrudgingly got up from the table, and how Angie was shooting him a stern look.

As he picked up his food, he spoke to Jane in a grumpy huff.

"Women and their damn PMS, am I right?" With that, he took his food back to his seat.

Jane's jaws grinded together at his remark.

"What the _fuck_?" she growled out, attempting to contain her voice as she whirled around to June, who was leaned against the archway to the back room with the freezers.

"Seem to be having that issue today, doncha?" jeered June with bemusement.

"I don't fuckin' _get it_," Jane hissed, palms up at her sides, fingers twitching with rage.

"Hate to break it to ya, Twiggy McStick," June puffed out with exhaustion, "but you don't got much to work with, and _that_ outfit? Not helpin' yer case."

Jane glared down at herself, noting a baggy t-shirt covered by a worker's apron, and loose cargo pants.

"And that shag on yer head?" June curtly observed with a slight upward tilt of her chin.

Irate, Jane abashedly fussed with her hair. She struggled to tuck some of the orange mess behind her ears to show off her skull earrings, but it was an uphill battle.

"It's not like ya don't have a cute look," June attempted encouragement. "It's just hiding. Gotta bring it out, Shamrocks - if you give a shit about that kinda thing."

The two exchanged glances, June's knowing and calm, Jane's rash and insecure.

"Yea, _yea_," Jane grumbled, fidgeting with her uniform's hat.

"You should try those tight jeans ya got," June yawned out, folding her hands behind her neck. "I've caught Sokka stealin' some glances here and there when you wear those."

Jane's cheeks burned at this remark, and she folded her hat down over her face as she tried to feign a divide of her attention from the empty counter ahead.

"Anyway, I'm just sayin'," June nonchalantly established her seeming lack of investment in the topic. "If yer gonna get all hot n' bothered by it, Ginger, _do_ somethin'."

Jane nodded testily, continuing to avoid visual contact with her manager, bony hands sunken into her floppy cargo pockets. When she finally decided to cast her gaze back at June, she acknowledged the black lipstick the woman wore, the spiral earring that hung from one lobe, the thick eyelashes she bore, and the fact that she was wearing a short-sleeved, fairly tight shirt today. It revealed a curious mark on her right upper bicep - one Jane had occasionally seen but hadn't really ever focused much on. She desperately wanted to shift the discussion away from herself, however.

"Do somethin', huh? Like...get some ink on my arm? Will that attract all the hot guys?"

"Mm?" June tracked down where Jane's gaze had rested, and she pushed up her sleeve to reveal the whole tattoo: a coiled red serpent. "Oh, this?" She exhaled with exhaustion. It was a bit startling to Jane, seeing June's expression - her trademark apathy - melt away to convey regret. "Yeeeaaa," she slowly seethed out. "This was a mistake," she explained darkly.

"A mistake?" Jane was intrigued. She knew absolutely nothing about June's past. June nodded thoughtfully, then pushed her sleeve back down, covering up the top half of the ink.

"I like to think of it as a reminder of why I'm...-" She glanced around the cramped, kitchen-like room they stood in. "-..._here_."

"What do ya mean?"

June shrugged at Jane's probing.

"You told me ya used to run with a bad crowd, right?" June recollected, to which Jane nodded. "Let's just say the crowd _I _used to be with was _worse_, and that I'm lucky to have even a shit job like _this_."

Jane scratched at her orange brow, a bit nervous at the reminder of her old life - of how that old life had burst into the new one not long ago when the Rough Rhinos had shown up at Korra's restaurant. She swallowed hard at the memory and the lingering concern - the nagging at the back of her head - that the conflict she had previous been tangled up within still had remnants lingering in the present.

"Guess we, umm...-" Jane cleared her throat. "We both got shit we ain't proud of, then. From the past."

"Better it stays that way."

"Huh?"

"In the past."

* * *

- Thursday, March 17th, 2011 - St. Patrick's Day

"Holy _fuck, _woman - you look awesome."

Jane sheepishly grinned at Korra's compliment, shrugging it off as Katara tinkered with the orange mass on her head. It was of a very different shape now. The night prior, Katara and taken to it with a comb and a pair of scissors, trimming it quite a bit. With her friend's aid, Jane's hair now looked less like a frizzy mass on her skull and more like an angled bob cut. Floppy bangs that had began creeping over Jane's eyes had been brushed to the side. All in all, Jane found herself pleased with it - it made her feel more...'feminine.' And everyone had been complimenting it, at that. It would seem there was still hope for her and the whole 'being-a-girl' thing after all.

"I _know, _doesn't she?" Katara chimed, tucking some of Jane's hair behind her ear to help the girl show off one of her skull earrings. "Took a little doing, but _I _think I did a decent job." Katara finally released her hands from Jane's head when skinny arms shoved upward. "Took some work, but we pulled it together..."

"I don't like that tone," Jane facetiously growled at Katara, who was smirking devlishly.

"Well...It's cool," Korra nodded, knuckles hanging on her hips. Her hair was hung down, a cheesy green top-hat plopped onto her skull to help celebrate the occasion - it looked pretty comical in and of itself, but contrasted by her black leather jacket it had inspired quite a few laughs that evening. "Anyway, good to have you ladies here. I'm gettin' sick of these Fire Cheerios, or whatever the fuck they're called."

"The Flamey-O's," Katara corrected with a happily amused sigh, casting her glance across the crowded restaurant and to the small raised platform at the back of the building that was serving as a stage. Their music was pleasing background noise.

"Don't worry, Canuck-Sauce," Toph assured cockily from beside Korra, leaning on her walking cane with a dry smile. "We'll stand these guys up, no problem."

"Go for it," Korra acknowledged, surprising Toph with a hard knock on the back, nearly toppling her. "I've got green Jello to pass out, soooo...-" With that, Korra squirmed off to the kitchen to ready another sampling of colored gelatin for the guests she was hosting tonight.

"-freakin' _ridick _with that on, right?" Sokka could be overheard as he approached, Aang and Suki on either side of him. Aang had been co-erced by Korra into wearing an extra leprechaun hat moments before she'd bumped into the girls. Aang fidgeted the cheap, plastic creation around. It was a bit too large for his head, so he'd arranged it to hang a bit on one side. Katara's face lit up at the adorable sight.

"He's right, Aang, it...doesn't exactly suit you," Suki agreed with a chuckle.

"Ya _coulda _said 'no,'" Sokka advised.

"No, it...-" Aang shook his head gently. "I kinda like it, it's...appropriately...silly."

"So _that's _what we're calling it these days?" Sokka teased, flopping the hat's rim down over Aang's eyes.

"Hey, someone _asked _me to wear this," Aang defended, shoving it back up onto his head. "I didn't _volunteer _to wear...-" Aang gestured his hand toward the gold and green velvety vest Sokka was wearing, which appeared to be pretty snug - if undersized. "-..._that._"

"Aye," Sokka burst out with an impersonation, tugging at the vest's collar. "'Tis a wee bit tiny, m'lad, but ohh, what charmin' looks it carries."

Toph's stomach fluttered at his idiotically cute accent, and she stuffed a hand in her hoodie pocket, trying to ignore it and think about the music she was about to perform instead.

"Hey, ladies," called Suki after their trio had made its way through the crowd and aligned with Toph, Katara, and Jane. Suki had four-leaf clovers painted onto her cheeks, her hair tied up in a top-knot. "It's still a little bit before we're on. Anyone need anything before we go?"

"I could use an actual _drink_," Sokka declared, to which Suki belted out a laugh.

"Well, sure, me, _too, _but that's gonna have to wait until later," she concluded.

What was up with this, anyway? Suki and Sokka, all...getting _along _and shit? Toph didn't like it one bit. They were still carrying a slightly flirtatious tone with each other this evening, which was a bit grating. _Urgh, no, nnnope, **music **time, gotta think happy **music **thoughts._

"Ya know what's _not _gonna wait until later?" Toph puffed out, sweeping her cane around along the wooden floor. "Me, takin' a piss. Where's the fuckin' bathroom around here?"

The comforting touch of Katara's arm pulled her in the opposite direction she had been heading in.

"Haha, I'll show you," Katara eased. "We'll be back in a minute."

As the two of them headed off for the restroom, Sokka cast quite a scrutinizing glare at Jane, leaning toward her as he tapped his chin thoughtfully. She arched back, her nose wrinkled with discomfort. She was wearing her tight black t-shirt with a yellow-and-black striped undershirt, bleached jeans that hugged her legs, and an adorable little skull earring. She looked entirely different from yesterday, and Sokka was suspicious about the haircut, in particular.

Their eyes bubbled with a strange, tingling tension - like pouring carbonated soda into a glass - until Suki tilted her body from behind Sokka with an inquisitive, slightly irritated glance.

"What is it, Sokka? What's wrong?" she questioned, her voice laced with a hint of poison.

Sokka, still inches from his friend, nodded thoughtfully to himself.

"It's Freckles here, she-...Something must be wrong, indeed. She looks..._pretty_, or something."

_Whump_.

Jane's dotted cheeks burned pink as she flicked her wrist loosely to relieve it from the solid punch she'd administered to his stomach.

"It's...for the _show_, moron," Jane grunted at him as he wheezed out a laugh, gripping his gut as he staggered back. "It's St. Patty's, and I'm _Irish, _and...so...-"  
"We wanted her to take center stage tonight," Suki explained, easing Sokka by the shoulder and pulling him back from the girl who'd just nailed him.

"Right," confirmed Jane. "So I figured I might as well..._ya _know...look fuckin' decent."

"You do," Aang piped up, hoping to dial down Jane's defensiveness. "Er, decent, I mean. Nnn_oo_, wait, I-I meant...-" Aang shrugged hastily, smiling like a fool. "_Pretty_. You look pretty...Jane. You look nice."

They exchanged encouraging smiles and Jane nodded her head to him with what social dignity she could reel up.

"_Thank you, _Aang." She shifted gears back to Sokka and twitched her arm, eliciting him to flinch, which caused Suki to giggle. "I know it took a _lot of work_ to make someone like _me _look nice," she spitefully seethed out with mock pleasantry. "But I'm fuckin' doin' my best with what I've got over here."

"Amazing what a simple haircut can do," Sokka offered a meek compliment with a raised index finger.

This remark led Aang to remove the goofy plastic hat he'd been wearing and run his hand across his own head, considering what the same could do for him. Katara had been prodding him about it all week now, and was clearly on a "makeover" mission of some sort given what she'd done with Jane's hair.

"You look like a different person," Sokka concluded, seeming intent on recuperating any ill will his jest had caused.

"Don't go acting _too _different, though," said Aang, wedging the green top hat back onto his skull. "We wouldn't, uhh...want a shortage of cusswords. Or...something...witty. Like that."

"_Ha_, oh, don't worry, I'll keep those comin'," Jane assured, ironically humored by Aang's failed effort to be funny. As she had spoken, the whole restaurant echoed with applause, the band on stage having finished a song.

"They've got one more song until we're up," Suki sharply advised, pushing herself inbetween the two boys and to her bandmate. "C'mon, we've gotta go." She patted Jane's back and asked, "You ready for this?"

Jane's olive eyes sparked with excitement as she nodded, flashing a toothy grin.

"Fuckin' _right _I am," Jane cheered herself on as they headed off toward the bathrooms. She paused, twisted her head over her shoulder, and shouted over her shoulder to Aang. "Yea, see...That? The cuss word? That was just for you, guy!" Aang rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Break a leg up there, ladies," Aang called with a wave. As the next song by the Flamey-O's started up, Aang sighed to Sokka, who was nonchalantly scratching at his arm, deciding what to do. "Why'd you have to be all weird with Jane, man? You know she's self-conscience about that stuff..."

"She shouldn't be," Sokka calmly explained, not even looking at his friend but instead scoping the place. "Girl's gotta get over her complex."

"Y-yea, sure, but...but I just don't think it helps when-"  
"Yo!" Sokka yelled ahead, skirting around Aang's criticism. "Is that..._you_? Zuko?"

Aang let the matter roll off, following his friend to pursue the young man clad in an emerald suit that sat at a stool ahead of them. He'd rotated his abdomen at the sound of Sokka's voice, and a quick check of his rather sour expression confirmed that it was, in fact, Zuko. He was dressed in a lime green corduroy suit, and looked none-too-pleased about it. Beside him, Ty-Lee was merrily slurping her way through a mint ice cream sundae. She was wearing what seemed to be a green band uniform of sorts, cut short at the waist to show off her stomach. As she innocently whirled her head around, her eyes lit up at Sokka's presence from beneath her dark green masquerade mask.

"_Ayyye, _Laddy," Sokka beamed with his accent, waggling a finger from Zuko to himself. "We _match, _so we do."

Zuko glared at Sokka, arms crossed over his waist, eyes sunken into his skull.

"..._Goodie_."

"How are things going, guys?" Aang asked, holding back a fit of laughter. Zuko's bluntly grumpy attitude in the face of so much vibrant cheer was comical.

Zuko grimaced at Aang's question, bobbing his head down and running his palm across his slicked back hair.

"I'm, like..._soooo _**fantastic**~" squealed Ty-Lee. Her boundlessly peppy demeanor took a turn for the mischievous as she cast a sneaky sideways stare to his neighbor. "What about _you, _ZuZu? How are _yooooo _doing? **Hmmmm?**"

Zuko whimpered out a sigh through his nostrils, his amber eyes smoldering with fury at Ty-Lee, whose mouth curved up into a devilish smile as she stuffed a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.

"I'm...feeling..._magically delicious_," Zuko seethed, each syllable like an icicle from his lips. Ty-Lee dropped her spoon into her sundae bowl and giddily clapped her hands together before her chest, humming with delight.

"Uhh...I..._see_," Sokka managed out, utterly confused.

"I lost a bet with my Uncle," Zuko explained hurriedly, his face still frozen with rusted aggravation. It reminded Aang of Mai whenever she was upset - that cold, dull, dry attitude.

"Where's Mai?" Aang pondered, scanning the bar counter, packed with students - but not seeing his art friend anywhere.

"She's up front watching the band," chirped Ty-Lee, pointing her plastic spoon out across the restaurant.

"Oh..." Aang tapped at his cheek pensively, casting his eyes off in the area Ty-Lee had directed. "Hm. I think I'm gonna try and find her. Besides, the Kyoshi Warriors are up next."

Ty-Lee went slack-jawed.

"**_OMIGAW ARE YOU FOR_**_ **CEREALS**?_" she shrieked with delight.

"Yep," Sokka casually replied, leaning against the wooden countertop between the busty girl and her grouchy friend. "I know all of them, ya know. My sister's the lead singer." Zuko sighed and tuned them out, working his way through his pistachio pudding.

"Uh, _yea, _like..._om__igosh _I know all of them, too," Ty-Lee gasped out in realization. "I know a _band_."

"It's true," agreed Sokka with a light nod.

Ugh. Aang wasn't too interested in watching these two and their stupid antics. Now that Sokka was single he paid _extra _attention to this girl every time they ran into each other.

"Ummm, sooo...I'm just...gonna _go_, then."

"I think I'll chill back here with these guys, Dude. Catch ya later."

Aang weaved his way through the crowd of students, his ears gradually accumulating pain as he drew close to the source of the garage band music sweeping across the place. It wasn't too hard to find Mai, though, standing relatively still in the thick of dancing students. She was directly beside the stage, aiming her camera back at the crowd and snapping pictures. Aang smiled as he watched her, deep in concentration, before intentionally sticking his head right in the path of her lens. She flinched at first, snapped a quick shot of his close-up mug, stupid grin and all, then lowered the device, letting it hang off her neck, and shot him a sly glare.

"Are you trying to sabotage my work?" she shouted through the music.

"As always!" Aang called back, his expression curdling from the racket. He nodded his head to indicate Mai to follow, and she did. They slipped off to the side, through the recreational room adorned with Aang's painstaking wall art - he caught a glance of Korra's two roommates playing billiards as they passed through - and out through the back door into the cool evening air. The gravel lot was completely packed with cars.

"Pretty crazy in there, right?" Aang chuckled, dabbing his finger at his ear as if to clean out leftover noise.

"Seems like a big success," Mai agreed. "I know Zuko spent a lot of time promoting this event - it's the biggest turnout the place has had so far."

"_Yea, _I can tell."

"Uh...By the way..." Mai squinted at Aang's head. "Did _you _lose a bet, too?"

"Huh? Wh-...?" Aang tapped the plastic hat. "_Oh, _ha, no, I just-...Korra made me wear it."

"Uh..._huh._ And, so...you _wanted _to?"

"Er...N-not exactly, but I thought it would just be nice to-"  
"You really need to get better at saying 'no' some times, Aang," Mai snickered. "Seems like not being able to do so gets you into a lot of trouble..."

Aang sighed through his nose, his fingers drumming along the rim of the hat. A wave of muffled applause from within signaled that the last Flamey-O performance was finished.

"Heh, yea...So, like...What's with the pictures tonight?"

"Ah." Mai was reminded of her task and immediately went to snap some photos of the jam-packed parking lot. "I got asked to photograph the event for the school paper."

"Oh. That's really neat! Good for you."

"Yea, well...-" Mai shrugged off Aang's impressed tone. "When your boyfriend's uncle helps run it, it's hard to feel special about being picked."

"Aw, hey...Don't be like that. You're the best photographer I know."

Mai's stern face wrinkled up a smile of gratitude.

"Thanks. Now if only I can get-"  
Mai's thoughts were interrupted when the back door flung open, a short girl flying out, her makeup-riddled face damp and messy. Both Aang and Mai immediately recognized her as the girl on stage who'd been playing the keyboard for the band. She looked rather distraught.

"Whoa, hey." On instinct, Aang reached out an arm, but caught himself before he made physical contact as she brushed by. "Are you all right?" he asked the girl, who was for all intents and purposes a stranger. The girl with the ponytail paused and slowly turned around, wiping at her face with her sleeve.

"Y-yes, I'm OK," she mumbled, quite half-heartedly. "I'm just...a little upset."

Aang and Mai exchanged perplexed glances. Aang could tell that Mai didn't want anything to do with the situation, while Mai read it in Aang's eyes that he was going to try and help, to which she conceded and let him try.

_Always gotta help a lady in distress, right? That's part of the Aero Man Code._

"O-Oh," Aang sputtered out. "Uhhh...W-well, is there anything I can do to help?"

The girl's face twisted with bewilderment at his offer, then keenly caught the disinterest in Mai's eyes.

"Don't worry...I'm not a drama queen," she sighed out. "It's just been a rough night. That's all. I'm fine, really." She shook off her trembling wrists, still quivering from the emotional outburst that had just transpired inside, and sniffed in a deep breath. "My name's Angie..." Her confused face gave way to an endeared smirk at the oddity atop Aang's skull. "Tch. I like your hat, by the way," she teased.

"Oh, uhh...Thankssss," Aang managed out, fidgeting once more with the silly accessory. Mai slowly shook her head, one hand on her hip, the other latched around her camera. Aang extended his hand "I'm Aang. Nice to meet you."

Angie and Aang clasped hands, while his friend merely gave an upward nod of the head.

"I'm Mai."

"Ah. Say, you're the guy who painted that lovely stuff in there, aren't you?" Angie recollected. "I saw you working on it last month."

"Oh, heh. Yea, that was me. Took me for-"  
This time Aang was cut off as the door opened again, and a barrel of a boy sauntered though, bumping Aang callously. Perhaps standing so close to the door had been a bad idea.

"Angie, I didn't mean it like that, _OK?_" He immediately reached out his hands, clutching at Angie's wrists, and she retracted, taking a step back.

"Oh, h-hey," Aang greeted sheepishly, while Mai, wide-eyed, scuffled a couple steps back herself. "Ya know, you guys were real great in there," Aang attempted to lighten the mood. Probably foolish, he figured, after he'd spoken. The chunky man with the aviators on his forehead cocked his head back over his shoulder to gaze at Aang with irritation.

"_That's _right," he bragged. "We were. We're the best indie band around - don't forget it." His attention went back to the girl, who had rolled his eyes behind his back at his own arrogance. "Who're _these _Chinks? Huh?" Mai's already narrow-set eyes became angry slits at his remark. "Having one around all the time's not enough for you, _is_ it?"

"Hyde, _stop it_," Angie hushed him, swiftly embarrassed by his words.

"No, I'm _sick _of all these little Asian punks overrunning the school, thinkin' they're better than the rest of us," Hyde lashed out, sweeping his hand at the two art students.

"It's called Saint _Roku _University," Mai hissed at him. "The school was _founded _by 'Asian punks.'"

"Yea? Doesn't make them any better than the rest of us."

"_Hyde, _what's gotten _into _you? First Shoji, now _them? _You don't even _know _them, they-"  
"And I don't _wanna _know them."

Mai huffed incredulously at the stark racism being whipped at them.

"Come on, Aang," she seethed, grabbing his shoulder and easing him to follow her back inside. Aang didn't budge, though, to Mai's surprise.

_No, I'm not gonna let some blowhard talk about us like that. I'm not a wimp, I can stand up for myself when I have to._

"Angie, is this guy giving you trouble?"

Mai's mouth popped open at Aang's words. Had he...-? Did he _really _just say that? This guy was going to _flatten _the poor kid! What was he _thinking?_

She could hear the Kyoshi Warriors starting up their first song inside, and her bony fingers tightened over Aang's arm.

"_Aang, _the girls are on," Mai insisted. "We should _go innn._"

But Aang wouldn't have it. He nudged her off gently, his eyes locked on Hyde's.

_No, this guy's too worked up, he can't focus. I could...take him. Yea. Probably._

"I'll be in a sec, Mai, you go on."

_You idiot, I'm not leaving you out here with this creepozoid..._

"It's OK, Aang," Angie called back. "I'm sorry, we've all had a long day, and...and he's just out of sorts tonight, and...-"

"_Why _do you care so much about this guy if you 'don't know him?'" Hyde demanded in a snapping remark. He dismissed her before she could even reply and closed the the distance to Aang. "And _you _seem to sure give a damn about makin' a stand against me."

Aang stared up at him, his stomach jelly, his legs rubber, and he swallowed hard, maintaining his stern expression.

"Listen here, _Friend_," Hyde snipped, clutching Aang's shoulder in quite the opposite manner that Mai recently had. "Ya got huge fucking ears, but I know your Chink brain probably has trouble processing this sort of stuff, so I'm gonna say this _slowly_..." The other fat hand clamped down on Aang's other shoulder, but Aang didn't budge. "Angie. Is. My girlfriend. _Don't forget it._" Hyde administered a harsh shove, causing Aang to toppled backward, losing his footing and nearly tripping over Mai, who managed to catch him.

"Now go back inside with your little Geisha whore and I'll forget all about th-"  
"Take that back," Aang shakily demanded, his voice cracking a bit.

While Mai seriously wanted to see this guy get clobbered, the thought of Aang getting beat to a pulp over some name-calling seemed pretty illogical.

"_Aang, _just back off," she whispered in his ear as she set him back up straight.

_No way, I'm sick of letting people push me around, and I'm sure not going to start letting random jerks do it..._

"Take it _back_," Aang repeated.

"I ain't takin' back _shit_," Hyde declared. "Maybe your kind can let my Dad take back his _job, _how about that?"

"Hyde, what is your _issue?_" Angie whimpered. "Let it _go_! They didn't do anything wrong."

"I _cannot _believe you keep taking their side on this," Hyde groaned. "It's them over me every time now, is that it? What happened?"

"Angie," Aang mustered out, having regained himself. "Would like me to show you back inside where this guy can't-"  
"_What _did you just say, Buddahead?" Hyde slapped the lepracaun hat off of Aang and pushed him again, but he was ready this time. "You're gonna _show her _back inside? Nobody _shows _my Angie _anywhere._"

Mai, her heart pounding with fear - somewhat exhilarating, in a bizarre way, as she couldn't remember the last time she was genuinely _scared _about anything - retreated, stumbling a few steps and pressing her back against the wall of the building. In that moment, she observed Aang, his sneakers sliding across the gravel, digging into it for support and adjusting his weight and balance. He knew Hyde was about to come at him, and he was ready.

In a smooth motion, Aang dodged to the side as Hyde lurched forth. Aang left one foot in place and eased Hyde's arm down, throwing him off balance and causing him to trip over Aang's sneaker, using his own momentum against him. Mai gasped out audibly, impressed and startled - Aang had made the action look effortless, like he was easing along a simple breeze of air rather than a guy twice his stature. She was relieved that Aang had the ability to back up his talk, but she had to do something. She scrambled to get inside.

Hyde immediately pushed himself off the pebbles and immediately went for another swing, to which Angie shrieked, but Aang sidestepped again. Twice more he dodged Hyde's assaulting blows, all the while being taunted.

"Ahh, think you're-..._heph..._-all fancy with your-..._rrgh_...-kung-fu crap?"

Aang didn't offer him a reply, his head slick with sweat.

"_Stop it! What's wrong with you_?" cried Angie, whose face had dampened again.

The door behind Hyde swung open, the girl's performance of a Beatles cover raising in volume momentarily before the door slammed against the wall and closed, but Hyde ignored it, going after Aang once more.

Angie's cries distracted Aang just long enough for Hyde to fake a blow, only to land a glancing strike to Aang's side, below his ribs. He coughed out in pain, reeling back. Could've been a lot worse...Barely a bruise - he'd managed to drain a lot of the impact in his avoiding the blow.

"Ya gonna fight _back, _Kung-Pow Chicken?" Hyde breathed out heavily.

"The _fuck _is this?"

Aang flinched at the recognizable sound of Korra's voice. Korra, having just seen her friend get punched in the side, easily wrestled the unruly student to the pavement.

"**Getoffamee**!" Hyde snarled, by now far gone, whatever rage had been consuming his mind now in full control. He managed to elbow Korra in the jaw, and she tightened her grip on him, keeping him pinned down as two young men strolled up on either side.

"Need any help with this guy, Korra?" Bolin asked coldly, glaring down and forcing some intimidation into the kid.

"I think she's got it covered," Mako observed from the opposite side, his gaze inquisitive and humored.

Aang was suddenly brought back to his senses, and he whirled around.

"Angie, are you OK?" he sighed out, still catching his breath.

Angie, stupefied, nodded hurriedly.

Two more figures approached as Korra pulled Hyde back to his feet, holding his hands tight behind his back. One was the skinny Asian lad who had been playing drums on stage.

"What's _going on?_" he cried out, immediately reaching his friend and clasping her hands.

"Shoji," Angie choked out, trembling. "I'm so sorry for what he said, I-"  
"Hey, hey, it's fine..." Shoji embraced his friend as Hyde glared at their intimate moment, his eyes blazing with jealousy.

Aang gave the two some space as the other person who'd followed Korra out - Mai - walked around the situation to approach her friend.

_Wow, this Korra chick really stuck it to him, no problem. She really is pretty buff...  
_

"Damn, Aang," Korra laughed out, pushing Hyde along casually. "You're lucky I saved your ass, you were about to be paste, Bro."

Aang was flustered by this remark, but his mood changed as Mai immediately grasped at Aang and squeezed him in a brief, tight hug before letting him go, then smacking him on the back of the head.

"What...-?"

"Don't _ever _do something so stupid like that again," Mai threatened. "What was I going to tell Katara if you got hurt?"

Aang, teeth clenched with doubt, stuttered for a response, but couldn't come up with one. Mai supplied a sarcastic one of her own.

"'Oh, little Aang decided to pick a fight with a guy _twice his size_, when he's just a-"  
"A what?" Aang growled out at Mai, suddenly quite defensive. "A _wimp? _A _pussy?_"

Mai had been sucker-punched by his sudden hostility as he shook his head and blew right past her. She was distracted for a moment as Shoji and Angie walked off, traumatized by the event, and Korra and her two friends taunted Hyde into submission. Mai woke herself back up before Aang got inside and stopped him.

"Whoa, wait up..." She insisted. Mai's voice usually had a quality to it that made Aang think of dry ice, but in that moment, it was...more like the _vapors, _the fog, that rose up from dry ice. "Hey, I'm-...Listen, Aang, I didn't _mean _that, I was worried and-...I'm sorry, OK?"

Aang pushed out a heavy breath before rolling back and bumping the back of his head against the door.

"That was..._amazing_," Mai encouraged. "Like...I'm-...The way you stood up to him like that? And how you...made him look like a pushover? That was-..._Wow._"

A weak smile formed on Aang's face.

"I didn't know you had that stuff in you," Mai concluded.

_Yea, well, no one seems to know that I do...So I'll prove it to them._

"Yea..."

"I guess you haven't been lying when you always talk about going out and exercising lately," she tried to make light of the situation, pulling the discussion back to familiar territory. Aang bashfully shrugged at this, still trying to recover from this crazy mess that had exploded so quickly. "Hey. Seriously. That...took a lot of guts."

"Thanks..."

"But it _was _stupid..."

"I know. I just...-" Aang glanced down, noticing the green top hat that had been cast from his head prior. He kicked it stubbornly, pushing it away.

_I want to make a difference. I can't do that standing by on the sidelines being just some loser 'nice-guy' all of the time...Right?_

"I get it," Mai assured. "But...What the hell? Like you need to prove anything to _me?_"

"To _myself_," Aang muttered out, giving the evening sky his attention.

"Well...Tssh..." Mai sighed out, relieved that nothing horrible had transpired. "You are..._some _piece of work, Aang. But getting into fist-fights isn't such a good idea if you're not going to use your _fists._" She chuckled at her own joke, still a bit off from Aang's lack of enthusiasm after all this. "Katara's a lucky girl," she pronounced, trying to bolster his spirits. "I'm gonna tell her that."

Aang's eyes bulged open as Mai led him back inside.

"_Oh jeez, _please-please-_please _don't tell her about this..." His fingers fiddled together nervously, and she cackled at him, giving no signs of acknowledging his request.

They walked in on the girls on the slightly raised platform finishing their song to a stream of applause. As they passed by, Aang sheepishly smiled to Katara, who blew him a kiss. Mai grinned at their interaction as she brought Aang to his roommate, who was now rotated toward Ty-Lee, still leaning against the counter. Zuko was hunched over a now empty bowl where green pudding had previously sat.

Mai looped her arms around Zuko's waist and kissed his cheek, planting her chin on his tense shoulder.

He smiled peacefully at her presence.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey, Zuko. _How are you doing_?" she taunted him, crumbling his smile into a grumpy frown.

"I'm..._magically delicious_, **Lassie**," Zuko growled through grit teeth.

"Heheh..."

"It's a good thing I don't hate you, Mai..."

"I don't hate you, too, Zuko."

"Well, _ain't that sweet_?" Sokka mocked their awkward romance from a couple of feet over.

"_Oh, I_ **know**_!"_ Ty-Lee squealed. "Aren't they, like, just the _cutest couple_ **ever?**"

"Hey, man, the two of them combined aren't half as cute as _you _are," Sokka brazenly flirted. Ty-Lee squinted with embarrassed delight, her face glowing as she flicked her wrist.

"Oh, _stop it_."

Aang felt like he was going to hurl.

"Hey, Sokka," he said, standing a few feet back from all of the sexual tension at the counter. "Maybe you should tone down the **oogies **a bit, huh?"

Sokka's face contorted with bridled rage - looked like his head was going to burst a vein - but Ty-Lee spoke before he could.

"What's an **oogie**?" she inquired, head tilted at a 45-degree angle.

"We'll tell you when you're older," Mai immediately jumped in with her sharp wit.

"..._Heyyyyy_!" Ty-Lee objected in a pout.

Up on stage, the girls were starting up their next song. Jane was indeed front and center, jamming on her bass to start their song. What was more surprising was that she was also standing in front of a microphone. Suki was going crazy on the drums, Toph strummed her electric guitar, and Katara rattled a tamborine, acting as the harmony vocals, while Jane's bass was prominent as she started to sing.

+ youtube(dot)com/watch?v=i9e76I8i9yI +

**_"~I wear a disguise; I'm just your average Jane~The super doesn't stand for model; But that doesn't mean I'm plain~"_**

She carried herself with a serious, focused look, the balance between bass and voice difficult to maintain. Aang cheered out for her as she sung her own name.

**_"~If all you see is how I look, you miss the super chick within~And I christen you Titanic: underestimate and swim~"_**

"Wooow, I didn't know she could sing!" Ty-Lee cooed.

**_"~I've got the rifle; gonna be myself~"_**

"_Woooo~_!" Aang rooted them on.

**_"~I've got the rifle; gonna be myself~"_**

There was some clapping and foot pounding from the small crowd right next to the stage.

**_"~I've got the rifle; gonna be myself~"_**

Jane's eyes sunk closed as she leaned into the mic, relaxing her state of mind.

**_"~I've got the rifle; gonna be myself~"_**

She tossed her head as they kicked off into the chorus, Toph casually blaring out chords and joining in as a third singer.

**_"~And I'll be everything that I wanna be; I am confidence in insecurity~"_**

Jane's raspy voice wasn't entirely on key for every note, but she was certainly doing her damndest.

**_"~I am a voice yet waiting to be heard; I'll shoot the shot -bang!- that you hear round the world~"_**

"Holy _cow, _man," Aang burst out to Sokka. "I didn't know Jane was _singing _tonight! Did _you _know?"

**_"~And I'm a one girl revolution; I'm a one girl revolution; I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

"Dude, I had no idea," Sokka admitted, gawking at the way Jane's fingers plucked at the thick bass strings.

**_"~Some people see the revolution but most only the see girl~"_**

Sokka couldn't help but stare at Jane's face as she sung.

**_"~I can lose my hard earned freedom if my fear defines my world~"_**

Pretty cute, seeing her taking herself so seriously.

**_"~I declare my independence from the critics and their stones~"_**

The way she'd slide her eyelids half closed while she sang? _Dayum._

**_"~I can find my revolution; I can learn to stand alone...~"_**

Aw, _dang, _and the way Suki was just _pounding _at those drums like a beast?

**_"~And I'll be everything that I want to be~"_**

So much hotness.

**_"~I am confidence in insecurity; I am a voice yet waiting to be heard~"_**

"_Gawwwdd _they are so **good**!" squeaked Ty-Lee.

**_"~I'll shoot the shot -bang!- that you hear round the world...~"_**

_Lookit that ginger, goin' to town on that bass._

**_"~And I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

_And that crazy beautiful drum execution?_

**_"~I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

_And...erm...well, Ty-Lee sure is nice to look at, anyway._

**_"~I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

Jane's hands flicked wildly at her bass as she went solo.

**_"~And I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

She received some cat calls, whistles, and the like from some of the young men in the crowd, and her attempts at looking sultry withered into flattery.

**_"~I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

_Sweet Zombie Jesus, is it hot in here?_

Sokka's male sensibilities were getting overloaded from all of the lovely feminine talents he was observing.

**_"~And I'm a one girl revolution~"_**

Jane's bass riffs transitioned into a brief reference to the James Bond theme, and the crowd erupted with some laughs and cheers as she went to town, the others adjusting their instrumentation complete the bit.

_That goes out to you, Johnny._

The girls hit the chorus once more.

**_"~And I'll be everything that I wanna be; I am confidence and in insecurity~"_**

Katara was grinning wide, beaming with pride at her friend's performance.

**_"~I am a voice yet waiting to be heard; I'll shoot the shot -bang!- that you hear round the world~"_**

_Look how far you've come, Jane. You're not the girl you used to be._

**_"~Everything that I want to be; I am confidence and in insecurity~"_**

_I'm so proud of you._

**_"~I am a voice yet waiting to be heard; I'll shoot the shot -bang!- that you hear round the world~"_**

The girl's dorm, an hour later.

Acoustic guitar, notes trickling out like a relaxed stream.

_"~And I'm a one girl revolution~"_

Toph's smooth voice sang out the words while she played, Jane accompanying her on another guitar.

_"~I'm a one girl revolution~"_

The two went at it a few times, Jane joining in and singing with Toph as they closed out the song.

Their reward for this impromptu encore was some mild clapping.

"I like that version better," Mai decided from her spot on Katara's bed.

"You girls were _so. Amazing,_" Ty-Lee insisted, continuing to dole out praise.

"Yea, we were pretty fuckin' rad," Toph agreed bluntly, plinking at her strings.

"_Ohhlll-roity then_!" Sokka chimed out, turning up the dial on his sister's external speakers. "Now that you're done with your little guitar nonsense-" Toph's nose wrinkled at this remark. "-time to blast up the _Irish music_!"

Katara knowingly closed the door to their incredibly crowded dorm room. It was about nine o'clock now, which meant they had about an hour before "quiet hours" began. Sokka's insistence on having a "proper" St. Patrick's Day party meant that the group was going to listen to Gaelic music and partake in booze-drinking.

+ youtube(dot)com/watch?v=ZP0yauSagzA +

As Sokka began to do a jig in place by Katara's desk, loud music filled the room, and Zuko and Mai both squirmed with discomfort. Raised his brow at her, and she instantly recognized his '_can we leave now_?' look. She smirked, straightened the collar on his green, corduroy vest, and led him up off the bed.

"Hey, Katara?" Mai called out through the music. "Zuko's pretty beat, so...we're gonna head out."

"All right!" Katara spoke back, forcing her words through the racket they were engulfed in. "Thanks, guys. Tonight's been fun!"

"Are you coming?" Mai asked Ty-Lee, who was dancing alongside Sokka and Aang.

"I'm gonna hang out with these guys for a while!" Ty-Lee belted out as Sokka's jig transformed into poorly choreographed air drums. Mai sighed, her unenthused eyes rolling in their sockets.

_Of _course _you'd want to keep hanging out, with all the attention you're getting..._

"'Kay. See you back at the room!"

"Byeeee~"

A chorus of farewells sent the two off into the night.

After the song had finished playing and Sokka, Ty-Lee, and Aang were all gasping for breath, Sokka wiped some beads of sweat from his forehead and took a deep sigh.

"Nice dancing, there," Suki tossed a compliment his way from her relaxed state on Toph's desk chair.

"_Well_!" Sokka puffed out."Now that Mr. President and Princess Frowny-Face are gone...-" He snuck over to his backpack, which was nestled beneath Katara's bed, and pulled out a grocery bag. Bottles clinked together as he removed it, treating it with the same care as an infant. "-...who's ready to _actually _celebrate St. Patrick's Day? Huh?"

Katara sighed, leaning against her door. She locked it closed, trying to restrain herself from scolding anyone. It _was _a special occasion, and at least Sokka had indicated his plans ahead of time. If they got caught, it could be some serious trouble, but Katara had a feeling this wouldn't be a problem. Their floor's resident adviser had openly stated that she, herself, was going out for drinks that night and had invited all of-age students to tag along, meaning that one of the other RA's from another floor would have to show up for any trouble. And besides, everyone was legal except for Toph and Aang, and Aang wasn't having any drinks tonight, so...even _then_...Agh. Whatever. Katara knew it was futile to try and convince her brother otherwise, and Toph had been quite insistent on things happening in their room, with the RA situation and also the fact that Katara and Toph were well-known for playing loud music right up until quiet hours.

"Hey, Suki, didn't you wanna listen to something?"

"Oh! Right..." Suki hopped from Toph's desk to Katara's and began running a search on YouTube for theme music to set the mood.

As Sokka began mixing liquors and juices, he felt his insides bubbling with glee while cheerful Gaelic music swept over them. Ty-Lee was sitting at his side, their hips touching.

"Hey, _Shamrocks_," Sokka called, lifting up a shotglass toward her. "Your honor, today."

"Heh..." Jane got up from her place on the floor beside Toph, setting her borrowed guitar inside Katara's closet and crouching down on Sokka's other side. They were all huddled together on the floor in front of Katara's bed, while Katara went over to Toph's bed, where Aang had settled down. Jane sucked down her shot with a devilish smile and handed the glass, which appropriately had a four-leaf clover on it, to Sokka.

"'Atta girl."

Sokka distributed shots to Ty-Lee and Suki after giving Jane a second round, and as Toph begrudgingly found her way to where they were - she had lazily crawled the short distance, nearly groping Jane in the process - Sokka gave her one as well. Sokka raised his own glass toward his freckled friend.

"To _the Fitz_ - Janey-Jane, JayBee, Freckles...Our Shamrock Shake, our beloved Ginger, our gradually-good-looking red-headed compatriot...-" Sokka stared her right in the olive eyes and flashed her a grin, and she snorted a laugh, bobbing her head bashfully. "-...our dear friend, Jane Fitz_patrick_. The luck o' the Irish is _always _with us, so long as we have _you _around."

"Here, here!" Katara was the first to commend Sokka's toast, raising her fist. She made eye contact with Jane, who was even more red-faced now that she was the focus of everyone's eyes. Toph punched her in the shoulder and Sokka ruffled at her hair as as cheers rang out and shot glasses tapped each other in merriment.

+ youtube(dot)com/watch?v=Yt6osXyGJwI +

Some time passed, and as it did, the volume of the room decreased to a much more tolerable level, with sudden bursts of loud laughter every now and again - typical antics for a room full of college students.

Aang and Katara whiled away the time snuggled together, having shifted over to Katara's own bed. In the process of making the move, Sokka had managed to convince Katara to consume a single shot (her first ever), which had left her throat burning, and given her a brief bout of light-headed-ness that everyone had found amusing.

Ty-Lee seemed to be making physical contact with Sokka at every opportunity, which had somehow culminated in his trying to show her how to tie a string into a convoluted bow-shaped knot - he kept referring to it as "special knowledge" that he was trying to impart on Ty-Lee, who had been complaining about how everyone treated her like she was an idiot. Even Jane had taken to vying for Sokka's attention, feeding off the brief glances she'd receive as he'd admire her new hairstyle. Suki had been playing as DJ, looking up names of songs as Sokka brought them up. Sokka was basically basking in his own personal harem or some shit. The entire situation was making Toph's blood silently boil, and she had taken to drowning her jealousy in whiskey shots and Cactus Juice wine cooler.

"_Wooowwww_, that's so amaaayyyzzzinggg...~" Ty-Lee was in hysterics, and slapping his leg playfully.

"Rite? Liek...gawwssh, friggun...-" Sokka , wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. And to think he had so recently been assuming women weren't interested in him. All they needed was _alcohol _and...haircuts. Or something. Then they'd just-...Wait. What? Where had he been going with that...? His mind was having trouble finishing thoughts, it was so inebriated.

"More Pogues!" Suki declared, making the song repeat itself.

"Moar pohgz!" Sokka agreed.

"Whoooo~"

"Heheh..."

The lot of them began rocking back and forth, giggling like children, while Aang and Katara appreciated the joyous atmosphere as a backdrop to light kissing.

["~_I am goooooin'...I am going whichever way the wind might be blowing~"_]

Toph rolled out of her bed, landing on her knees. Her palms incurred rug-burn as she caught herself. Her reality was a blur of retarded singing and stupid laughing and _fucking Meat-Head ignoring her_.

_Ulgh. Stomach. Blechhh..._

With a few sputtering coughs, Toph crawled across the bedroom floor, the happy drunkards hardly noticing her, and entered the cramped, private bathroom they shared with the neighboring room.

["~_I am goooooin'...I am going where streams of whiskey are flowing~"_]

Katara had noticed her roommate's disgruntled meandering, and was immediately concerned by it. She sat up in her bed, rubbing Aang's wrist with her thumb, and whispered to him, "I'll be back, I need to make sure she's OK..."

Upon entering the tiny restroom, she found Toph, sitting on her hip, hands warily pushing up the toilet seat. Her eyelids were half closed, white irises lurching up, each sclera bloodshot. Her eyebrows were curved with discomfort, and she lurched, eliciting a "_Hullphh__" _sound and clutching at her gut as some trickles of brown liquid leaked out of her lips. She coughed, spitting them out at the toilet, her blind aim leaving some around the rim.

Katara's palm pressed hard against her face as she groaned with frustration.

"_Toph_...Ew..."

Katara knelt down and reached out a cautious hand to Toph's face, lifting up her loose-hanging bangs, which were thankfully vomit-free. She'd keep them that way. She held back her friend's ponytail and turned away as Toph spewed forth unpleasantries with ghastly burp-like sounds. This happened a second time, and Katara sat patiently through it again.

By now, Toph's eyes were leaking tears from the discomfort and embarrassment.

"..._Fffffffuckk,_" she whimpered out, hacking up more remnants of her dinner.

"Toph...I can't _believe _this," Katara growled, rather cross. "Why did you drink so much?"

"...Mmm a fuggin' _bitchh_," Toph grumbled out woozily. "_Gawdd..._so stoopid. Hellll...Aghh. Shhhitt." Toph gasped for air as Katara started dabbing at her face with toilet paper to clean her up.

"Just...stop it," Katara huffed with dissatisfaction. This hadn't even been a bad day, and she was _still _cleaning up after Toph.

"Ahm _sawrree_," Toph winced out in a plea to Katara, sniffling as more tears started leaking out. "Overdihh...-" Another awkward burp that reeked so much Katara had to turn away again. "Overdid it," Toph concluded, her mind dazed. "Fuggin' sickuvv...evriwun tryin tuh...sokk cuckka kok."

"..._What?_" Katara snapped in bewildered aggravation. She snorted out her rage through her flared nostrils and rubbed Toph's back, trying to to get her to purge out..._whatever _it was she was trying to say.

"_Ohhh, lawdeeduhh, ahm stoopitt bimbo, heehee_~" Toph angrily mocked Ty-Lee. "_Ahh gotz bewbeez..._Nnn Sookeez sill furtin'? _Whyyyz _that? Fucckin. Brrroke. Upp. Evan lykke...guddamm _Jaynn _gettin' hiz tentchun. Liek, duh_fuck? _Evr'body pritty but mee? Dattit?"

"Uhhh...-?" As far as Katara could garner, Toph was...complaining? About the other girls, or something? That was the only thing that made sense, given Toph's slurred speech and tone. She was evidently jealous about Sokka's flirting with people? Nevermind, that actually _didn't _make sense. Why would Toph care what _Sokka _did? He was an idiot. Although it _was _probably kind of annoying to be the only girl in the room not being...hit on. Or kissed. Or complimented like that? Hm.

Since when did Toph really care about that sort of thing, though? For Jane, it was probably pleasant and surprising to have random guys cat-calling her on stage, to have Sokka being a little flirty with her, but...why did that make _Toph _upset? She had never given a damn about Sokka's jibes at Jane in the past...

While Katara continued to rub her drunken friend's back, in the bathroom, Jane was enjoying the sound of drunken singing. She had flipped open her wallet to cast her sight to a weathered photograph stored within.

St. Patrick's Day had always been significant to her, being a day that celebrated her own proud heritage - and in effect, the people she had been birthed from. Thinking back on the entire day, and all of the people in it...Jane had to conclude that this had probably been the best St. Patrick's Day she had ever had the pleasure of living through up until that point in her life. For once, she could stare at the photograph of her deceased parents - Mary and Joel, two fiery-haired Irish folks that had loved their daughter despite her strange birth conditions - and feel gratitude about her life.

Sokka's words - about Jane being the group's infinite source of 'Irish luck' - had touched her in a deep place.

She slipped out the photo and stared at it intensely, a warm smile on her face. It was a picture of her - six years old - with her parents. They were all smiling, wearing lepracaun hats. A trio of merry, freckled fools.

She read the chicken scratch on the back of the photo - writing she had put there herself in her parents' stead. Her eyes welled up as she tried - struggled, so hard - to remember the few fleeting moments she could recall in which her parents had been alive.

{_Á_r _ádh mór ort_}

_'Our good luck to you.'_

_Your luck_ is_ with me, Mom and Dad._ _It took me a long time to figure out where it was..._

She rubbed traces of tears from her eyes as she felt Aang's hand tousle her hair from behind. She smiled up at him, his glance offering sympathy as she tucked the photo back in her wallet. Sokka was still singing like a crazy fool, and Katara came back into the room, easing a dizzy Toph to her bed. As they passed by, Katara gave her friend an affection pat on the shoulder.

_...but I finally found it._

* * *

**A/N: 'One Girl Revolution' by Superchick.**

**The reference to James Bond theme is one that's impossible for me to physically express how I imagine it in my head...**

**http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=ye8KvYKn9-0 - hopefully you can figure it out?**

**Streams of Whiskey by The Pogues.**

**Aang's scene with Hyde and the "Flamey-O's" is a reference to the episode "The Headband."  
**


	78. Perfect

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 78 - Perfect  
_

* * *

- Friday, March 18th, 2011 -

"_Ullgghhhhh..._"

"I _told _you to drink some water last night before bed," Katara snipped with a cranky down, rubbing sand from her eyes.

Toph, splattered across her bed, clamped her palms against her temples and rolled onto her side, her sheets in tangles.

"I don't..._remember _that," she confessed in a whimper.

Katara began to brush her damp mane, still in her bathrobe.

"I stuck a bottle of water _right in your hands_," Katara sighed, her tone sharp. "I _told _you. I said, 'Toph, if you don't have some water, you're going to be hung _over_ tomorrow,' and you said you weren't thirsty and ignored me..."

"Oh..."

Toph felt her heart sink an inch deeper into the mud of regret. Katara was disappointed, clearly, and Toph was feeling the same way.

"Why did you _drink _so much last night?"

"Mm-mm," Toph ho-hummed. "Dunno...Just, like...heat of the moment, I guess."

Katara frowned at her own reflection, stroking her brush along.

"You were complaining about how Sokka was flirting with everyone," she observed, lifting a brow as she cast a sideways glance at her forlorn companion, who was glad to have her face half-buried in a pillow as it began to burn up. "It was...really weird."

"Heh, y-yea, I...-" Toph grunted as her stomach twisted with discomfort. She couldn't tell if it was the hangover or her fear of being found out about Sokka, "It sounded like he was having a good time...surrounded by a bunch of pretty girls. I mean...for fuck's sake, it sounds like...he even thinks _Freckle-Face _is cute now, all of a sudden..."

Katara's arm finished off its brushing, and she flicked her semi-tamed mass of hair as things clicked. Jane had gotten a lot of attention the night prior - even Aang and Sokka had made remarks on her appearance - and likewise, Sokka had gotten his fill of flirtatious comments. And, erm...reciprocated, fairly profusely. Ugh. **Oogies, **indeed.

"Yea, well...Jane really tried to look her best yesterday," Katara pointed out. "I mean...If you really want to try to look nicer, or something...I could help." Katara made the offer out of courtesy, but it was one she had made numerous times in the past, and very rarely had Toph expressed interest.

"It's OK," Toph dully replied, as expected. "One of the good things about being blind is that I don't have to waste my time worrying about appearances." Her rigid apathy deteriorated with each word that came out of her mouth. "I don't _care_ what I look like," she grumbled, brusquely shoving gunk from her sagging eyes as she sat up, still clutching at her head. "I'm not looking for anyone's _approval._ I know who I am..." _I'll never be able to understand this shit, anyway. I wish it just...didn't _matter.

Katara sat down beside her and rubbed a gentle hand across Toph's bare shoulder. Whatever had ruffled Toph's feathers last night, Katara could tell it boiled down to the truth behind the lie Toph has just told herself - that she didn't look for anyone's approval. Always hearing about Jane being such a tomboy, and then suddenly hearing guys cat-calling her, and even friends admiring her a bit...It wasn't a surprise that it made Toph a little subconscious. She was a bit jealous of the attention Jane had suddenly been getting from boys - that was the issue. It made enough sense.

Maybe some encouraging words would help alleviate that.

"That's what I really admire about you, Toph. You're so strong and confident, and self-assured. And I know it doesn't matter, but...you're _really _pretty." The last bit had an extra dollop of sugar on top, but Toph could detect the authenticity of her friends' words.

"...I am?" she muttered before an eye squinted shut and she yawned like a lion.

"Yea," Katara chuckled, pushing some of Toph's bedhead out of the girl's face to observe her pale, round cheeks. "You _are_."

Katara delighted at the smile that formed across that porcelain skin, and smirked when the girl crawled up out of bed, scratching her rear-end lazily.

"I'd return the compliment, but...-" Toph fussed around with her sweatpants as she waddled to the dresser, still in a daze. "I have no idea what you look like. Thanks, Sister-Face."

Katara got up from Toph's bed and stretched as she waited to have her turn at getting clothes for the day.

"You're welcome...Mud-Slug."

As Toph whirled around, a T-shirt and jeans stuffed under an armpit, she slowly stuck out her arm in the direction her friend's had come from, and her knuckles softly squished against Katara's stomach.

"Pulling those affectionate punches, huh?"

Toph cackled, tossing her head back as she began to wind her porcupine-like hair into a ponytail.

"I got tired of hearing you cry like a baby when I hit ya too hard. Heh."

Katara was a bit startled that Toph was ironically so up-and-at-'em today. Based on her movements and occasional groaning, the girl was still a bit ill-stricken from her heavy drinking, and yet she was forcing herself to wake up earlier than necessary.

"Sooo...How come _you're _waking up already?" Katara wondered, zipping up her pair of slacks. She was feeling in a 'formal' mood of dress today.

"I don't...even _know_," growled Toph groggily. "Slept like _shit_, and...I'm _sooo _hungry right now..."

"Mmmmaybe that's...-" Katara's face expression turned drab as she fitted herself into a blouse. "-...because you _hurled up _your dinner last night?"

"...Ohhhh yea," Toph sighed, rubbing her abdomen underneath her shirt.

"I had to...clean your _yuck _off the edges of the toilet," Katara jabbed with a hint of irritation.

"Heh..." Toph picked some dry wax out from the rim of her ear as she fought back a twitch of shame. "S-sorry about that. I was..._pretty _damn stupid last night."

"Yea..." Katara sighed briskly through her nostril.

"Thanks for...lookin' after me," mumbled Toph warily, working herself into her jeans. "Like you always do," she squeezed in, her attempt at gratitude. Katara observed the gesture and smiled as she searched for a good pair of flat-top shoes.

"I hereby give you permission to _strip me _of any and all alcohol the next time I'm in a bad mood and try to get drunk..."

"I'm gonna hold you to that," Katara keenly agreed.

"Good, 'cuz I'm gonna be a stubborn bitch and you just gotta be _more _stubborn back."

"_I _think I can manage that when I have a mind to."

"Glad to know you've learned _somethin' _from me after all this time..."

"You teach me how to be stubborn, I teach you how to act your age."

"_Hardy har._"

"You coming to get breakfast?"

"Said I was hungry, didn't I?"

* * *

"Sure, but I didn't realize you were _that _hungry," Aang murmured with shock, staring at Sokka's empty plate.

"Not hungry no _more_, at any rate," Sokka grunted, leaning back in his seat and massaging his belly, which felt to bursting. "Aahhhh...I like banana pancakes," he muttered.

"Heh. Yea, they...uh...sure are good..." Aang stared at his plate, having only consumed one of his trio of delicious breakfast confections. He was staring at his roommate cautiously. Sokka was starting to nod off in his chair. "Sokka."

"Hmmzz?"

"You're falling asleep."

"Tsssshhh..." Sokka waved out his arm lazily, his head still bobbed, eyes still closed. "Just resting my eyes..."

"Uhhh..._huh_." Aang continued to stare at his motionless friend before sighing to himself and shaking his head. He was conflicted about the night prior. It was good to see Sokka, who he knew was still stressed about a number of things, loosening up and relaxing - even being social with people. But the way he acted around Ty-Lee still rubbed Aang the wrong way. Logically, Aang knew there was no reason for him to feel this way, and it wasn't his right to complain now that Sokka was single, but...somehow it still bugged him. Watching the girls fawn over him - even Jane was, in her own way - made Aang uncomfortable. It had seemed to make Toph irritated, too, based on how she'd kept to herself on the edge of the room, only being social just long enough to get a refill on booze. Aang wondered...

Bah, it didn't matter. Aang had learned to keep all this to himself. He worried that Sokka might lead someone on and someone would get let down, but...it hadn't looked like that had happened yet.

"_Sokka._ It's almost time for class."

In the meantime, though, the idiot needed someone pressuring him along to go to class.

A sharp inhalation later and Sokka was rubbing fiercely at his face, stumbling up from his chair.

"You are _not _going to survive class without me," Aang picked before chomping down half of his second pancake.

"Got _that _right," Sokka confessed, streaking his head across his head drearily. It was slicked back, taught tight into his 'wolftail.'

"Sooo...Sokka."

"Yyyisss?"

"Katara's birthday is coming up..."

"Psh, it's like...three more weeks, man."

"W-well, yea, but-...That's _kinda _soon. Anyway, like...I was thinking-"  
"Ohhhh, no. Nnnnope. Nupper. No, no. Uh-uh." Sokka was vehemently twitching out negative gestures. "I am _not _getting involved in your **oogies**, no Sir."

Aang's brows furrowed at Sokka's continuing trend of immaturity in regards to the topic.

"I didn't even _finish_," he spat defensively, stuffing the second half of pancake number two into his face.

"Heh...That was the _point_," Sokka joked. But he realized he's touched a nerve at the way Aang's jaws bitterly assaulted his meal. "Erm...But...Nah, go ahead."

Aang swallowed hard, cutting up his final piece of food with the side of his fork.

"No, _no, _wouldn't wanna make you _uncomfortable _or anything, because I actually take my relationships _seriously_ while you're content to just lead women on while they're intoxicated."

So much for keeping it to himself.

"Whoa..." Sokka frowned, shocked at his friend's burst of hostility. "Geez, dude, I...I didn't think it was that big a deal. Just had some harmless fun."

Aang's shoulders spiked up in a shrug and he ate some more, noting the time. Sokka attempted to protect his dignity.

"You don't _honestly _think I was...-?"

One of Aang's downward brows arced up at him.

"O-OK, I admit it: it was nice to be surrounded by girls last night." A sheepish laugh with upward palms. "But it was all in good _fun_, Aang. Nothing serious. That was the point."

Aang licked his chops, deciding he was done with breakfast now and got up from his seat, mostly empty tray in tow.

"And you're _sure _no one took last night seriously? _No one _got upset?" _Not even the girl who got _sick _from drinking too much while sh_e got ignored?

"No way!" Sokka insisted coolly, following Aang's actions. As they weaved through the mostly vacant cafeteria, his brain rattled around what he could remember from last night. Giggles, touches, glances, blushing, drinking...that intense moment when he and Ty-Lee had stared at each other for, like, five seconds straight. Oh, _damn, _good thing he was wearing a stiff pair of jeans today, or people would be able to see...-

"OK, fine," Aang let the matter drop. "All I'm saying is that I'm getting really sick of you being such a _baby _about me and Katara."

"You and my _sister,_" Sokka pointedly corrected.

"Me and _Katara_," Aang specified his particular phrasing. "She's not just your _sister, _ya know. She's her own person, and she shouldn't-_we..._shouldn't...have to feel _guilty _about..._us_...just because it makes you a little uncomfortable some times. The **oogie **stuff? It was funny at first. Now it's just..._annoying_...Especially when you're so hypocritical."

"Whhh-?" Air wheezed out of Sokka's lips, but he caught himself. The guy was right. "Uhh..."

"Anyway, I've gotta get to class," Aang puffed out impatiently, before Sokka could react. "Later."

* * *

Bolin cautiously stared at the steaming disc of dough, meat, and vegetables that lay before him. As an employee at the local Pizza Hut in Wayward, he seemed to take his job to be a fine art of some kind, which Korra found humorous. Mako's work Korra knew much less about - only that it involved the press in some capacity. He didn't talk about it much and she wasn't inclined to ask, especially with the way he seemed quite nonchalant to her presence since she'd moved in, as if she were a burden to the household.

Bolin had decided that with Korra working at a restaurant, it was his duty to instill in her the skills of bending pizza to her will in the same way he could.

As a result, this was the second meal in a row in which Korra had prepared pizza for dinner. She had a day off after the strenuous St. Patty's shift, and had dedicated the afternoon to Bolin's tutelage. Bolin had been frank with her the night prior, advising that her sauce lacked pizazz and that the pizza had been a bit undercooked. Thriving from the constructive criticism and eager to impress her roommates, Korra had gotten right to work making a more earnest effort this time.

As she cooked, her mind wandered to that old man's words from earlier.

_"Pizza is like a team. You need to make sure you use ingredients that work well together if you want everyone to be satisfied."_

It hadn't sunk in at first when the bearded old coot had said this to her, but it had sunken into her head over time, and this practice was only serving to remind her about it.

Bolin slapped her arm with the back of his wrist with approval, leaning over the warm dish while Mako stood idly by, leaning against the fridge behind them. His ever-looming presence with an air of apathy was wearing thin with her patience. Then again, Bolin's boundless enthusiasm in her could have an equal but opposite effect...

Bolin's chunky arm picked up a slice of the freshly-cut pizza and he lifted it in his fat hands with tender care, keenly observing its aesthetic and nodding with approval to Korra. He took a bite, his eyes brightened, and he smiled.

"Wow!" he complimented. "Nice _adjustment_! You're a _natural_ at this..." He went on to consume the rest of his slice, an intricate blend of meat and veggies tickling his senses. It was much better than he'd expected for Korra's second try. For someone who had very little cooking experience, she had been getting the hang of it quite quickly.

Eager to wipe the disinterest from Mako's face, Korra slapped a piece of her culinary concoction onto a plate from the table's stack and delivered it to Mako, who begrudgingly accepted. After his first bite, she could _see _it in his face - he liked it. But his voice rang hollow.

"...Not bad," he conceded.

Korra's temper sizzled at the indignity.

"What's it take to impress this guy?" she demanded to his younger brother as she snapped her wrist irritably in Mako's direction. Bolin's expression jerked with awkward tension while he struggled to come up with a neutral reply.

Ever since Mako tried to be social with the girl that day at the gym, he'd been a bit overwhelmed by her desire to get to know him and his brother. Bolin, expectedly, was enthralled by this prospect, while Mako simply didn't understand the pressing need for comradery. He had just been trying to be nice and now it was like she was down his throat like they were supposed to be bosom buddies all of a sudden. Just because Bolin was going to dode on her didn't mean he was.

"_What_?" Mako sighed as he dropped the piece onto the plastic plate in his hand, still hunched against the refrigerator door. "I said '_not bad_," he defended himself.

As he was met with Korra's deadpan glare that judged him as loudly as a silent look could, he choked on a chuckle, shaking his head as he let the matter drop, setting his barely-touched food on the countertop.

"You know what?" he pacified the situation with a hint of impatience. "I'm not really hungry right now. I think I'm going to settle down and watch something. You kids have fun," he patronized casually, weaving past them. He wasn't in the mood for this weird passive-aggressive stuff. Korra seemed hypocritical, complaining about her friends having college social drama while she herself manufactured it within the household, throwing off the careful balance he had worked to maintain with his brother.

No sooner had he left the kitchen had Korra rolled her eyes and puffed out her irate frustration, collapsing at the table and staring at her night's work.

"Your brother's a _real _piece of work," she snarled with disdain.

"_Yea, _sorry about that," Bolin shrugged off the whole thing. "My brother just gets real...eh..._focused_...sometimes."

"Focused on _what_?" Korra instantly retaliated, whipping her arms toward the living room, from which a sportscast could be faintly heard.

"Ehhh...-" Bolin's eyes squinted from the bottom as he fished for some sort of excuse for his sibling. "Juh...Just kind of in _general, _you know?"

"Right," huffed Korra with empty resolve, tearing into a slice of her food. Oh, wow. _Damn, _that was pretty good. _She _made that? Shit, this was...delicious. Now she just had to start doing this at work.

Korra pulled her phone out of her jean pocket and studied its contents while she ate. She'd by and large ignored the device all day.

[From: JB]  
[so i was wondrin..those assholes been givin you any trouble aftr ya beat the shit outta em?]  
[Sent: 3:46pm]

[Reply]  
[To: JB]  
[No way, Shamrox. Havent seen em since! ;D Taught 'em a lesson, eh?]  
[Sent: 7:21pm]

[From: Aang]  
[sry about last night i dont know what happened. thx for helping. plz dont tell katara i dont want her worried.]  
[Sent: 4:14pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[No prob, Guy. My pleasure to put that jerk in his place. Stay outta trouble!]  
[Sent: 7:22pm]

[From: Kitty Kat]  
[Hey, Jane seems really worried about you today for some reason. Did something happen last night?]  
[Sent: 5:42pm]

Korra sighed at her cousin's concern. Ever since Korra had moved down to Wayward, Katara seemed intent on trying to watch over her from a distance, always worried. Ah, well. At least she wasn't being a control freak like she used to be back in high school.

[Reply]  
[To: Kitty Kat]  
[LOL no, it's all good Kat. I think it was just about those old farts I kicked to the curb before, but they haven't come around since. ;] ]  
[Sent: 7:23pm]

"Somethin' up?"

"Huh?" Korra looked up from her phone to Bolin across the table. "Ha." She set the device back down. "Nuh-uh, just catching up with people."

"Making sure no one _else _got into any accidents?"

"What...?"

"Like your one friend. The scrawny guy. Out in the parking lot?"

"_Oh. _Heh. Nah, everyone seems fine."

"Ah." Nodded slowly, and they both chewed on pizza for a moment before a coy grin came over Bolin. "Well, you're here with _us, _and not with them, which definitely means they're safer right now."

Korra stared at him, and her eyebrow lifted as she tried to piece together what that meant.

"B-because...-" Bolin pointed half-hearted at her. "It's, like, because you're dangerous. A joke?" Nope, she was still glaring. "I'm just picking on how people always get hurt when you're aroun-_I mean_, no-no, that came out wrong!" By now Korra was just maintaining her dagger eyes to get a rile out of him, entertained by the result. "Th-that's a sensitive topic for you these days, right?" Bolin acknowledged warily, speaking in a slight panic. "Just a joke. Humor. Light-hearted humor. Trying to...change the mood. Change the topic. Changing the topic's a good idea, right? Changing the topic, riiiiight..._now.__"_

Bolin's green eyes pleaded with her, his body language during the exchange endearing. Unlike other guys, Bolin wasn't _scared _of her, she could tell. It was more that he wanted to stay on her good side, but...not out of fear or intimidation. She appreciated that, and consequently, snorted out into a small fit of laughter, and Bolin sighed with relief.

"Just fuckin' with ya, _damn_," she wheezed out, reaching her arm across the table and shoving him in the pectoral. _Pfft, kind of a squishy chest muscle, there, Bowly-Poly._ _Might wanna follow Big Bro's lead and hit the gym a bit more, eh?_

"I knew that!" Bolin squawked, practically mocking himself as he dusted off his shirt. "You say it like I didn't know that."

"You almost shit your pants," Korra teased, eyes sly at him.

"You're _mean_."

For the next hour or two, they opened up a bit to each other, exchanging embarrassing or bizarre work stories, their upbringing, and slowly working their way through the pizza Korra had crafted.

Mako finally made his way back into the kitchen, looking a bit sleepy despite the somewhat early hour. As he opened the fridge and took out a carton of milk, he glanced at the two of them, who were thumb-wrestling like children. Korra was finishing off a slice of crust with her free hand, eyes burning with competition.

Mako rolled his eyes at them. Just what he needed - another infant in an adult body to encourage Bolin's rowdiness. He poured himself a cup of milk and stuck it in the microwave to heat it.

"_Woooo!_" Korra squealed, pumping her fists up.

"_Maaan, _you're stronger than you look!"

"Maybe 'cuz I _work out_," Korra jabbed sneakily, flicking the strain from her hand.

"I do, _too_..." Bolin whimpered in weak defense. "It's just...been a while."

"Maybe all this _pizza _isn't helping?" cackled Korra as she grabbed the last slice - her spoils for her thumb-war victory.

"You're _still _eating dinner?" Mako deadpanned at their delight.

Korra swiveled her head around and cast unsavory eyes of wrath at him.

"You're still being a _dick?_" she retaliated.

"Oh-_hoo_o, snap!" Bolin chortled, palm to his mouth. "Ouch..."

Mako and Korra's eyes remained locked for a moment, each trying to read the other's issue. Korra found herself momentarily distracted by the odd arc of Mako's eyebrows - it looked plain unnatural - and teared her gaze away.

[**BEEEEP~**]

Mako huffed through his nostrils in tired amusement and removed his cup, taking a sip of the thick, warm liquid.

"Good night, _kids_," he grumbled as he stalked off unceremoniously.

When he'd reached the living room, there was a "_Yar-yar-yarp!_"

"_Quiet_," Mako firmly scolded as he passed by. Naga let out a small whine.

The puppy's footsteps padded into the kitchen, and Korra smirked at her dejected pet. Bolin gave her some cutesy-wutesy speech.

"_Ohhhh, did nasty Big Brother yell at you? He did, didn't he_?"

"Stop doing that," Korra snickered, a snort coming out of her nose unintentionally, which only led to more giggles, and she had to grab her chest to try and settle her breathing. The panting breaths of her adorable animal continued, regardless. And Korra couldn't help but give into those precious, bright blue eyes - like her own.

"Naga," she commanded, "Sit, girl." The puppy obediently did as she was told. Korra leaned down, sticking her hand out. "Pawww..." Naga's fat doggy hand lifted up and landed in Korra's strong fingers. She grinned. "Good girl," she encouraged in a hushed tone, lowering the last half of her pizza slice and letting the pup ravage it.

"Dude, think you could teach me how to get my ferret to do tricks?"

"I guess I owe you from these pizza lessons, huh?"

* * *

- Saturday, March 19th, 2011 -

"Yuh-huh..." Toph's tone was empty as Jane rambled on, her raspy voice caught up in a small swell of embarrassed enthusiasm. The two of them had been hanging out, practicing a bit of guitar together, when a passer-by remarked to Jane - in a sheepish manner - how well she had done at their recent performance. It was spurred Jane to spill out her repressed glee on the matter, and Toph had to get submerged in it. Bleh.

"This _one _guy in the crowd, like, up in the front? Man, he was...kinda cute, but...Jeez, he just kept _staring _at me, like...like some fuckin' _creeper_." A giggle escape Jane's lips. Ugh. Ew. Jane? Giggling like that? Yuck. No. C'mon, be better than that, JayBee...Giggling over that crap...Ech.

"Ah..." Toph was sprawled out against a tree stump, sitting in the cool grass.

"It was just...all so damned _weird, _ya know? I-I don't think it was just my haircut or whatever, though."

"Mm...?" Jane seemed so fucking wrapped up in self-serving that all Toph had to do was mutter a bit and she'd just keep rattling on.

"Nah, like...-" Jane nodded to herself, not even looking at the girl wedged against the tree behind her as she analyzed the situation. "Katara said it was 'cuz I was all, like, 'self-esteemed' or...or some shit. Like I was _acting _a way that made me seem...-" Jane couldn't seem to get the word to come out. It just didn't feel right to _say, _out loud, that people had found her 'attractive' or 'hot.' The vocabulary felt wrong for her to say herself _about _herself. "I mean, it's what _you _do all the time."

"Yuh-huh..."

"All proud and confident and crap, right? Don't give a fuck what people think, all that stuff. It was _that_. I was doing that, doncha think?"

"Yup..."

"It's been so fuckin' _weird, _though! Seriously! Even _Sokka _was eyein' me up," she said in a hushed, baffled tone as she sat down against the trunk beside her friend. "Like he thought I was a different person or somethin'. Ya know, I _still _remember, one of the first things he told me when we were startin' to be friends, was to stop sellin' myself short. I _finally _think I get what he meant."

"Mm-_hm_," Toph grunted, her nose wrinkling at the subject.

"Suki told me she wasn't surprised, said she knew I'd get more attention if I just stopped pissin' in the corner. _Ha_. Guess I never thought I had that kinda shit in me, ya know?"

"Uh-huh..."

Jane rested her head against the bark peacefully and breathed out deeply, relaxed. She let her eyelids slide closed as she absorbed the gentle spring breezes blowing past them. She had her hair tucked behind her ears today, and the sensation of air whiffing past the sides of her head tickled in a way she hadn't felt in a long time.

"It's nice out today," she observed bluntly, letting Toph's unresponsive nature roll off her back. She is in too good a mood to let anyone else's apathy bring her down.

Toph bit at dry, dead skin from her bottom lip as she bottled up her irritation. Freckle-Face was supposed to be grumpy loner-chick who people thought was a dude, who sat in the corner, kept to herself, and didn't draw attention away from other, _better musicians _than her. Hmph. Toph was _not _liking acting-all-girly-and-stupid-Jane. Not today.

"_Fuck_!" Jane giggled, slapping her palm to her forehead giddily. "I don't even _get it_, like...Why the shit am I so _happy _today?"

Well, she was still swearing like a sailor, so Toph figured at least not all hope for Jane was lost.

"I dunno," Toph sighed, reaching to her side to scoop up her guitar from its case.

_Music. Damnit. Music. I need **music **right now. My drug. My sedative, antidepressant, and stimulant all rolled into one._

She strummed at her comforting wooden device and tried to make herself think she was experiencing a euphoric rush a she did so.

"So what's up with you today?" Jane wondered, working in the precision of her tone to ensure she asked in a neutral way that Toph wouldn't construe incorrectly.

"Nothin'."

"You seem...I dunno. Quieter than usual."

"Meh."

"Am I...annoying you, or...-?"

"_No, Chr-_...You're fine," Toph caught herself, picking away to create part of the melody she had played a couple of nights ago. After she played through the loop once, Jane sang out the mellow lyrics in her gravely voice.

"~And I'm a one girl revolution...~"

_Urgh, what the fuck? My music! Mine! Get out, stop singing, guhhh-you-can't-sing-for-shit-I'm-better-than-you-arghhh-_

"~And I'm a one girl revolution...~" Jane repeated her singing, pleasantly rocking her head back and forth. The guitar playing cut to a stop, and Jane smiled to herself, enjoying the moment. She cast a sideways glance at Toph, noticing the girl looked livid beneath floppy bangs.

Jane contained a sigh - she knew full well if she let it slip, Toph would hear and freak out about..._whatever _her deal was. Jane was trying to be above that baby stuff.

_Too happy. Haven't felt this good in a long time. Don't get Toph's problem. Not going to let...what was the name again...-? Oh, yeah. Not gonna let **Madame Fussybritches** bring me down. Heh._

They sat in side-by-side for a few moments while Toph stewed in her own insecurities.

_Rrrrmmmm._

Jane checked her pocket, whipped out her phone, and checked it: nope.

_Rrrrmmmm._

"Hey, Toph, I think you're-"  
"_What?_" Toph snapped into her phone, having no clue who was calling and not caring much.

["...So you _do _answer your phone once in a great while."]

Toph's heart sunk into the pit of her stomach. Jane was freaked by the way Toph's expression drained in an instant from irritation to shock and fear.

["...Toph?"]  
["Did she hang up on you, Dear?"]  
["No, she's still th-..._Toph?_ Can you hear me?"]

Toph managed to regain her bearings and forced out a cough.

"Duh..._Dad_?"

["Yes, that's right."] Ugh, he didn't sound very happy, either. ["I've been meaning to get to the bottom of this."]

"Bottom of _what_?" Toph growled, instantly nonplussed. The few calls she'd actually answered over the past few months had been nonsensical attempts at her folks trying to convince her to come home, quit school, and 'relax,' stop trying to 'force her way' into the music industry, and drivel like that.

Jane grimaced, sliding around the tree's trunk a few feet to give her friend some space, but feeling like it'd be weird and awkward to get up and leave the girl alone. Toph hadn't brought her walking cane eager to hang out (back when she was in a better mood), so Jane was pretty much Toph's means of getting back home, whether either of them liked it or not.

["Toph, if you're going to insist on this ignorant fool's dream of becoming a musician and go against _everything _your mother and I have done for you, the least you could do is leave your poor cousin alone."]

"...What?" Suddenly Toph's tone lost its blunt force.

["Your _cousin, _Toph. Your poor cousin that you've been mistreating."]

Meng? What did Meng have to do with this?

"Meng? I haven't even..._talked _with her lately!"

["After what happened with her father last year...-!"] A disappointed sigh. That all-too-familiar sound. ["You _know _full well how much Meng looked up to you, and to leave the family in the same manner that-"]  
"This is _totally different!_" Toph snapped, her patience today having been whittled down to a thin twig that just broke. "Don't _even _fucking compare me to him! _Argh, _that's just...so much _shit. _And you know it!"

["This isn't _about _us, Toph. This is about _Meng._"]

"Where'd you even _hear _about this, huh? What the fuck did I do?"

["From what Wu has been telling us, it sounds like you've been causing her a lot of grief."]

"We haven't been _talking_..."

["My understanding is that you offended her."]

"Well...You're..._not _Meng. Or me. So...stay out of this. I'm not your little helpless _freak_ of a daughter anymore, so just-"  
["Your Aunt Wu _asked us _to make you see reason, to see how much you're hurting her."]

"Not my problem!" Toph hissed at her father. She instantly wished she could take that back, and rephrase it, but...whatever. "I didn't _do _anything," Toph clarified. Her face was burning, her eyes stung with the beginnings of tears, but the floodgates did not open.

["It's one thing to abandon the Bei Fong family the way you've brazenly done so, but it's another to mistreat your poor cousin like-"]  
"Stop _calling her that! _She isn't a fucking _baby, _she's practically done with high school!"

["It just shows how inconsiderate you are toward us - your own _family _- everything we've done for you. You'd rather run off with that no-name boy and-"]  
"We broke up," came Toph's stern correction.

["I see. Well, that's the first good decision you've made in some time, but it far from excuses the way you treat this family when-"]  
"I'm not _part _of this fucking _family _anymore! OK? I'm..._not._"

["If that's truly how you feel, there's no reason to bring down Meng with-"]  
"I'm done talking about this! We are _done_ now. I _don't care._"

["We shall make sure to pass that along to your cousin, then, To-"]  
_Click._

Jane swallowed some saliva, incredibly uncomfortable with the one-sided shouting she'd just heard.

"Uhh..."

"_Don't_," Toph knee-jerked pre-emptively. "Just...don't. OK?"

"Y-yea," Jane rapidly conceded, scratching her brow with concern as she stared at Toph's face, a dark blend of different fruits of negativity.

Toph dropped her phone into the grass and blew out an '_rrrrrghhh_' like steam from a kettle before fussing to get her guitar into its case with great impatience. In her haste, she dinged it against the trunk she was leaned up against. She twitched with fright at the impact, a sharp inhalation of breath swinging in. Frozen in place for a second, she felt her hand along the wooden treasure for any signs of damage. Whew. No dents or anything.

_I'm sorry, Grandma._

A tear slid down Toph's cheek, her anguish having finally flowed over top the floodgates. She choked on her pride and coughed it up, causing the other eye to drop its load.

"Whoa..." Jane's hand was suddenly on her shoulder, pressing down against the hoodie she was draped in. Her muscles tensed at the initial contact, but she let them loosen. "Geez, Dead-Eyes, you-...I don't know what to...-"

"So just _don't_," Toph whimpered in a growl, sloppily rubbing her face in her sleeve. She didn't know where it was coming from - but what the fuck _else _was new, right? "Let's just...go back," she huffed, wedging her guitar into the case and snapping it shut. Jane slung the guitar she had once again borrowed from Suki - for practice - over her back and stuck out her bee-striped elbow for Toph to latch onto. Perhaps today was the right time to make due on what she had been practicing...

* * *

Side by side on Katara's bed, the two of them stared up at the ceiling in relaxation, fingers intertwined over Aang's waist. It was a pleasant quiet for a couple of minutes as their heartrates slowed down and once-tense muscles settled down.

"That was...good?" Aang muttered, seeking approval. "Right?"

"Heh." Katara smirked, scratching her nose lazily. "That was good," she administered a dose of esteem to her partner.

Aang coughed once, cleared his throat, then sighed, letting his head sink into Katara's pillow.

"I'm sorry about...-" He gestured to his abdomen. "-...the _pants_...thing..." He grimaced in spite of his own seemingly childish neuroticism. He was shirtless, but still in a pair of jeans, Katara like-wise. Katara could tell he'd been specifically avoiding letting his glance fall below her face.

"Aang, it's OK," Katara warmly assured, slipping her hand out of his own and sliding it across his bare stomach. "One step at a time. Seriously. It's _fine._"

"But...-" Aang sighed in frustration. "But I know you...want..._more_. Right now."

Katara breathed out slowly, the air passing through her nostrils and against Aang's neck.

"What I want and what _we **need**_ are not the same thing," she concluded with a properness in her voice.

"I just...-" Aang was interrupted by the tingling of Katara's lips on his shoulder, and his eyes closed as she kissed a second time.

"'You just' what?" she asked, rolling onto her stomach and twisting her head to face him. He flopped onto his side and they enjoyed each other's eyes for a moment.

"I just...want this to be _perfect_," Aang confessed. "I mean, you're the _one, _Katara. I just know you are. We can only do this once, I don't want to mess it up like...-"

"Aang," Katara laughed with some bewildered amusement. "The '_one_?' I think it's a little early to decide _that_, don't you think?"

Aang rolled his eyes, a stupid grin crawling across his face. He squirmed a few inches over and kissed her forehead.

"If you're going to _demote _yourself like that, then...can I at least say that you're _special_?"

"You can say _that _as many times as you like, my Penguin, in as many ways as...-"  
Aang had stolen a kiss on the lips, and she surely didn't mind this. It was slow, but a single movement, and he pulled back after, smiling at the way her eyes were still closed, her lips grasping out for seconds.

_Since when did you become a teasing little_ _jerk? _thought Katara with humor in reaction to Aang's mannerism.

"See?" Aang pointed to his chest. "That was me, practicing being _proactive_."

"A-_pfff! _Nicely done, Aang," she patronized, lifting her brow with endearment.

"I never want you to think I'm not interested," he explained himself with a touch of solemnity. "Even if...-" His hand wriggled in a circular motion over his body. "..._this_...seems like it's not cooperating..." He stared at her with all due serious. "I want what we have to be _perfect_," he reiterated. "Because that's what you deserve." Katara's cheeks flushed at the dire importance he had put into his words, the piercing gaze he'd delivered. She didn't know how else to react other than to bury her face into his chest. Her lips jerked up as she felt him studiously readjust her bra strap, which had come loose a bit in this motion.

"Nothing in this world's perfect," she noted, resting into the solitude of his form. "We just make the best wh-"  
The clicking and rattling of the doorknob by the foot of Katara's bed startled them from their tranquility, and was rapidly followed up by brisk triple-knock.

"Juhhhhst a sec~" Katara sheepishly sang out. Aang was already on his feet, popping his shirt back on. Well, there was one benefit to his shyness, at least - for the time being she didn't have to worry about them being caught with their pants down, heh. Aang walked to the door and hovered by the knob, waiting for Katara to work her way into a shirt that had a small penguin woven by the hip. She nodded to him and he unlocked the door.

An impatient, obviously foul-tempered Toph rammed right into him, her face colliding with his shoulder. Wide-eyed, he stumbled backward. Katara knew better - to get out of the way when she opened the door. Poor Aang was not accustomed to this detail. Toph lashed out her palms, pushing Aang another step back.

"The _hell, _Sugar-Qwoo...-?" As soon as those hands had contacted the familiar chest, in that instant she understood. "Aang?" It was a guy, for sure, so who else could it be?

"H-hiya..." Aang swooped backward, retreating to Katara's side, sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"Oh, wassup, man?" Jane greeted, still in the doorway.

"Hi, Jane," said Katara calmly. Aang nodded and waved his hand to Jane as Toph kicked her sandals off, whipping them into their shared dresser's base before dropping her guitar case to the floor and collapsing into her bed.

"Hey, Toph, what's going...-?" Katara began, but Jane had quickly stormed in, waving an arm out in front of her. In an instant, Katara saw Jane's face, teeth grit with doubt and eyes open with concern. She was slicing her other hand across her neck rapidly, shaking her head in almost a vibration.

Toph was curled up, her back toward them. She didn't reply.

"Uhhhh, hey, Katara, Toph seems...tired," Aang politely acknowledged. "Why don't we...give her quiet, and, er...go back to Aero, play some Mario Kart?"

Katara winced at the prospect of leaving her upset roommate, but Aang tugged at her wrist. Jane slapped her arm and offered a quick, concise glance that communicated, _'I got this_.' Katara honestly wasn't in the mood for damage control and at once was very keen on seeing Jane being so...initiative.

"Yea, that sounds...good," she muttered. "I'll be back later, Toph," she called out.

"I'll be.._here_," Toph growled back.

A moment after the door closed behind the couple, Toph snorted out steam.

"Looks like they're off to go make out somewhere _else_..."

Jane held back another irate sigh and spun Toph's chair around, sitting in it backwards, facing her distraught friend. She didn't say a word, but simply waited...and listened. A few moments later, and words came out from Toph.

"Why are _you _still here?"

"I was still in the mood to hang."

"Uhh...Yea? I'm _not_."

"You want me to leave, then?"

"...Erm..."

"'Cuz if you need space, or somethin'..."

"I don't need _space_," Toph snipped. 'Needing space' was something over-emotional girly girls did. Hmph.

"OK," Jane puffed out, entertained by Toph's oddness today.

"I...-"

"Yea?"

"I want things with my cousin to be better," admitted Toph begrudgingly. It was the only thing on her mind now - the idea that Meng was so upset and lonely that it was causing ripples in the family or something...It was bad enough to have her parents disappointed in her, but Meng, too?

"Mmm..." Jane had only heard Toph's end of the phone chatter, but things made a little bit more sense now.

"I mean, fuck, I...I _have _been avoiding her," Toph sighed. Damnit. The tears were coming. In front of _Jane, _even. Christ, Jane didn't want to see this...

"Meng?"

"Yea..."

"You feel bad about your parents?"

"Wh-? _Nooo, _no way, I...-"

"You sound like ya _do_..."

"Mmm...I-I mean, _maybe _a little..." _I__'ve really hurt them. I could hear it in Dad's voice. But...but they've really hurt _me. "Ugh, it's like no matter what I do, _someone _is pissed off at me. Or hurt. Or whatever the fuck. I mess everything up. It all turns to shit, everything I touch. _Argh, _and even this crap! I stay _away _from it, right? _Still _gets fucked up. I'm _sick _of feeling like I'm this big bitch, and everyone can't stand me..."

Jane smiled with sympathy.

"I know how _that _goes..."

"My fuckin' _Dad, _using...my cousin like that..."

"Huh?"

"Trying to guilt trip me. Just an excuse to talk down to me."

"Ah..."

"But...he's _right..._I mean, Meng looks up to me, and...she's always been nice to me when everyone _else _looks down on her and..._ugh. _I really let her down. She was doing all these nice things and I just...fuckin' acted like I _deserved _it."

"Mm..." Jane was sure that much was true, but agreeing was probably not a good idea at the moment. She was practicing what both Sokka and Katara often did with her when _she _was upset - this whole 'listening' thing, heh.

"I mean, I _get _it," Toph coughed out, readjusting herself so she was sitting up against the head of her bed. In that movement, Jane could see Toph was indeed tearing up from all of the thoughts swirling about. "I'm a bitch. I let everyone down _all _the time...You, Sokka...Katara...my cousin..." She sniffled in a shaky breath, her lower lip quivering. "...Aang. _You, _too."

"Hey, shit happens," Jane tried to make light of it.

"Yea, it _does_," snarled Toph in self-loathing. "All the mother-fucking-_fuck_ time, _ugh._" She pounded her fist into her pillow. "When _I'm _around..."

Jane was having an increasingly more difficult time containing her sighs and eyerolls. She decided to give Toph a moment to herself.

"That's not true," she casually dismissed. "Hey, listen, I gotta hit the bathroom. Be back."

Jane slipped off to the restroom, and while she was there she sent a text message.

[To: John boy]  
[youd be proud im all trying to fix peoples probs n shit lol]  
[Sent: 6:10pm]

[From: John boy]

[Sent: 611pm]

It was astonishing, the relief and confidence a single smiley face could instill. Jane pondered things. She could try again to explain to Toph where she was coming from, and how they related on different things...but Toph wasn't being receptive to words. It was the right time to bust out her trump card.

She popped back into the dorm room, wary of Toph's waterworks faucet being twisted off at her entrance.

"Hey. Back."

"I figured," came Toph's caustic reply.

Jane's eyes went dull with chagrin, but she pushed the reaction aside.

"So, uhhh...-" She glanced down at Toph's guitar case. "Mind if I borrow your guitar for a bit?"

Toph's pasty face boiled with scorn.

"Why?" she sharply spat, leaning forward, her head cocked sideways.

"I just...-" _Yeesh. I hit a nerve or something? It's not like I don't know how I use a guitar. Not gonna break it. _"-...figured I'd play somethin' for ya."

"...Huh?" Brows bent down, perplexed but intrigued. "I-I'm...not in the mood to practice that song again."

"No, no," Jane quickly corrected. "I meant, erm, a _different _song."

"Which _one_?"

"One I've been putzin' with on my own."

"Oh..."

"I dunno, thought it might cheer ya up..."

_The hell is up with this? _Toph wondered. _I can't read Freckles at all today. She's not leavin' me alone but she's not jumping down my throat, either..._

"Um...-" Toph considered the prospect of letting Jane handle Granny-Gran's heirloom. It made her rather uncomfortable, and yet...something made her feel at peace about it. "Yea, all right," she gave in, keeping up her aloofness. "But...be _careful _with it," she pleaded.

"No prob..." Jane gently unlatched the case and took out the instrument, surveying its contours, the worn nature of the wood, the taut strings...It was antiquated and yet clearly more loved than the one she'd been borrowing from Suki.

Toph leaned back against her headboard and wheezed out in mental exhaustion.

"I don't even _understand _myself these days," she groaned, her face in her palm.

Toph's acoustic guitar in hand, Jane sat down on Toph's bed beside her. The blind girl's face was still red and damp from her recent self-pity party.

"Know what your problem is lately, Dead-Eyes?" said Jane with a smirk. Toph's head spun toward her friend's voice, pale eyes dripping. Jane plucked a string. "You're losin' all that self-confidence and shit that makes you so awesome," Jane decided, smiling with warmth. She knew Toph couldn't see it, but she hoped it could be felt.

"Hmph..." Toph's directionless eyes narrowed, her arms crossed stubbornly around her waist as she twisted her head away.

Jane sighed out peacefully, her smile remaining, and began to strum gently at the guitar. She sung, her raspy voice carrying its unique quality.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=Xj1u4vYjFRg +

**"~Made a wrong turn once or twice; Dug my way out - blood and fire; Bad decisions? That's all right~"**

Toph's brows tilted in confusion as she dabbed her wrist against her wet eye.

"Are you...-?" she mumbled, trailing off while Jane didn't skip a beat.  
**"~Welcome to my silly life~"**

**"~Mistreated, misplaced, misunderstood; Miss 'no way it's all good'~"**  
Jane could feel her freckled cheeks turn red as her mind ignited with the troubled events of her past.  
**"~It didn't slow me down~"**

**"~Mistaken, always second guessing, underestimated~"**  
Through the memories of hardships came the more recent thoughts of the friendships she'd forged this year, and she found herself smiling through it.  
**"~Look, I'm still around~"**

**"~Pretty, pretty please...don't you ever, ever feel~"**  
Jane turned her glance sideways while she played, her expression and singing filled with conviction, and she observed Toph's reaction, which was confused, startled...and appreciative.  
**"~Like your less than fuckin' perfect~"**

**"~Pretty, pretty please...If you ever, ever feel...~"**  
Toph's face was boiling with embarrassment as a feeble hand covered up one of her now watery eyes, a sheepish, toothy smile of gratitude overcoming her.  
**"~...like you're nothing...You're fuckin' perfect to me~"**

Jane's heart burned with what she imagined Katara felt every time Jane had been in Toph's current position._  
_

**"~You're so mean when you talk about yourself; You are wrong~"**

Toph sighed, flopping her head down and letting her ponytail fall over her shoulder. She felt pretty certain she was _right_ in being mean to herself...

**"~Change the voices in your head; Make them like you instead~"**

As Toph tugged at her own hair thoughtfully, Jane bumped her hip into Toph's as she continued to play.

**"~So complicated; Look how we all make it; Filled with so much hatred; Such a tired game~"**

_We've all been making things more complicated than they need to be._

**"~It's enough, I've done all I can think of~"**

_I'm sick of it, we should just...**stop it.**_

**"~Chased down all my demons, I'll see you do the same~"**

Jane's eyes were now trickling out a couple tears, her rough memories getting the best of her.

**"~Oh, pretty, pretty please...don't you ever, ever feel...like you're less than fuckin' perfect~"**

Toph's eyes closed and she just let Jane's encouragement wash over her.

**"~Pretty, pretty please...if you ever, ever feel...like you're nothing, you're fuckin' perfect to me~"**

_I'm so selfish. Trying to hog music to myself._ _She's _giving_ hers to me._

**"~The whole world stared so I swallowed the fear; The only thing I should be drinking is an ice cold beer~"**

"I hear _that!_" Toph cheered with a grin, wiping leftover droplets of tears from her face.

**"~So cool in line and we try, try, try; But we try too hard, 'n it's a waste of my time~"**

_I'm done wasting my time, Toph - trying to be someone I'm not._

**"~Done looking for the critics, 'cuz they're everywhere; They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair~"**

_You can never make everyone happy, Toph._

_The _boys _seem to 'get' your hair now, Janey-Jane._

**"~We change ourselves and we do it all the time; Why do we do that? Why do I do that?~"**

"Why _do _you do that?" Toph teased in the break between guitar strumming, thinking of Jane's haircut.  
"_I _don't fuckin' know," Jane laughed before instantly jumping back into song.

**"~Yeah; Ohh, pretty, pretty please...~"**

The two were laughing again, and Jane's singing got choppy until she recovered.

**"~Pretty, pretty please...don't you ever, ever feel...~"**

Toph was brought back to the thoughts Jane was dunking her in.

**"~...like your less than fuckin' perfect~"**

She sniffed, wiping her nose with her sleeve.

**"~Pretty, pretty please...if you ever, ever feel like you're nothing...~"**

Settling her head on Jane's boney shoulder, she dipped her brain in Jane's music.

**"~...you're fuckin' perfect to me~"**

This wasn't how other's felt when _she _sang...because it wasn't about _them._

**"~You're perfect, You're perfect~"**

_Perfect? Hardly. I've only been singing for _myself.

**"~Pretty, pretty please...if you ever, ever feel...like you're nothing...~"**

_Maybe I should follow you, Janey-Jane._

**"~...you're fuckin' perfect to me~"**

_Say with music what I can't say with words: 'I'm sorry.'_

Having completed the song, Jane let loose a deep, relaxing sigh and plopped her head against Toph's, plucking out a few gentle concluding chords. This was...weird. Pleasant, but...weird. This was that "girly bonding time" that people like Katara were all about.

"Uhh...-" Jane coughed, lifting herself off of the gentle interaction that had lasted longer than she had felt comfortable with. "So...So _yeaaaa..._That, uh...How was th-_hurrkk_." A punch to the stomach. Not _too _hard, but it was unexpected.

"That was...fucking _perfect_," Toph said with a corny voice, spitting out her tongue. "Exactly what I needed today...Since when did _you _get good at...'comforting' people?"

Jane smiled, bobbing her head left and right a she leaned over the bed's edge, setting Toph's guitar back in its case.

"Cheh...Right? Not exactly the norm for me. But...-" Jane's lips slid up with respect, warmth, and gratitude. "Kat's been a good teacher."

Despite not being able to see the particular expression on her friend's face, Toph's own matched it.

"I know whatcha mean..."

"Just figured I'd stop letting her carry all the shit, heh..."

"Yea? Well...Cool. Mm. It's-..._Thanks._"

"You're welcome."

* * *

**A/N: DeviantArt user ooamaimomooo (who did the Taang argument strip a while back) is in the process of comic-izing part of that last scene with Jane/Toph bonding time. =)**

**Song is 'Perfect' by P!nk. A bit of referencing to episode 2 of Legend of Korra (which had an online premiere and will officially start airing April 14th!). And since a number of people have asked, yes, The Toph/Meng situation will finally be approached directly next chapter.  
**

**As always these days, there's been more artworks added to the SRU gallery.  
destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/favourites/41510260**

**Thanks again for all of the comments and support as we get closer to the end (chapter 100). ^_^**


	79. Sad Song

**A/N: Just a reminder that I do have a blog for SRU now on Tumblr where I comment on random fandom stuff, share insight into my thought process for SRU, and if you click the banners on the right-hand side you can check out Tumblr blogs where I casually roleplay as the Fearsome Fivesome, if that brand of nonsense is your thing. (Imagine the scenes where I write Facebook convos, now put it on an actual website with multimedia)**

**saint-roku-university(dot)tumblr(dot)com/**

**If all you want is updates on the new artworks (new pics every week lately) or links to previews of new chapters when I post them, the FB page will be where you want to visit.**

** www(dot)facebook.(dot)com/pages/What-I-Learned-at-SRU/194514817297584**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 79 - Sad Song_

* * *

- Sunday, March 20th, 2011 -

"Yea, it was-...We did fine," Toph mumbled with some uncertainty before sloppily rubbing at her nose with her wrist.

"You've been organizing stuff like that for Toph?" Sokka spat out, stupefied, his chicken sandwich gripped tight in his hands.

"Yea, I have," Suki replied with a hint of pride. "We've really been rocking it around a few places."

"That's...really nice of you," Sokka complimented her. Toph's nose wrinkled at his words as she groped her plate for another slimy slice of tomato.

"It's no problem," Suki humbled the task. "I just wanted to help Toph realize some of her potential." Toph received a slight punch on the shoulder from Suki's tiny hand and her blood curdled. That was _her _way of showing affection, not Suki's...And the patronizing wasn't so great, either. Ugh.

"Yea, you've really got talent, Toph," Sokka agreed. Toph smiled weakly, her mouth full of watery, fleshy plant. Sokka's tone carried that same trace of pity that Suki's did. And 'Toph?' Not...'Dead-Eyes?' What was up with that? She didn't like it.

"At this rate, you'll probably get more popular on your own than the whole band is together," Suki further lathered on the oh-so-cheery compliments.

"...Thanks..."

"Hey, Toph," Katara piped in, just now settling down at their table. "Um...Why are you just eating, like...so many tomatoes?"

"Huh?"

"_Just _tomatoes, I mean," Katara snickered, referring to the pile of tomato slices and cherry tomatoes that Suki had helped her pluck from the salad bar.

"I dunno," Toph limply replied. "Just...in the mood for it."

"Haha...I _see_," Katara let the matter rest, obviously confused but entertained.

"You told them yet?" Aang asked as he sat down between Sokka and Katara.

"Heheheheh," Sokka burst out in a maniacal laugh as his response between bites of sandwich. Toph's insides squirmed with satisfaction at his randomosity. Hm. 'Randomosity.' That was a good word for it.

"Heh, who put ketchup on _your _tater tots?" she burst out, quite curious as to what he was laughing about.

"Whhhh...-?" was Sokka's reaction to what Toph had said. Fuck. She'd meant, like-..._Argh._

"I meant, like...What's got _you _in such a good mood?" she sheepishly repeated her intonation but swapped language. Damnit. Her effort at wordplay had just...gone to shit and made her look like an idiot.

"Guess that means they don't know," Aang remarked with a grin, rubbing his hand gently across Katara's knee, out of sight under the table.

"Know what?" Suki wondered.

"Guess who's got an interview for that internship? An _in-person _interview in San Francisco?" Sokka was practically bursting with pride as he propped up the fabric on his chest, puffing himself up. "**This guy!**"

"Whoa, cool!" Toph immediately exclaimed, squeezing her thumb and index finger over a ripe cherry tomato.  
"Wow, Sokka, that's great!" Katara congratulated.  
"_Somebody's _been putting in some effort into their job search," Suki observed, giving him a keen glance.

"Well, hey, I'm trying," said Sokka casually. "I dunno, it just really sunk in that I'm, like..._graduating_...and _soon. _And...I found some motivation, I suppose..."

_Ugh-blech-nnnnnn__! _Toph lost breath, having accidentally swallowed her cherry tomato whole. Lodged in her throat, she slammed her own chest and coughed in reaction.

That tone he carried, the way his voice was cast clear over Toph and right at Suki, to her side. They were probably...fucking..._staring _at each other, weren't they? _Rrrrrrr..._

Toph recalled quite keenly that Sokka had mentioned that Suki and he were 'taking a break' and that there was still a possibility of them getting back together if 'technicalities lined up right.'

"Whoa, you OK, there?" Sokka double checked, amused by Toph's mishap. His rough hand pounded at Toph's back while she recovered, forcing the round food down her throat. She gasped for relief when it had passed, her eyes damp from the pain as she wriggled her shoulder, warding off Sokka's touch.

"I'm good," she puffed out stubbornly, reaching for her cup.

"You're supposed to _chew _before you swallow those, you know," Suki picked, sliding Toph's orange juice into her grasp.  
_NOOOOO, really? Leave me alone, and stop fucking touching my stuff, I can get it myself!  
_

"You all right?" Katara's voice sweetly asked from a few seats over.

"Yea," Toph grunted out, shrinking with shame in her seat.

"So this is for that card company, right?" Suki inquired after a moment of silent eating.

"Yep!"

"That'd be really nice for you, Sokka," Suki encouraged. "Pursuing something you actually care about. Lucky."

"We'll see how the interview goes. Piandao's really put in a good word for me, so hopefully I don't mess it up like I did before...Yeesh..."

"You'll do _fine_."

"Thanks, Suki."

Toph was still flustered as she took another swig of juice. Bleh, her stomach wasn't feeling so great...A deep burp popped out of her mouth, and Suki leaned back in reaction to it.

"Miss Lady-Like strikes again," Suki chuckled, masking her discomfort with humor._  
Miss Powderpuff..._fails_...again. Argh..._

Yea, not so much with the sharp-tongued wit, today, even if she kept it in her head. That was a bad sign.

"Toph, you _do _realize you're going to upset your stomach eating all that acidic stuff, right?" Katara sighed disparagingly.

"Whatever, just...-" She clamped her hands on her temples. She couldn't deal with this right now. Being wedged inbetween Sokka and Suki while they were probably...having fucking _sex with their eyes, _for all she knew, right over her. _UGH. _And Katara's motherly bullshit was _not _needed right now. She sighed and took another large gulp from her drink before getting up and fumbling to leave.

Aang hadn't been speaking much - he'd been too busy observing _whatever _was going on with Toph. He knew her well enough to tell that _something _weird was up. At least she wasn't exploding on everyone. That was at least a step up from days gone by.

"You leaving?" Sokka asked, baffled. "Done already?" he remarked on the mess of red still on her tray.

"I'm not feeling so hot," Toph gruffly replied, her cane already in hand, frustrated at the prospect of balancing the tray and finding her way to the dishwashing belt.

"H-hey, wait," Aang burst out with timid concern, standing right up. "You can leave that here, we'll take care of it."

Toph breathed out slowly, and gave in. She didn't like looking like a charity case, but she _desperately _wanted to leave - and not just because of Sokka and Suki, but because she felt an unpleasant bathroom visit coming on.

"Thanks." She breathily cast out the word as Aang took the tray from her.

"Ummm...I-I'll see you back at the room," Katara assured awkwardly, confused. Toph did appreciate the comment in some way - it was Katara's way of saying, '_I don't know what's wrong but I'm sorry and I'm here__.'_

"Yea, see ya later," Toph agreed with as much gratitude as she could sputter out in that moment.

She disappeared, fidgeting her cane around in the crowd of tables as various students aligned themselves out of her way.

"Ohhhh, boy," Sokka heaved out, rolling his eyes. "There's no understanding that girl, huh?"

"She..._can _be pretty confusing," Suki mumbled with some regret as she scooted over, filling in the chair that Toph had once occupied.

"You eventually figure her out," Katara mumbled in defense of her friend, dipping her tea bag up and down in its mug.

"Yea," said Aang, lost in thought and suspicion as he watched Toph vanish down the stairwell with her cautious steps. "You do..."

* * *

"She's not _legal _to drink, Sokka..."

"She's _twenty, _Aang - yea, she _is._"

"Wh-...?" Aang's eyes narrowed at him with repulsion at his ignorance. "Drinking age is twenty-_one_, Sokka."

"_What? _No, it's _nineteen_!"

"Yea, in _Canada!_" Aang spat out, smacking his own forehead to mock his roommate.

"Well...Close _enough_," Sokka dejectedly mumbled, his vigor faded. Aang was miffed, seeing as they had reiterated this to Sokka multiple times now over the school year.

"No, _not _close enough," Aang spat out. "During New Year's, we _were _in Canada, and...and that was fine, but we're in the _US _now, so it's _not _fine..."

"I don't get what the big deal is! Everyone else was old enough, she was the only one who drank that wasn't."

"You don't _get it, _do you?" huffed Aang, scraping his knuckles against his forehead, wrinkling the skin up and down. "You get in _big trouble _if you're caught giving alcohol to a minor."

"_Aang, _chill out, man..." Sokka sighed and shook his head slowly. "Everything was under control. I _plan _crap before I do it. You know that."

"She got _sick_," Aang pointedly explained. "You didn't even _notice, _you were so..._wasted._"

"I...-" Sokka popped a shrug and rolled his eyes. "What do I look like, her _babysitter? _Katara was looking out for her...As _planned._"

"Yea, and _Katara _had to clean _vomit _up from the bathroom because _you _kept giving Toph drinks until she threw up..."

"Well, _I _didn't make her do that, she could've asked _me _to if it was that big of a deal."

"Grrhh, you're missing the entire point."

"Which _is_...?"

"The whole _thing _was irresponsible."

"So you're going to get on my case about it _now? _Two days later?"

"Y-_yea_! Now that it's sunken in how much it..._bothers _me..."

"Tsh." Sokka shook his head and closed his textbook shut. Wasn't like he was _reading _it at this rate, anyway. "Sorry, Bud, but you just gotta get over it."

"Until someone gets _hurt_."

"_What_?" Sokka demanded in a sharp syllable.

Aang avoided his gaze for a moment. If his hunch was correct, he couldn't just spit it out. He had to redirect the topic but still stay on task. Hm...

"L-like Ty-Lee. Or...or Suki."

"_Again _with this shit?" Sokka growled, tossing his arm up and letting it slap onto his knee.

"Hey, _you're _the one who's been complaining about how much Ty-Lee's been _texting_ you this weekend..."

Sokka frowned with disdain. That _was _true...Ever since St. Patty's Day, the girl had been hammering his phone with texts.

"And it's not like you've been _ignoring _her," Aang went on. "I've seen you texting her back, Sokka, so I'm gonna guess that you've been encouraging it."

Sokka endured Aang's critical eyes, sparking with caution. He saw a bit of Katara in those eyes.

"OK, OK..." He sighed and gestured for Aang to calm down before leaning forward in his desk chair, elbows propped his legs. "We've kind of been in talks to hang out a bit more..."

"And what about _Suki_?"

"Whh...-?"

"You two are 'taking a break?' Doesn't that usually mean there's, like...some kind of plan to get back together?"

"Heh...Fff. I don't _know_, Aan-"  
"And then what about _Jane, _huh?"

"Listen!" Sokka clenched his fists, scraping his wrists along his pantlegs. "I'm just...playing this by ear."

"Then you should...probably tune your instruments better," Aang advised darkly as he started piling supplies into his art bag. "And stop trying to be a one-man band."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Sokka pointedly wondered.

As Aang slung his bag over his shoulder, he rolled his eyes, heading for the door.

"It means...-" He paused, and turned around, still the the doorway. "-...stop playing around before some girl gets heartbroken. Make up your mind and stick with it, instead of, like...keeping a few on the backburner. Saving women for a rainy day. You're _better _than that, Sokka."

Sokka swallowed, looking up at Aang's harsh expression. There was some disappointment there in Aang's eyes. Now it was a little bit of...his _mother_...he was seeing.

"Am I making sense?" Aang exhaled, ruffled from the topic. He scratched at the back of his neck, almost a bit ashamed at his own temperament.

"Yea, Bud, you are," Sokka solemnly acknowledged with a heavy nod. "Thanks for giving me some perspective."

"Yea." Aang's return was a much lighter head bob, relieving himself of the tension. "Anyway, I'll catch you later."

"Peace out."

* * *

"Ehhhh..." Korra squinted at it with caution. She poked at the clump of meat with her gloved finger. Mm...A little squishy, yea. Just a _little _too squishy...

"Mm?" Her blonde assistant poked his head in her direction.

"He wanted it _well-done_," Korra muttered in explanation. "Still needs a bit more cookin'..." She plopped the chunk back onto the grill and grinned with glee at the flickering flames as they licked at the beef.

"Ah..." The short young man shrugged off Korra's muttering and resumed his soup preparation, ladling some into a bowl and getting it ready to bring out.

Watching the grill's fire burn offered a certain kind of therapy to her, especially tonight with how busy things were with this 'Burger Joint' event. Korra was occasionally irked by the ideas the college came up with for these events, but...this job _was _a lot better than her last one. Korra wiped a couple beads of sweat from her brow and grabbed the bottle of water she'd been gulping away at over the past fifteen minutes. It was near empty at this point, but still soothing to consume. She slapped together a pepperjack cheeseburger with some fried potato wedges and set it on a plate with a slice of dill pickle as the dark-haired woman helping out tonight slipped into the kitchen.

"Looks like ya have your hands full there, Coral," she observed dryly.

"It's Kor-_ah_," Korra huffed at the woman. She was appreciative that at least the school has sent one of its cooks to help take care of this social event but that didn't mean they had to get along.

"_Right_," June winced, as this had been her _third _fuck up with the name. "Yea, sorry 'bout that..." The woman nodded slightly as she snapped gloves onto her hands. "Agh, _well, _lemme take care o' that for ya. Take that burger out, then go have a quick break, huh?"

As June forced her way into Korra's position, Korra let herself wheeze out a tired breath. Technically, Korra was in charge here, but June _was _older, and it was good advice.

"Thanks, June," said Korra with a wary smirk, scooping up the plate and heading out to the main floor, following the short blonde boy with the soup.

"Doug?" Huh? Korra knew that voice.

"Sm-!...Uh, h-hey, there, _Jane_," greeted back the boy as he placed the bowl of soup down at the small table while Korra passed by. "Here's your soup. Salad should be ready in a few minutes."

"Cool. Erm...Thanks."

"N-no problem!"

Korra was out of earshot of them when she reached the table by the entrance where the customer she'd been waiting on sat with stoic patience. He was a thick, big guy with a shaved head and a dark, clean-cut goatee that ran up to his ears. He was watching the TV that was hung up nearby over the bar counter, but immediately noticed when she arrived with his meal. His expression didn't change - Korra hadn't so much as seen him emote at all since he'd arrived, and he'd made his order without so much as a word, merely pointing to the platter he desired on the menu. He was an odd one, that was for sure, but the night was too crazy busy to be fussing over strange customers.

"Here's your food," Korra hurriedly announced, placing his plate down with care. He glared down at it then up at her, his dark brown eyes fierce and sharp with intimidation. Korra had been ignoring it as best she could, but in that moment she felt a chill sweep down her spine as it draw her attention: right on his forehead was tattooed some sort of Egyptian-looking...sideways _eyeball_...thing. It creeped Korra the hell out, but who was she to criticize? She had her own lifestyle choices that others no-doubt frowned upon, after all..."Sooo...You're welcome?" Korra eked out awkwardly, pulling her gaze away from his forehead tattoo. "Er, just let us know if...you need anything. We'll be closing in a half hour, though."

No reply. The man snorted air through his nose and grabbed his burger in one hand, oddly leaving the other in his lap as he had when she'd come earlier. Then again, his hands were so fucking _enormous _a second set of fingers seemed unnecessary.

_Sheesh, not a man of many words, is he?_

When he'd pointed to the burger, she'd asked, "You want that well-done?" right off the bat, to which he had nodded. This whackjob had been one of the weirder ones, but Korra had seen plenty in her day, especially back in Toronto. But running a restaurant meant Korra had to put on a layer of..._courtesy_...yuck. Very different from bartending in that regard. Korra scuttled off, eager to take a cigarette break.

"Yo! Korra!" Jane flagged her as she was swooping past, causing Korra to grind to a halt.

"Oh! _Hey..._Jane," she spat out. She wanted to chat it up with the girl, but at the same time, nicotine was calling her name.

"Wassup?" Jane asked before bending down to blow at her soup.

"Oh. _Ya _know," Korra shrugged. "Keeping busy n' shit. Heh."

"I hear ya..." The red-head loudly slurped a hot spoonful into her mouth.

"Uhhh..." Korra scratched an itch on her knuckles impatiently. "So whatcha doin' here all by yourself? Where's the _gang_?"

"I dunno, just was in the mood to be by myself for dinner tonight," was Jane's cool reply. She seemed...peaceful. Her eyes weren't sunk low and tired-looking like they usually were.

"Ah. Well. That's cool."

"Yup."

"Mmmm_-hm._" Those pesky loose strands of bangs on Korra's head were drooping over her eyes and she pushed up back into place.

The two exchanged expressions, Jane's calm and restful, Korra's exhausted and jittery.

"Christ, you look like shit," Jane blurted out with a laugh, letting her friend off the social hook. "Take it easy tonight, huh?"

"Oh, I will," Korra advised as she skittered away, confused from the interaction but glad to be off on her way.

Jane couldn't help but to steal a glance at her friend's tight-jeaned backside as she strode off. She sighed to herself and her own repressed urges and dug out her phone.

[From: John boy]  
[lol]  
[Sent: 9:28pm]

She grinned at her phone. She couldn't even remember what stupid thing she'd said last, just getting any kind of response from him was nice. And he only ever typed 'lol' if he really thought something was amusing. At least she was doing well these days. The little texts here and there and occasional awkward phone calls were enough to get by with all the good vibes she was running on. This new life she was living was much better than the last one with the Freedom Fighters. It was hard to think that less than a year ago she was with them. Seeing Douglas - 'The Duke' - working at this restaurant, in the same _building, _but how everything was completely different...It was mentally jarring, but...in a _good _way.

As Jane took in the busy restaurant around her - the smiles and the laughter, the different ages and walks of life - she grinned to herself.

It was a blissful harmony.

{United Republic} - that was what the sign on the place read. Jane had originally thought it was an idiotic name. But looking at this place, and the way the school was actively working to connect with the people of Wayward...it was a beautiful thing. A lovely meadow of flowers grown from the filth that had once populated this very place. She had even come to _like _the new name, now that she was contemplating it Zuko and his political-minded self no-doubt brought the 'Republic' part to the name, overseeing its community events and enforcing strict policies of conduct to ensure a safe and welcoming environment. The 'United' part, then, was certainly what Aang had brought to the table, with his kind heart and efforts to strive for peace and together-ness.

And speak...er, _think_...of the devil. There was Mr. Kurosawa himself, sitting across the way on an adjacent booth, in some heated discussion with someone on his phone. Jane was half-tempted to go sit with him - suddenly she was feeling oddly social - but _damn _if he didn't look pissed. She decided it'd be best to leave him to..._whatever _was going on.

Zuko was fuming as he ate his dinner - fish fry with chips and the hottest salsa they had. He was scanning the freshly printed issue of The White Lotus with a darkly fearful look - one his sister, on the other line, could detect from his tone.

"That's a _an hour drive _from here, Azula. And I've been researching the victims. There's a _pattern._"

["I'm _well aware, _Zuzu. I've already looking into it, myself. And I appreciate your concern. But I _assure_ you, I have nothing to do with it, nor do I have any knowledge of-"]  
"_Nothing _at all, mm?" Zuko snapped with sharp doubt. "Nothing? _Really?_"

["Whatever's happening, it's not within my power. _Believe_ me, Zuko. You _know _how much I hate having even the slightest detail out of order."]

"Tch..." Zuko rolled his eyes, running his hand through his hair as he stared at his food, barely touched. Perhaps the newspaper should have waited until _after _dinner. Now he was far too worried to eat.

["Stop pouting, Dum-Dum. This will work itself out. You know how Uncle is. He'll take care of it."]

"I really hope you're right," Zuko sighed. He forced himself to carve up a piece of fish. Meh. It was a bit overcooked for his liking.

["Now, then. Aside from _harassing _your sister when you ought to know full well that she's capable of handling her own affairs...-"] There was a quick intake of breath before her thorny voice gave way to that creepy, manipulative stance she used all-too-often with him. ["-...was there anything _else _my dear brother needed from me on this fine evening?"]

Zuko pondered while he chewed for a moment, humming into phone speaker to illustrate his irritation before swallowing. Azula _did _lie. Pretty much..._always, _it seemed like. But Zuko knew her well enough to tell when she was being honest, and she was tonight. It didn't change the grand scheme of things, but for right now, it was a waste of time to try and convince her to take any action. She was just going to leave this on Iroh's shoulders. Zuko didn't like it one bit, but there was no use with her.

"No," he snorted in bridled aggravation. "I guess we'll just handle it _without _you."

["Oh, I'm counting on it, Brother."]

* * *

Toph quickly inhaled a deep breath through her nose, holding the air in her chest for a moment before letting it slowly pour out of her mouth. She rubbed her fingertips along the familiar nicks and scratches on the old guitar between her fingers.

"You doing OK?" Katara cooed, running a gentle hand over Toph's forehead, pushing floppy bangs aside.

"Yea," Toph decided with some confidence. "This will be fine. I have to do this."

"I understand," Katara assured, watching Toph's head bob down and the hair get back in her face. "Hey, why don't I put your bangs up?"

"Huh?"

"Up over your head - they're pretty long, they get in the way your face."

"O-oh, umm...Sure," Toph sputtered, not really caring one way or another. She detected Katara's presence whisk away to her dresser as she retrieved a head band. Toph sighed and let her friend lift up and rearrange her hair, tucking bangs up under the band. Her face felt..._naked_ without a layer of hair draped over it in some way. Her knee-jerk reaction was to be reminded of her parents and how they'd make her dress up. Yuck...

But she knew this was a good idea - people always said that when she played her songs it conveyed her emotion. She wanted this to be heard _and _seen, even if she couldn't comprehend the latter.

"_There. _Looks nice," Katara offered Toph a compliment. Toph sniffed in air and scratched at her nose with impatience as Katara click-claked away at her keyboard. "I've got Meng up on Skype, so in a minute when the others are here, I'll bring up the video chat."

"'Kay."

"Here's your water."

Toph reached out her hand and let Katara place a half-full bottle into it. She lifted it to her lips, which puckered against the cap - pff, Katara must've put it back on. She twisted it off and dropped it on the bed beside her, then guzzled down the rest as she heard Katara open the door and invite Jane in. A minute or so later, the boys - who had just called not long ago - arrived, solemn and quiet. Toph had advised everyone by phone earlier that day that she wanted them all over so she could show them something important, so the mood didn't surprise her.

Awkward greetings were given and Toph could hear Sokka set himself down in Katara's desk chair with a grunt. Aang and Jane muttered to each other peacefully about their days for a brief moment while Katara dragged Toph's own chair beside her brother, setting her own laptop in her lap and initiating the video chat.

[Now calling..._fortuneteller114_]

There was an odd silence as they all waited for Toph's cousin to answer.

Dead air.

["Hello...?"]

"Hey, Meng," Katara greeted with a gentle peep.

["Hey, Katara. Oh, hi, guys - I see you back there."]

Jane nodded her head and Aang waved from the back, and Katara rotated the device to face Sokka, who glanced tiredly down and tipped his chin up in a begrudging acknowledgment. He didn't seem to happy to have been dragged out his room for this 'meeting.'

Toph's insides were quivering at the very sound of Meng's voice, which she felt projecting directly at her a moment later when Katara had rotated the laptop.

["Hey...Toph."]

No 'Tophie' today. Much too serious for that, apparently. But there was no animosity, only sorrow in Meng's word.

"Hi, Meng."

"_So_," Katara piped up, not unlike a schoolteacher "Toph wanted to play a song for us today."

"An 'important' song, evidently?" Sokka grumbled under his breath with a sigh - but Toph had heard him loud and clear, and her heart sank. She swallowed a lump in her throat as her hands began to shake.

She hadn't played this way before in front of _him. _Sure, in front of Jane, maybe, when they practiced together, or maybe Katara when she was in her room, and of course Aang, when they had been dating...Even Meng she'd performed for in this way. But never Sokka. It wasn't even really for him - it was more for Meng, for Aang, even...But his reaction was the one she was most deeply concerned about i n that precise moment.

["OK,"] Meng mumbled blankly, still perplexed by this situation. ["Uhhh...So what song is it?"]

"Umm...It's, uh-...A_heh, _just a..._song. _That I heard a while back. A-and it...reminded me of, like..._myself_, I...I guess...and so...-" _Agh, damnit. My fingers are shaking. My stomach's in a knot. My heart is pounding. My head is throbbing, my knees tingle, my arm pits are getting all sweaty, my-  
_"You can go ahead and play it, Hun," Katara interjected. It was as if Katara understood - words weren't how Toph could express this properly.

Lyrics were. Music was.

She coughed, clearing her throat, and double checked the tuning on her guitar before playing, putting herself out in the open.

+ www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=PKTqg5lAHBY +

She pricked at the strings, like clipping thorns from the rosebed of her mind.

Meng leaned forth, observing her cousin with solemn care.

**"~Today, I'm gonna write a sad song; Gonna make it really long~"**

The group fell silent. Jane smiled with sympathy.

**"~So that everyone can see; That I'm very unhappy~"**

Toph was speaking to them in her language.

**"~I wish I wasn't always wrong; I wish it wasn't always my fault~"**

_I know, guys. I know I've fucked up so much lately._

**"~The finger that you're pointing has knocked me on my knees~"**

_You guys all called me out on my mistakes.  
_

**"~And all you need to know is I'm so sorry~"**

_I didn't mean to mess everything up so much for you._

**"~It's not like me; It's maturity that I'm lacking~"**

_I don't want to be like that anymore._

**"~So don't, don't let me go~"**

_Please, Meng._

**"~Just let me know that growing up goes slow~"**

_I'm supposed to be setting an example for you, and I suck._

**"~I wonder what my mom and dad would say if I told them that I cry each day~"**

_Just because I'm pissed off at them doesn't make all this easy._

**"~It's hard enough to live so far away~"**

_I don't belong anywhere anymore._

**"~I wish I wasn't always cold; I wish I wasn't always alone~"**

_I've grown to hate those lonely practice sessions.  
_

**"~When the party is over, how will I get home?~"**

_When I graduate...what the hell am I going to do?_

**"~And all you need to know is I'm so sorry~"**

_I need you guys. All of you._

**"~It's not like me; It's maturity that I'm lacking~"**

_I get that now. I really get it.  
_

**"~So don't, don't let me go~"**

Toph's face was burning hot. Tears were suddenly spilling out.

**"~Just let me know that growing up goes slow~"**

She _let _them spill today - but her voice remained strong.

**"~If all the rules are meant to bend~"**

_I hurt you so much. But even then..._

**"~And you swore you were my friend~"**

_'I'm still your friend, Toph. I'm _always_ going to be your friend.'_

**"~Now I have to start all over again~"**

_Fucking Christ. But...Aang. I miss you - our friendship._

**"~'Cause no one's going to take your place~"**

_Where_ is _it, then?_

**"~And I'm scared I'll never save all the pieces of the love we made~"**

_It fucking terrifies me; will I ever be able to love someone else like I loved you?  
_

**"~But I'm so sorry, it's not like me~"**

_And Meng. I want us to talk again. So bad.  
_

**"~It's maturity that I'm lacking~"**

_I don't even know why I want that, but...I'll be better this time, I promise._

**"~So don't, don't let me go~"**

_Please, give me another chance._

**"~Just let me know that I can slip and fall~"**

___'Guess us screwups just need a kick in the teeth once in a while...'_

**"~And you won't let me go~"**

_All of you guys._

**"~Just let me know that growing up goes slow~"**

_Thank you for forgiving me._

**"~And I'm so sorry, it's not like me~"**

_I'm learning, guys. I am._

**"~It's maturity that I'm lacking~"**

_I _can't_ carry my own weight..._

**"~So don't, don't let me go~"**

_ ...not all the time, always alone, like before._

**"~Just let me know that growing up goes slow~"**

As Toph let the last chord hum through the air, she drew in a slow, trembling breath that nearly gave way to a cough. As she sighed out shakily, she rubbed at her wet face, wiping some gunk from her nostrils onto her sweatshirt's sleeve. She could hear her cousin's sniffles from the computer speaker straight ahead of her.

Sokka was baffled. He had no idea what to make of this - all these feelings. It was a side of Toph he hadn't ever really seen before, at least not so..._publicly_. Whenever _he _saw Toph emoting this powerfully, especially in front of the group it was anger and rage...So the Queen of the Cunts had a heart, after all. And it was _sorry_ for all of the shit she'd been stirring this semester. Fancy that.

Aang was projecting a small smile, a bit of pride for his friend in her ability to be pushing past so many issues he knew existed from their time together. Jane was likewise pleased, nearly ecstatic, for she knew this was inspired by her own gesture of support so recently.

Katara looked like she was holding back a couple tears, a hand over her mouth as she sucked in air through her nostrils. On the computer monitor in her lap, Meng was sniffling.

Sokka, noticing this, rolled his eyes at them. Jeez, girls and their..._existing._

["Oh, Tophie..."] Meng puffed out at last. ["That was so sweet..."]

Toph, setting her guitar down at her side, squirmed a bit, leaning forward from the edge of her bed, eager for feedback from her cousin.

"Soooo...You, uhh...forgive me...? And stuff?" she prodded for a solid reaction with trepidation.

["Do I-...? _Of course _I...-! Agh, _someone _give Tophie a hug. Give that girl a hug,"] Meng insisted emphatically, laughing out in spite of her own emotional reaction.

Katara, giggling as her own watery eyes cleared up, got up and placed the laptop down in the chair, then eased Toph up onto her feet for a hug. Aang quickly found his way over, and Jane shrugged with a "What the hell?" and found her way into the group hug. Sokka begrudgingly complied, and the four of them circled Toph in a sloppy, tight hug.

["Awwww~"]

"We love you, Toph," Katara reminded quietly, her hand on the back of Toph's head.

The warmth of their bodies, the fortitude of their spirits, the interlocking limbs joined together to form a solid barrier of flesh that encircled her...

Toph acknowledged to herself, grinning like a fool, her face positively glowing red, that this was a wall around her that she really did need from time to time. A wall she could get used to.

For the first time in _quite _a while, Toph felt..._safe._

* * *

**A/N: 'Sad Song' by Christina Perri. PS: I'm willing to bet the scene at UR brings up some questions. Give it time. They'll be answered._  
_**


	80. Into the Inferno

**A/N: You guys probably know by now that there's new artwork getting added to the SRU gallery all of the time, right? I've been commissioning a lot of artists to bolster the story's portfolio.**

**If you're keeping on top of this story, you might want to wait until _after_ you read this chapter so as to not spoil yourself.  
**

**Also of interesting note: I took some time to try an amateur sight-reading of this chapter's first scene. You can find that here, if it interests you:**

**http:/saint-roku-university(dot)tumblr(dot)com/post/21339867224/this-is-me-doing-a-very-amateur-sight-reading-of**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 80 - Into The Inferno  
_

* * *

- Monday, March 21st, 2011 -

"Seriously! Can you _believe _this bullshit?" Korra grunted out to Mako, slamming the crinkled issue of {The Wayward Chronicle} onto the kitchen table in a huff.

Mako glared at the paper with ice-cold eyes. It was quite...wrinkled. He hadn't had a chance to read it yet. Mako did not like trying to read wrinkled things, and the newspaper was a very consistent part of his morning routine - being one of its writers, and all. Korra's rant continued.

"How could people even _think _that? The United Republic is...the coolest thing _ever_!"

"You..._do _realize that I have no idea what you're talking about...right?"

Korra blinked at him, wide-eyed. The coffee maker gurgled and sputtered in the background during their awkward, silent moment.

"It's...some _idiots_," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "_I _don't know!"

Mako sighed at Korra's hot temper and slid the unfortunately mistreated Monday paper along the table to his eyesight, gandering at the text while Korra attempted to articulate her concern.

"Saying shit like how the United Republic is a waste of money, and how they don't like feeling like the college is..._invading _their space, or...-" She wriggled a disinterested wrist around and trailed off. Mako rubbed sand from his eye as he skimmed while Korra drearily retrieved a mug for herself and poured some steaming, dark coffee into it.

Mako noticed this act, and requested, "Oh, would you mind pouring me some, too?"

Korra snorted a laugh through her nose.

"_Yeee_ah, I think you're a big boy, you can make it yourself," she discounted him with a teasingly sarcastic smirk, eyes squinted half shut as she sipped her black coffee right in front of him. He stared at her in this moment of childishness, finding himself both irritated yet charmed by her bold rudeness. She scratched at the side of her head, her hair pushed up into a messy bun. As she poked her head outside the kitchen window above the sink, Mako's eyes found themselves wandering down to her waist - she was wearing a pair of sweatpants, but when she leaned to look out the window, her shirt hiked up slightly, revealed a patch of sweaty lower back muscles and hips that arced out pleasantly.

Korra then lazily scratched at her butt cheek and yawned loudly as she went to sit back down, sniffing in a sharp breath of air.

How on earth such a well-built young woman could be so...immature...was beyond Mako.

"I'll...get right on that, then," he muttered tiredly, in response to her dismissal, getting up and preparing himself a drink. "So...About the restaurant...by 'some idiots' you actually meant...Mayor Kuei. Right?"

"Say what, now?" Korra mumbled, tilting her head to the side.

"The Mayor? Of Wayward?" Mako reiterated, his head twisting slightly in expectation.

Korra raised a brow, totally clueless, to which Mako sighed once again.

"The _Mayor_ is the one in that newspaper article who's saying that he thinks the place you work at is a waste."

"Fuckin' _politics_," Korra growled, setting her mug down.

"Ya know, I hate to say it, but...he's got a good _point_," Mako confessed, dropping just a bit of coffee creamer into his mug.

"What?" Korra whined. "No way, Mako, don't tell me you're falling for that bull."

"Maybe if you actually _read _the paper instead of...-" Mako's fiercely formed eyebrow twitched. "-...crumpled it, you'd know what you were talking about."

"What's there to _talk _about?" Korra disagreed, tossing up her hand and letting it bump onto the table's surface. The gesture shook her own mug, nearly causing it to spill.  
_Grr, stupid woman...We don't need coffee stains..._

"Korra," said Mako sternly, staring her right in the eyes as he sat down across from her. "I don't know if you've _noticed - _I mean, maybe things are better up the Great White North - but the economy's been pretty rough these days. Saint Roku University's been on a financial decline for the past few years. Less students enroll each year, and it's a pretty small, private college. They can't exactly afford to go spending money on frivolous things."

"Uh, _OK_," Korra spat out impatiently. "And your point _is?_"

"My point _is, _the United Republic maybe stands for some flowery ideals and everything, but it cost the school a lot of money to start up _and _it's taking away business from what few local places exist around here."

"We're...we're bringing the people from Wayward and the college community _together, _though," Korra insisted, not much interested in talks of finances.

"That's a nice assumption to make, Korra," Mako said with an unimpressed look, "But from what I've been hearing, a lot of things the school's been up to lately have been pushing it _away _from the town."

"Like..._what_?" Korra inquired, her stomach gurgling loudly from a mixture of hunger and doubt.

"Like the way all of that business with that shootout was handled back in the winter, and-"  
"Shootout?"

"Ugh, yea, the two gangs and everything? Didn't you hear about that?"

"_Oh, _right," Korra mumbled. "The gang that...used to spend time in...the building I'm working at..."

"_Yea, _that would be the one," Mako advised. "Korra, something about that whole situation didn't seem right to me. I mean, some of the people involved walked away scot-free."

"Pff, yea, that's what happens when you let the lame-ass _police _around here deal with shit..."

"The point _is_, something about that...-"  
_Grriiiihhhhgggle._  
"Jesus, _Korra, _would you..._eat _something?"

"Oh..." Korra rubbed at her abdomen sheepishly before gulping down more coffee and getting a bagel into the toaster.

_This girl's an odd one. I don't get what Bolin sees in her beyond her looks. But, then again...this _is _Bolin we're talking about..._

"Anyway," Mako went back to his discussion while Korra waited for her breakfast to toast. "Between how that gang violence got silenced so quick, and how the college seems to be coming up with private funding from who _knows _where, it just...Well, the school just makes me - er, makes people all _around _here, in town - think that something suspicious is going on."

Korra sucked in a deep breath through her nose and huffed out hot air.

"Mako, you can...think whatever you want. Honestly? I don't give a flying fuck. They pulled me down here outta my shit job working for a shit manager living in a shit apartment with no life. Like you _said, _economical...politics...problem. Thing. Whatever."

Mako's half-closed amber eyes washed his deadpan amusement over her and she slung her head back in aggravation.

"_Whatever!_" she repeated. "It's hard to hold a job, much less a _decent _one, so I'm not gonna be rockin' the boat, and I sure as hell don't like seeing...bear-o-cratic whatever-the-fucks who sit in comfy chairs all day-" She pounded her palm against her chest, leaning forth indignantly. "-telling people that **_my job _**is a waste!"

Mako looked down from his housemate and took a moment to drink in caffeine as he considered her perspective.

_'Bear-o-cratic?' Ugh...Korra, Korra, Korra...You really are a bit of a blockhead, aren't you?_

"And I mean, _damn, _the school? That school is what's keeping my _family _sane, OK? Sokka? Katara? My cousins? Their mom is _gone, _and that tore them up for _years_. My little cousin, she had, like, _no friends _in high school. That _school _is what gives her some kind of fucking anchor in the shit storm of life, so...I don't want to ever hear you sayin' bullcrap like that around me. Just...Keep it your self."

Korra snorted out a shaky sigh through her nose like steam from a kettle and began to angrily butter her bagel.

_Wow. That...really pressed a button I didn't know was there. I thought Korra didn't really _like _her cousins that much...or colleges in general, for that matter._

"I...see your point," Mako conceded calmly. "I didn't...mean to...offend you."

Korra did a double take, rotating her head around, half a bagel in her hand. She took a bite out of it and stared at Mako's regretful frown.

"Yea?" she muttered, eyebrows furrowed as she maintained intimidation. "Well..._Good. _You didn't..._offend _me," she huffed in denial, rolling her eyes. "But...let's keep things that way."

* * *

"No, I'm-..." Zuko paused himself, breath in briskly, and sighed out his impatience before continuing. "Uncle," he slowly reiterated. "The _names. _Look at the _names_."

Iroh gaped at his forlorn nephew for a moment before lifting his pair of reading glasses over his eyes and surveying the highlighted, circled names from the articles Zuko had brought to his attention.

Hm. They did seem familiar.

"Mmm..." Iroh's stony fingers stroked his thinning beard. The ornate pendulum clock in his living room ticked back and forth, serving as the solitary noise they heard for a few moments as Iroh analyzed. "I think you may be right, Zuko," Iroh sighed, handing the folder of scanned pages back over. Zuko gawked at Iroh as the man leaned back on the couch, scratching his stomach thoughtfully. Dinner had been quite filling.

"That...That's _it_?" Zuko growled, his eyes sparking with concern as he whipped the manilla folder onto the coffee table before them. "Uncle, are you taking this seriously? What are we going to _do _about this?"

Iroh grimaced at Zuko's stress. Always getting so worked up about everything...The poor young man needed a vacation. Good thing spring break was coming up soon.

"Zuko, we can look into this tomorrow. But I must ask you: what is it that you expect _me _to do?"

Zuko's mouth opened, but he couldn't figure out to reply. This was an unexpected answer from Iroh. Uncle Iroh not knowing what to do? It was a foreign concept.

"I-...We need...to...do _something_," Zuko groaned, rubbing his tired eyes. "Azula's not _any _help in any of this. Didn't I tell you? I _told _you this would happen with her..."

"It _is _true that your sister seems to have lost her way, Nephew. But do not forget that you, too, have made your own mistakes and eventually overcame them."

"But what makes you _so _sure Azula is going to do the same?" Zuko sighed doubtfully.

"Nothing is certain," Iroh replied innocently, shrugging his shoulders as he gawked up at his own living room ceiling. The wavy textures running along its surface were soothing when matched with the gentle ticking his large clock's pendulum. "I merely have faith that - if anything - _you, _Zuko, will help her see the error of her ways. But, for that matter, what makes _you _so certain that this is even something we should be worried about?"

Zuko crouched over, dropping his elbows onto his knees, his hands sliding across the sides of his dry scalp.

"Something about this isn't right, Iroh," he breathed out. His teeth ground together beneath closed lips. His head twisted to his right to stare at his seemingly relaxed uncle. "Is there anything you aren't telling me?"

Iroh's gaze lost its air of ignorant serenity as the two Kurosawas exchanged their doubts without a word for a brief moment.

"I admit...-" Iroh began, a moan escaping him as he leaned forth, pushing his elderly frame to get up. Zuko immediately put out his arm, aiding the man's effort to rise to his feet. "-...it _does _seem highly suspect...But, in my experience...-" Iroh rotated his shoulder and it crackled stiffly as he sighed. "-...it is not wise to go chasing hurricanes - one is better off preparing for the storm than running headlong into it..."

As Iroh meandered down the hallway and toward his bedroom, he waved back to Zuko.

"I must retire for the evening, Nephew. I trust you will handle the meeting in my stead."

Zuko shook his head to himself and easily caught up to Iroh, clamping a hand on his shoulder.

"_Uncle_...Why are you ignoring this?" Zuko firmly demanded, his insides churning with doubt. "Why are you putting this on _me?_"

Iroh contemplated his reply for a moment. Zuko loved that - the way Iroh _thought _before he spoke. It was perhaps something he would do well to work on himself, _especially _if he had any hope of winning Azula over in all of this.

Iroh lifted his creaky, sturdy arm up and dropped it on the back of Zuko's wrist.

"Because, Zuko...I know you are _ready_. _Someone _has to make these things right." Iroh's head bobbed down as a confident smile overcame him. He patted Zuko's hand twice before slipping off toward his bedroom door. "That someone is _you_."

* * *

- Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 -

{_2/23/2011_ _- Hakoda_}  
_{Today I was reminded of how much I deeply miss my family. And though Katara and Sokka may not be here with me, they are looking out for each other, and very soon, they will have their cousin Korra to keep an eye on them. I had forgotten about our family's name, so today, I re-learned something: the name 'Kesuk' means 'water & sky,' so now I like to think that, like those things, even while we are far apart we're still all true blue and connected as one vast whole.}_

A long, thoughtful breeze of breath slid out from Katara's nostrils as she stared at the curves of her father's orderly handwriting in the journal she'd been holding onto. She gazed at the blank page to the right, as if staring would somehow make more words appear. She'd read through his handful of entries three times now since receiving the bound book from her brother. She lamented the fact that neither of them had added to their father's thoughts yet. The way Hakoda had written such simple, brief entries made Katara wary - she knew she'd want to just ramble on pointlessly. If she was going to write something in, she wanted it to be concise.

After a quick glance around the ACC, which was gradually becoming more active as lunchtime drew closer, Katara's eyes found themselves locking onto a single word in the entire section.

_{Korra}_

She found herself...a bit _angry_. Disgruntled. Why was that?

When was the last time Katara had made an effort to see Korra just for old time's sake? As family, as cousins...She couldn't even remember. Certainly _before _Korra had moved down to PA. That nagging feeling - _no, _no, it wasn't a _nag, _it was a...desire, a passion - to reach out and connect yanked at Katara's heart. She retrieved her phone from her desk and sent out a quick text.

[To: Korra]  
[Hey, I was wondering if you had time to hang out tonight. Just you and me? I miss you.]  
[Sent: 10:51am]

A short distance away, Toph was sprawled on her back, bare feet wedged inbetween the cushions of the corner of the couch she was on. Her laptop rested on her stomach, one arm propped under her neck, the other dangling off the couch's edge.

"What?" An awkward giggle. "Nahhh. No. Nobody like that."

["Really? Mm. I guess it _is _kinda soon...But, like...that spring dance is coming up, right?"]

After their musical make-up, Toph and Meng had rapidly slipped right back into consistent contact, only now Toph spent less time complaining and more time encouraging her younger cousin.

"What? Whhh-...There...there _is_...?"

Meng snorted out a laugh.

["Chyea, Tophie. How come _I _know about this and you don't?"]

"How _come _you know about this and I don't?" Toph chuckled, bemused.

["I heard about it from Aang - he sounded excited."]

"Ah...Well, Aang has someone to _go __with, _sooo...Yea."

["There's _no one _you want to go to a dance with? Not a _single guy_?"]

"Pff...No way," Toph coolly rejected the notion. Fuck Sokka, he was all...flaunting himself with other girls, and...rrrr. She was better for him than that stupid air-head ditz, or that tightwad, no-nonsense Suki. But _whatever. _Like _he _was smart enough to notice...

["Huh. That's weird, coming from you, Tophie."]

"Eh?"

["Seems like there's _always_ some guy you've got on your mind."]

_Ffffffuuuck. She's right. Ughhhh, she's so right. Damnitall._

"Heh. Well...Not right now."

["Hm. I see. Hey, though - that dance is a few weeks away, right? Ya never _know-ohhh~_"] Meng taunted with her tone in a suggestive singing manner.

"Yea, yea, _OK, _all right," Toph sighed, a smirk on her face.

["I can see you're _bluh-shing_~"] Meng continued her jibing assault.

"_What?_" Toph squeaked, slapping her hand on her cheek. It didn't _feel _warm...ugh, but it was getting there..."

["Well, you are _now_, mwahaha..."]

"You're a little piss-ant," Toph growled with an embarrassed, toothy grin.

["Looks like you taught me well, Cousin!"]

Katara snickered at the two girls prodding each other verbally across the way before noticing she'd received a reply.

[From: Korra]  
[Yea that sounds good, actually. Could use some chick time after living with these "men"]  
[Sent: 10:53am]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[LOL I see. Sounds good. When and where?]  
[Sent: 10:53am]

[From: Korra]  
[I gotta close shop tonight so how about a lil before 10?]  
[Sent: 10:54am]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[Cool! I'll come by UR at like 9:45.]  
[Sent: 10:54am]

[To: Sokka]  
[Hey, I need to use the car tonight.]  
[Sent: 10:55am]

[From: Sokka]  
[What for? Me and Aang were wanting to go out w/people tonight.]  
[Sent: 10:57am]

[Reply]  
[To: Sokka]  
[I want to see Korra for a bit.]  
[Sent: 10:58]

[From: Sokka]  
[Fine, fine. We'll figure something out later. We'll be there in a sec for lunch.]  
[Sent: 10:59am]

* * *

"Sorry, girl..." Korra scratched her nails along the base of Naga's ears, holding her over-eager body in place. "Mama's gotta go to work." A rough double-pat to Naga's side.

"_Yarp! Yar-yarp!_"

"I know, I know!" Korra chuckled. "Naga needs her walk. Don't worry." Korra stood up and cast her gaze to Bolin, who was tying his shoelaces. She continued to speak to her pup while observing Bolin's stocky body rise up. "Bolin here's gonna take care of you, so you be nice to him, all right?"

"Heh." Bolin grinned at Korra, standing with her hands on her hips, chest puffed out. The woman sure knew how to carry herself. "She'll be in good hands," he assured, smiling at the cheerfully panting puppy.

"I bet she will," Korra muttered, zipping up her hoodie. It was a bit cold tonight, so she was going to leave her obviously stylish but admittedly not-so-warm leather jacket at home. She paused, considering the evening that waited for her.

"What's up?" Bolin wondered, clipping Naga's leash onto her collar.

"Ehhh," Korra shook her head and whipped down her wrist. "Nothin', I just...am kinda nervous."

"Nervous? About what?"

"My cousin..."

"Errmmm..." Bolin scratched at his ear tentatively. "Why?"

"It's been a long time since we've hung out together - just us girls, ya know? I think I-..._pfff. _Just wondering if we can even get along on our own, is all."

"Ah..." Bolin nodded slowly. "It'll be good, you shouldn't worry so much."

Korra kicked the heel of her shoe against the archway of the living room entrance. She looked up at his encouraging green eyes and he grinned, giving her a thumbs up.

"If _I _can see how awesome you are, I'm sure your cousin's _well _aware of it."

Korra offered up a weak smile of gratitude, her arms crossed pensively.

"Thanks, Bolin. You're right." She smirked, her eyes flickering with sass. "I _am _pretty damned awesome, aren't I?"

Bolin took a couple steps toward her and jabbed a meaty finger just below her left collarbone.

"You, my friend, are one bad-ass motherfucker," he credited her, barely keeping a straight face. They both crumbled into snickers.

"Took you _that _long to figure it out, eh?"

"Ohhh, yes," Bolin facetiously explained, putting on a melodramatic tone. "Your luscious lips, feminine wiles, and deep, enchanting eyes have been luring me into a false sense of security all this time, but now I see your _true colors, _you dirty animal."

"Shut _up, _you dweeby Elvis imposter," Korra cackled, rustling his slicked back hair and pushing him away by his pectoral.

"A-_thank-yuh-verymuch_," said Bolin with his mocking impression, straightening his coat and readjusting his hair.

"Walk my _dog_," Korra commanded in an exhausted whine.

Bolin strolled over to the door, opening and gripping the leash as Naga dashed out and down the steps. He waved good-bye, and Korra swung her hand stiffly back, brow cocked at him. As soon as he set foot on the porch, he paused and shouted back through the doorway, pumping his fist into the air and wiggling his hips.

"Elvis has _left_ the building!"

"Wh-?" Korra squinted at his randomness with borderline irritation, doing her best to hide her entertainment. "_Walk my dog, _dipshit!"

"Going now!" Bolin squawked, bounding down the stairs and out of harm's way.

* * *

"It's all good, Sis," Sokka insisted, pulling the car into the lot beside the United Republic as the only other car there, packed with a family of full stomachs, pulled out. "We'll just swing by somewhere in town and grab some ice cream or something, meet you back here in a bit."

"Sure..." Katara nodded, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder as she stepped out of the car. "That sounds good."

From the backseat, Aang practically pressed his face against the window, admiring her attire today. She was wearing that lovely dark blue sweatshirt he liked so much - the one with the low cut that showed off her elegant shoulders. She'd worn it just for him today, and it was almost tragic that now she was leaving. Yes, it was only going to be a little while, but...he was just in a very attached mood today.

_Women shouldn't be allowed to have shoulders that beautiful_.

Katara noticed him admiring her from inside the car, a small spot of steam shrouding his face from the air seeping out of his nostrils. That's how close he was to the window.

"_You_," Katara teased, her voice carrying through the open car door as she pointed at her boyfriend, eyes aglow with affection. "Try not to _freak out_ while I'm gone, Sweetie. Hee."

Aang rolled up his eyes, lulling his tongue out, and clutched at his heart in mock pain.

"NoOoOoOoooo," he whimpered pathetically, clawing his fingers at the window, smearing the trace fog he'd created. "My Precioussss," he hissed in a joking rasp. "We _wantsss _it, we _needsss _it."

Katara gave him a deadpan look while Toph grunted, "Oh, _brother_," from Aang's left. As Jane popped out of the other side of the car, winding around to take Katara's place in the front passenger seat. Katara delivered a soft rub on the shoulder as she passed by, then looked back to Aang, who was still flailing with mock insanity.

"All right, _Gollum_," she called out, voice muffled by the car now that the front door was closed. "Roll down your window."

Aang perked right up and did as he was told. Katara eagerly leaned her head in and Aang immediately slammed a kiss into her lips. They made it a single, quick gesture before loudly unlocking mouths and nuzzling noses before she leaned back out.

"Maybe that can tide you over a while, you big _baby_," jeered Katara with a sly smile.

Sokka cleared his throat quite loudly from the driver's seat.

"Poor Mr. **Oogie** Boogie," Jane scoffed at him. "Hold onto your shit - you're a bigger baby than Fancy-Dancer back there is." Toph chuckled at Jane's somewhat forced but fitting use of nicknames.

"See you in a bit, Katara," Aang bid her farewell with a small wave. She nodded them off and turned around, heading into the restaurant's back door as she listened to the familiar hum of their car speed off. It was quite quiet, she realized, as she passed through the rec room. Aang's wall art of colored graffiti arrows still impressed her every single time she pass by. As she entered the dimly lit main area, she realized that the place was about dead, with a couple tables of dirty dishes left unchecked. She checked her phone: [9:58pm] Well, no wonder. They were about closed.

"_There _you are, Kittie Kat!" Katara twitched from the shock of Korra's suddenly close voice, startling her. Where had she _come _from? Maybe she had been poking around the bar counter...? In either case, she was right there, ready to give her cousin a hug.

"H-hey!" Katara greeted back, choking from the pressure of Korra's hug as she was lifted into the air. Her messenger bag slide off and clattered to the floor, much to her dismay. The second she was set back down, she scooped it right back up, checking to ensure that her cargo was undamaged.

"So how ya _been_?" Korra asked with enthusiasm, overriding Katara's distraction.

"Oh, I-..." Katara walked over to the counter and set her bag upon it, dropping herself into a stool. She took a breath, tilting her head up and down as she finally met Korra's gaze, letting relief pass over her. "Good. I'm good!"

"Sweet." Korra plunked her rear end with less-than-graceful nonchalance into the stool to Katara's right, propping her head up with an elbow on the counter.

There was an uncomfortable, drawn out silence in which neither woman could decide on how to continue conversation. Then, the scrawny, short blonde boy burst out from the kitchen's double doors.

"I'm punched out for the night, Korra," he sighed out, glad to be done with another long shift.

"Cool, Dougie. Peace out." Korra waved him off as he whisked on by. He and Katara swapped the briefest of curious glances - both knowing _of _each other without genuine acquaintance - and he saw himself out, Korra locking the door behind him.

"So you're all closed up for the night?" Katara wondered as Korra sat back down.

"Meh, not quite," she huffed, chin in her palm with a grudge. "Waitin' for that weirdo who's been in the bathroom for, like, the past twenty fuckin' minutes. Must have some diarrhea or some shit." She paused, then her eyes squinted with stupid humor as she contained a laugh. "_Snrk. Some _shit. More like _hella _..."

Katara grimaced at Korra's lowbrow remark, and she fished through her bag to pull out the journal, setting it on the counter.

"This is the family journal," she explained, sliding it over to Korra in an attempt to swap topics. "Did...did my dad tell you about it?"

Korra blinked at Katara's solemn face for a second before leafing through the paltry few pages worth of entries.

"Uhhh...Not much of a _journal _yet, is it?" she mumbled with a laugh that sharply steered into shaky territory at Katara's dagger look. "I-I mean...-" She fumbled for this disconcerting seriousness that Katara wore. "It's...just a couple pages..."

"Because we're supposed to fill it in, too," Katara explained. "The _family. _Everyone in our family. That includes _you_."

Korra was baffled, her mouth hanging out as she eked out traces of syllables.

"What are you getting at, Kittie K-"  
"_Please_ don't call me that," groaned Katara, as if Korra were committing some horrible act for the tenth time.

"Whuh...-? What's the problem?"

"I don't _like _that name, Korra. It brings back bad memories."

"Erm...O-OK, I'll...keep that in mind. _Heh_." Korra shrugged sheepishly.

"How's Dad doing?" Katara asked suddenly.

"Hakoda? Oh, he's...uhh...-"

"Not the best?"

"He's..._fine. _I mean, he's been _better, _but...he's been a _lot _worse, too, so..."

"Did you visit him before you left?"

"Uh...Well, sure, I needed some help getting things around, and-"  
"Ah. So you just used him to help you."

"Uhhh..."

"Like you used _Aang _to get the job you have right now."

Katara's gaze remained fixed forward while she sniped shots at her cousin. Korra twisted her head to a forty-five degree angle, in-dignified by this talk.

"He spends _all _of his time protecting people, and he gives you a _dog _and helps you _move _and you don't even give the poor man a _visit _before you go and leave him _that _much more alone?" Katara was now staring at Korra with disappointment. Her words stung, but not hot like flames - rather, they were dull and grinding, like pebbles against one another.

"I...didn't have _time_."

"You could've _made _time for Hakoda...It's the least he deserves."

"I...guess you're right," Korra awkwardly conceded, unsure as to what kind of response her cousin was looking for.

Christ. At least Sokka was easier to pacify when he was in an odd mood, Korra could just give him-...Oh. Hey. "So...So, erh, Katara..." Korra shrugged her head to the wall before them. It contained a soda machine and a soft serve, but there was also a dispenser for on-tap booze that required a flash of ID when served. "You seem a bit down. You in the mood for a drink? 'Cuz I could hook you up and...-"

A dull silence. Katara's mood seemed to be deteriorating, which was very unnerving to Korra. Korra decided to take matters into her own hands and made a quick dash around the counter, making herself a cold mug of beer and pulling out a hard pear cider from the mini fridge below for her cousin. She cracked off the cap and slide it forth. Katara eyed it with her sudden dose of melancholy while her cousin came back to sit at her side. Korra raised up her mug, and Katara eyed it warily before giving in, grabbing her bottle and tapping it against Korra's.

_Clink._

They both took a swig.

"Nice night for an escape...isn't it?" Katara remarked dryly, predicting their descent into inebriation. "Seems like it's _always _a nice night for one of those these days. If it's not Sokka, it's Toph. If it's not her, it's _you_..." Katara's nose wrinkled with some pent up frustration. "Everyone just _running away _from their problems?" She took a second gulp, the sweet, sour, and bitter beverage easier to consume than in the past. "Why did you even _come _here?"

"Eh?"

"Here. To Wayward. Why did you come? You know, at first I thought it was because of us. Me and Sokka..." Katara slurped from her bottle again, dropping it hard against the wood. "But you seem so possessed with your new life here. Being in charge. Being lusted after by those boys you live with..." _Whoa. Low blow, cuz. Low blow..._ "You hardly _know _them..."

"Y-yea," Korra agreed, thrown off by Katara's gradual increase in attitude. "I wasn't-...I haven't...-"

"You just show up and flash your _muscles _and throw some old bullies around - and crack Sokka in the head, _by the way_ - and all of a sudden you're the big girl in town, and you're _oh-so-cool._"

Korra coughed out an appalled laugh. Good thing she'd just swallowed beer right before.

"Whoa, _whoa, _back up...You're _jealous?_ Feh!"

Katara dropped a brisk snort from her widened nostrils.

"I thought-..._We_ thought...that you came to Wayward to keep an eye out for me and Sokka. Pff. _I've_ been the one keeping an eye on _him_ this entire time. If it wasn't for me, he might...be expelled by now, or...something."

"Listen." Korra knocked her mug down harshly, slashing her hand downward in a sharp motion. "Katara, you're my family n' shit. We're all good, and tight, and stuff. But I came here for _myself._ I came here to find my own path, as an _adult. _I need to start a new life, on my _own._"

"I know you do," Katara sighed. Oh, great, now she was going to show sympathy? "But it doesn't have to be _alone _alone...Ya know, lately it feels like...-" Katara quenched her urge for cider with a chug. "-...our parents' time has passed. My mother, and..._so many _of our relatives and...-" Her nostrils flared with embitterment. "-...people we once called 'friends'...are gone." Another sip. "Practically my entire generation is...is crushed with debts, the economy is _garbage_...It's time for us Kesuks - what's _left_ of this family - to take on the responsibility of covering each other's backs and getting through all this. Helping give each other peace and balance and..._sanity_...in this messed up world."

Korra stared intently at her oddly forlorn relative. She knew Katara had seen worse days, and when she thought on it, Korra was inspired by all the good Katara made out of it.

"And...-" She exhaled shakily, drum-rolling her fingernails on the bottle in her hands. "And I don't just mean me, and Sokka, and you. I mean...'this family,' and that includes everyone that's a part of it, not just the ones who share our name." Hmm. Katara had always been pretty insistent on that idea - that family was what you made of it. Korra wasn't as sold on that, but...either way, Katara _was _her family.

"Kat...Are you _feeling _OK?" Korra mumbled in frustration. What was with this? She wasn't supposed to be playing babysitter. "You're actin' really _weird_ on me."

Katara heaved out hot air before finishing off her cider.

"I'm sorry, Korra," she muttered, shaking her head. "I don't know, it's just been a long day, I've been thinking on...-" She circled the tip of her pinky around the bottleneck. "-...maybe some stuff I shouldn't be...I suppose I'm just scared of what's going to happen when this school year is over, what will happen when _Sokka's _the one on his own. And then a year from now when _I'm _finally done."

Korra pounded Katara's shoulder, eliciting a cough from the girl, letting her thick arm hang over the girl's bare shoulders.

"I hear ya, Katara. I've been there. But it gets better." Korra paused thoughtfully. "Eventually."

"Heh..."

"I'm sorry if I've been causing crap for you guys, and...you are _totally _right, I really need to try making an effort to...be a part of this 'family.' I'm not secluded all by myself up in Toronto anymore. It's a whole new world out here, and it scares the _fuck _outta me sometimes."

Katara smiled weakly and nodded with understanding, leaning over the gap between stools and embracing her cousin.

"I know it's tough, but you'll be a _great_ manager at this place."

"Damn straight." Korra grinned, squeezing Katara back.

"And...You're going to be a _great _cousin, too. To me and Sokka, but...also to Aang, and Toph, and Jane. I know you'll have our backs if we ever need it. That's just how you are."

Korra felt her insides tighten. Emotions and _feelings _and warm-fuzzies weren't her thing...She always figured Katara couldn't stand her approach to things. But this sounded like Katara in fact _appreciated _her stiff presence for a change. And she had to confess that she _was _feeling a little damp in the eyes. _Just _for a second, though.

"Thank you," Korra gratefully expressed.

Korra finally broke away from the embrace of Katara's arms. A mere few feet away, the tall, oddball man who'd been in the bathroom was standing there, staring right at her with all _three _of his eyes - that freak with the tatt on the face. The eyeballs that were real were just as cold and mechanical in their gaze as the fake one tattooed into his skull.

"_Christ_!" she spat out, grabbing at her chest, ensuring her skipping heart was still beating. Katara whirled around, only to gasp in surprise herself, then relax when she realized it was just that customer Korra had mentioned. "Jesus, man," Korra sighed out, shaking her head. "Scared the _fuck _outta us." He stared at her, expression stoic and unmoving. "You just...creep around, scaring women for _kicks _or some shit?" Korra once again grasped for some semblance of humor, but he didn't react.

Katara was baffled by the hulk of a man, with his shaved head, expressionless eyes, forehead tattoo, and...Oh, God. His hand. What was wrong with his hand? His right hand looked..._ulgh. _She couldn't even _tell. _But it didn't look right. Infected? Badly burned? She felt for the poor man, what pain he could be enduring that very moment. It didn't look pleasant, and it explained his controlled, stern look.

The awkward silence after Korra's remark was unbearable by now, and Katara's sympathy for this stranger rapidly gave rise to fear as his stone-cold demeanor carried himself to their immediate proximity. Korra's body tightened, and she rolled up her sleeves, hopping out of her seat with balled fists, ready to swing.

The man breathed in deeply through his nose, his alarming pectorals clearly showing through his tight, gray sweater.

"Listen, pal, I don't know what yo**_oofff!_**"  
_Whump!_

Korra's attempt at intimidation was cut short as the air was knocked from her by a knee to her abdomen. In the second it took for Katara to shriek with shock, Korra panted from the lack of air. Still hunched over, she managed to clamp her hands on the brute's shoulders while he grabbed her by the ponytail and yanked her head back. Another focused knee strike rose, slamming Korra in the breasts and leaving her stunned. Katara, who had by now leapt from her stool in fright and had her hands clamped on her temples, gazed onward in confusion. Her body was paralyzed on the spot, jaw agape.

Korra wasn't going down without a fight, though she now found herself pinned against the countertop, one leg caught underneath the stool's metal support, the other thrashing at the man's shin. He held down both her arms, even resorting to using his less-than-healthy-looking hand to keep Korra in place.

"**Get off her!**" Katara managed to screech, her words ignored entirely.

The stranger took his left hand - the stronger one - and took the chance of lifting it up, blocking Korra's attempt at a jab with his meaty elbow before crashing his fist against her face.

"**Stop it!**"

Even in this entire process, the man was a cold statue in motion, barely reacting to anything his body was doing. That itself was perhaps just as horrifying for Katara to watch as was the aggression he expelled as he lifted the dazed woman in his grasp by both shoulders and slammed her head against the counter with a sickening '**_bumff.'_** Next, he pushed her back toward the tables and heaved her onto one, her face coming down first. He carried this act out like a construction worker, indifferently tossing a sack of cement.

Katara flinched from the crash, which split the table in two, leaving Korra in a contorted pile, her eye black, nose bleeding, head bruised.

"**What are you _doing _to her?**" Katara shrieked in hysterics. "**You're going to kill...-!**"

The man had turned around, that freezing glare of emptiness now aimed at Katara, who suddenly found herself unable to breath, her sentence ending prematurely. Shaking like a leaf in a tornado, Katara wobbled backward, finding support on the counter behind her as his menacing footsteps approached. In that instant, she realized he walked with a bit of a limp - it made his advance that much more barbaric.

Confused, petrified, and struggling to muster up what adrenaline she could, Katara noticed her empty cider, and swiftly scooped it up, waving it like a club above her shoulder, ready to strike. She bared her teeth, sapphire eyes aglow with fight-or-flight, and just as he came within range, she took a swipe at him.

"_Agh!_" she grunted in pain at his retaliation.

He'd caught her wrist in mid-swing and twisted it aside, wrenching the bottle from her grasp. Before she had any time to react, her world went spinning when the bottle was shattered against the left side of her forehead. She met the floor in an instant, and while she writhed in pain, too dizzy to operate properly, her stomach was pounded by a shoe. Curled into a fetal position, her sight blurred and dim, her breath forced from her lungs, Katara was helpless to fight back as her skull was lifted by her hair and pounded into the wooden floor, turning her world black.

* * *

The car had screeched to a stop in the middle of the road as soon as they'd turned the corner. Sokka had to put his foot back on the pedal and get the car into the back corner of the lot, all the while dealing with hysterics from the other people in the car. Before he'd even come to a stop, Aang had unlocked and opened his door and bounded out, making a few dashing steps toward the horrific sight.

The United Republic was ablaze, billowing stacks of smoke and spewing flames from its rooftop. Some of its windows were shattered and puffing out clouds of black, while others glowing a fierce yellow and orange mix.

"Aang? What the _fuck_?" Toph growled with hostile irritation, clueless as to what in the hell everyone was getting so riled up about. She fumbled around with her door and managed to push her way out, feeling around the car's edge and rotating around its backside while Sokka and Jane piled out of the front seats.

"Shit-shit-shit," Jane was hissing to herself as she clambered out, eyes fixated on the fire. Could it have been _them? _Could they be behind this?

Sokka was without words - without a clever remark or a curse or any kind of verbal indication that he was acknowledging what he was seeing as reality.

One faint-hearted thought was racing through his mind in that instant: _my family is in there._

"What the hell is that sound?" Toph growled, her voice raising an octave as the sudden weight of this unknown situation pressed on her. She pushed off of the car, hands stretched out as she searched for anyone to clasp onto.

"_Fuh-huhh-huhhhck_," Jane was whimpering in a panic. "What do we _do_? What do we _**do**?_"

Toph groped toward the voice and found her arms on Jane's bony back. The girl jumped at the touch, her mind reeling, but she realized who it was and let Toph's elbow lock with her own.

"Could someone tell me what the _fuck is going on?_" Toph cried out in pleading exasperation as she was pulled forward, the lot of them approaching the place.

Aang hadn't said a single word, but instead was pulling his black SRU hoodie up, its blue arrow cast down over his forehead.

"_Aang, _where are you going?" Sokka swiftly demanded as soon as he saw this gesture and the way Aang was picking up speed. "Aang?"

The noise from the flickering flames grew louder as they drew close, and Toph suddenly found herself choking on traces of smoke, the distinct smell of burning wood suffocating her.

"Did something happen?" Toph moaned, the confusion sending her heart into a spiral of fear. Was Katara hurt? Or...or _dead, _or something? What if Katara was dead? Hell in a handbasket, Sister-Face couldn't be _dead. _Not _her _Sister-Face.

"It's a fire," Jane managed to mumbled out, gawking with horror. "Place is on fire..."

As a chunk of smoldering wood broke off from the top portion of the building and clattered to the ground not more than twenty feet away from them, the group paused.

"Whhh...-?" Sokka smacked himself in the head, whipping out his phone. "We need to call 911!" he immediately realized, dialing the number on his phone.

Standing about thirty or forty feet from the place, Jane was dumbstruck, her brain twisting down corridors of guilt and shame. This was her fault somehow. She'd somehow brought this down upon her friends. It had to be, like...the Rough Rhinos. Right? Of course it was. Seeking revenge on Korra's intolerable backlash? What else _could _it have been? The waves of shame were so heavy that her body wasn't able to process movement when Toph tugged at her arm, swiftly losing her cool in the un-seeable face of this chaos.

Aang stared at the backdoor to the United Republic - the screen door was closed, but he noticed that the hard wooden door behind it was slightly ajar, dark clouds wisping out. Sokka barked into his phone, in the background, doing his best to remain calm. Sokka's words were blurred by the rumbling of flame, the crackling of burning wood, and the numbing fear buzzing through his mind. The dancing flames reflecting off of his eyes, which gradually narrowed as adrenaline began to course through him.

"Aang?" Toph cried out from behind him. She was stepping ahead of Jane, arms still linked, extending her hand out in the direction she'd heard his footsteps travel in. She shouted out with frightened anger. "What the fuck are you _doing_?"

Aang didn't reply, his eyes captured by the poster that hung on the barely open wooden door, its edges singed and curled from the heat. It was a poster for the college, depicting its four-colored logo motif, a blue arrow stretching downward from the 'R' in {SRU}.

Bumi's voice echoed in his mind.

_"The arrow that symbolizes this school represents the idea of not looking upward and outward, but **inward**. Inside yourself."_

"What?" Sokka roared into his phone with utter disbelief. "There could be _people _in here, what if...-? _Why in God's name would it take...-?_ _Yes, _geez, get them here ASAP!"

Toph clawed her hand into Jane's arm, squeezing it tightly, baffled and lost in all of this commotion. Jane's arm was tense, tight, and shaking, offering Toph little comfort.

"What's going on?" Jane managed to ask in a huff.

"The fire department's already _dealing_ with something!" Sokka growled out in a manic frustration as he punched keys on his phone with a twitching hand. "They said it's going to be a few minutes..." He pressed his palm into his forehead, completely at a loss, as he tried another number. The sound of a window shattering caused the lot of them to stumble back, startled, as glass sprinkled the gravel before them and fire flashed from within.

_Fwooohhhsh!_

"I don't think we _have _a few minutes," Aang darkly observed, gears churning in his brain as he decided what to do with the situation.

The heat from the building was already a bit more tense than it had been when they'd arrive a mere couple minutes before.

Toph's pale eyes were wide, awe-struck from the sensation of warmth against her pale, round face, threatening to sting it.

"_Whoa_..." she whispered, lips hung open. "That's a _lot _of fire...isn't it...?"

"Y-yea...It _is_," Jane muttered, three whole fingertips dinging into her eyebrow, flexing her skin up and down with fret. "Sokka," she called out, flicking up her wrist from her face. "Are Kat and Kor in there?"

"Yea," Aang darkly advised, turning his head back over his shoulder. "Katara would've called the second she left."

Jane bit her lip at this remark, because she knew it was accurate from experience.

"And she's not picking up," Sokka advised, his eyes watering up as he choked out having just tried dialing a third number. "_Neither _of them are," he explained through grit teeth, his heart racing with doubt.

_Crreeeak._

Everyone's attention was redirected to the screen door Aang had just opened, his hand wormed into his hoodie's sleeve to stave off heat. Fabric was pulled up over his face to filter air as he shoved the wooden door open with his elbow.

"_Get the **fuck** back out here, Aang!_" Toph shrieked, voice cracking. Her mind was at least keen enough to have detected Aang's motions, and she did _not _approve. Jane was holding her back from shambling toward the unknown danger, but she thrashed and growled out in anguish. Clasping her arms around Toph's wriggling waist, Jane stared along with Sokka in complete bewilderment as their friend marched headlong into the inferno.

In her dazed confusion, Jane's grip slipped, and Toph stumbled forward, screaming Aang's name with a mixture of cursing. Jane and Sokka followed her, also beckoning through the smog.

"**AANG!** Fuck...**AAAAANG!**"  
"_Aaaaaaang!_"  
"Get outta there, Aang!"

"**YOU MOTHERFUCKER, AANG! DON'T DO** **THI**_hffack! Keh-heff_...!"  
Toph slowed as she reached the door, coughing through the smoke she had walked into.

As a few pieces of smoldering roof panels clattered to the gravel on their left, Sokka heard a snapping sound from above, and looked up to see a chunk of the roof's gutter slipping. In an instinctive reaction, he lunged forth, pulling Toph back by the arm and tugging her away. Shielding her face with her forearms, Jane back-stepped as fiery rubble crashed down before them.

Having burst into tears from Aang's sudden decision, Toph regained her footing with Sokka's alignment and plunged her face into chest, painting his shirt with her tears. As she squeezed her arms around his waist like her life depending on it, she breathed hard and heavy, coughing from smoke and snot and dread. She was so useless right now. She couldn't do a damned thing to help the people she loved. It tore her apart from the inside out.

Sokka, fighting his own urge to blubber, stared at the building with disdain and rage, patting Toph's back in an attempt to get the hysterical woman to calm down. Toph was supposed to be the tough one with attitude, wasn't she? Even Jane seemed to be having more trouble coping with this than Sokka was. Was he supposed to be feeling more...fear? More worry? More grief? His heart somehow emptied from it all.

Sokka's brain was sucking his shallow well of hope dry, filling himself with every ounce of optimism and sense he could right now. They'd be OK. They'd get out, or the firemen would come save them, or..._something._

"That crazy _shit__head_!" Jane snapped, face in her palms as she paced in a circle, unable to process this act. "The fuck's he _thinking?_!"

Sokka watched as an inside wall buckled, collapsing in the hallway and blocking off the back exit.

"We should go around to the front," Sokka firmly explained, his voice as solid as a weathered brick. "Maybe they're getting out that way."

Aang, meanwhile, had thrown himself with determination into a precarious situation.

After shoving past the outer door, Aang made his way inward, squinting through the smoke. It was a small blessing - most of the fire was along the outside edges of the building, it seemed, making its way inward. Surveying it, Aang found it puzzling that the ceiling and walls seemed ablaze while the innermost portions of the floor were still in tact. He didn't have time to consider this. Faint cries from behind him faded into the rumble of flames as the walls behind snapped, and the way he came in was shut off. He was on his own now. Seeing the openings granted to him ahead, Aang pushed onward, eyes aching already from airborne ash. He wove his way around pool tables and chairs, scanning feverishly for any signs of life.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=sWH87dq-Kds +

**~I am so high, I can hear heaven~**

His eyes caught the colorful mural he'd worked so hard to create, melting away.

**~I am so high, I can hear heaven~**

The rainbow of colors lit aflame enraptured him for a brief moment of reflection.

**~Whoa, but heaven, no, heaven don't hear me~**

His parents murdering each other. His family crashing off a cliff. Even this place - Wayward - wasn't safe.

**~And they say that a hero could save us; ****I'm not gonna stand here and wait~**  


He glowered with heartbreak at his flickering mural, but left it behind - just like the rest.

**~I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles; watch as we all fly away~**

Hacking out through his hoodie, he worked through the main area, in shambles.

**~Someone told me love would all save us~**

Tables were lit up, walls were searing, everything was falling apart.

So many good intentions and memories crumbling to soot.

**~But how can that be? Look what love gave us~**

Everything he built, everyone he touched...it all found a way to destroy itself, didn't it?

**~A world full of killing and blood spilling~**

Korra's body, groaning, wheezing, sloppily pushing itself up its knees.

**~That world never came~**

He wasn't going to let that destruction happen anymore.

**~And they say that a hero could save us; I'm not gonna stand here and wait~**

Aang's hand, lifting her to her feet, slinging her over his shoulder.

**~I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles; Watch as we all fly away~**

She wobbled alongside him as he led her to the sweltering hot front door.

He reached his hand out, crying in agony as his calloused fingers boiled beneath hoodie fabric at the touch of hot metal, unlocking the doors.

Blood dripping over her wrathful scowl, Korra raised her less damaged leg to kick open the sturdy wooden doors, and Aang wrapped his body around her as they pushed through the flames that swept outward at them toward the fresh air like a dragon's maw.

"_HaAgHhHh...?_" Her voice, bellowing weakly from back inside.

**~Now that the world isn't ending, it's love that I'm sending to you~**

"**_Katara_**!" he called to her, plunging right back through the conflagration.

_Snakk! Whubumff!_

**~It isn't the love of a hero, and that's why I fear it won't do~**

He suddenly found himself slammed to the ground, his back pinned by a supporting pillar that had given way.

"_Nnnghh...Aang...?_"

"I'm..._gah..._here!"

**~And they say that a hero could save us~**

A deep, searing pressure had punched through his clothing, scalding his back.

**~I'm not gonna stand here and wait~**

He screamed from the pain, pushing himself up. The heavy, hot object blazed deeper into his skin.

**~I'll hold on to the wings of the eagles; Watch as we all fly away~**

He managed to unwedge himself from underneath the smoldering wooden rubble, light-headed from the smoke.

**~And they're watching us (watching us)~  
**

He hastily crawled to Katara, her body sprawled before him, the two of them choking from the fumes.

**~They're watching us (watching us)~**

Aang tugged his hood back on, pulling thick cloth back over his mouth.

**~As we all fly away~**

His overexerted muscles found new strength in order to pick up Katara.**  
**

**~And they're watching us (watching us)~**

Aching, sputtering, stifling, bleeding...**  
**

**~They're watching us (watching us)~**

...he marched through the collapsing building to the entrance.**  
**

**~As we all fly away~**

He gripped Katara tight as he sprinted through the outer wall of fire and into the night.**  
**

**~And they're watching us (watching us)~**

A small collection of residents was gathering, panicked and confused.**  
**

**~They're watching us (watching us)~  
**

Aang's friends were a wreck, eagerly watching the smoke-ridden doorway.

**~As we all fly away...~**

Ashes fluttered through the sky all around him, embers flickering like fireflies from hell.

"...Aang?"  
"Did he..._gugh_...get her out?"  
"You're _shitting me!_"  
"**AANG!**"

Aang's form appeared from the smoke, eyes flashing with adrenaline-fueled pride.

Gasps, shouts, relief.

+ http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-A-Hero-Can-Save-Us-297213539 +

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=yWnuQK0q2A0 +

Katara, held in Aang's arms, lifted her bloodied head from his chest to gaze up at his cold, determined expression, ash smudged over his cheeks.

He trudged forward, the nerves on his back squealing with agony.

Jane immediately helped set Katara down on the sidewalk while Sokka ripped Aang's hoodie from him, snuffing its traces of flame out.

Korra, resting on the curb, dazed.

Jane, hands on her friend's bloodied, ashen face, sobbing.

Toph, screaming, flailing her hands around Aang's aching body, shrieking with horror when she felt the burned patch of skin on his back.

Sokka, wrapping his arms around the both of them and squeezing tight, nervously laughing away his doubts.

Aang, craning his hooded head to look back behind them at the building's sign, its edges aflame.

{-**tED REPU**b-}

The United Republic was lost.

* * *

**A/N: 'Hero' by Nickelback. 'Avatar Ending' by the Track Team.**


	81. Bend

**A/N: With the Legend of Korra finally on air and us meeting new characters and new themes - many of which are actually lining up with stuff I already planned for SRU (go figure) - expect to be seeing more Korra stuff referenced within SRU context, where appropriate. As in the past, I'm obviously taking artistic liberation with characters to suit the purposes of a modern-day setting in which they all can co-exist. With that in mind, some more side-characters will show up that have some kind of role to play in what I have planned.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 81 - Bend  
_

* * *

- Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 -

The lobby was desolate and depressingly quiet. The silence was unnerving to Toph as she squirmed in her uncomfortable seat in the corner. Her eyes hung heavy, and she'd nodded off a couple of times now. By this point she had no idea if it was midnight or 3am or...whatever. It was late, though, she could say that much - if she had the gall to cut through the heavy silence that hung over the trio. They hadn't stuck around to see what efforts the fire department had put into trying to salvage the building. From what Sokka had said on their way to the hospital, it was a lost cause, and from all of the sounds and smells she'd experienced - not to mention his dark tone when he'd said it - Toph was sure he was right.

They'd been assured by the doctor that their friends would be fine. The physician had seemed stunned that the injuries seemed relatively minor given the context, and had expressed that everyone involved was extremely lucky to be in the shape they were, coming out of such a situation. Away their friends were whisked, and they'd been waiting ever since. None of them really thought on _why _they were all waiting until after one of Korra's roommates showed to pick her up and take her home. She had been quite stubborn and refused to stay at the hospital any longer than needed. With a bandage around her head and her arm in a sling, she'd eagerly retreated the facility as soon as she'd had the chance.

+ http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-Sketch-Jane-Smellerbee-Fitzpatrick-287780400 +

Jane was standing now, having spent a good deal of time letting her ass get rather uncomfortable from this damned hard seats. Leaning up against a wall in the pale, desolate lounge, she had drawn her hood up over her head from the chill she was feeling in this cold building. She had been exchanging text messages with Douglas earlier, after they'd first arrived, making sure he was all right. He had no idea of what had transpired, as apparently everything had been fine when he'd left. After Doug had gone off to sleep, Jane had then started swapping messages with Johnny, who had been surprisingly talkative tonight - as talkative as he ever got with texts, anyway.

She was missing him so fucking much tonight. She was practically staring at her phone in anticipation of each reply, because during the down times between texting exchanges...the self-doubt would creep in.

_You choked. You did nothing. Weren't you supposed to be the tough one? Katara was in danger, and you just stood there like a fucking bump on a log. Pretty damn sad.  
Could've done more. Could've...-_

[From: John boy]  
[You don't know that. Don't think like that.]  
[Sent: 1:06am]

His text tripped her up, bringing her back into that pool of remorse._  
_

_Fuck. Shit-ass-fuck-cunt-sucker. The Rhinos. Had to be them, right? Course it was.  
Which makes me involved. Makes this part my fault.  
Katara got a face full of glass and almost burned to death because of what me and Jet did.  
Korra got her head cracked a couple times because of the shit we used to stir with that gang.  
Aang got his back fried to hell saving their asses. Shoulda been my back. My head. My face.  
This whole fuckin' mess is because of me._

_They're all in danger.  
Because. Of. **Me.**  
_

"Sokka...?"

Jane's attention was derailed, much to her relief, by Toph's sleepy groan from the corner of the room.

"Yea, Toph?" Sokka sighed out tiredly, lowering his PSP and rubbing his eyes as he glanced to the chaired immediately to his right. He'd pulled his gaming device out of his car when he realized just how long they were going to be waiting, and it was helping him keep his sleepy mind away from the negative thoughts threatening it.

"What time is it?" Toph wondered, her head hung low, her eyes closed.

"Uhh...-" Sokka checked the device in his hands, accessing up its clock. "A little past one."

"Rrmmm," Toph gurgled out with dissatisfaction, squirming in her seat. She yawned, sliding her drooped head to her left. It plopped onto Sokka's shoulder, and her throat tightened.

_Is this OK? I'm tired. I'm pissed. Katara's OK, but Aang had to be so fucking stupid. Better than me, anyway. I'm a useless pile of shit who can't even walk in a straight line by myself. Rrgh.  
I'm selfish. All I want right now is to hold Sokka. Be close. Ugh. Damned hormonal bullshit. I should be more concerned about Katara and Aang.  
I _am_ concerned, though. Super worried. Afraid. I'm sure they're fine, but...I'm still scared somehow. Can't stand it. I'm so _useless_! Grr.  
Focusing on Meat-Head here makes all that...go away._

"Sleepy?" Sokka muttered to her, letting any discomfort from Toph's physical proximity slide from his conscience.

"Mmmfh," was Toph's grunt of a response.

Observing the oddly vulnerable look on Toph's face, Jane was left baffled. Toph had been acting kind of weird tonight, being clingy to Sokka. Why_?_ Sokka was all insensitive and uncaring with offering comfort and shit. Meh. Whatever. Jane would've figured that Toph would be more interested in her and not Food-For-Brains, but...whatever.

His shoulder now burdened with an undesired weight, Sokka bent his head down to look back at his device's screen. Guilt snuck up on him as he tried to focus on the game.

_Your family was in danger, and you stood on the sidelines. Coward. You make fun of Aang for not being manly...but when the time came, he was the real man. You were a child._  
_No, no. Running into a burning building is stupid and foolish. Aang is lucky._  
_He was also brave. And what about your sister? Since she was pulled out you've avoided her._  
_It's too hard to see her like that, she had blood all over her face, and...-_  
_But playing your video games here, that's just fine._  
_I took everyone here, to the hospital. Everything is going to be fine.  
If Aang hadn't been there, Katara and Korra would both be dead._

Sokka noticed the doctor that was looking after their was comrades approaching. She was a quaint enough looking lady with her brown hair tied back in a bun, but all night she'd had a very stressed demeanor to her. On her way toward the students waiting in the lounge, she was stopped by the stout woman working at the desk.

"Pema?"

The short, exhausted doctor slowed to a stop, a thickly stacked clipboard tucked in her arm.

"Yes?" she sighed out, running her hand along her temple.

"Your husband left a message for you - he just wanted you to know that he's been delayed by a day or two, but that he still expects to be here this weekend for Jinora's birthday."

The doctor's jaw seemed to slide with restrained irritation.

"Called _the office _instead of my personal cell. Hmph. Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Pema sighed with a shake of her head, carrying on and letting her disappointment fade into the background of her mind.

"Doc?" Sokka stood up, much to Toph's dismay - she squeaked with shock, catching herself from falling as Sokka walked right to the doctor. "Are they all right?" he pressed before she'd even reached them. She nodded tiredly, adjusting her thin-rimmed glasses before taking another look at her documents.

"Surprisingly, yes," she brushed off his concern. "Your sister's forehead has been stitched up and should be fine soon enough. The other one, his back was burned pretty bad. It's going to scar, but he's going to be quite all right."

Sokka puffed out air with relief. In all of the commotion of getting them to the hospital and the blood he'd seen on them, he'd sworn it had been worse. Thank goodness he'd been wrong.

"Can I...see them?" he wondered, running his hand over his head.

Pema paused with some disgruntled exhaustion that she contained as best she could.

"It's...really quite late, and they both need their rest." When she saw his flicker of hope wither, she explained, "The two of them are passed out, they're dead tired. It'd be best to come see them in the morning."

Sokka nodded, running his hand along his scruffy jaw.

"Yea, OK," he conceded, recalling that Hakoda would be around by then, anyway.

"You all should get some sleep, as well," Pema advised. "They're in good hands, I promise. They'll be here waiting for you in the morning."

Sokka nodded to the physician and turned to his friends. Toph was slumped in her chair, eyes half open as she rubbed at her nose with her wrist. Jane tucked her cell phone into her hoodie's pocket, both hands wedged inside as she shrugged to him.

"We can come back tomorrow," Sokka explained with a heavy breath. He lazily pulled Toph up to her feet, catching her as she wobbled about. "I'll call you guys in the morning as soon as visiting hours are open."

"Yea," Jane mumbled with an agreeable nod.

"Mmkay," was Toph's barely audible answer. As Sokka tugged her along, she grasped her arms around his. His arm was comforting and secure, though her attachment was causing the opposite reaction from Sokka, who opted to ignore his discomfort for his friend's sake. She was shaken up by this whole situation, no doubt. They all were.

Not another word was spoken between the trio on the ride back to campus, aside from an exhausted set of 'Good night' grumbles.

Maybe things would look better in the morning.

* * *

Iroh sighed with grief, shaking his head to himself as he sipped at his morning coffee. Just that fact alone had Mai concerned - that Uncle Iroh was drinking _coffee _instead of tea. Iroh practically never drank coffee, except when he was stressed. The news this morning was...deeply stressing.

"Why didn't you _call _me?" Zuko grunted in frustration.

"Because it was...one in the morning and I thought you'd be _asleep_," Mai defended with a sharp shrug, hoping to get him off her back.

The fact was, she herself had been half-asleep at the time, exhausted from editing her work for a project due the next morning. She'd finished it, thankfully, but toward the tail end of it, Ty-Lee had started freaking out, citing that Sokka had just texted her about the entire ordeal that had transpired down town.

"You could've _tried_!" insisted Zuko, wiping his palm over his greased back hair. Mai felt stung by the way his amber eyes pierced through hers. She rubbed sand from her eyelids as a ploy to avoid his gaze.

"I'm..._sorry_," she muttered, doing her best to strip any spiteful tone from her voice. "It was late, and...I just figured it wouldn't do you any good to lose sleep over it."

"People were almost _killed _and you're worried abou-?"  
Zuko's building rage was cut off by Iroh's solid hand clamping down upon him. Mai was grateful for the elderly man's presence.

The trio was huddled on a couch near the front end of the Avatar Campus Center, watching the morning news on the large, public flat screen TV propped up on the wall, as they sometimes did in the morning. Iroh had been tipped off by President Bumi not long after waking about the situation, which had led to arranging this particular plan for the morning - watching the news report on it and trying to stay calm.

"Zuko." Iroh waited for his nephew to drop his tense stance and relax in his seat before letting go. "There was nothing you could have done last night. Better that you are well-rested to deal with this situation."

"Hmph..." Zuko didn't like that answer, but at least he was conceding to some reasoning - a trait Zuko didn't always have when he got this worked up. His passion would get the better of him now and again - that same burning ambition and idealism that had worked its way into Mai's heart and pulled her out of her cocoon of indifference; however, it would, in increasingly rare circumstances, burn too hot, forcing her to retreat.

With Zuko apparently pacified for the moment, the lot of them were able to focus on the press conference being played. A stern woman in a gray police uniform stood at attention with hands folded behind her back. Wavy, pale hair matching her uniform's color, her rigid face accented by a sharp jawline and decisively icy eyes of green. She spoke into a collection of microphones, her voice firm, steady, even unpleasant.

["-received an eyewitness account by one of the battery victims - the manager of the establishment. She confirmed that this was, in fact, an attack, and the evidence we've dug up so far _does _suggest that it _could _be linked to the...-"] Her expression wrinkled ever-so-briefly with disdain. ["-...'Combustion Man,' as the media has taken to calling this menace."]

Cameras flashed, some commotion stirred, and then reporters began piping up.

["Chief Jia, with the Combustion Man loose in Wayward, what is your plan for keeping the citizens safe?"]

["I did not _say _that this incident was connected with that case, but I will not deny the possibility. We are looking into it. Wayward is not a _bustling metropolis_ by any means,"] she pointed out with a hint of resentment, ["so if the culprit sticks around, we're sure to find him sooner rather than later."]

["Are there any leads? Any suspects?"]

["At this time, we have no clear suspects, but yes, we do have leads that we are already investigating. We'll be interviewing the victims of last night's incident thoroughly, I can assure you. If this is indeed a 'Combustion' case, then these may be the first survivors to have seen his face."]

["Chief, you said this was an 'attack'. Do you interpret this as an act of hostility against the college?"]

["We have no reason to believe it is. If this _is _another 'Combustion' case, such a notion is highly unlikely, given the widespread and varied backgrounds of the victims and locations observed thus far."]

["So the Combustion Man is still out there."]

["Again, we cannot confirm _or _deny if this is directly related to the recent fires occurring across the state, but-"]  
"Why are we _sitting here _doing nothing?" Zuko burst out, his hand tightening around his coffee cup. Mai noticed this slight gesture and drew in a quick breath through her nose while Zuko fizzled out air through his own.

"Zuko, it's _OK_," Mai tried to assure him, carefully plucking the still-hot liquid from his grasp and setting it on the table before them - it _was _a coffee table, after all. "Like Iroh said, there's nothing you could've-"  
"I _told you _this would happen!" Zuko snapped, ignoring Mai's efforts and directing his rage at the old man. "This is on _our _hands! We need to go downtown _right_ now, and tell Lin what we know about this."

"Uhh..._Lin_?" Mai poked in, hunching over in an attempt to redirect Zuko's rage. She'd rather he took it out on her instead of poor Uncle. She could barricade herself to his rage - it was part of her job, really, right? But Iroh was such a soft soul, she hated to see this. "Who's 'Lin?'" she wondered.

"Lin Jia," Zuko sighed, as if Mai were some child he was having to explain old-news to. "_Her_, the Chief of Police," he grumbled dismissively, tossing his arm up to the television screen and the embittered officer still answered questions.

"You _know _her?" Mai did a double-take.  
_Why would Zuko know someone like that?_

"N-no," he quickly explained. "_I _don't know her..."

"But I _do_," said Iroh tiredly, taking a long sip from his drink with a sniff. He scratched his wrinkled nose as he set his cup beside Zuko's. "However, I am not sure that would be such a good idea, Zuko..."

"Why _not?_" Zuko snapped. His eyes flashed with rage before he sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, rolling his head back onto the couch's spine. "Why not?" he repeated with a hushed tone. "If we don't say something and _soon, _who's to say it won't happen again?"

Mai's stomach was churning with doubt and fear. She had theorized that all of the hush-hush concerning the Kurosawa family had been something bad, but...some kind of serial killer? That couldn't be connected to Zuko. _Her _Zuko. He was _hers, _she _knew him_. He would never get himself involved in something this...this-...Ugh. He just _wouldn't, _that was the entire reason he was here at the school, to _escape _getting pulled into this kind of thing.

"Zuko, you need to calm down," came Iroh's words, like a brick dropped into his nephew's lap. "We should...-" Iroh's eyes wandered to Mai, who was still hunched over, her eyes trembling with doubt and confusion. "-...discuss this matter in private."

"No." The word came out calmly, without any hesitation.

The startled faces of Zuko and Iroh stared at Mai's icy resolve in a tense moment as her lips tightened.

"Zuko," Mai sighed, slipping her lanky fingers through his weathered palm. "I understand that your family has its skeletons hiding in...practically every closet in Los Angeles, but I'm getting really tired of ignoring them. Now, there's...some kind of _pyromaniac _murdering people across the state, and it's sounding a _lot _like you two know what this is about."

Zuko's jaw slid uncomfortably to the side, and he cast a hesitant gaze to Iroh, who snorted air dubiously.

"_Kind _of," Zuko confessed sheepishly, his face twisted with worry. Mai continued.

"Fine. '_Kind of_' enough to feel the need to be speaking with the authorities?" she spat out rhetorically. She shrugged and bit her lip expectantly. "Does this _kind of _have to do with why your mother moved from LA to Connecticut when you were in high school?"

"N-no, this is-...That was different," Zuko shakily insisted with a flick of his head. Mai watched him swallow hard, and she couldn't quite determine if he was lying or honest - meaning it was some kind of area gray enough where it might as well be black.

When they'd met at the tail end of high school, Mai hadn't thought much of it when Zuko had told her that his parents had divorced. He'd said that life in California had been rough on them all, and that his mother wanted to move back to Connecticut, where she had been raised. While Mai couldn't deny that she was _eternally _grateful for this move - she never would've met Zuko otherwise - the more she had garnered from passing conversations of Dear Old Daddy Kurosawa, the more she had begun to question the actual cause of the divorce. It had sounded less than pleasant.

When Ursa - Zuko and Azula's firm but nurturing mother - disappeared halfway through their college careers, it had caused quite a divide between Zuko and his sister, who had always been on less-than-stellar terms, anyway. The event practically tore them apart, as Azula had seen it as a time to return to Los Angeles, help their father cope with the loss, prepare to take the reigns of Kurosawa Industries...and Zuko let her talk him into this for a summer, in which he swiftly realized he was disinterested in associating with his father's company.

That summer had been rough and Mai and Zuko's relationship. They'd been a country apart, their long-distance talks always stressful and uncomfortable. Mai always _knew _that Zuko was burdened with some heavy knowledge, but...some kind of assassin, or..._what__ever _this guy was? That had never been something she'd considered _her _Zuko to be connected with. For nearly two years, she'd been casting a blind eye to this familial conflict, telling herself that Zuko was leaving it behind, keeping it at bay, and now...this. People she _knew,_ personally, had gotten hurt because of this. It was the last straw for her.

"Of course," Mai pushed through Zuko's wall with dry, bitter sarcasm. "Your mother being _kidnapped _and murdered is _totally _unrelated to this serial killer you somehow _kind of _know something about."

While Ursa's fate had never been officially discovered or documented her ex-husband, Ozai Kurosawa, had been imprisoned the prior autumn under allegations of fraud and violent activities. Zuko had already assumed that Ursa's disappearance was Ozai's fault, so his arrest only served as nails on the coffin. Ozai was dead to him, and he couldn't comprehend Azula's lingering sympathies for the man.

"Mai," Iroh pleaded with concern. "I can appreciate your suspicion, and I assure you that my nephew and I will explain this, but...-" he jerked his head over the back of the couch, to the slow trickle of early morning students heading upstairs for breakfast. "-...this is not the right place for such a discussion."

Mai, her eyes quivering on the verge of tears whose source she couldn't comprehend, clasped her palm over her mouth and hung her head down. She contained her jerk reaction to this ineffective conversation as best she could. She accepted that there _had _to be a rational explanation, and that this _was _an inappropriate time and place to talk about it. In an instant, she repressed these fears with the swiftness granted from years of doing so. She'd hidden every emotion under the sun during her upbringing, so this was practically instinctual. Logic insisted that everything would be OK.

"All right," she agreed with a slight nod. "But _promise _me - Zuko, _promise_-" Her fingers still locked over his, she squeezed. "-that you're not going to leave this hanging."

Zuko swallowed again, that big lumpy gulp Mai recognized, and he nodded.

"Of course. This week," came his hasty assurance. "Before the weekend's over. I promise. You, me, Iroh...we'll all talk this out." Zuko leaned over, his hand reaching around Mai's back, and pulled her into a kiss.

"OK," Mai acknowledged with some relief.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Zuko. And I'm worried."

"I know. It's not what it looks like, I swear."

Zuko's amber eyes stared at Mai's with hope and vulnerability, and she smiled weakly, scratching her fingers through his neatly combed hair. Her smile widened as she watched him fuss as he always did, flattening his hair back in order.

"I believe you," she told him quietly, as Iroh pushed himself up from the couch with his elder groan.

She _had _to believe Zuko. They had to be telling the truth, that there was an explanation. Nothing else was acceptable.

* * *

["So are we just making ourselves dinner again tonight, or...-?"]

"I should be home by supper time, Jinora," Pema replied to her daughter. "I'll make something when I get there. But there's some leftover casserole in the fridge if you guys get peckish before then."

["Yea, all right..."] The girl on the other line sounded dissatisfied. With how the week was going, Pema wasn't surprised.

"And your father says he should be showing up tomorrow," she pointed out.

["Mm...That's what he said _yesterday. _And the day _before _that..."]

"Yea...I know, Dear. I'm sorry. But he'll be here for your birthday this weekend."

["Mm..."]

"Uh, speaking of...I...got those books you asked for."

["Huh?"]

"For your birthday present."

["Oh."] A layer of confusion underneath Jinora's intrigued tone.

"They're, umm...tucked away in my closet - they're wrapped, should be easy to spot. You can open them today, if you want."

["Y-yea...OK, but...how come you're letting me open my present early?"]

"You're...almost sixteen, dear. And you've been really helping out lately, so...I just thought it'd be nice to treat you a bit early, I suppose."

["Mm-hm. OK. Well...thanks, Mom."] Some warmth and gratitude. It was becoming increasingly hard for Pema to extract that from her daughter, but she savored it every time.

"Just make sure your brother stays out of the fridge today, I can't-"  
[_Brrrrrinnnng!_]  
["Oh, um...That's the bell, I should get to class now."]

"All right, Dear. I love you. Have a good day."

["Love you, too."]

Pema tucked her phone away, exiting her minivan and heading into the hospital. Within minutes, she was on the hospital floor, ready to get to work. She was quickly directed to her patients from the night before, and their room was full of guests - the three college kids from the night before. She was greeted by a middle-aged man with rough, dark hair and weary eyes. She could guess who he was immediately by his facial structure and skin tone, and she reached out her hand to him.

"Ah, you must be...-" She double-checked her clipboard with her other hand. "-...Mister 'Keh-suck?'"

The man laughed through his nose and shook her hand with his wrinkled, stony fingers.

"It's 'Kay-sook,' actually, but yes. I'm Katara's father."

"Nice to meet you, Sir," Pema clearly recited her routine. "I'm Dr. Rabten."

Hakoda was a bit surprised. The woman looked distinctly Caucasian for having such an eastern-sounding last name. Then again, he'd noticed that a _lot _of this town, especially the college itself, seemed to be very eastern in its background. Kind of peculiar for some place in the middle of Pennsylvania, when he thought on it. In either case, the woman was quite likely married to someone from the area with a name like that. She was probably just as intrigued by his uncommon nationality as he was by her name, anyway.

"Thank you for looking after these two." Hakoda glanced through the open doorway to the awkwardly quiet red-head standing in his line of sight. She glanced up at him curiously. "I understand you stayed late to make sure everything was OK. I'm surprised you're here so early."

Pema shrugged with humility, shaking her head slightly.

"It's part of the job," she gently dismissed the praise. "I'm just relieved the injuries weren't as severe as they seemed at first."

"Would you mind running me through the details?"

"Of course." Pema lifted her clipboard up before elaborating on the situation.

"What's goin' on out there?" asked Sokka, calling Jane's attention away from the discussion just outside.

"Huh?" Jane twisted her head back to her friend, who was sitting in a chair inbetween Aang and Katara's hospital beds. "Oh, erm...The Doc's talkin' with your dad."

"That's really sweet of your old man," Toph pointed out from another chair by the window, beside Aang. "Coming all this way so fast? He's pretty awesome."

"Yea," Katara hoarsely groaned out, her face groggy. She had stitches tying together skin at the top left of her forehead, around her hairline. "Our dad is...really good like that..."

Sokka smiled and reached his hand up to Katara's side, squeezing her hand tenderly, taking care not to unalign the tube connected to her arm.

"He sure is," he agreed.

Katara sighed audibly with some relief as she lay on her back, eyes unfocused on the ceiling. She turned her head to the right to look over at Aang, but she couldn't get a look at him from her current angle.

"Is he-...? Is Aang...still OK?" she mumbled out sleepily.

"Mmfgh?" was the sound that escaped Aang's mouth. Jane, standing at the foot of his bed, watched Aang's eyebrows lift with curiosity, his eyes closed. He seemed pretty exhausted - no surprise. Aang wasn't wearing a shirt, bandages wrapped around his abdomen, his blanket pulled down to his waist to allow space for his body.

"He's fine, Kat," Jane assured her with a weak smile, trying to keep her raspy voice pleasant but her eyes locked on Aang. It was somehow easier to see Aang in this condition than it was Katara. Maybe because Aang had known what he was getting himself into, or...maybe because she didn't feel the same way about him...? Either way, it was just...easier. Besides, Sokka was giving Katara his attention.

"That's good," Katara breathed out, nodding to herself.

Hakoda walked inside, his hands in his jean pockets. He slowly worked his way to the left side of Katara's bed and leaned down, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"How's my girl doing?" he asked calmly, his eyes holding back tears. While it was difficult for Jane to see Katara with a wounded head in a hospital bed, the discomfort didn't compare to Hakoda's. It was a two-fold kind of pain: seeing his daughter in this situation, but the sight of her also fixating his mind on his wife the night she passed, years ago.

"Mm fine," Katara hummed, relaxed at the warmth of her father's hand against her cheek. She reached up and grasped at his palm.

Jane felt jealousy stirring in her insides as she witnessed this - Katara clasping her brother and father's hands both at once. She would never be able to have that. She squashed this envy, berating her own selfishness internally before casting her eye to Toph, who looked a bit bored and disinterested, herself. With her hands tucked in her back pockets awkwardly, Jane shuffled over to Toph, and leaned against the windowsill at her side.

"They're taking good care of you?" Hakoda asked Katara softly.

She smiled sleepily and nodded.

"Mmm..."

"You're comfortable? You're not in any pain, are you? Is there anything I can get you?"

Katara giggled weakly, her eyes half closed.

"Mm fine, Daddy. It's good. Mm OK..."

Hakoda face flashed with some mild embarrassment intertwined around relief.

"This'll be quite the entry for that journal, won't it?"

Katara's face quivered with some shame and she whimpered slightly.

"Nooo," came her gentle groan. "The...Dad, it was-...The journal got burned..."

"Oh..." Hakoda's lips curved down a smidgen. "That's too bad," he said simply.

Katara puffed out a sob, eyes squinted shut.

"I lost it...I _lost _it...It's gone..."

Sokka and Hakoda exchanged sympathetic smirks, both amused by her reaction in the way one might be over a child crying over spilled milk.

"It's OK, Sis," Sokka insisted, rubbing his thumb over her wrist.

"We can replace that book," Hakoda agreed, bending his head over to look her straight in the eyes. "But _you _can't be replaced."

Katara nodded, water build up at the bases of her eyes. She pulled her hand from her father's briefly in order to wipe the dampness onto her sleeve in a sluggish manner before accepting his grip again.

"Sooooo...How's your back?" Toph muttered to Aang.

"_Yea, _man, is-...H-how bad is it?" Jane asked, recalling how nasty it had looked the night prior.

"They said it..._something_..." said Aang with a yawn. "Meh. 'S gonna scar or-...No. Yea, that was it."

"Ah," Jane replied, eyes wide at his relaxation about the topic.

"Damn," Toph mumbled. "Well, if it makes ya feel any better...You still look fine to _me_."

"Heh..." Aang lifted his eyelids enough to observe Toph's grin staring blankly through the air over him, and Jane's slightly entertained smirk.

Hakoda's presence had moved around the room and he now stood over Aang.

"You know, Aang, the police and staff here are speaking pretty highly of what you did last night."

"Oh..." Aang shrugged sheepishly. "That's...That's cool, I guess."

"Fucking_ bad-ass_, is what it is," Jane encouraged.

"The doctor told me that there's some people that have been trying to speak with you two," Hakoda explained. "Some press, the police...But she hasn't let them because, well...She wants to know if you two are OK with that."

"I don't...really _want _to do that," Aang winced, a bit guilty at even turning down the prospect.

"No, I...I don't, either," Katara agreed. "We didn't-...Aang didn't even see anything, but...-"  
"Ha, anything but..._fire_," Aang chuckled to himself, his eyes opening as he spoke, but sliding back closed when he was done.  
"Hee. Right, exactly. And...Korra got a better look at the man that...attacked us." Katara swallowed the built saliva in her throat. "She already said last night she'd talk with people..."

"Mm," Hakoda nodded. "Yes, your cousin seemed _all _too eager to talk to people on her way out, from what I heard. Hm. Anyway, that's fine. I understand your situation, and as much as I want to see whoever did this be brought to justice, I think Korra's help is enough. And I don't want to make you uncomfortable. _Either _of you."

Aang laughed through his nose and pushed his eyes open when Hakoda's solid palm grasped around his bicep.

"By the way, I haven't given you a proper 'thank you' yet. Brave, foolish...I don't care what anyone calls it. You saved my daughter, _and _my niece. That's all that matters to me. As far as I'm concerned, you're already a part of this family." He let go and gave a solid but easy pat before withdrawing his hand. "Don't forget that. I know I sure won't forget what you've done for us. So..._thank you._"

Aang, his face bashfully flushed, bobbed his head down in acknowledgment.

"Yea, you were...fuckin' _incredible_," Jane added, in awe as she recalled his exit from the flames.

"You were the _man, _Twinkle-Toes. Just...like...don't _ever _do anything that crazy _ever __never ever _again."

"I'm gonna...thank you with _sooooo_...many kisses," Katara announced, rubbing her eyes. "Once they let me outta this bed."

"Yea, just give me enough time to leave the _room _before ya do that," Sokka chuckled, getting up and looking over Aang's head beside his father, whom he slapped on the back. "Seriously, Aang, like...I don't even...-" Sokka tossed his arms. "I'm not allowed to ever question your macho-ness, like..._ever. _I hereby grant you permission to hold me to that."

"Do we get to _hit you _anytime you do?" Toph gleefully threw out a rule.

"Err..._Aang _does," Sokka replied with a sneaky glare at the girl, who looked all too eager.

"Aw," Toph pouted with a small frown.

"But...No, for _real_," Sokka insisted more solemnly. "What you did was...awesome. You saved my sister."

"_And_ your cousin," Hakoda added.

"_Pff, _don't remind me," Sokka joked, nudging Hakoda with his elbow. "Thanks, Aang. I'm in your debt, Brother." He stuck out his enclosed hand for a fist bump, which Aang lazily reciprocated. Sokka noogied Aang's head with the edges of his knuckles. During this gesture, there was a loud gurgling that erupted from the center of the room.

"What the hell was _that_?" Toph asked, surprised.

"Oh..." Hakoda rubbed his abdomen. "That was _me_," he explained.

"Sounds like we have a problem, and _bacon _is the solution," Sokka proclaimed.

_"_Haha! You may be right," admitted Hakoda. "Katara, Aang...Do you mind if I take these guys out for breakfast? Give you both some time to rest?"

"Shhhuuurrre."  
"Mmm."

"All right, then. Let's head out."

"Ohhhh, Sokka, wait," Aang called out, before anyone had time to stir. "Can you, uhh-...Could you stop by the dorm and...get my DS?"

"Eh?" Sokka did a double take.

"My DS," Aang repeated. "With Mario Kart?"

"_Ohhhh_," Sokka nodded. "Yea, sure thing, Bud. I can bet it gets boring in here."

"Heh..." Aang shrugged.

"That-...Yea, that reminds me. Jane?"

As the group began to shuffle across the room, Jane gripping Toph's hand for guidance, they paused at the foot of Katara's bed.

"What's up?" Jane eagerly asked, happy to help.

"Would you mind...bringing me a book? Maybe two?"

"No problem. Which, uhh...ones?"

"Anything," Katara answered with a smile. "Anything from the shelf over my...-" She swallowed drearily. "-...over the desk. Just not a textbook. _Hee. _Obviously..."

"Ha. Obviously," Jane grinned, her heart warm at the moment in which they both smiled at each other from this exchange. It was replaced by guilt as Katara coughed before releasing a shaky sigh.

The Kesuk men headed out of the room.

"We'll be back soon!"  
"See you in a bit, guys!"

"Umm...Can...Can _I _do anything for you guys?" Toph wondered, scratching her earlobe.

"Mm-mm," Aang peacefully shook his head.

"I think we're OK, Toph."

"Right. 'Kay." Toph felt her arm tugged forward, slightly unnaturally, by Jane's seeming eagerness to leave. "Whhhheee'll catch ya guys later, then!" Toph called out as she was whisked away.

"Byeeeee."  
"Later..."

* * *

- Thursday, March 24th, 2011 -

["May-May fone."]  
["Haha, no, Thomas, that's the computer."]  
["Ffffone talk. Hiiiii May-May! Hiiii!"]

"Heheh..." Mai chuckled at her young sibling's efforts to wave at the screen, his eyesight off due to his lack of understanding that the camera was up above the screen. "_Hi, _Tom-Tom!" She looked directly at her own camera and waved brightly, widening her eyes in a manner unnatural for her.

Her brother gasped and giggled, batting himself in the face with amusement.

["May-May! _Silly! Silly!_"]

Mai stuck her tongue out sideways and curved her eyeballs up with wrists wrenched up like a zombie. Another toddler snicker storm ensued.

["_May-_May!"]  
"_Tom-_Tom!"

["All right, Buddy, you can talk with your sister in a minute. Mommy and Mai were still talking."]

["'Kayyyy..."]

Mai watched her sibling scamper off screen and start making monkey noises.

"Errr...Wow," she muttered dryly. "Sounds like he's a real handful today."

["_Every _day,"] her mother sighed. ["Now, then. Where were we?"]

"Oh, erm...-" Mai's inside squirmed and she held back a grimace - once again, that practice keeping expressions in check was to her benefit. "It was just, you know...the stuff with the restaurant burning down, and...-" Mai shrugged. She had originally intended to mention Zuko and Iroh's suspicious reactions, but...here in the moment, she was opting against that.

["_Goodness, _that's right,"] her mother interjected her concern. ["That friend of yours, you said he was sent to the hospital?"]

"Yea..." More upset stomach - Mai hadn't taken the time to go visit Aang and Katara yet. Should she? Or not...? Would it be awkward or...-?

["Is he all right?"]

"Oh, it was-...Yea, him and his girlfriend, they made it out OK, but...-"  
["Certainly not _OK _OK, or else they wouldn't be in the hospital."]

"Uhh...Yea, that's true. I mean, the doctor says they'll be just fine, nothing serious."

["Gracious. That's a relief. That boy's such a sweet lad, it'd be a shame for anything to happen to him."]

Mai smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Her mother always seemed to feel so very involved despite her lack of knowledge on things. But it sure beat her father's stern, no-nonsense attitude. Mai's mother used to take on a similar tone, but once Mai had left for college and her mother had birthed another child, the stern attitude had seemed to melt away. Mai was a bit envious of Tom-Tom in that way: like he would get to grow up with Mom 2.0. Maybe he'd be a happier kid than she had been...

["And Zuko? How's that poor young man doing in all of this?"] Her mom knew full well of Zuko's dedication and involvement in the situation.

"Oh, he...isn't doing so well," Mai confessed. "But...he's got me around," she declared calmly with a dedicated nod. "We'll get by."

["You two always seem to."]

"Yea," she agreed. A rare spark of bright warmth flickered over her face as she thought on her history with Zuko, and all of the hardships they'd worked through together.

"Hey, Mai?" Ty-Lee's voice intruded from behind. "Oh, ehhh...Sorry to interrupt," she said quickly and with a peppy shrug. "Just heading down to the snack desk. You want me to get you anything?"

"Hm. Um...H-hold up a sec, Mom."

["You're fine, Mai!"]  
["_Eeeeek. Eeeek. Ook-ook-raawwwwrrr._"]  
["That's not a monkey sound, Tom-Tom."]

Mai fished for a couple single dollar bills from her duct-tape wallet and passed them to her roommate.

"Would you mind picking me up-?"  
"An apple juice and a Mars Bar, right?"

"Heh..." Mai stared up at Ty-Lee's seemingly air-headed smile with some surprise.

"How'd you guess?" Mai didn't always get the same thing when they snacks at the desk.

"_Because, _silly goof, you're stressed," Ty-Lee stated with ease. "You always get apple juice at mealtimes when you have bad days, and you always get Mars Bars for snacks after you've had a fight with Zuko."

That gradually turning knot in Mai's insides was rotated a full 360 degrees, her eyes snapping open wide with embarrassment as her lips hung slightly open. She hadn't told Ty-Lee about her little spat with Zuko earlier that day, as he hadn't been answering his phone or spending any time with her since the morning before when they'd watched the newscast and had breakfast together. How did Ty-Lee know about that?

"Me and Zuko didn't have a fight, though," Mai lied through her teeth to Ty-Lee with a simple shrug. Ty-Lee raised an eyebrow at her roommate, glanced at the computer on her desk, and nodded simply. In that exchange, it was communicated without a word that Ty-Lee's suspicion of an argument was confirmed, and Mai's desire to keep this unknown to her mother was understood.

"Oh," Ty innocently spoke out. "Sorry, I just assumed, from...-"

"No, it's fine. Here." Mai stuck out her handful of money, and Ty-Lee accepted it.

"'Kay. Be back in a jiffy."

"Yea, all right." Mai took a deep, stiff breath as her friend left.

["What was that about?"]

"Just...Ty-Lee being..._her_, heh." Mai shook her head and flicked her fingers. "You know how she can get kind of weird some times. Zuko and I haven't been talking like usual - he's so busy doing damage control with this whole mess, you know? - and she probably just figured it was because we were fighting, but...we're fine."

["Oh, good. Well, at least she _does _seem to know what's up _some_ times."]

"Wait...Huh?"

["The way she knew about your eating habits."]

"Uh...Oh."

["I remember when you were all in high school and they'd come to visit she'd always remind me when I'd go to make dinner what kinds of food Azula was allergic to, or...-"] She shrugged. ["Just lots of little silly things like that."]

"Mm." Mai shrugged. "Yea, she...sure is odd like that."

["_Ook ook ook. **May-May I monssirrr**_** RARRR!**"] Mai's brother had invaded the camera space, flashing a snotty nose close to the screen with angry eyes and a mouth still sticky with peanut peanut butter.

Mai spit a laugh through her teeth, covering her face with her hand.

["_Nooo!_"] Tom-Tom growled with irritation. ["Monssirr, May-May! Skehwee! MONSSIIRR!"]

"Oh, er, _oh, no!_ Watch out, Mommy! It's a _monster!_"

Down the hall, Ty-Lee was flicking through her smartphone.

[From: Godzula]  
[I just don't understand why he insists on blaming me. I've told him in as many ways as I can fathom possible that this had nothing to do with me. He is utterly infuriating.]  
[Sent: 8:24pm]

Ty-Lee still wasn't aware of the details concerning what Azula was talking about. Azula had been venting today, but...very indirectly, avoiding any actual explanations. Ty-Lee had figured out from Mai that Zuko was upset over the UR and that he somehow felt Azula was connected - the specifics, however, were still shrouded, which was really concerning. Ty-Lee's imagination wanted to run rampant with crazy conspiracy theories.

[Reply]  
[To: Godzula]  
[gosh zula that stinx. :( sorry. hughughug. zukos really tired n scared u no? this stuff w/UR must be makin him freak out. omg it freaks ME OUT too! but i believe u.]  
[Sent: 8:25pm]

When she approached the snack desk, she noticed it was oddly devoid of its cashier. Figured that they were on a restroom break, Ty-Lee continued to exchange texts.

[From: Godzula]  
[At least someone can see how reasonable I'm being here. I'm investigating this on my end and keeping things from getting too out of hand. What more does he expect from me? Nothing is good enough for him. Like mother, like son.]  
[Sent: 8:26pm]

_Grrrr, what are you investigating, Azula? What's going on? You never tell me what's really going on, like I'm some stupid baby._

[Reply]  
[To: Godzula]  
[ya but..like no offense zula but nothings ever good enuugh for u either. must run in ur family. just saying.]  
[Sent: 8:26]

[From: Godzula]  
[I suppose you're right, Tylee. Perhaps it'd be prudent to try and show him my perspective on this.]  
[Sent: 8:27]

[Reply]  
[To: Godzula]  
[no um. zula. i think its bettr to just leave him alone 4 now he is rlly grouchy lately.]  
[Sent: 8:27pm]

[From: Godzula]  
[Really? This has him THAT bent out of shape? How pathetic. How typical. Always dissenting over that which he can't control. Perhaps if he was here doing his family duty like I am we wouldn't be in this mess.]  
[Sent: 8:27pm]

_What mess? What are you talking about? You never explain things to me!_

Ty-Lee sighed at her phone, groaning "A_zul_aaaa," to herself in frustration. She scratched her head with contemplation as the student employee at the main lobby desk of the dorm showed up, apologizing for her brief absence. After purchasing her snacks, Ty-Lee continued the conversation, lingering in the empty lounge area for a few minutes. She tried to think of what to say. Azula had been telling her about the situation, but not really the details. It seemed like whatever it was, it was likely just some kind of misunderstanding between the two. That kind of thing had been an issue in the past.

[Reply]  
[To: Godzula]  
[i dunno zula. from wut you told me sounds liek its not your fault or his. no blaming. blaming = bad. bad bad. i no. u should go out for nce. trt urself nice. go to a club. bet w/ur $$ its easy peasy to find some hot guys. lololol. but srsly im here for ya. anything i can do?]  
[Sent: 8:29pm]

[From: Smexy sokka]  
[Thanks for asking! It went OK. They're doing a lot better today. Doc says they should be out really soon. Maybe even tomorrow. You should come with us when they get out! We could all go out and relax together!]  
[Sent: 8:30pm]

Ty-Lee grinned wide at her phone, running her hand across her cheek bashfully as she pondered how to reply. The last time Sokka had used that phrase with her - 'relax together' - it had lead to a pleasantly flirtastic evening on St. Patty's Day, full of drinking and hips touching and playful pushes and-...mweheheh.

[From: Godzula]  
[Oh, please, Tylee. You know that nonsense sickens me. No, there's nothing you can do right now. It's all a futile effort when it comes to my brother.]  
[Sent: 8:32pm]

Ugh, but Azula had to be such a stick in the mud. Why couldn't she lighten up a little? For being so apparently smart she could be totally clueless some times.

[Reply]  
[To: Godzula]  
[kk. i can always listen or talk if u need to talk. i dunno all what goes on but u can trust me. srsly tho u should just chill tonite.]  
[Sent: 8:33pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Smexy sokka]  
[thats like SO AWESOME that their ok. srsly. i was worried. thx for lettin me no! and YES YES YES we tly shuld get togethr! gimme deets man!]  
[Sent: 8:33pm]

If Mai and Zuko were going to have their weirdness and Azula was going to keep her at a distance than she'd just find attention elsewhere.

[From: Godzula]  
[Very well. You're right, I should relax. I'll simply retire to my study for the evening. Zuko can pacify himself with delusions of my masterminded, evil conspiracy plot. Good night.]  
[Sent: 8:33pm]

By the time Ty-Lee had returned to their bedroom, Mai was wrapping up her video chat. Good-byes were exchanged, and Ty-Lee gave Mai her juice, candy bar, and two quarters change before opening her bottled water and breaking into the granola bar she'd just acquired before plopping herself down on her bed, adjusting her long, braided ponytail and yawning up at her N' Sync poster - the one Zuko often chastised her for owning, to which she would counter by citing his childhood interest in Pokemon.

Ty-Lee found that thinking about 90's pop-culture was much less depressing than thinking about Azula, or Mai, or Zuko, and all of the drama clouding up what had once been a group of friends.

"How did you know that Zuko and I had a fight?" Mai asked after a few moments of quiet had passed. She carefully twisted off the cap to her bottle with a loud '_Pop!_'

Ty-Lee perked her shoulders up, pushing down the edges of her tight T-shirt as she squirmed in her bed, half a granola bar hanging from her lips.

"Mmm-mm," she 'I-dunno'd'. When she caught sight of her roommate's stone-dry stare, Ty-Lee rolled her eyes, biting off a second chunk of bar and swallowing as she sat up in her bed. "I could just tell, Mai. You've been acting weird, and you two didn't talk on the phone last night, _or _today, and you complained about how busy he was, and-...It just made sense."

"Ah." Mai nodded simply, clicking her fingernail against the glass container in her hands.

"I could tell you were lying when I said it, though."

"Oh, sure," Mai sarcastically dismissed.

"No, really, I _could. _You were pretty good, I admit, but it was like you were _too _steady. If you were being natural, your face would've done _something _but it was like a statue."

"Hmph," Mai snorted, amused by this. Ty-Lee and her face-reading was a trend that wasn't going away.

"Besides, your eyes weren't quite focused, and you...-" Ty-Lee let her face-analysis drop. "Is everything OK?" She wondered sternly, eyes narrowed with doubt. "You can talk to me when stuff is wrong. I'm, like...your best friend. Right?"

"Uh, well...yea," Mai agreed, somewhat uneasy by Ty-Lee's tone. "It's...just that - honestly? I don't _know _what's going on, Ty. I really don't. That's the whole point. Something about what happened at the UR has Zuko pissing himself, and...I can't do anything about it."

Ty-Lee's lips curved down.

"Yea, that...really stinks, Mai. Can..._I _do anything?"

Mai shook her head and sipped some juice.

"No. Thanks, though. Zuko just needs to let me in. You know what I mean?"

Ty-Lee nodded begrudgingly, checking her cell phone - no new messages. She stared with some regret at the photo background, a picture of her and Sokka from the party a week back that she'd sloppily snapped herself. It had previously been a shot of her and Azula and Mai on one of the forest trails near campus. Azula had even been _smiling _that sexy smile of hers. But looking at the picture was too difficult lately with how divided everyone was.

"Yea," Ty-Lee acknowledged Mai's statement after her moment of distraction, dropping her phone onto her stomach as she laid back down. "I think all those rules about keeping secrets is, like...a totally retarded thing with their whole family."

"Uh...What?"

"The Kurosawas, I mean. I'm beginning to think maybe it's time to start bending some of those rules, if people are gonna get hurt because of it."

Mai ran her fingers up her sideburn, pushing some hair strands over her ear carefully.

"Yea. I think you're right, Ty-Lee," she said with dark, serious tone.

"Wow, _really?_" Ty-Lee squealed with excitement, clasping her hands up to her chest. "You said that all _cool _and stuff, like I just had some, like...deep moment. Was that it? Like, like, like a...'_That's DEEP, man_' moment?"

Mai's solemn expression flat-lined into perplexation.

"...Y...Yea, Ty. That's-...Yea. Sure."

"_Sweeeeeeet~_"

* * *

- Friday, March 25th, 2011 -

"Um...Well, it was nice of Chong and Lily to come visit," Katara offered up a change of topic.

"Yea, it was," Aang agreed with an awkward nod. "Those two are..._different_," he laughed. "But it was good to see them."

"You think they miss you?" asked Katara.

"Nah," said Aang with a shrug. "Those two are free spirits, they just go with the flow, not much really gets to them, I don't think."

"Hm." Katara nodded. That was fair enough.

"Ha, I just remembered," said Aang with a smirk. "At least you won't have to worry about that essay for a little while longer.

"Ha! Yea, _right,_ Pakku's going to chew me out _so _much," Katara sighed with humored apprehension. "'Oh, you almost _died?_'" she mocked. "'So what? Where's that essay that was due today?' Pff."

"I'm pretty sure that as long as you have the right papers from the hospital about staying here, he has to cut you some slack," Aang pointed out, still sprawled on his bandaged up back. Katara was sitting in the chair beside him. She was pretty much prepared to go, it was just a matter of waiting for her brother to arrive to pick them up from the hospital this morning. She was planning on going to class, but Aang was going to take it easy until Monday at her stern insistence.

"I know," she conceded. "He's just so..._annoying _sometimes."

"Well...Yea, I mean, he's getting ready to leave the school and everything, so maybe he's just decided it's easier to stop caring? I don't know..."

Katara did a double take at Aang's theory.

"Wait...What do you mean?"

"Huh?"

"About Pakku leaving."

"Oh, you know - retiring. I mean, he's old enough to retire now, and the school might need to make, like, budget cuts or something soon. If he retires then that's less trouble for everybody."

"How do you know about th-...Oh, was it Zuko?"

"Yea, I hear about things once in a while..."

"Mm." Katara nodded, pondering the situation. "So you heard Pakku's leaving for sure?"

"Yea, that's what I heard."

"Well...Where's he going to go?"

"I dunno. I'm sure he's got _some_ place in mind. Why?"

"No reason, it's just..._weird _to think about him leaving work and...spending time with his family, or something. If he even has one...Heh. It's weird to think that he has a family in the first place, I guess."

"Ah..." Aang shrugged off the matter. He could appreciate Katara's humor, but the way she'd put it had hit close to home. She'd meant nothing by it, of course, so he would just let it slide here. Besides, he didn't really care one way or another - Pakku sounded like a tightwad, so all the power to him. He could retire and relax, and that was one less grumpy teacher Aang had to worry about potentially needing to deal with.

There was a bit of silence as Katara checked the clock on the wall. Almost 9am. Sokka would be here soon. Katara scanned the room for something to pass the time, and her eyes fell on Aang's Nintendo DS, sitting by the remnants of his breakfast on the small, wheeled table beside his bed. She scooped it up and stared at its white, scuffed up surface.

"Hey, Hun...Why don't you play more Mario Kart while we're waiting for Sokka?"

"Huh?" Aang pushed himself up with his elbows, carefully sitting up straight. Katara leaned over, kissing his forehead cautiously before handing the device to him.

"I liked watching you play it yesterday. You're really good."

"Pff." Aang raised his brow at her. "It's just Mario Kart..."

"_Just Mario Kart, _he says..." Katara smirked, running her finger over Aang's earlobe.

"Why don't..._you _play?" Aang meekly suggested, passing the handheld back to her. He wasn't up for playing it, she noticed, but Mario Kart had become like an odd, endearing activity for them. "Give you more practice, haha." Aang's sly look sold her, and she booted the device up.

"Me? Needing practice? No way," she facetiously replied as she waited for the game to start itself up. From his position on the bed, Aang reached his hands around her waist. She had been able to change into shorts and a t-shirt that Sokka had dropped off the night prior, though Aang was still garbed in a patient gown. With a snug grip around her stomach, he rested his head on her shoulder and watched her play.

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=VDBpQVhCMb8 +

"Love you," he said quietly, pressing his cheek into her shoulder.

"Love you, too," she replied, shrugging her shoulder up and touching his head with her own.

**~You be my Princess, and I'll be your Toad; I'll follow behind you on Rainbow Road~**

Aang rubbed his palms against the skin underneath her shirt.

**~Protect you from red shells wherever we go, I promise~**

Even though she was here, and safe...he was still a bit shaken. He couldn't lose her.**  
**

**~No one will touch us if we pick up a star~**

The sensation of their locked lips.

**~And if you spin out, you can ride in my kart~**

Discouragement relieved by comfort.

**~When we slide together, we generate sparks~**

Fingers laced together...

**~In our wheels and our hearts~**

...forming a fabric of safety.

**~And the finish line~**

[**1st**]

**~Is just around the bend~**

"Hey, good job."

**~I'll pause this game~**

"Thanks. I've been getting better, huh?"

**~So our love will never end; Let's go again~**

Between races, Katara twisted her head around to kiss Aang's forehead.

**~The blue shell is coming, so I'll go ahead~**

Running through flames to rescue her.

**~If you hang behind, it will hit me instead~**

Flaming wood puncturing his head.

**~But never look back, 'cause I'm down but not dead; I'll catch up to you~**

Pushing it off. Picking her up. Carrying her safety.

**~Don't worry about Bowser or DK~**

Katara fusses about her stitches.

**~Just eat this glowing mushroom, and they'll all fade away~**

Aang assures her of her beauty, regardless. He kisses her head in return.

**~And the finish line is just around the bend~**

"You need to start playing as Mario now instead of Toad."

"What? Why?"

**~I'll pause this game so our love will never end~**

"Ha. Isn't it obvious?"

Katara paused the game, administering a kiss to Aang's cheek.

**~The finish line is just around the bend~**

"You're not just my Penguin anymore, Aang."

**~I'll pause this game so our love will never end~**

"You're my _hero _now, too."

**~Let's go again~**

Aang's face went red.

**~To the Mushroom Cup~**

Kind words over the past year.

**~And the Flower Cup~**

Tender gestures shared over that time.

**~And the Star Cup~**

Aang kissing her off-guard that night.

**~And the Reverse Cup~**

Katara finally reciprocating the kiss.

And now, in this hospital, Katara's game becomes gradually distracted more and more by Aang's warm presence.

She eventually sets the device down, spinning round and hugging him gently, careful not to hurt his back.

**~Walu-walu-walu-walu-wah~**

Eskimo kiss.

**~Walu-walu-walu-walu-Waluigi~**

"Freakin' **oogie**!"

They both flinched at Sokka's voice, skulls bumping together. A short giggle fit ensued, to which Sokka rolled his eyes, dropping a pair of jeans and a T-shirt at the foot of Aang's bed.

"OK, OK, you two. C'mon, now," he sighed to them with embellishment. "Get some pants on, Aang, we're checkin' you two outta here. Doc's already cleared you and all that, right?"

"Yea. Did you bring my hat?" Katara wondered.

"It's in the car," Sokka nodded. "But, uh...-" He gawked at the stitches along her hairline. "-...I-I don't think you should wear it for a little while..."

"What? But...it's the hat _you _got for me, wouldn't you...-?"

"Kat, aren't stitches supposed to be left exposed to the air? Dry? And stuff?"

Katara frowned and her bottom lip pouted out. She crossed her arms stubbornly and glared at Sokka with puppy eyes while Aang pulled off his patient's robe and got into normal clothes.

"I'm not _stoppin' _ya," Sokka defended. "I'm just saying...It's not good for you."

"And walking around with...with a _gash _in my head _is?_" She jutted an irritable index finger to her forehead.

"_Stoppit,_" Sokka flatly scolded her. "You look _fine, _don't be a drama queen."

"I look like Frankenstein," Katara whimpered, carefully touching the uneven formation of skin that had been tied together.

Her brother's dull eyes stared at her with a dry lack of sympathy.

"You're _alive_," he pointed out as Aang, now fully dressed, snuck behind her with a hug.

"And you're beautiful," Aang insisted, kissing her neck.

"And _his _opinion is the only one you should care about," Sokka matter-of-factly dismissed Katara's self-conscious doubt, jabbing his finger at Aang with a nod.

Katara smiled half-heartedly, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of Aang's lips pecking her neck another few times.

"_Uhhh_kay-yea-all-right-that's-enough," spat out Sokka frantically, looking away. "Time to take that PDA elsewhere."

The three of them packed up and filed out, heading for the desk to finalize their check-out.

"So, um...-" Katara started, twirling a finger through her hair as she grinned stupidly. "I know I already gave you all those kisses, and all, like I said...-"  
"We can stop with the kissing and the talking about kissing," Sokka interrupted, a few steps ahead. He was ignored.  
"-...but I haven't actually _said _it yet."

"Huh? Said what?"

Katara's eyes flickered with joy, half closed and complimented by her grateful smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Hero." She clamped her hand around his, swinging his arm to and fro a bit. Aang shrugged wildly at the passionate spark in her eyes and he squinted his own eyes in embarrassment. "I always knew you had a lot of courage in there," she poured out her admiration, sliding her index. "I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for you."

Aang nodded, letting his eyes open - nope, she was still staring at him with that burning desire, and his nether were starting to tighten. He jammed a hand in his pocket and made a few awkward steps to align himself.

"I just...I, uh...-"  
"You just, you _uhhhh_-" Katara spurt out in mischief. "-...are _amazing, _that's what."

"You are, too, Katara."

"Well, I've got no excuse _not _to be if I'm going to keep you happy, right?"

"Yea, yea," grunted Sokka, wriggling his wrist behind him. "You love each other. I get it."

"Also a big fan of the '_being alive_' part, Sokka," Katara added with some enthusiastic snark. "Which you won't be, if you rain on my PDA parade."

Leaning against the desk, waiting for the woman behind to get things in order, Sokka rotated around, facing his two friends. Katara and Aang looked groggy and tired, but their eyes sparked with electricity. They had almost _died_, Aang's back had been ripped open, as had Katara's head. Yet they rolled onward and upward, hands latched together, seemingly unfazed. Like they could take on the world together.

Sokka scratched at his goatee and nodded contemplatively.

"Carry on, then, sister. Let the..._PDA parade_ mosey along."

* * *

**A/N: Pema, Jinora, and Lin are all Legend of Korra characters I've taken liberties with in adapting for SRU, and I am considering incorporating some others into my current plans. With less than 20 chapters left, there's only so much room for development, but since a lot of SRU's projected plans line up with the kind of direction Korra's been going in, I think it'll work just fine.**


	82. Both

**A/N: More Legend of Korra characters incorporated into the story in this chapter. I've been mulling over my plans for them for a while, and this seemed to be a good point to drop them in. Bear in mind I had to take artistic liberties with them. Then again, if you've read this far you probably already get what I mean - it was either take some AU liberties with them, or not include them at all.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 82 - Both  
_

* * *

- Saturday, March 26th, 2011 -

_Schllrrrppp._

_Ssfffffffhh._

_Schllrrrppp._

_rrrRRRRRRRrrrmmmm..._

It was a lazy Saturday afternoon. The three of them were lined up, side by side, on the wide stone steps of the concrete porch. Some empty cans and bottles rested behind them, with a few cigarette butts stamped out at the base of the stairs.

Bolin took another sip of his beer.

Mako took another drag of his cigarette.

Korra, only able to work through one or the other at a time, finished off her third beer with her right arm - her left was still in a sling, having had its shoulder dislocated earlier that week. Being thrown through a table could've broken something, so she considered herself not lucky but too tough to have had it worse.

Another car drifted by, which they all watched with eyes glazed over.

Korra skillfully pulled her box of cigarettes from her leather jacket's interior pocket, slipped one between her lips, and put the box back. She spit the nicotine-filled stick to her right side.

"Wanna gimme another light, Mako?"

Without a word, her level-headed roommate retrieved his lighter and ignited it onto her cigarette. Korra sucked it a deep puff and held it briefly before slowly letting the toxic vapor seep out of her nostrils.

"So, uhh...Korra," Bolin piped up, tapping his fingers with boredom against his silver Sapporo can. "How much longer 'til your appointment?"

Korra sighed out the remnant of smoke and shrugged up her right shoulder.

"I don't know," she replied grumpily. "An hour or so. It's at four."

"Ah. Yea..." Bolin double checked his cell phone. "Yup. 'Bout an hour, then. What are you going in for?"

"Eh." Frowning, Korra set her cigarette on top of an empty can and reached her hand up to her head, scratching an itch behind her ear. Her hair was hung down loose and tangled, since she was too lazy to bother with its upkeep these past few days. She was beginning to feel a little self-conscious about it, living with two guys who kept their hair styled all of the time. "The doctor wants to check to make sure the shoulder's healing, and she's been worried I might have a concussion or something, soooo...lookin' at my head, too, I _guess._"

"So, when are you thinkin' you'll need a ride back?" Mako wondered. Bolin had work in the evening, leaving it to Mako to come scoop Korra up from the hospital.

"Uh, I'm not totally sure," confessed Korra, picking her cigarette back up and breathing it in. After puffing gray wisps out of her mouth, she clarified. "The freakin' cops keep bothering me about shit, and I promised my cousin I'd go in so she and her boyfriend wouldn't have to, and so...bleh. They're taking me in for a while after my hospital visit to interview me and shit."

A solemn "Huh" was Bolin's response to this. Mako sighed audibly and puffed out his own smoke.

"So, are you holdin' up all right?" Bolin asked.

"Wh-?" Korra felt a bit flustered by the concern in his voice. "O-of course I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be? Fff. You know me well enough by now to know I'm solid as a rock, right?"

"No, _yea, _of course," came Bolin's hasty easing. "It's just, I meant, like...with your _job _situation, and...umm...I-I was just...you know, _curious_, is all...if you'd heard back on that."

"_Yeeaaaa_," Korra groaned out, bobbing her head down with discouragement. "Honestly, I, uh...have _no _fuckin' idea what's gonna happen with that. President Bumi says they'll find a place for me, but...I-I dunno, Mako, weren't you saying the college is on the ropes with money lately?"

Mako shrugged half-heartedly, not giving a verbal response - because he knew the situation wasn't pretty and didn't want to get her discouraged.

"Nah, they'll..._they'll_ work something out," Bolin insisted, trying to collect confidence to bestow upon his friend. "No way they'd just leave you out to dry - I mean, after moving _all _the way out here? They'll find a place for you. For sure."

"I just don't know why they would. Really, what makes _me _worth holding onto. You really think they'll give me a new job?" Korra lamented, cocking her head to the side.

"_Yea, _I do," assured Bolin, nudging up his can to her before slurping some beer down. He looked her straight in the eyes - those iced, sky blue eyes were looking...oddly vulnerable in that moment. "You've got grits, brawn, determination, _and_...-" _Beauty. _"-...they will..._totally _find something. You watch."

"Thanks, Bo," Korra mumbled with a weak smile. "Yea, you're right," she reaffirmed - Bolin's delivery of confidence seemed to have arrived. "They _must _think I'm an asset, right? Why else would they have had me move _all _the way down here?"

"That's the spirit, Gal."

"You know, for now," Mako poked in, "I think it'd be a good idea to just relax, take care of your injuries..."

Korra smirked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"_Oh. _Is Mr. Cool all worried about me now?"

Mako's eyes dulled a bit at her assertion and he shrugged.

"I'm _worried_ about you not being able to _work _and pay the bills, yea."

Bolin frowned at his brother's stern words, while Korra's eyes narrowed slyly at what she perceived to be concern for her well-being.

"I've already got April paid off," Korra smoothly reminded.

"I _know _that, but if you don't start-"  
"And by the time April's over, May will be paid off."

Mako snorted out a small cloud.

"Yea, she'll be fine, Bro," insisted Bolin, giving Korra a pat the left side of her back.

"Shoulder, _shoulder_!" Korra winced, her body tightening.

"Sorry!" spat out Bolin sheepishly.

"_Anyway_," huffed Mako, dropping his burnt-out cigarette to the sidewalk at the stairs' base and crushing it beneath his shoe. "For now, I think you should deal with what's right in front of you - your injuries, and helping the police get to the bottom of this."

"Yes _Sir, _Team Captain, _Sir_," Korra bellowed with a mocking two-finger salute.

_Skritcha-skritch-scratch._

_"Yarp! Yar-yarrp!"  
_

Korra craned her neck toward the house's entrance, from which her puppy was clawing at the door.

"Man, we've gotta get her a post or something so she can hang out on the lawn," Bolin mused, slowly rising to his feet. "Poor girl."

"Hm." Korra nodded. "I think you're right...Oh, uhhh...Thanks," she called to her friend, who entered the house and began getting the dog's collar ready.

"Anything for the lovely ladies of this house," Bolin called back, rubbing his palm all over Naga's face with a grin._  
_

"When did _I _become a 'lovely' lady?" Korra spurted out.

"Are you...Wait, are you serious?" Bolin gasped, flabbergasted as he walked Naga out. She pranced around, licking at Korra's arms and causing the injured woman to flinch, nudging her pet away for fear of her arm being puppy-tackled.

"Bo, take...-" Mako groaned as the panting young dog jumped over to him next. He stubbornly pushed Naga off of his lap by the snout. "-...take her out onto the lawn, already!"

"All right, all _right_," Bolin eased the dog down the steps and to the grass. "But Korra, come _on_, are you kiddin' me? You are _totally _lovely."

"Ha! I don't think so, pal." Amused, Korra lifted her eyebrow at Bolin's goofy smile of encouragement.

"Bo_lin_!" Mako scolded. "Watch the _dog_."

Bolin flinched with fright as he realized that Naga was trying to run off into the street, and he tugged on the leash, reigning her in.

The family ferret scurried outside, jumping right up onto Mako's shoulders and sniffing at his neck.

"Argh, you left the _door _open," he sighed, running his hand along Pabu's back.

"Sorry 'bout that!"

Korra hummed out a laugh at the stout young man standing in the lawn, running circles around her puppy. This kind of behavior was stupid and childish when her cousin Sokka acted this way, but when Bolin did...well, it still _was _those things, but also oddly attractive.

"Watch it!" Mako cried out as Pabu bounded into lap and dashed down into the lawn the play tag. While his eyes tracked the animal with some worry, Korra's remained fixed on his stern profile. Hm. Mr. Serious wasn't so bad, either.

Korra remembered a recent chat she'd had with said idiotic cousin, and how he was having trouble dealing with the hots for two different girls. Korra couldn't deny that she was having increasing trouble ignoring the same kind of issue she was developing, living with this two men.

* * *

"Woohoo! _Yeaaa_! Party-party!"

"Meelo, _no, _you've had _quite _enough!"

"But I'm _hungry,_ Dad!"

"I understand, and just as soon as your mother finishes work we're going to be going right to dinner."

"What's taking her so long? I don't get what's taking her long. She's late. Why is she late? We've been waiting here for like an **hour** it should not take this long to see one person why would it take this long I don't understand-"  
"_Ikki, _it has has only been _five _minutes…"

As Korra meandered around the crowd of mixed-race children, she was confused by their loud and irritable nature, feeling some sympathy for the father - a stern-faced, rigid-jawed man in his early 50's with a sharp chin beard. Having been told to wait here in the lounge area to be escorted by a police officer, Korra was doing her best to oblige. In the corner of the room sat a brunette teen, her hair hugging her cheeks. She kind of reminded Korra of Aang, in an odd way - her features, the way her focused gaze seemed to stare right through the pages of paper before her. It was plain from her looks that she was related to the other kids, and by proxy a daughter of the poor man trying to calm the younger two down. She had gentle but focused eyes, and a thin frame.

Korra was almost bewildered by how calm and unassuming the teenager was, drowning herself in a book in spite of the chaos before her. Korra eyeballed the cover - black background, white and red flower, a title reading {**new moon**}.

Korra recognized the title only based on what she'd heard of a movie series popular with the demographic this girl was squarely representing. Korra was about ready to shrug it off and sit a wall away when the book was lowered.

"Oh," came the girl in observation, looking up at Korra from her chair. "Is my mom done seeing you?"

"Err…Uh…" _What's she talking about?_

"The Doctor - she's my mom," the girl explained with a smirk, closing her book and setting it neatly in her lap. "She's told me about you - I read about what happened in the paper."

The paper? As in, _newspaper_? A teenage girl, in this day and age, who read the _newspaper_? Korra was baffled.

Oh, and now she was sticking out her _hand? _Weird. Korra shook it, perplexed.

"I'm Jinora. Sorry about what happened," she said, tossing a glance to Korra's arm sling.

"Tsh. Nah, no problem," insisted Korra, squinting dismissively at her own injury. "I'll be fine. Especially with your mother looking after me."

"Yea, she's pretty good like that," Jinora declared with a grin.

"Uhh…" Korra nodded awkwardly. Was this conversation going somewhere, or…-?

"My mom said the others are all right, too."

"Oh. Er, y-yea. They're doing much better."

"That's good."

"Yup…"

"Jinora, Dear," bellowed the deep voice of the father. "We're getting ready to leave in a moment."

"All right, Father," the girl sighed, the light of curiosity in her eyes immediately dimming.

In looking up at the man, Korra suddenly noticed the swift approach of that nasty woman - the one she'd had spoken to the _last _time she was here at the hospital. The father's voice glowed with formal praise at her.

"_Lin, _you are looking radiant as usual."

Unfazed by his compliment, she blew right past him.

"Cut the bullshit, Tenzin. I didn't come here to see _you_."

Tenzin, stroking his pointed beard thoughtfully, watched her stomp by, a calm, knowing look on his face.

"Chh, that police lady said a _swear_," snorted out the youngest child, scratching his oddly lumpy head.

"That's _right_, Meelo, she certainly _did_," Tenzin observed aloud to his son, projecting to ensure that Lin overheard.

"Heheh. You're _b__ullshit_!" the young boy whispered sneakily to his sister.

"_Daaa-_aaad!" Ikki whined, her lips pouting at her sibling. "Meelo just said-"  
"I heard him," Tenzin darkly put her at ease, glaring down at his sheepish boy. "And he'd _better_ not say it again, or he'll be grounded to his room while we have a party for your sister."

Meelo swallowed audibly, his fingers fidgeting together while Ikki wore a boastful smirk, flaunting her victory. At his young age, the prospect of missing out on birthday cake might as well have been a death sentence to Meelo.

"Crazy family you've got, kid," Korra mumbled, avoiding the piercing eyes of the woman in uniform as she drew near.

"Tell me something I _don't _know," Jinora puffed out, tucking her book under her arm pit and getting up to join her family as the doctor, now out of her white coat, joined them.

"Is your business finished up here?"

Korra flinched at the icy voice of Chief Lin Jia, who was glowering at her, arms folded behind her back, her body clad in a gray uniform. Korra's eyes wandered across the polished badge on the woman's chest before regaining her bearings and nodded in reply.

"_Good_," Lin hissed. "Because I haven't got all day."

_Great. Another interview with Miss Personality…Why did I agree to this shit, again?_

"So this is the girl?" came the deep voice of Tenzin from behind Lin. Korra was startled by his sudden approach, and a quick glance across the way revealed Dr. Rabten was tending to the children.

"This isn't of your concern, Tenzin," Lin muttered darkly out of the corner of her mouth.

"With all due respect, Lin, I think that-"  
"_Chief Jia._"

Tenzin's head cocked back for a moment and he sucked in air through his defined nose before snorting out a quick burst of air.

"I'm sure you and your little clubhouse are quite interested in this mess," Lin snarled under her breath at him, humor in her tone. "But don't you forget that this is _my _business. Not yours."

"Lin," Tenzin extended his hand to Korra, who was bewildered and embarrassed by whatever was going on here. "This young woman isn't _connected _with the-"  
"I'm _aware_, and I intend to keep it that way. We don't need any _more _of that fuckery around here - I'll bet it's the cause of this whole mess."

Tenzin pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"I'm just making sure you're aware that she's done nothing to deserve this," he insisted.

Korra swallowed a lump in her throat. It went down like a pebble. The man's defense on her behalf was reminding her of the fight she'd instigated - and ended - in the recent past.

Lin's eyes narrowed at him as her scowl somehow intensified.

"_I _will be the judge of that. Now, don't you have a _family _to attend to?"

Tenzin peeled away from the police officer's piercing gaze to look at the perplexed woman gawking at them, her arm in a sling.

"Miss Kesuk," he greeted her, extending his right arm - she shook it, still dazed by whatever these two old farts were yammering about. "I'm Congressman Rabten."

"Uh…" She was at a loss. First of all, how did he know her name? And why did he seem to care about her in the first place?

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Y-yea, same…" Congressman? Like, government stuff?

"I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear of what transpired this week."

"Erm, n-no, it's…fine, I'll live. Besides, not _your _fault." She noticed the sympathetic doubt in his sharp eyes. "Seriously," she chuckled. "No need to worry about me. I'm just…tryin' to help the cops here…-" She cleared her throat, that lump coming back up. "-…uh…ya know…take care of the guy that did this."

"Then I won't delay you any longer," said Tenzin with a nod. Standing up tall, he glanced across the two of them. "Ladies…Good day." And with that, he mysteriously vanished back to where he'd come from - his family.

Before any kind of relief could settle into Korra's gut, Chief Jia's stone-cold stare was right up in her face.

"You're in a whole mess of trouble, young lady," she seethed into Korra's ear.

_Nice to see you again, too…_

* * *

"No!" Korra huffed. "I'm _telling_ you, I only saw the guy twice - a couple days before it happened, and then the night of."

The police chief inspected the sketch that had been put together from Korra's description. An eye tattooed on his forehead? Someone eccentric like this shouldn't be so hard to track down...

"So what was it, then?" Lin snapped, dropping the sketch onto the table. "What did you do to provoke him?"

Korra's jaw was clenched in aggravation, and she gripped the coffee mug she'd been given tightly. The interview room was well lit but cold and empty. Or maybe it was an interrogation room. That's what it _felt_ like, which was pissing Korra the hell off, since she had been the victim here, obviously.

"Prov-? I didn't do _anything _to _provoke _this creep! I served him fucking hamburgers and steak, all right?"

"Mm." Lin's lips tightened. "And I'm sure you didn't 'provoke' those scooter-head numbskulls when you publicly pummeled them?"

There was that hard-to-swallow lump again. Go figure, the cops had found out about that.

"That's right," Lin jabbed with a belittling tone. "I know _all about _your history with violence, young lady, and I've researched your _less _than stellar record up in Toronto. This isn't exactly your first run-in with the police, _is _it?" Korra's only reply was a stubborn glare. "You're lucky those idiots _deserved _a beating, because that's the only reason I let that one slide - those fools are on my shit list, too, I assure you." Lin had circled the table and was hovering over Korra's back now. The woman bent over and growled into Korra's ear. "Let me be perfectly clear: this town may not be anything worth writing home about, but right now, it is _my _town. And I will _not _tolerate stunts like that here, _especially _during such a volatile time."

"Huh...?"

"Now tell me," Lin pressed on. "Did you see him speak with anyone? Anyone at all? Either time he was there?"

"Uh, n-no...I mean, I don't think-"  
"I didn't ask what you _thought_, I asked what you _saw._"

Korra's teeth were grinding together, and she forced herself to take a drink of coffee if only to force her jaws open. Lin came back around to her side, staring down at her.

"Didn't _see _him talk with anyone," Korra firmly stated, her lower lip poking out grumpily. "Come to think of it, he didn't talk _at all_."

"Was he a _mute_?"

"I don't know," Korra tossed tossed her arm, her back tightening from the slight jostle she'd caused to the opposing shoulder. "Might as _well _be...And-and his _arm_...-" She grimaced with disgust, remembering the unsightly flesh.

"What about it?" Lin demanded.

"It was...I-I'm not sure, his right arm was just...really messed up bad. Like, it looked infected, or..._burned, _or _some _shit. It was..._bad_."

"Hmm..." Lin's fingers ran along her jawline in contemplation. "So when he approached you, he just...attacked? Unprovoked?"

"I already _told _you this," Korra groaned, recalling going through this on her way out of the hospital that night. "He was in the bathroom while I was closing up. After I did, he came out, just walked right up to us, and _hit _me - no fucking reason."

"What had you said to him?"

"Psh! _I _don't-...Just...something like 'What do you need?' or whatever."

"Hm...If he'd wanted you dead, I'm sure you _would _be right now..."

"What? He left me to _burn_ in-"  
"He knocked you out and left you on the floor. He overpowered you, but he _left_ you."

"He didn't _overpower _me," Korra snapped, her ego scratched. "He...got the jump on me."

"He walked right up _to_ you," Lin flatly reminded her.

"Y-yea? Well, he fought _dirty._ And he ran away like a...a coward."

"You imbecile - let me state the perfectly obvious: a psychotic serial killer isn't going to play by our rules. He's going to make up his...-" Lin's eyes popped open for a fleeting open, and she snapped her fingers in realization. "We're done here," she announced boldy, her expression withering straight back to disinterest. "Get out of my sight," she commanded, to which Korra immediately acted, stumbling her way out. This nasty woman made Korra feel inadequate, weak, feeble...she couldn't stand it.

"If you can be of any more use to this investigation, you'll be hearing from us."

"Can't fuckin' _wait_," Korra grumbled under her breath.

"And young lady?" Lin's tone spilled out.

Korra flinched, on her way out of the door. She turned around begrudgingly.

Lin raised a fist to her face, her pinky and index extending. She gestured the fingers to her eyes, then flicked them out at Korra.

"I've got my _eye_ on you," she reminded.

Korra's expression contorted indignantly at this - what was she, some fucking criminal _herself, _now? Nostrils flared and eyes wide, Korra mocked the police chief by repeating the gesture back at her before stomping out of the room, leaving Lin with disgusted, baffled look on face.

* * *

- Sunday, March 27th, 2011 -

Sokka came in to see his roommate, eyes still aglow, gawking over the blue, shiny device in his hands. Aang had placed a pre-order down on the thing a couple of months back, and had been diligently saving up for it from even further back. Today was the day it had finally come out, and despite his rough week of recovery - perhaps _because _of it - Aang had insisted on picking up his new Nintendo 3DS today, its launch day. Bandages still wound around his back underneath his shirt, he was sitting in a beanbag chair on the floor of their bedroom, mesmerized by the optical trickery on display.

Sokka could hear relaxing elevator music pouring from the speakers on Aang's electronic toy, and as he peeked over his friend's shoulder, he saw a character flying around on a hang glider, maneuvering over an island resort.

"Hey, Sokka," Aang greeted to his back, eyes glued to the screen.

"Still playin' that thing, huh?" Sokka noted plainly, pulling off his Appa's uniform hat and hanging it in his small closet.

"Yea, it's..._really cool_," Aang murmured as the game chimed his completing a task. "I love this flying game. The 3D effect just works _awesome _'cuz it's...so relaxing and smooth, you know?"

"Mm-hm..."

Sokka pulled off his shirt with a groan and tossed it into the pile of dirty laundry at the bottom of his closet - he'd take care of that tomorrow.

"How's the back holding up?" Sokka asked, scratching at his bare, hairy stomach. He frowned at it for a moment, pinching at its somewhat flabby stature.

"I'm doing OK," Aang said with a nod, still transfixed on his virtual hang gliding. Everyone had kept asking him that question, every day. He was taking his medications - as much as he didn't like that idea, he understood the necessity - and he had gone back to have it looked at and all...so he didn't get why everyone kept babying him about it. He kept his irritation in check, though, and was keeping his mind off of his injury, his mural's destruction, the United Republic a pile of rubble, and everything else - that was part of what the stereoscopic display in front of him was there for.

"My Sis isn't still wearing that silly fedora around, is she?" Sokka wondered, grabbing a stick of deodorant and rubbing it under his furry armpits.

"_Ha, _actually, she has been," Aang chuckled, finally pausing his game and closing the system into sleep mode. He looked up at his roommate with a grin. "That plaid hat actually looks _so cute _on her, is the scary thing."

"Jesus," Sokka sighed facetiously, changing from a pair of jeans to shorts. "You _would _find that weird-ass looking thing attractive, wouldn't you?"

Aang scratched his hand across his head sheepishly.

"She can wear it crooked - so it's not covering up her stitches - but still look, like...stylish. And stuff." Aang had initially needed to remind Katara that she couldn't hide her stitches because covering them up was unhealthy and wouldn't give them room to breathe and heal properly. Katara was frustrated with this prospect, but after a couple of days of constant encouragement from Aang, she eventually accepted the temporary change of appearance for what it was: temporary. Though Aang had hoped he had managed to convince her that even if it had been permanent, she was still beautiful and always would be.

"Heh, well, I honestly got it for her as kind of a joke, but _hey, _if she actually wants to _wear _it, I sure ain't stoppin' her..." This was a half lie from Sokka. He had secretly hoped she would wear it and had been a little disappointed since she hadn't been very much. Her tapping into an eccentric side made him feel like some of his silliness was rubbing off on his sister, and he liked that.

"Yea, she likes it," Aang insisted. "Said it's special because it came from you."

"She said that?"

"Yea."

"Heh." Sokka smiled, looking into the mirror that was perched atop their dresser and fussing with his hair. It was admittedly a bit of a mess, having been squished under a hat for the past few hours, but he didn't have time to do much with it.

Aang went back to playing his game for a couple of minutes while Sokka tidied up his 'wolf tail' and popped a couple Tic-Tac's. Before long, their dorm room door knocked.

"Come in," Sokka called from his chair.

Suki entered, dressed just as casually as Sokka was, wearing a jersey and baggy athletic shorts.

"You ready to put your rubber where your mouth is?" she taunted. Sokka's expression jolted into one of embarrassed shock, and Aang likewise did a double take. "_Errr_-" Suki's face went pale as a ghost as she fumbled to clarify, her hands rubbing together nervously. "B-because we're playing_ racquetball_! Racquetballs are made of rubber, and...-"

"The damage has already been done," Sokka smoothly picked on her, shaking his head slowly. "See, Aang? I told you, she's a pervert."

"I'm not a pervert," Suki grumbled with a slight pout, stuffing her hands into her pockets. "_You're _a pervert..."

Aang stared at the two of them, raising a brow. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of their interaction.

"Uhhh..."

"We're just going to play some racquetball at the gym," Sokka assured him. "To settle a friendly bet," he added, casting an arrogant grin in Suki's direction.

"It won't be friendly by the time _I'm _done," Suki teased with narrowed eyes and a toothy devil's grin.

"Challenge _accepted_," Sokka declared, rising up from his desk chair and dramatically pointing at him.

Before long, the two of them were clashing racquets to rubber, smacking a volatile blue ball across the walls of an enclosed court.

_Whap!_

"Ahhhh_hhhhhfff_FFFFFF...-!" Sokka winced, clutching his arm, shooting a snarling expression at his opponent. "It's like you're _trying _to hit me!" he suspiciously growled at her. This was the third time he'd been smacked by the racquetball. Suki wasn't playing nice, that was for sure.

"It _does _seem that way, doesn't it?" Suki innocently agreed, playing dumb as she widened her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "You should wear your _goggles, _Sokka, like I told you. Accidents _do _happen..." She tapped her fingernail against the plastic goggles she was wearing.

"Rrrffmmfrzzlegrmmph." Sokka stomped over to the still rolling ball and plucked it from the ground. He bounced it angrily as he walked back, then handed it to Suki.

Sokka moved back as he let Suki prepare to serve. He found himself getting lured into gawking at her profile, something that was becoming more of a problem as the match went on.

"Fourteen to two," Suki announced the score before swiftly sending the ball into play. The rally lasted only three strikes, with Sokka barely cinching a win when he lucked out from hitting the ball into a corner, where it flat-lined and ended the play.

"_Yes_," he cheered, partially out of relief. "Finally, my turn..."

"That was _great_, Sokka!" Suki complimented with encouragement, snagging the ball for him. "Good job!"

"Don't patronize me, woman!" Sokka seethed in jest, readying himself in the serving area. He bounced the ball a couple of times as Suki spun her racquet in her hand impatiently.

"Geez, Sokka, what's up with you today?" Suki chuckled as she stared at him grouchily bouncing the ball another couple times. "Lighten up, relax!"

"I _am _relaxed!" Sokka huffed. "I am...so lightened up, I'm like...a light bulb."

Suki snorted out a laugh.

"Shut up!" Sokka whined.

"Stop being a sourpuss, then!" Suki eased him.

"I am _not _being a sourpuss!" Sokka raged. "I am _calm, _and _happy, _and _joyful_!" He furiously whacked the rubber ball, which flew off at an angle, hitting a side wall, then the front wall, until colliding with his forehead. "_Ow!_" he grunted, grasping his head in agony.

"_Pfff!_" Suki had to smack her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing at his self-inflicted misfortune. She rushed to his side, and he immediately jabbed his index finger up at her.

"Sokka, are you all right? I _told _you to-"  
"...Not...a _word_," he moaned, eyes squinted from pain.

Suki placed a hand on his shoulder and eased him to look up.

"Come on, stop being a baby. Let me see."

With a sigh, Sokka removed his fingers from his face and Suki carefully studied the red mark on his head.

"It's fine, you didn't hit yourself _too _bad..."

"Ah, that's...good to know," Sokka mumbled. "I think I'm done, this game is stupid."

"Well, _sure, _if you're _accident_-prone," Suki picked, giving a slap on the back.

"Meh-meh-_meemeemee_-mehhh," Sokka childishly mocked her intonation.

"Oh, _stop _it," Suki giggled. "I didn't mean to hurt your _ego _so much, tough-guy."

"Pheh." Sokka spit out air in a grump, stumbling over to the side wall and sitting himself down.

"You need me to kiss it and make it better?" Suki scoffed, rolling her eyes. Her expression flinched awkwardly when she'd realized the connotation of what she'd just said. "Er, I...-"

"Why, you _want _to?" Sokka asked, unsure if he was intrigued, offended, or interested.

"Whhhh-..." Suki blinked down at him, her cheeks turning pink at his own slightly abashed puppy eyes of dejection. She cleared her throat, casting her gaze to the small window in the door to their enclosed court. "Uhh, m-maybe we should call it quits for today."

"Right," Sokka sighed. "You _would _quit while you're ahead," he decided with irritable snark. Suki frowned at his remark, still avoiding his glare. "While I look like an idiot," Sokka added, to which Suki puffed in anger. "Without giving me a second chance," Sokka went on sharply. Suki rolled her eyes. A heavy pause. "I'm not talking about _racquetball, _by the w-"  
"_Yea, _I figured that one out, thanks!" Suki snapped at him, nearly tossing her racquet to the floor.

She took a deep breath, rolling her head back. She pressed her back to the wall beside Sokka and slid down next to him.

"Suki, what are we doing?" Sokka asked tiredly, staring at the floor. "Where is this? Where are we?"

"I...am _not _sure," Suki admitted, gazing up at the ceiling.

"I just don't get what else you want from me," said Sokka. "I'm working hard on class, I'm picking up extra hours at work - that's where I just came _back _from, by the way - I've send out _hella _resumes to people, I've got that interview next month...And I'm even here trying to play _sports _with you and stuff. I'm _trying _here..."

"Yea, I know," Suki admitted. "I _have _noticed, it's not like I haven't seen all that."

"Then what _gives_?" Sokka demanded, baffled. He shrugged up his arms at her and she shrugged back with uncertainty.

"I said I'm not _sure, _Sokka," she insisted. "I mean...when I said we should take a break, I meant, like...a little longer than this..."

"But what's the point in dragging it out if things are better?"

"Sokka..." Suki bumped the back of her head against the wall. "I mean...I know we agreed that we'd leave it open to...try this again, but...it's too soon. We both need more time."

"So we _are _still thinking about it, then."

"_Yes, _that's what it _means _when you say 'take a break,' instead of 'break _up_.'"

"OK, OK! Just...clarification. And all that. I guess I'm just confused, because lately, it seems like that...interest...is still there."

"Well...maybe because _yes, _it is," Suki acknowledged. "I mean, we had a lot of fun on St. Patty's Day, and we've been hanging out again...And after what happened this week with...the fire...I guess it _did _get me thinking that maybe I shouldn't be waiting around forever, because, well...you never know what could happen..."

"Y-yea..." Sokka swallowed, his throat suddenly very dry as crunching metal, shattering glass, and splashing blood washed over his mind. "You, uh...Yep." He coughed. "Ya never know."

"But for now, can we just...dial it back?" Suki requested. "Keep things..._normal?_"

They both tried to mind-read each other through cautious glances.

"Yea, you're right," Sokka agreed. "Maybe we should stop trying to...spend time alone together for right now, then."

"Yea...That's...probably for the best. I don't think either of us are ready."

The two sat, side by side, in disgruntled silence. Sweaty skin and pheromones in the air weren't helping, which had them both questioning themselves as to whether or not emotions were actually talking, or hormones were.

"Well, ermm...I think it's safe to say you win," Sokka cut the silence.

"Huh? _Oh_! Ha..." Suki let her concerns drift off. "Of course, was there ever any question?"

"Miss Powderpuff Perfect." Sokka blew her a stubborn raspberry. "All right, well..." He grunted, pushing himself back up onto his feet. He tenderly touched his head, the red tint of skin fading back to its standard tone. "I owe _you _a milkshake. _So._" He watched Suki rise beside him. "How about you meet us all down at Appa's for dinner in a hour and I'll get you one? You haven't hung out much with the group lately."

"Sure, that sounds good."

Sheepish, uncertain smiles were traded.

"You uh...can take your goggles off, ya know," Sokka jibed. "You look pretty stupid."

Suki pushed the plastic gear up over her forehead, her eyebrows curved with amusement.

"You hit yourself in the face with a _ball _and you're calling _me _stupid?"

* * *

- Monday, March 28th, 2011 -

"_Omigosh, _totes! Like, _I _do stuff like that, too!" Ty-Lee chirped with a merry giggle.

Jane found herself flinching at the vocabulary this air-head was using. 'Totes?' What did that even mean?

"Right? Isn't it so embarrassing?" Sokka sought acknowledgment from his peers.

"Sounds more like..._retarded _to me," grunted Toph, to his right at the cafeteria table. She was practically glowering at her food with her empty eyes, stuffing forkfuls of spinach into her face. Aang, on her opposite side, was keen on how uncharacteristically quiet she was being, and was studying her mannerisms cautiously.

"Dead-Eyes has a point, Sokka," Jane chimed in from across the table, uncomfortable with her position between Katara and Ty-Lee. "Suki _told _you to wear goggles. There's a fucking _sign_-" She chuckled, raising up her hands. "-right on the doors, that reminds you to wear goggles. And you _still _managed to hit yourself in the face."

"You'd think you'd at least be more _careful _if you weren't going to wear them," Aang pointed out.

"_I _think it's funny," Ty-Lee insisted, smiling at him brightly with a single giggle that made Toph want to hurl. Sokk shuffled a bit in his seat, smiling back as he dug into his leafy green meal of lettuce and vegetables.

"At least _someone _finds him funny," Katara picked, eliciting a few light laughs - none from Jane, though. She just stared blankly down at her food while she finished it off. She'd be really quiet lately...And hadn't hung out with Katara - apart from the group - in some time. Katara knew something was off with her, but couldn't figure it out. She extended a hand to her friend's shoulder while Ty-Lee and Sokka continued rattling at each other. Jane froze up, giving a sideways glare. Katara retracted her touch, confused.

"You OK?" Katara asked in a hushed tone. Jane's eyes wandered to the still-healing stitches near Katara's hairline, something she'd told herself she'd stop doing but..._couldn't_.

"Eh," was her eked out reply, and she guzzled down the last of her milk. This reaction didn't help Katara's confusion. Before Katara could think of a way to react, Jane was already up and ready to head off. She offered a "Later, ya'll," before whisking herself away, Katara keenly watching her with concern.

When she turned back to her own food, however, she noticed she was about done herself. A cursory glance to her boyfriend's plate indicated he was already finished, and seemed oddly intent on what was going on with Sokka. Katara and Aang had discussed their worries about Sokka's behavior as of late, but Katara had decided she wasn't going to try butting in - not yet, at least. Sokka was in a weird place right now, and he deserved some space to feel things out. Er, not literally, of course.

"Hey. Hun?" Katara nudged him with her arm.

"Mm?" Aang blinked at her, taken out of his stoic staring.

"You ready to go?" Katara prodded, worming her hand around his own under the table. He smiled and rubbed a thumb against her wrist.

"Sure."

"OK." Katara raised herself up, their hands still loosely linked, and they each took their trays. "We're going to head off, too," said Katara, nodding to the group. She pinched the brim of the red and black plaid fedora she'd been wearing lately, and tipped it down toward her brother, who smiled.

"Are we still up for that movie tonight?" Aang asked Sokka, jabbing out as finger.

"Yea, if you're still up when I'm done with homework," said Sokka with a casual nod.

"Awesome. All right, later!"

Toph's fully stomach was getting queasy now that she was here, alone with..._these _two. She let them idiotically flirt for a couple of minutes until her plate felt empty.

"Zuko makes her sound like this crazy person, but, like, she is _so _gorgeous, and smart, and...just _really _cool."

"Wait, you mean, Zuko's sister?"

"Exactly!"

"Hmph. Zuko _does _make her sound a little insane..."

"No! She's not, she's...just...a little misunderstood. That's all."

"Damnit," Toph growled, pretending to be just realizing something and cutting into their conversation.

"Huh?"

"Argh, it's...-" Toph huffed, putting an intentional air of irritation on. "I forgot my cane back at my room, and...the girls already left..." _C'mon, MeatHead. Take the bait..._

"Oh no," Ty-Lee gasped. "Poor thing." _Shut the hell up, I wasn't talking to you!_

"Oh. No big," Sokka assured. "I can walk you back." _Yessss. Success._

"Aw, you're such a gentleman, Sokka!" _Rrrrrrrr..._

"Well, _ya _know, just bein' _me _and all..." _Stop being a show-off and walk with me, damnit._

"I, uh...kinda need to get going, like..._now_?" Toph sharply pointed out. "Please?" she added.

"Oh, right. Sure." Sokka blinked at Ty-Lee with hesitation. "Uhhh...-" She shook her head gently and eased a flick of her wrist at him, encouraging him to leave.

"It's fine," Ty-Lee chirped. "I need to go to the library to work on a paper, anyway."

"Ah, OK." Sokka got up, stacking Toph's dirty plates over his own. He was a bit startled by how Toph's grasping hand found its way to his elbow. She looped her arm around his, and once they were linked, placed her opposing hand around his bicep for extra support, limited Sokka's movement.

"Erm, could-...?" He shrugged her off lightly, and she loosened her grip. "I'm trying to clean up the dishes here, and so...-"

"Yea," Toph muttered, letting her hands drop into her pockets with a sheepish downward twitch her lips. _Real smooth there, Toph._

She found herself craving the touch of that arm like a drug she'd just been given a taste of. Biting dry skin from her bottom lip impatiently, she tapped her sandaled foot as she waited for Sokka's acknowledgement.

"There we go. 'Kay, we're good now."

Refraining from acting too eagerly, Toph re-linked their limbs, latching her palm through his elbow and resting it on his bare forearm. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt today, mm.

"I'll see you later, Ty," Sokka announced his leave with an almost sarcastically suave tone.

"Ciao~!" _Ullghh._

Toph's hands felt at home as she was led toward the dish disposal, the waves of student chatter and clattering of silverware soothing like rain in the comfort of Sokka's arm. Through the movement, her single hand held tight, especially as she felt other brushing up against her, squirming their way through the busy hall. The familiar buzz of the dishwashing conveyer belt was relaxing, signaling their exit from this place.

She heard Sokka greet the busboy working at the belt tonight, and off they went.

It was taking most of her willpower to prevent herself from running her fingers across the hairs on his fleshy forearm. Sokka wasn't a muscle-house, but he had some girth to him all the same._  
_

As they whisked themselves down the stairs and into the Avatar Center Lounge, Sokka found himself wishing it was a different girl's arm he was attached to instead one of out handicapped obligation.

By the time they exited the ACC, Toph finally worked up the nerve to initiate conversation.

"Soooo. Heh..."

"Huh?"

"Oh, erm, nah, it's...-" She smirked, hoping he was looking at her. "It's just...amusing, watching you play your little game lately."

Sokka indeed looked after she said this, off-put by her cocky tone and the

"Seriously. It's cute," she remarked with a dry, belittling tone. Sokka frowned at this as they walked across the sidewalk, the trees and grass around them rustling in the early evening breeze.

"What are you talking about?" Sokka asked with a sigh, almost unsure if he wanted to know. With Toph, whatever it was, it would mean him getting made out to be an idiot.

Toph blew at her bangs, which had gotten caught in her eyelashes from the wind. Failing that, she pushed them aside with her free hand.

"Ya know, your umm..._Vagitating._"

Sokka's eyes bulged wide with confusion.

"Huh?"

"Like cock-teasing, only the other way around," Toph casually explained. "Vagitating. The game you're playing with those girls."

"Psh, yea, clever, there, Toph. So _you're _on my case now, too?" huffed Sokka, rolling his eyes. If she wasn't blind, he'd push her right off of him, but he was feeling gentlemanly today, so he let her hold on. Toph was intrigued by that remark, since it made it sound like someone _else _had brought this up already. A bit relieving, at any rate - made her feel less crazy if someone _else _was noticing it.

"Uh, _yea, _I'm on your damn case, ya dunderhead. What's your problem lately? It's like all you're doing is flirting with every woman in sight." _But just ignore me, ya know. Not like I count as a woman, apparently._

"Guh. Listen, I'm just...keeping my options open."

"_Oh! _I see!" Toph quipped with some offense. She could feel her face flinching with some rage that she worked hard to suppress. "So we-I mean, just women, in general - we're _options _to pick from. Like a buffet."

"_No, _you're not...like, _buffet _options. Ugh."

_Huh, so I'm not even a fucking _option _here, is that it? Hmph..._

"What do you care, anyway?" Sokka grumbled. "Just because you can't get over your baggage doesn't mean I can't have-"  
"Ex_cuse_ me?"_  
_

"You and your little temper tantrums with everyone else? You're jealous of everyone hooking up."

"Uhhh, yea**_NO_**. First of all, Meat-Stack, no, I'm not." _Bleh. Maybe a little. Whatever. _"Second? Not talking about me. Talking about _you _here. And _thirdly,_ did-"  
"Yep, classic Toph, just dodge the topic once it's about you." Sokka jaws gnashed together at how Toph's fingernails dug into his skin.  
"And **_thirdly_-**" she pushed, "-did it occur to you that I'm saying this 'cuz I'm worried about you?"

Sokka stared at Toph, her face pointed to her side but not quite toward him. Her brows hung heavy with determination, but the expression beneath flashed with worry. He didn't really know what to say, so instead opted to be silent and await and explanation.

"Ya know, I _am _your friend, Sokka, not just some bitch who loves to make you feel like the bastard you are."

An almost involuntary laugh spilled from Sokka's mouth, and Toph let one of her own tumble beside it.

"Fff...Like, I'm serious. And I _know _I'm not the only one, I've heard _everyone else _mention it - the way you've been acting lately. Why are you pulling this shit? Aren't you above that?"

"Above _what_? I'm just having a good time. I'm just being open and honest with my single status."

"_Ha! _That's a load of a bullshit. You're _acting_."

"Acting?"

"Yea. Playing two fuckin' parts in the same retarded ass play. Jekyl and Hyde stupidity."

"Uhhh...?"

"Ugh, you don't even _get _it, do you? And I thought _I _was the blind one around here..."

"Could you cut the sarcasm and cut to the chase?" Sokka huffed, coming to a stop. "We're here."

"Oh..." Toph stood in place for a moment.

"You need help getting to your room?" Sokka begrudgingly offered. Again, with the gentle-manliness. Why?

"Er, n-nah, I've got it," Toph assured. An awkward pause followed, until Sokka wiggled his arm, which Toph had been loyally glued to this whole time. Oh, hey, her other hand had found its way onto his bicep at some point. Yikes. So much for being self-aware... "Sorry," she said, clearing her throat and dipping her hands into her pockets. "Um...But...So..._Ah, _right. Do you seriously not see what you're doing, or is Snoozles' brain asleep on the job?" She rattled her knuckle on her forehead, though she was directing the gesture at thin air.

Sokka breathed out a very audible sigh, crossing his arms and leaning back against the brick wall beside the doorway to Aqua House.

"You act like a fuckin' _moron _around that...that air-head, and then you're trying to act all responsible and serious because...what? You still wanna get back with Suki? 'Cuz _that _sounds smart."

Sokka scratched at his nose, his eyes lingering around Toph's t-shirt. Her chest jiggled with each flustered motion she made. Pff, she wasn't wearing a bra, he could tell. A loose little glass canon, she was.

"Well? Is that your fuckin' plan?" Toph demanded, eyes blazing with anger. Jesus. Still staring at her boobs, and the slight protrusions he noticed when he looked hard enough. That's how Sokka _knew _he was horny and hormonal today: he was even gawking at _Toph _at this point. Purr-ritt-ee sad. His Thunder-Down-Under hadn't seen any lightning in a while now, and it was painfully clear because it seemed like every girl was more attractive than usual lately. "'Cuz it's _dumb,_" was Toph's irritable conclusion.

"Wh-!..._No! _I...Wait, I mean, _yes? _Maybe. I don't know!" _What were we talking about, again?_

"_Obviously _not. That's my damned point, retard! Maybe stop thinking with your _other _head for a change. The one _above _your waist?" _Heh, if only you knew..._

"You know what? This isn't even your business, so-"  
"Like _hell _it isn't! It's all our business. You're our friend, and you're being stupid, so just..._stop_." _What do you know? Not exactly Miss Sensitivity._

"Because I'll hurt some girl's feelings?" Sokka sarcastically expressed his apathy about such a thing.

"_Fuck _no!" Toph snarled. "I don't give a crap! The problem is that I-...Us, the whole group, we have to put up with you pretending to be two different people, instead of just being _you_."

Sokka gave that notion some thought. He hadn't really considered this until now. Toph had a good point. Well, two points actually, when he looked at her shirt. Heh. Was she cold, or something? It _was _a little windy today...

"I mean, yea," Toph prattled on, completely oblivious to Sokka's periodic ogling, masking her own heated attraction with anger. "You _do _have two sides and all that, but...I don't know about the other guys, but _I _like it better when you're just..._all _of you at the same time, instead of this...on-off crap."

Sokka's throat tightened when Toph said this, thoughts of Yue fogging up his mind like misty memories.

"_All _of me, huh?" he mused. His scratched his unshaven jaw with uncertainty, and Toph relished the satisfying _'scrifff-scrifff_' sound this produced.

"_Yes, _you gotta stop puttin' on a fucking show and just be _Sokka, _or you're never gonna be happy."

"Mm...Guess I'll have to think on that."

"Using that _brain _of yours?" Toph teased, cautiously stepping in the direction of Sokka's voice. "Good idea, Plan Guy." She thrust out her arm in a flash to land a punch at Sokka, but missed him by inches, bumping her knuckles on the brick wall of the building. "Fffffff...-!" She seethed. "_Agh_..."

Sokka, who hadn't moved at all in some time, watched her flicking pain from her hand. Jiggle, jiggle. Pff.

"I'll try using my brain if you try not to _hurt _yourself so much," he slyly offered.

"Deal," grunted Toph, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Damnit to hell, she just had horrible luck with that lately.

"So that's your pep-talk for me, eh? 'Don't be a dick, be yourself?'"

"You got it."

"Your logic is flawed, Dead-Eyes."

"Yea?"

"Being me _means _being a dick!" Sokka cackled before administering a wet willy in Toph's ear. She squealed with discomfort and shock, flailing her hands out to push him away. She opted to swing a blind punch, but whiffed air as his footsteps bounded away. "Peace _out!_" he taunted, jogging down the sidewalk.

"_Asshole!_" she roared back. As she felt her way forward to the Aqua House's main double door entrance, she realized that butterflies were swirling around her stomach. Her heart was thumping, skin tingling, hands shaking, knees weak...It was horrible and wonderful at once, and she hadn't felt this way in a long time. Maybe he'd gotten a bit of a hint?

* * *

- Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 -

"I don't _care _what _you_ think, we _sounded _like shit."

Jane paused in midstep, having walked right into some kind of argument between Suki and Toph within Toph and Katara's room, though Katara was absent - probably at the boy's place tonight. Jane honestly didn't mind.

"I'm telling you, we sounded _fine_."

"No. We didn't," Toph coldly insisted. "Your damned percussion was overpowering me."

"We did a thorough sound check, Toph," Suki reminded, struggling to maintain her cool while Toph sparked with irritation. "The guy said it was _fine_."

"Ha. You say it like what he said _matters._ That idiot didn't know what he was talking about."

"Why are we even discussing this? We got our money, everything went fine, people loved it."

Jane lifted a finger and opened her mouth, but Toph spouted out before she could speak.

"You think I'm doing this for _money_? Listen, Powderpuff. I'm doing this to get my _name _out there."

"Well..._I'm _doing this to help you with that, too - and people loved you, by the way. But I'm _also _doing this so you actually have your own _income, _so that _Sokka__'s _not always having to spot you whenever you guys do anything together!"

"Oh, whatever, what's that even matter to _you, _anyway?"

"I don't like the idea of watching my friends get _used_ by someone they trust."

"_What?_ 'Used?' Really? You _just _tried telling me I'm _using _my friends?"

Having not even been noticed, Jane rolled her eyes. _Ugh. Not in the mood for more of _this. _Bye. _She looped back out of the room, entering her own room instead while she poked at her phone. She'd just come back from a late night biology lab she had to make up due to missing one from the week prior - the late-night hospital visit from last week and ensured she'd overslept the next day and missed the morning lab. The bickering of the two musicians behind her faded away as she closed her own door, since they hadn't the decency to close theirs. What was the deal with those two lately, anyway? Toph was doing a lot better lately, but for whatever reason, Suki seemed to be getting on her nerves. It didn't make much sense to Jane - then again, when did Toph _ever _make much sense?

"Hello, Jane."

Jane nearly had a heart attack at the sound of Ginnie's voice. It was so unexpected, since the girl was hardly ever there.

"_Jesus, _Jin," Jane sighed out a laugh, still clutching at her chest. "Scared me halfway to hell," she laughed, making her way to her desk.

"Oh, haha, sorry, didn't mean to startled you," said Jin, leaning over her own desk. She seemed to be studying a page of the newspaper, making marks on it with her pencil. Jane's curiosity got the better of her, and she leaned over the mousy girl's shoulder to observe. It was a grid with a bunch of numbers doodled on it.

"Whatcha doin' there?" Jane casually pondered. It was rare for the two of them to be present in the room at the same time, and that prodding 'social butterfly' Katara had seemed to plant in her gut was determined to try fluttering about tonight.

"O-oh, it's...just the Sudoku puzzle," Jin mumbled, staring at Jane with wide eyes. She pinched at her glasses, moving them upward. She went back to work on it, leaving Jane perplexed.

"Looks...eh..._fun_...?"

Just looked like a crossword puzzle gone wrong to her. At least that explained why each issue of the paper had an empty grid on the back page - she'd never cared to figure out what that was about on the rare occasion she even _read _the White Lotus. She found it odd that Jin would be working out the puzzle to the paper, seeing as how she _wrote _for the paper.

"Soooo...Everything going all right with you...?" Jane mumbled, her scratchy voice mustering up some kind of empathy as best it could.

"Mm-hm," Jin hummed complacently. "Really stressed lately. _Super _stressed," she rectified her statement. "This past week has been _nuts_."

"Heh...I hear ya," said Jane, amused, dropping her backpack off her shoulders and setting herself down on her bed. She felt confident that whatever Jin was stressed about, people nearly dying in a burning building had _not_ been one of them.

As Jane re-examined her phone, she continued scrolling through the day's messages.

[From: Katara]  
[We haven't really hung out in a while. I'll be with the boys tonight if you want to stop by, we can go somewhere together after. ]  
[Sent: 5:32pm]  
[Deleting...] - [Deleted]

[From: Aang]  
[yea, things are ok. it's gona be fine trust me. you should come over tonight after lab. bring toph when she's back from her show.]  
[Sent: 6:02pm]  
[Deleting...] - [Deleted]

[From: John boy]  
[Meet with him tomorrow. Trust me.]  
[Sent: 6:21pm]

Jane did a double take at this one. Wait, what? What did it m...-? Oh, wait up...

[From: The Duke]  
[Smellerbee. Tomorrow night. Pizza Hut. Eight o clock. Come alone. Friendly. If you can't show, call ASAP.]  
[Sent: 7:00pm]

Jane could feel her hands getting clammy as she re-read the text message twice, then went back to Johnny's. Couldn't be a coincidence. She dropped the phone into her lap. Fuck. Fuckity-shit-ass-fuck-rarrr. This had to do with the UR. She _knew _it did, because the Rough Rhinos were involved, _obviously, _which meant _ahhhhhh _no-no-no_-__no-no-**NO**_, she knew it. She _knew _this kind of shit would happen. She couldn't take this. No way.

"You all right?" Jin wondered, gawking at her roommate with a befuddled look. Jane suddenly realized she'd pounded her fist against her calf, and the other hand's was dug into her forehead, having scraped against her eyebrow a few times.

"Nnn...No, not really," Jane confessed. Nope. Wasn't gonna happen. No way she was going back to all of that shit, because-actually, what in the hell? How could the Freedom Fighters even still be...a _thing_? After what happened, Jane couldn't decipher any possible way they could still be operational. They hadn't seen any activity in months, by her count. Hm.

Johnny's words - such a precious commodity to her, especially these days with him so far way - tore at her.

[Trust me.]

He wanted her to trust him. Maybe if she did...whatever it was Johnny wanted tonight...it would earn her more respect in his eyes, maybe he'd be more prone to talking with her a bit? A phone call, even? Christ, just a single phone call with him would help so much. But even apart from that, this was _Johnny. _He was always working to keep her out of harm's way, to the point of even breaking _up _with her just to push her back when things with the Rhinos had gotten dicey. Technically speaking, he'd taken a bullet for her in that regard - well, _literally _speaking.

She couldn't really know how he still felt about her entirely, especially given how...complicated...things had become concerning her feelings for Katara - which he had figured out and consequently put her at ease about. But she was still here, waiting for..._something_...to happen with him. She didn't know what. She still felt things for him, too, she'd accepted that. And she'd accepted that Katara was _not _interested in her - not in that way - and was trying to move on.

But seeing Katara hurt and vulnerable lately, it was triggering difficult reactions within Jane.

"You need anything?" Jin probed politely, still disconcerted by Jane's sudden outburst.

"I'm fine, just...something came up," Jane eased, fumbling with her phone.

[Reply]  
[To: John boy]  
[what's going on? what happened?]  
[Sent: 8:34pm]

Creasing her eyebrow, she stared at her phone, awaiting a reply. Fortunately, it came as soon as she'd hoped. Unfortunately, it only increased her doubt.

[From: John boy]  
[What we've been waiting for.]  
[Sent: 8:35pm]

* * *

**A/N: There are some references to Legend of Korra in this chapter, obviously. I had to make changes from canon with Tenzin and Lin's relations to other characters, etc., but remember some of the other crazy things I've done here: like make Smellerbee a main character, add Korra/Mako/Bolin into the narrative, make Meng a primary supporting role, etc. This is the beauty of AU. To be very clear, though, Tenzin and Lin are NOT biologically related to Aang/Katara or Toph in this story.**


	83. Bitterness

**A/N: I have been doing a LOT of commissions and collabs with artists lately. The SRU art gallery is really booming, with more work always on the way. If you haven't been keeping your eye on this space, there's probably a TON of new stuff for you guys to check out: http:/destiny-smasher(dot)deviantart(dot)com/favourites/41510260**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 83 - Bitterness_

* * *

- Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 -

[8:02pm]

She'd arrived on time.

After stuffing her cell phone back into her maroon hoodie's front pocket, Jane remained in her car for a couple of minutes, distraught by this entire situation. She squirmed uncomfortably, and the silence was broken by the gentle squeaking of her car seat while she leaned over, peering through her window. She couldn't see it from here. Gah. With an irritable huff, she dragged herself out of her worn-down car. She had to open the door, close the lock, get out, _then _close it, because it only had manual locks. The process was second-nature by now, but in that particular instance it frustrated. With her hands stuffed into her hoodie pockets, she hopped onto the sidewalk beside the Pizza Hut. Her eyes scanned straight ahead, across the street. It was dim, the sun having already set recently, but Jane was able to get a glimpse across the distance.

That building, across the street, was now merely the remnants of rubble. The leftovers of a crime scene. An ex-building. And to think, a year ago, her entire life revolved around that very place. It reminded her of home, back in Texas. Jamie's life. The dull-eyed, confused child with an uncertain future, an uncertain gender...but at least a child with parents.

For a few hazy moments, the woman standing in awe on the sidewalk became that shocked, angry child, glaring at the black, dark remains of the life that once was, before that fateful accident.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

At least Jane had been given the gratuity to leave this life _before _it had been claimed by fire. And at least she hadn't lost _more _people this time. The coincidence was sickening and left a horrible pit in her stomach. Death by such a means was cruel enough when it was an accident. To think some sick, twisted fuck _intended _to bring this onto people was just...infuriating to consider.

The sound of laughter spilling out from the heavy doors behind her jolted her from her stupor as a trio of adults exited the Pizza Hut behind her. She shrunk into her shoulders as they passed, pulling her hood over her head, then slunk inside. Rather than go through the awkward act of refusing a greeting, she simply strolled in with a casual, consistent pace, rapidly scanning tables and booths. Ah, there he was. In the back corner, by himself, sat a short, slightly pudgy blond boy.

Jane bit her lip, swallowed hard, and briefly scratched her eyebrow with her thumb as she approached, sitting herself down after a quick wave. She wasn't much in the mood for formalities tonight.

"Hey, Smellerbee," greeted Douglas, slightly surprised at how she'd snuck up on him. She had a knack for doing that when she set herself to it.

"Jane," corrected the red-head, her voice carrying impatience. Douglas frowned at this.

"I don't need to speak with _Jane_," the boy curtly informed. "This is a Freedom Fighter meeting."

Jane's eyes rolled up and around in their sockets.

"All right, Duke, whatever, I just-"  
"It's _The _Duke!"

Deadpan olive eyes clashed with frazzled blue for a moment of tension before Douglas clarified.

"Right now, _The Duke _needs to speak with _Smellerbee_."

Jane sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils before sighing it out, closing her eyes as she braced herself for whatever potential bullshit awaited.

"Fine...What the hell's this all about? I thought the Freedom Fighters were disbanded."

The Duke cleared his throat, re-alligning the collar on his polo shirt.

"We were," he explained, dropping his voice in solemnity. Jane, her nose wrinkled up in a scowl, dropped an elbow to the table and rested her chin on the hand it supported. "After the gun fight back in the winter, everything fell apart. Some of the Freedom Fighters were arrested, the Treetop was closed down, and Longshot - and a few others - got expelled." The Duke glanced around, as if taking caution that no one overheard him. Both adjacent booths were empty, however, as it wasn't the busiest of nights. "The thing is, Longshot got let off easy in exchange for some info the FBI wanted."

_Mm-hm. Yea. That's, uh, real cute, kid. Trying to be all serious and shit._

"You don't believe me," he concluded with a smirk. "He said you wouldn't believe it...That you always have trouble trusting him."

A needle pricked at Jane's heart when The Duke said this. 'He?'

"What? Johnny?"

"Longshot, yes," The Duke grumpily acknowledged. Christ, what was his deal with the names? Was this fucking elementary school?

"What in the _hell _would the _FBI _want with him?" Jane dubiously wondered. She was caught off guard when a stocky young man with a single curl of hair draped over his forehead approached. He was an employee at the restaurant, and was delivering a pizza. Jane recognized him - one of Korra's housemates. He was singing to himself as he approached.

"~Ah-dah-dah-duhduh-dah-doo~ and-a _here _you are, my good Sirs." Bolin theatrically set down the pan of piping hot pizza on the table. Jane begrudgingly pushed up her hood, fussing her hair about in an attempt to assert her feminine identity. Bolin did a double take, eyes popping from their sockets, sputtering out words in a slurred rush. "_Wow _did I say _Sirs _because I meant 'Sir and **Miss' **and a very-" Jane was glowering up at him. "-aheheh charming Miss at that because freckles are _in _this year my dear they most certainly are _mm-hmm_. Am I right or am I right, huh? Yea?"

"It's _me, _ya...-" Jane caught herself from cursing at the guy, who had hardly met her, really. "-...dunderhead." Hm, stolen from Toph, from at least it was G-rated. He looked confused. "Me? Jane?" The Duke was practically piercing her with his aggravated glare from across the table for bringing attention to herself, but she ignored it. Bolin didn't seem to be following, but he cocked a narrow eye at her with some vague recognition. She tried to seal things. "I'm one of Korra's friends...?"

"_Oh-ho, _Jane! Jane? _Jane. _Of course I know you Jane 'cuz I mean you're _Jane _who forgets a pretty face like Jane's **not me **that's who!" Jesus, this guy was annoying the crap out of her.

"Is Korra doin' OK n' stuff?" Jane asked, trying to circumvent this guy's weirdness.

"Korra? She's A-OK, she's peachy-keen, she is _fine. _We've got her covered. She's in good hands. She is a _tough customer_." Bolin's fervent nodding slowed to a stop as his serious assurance withered away at the awkward silence. "Uhhh...I'll...tell her you said 'hello.'"

"Yea, uhh...Sure." grunted Jane. "Tell her we need to catch up when she's back on her feet." Bolin nodded rapidly at this. Jane was more off-put by this guy the longer he stood around. She tried reaching for a slice of pizza in an attempt to give her hands something to do.

"_Gyuhhh _watch out, it's a bit, er...hot," Bolin sputtered. Jane had flinched at his initial yelp, but had quickly recovered, shooting him a dagger glance. "Ah, yes, **Miss **Jane, right. I see you've got it under control. That's great. No, that's really great, so I'll just...-" He wound his hands in a loop, pointing back to the kitchen area. "-...be on my way, then, and you folks have a good night."

Jane didn't even offer a farewell, and by the time he was gone and she'd bitten into the food he'd delivered, she had realized what flavor it was.

"Pineapple and ham...?"

"Longshot said it was your favorite."

"Oh..." Jane could feel her cheeks glow like embers for a moment as she chewed into it. He'd remembered that detail, and had gone to the trouble of specifying it like that? That was...pretty cool.

"Who was _that _guy?"

"Mm?" hummed Jane, her mouth full. She swallowed, shrugging. "Just some weirdo acquaintance."

"Did you _have _to draw attention to yourself like that?" The Duke grumbled.

Jane's face contorted with disgusted confusion.

"_Please, _he's just some fuckin' guy. Whatever."

"Feh..." The Duke flicked his wrist up at her attitude and took a slice of his own to bite into. They enjoyed some food for a couple of moments until he continued his explanation. "Anyway...Like I was saying, Longshot, he...-" A sigh. "He really didn't..._tell _you much...did he?"

Jane's stomach lurched. Something about that didn't sound good.

"Uhh...He doesn't _tell _much of anything to _anyone_," she lashed back.

"Heh, r-right, that's...-" The Duke trailed off, a sheepish look about him. His slice was whittled down to its crust, which he dropped onto his plate. "You _never _wondered why he's so quiet all the time?"

Swallowing her current chunk of food was quite laborious as her brain was whirled through a tornado of possibility. She'd never really questioned Johnny's silent nature. She had simply found it endearing, an odd quirk. Now that Douglas was threatened to shed some kind of light on it, she feared it would ruin the mystique, so she opted not to reply to his rhetoric.

"You never wondered how he's so dead-on with a gun?" The Duke pressed another question. It was also ignored as Jane crunched down the last of the crust from her first slice, snagging a second. "Did Longshot ever mention what he wanted to do as a career?"

Jane coughed as she swallowed down a lump of pizza.

"He, uhh...said he wanted to work for the government some day. Do some, like, secret agent stuff. James Bond shit."

The Duke grinned.

"That's right. After the Freedom Fighters collapsed back in December, we all hung low, and he disappeared, heading back home after getting expelled. Funny how he didn't get in that much trouble despite _shooting _a few people, huh?"

Jane scratched an itch on the back of her scalp, considering this oddity.

"And he shot them with _dead _aim, too - three bullets, three arms disabled. I was there. It was...insane."

"W-well, yea, I mean...he's always been good with a gun, right? He's _Longshot_, I mean...he grew up with hunting and stuff, and...and...-"  
"You _seriously _think that's _all _he grew up doing, to be _that _skilled with firearms?"

Jane chewed her bottom lip awkwardly, her brain sizzling from confusion and realization both at once.

"He got let off of that shootout because he had a friend in a high place. And after he got taken back home to lay low, he stayed in touch with a few of us - the ones he said he trusted. And he told us about how he ended up at SRU, and what his goal was."

"...To graduate...?" Jane mumbled, her hand beginning to shake. The Duke shook his head.

"To help capture the Combustion Man, and the group that guy works for," he explained. Jane's insides twisted with confusion. This didn't even make sense. "You've been seeing on the news, the reports of the families that have been getting attacked, right?"

Jane nodded, sweat beginning to creep onto her brows.

"What the news _hasn't _been reporting is all of the people that _don't _get killed by those attacks. The ones that disappear before anyone gets to them - because the FBI intervenes. And it's not like these attacks are all fires, either - that's something with the Combustion Man and who he runs with, in specific. But the other guys involved with this stuff - from what Longshot says, a lot of them have already been caught. This one guy, though, who's been in hiding for a long time, moving across the country, they haven't seemed to get him just yet."

Jane had dropped her half-eaten slice onto her plate at this point, distraught and bewildered.

"You still with me?" The Duke asked.

"Could use some water," Smellerbee grumbled, wiping her damp eyebrow. It was suddenly quite hot in here. She unzipped her hoodie and dropped it beside her in the booth. She was wearing a black tanktop underneath, and scratched at a freckled arm while she scrambled to comprehend what was going on.

"You can have mine, I haven't drinken any," The Duke offered, sliding his full glass across the table, and dropping the unopened straw next to it. Jane slurped the ice-filled liquid with some relief before posing a question.

"What does...-? Makes no fuckin' sense...What does Johnny have to do with this...? 'Friend in a high place?' What does that even _mean_?"

"Longshot wasn't specific, but he said someone in his family works for the FBI. I'm guessing that's what got him interested in that kind of stuff to begin with. Coming to SRU, he said it was something he was doing for this relative, like...I don't know. He didn't really explain it. I think it's probably not really official. Off the books, or...however you wanna say it. The entire reason he said he came to this school was because of the connection to these murders."

"What are you _talking _about?" Smellerbee hissed under her breath. "The school's got _nothing _to do with that shit..."

The Duke stared at her with analytical, cold eyes.

"I've done the research to confirm what Longshot already knew: every Combustion victim has been a graduate of Saint Roku University. In New York City, years back, there was a series of murders via fatal injections. All the victims? Connected to the college. On the west coast, further back, there was a string of stabbing victims. The connection? SRU."

It made some kind of sense, now. Longshot had come to SRU under the guise of a college student to try and learn about how the school was connected to this stuff. Suddenly, entire swaths of time spent together felt like webs of falsehood.

"Johnny came here undercover," Smellerbee muttered in understanding.

"That's exactly right," The Duke agreed. "He went out of his way to join the Freedom Fighters because they were in a conflict with the Rough Rhinos, and he figured it would be a quick and efficient way to learn more about the situation and have hands-on involvement."

Smellerbee remembered how obsessed Jet had been about the Rough Rhinos - how sure he'd been that they had been there that night, that they'd been the ones who killed his family. Years later, Korra picks a fight with the Rough Rhinos, while working at the same place Jet ran...They probably figure she was his replacement, or something, and they burn the place down. Problem solved for them, right? This only further reinforced her suspicion that the Rhinos were connected somehow.

"So...So, wait, the Rhinos...-?"

"The Rhinos are somehow involved, yes. We don't know _how, _but...that's why I was working over there-" He nodded his head to the side, out in the direction of where the United Republic had once stood. "-keeping an eye out for my boss at Longshot's suggestion."

"Wh-? Korra?"

"Right, Miss Kesuk. I thought maybe she was connected to the school somehow, too - seemed like she got hand picked, you know? But...I dunno, she seemed pretty ignorant about everything."

Smellerbee frowned. Of course Korra was ignorant about this bullcrap, she was innocent. It was kind of shocking that little Douglas here, all mousy and timid, had gotten himself involved in all of this.

"I can't _believe _I didn't see this coming, though - what happened," The Duke lamented. "I was _there, _minutes before. We had figured that the Combustion Man wasn't working alone, that he was with a group, and...I didn't suspect anything was up that night. I kind of let my guard down, and...I don't know, I can't even really _apologize _to Korra about it, because it would just get her involved, and...-"

"OK, OK." she waggled her hands left and right, squinting at this overload. "Why are you getting _me _the fuck involved, then?"

"Because you were a Freedom Fighter, Smellerbee. You were close with Jet. You know about some of the things the rest of us left don't. And most importantly, Longshot _trusts _you to help put this man who hurt your friends to justice. It's why you're here."

"_Gllgh?_" Smellerbee nearly choked on her water. A harsh cough followed as she pounded her chest, getting water out of her windpipe. "Wh...-? You mean...What? 'Put to justice?' The _hell _do I look like, the police? I fuckin' _quit _the Freedom Fighters, anyway. Remember?"

"Y-yea, I know..." The Duke drummed his fingers along the table. "But with this guy in Wayward...your friends are in danger. In case you didn't _realize_ that already."

Smellerbee's eyes burned with rage. Not at what had just been said, but at the truth behind it. Katara's frail body, her head dripping blood, being carried out of the United Republic was a potent and recent memory, a mere week old.

"It's exactly why Longshot has done what he's done - to protect people like _you. _I mean...specifically you."

Smellerbee sighed, nodding, her trembling hands fidgeting with each other in her lap.

"He broke up with me to keep me away...I know. He told me."

"Yea, once you decided you didn't want anything to do with this whole mess, he knew he had to keep you at a distance. He just...didn't really explain how deep it went," The Duke realized. "I'm...sorry. I guess this is hard - I know there's still something between you two."

Jane's heart swelled - finally, something, _anything _to feel some kind of hope or relief about in this situation. She wasn't just imagining it, not if Johnny had said something to Douglas.

"Yea, there _is. _I'll...Ugh. Fuck." She bumped her forehead with her knuckle. "I need to talk with him." She glanced back up at Douglas, who didn't respond to this, but she could see the resounding look in his eyes.

"Johnny needed to keep you safe before - keep you from getting caught up in stuff too soon. Because he trusts you more than anyone. He believes you're the only one capable of being able to help him do this right. You were never involved with stuff back when the Fighters got found out, so you don't have any kind of suspicion hanging over you, and Longshot knows you're ready for this."

"Yea? If he's so fucking sure, why didn't he tell me this _himself_?"

"I don't know," Douglas confessed with a shrug, folding his hands neatly in his lap. "He...carries a lot of secrets with him. He has people to protect. So he has to watch what he says."

"Guess that's...maybe a part of why he's so..._quiet_."

"Mm...I know there were...uh...things he wanted to tell you himself. So. Yea. You should talk to him."

_Be with Johnny again. Make everything right. But be back with the Fighters again. Nah, no, that's just temporary. This creep, this...'Combustion Man'...he's caused all of this hell for so many people. Hurt Korra. Hurt _Katara. _Brought so much shit down on my friends because of it. He's probably the one that killed Jet's parents, made Jet crazy. He's the one that has been this big fucking pain for Johnny. If I help, if I bring this guy down, would that...finally put a fucking _end _to all of this? This isn't even my damned mess, I didn't make it, I'm not even involved. The fuck do I even care about this school? I don't, really...but I care about Johnny. And __the guys...I have to do this for them._

"But...Why me? Why _us? _Why not just send in the fuckin' cavalry?"

"I _told _you, this is unofficial stuff. If the FBI came snooping around here, everyone involved would _scatter. _That's why we need to act as soon as we can. The Combustion Man came _here. _And we're sure it wasn't a coincidence. He's probably still nearby, somewhere. Who knows who he could be after next? The point is, we aren't connected with the FBI, _or _the school. We're just students. No one's going to suspect we're involved as long as we stay low. Right?"

Jane huffed at this. She didn't like it, but there was a bit of sense to it, she supposed. It was better than doing nothing - waiting around for that psycho to burn another damned building down.

"Sooo...What does he...want me to do?" Jane wondered, running her fingers through her hair carefully.

"Well, he, eh...Was thinking you could fill in for him - run the Freedom Fighters."

"Like I was going to in the first place...?"

"R-right."

"I don't know..." She dropped a sideways glance of hesitation.

"Not like we used to be," The Duke insisted. "No funny business. Ever since Longshot took charge, the Freedom Fighters changed - it's why so many left, why we disbanded. We're not doing this for money, or revenge, or anything. And really, right now, all we need to do is keep laying low. We need to do some research. _That _is what Longshot really needs from us - to finish what he started: figure out the connection. Find out what the Combustion Man, these other killings...what it all has to do with the college."

"Mm." Jane was hunched over on the table, her face buried in hands supported by elbows. "I help, and...we finish this? Put an end to it? Then no more bullshit? No more...fucking...gangs, or killing, or _whatever_?"

The Duke nodded. Smellerbee took a deep, cautious breath.

"Then I guess I'm in."

* * *

- Thursday, March 31st, 2011 -

Korra sighed with some relief, carefully moving her arm in small circles.

"You're lucky," said Pema, marking her notepad with optimism. "It's been healing very quickly. But you _have _to be gentle with it for a while longer. You don't want to undo any of the progress it's made."

"Yea," Korra acknowledged. She could tell just from her gentle motions that it was still tender.

"Otherwise...That's basically it. I was worried about your head, but...everything checks out. You're sturdier than you look, Korra."

"_Ha. _So I've been told..." Korra beamed with some pride at the remark.

Pema set down her clipboard on the counter and took a deep breath, sitting in her seat beside the table Korra was dangling from.

"I feel compelled to ask, though...What are you going to do now?"

"...Huh?" Korra was thrown off. Where was this coming from? A reserved smile crept onto Dr. Rabten's face, and she nodded.

"Your living situation. You told me before that you moved down here from Canada for this job, but...-"

"O-oh..." Korra's face turned bleak for just a flash before she masked her self-doubt. "I'm-...Everything's going to be fine. I'll work something out."

"The college hasn't sorted things out, have they?" Pema knowingly theorized.

Korra's lips curled with resignation, but she tipped her head to the side dismissively.

"You know, Korra, I know that...maybe you might feel like you're a bit too old for this, but...I could offer you a temporary job - until you're back on your feet."

Korra's heart lightened with baffled relief. It had been a major stressor, as of late, feeling pressured about her dwindling funds. Rent had just been due, and it had quite cleaned her out. Without more work _soon, _she didn't know what her options would be.

"Wh-...? Are you...are you serious?" she muttered, eyes furrowed with surprise. "What did you have in mind?"

Pema smirked.

"You met my kids recently..." _Oh, no. Oh, hell no. I don't like where this is going._

"Uhh...Yehhp. They're...a crazy bunch." Korra wore her best plastic smile.

"Well, between my work here at the hospital, and my husband's...-" She sighed. "-...political career...things have been strained lately. It'd be nice to have a bit of slack - someone to watch them a few days a week."

"O-oh...Um...What about the older one?"

"Hm? Oh, Jinora."

"Yea, the little bookworm," Korra said with a nervous chuckle. "She seems old enough to take care of things."

Pema's face dulled at this.

"Yes, that's...exactly the problem. She just turned sixteen this week, and...all of this babysitting, it's getting to her. She wants some room to breathe. I remember what it was like at her age - I would have _hated _being trapped at home with my siblings. Wouldn't you?"

Korra reflected on the few occasions she had been stuck watching over Sokka and Katara in their younger years. Yikes. Yea. Not so much fun.

"Yea, guess you're right..."

"She's kind of been upset with her father about it lately - he's just been away from home so much - he had to move away to D.C. a while back to pursue his career - it makes her feel like he doesn't care."

"Mm." Korra nodded with understanding, remembering how Katara had felt back during high school, after Kya passed away, and Hakoda withdrew himself in his work. "Why did he move away?"

"Well, people here in Wayward depend on my work so much, but I couldn't bear to tell my husband to stay here when he had such an opportunity. He visits on the weekends, and eventually...we'll all be under one roof again, once we...get some things sorted out."

"Sounds complicated."

"It is. And it would be quite a relief to have someone watching the little ones for a while. It would give my daughter some room to herself, and it would help _me _get a few things in order. Are you up for it?"

_Damnit, Korra. You need work. This lady is handing you easy money. Take the job. _"Sure! I could totally help you with that..._Thank _you."

"It's no problem. We could use some help at the house, and _you _need to take it easy. I think this will work out for everyone." Pema smiled wide, grabbing her notebook. "Let me take down your number. You can start work this weekend, if you like."

"Uh...Y-_yea, _that sounds...fine!" _Wow. Talk about lucky.__ This should be a cinch._

* * *

- Friday, April 1st, 2011 -

[From: Katara]  
[Tonight we're all going to AeroDynamics together! You should come! Been too long since you've hung out!]  
[Sent: 10:45am]

_It's only been, like...a week. Clingy much?_

[From: Sokka]  
[Freckles. We're dressing up and having a ball tonight. Bring your loony self, we need all the psycho we can get. Bring dat ass, put it in something silly, and meet us at Aero at 7:00.]  
[Sent: 3:13pm]

_'Dat ass?' Yea. No thanks..._

[From: Aang]  
[you ok? seems like you're avoiding everybody lately. we're here for you if something is up...]  
[Sent: 6:13pm]

_I know, but this is something you guys can't help with, you'll just get hurt.  
_

A pang of guilt settled in as Jane's mind caught up with itself. Aang already _had _gotten hurt, because he _had _helped, when Jane hadn't. Well, she was going to get the guy that had done it...that would be her penance.

[You have...**ONE**...new message. **FIRST **new message.]  
[-BEEEEEP!-]  
["~Jaybee, Jaybee, give me your answer, do~]  
_The hell...?_  
["~I'm half crazy, all for the love of you~It won't be-"]  
_-Click!-  
Not in the mood.  
_

No texts back from Johnny. _Argh. _Damnit. If he really 'trusted' her so much, why was he being so fucking stingy with interacting with her?

Jane had been by and large ignoring her friend group for a while now. _Especially _today. She couldn't even count how many texts or Facebook notifications she'd ignored, all about April Fool's, the stupidest damned holiday ever invented. What was the point, even? For asswipes like Sokka to have an excuse to be more dickish than usual to their friends, that was what. Jane did not envy being excluded from Sokka's practical jokes today. She had more important things to worry about, like meeting with Doug tonight to try and decide on how-  
_-Tap-tap!-_

"Guh!" Jane flinched, her heart skipping a beat from the knocking hand against her car door's glass. Her fingers gripped tight around her phone, she stared up in shock at the inquisitive woman gawking through her driver's seat window. It was Korra.

"Hey!" Korra's voice called out, muffled by the layer of glass between them. She waved briskly before stuffing her hands in her leather coat's pockets. Jane sighed in spite of her own twitchiness and rotated the manual knob in the door, rolling down the window.

"Kor," Jane mumbled awkwardly. "Uh...Wh-What's up...?" Jane was a bit distracted by the plump bosoms lingering immediately outside her window. Jeez, for wearing that stupid jacket all the time, this woman sure liked to leave it _open. _And she was wearing a low cut tee tonight, too. What was the deal? Show-off.

"Recognized your car in the lot, heh," Korra's voice came from above. "I'm here to pick Bolin up from work." She casually leaned over the side of Jane's car, glancing in with a sly grin. "He told me he saw you here the other night. Out on a date at Pizza Hut, eh? _Classy _shit, girl."

Jane's expression flashed with discomfort.

"A_pff_! Doug? Well, _sure, _we were here, but...-"  
"Meetin' him again _tonight, _huh?"

"Could ya stop saying it like that?" Jane deflected with disinterest. "It's not that way."

"But you _are _meeting him," Korra pointed out with a finger wag. "Never would've thought that dinky little dork and _you _would share anything in common..."

"It's...for a project," spat out Jane. "We're...doing research on the same subject, and...figured we'd give each other a hand."

"_Hah_. You kids n' your _classes. _Yuck. Glad I got outta dodge on that stuff." Her body still pressed up on Jane's car, Korra glanced up to the entry way down the parking lot to see Bolin strolling out. Waves were exchanged and the stout young man with the duck-tail hairdo drew near, much to Jane's disapproval.

"Hey, Kor, listen," Jane squeezed in while Bolin traversed the lot. "You think we could meet up again some time? I dunno, over drinks?"

"We talkin' coffee or booze?" Korra smugly inquired.

"I don't care, just...whatever. We should hang out," Jane hurriedly insisted. "Got some stuff I want to bounce off you, get your thoughts on..."

Korra raised a keen eyebrow in Jane's direction, curious as to whether this was some kind of awkward pass, or something genuinely serious.

"Sure," she agreed. Either way, it'd be interesting, right? "I'll hit you up later, we can get together next week."

"Cool," Jane muttered with some relief.

"Yo! 'Eyo, Korra!" cried Bolin, who had vaguely overheard the last bits of their conversation. "Who's that you're chatting it up with?"

"It's just Jane," Korra said with a nod. "She's back to see her little blond bombshell."

With a profuse blush of indignity, Jane sighed.

"_Not _into him," she clarified for Bolin's sake.

"_Oho!_" Bolin yelped. "Who's that girl with the lovely freckles why it's **Jane **of course because I would never forget Jane who's looking quite ravishing tonight I must say." _Fuckin' christ, dude, give the caffeine a rest._

"Uhhh..." Jane made a point to shoot him a sharp frown, to which he grimaced briefly. "Guess I'll see you later, Korra..." She grumbled, looking back down at her phone._  
_

"Right," Korra agreed quietly, her glance zipping from Bolin to Jane and back. "I'll...shoot you a text soon."

No response.

"C'mon, Bo, let's head out," Korra muttered, nudging her friend to come along. Jane rolled her window back up as they scattered away.

"What's _her _deal?" Bolin asked in a whisper when they out of earshot.

"I'm not sure," Korra confessed with a shrug. "I think she's got the hots for me." Korra smugly slid this remark to her friend as they piled into Mako and Bolin's shared vehicle - she took the driver's seat, of course.

"Ya _know,_" Bolin mumbled, jiggling an index finger in her direction. "I was pickin' up that vibe, but I wasn't gonna _say _anything...Did I ruin...**a moment** between you two?"

Korra smirked, cocking her head to the side.

"Maybe she feels that way," Korra said in a way that Bolin couldn't quite discern between 'joking' and 'serious.'

"She's not really into guys, is she?" he surmised.

"Huh?" Korra clicked the key into the ignition. "I think she's bi, actually."

"Really? 'Cuz she _hates _me," Bolin pointed out, fingertips against his chest. "And she didn't seem too happy with that other guy from last night."

"Oh. _Ha. _Yea, well...There something _wrong _with her being into girls?" Korra probed, glancing at her rear-view mirrors as she pulled out.

"_Whaa? _No-_pff-_nooooo," Bolin assured with a flick of the wrist. "That's...fine. You know. It's fine. Totally fine. Heh, not really my business anyway," he nervously chuckled, fearing Korra's potential wrath. His palms held up, he spoke with a proper, dignified tone. "A woman's preferences are her own."

"As are a man's," Korra pointed out, pulling the car out onto the cramped evening roads of Wayward.

* * *

- Saturday, April 2nd, 2011 -

Jane had spent the entire shift at Appa's keeping to herself, staying quiet, and avoiding Sokka's gaze, feigning ignorance when he attempted to start conversation. They hadn't spent any time together in a little while now, and the only reason they were interacting today was because they were bound by work scheduling. Tonight had been an evening shift. While day shifts were slow and boring, evening shifts were often crazy busy and exhausting, especially on Saturdays. Jane felt like she'd worked harder at the job on this night than any other.

As their shift came to an end, and Jane was fixing up the final burger, Sokka walked up to her. Determined to get some kind of a reaction out of her tonight, he tried something new.

+ http:/sa-dui(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-Man-Pat-299475046 +

"Good work today, Shamrocks!"

-Whup!-

Jane's face ignited with red as her hips flinched forward in shock. She'd nearly flipped the burger off its grill. Teeth gnashing together in disgusted aggravation, her face seethed with an unbridled irritation.

"What the _actual **fuck,**_Sokka?" she shrieked, her voice cracking with embarrassment.

"Whaaaat?" Sokka played it off casually. Heh. Sure got her attention _that _time. "I kept my hand open," he defended.

"The hell...-?" Jane's olive eyes were unbalanced in their confusion. "What does _that_ matter?"

Sokka raised his chin, closing his eyes with a parodying dignity as he explained with a mocking seriousness.

"That was a man pat." He upheld an open palm, which he pointed to. "If your hand is flat, give a pat." He arced his fingers inward. "If your hand is curved, you're a perv."

"Rrgh." Jane rolled her eyes, which still spewed embers, and turned her back to him, pressing the meat into the grill. "I am _not_ a man, but you _are_ a fuckin' perv!"

Sokka sighed, placing one of his thick hands on her shoulder.

"Come _on, _don't be-"  
"Get-! Get away from me," she hissed back. "Ya know those **oogies **you don't shuddup about? Yea? This is _that. _Leave me alone."

"C'mon, Freckles." Sokka shrugged up his hands pleadingly. "What's the deal? I'm just foolin' around. It doesn't mean anything."

"I _know, _that's what makes it so fuckin' disgusting," Jane growled irritably. She grabbed a paper plate, scooping up the slightly toasted bun she'd set on the grill, and using the spatula to place it's bottom half on the plate. "I'm not one of your damn parade girls, marchin' in line for ya like a showgirl. Piss off." She stacked the beef and top bun together, then plucked a dill pickle spear to set beside her creation. Sokka was slack-jawed at this. Something was way off with this woman lately. No wonder she'd been avoiding the group - she was in a bitchy mood. Maybe her period...? Eh. Could be that, maybe.

"What are you two _yapping _about over here?" came June's dry inquisition. She strolled in from the back, slurping on a milkshake, as was common.

"Sokka fuckin' _grabbed my ass_," came Jane's immediate and scowling report.

"Er, wh-? _Noooo, _I...I _patted_...-"  
"Lemme stop ya right there, kid," June sighed. "Come on. I am _really _not in the mood for all the harassment paperwork _bullshit. _You both know I'm too lazy for that, anyway. So let's get it together here, _children, _mm? Put on some adult pants and do our jobs here? We're closin' up in a couple minutes, and I want to get home at a decent time."

With that, June loudly sucked the remnants of her drink before dunking it in a nearby trash bin before slipping out through the back exit, leaving the two workers in a moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, heh..." Sokka, now regretting his attempts at attention-grabbing, tried to make amends. "Listen. Ginger." Jane was ignoring him, setting the plate on the counter and calling out into the mic with the enthusiasm and energy of a deflated balloon.

["Josh."]

"Seriously, look," Sokka wedged in while Jane worked her way around him. "Hey, I'm sorry."

"Can we just drop it?"

"Well, hey, wait, I'm just...confused about how lately, you seem to-"  
"Hey! Hey! Hiya, Smellerbee!"

Jane's shoulders jumped up at the vaguely familiar voice. She was dumping Sprite soda on the grill to assist with cleaning it, the steam and sizzling it produced a welcome distraction. To her right, a thickly built, dark-skinned young man in a baseball cap waved his enormous hand her way. It was 'Pipsqueak.'

"Uhh...Y-yea, hi," she weakly greeted back with an uncaring nod. He grinned at her sneakily before lumbering off.

"Wow, those idiots _still _think you're their friend, huh?" Sokka mused, lifting his arrowed uniform cap up to scratch at his scalp. "Playing their little game of nicknames and...-"

Jane was staring at him with a deadpan glare, and he shrugged sheepishly.

"So sue me, I like nicknames. But it's not like some stupid _codename _crap, like a secret club. Anyway, I just think it's silly that they still act like you're one of them still."

"Yea, _tell _me about it," snorted Jane like a disgruntled bull, scratching her spatula against the piping hot grill in an attempt to clean it. "Anyway, just...I don't even care, Sokka." Jane clicked off various dials. "I'm not in the mood tonight for this bullshit, so let's just do what we're here to do - our jobs."

"Sure thing," Sokka replied with a frown. "Uh, but...hey, just...real quick-" Jane glowered at him. "_Nah, _just real quick!" Sokka hastily blurted. "Ya mind actually coming to dinner with everybody tomorrow? We all..._miss _ya. Everyone thinks you're ignoring them."

Jane puffed out through her nostrils with conflicted resentment about the whole situation. She didn't want her friends thinking she was just...avoiding them. Being a dick. Did she? Nah, she could...she could balance this. Yea. She couldn't lose all of the progress she'd made now. She didn't have much of anything or anyone left.

"_Yea, _fine...Send me a text or whatever..."

"Cool," Sokka agreed with some relief.

"No grabbing of _body parts_, though," Jane hissed, jabbing a bitter fingertip at Sokka. "_Ever._"

"R-right! You got it, Ma'am."

* * *

- Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 -

"So, uh...Anybody hear back from Suki?" Sokka questioned, having already chowed down one of his two dinner burgers.

"She's not coming," Toph flatly answered from his left before slurping a spoonful of beef stew with satisfaction.

"Ah. That's too bad," Sokka decided.

"_Nahhh, _we've got enough people for a fun time, don't we?" Ty-Lee jeered from Sokka's right. "We even got your tomboy friend to finally hang out, right?"

"I've _got _a name, ya know," Jane huffed from across the table.

Ty-Lee's perky smile withered into a brief glare at Jane's dim glance.

"Right," noted Ty-Lee, her eyes narrowing while her voice stayed saccharine. "I suppose I'd remember it if we actually _knew _each other..."

_Pff, you make it sound like that's a _good idea. _Bet you've gotten to know _lots _of people _really well, _ya little...-_

"Jane!" Katara offered up her friend's name in haste, unnerved by the tension. Jane had been in a more tolerant spirit the last few times she'd been with the group, but...something was _wrong _with her. Katara had been able to decide this much from Jane's lack of communication lately, but her mood when she'd shown up at dinner tonight compared to how she had been a couple of weeks prior, it was quite clear that something was up. "It-it's, um-...You two just...haven't spent much time together yet, but...this is Jane, remember?"

"Thanks, Kitty-Kat," Ty-Lee tweeted pleasantly. "I'll try to remember."

Jane rolled her eyes in disgust at the girl, who proceeded to blather on about a recent shopping trip - complete with show-and-tell of a set of earrings on her head, which culminated in her leaning over to Sokka for critique.

"They _totally _match your, erm..._ears_," Sokka complimented with an idiotic smile. "Just..._yea. _Really nice."

"**Thanks~**"

"What about mine?" Toph wondered inbetween bites of stew. She had her hair up in a ponytail, two white puffballs dangling from her ear lobs. "I've always wondered what people think of these things."

"Uhh...They're...puffy," Sokka meagerly donated some kind of polite affirmation. "They sure are puffy." Since when did Toph ever care about how she _looked? _Or her earrings? She was an odd one, to be sure. He chuckled at her confused, disheartened expression, and gave the top of her head a modest pat of the palm before his attention was shifted again.

"That's so cute," Ty-Lee giggled. "I didn't think a blind person would care about their appearance too much."

Toph's teeth scraped tightly against her spoon as this remark washed over her.

Aang felt like he was the only one noticing Toph's increasing need for anger management here, so he tried to move the topic away from _whatever _was going on with that side of the table.

"Speaking of appearances, _someone _gets to have their stitches removed soon..." He landed a gentle kiss on the unscathed side of Katara's forehead, and she smiled warily.

"Yea, on Monday I get to take them out, as long as the doctor thinks it's healed up well."

Jane's already tumultuous thoughts were rattled by the reminder of Katara's near-death experience.

"Korra told me she already had her sling taken off. She said her arm's pretty much fine," Sokka informed the group.

"That's good," said Toph.

"Has she heard back from the college yet?" Aang wondered. "I mean, about a job."

"Uhh...I actually don't know," Sokka replied with a shrug. "Hm. Good question, though...Yea, geez, I mean, how much does _that _gotta suck? Moving all the way down here, and then _that _happens?"

"It's horrible," Ty-Lee lamented. "I hope she finds new a job soon."

"_Mm!_" Sokka hummed, his mouth full of burger. He chewed and swallowed, poking his hand up at Jane. "That reminds me, she told me you've been...hanging out at _Pizza Hut_ lately? Seein' some guy?"

Jane nearly choked as she downed the rest of her milk.

_Fuck._

Clearing her throat, she choke out a "Huh?"

"I dunno, Korra told me you've been goin' out with some dude lately - some little blond squirt - and that you were taking her out to a drink this week. What's up with that?" There was a hint of annoyance in Sokka's words, like Jane was committing a disapproved slight of some sort. The inquisitive looks that surrounded her further solidified this unspoken notion.

"_Oh, _that...Nah, I don't know him, I've been doing a research project, and...-" Jane shrugged, her hands trembling a bit. She wedged them between her legs, trying to put on an innocent, straight face. "Just busy with school and stuff."

"Why are you lying?"

Jane's heart skipped. She felt numb, paralyzed at Ty-Lee's accusation. Had...had the _air-head _just asked that?

"What...?" Jane eked out, pushing down her eyebrows with confusion. "No, I wasn't-...I've really been...weighed down by school, and...-"  
"But you're _lying_," Ty-Lee firmly insisted, arms crossed over her chest. "I can see it in your face. Why would you lie about something like that?"

"Haha," Katara forced out plastic chuckle. "_Whaaat? _No, it's OK, Tylee, she's not...-" Katara looked at Jane, as if pressing for some kind of reassurance. "Jane's not _lying, _she's just in a bad mood."

But Ty-Lee's gaze was dead-locked on Jane with an almost sadistic, syrupy smile of thin lips.

"Who did you go to see?" Ty-Lee questioned. Suddenly, Jane found herself playing this girl's game of face-reading: to Ty-Lee, this was for fun.

"Just...-" Jane shrugged again, scratching her eyebrow twice. "It's a guy from this class I'm in."

"_Which _class?" Ty-Lee probed.

"Uh...Entomology," Jane sharply spat out. "What's with the twenty fucking questions, here?"

"_Pfff, _that's not even a real _thing_," Ty-Lee dismissed, rolling her eyes.

"_Yes it is_!" Jane nearly squeaked with an appalled glare. "It's the study of _insects_!_"_

Ty-Lee blinked at Jane with narrow eyes until Sokka muttered to her, "Uh, yea, she's right, that's a class she's in..." Jane's tension lightened just a bit at her 'opponent' slipping.

"Well...! That _doesn't _change the fact that you're lying!" Ty-Lee insisted. Her cheeks seemed to puff up in a childish pout.

"Um, l-listen, uh, Ty-Lee?" Katara pleaded sheepishly. "I'm...I'm sure you mean well, and...and everything, but...-"  
"No, no," Sokka quelled his sister's pacification. "I'm curious here - maybe she's onto something. You _have _been acting weird lately," Sokka pointed out to Jane.

"Something sounds off to me, too," Toph added sternly. "What's up with you, JayBee?"

"Nothing," Jane pushed. "_Damn, _can't you guys mind your own business for once?"

"_See? _She's hiding something," Ty-Lee quipped with a rapid finger point. "Ask anyone, I can _tell _when people are lying!"

"She _can _tell when people are lying," Sokka casually agreed, obviously biased.

"Guys, come on," Aang tossed in his say. "We should give her some space, she already _said _she's stressed out, and this isn't our business."

"It is when she's _ignoring _us," Sokka decided curtly.

Jane avoided Sokka's gaze, only to wander to Katara, whose eyes flickered at her with disappointment. That distrust, that confusion, that pain in Katara's eyes...it burned at Jane's heart.

"Sokka," said Katara. "_Who_ did Korra say she was seeing?"

"Uhhh...I dunno, some little shrimp guy. One of her workers from the restaurant, I guess?"

Katara's nostrils flared and her lips quivered as she squinted with dissatisfaction.

"Jane, is Douglas the person you've been seeing lately?"

Toph frowned at the name. Sokka scratched his chin. Ty-Lee stared intently at Jane's every move. Aang sighed, leaning back in his chair.

Jane swallowed hard at her friend's specific question. Lying to Katara's face was a heavy prospect.

"Y-yes," she quietly answered. "It's _personal_."

"_Oh!_ It's 'personal,'" Katara snapped, her pitch rising with slight hysterics. "So I'm sure it has _nothing _to do with the Freedom Fighters, then, and that couldn't _possibly _be why you've been so busy lately."

"Say _whaaa_?" Sokka cried out with an epiphany-induced gawking. "Is _that _why those ass-clowns keep saying 'hi' to you and crap?"

"_I_ thought you said this was for a _class_," Ty-Lee snipped. She leaned over to Sokka and whispered to him, "Wait, who're these people, again?"

"Dougie-" Toph cleared her through and rapidly recovered. "He, um, Doug doesn't..._take _any science classes. He's a music student...Uh, _ well,_" she added to herself, under her breath. "There's Physics of Music, but I mean...-"

"So _why _did you see him?" Katara pressed, her anger rising. "You and Douglas aren't even _friends, _I've _never _seen you two hang out - if anything, you're usually telling him to _leave_. Like him being around is _suspicious, _maybe?"

"Yea!" Sokka agreed. "Just _yesterday, _that one kid gave you a funny look - I _saw _it."

"_What? _No! No, it's not...-"

"Because maybe you're still-...I don't know!" Katara huffed in an emotional flurry. "Doing..._whatever _those people do! I wouldn't _know, _because no one ever _told _me!"

"'Those people?' The Freedom Fighters aren't what they _used _to be Kat! Ever since Jet died, most of them broke up, and they haven't been _doing _much of _anything!_"

"Then _why _would you even need to talk with them? What's the _point_?" Aang was afraid of Katara's angry state, and he clutched at her arm in an effort to calm her. She didn't push him off, but didn't seem to be calming down, either.

"I'm fucking helping _Johnny _with something important, OK?"

"If Johnny needs a _gang _to 'help' him with something, I have this feeling that _maybe _it's a bad idea to get involved!"

"Maybe it's a _bad idea _to go sticking your goddamn nose in everyone's _business _like you always know what's best for them!" In that instant, Jane got up from her seat, picking up her tray, which was still half full of food. "I hate to break it to ya, Katara, but you're _not _always right about everything!" Jane and Katara's eyes seethed at each other like opposed laser beams until Jane broke away. "And I hope _you're _happy, too, ya ditz," Jane growled at Ty-Lee, who seemed a bit shocked and confused by the trouble she'd stirred up. "You don't know me. You don't know what's up. So keep your opinions to yourself!"

With this, Jane slunk off by herself to go sit alone, leaving her friends baffled and distraught.

Aang watched his girlfriend's eyes wobble on the verge of tears, but she held them back.

"Guess now we know why she's been so invisible lately," came Katara's bitter conclusion as she scraped tuna salad from her bowl. Aang looked off to Jane, who had left their large, round table in lieu of a booth off in the far corner of the cafeteria.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

Katara shrugged, shaking her head while she chewed on her food.

"Listen - is it all right if I try to talk to her?" Aang checked.

"If you think it'll _help_," Katara dubiously grumbled. Aang tousled the hair on the back of her head with some sympathy and kissed her on the skull.

"I'll be back."

"Where's he going...?" Ty-Lee whispered to Sokka, wide-eyed and embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it," Sokka dismissed her concern.

"I...I didn't mean to-..." Ty-Lee's lower lip trembled in sorrow. "I didn't want to start a fight..." Sokka planted his arm on her shoulder opposite him, and rubbed up and down her smooth-skinned arm.

"You're good, little lady, don't think too hard."

"Yea, don't wanna _hurt _yourself," Toph mumbled, receiving a scolding bump on the arm from Sokka.

Across the cafeteria, Aang found his way to Jane's booth. He'd taken a cup of yogurt and a glass of water with him, and stood beside Jane in hesitation for a moment. When she didn't notice him, huddled over her meal, he piped up.

"Mind if I join you?"

Jane looked up slowly at his courteously nervous smile. Her eyes wandered away, then to her food, then back to him.

"...I guess..."

"Thanks."

Aang plopped himself down and peeled open his yogurt while Jane bit into the second half of a ham and cheese sandwich.

"Are you all right?" Aang asked.

Chewing, swallowing. "I'm OK," Jane sighed.

"I'm sorry about what just happened."

"...I know."

"Everyone's been worried." Aang gulped a spoonful of yogurt. "You've been ignoring people, and, well...we all remember where you were a year ago..."

"Yea," Jane grunted, dropping her sandwich down. She wasn't feeling so hungry anymore. "But it's...not _like _that."

"I believe you."

Jane's eyes focused on Aang's innocuous demeanor while he ate. She desperately wanted to convince herself that he was up to something, that he had some motive, some _angle_. That would make it so much easier to dismiss him. But...it was _Aang. _And she knew he _wasn't _playing at anything.

"Why did you stick up for me back there?" Jane asked, scratching her neck. "When you knew I was lying?"

"Because, er...I know that sometimes, you have to...hide the truth to protect the people you care about."

Jane's solid gaze goaded Aang to elaborate.

"I told you about...my history, right?"

"Mm."

"My parents..._killed _each other," Aang blurted, holding out his hands for a moment of bafflement. "I mean...How would I have _possibly _been able to wrap my head around that when I was little? I would've blamed myself, or...at least been _really _confused. So my Uncle Gyatso hid that from me. And yea, it was hard when I realized later on that I'd been lied to. But now? I can look back and realize that it was hard for _him, _too, to keep that secret. But he did it to protect me. Now, don't get me wrong - I don't like lying at all, and I _never _think it should be encouraged - but...sometimes it's the lesser of two evils. That's...just how the world is here and there. When Katara and I realized...how much we liked each other, we knew it was best to kind of...hide it from Toph for a little bit, because we knew it would hurt her if it happened too soon. Sometimes you have to be willing to deal with problems head on, even if you don't believe it's the nice thing to do, but sometimes you have to leave problems _alone _and give them time to fix themselves." Aang took a deep breath, and ate a couple more bites of his yogurt before looking Jane straight in the eyes. "I trust you, Jane. I know you're hiding something, but...I know you're doing it for a _good reason. _And that's...hard. Lying should _never _be something that's easy - once it is, that's when you know something is wrong. But, you know that saying: what's right and what's easy aren't always the same thing."

Jane formed a weak smile of appreciation at her friend's encouraging words of understanding.

"That's, erm...really nice and all, Aang, but..._Pff. _Nobody cares what I think, or say, or do. All I've got is _you _guys, my...little group. No one else cares - no one else even knows I _exist. _How do I know what I'm choosing to do is even going to do any good for _anybody_?"

"Uh, _well_...you don't."

"And yet you're still all..._ha_...fuckin' gung-ho that what I'm planning is worth it? You really think I've got noble intentions?" she facetiously scoffed at his optimism. He grinned.

"Jane Fitzpatrick: when you first stumbled into my dorm room, looking for a text book, and Sokka thought you were a boy? I had _no idea_ what an awesome person you were, and what a great friend you could become. And I mean, I look out there-" He nodded to the many students bustling about. "-most of those people? They have no clue how awesome you are, either. And most of them probably never will. They'll never know your story. In their reality, you might as well be a footnote. And to some people, you'll only ever be 'Smellerbee,' a grumpy little tomboy in a gang. But me? I _do _know your story. I _do _know who you are - who you had the potential to be - that whole time. That person was just sitting inside, waiting to be let out - and now she's sitting right in front of me. And I mean, sure, I don't know 100% what you're going to do with all of this...But I didn't even think we'd ever be friends in the first place. Now that I know you, though, I have faith. I believe in you - in who you've become. I trust that you have a good reason for what you're doing, and that you're going to do it _your _way - not the way everyone else is telling you to. So...It's OK if you hide the truth from us for a while, as long the decisions you make come from an honest place."

His ramble concluded, Aang sucked in a breath through his nose, dabbing his hand at his shuddering eyes. Jane's heart swelled with gratitude at the prospect that at least _someone _believed in her.

"I, uhh..." She struggled to prevent her face from drizzling out a couple of tears of its own. her freckled cheeks were glowing like hot coals in a comforting campfire. "Thanks, Aang...That means a lot."

"You need a hug?" Aang offered.

"_Heh._ Tsh, _I _don't need a hug, but if you and your sensitivity _insists_ on it..."

Aang got up, walked over to her side of the booth, and leaned down, pressing his body against hers in a sympathetic embrace.

"Aang, listen, I...-" Jane clawed once at her brow, but caught herself, pushing her bangs up over her hair with a frustrated puff. "I need to help the Freedom Fighters...finish some shit we started a while back. If we don't do this, then...some people could get hurt." Aang nodded solemnly, his eyes furrowed as he absorbed the gravity of the allusions Jane made. "And I can't have you guys involved. It's...that simple."

"Hm..." Aang nodded again, his face half buried in hands supported by his elbows. "OK."

"So...I'm kinda gonna need to...keep my distance for now. Ya know? But you gotta _promise _me you won't tell anyone about this. Like you said _yourself _- sometimes lies protect people, right? This is that kinda shit."

"All right. I promise."

Heh. Aang said it like it was nothing. Like it was some easy thing. But he was stronger than he looked - she knew that now, just as he'd said he knew that about her. He'd be able to take it.

"So...That's it," she said with a shrug. "So could ya, like...take care of Kat?"

"Yea. _Yea. _Heh, I'm already pretty, uh...dedicated to doing that," Aang chuckled.

"I know," Jane said with a smile. "Just...I dunno. I worry about her. I mean, _fuck. _You guys are lucky to be alive right now, man..."

"_Fff, _the thought crosses my mind every day," Aang acknowledged. "And I am _super _grateful, let me tell you."

"I know this crap's gonna be hard on her. You know how she is."

"I _do _know how she is," Aang said with a nod.

"Anyway...-"

"Things will work out, Jane."

"Heh, yea...Guess the bottom line here is that shit will always sort itself out in the end, right?"

* * *

[To: Jane]  
[So...are you coming to my b-day party this weekend? Or not? I haven't heard back from you...]  
[Sent: April 6th, 2:32pm]

[To: Jane]  
[Are you still mad? I said I was sorry...Why won't you talk with me about this?]  
[Sent: April 6th, 7:49pm]

[To: Jane]  
[What is going on? It's been weeks and it's like you want to pretend I don't exist. What did I do?]  
[Sent: April 7th, 1:34pm]

[To: Jane]  
[Why are you ignoring us? =( I don't understand, I thought you knew we're here for you.]  
[Sent: April 7th, 8:45pm]

[To: Jane]  
[I know you're in your room. I just saw you walk in. Why won't you answer the door?]  
[Sent: April 7th, 11:53pm]

[From: Jane]  
[fuckin christ. leave me alone. take a hint. i don't wanna talk to you guys anymore.]  
[Sent: April 7th, 12:03pm]

[To: Jane]  
[Wait. What? 'Anymore?' Like, ever? Why?]  
[Sent: April 7th, 12:04pm]

[From: Jane]  
[yes. EVER. i can't do this anymore. stay away from me. for your own good.]  
[Sent: April 7th, 12:17pm]

- Friday, April 8th, 2011 -

+ http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=qw0wRfHjF5M +

Katara glared at the door with determination. She puffed a breath of dissatisfaction through her nostrils, then knocked on the door.

**~Step one: you say we need to talk~**

"Jane? I know you're in there."

**~He walks; You say 'Sit down, it's just a talk'~**

"Can't we just talk about this?"

**~He smiles politely back at you; You stare politely right on through~**

"If I did something wrong, can't you tell me what it is? I'll fix it."

**~Some sort of window to your right; As he goes left and you stay right~**

Katara bumped her forehead against the door in her frustration.

**~Between the lines of fear and blame, you begin to wonder why you came~**

_After all we've been through, you'd leave us? Leave_ me?

**~Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend; somewhere along in the bitterness~**

_What did I do? God, just...tell me what I did._

**~And I would have stayed up with you all night~**

_I can make it right._

**~Had I known how to save a life~**

_Just tell me what you want._

**~Let him know that you know best; 'Cause after all, you do know best~**

"Don't adults _talk _about their problems, Jane?"

**~Try to slip past his defense; Without granting innocence~**

"To think you were criticizing Toph so much before..."

**~Lay down a list of what is wrong; The things you've told him all along~**

A long-winded e-mail. The third she's written to Jane this week.

**~And pray to God he hears you~**

No answer.

**~And pray to God he hears you~**

She wonders if her words are even heard.

**~Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend; somewhere along in the bitterness~**

"I dunno, Sugar-Queen. Maybe you should just...leave her alone?"

**~And I would have stayed up with you all night~**

"But _why? _I mean...that's _fine, _I just...want to know what I did _wrong._"

**~Had I known how to save a life~**

"Hey. Sister-Face. Chill out. Maybe she just needs space."

**~As he begins to raise his voice~**

_"...but you're _not_ always right about everything!"_

**~You lower yours, and grant him one last choice~**

[To: Jane]  
[Please. Talk to me.]  
[Sent: April 9th, 1:32am]

**~Drive until you lose the road~**

_Why would you go back to them?_

**~Or break with the ones you've followed~**

_Why would you turn your back on us?  
_

**~He will do one of two things; He will admit to everything~**

"Can't we just talk? Just once. That's all I ask."

**~Or he'll say he's just not the same; And you begin to wonder why you came~**

"I don't want to talk, Kat! We're done. Leave me alone! Jesus..."

**~Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend; somewhere along in the bitterness~**

The door slams in Katara's face.

**~And I would have stayed up with you all night~**

She holds back the sobbing.

**~Had I known how to save a life~**

History is repeating itself. It terrifies her.

**~Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend; somewhere along in the bitterness~**

Just like high school. Friends made and lost.

**~And I would have stayed up with you all night~**

_I try so hard. So much work..._

**~Had I known how to save a life~**

_Why does this still happen?_

**~How to save a life; How to save a life~**

_Jane's different. Jane's special. She's not supposed to do this to me._

**~Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend; somewhere along in the bitterness~**

_Did I mess things up again? Like all the others?_

**~And I would have stayed up with you all night~**

_Anything. I'd do anything, just..._

**~Had I known how to save a life~**

_Don't leave me like this._

**~Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend; somewhere along in the bitterness~**

_I can't go through this again. I trusted you._

**~And I would have stayed up with you all night~**

_Doesn't this mean as much to you as it does to me?_

**~Had I known how to save a life~**

+ http:/dracaena-akira(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Commission-65-destiny-smasher-295052938 +

**~How to save a life~**

Angry, jaded, confused tears stain Katara's cheeks.

**~How to save a life~**

+ http:/eevee445(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/SRU-Where-Did-I-Go-Wrong-293520904 +

* * *

**A/N:'How to Save a Life' (c) The Fray.  
**

**I feel almost a little silly pointing this out, but Aang's ramble about Jane, it's totally a metaphor concerning Jane's character within SRU compared to the overall Avatar fandom, and within it are references to how Aang did what he believed was right, his own way of ending the war, in the TV series, as well as Bryan's quote that I LOVE about how the Avatar series is one in which they don't pander to anyone's interests or do what fans want, they just do what THEY want, they tell their stories "from an honest place" and I simply cannot get over how much I relate with this. Lastly, Jane's last line in that scene is almost a direct quote from Sifu Kisu from a personal convo I had with him this week.**


	84. Let Go

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 84 - Let Go_

* * *

- Saturday, April 9th, 2011 -

"Edward is her _true_ _love_," stated Jinora with cold resolve, closing her {**twilight**} book and placing it on the stack she'd lined up on the coffee table.

"Nuh-_uh!_" squealed Ikki. "She shoulda gone with _Jacob_. He's a much better friend than Edward."

"Ikki, romance is not about being friends. It's about _passion _and _love _and _drama_." Jinora lifted the hardcover back up and tapped her finger against it. "That's why it _happens _like this in these books!"

"It is _too _about being friends!" Ikki protested, thrusting her fists in a fit. "Love is friendship on _fire_."

"Yea? Edward lit Bella's fire _real _hot. Jacob sure didn't."

"But...-! Yea, he _did! _Besides, Bella gets all dumb in the head around stupid Edward! She acts more like herself with Jacob..."

"Korra," Jinora chimed out, much to Korra's dismay. She'd been _just _fine over here in the kitchen, making dinner, pretending to be oblivious to the conversation. "What do _you _think?"

"Er, uh...-" Korra's mind went whirling, as this debate was hitting _way _too close to home for her comfort. "Huh? Sorry, I, erm...-" She twisted the sink on to rinse the freshly cut vegetables she had in the strainer. She raised her voice over the noise. "-...can't hear you right now! Making dinner!"

The bickering girls glared at each other heatedly as their younger brother sighed from his relaxed position on the recliner behind them. He was tapping buttons away at his PSP device.

"Know who she _really _shoulda been with?" Meelo casually offered, pausing his game. Both girls gave him disconcerted looks as he smiled slyly. "_Alice._"

"**Ewwww**!" Ikki screeched. Korra flinched with irritation at the sound as she turned off the water and began dumping veggies into the pot soup she was preparing. Meelo just grinned stupidly at them both, satisfied to have rustled up more bickering. he resumed his game playing, tuning them back out.

"That doesn't even make _sense, _you idiot!" Jinora cried. "Alice is a _girl!_"

"What's wrong with _that?_" Korra piped up at last, stirring a spoon through the bubbling pot. All three kids glanced over to her.

"Girls aren't _supposed _to fall in love with _girls_," Jinora said with some snippiness.

"_Oh_?" Korra was intrigued by the teen's stern perspective. "Well, sometimes they _do_, you know," Korra discounted her.

"Blech," Ikki winced to herself at the thought.

"Why? Have _you_?" came Jinora, piqued with suspicion as she made her way to the shoe rack by the front door. "Do _you _like girls? What about those _boys _you live with?"z

"Uh, well...-" Korra's face went blank as she considered an answer, sloshing the soup around from the next room. "_Sometimes, _yes, I do," she openly informed, recalling times gone by."And...I dunno, the guys I live with are nice, too, so, erm...-"

"Mm-_hm__mmm_..." Jinora gave the back of Korra's head a slanted brow before tying up her shoes. "Well..." She eyed the clock hanging on the wall with a sigh. "I've got play practice, so I need to leave now."

"_Guh!_" Korra whirled round, a wet spoon still in hand. She pointed it through the air at Jinora, who was slipping a light jacket on. "Hey, whoa! You have your phone, right?"

Jinora patted her pocket with an amused smile.

"O-OK, good," Korra sighed out, realizing her overreaction. She wasn't here to babysit Jinora, anyway. "Uh..." A weak wave. "Have fun...? Or something?"

"Yup! Bye~" Jinora whisked herself out the door.

"Hmph!" Ikki protested to no one, arms crossed as she dumped herself onto the couch and picked up her own handheld gaming device: a pink DS Lite. Korra was at least relieved that the two kids would be occupied while she finished cooking dinner, but knew their mother wouldn't want them spending the whole evening in front of screens. When food was finally finished, and three bowls of soup were poured and set onto the empty kitchen table, Korra walked over to the kids. Staring over Ikki's shoulder from behind the couch, she watched with perplexation as the girl rubbed a stylus along her device's screen, scrubbing a puppy clean.

"Uhhh...Dinner's ready, guys," she informed them, scratching her head with some bewilderment.

"Whooooo!" Meelo bounded up, dropping his PSP onto the couch and flying for the dining room. Ikki closed her clamshell handheld and followed.

"Smells _soooo goood~_"

"Ha! Thanks." Korra joined them, and the three of them discussed the finer points of Spongebob Squarepants and Ben 10 - topics that made the kids sound like geniuses and Korra an imbecile. Afterwards, Korra enforced a homework session, per Pema's request. If they got their homework for Monday done _now, _they could spend the entire day with their father tomorrow. This was followed up with a few games of Go Fish. Korra found it to be refreshing - not as boring as she'd expected. And not as annoying, either, when she let herself relax. The kids seemed to take well to her, and if anything, it was quite invigorating to be making new acquaintances, especially with people who, in being so much younger, had such a different perspective. For a few hours, none of what had been stressing her out mattered: job, bills, _men, _even her cravings for cigarettes and sex seemed to get subdued in the experience of focusing on people _besides _herself for a change.

By evening, Meelo was passed out, and Ikki was in the girl's room playing with her virtual dog a bit in her bed. Jinora seemed to be running late, and a quick phone call revealed that practice was being held up that evening - which Pema had warned might happen given that it seemed to be a trend with the teacher that ran theater at the school. After finishing the brief call and double-checking on the other two kids, Korra finally gave herself some reprieve out back with the comfort of a cigarette on the back porch. It was in this moment that it all dawned on her, what an enjoyable day this had actually been, in its own way. When she'd finished, she quietly came back inside, a bit confused as to what to do next. She'd been advised to stay until Mr. Rabten came home, as it was expected he'd show up for his weekly visit before Pema got out of work.

When she'd re-entered, however, Korra could hear a man's voice coming from the study that was nestled in the front corner of the house. It was the congressman, all right: she definitely recognized his firm voice from the day they'd met at the hospital the week prior. It sounded like he was having a dire discussion of some sort, and Korra certainly didn't want to interrupt - all the same, her curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself waiting in the living room, garnering what she could from the muffled half of the conversation she could decipher.

"I _understand, _Mayor Kuei, believe me. But at a time like _this? _After what has just happened, with what is going on, I just believe that-...Mm...I'm sorry to say that I'm as much in the dark as you are, but-...Ah..._Hm. _I see...Well, that..._does _change a few things, I suppose, but-...No, no. Truly, Sir, I understand what you mean. It's simply...rather unfortunate." Ooh, some passive-aggressiveness there, Korra was picking up. "Mm...Yes...Well, I must say that I may not _agree, _but it is entirely _your _decision...Then I suppose we _are_. Good evening." Damn, that sounded a bit cold.

The conversation died at that point, leaving Korra wondering what it was about. Mayor Kuei, huh? Korra remembered that Mako had brought him up a few times in conversation. She had ended up sitting on the couch, listening intently by the end, and now that it was over, she rushed to get back on her feet and begin tidying up the living room. The congressman entered with a wary sigh, still dressed up in his suit.

"Oh." He noticed Korra's busybody presence. "Hello, Korra," he greeted. "Pema told me to expect you here - sorry to disappear like that as soon as I came in the door." He unclipped a bluetooth piece from his ear and set it with care in a desk drawer beside his study's entrance. "I was still handling a work-related call when I arrived."

"Heh," Korra shrugged sheepishly, shaking her head as she disposed of Meelo's snotty tissues he'd left on the living room carpet. "It's fine, Mr. Rabten, I, uh...I know how it goes."

"Tenzin." He unbuttoned his vest and tiredly draped it over the spine of the couch.

"Eh...?"

"Please, you can call me Tenzin, Korra." He kicked off his business shoes beside the recliner. "No need for formalities - you've been taking care of my children all day, after all."

"Oh, er...Yea." Korra nodded vigorously. "Everything went just fine, no problems at all. Jinora, though, she, er-"  
"Haha, still at play practice, I presume?" Tenzin sighed with humor, adjusting the recliner and sitting himself down with an exhausted grunt, still in a button-down and tie. "That's expected."

"_Ha, _yea..." Korra nervously fumbled around the kitchen, ensuring she'd cleaned up after herself from dinner.

"There's no need to worry about anything," Tenzin insisted. "You're free to leave, you know. I'm a half hour late, and I'd hate to be keeping you from getting home."

"N-no, it's fine. I'm...-" Korra frowned in spite of herself. "-...not exactly in a rush to go anywhere."

"Ah. Right. Your...job situation. Of course." Tenzin recalled her recent life change and the loss of her employment - the very reason she was here, obviously. "...How _are _things going with you and the school?"

Korra grimaced, stuffing her hands into her jean pockets as she squirmed into the living room.

"Haven't heard from them since last week," Korra confessed nervously.

"Mm-hm." Tenzin frowned at this for a moment as he contemplated. "You know, I'm familiar with some of the folks at the college - I could always check in on things for you."

"R-really?" Korra's face glimmered with optimism. "Uh..._Yea, _OK. That...that'd be great. Um, if you _could, _I mean, I don't want to...cause so much trouble."

"It's not a problem," Tenzin insisted with a smile. "In truth, it's been a while since I've visited my friends there."

Korra smirked sheepishly back at him as she sat down on the couch.

"My wife tells me you and the other students seem to be recovering well from the incident."

"Yea..." Korra's face flashed with some despondent regret at her failure during the attack. "Bastard still hasn't been caught yet, though..."

"Mmm..." Tenzin's eyes wandered away for a moment, glazed over.

"We'll get him, though," Korra mumbled angrily, almost to herself, fingernails clawing across her denim. She caught herself, eyes wide, and chuckled awkwardly. "Me and the _cops, _I mean. That asshole needs to go down before he hurts anyone else."

Tenzin took a deep breath and nodded with some hesitation as he undid his tie. Korra was kind of shocked at his casual undressing in her presence, but looking at his face, she could tell the poor man was just exhausted.

"I suspect Lin is doing everything in her power to capture that madman - she's quite dedicated to her work. _Quite _dedicated."

"Huh...?"

"Oh, mm...My apologies - Chief Jia, I mean."

Korra's face twitched with some resentment.

"Oh..._her_,_"_ she eked out as politely as possible. "Yea..." Hm, that was weird, the way Tenzin and Lin had interacted back at the hospital, and the way he was talking about her right now. Like they went way back or...-

"I've known her for a long time," Tenzin sighed, leaning back in the chair. That explained that, then. "Wayward has had a pretty clean record in her time here - I'm certain that one way or another, she'll help bring that man to justice."

"Uhh...Right." Korra was a bit anxious as Tenzin almost seemed to be drifting off to sleep. "So, uh, Sir - I mean, Tenzin...-" She popped up from the couch. "You seem pretty tired, so...I should probably head out, eh?"

Tenzin slowly craned his head up to look at Korra drearily. Man, this was strange. Why was he so informal and everything? And that _beard_ on his chin? Seemed pretty dicey for a politician to have...

"I suppose so," he chuckled with a yawn. "I'm sorry to keep you, it's just that...it's a change to pace to have a fellow _adult _to speak with outside of the work place, you see."

"Ha." Ironic, given Korra's recent solace in _non_-adult interactions. "But...what about your wife?"

"Regrettably, we...haven't seen much of one another lately," Tenzin confessed.

"Oh...Rrrrright. Sorry...Sounds like you have it rough at work lately, you were almost yelling back there on the phone, and...-" _Eep. Ugh, idiot._

"Ah...So you...overheard a bit of that, did you?" Tenzin sighed, letting his head fall back.

"Y-yea, I, uh...I was just cleaning, here, and, uhh...-" Korra's face flinched with embarrassment, but Tenzin didn't seem to notice in his half-asleep state.

"It seems that the Mayor isn't terribly pleased with some of the goings-on around here lately, and he's quite insistent on not listening to reason," Tenzin explained with lament. Korra got the impression from the way Tenzin said this that it was a tiresome aspect of his existence - being the ignored voice of reason.

"Ah...That...sounds pretty complicated."

"Indeed..."

A heavy silence fell, and then the front door opened, Jinora quietly slipping inside.

"Hi, Korra," she instantly greeted. Korra nodded back, watching Jinora's flash of interest disintegrate into dissatisfaction as he father leaned the chair straight up. Her eyes flickered with some disdain which dulled at the subtle disappointment in her father's eyes. "Hello, Father."

"Jinora...How was practice, my Dear?"

Jinora turned her back to them, popping her shoes into the rack and hanging up her coat.

"Fine...I'm tired. Going to head to bed."

"Ah. All right."

"Good night," Jinora bid them both, swooping herself upstairs.

Korra opted to not comment on the obvious tension between them, instead getting herself to the door and slipping into her familiar leather jacket.

"I oughtta head out, it's starting to get late..."

"Of course."

"Uh, it was...nice looking after them today," Korra muttered.

"That's good. I'm sure Pema will need more help soon."

"Right...Thanks."

As Korra fumbled her way outside into the evening, she quickly got a cigarette into her mouth and lit it up, soothing her tired body in its toxins as she reflected on the amazing feat of going all evening without swearing a single time.

* * *

- Sunday, April 10th, 2011 - Katara's Birthday

Jane's head throbbed. The weekend had been a painful affair. Friday evening, Jane had met with Korra over beer. It had gone well enough, and it had been nice to catch up with the woman _alone _without needing to deal with group dramatics, which Korra was thankfully unaware of as of yet. Jane had managed to express to Korra a vague interest in trying to take matters regarding the Combustion Man into her own hands, and Korra seemed to reciprocate the notion. Korra wasn't really part of the 'group,' she was her own independent function. Jane was toying with the idea of letting Korra in on things with the Fighters, given how receptive she'd been at mere allusions to action, and Jane knew Korra could keep her mouth shut, setting her personal relations out of the way.

Unfortunately for Jane, maintaining those personal contacts in this situation just wasn't an option.

So here she was, residing at the Fire Cave bar. The musical performance for the evening was already finished and done with, and many had already filtered out, leaving the place somewhat barren. Jane surely didn't mind. Her head was pounding with a migraine, and still she drank. Her addled brain was swimming with conspiracy theories planted by Douglas, who seemed to be a different person than the freshman she had met months ago. Then again, it was somewhat expected in a sense - the beginning of college was often a do-or-die time that shaped a person a bit. It had done the same for Jane a couple of years back.

At the tail end of Jane's third drink, she was approached with an ice-cold voice.

"What are _you _doing here?"

A bit warm-faced from her beer, Jane sat up straight in her stool and turned her head to see a woman a bit older than her - early 30's, looked like. The woman had her dark brown hair back in a ponytail, her sharp jawline tilted up with disgust, dark eyes burning with condescension. She was familiar, as Smellerbee had seen her show up at the bar from time to time, occasionally helping out the bartender, Sneers, but always dishing out a little affection one way or another. It was Sneers' wife.

"Corey...?" Jane blinked with narrow eyes. "Er...I'm just...drinkin'."

Corey huffed and sat herself next to Jane, a half empty bottle firmly in her grasp.

"There a _problem?_" Jane grunted with a gulp of her draft. It was rather hoppy and bitter, but Jane was rather in the mood for that taste.

"So now that your old place is gone in a puff of smoke, you're all going to start taking over _this _place? Is that it?" Corey shot a dagger glare. Jane practically caught said dagger between grit teeth.

"Oh, _fuck _off...I didn't 'take over' _shit._"

"If it weren't for you creeps, my husband wouldn't be locked up..." Jane hadn't forgotten that Sneers had been caught up in Jet's illegal doings, and when everything had gone to hell, he'd caught the worst of it, being tossed in prison for his involvement. Some guilt swept over Jane as she recollected what _she _had done - and gotten away with - under Jet's command, or even how Johnny had avoided the long arm of the law. Sneers had turned out to be scape goat on the Fighters' side of the affair, being arrested along with a few others, some from the Rhinos.

"Your husband knew what he was getting into," Jane advised darkly. "No one made him do _crap, _he dug his own grave...just like Jet did."

Corey puffed out a dubious laugh through her nostrils.

"So _your _man gets let off the hook, and _mine _gets sent off."

"Not my fuckin' problem, lady...I _left _that shit storm after Jet died, so don't _even _pin any of that bullshit on me...'Cuz I'm on _your _damn side: The Fighters were a mistake, and we're all better off without them. Your _husband _was tryin' to get me to come _back_, you know."

Corey's nose wrinkled with disdain.

"Yea, that's _right_," Jane affirmed her status as the dominant member of this conversation. "So shut the hell up, and piss off."

"They got what was coming to them," Corey growled to herself in some weak counter.

"...Huh?"

"That fucking school, they deserved it. I'm _glad _someone burned that place down, serves them right for stealing that place from us. Turning it into another vanity project."

Jane took a sip, scratching her ear and staring at Corey with confusion.

"My husband lived a _good _life, an _honest _life, before Jack and that damned school corrupted him."

"Uh, _pff_...You mean _Je__t_ corrupted-"  
"You stupid _children, _and your idiotic petnames. _Jack. _That psychotic spick. And to think I used to want my kids to _go _to that school? And they support a man like _him_?"

Jane was baffled. This woman was just assigning blame left and right.

"SRU? Uh, _yea, _pretty sure they didn't have anything to-"  
"They're the _cause _of all this," Corey insisted, staring at Jane like she was an ignorant child. "How could you not...-?" Corey analyzed Jane's authentically puzzled expression before a shocked laugh escaped her. "Ha! So Jack never _told _you. Well, doesn't _that _sound just like him?"

"What are you _talking _about?"

"Back in the day - well, a few years back, you know...-" Corey gulped down the last of her beer. "-...the Freedom Fighters actually _stood _for what they advertised. Or they _tried _to, at least. I guess you wouldn't _know _because you weren't around...But I've been living in this town my whole life. Jack was a troubled young man when he moved into town - after his parents died, you couldn't blame the guy for coming to the Treetop every night, right? But he just kept coming. Every. Single. Night. And my husband - the bartender and manager and all - watched him hollow himself out. Fill that empty inside with booze. The money he was spending on all those drinks? It came from the school - some kind of pittance for him, because his parents had been tight with the administration or some nonsense. That crazy fool was leeching off of the school for a good while there. But my husband - back when he was a _good _man - he took that prodigal idiot under his wing, gave him work at the Treetop, until once day, he comes bragging about how he's going to start running this program in conjunction with the school: the college funds his organization, pays him so long as he hires student workers."

Jane stomach felt bloated, her aching brain punctured by a needle of truth. So that's why Jack specifically went after students so much in the first place.

Corey continued.

"So that's what Jack did: he hired kids from the school to help him arrange all of that community development _bullshit_ he pretended to care so much for. Fighting for Freedom from 'The _Man_,'" Corey waggled air quotes. "Tsh. Load of crap. The _Man _was the one giving him the money in the first place. It made the school look all _involved _with Wayward's community, and it gave Jack people to boss around."

_Christ. I used the Freedom Fighters to make myself feel like I was worth something. Looks like something that bastard and I had in common...  
_

"But _'Smellerbee'_..." Corey said the name with disdain. "You know _exactly _where that fool went. Jack lost his damned mind. Started using his little group for more than just community work. He started letting people from here in town - _not _the school - do some dirty work."

"Did...Sneers ever tell y-"  
"'_Sneers_'...?"

"Er, I...I meant...Um...-"

"You never even _knew _his real name, _did _you?"

"Uhh..." Jane stared shamefully down at the countertop.

"You don't _deserve _to know it, if you never even bothered to ask."

Jane snorted bitterly, another drop of guilt dabbed onto the bloody cloth of regret.

_"You ain't helpin' us? Whadda fuck, Smelly, ya don't-?"_  
_"Don't _call_ me that! Shit, Sneers, I'm not one of you anymore! My name is _Jane_. Jane Fitzpatrick."_

_Ugh. Bitch of the Year. I was so damn set on him calling me 'Jane,' but after a whole fucking year of knowing the guy...never even bothered to find out who he really was..._

Jane cleared her throat, running her thumb over her brow.

"But...uhh...Did he ever...tell you what got Jehh-...Jack...so worked up?"

She was haunted by that disturbing glint in Jack's eyes that day they hid the body last fall.

_"Can't fuckin' _believe_ you, Jet..."_

_"Hey, listen, Smellerbee, _he_ attacked _me_, OK?"_

_"Maybe if you weren't fucking _stalking_ him, he wouldn't have _done_ that! Ya think?" she attacked, eyes wide and tense._

_"He was _connected_ to them," insisted Jet, slightly hysteric. "I _know_ he was!"_

_"What fucking _proof_ do you have, Jet?"_

_"The men who came that night had tattoos _just_ like his."_

_"That doesn't mean he was _involved_!"_

_"But it means he _knows_ them."_

Jane moaned with aggrevation to herself, hunched over on her bar stool. She couldn't decide if the sickness in her stomach came from the alcohol or the memories._  
_

"Of course he told me," Corey answered Jane's question. "Jack lost his marbles trying to get revenge on the people who killed his parents."

"Y-yea...that's right," Jane affirmed, those terrifyingly obsessed eyes still burned into her brain. "Moron. Died 'cuz of how worked up he got over it...Just couldn't drop it, not even for his own good..."

_"Ya just _couldn't_ let it go, could ya?" Smellerbee growled, fists clenched, grime wedged in her fingernails. "Couldn't let it the_ fuck_ go!" she roared at Jet, kicking her tire again._

"Yea, well..." Corey shook her head thoughtfully. "Took them long enough, but once the college finally realized what Jack was really after, they cut him off. Told him to stay away from campus, leave the students alone, and find a new line of work."_  
_

"Wait..." Jane's brows furrowed with displeased realization. "You mean, so...the school _paid _to start the Freedom Fighters? And then _cut _Jack loose once he started wiggin' the fuck out?"

"Exactly. You look damn near out of it, '_Smelly_,' I'm surprised you're keeping up, here."

_{Local Citizen Vandalizes President's Office}_  
_{- Jin Ackland}_

_{This past Monday night, marking the start of the school year, our beloved President Bumi's office received some unwelcome company in the form of offensive graffiti left by a local citizen from Wayward. The graffiti was spray painted across the window of the office and portrayed an offensive message that the President has requested we not share. A security guard stationed that night caught the young man fleeing the scene and identified him as Jack Chavez, founder of a local organization known as the 'Freedom Fighters.' According to Chavez, he had intended to "[..] leave a message telling the president how I feel about the way the administration is being run." Jack refused to comment on specifics, but President Bumi seemed unfazed by his expressive statement. If anything, he seemed humored by it.}_

Jack had never gone into specifics about exactly why he was so pissed off with the school's president. Now Jane understood._  
_

"I don't...-" Jane growled to herself. It was in ignorance, but also in rage over how that asshole had just been a giant tangle of lies and selfishness, all for the sake of vengeance and a sense of control. "_Grugh._ So _that's _why he was having us do all of that under-the-table shit...He was going broke."

"This is really an eye-opener for you, huh?" Corey sighed, shaking her head as she knocked her knuckle on the counter, calling for another drink. "How did you _stand _that creep?"

Jane bit her lip with stubborn regret. The taste of Jack's dry, whiskey breath had been washed clean away some time ago, thankfully. But the wounds of broken trust weren't so easily managed.

"He made me think I was worth caring about," Jane confessed quietly.

"Hmph." Corey was accepting another bottle from the bartender, who she seemed familiar with. "Guess my husband wasn't the only person that spick manipulated..."

"Yea," Jane seethed through her teeth, hoping Jet's fucking _ghost _would feel her rage and shiver in the afterlife. "Ya know what the saddest fuckin' part of all this is?"

"What's that?"

Jane guzzled down the rest of her drink and wiped her sleeve over her cold lips.

"All this dirty laundry, all this fuckin' bullshit...And then he gets himself _killed. _And for all _that, _all this..._U__gh. _And the bastards that made him lose his grip in the first place? They're still out there. Still fucking _burning damn buildings _down..."

"Mmph..." Corey fidgeted her hips around in her seat with disdain as she sought comfort. "Notice how that place gets trashed a _month _after that college buys it out and tries using it to make itself look good."

"Mm?" Jane scratched her head, pushing disheveled bangs to the side.

"SRU has enemies, is what I'm saying. And it's becoming clearer by the day."

"Sure seems that way," Jane dimly acknowledged. Jane couldn't help but consider the idea that Jet - the big puppeteer himself - had been getting his strings pulled the whole time. There was, coming up with conspiracy theories. But after what she had learned about Johnny recently, and the events involving him...It was simply where her mind was going. "So, er...Corey."

"Yea? I confuse you?" Corey grinned with snark, drinking from her second bottle.

"_Ha. _No, but...Jack. Where was he from? His folks, they were killed, right? What, uh...what _happened? _I could never get him to tell me, exactly..."

Corey shrugged.

"I remember that Jack moaned and groaned over it...damn sap. His family had just moved into Philly, I remember that. Trying to start a new life, and all. Everything went up in flames - literally. Their house was torched while-..._Whoa. _Wait..." Corey's head twisted to her side as she and Jane exchanged baffled looks.

"The Combustion Man," Jane darkly concluded. "Guy who caused this mess here in town? Fucking _bet you _it's related."

"But..._how?_"

Jane's solemn confidence withered.

"I...got no clue just yet..." Recognition lit her face. "Hey! But, uhh...You said Jack's folks were 'tight with the administration,' right?"

"_Oh_. Well...yea."

"How?"

"Sorry, I...don't really know the details."

"Gragh..." Jane pounded her palm onto the counter in disappointment. "You _did _say SRU has enemies, though," Jane clarified, wiggling an index finger up near her face.

"Hmph. Well...look at you, then," Corey muttered with a careful nod. "Guess I had you all wrong, _Smelly_. Smarter than you look."

"Yea." Jane smirked with some pride. "Er, _hey_." A glare. "_What'd_ you just say?"

* * *

"Nah, Bro. Thanks. But we gotta get goin'." Haru waved to Sokka, waiting for his compatriot to wheel across the room.

"Where do _you_ guys have to be?" Sokka mumbled, a bit confused as Teo pushed his wheelchair over to his friend.

"I got a test in the morning," Haru sighed, running his hand over his head.

"Yea, I've got some serious catching up to do for tomorrow, too," Teo lamented. "Been slacking off this weekend."

"Ah. Gotcha." Sokka nodded casually, taking a sip of root beer from his plastic cup. "Well, I'm sure my Sis was happy you guys made it."

"Yea, no problem."  
"It was fun."

Sokka would've enforced the two give Katara a 'Happy Birthday' and a good-bye, but they'd been courteous enough to already do that without his prodding. This was almost not any fun - he was the Big Brother, but what fun was that when everyone was being polite and stuff? No one to put in line.

And yet despite that fact - everyone's courtesy - Katara just...didn't quite seem like herself. The past couple of days in particular, she'd been fairly short-tempered. Whatever was going on between her and Jane, that had to be the source. Her absence at Katara's birthday party served to solidify the notion that whatever the issue was, it was fairly dire.

"You OK?"

"Unh?" Sokka twitched, stirring himself out of his thoughts. He turned to see Ty-Lee, her timid expression of concern set upon a tilted head. "Ha. Yea, I'm good..." He took a swig of soda. "Staying out of trouble?"

Ty-Lee grimaced at the remark, crossing her hands around her waist with a pout.

"I haven't started any _fights, _if that's what ya mean..."

Sokka sighed at her frown. She really did seem a little torn up over it. She'd been keeping her distance from the group all week, ever since she'd elicited that explosion from Jane. If Sokka were a betting man, he'd put all his chips in on the idea that Ty-Lee could tell Katara was feeling down about Jane's lack of presence, and that she felt responsible for splitting the two up.

"That's good to hear," Sokka dusted her guilt off with some humor. "Good to see you're keeping that _anger and rage _in check for the sake of the party."

"Ch_yea_," Ty-Lee half-heartedly laughed. "I just...-"  
"It's OK, I get it," dismissed Sokka. He wasn't up for some touchy-feely talk right now. "Don't hold it against yourself so much, just...ya know...be more careful."

"Mm." A thoughtful nod.

Sokka nodded her to follow him back to the group.

"You had any cake yet?"

"**Yes~**" Ty-Lee's face lit up. "It was _super yummy_." Well, at least she was easy to please.

"Yea, who made this stuff?" Toph called out from her seat at the daisy chain of tables in Appa's they were occupying. She was working her way through her third slice. "It's friggin' _good. _I mean..._fuck_. So good." Aang laughed at her enthusiasm while she munched down another bite.

"_I_ did, actually," Suki boasted from her seat down the line. She smiled with some satisfaction while Toph's chewing slowed to a stop.

"You bake?" came Zuko from across the table from Suki. He seemed surprised.

"A little bit on the side, here and there," Suki humbled herself. "I'm not really that good at it."

"Could've fooled _me_," Zuko muttered, impressed with what he'd just eaten.

"Yea, this is delicious," Mai complimented from beside Zuko.

Ty-Lee inserted herself into the empty space between Suki and while Sokka approached the table they had set aside for food. The two-liter soda bottles were practically empty by now, with only a bit of Pepsi left. As Sokka watched Bolin pour himself a cup, the Pepsi bottle joined its fallen brothers. The cake was nearly depleted, as well, with only about three or four slices worth residing on the pan.

Sokka took a moment to appreciate the crowd of happy folks lined up across multiple tables shoved together. Everyone was laughing, chatting, smiling, eating, drinking, and being merry. Except for the girl sitting at the head of the table to his right, anyway. She was looking down in her lap at her cellphone with distant eyes and a neutral expression.

[From: Meng]  
[u better be havin a good bday kat! -hugz-]  
[Sent: 8:48pm]

She sighed, not bothering to reply to this text, and closed the phone, dropping it beside her plate of half-eaten cake. Sokka noticed this, and approached her.

"Hey, Sis. You need anything?"

She blinked, her eyes widening, and she looked up at him, straightening herself up.

"Huh? No, I'm fine," she assured him with courtesy.

"Not hungry?" Sokka wondered, tipping his head to her unfinished cake, which was only her first slice.

"Yea, I'm...pretty full," Katara explained. "It's good, though." They exchanged analytical looks for a moment, reading each other before Sokka sat at her side and across from Aang.

"'Ey, Snoozles, _finally _come back, huh? Took ya forever. You get me some o' the Good Doctor or did you forget?"

Sokka's concern for his sister was carefully placed aside for a moment as he remembered why he'd gotten up in the first place.

"Nah, no dice, Dead-Eyes, we're all outta soda."

"Al_ready_?"

"Maybe if _Bolin _saved some for everybody else..." Mako shot his brother an irritated glare.

"Hey, I'm a growing boy!" Bolin attested, passing off Mako's scolding with humor.

"You're fuckin' _twenty-six_, Bo," Korra teased with an amused smirk. "Besides, I'm _pretty _sure pop doesn't make you grow up so much."

"I'm sorry, '_pop_?'" Bolin jeered, propping a hand to his ear. "What is this '_pop_' of which you speak? I do believe '_soda_' was the form of beverage we were referring to."

As the trio bickered jokingly, and Zuko answered Suki's questions relating to his own history with the hobby of coffee and tea crafting, Toph thumped her fingertips against the table, drumming out a rhythm to herself with some impatience.

Aang seemed to be enjoying himself well enough, but he'd been kind of quiet tonight, too, clearly uncertain as to how to approach Katara's subdued melancholy.

"So..." Sokka nodded to himself with contemplation. "We wanna start the movie here in a bit? Probably wanna do that soon before people get _too _tired..."

"Sure," Katara complacently agreed, eyeballing the front counter of Appa's across the way.

"OK." Sokka's insides crawled at his sibling's far-off demeanor. She hadn't been actively _depressed, _just uncharacteristically reserved, with hints of solemn silence. "You want to come pick a movie while I set things up?" he offered. She shrugged, pulling herself up from the table and following him to the side room of Appa's where the pool table and flat screen resided.

As Sokka began plugging his Playstation 3 up to the TV, Katara sifted her hand with apathy through the pile of DVDs and Blurays in Sokka's backpack before giving up, her eyes cold and unfocused. As Sokka finished setting the TV up, he noticed his forlorn sister and gave pause.

"Uh...How about 'Rent', huh?" Sokka suggested. "Yea? That's a musical. You like that one." No response. "Or...or maybe 'Stranger Than Fiction'? Didn't you say that was one of your favorites, and...-?"

Katara's eyes rolled up to her brother with a look that read, _Please stop talking._

Sokka swallowed hard and stood in silence for a moment or two.

"I'm...really sorry, Katara," he eked out. "I honestly thought...that she would show."

"She _didn't_," Katara snipped, her nostrils flared.

"Right...W-well, lots of _other _folks _did, _right? So, how about we just try and forget all that stuff for now. Huh?"

"Mm..."

"Katara?" She wasn't responding, just standing still, head bobbed. He approached her slowly.

"What did I _do_?" Katara whispered to him, her mind letting itself slip into the pit of thoughts she'd been hiding from her brother. She glared at him with intense eyes that flickered like candles in the wind. "H-how could I...have made the same mistakes...?" Her teeth clenched tight and she forced a sob to stay inside, letting her head drop onto Sokka's shoulder. Her hugged her tightly, giving her a moment to push out these self-doubts, get some of that crap out of the way so he could try inserting something better.

"You didn't make any mistakes, Katara," Sokka calmly pressed. "Jane's-...Well, I don't know. But she's a damned fool to leave behind a good thing. I'm sure it wasn't you."

"It's _always _me," Katara hissed, eyes squinted shit as she wallowed in self-loathing. Sokka struggled to prevent himself from rolling his eyes at her drama. She needed him to bear with her for a moment, here, and he was going to oblige. "I'm too..._clingy. Needy. Controlling_...You know how I get, Sokka..."

"Er..." _Is this one of those moments where I'm supposed to agree, 'cuz you _are _right on that, or disagree, because...that's what you want to hear, or...?_

"Toph even said so."

"_What_?" Sokka grumbled, irate that Toph, of all people, would criticize his sister's social habits. "Screw that, don't listen to her."

"No, but...she's _right, _I can be...that way."

"Katara, I'm _pretty_ sure that the real reason Jane's ignoring us has to do with all that bullcrap with that gang. _Not _you."

Katara's head bobbed from side to side begrudgingly as she broke off from her brother's hug.

"Mmph," she snorted. "But...Why is she still hanging out with Korra?"

Sokka shrugged, scratching his hairy chin.

"Maybe if I hadn't...-" Katara's fingers clamped over her forehead.  
"No, let's just...stop that," Sokka insisted calmly, grabbing her wrist and removing her hand from her face. "C'mon, Sis. Let's just let this stuff go for right now. OK?"

Katara's brows arched down, frustrated by what she perceived to be her brother dismissing her feelings. Examining his face, though, she made sense of it - even he was upset about the situation. And her dwelling on it was only making it worse, because seeing his little sister getting so hurt and upset, and there was nothing he could do about it...that probably wasn't doing anything good for Sokka. He'd worked to get this party set up, inviting everyone and coordinating with his boss so they'd have space in the restaurant, and here she was, wallowing in pity and regret instead of trying to enjoy the people who _were _there.

"You're right," Katara nodded solemnly, pressing back her depression. "Thanks, _Bro._"

"No problem. Now pick a _movie _already."

"Heh. Yes, _Sir._"

"I'm gonna round everyone up."

"Sounds good."

Sokka approached the table, observing the mess laid upon it.

"Meat-Head? That you?"

Sokka looked down at Toph's interest, her face twisted to her left. She had traces of frosting spattered across her lips. Charming.

"Yea, er...lemme get that for ya," Sokka offered, scooping up her waste, collecting his own, and disposing of it. Clapping his hands together, he called out to he lot of them. "Yo! People! Movie goin' on in a minute, here. Let's tidy up and relocate." A bustle of commotion, laughter, trash being dumped. Toph got herself up from her seat, drumming her fingers on the wooden chair as those around her filed along.

"You need any help?" Aang offered, having noticed Toph didn't have her cane on her - an oddly recurring theme lately.

"Uh, nah," Toph replied, still unmoving.

"OK." Aang started walking off, following the rest, but kept his eye on Toph as Sokka approached her.

"Hey, you coming?" he asked. Toph extended her hand, and Sokka rolled his eyes. He walked behind her, gripping her shoulders and prying her body from the chair, whirling it sideways.

"_Erk_! Hey! What's the deal?" Toph growled out, struggling to not trip over herself as she was pushed ahead.

"_I'm _not your escort," Sokka advised with some snark. "Maybe you should stop forgetting your stick all the time, since you're supposed to be Miss Independent, right?"

Aang smirked at the grumpy pout that formed on Toph's face as Sokka pushed her from behind. Hm. Interesting.

"Hiya, Hun..."

Aang's attention was swooped away from his friends and to Katara and she let out a gentle whimper, slipping her arms around his waist and enclosing him in her grip. He smiled with sympathy, knowing full well what was wrong, and kissed her head. He watched as Sokka and Bolin grabbed one side of the pool table, Korra and Mako on the other, and the lot of them lifted it back to a corner of the area, making space

"Hey," Aang whispered back to her while the others began pulling chairs into a makeshift mini theater.

"So..." Katara took a shaky breath, and Aang recognized that she was recovering from some stifled emotional ventilation. "After the party's done...you think we could spend time together?"

"Of course, it's your birthday."

"Oh...I-I mean, if you don't _want _to we don't need to, but...I was thinking more, like...you know..._alone _time."

Aang gave her an amused look, lips curving up.

"Snogging time," he clarified.

"Yes. That," Katara snickered quietly, with Sokka bellowing out for everyone to quiet down.

"_Gee, _I dun_no_," Aang coyly teased, pulling her wavy hair together behind her back. "Why would I ever _want _to kiss the most beautiful woman in the world? Who wants to do _that_? Obviously, I'd _only _do it out of obligation."

Katara rolled her eyes at his facetious picking and clasped his jawline with her fingertips, kissing him twice on the lips.

"-off all cell phones and refrain from any **OOGIES **unless you are the birthday girl."

"Or her boyfriend," Aang called out, and Katara nuzzled her face against his chest with a relaxing sigh.

"Uhhh...I _guess _that's OK," Sokka conceded with a flick of his wrist. "Now, then. Tonight's picture is...uh...-" Sokka frantically searched around his game console, confused as to the whereabouts of the case Katara had set beside it.

"Whatever this is!" Toph finished his sentence, flaunting the case above her head. Sokka swiped it from her and flicked her in the forehead with his middle finger before sliding the disc into the loading tray.

"_This _being 'Rent,' a musical tale of...er...AIDS." Awkward silence. "_And-friendship-and-love!_"

"Also, drugs," Toph piped up.

"Bohemia!" Bolin cried.

"Lighting candles," Korra slipped in a sly remark to Mako, elbowing him with a grin. He was staring down into his lap, however, distracted by his phone.

"~Bisexuals, trisexuals, _ho-mo-sap-i-ens_~" sang out Toph.

"What's a _tri_sexual?" Ty-Lee asked Mai.

"Uh-oh," Zuko sighed. "This movie might give Ty-Lee ideas..."

"_Heeyyyy, _I'm a good girl," Ty-Lee whimpered.

"_Sure _you are," Mai playfully agreed with a smirk. Zuko offered an open palm to her, and she slapped her hand against his while Ty-Lee's lower lip puckered out with embarrassment.

Suki, left of Ty-Lee, looked on at this conversation with a disturbed expression as Sokka, having just started the movie, wedged Toph into a seat a row back, beside Bolin.

"'Ey, howdy," Bolin greeted, extending his hand, to which he received no response but a deadpan, aimless glare. Bolin 'smoothly' looped his hand up and through his hair. "Crazy party goin' on here, am I right?"

"Pretty pedestrian, actually," replied Toph, squirming in her seat with discomfort as she heard Sokka sit down in the row ahead, laughing at something Suki had said from his side.

"Ah, well..." Bolin shrugged , hunched over casually, his broad elbows set on his knees. "Sometimes some mellow relaxation is good for the soul, am I right?"

_No. You are _not _right. So stop saying that, weirdo. Go away._

Bolin was off-put by Toph, who didn't seem to care much for what he was saying, and was picking out her nose with her pinky. He cringed at this and looked over to Korra, who was shaking her head at Toph with some disgust.

+ www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=hj7LRuusFqo +

"Mako," Korra turned to her right to get Mako's attention, but he was absorbed in tapping a text message into his smartphone. "Hey, _no cellphones_ on," she whispered at him as the room filled with slow piano from the beginning of the film. Mako merely twisted his torso a bit, blocking her view.

"Yea, no _texting_," Zuko agreed in a hushed tone, leaning over to glare at Ty-Lee, who sheepishly winced with guilt as she rapidly finished her message and sent it off, closing her phone and tucking it inbetween her legs.

"So, this movie is...about _AIDS_?" Suki whispered over Sokka's shoulder.

"W-well, that's-...It was kind of a joke."

"Seems like a pretty insensitive joke," Suki remarked sharply, a quick stab of the dagger into Sokka's side.

"I don't get it," Zuko grumbled, lifting up a hand to the screen, which portrayed a row of people under spotlights, singing on a stage. "Is this a movie about theater performers, or...-?"

"Just watch it, Zuko," Mai patted his lap with a brow raised and a smirk.

"But why are they singing about random everyday things and numbers...?"

"Don't think so hard about it, 'kay? Just relax for a change."

As sweeping harmonies overcame the room, Zuko leaned back in his seat and smiled, wrapping his hand around Mai's.

Ty-Lee gazed with adoration at the characters on screen as specific elements of the film she recollected reminded her of her own wishes for the future.

Bolin smoothly sang along, one arm nonchalantly draped over the back of his chair. Korra laughed at him - that charming laugh through closed lips that went "_Hm-hm-hm_" that Bolin adored. Mako still stared down at his phone, seeming to tune out everything around him, though a small smile was teased out by whatever he was reading.

Toph hummed along, hands crossed over her waist, her eyes glazed over with longing.

Sokka's loafer tapped in beat to the song and he slapped his hand against the opposite leg in tandem, to which Suki frowned and asked him to stop.

Aang was clapping along as the rhythm picked up, and Katara was endeared as she watched him attempt to get her to join in.

"~Remember the...**love**~" sang Aang, his pitch a bit off, but his intent sincere. He and Katara sat side by side in the front row of chairs. "~Remember the...**love**~" He leaned against her, still clapping and singing. "~Remember the...**love**~" Katara giggled as his determination pressed on despite his faltering notes. "~Measure your life in luhh-_**uhhhhh**-_!" His voice screeched and cracked comically, and he completely failed to imitate the song's peaking note. Choking on his own failure, he and Katara laughed with each other, but he'd won her over, and she sang along with the last portion of the song.

"~Seasons of **love**...Measure your life; Measure your life in love~"

* * *

- Monday, April 11th, 2011 -

["Ty-Lee, that is _nonsense_. What would _possibly _make me _want _such tragedy to befall that piddling town? I have no investment in it one way or another as it is, but...at least it _strangely _seems to offer some kind of solace to _you_ fools."]

Ty-Lee grinned at the way Azula quite indirectly expressed some kind of happiness for the few friends she possessed. That was something Ty-Lee consistently found fascinating and engaging about Azula: the woman talked almost in circles, as if intentionally attempting to confuse you. Ty-Lee often let herself get swept in the odd bafflement that was Azula-Talk. It left her dizzy, spinning - sometimes even queasy - like a verbal roller coaster. Not to mention that Azula managed to keep Ty-Lee guessing with her sharp wits and cool under fire mannerisms; Azula was the only person Ty-Lee consistently interacted with who seemed resistant to her micro-expression lie-detecting sensibilities.

"_Hee. _Yea. You miss it here, doncha?"

["_Hardly. _That school was nothing but a waste of time. I learned nothing of use there. Classes cannot teach one to be a _leader_."]

"Hm...But I thought there's all sorts of classes for that kind of thing?"

["There are. And they are pointless. Leaders are _born. _You are either gifted with the natural talents to lead, or you are not. Few possess those traits, and the rest end up being the sheep we shepherd."]

"Ummm..." Curled in her bed, her phone on speaker beside her, Ty-Lee tapped her lips thoughtfully. "So I'm a sheep, then."

["...Mm..."] Aha. Azula seemed hesitant to agree all of a sudden.

"Right? That makes me a sheep. To be shepherd..._ed._"

["Technically, yes. Yes, it does."]

Ty-Lee smirked at this grumbling reply.

"So, then, Mai's a sheep, too? And Zuko, also?"

["I-...Hmph. Mai, yes. Mai suffers from a lack of aspiration. She has no _goals, _no ambition. A leader cannot exist without those qualities, they comprise the river that rotates the water-wheel."]

"..._Huh_? You're soundin' a bit like your Uncle," chuckled Ty-Lee.

["Rrmmm...Nevermind. As for _Zuko - _you see, this is precisely what irks me so much about that pathetic brother of mine. He is of the Kurosawa bloodline. He possesses our family's drive for success. He hungers for perfection - just as I do. And yet, he casts those valued attributes upon idiotic endeavors, fictitious ideals that could never exist. Zuko, you see, is a deluded shepherd who resides amongst the sheep rather than directing them, as is the appointed destiny of the Kurosawa clan."]

"Mmm..." Ty-Lee let out a dubious hum at this.

["What is it?"]

"It's just that...you're starting to sound like one of those weird Japanese cartoons - you know, those ones Mai watches some times?"

["Erk-...? _Silence!_"]

Ty-Lee was beaming at her small victory in riling up the ever-vigilant and dire Azula Kurosawa.

"**_Jeee-eeez,_ **Azula. You're worse than ZuZu with how serious you are! Like, just...chill out! I'm only teasing. Haha."

["Mmph."]

"Be_sides, _just because your brother doesn't think like you do, like...that doesn't mean he can't be a leader."

["Zuko is constantly yammering on and on about equality, and peace, and a fantastical notion that everyone should coexist together in precious _harmony_."]

"Rrrrrright. Soooo...How is that a _bad _thing?"

["It's a fool's errand, Ty-Lee. That simply isn't how the world _works. _People do not _want _peace, they do not _want _to be blended together into an amalgamation. That is why the world is divided into countries, and states. The laws of nature dictate that life is _not _created equal. All manner of species exist. Some consume others and rule over them. It is the way things _are._"]

"But...weren't you just saying that people are like sheep? Wouldn't that mean that they _are _all just...like...a bunch of the same thing lumped tog-"  
["Don't be foolish! There are different types of herds to be watched over, and different shepherds to oversee each herd."]

"Uhhh...OK," Ty-Lee sighed. "You're losing me a bit, Azula. I think you're overthinking this stuff. It's not good for you."

["...You think so?"] Azula mumbled in a rare moment of thoughtful hesitation. ["But I can't be complacent, Ty-Lee. I'm managing quite a lot on a daily basis. I have to look at the big picture _and _be capable of micro-managing. It's quite demanding. It is my _job_ to overthink everything."]

"Azula." Ty-Lee's face flickered with affectionate sympathy. "I _know _that, silly. Maybe I can...umm...be a bit slow sometimes," she squeaked out, "but we've been talking a _lot _lately, and I'm not dumb."

["You are a _little _bit,"] Azula picked slyly. Ty-Lee could picture the smarmy little smirk on her friend's face with ease.

"That was mean," Ty-Lee whimpered.

["I was _joking, _Ty-Lee."]

"**I know**, heehee."

["Insufferable. You are quite insufferably childish."]

"That's why we balance each other out so well!"

["I suppose..."]

"_Aaaaaanyway~_...I _know _how concerned you are about your job. I know it's getting to you. And...I know that you're trying to work things out, too..." Ty-Lee's finger was twirling around her ponytail while she solemnly considered the situation. "I just get worried some times that you might end up like your dad."

["You're sounding like ZuZu."]

"But he's _right_, Azula. Nobody wants to see that happen."

["I don't see why it's such a horrible prospect to rise-"]  
"Your dad's in _jail_!"

That managed to keep Azula quiet for a moment.

"Don't you _get _that?" growled Ty-Lee, her hand now tugging at her intricate braid. "_Why _do you care so much about following his footsteps? Why can't you _let go _of that stuff? Just because you want your daddy's approval doesn't mean it's _good _for you."

["This isn't about what I _want_, Ty-Lee, or what is good or bad. This is about what I am meant to do."]

"Sounds like a fancy way of saying you're giving in."

["Then what do _you _propose? Hm? My choices are rather _limited, _here."]

"That's just 'cuz you're not opening your eyes..._You're _the boss now. Do what _you _want, not what you _dad _wanted. I mean, c'mon, Azula, even _I _get it, and I'm supposed to be _stupid, _right?"

["I _said _I was joking."]

"And _I'm _saying that I think you need to stop worrying so much about everybody _else, _what they think, and getting them to do what you want. Why can't _you _do what you want for a change?"

["I'm not in a position where I can afford to be _selfish._"]

"It's-! _Ugh. _It's not being _selfish_, it's...being _you._"

["All right! Fine! If it will quiet you, then I concede to your argument."]

"I'm not...-! I wasn't..._arguing. _Everything's not a _debate_..." A deep sigh was heaved out. "I care about you. Ya know?"

["Mm."]

_Don't you care about _us_, Azula? Your brother, your uncle, Mai...What about me? Is it really so hard to tell me you care about _me?

"Like, seriously. Maybe it seems like everyone's just being pushy lately, Azula, but...it's 'cuz we all love you."

["So you've _said_..."] _Stop being such a_ _bitch_, _Azula! Argh. _["That's quite flowery and sentimental, but it doesn't solve problems. Not mine, not my Brother's, nor my Uncle's...and it _certainly _doesn't solve problems like that pyromaniac running amuck."]

"B-but...It still gives you a _reason _to solve stuff...Right?"

["Yes, yes, fine,"] Azula brushed off Ty-Lee's goading for some kind of emotional reaction.

"Anyway, speaking of that crazy creepazoid, you didn't answer my _question._"

["What question?"]

"Aren't you gonna do anything to stop him?"

["The 'Combustion Man?'"]

"_Yes._"

["I already explained, Ty-Lee, that is completely out of my control. He has no affiliation with us, which has been the case for quite some time."]

"So there's nothing you can do?"

["_No, _he is a madman wanted by the _law. _Therefore, the proper authorities can handle the situation, as I understand they are doing. I've informed federal agents about what little information I was able to decipher about the man. With them looking for him, and his appearance now known to the public, I'm certain he's going to be laying low for a while."]

"I hope you're right..."

["Now, then."] A pause.

"...Yea?"

["Were there more questions you intended to pry at me with?"]

"Umm...I guess not..."

["_Good_. Then before I leave, I _suppose _it would do well to advise you that I will, in fact, be visiting that repulsive town this weekend to take care of some business matters."]

"Here? With the school?"

["Correct."]

"You know, we're having a dance this weekend - everybody's going. It's a Roaring Twenties kind of thing."

["Yes, I...was aware of this."]

"Huh? You mean, you're gonna go with us?"

["To be completely honest, I haven't-"]  
"_Heehee, _Azula, being completely honest?"  
["_Quiet!_"] Azula rapidly hissed, carrying on. ["I haven't informed Zuko or Mai of my impending arrival, you see."]

Ty-Lee's eyes narrowed and she smiled, rolling onto her back.

_Because you're afraid they'd tell you to not bother coming, right?_

["We haven't been on talking terms, I'm sure you're aware."]

"Soooo...You want me to ask Mai and Zuko if it's OK for you go to the dance with all of us?"_  
_

["Of course not,"] Azula huffed. ["That's not what I had in mind."]

"Mm-_hm._"

["Don't you give me that brusque _nonsense, _Ty-Lee."]

"Of **course** not. I would _never~_"

["Do people ever inform you of how frustratingly uncooperative you are?"]

"~All the time~"

["I'm trying to explain myself! Cease your silly singing at once!"]

"~La-la-la; This is the **Annoying Azula-la-la** Song~"

["You immature, incurable little prostitute! _Silence!_"]

* * *

**A/N: Ikki and Jinora's little bit at the beginning was partially inspired by this: daughterofthestars(dot)tumblr(dot)com/post/23776537111**

**Corey is the SRU interpretation of 'Kori,' a character in The Promise comics, who we find out in Part 2 is Sneers' girlfriend.**


	85. Penguin

**A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying SRU and also Legend of Korra. The season finale is in just a couple days!  
**

**Also, just a reminder that following the SRU Facebook page is the easiest way to be updated on every new piece of art, work-in-progress sketches, and previews of chapters as I write them.  
**

**facebook(.com)/pages/What-I-Learned-at-SRU/194514817297584**

**I know there's a lot more of you than I hear from, so I just want to take a moment to thank all of you people I know are taking the time to read. Even if you don't leave a comment, I still am grateful you're still with me. After this chapter there's fifteen more to go until the story is over!**_  
_

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 85 - Penguin_

* * *

- Tuesday, April 12th, 2011 -

"Have a good walk with the mutt?"

"Hey, Bolin. Yea...It was good," Korra confirmed, wandering into the parlor, still dressed in her boots and jacket.

"Yarr-Yarrp! Yarr! Grrrrr..."

"Haha," Korra looked down at the pup, still attached to her leash. She was tugging at the short reign she had, attempting to threaten Bolin's ferret, who was playfully sidestepping just outside Naga's reach. "Sorry, girl." Korra unhooked the leash, letting her dog run free about the house. "_Gittum! _Go gittum, girl!" Kora chuckled at the chase that erupted through the room and up the stairs.

"Well, cut loose, woman," encouraged Bolin. "Take off your shoes, stay a while. Heh."

"Er, actually, I'm about to head back out," Korra explained.

"Ah." Bolin, from his spot on the couch, seemed disappointed. "Where ya headed off to this time?"

Korra shrugged his tiny hint of despondency off of her shoulders. She had been babysitting earlier in the day - Meelo had come down with a fever and let out of school early, but Pema had been knee-deep in important work. Korra wasn't entirely confident in her caretaking, but she'd managed to get the whacko boy to eat his soup, take his medicine, and rest, so...job well done. Right? Immediately after getting home, she'd taken Naga for a walk - get some time to herself. But now, she was going to be headed out again.

"Oh, just...hangin' out with Jane again."

"Mm..." Bolin's lower lip stuck out thoughtfully. "Already? Didn't you two _just _go have a date this past weekend?"

"Tsh. Yea, I guess."

"Mm-hm. Hittin' it off well, I see," Bolin picked with a suggestive wink.

"_Ha_, whatever you say, Bo." Korra gave her housemate a somewhat puzzled look, though she herself hadn't written off such a possibility.

"Just don't get _too _drunk tonight," Mako warned, making his way down the stairs. Ugh, he was all...in that tight white tanktop, wearing his _slippers. _Yum. "We're still holding you to that poker game."

"All right. Well, she'll be here any minute," Korra advised, peeking out the living room window to the quiet evening. It gave her an excuse not to stare at Mako, anyway.

"Isn't the game on yet?" Mako grumbled to his brother. "What are you watching Food Network for?"

"Knowing how to prepare a proper spinach puff is an _extremely _valuable skill," Bolin defended in jest as his brother grabbed the clicker from the coffee table.

"So _who's_ this you're going out with, again?" Mako casually wondered, checking his phone as he spoke - the TV was playing commercials.

"Oh, ya know...Just a date with that red-head friend of mine," Korra spilled out with artificial nonchalance. "Seems like she's into me - right, Bo?" Bolin grinned and shrugged in reply.

"Mm-hm," Mako hummed back, absorbed by his phone. This irked Korra just a bit. What was his deal lately? Always sucked into his stupid phone...She couldn't deny that she'd grown fond of the interplay with the boys. Bolin, agreeable and lavishing her with compliments, and Mako, heated and abrasive. The two had been wrapped around her finger in different ways, and she had enjoyed this. But Mako seemed to have slipped free. Hm.

The slow rumbling of a vehicle trickling into the driveway was Korra's signal to head off and not concern herself with retaining her seat of sexual dominance over the men.

A quick car ride later and the two young ladies were at the bar, diving into glasses of beer. Jane had been very quiet, Korra had observed. Not that she minded - it was nice to have a girl friend who was content to appreciate some quiet instead of constant chattering. A bit of smalltalk and half a glass of beer into their stay, Jane asked about something Korra had been curious about from the start.

"So, Kor...How did Kat's birthday go?"

Korra paused, her rough-skinned fingers clenched around her cold glass.

"Seemed to go fine. I'm surprised you didn't show."

"Yea..." Jane's ever-dulled eyes sparked with disdain for a milisecond.

"Busy with work?"

"You could say that..."

"Katara seemed...kind of down that you couldn't make it."

"I'm sure she was," Jane sighed out, her eyelids sinking shut.

"Is there something up with you two?"

"Uhh...Yea. Basically."

"Ah..." Korra's lips sank with awkward sympathy for a moment.

"I'm...not really speaking with those guys right now."

"Gotcha." Korra nodded slowly to this, and the two of them drank more beer, taking in the ambient sounds of the billiard game being played elsewhere in the room. Jane found it refreshing that Korra seemed to have no intent on bothering her about the matter. No advice, no commentary...she wasn't even asking what the problem was. She seemed content staying out of the situation, but still maintaining contact. That was pretty nice.

Based on the angry e-mail from Sokka she'd received earlier that day, and the handful of brief but hostile interactions she'd had with Toph and Katara in passing throughout the week, it was difficult to think of maintaining mutual friendships right now.

"Th-..." Jane coughed, clearing up her throat as she found the words. "Kinda why we're here," she muttered.

"Huh?"

"Got this bad feeling. Shit's hit the fan, but...not done yet."

Korra leaned over, eyes squinted with confusion.

"Say what?"

Jane's glance skittered around as she considered where to go with this.

"The Combustion Man. Remember I mentioned him last time?"

"Yeeaaa...?"

"Said that I was tryin' to do somethin' about that?"

"Mm-hm...?"

Korra delighted at the caution Jane seemed to be exercising as she glanced around the bar. The girl's caution meant that something sinister was afoot, and this was a good thing.

"We goin' after him ourselves?" Korra wondered in a gleefully quiet voice.

"Whhh...-?" Jane's eyes bugged open with surprise. "That...that what you wanna do?"

"Uh, _fuck yes _it's what I wanna do," encouraged Korra. "That guy deserves some personal _payback _for what he's done. The cops can throw him in jail and shit but what good's _that?_ He needs a solid ass-kicking to leave him sore for all the sitting he'll be doing."

"Uhhh..." Jane swallowed some beer. She looked relieved but confused, and Korra whapped her shoulder heartily.

"So, what's the plan?" Korra giddily inquired. Jane scratched her jawline with doubt.

"Ain't one yet," she mumbled with a shrug. "Gotta figure out what this asshole's after and _why _first."

"What's the point in _that?_" Korra huffed. "Sounds like a waste of time..."

Jane shrugged again and the two took a swig. Jane decided that attempting to explain her motives involving assisting Johnny would...probably be a little too complicated, at least right now.

"Did you _see _what he did to Katara? To Aang? That fucker's got a pounding coming his way."

"Yea...Right." Jane's fingers trembled around her glass as her mind swirled with the images of Katara's bloody face, red drops trickling down her eyebrow. Aang's warped, scarred skin. Toph's alarmed and puzzled hysterics. Sokka's stoic fear. That shit could not happen again. It was simply unacceptable, the thought of Katara or any of the others being hurt any more than they already had by this mess that didn't concern them. This was why she had to keep them at a distance.

She cleared her throat and pushed back the worries with more alcohol down the hatch.

"Whoa, _hold _up," Korra spat, her face contorted with serious consideration. "Is _this _why I've been hearing about you with that _gang _of yours again?"

Jane rolled her eyes and began shaking her head, but it devolved into a nod halfway through.

"I don't-...OK, well, _yea, _but...not the way they _think_. The Freedom Fighters, they...aren't really a _gang _anymore. That shit's done. More like a few ex-members still workin' together, tryin' to figure some crap out."

"...Huh?"

"The Combustion Man, he-...We think he's connected to the guys that killed Jet...Katara's old boyf-..._guy._" Ugh. Jane couldn't even bring herself to phrase the concept that Katara and Jet had been a _thing. _To think that same selfish douchebag had done _that _with both of them...it was a rather unclean and disturbing thought.

"So, wait...Those punks I roughed up a while back?" Korra crossed her arms, contemplating prior events. "Was...was it _my _fault...? Was it some kind of...counterattack kinda thing?"

"Err...-" Jane's jaw slid sideways an inch as she grit her teeth nervously. "I don't..._think _so, but...maybe."

"Well..._fuck_,_" _puffed Korra as the weight of the idea fell onto her.

"Nah, don't...-" Jane began to try and reassure, but even this devolved into a shrug. Not so much with the 'encouragement' tonight, huh? "Fuckin' shit-storm, is what it is."

"And it's up to us psycho-bitches to _wreck their shit_."

It was good that Jane hadn't been drinking or she'd have spattered out beer across the table in her spewing laughter at this remark.

"Better...check dey-selves afore dey _wreck _dey...selves...?" Korra was wriggling her arms around in some effort to look...tough? Or something?  
When she'd noticed Jane's creeped out wide eyes, she'd let her arms droop.

"What...in the _shit_...was _that_?" Jane eked out, baffled but highly amused.

"_That _was 'I've been spending too much time around idiotic _men _like my cousin,' is what that was."

"No kiddin'." Jane was still grinning wide, her smile maintained while she drank the last of her glass of beer. Korra smirked - even grumpy-faced Jane could be charmed over by stupid nonsense. Maybe Sokka and Toph really were onto something with their idiocy. As Jane waved for a refill, she pointed a stern finger at Korra with the other. "But _fuck, _woman, _never _say that douchey bullcrap again. _Ehvv. Err._"

"Heh. You got it."

Some more drinking passed as the two unwound their balled up tension of the prospective task before them.

"So, so, so..._this." _Korra knocked the side of her fist on the table after she'd had some time to think. "_This_ is why you've been ignoring 'em."

"...Yea."

"You don't want them even _remotely _involved."

"Exactly."

Korra was sympathetic to how Jane's eyes were avoiding her, lost in regret and longing.

"That's...pretty damned tough," Korra stated.

"_Mmm_," Jane agreed through her nose as she gulped.

"Don't worry, I won't tell them anything about it."

"'Kay. Thanks for that."

"Shit, man, with what happened with this other dude, and what _almost _happened to me and Kat? We gotta keep them outta this. For real."

"That's...kinda the idea."

"Right. Cool. Done." Korra was nodding vigorously, intrigued by this turn of events. Wayward had been a fresh start and all that, la-dee-dah, but some _action, _some kind of neat..._thin__g_...that involved cracking skulls? That was what she was talkin' about.

"Why don't we just hunt the bastard down and take him? You n' me, and maybe these friends of yours?"

Jane's eyes floated upward in brief consideration but she ultimately shook her head.

"Nah, wouldn't work. Probably just get ourselves mixed up with the Rhinos."

"What?"

"Oh, the...Rough Rhinos? Biker dickheads."

"_Aha, _gotcha. _OHHHHH _like with the fuckin'...-" Korra pointed to her eye, then to her arm. "The tattoos! Those cocksuckers all had the _tattoos _on 'em."

"Heh. Yea, exactly."

"So did Baldy-McFuck-Face," Korra murmured to herself, drawing a circle in the air in front of her forehead. She sure was related to Sokka, all right. "Maybe it's like...some kinda _gang _sign...?"

"Pff. Hell if _I _know."

"Hm...You know any of the guys in that gang? Like, personally?"

"The Rough Rhinos?"

"Yea. Anyone we could, like...ask about it?"

"_Fuck _no...?"

"Bah..." Korra bumped her fist against her thigh and the two simmered in thought. "C'mon, there's gotta be _somebody _we can get some info out of. Maybe if the weird tatts are, like, a gang symbol thing...You know anybody else with some kind of weird tattoo?"

Then it smacked Jane in the face like a brick, causing her jaw to slip agape.

+ destiny-smasher-dot-deviantart(.com)/art/SRU-Ain-t-Proud-297669930 +

_"Mm?" June tracked down where Jane's gaze had rested, and she pushed up her sleeve to reveal the whole tattoo: a coiled red serpent. "Oh, this?" She exhaled with exhaustion. It was a bit startling to Jane, seeing June's expression - her trademark apathy - melt away to convey regret. "Yeeeaaa," she slowly seethed out. "This was a _mistake,_" she explained darkly._

Could that mean anything? Could there be some kind of connection?_  
_

_"I like to think of it as a reminder of why I'm...-" June glanced around the cramped, kitchen-like room they stood in. "-..._here_."_

The more Jane's mind recollected the _look _on her manager's face when she'd talked about that tattoo that day, the more her stomach twisted with a hunch. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Ugh. All this junk was getting inside her head.

_"You told me ya used to run with a bad crowd, right?" June recollected, to which Jane nodded. "Let's just say the crowd I used to be with was _worse_, and that I'm lucky to have even a shit job like this."_

Then again...sometimes paranoia grew from a seed of truth. After all, so far everyone that seemed deliberately involved with this _did _have a trend of flaunting some kind of suspicious tattoo in an easy-to-see place. Jane sighed to herself as her talk with Corey reverberated in her skull.

_"SRU has enemies, is what I'm saying. And it's becoming clearer by the day."_

This whole train of thought was threatening to fly off the rails into a a forest of conspiracy theories. Which was fucking stupid. Better to clear shit up and keep the train on the tracks. What could be the harm in _asking _June about it, anyway?

"-were right about trying to figure out more about this," Korra was finishing a thought that Jane had slipped out of attention for. "Hate to admit, but you've got a point - we'd just get ourselves into some bad crap if we went in fists flying."

Jane nodded, her throat suddenly dry. She tried to quench it with beer. Wiping her damp lip with her sleeve, she gave Korra a solemn glance.

"Think I got a lead I could look into..."

* * *

"Sooo...Mako." Bolin picked up a dirty dish from the stack to his right and dipped it into the warm, sudsy water in the kitchen sink. "What do you think of Korra, in a..._girlfriend_...sorta way?"

Mako, to Bolin's left on the adjacent wall, flicked his frying pan around, the stir-fry vegetables sizzling over the stove.

"She'd be _great, _but...don't you think it makes more sense for me to stick with Asami, all things considered?"

Bolin twisted his head around to his elder brother, bubbling with envy. Ever since Mako had met that out-of-towner chick at work, they'd been texting, and chatting, and talking on the phone constantly. Asami Sato was the daughter of a wealthy man who ran a massive technology company in New York City. She'd passed through town with her father, who had apparently been in town for some kind of business meeting. During Mr. Sato's interview with the Wayward Chronicle - the local newspaper that Mako worked for - Asami had wandered through the offices, carelessly bumping into a busy Mako and causing him to spill his hot coffee all over himself. In the embarrassed interaction that followed - and over the makeup coffee - she'd offered to come all the way back to Wayward and take him out on a weekend-long date. The two had been staying in constant contact every since.

"I was _talking _about a girlfriend for _me!_" Bolin snapped irritably, swiping his sponge harshly against the grime on the plate in his other hand. "Leave some ladies for the _rest _of us, would ya?" He huffed steam through his nostrils as he rinsed off the plate, setting it in the dish strainer.

"I-I know!" Mako sputtered awkwardly. "That's...what I _thought _you meant."

"Uh-huh," came Bolin's sarcastic doubt as he began to scrub a glass with traces of dried up milk on the bottom. "Well?"

"I don't know, Bo," Mako disapproved, shuffling around the vegetables with his spatula.

"You _just said _she was 'great' two seconds ago," grumbled Bolin.

"Yea. Korra's...a tough girl, and a fun roommate, and stuff...But I don't know if she's really _girlfriend _material. She's more like a pal."

"Bro, you're _nuts_!" protested Bolin. "Korra and I are _perfect _for each other! She's strong, _I'm _strong, she's-"  
"Let me stop you for a second, Bolin."

Bolin paused, his thick hand wedged inside a glass, working the sponge around its edges.

"I just...think it's a bad idea to let yourself get too interested in her."

Bolin's eyes narrowed at the back of his brother's head.

"Yea? Why's that?"

"You said so _yourself_: she's going out with that one girl a lot. The tomboy chick?"

"The red-head?"

"Yea, her. And maybe it's just me, but she seems pre-possessed about that girl finding her attractive."

"Mm..." Bolin's lips tightened together as he considered the notion he'd been worried about.

"And weren't you and her saying that it's a _date _she was out on tonight?"

"Erm, sure, I mean-...Well, yea, but I didn't really...-"

"She seemed pretty happy about it being called a 'date.'"

"So...What are you saying? You think Korra's a lesbian?" Bolin muttered, his tone sinking with some disappointment. Something like that could hurt his chances of finding that special something he kept telling himself they could have.

"Bo, doesn't it seem...kind of _obvious_?" Mako sighed. "I mean, think about it. The way she dresses, and acts..."

"Hm..." Bolin recalled Korra's defensive reactions in regards to their comments on Jane, whom Korra had seemed insistent on portraying to be a bisexual.

"And with how _comfortable _she is, living with two guys?" Mako waved his spatula thoughtfully. "And now she's off spending her nights drinking with this other girl, who's the same way?"

"I guess I see your point," Bolin shrugged, setting aside a now squeaky clean glass.

"It's not a good idea to get yourself attached to her that way," Mako criticized, turning to his brother as he turned off the stove's burner. "She's our _roommate_, Bolin, and things are already difficult with her work situation. I don't really think she's interested in men, anyway. But even _if _you two got involved? I just don't see it going well, and it could ruin our housing arrangement - which, I'll remind you, was difficult to get in the first place. So just keep your head out of the clouds, and your priorities straight. OK?"

Bolin rolled his eyes and proceeded to continue his dish duty.

"Yea, yea, I know, _guhhh._.." Bolin's brain stewed in messy dissatisfaction, like the grime mixed with soap his hands were soaked in.

* * *

- Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 -

[From: Suki]  
[oh. sorry, sokka. i'm not going, i have to work that night.]  
[Sent: 4:35pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Suki]  
[Whaaaat? Come on, no way. You're going to work during the dance?]  
[Sent: 4:43pm]

[From: Suki]  
[yes. the manager asked me to work the dance so i can't back out now.]  
[Sent: 5:08pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Suki]  
[What if I found someone that could cover the shift for you?]  
[Sent: 5:10pm]

[From: Suki]  
[sokka. don't worry about it. i'm not really up for going, anyway.]  
[Sent: 5:12pm]

Crash and burn. Suki was being too polite to dish out a proper rejection, huh? Being all passive about it. Well...fine. Sokka would find someone _else _who wanted to go with him! So **humph. **Stupid Suki.

[To: Tylee]  
[Yo yo. Holler. Etc. Wassup? I had a question.]  
[Sent: 5:13pm]

[From: Tylee]  
[lololol weirdo. what is it? :) ]  
[Sent: 5:14pm]

Aha. Yes. She had her phone handy.

[Reply]  
[To: Tylee]  
[I know it's short notice, but you want to be my date to the dance on Sat?]  
[Sent: 5:15pm]

[From: Tylee]  
[aww thats sweet u thought of me~~ thx! but someone alrdy asked me out! srry.]  
[Sent: 5:16pm]

No. Friggin'. Way. Who the hell else would've asked Ty-Lee out? And how would he not have known? Probably best not to stick his nose in it...But _damn. _He had really thought things with her had been going pretty well. Maybe he overestimated his charm factor...?

"Sokka...?" muttered Aang with a tint of concern. "Everything OK, man?" Sokka looked up to see his confused friend's face. Aang was scribbling out a sketch on his pad, while Sokka was still ruminating over his phone with an open textbook before him. They were lounging about in Appa's for the evening for a change of pace.

"Nah, it's...'S all good," Sokka insisted, his nose wrinkling to hide his disappointment.

"Yea? 'Cuz you look a little...-" Aang gestured his pencil in a slow circle at his roommate. "-...disgruntled."

"Tch! _Listen _to this guy." With an upheld palm, Sokka presented Aang to a seemingly invisible passerby. "Disgruh-_Psssh! _Man, I am, like..._totally _gruntled."

"Is that even a real _word_?"

"If you know what it _means, _then it's a word," Sokka spat out with a shrug.

Aang frowned and turned his head around to their friends across the way. He waved, calling out.

"Hey! Teo!"

Parked in his wheelchair at a table across from Haru, Teo waved back.

"What's going on, Aang?"

"Hey! Yea, hey, listen," Aang began, his voice raised. "Is 'gruntled' a word?"

Teo stared back, his jaw agape, before running a quick search on his laptop.

"_Gruntled? _Like...the opposite of _dis_gruntled?"

"Yea. That!"

"Mm...Looks like! 'To put in a good humor,'" Teo recited the definition.

"Really?" Aang mumbled to himself, a bit surprised. "That sounds like such a yucky word to have a nice meaning like that, don't you think?" he sought confirmation from Sokka, who obliged readily. "That's weird!" Aang shouted back to Teo.

"Right?" Teo laughed back.

"Thanks!" Aang stretched out his arm to wave back his gratitude.

"Yea, no problem!"

Turning back in his seat, Aang flinched, grimacing from the pain he'd caused in his twisting. He'd been trying to stay in shape despite his injury, and thankfully was holding up well, but it probably couldn't hurt to try taking it easy now and again...

Sokka was too busy fussing over his own dilemma to notice Aang's moment of discomfort.

"-turned me down. _Both of them. _Can you believe that?"

"Uhh..." Aang took a deep breath, his body evidently calmed down from its twitch of pain. "That's, er, too bad, Sokka..."

"Who am I supposed to go with _now_? My plan _and _my backup plan both fell through!"

Any trace of sympathy Aang might've had for his roommate flew out the window at this remark. Sokka's 'plans' regarding the girls he'd been courting didn't sound like anything but a recipe for disappointment.

"I can't even ask Freckles out to the dance, 'cuz of...stupid _whatever-_the-hell girl drama."

"Jane...?" Aang seemed a bit surprised. "Why would you ask her?"

"Well, I'm not _gonna, _Aang, 'cuz her and Katara have to be having their cold-shoulder cat-fight, and-"  
"I don't think that's what's going-"  
"-just be as _friends, _anyway, nothing romantic or anything."

Aang frowned at Sokka's whining.

"Why not just ask _Toph _out, then?" he casually slipped the idea out, keeping his intentions reserved.

"Toph?" Sokka blurted out with disappointed disgust. "_Really_, Aang?" _Puh-lease. She's kinda cute and everything but total drama-queen. Trouble magnet._

"Just as _friends_," Aang defended his suggestion with Sokka's own words, popping his shoulders up sharply. Aang didn't like the way Sokka glared at him with that raised eyebrow, all cocky and indignant. "What?"

"Aang. Buddy. I got to watch _you _go through the agony of tolerating that woman so _I _wouldn't have to."

"Come _on, _you two get along great, you'd have fun."

Sokka shrugged half-heartedly at this. Aang _was _right in a sense - he and Toph did often get along swimmingly, but lately she'd been all weird, trying to give and get attention from people more than usual. It was suspicious. He didn't like it.

"Just because we get along doesn't mean I want to be _obligated _to entertaining that mangy monster for an entire evening. The only reason me and her get along is because there's no _requirement _to be stuck together when her mood swings off the handle - like it always _does._"

_Yea. _Yea, _se_e, _Toph is...too crazy. And sarcastic. And cracking jokes all the time. An__d being weird. Wait..._

Sokka's retaliatory words regarding Toph - an endless spout of negativity - were almost like a reflex, his mind refusing to even consider any idea of getting involved with her. Sure, they could get along great, but he _knew _Toph, and he _knew _himself. A 'date' situation? She'd milk him for attention, and force some kind of tension onto it, and he'd get impatient with her and-...Ech. It could all make their carefully constructed, safe bridge built of jokes and sarcasm collapse under the weight of obligation and expectation. Toph was unpredictable and pushy and rash. Sokka wanted an _easy _experience. Not a challenging, potentially awkward one.

_Easy peasy. _That's why he was asking girls out that _obviously _liked him, and through text messaging, at that. Shameful? Yes. Difficult? No. Setting himself up for actually getting _invested _in something? Also no.

Sokka's aching brain longed for the days he had once spent with Yue. Back when logic and emotions didn't wage war because they both lined up so perfectly.

In the end, Toph was like a little sister, anyway. _Not _an object of desire. Suki and Ty-Lee were safe. Things could be cut off if they got messy without any trouble, they were both obviously into him, and they both stroked his ego. Toph, on the other hand, was deeply connected to his daily life, his best friend, _and_ his sibling. If they had even a single awkward encounter like what Jane and Katara had at New year's? _Blehhh. _So much fucking drama. That was not desired in the slightest. _And _Toph always ever picked and prodded and pushed him around - as a bossy, loud, obnoxious sister does. Just because that was occasionally attractive didn't warrant consideration toward taking her out, no matter how horny Sokka was feeling.

Sokka's ego simply wouldn't allow him to get shoved around by a grumpy, hormonal blind girl who could explode at any second. Was there a possibility of romance there? Sure. But with how Sokka was doing, he was thinking with the wrong head about anything involving women. So it was clearly better to just play it safe.

"She's not _that _bad," defended Aang, bursting through Sokka's swirling tornado of thoughts.

"Says the guy who got cheated on and dragged through the mud by her." His toxic tongue wouldn't let up.

Ugh. Aang's often limitless patience seemed to be starting to run low in this discussion. Why should it matter to him, anyway? If Sokka wanted to be a stubborn prick about it, that was his call.

"OK, OK," Aang waved up his hand, shaking his head as he went back to sketching. "It was just a _suggestion_."

"It was a bad one," Sokka scoffed. "Toph's a hormonal, unpredictable _loon. _Hm, now, what was it she liked to refer to herself as? _Oh-why-yes-that's-right,_ 'Queen of the Cunts.' So, uhhhh, yea. Not so much."

"She's been getting _better_ lately," Aang grumbled. Evidently he still wasn't content listening to Sokka talk bad about her while she wasn't around, despite his attempt to give up on the conversation. "I'm sure she wants to have a nice, easy time at the dance just as much as you."

"If she really wanted to take _me _to the dance - me, the guy she's constantly taking pot-shots at, and trying to treat like her little bitch - she could tell me herself."

Aang paused, his eyes widening just a bit while he considered this notion.

"Her asking _you _out?" Aang muttered curiously.

"Exactly. Not gonna happen. I'm not gonna put up with her bullcrap, I'm going to this thing to cut loose, have _fun, _not be pushed around by Her Royal Majesty Mudslug."

"_All right, _I get it!" Aang groaned. "_You _were the one whining about needing a date. Why don't you just go _alone, _then?"

"_Whhhfff-?_" Aang could swear that a couple droplets of Sokka's saliva had splattered onto his face from across the table. "Do **what**?"

"Just go to the dance with everyone else, no strings attached." Aang shaded around the edges of the figure he was drawing. "That's what you seem to _want_ lately, anyway," he added in a mutter of judgment.

"Look at who you're _talking _to, here!" Sokka cried, having missed Aang's resentful grumbling. He was pointing to his face, his hair hung down, flexing an arm with a moderate amount of muscle hidden under a layer of fat. "Sokka Kesuk does _not _go to dances _alone. _You don't waste class and good looks like mine, Friend. I am a man of stature, meant to lead a woman by the arm to an evening of whimsy and delight."

"Uh-huh," said Aang inattentively, hoping Sokka would just drop this discussion. For all of his complaining about indecisive, hormonal girls, Sokka was being pretty idiotic about this. Normally, this would be the kind of time when Aang would consult Katara and the two would scheme in the name of justice and peace and love and such things and come up with some kind of optimal solution for the problem - but Katara was being..._weird _lately. Consistently cranky, and terse, and bitter. It was obviously because of things with Jane, and hopefully by the weekend Aang would be able to get her in a good enough mood to enjoy the ball with him...but for now, maybe he should take a crack at this thing and try applying some 'Penguin Glue' to the situation.

* * *

- Thursday, April 14th, 2011 -

Fresh out of band class, Toph had filtered out with her fellow students and was meandering up the stairwell cautiously. The voices of that annoying trio of students bounced off the walls along with the clapping of shoes on hard floor.

"I-I'm going to make a fool of myself, Penga...I'll doom us _both_." Bumbly, wimpy guy.

"No way! I'll help you look sharp. You just need a good set of shoes to match, then you'll look, like, _amazing._" Shrimpy, prissy girl.

"I _hate _dances..." The dark one.

Toph was finally pulled out of her focused thoughts on music and work to the idea of that event looming just a couple of days away. Aang had been fairly proactive in getting everyone to buy tickets and reserve a table together. Toph wasn't terribly interested in the event, though she was sure the food would be nice. And it _would _be themed and have a lot of oldies songs playing, like ragtime and jazz and such...Still, everyone else would have dates. And she'd just be an extra wheel. She'd have to endure listening to Sokka and..._whatever _girl he inevitably was going with, both flirting back and forth. Yuck.

Having reached a plateau in the stairwell, Toph reached her fingers out - she'd lost track of what floor she was on in her thoughts. Fingertips slide across the wooden door, then found their way to the plastic panel to the side. She rubbed against the tiny bumps protruding from the bottom portion of the panel, and the braille there confirmed she was on the correct floor. Pushing herself into the thinly carpeted hallway, she heard two familiar voices around the corner.

"-about everything." Douglas. "Seriously, I...did not expect she'd react like that."

"Yea." _Aang? __What's he doing here?_ "She won't explain what it is, so that makes it kind of complicated."

"Ah. That _does _make sense. Again, I'm sorry." _What the hell are they talking about? _"She's doing all right, though, it's just something that...-" Douglas' voice trailed off as Toph rounded the corner, her palm sliding across the wallpaper. _Yea, that's right, Dougie. Just...fuckin' clam up whenever I'm around. Pretend like I don't exist. Jerk._

"Oh, hi, Toph!"

"_Hey_," Toph greeted Aang with a confused tone. "Umm...What's up? Why are _you _here?" Toph could hear Aang muttering a good-bye as Douglas' practice room door opened. They'd probably waved or whatever. Figures that he'd just...run away like that. Ugh.

"I've been waiting for you," Aang announced with some optimism. Weird. "I figured I'd catch you here after your class was over."

"Okaaaaayyy...? Why's that?"

"Uhh...W-well, I thought you might be interested in hanging out over dinner. We could go grab something at Appa's, and go outside. Maybe out to the ski hill, or...I-I don't know, something like that?"

Toph was brought back to older days from the year before - those meals she and Aang had shared together, just the two of them, getting to know each other. That was back when Aang was an anchor for her, when she felt like she could talk with him about anything. She missed that feeling: that closeness with Aang. Not the physical, romantic closeness, but the discussion, the mental and emotional connection. That mutual respect, the appreciation of each other's differences and similarities alike. With everything that had been going on for the past few months, that element had been lost and buried underneath all of the relationship drama.

"Like...old times?" Toph murmured with a tint of hope, her head timidly hung.

"Like old times," Aang replied warmly, gripping her shoulder and giving it an endearing squeeze.

* * *

The cool air tickled her face, the air settling into an early evening routine. Her fingers were pinched around Aang's left elbow, and her sandaled feet arched up at an angle with each uphill step, straining her calves slightly in a gentle muscle therapy. When the clopping of flip-flops on dried dirt gave way to the slightly squishy texture and sifting of grass, Toph muttered Aang to pause so she could pop off her shoes. She knew this hill was clean and cared for, the grass perfect for hungry feet to enjoy.

Her flimsy shoes in one hand and her guide's slender arm in other, Toph soaked in everything. The tranquility of the blades between her toes, crisp and cool to the touch. The tantalizing, wafting scent of the fresh pile of fried potato strips Aang was toting in his other arm. The way each breeze played with her bangs, like fingers on piano keys. The barely noticeable pulse from Aang's flesh, evoking thoughts of life, which bred gratitude for the living, breathing friendship that had remained in tact despite all of the complexities and complications that had swirled around them, a maelstrom of pain, regret, and confusion.

She didn't have to fuss about anything here. Aang was a straight arrow, his intentions were clear and innocent. He was in a good mood, and so was she. The longing desire she had once clung to for what could have transpired between the two of them had evaporated somewhere along the way, replaced by an intrigued interest in an idiotic, meat-obsessed, mythology-infused fool.

All that remained was all that had existed at the start: a boy - a young man - that simply _cared _about her as a person.

"Fuck, it's so _nice _out today," Toph sighed out happily, the remnants of the after sun's warmth lingering on the back of her neck.

"_Ha. _It doesn't matter if it's a good _or _bad thing, you just like cursing," chuckled Aang.

"_Doy, _don't you know _a__nything _about me, Twinkle-Toes?" Toph snickered back. "Still, doesn't change the fact that I'm _right._"

"Heh. _That's _true," Aang agreed. "It _is _nice today. I haven't been outside much where I could just...appreciate the springtime weather, I guess."

"Busy arting?"

"Or reading. Or studying. Or, well, _jogging._"

"Jogging? You're _still _doing that?"

"Mm-hm!"

"But...you didn't make it onto the track team..."

"Haha. Everyone keeps saying that! But it just feels _good. _And it's good for me."

Toph frowned, her head bobbed slightly.

"Sure, but...what about your _back_? Isn't that still, like...healing?"

"O-oh, well...Yea, I mean, it's mostly better, I just need to careful with it."

"Showering must be a _pain. _Er, literally."

"Eh, it's really not _that _bad anymore."

Toph swallowed, recollecting the frightening feeling of burned, scarred flesh against her palms from that night not so long ago.

"That's..._good_," she mumbled, convincing herself of Aang's honesty.

"Haha. Well, uhhh...Yea, not being bad _is_ good, I guess. Astute observation."

"Tsh." Toph jerked at his elbow slightly to show disapproval of his sarcasm.

By now, the surface beneath them had flattened out, and was just barely beginning to slope downward - forward. They were at the fringe of the hill. A somewhat steep set of land tucked beside a trail that led off from the soccer/track field, their current location was often referred to ambiguously as 'the ski hill.' The group found this kind of amusing, since they had never heard of nor seen anyone actually _ski _on it. During winter, when it snowed over, people were known to _sled _down it - sometimes resorting to 'borrowed' lunch trays as makeshift sleds. But no skiing seemed to ever occur there, at least not anymore.

"This is a good spot," Aang advised, slowing to a stop about where Toph had expected. She dropped her sandals to her right and plopped down, letting her legs spill forth into the grass, prickling at her skin. She heard Aang sniff in a sharp intake of breath after he'd rustled into position at her left - he was taking in the aroma of their french fry platter after having opened the styrofoam treasure chest. She heard the light crunch of teeth dissolving a single fry before her lap was overcome by warmth as Aang gently set the container upon her. She dug right in, grasping an entire handful of fries - curly, wedge, thin, whatever kinds were mixed in here - and stuffed it into her face.

Aang laughed at this, and she could sense him carefully plucking more for himself while she devoured her first portion.

"So, Toph...How are you doing lately?"

"Mm_fnn_...Oo?"

"Ha. To be honest, I've been a little worried about Katara lately, but...-"

Toph swallowed her food and breathed out through her open mouth with lamentation.

"Ugh. I'm sorry, but _damn _that girl's just as thick-headed as I am sometimes..."

"It's...a difficult situation. I mean, I get where she's coming from, it's complicated, and...-"

"Actually, it's _simple_. Jane wants some fuckin' _space_, and Big Sister can't stand not being in control."

"Erm...I-I guess that's part of it, yea..."

"Eh," Toph's eyes slipped closed as she scratched her nose lazily. Hm, probably not the best of ideas to go grumbling about Aang's girlfriend if she was trying to stay on his good side. "Sorry, Twinkles, you know I love the woman, just..._Urgh. _It's like she can't even figure out how what's she doing just makes it worse."

"Heh. Now you know how _she _felt about a certain someone a little while back," Aang teased, giving Toph a pat on the back. She could feel her cheeks warm up with some shame.

"Mmpfh..." She hid her admittance in another fistful of fries.

"Sokka's not exactly been doing himself any favors these days, either," Aang snuck in his segue-way.

"I _know_!" Toph took the bait, gulping down her food in a rush to get her opinion pushed out. She coughed twice, clutching her chest as she swallowed a second time to force her food down.

"You all right?" Aang checked, a bit humored. When Toph didn't respond, he pounding at her back with the side of his fist a few times. She wasn't sure if this helped or not, but either way the food got down. More important than her breathing, this meant she could continue to berate Sokka's idiocy.

"That stupid _dick, _all...fuckin' flirtin' with every girl around him. Ugh. And he gets so _fake _and...just..._retarded_, and I can't _stand it, _it's...so...-" She had to loosen her own clenched fist in order to grab more finger food. "You just _know _all he wants is to get in someone's pants. Pretty damned pathetic."

Aang was _extremely _tempted in that moment to point that just months ago, Toph was obviously in the same position, and had been much more forward about the 'getting in someone's pants' part. He managed to stifle his tongue, only to be sideswiped by Toph herself acknowledging exactly this.

"Then again," she grumbled, "I guess I know what _that's _like, too...Been there, done that..._Ugh._" She let her head sink into her hand, letting her palm slide across her right eye. "I'm...really sorry I put you through that, Aang."

"I know," replied Aang solemnly. From his perspective, this matter had already been resolved. She'd apologized in the past, he'd forgiven her, it was all done. "I'm sorry that we were in a position where...you felt the way you did," he conceded, a bit puzzled as to whether or not he was phrasing himself the best way. What she'd done wasn't OK, it wasn't excused, but he still felt bad that things had been how they once were. "But hey, come on."

As his hand clamped down on her shoulder, Toph was startled back to the serene, early evening of crispy potatoes and fresh air and grass.

"That's all in the past now, Toph. Really. It's fine. I'm doing better now, really. And I want to see you happy, too."

"Mm..." Toph hummed back with some uncertainty.

"Which is why I think you should ask Sokka out to the dance this weekend."

Toph felt like the wind had been knocked out of her, her stomach emptied of all but butterflies.

"Uhh..._Haaah_..." She puffed out a shaky laugh of forced disbelief. "_Yea, _that's fuckin' hysterical, Twinkle-Toes..."

"So you don't want to out to the spring formal with him?" prodded Aang coyly. Toph wasn't liking his transparent tone.

"Uh..." She couldn't think of how to react. Her gut reaction had been to spout out a 'fuck no,' but...it just hadn't come out.

"Toph," Aang laughed at her blank stare. Her jaw hung open, messy bangs flopped over her face, which pointed out ahead. "In case you forgot, we used to _date. _I can _tell_ when you have a thing for somebody..."

Toph's hands, sitting in her lap, scrunched up tight, tugging at the fabric of her denim shorts. Her expression contorted with fear, uncertainty, embarrassment...a horrible blend of insecure emotions mixed into a wretched frappe of weakness she couldn't drink back down.

"It's _OK_!" Aang reassured in haste, rubbing his palm along Toph's back in a brief, swift motion. "I don't think anyone else has really figured it out. Heh."

Toph instinctively lifted a fist, but Aang clasped it in his palm before she made a flailing punch in his direction.

"I'm not going to _tell _anyone!" he insisted. "Settle down. It's all right."

One lean hand was clutched around her balled fist, the other still resting on her scapula. Toph caught herself and took a deep breath. Aang _had _always been good at helping calm her.

"You OK?"

Toph sucked in another heavy gulp of air, letting it stream slowly through her nostrils as her eyes burned with shame.

"I fucking hate it," she confessed quietly, her nose wrinkled with disdain. "It's like he doesn't even notice I'm _there_," she growled with a crack in her voice at the end. Her mouth trembled in a downward arc of frustration. "I try to make it...get it _through _to that idiot, but-...Fff. You know I'm shit with subtlety, and it's like...I can't just _go out there _and say it, either." Speaking was difficult. The pent up emotions were drizzling out, like fizz sputtering down the sides of a shaken bottle of soda, the cap furiously twisted back on tight.

"Mm..."

"I'm getting so sick of being ignored," Toph murmured drearily. "_I'm _supposed to be blind one, here..."

Aang's arm looped to her side and he pulled her over for a sideways embrace of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Toph." She could feel the wisp of his sigh brush the hairs over her face. "Maybe...if you try asking him out, that could be a good step?"

Toph's bitter face twisted with contemplation.

"Why should _I _ask _him_? He's just gonna be a prick about it and write me off, anyway."

Aang was a bit relieved that Toph couldn't see his knee-jerk reaction to that remark, or it would've given away that this had kind of already happened.

"Erm...W-well, you don't _have _to if you don't want to. Obviously. It was...just a suggestion." Aang's reuse of the phrase brought him right back to his discussion with Sokka on the matter. Maybe it was a lost cause and Toph would simply need to...get over it. If that ended up being the case, she'd be best to have someone to confide in about it, anyway, and Aang was intent on being there.

"It was a _bad _one," Toph whimpered out jokingly, half-smiling, half-frowning. Aang smirked at the way Toph's reaction had mirrored Sokka's.

Maybe this was just a situation where Toph would have to be patient: wait and listen for the right opportunity to strike. That _was _more her style, after all.

"Well...I don't know, I'm trying to help out, here," Aang muttered, unsure if he was really helping.

"Yea," Toph replied wistfully, lifting herself from his should and dropping her back into the soft grass. She sniffed, relieved that her eyes were drying back up without the need to drip damned tears. The grass teased at her shoulder-blades and pricked through her tanktop pleasantly, and she stretched her limbs out wide before plucking a couple fries from the contain sitting on her waist.

"Thanks, Aang," she said. "I can be all bitchy and stubborn and whatever, but...you know that it means a lot, how you've got my back...right? You know that?"

"I do." Aang acknowledged, taking her cue and laying down beside her, his head propped up on criss-crossed wrists.

"Good," said Toph. "So now you know. And knowing is half the battle."

"Because knowledge is power," Aang recited as a grin spread over his face.

"And with great power comes great responsibility."

"So drink responsibly."

"For your health."

They shared a chuckle at the fact that they both remembered this old 'humdiddle' they had developed over time while dating, stitching together various pieces of pop-culture into a thread.

A couple of minutes passed, more fries were consumed. They had both really grown to miss each other, hadn't they?

Toph found her thoughts lingering to the great unknown of the future. Of Sokka's impending graduation, and how sooner or later, she would graduate, too. Where would she go? What would she do? It was a bit far off, sure, but a whole two years away - and just the past two years had down that so much could change. They both rose to their feet and Aang took the empty carton. They dusted themselves off, but Toph's mind wouldn't let go of this urge to ask the question.

"Hey. Twinkle-Toes..."

"Yea?"

"Do you think our friendship can last a lifetime?" Toph wondered, her tone shrouded in doubt. Her head was inexplicably bobbed, and Aang could make out that her eyebrows were bent upward distilled melancholy.

Aang was a bit perplexed by this question at first, having come out of nowhere. He looked over to her uncertain, distant expression. He paused to consider the notion until ultimately clasping his hand onto hers like a handshake before leading her on their journey back to campus.

"I don't see why not."

* * *

- Friday, April 15th, 2011 -

["YOU HAVE...**NO**...NEW MESSAGES."]

Toph sighed, tapping a button on her phone and ending the call to her voice mail. Jane still hadn't gotten back to her - no real surprise, perhaps, but the message Toph had sent earlier in the day had been a mini-rant concerning how Jane's icy-cold shoulder was affecting Katara lately. Still no response, though. And Toph knew for a fact that Jane's Facebook had recently been hammered by various inquiries about her stark absence, because Sokka had mentioned it at dinner that night. What was also intriguing was that the group had heard from Korra's housemate - that weirdo 'am I right?' guy - that Korra was spending her time with Jane lately. That was pretty damned suspicious.

Toph had told herself that she was going to give Jane some breathing room, and she _had _been making an effort to do that this week...but Katara's bitchy mood was directly impacting her well-being, which warranted a bit of effort in pursuing some kind of solution.

Toph had been feeling better today, though - her time with Aang yesterday had really helped. She'd truly lost track of how much she had missed him in that deeper sense. It had spurred her to spend some time plotting something to do to try and cheer Katara up. Assuming the cranky girl was in their room tonight, Toph might initiate said plan. After hauling herself up the stairwell with care, she found her way to the door across the hall from her own. She gave it a sharp rapping with the tips of her knuckles. No answer. Ah, well.

Toph paused when she reached the closed door to her dorm room, stopped in place by a curious sound from within.

"..._chh..._"

Had that been...a _whimper? _Or a sob? It was hard to tell for sure from behind the door, but Toph had keen ears, and the hallway of 2nd Aqua was dead silent – appropriate enough given the time of year when everyone was crunching down on their studies before the weekend, getting those pre-Spring-break projects worked on and such. This would be the last weekend before break, after all.

The sound Toph had heard didn't repeat in the couple of moments she waited, and Toph entered the room, her mind suspicious about her roommate. Toph cautiously felt her hand to the doorknob, and in the split-second that it took for her to twist it and push herself in, Katara flinched violently from her bed, her breathing freezing up. Already curled up against her knees, Katara squeezed her face into her legs, shakily sighing out the sob she'd put on hold and trying to make it sound like a sneeze.

"Why are you crying, Sister-Face?" Toph slowly asked, her expression concerned as she pushed the door closed behind her.

"Huh? I'm...-" Katara made a rather audible sniffing sound, wiping at her nose with her sleeve as she dropped her legs down the edge of her bed. "I'm not crying, Toph," Katara solidly replied, dabbing at her eyes. "Just...allergies. I dunno." She huffed out with irritation. "My nose is all gunky...That's all."

"Uhhh..." Toph wasn't buying it, though she had to admit that Katara's tone was fairly convincing. She swiftly rounded the corner of Katara's bed and tapped her cane around until it knocked against Katara's heel. Katara, still red in the face, glanced up at her roommate, perplexed.

Toph reached up her hand, bumped Katara's chin lightly in her efforts to locate the girl's face, then immediately wrapped her palm around Katara's cheek and held it there. Paralyzed with embarrassment, Katara's face lit up even brighter as she glanced to the calloused hand against her skin.

"Your cheeks are wet," Toph bluntly observed. She finally removed her palm and rubbed the remnants of tears between her fingers, casting a critical, blank glare past Katara's forehead. "You're _lying_, Katara."

A heavy silence fell over both of them as Katara pulled in a slow breath, then exhaled in a puff.

"Don't even try it," Toph grunted, clearly disapproving of Katara's actions as of late. "I'm the _master _of this kind of bullshit, and I can _tell _when you're doing it..."

Katara frowned at Toph's biting hostility, squirming back against the wall on her bed. Toph could sense from the _scffff_ of cloth against cloth that Katara had moved away, and she sighed, dropping her cane to the floor and throwing herself onto Katara's bed. As she swung her body up, she rammed the back of her skull against the wall.

"_Fuuuck._"

"Are you OK?" Katara immediately snapped out of her gloom with concern.

"Yea," Toph groaned. "Just a bit dumber," she joked in spite of her pain.

This caused a sudden moment of awkward laughter between them until Toph aligned herself at Katara's side. Rubbing at her head tenderly, Toph bumped Katara's rib with her elbow.

"But seriously, Sweetness...You've been...losin' your _sweetness _lately," lamented Toph, her expression turning sour with sadness.

Katara looked away from Toph, biting her bottom lip as her eyes quivered, almost ready to burst into tears again. Three simple words described the entire situation.

"...I miss her."

Toph's eyebrows pushed down into a distant, thoughtful expression.

"I do, too," Toph sympathized.

"I can't _believe_ this," Katara grumbled with a sharp, jaded tongue. "After everything we've gone through, she'd throw it all away? Cast us aside like that?"

Toph sighed, partly from agreement, but also out of irritation of hearing this same tirade from her roommate over and over.

"What kind of friend _does _that?" Katara hissed dropping her chin on her left knee. "Just...cuts you off? No reason, no explanation, no warning...That's _all _I want: just an _explanation. _Why is that so...so freaking much to ask? I just...-! I don't...-! _Grrughh. _I've _told _that woman _so _many times that if there was ever a problem, all she needed to do with _talk _with me about it, and...-"

"Katara," said Toph with the force of a dull and rusty spoon. "I know. I don't get it, either. It fucking sucks. OK. That's...pretty established by now. I think we're both _more _than aware of how much it fucking sucks. Mmkay? So do we _really_ gotta run through this riggamaroll a tenth time?"

Katara's eyelids blinked with ferocity at her friend's blunt attitude, but was sideswiped when Toph's hand wandered to her arm.

"I get that you're pissed," Toph eased, scaling back the sharpness in her voice as she worked her over to Katara's back and slapped it twice. "Good _on _ya, Sugar-Queen. I'm glad you're all...lettin' yourself get mad for a change. That's great. But here's the thing..." Toph pushed herself off the bed and carefully edged her way to the foot of her bed, bumping her toe. The familiar sensation and sound tipped her off that she had, indeed, found her guitar case.

"See...-" she grunted, bending down and unclasping the case like second nature. "-...you're getting so hung up on what you've lost, that...-" She tenderly retrieved her grandmother's guitar and scooted herself along the floor, sitting cross-legged. "-...you're losing track of what you _have_."

Katara, her head lifted from her tucked-in knees, curiously looked down from her bed at her friend as she strummed a chord.

Katara needed some cheering up right now. She was acting stupid. Just as Jane had used the power of music to help shake off some of Toph's idiocy, Toph was hoping that she might find similar success.

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=guFr8Esvbco +

Katara was still feeling crabby at Toph's rude dismissal, but the soothing sounds bubbled through the room like a stream in a wood.

_"~Can you find the time to let your lover love you?~"_

Toph's voice was mellow and smooth.

_"~He only wants to show you the things he wants to learn, too; The hardest parts you'll get through~"_

Wait, what was she singing about?

_"~And in the end you'll have your best friend~"_

Was she singing about Aang?

_"~Love like this may come once; Baby it's fate~"_

Yea...Katara _did _have a special feeling about Aang.

_"~Like a soul mate, he's your Penguin~"_

OK. Yes. Toph was singing about Aang.

_"~Baby it's fate; Baby it's fate...Not luck~"_

Katara's relationship with him really did feel so simple and perfect.

_"~Can you find the time to let your lover hold you~"_

So why was Toph...singing this song?

_"~He needs somebody to hold to; His love is strong and so true; His Arrow's aiming for you~"_

Oh. Katara _had _been...kind of pushing Aang off by the wayside recently.

_"~And he's the one that you were born to love~"_

This was Toph's way of telling Katara to appreciate that she had Aang.

_"~Love like this may come once; Baby it's fate~"_

She could've just _said _it in words to Katara. But this was having a deeper impact.

_"~Like a soul mate, he's your Penguin~"_

Aang was Katara's Penguin. He would always be there for her.

_"~Baby it's fate; Baby it's fate...Not luck~"_

Even if other people weren't. She couldn't let herself lose sight of that truth.

Even Toph knew Aang would never abandon them in any way. This was her own, less-direct way of expressing that.

Toph, trying to cheer Katara up in her own sensitive way. What a change of pace. Katara was grateful and proud that this often-stubborn girl had changed over the past year. As gruff and sarcastic as she could sometimes get, Toph was still a young woman that cared on the inside.

_"~Let go; Let go of time for you and I~"_

The song rolled along, lapping at Katara like steady, calming waves.

_"~Let go; Let go of time for you and I~"_

Toph's strategy was working - reminding Katara that even without Jane, there were still important, valuable people around her.

**_"~Let go; Let go of time for you and I~"_**

Katara sung along with her friend with a weak smile when they reached the third go around.

_"~Love like this is all I want; Maybe it's fate~"_

Toph's face had drooped down, her hair shrouding her face in black.

_"~Love like this may come once; Maybe it's fate~"_

_Katara, you have this amazing guy you work so well with. He loves you _so much.

_"~Like a soul mate, he's your Penguin~"_

_Treat him better than I did. Be grateful, Sister-Face. Pouting doesn't suit you._

_"~Maybe it's fate; Maybe it's fate...Not luck~"_

As Toph's fingers tickled the strings, easing out the final notes of the song, Katara took a deep breath. Her tears had dried up. Her stomach no longer quivered. Her hands no longer trembled. She could breathe through her nose again. With this relief, she sighed peacefully to herself and wrapped her arms around her chubby, penguin shaped pillow. She tucked it in her lap and rested her chin upon it.

Toph quietly tucked away her instrument of emotion.

"So!" she blurted out with a cocky grin. "That make you start crying again?"

Katara smirked, eyes narrowed.

"Actually, no. It made me _stop _crying. I feel better."

"Ah. Well...that's good."

"Ha. Yes, Toph, feeling better _is _good. So is not crying."

Toph smiled at Katara's sarcasm and how it reminded her of Aang's similar picking.

"Thank you for cheering me up, Toph. That means a lot."

Katara could see traces of embarrassment in Toph's face as the blind girl hobbled up to her feet.

"Just puttin' you back in your place, Sugar-Queen: a throne of sappy sweetness and joy and whatever. That's where you belong."

"Hee." Katara's smile widened to bare teeth at her friend's humorous phrasing. "The Queen of Sugar demands her loyal subject gives her a hug."

Toph's eyebrow lifted, and Katara couldn't tell if the girl was amused or disinterested.

"I'll give you a hug," Toph conceded, "But that was lame. I'm learning how to be all open and touchy-feely and _expreth mythelf _but you aren't learning _shit _from me. We gotta change that."

* * *

**A/N: The "Like old times" bit is a reference to the relationship between Tenzin and Lin in Legend of Korra, drawing a parallel between them and SRU!Aang/Toph's complicated history. The Mako/Bolin scene obviously homages their scene in LoK episode 5. 'Penguin' by Christina Perri, though with some slight changes in the last verse.**


	86. Moment

**A/N: Wow. It's been a long time coming, I know. But, hey. This is easily the longest chapter so far, and has the most events happening all in a single day than...well, probably any other day in the whole story. So I wanted to squeeze it all into one chapter. Thanks for your patience while I was on vacation. I hope you guys enjoy it. And hey, keep in mind that if you were really hankering for more, I posted various previews of this chapter, and even the first half of it when it was finished. If you follow the SRU Facebook page you'll be directed to stuff like that, as well as all of the art updates. - facebook(.com)/pages/What-I-Learned-at-SRU/194514817297584 **

**Enjoy the chapter and thanks for all of the support as always, everyone. This chapter comes at an appropriate time, homaging Legend of Korra in many ways, with the show having just finished its first season.  
**

**ALSO, if you have not read the Avatar book 'Love Potion #8,' then you should if possible before reading this chapter. It will make the latter portions of the chapter make much more sense. ;P  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 86 - Moment_

* * *

- Saturday, April 16th, 2011 - The Golden Dragon Ball (Spring Formal)

Jane wiped sweat from the bags hanging underneath her eyes as she scraped at the grill. The lunch shift had been somewhat hectic, leaving her out of sorts. Her feet were aching a bit from the constant standing for the past three and a half hours, and her left hand stung a bit from some droplets of hot grease that had boiled up on them when she had been frying like a maniac earlier.

_-Ding!-_

The small bell on the countertop at the front of Appa's shattered Jane's moment of respite. She took a tired breath, rubbing at her eyes as she stumbled to the counter._  
_

"How can I he_hhh_...-?" Her crackly voice trailed off at the sight that greeted her: a glaring Katara Kesuk. Yikes. And her nose was doing that whole...flared-out thing. Ugh. Which was attractive, actually. And it was horrible for Jane to think that, but it had been a while since she'd physically _seen _Katara, and...-

"I'd like a mushroom swiss burger - _medium well_," Katara spitefully ordered. Her eyes were sharp, cutting like knives, and her voice was clean and prim, like a rose - jabbing out with its thorns of passive aggression. "_Please_," she added with a curt, verbal prick.

Jane cleared her throat, completely startled and flustered by this encounter. Her stomach churned with an awful guilt and regret, and she avoided Katara's ice-cold leering as she tallied up the total on the register.

"Th...That'll be...-" Jane mumbled shakily, but Katara slapped down a ten dollar bill with brisk attitude before Jane could collect herself enough to read off the total.

"Yes, I _know _how much it is," Katara growled quietly. "Five forty-one. I've ordered it _plenty _of times before. Remember?" It really wasn't helping that seeing Katara with such a sassy attitude was kind of a turn-on. Just really wasn't helping at all. Nor was the fact that the girl was in a tank-top today. _Grughh. _The phrase 'distance makes the heart grow fonder,' came to mind briefly while Jane tapped at buttons to tally up the exchange.

Jane took the money and rung the order, slipping up when she tried to retrieve the proper change, dropping a dime on the floor in her haste. She quickly placed the bills and change onto the countertop and pushed it toward her customer. Katara slid it off into her cupped hand, sapphire eyes still burning all the while.

"Well, if it ain't Sokka's little sis," came June's voice from behind as she approached the counter, a milkshake in her hand. Jane was scribbling out an order slip. "Where's the gang?" June asked. "I don't see your brother here harassing me."

Jane swiftly took advantage of this opportunity to flee the socially awkward situation with the order slip and set straight to work on it. Katara keenly eyeballed her as she retreated, as if trying to pierce her gaze through the back of the red-head's skull.

"Hello, Miss Hale," Katara greeted courteously, her tone still a bit stiff. "Everybody's getting ready for the dance tonight. I think Sokka's downtown helping Aang get a suit to wear."

"Ah, yea, the dance," June huffed with a slurp. The grill behind her hissed to life as Jane began cooking Katara's burger.. "That thing's gonna be a fuckin' pain. Glad I just have to work _during _it and not do all the prep shit..."

"Uh..._huh_..." Katara replied slowly with a blank pair of blinks. "Um...I see. Well, as soon as I'm done with my lunch here, I have to go get myself ready - and then get _Toph _looking decent."

"Heh. What about Shamrocks over here?" June nodded her head to her fry cook, who sheepishly adjusted her arrowed cap down a bit.

June raised a brow at Katara's quiet fuming, those sapphire eyes wide and staring right at the freckled girl over the grill.

"_No, _actually," Katara snipped out, hands attached to her hips. "She's apparently _not going_."

June's eyes rolled around at the obvious hormonal angst on display before her. Ah, crap, and here came a student wanting something. That would require effort of some sort.

"Hey, uh, June?" He was a bulky, bright eyed young man with a dark brown complexion that June knew worked upstairs at the cafeteria here and there. Jane knew him by 'Pipsqueak,' and made a point to pretend she wasn't aware of his presence. Thankfully, he didn't try getting her attention today.

"Hey, Josh. Whatcha want?" June sarcastically sniped at him, as if he were intruding.

"Ha. Just need a to-go box," Josh requested cheerily. Katara side-stepped away politely, as if conceding to their interaction.

"That'll be fifty cents," June advised coolly.

"Whaaat? Aw, come on," Joshua whimpered. "I don't got any cash on me, I-"  
"_Guy. _I was _razzin' _ya," June smoothly informed him with a smirk as she walked back a few feet to the grill where Jane stood. She bumped Jane's shoulder with the side of her fist as she casually passed by, causing Jane to flinch from surprise.

"Heh. Dances not really your kinda thing, right?" she chuckled at Jane, who shrugged. "Don't blame ya, kid. At least _one _of us will be spared the misery."

Having retrieved a styrofoam container, June dropped it with nonchalance on the countertop, and Josh scooped it up joyfully.

"Thanks!"

"Yuh-huh." June wriggled her wrist in his direction. "Now beat it."

"Heh. Have a good one!" Josh waved to her as he bumbled away, leaving a still-disgruntled Katara lingering.

"Your food'll be ready in a bit," June told her, a bit perplexed by the girl's insistence on remaining here. "We'll...ya know...call ya."

"Oh, I'm fine," Katara chirped with a plastic smile. The two exchanged glances, and June sucked a large gulp of her strawberry shake before shrugging her shoulders and spinning around, placing her shake on the preparation table in the middle of the room.

"I'm hittin' the bathroom," she explained to Jane. "Don't take any more orders since we're about to close up here."

"Mm-hm," Jane hummed back obediently, flipping Katara's burger and getting a slice of swiss cheese slice set down on it. June vanished through the back. Still looking down at her work, Jane could tell out of the corner of her eye that Katara was still standing there.

_Fucking christ, woman. Leave me alone..._

"So," Katara piped up stubbornly. "This is how it's going to be? It's just going to be like...we never existed? Is that it?"

Jane swallowed the awful lump that had formed in her throat and rubbed her sleeve against her forehead, trying to clean it of sweat. She offered no answer. What kind of response would do any good, anyway? She could tell from the shakiness of her hands and the weakness in her legs that any effort at speech would turn up idiotic right now, anyway...

"Fine," said Katara with stuffy resolve. "You know, I really believed you were better than this - just running away from problems. That's what _Toph _is supposed to do, but even _she _didn't just totally shut everyone out like you are."

"_Actually, _she did," Jane managed out weakly.

"...What?" Katara balked.

"I said, _she did_," Jane repeated, trying to bolster her words with some conviction.

"She...She _told _me what the problem was, at least. Sh-she _explained _to me what...what was wrong, so that-"  
"You could _fix it?_"

The two young women stared each other down with stern thought as the grill sizzled.

"Did it occur to you, Kat, in all this shit, that I didn't _need _you to fuckin' _fix _anything?"

"Umm...I...-"  
"That maybe I got problems _you _can't do a _damn _thing about? So you should just...back the _fuck off_?" Jane was careful not to yell, but to make sure she pushed words out with confidence. Katara's eyes burned with indignity at Jane's tone, but she seemed content to let Jane continue - even if Jane was berating her, it was better than the frigid silent treatment. "Just.._._like..._Damn!_" Jane puffed out, dropping a bun onto the grill to toast as the burger was finishing up. "You just _need_-...It's...like you _physically cannot _leave shit alone. There _has _to be an answer. There _has _to be a solution. You _gotta_ fix it. You _gotta_ be in control, 'cuz _fuck _anyone else who thinks they might actually know what's best for themself, _you're _the know-it-all, _you're _gonna be their damned hero and patch it all up, make it all better."

"Jane..."

"Guess what, Katara? Got news for ya. You ain't perfect. Shit ain't perfect. Never gonna be. There's problems in this world you can't do _fuck all _about. People are assholes. Orphans are...fucking starving somewhere, or whatever."

"That's _different, _Jane!" Katara protested. "I'm...I'm not expecting to solve...w-world _hunger _or...or something. I'm just...trying to maintain...my...my _friendships._"

"Trying to maintain _me. _Myself. As a human _being_."

"What? N-no, that's...-"  
"Hey, Kat. Once a month? My cunt fucking bleeds. Just like _yours. _Nothing you do can change that."

Katara frowned awkwardly at Jane's naturally odd metaphor. Jane huffed, digging her fingers up into her forehead's skin and furiously rubbing an itch on her eyebrow. She plopped wet pieces of mushrooms onto the grill.

"Does it...-? Am I making _sense?_"

"I _guess_," Katara quickly snapped back, staring down at her flattop shoes with crossed arms. The downward angle of her head, combined with the fact that her hair was taught back into a ponytail, served to remind Jane of the still healing marks near Katara's hairline where that glass had sliced.

"Sometimes my problems are _mine_," said Jane. "And the more you have to get all...fuckin'..._psychotic _on me? And clingy? All that shit? That's a _problem. _I already _told you_: I don't wanna talk with you right now. Back off. Leave me alone. And _maybe_...if you can stop being a goddamn _control _freak for a while...let me sort my stuff out...we can be friends again down the road."

Jane could see Katara's eyes quivering, on the verge of tears. It stabbed at her heart, but even if Katara's safety _wasn't _at risk...she needed to deal with this.

"All right?" Jane sought affirmation.

"N-No, it's...It's fine," Katara sputtered out, holding back tears as her lips trembled with disgust. "You just don't..._care_...as much...As much as I do. Just...d-don't _care. _That's-...No, it's-...I get it. We're not...that important. N-not enough to work out..._whatever _it is...Wh-whatever this is. Must not be worth it to you...Fine."

The pit in Jane's stomach writhed around, but she said not a word. She'd spoken her piece. It burned at Jane's heart, that Katara couldn't let this go. She kept seeing that flickering flame of obsession in Katara's eyes - the same she knew from Jet.

_Ugh. I'm sorry, Katara. I need room to breathe here. You're better off hating my guts than...getting hurt again._

"I guess that's that, then," Katara shrugged bitterly, stomping off out of sight as Jane finished cooking her meal.

Jane rolled her eyes in frustration at Katara's grumpy demeanor. That was something Katara and her roommate shared in common: they could both be stubborn and pushy.

_Just let her go, Jane. Deal with it later. She'll get over it. _You _will get over it. Can't go letting every damned issue blow up into drama all the time._

The familiar sound of June guzzling the remnants of her milkshake startled Jane out of her guilt-stricken stupor. June, seemingly oblivious, leaned over the counter, peering out at the fairly quiet setting before her. What had been a bustling setting a couple of hours back was settled and calm by now, with only a handful of students lingering in various booths, on their computers or over their textbooks.

Jane slapped together Katara's burger, dropped it on a plate with a dill spear, and set it on the countertop. She sighed, then pressed down the mic button and spoke into it.

["Katara."]

Moments later, Katara appeared and glared at her plate.

"There a problem?" June sighed.

"I need this to _go_," snorted Katara.

"I didn't _know that,_" Jane pointed out grumpily from in front of the grill, drizzling a cup of Sprite across the cooking surface to help clean it.

"You didn't _ask,_" Katara growled over the sound of hissing steam the soda created.

June, totally apathetic to the theatrics on display, simply grabbed another container as she had for Josh and set Katara up.

"There ya go, kiddo," she mumbled. "Have a good 'un."

"Yea," Katara huffed back, marching off.

June pulled down the metal gate after this, their closing time here. She sealed off the counter while Jane continued her monotonous task of wiping gunk down the greasy drain at the edge of the grill.

"You and your little girlfriend havin' a fight, or somethin'?" June wondered with that same dull tone as always. "What's _with_ you and that family, anyway? Sokka's slappin' your ass, his cousin takes ya out for drinks, and his sister's, what? The emotional attachment? Heh. Maybe if you stuck all the pieces together you'd have a full relationship." Jane's teeth were clenched together tightly, her tongue held back.

"Anyway, what's the deal?" June egged on. "You got an eskimo fetish I need to know about?" Jane's head creaked around, her lower jaw jutting out with irritation. "Right? They _are, _like...eskimo...race? Whatever that is? There a name for that?" Jane chewed on her fat upper lip, still staying silent. "'Cuz, hey. If that's what gives ya girl-woodies, ya know..._That's_ cool. _I_ don't judge," she continued to play out the teasing. Jane said not a word in reply and went back to her grill cleaning.

"_Huh_," June puffed out, amused by the girl's lack of reaction. "Must be serious," she deduced, scratching an itch on her sideburn as soda steam sizzled up around her worker. "All right, let's drop it, then. So what did you need to ask me about?"

Jane was almost not in the mood to even look into this crap now, but she knew she ought to. And besides, she'd vaguely brought up at the start of the shift that she had something important to ask her boss about. Might as well go through with it. She scraped bubbling liquid down the grill, finishing her task up while she spoke.

"Err...Something's been eatin' at me lately."

"Mm?" June lifted her trimmed, thin eyebrow up, leaning back against the metal gate behind her.

"Your, uhh...-" Jane tapped at her own upper arm. "-...your tattoo. I've been dyin' to know...what's the story with that?"

June's curiosity shifted into suspicion as her eyelids slide halfway down.

"You made it sound like that dark shit, 'n I've...been dealin' with stuff with my old gang, and so...just _reminded _me, is what it is..."

"Come _on, _Fitz, you're a better liar than that," June sighed. "I'm a little disappointed."

Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head at this remark.

"Listen, _whatever. _I want to know."

"Why?"

"_Told _you, 'cuz of shit with my old group..."

"What do I _look _like, your damned counselor?"

"_Tell me. _I need to know. It's important."

Two shady sets of eyeballs, narrowed and defensive, locked together in short-lived competition of stubbornness.

"Mm..." June broke off eye contact, walking past Jane and to the next room back, where the freezers were located.

"Hey!" snorted out Jane impatiently, to which she received a stern, upheld index that signaled her to wait. June popped through the cramped room with the freezers and into the hallway out back. She glanced down both ways, then closed the door behind her, locking it from the inside.

"C'mere," June grunted, nodding Jane to come into the tight room that contained metal freezers on each side. Jane did as asked, and June closed the other door, containing them both in the small space.

"What...-?"

"We don't need any prying ears," June darkly explained, resting her back against one of the freezer doors. "I know you well enough, girly, to figure you aren't gonna drop this. And I can see it in your eyes that you're deep into some shit you shouldn't be."

Jane sighed, rubbing sweat from under her eyes and pulling her restricting uniform cap and apron off, dropping them carelessly to the floor. She undid her short ponytail, plopping down cross-legged on the floor. There was barely enough space for her to sit this way, so narrow was the room. She rustled her bony fingers tiredly through her now loosened hair as June spoke to her.

"Before I go spillin' my guts out, I want to know what _your _issue is."

Jane leaned her head back, the cool metal soothing against the skin on her neck.

"Fair enough," she mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. "Short story is...I'm tryin' to help catch the bastard that almost cooked up my '_girlfriends._'"

June nodded slowly to this.

"Figured it had somethin' to do with that. And you seem like the type who'd wanna get some revenge, am I right? Give the guy some payback for slappin' your lady friends around?"

Jane's stomach turned at the idea. Was that part of it? She hadn't really thought much on it, so much as jumped into this for the sake of ending shit with the Freedom Fighters, sticking it to the Rhinos, and most importantly, helping Johnny. But of course, this was exactly the reason Korra was offering to help - for some personal satisfaction and revenge.

And that fucker cut up Katara's head. Left her to burn. Jane couldn't deny that despite how things were between her and Katara that she did _not _accept the idea of anyone hurting that girl in any way. Letting someone get away with that was...the more she dwelt on it...pretty damned unacceptable.

"There's...more to it than that," Jane murmured, finding herself uncomfortable with these thoughts slipping into the notion of brutalizing the Combustion Man's face with a wrench.

"Sure," June dismissed. "So...What is it, then? You think I'm associated with this lunatic just 'cuz I got a shady past?"

"No, it's because you've got a shady past with the _school_. And the _school _is the reason that lunatic is fucking burning people."

June frowned with some contemplation, her eyes wandering to the side.

"What makes you think that?"

"It's what I've heard," said Jane. "Every person that bastard lights up is connected to the school." Jane looked up at her boss with a dim face. "You know anything about this?" Another intense clashing of narrowed eyeballs proceeded.

"Yea and no," June replied with hesitation.

"There's this bunch of bikers in town - call themselves the Rough Rhinos."

"Yea, I know of 'em."

"They all have tattoos of rhinos on them. And the Combustion Man? He had this freaky...whacked out shit on his head. Like an eyeball, or something, I guess. And I remembered that _you _have a tattoo."

"Seems like a bit of a stretch to assume that makes me associated with those dickwads..."

"That's why I'm _asking_...So are you? Or not?"

"No, I'm not," June answered. "I mean, _sort _of, but not _really_...I _was_ part of a different group. We had our own mark, too." June rolled up her sleeve, showing Jane the coiled snake tattoo. "Called ourselves the Silver Serpents." She shoved the sleeve back down, bobbing her head as she told her tale. "We used to occupy our own little slice of the Big Apple. Called our territory 'The Serpents' Pass.' Pretty slick piece of city, the part I was in. I used to really live it up there. Good looks and skilled hands can get a lady _real _far in a place like that..."

"Soo...What sorta stuff did the Serpents..._do_?"

"The Serpents' Pass was this strip of town that people came to when they needed to do business. We offered a neutral place for blackmarket dealers to exchange goods without needing to worry about _messes _to deal with. And in return we got to take a cut out of dealings that went down. And, well...sometimes when messes happened _elsewhere _that needed cleaning up, people hired us to deal with it. We didn't have alliances or loyalties. Or at least _I _didn't."

Jane squirmed in her cross-legged spot on the floor. Having a skinny ass made sitting on hard surfaces uncomfortable.

"I just went where the money was..." June finished her thought after a pause.

"And...?"

"And? And _what?_"

"And where did the money _lead _you? How'd you end up _here? _Working as...a fuckin' burger cook?"

June frowned at Jane's pressing persistence.

"The Silver Serpents were actually a part of a bigger whole. Basically, our bosses worked for..._other _bosses. The whole chain-of-command nonsense. The tattoos, those you had to earn. They marked which group you worked for. These other guys? The Rough Rhinos? They worked for the same folks my group did, see. And as it turned out, that group seemed to have some kind of score to settle with this school. Namely, people from the school seemed to know about our little organizations and were trying to undermine the whole crime network. Which, of course, meant that they had to be dealt with. That was where people like _me _came in."

Jane stared at June's rigid profile, not entirely shocked by the idea that the woman had done such violent things in her past, but surprised by the implication that such violent acts sounded similar to what the Combustion Man was currently doing.

"A woman like me didn't have trouble sneaking around the city, putting people to sleep."

"...Killing them?"

"Yea...Painlessly, really. Seduce a man, tucker him out...-" June lifted her hand in the air ambiguously, squeezing her thumb around an invisible object. "-...slip him a shot. Of course, sometimes they needed these people _alive, _so the injections weren't always lethal - sometimes they just needed to be sedated for transport. I never really cared either way. Life was dangerous and exciting. Risk, reward, sex...Honestly, I couldn't have wanted much more that."

Jane's stomach wrenched with discomfort at the way June spoke about these matters. Very calm and uncaring, with the same casual approach she'd refer to her humdrum work here at a burger joint. Jane was reminded of what the Duke had mentioned before: about fatal injections killing SRU associates in New York City years ago. Now she had some idea of what that had been about.

Jane's face wrinkled up with some frustration as she dwelt on the thought. She was receiving confirmation that her hunch had been correct: that her boss, June, this calm, smooth, unfazed person she kind of looked up to was...a criminal, really. A murderer, even, trying to leave her past behind. Jane at once felt a bit of kinsmanship in a fellow soul trying to get back on the right path, but on the other hand, the look in June's face didn't really sell Jane on this idea.

Jane had murdered, but the motivation for doing so was personal. It was for revenge and self-defense both tied in one. And she looked at that day as when she, Jane Fitzpatrick, became something else: Smellerbee. And now, years later, she was still coping with choices Smellerbee had made and trying to make it all right.

And then here was June, who killed multiple people. No personal reason, just...for the fuck of it. For money, and lust, and just because she _could? _That was...kinda fucking creepy. And that bizarrely _uncaring _way June spoke about it all, like none of it mattered, that was disconcerting, too.

"You all right there, kid?" June checked when she noticed Jane's boiling emotions coming through twitches in her expression. "Heh. Ya scared of me _now_?"

_No. Just _sorry _for you...Because you sound like you had nothing worth fighting for. But I _do. _We're not quite as alike as I thought this whole time._

"You were...a killer?"

"Eh. Technically, you could say I still am. Just...on early retirement, I guess."

Ugh. That, too. That was...unsettling. June didn't seem to really draw a line between the her that once killed people, and the her that now cooked hamburgers. They were really one and same. But for Jane, Smellerbee _was _like a separate person, her darker side, something she had been working so hard to run away from.

"So...How'd you get stuck _here, _then?

"Well, uh...eventually things got outta hand. The lot of us got into a scuffle with the law. Not too surprising. Like I said, I had no loyalties. I was in it just for me. So when it was _my _head on the chopping block, you bet your ass I ratted people out to save myself. Survival of the fittest. Sometimes that means you gotta be like a lizard - let your tail get chewed off to escape, live another day."

"Not...sure I get it."

"There was this guy from the FBI, Long Feng - at least, that's what he _says _his name is - swooped in and helped the authorities stop everything from getting out of hand and into public eyes. I actually think he just sorta..._does _that for a living: makes things 'disappear' and shit. Anyway, he was the one that offered me a deal: spill details, get to start a new life in a quiet town. So I took it. Better than getting ass-raped in _jail _for the rest of my life..."

"But why the school?"

"Well...the people I helped dispose of, they were connected to the college in one way or another, right? So, they wanted this whole clusterfuck settled sooner rather than later. With my help, it _was, _you could say. Only way they could figure to quickly make arrangements was to just take me under their own wing. Like I said...I could care less. They figured out pretty damn quick that I couldn't give two fucks about who I was working for. Besides, living here...means I'm under _their _watch. I slip up, they know it. But I'm also under their protection. Anyone who might come looking for me? Last place they're gonna think to look is _here, _anyway."

Jane sighed, scratching at her eyebrow while she processed this. No wonder June seemed to have taken a bit of an interest in her red-headed employee: they had some sympathetic commonalities, from June's perspective. But Jane couldn't shake that notion that June just didn't seem to _care  
_about what she'd done._  
_

"It worked out for everyone, really. The cops got the boss they were lookin' for. I got to keep living _outside _of bars...and the school gets to keep me pinned down doing embarrassing, lowly shit like _this_." June waved a lazy wrist to the freezers around them. "I'm a murderer and a traitor. But I get to live comfortably enough. Just because I don't _like _it doesn't mean I get much room to complain, really..."

"Hm..." Jane soaked in this whole story, now understanding just why June seemed so...miserably apathetic. All the time. About everything. She didn't _like _it, but at least she understood some of June's general attitude to her current life.

The word 'revenge' kept floating around Jane's head like a thick cloud. Was that really why she was doing this? Jumping down this rabbit hole? She recollected Korra's immediate and enthusiastic reaction to joining this effort. Korra was obviously in it for revenge. Jane found herself suddenly uneasy with this. This nagging fear that she would end up like Jet kept pricking at her gut, and it was now combined with a dread of ending up like June: reverting back to 'Smellerbee' and becoming lost in that self all over again.

"So there ya go," June concluded with an exhausted huff, shoving her out of her own thoughts. "And I'm sure you're not a dumb-ass about this kind of stuff, but...let's keep this between you and me, shall we?"

"Er, _psh! _Yea! Duh."

For the first time in their entire conversation, June and Jane swapped smiles. Even if Jane couldn't comprehend June's coldness about everything, it _was _still nice to finally know someone that could have some kind of sympathy to the commonality of carrying such heavy baggage.

"So, then..." Jane began, trying to find her train of thought in all of this. "What's...the _deal _with this shit? Why do people want to...kill off SRU grads?"

"Eh...Well?" June shrugged. "I'm not quite the person to ask, I guess. What I _do _know is that it has something to do with the higher ups we worked for."

"The bosses of your bosses?"

"Exactly. I never knew much about them - never _wanted _to, frankly. Still don't give a damn. I'll tell ya what, though: you're serious about looking into this stuff?"

Jane nodded vigorously.

"All right. Well...There's one thing I can think of. The Serpents, when they'd send me out to go off somebody, they'd mention that I was helping bring down people who worked for 'The Dragon of the West.' Sounds like a real big boss-man, right?" June grinned in bemusement down at Jane, whose eyes were wide with intrigue. "He's...actually just a professor here at the school. Pudgy old Asian man with a beard. Kind of a pervert, too, come to think of it...His name's 'Iroh.'"

Jane knew that name. Iroh? As in, 'Uncle Iroh,' as in that cheerful old fat man that Zuko would tell funny stories about?

"Iroh Kurosawa?"

"That's the one," June acknowledged, carefully trodding over Jane as she opened the door back into the main food prep area. "The guy may _seem _like just a professor, but he's actually pulling a lot of strings around here. If you're really wanting to look into shit - 'cuz I sure as hell ain't interested - my best guess would be to go asking _him_ about it."

Jane still sat on the cold floor, struggling to fathom how that bubbly old man could possibly be involved with _any _of this.

"So..." June called out casually from the next room. "Seems like you had a rough day and all. Just call it a night, I can finish cleanin' up here."

"Uhh...OK." Jane pushed herself up with a grunt, relying on the handle of the metal door behind her for support.

"And hey, Shamrocks." June leaned over, establishing startlingly serious eye contact with Jane through the doorway. "You didn't hear _shit _from me. Got it?"

* * *

"Yea. I'm free for the night," Korra replied to Bolin's question, plopping herself down at the kitchen table.

"Oh. Awesome. Great. So. Korra..." Bolin leaned over the tiny, metal table, putting on an embellished, smooth-talking tone. "I was thinkin'. You and me, we could go to the dance together, sort of a..._date _situation? Erm, but, like, a 'as-friends,' kind of date. I mean. Is what I meant. Ahem."

"Bolin," Mako scolded him, peering into the cupboards. "Give her some space. She just got off of work." Korra smirked at this, feeling quite satisfied with the fantasy she had invented in her head that these two brother both vied for her affections. "I don't think she'd be interested in being forced to come with us, anyway." He pulled out a few boxes of macaroni and cheese for their lunch.

"Come _on, _Mako," Bolin huffed. "Just ignore 'im," he muttered coolly to Korra, a seemingly recurring phrase Bolin whipped out in regards to Mako's downer stiff demeanor. "Anyway, I know you're into _girls, _and stuff, so don't take it the wrong way-" Korra raised a brow in his direction as he went on. "-but I'm just asking 'cuz me and Mako are going, and we got an extra ticket, aaaaand I just think we'd have a fun time." Pff. Real transparent, here. Just _happened _to have an extra ticket, right? And what was this 'into girls' remark?

"Into _girls_, eh?" Korra pointedly checked.

"It's kind of obvious," Mako dully advised, filling a pot with water and setting it to boil on the stove. "Nothing to get worked up over, we're not going to judge you. It's fine."

"Uh-_huh_." Korra slung her arms across her chest, leaning to the side of her chair. As if she needed his permission to have a sexual orientation.

"Uh. R-right!" Bolin was quick to agree. "Totally _not _judging. This house promotes _all _walks of life."

"_Bolin _just wants a woman around his arm when he goes out in public," Mako picked on his sibling with a smug smile. Korra was relishing the tension in his voice. Heheh. If she took Bolin up on his offer here, she could have a good time with him _and _make Mako jealous in the process, establishing her dominance over them both.

"Won't be a problem," she declared cockily. "I'm...actually into guys."

Bolin's eyes narrowed and he stared at her aggressive smile.

"...I'm sorry, no-no, I didn't mean to assume," he sputtered out hastily, pushing out his palms in defense. Oh, man. This was fun. Mako was attractive when he was being all passive-aggressive, but Bolin was kind of adorable when he was trying to be polite - and the way his eyes would pop open wide, and how expressive he was? Geez. He was one of a kind. Both of 'em, really, wrapped right around her finger, she thought: right where she wanted them. "'Cuz that-...Ya know, I was just figuring...with your butch-ness, and the whole..._everything_...you are...that you're a..._lesbian_...gal."

"Nope, you're right," Korra assured, chin up. "I'm into girls. _And_ guys."  
"_Mm_! Mm-hm..." Bolin rubbed his chin cautiously, his gaze shifting away from her. "I'm very confused right now," he confessed in a mumble.

Mako sighed, shaking some salt into the water before him as it barely began to bubble up.

"You're a bisexual, and _I'm_ an idiot," he concluded. Korra smirked his way.

"Both...are..._true,_" she jibed.

"So...so you're gonna _go_?" Bolin prodded, still wide-eyed and just a bit pleading. Korra laughed that closed-lip giggle that Bolin adored. How adorable. She just divulged a very personal fact and it didn't faze him at all.

"You wanna take _me _out on a date?" she wondered, perplexed. It seemed fairly obvious that she was not putting out for him or anything - it was like he just...wanted to take her out for a good time, even if nothing came of it. It was kind of _weird _to consider, from her perspective. "I'm a bit of a loose cannon, Bo - not exactly the 'date' type."

"Are you _kidding_ me?" said Bolin, giving her back a gentle slap with his broad hand. "You're the smartest, funniest, toughest, buff-est, talented-est, incredible-est girl in the _world!_ What guy - uh, _or _girl - _wouldn't _want to take you out to dinner?"

Korra's impulsive reaction to Bolin's compliments was another humming laugh, and she could feel the edges of her cheeks warming up a bit at his cheerful, excited face and energetic eyes, staring right at her own.

"You really feel that way about me?" she muttered with some embarrassment. Guys didn't try..._flattering _her. Or complimenting her. They usually tried impressing or intimidating her. It was just a change of pace, especially with Bolin suddenly being more..._forward _about it, as if suddenly realizing there was a _shot _at going out with her ignited some renewed determination within him.

"I felt that way since the moment I _saw _you!" he breathlessly puffed out. "What are you even _talkin' _about? You're fun," he murmured in mock exasperation. "So whaddya say? No, uh...no obligations, no commitment, here. Just an innocent evening together."

"Hm...It's on pretty short notice...I dunno." Korra hummed and hawed, bobbing her head left and right. Bolin was an open book, his chubby nose wrinkling up nervously. Clarification: He was an open book she found amusing to watch read itself. "Besides, isn't this a _college _dance?" she inquired doubtfully. "Aren't we...a little _old_?"

"Whaaat? No way!" Bolin tossed his hand out. "It's being hosted by the school, sure, but it's for _everybody_. There's like a charity event thing, some rich people are gonna be there, yadda-yadda..."

"All right, I get ya," Korra shrugged. Still sounded a bit odd, kind of stuffy. It might not really be her kind of party, but...-

"Trust me, we are gonna have so much _fun _together," Bolin insisted. As he said it, a certain kind of confidence rang through, reverberating to Korra's very core.

'Fun.' Bolin was 'fun.' She was so stressed and tired, trying to find consistent work, babysitting crazy kids, worrying about this crazy pyro criminal to take out. And when was the last time she went _out, _and not to a bar? She couldn't remember.

"Ya know what? I could _use _some fun," Korra decided. "OK, sure." She nodded in agreement to Bolin's proposal, lazily slinging an arm over the head of her chair. She delighted in the way Mako seemed to glare over his shoulder at them. Jealous much? Damn right he was jealous, just as she wanted.

"_Yes!_" Bolin was oblivious, pumping his fist and pounding Korra's back with his hand, like a proper 'bro.' "_Who's _the luckiest guy in the world? **Right here. _Bo-lin!_**"

"Do you even have something proper to _wear?_" Mako dubiously remarked. Heh. Oh, Mako, ever the pessimist, right? What did _he _care, anyway?

"As a matter of fact, I _do_," Korra answered with snark. "I have exactly _one _dress, and it looks damn good on me, I'll say."

"One dress?" Bolin mumbled aghast. "I'm not sure if I should be shocked that you're a _girl _who only has one dress...or be impressed that a girl like you has one dress at _all_."

"Er...Thanks?"

Mako even bothered to give her a confused look, and shared his two cents.

"_You, _of all people, hardly take anything with you when you move to another country, and yet even _you _still bring a dress. That you never seemed to plan on using." A flat, sarcastic stare. "Somehow, that makes perfect sense."

"I'll take that as a compliment, City-Boy," Korra replied cockily to his observation with some ferocity in her eyes.

"Oh, _man, _this is gonna be so great," Bolin rambled. "Mako, can you even _remember _the last time we went out on a double-date?"

Korra's heart skipped a beat. 'Double-date?' As in..._Mako _had a date? When in the fuck did _Mako _find some girl to go out with? This was...not to Korra's liking. It inherently meant she was clearly not the center of Mako's attention, despite _obviously _deserving to be.

"Mm..." Mako's face arced with remembrance while he dug up a wooden spoon to prepare for the ensuing stirring of the macaroni. "Wow. You're right, I can't...I can't even recall. High school, maybe?"

"_Freaking high school, _man," Bolin confirmed. "Aw, man. This is just-...I am _so _pumped." Bolin began sprinting through the living room. "I gotta get _ready!_ Gotta style my _hair, _and...and get my _suit _all set, and...-" His voice trailed off as he bounded upstairs. The ruckus caused Naga to wake up from her nap on the floor and start barking, scuttling up the stairs after him.

"Jesus, he's...more of a woman than _I _am," Korra laughed to herself.

"He sure _is_," sighed Mako. "Probably should watch out, wouldn't want any of that to go rubbing off on you, right? You have a reputation to keep."

Korra was slightly off-put by Mako's collected assertion. A 'reputation,' huh?

"Yea. I guess I _do_," she verbally agreed with him in an stubborn mumble of indignation, while her mind raced to try and read his real thoughts.

* * *

["Aw, _mannnn..._I'm so freakin' jealous!"] Meng frowned with envy as she watched Katara brushing her cousin's hair on the side of the video chat.

"Eh," Toph pushed off any enthusiasm. "Not so sure it's gonna be all that great...I don't even have a date."

Katara raised a brow, slowing the brushing of her friend's hair to a stop. Toph was at least taking the knots like a champ, hardly flinching, much less complaining. That's what she got for letting her hair grow out, not cutting it, and not taking proper care of it. It was a wonder the girl didn't just toss it up in a bun and call it a day, or get it hacked off altogether.

"I didn't know you..._wanted _a date to the dance," Katara mumbled, her lips curving down slightly with some guilt. "I mean, who did you want to _go _with? I could've helped-"  
"Nah, don't...-!" Toph immediately snapped, her shoulders popping up with tension as she could begin to feel the rushing of blood to her cheeks. Better stop _that _train at the tracks before something slipped. "It's..._fine,_" Toph mumbled. "Just, ya know...a bummer, is all. Dances are kinda more fun when you've got...ya know...someone to _dance _with?

["Why didn't you ask that Douglas boy?"] Meng inquired.

Toph's glazed over in a fleeting moment of remembrance of the bizarre but brief romance they had entangled themselves in. A shallow puddle of affection, a flame of attraction that burst alight and was puffed out by the wind just as fast.

["I mean...He seems pretty cute,"] Meng mumbled, clicking sounds echoing from her side of the line. Toph knew Meng enough by now to figure she was probably double-checking for photos of the boy on Facebook. ["_Grahhh, _Tophie, _why _do all of the boys at your school have to be so _hot_? And seriously, why not ask this guy out?"]

Katara's expression frowned slightly from disapproval, but she didn't butt in with any words on the matter.

"Uh..._No, _Meng," Toph grumbled out in a sigh, her teeth gritting as Katara worked out a knot with the brush. "Me and him don't..._talk_...anymore." Meng's face drooped with sympathy at this information. They hadn't discussed Douglas hardly at all since, well...Hm. Meng couldn't remember.

["Oh..."] Meng's sad-face remained attached, though her glance wandered back to her Facebook window, where she was looking up information on this adorably attractive little blond guy. Hm...His profile seemed pretty scant, unfortunately.

"He's, um...He's playing in the band at the ball, anyway," Toph entirely blew off the possibility. She certainly hadn't _asked, _but being his neighbor in the music building, it would've been nigh impossible to not have overheard it mentioned any of the numerous times she'd found out. Part of her was bothered, on a childish, stubborn level, that all evening she'd be listening to _him _playing on violin, and be reminded of her careless, shallow mistake of the recent past.

["He _is?_"] Meng intently wondered. ["Doesn't he play, like...violin, or something?"]

Toph huffed out quite audibly, hoping her cousin would take a hint to drop this subject.

["'Cuz, like, I'm just sayin', violin is _the-_sexiest-instrument-ever,"] Meng prattled on in a rushed murmuring under her breath, ogling her screen.

"Huh?" came Katara to Toph's ear.

"She's got a bit of a musical fetish, I think," Toph dubiously remarked.

["_Ha! _Like you _don't_?"]

Toph smirked at that counter remark.

"_Yea, _but...it's different. _I _find the _sou__nds _a musician can make attractive. _You _just think it's hot to watch their hands move around all complicated like." Toph went so far as to sloppily wriggle and flop her wrists around for the camera. "Sight and hearing: two different things, Meng."

["Pff. No way, it's the same thing: the skill. That's what's attractive."]

"Yea, I find the way that Aang gets so into his work really cute," Katara chimed in her own thoughts. "Like, he gets this intense look on his face sometimes when he's drawing-" She pushed down her brows and directed her fingers to her face for Meng to see. "-and it's, you know..." She smiled dreamily. "It's pretty sexy, seeing him so passionate about his work, so confident and dedicated."

["Yea,"] Meng breathed out peacefully. Toph figured the girl's mind was probably slipping into some fantasy about one of those animes she was always watching. Oh, brother. ["See, Toph, maybe that's what you need to do if you want to get a guy's attention,"] Meng decided. ["Show off your music skills, ya know? You _know _it goes both ways. Guys find that stuff hot, too."]

Toph face contorted with insecurity. She fought it, but the thought still popped into her head: playing music for Sokka. Would that impress him in some way? Would he even _give _a fuck? Sokka didn't seem the musical type...But then again, neither did Aang, and she recalled very specifically that the entire reason Aang had thrown himself out there to meet her was because he found her talent at the piano so attractive.

"Meng's got a good point, Toph," Katara agreed. "I, uh...-" She shrugged sheepishly. "There's been a couple of times boys tried flirting with me after we'd play a song in the band. And remember that attention Jane got the last time?"

"Mmph..." Toph _did _remember all the encouragement Jane had received, and Toph herself had gotten a cat-call or two that night, too. Not that it mattered, really. What good was that, guys just stupidly lathering you with attention, and probably staring you up? Not exactly something she could relate to or appreciate, what-not with the lack of _sight _and all.

["Flaunt what ya _got, _haha."]

"If music's a big part of who you are, probably wouldn't hurt to be more...open with it," Katara casually presented the notion. She remembered Toph's little coffee shop kareoke trips, and had noticed that Toph hadn't been going to them lately. Maybe it was someone that would come to the coffee shop that Toph was thinking of? Someone who was falling for her music? "Maybe try making more friends when you play out in public? Or even just playing more out on campus, or something? You never know."

"It's...whatever," grumbled Toph. "It'd just be nice to have someone to go to the _dance _with, I...I never asked for a _boy__friend _or something, it's-_FFFFF_-**agh.**" Toph had flinched, caught off guard by a hard stinging and her head being tugged from a nasty clump Katara has loosened. "Shit, that one was bad..."

"Heh. Sorry..."

"You're all good, Sister-Face," Toph sighed. She was admittedly grateful that Katara was helping her in the first place, given the mood the woman had been in. It seemed like this dance was giving Katara a bit of an escape, a purpose, which inherently was putting her in a better mood.

["I'm sure there'll be something good at the dance for you to do."]

"Meh. At least it'll _maybe _have some good, old-timey music."

"See?" Katara mumbled, pushing the brush with haste. She needed to get this done soon to have time to fix both Toph's _and _her own hair up. "Looking at the bright side of things."

"I don't _look _at the bright _or _dark sides of things," Toph stated, as if she were bragging. "Can't be swayed by that sorta stuff when you're blind and none of it makes a difference to ya."

"You know what I mean," Katara sighed, smiling at Toph's way of verbally fooling around. "All right, well...Sorry, Meng. We actually should get going, I've gotta make..._this_-" She lifted up clumps of Toph's greasy, frizzy-edged hair. "-look decent tonight. Just because _Toph _might not have anybody to impress, doesn't mean she's allowed to embarrass the rest of us."

["Heh. It _is _going to be a big fancy ball, right? Ya never know, Tophie. You could meet the perfect man there if you keep your _eyes open, _hahaha."]

"Whore," Toph replied with a flat smirk. What followed led to a few snickers between the three girls.

["Just be on the _lookout _for the right guy. You could _fall _into his arms. It would be love at first _sight_. No! No, wait...Tonight will be a...a real _blind date_."]

"Fucking _christ_!" Toph giggled out, being lifted from her desk chair and whisked away. "Someone make my brain stop hurting."

["Have a good time tonight, guys~"]

"You have a good night, too!"  
"Talk to you later, crazy jerk!"

* * *

youtube(.com)/watch?v=kThPknH8o-o

City Hall was aglow tonight, its main chamber lit up and smattered with ornate gold and black decor: balloons, ribbons, banners, flowers, paper lanterns...The Golden Dragon Ball had a mystical 1920's aura to it, and yet a bit of eastern flair. A small stage was set up at the back of the hall, where a band of students from the college were performing old-time rag, swing, and jazz tunes to set an appropriate mood. An open space was left between the band and the various tables strewn about the hall. The tables were decorated with a number, some flowers, and were gradually filling up as attendees arrived.

A table near the front, off to the side, was reserved for special guests and benefactors of the charity event. While technically being hosted by the school and promoted to college students, the Golden Dragon Ball was truly an event serving as a means of joining figures from the town of Wayward with school officials to discuss matters of politics and money. It was also serving as a charity gala of sorts, with various organizations represented.

The table that contained the leading figureheads of the event was only partially full at present, with some members off mingling with guests, students, and faculty. Azula Kurosawa, however, representing her own company, was finding herself utterly bored from this elderly hum-drum. It was a blessing that she wouldn't be stuck here much longer. The actual business end of things had been sorted out earlier, so this was just for publicity and formality's sake. Which was, of course, a complete waste of _time, _in Azula's opinion.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Mr. Bumi," insisted the portly man with round glasses and a graying comb over. He was dressed in an ornate, era-appropriate suit with red and gold accents to it. "Saint Roku University is simply running into a bit of a...financial stumbling block. It's the state of the economy. _Many _schools are dealing with the same difficulties you are."

"True, true," said President Bumi quietly. The bald, crazy-eyed man muttered, hands folded together on the table. "I suppose you're right, Hiroshi."

Bumi's neighbor continued while Azula sipped her coffee, her expression keen with observation on this man, who sort of reminded her of her own father in some ways. Hiroshi Sato, in his early 50's, was an energetic businessman of Japanese descent, just as Ozai Kurosawa had been, and spoke with a similar pride and idealism that was reminiscent of Azula's father - and Zuko, for that matter.

"Besides, I've already told you: I am eager and excited to help. You know well that my wife - rest her soul - was a happy alumna of this school. I assure you, I'm honored to support her memory and help benefit the growing minds here. SRU is a unique organization that has something most schools do not: heritage, my friend. Heritage, tradition, loyalty, and _equality_. These are traits that this country needs to embrace, and what better way to do that than through helping reinforce these ideals through the education of the next generation?"

Azula was not quite sure she was sold on the way this man kept gushing out billowing clouds of positivity. Then again, she was ever the critical pessimist. Better safe than sorry. Well, at least it wasn't _her _that was signing any agreement with the man, which was for the best. As he spoke, a few more of these elder figures settled back at the table.

"Why, " Hiroshi extended his arm to Azula, his neatly trimmed chin tilted up slightly. "It was this school that helped mold this headstrong lovely lady into the shrewd young CEO she is today."

_Bah. Nonsense. Complete foolishness. I have attained my status from my own inherent skills and lineage._

"When I was _your_ age," said Mr. Sato with a knowing smile, "I was a mere janitor in an office complex, but I had a fascination with office machines. I would tinker with them when they were broken, you see. All I really had to my name was an idealistic idea of starting a company that would produce refined office technologies as an affordable price - a way to make the world a more efficient place, and equalize the playing field for smaller businesses. Now, I was fortunate enough to meet someone who _believed _in me and my work ethic. He gave me the money I needed to get my own business off the ground. The entire empire I have built in the years since was all a result of one selfless loan. You see, this is how I look at the world: when generosity is given to someone, it is the natural order to pass it along. Call it karma, call it good will...I simply believe that when you promote ideals of equality and kindness, the world repeats that sentiment and becomes a better place._  
_

_What an ignorant, idealistic imbecile of a man..._

"But _you, _Ma'am," he redirected his attention to Azula. "Look at what you've accomplished at your age. You _are _the next generation, tasked with continuing to shape this world into a better place. We're all expecting _great_ things from you, Miss Kurosawa."

"Oh, indeed, as you _should _be," Azula slyly replied, which elicited some laughs from the table. _Simpleton fools. That wasn't a _joke.

"Father?"

The attention at the table was redirected to a beautiful young woman with sharp, sultry eyes, porcelain skin, and thick, luscious locks of raven hair. She was garbed in an elegant dress of red.

"Ah!" Hiroshi stood up from his seat and gave the woman a hug. "Everyone, this is my daughter: Asami."

"Oh, um...Hello," Asami courteously greeted them with a light bow. A slender man with defined eyebrows, serious eyes, and a pointed jawline was at her side, and they clasped hands. He was looking rather dapper with his combed neatly. The two of them looked like a Disney prince and princess, side-by-side. "I hope everyone is having a good time," she said to the lot, who nodded and murmured in agreement.

"What is it, my dear?" Hiroshi asked her quietly, under the rumbling of conversation that was bouncing off of what had just been said.

"Mako and I are going to go spend time with our double date now - I just wanted to know that I'd still like to dance with you before you leave tonight. We'll be at table number four."

"Oh, of course, Sweetie. Certainly, certainly." He gave her a warm smile.

Azula, who was sitting in the seat closest to this interaction, wanted to turn away from that despicable smile: that glowing pride and fatherly affection. And yet she couldn't. She was compelled to vicariously absorb it.

"Now, then, Mako," said Hiroshi with a cocked head. "You show my daughter a good time tonight, but not _too good _a time, mm?"

"Dad!" Asami chuckled.

"Y-yes, Sir."

The couple waded away from the table of suits and ties and elderly men - Mako was puzzled as to who the one girl was there. Seemed out of place - and Mako was relieved to be out of the path of social danger for now. He could make out his brother off by the chocolate fountain, though a fedora was covering up that normally easy-to-catch duck-tail hairdo. Bolin was wearing a snazzy suit with green undertones, while his date, Korra, was dressed in a unique blue dress with some white fur trimming. He couldn't deny that Korra looked quite uncharacteristically pretty tonight. It was almost unnatural how attractive such athletic arms looked when jutting out of a dress.

Mako was still uncertain about this girl's motives regarding his brother, but...his brother _did _look pretty happy, and Korra _was _very pretty, so he couldn't deny Bolin's interest. It was no surprise that as they approached, he could tell that the two were gorging themselves on chocolate-covered strawberries. Korra even had traces of chocolate around her lips.

_Jeez, Bolin. She's just as much of a pig as _you _are..._

"Eyyy! Mako!" Bolin immediately leaned forth, hugging his brother tightly. "Aha!" he extended his arm to Asami. "And _Miss Sato, _Ma'am." He gave the back of her wrist a princely peck before stepping back to Korra's side. "And how are _you two _beautiful folks doin' tonight?"

Korra had an odd look on her face as she measured herself up to this 'Miss Sato' chick. They exchanged brief glances of unfamiliarity before Mako resolved the social tension.

"You met Bolin earlier, but, erm...this is Korra, our room-..._house_mate."

Korra weakly lifted up her hand, twitching a few fingers in meek introduction.

"It's lovely to meet you," Asami said quite politely with a nod of her head. "Mako told me _so _much about you."

"_Really_?" said Korra, intrigued by this. They seemed pretty comfy with each other, their arms all locked together and such._ "_Because he hasn't mentioned you _at all,_" she said with plastic courtesy, shooting a narrow, brief glare at Mako that he didn't seem to catch. "How did you two meet?"

Bolin leaned over and spat out her answer.

"Asami bumped into him and spilled his coffee all over."

"...What?" Korra blinked at Bolin, perplexed.

"My father recently became a patron of SRU, and we met while he was conducting an interview with the local newspaper."

"Ruined my shirt from the coffee," Mako chuckled, lifting a brow her way.

"I bought you a _better _one to replace it," Asami coyly reminded him, running her finger across his chest.

"Sounds like you, uh...come from a rich family...?" Korra guessed, displeased with their flirty little..._whatever. _How could he have not told her about this woman sooner? And why were they so chummy and shit? How did that all happen?

"Her father is an engineer in New York City," Mako explained with an uncharacteristic smile on his face. "He runs a software company."

_Hmph. _You _seem in a __cheery mood, Mako. It's not like you..._

"Uh-huh." Korra was making a point to express her complete apathy._  
_

"Have you heard of Sato Mobile?" Asami teased with a waggle of her index finger. _Gullghh. Too much pep, girl._

"Can't...say that I have," Korra mumbled with an indifferent shrug._  
_

"Whoa, wait up," Bolin cried, practically pounding his arm around Korra's shoulder and leaning over on her with nonchalance. "Sato Mobile? The _phone_ company? Like, they make apps, and smartphones, n' stuff?"

"That's the _one_," Asami confirmed, with pride. "Hiroshi Sato: he's my father, the man that started up that company. We don't just do phones, but...that _is _what we're most famous for."

Bolin was slack-jawed at this, while Korra was still getting over the physical proximity. Bolin was normally pretty loose and outgoing with physical affection, but...something about the setting and the particular _way _he was doing it tonight, it was...different.

"I _have _a Sato phone," Bolin said with self-realization. "I've been playin' this driving simulator they made recently," he mumbled to himself, aghast and in shock, rubbing his chin. Korra didn't much care for all of the pleasantries, but she couldn't complain with how casually Bolin was acting with her, his chunky arm wound around her. He really seemed pretty comfortable, and when he spoke, just his laid-back mannerism and tone of voice put her at ease. "It's fun, you tilt the phone to steer and everything..." Bolin cupped his hands in mid-air to create a steering gesture. "_Wow, _your _dad _is the guy behind all that?"

"Sure is!" chirped Asami, beaming with those sparkling teeth. _Blech. Gag me. What a prissy little geisha princess..._

"That is _so _cool," complimented Bolin. "Can you believe that?" he nudged Korra, shaking her slightly.

"Uh...Heh. Pretty..._interesting_," she muttered sheepishly. There was an awkward pause in which both Mako and Bolin seemed to notice how off her game Korra was with all of this formality.

"Well..._Anyway_," said Bolin, patting Korra's muscular bicep with vigor. _Damn, woman. Are you _sure _you __didn't steal that arm from a dude? Mm-_mm. "It looks like dinner's getting served up soon!" He pointed out the tuxedo-clad folks buzzing about with trays. "I dunno 'bout you, Kor, but I am _hungry_."

"Oh, man, me, too!" She was quite eager to leave this weird social situation. And food sounded damned good right now, too.

* * *

"Anyway, so what _took _ya so long, Azula?"

"You know how those stuffy old men can be, Ty-Lee. It took entirely too long to shake them off."

Azula had been obligated to spend time going through the motions at the party's outset with business partners and college faculty, but as soon as they had all split up to meet and greet, Azula had bee-lined for her car to swoop by and grab her date. Ty-Lee liked being fashionably late, anyway, so it worked out. Ty-Lee had immediately gushed over Azula's short-skirted suit of black and eagerly pranced through the parking lot. When Azula caught up, Ty-Lee was fussing with her bright red flapper dress as they reached the front of the building. Ty-Lee adjusted her tight-fitting crimson hat, seeking approval.

"Does the hat look good?"

"Yes, Ty-Lee. It's fine."

"You really think? 'Cuz, like...I'm not a hundred-percent sure the ribbon and the flower match..."

"It's quite adequate," assured Azula as they walked up the large, stone steps of the hall together. "There's no need to concern yourself over it."

Ty-Lee pouted ever-so-slightly.

"Adequate...?"

Azula noticed Ty-Lee's quivering lower lip and sighed.

"All right. It looks...'pretty,'" she mumbled awkwardly.

"You really think so?" Ty-Lee squeaked, adjusting the round flapper hat on her head and tucking her bangs neatly to the side.

"Yes, it...is quite era-appropriate, and...-" Azula felt light-headed at Ty-Lee's beaming smile of excited pride as the girl leaned in expectantly. "-...your outfit is entirely color coordinated."

"You _like _it?"

Azula cleared her throat as they hit the plateau at the top of the steps, the warm light of the hall's interior greeting them.

"Yes," Azula confessed with a smirk, her cheeks barely changing hue. "You look...nice." Ty-Lee could see a flash of joy in her friend's eyes and knew Azula was telling the truth.

"Awww, thanks, Azula~" Ty-Lee giggled. Winning over her cold-hearted friend's compliments was a struggle and a challenge that Ty-Lee adored. It made Azula so much more fascinating to interact with than silly boys who threw themselves her way.

They hit the entrance and were greeted by a couple of guards. Azula flashed her golden paper bracelet, while Ty-Lee presented her ticket and ID card. Ty-Lee then received a matching paper bracelet, indicating her legal age to drink, and the two of them were let into the cloud of vibrant life, evocative of years gone by.

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=1U40xBSz6Dc +

As the band wrapped up and set aside their instruments for a needed break, the speakers lit up with a scratchy, antiquated recording of 'Rhapsody in Blue' to fill the background noise of the hall. With Ty-Lee latched playfully onto her arm, Azula strode with confidence into the hall. Together they waded through the gathering flocks of partygoers. Some of the same people Azula had been previously sitting beside at the table - stuffy, older businessmen - sent confused, baffled glances her way, and she delighted at this. It was kind of like giving them the finger in a respect.

Azula Kurosawa was not binding herself to the confines of expectation that had been set up around her. It was energizing. She was instantly injected with a buzzing feeling that made sense of Ty-Lee's rambling of 'being yourself' and some such.

The two of them found their way to a packed table toward the front of the hall, near the small stage. And here, again, more expressions of intrigue and confusion. Chin held high, Azula marched toward the table. Mai was giving the two of them a coy, knowing smile from her seat, while beside her, Zuko's mouth hung open a bit when Ty-Lee made a point to stand up on tip-toes and peck her date on the cheek. A flock of unfamiliar faces rounded the circular table.

Ty-Lee gave the group a flaunting flick of her wrist, flapping her hand their way and beaming. She noticed Sokka, dressed in a blue suit and fedora, his eyes popped open and jaw dropped low. With an amused look on her face, Katara popped his mouth closed, shaking her head slightly at his rudeness.

Azula led Ty-Lee to one of the two empty seats at the table - next to Mai - then walked over to her brother, who was clad in a pin-striped suit and matching fedora of his own. His hair was shaggy and loose, which Azula found rather fitting for the setting of this event. He still appeared cantankerous as he usually did in her presence, though. This she did not appreciate. After the effort of traversing an entire country to see him after all these months, she'd expect a more warm welcome rather than an off-put grimace.

"Hello, dear Brother," she greeted with a loud voice, giving him a slight bow. He fussed with his hat, tugging it at an angle down over one eye and bashfully nodded in her direction.

"Azula," he muttered. Mai administered a sharp slap on his knee beneath the table, and he cleared his throat in reaction, presenting Azula to the group. "Everyone, this is, uh...my older sister, Azula."

Azula, eyes narrowed with bemusement, offered the lot of them a raised hand of introduction as they all greeted her.

"Zuko, it has been _too long,_" Azula put on an air of pleasantry toward him, watching his nose wrinkle a tad in response. "We really should catch up a bit before all of the dancing starts, wouldn't you agree?"

Zuko's amber eyes slid cautiously to Mai, who raised her eyebrows at him, expressing an insistence that he play along.

"Er...Right, I suppose we..._should_," Zuko agreed, rising up from the table.

"Please excuse us," Azula politely requested of the group, leading her brother off. "We have family matters to discuss." With this, Azula pressed her hand into Zuko's back firmly, edging him along, away from the table.

"I didn't think you did parties, Azula..." grumbled Zuko as he pulled forward and away from her grip.

"For old time's sake?" chirped Azula. "I'd do anything for family, Dum-Dum."

Ty-Lee admired Azula's peacock strut from behind, biting down on her lower lip with childish glee, peering over the back of her seat.

"**OMIGOSH** it's GodZula!" she whispered to Mai giddily. "Teehee! Mai, look! Isn't she so pretty?" She jabbed an index finger through the air as they walked off.

"Ugh." Mai rolled her eyes at her friend's obvious gawking, and eased her neighbor to rotate back into a proper sitting position. "A-all-right, Ty-Lee, I think they need some family time together, come on..."

"Sooo..." Sokka was hunched forward over his plate of food, eyesbrows lowered. "That's the person who asked you out? Zuko's creepy sister?"

"She's not _creepy!_" Ty-Lee pouted, bottom lip propped out as she crossed her arms. "She's...misunderstood."

"Sokka, don't be so rude," Katara hissed quietly into her brother's ear. She was fitted into a one-strap dress of white - nothing complex, leaving one shoulder open and exposed. She had pushed some of her hair up over the bare area.

"You look nice," Aang complimented Ty-Lee, attempting to walk clear around Sokka's disdain for the situation. He was in a black suit with a white undershirt and tie. In Katara's memory, it was the first time she could recall in which she'd ever seen him fully dressed up, or at the least _certainly _the first time since they'd started dating. "You look really, like...in-character? I guess?" Aang scratched his ear as he watched Ty-Lee fiddle with the plastic necklace of beads hanging over her chest. "Like a flapper girl. It looks great."

"Thanks!" chimed Ty-Lee with a glowing smile.

Mai gave Ty-Lee a gentle pat on the back with a dry smirk. She was wearing a sort of goth-lolita dress, all black and gray, complete with a lace-rimmed bonnet. Ty-Lee had seen Mai wear this one once or twice in the past. Perhaps not entirely era-appropriate, but...it worked well enough.

"The color," Mai remarked on Ty-Lee's bright red outfit, poking her fork at some sweet peas. "It...really _pops_."

"Heheheh..." Ty-Lee snickered with mischief, studying her plate full of food that had been waiting for her.

"Uh, _yea_," Sokka squeezed in, at once frustrated and enraptured by the girl. "_Really _bright. Eye-catching. Just..._eccentric_. Really."

"Sounds like her kind of style," Toph mumbled with a tint of displeasure from her seat between Sokka and Azula's currently unclaimed chair. She was chowing down on mashed potatoes, generally tuning out the conversations around her. Sokka was pretty disgruntled by this discovery, however. She could easily tell by the tone he'd used, and by the sounds of him shuffling uncomfortably in his seat. He'd stopped eating, for one, which itself was an indicator that his attention was occupied.

Toph was wrapped in the tight, strapless green dress with golden flower accents that she had worn to the Homecoming dance the fall prior. She had decided that if no one was going to take her to the dance that she'd simply stick with what she had. Katara had found this decision dubious - wearing the same dress twice in a row - but Toph had insisted that she could care less, and that she wasn't there to impress anyone. Katara had helped clean up Toph's hair, which hung loose over her back, with a pair of braids hanging over her collarbones from behind her ears. She'd taken caution this time around and wore her green sandals rather than even attempting those awful high-heels she's tried at the last dance. She'd also made sure to bring her walking cane with her so she could explore on her own if need be.

She was getting a _strong _impression so far that that need would be pretty soon.

"So! Ty-Lee!" Katara piped up. "You, um...How long have you and Azula been...-?"

"This is actually our first date together~"

"Oh! Wow. Did she come out all this way to see you?"

"Well, like...uhhh..._kinda? _So, like, she had to be here already, 'cuz of the whole fancy-schmancy charity stuff, n' like...I dunno. She asked me out."

"_Ah._ So, you...-" Sokka vaguely gestured in her direction. "-...swing a different way, then? 'Cuz I mean, I dunno, I was just under the impression...ya know...that you, uh...-" _Fumph! _Katara's heel stepping down on his toes.

"Oh! _Heehee~_" Ty-Lee immediately went for the dessert before her meal - a cheesecake slice with a cherry on top. She plucked the cherry with her fork and popped it into her mouth, coyly avoiding his question.

"What Sokka _means __to say-_" Katara jumped in, "-is that we don't judge here, and that we are happy to see you finding something special in her."

"I think it might be a bit hard for people around here to accept it," Mai gave her input. "But I'm glad you two are being open with it. I think that's healthy."

"_I know, like, **right?**_ That is _so _totally what I told her, too! See, like, she was a _little _scared - she won't admit it - 'bout this whole thing, but, like...I totally convinced her to be chill with it. I told her, 'OK, Azula, baby, I-"

Toph was already pushing herself up from her seat, and groped at Sokka's shoulder, yanking up on the fabric of his suit. Mm. Pressed clean. She could practically detect the dry-cleaner after-scent from it.

"Meat-Head, c'mon, let's get some drinks," she grumbled into his ear.

"Huh?" Sokka allowed her to tug him up.

"Walk with me," insisted Toph under her breath, feeling her hand around his arm and looping herself around it.

"Whaddya-?" huffed Sokka. Toph pulled him just a couple steps away from the table but paused. What was her deal? Why'd she bring her stick if she wasn't gonna use it?

"Hey," Toph called back to the group in a louder tone, interrupting Ty-Lee's story. "Me and the idiot here are gonna go get some drinks. Anybody want somethin'?" To her relief, everyone at the table mumbled out a chorus of 'no, thanks.'

"I _could _use a drink," Sokka sighed to himself. "We'll be back in a bit," he assured the others.

"'Kay~ Have fun!" Ty-Lee eagerly waved them away before going right back to her winding thread bound together by ample quantities of the word 'like.'

Aang leaned back around Katara's shoulder to study Sokka and Toph meander off into the crowd.

"Aang? What is it?" Katara wondered beneath Ty-Lee's over-enthused monologue.

"Huh? Oh, nothin'," Aang replied coolly with a subtle head shake. "Just, uh...worried those two might get into some kind of trouble."

"Heh. Good point. Hopefully they won't get lost."

* * *

"Oh, _please, _Brother. Is it _truly _that upsetting to you?"

Zuko shrugged pensively as he watched Azula accepted her martini glass from the bartender. Azula frowned at his silence, staring down into the red liquid before her. It was just the slightest bit hurtful, his judgmental eye-rolling and head shaking, and all of the passive nonsense. Did he really disapprove that much? Of all of the people at their table, did her brother have to be the one to be uncomfortable and awkward about this coming out?

"I'm not...-" Zuko paused, looking down. He rapidly gathered his thoughts and turned back up. "It's not _upsetting, _Azula, it's...a bit surprising. That's what it is."

"Mm..." Azula's frown didn't change, and she took a prim sip of her drink. They both walked together toward one of the building's side exits. The evening air was pleasantly chilled, a break from the clamoring heat of the indoors. Zuko leaned back against the short wall that ran the length of the stone walkway. Azula hunched over it, facing outward. Her brother broke the silence that had fallen over them.

"I would've thought you'd..._tell _me...about something like this."

"Oh, yes, _of course_," Azula snipped. "Because you are ever so _caring _and _interested _in my personal life..."

Zuko snorted out in disdain at her attitude.

"What?" Azula balked, setting her glass down. "It's not as if you could be _bothered _with me and my intimacies. You and Mai have done quite a job at keeping at me at a distance as of late...And Uncle seems to have forgotten that I even exist. I'm a proper black sheep now, am I?"

"Azula, that's-!" Zuko whirled around, an agitated hand raised. He calmed himself again, slipping his hand into his suit's coat pocket. He spoke firmly but with a steady tone so as not to show aggression. "How do you _expect _us to react, given the choices you're making lately?" The two exchanged fierce glances, and Azula put out a mentally drained huff.

"_Really? _This is still about the Clan? Zuko, that is _business. _This is _family _I am struggling to discuss with you. But in your simpleton world the two seem one and the same. That's hardly fair."

"The Phoenix Clan is not _just _business," Zuko dismissed her claim. "That was Father's work. If you'd look at the logistics - _especially _given recent events - you'd realize what a failed effort it is."

"The Clan may have fallen in recent times, I admit..." Azula sighed, staring out at the parking lot before them.

The group in question was an organized group that had once been managed by Ozai Kurosawa, Azula and Zuko's father. It was the shady goings on that this group participated in that had helped Kurosawa Industries attain the level of financial stability it had in the past couple of decades. It was the connection to this group that had caused the rift within the family. Zuko had refused to participate in coordination with the group, and since Ozai's arrest, they had seemed to assume new management on their own, breaking off most ties from the company.

Azula, however, had been stirring the pot, attempting to reassert the Kurosawa family as the dominant force behind the group. It was her father's prized project, and she was determined to restore it back to what it had once been.

"But it's the _Phoenix _Clan, brother. They've fallen before, and risen back up. That's precisely what they're fated to do, is it not?"

"_No, _it's..._not_," Zuko grumbled, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets. "You need to _leave _all of that behind. Look at where it led our Father."

"That's because _Father _gave in to weakness," Azula snorted. "He let Mother get involved, and it was his downfall. But I..._I _will succeed where he failed."

A burst of doubtful air puffed from Zuko's nostrils.

"Right. So you say. I'm willing to bet Father felt the same way at some point. It's _his _fault that Mother is dead because he let his pride get in the way."

"Hmph..."

"The Clan is out of control, Azula. I know you think you're so cunning that you can wrap them around your finger, but I'm _telling _you - it's not going to work."

"I have learned from Father's error. I will not give in the way he did."

"You say it like it's entirely up to _you _how this will go."

"That's because it _is, _Zuko. It's my purpose - to restore order to this chaos."

Zuko sighed, pressing his hand to his face in frustration. It was taking all of his willpower not to explode at her.

"Azula. Listen. The Phoenix Clan is not something you can just..._control_...anymore. Father is in _jail. _Mother is _dead. _The Combustion Man, he's sending a _message, _and that message is, 'Stay away.' Does...does that not _mean _anything to you?"

Azula's nose scrunched up and her lips quivered with a mixture of deep-cutting emotions. She gulped the rest of her drink down at once.

"ZuZu," she chimed with a narcissistic smile. "You...are a coward. You and Uncle both. Kurosawas do not flee from trouble. They run headlong into it, and pierce through it like a spear."

She grinned at her brother's deadpan sideways stare and continued, her head already buzzing from the quickly ingested alcohol.

"A true Kurosawa is a mighty dragon that burns down the countryside and all who oppose it."

"And then you dive into your volcano nest for the evening, and call it a day?"

"Indeed."

"Hm. Well..." Zuko raised an eyebrow, gazing up at the night sky from under his hat's rim. "Your dragon is going to have a bunch of angry villagers and knights on its case soon enough. I think I'd prefer to bide my time in my cave, collecting treasures or...something..."

"Only to be slain by a greedy hero with a magical sword, his head dragged back to the nearest kingdom and displayed like a trophy while his body is left to rot in his cave, for he let his strength wither away whilst he hoarded over his jewels." Azula shot him a snarky smirk with narrowed eyes.

"Errr...I...kind of leave the metaphors to Uncle, usually." Zuko adjusted his fedora, tilting it up higher on his head.

"Hmph. Sooner or later, Dum-Dum, you're going to have to stop letting Iroh fight your battles for you. You can't hide behind his flabby facade forever, you know."

"Yea...Guess I can't argue with you on that." He turned his head to face his sister, who had tucked loose strands of hair neatly behind her ears. They both stood, side by side, their bodies facing opposing directions, but their glances locked for a moment of silence while they exchanged doubts. "But then, sooner or later, _you _are going to have to admit that he's right about the Phoenix Clan."

Azula scowled, staring at her empty martini glass. She clutched it delicately, her elongated fingernails tapping against its fragile surface.

"I don't let old men tell me what I can and cannot do," she insisted. "If I did _that_...then we wouldn't be here, now would we?"

* * *

"Nah, nah, I'm not gonna _taunt _ya like that," Sokka assured, grabbing a pre-filled glass of punch from the refreshment table.

"Good," Toph snorted, her arm stubbornly intertwined with his. "'Cuz that would suck...You'd just act like a retard, anyway." They had just discussed Sokka's decision to refrain from alcohol from the evening. Toph wasn't legal drinking age in America yet, and as much as Sokka was in the mood for booze right now, he didn't want to get intoxicated around people at a classy event like this. Toph seemed to appreciate the sentiment, anyway.

Sokka sipped at the punch, which was tangy and slightly carbonated, like a tap dance on his tongue.

"_Damn, _good stuff. Here..." Sokka snatched one up for Toph and waited until she opened her hand up for it, then carefully pressed it into her palm. She slowly took a slurp, licking her lips.

"Mm," was all she had to say about it.

"Ya know what we _should _do, though," Sokka's mind meandered about as the two of them lingered near the fruit punch table. Toph's spine tingled at the warmth of his breath against her neck as he leaned over. "We should have an _after _party later tonight," he whispered with mischief. Toph's eyes narrowed with anticipation at the prospect. "Get some people together and have some _real _drinks, eh?" His meaty arm nudged against her ribs.

"This is why you're the Idea Guy," Toph smoothly acknowledged with calm expression, drinking some more.

Suddenly, she could sense Sokka's body tense up. He coughed, then rapidly cleared his throat. What was going on? Before she could inquire, Sokka's arm jumped off of Toph's as he stepped away, his footsteps carrying him ahead.

"Suki?" he called out. Toph's brows furrowed and she did her best to contain her aggravation. Sokka sure had detached from her mighty quick...

"Oh!" Suki must not have noticed him. "Uh..._Hi_!" But based on that tone, she seemed to be glad to _had _noticed him. Probably something to do with how he was dressed, Toph figured. He _smelled _nice, she could appreciate that much, so it stood to reason that Suki of all people would probably like the way he was looking tonight. "Wow, you look sharp, Sokka," she complimented him. "All dressed up nice. Er, are...-?" Suki waggled her finger between Sokka and Toph a couple times with a baffled expression while Toph chugged down her punch.

Sokka spat out air through his lips in disbelief.

"_Whaa? _No, no..."

"Oh. _Ha. _Yea, I just-...It looked like...-"  
"Nah, you know me, just bein' all...gentle. _Man. _Like. Being dragged along on escort duty and all that."

"Heh."

_No, it's cool. You two just...do your thing. Not like I exist over here, five feet away._

"So, erm...Suki, _you _look pretty sharp, yourself," Sokka remarked, eyeballing her outfit. While he was dressed in a blue tuxedo and fedora, she had her hair gelled back, slick and shiny, and was wearing slacks, suspenders, and a white button-down shirt. She had a nametag pinned to her chest, and had a metal serving tray tucked under her arm.

"_Ha!_" chortled Suki. "Sokka, this is my uniform. I'm _working _tonight, remember?"

"..._Oh! _Right. Fff. I knew that." _Fucking christ, Sokka, stop making a dick of yourself and get back over here, I'm waiting on you._ "Well-...But, I mean...you still look fantastic." _Urrgghhh._

Suki shrugged with a bashful smirk.

"Thanks. Uh...Anyway, I'll stop by your guys' table later during my break, say 'hi' and stuff."

"Cool! Yea. Sounds great."

"All right." Suki began to step away, still facing him. Sokka was invigorated by the way she was clearly having trouble taking her eyes on him. "Have fun!" she yelled back. "Stay out of trouble!"

He simply waved back, his glass still in hand. Toph, who had finished her punch, was carefully feeling her way across the table's surface to figure out where to put her empty glass.

"Hot _dog_!" Sokka cried out with jubilance, bounding to his friend's sigh. He took her glass for her and set it with the other empties. "Seems like _everyone's _here tonight!"

"Mm-hm..." Toph was done trying to feign interest. That little...whatever-the-hell...had gotten under her skin. What a fucking wannabe player this guy was, trying to juggle different girls around, and getting all indignant when they already had a date, and then just throwing himself all over the other one, and just-...It pissed her off. Whatever all this was.

In the time Toph dwelt on this bitterness, Sokka finished off his drink, and she was jarred to her senses by his brusque shoulder slapping.

"All right, Gimpy, where we headed off to now?" That particular nickname was striking a nerve right now despite Sokka's casual ignorance.

Toph begrudgingly reached out and pinched her fingers around Sokka's elbow. His suit made it a bit slippery to keep her grip once they started moving.

"Let's just go back to the table," she mumbled.

"At your command, Mistress," Sokka doled out the facetiousness. He wasn't here because he wanted to be, because he enjoyed her company. He just saw it as obligation to the poor little blind girl. Right? Screw that...

"**Sokka**!" Toph nearly tripped over herself from their sudden stop, being called by a friendly voice.** "Buddy! Mannnn**~" Good God, was that..._Korra? _She sounded loopy as hell.

"Eyyyy..." And that other guy, Korra's housemate. The weirdo who talked fast.

"Whoa! Korra!" Sokka laughed out at her, tugging Toph along. She felt her sides brush up against a couple of strangers in their progression to Korra's table. "Having fun, I see. Well, aren't _you _all jazzed up?" Sokka's tone indicated that he seemed impressed by Korra's appearance.

From the table before them, Korra snorted out a laugh.

"In more ways than **one**!" Korra chortled, the words barely pushed out as if she were holding in some amazing joke. Another snort, followed by a burp. Very classy.

"We just...uhhh...paid a trip. A visit. To the bar," Bolin explained slowly with a lazy hand gesture.

"Gonna have to do that shit **again**," Korra insisted with a most idiotic grin. The two were sitting in tight proximity, their chairs pushed together, hips touching.

"A-whuh...-?" Bolin blinked at Korra's sly smile. "Jeez, woman. Give...Give a guy a chance. To eat, I mean. To eat my food here. Delicious. With the food." He was gawking at his plate, which had barely been touched. Korra was already done with her food, though - she'd scarfed the rest of it right down as soon as they'd gotten back from the bar.

"Eh, not the _only _**delicious** thing 'round here," Korra whispered, shoving her shoulder against her neighbor's. Bolin's already flushed face lit up briefly at this. Sokka was surprised. Hadn't Korra been insisting before that she had no interest in the boys she lived with? The disturbing glint in her eyes at that moment said otherwise.

"_Hohh_~" Bolin laughed awkwardly. "Yea, I gotcha. See whatcha did. There. A hoot. Ain't she a hoot?"

"Ha." Sokka shrugged, a disinterested Toph still grasping his elbow. "She...sure is one of those. And a lot of _other _things."

"**Lotta **other things," Korra repeated to herself with yet another snort.

"Glad you're unwinding, Cousin. You seemed stressed out lately."

"**_Chyeah._ **Stress? Buh-bye." She fluttered her hand in dismissal.

"Yep! Uh...Just two _pals_. Havin' fun. Is what we are. Doing." Bolin seemed somewhat off-put by Korra's flirtatious mannerisms in front of her relative. That was good, in Sokka's opinion. Bolin ought to be intimidated. The guy _was_ dressed pretty nicely, himself, Sokka conceded. He could potentially see a thing with these two. If anything, Korra seemed entirely _relaxed _and happy, something Sokka hadn't seen from her since she'd moved down here to Wayward. He found it funny that their table was empty, though, aside from the two of them, the plates mostly finished up.

"So much **fun,**" Korra spat out.

"Heh! But not _too _much. Fun. 'Cuz that...'Cuz that would be...-" Bolin's attention was suddenly derailed by how Korra had gotten up from her seat and was gaping at Toph's face with open-mouthed amazement.

"**Dude**."

Toph twitched, her shoulders springing up defensively at the startling word Korra had burst out. She had tuned out all of the bustling noise around her so much that she hadn't noticed Korra approach.

"Toph. **Toph**. Toph." Korra pushed the girl's arm with enough force that Toph nearly toppled over backward. She'd caught herself by gripping at Sokka's arm, and her friend tilted her back upright. Not that she'd asked him to do it.

"_What?_" Toph whined out at the obviously drunk Korra. She just wanted to sit the hell _down _already. All this bullshit meet-n'-greet had worn her thin.

"Has anyone ever told you how fuckin' **white your eyes are**? I mean, they are...**wh****ite. **Man. Like. White as a ghost. Snow." She snorted. "A snow ghost."

"Whuh...-?" Toph was baffled and annoyed and impatient. Sokka and his retarded cousin weren't helping.

"White as a **snow ghost! **_Oohhhh_..." Korra giggled to herself, apparently finding herself to be the wittiest woman alive. Sokka eased her back into her seat.

"You two keep on...havin' fun!" Sokka insisted hurriedly, disjointed by what he was seeing. He had never actually seen Korra in a date-type situation. Ever. It was freaking him out, especially with her being drunk. "Don't let _us _stop ya."

Bolin thrust up a wave and spilled forth an enthusiastic farewell.

"OK, we'll check ya guys later, ya know, we'll see ya when we see ya."

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=7vqqvh2B1Rg +

In the stillness after their social interaction, Bolin took in a moment to appreciate the soothing string music flowing from the stage while he ate some of his pork chop.

"**Woohoo**~" Korra broke the tranquil moment, pumping her fists into the air. "Man, this is so fuckin' **_rad. _**Bein' all...-" Korra stretched out her arms, looking down with the slightest amount of confusion at her own body, wrapped up in a dress. "-...like a **lady, **n' stuff."

"Being all like a Sir," said Bolin with a nod of self-approval.

"I **am **like a Sir!" Korra proudly declared, pounding a fist into her lap.

"Haha! You are. Some times."

Korra cleared her throat, sputtered out a cough, pounded her chest, then briefly put on a bizarre attempt at a British accent.

"Yiss, yiss. Goot, goot. Wot, wot."

To her dizzy-headed satisfaction, Bolin belted out a chuckle, which encouraged her to continue.

"Just need a fuckin' **top hat **n' I'm all **set**!"

"Well...Like..." Bolin stared around the floor. There were a couple of top hats off in the distance. Not that this mattered. He wasn't going to steal one or something. He suddenly remembered that he was wearing a hat himself. "It's not, like...a _top _hat," he muttered, removing it from his skull and smoothing over his hair. He shoved it onto Korra's head. "But it _is. _A hat. Of some sort."

And there it was, that damned humming laugh. Korra was doing it. Oh, man. He adored it so much.

"**Some **sort," Korra agreed, fidgeting with the fedora. She noticed that Bolin was staring at her quite affectionately in that moment, and she reciprocated the stare. "Hey, Bolin."

"Yea?"

"Thanks for...draggin' me out here. I _am _havin' **fun. **Lotta fun."

"That's good. It's good. Great. Even. I'd say."

"Heh." Korra popped out a shockingly loud belch, right in Bolin's face. Then she laughed at his misfortune.

"Yep," Bolin choked out, waving Korra's bodily fumes away and leaning back. "You sure are...one of a kind, Korra," he managed out with a dubious smirk.

"**I know it!**"

By now, Toph and Sokka had made their way back to the table. The entire walk back had been a punch to Toph's gut, listening to the violin being played. She knew Douglas was on that stage, and just the thought of him wrenched her with uncertainty and regret. Not exactly what she needed right now.

Toph was glad to be seated, and immediately checked for her cane, which was still exactly where she'd left it at the foot of her seat.

"Man, where'd everyone _go_?" Sokka whimpered, glaring at the empty seats. He stood up and scanned the hall. Mai and Zuko were standing to the side of the dance floor snacking on crackers and vegetables, Azula and Ty-Lee beside them. Aang and Katara were on the dance floor, hands latched onto each other's hips. As the next song started up - slow and mellow - the pair began swaying to and fro. They rubbed noses and kissed on the lips. Blech.

Everyone - even his damned cousin, Korra - was all coupled up tonight.

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=J2rd3o-is6Y +

"What is it?" Toph asked, leaning back in her seat. She looked utterly bored.

"Everybody's all...-" He flicked out his wrist with envy. "-...spreading their **oogies** all over the place. It's gross."

"Yea..." Even Toph agreed. She sounded just as disgusted as he was.

Sokka chowed down on his cheesecake, which was quite delicious. It offered a morsel of sweet relief. He felt a knot tie up in his stomach as the waves of gentle music made him think of times spent with Yue or Suki - a warm body pressed against his own. Just that sensation was sorely missed.

"All this sappy crap must be getting to my head," Toph sighed tiredly, dropping her head lazily into her palm. Maybe she could use this context to her advantage. Get a point across. "Feelin' all sentimental, and 'huggy,' and junk. Or something..."

She was warmed by Sokka's bulky hand clasping down on her bare shoulder. Her spine tingled at his touch.

"I know whatcha mean!" Sokka agreed, nodding to himself. He retracted his grip and finished off his cheesecake, leaving the crust. "Everybody all hooked up and _smoochin' _all over the place..." He huffed, his mood turning sour, as if his hold on optimism had slipped away with the passing of his dessert. "And Ty-Lee and her whole..._whatever _that's about. Showin' off...Ugh. All this love-dovey stuff makes me miss Yue. And Suki, even. I mean, me and Suki had an all right thing going. Ya know?"

That tingling sensation Toph had just experienced felt miles away now, disintegrated by toxic fumes of jealousy and bitterness. She made quite a point of sitting in her chair and trying to appear ornery and disinterested as possible, arms crossed. Her face had transformed from relaxed and mellow to a pouting snarl, and she turned her face away from her neighbor to further express her apathy in silence.

Sokka, hunched over his nearly finished plate, rested his cheek against his knuckles as his mood continued to degenerate.

"I couldn't even get a straight answer out of Suki, though. Like, if she didn't _want _to come with me, or if she wanted to but _couldn't_, or...something? Hmph. And then just now, she seemed all into me? Confusing. Man, things with Yue were so _simple. _Of _course _they couldn't just stay that way...Ya know, it's a cryin' shame, isn't it? People like you and me, all awesome and stuff, and we're stuck like extra wheels, watching everyone else have their fun."

Toph didn't reply, her tightened fists trembling. She couldn't take it anymore. Being around him, choking on his smoggy cloud of ignorance...it was suffocating, burning at her lungs.

"I mean, _come on, _I've _never _gone to a dance without a date until today! Never! That's just...pathetic. Seems like a waste to get all dressed up and come here without someone. Don't you think?"

"Uh, sure. Whatever." Toph scrambled for her walking cane and pushed herself up from her chair, eager to leave. "I'm...goin' for a walk. Later."

"All right!" Sokka bid her gently. Typical. He wasn't even going to stop her. See? He really _didn't _care. "Have fun! Don't hurt yourself out there, Dead-Eyes." _I'll be fucking _fine_, don't patronize me. _"Like...-" Sokka raised his voice to make sure he reached her as she waded into the crowd. "**Try not to trip on anyone!**" _Piss off!_

Toph didn't even know where she was going. She tapped her cane out as far ahead as her arms would allow, brushing up against heels and legs as she went. As expected, people parted to the sides like the Red Sea to give her way to maneuver. Perhaps by instinct, she made her way to the source of the music, trying her best to cir-cum-navigate the crowd of dancers. She bumped into a few non-observant folks, but could care less. She didn't care very much about anything right now. It was shallow, and childish, and...'girly.' She knew that. She knew she was probably acting hormonal. But that's simply how it was, and she couldn't give a crap about anyone else right now. They could have their happy evening, and she'd just stay out of it. She'd just bring them down, anyway. Fuck something up some how - that was what she was best at, right?

"Miss? Hello, Miss?" A stranger's voice, coming from her left as she pushed onward. It was a little rough. A hint of a Russian accent - just enough for her to catch it, but far from what she'd known as a stereotype accent. "Here." The voice was suddenly right there, by her side, and her bare arm was clasped between calloused fingers. They were gentle, timid, and warm. In the mood she was in, she didn't mind the contact, and allowed the gentleman to guide her to a seat. "There you go." By now the song had ended, and a wave of gentle applause washed across the hall, reverberating off the stone walls and marble floor.

"Uh...thanks," she mumbled awkwardly, somewhat confused. She could hear the nearby sounds of band members scuffling about on stage. Douglas was there, she figured. Was he looking her way? Did he notice she was there? _Gah. _Stupid thing to think. It didn't matter. The voice of this young man before her brought her back.

"No problem. You're...alone?"

"Er...-" _Way to cut to the chase there, whoever you are. _"Listen, Bub, I _want _to be alone right now...'Kay?"

"Hm." She could hear him sitting down beside her. Not so good at taking hints, was he? "Then...perhaps we can be alone together." _Yea, uh...Not what I had in mind, dude.__  
_

The band had finished shuffling around in preparation of their next song, a slow and smooth piece of jazz.

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=T5OzTKpptJg +

Toph leaned back, pressing her head with exhaustion against the wall her chair was leaned against. She took in the music, let it envelope her, her regrets, her doubts...everything. It never ceased to amaze her just how much some relaxing music could lighten her mood. Much to her surprise, the young man sitting next to her said not a word for a couple of minutes until Toph finally bit on the bait of silence.

"So, uh...do you _normally _pick up disabled chicks, or...-?"

"Hm? _Oh, _haha. No, that-...I was just trying to be polite."

"Ah. Mm-_hm_. No ulterior motives, or anything, huh?"

"_Well_..." Heheh, he sounded a little bashful.

"You know, I didn't _need _your help," she pointed out, trying to come across as smarmy when inside she felt a little disgruntled by the doting.

"It is a man's instinct to assist a beautiful girl, even if she doesn't need it." _Oho, Mr. Smooth-Talker here! Pff._

"I'm _beautiful _now, am I?"

"Ha. You _must _be, right? If I have ulterior motives, I guess I'd have no reason to help you otherwise."

"So it comes out: trying to get in my pants, huh?"

"Hm. Sometimes beauty is worth admiring just as it is."

"Yea, yea. All right, philosopher...What's your name?"

"I'm Ohev. And you - I know who you are - you are the prodigy, Miss Beifong." _Yow, _Miss Beifong! And the way he'd _said _it, too, just...mm. When was the last time someone had called Toph 'Miss Beifong?' It was always with the nicknames and all that. And a _prodigy_? Uh, _duh. _Yea. That had a nice ring to it, _and _it was a fact.

"So my reputation precedes me," Toph remarked with a cocky grin. "How'd you know me?"

"I wouldn't forget such a lovely face." _Pff, charmer-boy. Yea, yea. _"I've seen you perform, of course. In your band, at recitals...you are quite talented."

"I know, right? I work so damned hard, and it's like..._fuck, _man, I'm _blind_, but I still keep up _just_ fine."

"It is impressive."

"So, like, you're been to my recitals?"

"Naturally. A lot of the music department talks about you."

"Wait, so are you...-?"  
"A music student, yes." Interesting. This was getting better and better.

There was undeniable allure to this gent right now. He seemed nice and all, but was clearly captivated by Toph. Something guys had _not _been feeling toward her as of late. It was that feeling of dominance and attention that often fueled Toph's fire, and this guy was certainly feeding a slow and steady supply of coals to that desire._  
_

"So how does a blind person become so talented at music? I've been curious all this time about how you've achieved the skills you posses."

"Ha." _Someone who gives me proper respect. __Now we're talkin'. _"See, it started back with my Grandmother - she would have me listen to old Beatles records all the time..."

As Toph relayed her story to her new acquaintance, Aang and Katara were rejoining the dance floor after a bathroom break. Katara had seemed a bit sick in the stomach off and on tonight, much to the discomfort of them both. She looked fairly tired by this point in the evening, at that - it wasn't even that late, but Aang knew that Katara had spent a great deal of time getting herself and Toph looking as tidy as possible

As they linked each other's arms across waists, Katara blew out an uncomfortable sigh.

"Are you OK?" Aang murmured, his eyebrows arced up with concern.

"I might be sick, or...I don't know," Katara mumbled.

"I hope you get better..."

"Yea. Me, too." Katara's eyes were distant as the two of them swayed slightly in rhythm to the music.

"What's wrong?" inquired Aang softly. He watched as Katara's glance shifted sideways.

"I'm not sure," Katara confessed. "Just...something feels missing tonight."

"Mm..." Aang's face offered her some sympathy. He knew exactly what it was on her mind, but he wasn't going to bring it up. "But are you not having a good time?"

"No, no," she insisted. "This is nice, it's...-" She sighed. "I ran into Jane earlier today, and...we kind of argued, and...I just wish she was here...it just feels..._weird_. I miss her so much."

"Yea..." About what he had expected. Katara had been a little off all evening. An encounter with Jane certainly explained things. "I miss her, too. I'm sorry, Sweetie." Aang rubbed at her shoulders. He didn't know what else to do at that point.

"It's OK." Katara nuzzled the side of her face against his neck as they rocked slightly, abdomens pressed together. His gentle hands soothed her skin, a much-needed kind of therapy. He kissed her forehead, and she smiled weakly.

"But hey," said Aang warmly. "Tonight's about you and me. Right? And I'm not going anywhere."

"I know."

"And I love you, Ms. Eskimo."

"I love you, too. Mr. Penguin." Katara let out a light laugh as she pulled herself up from Aang's shoulder to admire the fact that this was the first night she'd seen him dressed in a tuxedo - a proper 'penguin' sort of outfit. She moved her face forward, and the two rubbed noses. Aang began to lead her into a more elaborate slow dance. Moves began to flow like water and they lost themselves in each other - like always.

At their seats by a back corner of the room, Toph and Ohev were chatting away.

"I had heard that you came from a wealthy family, but...I had no idea about such hardships with your parents." Ohev paused, and for the first time in their conversation, Toph sensed he was melancholic. "To be honest, I can relate. I come from Russia, you see - my parents and I got along well, but...I wanted to move to America. They didn't like that."

"But you moved, anyway," Toph mumbled knowingly.

"Yes. It's true. It was against their wishes...And yet, they allowed me to move here, for the sake of my education. And I do not regret it. This country is my home now, but...I do still miss my parents from time to time."

"Mmph..." Toph squirmed in her seat awkwardly. Her binding dress was pretty uncomfortable, and she fidgeted with it a bit. "Yea, I...I guess...-" She bit her lip. All of this talking about growing up was making her feel nostalgic. "I feel the same way. I think I made the right call, staying at this school and stuff, but...sometimes, I miss my parents, too."

Some voices rung from Toph's left as band members scattered from the stage, their performance complete. They were heading in the direction that Toph and Ohev had been sitting. Toph immediately recognized the voices of three of them - those annoying peers that she had to listen bicker about during band class.

"See? I _told _you, your new shoes go _perfectly _with that suit."

"I was so nervous up there...I thought we were doomed."

"I _hate _playing up on stage..."

"Hey, Ohev." This voice was more clear and direct, pointed right in Toph's direction. It was Douglas. Toph's heart skipped at the sound.

"Oh, am I up now?" replied the boy standing before Toph's seat. Ah, so maybe this was why the guy had been hovering around the stage to begin with.

"Uh...Yea." Ulgh, that awkward pause! Dougie had noticed her. She knew it. "Your turn up there while we're on break. If you still wanted to play." Another break in dialogue. "I mean, if you're busy, then you don't...-"

"Ah, well...-"  
"Dude, go _play_," Toph insisted casually. "You've been listening to me talk your ear off. Your turn to give _me _somethin' to listen to."

"You sure you're going to go with the improv piece?" Doug checked.

"It will be fine," the young man assured with a calm confidence. Toph was horny right now, she'd admit that much, but all the same, she was instantly attracted by the idea of this gentleman with the funny Russian name being a musician and all self-assured and what-not. Hm.

"Well..." Douglas seemed uncertain. "But you've never _played _that one before, right?"

"True, but...-"

"Doug, it's _Ohev_," insisted that bratty little girl.

"He's...amazing," mumbled the bumbling boy.

"I hate prodigies..."

Prodigy? Oh-ho...This was getting better.

"I am not _that _amazing," Ohev stifled their compliments with nervous laugh. "It is just sight-reading."

"Uh, like, it is _not just sight-reading_," pressed the girl.

"It's really impressive."

"Meh. It's good, I guess." Wow, even the dark and gloomy one seemed to recognize this guy's talent.

"Well, whatever you're going to play-" Doug sighed, his voice trailing off behind them as he passed through a doorway. "-better get up there soon. Next group is up in five."

"Yes, yes, certainly." Ohev directed his attention back to Toph. "You are comfortable here on your own, Miss Beifong?"

"Umm..." She deliberately offered out a smile. "Fine. Mm."

"Ah, good. Please excuse me."

Within a few seconds, a practice chord was pumped out of the piano on the stage. Piano. The guy fucking played piano. Jeez. The opening notes to Joplin's '_The Entertainer_' spilled across her, and she instantly recognized the tune. She could feel her stomach melting at the sound. The next few minutes were audio therapy for Toph. The young man's skills at the piano were delightful, and made her forget all about her unpleasant evening. He played the ragtime tune with flair, gusto, and _joy. _She could just..._feel _the happiness radiating from the way the keys were pounded. It was almost foreign to her - piano being played with such life and energy. For Toph, the piano usually meant work, and dread. It was cold and formal, requiring such precise strokes. This man made it sound like a free-form dance. He was improvising his own additions to the song as he went, near as she could tell. All kinds of subtle and extreme twists and turns from the original tune after he'd run it through its course one time. It became an elaborate harmony that even switched stylistic tone between sections, going from simple and classical one moment to spiraling jazz the next. By the end of the performance, the applause jolted Toph up. She had fallen into a rather deepened state of relaxation, letting her mind hang on every sound.

She'd heard all kinds of impressive pianists before, but something about her mood tonight and this particular man's playing had her turned on rather intently.

No fucking _way _that had been sight-reading. No way. That was impressive and energetic _imp__rov, _sure, but no way someone with that kind of flair could be sight-reading. And besides, what kind of pianist gets that good without having ever played _The Entertainer?_

"I apologize, Miss Beifong," came his voice. She could hear his shoes clapping against the wooden steps. "You looked very bored."

"Huh? Wh-? _No, _nah."

He sat back down beside her.

"If you are tired, perhaps you should rest. I'd hate to-"  
"Hey. Mr. '_Prodigy_?' That was fucking fantastic, up there. I was just...taking it in."

"Really?"

"Yea."

"Ah, well...I am, uh...flattered that such a skilled musician as yourself enjoyed my work."

"It's all good. But...c'mon, be real with me. That wasn't sight-reading."

"A-actually, it...it was, I haven't...-"  
"You've _never _played _The Entertainer _before? I _heard _you, man. You've been at the keys for a long time. Right?"

"That's true, but-...Honestly, I have _heard _the song before, but...I've never really sat down and _played _it."

"Uh-huh. And you just..._happened _to be able to add all that flair n' shit, just...off the top of your head?"

"Heh. It's...really not that impressive. It's just like reading a book." Toph frowned a bit at that remark. She couldn't really grasp that concept entirely. "Music is...a language, after all," Ohev went on. "In the same way that one can read a page of text and recite it aloud, that's...simply all I am doing. Reading something aloud. It's just a different language, and I am speaking with my fingers instead of my lips."

Quite the philosophical gent, wasn't he? Pff. Well, Toph had decided from the humbled manner Ohev spoke that he was telling the truth. That delightful piano playing had indeed been him sight-reading and improvising. Her mind was a bit baffled by this, and admittedly impressed. It was pretty hot, the skill he had executed - and a certain aura of exoticism floated around him now that she was aware that he possessed a talent she could physically _never _have: the ability to see music laid out, and play it while reading along. It was something Toph would never possibly be able to achieve, and it was damned awesome to her that this talented man still seemed to think highly of her.

She held up her palm with a sly smirk.

"Gimme your hand, lemme 'see' what those fingers have to say."

Without skipping a beat, he put his hand in her own - she liked that, no hesitation - and she studied the callouses on the sides of his thumbs. The tips of his fingers, too. Man, strong fingers, for sure. The man had put in his time at the keys lately, she could tell. The band was clattering about now, having re-entered and ready to play again.

"Your fingers definitely _do _speak," she muttered, her cheeks beginning to light up as he wedged his fingers inbetween her own.

"They seem to be enjoying the conversation they are having with yours," Ohev chuckled. He stood up, and gently pulled Toph up from her seat. "Your fingers are telling me something I did not realize until now."

"Oh, _really_?" Toph replied with some snark, amused by this guy's flattery.

The next sentence that Ohev spoke was quiet - just for her ears - and brimming with resolution and confidence.

"They are telling me that you are special, Miss Beifong."

"Um..._Thanks_," Toph mumbled sheepishly, utterly confused as to how to react. This was new to her - someone _else _being the assertive one, being apparently so infatuated with her as to insist on being forward about it. The two of them stood, hands linked up together, while the band started up another slow, mellow jazz song.

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=HMnrl0tmd3k +

"Want to dance?" Ohev asked, breaking Toph from a hypnotic moment of entrancement. The music combined with the boy's physical contact was making her body tingle and her blood rush.

Toph suddenly realized that since the song had started, her hands had worked their way to Ohev's shoulders.

"Er, _sure_," Toph snickered, face hot with embarrassment. Together, they whirled about, Ohev leading her along. She couldn't help but think to herself that this guy wasn't as good a dancer as Aang...which invariably led her mind back to thinking about all of that mess, her mistakes...and Sokka. Fucking _damnit, _she wished she could just _stop _thinking about Sokka.

"I'm glad I met you," Ohev whispered to Toph, his words ringing with authenticity. Her heart swelled, pounding like a drum, when his lips touched her cheek. Bold guy, going right in there. They'd hardly known each other, but he surely wasn't playing around. Carpe diem, and all that. No pussy-footin' around, no awkwardness, no stuttering or ignorance. She was liking this.

"Heh..." She was still at a loss for words. She lifted her hand up to his face as their bodies rocked together in unison, riding on waves of intuition and attraction. She let her fingertips slide along his cheek - scratchy to the touch with traces of five o' clock shadow. Nice. The pair enjoyed the chemical-born sparks their friction generated, and after the song was over, Toph's mind was overwhelmed with energy and excitement.

"We should ditch this place," she declared, giving Ohev a slight punch on the shoulder.

"And go where?" Ohev asked. He sounded equally interested in this idea.

"Uh, we...could go to my practice room," Toph tossed out the idea. "I want to hear more of this _so-called _sight-reading you claim to be capable of."

"Only if you're going to play something for me, too," Ohev wagered as Toph tugged on his arm, drifting back to their chairs from before.

"We should...-" She grunted, bending down to grab her cane from beneath the seats. Ohev was quick to help her back to her feet, and looped his arm around hers. She beamed at their connection. "We could go get my guitar, and then we could, like, _jam the hell out_, man!" The idea was making her head spin, playing music with such a talented guy, who was so enamored by her.

"Haha! Sure! Yes! Let's do it. I have a car we can take back to campus."

"We're too cool for this party, anyway," Toph cockily decided, eliciting a laugh from her dance partner. She let Ohev carry her off toward the front of the building. Before they had made an exit, they were flagged down by an intrigued Katara.

"_Toph! _Hey! Where are _you _going? Who's this?"

Toph grinned wide at the sound of her roommates curiosity, while Ohev stared with wide-eyes at the girl in the white dress before them.

"Hey, Sugar-Queen! This here's Ohev. He's a _pianist_. Guy who was just playin' up on stage a bit ago? _Yeah. _Right here."

Ohev laughed nervously, extending his arm. Katara smiled at him, her eyes squinting slightly with anticipation. He was an odd-looking guy, his teeth a little misaligned, with furry eyebrows. All the same, it was quite interesting to her to see how comfortable the two seemed to be with each other. Toph wasn't generally one for making friends, after all.

"Wow! That-..._Wow. _You were amazing," she complimented.

"Wasn't he?" Toph bragged before Ohev could even reply. She pushed her shoulder up against his. "So, hey, where's Twinkle-Toes at?"

"Twinkle...-?" Ohev was baffled.

"He went out to the car to get my coat," said Katara. "I think we're going to be heading out to see a movie together here in a bit."

"Ah, cool. Have fun."

"Yea, thanks."

"So, then, what's Meat-Head doing?"

"Oh. Uh, I guess Suki's working here tonight? She stopped by just now during her break, and her and Sokka took off together."

Toph's stomach gurgled with some jealousy. Well, screw him, anyway. Who needed idiots like him when she had charming musicians who actually treated her with _respect _and _wanted _to be around her?

"Mm."

"So...um...Wh-...Do you two _know_ each other, or...-?"

"He's a fellow music student and stuff," Toph brushed aside Katara's confusion. "We're actually goin' to go play some music together, _soooo_..."

"Play _music _together," Katara repeated Toph's phrase with doubt.

"_Yea_. He's going to play piano, I'm going to play guitar," Toph retorted, having picked up on Katara's suddenly judgmental tone.

Katara was frustrated that she couldn't just...give Toph a _look, _right then and there, to express her concern about the implications laid out here. Instead, she opted to clutch at her friend's shoulder.

"You sure you guys don't want to hang out with us? _Here? _Let us all get to know each other?"

Ohev squirmed a little at the social tension.

"Nah, I think we're good, thanks," Toph pushed out plastic words of courtesy. "Besides, don't you have a _movie _to catch?"

"Well...sure, in a bit, but...It just seems so soon for you to leave," Katara pointed out, just as Toph had taken a step forward. "I thought you wanted to stay and listen to the music."

"I, uh...heard all the music I needed to," Toph replied. She rubbed her hand along Ohev's arm with a grin, and he laughed sheepishly, apparently confused as to what to say between these two women. "I've had my fill of roaring twenties," Toph assured, pressing onward. "Roaring loud enough to hurt my eardrums. You guys have a good night, I'll see you later!"

"But-...!" Katara almost lifted an arm to stop her roommate, but it was too late. "Um..." She raised her voice and waved out. "It was nice meeting you, Ohev! Have a good time, you two! Make _good choices!_"

Katara sighed to herself as she watched a flustered Toph drag her spontaneous date out the entryway doors. A minute later, Aang showed up with her blue denim jacket and slipped it over her back, kissing her cheek. Katara had a small smile on her face, but seemed fairly pensive in a different way than she'd been just a couple minutes ago.

"Something happen while I was gone?"

"Our Mud-Slug picked up some musician guy," Katara informed Aang with a insinuating tone.

"_Oh_." Aang's head cocked back with surprise. "Uh...Well. That's...kind of surprising."

"Yea. They just..._took off_," Katara huffed. "Knowing Toph, she's probably gonna...molest the poor guy, and...-"

"W-well, but...-" Aang was sorely tempted to try and explain Toph's particular situation. He was willing to bet Sokka's utter ignorance was driving Toph to throw herself at anyone who was going to give her attention. But he'd promised Toph he wouldn't speak of it.

"But _what_?" Katara reacted in irritation. "She's irresponsible and rash. And she's _horny_. It's not a good mix. Or have you forgotten all about Douglas?"

"OK, I get it," Aang admitted with a shrug as he watched Katara hurriedly stuff her arms into her jacket. "But Katara, that...was _different._"

"_How _was that _different?_" Katara growled, shrugging up her shoulders with wide eyes.

"Because she was dating _me _back then," Aang firmly explained. "She's not _dating _anyone right now, Katara. You know just as well as I do that...Toph goes about things a little differently than we do."

"By which you mean, 'having-sex-on-a-first-date.'" Katara flicked up a wrist. "Just a _little _different."

"Uhh..." Aang was feeling progressively more awkward about this conversation, especially by how worked up Katara was getting. "I...Yes, um...-? But, hey, whoa..." He clasped his hand around her upraised palm and gently pulled it down, inching himself toward her. "Sweetie, it's...not really our _business_. Is it? Toph's an adult, let her make her own decisions here."

"Oh, so you're on _her _side, now?"

"What? No, _Katara, _what are you...-?" He studied her face closely, noting her fatigue. "Are you _feeling_ OK?"

"I'm _fine._" _That_ was obviously a lie. "Just...whatever." She rolled her eyes and detached her hand from Aang's, walking past him and toward the tables. He followed. "Let's just get everyone and go to this movie, if that's what we're doing."

* * *

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=LGi_hfwzEp0 +

Toph breathed out a sigh of relief and satisfaction, resting her head on the furry arm of the young man laying down beside her. It had been a few hours since they had left the ball. She had no idea how long - she'd lost track of time. An hour or so of jam session time had certainly given the two of them time to match wits and skills, and by the end of their jam session, they had been playing on the piano at once - two bodies at one set of keys, side by side on the bench.

It hadn't taken much to coerce the guy into it, and he seemed more than happy to oblige. They'd improvised a fascinating whirl of blues and jazz. By the time they were finished, Ohev had planted a kiss right on Toph's cheek, sparking her body into motion. Her reaction to this, naturally, was to grab at his face and kiss him on the lips. From there, things had quickly escalated, the two of them intuitively and organically diving into deeper physical intimacy - two sexual beings in the mood to have their desires met.

This sound-proof practice room had served as a kind of sexual haven for Toph since she'd started school here. It was often where she'd taken Aang when she was in the mood for snogging. It was where her and Dougie had partaken in disapproved conduct months ago. Apparently old habits died hard, and this place made her comfortable. But this was different than it had been with Douglas. She had coerced Douglas into it, forced herself upon him, and he'd given in to her aggression, time and again, under the assumption that Toph had broken things off with Aang.

But here, tonight, Toph had spent some quality time with Ohev. Talking, playing music...ironically, in a single evening she'd gotten to know him far better than she had ever known Doug in their time together. And technically, she had no reason to feel any guilt, right? They were both single adults here. They'd used protection - a condom swiped from Toph's dresser when they'd stopped by to grab her guitar.

And yet after an hour or so of chemical bliss, Toph somehow still felt a bit dissatisfied. The two of them were sprawled across the hard, carpeted floor of her practice room in their underwear. They were wrapped into a large, fleece blanket Toph left in her practice room for when she would pull all-nighters. They were appreciating a few minutes of silence as their heart rates calmed back down and their breathing returned to a steady, slow state of relaxation. Ohev had extended his arm to allow a place for Toph to rest her head. His arms weren't as chunky as Sokka's. She lamented this. Now that she thought on it, his voice wasn't as soothing and exciting, either. In general, his body just wasn't as fully figured as Sokka's.

This was Toph's biggest problem tonight: she couldn't seem to wholly erase thoughts of the idiotic Meat-Head from her mind. Even during her intercourse with Ohev, her imagination had played around with reality a bit, wandering to thoughts of Sokka. His voice, his cologne from the ball. Ohev was nice in his own right, certainly, but...deep down she apparently wanted something else. It was quite troubling to her now that the sex was over, and her body had been given its fill. Her brain was finally free of the fog of hormones, and it was facing the truth: she wanted _Sokka. _So damned bad. She didn't even know why. She'd never felt this way about someone before. Even with Aang, she had been able to totally separate him from her interactions with Douglas. Their breakup had stung, but...not on so _deep _a level as this sense of rejection was. She had actively _decided _earlier that evening that she wasn't going to focus on Sokka anymore, and she couldn't even stick with that for a day? Not even an evening?

She was single. She was entirely entitled to this time with Ohev. Sokka was an oblivious dick who seemed to have no interest in her.

But still, somehow, some way...part of her felt like she was 'cheating' on Sokka. It made no sense. It pissed her off. It burned at her stomach.

"Are you all right?" Ohev finally whispered to her, catching on to her uneasy squirming around. "Was that not...-?  
"No! No...It was good," Toph insisted. She turned her head to her left, pointing her face toward where she presumed his to be.

"Oh. I'm...glad. It's been a while since I've done this."

"Ha. Well, it was..._just _fine."

"Then why do you seem...upset?"

"Huh? I'm not...-"

"Perhaps it is me, then. I've thought about it. There is...someone else."

"Mm?" What? How would he have...-?

"You remind me of her. From back home." Oh. Hm. Well, then.

"Uh..._Oh. _Who's that?"

"It's...someone I had to leave behind when I moved. We...ended things, just because of the distance. But...this time tonight with you, it-...I feel like I've been reminded of how much I miss this. Whatever you would like to call it."

"Yea..." Toph sighed, moving her head up to his pectoral. "I know what you mean."

"I'm sorry, Miss Beifong." _Ha, _and he _still _was being all polite and calling her that. "I didn't...really think this through. I didn't realize...-"  
"Lemme slow ya down there, Mr. Prodigy. You're all good."

"But...we...-"  
"Had a good time tonight. Right?"

"Yes. That's true."

"Yea. We didn't sign up for anything. And...to be honest, I...think there's someone in my life I can't seem to let go of, either."

"Oh?"

"Yea."

"Well...then he must be a very lucky man."

"He's actually an _idiot,__" _she clarified, dead-pan. "But...-" She let her bitterness on the subject slide away. "I get the feeling there's some lucky girl back in Mother Russia who must be missing _you_, then."

"Mm..." Toph could hear it in that hum. He understood her longing desire. At least his sounded more practical than hers were. "Was this...a mistake?"

Toph took a moment to consider the question with a deep inhale. She puffed it out in a slow, winding sigh.

"I dunno about _you_, but...I really needed this."

"Hm. I see. I guess maybe I did, too."

"Doesn't hurt to get some practice in, right?"

"_Ha. _A temporary dance partner to remind me how to waltz."

"_Yea, _see? Something all fancy-sounding like that."

"So this...this would be a one-night stand, then?"

"Uh...Yea. Yea, it would, I guess...I mean, is that...OK?"

"No, no, that's fine."

"Really? You're OK with this...being what it is?"

"Why not? Like you said...we had a good evening. I met a fascinating person. We've had good conversation, we made music. We've...brought each other pleasure. That's more than many other people I meet."

"_Pfff, _yea, I bet with the 'bringing pleasure' part, especially, huh?"

"Haha. I...I'm just not sure what to think, I suppose. But there's no reason for us to hold bitterness about this. Is there?"

"_Nah, _I mean...as long as _you're _OK with it, I'm...fine."

"I wonder if people would judge us..."

"Ech...Prolly. What's it matter? _We_ know how it was. _We _had a good time. Shouldn't matter to anyone else, right?"

"You really do march to your own drum, Miss Beifong."

"Kinda my my thing, yea."

"Hm. Maybe I should start marching to my own drum, too."

"Cool...So...uh, I don't-...Should we leave, or...?"

"We can...stay here. If you like. I can stay."

"You sure? 'Cuz like, I _totally _get if this is awkward, and...-"

"This is quite comfortable. If we're going to have a 'one night stand,' then...we might as well relax and enjoy it, right?"

"Heh. It can be just like you said when we met."

"What's that?"

"We're just gonna be alone..._together_. For a little while."

Toph yawned and stretched, tugging the blanket around herself, savoring the fuzzy fleece. She pressed her cheek into Ohev's hairy chest for warmth.

Tea with Iroh. That's what this was making Toph think of. What was it that old fogey had said? Something about meeting strangers being one of life's "true delights?" Something like that...This was like that. Only, er...with sex, instead of tea. Right? Yea. But really, they had a good evening. She really had needed this. Her body and mind both. She had needed a boost. A reminder that she _was _someone worth liking, worth...being attracted to. Maybe that was dumb, but...lately, with all of the fuck-ups she'd made, she had been losing sight of that idea: that she deserved someone just as much as anyone else.

This time with Ohev had been mutual, it'd benefited them both, no hurt feelings...Just two people, having fun, enjoying each other's company. Wasn't that worth something just by itself? They could never speak to each other again, and...that could be OK. Toph could be OK with that. Not every connection in life had to be some long, involved thing.

Besides, this guy was a nice guy. He had been so polite and courteous, and things had been so..._easy._ And effortless.

That was it. Easy. Effortless. That was the problem, right there, when Toph dwelt on it.

Toph didn't _want _something easy and effortless. Where was the challenge in that? Toph didn't want some Disney prince handed to her on a platter, like her parents probably would've loved. Toph thrived in the fight, the challenge, the struggle. It was part of what had made Aang so fascinating - the tug and pull of things, the rocky road of bumps that kept life interesting. Every conversation with Sokka was a skirmish of wits in a war she wanted to submerge herself in.

They had the same humor, they bounced words back and forth in a flurry of sarcasm and nicknames. When she was bitchy, he'd get all logical and smart and keep her in her place. When _he _was being too stupid and idiotic, she'd slap him upside the head and get him back to his senses. She _wasn't _crazy. It _did _make sense, why she'd like him. Yes. Right? Aang had seemed all supportive about it, too. _Yea, _that was right. _Aang _thought it was a good idea, _he _knew them both. Hm. Maybe Toph could stand to ask Katara about this...?

Love was a battle, and Toph wanted to _win _at it. Sokka was the perfect prize for her.

Toph wanted to _win _Sokka. Yea. There it was. Instead of fussing and getting all bitter...she just needed to wait and listen, and then _strike. _In the metaphorical sense. _Yes._ Fuck yes. The motivation, the angle...suddenly alive and well in her head.

And to think she had been so willing just a few hours ago to give up before even trying - pining for something else she didn't _really _want.

_**~In just a moment's time you'll wonder why you ever thought you'd ever long for more than you've got~**_

For right now, though, she was just going to appreciate this bizarre encounter for what it was.

_**~'Cause baby you...you've got you and me~**_

Sokka wasn't a lost cause just yet. Toph would just have to fight harder, and put in the bitter work if she wanted to win.

* * *

**A/N: Lots of music from the Legend of Korra OST linked for ambiance. Ohev's talent at improv/sight-reading is inspired by the amazing Tom Brier. Here's a sample of his work: youtube(.com)/watch?v=vhRBGCS8mlc - Also some stuff from the Skullgirls OST which is brilliant and you should totally look into it. And also some other stuff in there, I bet. I considered making the last scene a song-fic deal, but I've been trying to stay away from those unless I have a strong vision for them. I decided it'd be better to spend the time developing out some of Toph's inner-workings and analysis of the situation, which I'm sure not everyone will approve of. I probably wouldn't were I Toph's friend, either. But I know a lot of people at that age in particular are going to be more loose with that sort of thing than I would. Ultimately, I'm trying to express with Toph's date with Ohev a concept that there are chance encounters in life where you meet a person only briefly, have a strong connection, but then that's it - that there is still value and merit in these experiences and we can still take something away from them.**** Anyway, I hope this chapter turned out all right. I've had a lot on my mind, put a lot of time into it, and ultimately am not sure I'm satisfied with it for some reason, but it's out there and I hope you all had fun.**


	87. Arms

**A/N: I've been asked numerous times in the past, 'What will you work on when SRU is finished?' You can find my official answer in the form of this preview of what will be my next project, 'Esteemed': ****fav-dot-me/d580w42 (Also, I'm sorry that links seem so funky and I have to reformat them vaguely, it's not my fault FF's so stingy about it. At least on DA I can post links and thumbnails right in the description of each chapter. Speaking of which, there's of course new artwork there since I posted SRU86, and perhaps more importantly for some of you, just another reminder that the 'What I Learned at SRU' Facebook page is where I post artworks and previews of each chapter. People on DA or following that page were able to read about half of this chapter's contents before it was posted here.**  


******In other news, I'm planning on retooling the story's introductory chapter, which will probably be my next task before starting SRU88. I intend to add a scene at the start to pull readers in with more intrigue, I guess - I'm going to write a scene portraying the night of Jet's death, from Smellerbee's perspective. That ought to capture curiosity right off the bat and also make clear that Smellerbee is a major player in this story. Someone recently asked here why I change the chapter description and characters in the story's profile each chapter - it's because I didn't realize there was a "Gaang" option in the character section! I've since editing the story's profile accordingly.  
**

******Lastly, another huge thank you to everyone who reads my work. I hardly hear from you guys, but when I look at the numbers, I _know _there's a lot of you out there, so thanks so much for taking the time to read through this story, and I hope each successive chapter from here to the end is worth the wait.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 87 - Arms_

* * *

- Sunday, April 17th, 2011 -

Katara had whiled away her morning with reading and writing, getting assignments due the coming week finished up. She'd left her door open, wondering when Toph would eventually show. The woman had never come back during the night, which Katara found quite questionable, and had contributed to her having difficulty sleeping. Her brain was riddled with entirely too many worries lately, and it was beginning to show. She was still in her pajamas despite it being slightly past noon, and hadn't left the room since waking. Her hair was tied up in a lazy bun, odds and ends poking out in every direction. Dark folds hung under her eyes, and her present posture involved being slumped back in her desk chair, catching up on shows she'd stream over the internet.

She hadn't even left to eat lunch, opting instead to microwave a pre-made package of instant macaroni and cheese. The plastic bowl now sat, emptied, beside her mouse pad, partnered by a can of Arizona green tea, three-quarters consumed.

Sokka was being an imbecile. Toph was out gallivanting with strangers. Jane was..._urrghh. _Korra was _babysitting, _of all things, instead of trying to get a real job, and was still socializing with Jane despite being fully aware by now of the circumstances surrounding that jerk. And Aang seemed to be siding with everyone else, trying to tell Katara to calm down, and not worry so much. Wasn't he supposed to be with _her_ on everything? Shouldn't he be helping her sort everything out? Lately everyone was so bothersome, acting like _she_ was psycho because she cared about these matters. She should just be sitting back and watching everyone around her ruin their lives, apparently. It was like _she _was the crazy one. Hmph.

Footsteps carried from the nearby stairwell just outside her door, and Katara sprung to her feet, glancing out of her doorway for Toph, that nymphomaniac. Katara would give her a piece of her mind, because...-  
Oh. It was _Jane_.

The two immediately broke eye contact, and Jane swept by Katara, headlong into her room, closing the door sternly behind. Katara fumed at the shut door in her face and retreated back to the land of lazy, computerized-television-watching. About fifteen minutes later, Toph finally showed up. She looked like an idiot, her loose hair in tangles, the edges of her braids frayed. She was in sweat shorts and a tank top, and was poking her cane before her in one hand while toting her green dress from the night prior in the other.

"Hello, _Toph_," Katara grunted out, watching the girl fumble around to her end of room and toss her dress sloppily over her bed. Ugh, that girl was going to ruin that beautiful dress. Stupid.

"Hello to _you, _too," said Toph, irritated with her roommates judgmental tone.

"Have a good time playing _music _together last night?"

"As a matter of fact, I _did. _And the sex wasn't so bad, either." Toph figured she'd cut through the passive bullshit and deal with this openly, since it was going to head there sooner or later.

"You spent the _night_ with that guy? A total stranger. You just...wandered off with him, this guy you don't even _know, _and you fuck him." _Whoa. Breakin' out the curse words, eh, Katara? You really _are _in a pissy mood._

"I got to know him a bit, _first_," Toph mumbled out, slinging her cane's wrist loop over her bed post and flopping down onto the floor.

"That was _stupid, _Toph," Katara declared. "You just let him _take _you right off, all by yourself. This random guy."

"He wasn't _random_, I-"  
"He could've _raped_ you, or...or...-"  
"Well, he _didn't._"  
"You're _blind, _Toph, you need to be more careful about how you-"  
"I know _damn well _how to take care of myself, thank you."  
"You didn't even _tell me _where you were, I was worried _sick_-"  
"There was nothing to worry _about_. I had it under control."  
"Do you know how easy it would be for someone to take advantage of you?"  
"Huh. Funny, 'cuz no one ever does."  
"Because you just force them into it, _anyway._"  
"We _both _wanted to."  
"'Cuz _that_ suddenly makes it responsible."  
"We used protection."  
"Oh! That's nice. Something awful could've still happened."  
"But it _didn't._"  
"You keep making dumb decisions like that, and some day it _will._"  
"Yea, OK, thanks, _Mom_."  
"And _here _we go, again with-"  
"We both knew you'd pull this shit as soon as I got back."  
"Ya know what? OK. Sure. You're right. And we _both knew _you were going to fuck that guy last night."  
"_Why _is that any of your damned business?"  
"I'm looking out for what's best for you! Because you can't do it _yourself._"  
"Janey-Jane got sick of your shit, so now _I'm_ back to being your big fixer-upper project."  
"I guess _so! _Maybe if your life wasn't such a fucking train wreck, I'd-"  
"_Ha! _Yea, _you're _the one who needs happy pills to stop from becoming-"  
"I don't _need _those, I can do fine without-"  
"-but somehow I have a good time, and _I'm _the train wreck."  
"-nothing to do with it."  
"You haven't been taking them, have you?"  
"I _just said _that has nothing to do with it."  
"You keep tellin' yourself that."  
"I'd rather be addicted to pills than _screwing._"  
"Yea? Maybe if your _asshole _brother could take a fucking _clue, _I wouldn't need to go getting my jollies from...-" Toph trailed off, cleared her throat as she buried her face in her arms, which were planted over her knees.

There was suddenly a lapse in their bickering as the two heaved out heavy breaths of frustration. Toph's face was warm with embarrassment at what she'd almost let slip, and Katara was slightly confused.

"You sound like _shit, _Katara," Toph grumbled, trying to change subjects from her spot against the side of her bed, knees tucked in.

"You _look _like shit," Katara snapped back in what was almost a whimper.

"Do you ever stop to think for, like, _two _seconds, that sometimes _you_ need to be taken care of, too?"

Katara swallowed hard, rubbing her palms across her eyes.

"Yea, I might be a little..._frisky_...out there," Toph confessed, her voice still lightly muffled by her arms. She finally lifted her head back up. "But if you ask me, sounds like _you _could actually _use _some." Katara frowned at Toph's suggestion. "I mean, when was the last time _you _had sex, huh?"

"That's...not something you need to-"  
"_Oh!_ **Hoho!** So _my _sex life should just be an open book, but if _I'm _worried about _you, _suddenly it's not _my _business. Is that it?"

Katara's head rolled around in defeat, and she could see Toph's point.

"August," Katara answered meekly.

"Whuzzat?" Toph checked. Had she misheard that?

"...I said, _August_," Katara repeated in a bit of a pout.

"Uh..._Seriously_?" Toph's brows were furrowed with bafflement. "Like..._August? _Who the fuck...-?" She scratched her hand through her hair as it dawned on her. "Oh, my _god..._Jet?"

"Mmph..."

"_Jet? _You had sex with _him, _but...you and Twinkles...-?"

"That was...a _very _different...relationship," Katara grumbled. She was pricked by a complex mixture of emotions regarding the events that had surrounded her relationship with that man. "I didn't say I was _happy _about it."

"No, but...Nah, nah. See. No, wait a _minute. _Here. I thought you and Aang were, all, like.._comfortable _with each other. And stuff."

"We...we _are_," Katara replied defensively.

"And I thought-...See, I got the impression he was all, like...super _into _you, and stuff."

"He _is_."

"Like, more than he was ever into me."

"Well...Y-_yea_."

"So, then..._How_...-?"

"We're taking it _slow_, Toph. Something _you _don't know anything about. In case you forgot the _entire reason _you two broke up."

"Ah, yea. Thanks." Toph frowned. "Real nice."

"I'm just _saying_...And it's not like you're proving me _wrong _lately."

"Whatever. OK, so you're telling me that I shouldn't go around, having a good time. But it's all well and good for you to, like..._repress _it?"

"I'm not _repressing _it."

"You have _no interest _in having sex with your boyfriend...?"

"I didn't..._say _th-"  
"So you're intentionally _avoiding _it."

"I _guess, _I'm just-...I don't want to pressure Aang into...-"  
"Have you _asked _him about it lately?"

"N-no, I...-"

"So you _are _deliberately avoiding it."

"Mm..."

"Doesn't sound _any _more healthy than what I'm doing, Sister-Face. Sorry."

Katara's lips quivered with uncertainty at the thought. Toph had a good point. Even in her bitchy mood, Katara could see that.

"It's...it's not like _you _d-don't avoid stuff," was Katara's weak comeback to this.

"Which is exactly _why _I know that _you _shouldn't be doing it, either. Listen. Let's make a deal here."

"What...?"

"I'll promise...to not have sex until I'm actually in a relationship...if _you _promise that you'll actually _talk _with Twinkle-Toes about doing it yourself, and work toward that."

"Um...I-I don't know that...-"

"Come on. We'll be, like, accountable-sister-group-something. To each other. You like that kinda crap, don't you?"

"Mm..." Katara smiled weakly at Toph's attitude. Here Toph was, actually giving _Katara _advice and pointing things out. She really had been growing up a bit lately, and every example thereof always struck Katara deep - it made her proud, and it also reminded her that her own actions _did _impact those around her. "All right. Let's do it."

Toph, a big grin on her face, stuck out an open hand from her spot on the floor. Katara wormed her way out of her chair.

"C'mon, Sugar-Tits, don't leave me hangin'."

"I'm _not, _I'm just getting...-" Katara sighed and grabbed Toph's hand. "Don't call me that."

Toph gave her roommate a solid handshake, and Katara forcefully reciprocated.

"Done deal," concluded Toph.

"Yea."

The two both took a deep breath. It felt kind of invigorating, in a sense. Moments before they'd been spewing toxic words, and here they were shaking hands. It was almost like they knew how to deal with one another by now. Fancy that.

Katara sat herself down, cross-legged, in front of her friend. Something had been nibbling away at her curiosity and now that the argument had been resolved...she needed to step back and examine it.

"So...Just before, you said...something about Sokka?"

Toph swallowed, her head tilting to the side.

"I called him an _asshole, _yea," she replied, keeping her cool.

"What did you mean by that?" Katara stared at Toph's uncomfortable body language, and her brain began to put puzzle pieces together. "Did he say something dumb last night? Or do something rude?" Katara watched Toph's toes scrunch up, her fingers ball up into fists, and her eyebrows sink.

"Just...his typical bullshit lately," she grunted out, her nose wrinkling with reserved disdain.

"Toph...Hun." Katara paused, watching her friend's pale cheeks shade themselves pink. "Do you _like _him?"

"Yea."

Toph let the word tumble out with ease. It was relieving, in a way, just to throw it to the open. Besides, Katara had shared her embarrassing tidbit, so Toph might as well toss her own out. And if Toph was going to be open about this that easily with anyone, it would be Katara.

"Oh..." Katara's eyes widened at this prospect, and she sucked in air through her nostrils. "I-...O_kay_, then. That...makes a lot of things...make _sense_."

"Yea," Toph repeated, her tone darker this time.

"I'm...so sorry, Hun." Katara wiped her fingers over her forehead tiredly, pushing up loosened strands of hair while her brain whirled to figure this out.

"Pff." Toph huffed a gust of air up through her bangs, pushing them out._ "_It's OK..."

Katara shifted herself over to side at Toph's side, making sure their shoulders touched.

"He...really _has _been acting like an idiot lately," Katara agreed, trying to match all of Sokka's flirtatious behavior with the sense of rejection it must have been pressing into Toph.

"_Yep_," Toph agreed with bitterness. "But...I know what he's like when he's _not _a dick. When he's not trying to be two fucking people at once. When he's just..._him._ And I _like_...that. _Him. _And...it just doesn't want to leave."

"What's that?"

"The _feeling. _I-..._Fff. _Christ, Katara, I just had a one-night stand yesterday, and ya know what it did?"

"Um...?"

"Made me think of _him _even _more_."

"_Oh_."

"Yea, '_oh.' _I just-...What do I fuckin' _do _with that?"

"You must..._really _like him, then."

"_I _don't...-! I _guess? _Is that what that means?"

Katara smiled with sympathy and patted Toph's knee.

"I think that's maybe what that means."

"So what am I supposed to _do _with that shit?"

"You..._talk _to him."

"_Ha! _Yea, OK. That'll just-...No, yea, I'll just go _do _that, I'm sure it'll go _fine._"

"Why _wouldn't _it? What's there to lose?"

"Oh, ya know, maybe our entire _friendship_? Things are damned awkward as _hell _with him lately. And somehow me telling him _that _is gonna make it better?"

"You won't know until you try..."

"Ech. I can't. Not right now. I don't like where we stand at the moment."

"Hm. Then...stand somewhere else."

"Huh?"

"_You _know. Try to...bring your guys' relationship back to where it was before."

"Uh...-"

"The more I'm thinking on it, Toph, the more I can see _exactly _why you'd like him. You two used to get along _so _great before. You're both always so comfortable with each other..."

"We tell the same stupid jokes..."

"You both have your silly nicknames..."

"He pulls me up when I'm being a dumbass..."

"And you smack him _down _when _he's _being a dumbass..."

They both snickered in their nostalgia.

"Yea, but...-" Toph's smirk withered. "He totally doesn't like me, though."

"Maybe he just...hasn't _thought _of you in that way."

"Uh..._Duh? _Yea. That's what I just _said_."

"No, I mean...maybe he hasn't let himself _consider _you to be like a...potential girlfriend."

"You mean he's _friend-zoned _me?"

"Er, I-I don't know if I'd _call_ it that, but...-"

"Yea, that's..._not _helping here."

"Wait, listen. Toph, that's...kind of what I did with _Aang_."

"Whoa. Hold up..._really?_"

"_Heh, _yes. I just...always looked at Aang like a brother. I didn't _let _myself think of him as something more than that. Not until...-" She shrugged, letting the thought wander off to that night Aang had suddenly kissed her out of nowhere.

"But...how'd you, like...get _past _that?" Toph wondered. "It just sounds so awkward. I mean, I never _had _any siblings, but...-"

"Think about it, though, Toph - if you feel that close to someone, that comfortable, that you'd trust them like a sibling...Don't you think that's _exactly_ the kind of relationship worth pursuing?"

"I...-" Toph picked her pinky finger through her ear. "_Sure, _I guess that makes sense...?"

"And I _know _Sokka thinks your cute."

Toph's cheeks lit right up at this.

"He _does_...?"

"Oh, he _totally _does." Katara chuckled, rolling up her eyes at how obvious this was to her.

"_What? _No way..."

"I've _seen _the way he looks at you some times. I mean..._sure, _it's...how he looks at _lots _of girls some times, but...that's my _point. _He's a _guy_, he sometimes stares a bit at girls when he thinks they're cute. And you're blind, too - so it's not like he's going to feel obligated to look away."

"Uh...if you _say _so," Toph mumbled. This was a bizarre concept for her to consider, being something she couldn't quite wrap her head around.

"Seriously, trust me on this one. I've _told _you before, Toph - maybe you don't care, but you _are _really pretty. Uh, when you stay _clean, _anyway."

"Heh..." Toph wiped her waxy pinky across the rug, and Katara grimaced at this, noting the irony. "Well, thanks for that. Again. You, uh..._sound _really pretty?"

"_Ha. _I think you've told _me _that before, too."

"You have soft skin...?" Toph went on, fishing for ways to compliment her friend. "Guys like soft skin, right? I mean, I dunno, I guess you _smell _nice a lot of the time, too, but...-"

"_OK, _thanks, there. Miss." Katara nudged her friend with an elbow to the rib and they both chuckled. "But come on, now. I can only help you so much, here. I don't know if Sokka _likes _you or not. But maybe you should just try and _relax _around him."

"How do I do _that_?"

"Well, for starters, stop...trying to be all grabby around him. I've noticed you've been all _clingy _with him lately. I didn't really think about it like _that, _I just figured you felt awkward being touchy-feely with me and Aang or something, and...the whole 'blind' thing, and...it's convenient to have someone helping you. But Sokka doesn't like that stuffy kind of thing when he's not in the mood for it. It drives him crazy. And I mean, _you _don't either, do you?"

"Er..._No. _Not really."

"See? So you've gotta kind of...back off a bit. I mean, really, just...you two need to spend some time hanging out, just having fun like you used to. Before everything happened with Aang. Remember that?"

"Yea..."

"Just be his _friend, _Toph."

"But there's all these _other _girls, and he's just...-"

"I get that. But you need to just be _friends _with him right now. Remind him of why you two get along. I bet if you did _that, _then...maybe you could try talking with him about going on a date?"

"_Pff,_ jumpin' the gun a little, ain't we?"

"Well, it's up to _you, _obviously, I'm just...trying to make suggestions here. Sokka's the kind of guy who'd want to go on a date before he got into any kind of commitment."

Toph's empty stomach was filled with renewed hope. Aang had sounded supportive of this entire prospect earlier. And now Katara seemed _super _supportive about it all of a sudden. And that was his _sister _and stuff. Right? She probably knew what she was talking about.

Wow. Damn, she really _should _not give up on this just yet. Not that she really felt like she had a choice and all, as last night had proven, but...yea. She'd just been going about this all wrong.

"So-...But-...What, are you saying I'm supposed to, like, _steal _his affection?"

"No, not at all. Well, like...when did you realize you liked him? What happened?"

"Oh, it-...I was having a shit day, and he...helped me feel better."

"_There _ya go. He was just being your friend."

"Yea."

"So just be _his _friend. I don't think most people realize it, but Sokka's _really _not doing the best himself, either. He's pretty stressed out. Why do you think he's been acting so dumb and looking into a girlfriend just for the heck of it?"

"Er, I hadn't really thought about it."

"I know he can be, well...a _guy, _and everything. But he's smarter than that, deep down. He's just all in a tizzy because he seems to think that he won't be able to meet anyone out there after college."

"Hm..."

"All right." Katara grabbed Toph's shoulder with confidence. "As your sister, I-"  
"And _his _sister."  
"Erm...Ha! Yes, as _both _of your...sister...I really think you two deserve to give this 'dating' thing a try."

"Ah. Well, you and _Aang _were easy to convince on this."

"Huh? You mean...Aang already knows?"

"Aang figured it _out_," Toph laughed.

"Heh. That's kinda funny."

"Yea. It was pretty embarrassing."

"No need to be embarrassed about it, Toph. We're your friends. We love you."

"Yea, I know. I love you guys, too."

"We aren't ever going to leave you. Even if things go _horribly _horrendously wrong, we'll still-"  
_Creak._

Katara's attention was jarred as the door across the hall opened. Oh. The door was still open. And there _she _was. _Urgh. Grrzzmmrzzmfugginbidgin...-_

"What is it?" Toph asked as Jane slipped off down the hall without making eye contact. "Was the freckle-faced witch giving you dirty looks?" Toph whispered.

"Nevermind that," Katara sighed. She'd gotten so caught up in things with Toph, it had practically made her forget all about the pain of _that _whole mess. "As I was saying...We are still going to be your friends, Toph. No matter what happens. So don't forget that."

"Yes, Ma'am, Captain Band-Aids, Ma'am."

"Umm...Huh?"

"Oh, it-...'Cuz you're always, like...fixing stuff?"

Katara patted Toph's head with a giggle.

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that one."

"Thanks for that. Not my best effort."

* * *

- Monday, April 18th, 2011 -

Jane rubbed her finger along the edge of her black boot's base. There was some gunk just above the sole. She hadn't worn these boots in a while, so they were a bit filthy. After wiping the smudge from her boot, she glanced at her fingertip, now brown with dirt. She made a brief trek to the public restroom to clean it off. Ah, hell. Might as well wash her hands while she was here, right?

Hand-washing placed her before a mirror, which entailed noticing how unkempt her hair had gotten over the past couple of days. She hadn't taken a brush to it recently - who was there to impress lately, anyway? Gaping at her tired face, Jane found herself off-put by her own arid eyes of olive. She dried her hands at the ineffective air dryer, finishing the job with her pant legs. She utilized the tinny water fountain to gulp down three mouthfuls of metallic liquid to help quench her thirst. She could go for some coffee right now, but...gah. If she left now, she'd probably miss him. It could wait.

She checked her phone.

[1:45pm]  
[**1 New Txt Msg**]

She glanced down the hallway of the Gyatso Center. Empty and dead still. Another few minutes yet. She resumed her spot against the wall by the appointed classroom door and sat down, opening up her cell phone.

[From: Johnboy]  
[you're sure?]  
[Sent: 1:40pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Johnboy]  
[yea. i'm sure. gotta go back for break anyway. you're not that far.]  
[Sent: 1:46pm]

[From: Johnboy]  
[as long as you're sure, it's fine. already checked.]  
[Sent: 1:47pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Johnboy]  
[cool. see you next week.]  
[Sent: 1:47pm]

Jane closed her phone and put it in her pocket, pondering to herself how her now fated meeting with Johnny would go. Spring break began this coming weekend, and Jane was making the trip back to Texas to visit the pathetic excuse of a 'family' she had - more out of obligation than anything. But the upswing was that Johnny lived in the same state. Still a bit of a drive away, but hell. It'd be worth it to see that damn boy's face again.

She had a good feeling that together, in person, they could maybe rekindle the romance that had been left by the wayside.

Pulling her out of her thoughts, the door across the hall swung open, and a flurry of students came bustling out of the room. Wrong class, though. The hallway was suddenly getting filled up as students were coming and going. The class she was waiting on finally opened its doors, five minutes later than the scheduled time. She rose to her feet, still leaned against the wall. She might as well have been wallpaper, with how close she was pressed up, and how everyone swept right by.

But then a familiar face noticed her. It was Joshua. He grinned at her, giving her a wave as he passed by. Jesus, the guy was so huge he may as well have been a whale swimming down the river with the other fish. Jane supplied him a courteous but relatively disinterested nod as he disappeared into the main lobby of the Gyatso Center. Pipsqueak had been her tip that the man she was looking for would be at this place at this time, so she was thankful for that, at least. She lingered by the doorway for a few seconds after the stream of people ended, hesitant to enter. When no one else came out, she swallowed the lump in her throat and passed through the wooden gateway.

Inside the clean, brightly lit classroom - now purged of pesky students - Jane saw the vaguely familiar man at the front podium. The rotund man was sporting a sweater-vest of black diamonds forming a plaid pattern over a green backdrop. His wrinkled face was serene and pleasant as he arranged the stack of papers before him.

He noticed the red-head student lingering in his doorway.

"Urgh...?" He raised a furry white eyebrow in her direction. "Can I help you?"

"Professor Kurosawa?" Jane recited his name. She _knew _that was the right name, but her tone feigned ignorance.

"Yes," Iroh replied as she approached, a bit confused. She extended her hand, and he accepted it. His hand was weathered and wrinkly but his handshake was firm enough. "And you are...Miss Fitzpatrick."

"Er...Y-yea," Jane mumbled, surprised that he'd recognized her. "I was, uh-..." She shrugged, her eyes shifting around as she contemplated what to say - how to approach the matter.

"So, Jane..." The professor scooped up the papers his students had just handed in. "I understand you sometimes go by the nickname 'Smellerbee'?"

"...Yea?" Jane frowned with suspicion. "So?"

"Well, I was just thinking that, such a unique title you chose for yourself...That's a beautiful name for such a lovely girl."

"Oh..." Jane's cheeks flashed red at his compliment, and her lips hung open with shock. "Uh, thanks..." She coughed, stuffing her hands into her pockets until Iroh's glance went from his papers, stuffed into a manilla folder, to her face. She stared at him with narrowed eyes. "_I _understand you sometimes go by the nickname...Dragon of the West?" She cocked her brow at him, and he gave pause, tucking his folder in his armpit.

"Waha." He smiled, his eyes squinting at her. "It would seem our reputations have spread beyond our expectations."

"Would _seem_," Jane mumbled, her lip propped out impatiently. "Lookin' for info on The Combustion Man. Little bird told me The Dragon of the West would know something."

Iroh chuckled at Jane's blunt approach.

"_Did _they now? Well..."

"He kills SRU grads. I know."

Iroh stared at her with a thoughtful look. She was certainly going to be a stubborn case, this one.

"You...understand how dangerous this man is." Iroh's slow, deliberate syllables stressed his concern. Jane nodded, eyes twinkling with determination. Iroh pinched his finger across his soft beard carefully, reading her face while she scanned his own. Finally, he smiled. "If you are truly that set on investigating this matter...-" His pudgy body traversed the empty front of the classroom, heading for the door. Jane followed him. "-...you should look into the school newspaper for information," Iroh suggested with a keen wiggle of his index finger. He opened the door of the room, and she flew out behind him. The hall was still amok with people finding their way to the next class, which would start any minute. "I believe if you look _there, _you are bound to find some answers..."

Jane slowed to a stop, watching the old man work his way through the crowd. He'd given her something to go with, anyway. Another breadcrumb along the trail. Fuck, these stupid crumbs were damn tasteless and weren't filling her curiosity at all. But the newspaper, huh? That was a smart idea. The library would have a whole backlog of newspapers she could search through. The way the coot had said it made it sound like he knew something he wasn't supposed to let on about. More of this hush-hush nonsense like what June had tried giving her. Hm.

What would she find in the newspaper?

* * *

- Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 -

Aang walked back to the table where Katara was hunched over, apparently brooding in her stubborn juices. Her back was turned to the counter of Appa's, though it was a decent distance away. Aang had just come back from placing their order. He sighed at her slumped posture. Her attitude lately was discouraging, to say the least. It was like she was being grumpy on purpose, and no efforts on his part would change her mind. Her moods swings were fairly severe this week, in particular, and after receiving a tip from Toph that Katara wasn't taking her medication - which Aang had theorized on his own - he was that much more concerned over her well being.

"Jane's not _working _there today," Aang explained to her flatly, sitting himself down in one of the chairs perpendicular to her own. The small, square table they were sat housed four. "But I placed your order for you," Aang added, drumming his fingers on the table, hoping for some kind of reaction. Her hair wasn't straightened today, a wavy, frizzy-tipped mess. Aang admired the way some of its mass flowed over Katara's shoulders briefly, but the girl's distant, disinterested expression threw him off. She was lost in the pages of a book, laid flat on the table before her.

"Katara...?"

"Mm," she hummed in response, her way of acknowledging what he'd said and simultaneously communicating that her attention was elsewhere.

Aang rolled his eyes at her mood and noticed behind her a puzzled Toph in the distance, scratching the edges of her nostrils near the occupied booth that the group usually sat at. Ha, poor Toph - their booth was taken today by another group of students, so she was probably at a loss as to where to go. Aang got right up and headed her way.

"Toph, we're over here," he greeted her. Her face lit up with some relief as she tapped her cane around, trying to navigate the sea of wooden chairs and tables, mostly filled with other students. Aang quickly reached her and clasped her free arm with care, leading her through to the table he and Katara were located at on the opposite side of Appa's.

"Thanks, Twinkle-Toes," she said. "Damn, I felt like an idiot there two seconds ago - bet I totally weirded out the people sitting back there."

"Ha."

"How's Sugar-Queen holding up?" Toph muttered in a hushed voice, leaning in toward her friend. Aang replied with a dissatisfied hum. "_Ech_. That sucks."

They reached the table, and Aang helped Toph into her seat to his left. As he plopped himself down, her turned to his right and tried again to get Katara's attention.

"I found a crazy blind girl. Can we keep her?"

Toph chortled a little, but Katara was unfazed. An awkward pause hung over the three of them. At last, Katara looked up from her pages, blinking at Aang with wide, tired eyes.

"...Huh?" She hadn't even caught what had just happened. She noticed Toph's presence, but dismissed both Aang and Toph with a shrug.

"Heya, Sweetness," greeted Toph. No answer. Toph frowned slightly, more out of doubt than insult. "Uhh..._So. _No sign of Snoozles yet?"

"He texted me a couple minutes ago and said he was on his way," Aang explained. He watched Toph chew at her bottom lip and tapped her shoulder gently. "Hey, don't be so nervous," he said with a smile. "You two are just hanging out. Nothing more."

"Yea..."

"Me and Katara will get out of your hair as soon as our food's ready."

"What's that?" Katara mumbled, prying herself from her book again at the sound of her name.

"You and me? We're going to let Toph and Sokka spend some time together _alone_? Remember? It was _your _idea."

"_Oh_, r-right. Yea." Katara's senses were stirred awake and she placed her blue ribbon necklace into her book, the round jewel hanging out of the top as he bookmark. She closed the book, her expression swiftly shifting to anticipation as she looked over to Toph. "Just get him talking about one of his dorky things, and we'll just sneak off while he's yakking away. You'll have him all to yourself." Aang found some solace in Katara's awakened interest. Not too surprising that focusing on trying to hook two people up would get her acting more like herself.

Some time passed as the two girls chattered away about how Toph or shouldn't act, which Aang wasn't entirely sure what to make of, until Sokka appeared. Neither of the girls noticed this until Aang tapped his hand on the table and called it to their attention.

"He's here."

"What?"  
"Huh?"

"It's Sokka. He's, like, _right _over-..._Hey, _Sokka! Took you long enough to get here!"

"Howdy, guys. Gang. People. Hm." Sokka scratched at the hair on his chin as he squatted down in the chair across from Aang.

"You already order yourself some grub, Meat-For-Brains?" Toph checked.

"I did," Sokka replied, his eyes still narrowed with thought over whatever thought had entered his brain when he had sat down.

"What is it?" Katara asked, rubbing sand from her eye.

"Oh, I...was just thinking," Sokka mumbled.

"_Aw, _shit," Toph blurted out. "Everyone _hide, _the Idea Guy's scheming something."

"Well, it's just...what am I supposed to call you guys now? _Us. _I mean."

"Huh? What _do_ you mean?" asked Aang.

"Uh, _fff, _I can't call us the Fearsome _Five_some anymore, right?"

A couple seconds of wary silence poured over the group like a storm cloud.

"Erm, so...I was thinkin'. How about the Boomerang Gang?"

"That's stupid," Katara instantly burst out her opinion, her mood soured right on the spot.

"It also doesn't make _sense_," Toph added. "Other than you having a fascination with the things, what's it got to do with us?"

"We could..._make _it something to do with us," Sokka weakly proposed. "I could start carrying my boomerang around, we could, like, make some shirts, or...-"

"Uh, I...think we're fine without a new group name," Aang muttered in an attempt to get the subject away from the elephant in the room.

"Not _everything _needs a retarded name," Katara added, wearing a trace of a pout.

"OK, _jeez, _calm down," Sokka sighed. "Forget I _said _anything." He sent a baffled look to Aang, who simply shrugged his shoulders slightly in reply.

["**Aang**."] A voice carried over the sound system, and Aang got up to go get their food.

"Ss...-" Toph coughed to clear her throat when words didn't slip out right. "_So_! Sokka. What've you been up to lately? Haven't heard much from ya this week. Um...any kinda...cool...weird..._stuff_? Goin' on?"

"Ya know, _actually, _there's been this _weird _stuff going on with the Playstation Network lately. Like, all kinds of big outage problems and stuff. I guess someone might've _hacked _it, or something?"

Toph wasn't entirely aware of what Sokka was even talking about, but she knew the 'Playstation' was some video game machine he used, at least.

"Wow. Er...sounds crazy," she muttered.

"It _is. _Pretty crazy stuff. Everyone's wondering what's up with that. Kind of a big deal. And I can't freakin' log online to download anything."

"Bummer."

"Right? _Or _play games online."

"Double bummer."

"You don't even really know what I'm talking about, do you, Toph?"

"Nnnnnot really," Toph admitted, rubbing her feet together above her abandoned sandals.

Sokka laughed, and a smile quickly found its way onto Toph's face.

"OK, OK," Sokka waved his palms up, despite that Toph obviously couldn't see them, while Aang approached the table with two take-out boxes. "So, the Playstation. You remember what _that _is, right?"

"Uh, _yea, _Sokka. I remember what _that _is."

"So all right. There's the Playstation _Network, _which is, like, the special infrastructure that-"  
"It connects to the _internet. _Through a _network. _Yea, I think I figured that part out."

"Heh." Sokka paused when he noticed that Aang was hovering over Katara's shoulders. His sister was still sour-faced, but Sokka was ignoring that. If she insisted on being a downer right now, he wasn't going to try doing anything about. He _knew _how stubborn his sister could be. That was Aang's problem to deal with right now. _Ha, _now there was a benefit of his sister having a boyfriend - she could go to _that _guy when she needed stuff, instead of coming to her brother all of the time.

"You ready?" Aang whispered in Katara's ear.

"Mm," she answered in a sigh, getting up from her seat. She tucked her book against her side.

"Oh. You guys leaving already?" Sokka asked.

"Yea," Aang replied. "After I texted you, I found out Katara wanted us to go watch some show together. It starts in, like, ten minutes."

"Ahhh. Gotcha."

Katara tried to let her concerns roll off her shoulder as she approached Toph, whose eyebrows lifted from the delay in conversation. "Hey, Hun," Katara mumbled to Toph as Aang and Sokka spoke, carefully pushing her friend's cleaned, fluffy bangs to the side of her face. She smiled at Toph's white, glassy eyes, which were blank in focus, yet exuded interest and relaxation at the circumstances before her. "Me and Aang are going to be in the lounge back at Aqua. We'll catch you there?"

"Sounds good." Toph smiled with confidence, and Katara rubbed her thumb across Toph's back before looping her arm around Aang's.

"Keep an eye on Toph for me," Katara taunted her brother with a weak smirk. "She's a handful, I know. But I think you can manage." Sokka offered a sarcastic, dead-pan expression in response.

"Careful when you feed her," Aang warned him. "She _bites._"

Toph frowned jokingly at their picking.

"Should I put her on a leash?" Sokka wondered. "What if she tried wandering off, she might get _run over _or-" Sokka huffed out a string of chuckles at the -_thunk_- sound of Toph trying to kick his leg, only to bump her bare foot on Sokka's chair, instead.

"Agh, _fuck. Come_...-!" She growled out, groping her hands in his direction. He flew up from his seat, still laughing at her vein attempts, and took Katara's now empty chair across the table. "Coward," Toph called out his fleeing.

"It's not being a coward when it's a _tactical retreat_," Sokka countered. "But anyway-" He turned back to Aang and Katara, who were both grinning. "-is there a muzzle I can use, at least?"

"_Hey!_"

"'Cuz I'm just worried her barking is gonna bug the _hell _out of me."

"You little bitch."

"I thought the whole joke was that _you _were one, 'cuz you're a female, and we're talking like you're a dog, so-"  
"_Rrrrrgh!_"

Sokka snickered like a child as Toph playfully pushed her feet against the chairs from below the table. Aang cautiously pushed his own back in after Toph's mini rampage.

"You have fun!" Aang sheepishly bid them, pulling Katara off, his hands lifting two stacked carryout boxes.

"Play nice!" Katara added.

The couple shared a laugh as they exited Appa's, crossing the space to the student post office that took up a section of the campus center's basement.

"I can definitely see what you mean," Aang remarked, passing his post office box by and noting that it was empty. "I really can see those two getting along together." let Katara check her tiny mailbox. A red slip rested within, riddled with bold text that the two instinctively knew meant that a package was waiting. "Oh, hey. You've got something."

"I..._do_," Katara mumbled, perplexed. "No idea _what_, though."

"We'll find out tomorrow," Aang offered.

"Yea." Aang lamented that she was back to that far-off, discouraged look as she tucked the laminated slip into her book.

"You OK?"

"I don't know," Katara sighed. "I'm sorry, Sweetie, I must be...a real pain lately."

"Hey. No, it's...-" Aang didn't get to finish his sentence, though, before Katara gave him a peck on the cheek. "Ha. It's fine," he insisted, a silly little smile emerging to match the silly little kiss he'd received. "I just wish I knew what would help you feel better."

"Me, too..."

["**Tohff...?**"]

"_Urgh_." From her booth, Toph growled with anguish at the butchering of her name over the speakerphone. She clambered around, reaching for her cane, but Sokka got up from his chair before she did. Sokka's meandering one-sided discussion had lulled to a stop at this interruption.

"Heh, chill out, '_Tohff_,' I'll get it for ya."

"Meat-Head, I don't need-"  
"Blablabla, I know," he spat out rapidly. "Shut up and sit while I get your food. No need to go stubbing any more toes today, Gimpy."

Toph's nose wrinkled at his teasing, but her guts swelled with joy at the comfort in his tone and his own willingness to do something o_f _his own accord for her benefit.

"_Fine,_" she made a huff of it, smirking as she relaxed back in her seat. The couple moments of reprieve gave her a little bit of time to reflect that following Katara and Aang's advice was working well enough so far. Sokka seemed more laid back around her than usual lately. Just a brief reminder of the guy she had become infatuated with in the first place was pleasant. For a little while she had found herself doubting why she'd ever started taking a liking to the buffoon at all. And yet in a mere few moments with just the two of them together the feelings felt reaffirmed.

-_Skfff!_-

"There ya go, _Tohff._"

Toph swallowed, blinking wide two times as she tried to wipe whatever stupid look had potentially fallen over her face. She quickly fumbled to sit upright in her seat, carefully reaching for the plate and cup that Sokka had set before her.

"_Ha_," Sokka laughed. "Man. Tohff. Maybe we should incorporate that one into the rotation of nic-"  
["**Sohkuh...?"**]

There was a pause, and Toph's brief embarrassment gave way to a cocky grin, while Sokka frowned.

"You were saying?" she said, gripping her hands around her chicken wrap with care. She could hear his steps stomping off already, and she bit into her food with satisfaction. When he came back, there was a pleasant quiet between the two of them as they eagerly at for a little while. This was certainly something Sokka appreciated about Toph: the woman knew the value of quiet, eating time. Meals didn't have to be a constant jibber-jabber affair like most women wanted from him.

"So..." Sokka casually poked through their silence after a few minutes had passed and they were both nearing completion. "I heard...-" -_Schllllrrrppp!-_ Sokka waited as Toph slurped loudly through her straw, her cup empty. "Heard that-" -_Schllllllrp!- _"Uh, heard-" -_Ssscchhhlllrrrppp!_- "_Jesus, _woman!" Sokka laughed out. "You're such a pain."

"I try my best," said Toph, flashing out her teeth to give Sokka an idiotic grin. She hoped she was presenting her face the way that she'd wanted to. When he snickered, she knew she had.

"Good on ya," Sokka sighed, humored. "Like I was saying, I heard you h-" -_Sschhh-!_ He yanked the empty cup from her hand and slapped it on the table beside his own plate, and Toph flinched from the motion, but the two of them laughed some more. "Yea. Yea, that's what you get," Sokka taunted.

"_Oh man, you _**sure **_showed_ _me, Derp-Derp,_" said Toph with a blubbering accent. "_Took my _**cup **_and everything. Woe is me."_ Sokka had to force out his words through more chuckles.

"I _heard_...that last weekend you met some _guy_ and had your way with him?"

Toph's bright smile slipped away, and she leaned back in her seat with disinterest.

"And what if I did?" she asked coolly.

"Er...I...was just wondering. About that. Like, how'd it happen? What's this guy like?"

"You want to know what he's like?"

"Well, _duh. _I mean, seriously. What kind of guy could win _you _over so easily?"

Toph puffed out an amused laugh through her nose, her head bobbed in her slumped back position.

"He was nice," she mumbled simply.

"And...?"

"He was talented."

"_Talented? _At...like...-?"  
"At _music._"

"Uh-_huh_."

"And it was just a one-time thing. Just a single date. We wouldn't work out."

"And that's it?"

"Pretty much."

"You did the dirty with this guy that you'll probably never speak to again, if only out of sheer awkward-avoidance."

"It wasn't _dirty, _shut up."

"You like dirt."

"_Yes, _but-"  
"Dirty, dirty woman."

"So your _sister_-" Toph cut through his name-calling. "-tattle-tailed on me? Is that how you found out?"

"Ha, yea, basically."

"'Kay. But I already got a mouthful and a half from her, so I don't need to hear it."

"Hear what?"

"Your lecture."

"I don't have a lecture for ya."

"Good."

"Katara called you a 'slut,' though. Made me chuckle."

"_Yea, well_...What she thinks doesn't really _matter_, does it?"

"I...I guess not. I just thought it was funny."

"How is that _funny_?"

"Just...Katara complaining about _anyone _being a 'slut.' It just...is funny. Her, saying that kinda stuff. Like, just the sound of her voice speaking mean words like that."

"Ah..._Heh. _Actually, yea, she was in a _real _pissy mood before, when we argued about it - man, she was like _swearing _and everything. I found it kind of funny, too."

"Haha. Wow, good job. I can't remember the last time _I_ got her that annoyed."

Toph chewed at the last of her wrap thoughtfully, and Sokka partook of the final bits of his bacon-cheddar burger.

"Is that what _you _think?" Toph asked after the pregnant pause, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Whuffatt?" Sokka spoke with a full mouth.

"That I'm a slut."

"Oh...Er...-"  
"_Yes!_" Toph quickly decided for him based on his stumbling.  
"_Nooo! _No-no-no. You're just...errm...-"  
"You can just say it, Meat-Head. I don't _care _what people think."

"Assertive. Yea. That's the word."

"_Tsh! _Ahhh, all right. Sure, I like the sound of that. Smooth recovery there."

"Smooth as butter."

"Silk."

"_Silk_?"

"Smooth as _silk. _I mean, you can be like _butter _if you want, but...-"

"We both know I am way more like butter than silk."

"_That's _true..."

"Ouch. I thought you were gonna insist I was classier, like silk."

"_Nope._"

"Slut."

"Whore."

There was a pause between the two of them, both struggling to hold in giggles to maintain the air of mock tension. After barely managing this, Sokka continued, pushing to come off as serious.

"Wh-? _Wow, _that is...just..._uncalled _for!"

"Hey, if I'm a slut, you are _totally _a whore."

"_What?_"

"Dude. _Please. _The way you've been, like...pushing yourself out at women these days?"

"Eh..." Sokka shrugged in acknowledgment. "Fair point."

"I'd think you needed to get laid more than _I _did."

"Rub it in, _rub-it-in_."

"And I wish I coulda seen the look on your face when you found out that lesbian chick was just trolling you this whole time."

"_OH MY GOD, I KNOW, RIGHT?_" Sokka exploded, slapping the sides of his head in disbelief. "That was...-! And she just...-! _Rrrgagh_."

"Heh."

"_Well_..." Sokka sighed and scratched his nose. "At least me and Suki got to hang out and dance a bit."

Toph's stomach, full of soda and food, wriggled unpleasantly at the thought - but she knew full well that if she was going to defend her right to have a night with Ohev that she had no business criticizing Sokka's evening.

"And...how'd that go?" she asked, keeping herself calm as she ate.

"Eh..." Sokka sighed again. That seemed telling, in Toph's opinion. "It was all right. Like, it was nice, and stuff. We kissed, even."

"_Oh?_" Toph held in her dissatisfaction. Her brain kept repeating Katara's advice about just...being his friend.

"Yea, it-..._Oh! _Oh, man." In an instant, Toph could tell he was elsewhere by his vocal pattern changing.

"What?"

"Our _booth. _Those people left _our booth._"

"Oh. Well..._hell, _we gotta go claim what's rightfully ours."

"_Right? _Let's do it." Sokka scooped up Toph's empty cup, stacked her empty plate under his own, and trashed the lot of waste into a nearby bin. By the time he did this, Toph was on her feet, cane in hand. "Need an _escort _there?" Sokka wondered with some grumpiness.

"Nah, I'm all good," Toph answered with nonchalance, finding her way around the tables. She almost whacked one student in the knee, and nearly bumped another in the head.

"Uh, actually-! Toph? Hey, wait..." Sokka pursued her through the sea of tables, muttering some apologies as he whipped by folks. By the time he'd caught up with her, she'd already reached the row of booths by the edge of Appa's. She was heading for the wrong one, however. "_Right!_" Sokka called out, nudging her with a gentle press against her left arm.

"_Ohp-! _This the one?"

"That's the one."

"Ladies first," Toph teased. Sokka made her jump by applying a light smack to the back of her head. After she heard him sit down, she slid into the booth on the same side as he was sitting. Side-by-side, their backs to Appa's front counter, they faced the restaurant. The booth ahead of them had been emptied out, and the table to their left was about to be open, as well, as the single student sitting near them finished their food.

Toph fiddled with her ponytail, making sure Sokka hadn't messed it up somehow, while Sokka tapped his chin.

"Where were we...?"

"Suki?" Toph flatly replied, her mind still intent on finding out more about that.

"Right! Yea. But, man..." Sokka ran his hand through his hair, which was hung down today. "That woman's just confusing. It's like she wants one thing one day, and another thing the next."

"_Ha! _Yea, that's _women, _Pal, better get used to that. With how crazy _Katara _is, I'd figure you'd get it already."

"Well, give her some slack, here, Katara's having a rough time of it lately."

"So? You said she called me a _slut._"

"She did. I thought you said you didn't care?"

"That's not the _point, _she called me a slut because she thinks I can't make good decisions for myself." Toph had ended things on good terms with Katara, sure. But knowing that the woman was calling her bad names behind Toph's back didn't settle well, nor did the concept of Katara tattling about her personal life to Sokka, of all people. In hindsight, Toph was figuring this must've happened _before _they'd had their blowup, but..._still. _"She's just annoying, is what I'm saying. Paranoid."

"Uh, _yea. _That's...kind of her thing. Like, my thing is sarcasm. Aang's thing is...-"

"Being _nice?_"

"Yea, let's go with that."

"Katara's _thing _is being all controlling and preachy and yelling at you like you're a _kid, _and-"  
"Hey, whoa, whoa, let's stop that train at the tracks, here, Miss _Mud-Slug._ All slugging mud around."

"_Slinging _mud."

"Right, right. Come on, now, though."

"Lemme guess. Now you're going to try telling me that your sister's not as annoying as I make her out to be?"

"Nah, she's...pretty much a pain." Sokka sighed and complained in a meandering manner of speech. "She's always gotta be _right_ about everything, and she gets all _bossy_, and involved, and...in your _business_..."

"_Chyeah. _You _said _it. Seems like every fuckin' _week, _sometimes every _day, _I have to deal with her jumping down my throat, trying to tell me what to do. And then _now, _with her mood lately? It's fucking _ridiculous, _she's a walking mine field. Sokka, I don't know how you _deal _with her sometimes and her control-freak-mode."

"Actually, in a way...I _rely _on it."

Toph's brain did a double-take. That had _not _been the answer she'd expected.

"I don't understand," she mumbled dryly. Toph was touched by the way Sokka's voice shifted gears to a somber pitch.

"When our mom died, that was the hardest time in my life. Our family was a..._mess. _But Katara, she had..._so much _strength. She stepped up and took on so much responsibility. She helped fill the void that was left by our mom, even though she was hurting just as much as we were."

"Oh..." Toph's stomach churned with guilt from how easily she let herself forget those circumstances of Katara's youth. "I guess I never really..._thought _about that..."

"It's the truth. It was during that whole time that Katara really..._changed. _She grew up so much in such a short time. She started _caring _about things..._way _more than she had used to. Caring about _us _- me and our dad."

"She...became like your _glue_," Toph murmured thoughtfully as a sympathetic smile crept over her cheeks. "She held you together. Just like...she does _now. _With _us._"

"Mm-hm." Sokka's face matched Toph's look as the two of them spent a quiet moment of reflection over their mutual connection to Katara. Sokka's eyelids squinted shut, his eyes quivering from the pressures created by the maelstrom swirling within his brain. His heart yearned to let something he'd been holding spill out. He didn't understand why, but he felt compelled to confess this very personal concept with Toph in that moment.

"I'm going to tell you something crazy," he said cautiously, glancing to his side. "I've never told anyone this before," he pointed out with a rare touch of timidness that startled Toph. Her heart pounded hard once or twice at this. He was going to tell _her _a secret? He had _never _told her a secret before. Not something with _that _tone of voice. "But, honestly?" Sokka went on, looking back out to the hum and buzz of the restaurant. "It seems like my whole life..._Katara's _been the one looking out for me. She's always been the one that's..._there._ More than anyone else. I mean...sometimes it feels like the entire reason she went to this school is just because _I _did, like she came here just to stay _here _to keep taking care of me. And these days, when I try to remember my mom - and I _know _it's weird - but Katara's is the face I picture."

"But...That doesn't make _sense, _you have, like..._photos _of your mom...Don't you?"

"I _told _you it was crazy," Sokka grumbled with some shame. Toph wished she could swallow up the words she'd just carelessly spat out. He was trying to open up to her for a change and she was being stupidly insensitive. Sokka covered his eyes with his palm, his cheeks slightly warm with embarrassment. "_Ugh, _see? It's _weird. _It's dumb, I don't even-"  
"_No, no,_" Toph rapidly spat out with an intentionally apologetic tone. She turned her face to his general direction and reached out her arm. It found its way across Sokka's shoulder. She found her own solace in the heft of his meaty back beneath her arm, separated only by his cotton shirt. Her hand clenched down on his bare bicep and she squeezed him with empathy. "I _get _it. That's...actually very _sweet_."

"You think so?"

"I do. And the truth is, sometimes - er, a _lot _of times - Katara _does _act motherly. But, like...that's not always a _bad _thing. I know sometimes I can be a real bitch...but she's _always _there for me, too, just like she is for you when you're a _dumbass_." Sokka shot her a dark look, and she kept going without skipping a beat or allowing him to protest her insult. "We fight a lot, we piss and moan at each other, I know, but...Katara is compassionate, and _kind_." Toph swallowed hard, her heart pumping from her contact with Sokka and the swelling emotions of this moment as the reality of just how much she _loved _the people she'd befriended at this school splashed across her. "And the whole reason she acts the way she does...I know it's because she actually _cares about me_." Toph's eyes were tearing up and she casually rubbed her left palm up across her cheek. "Ya know...the _real _me. The prick, the bitch, the..._stupid child _I am sometimes."

"The '_awesome,' _too?"

"_Ha, _y-yea, the '_awesome_,' too...Katara loves me for _who I am. _All of me. And...and that's...-" She sniffed and exhaled a shaky breath, surprised at her own trembling. "-...that's more than my _own _mom," she acknowledged sullenly.

A heavy silence hung over the two of them, though the shuffling crowd of students across the restaurant served as a strange but soothing backdrop, like a trickling waterfall of human voices.

"Don't tell her I said _any _of that," Toph broke the moment, brusquely wiping tears from her face, as Sokka took the opportunity to dry his own eyeballs. Part of her wanted to land a punch of threat right into his side...but the sensation of holding him in her arm was too pleasant to risk breaking it off like that. "I want to tell her _myself_," Toph added solemnly.

"Hey, my lips are sealed," Sokka answered, shrugging up his shoulders, which were still caught within Toph's arm. "Uh...So, like...you _do _want a hug this time, or...-?"

Toph's heart skipped, her teeth clenched, and she desperately hoped her cheeks were not as visibly warm as they suddenly felt. She couldn't form a word in reply. Sokka went on, his eyes nervously darting this way and that.

"I know before you said that you'd '_say so_,' but, uh...like, I thought you _didn't _like my 'meaty meat-hands' on you." _I hate seeing girls cry and crap, but I remember last time we had a touchy-feely talk and I tried the hugging bit she freaked the _hell out. _What's up with her today? Must be the estrogen. It's always the estrogen. Mucks up their brains. Yep._

"Umm...Yea, that's-...But _my _hand is on..._you._ So. It's different." _Oh-god-oh-god-oh-god I'm messing it up messing it up fuck fuck urgh-_

"Yea, I...don't quite see your logic. I think all this girl-talk has your estrogen levels overflowing. I can see it coming out of your face. Ha." _Wow, what's going through her head? It's like she's all embarrassed that we had a _moment_. It's cool. I can dig it._ _The feelings, the talking. See? I can do that stuff. Being_ all...friendly _and having girl-talks. No problem. _"So...we should hug it out and call it a day."

"_Yes. _Sure. That. With the hugging, and being happy." _Jesus fucking christ Toph you moron shut up your face._

"Let's just..._bring it in, _then. _Keh-_mon." Sokka squirmed his left arm up and around Toph's back, and he twisting his torso. Toph was confused, still swimming in the complex emotions from their conversation, but sexually aroused and elated, all at the same time. She couldn't compute that Sokka was awkwardly trying to hug her for a second of two. When she came to, she immediately tilted her head down, hoping against hope that he wouldn't be able to tell how embarrassed and aroused she was at the warmth of his _arms _around her, hugging tight. Sokka, likewise, was relieved that his waist was pointed in another direction, because the squishing sensation of her bosoms against his chest, though brief, was alluring all the same.

Sokka made sure to slap her back roughly, and Toph reciprocated the notion, baffled at the past two minutes' events entirely. Sokka cleared his throat and nodded, essentially to himself, as they naturally broke off.

"Yea, _see? _We can...be all, like...talking about our emotions. And stuff."

"Almost like _adults _n' shit," Toph sheepishly laughed out.

"_Almost,_" Sokka clarified. Both of them still had an arm lingering across the other one's back. Sokka retracted his awkwardly, and Toph immediately flung her hand from his body, as well.

How had this even _happened? _How had that gotten..._there? _It started from, what? Complaining about Katara? And ended like _that?_

_Wow, Sister-Face. Even when you're _not here, _you're still helping me hook up with your brother. You must really approve._

"_So!_ Yea." Sokka nodded to himself some more, off-put and thoughtful about what that interaction had all meant. "Good talk."

"Good talk. Yep."

"Mm-hm."

"Warm fuzzies all around," said Toph.

"Giving our _minds _some...mental health."

"Say what?"

"Erm, talking. Openness, and...honesty. Whatever. Like, it's good for you."

"Oh. Uh, _right._"

"That sure is a _thing _we just did."

"Sure is."

"I'm...gonna go order a milkshake now."

"Uh...Me, too!"

The next twenty minutes were spent discussing Sokka's network-problem-thinger that had begun the conversation as well as Toph explaining Ohev's amazing sight-reading abilities, all while slurping away at yummy milkshakes. The evening concluded with Toph and Sokka heading out across campus, side-by-side as they had sat, two partners in crime. Sokka didn't offer Toph his arm, and Toph didn't grab for it, either. Both were content with this: each walking their own steps, in their own manner, but each parallel to the other. When they reached a fork in the sidewalk, where one path led to Aqua House and the other down the way to Aero House, the two simply bid each other good night and went off their separate ways.

Sokka felt some relief that he had his friend back. He'd forgotten how fun Toph could be to have around when the two of them were in-sync with each other. Toph seemed to be carrying herself a lot better these days, he could tell. And perhaps more importantly, she just seemed..._happier _tonight, than in evenings past. More relaxed. It was like she was finally getting over all of that drama from the winter. Sokka was glad for her.

Toph's stomach swirled with butterflies. She wanted to pound out a chord on her electric guitar and shout, rattling walls with her joy and excitement. Every moment had felt _right _back there. It was invigorating. She really felt like she had a shot with him. The thrill of trying to 'win' at this game of 'capture Sokka's affection' was all-encapsulating.

* * *

- Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 -

"Howdy there, folks!" cried the warm, energetic voice of the man behind the post office counter. "What can I send out for you today?" He was a wrinkly man with bright, brown eyes and a grizzled, gray beard. He was wearing a blue cap with the US Post Office logo embroidered across it. Both Katara and Aang were somewhat familiar with the man, since they'd at least pass him by all of the time. The post office of SRU was a square compartment built into the the basement of the campus center, residing on the opposite side of the floor from Appa's. Student post office boxes ran along the length of three of the compartment's four walls, one of which also opened up as the service counter.

"Uh, actually...-" Aang set the laminated red slip onto the counter. "-we're here to pick up a package, Doc."

"_Aha!_" The man winked at the them, disappearing out of sight for a couple seconds. Katara, familiar with the quirky old coot's routine, rolled her eyes with crossed arms and sighed through her nose. Aang playfully tilted her chin back up, sliding his thumb along her jawline with a pleading smile, hoping she'd cheer up.

The man reappeared, now wearing a red hat where the blue had once been.

"So it's _incoming _mail you're here for," he said, carrying himself in a somewhat more formal manner. He pointed a finger their way as he scooped up the slip Aang had set down with his other hand. "What's the name?"

"Kesuk," Aang answered.

"Katara," his girlfriend added in her first name for clarification. She figured the loon would have an easier time with that name.

"Just a jiffy, kids!" The spritely man bounded around the room, scoping out shelves out of sight. Aang scratched his hand across Katara's back, her arms still folded. She looked quite tired. He wished he could figure out a way to help her. "And here. You. Are!" 'Doc' gently pushed the small, rectangular box over the counter.

"Thanks," said Aang, giving the man a wave as Katara moved away from the counter, letting the next student in line up front. Aang went to her side, where she was hovering by the recycling bins, examined her new box.

"It's...from my _dad_," she muttered.

"Your dad?"

"Yea..." Katara rubbed at her eyes, double-checking the mail-back address on the package. Yea, {_Hakoda Kesuk_}. And that was definitely her home address. She suddenly found herself splashing through a puddle of remorse. Her father had come all the way down here when she and Aang had been in the hospital, and she'd hardly spoken with him since. Life was just so stressful, and she didn't even know what they'd talk about, and...part of it was that in talking with him, that on its own led to some guilt these days.

"So..." Aang rocked up and down on his heels. "What _is _it?" He reached out and rubbed a hand across her lower back as she stepped over to the nearby recycling bin. She tore open the package and discarded the remains into the blue, plastic bin, which was packed with mail scraps and other pieces of cardboard. Katara was frozen with emotion by what remained in her hands: a leather-bound journal with a single word impressed into the cover: {**family**}

"Aw...That's really nice," Aang murmured in her ear whilst he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yea, it is," Katara agreed, her eyes glazed over. She ran her fingertips over the indentations of the letters on the front cover.

"You can go back to doing that thing you wanted to do," Aang observed, watching Katara flip open the book. She was a little disheartened that it was totally blank. Last time the journal had contained some entries written by her dad. How come that wasn't the case this time?

"I can," said Katara. The firmness of the fresh binding crackling ever so lightly in her hands as she closed the book...it was like music. She leaned back into Aang, nuzzling her temple against his neck as her eyes slipped closed and she tugged the journal to her chest. "I just...I don't know what to write in it to start out now," Katara bemoaned with a bit of a whininess to her tone.

"That's OK, just give it some time. You'll think of something."

"Hm..." Katara looked at the front once more: {**family**} "Hey. Aang."

"Yea?"

"I want..._you_...to start it this time."

"What? But...but I'm not your family, Katara, I-"  
"Yes you _are, _don't be silly."

"Ha..."

"I mean it. You know, I think...I really want this to be, like, my _whole _family, writing in here. You know? That includes you. _Especially _you."

"O-OK," Aang gave in. "If you insist...I'd be honored to."

"I'm glad."

The two of them were pressed against the back wall, facing the post office's slow trickle of activity. They both took in a moment of respite during this busy school day, each knowing that classes were looming before them.

"Hey, guys."

Katara opened her eyes to see the sharply dressed Zuko standing before her. He nodded to Aang, then Katara. Katara straightened herself out and stood more upright, still enveloped in Aang's loving arms.

"Hi, Zuko," Aang greeted back. Katara just gave a reciprocal nod. She noticed that Mai was now at the desk, a few cardboard tubes in hand as she spoke with 'Doc,' who was now garbed in his blue hat.

"How are things going?" Zuko asked, lifting his Jasmine Dragon cup to his lips to sip from his coffee as he awaited a response.

"Uhh, they've been better," Aang admitted with a nervous shrug. "Just...you know. Surviving."

"I know how _that _goes," Zuko sighed out, scratching the back of his ear. "Um...So, I forgot to ask at the dance, but...-" He looked clearly hesitant, but pushed through his doubt. "-...how's your back doing, Aang?"

"Oh, it's...-" Aang shrugged with a slight head shake. "Yea, it's fine. Much better. Hardly hurts anymore. It, uh...left a decent scar, but...-"

"Ah, that's-...Well, I mean, I'm relieved to hear it's healing well, but...that's a shame about the scarring."

Aang and Zuko's interaction had carried a somewhat awkward tone ever since the United Republic had burned down. Zuko hadn't outright said it, but Aang could tell that the guy felt guilty, as if he were somehow partly responsible for Aang's injury.

"Actually, I...don't really mind the scar," Aang admitted with an embarrassed smile. "Heh. Adds character, I guess. Besides, it's...like a mark of proof of...-" Aang kissed the back of Katara's head. "-...how much I love this lady here." He grinned stupidly, and Katara's cloud of gloom cleared up at this gesture. "So every time she sees it, it'll be like a...strong reminder that I'm never going to let anything happen to her." The two both leaned their head over Katara's shoulder to exchange flickering eyes of affection for the briefest of moments.

Mai was at Zuko's side at this point, her poster tubes mailed out, and she cast a sneaky smirk in Zuko's direction.

"See, Zuko? I _told _you scars can be romantic," she told him with that sneaky glint in her eye that Zuko adored. "You just have to-...How was it you put it? The silver lining thing?"

"Take a bite of the silver sandwich," Zuko chuckled out with a face-palm in spite of his own phrase creation.

"That's it," said Mai with a nod, her hands on her hips. "Scars can be romantic, you just need to take a bite from the silver sandwich."

"_What_?" laughed out Aang, sinking his chin onto Katara's shoulder. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail today, and he could tell it wasn't clean, but that meant that it smelled more like..._Katara_...today. And he didn't mind that. "What's this about a sandwich?" Aang mumbled out, confused.

"Nevermind," Zuko shamefully dismissed the matter with a flick of his wrist, drinking more of his coffee. "Anyway, we have to get going - I have a meeting coming up soon." Zuko pushed up his buttoned sleeve, double-checking his gold-plated watch. "Uh, but...it was nice seeing you two."

"Yea! We should try meeting up again some time soon," Aang called out to the couple, who were making their way toward one of the staircases that led to the center's main lobby floor.

"Sure! I'll shoot you an e-mail when I have time," Zuko called back, waving them off.

"Bye, guys," bid Mai. "Don't offend anyone with all that _PDA _stuff, all right? You might want to dial the cuteness down a notch or two."

Aang smirked at Mai's picking, watching the couple vanish. When he looked back down to Katara, she seemed lost in her murk of discouragement once again. He gave her a light shake.

"Hey. Sweetie."

"_Mmph._"

"C'mon...We've gotta go, we have classes in a few."

Katara inhaled a deep breath through her nose, like a yawn, and broke free from Aang's grasp. Aang kept one hand latched to her waist as they made their way to the stairwell they'd just watched Mai and Zuko go up through.

"Hey. Ms. Eskimo," said Aang, scratching his fingertips along her side. "Come on. What could we do to help cheer you up tonight? Mm?"

"I don't _know_, Aang," Katara huffed with some impatience. She was starting to get a little tired of Aang asking this every day, and her hardly having an answer for him. She knew he meant well - it wasn't him she was annoyed with, it was her own lack of a proper response to that question.

"You were in a good mood yesterday, right? You told me."

"Well, _yes, _but...that's because I was helping _Toph _out with her..._boy _situation, and...-"

"And you actually _helped_," Aang pointed out. "She seemed _so _happy last night. She, like...called me just to tell me about how things had gone well with him."

"_Ha. _I remember, I was there, in the room with her."

"Oh. Right. Well, but-...See? You helped out a friend, and it made you feel better."

"So, what are you suggesting, Aang?"

"Wh-? I-I'm not sure, I'm just...pointing that out. Like, it might be a good idea to think on that."

"Yea...I guess."

The stairs were surpassed, and the couple traversed outside, onto the campus sidewalk. It was that after-lunch hour, where people were scuffling about to make it to their one o'clock classes. Not far off down the way, but heading in a different direction, Mai and Zuko walked, hand-in-hand. Zuko was in his usual: tucked into his black trousers, a button down shirt of maroon with a golden, satin tie accenting his simple apparel. Mai, beside him, looked entirely different, wearing baggy black goth pants, metal rings lining the sides, her tall, thick-soled boots of black, and a logo-less T-shirt to match the dark color scheme. The pair were like dawn and dusk, their appearances acting like counterweights to each other.

"What's this meeting about?" Mai casually asked, after they'd finished a brief bit of small-talk over the company they'd just encountered.

"Nothing special, really."

"Why do you look worried about it, then?"

"Ah, well...There's one detail I can't seem to figure out."

"What's that?"

"One of our security guards quit last week, and especially with...-" Zuko glanced around them cautiously. "-...how _crazy_...you-know-what...has been? We really need all the security we can afford."

"Sounds kind of stressful."

"Yes. And the problem is, I can't seem to think of anyone to suggest, and everyone's expecting _me _to come up with some recommendations since I was the one who got asked to look into it."

"Hm..."

Mai contemplated the matter. A security guard? Did she have any ideas? And then it came to her.

St. Patrick's Day.

Aang's scuffle outside of the United Republic - that racist little prick...She couldn't remember his name. But she _could _remember Aang's friend, Korra, slamming the guy down with no problem, restraining him with ease.

"What about...Korra?" Mai offered a suggestion.

"What's that?" Zuko mumbled, though he was already processing the concept.

"Korra. I've seen her deal with...violent types. She's actually pretty strong and capable. And she _does_ still need work, right?"

"Mm." Zuko's brows lifted thoughtfully, and he rubbed his chin. "I think so, yea...And, well, actually-" Zuko tapped his index finger to his lips as he remembered some details. "-now that I think about it, I _do _think she had some relevant training, too."

"Katara's dad is a police chief," said Mai. "I think I remember Korra mentioning that she had originally wanted to get into her uncle's line of work. So...-"

"Hm." Zuko nodded thoughtfully. "I'm a little worried that she might be a little too reckless, but...on the other hand, we don't have a lot _options _right now. No one's applied ever since we posted the opening, and we need it filled ASAP. So, yea. That's a good idea, Mai."

"Of course it's good - it came out of _my _brain."

"I expect nothing less."

* * *

Sweat trickled down Korra's forehead, her eyes sharp and focused. She nimbly pushed the ball down, dribbling it with skill. It felt right at home, its bumpy texture against her fingertips. Push, release, and it came right back to her hands, back under her control. That's how everything worked in Korra's world, didn't it?

Mako leered over her, his arms stretched out to prevent her from shooting the basketball. For a guy whose job involved reporting sports-related news, Korra had to hand it to him: he at least worked out to earn some credit in that realm. He was no slouch. But she was better.

She weaved around him, lifted the ball up to fake a shot, then slipped by when he'd reacted to it. She tossed the ball up, watching with glee as Mako flailed his arm at it, only to miss. It danced on the rim before falling into the basket.

"Hell yea! In your **face!**" Korra taunted, jamming both pointer fingers at Mako as she marched past him. He puffed out an exhausted breath of defeat, hunching over on his knees.

She pulled off the blue sweatband she'd had over her forehead and dropped it by the duffel bag on the cement by the bench. Her hair was bunched all into a ponytail, bangs messy and damp from the workout. Mako, likewise, wiped sweat from his eyebrows - such weird-shaped eyebrows, almost like they hooked up. Korra caught herself gawking at the stupid things, entranced by the way his bare arms glistened in the dusk's dim light from the bodily fluid encasing them. He tugged at his white tank top, flapping it in and out to relieve some heat, and Korra admired the view, watching his lean body make its way toward her. She slouched back, letting her head lull back on the bench's edge, her spine arcing up to perk her bosoms out a bit. She was in a black tube top of sorts that cute off just above the waist, showing off a bit of Korra's abs. Mako had been finding this distracting the whole time, and Korra certainly noticed the glances he'd stolen.

The two experienced yet another sexually tense moment of eyes checking out bodies, and avoiding other eyes, as Mako went to sit down beside Korra. That kind of chemically captivating moment had occurred multiple times over the past hour or so since they'd started drilling and playing. The sweat and heavy breathing was _really _not helping stop either of them from staring at each other, either.

"Uh..." Mako cleared his throat, still wheezing a bit. "We were...really connecting out there...today," he managed out between puffs and gasps.

"Yea," Korra agreed, staring out through the chain link fence they were walled within. "We've, erm...really been...getting along better...lately."

"Err...Y-yea, sure," Mako half-heartedly acknowledged. He wasn't entirely sure what she was getting at - back at home they'd both been learning to keep each other's tempers at bay around each other, but it almost seemed more like it was for Bolin's sake, since he hated watching them grumble and bitch each other out. Every week since Korra had moved in, though, the two of them had gone to the gym to work out, and since the weather was cleared up more recently, they'd been paying trips to this street court together, as well, for some one-on-one basketball.

"Soooo..." Korra reached into the duffel bag and pulled out her water bottle. It the local college 'Sky Bison' team logo emblazoned on it. Sokka had given it to her when she'd moved out here. "I was thinking, it's been a while since we hung out together." She tilted the metal container up and took a big gulp of water. "We should go do something."

"We've been...doing a _lot _together," Mako carefully pointed out, a bit confused and uncomfortable. They worked out, played some sports together, hung out at home...what more did the woman want? Mako had thought Korra didn't have an interest in much else.

"I mean, outside of the _gym_," Korra pointed out with an awkward shrug. "And not, like...watching sports on TV, or...playing _sports, _or-...I don't know." Her eyes were beginning to shift around a little nervously. "We spend so much time doing _sports _stuff, I just...feel like we hardly _know _each other still."

"Uh..." Mako swallowed, his throat dry. He retrieved his own water bottle - an orange, plastic one with no logo. Both of them took a swig. "I-I don't know," Mako muttered in hesitation, looking out to the evening street to his right. "Asami and I...-" He trailed off, suddenly realizing what he might've been indirectly implying.

"What does _Asami _have to do with anything?" Korra asked, raising a sly brow.

"Uh, it's...just that I'm not sure if she'd be..._comfortable_...with-"  
"_Ah_, so she's the jealous type, eh?"

"What? No, I didn't...-"  
"Nah, I get it." Korra smirked, stretching her arms up. Mako had to pull his eyes away. "Girls get jealous of me a lot, ya know? Comes with the territory."

"Listen," Mako deadpanned back to her. "Asami doesn't have any _reason _to be jealous of you, and I'd like to _keep _it that way."

"Uh-huh. That why you're trying to avoid spending time alone with me?" Korra said with snark, leaning forward and observing his profile. She sucked down more water. "Afraid something might..._happen?_"

"What?" Mako shot her a glare. "_No, _I would think we're both..._adults _here," he grunted.

"Sure. _Adults_," said Korra with a devilish twinkle in her eye. "We can act like _adults._"

Mako pushed past her insinuation.

"And besides, I'm not avoiding you, I'm spending time _alone _with you right _now._"

"OK, but not _alone _alone with me. You're just going through the motions. You could workout or practice B-ball on your own. We haven't really done anything..._meaningful _together."

"Well...that's...-" Mako was incredibly uncomfortable with the way she kept looking at him, with that dark sparkle to her smile.

"We do enough _arguing, _of course," Korra spitefully amended, crossing her arms around her waist. "Like right now."

"I'm sorry, Korra, but you can just...be so _infuriating _sometimes." Mako's fists clenched over his knees.

"It's all right, Cool Guy," Korra cockily calmed. "Don't get your Abercrombies in a bunch."

"What is even the point of this conversation?" Mako bemoaned, dropping his head and clamping it between his palms. "What are you getting at?"

"I'm just saying...The two of us could, you know...get to know each other better." A cocky, sultry waggled of Korra's eyebrows confirmed Mako's suspicions of Korra's intentions.

"We _already _know each other plenty. We live in the same _house._ And I don't think either Asami or Bolin would like the idea of us being alone together doing stuff like...-"

"_Like_?" Korra pressed, playing ignorant and intrigued.

"_Like-..._I don't know! More...intimate _things._"

"More intimate things," Korra repeated dubiously. "Talking?" she spat out rhetoric. "Actually fucking _knowing _something about each other? And...ya know." She shrugged, glancing down at her feet. "I mean, so _what? If _something happened...it's not like your girlfriend would need to _know _about it. We're roommates, we're both..._physical _people. I mean, it's _natural _we'd be, ya know...comfortable around each other, right?" Her tone carried this constant air of sneakiness through the whole conversation, and it was really beginning to bother Mako.

"Korra. I'm with Asami."

"Are you convincing _me _of that? Or are you repeating that for your own health?"

"And _you _are with _Bolin_."

"_Excuse _me?" Korra gave Mako a stink eye.

"Well..._Aren't _you?"

"Um, we went on _one _date," Korra clarified.

"I think you left a bit of an _impression _on him, then," Mako pointed out, his mood rapidly getting defensive. "Ever since last weekend, the way he's been talking about you...-"

"What?" Korra pressed for more. Bolin swooning over her, Mako getting envious. Heh. This was entertaining shit. And of _course _they'd both get worked up over her, that's what all guys did.

"You've got him all in a tizzy but I'm not sure if you have good intentions."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Korra, don't _even _try playing innocent, I _know _what you're getting at here. First you go frolicking around with Bolin, when he _obviously _is into you, and act like you have _no _obligation to his feelings. And then you're...what? Hitting on _me, _now?"

"So what if I am?" Korra protested. "And me and Bolin? We're just...having _fun _together, that's all." She frowned, narrowing her eyes. "What do _you _care, anyway?"

"I'm looking out for my little brother," snapped Mako. "I don't want to see his heart get broken."

"_Wait _a second." Korra narrowed her eyes at Mako, pushing out her palms. "You're not worried about him. You're _jealous,_" she cockily decided with a pointed finger.

"Pff. I'm not going to be part of your self-manufactured soap opera, Korra."

_"Whatever._ Admit it. You like me, _too._"

"_No. _I'm with _Asami._"

"Oh my _god, _you keep _saying _that! I _know_, Mako! I'm not a fucking retard. I heard it the first two times."

"We're _dating _now," said Mako sternly.

"And you're so _worried _about spending time with me. Know what I think?"

"Not sure I _want _to know."

"I think the problem is that when you're with _her, _you're thinking about _me, _aren't you?" Her eyes narrowed at him with arrogant suspicion. This was fantastically entertaining, watching him squirm.

Mako lifted his head back up and stabbed a dagger glare at her.

"Get _over _yourself!" he growled in disgust.

"I'm just being honest!" she protested.

"You're being 's your _problem?_"

"I see the way you _look _at me, Mako! Don't fucking deny it."

"_Grrffmm_!" Mako fizzed out some bridled aggravation, digging his fingernails into his sweaty hair. "All right." Mako took a deep breath, his eyes closed. He loosened his fists, his hooky brows furrowed. "Here's the deal. You are _attractive,_" he explained as calmly as he could. "You're..._beautiful. _And you're fit, and strong, and...-"

"Tell me something I _don't _know."

Mako's veil of solemnity immediately melted away.

"But you're cocky, arrogant...self-centered. You're rash and immature. I don't _like _you."

"Uh-huh," she said with oodles of sarcastic doubt.

"I'm being _serious. _I like _Asami._"

"You just like her for her money."

"I _like_ her because she's the _opposite _of _you. _She's a woman who actually has _class._"

"_Ha! _We both know that's not what you really want. You want a _real _woman who takes charge."

"_Listen _to yourself! Do you _realize _how conceited and self-absorbed you sound? And you're trying to play me and my brother against each other, or something? _Urgh, _this kind of crap is _exactly _why I told Bolin a girl roommate was a bad idea..."

"It really gets under your skin, eh?"

"What?"

"That I haven't committed to Bolin. That I'm keeping my options open and calling you out on your shallow '_relationship' _with this girl you barely know." She waggled air quotes.

"Asami and I have talked a _lot _already," Mako insisted. "And what bothers me is that you're _obviously_ leading Bolin on, but here you are, trying to force yourself on _me, _when you know I'm already dating someone."

"Yea, and I'm sure _you _have never weighed your options like that."

"_Tss._ Maybe in another _universe, _Korra," Mako scoffed. "But I don't play it _loose_ like you do. When I make a decision, I actually try to _stick _with it."

"I haven't _made _any decisions!"

"That's my _point! _Look at yourself, Korra! You're _babysitting _some kids, purely because of some _coincidence, _instead of actually looking for _real _work. And then you're leading Bolin on, getting him all riled up, and-"  
"_Whoa, _whoa. I'm not _leading _him on."

"Bolin _likes _you, Korra. You _know _it."

Korra's eyes rolled around and she shrugged.

"And I can tell _you_ like him, too," Mako added, to which Korra looked down at her lap thoughtfully. "And what you're doing toward me right now?...W_hatever _this is...It's disrespectful to both him _and _Asami. I'm not interested in...whatever it is you have in mind. I've been trying to be comfortable with this situation the way it is."

"Yea, I bet it's _so _uncomfortable to keep _staring _at me all the time." Korra wasn't really listening to what Mako was saying. It was kind of passing through one ear and going out the other. She was feeling too stubborn and competitive to really care about what he was going on about. This was too much fun, anyway.

"Will you _stop _that?" Mako snapped, his nostrils practically steaming. "You know _damned _well what you look like, and you _flaunt _it. You want me to stop looking at you? Stop dressing like _that_," he huffed, gesturing toward her. Her shirt was accented by some cleavage, her stomach was exposed, and her shorts were rather tight - and rather short, at that.

"This is _my _fault, now?" she countered with offense. "Gonna play that shit card on me, Mako?"

"_No, _it's not-..._Grrmmm. _I'm saying that the way you _carry _yourself, and _especially _the way you talk to me lately? It's like you're _asking _me to...to _kiss _you, or something."

By now, Mako and Korra's faces were inches apart, both sets of cheeks burning from the physical attraction at play.

"Is that what you _want?_" Korra asked, practically daring him to do so.

"No. I _don't,_" Mako seethed.

"Yea, you _do_," Korra egged him on with the same cocky tone she'd been carrying throughout the conversation. Right under her thumb, just like Bolin. Mako just required a more aggressive tactic to pull in. The thrill and exhilaration of the tension was overwhelming her, her arousal psyching her up for some action. Logic wasn't even a part of the equation right now. She was having too much fun, and watching stiff, grumpy Mako writhe around was an empowering delight.

"You're _crazy_," Mako hissed.

"You're a _liar_," Korra countered.

Mako rustled his spiked up bangs around in frustration. Part of him _did _want to indulge in that physicality. Korra was incredibly attractive, he wouldn't deny it. Hell, he'd just confessed it. But he knew full well that the two of them were too short-tempered and hot-headed to get along in in a intimate relationship. It made more sense to go for Asami, anyway. And he wasn't about to go flip-flopping on some friends-with-benefits nonsense, which seemed to be what Korra was playing at. Korra's body enticed him, he couldn't deny it. But she was a loose canon. She was bringing out his own bad temperament, something he'd been spending years to learn to keep in check. It simply wasn't a good idea, all around. And besides, he had his brother's feelings to take into account, too.

If this were his high school years, he probably would've given into temptation - as he had, once upon a time. But he wasn't a teenager any more, which meant that the time for putting his physical desires in front of what made _sense _was long gone. Korra was a beautiful woman, and their prolonged moment of silent tension only made that thought more prominent.

But Mako's life wasn't about to turn into a soap opera just because of Korra's teenage mindset, fixated on whatever sexual flight of fantasy she was considering forcing into reality.

"Korra," he broke the heated quiet. "I'm not _interested_ in you like that. I'm in a committed relationship, and I'm happy with how it's going. You're an attractive woman, but I-"

Korra had cut him off, leaning her head six inches to her right, planting her lips into his. He immediately pulled back, spitting them out and physically shoving her back by the arm.

"What is your _problem?_" he squawked, his cheeks beet red while he wiped his arm over his mouth. "What did I _just _say?"

Korra's face, likewise, was incredibly flushed, her eyes wide. She had honestly expected he was going to kiss her back.

"I...I thought-"  
"_No! _You _didn't _think!" Mako growled, taking his water bottle and violently chucking it into the open duffel bag at his feet. "That's the entire issue here!"

Korra's grimaced with shame, and she lifted her fingertips to her temple, avoiding Mako's glare. The chemicals that had been stirring within her like a mad tornado had been spilt all over the concrete. It felt like she was a dog who'd pissed the rug, and Mako was sticking her face in it to scold her.

"What did you plan to do if I'd said 'yes?' If I'd...kissed you _back_? Convince me to start cheating on the girl I _just _started dating? Try and start some...friends-with-benefits _bullcrap _with you?"

Korra's stomach churned. Now that her brain was turned back on, she had no idea how to respond to that.

"Do you want me to go back to the house and we can just...have _at it? _Under the same roof as my _brother?_"

"I...I wasn't...thinking...that far ahead," Korra shakily confessed. It was a bit mind-shattering, her ego being blasted apart by rejection. That _look _in Mako's eyes, when he'd shoved her back: he looked so _disgusted _with her. It was jarring. No guy - _or _girl - had _ever _not kissed her back before. She'd always been able to get away with it in the past. Like it was...a game. "I was...just having _fun,_" she weakly explained.

"_Exactly!_" cried Mako, his voice elevated with rage. He slapped his forehead. "You never think things _through! _This is _exactly _why you're in this situation right now! You just _moved _from one country to the next on a _whim_, and once that job didn't pan out, you had nowhere to _go!_"

"I would've figured something _out!_" Korra defended herself, thumbing her chest.

"_No!_" Mako berated. "If you hadn't met that doctor, and she hadn't _pitied _you, you'd be without a job! And even as it is, you're barely able to afford your share of the bills, much less groceries, or anything _else._"

Korra and Mako's eyes seared at each other. She had no ammunition to retaliate with at this point.

"I'm already having a hard enough time taking care of _one _kid," Mako sighed. "But with you pulling crap like..._that_? I don't think you're a good influence on my brother."

"That's _bullshit_, Mako," Korra grunted back, suddenly swelled with a defensive edge at Mako's implication. "Maybe right now I'm a babysitter, but that's 'cuz someone _wants _me to be one. Bolin never _asked _you to be _his _babysitter."

"He didn't _need _to, I'm his _brother_. That's what I'm here to _do: _look out for him when he doesn't know any better. I wouldn't expect you to know what that's _like, _because you're only ever looking out for yourself."

Korra's jaws were clench, her fists were tight, and she wanted to just..._roar _at him.

"Now you're going to go to Bolin, and you're going to tell him what happened just now."

"You're not _my _fucking babysitter, too, Mako."

"Listen up." Mako slung the duffel bag over one shoulder, pointing at Korra with his free hand. "This _game _you're playing? Drop it. I'm not _interested. _I'm not going to _be _interested. There's no logical reason for me to play this crap with you, and I have a _girlfriend _already. I won't be part of this high-school _drama _you want to steep yourself in. Cut it with the flirting, and the flaunting, and showing off, and trying to rile me up. You tell my brother what happened tonight, and you _end _this bullshit, or you can consider our friendship _over, _and you can find a new place to live."

With his impatient, hot-tempered threat tossed out in the open, Mako stalked past Korra, leaving her to stew in thought. Her 'fun' was spoiled, her arrogance was thwarted, her body ached, and her eyes stung with the beginnings of regretful tears of confusion.

"Mako...I'm _sorry_," she called out to him as she heard him open the chain-link fence door, letting himself out.

"Korra," Mako sternly said to her from the other side of the gate. "It's time to stop living like a _teenager _and grow up. If you really _are _sorry...if you really _do _want to change, prove it with your _actions, _not just your words."

With that somber note played, Mako sighed to himself and trekked off down the sidewalk. The walk home wasn't too far, and he expected Korra would catch up with him if she really wanted to. There was still enough sunset light left to walk home.

Korra watched Mako's form slowly fade away. _Ugh, _fuck, why did he have to be so _good-looking? Gragh, _and she could never have it. She _hated _losing, she hated being belittled, and she _really _hated feeling like she couldn't have something she'd been wanting for so long.

She had this awful pit in her stomach, just like when she'd hurt Sokka in that bar fight. Her inconsiderate, rash actions born from impulse had hurt someone.

She buried her head in her palm, huffing in anguish and self-loathing. She slammed her fist into the bench, shaking her head to herself.

"Well played, Korra..."

* * *

- Thursday, April 21st, 2011 -

Katara took a deep breath and sat in silence for a couple of moments after Toph had left the room. She'd even brushed at her own hair and added her fluffy cotton-ball earrings before she'd left - Katara had played dumb, but _she _knew where Toph was going: open-mic night.

All day, Katara had been thinking to herself, '_What if Toph goes and plays her music at the coffee house?_' Dwelling on the notion of trying to get Sokka to 'notice' her roommate gave Katara's busy mind something to do that was optimistic - rather than let it slip into the pessimistic crankiness she'd been wallowing in lately. Reading had been helping a lot, too, though it wasn't fail safe. Certain pieces of text would trigger dark thoughts and doubts and it would sour the experience, forcing her to come back to the book later. But this - worrying about trying to 'match' Sokka and Toph together, that was something she could dwell on, free of any self-awareness.

But Katara's run in with Mai and Zuko the day before had eventually spurred her to catch up with Mai in spite of her moodiness. This has consequently reminded Katara of the knowledge Mai had shared: Toph's mic-night visits to the Jasmine Dragon. Toph hadn't seemed to be going to those as much lately...and yet here she had just left the dorm, guitar in tow, dressed up (well, for Toph's standards), on a Thursday night, seeming fairly open about how her mind was swimming in infatuation of Sokka.

It had hatched an idea that Katara was compelled to act upon, so she'd called her brother up right away.

"Sokka?"

["Hey, Katara,"] Sokka sounded confused. ["What's...going on? I thought the whole point of Thursday Night Study-Time was so...we'd all _study. _And not call each other."]

"Umm...W-well, I was wondering if you might be interested in taking a little break."

["A break?"]

"Yea. I mean, it's not smart to work yourself too hard. Dad always says that, remember? You work too long without a break and you become less productive."

["Uh..._Yea, _I get that, but spring break's just around the corner, and I've got this paper due _tomorrow_ that I'm three pages out from finishing, and...-"]  
"All the more reason to get some coffee!"

["...Is everything OK? Is something wrong?"]

"No, I'm _fine._"

There was a strange break in words as Sokka tried to analyze the situation. Katara had a tint of nervous, awkwardness to her. Maybe something was up with all of her grouchy mood-swinging lately. He could afford a short break, and she _was _right that it would do him some good, anyway. If it would help keep his sister from being down in the dumps, well, that was two birds with one stone. Only, like...in a _positive, _not-killing-birds kind of way.

["Uh, OK. Well, erm...-?"]

"Want to just come meet me at the ACC? In the lobby?"

["When?"]

"Now? I-I mean, if you wait much longer, the Jasmine Dragon's going to close up, so..."

["Ah, right."] _Rrmfh. Not really in the mood to..._move_...right now. But, blah. She sounds weird, I'd better make sure she's all right. _["Uh, well...Sure. Gimme, like...ten minutes? I should be there then."]

Katara bit her lower lip, checking the time on her laptop's screen: [8:22pm] Toph had just left, but Katara hoped that it would be a few minutes before she started playing. Probably an 8:30 slot, she'd signed up for? Argh, they had to get moving.

"Sure! Y-yea! OK! Let's do it, see you there!" Katara immediately ended the call after her hurried confirmation, sticking the phone in her pocket and heading out the door. With a silly smile on her face, she made her way across the evening campus with anticipation. She sang softly to herself as she walked.

"~Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match~Find me a find, catch me a catch~"

She reached the campus center quickly, but Sokka wasn't to be found. Eager and impatient, she paced around the front entrance. After a couple minutes of waiting, she noticed Haru approaching, pushing Teo's wheelchair along. They rolled up the concrete ramp, designed specifically for this kind of situation.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted with a wave. They both reciprocated as rounded the 180 turn in the ramp. "Have either of you seen Sokka?" she wondered. Haru shrugged and Teo shook his head.

"Sorry, Kat," said Haru.  
"Haven't seen him all day," said Teo.

"Ah." Katara checked her phone: [8:28pm] "All right, well..." She snapped herself back to the social situation before her. "I'll...see you guys around," she said with a smile.

"Later!"  
"Good night!"

As they went to enter the glass double-doors, Katara jumped to attention, opening a door and skittering to the side to make room.

"Oh, thanks."  
"Thank you."

"Yea, no problem!"

A toothy smile of pleasantry dissolved into a nervous grimace as Katara following them in, her brother nowhere in sight. She was getting worked up and worried - vicariously, perhaps? It didn't matter. Would it really be a big deal if they missed Toph's performance? Likely not. But she was still _nervous _somehow. But she wasn't upset with _herself _right now, or her own personal issues, and that was the important part.

A floor below, in the Jasmine Dragon, Toph was getting up on stage. She was dressed in a tank top, shorts, and sandals. On her right arm was a bracelet of cold, dark volcanic rock, her Christmas gift from Sokka. On her left leg, an anklet of seashells, the respective present she'd received from Katara. Both were very much on her mind tonight. She wanted their strength physically present and represented. The rough texture on her right wrist and the smooth texture on her left ankle were sensations that helped sooth and relax her. Aang's wooden ring rested in her pocket for some extra luck - wearing it would hinder her performance, however. Still, though, they were all present and accounted for. Well..._almost._

The scuffing sound of that familiar old friend, the wooden stool, brought Toph back to her senses.

"I'm, like, _so _happy you finally came back for one of these," Ty-Lee's voice whispered with giddy glee as she arranged the stool and the microphone stand.

"Err...Yea," Toph replied awkwardly. Oh, jeez, she'd forgotten that _this _girl was the one who worked here these nights, now that they'd had those strange, tense moments around Sokka. A minor weirdness; she'd get over it quickly. This wasn't about Ty-Lee. This was about Sokka.

Toph kicked off her sandals after she heard Ty-Lee exit the tiny stage, and she set her feet down on the stool's support.

What was there to say? Nothing. It was time to play. She began to pluck at her strings.

+ youtube(.com)/watch?v=9EYN4s4j_Xo +  
(Christina Perri: "Arms")

Upstairs, Katara finds Sokka casually strutting into the building.

"Sokka! What took you so long?"

_"~I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart~"_

"Wha-? Nothing, I just-"  
"C'mon! Hurry up!"

_"~But you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start~"_

Katara, tugging her confused brother outside, heading for the proper stairway.

_"~You put your arms around me~"_

Toph, eyes closed, singing on stage.

_"~And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go~"_

Mai, sitting at the back of the room, smiling at the girl's expressive vocals.

_"~You put your arms around me and I'm home~"_

Sokka and Katara, flying across the sidewalk.

"Sis, what-?  
"We don't want to miss her."

"_Huh?_"

_"~How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around?~"_

Toph would do such dumb shit; and he'd always let her come back.

_"~I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown~"_

The spring formal; arguing within herself about her infatuation.

_"~I hope that you see right through my walls~"_

Katara, fleeing down the stone steps, Toph's muffled song in her ears.

_"~I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling~"_

Sokka, in hot pursuit, eyes furrowed with recognition at the voice.

_"~I'll never let a love get so close~"_

Katara, pushing open the glass double doors.

_"~You put your arms around me and I'm home~"_

Sokka, stumbling in behind her, the music's volume bursting through his ears.

"Wh-?" Sokka points a vague finger at the stage.  
"_Shhh_!" Katara shushes him, pulling him to the counter. "Two coffees please!" Katara orders cheerily.

Sokka twists his head around, intrigued by Toph's solemn performance.

_"~The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved~"_

A winter full of mistakes and regrets; pushing everyone away.

_"~I'd never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone~"_

_Could I really make you happy, Sokka? Or would I just cut you down like I did to Aang?_

_"~You put your arms around me~"_

Katara's arm around Sokka's shoulder.

_"~And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go...~"_

Katara whispers, "Good, isn't she?"

"...Yea."

_"~I hope that you see right through my walls~"_

Sokka's eyes don't leave the stage, captivated.

_"~I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling~"_

He watches her eyebrows tilt down, her lips form words.

_"~I'll never let a love get so close~"_

He observes the rhythm of her body strumming the strings.

_"~You put your arms around me and I'm home~"_

Her head bobs, eyes covered by waves of black as she sings the rolling note.

Katara smirks at the way Sokka's jaw is slightly agape at the sight of Toph in motion.

"She's real pretty tonight, huh?" notes Katara quietly. Sokka hesitantly nods.

_"~I tried my best to never let you in; to see the truth~"_

_I didn't _want_ to like you. I knew it was retarded. But...-_

_"~And I've never opened up; I've never truly loved~"_

_You just make me feel comfortable. I can be _me_ around you. _All_ of me._

_"~'til you put your arms around me~"_

The guitar stops. She leans toward the microphone, eyelids half-closed as the words flow forth.

_"~And I believe that it's easier for you to let me go~"_

Hair trickles over her face. She flicks her head to push it back.

Strings start back up. Katara giddily accepts two coffee cups and passes one to her brother.

Side by side, they watch Toph's solid strums, her body rigid and stout, each chord like a swift strike. Toph is so lost in music, drums are pounding in her head like a heartbeat.

"This...doesn't seem like a very '_Toph_' sorta song," Sokka whispers his confusion.

"Heh. There must be more to her than you _think_, Sokka."

_"~I hope that you see right through my walls~"_

Sokka's brain begins clicking the pieces together.

_"~I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling~"_

That longing in her arced eyebrows, the passion in her voice...

_"~I'll never let a love get so close~"_

He's lost in realization, unable to get his cup to his mouth.

_"~You put your arms around me and I'm home~"_

She smiles sneakily - the same way she smiles at _him._

_"~You put your arms around me and I'm home~"_

She was singing about..._him?_

Toph gracefully pushed out the last trail of notes in a slow, elegant chord, and the song ended. Enthusiastic applause echoed through the shop. Ty-Lee hopped up and down from behind the counter with a tiny squeal, to which Katara hummed out a laugh. When Katara turned around, she noticed Mai was mere feet away to their right, waving them on as the clapping slowed down.

Sokka finally took a sip from his coffee, and his eyes bulged open wide from the steaming, bitter liquid. As he choked on the drink, he kept watching Toph as the girl's feet found their way back into her sandals. She slung her guitar over her shoulder, retrieved her cane from the edge of the stage, and began to make her exit. Katara watched Sokka's eyes widen, his mouth open, and his finger lift, but she flicked his wrist down, shushing him and pulling him to the table where Mai was.

The three of them all carefully watched Toph find her way out, a serene smile on her face, her eyes closed with peace. The door's bell jingled as Toph left, and Katara caught her brother gaping a bit at their friend's rear end disappearing up the steps ahead.

"I was beginning to wonder when I might be seeing her here again," said Mai dryly, a smirk on her face. She eyeballed the Kesuk siblings. "Or any of _you _guys for that matter."

"That was...-" Sokka finally pried his glance from the glass double doors. "-..._Toph_."

"_Ha!_ Yea. That was Toph," Katara patronized him. "Good job, you can recognize your friends. I'm very proud of you."

"But...but it _wasn't _Toph," Sokka spat out, eyes narrowed. "It was...-" He lifted up his hands, contorting them with confused frustration.

"A side of her you've never seen before?" said Katara.

"_Yes. _That. She was all, like...-" He shrugged wildly. "It was just _weird_."

"She's really talented, though," Mai confidently ascertained, eyebrows popping up as she sipped at her tea.

"_Isn't _she?" Katara agreed. "I mean, of _course _she is and everything, we've played band together, but...she is _very _different when she plays alone like that."

"She is _very different_," Sokka was quick to repeat, getting up to go add some sugar and cream to his coffee from the table just behind their own.

"It's like she has two sides to her, isn't it?" said Katara with a strongly insinuating tone. She twisted her torso to her brother. "Like _someone _I know."

"_Heh, _we all have two sides, little Sis," Sokka insisted, using his stir stick to weave the mixture in his cup around. He stuck the top back on and sat back down. "Mine are 'Sarcastic' and 'Smart.' Yours are...-" He scratched his chin hairs, and took a drink of coffee. "-...'Compassionate' and 'Judgmental Prude.'"

"_Hey!_" Katara snipped. She slapped his arm with more sting than Sokka had been expecting. Mai smiled at the two of them.

"Does that make mine 'Meh, Sure' and 'Don't Give a Damn?'"

Ty-Lee's chirping piped up from nearby as she adjusted the table full of coffee condiments, wiping up the traces of spilt sugar Sokka had just left behind.

"**OH OH OH **mine are totally '_SQUEE_' and '**OMIGOD**!'"

Sokka frowned at the sound of her voice, and Katara smacked him again, with less severity this time. Mai's eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips tightened as she stared at the back of Ty-Lee's head for a brief moment of what Katara perceived to be contained hostility. What was _that _all about?

"_Anyway,_" sighed Sokka, after no one responded to Ty-Lee. "I guess I see your point, Katara. It's just _weird, _seeing her all..._emotional_ like that."

"Make her sound like a cold-hearted _jerk_, why don't you?" Katara retaliated with some snark. "She gets her emotional moments, _too, _you know."

"Yea, yea, I know." Sokka's glance wandered up to the empty stage briefly as he envisioned that telling smile on the girl's face. That smile he knew so well, the one he'd only ever seen her give _him. _"She _is _a woman," Sokka suddenly mocked with a cocky tilt of his head. "So acting unexpected and random because of all those _lady _chemicals is what I'd expect, really. I guess Toph's just better at hiding it." He savored the grouchy glares he received at this.

"It's probably because she knows better than to show idiots like _you _her soft side," was Mai's flat counter remark.

"Yea, you know, Sokka...-" Ty-Lee's sweet, seemingly ignorant voice cut into their conversation again while the girl finished tidying the table. "-...maybe if you were more understanding of a woman's feelings, you might have better luck with your relationships."

Sokka's face exploded with irritation, though he made no sounds. Katara held in a giggle.

"She's right, you know," Katara insisted with a sage nod. "We're just looking out for what's best for you."

"_I'm_ not," said Mai with her dull rigidity, and the laugh Katara had bottled in was dumped out.

Sokka huffed at whatever was going on here. It was some kind of set-up. Some dastardly, girl-gang set-up. He just knew it. That was what women did, they _connived _against guys. Right? This was that.

"Glad to hear it," he grumbled out, gulping down some coffee, now that some cold half-n-half had brought its temperature down a bit. "Anyway, what's this all about, eh?"

"Huh?" Katara feigned innocence.

"What's with dragging me down here all of a sudden in such a hurry?"

The two siblings exchanged telling glances with each other, and Katara shrugged, clasping her warm cup in both palms on the table.

"I wanted you to see Toph play," Katara replied simply.

"_Why_?" Sokka asked slowly, oozing suspicion.

"_Because_," said Katara firmly. "I've been worried about you lately. You're going to graduate soon, and you've been acting all strange. I just want you to see that if Toph can find a way to...you know, to be herself, do what she loves...that you should be able to do the same."

Mai casually nodded at this, though she had no idea what the subtext of the conversation was.

Sokka's head bobbed left and right, conceding to her reply. There was more to it than this, he could just _tell. _Was Katara trying to, like...set him and Toph up, or something? It was something Katara would _do_, knowing her.

"Ah. I see." He rubbed his and on his neck as he expressed a thought. "I think I get you on that, but..._you've _been acting pretty odd lately, too, Sis. Seems weird that you'd be all focused on _me, _with what you've got going on_._" He rose from his seat and gave her a pat on the shoulder, while Mai raised a brow at this comment. "It's nice of you to be thinking of me and stuff, but, hey." He stared her straight in her exhausted, baggy eyes. "Don't let the Sugar-Queen neglect her _own _kingdom, huh?" He gave her a weak, somewhat worried smile, then nodded to Mai, who looked a bit confused by this interaction but waved back as he stepped toward the door. "It's been fun, ladies, but Dr. Sokktagonapus has a big paper to write up for tomorrow. So...peace out!"

He took his leave, ignoring Ty-Lee's exuberant cry of "Bye~" as he did so.

Mai blinked with narrowed slits for eyes as she watched him bound out of sight.

"What an idiot. Did he just...call himself...-?"  
"He sure is. And he sure did," Katara sighed, a far off grin on her face. "I swear, those two really _are _made for each other..."

"Huh?"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for your guys' patience and support as I gradually whittle away at this story, drawing closer to the end. The support you guys send - whether a comment on DA, a review here, or a like on the FB page - it all helps keep me motivated to keep writing at a steady pace when I know there are people out there interested for more.**


	88. Choices

**A/N: First of all IMPORTANT NOTE: chapter 1 has been revised with am extended intro that includes a BRAND NEW scene that will not show up anywhere else in the story - it portrays the night of Jet's death from Smellerbee's perspective. If you care about that, I suggest you go back and give at least the first couple sections of chapter 1 read.**

**Sorry this chapter took so long, guys. I ran into some pretty back writer's block for a week, but I did manage to convert that into time spent getting more artwork made for both SRU and my next project, Esteemed. SRU reached a milestone of 200 total artworks made this past week (though not 100% are uploaded to DA yet). You can always follow all updates on either project through the FB pages (probably the most concise way to follow every update). To stay on top of any artwork updates, notable blog posts, and chapter previews, just follow /WhatILearnedatSRUon Facebook (or #S-R-U group on DA), or add /EsteemedBeifongs on FB (DA group #Esteemed-Beifongs) to follow 'Esteemed,' which for now will basically be art updates and occasional excerpts from what I have planned for the full story. So just keep in mind, as I know a lot of people have been bothering me about it, that when SRU ends, I'll be far from dong writing with the Avatar cast, and I'll be continuing to collaborate with members in the fandom to have artwork made.  
**

******As a random aside, if you're not already watching them, give Adventure Time and Gravity Falls a try. They're two of the best animated programs on television right now, if you ask me, though they're of course more on the comical side - but don't be fooled, they're animated shows that can be enjoyed regardless of age, like Avatar, and they both have consistent continuity and subtle depth that goes a long way. While we're on the subject, go watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood if you haven't, even if you've seen the original anime. It's one of the few genuine animes out there I would actively recommend, though that one's designed for a teenage and up audience. Then again, if you don't fit that bill, I'm surprised you're reading this.  
**

**Last note, I'm sorry for anyone who's been having trouble accessing the YouTube links I post, it's not my fault FF's formatting is so strict, _but _now that it's come to my attention. I think I've figured out a way to lay them out that should be easier to comprehend, but I'll also start including the song and artist as well (another thing I'll need to go back and edit).  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 88 - Choices_

* * *

- Friday, April 22nd, 2011 - Last day before Spring Break

Korra's heavy steps thumped down the stairs, her sluggish movements like that of a zombie.

"_Yar-yar!"_

Korra's eyes bugged open at the sound of her puppy, and she flinched with shock. The jarring noise was unsettling, and she grimaced as she fumbled through the room, her dog nipping at her heels for attention.

_"Rrrrr-arp! Arp-arp!_"

"Naga..." she whimpered. "Stop..."

A clean whistle shot out from behind Korra, again causing her shoulders to pop up and her eyes to open wide with surprise. To her relief, however, Naga froze in place, staring back into the living room. As Korra's bare feet touched the cold tiles of the kitchen floor, Naga scampered back.

"There's a good girl," came Bolin's voice. He didn't speak in that stupid baby-ing tone people often would with animals. He just...spoke like Bolin spoke. Korra liked that, though she was presently too grumpy and unaware to ponder this thought.

Korra rubbed at her face as she passed Mako, who was sitting at the tiny metal table to her right, eating a bowl of hot oatmeal as he scrolled his thumb over his phone's touch screen. He was in a white button-down, tucked into his tan khakis, and his hair was styled for the day, the bangs spiked up sharply.

"The morning...is _evil_," Korra moaned, eyebrows furrowed as she reached up into the cupboard for a mug.

"Deal with it," Mako retorted with nonchalance, not even looking up to her.

Korra set the mug on the countertop beside the coffeemaker.

"_You _deal with it," she grunted at him, grabbing the half-empty glass pot with her back turned.

"I _do_," Mako replied sharply, still refusing to look toward her. "Five days a _week_, unlike some people around here..."

Korra's nostrils flared out, her eyes narrow as her grip on the pot's handle tightened. She kept her cool, pouring her coffee as steadily as she could. Her and Mako hadn't been on speaking terms since Korra's selfish mistake the other night, though the two were doing their best to keep Bolin unaware of this tension.

"I actually have an _interview _today," Korra matter-of-factly explained, spooning sugar into her coffee.

"So _that's _why you're awake before noon," Mako mocked, lacking enthusiasm. "And actually wearing _pants,_" he added, noting her black sweats. Korra shot him a deadpan glare that he ignored while she opened the fridge, reaching for a milk carton. She poured a bit into her mug before grabbing a teaspoon from the silverware draw and stirring it with groggy rage. Stupid Mako, and his...stupid...fucking..._stupid. _**Rrgh.**

"Oh, hey," said Bolin as he entered the now crowded kitchen. "He's right," he observed, his tone innocent and amused. "You're...not just in your boxers! Wow, and you're even wearing a _shirt _and everything! I am _impressed_," Bolin teased, grabbing a package of Pop-Tarts from atop the fridge. Korra waited for him to get out of the way, a small smirk on her face at his picking while she placed the carton back in the fridge door. Mako was doing it to piss her off and make her feel stupid - Bolin was doing it to make her smile in spite of herself. "What's the special occasion?" Bolin wondered facetiously.

"I've got an interview at the school for a security job," Korra told him, wiping sand from her eyelashes as she clasped at her coffee mug carefully.

Bolin gave her a bright smile and a gentle, encouraging pat on the arm.

"Whoa-_ho, _I didn't know about this!" He pressed his Pop-Tarts down into the toaster.

"Yea, well...I didn't _either, _until yesterday," Korra mumbled, taking a small sip of her hot drink. She observed the time on the microwave: [8:34am] "But I have it in, like...an hour."

"Your car's still at the shop," Mako coolly reminded. "Which _we're _helping spot you for, by the way." Those words were a lot hotter. "So how are you _getting _to this interview?"

"Uhhh...I...hadn't really-"  
"-thought that far ahead," Mako finished for her, evoking their conversation from the other night. She wrinkled her nose at this and drank more of her coffee.

"Hey, it's no big, I can drive you," Bolin assured, the underlying tension completely over his head.

"Thanks, Bo," Korra muttered with some gratitude, giving him a weak smile.

Mako scraped at his bowl, finishing off his oatmeal. He got up, dropping the bowl into the sink and swiftly heading for the door. He grabbed his old red scarf from the coat rack and tossed it around his neck as he often did before heading off to work. Korra didn't understand why he insisted on wearing such an ugly, ratty old thing all the time, but...whatever. Like she should care.

"You two have fun," Mako sighed. "I'm heading out."

"Catch you later, Bro. _Oh, _hey!" Bolin spat as Mako was halfway out the door. His brother paused. "Did you need me to get any groceries while I'm out?"

"Uh, sure," Mako mumbled with a shrug. "There should be a list on the fridge. Thanks."

"No problem! Have a good one!"

"Bye."

After Mako had vanished, Korra took a deep breath, sitting herself down in the seat he had just been occupying.

_Ka-chink! _Bolin's breakfast popped out of the toaster. He got himself a small plate and carefully extracted his heated pastries.

"So, Korra...You nervous?"

"Mm?" Korra hummed tiredly, running her fingers through her messy hair, which was hanging loose over her shoulders.

"I dunno, you just...seem '_off_' today." He sat down across from her casually, a pep in his morning step. "I'm sure you'll do fine, though."

"Yea?" Korra gawked a bit at his thick arms as he lifted a Pop-Tart to his mouth. "Mako doesn't seem to have so much faith in me," she grumbled, looking back down to her coffee just as his eyes went to meet hers. There was a quiet moment between the two of them as she drank and he chewed.

"Agh, I'm sure he _does_," Bolin insisted. "He's just really critical. That's just his way of caring, you know?"

"Is that how he shows he cares about _you_?" Korra dubiously wondered. "He's a hard-ass all of the time?"

"Pretty much," Bolin acknowledged with a calm nod. "That's what I need once in a while, I guess."

"Maybe _he _needs to chill the fuck _out_ once in a while, then..."

"_Yar-yarp!_ _Yarp!_"

"Ugh, O-OK, hey...girl..." Korra sighed at the clawing and licking at her shins, and she reached a blind arm down to pet her dog, only to come up with slimy fingers.

"_Yarp!_"

"What is your issue?" Korra whined. "Huh?"

"_Rrrrarp! Arp!_"

"Naga..." The shrill barking was rattling Korra's skull.

"I think she's just hungry," guessed Bolin, leaning over the table and giving the dog a stupid grin. "Am I right, Naga?"

"_Yarp!_" Naga stared up at him with wide eyes, panting. Bolin got up out of his chair and went to go fill Naga's dog dish with dry food.

"Oh...Bolin, you don't...-" Korra started, but he was already at the task, and she was too lazy to force him to stop. She glanced down at her coffee with some guilt, her mind heavy with Mako's warning from earlier about telling Bolin the truth.

"There ya go!" Bolin rustled his big fingers around Naga's head as the puppy excitedly went to eat. Bolin sat back down and bit off another chunk of his tart.

"Thanks."

"Mm-hm."

"Where's the _other _critter at?" Korra asked.

"Pabu's being a lazy-bones, he's still asleep."

"Heh..." Another few seconds of quiet. Naga chomped at her food, Bolin swallowed his pastry, Korra gulped her coffee. "So, er...What's your plan for the day? Work?"

"Actually, I'm off today," said Bolin. "I'm going to swing you up to the school, and then on the way back I figured we could hit up the grocery store, if you don't mind."

"Oh. Right. Yea, that's fine..."

"But other than that, I mean...No, I'm pretty free."

"Ah. Cool."

"Why?"

"Uh, I don't know. Just wondering."

"Mm."

Korra bit at her upper lip, drumming her fingers along the ceramic mug in her hand. The clattering of Naga's feet against the tiles trailed out of the room. That pup needed her nails trimmed. But her brain inevitably forced itself back to the topic at hand.

"Bolin, a couple nights ago...-" Korra sighed, her eyes squinting shut as she scrounged up the force to just get this over with. "-...I kissed Mako."

She was afraid to look up at him, so when she opened her eyes, they remained glued to her drink. There was silence. It was unsettling, and she spit-fired her explanation.

"It was a retarded mistake, it was _my _fault, he totally wasn't interested, I just sprung it on him, I don't know what I was _thinking, _I'm so _stupid!_" She huffed through his nostrils, her insides twisted with doubt and worry. Another heavy pause followed, and she almost felt like throwing up. It shouldn't have even mattered, right? After all of the things Korra had used to do up in Toronto, this was barely an offense. But this was a different type of situation than Korra's previous engagements with men. Perhaps more importantly, Bolin was a different type of man.

At last, she looked up at him with nervous, grit teeth. He was hunched over slightly, his elbows on the table, arms laid down flat. His eyes were wide, his thick brows perked up with surprise.

"Sooo..._Wow_," he managed out, motionless. "That...sure is, uh, somewhat unexpected, I...-"  
"I shouldn't have done it. It was a shit idea," Korra rapidly blurted out, her fingertips digging into her forehead.

Bolin shrugged, blinking with those wide eyes at her.

"But...do you have feelings for him?" Bolin asked in earnest.

Korra breathed out grouchily, closing her eyes. He wasn't going to freak out at her? Even if not for his own sake, his brother's?

Korra tried to decide a concrete answer to Bolin's question. _Feelings? _Hm...When she thought about Mako's _body, _her wolf-like libido howled. But...that was really all there was to it, if she honestly confronted it for what it is.

"I don't think so," Korra confessed in a mumble.

"No?" Bolin checked, as if he himself was confused by this answer.

"No, I...-" Korra recalled what Mako himself had said - that he found her _attractive, _but that he wasn't romantically interested in her. "It was just hormones, I guess...Now that I'm thinking on it. I don't know, it was-...There was just this heat-of-the-moment thing..."

"You wouldn't be the _first_," Bolin muttered with a hint of spite in his tone.

"Bolin," Korra pushed onward. She could see it in his quivering eyes. He was stung by this discovery. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to get out of hand..."

"Eh," Bolin shrugged, trying to repress his disappointment. "It's all right. Stuff happens."

"You're...not mad at me?"

"Mad? Why?"

"Whh-...But, the way I acted at the dance, I just feel like such a whore, or..._something_," Korra grumbled. "Like I've been playing you two, or..._I _don't know..."

"Hey, now." Bolin tilted his head slightly. "We still had fun together, didn't we?"

"I had a _great _time - honestly!" Korra insisted. "I really _needed _that, and...-" She paused, scratching at her hairline awkwardly. "I know it's kind of selfish, maybe, so I _totally _understand if you think it's a bad idea, but...would you maybe be interested in...doing something like that again?"

Bolin's eyes narrowed, those hairy eyebrows shoved downward as he glared at her, tapping his chin.

"OK, see...-" He gestured toward his own face. "This is me. Confused. Flabbergasted. This is what a baffled Bolin looks like." She snorted out a laugh, if only out of relief that he was letting this totally uncomfortable situation roll right off his back.

"Uhhh...Is that...a '_yes?_'"

"It could be a 'yes.' It would quite probably be a 'yes.' Potentially, possibly, maybe. If it's a second date we're talking about. Or even not a date. Because that's cool, I mean that's fine, it's chill, it's whatever, it's-"  
"OK, _OK,"_ Korra chuckled out. "Bolin, I am...an _idiot. _My life is...a fucking _mess _right now. But I am asking you out on a second date. That is what I am doing."

Bolin's melodramatic glare shifted. His eyes relaxed, and he smirked. He waved toward his face again.

"This is me. Intrigued. Bemused. This is what a 'Yes' looks like."

Bolin's smirk turned into a smile when Korra laughed through her nose at his reaction. Her hums might as well have been the sound of harp strings plucked by angels.

As the laughter faded, Korra's mind whirled with second-guessing. In Korra's experience, people didn't give her extra chances, extra dates. They were always left intimidated by her body, off-put by her cockiness, disinterested in her pushy nature.

"You're _sure_ you want to give me a second chance?" Korra asked, skeptical of Bolin's easy trust. "Even after you know what a retard I can be?"

"Korra, you're not a _retard,_" Bolin sighed. "So you kissed Mako. I don't think it _meant _anything - did it?"

"Err..._No, _but...that's my point, Bo. I'm just...so used to that sort of thing not really _meaning_ anything. What if...we go down this road, and then I do something stupid again and you get hurt, eh?"

Bolin stared her right in the eyes and gently shook his head.

"You won't," he calmly insisted.

"But...-" Korra's eyebrows arced. "You don't _know _that."

There was a twinkle in Bolin's eyes that had Korra surprised and engaged. She'd just bluntly explained her own stupidity to him, pushed out a second date at him, yet he was just going with the flow, like it was nothing.

"That's true," he conceded. "That's why it's 'trust,' Korra."

Korra glanced down at her coffee again, resting her cheek against her wrist. She took a drink, then looked back up to him, her face still wedged against her hand.

"You _trust_ me?" she muttered in perplexed amazement. She'd confessed her idiocy to him, and it was making him _trust _her? What kind of guy was like that?

"I do," replied Bolin simply, finishing off his first Pop-Tart. "With some people, you have to _earn _trust - people like my Bro. But me? I try to give it when I can." He rubbed his fingers together, wiping crumbs off onto his plate. "I guess I just feel like sometimes, a person just needs someone who will trust them, even if they maybe don't deserve it. You know what I mean?" Korra and Bolin exchanged glances. Korra was captivated by the innocent sparkle in her housemate's smile. He was likewise endeared by how pathetic and adorable she looked, glancing up to him from behind herwrist. "Uh...This is the part where I'd say something funny, to lighten up the mood," he timidly broke the silence, picking up his second tart. "Not gonna lie, though..." He shrugged, biting into it. "Ah godd _nuffin_."

"Ha..."

Bolin swallowed, loosely pointing his bitten Pop-Tart toward Korra.

"But you shouldn't be worrying about that sorta stuff right now, you've got that interview today. Shouldn't you be getting all dressed for that?"

Korra flinched upright, her eyes wide. Ah, shit, he was right.

"I mean, you're already in pants and a _shirt,_" Bolin chuckled. "That's a step up from _most_ mornings, but...-" She shot him a snarky leer as she rose up, and they both snickered. After finishing her coffee and setting the mug in the sink, Korra started to leave the kitchen to get properly cleaned up, but Bolin stopped her. "Hey, whoa, hold up."

"Huh?" She looked back over her shoulder.

"Kor, ya gotta _eat _something. Come _on._"

"Oh." She shrugged, turning back around and stumbling toward the cupboards. "Yea, I probably should, eh?"

"Need some _food _in that belly before you go _oot n' aboot, eh?_"

"Shut _up_," Korra chuckled, reaching for a box of cereal.

"Ya _hooser._"

"I will knock that grin off your face!" Korra warned in jest, whirling around.

"Beauty, _eh?_"

Korra slammed the cereal box onto the table, lifting a fist to Bolin's giggling face and flexing her noticeable arm muscles at him. Her eyes were wide and threatening, but her lips were tight, only able to contain her snickering for a moment before she joined him in laughter.

* * *

Jane stared up at the intimidating owl statue before her. It's eyes of stone seemed to glare back at her with rigid resolve. The metal plaque attached above the doorway read: {**WAN SHI TONG MEMORIAL LIBRARY**} Jane had passed into and out of the library a few times over her years here, never really taking heed of the name of this building. She was reminded of how it seemed like everything in this town had some kind of Asian spin on it, and how utterly bizarre that was when she paused to consider the fact.

She took a deep breath, recovering from the derailment, and glanced down at the engraving in the sidewalk below her feet.

_{Enter ye who seeks to be}_  
_{He who knows 10,000 things}_

_I only wanna know _one _thing: what does the school have to do with these people getting murdered?_

Jane pressed forward, walking through the glass double-doors and into the dead-silent library. Seemed like it was pretty damned quiet today, with hardly anyone in sight. Technically, spring break had already started for some students, and everyone else was no-doubt ready to leave campus ASAP, anyway. Glancing at the stacks of magazines and video tapes to her left, then the aisles upon aisles of books to her right, Jane was at an utter loss. She timidly approached the desk, but a teenage girl with bobbed brown hair had beaten her to the punch, a weathered hardcover book in hand._  
_

"Professor Zei?" she said gently, getting the attention of the man behind the desk. He was a quaint fellow with thin glasses and a comb-over, the edges of his hair slightly grayed. For a guy with the surname 'Zei,' he looked...pretty damned Caucasian. Weird. Well, whatever.

"Ah! Why, hello, there, Jinora," greeted the man with a courteous voice and a wide smile. "And what can I do for you today, Little Lady?"

Jinora set down the yellow book on the desk alongside her library card.

"I'd like to borrow this one, please."

"Pride and Prejudice," Professor Zei read, sliding the book toward himself with care. "Another oldie for you this week, hm?"

"You've read it?" Jinora wondered.

"_Haha,_" he sheepishly laughed, keeping his voice low despite the lack of people present. "I confess, I have _tried_. Not exactly my kind of literature. _But! _I have a sneaking suspicion that _you _will eat it right up."

The Professor scanned the book and the card with his laser gun and punched in something onto his terminal. He then stamped the ticket attached to the book's inside cover and handed the materials back to her with a smile.

"Cool! Thanks, Professor." Jinora accepted the book, tucking it under her arm. "Have a good day!"

"Yes, have a good weekend!"

Jinora blew right past Jane, texting away on her cell phone as she exited the building. When Jane turned back around, the man was giving her an inquisitive stare.

"How may I help you today?

"Uhhh..." Jane swallowed, awkwardly stepping up to the counter. "Lookin' for old issues of the newspaper...?"

"Which one? The Wayward Chronicle?"

"Er, actually...the school paper, I think. Try that first."

"Ah, yes. The White Lotus."

"...Sure..."

"How far back? Are you looking for something more recent, or...-?"

"Uh, I...I dunno, as far back as ya got."

"Are you looking for something in _particular_?"

"Uh, _kind _of? Maybe? Is there, like, some digital...copies? That I can run searches on?"

"As a matter of fact, there _are_," Zei replied, gesturing his index finger toward her as he rose from his seat. "We have a machine down in the basement that lets you browse through scans of every issue."

"'Kay. So...Need _that_, I guess." Jane shrugged, her hands stuffed in her pockets.

"Excellent." Zei got up from his desk and bid her to follow him. "Right this way!"

Within a couple of minutes, Jane was set up in the basement floor - alone, she gathered - using a 90's era computer with a box-shaped monitor to search through the history of The White Lotus newspaper. Jane's attempts at looking up info on the [Combustion Man] proved futile. She acknowledged after the fact that this actually made sense, because..._duh. _The name 'Combustion Man' hadn't been assigned to the guy until this present year. She ran a search on the [Silver Serpents], the gang June had once worked for. Nothing. [Dragon of the West.] Nothing. [Fire] was far too vague, and too many entries showed up. Hm...

A look at [Kurosawa] brought up all kinds of stuff, and a quick skimming tipped Jane off that the family had been involved with the college since its initial founding - which wasn't as long ago as she'd assumed. A few generations back, but not near as long as most universities she was aware of had been around. It seemed that a man named Miyazaki Roku had founded the school with close support from one Sozin Kurosawa. Jane had never realized just how far back the Kurosawa family's ties were with this place.

Heh. The name 'Iroh' was starting to show up next to the [Kurosawa] tag she was searching under. Man, he'd been teaching at this school for about thirty years, it looked like. Damn - kind of crazy to think on.

Whoa, wait up. What was this stuff about? The name 'Lu Ten' was showing up a few times here. Who was that? Jane browsed across tidbits of data.

[...word that his son, Lu Ten **Kurosawa**, was the victim of a brutal mugging while on vacation...]  
[...**Kurosawa** was reported as being in critical condition...]  
[...Lu Ten **Kurosawa**, son of SRU Professor Iroh **Kurosawa**, passed away tonight while...]  
[...investigation concerning **Kurosawa**'s death remains inconclusive...]  
[...confirmation that Professor **Kurosawa** will continue his teaching duties despite...]

Jane was perplexed and sympathetic. That warm, cheery old man had his son taken away from him, years back? And he just went about life with his cheery smiles and his calm demeanor? She hadn't given the man enough credit, clearly. Jane clicked on an article link to try and dig deeper into this, but as she started reading, something pulled her swift mental train to a screeching stop.

[Faculty Family Member Slain in Tragic Mugging]  
[_By Joel Fitzpatrick_]

Joel.  
Fitzpatrick.

_Ár ádh mór ort_.

That...was just a coincidence. Right? Joel was a pretty common...ish...name. Fitzpatrick, pff. Tons of those. Yea.

But Jane couldn't let go of it. That was her _father's _name. Had her _dad _gone to this school? Had _that _been the entire reason her uncle had suggested it in the first place? But...then, why not just _tell _her that Good Ol' Dad used to go here? Her brain was whirling in circles. She had to seek confirmation on this. She scanned the year of the newspaper article's printing, then abandoned the computer, making way for where the general area she recalled the catalog of SRU yearbooks were kept. It took a little bit of tracking down, her head swimming all the while. She finally hit the right section, stormed the shelves, grabbed the appropriate book, and scanned through its photo section with fervor.

After this whole search that felt dragged out and discouraging, Jane finally found it. {_Joel Fitzpatrick_} She found the correct photo. Fucking christ. That was..._him. _Heavy eyes, a dorky bowl cut hairdo, his face adorned with freckles galore...Jane dug her wallet out of her pocket, pulling out the small photo she had retained from her parents. She placed it beside the tiny portrait for confirmation.

She wasn't seeing things. It wasn't a coincidence. This was the same guy. It was her dad.

Jane's father had attended SRU. He'd apparently written for the paper, once upon a time. It clicked - this had to have been what Iroh had been alluding to, why he seemed just a _little _familiar with her.

_Mother of _fuck_. What if...-?_ _Nah, that doesn't make sense. I'm just...gettin' paranoid._

Jane realized that her breathing had become shallow and that she was scratching at her eyebrow. She froze, eyes squinted shut, and she took a slow, deep breath. Trying to find out about the Combustion Man or the Kurosawas or the gang bullshit...none of that even mattered right now. Learning about her father had pushed all of that aside and become her priority. She took a cell phone picture of her father's yearbook photo. She scanned the nearby years and repeated this process with the other three photos of him she could find - and he looked just as dorky in each one. She found his senior picture and quote._  
_

{The future is not set, there is no fate but what we make for ourselves.}  
{~ _Irish proverb_}

Her eyes were bubbling over with contained tears. This was bizarre and sad and strange and happy, all at once. Some kind of a connection with her dad for the first time in so many years after having grown up with him as a non-factor in her existence. Like an old, dear friend giving you a call, sending you a letter, leaving you an e-mail.

Her phone's tiny camera didn't have the best quality, but she admired the fuzzy photos she now had stored before setting the yearbooks away. She went back to the dusty machine she'd been at read, and she whittled the time away until dinner. The subject material was irrelevant. She simply wanted to read any article her father had written that she could find.

As she pried herself away from the library, knowing that it was about to close up for spring break, she felt calm, peaceful, strangely serene. She spent her walk to the ACC considering what she was going to do the very next day, when she was back in Texas at her Uncle's house. She was going to confront him about this knowledge. And then, she was going to confront Johnny.

If Irish luck really _was _with her, like her parents had wished it, then perhaps she'd finally be able to make some sense of these things.

* * *

["Bishop to E-4. Checkmate."]

Iroh sighed peacefully, nodding with a knowing smile on his face as his niece's command came through Zuko's laptop speakers. He'd seen that move coming as soon as he'd issued his last command - he'd spoken too soon. Then again, Azula had more or less won the the game two turns or more prior, leaving his King piece trapped in a precarious situation, as it was.

"Yes, yes...You win again, Azula," he acknowledged with his proud, slow tone.

["I certainly did,"] Azula agreed haughtily.

"She...-" Zuko's eyebrows arced up as he sat down at the table, surveying the board. Azula had six pieces remaining, while Iroh only had possessed a King and a Knight at the game's end. "-...beat you pretty good," he chipped in with a nod. He ate a spoonful of his soup.

["Now that we have _that _formality taken care of, what did you _reall__y _want from me tonight, Uncle?"]

Iroh smirked, running his hand through his beard hairs.

"Wahaha...What else would I _possibly _want from you, other than to spend some quality time with my niece?"

["_Please, _Uncle, we just _finished_ playing games. Let's be adults here. Now, what is it?"]

"Always wanting to get to the heart of things," Iroh muttered in amusement, as Zuko continued slurping soup from across the table. "If you must know, I am...somewhat concerned about your expected guest."

["You disapprove?"]

"I said I am _concerned, _not that I disapprove. What reason would I have to be anything but supportive of this, Azula?"

["_Zuko _certainly disapproves. In fact, he-"]  
"I never said that, either" Zuko was quick to cut her off. "I said I was _surprised. _We just went over this when you visited, Azula."

["Mm-hm. I received a scathing message from Mai just yesterday about the matter. Why are you all so dead-set against Ty-Lee coming to visit me?"]

"Niece, you must understand," said Iroh carefully. "We are in support of you...ergh..-" He glanced to Zuko, looking for the right words.  
"Coming out," Zuko assisted.

"Yes, yes," Iroh insisted with a nod despite the fact that his camera was not turned on. "Doing what _you _want, being who _you _want to be. I am, in fact, _proud _of you for taking that step."

["_Proud? _Fff. Uncle, it was nothing worthy of _praise, _I simply...had a date to the dance, and did not hide that fact."]

"Mm. In either case, this is not the issue."

"We're worried about Ty-Lee's _safety_," Zuko sighed.

["Her _safety? _You don't believe I will take care of her?"]

"No, it's-...I mean, word's going to get out about you two," Zuko explained. "Around here? It kind of already _has. _In case you forgot, things are a _little _tense. The people who have it out for us - for _you _- will have another target to consider using against us."

["Ah, so you and _Mai _are allowed to have your fun. But I'm not."]

"I didn't say you _couldn't_," groaned Zuko, his palm over his eyes. "Azula, _all _we're suggesting is that you're _careful. _That you keep Ty-Lee safe. Don't do anything foolish."

["Mmm...I understand your argument, but haven't you both been insisting that I...'take life by the horns?' Act freely?"]

Zuko and Iroh swapped shrugs at this.

["So what am I to do?"] Azula wondered defensively after no reply. ["Stop living my life, now? This entire mess hasn't stopped _you two _from gallivanting about and shirking your duties."]

"Azula," Iroh jumped back in. "You are still coping with the idea of letting go of your current life. Once you are able to overcome this, then you can truly start making a new one."

["Uncle, my life entails being Azula Kurosawa. I don't want to make a _new _life."]

"Life is going to happen wherever you are, Azula...whether you _make_ it or not. You are in a distressing time. You have options you need to consider."

["You and Zuko both keep acting like this is some _choice. _Like I could simply..._walk away _from this situation! Well, both of _you _already _did, _so who does that leave to contain this matter? _Me. _Because, evidently, I am the _only _member of this family who remains that has any _semblance _of responsibility! This is not a _decision, _it is _duty. _It is _obligation, _and I will not tarnish the hard-earned reputation and honor of the Kurosawa title."]

"Azula..." Iroh ran his hand over his balding head. Zuko was drinking his soup from the bowl now. To him, this was tiresome. He'd more or less been through this conversation two times in the past week.

["I can _avenge _Mother's death, Uncle. Now that I understand what happened that night...now that I have the power in my grasp...I can take back what they owe _ten fold. _By regaining control over the Phoenix Clan, I can correct Father's mistakes, redeem Mother's loss..."]

Iroh frowned bitterly at his chessboard, observing the fallen king piece.

"The kind of redemption that revenge would offer is _not _what Ursa would have wanted..."

"No, it _isn't_," Zuko firmly agreed before wiping his lips clean with a napkin.

"Azula, you are not the young woman you used to be. You are more observant and intelligent than you once were, and you have grown such an admirable amount of loyalty to the Kurosawa name. But my-"  
["I am not in the mood for your speeches, or your rambling metaphors, Uncle, I-"]  
"I was not _finished_," Iroh snapped, pounding his thick palm against the table. His empty teacup rattled harshly in its saucer. Zuko's eyes bulged wide at his uncle's rare moment of anger. _Well, _then. This was certainly serious. "If you truly respect this family as you claim to, you will _respect_ your elder when he is talking to you."

Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat, eagerly hopping up from the table to put his bowl in the sink. He awkwardly fumbled around in the fridge as silence carried over from the other end. Iroh's wide nose breathed in a heavy gust and poured out vapors of temperance.

"Now...May I continue?"

The few seconds of quiet that passed next were tense. Zuko pulled out a couple of bottles of beer from the refrigerator as quietly as he could, and slid the door closed with his elbow.

["...Yes."]

"Very _well_." Iroh recollected himself. "My brother's expectations of you no longer matter. Those chains of duty were broken when he submitted himself to the law. And now our family's legacy plagues you, the way it has plagued Ozai." Zuko walked by, dropping a bottle in front of his weary uncle, who tiredly nodded his thanks. As Zuko used an opener he'd grabbed from the counter to pop the bottle caps off, Iroh went on._ "_Do you not _see _the opportunity that has been laid before you, Azula?" He grasped the cold bottle in his hand. "The quarrel our family has suffered through...it can be put to _rest, _if only you would allow that. You have come to the crossroads of your destiny, my Niece. It's time for you to choose - it's time for you to _end _this miserable cycle; to choose what is _good_." His speech concluded, Iroh watched Zuko uncap his own bottle and sit down at his seat across the table.

["So...-"] Azula's response was staggered, a indication that Iroh's words had left a dent in her mind. Her normally sharp voice was rough-edged, like a knife that had turned rusty. ["You _truly _believe that after all that has transpired, I can just...walk away from this? Wash my hands of the blood Father has left behind for me to clean up?"]

Zuko reached out his arm, tipping his bottle to his uncle. Iroh sighed, smiled hopefully, and clinked his beer against Zuko's.

"I do, my Niece. I believe people can change their lives if they want to. I believe in second chances."

["Hmph. I suppose we shall see if the way of the world agrees with your beliefs, Uncle."]

* * *

"Hm..." Aang tapped his chin thoughtfully as he scanned his e-mail.

"What?" Katara tiredly wondered, sprawled lazily across his bed on her back.

"Oh, uh...-" Aang focused his attention on her. He'd sworn she had been reading just a few moments before, but now her book was closed, and she was attempting to balance it on her forehead, it seemed. Aang knew Katara was in her fussy mood today, or else he'd pick on whatever odd behavior she was exhibiting in that moment. "It's the school paper. I guess they were wondering if we'd be interested in, erm...telling them about our experience with...with the UR."

"_Urgh._" Katara flopped her arms out against Aang's mattress, and the book slid off her face her reveal a cranky frown, complete with bloodshot eyes. "Haven't _enough _people bothered us about that by now?" she growled.

"Er, w-well, the _town _paper did, and the police, but...the school newspaper hasn't, no."

"Didn't they _already _report on it?"

"I...I don't know, I..._guess?_"

"So what's the freakin' _point?_"

"I don't..._know, _Katara," Aang sighed out, withholding his impatience with her attitude. "We don't _have _to if you don't want..."

"I didn't say _you _couldn't. If it's so important to you, then just do it."

"I...I never said if it was important to me or not, I just...-"

"Well, don't let _me _stop you." Her words were rather ice-cold at this topic all around, no matter how timidly Aang tried to approach it.

"If you wanted me to _not _do it, then I-"  
"You should do what _you _want, Aang!"

"...Uh...?"

"You know, I'm _not _Toph, I'm not gonna boss you around, or whatever. Don't let _me _hold you back from what _you _want."

Aang avoided her stern gaze. She was being entirely confusing tonight. Quite a contradictory attitude, in general, today.

"Erm...O-OK, but...I don't even need to make a decision on it _right_ this minute," Aang hastily set the matter aside with a wary shrug. "So, let's just...not worry about it for now."

"_Pff. _Sure, OK. Just..._dance _around it. Big shocker, there. Don't, ya know, _ask _me what's wrong. What might be bothering me, or anything."

Aang rolled his eyes and inhaled a deep breath through his nose before exhaling as slowly and naturally as he physically could manage.

"_Well?" _Katara snipped back at him, shrugging her shoulders at him from her laid down position.

"I-..._What_?" Aang sighed out. "What's wrong?"

"I've been waiting here for, like, _fifteen __minutes _for you, while you're...checking your _computer_."

"Umm...But...you were _reading,_ and I thought-"  
"I've been waiting on _you_. Hello?" She flicked up her wrists in an expecting gesture, turning her head to look at him. "This is the last time we're going to be totally _alone _before break. Don't you think I want to spend it _doing _something with you? We haven't had any quality time together since last _week._"

Aang felt a lump in his throat forming. He could see in her eyes that she specifically meant making out, or something similar. But her tone, body language, and overall attitude for days now had not in any way communicated to him effectively that she was in the mood for cuddling, or kissing. So, this seemed kind of sudden.

"I...I'm sorry, I just...thought that...-" Aang's fingers fidgeted together as he trailed off.

"Stop doing that," Katara grunted, glaring at his hands. "Speak up."

Jeez, she was just all _kinds _of weird tonight.

"Uh, I was trying to say...-"  
"Stop _mumbling_, speak clearly when you're talking. You're getting all _nervous, _what's the problem?"

"That's what _I _want to know," Aang finally puffed out in aggravation. He began wriggling his hands and arms as he spoke, directing the flow of his words. "We ate dinner. I helped you load your stuff into the car for tomorrow. We came here. I packed my things, you read your book. I went to just check my e-mail for the night while you were reading...and you're all freaking _out _at me, and-...I don't understand what is going _on _with you lately."

When he finally looked back over at her, Aang noticed that Katara's eyes were glazed over, her nostrils open wide.

"I don't..._know_," she moaned out, smacking her palms against her head and rolling onto her side, her back away from him. Aang immediately got up from his chair and hopped onto his bed, laying down beside her. He tried to put an arm around her waist, but she pushed it away. He rested his grasp around her upper arm, instead. He sighed, kissing her shoulder, lips pressing into her shirt's fabric.

"Come on...Sweetie, what's wrong today?"

"Why didn't you do anything?" she whimpered out with irritation. She sounded different now. Like her grumpiness had passed and disappointment filled its place.

"Huh?"

"I was...just being a jerk to you. And you just _took _it. You let me."

"Uh, yea, I guess...I was...trying to be patient."

"Is that how you are with everyone?"

"Mm?"

"You're...'patient?' And everyone else just gets to step all over you?"

"Erm...?"

"Because I don't like that. I don't like you letting people be mean to you. _Especially _me. I'm the _last _person that you should let be mean to you..."

"Katara, you're...not making much sense right now..."

"Ugh..." Katara twisted her torso, pushing loose bangs off of her face as she stared up at his baffled expression. "You don't _get _it."

"I'm...I'm _trying _to, Katara, but...-"  
"This is the whole problem, you're always trying to be so _nice _and not say 'no,' it's why people _hurt _you, Aang. It's why your old foster parents hurt you, it's why _Toph _hurt you...Now _I'm _hurting you, too, and all I'm doing is...having _mood swings, _and...-" She dug her face into her fingertips with a grimace.

"Katara. You're not _hurting _me. I don't know what's wrong, but I am _o__kay. You _are the one who seems to be hurting right now..."

A heavy pause.

"I _know,_" Katara eked out, her voice cracking as she removed her hands. Tears were building at the edges of her eyes. "Why do I _feel _this way?" she croaked, brushing her sleeve across her eyes. "What is my _problem?_" As she took in shallow breaths, Aang touched his hand to her jawline, rubbing her chin with his thumb while she avoided his gaze.

"Sweetie...You stopped taking your medicine. _That _is what's wrong."

"_No, _that's...-! _Gr__rr, _that doesn't _explain _anything!" She jerked her head out of his grasp and rolled back onto her side. "That doesn't many any _sense, _it doesn't...-! There's no _reason _why I should..._feel _like this..."

"Uh, but...isn't that why it's a _feeling, _Katara? Because there's not always logic to it?"

"I...I _guess? _It's still _stupid._"

"Katara..." Aang gently pushed up her hair and nuzzled the back of her neck, administering a slow kiss. "You stopped taking your pills," he reiterated calmly. "Tell me why."

"But...-!"  
"Please." Aang kissed her again, this time on her earlobe. The tingling sensation caused Katara to freeze up in satisfaction. She let her eyes slide closed, letting Aang's lips comfort her for a few moments. "_Please_?" Aang repeated, pulling away and pressing his forehead against her neck.

"My prescription ran out," she informed him with a light shrug. "I decided not to bother refilling it this time..."

"Why not?"

Katara's eyes remained closed, her brows furrowed in shame and self-loathing.

"It makes me feel pathetic," Katara stated simply. "Needing some kind of..._pill. _Like it's some addiction. My body - my _brain _- shouldn't need to depend on a...on a _drug_...just for me to stay _happy. _That's..._sad. _It's depressing. It's stupid, and...and _weak. _I'm no better than...than an alcoholic, or...or a smoker, or a cocaine addict."

"Katara, that's-..." Aang pushed himself up, resting his head on the support of his elbow. "No. It's way different. Those things are _bad. _This is..._good. _It's helping you."

"It's the same principle," Katara insisted. "People like that get addicted to drugs because they can't just be calm, _normal _human beings on their own. They need a fix, an escape...I can be _better _than that. I _want _to be better than that..."

Aang breathed out a sigh of acknowledgment. He could tell this was important to Katara, and he wanted to support her in this. It really was a well-intentioned ideal; But still an ideal, nonetheless.

"OK, well...I can understand that. And I can support that since you seem...so serious about it."

"All right, well...good."

"But...Just going cold turkey, that's _never _a good idea..."

"Rmmph..."

"What's really bothering you, though? Is it...still...-?"

Katara snorted hot air through her nostrils like a bull at Aang's question.

"Aang, she just _abandoned _us. Out of nowhere. To go back with _them. _With that..._awful _group...those awful things."

"I'm sure she has a good reason."

"Aang..." Katara looked up at him with intense eyes. "Do you _know _what kind of things Jane used to do with those people?"

"Uh..." Aang swallowed. "I don't-...I-I mean, that's...really something Jane should tell me herself." Jeez, the look in Katara's eye spoke dark volumes of Jane's past.

"Pff. Well, fine." She cast her gaze away again. "Good luck getting her to tell you. She's a liar, anyway."

"Katara..."

"_No, _I don't _care. _I don't want to talk about this."

Hm. Well. Talking about Jane immediately degraded what little progress he'd made on her mood. Duly noted.

"A-all right, so...Then, what else is it?"

No reply.

"I mean, it can't be _just _that, Katara. You seem specifically upset with _me _lately. Toph says you two have been mostly OK, and Sokka says he hasn't had any problems with you-"  
"That's because _Toph _is just kissing up to me to get me to help her get in my brother's pants, my brother being an insensitive jerk who's been ignoring me."

"_Katara_. Hey...That's not true."

Katara was chewing at her lip feverishly, and she rubbed at her aching, droopy eyes.

"Ugh...I know..._I know_..."

"You really need to get some sleep, Katara," Aang insisted with concern. "Come on. Your stuff's already packed in the car, I'm all set to go...Why don't you just stay here tonight, and we'll pick up Toph in the morning?" He nudged her softly with his elbow. "Hm?"

"OK, OK..." Katara rolled onto her back and stared at Aang, her tired eyes sparking with a sudden lust to them. She grabbed his cheeks, pulling his face in for a sudden kiss. What Aang thought would be a simple peck evolved into an exchange of tongues, and within a few seconds, she was easing his body on top of her own. For a minute or so, their still-clothed bodies shared affections. Katara, spinning in a tempest of aroused hormones and gratitude, pulled Aang's hesitant hands to her chest. In an attempt at courtesy, Aang moved his hands to her collarbone area, then her neck, but - lips still locked - Katara rolled up her sweatshirt, and pushed his hands back to her bosoms.

Seconds later, Katara's phone vibrated. The loud hum from inches away made them both flinch, killing the moment. Aang offered a red-faced smile of apology, neatly tucking her shirt back down and sliding off to her side.

Katara, her nose twitching with aggravation, eyes still damp from her internal whirlwind, begrudgingly took her phone off the desk.

[Call from...]  
[**Korra**]

"_What _the...-?" she huffed in perplexed irritation, answering the call. "Korra? What is it?"

["Uhhh...Yo."]

"Yea. Hi," Katara spat. She glanced to Aang, who wore a sheepish set of grit teeth and wide eyes at the wrath in her expression. "What?"

["Wow, don't sound so _happy_ to hear from me, eh?"] Korra grumbled.

"I'm...-" A nostril sigh. "-..._k__inda _busy at the moment."

["Ah. Er, sorry. It's just that I just remembered that you guys are _leaving _tomorrow morning, and I won't get to see you for a couple weeks." ]

"Yea. Umm...That's true. We've, ya know...all been trying to take care of stuff, and so...-"

["But you're all set by now, eh? Evening freed up?"]

"Korra. It's, like, nine o'clock. We've got a _full _day of driving tomorrow..."

["Oh. Rrrrright. Yea. Uh...OK. I'll...see you when you get back...then...I guess?"]

"Mm-hm..." Katara was pinching at the bridge of her nose with squinted eyes.

["Yea. Gotcha. Er, all right. I'll let ya go, then."]

"'Kay..."

"Make sure you say hi to your Dad for me." Korra scratched her hand through her bangs awkwardly, frustrated at this interaction. "Kat?" No answer. Korra checked her phone. Hung up. Fuckin' _eh, _what the hell? Something still crawling up that girl's ass? _Rarr. _Stupid little-...Didn't she get that her cousin was just trying to help her _out, _here? That kind of attitude was _not _like the Katara that Korra knew. Hrmph. She hadn't even gotten a chance to tell Katara that the interview had gone well.

Korra rolled her eyes, thoroughly unhappy with this unexpected turn of events, and dropped her phone on her bed. Sitting cross-legged in her sweatpants and socks, Korra's head hung low in discouragement as she stared at the object in her lap: a rectangular wooden box with a crescent moon carved into the top of its lid. She stared at it for a few seconds, seemingly hypnotized. She unlatched it and tilted up the lid, peering into the familiar contents.

-_Knock, knock!_-

Korra's eyes went wide and she flinched up her shoulders in surprise as the door to her bedroom swung open, a bright-eyes Bolin stepping inside. She instinctively slammed the box shut, letting her arms casually fall across its surface like a shield.

"_Kor_rahhhh," Bolin smoothly greeted her with a wave. She tipped her chin up slightly to him. "Get in touch with the Cousin?"

"Ehh, they're wrapped up tonight, I guess," Korra tried to dismiss her own disappointment.

"Ah." But Bolin saw right through it. "Sorry 'bout that..."

"Nah, it's OK."

"Mm. Well, don't worry. I'm sure they're just...ya know, _busy. _But. Hey." Bolin's hefty hand slapped her back and he grinned down at her. "I'm around. You have my undivided attention tonight."

"_Totally _undivided?" Korra jested. "Aren't we watching that...'L.A. Battle' movie, or...whatever?"

"_Ooooooh_," Bolin recollected, lips forming an exaggerated 'O' as his busy eyebrows pushed down. Fuck. What an adorable man, he was. She wanted to just...-

_No._ _One step at a time, Korra. _

"_Battle Los Angeles_," Bolin stated the correct film title. "And...-" he sat down beside her on the bed, giving her a suspicious look. "-...you're sneaky, see, I get what you're sayin'."

Korra grinning playfully.

"Thought I forgot about your enormous Michelle Rodriguez crush, eh?" She shook her head. "I didn't."

"OK, OK, let's call it like it is," Bolin thrust out in defeat, hands up. "You will have about..._eighty _percent of my attention. So, only _slightly _divided."

"Isn't she in, like, a military suit? Big helmet, and padded armor, and shit?"

"_Mm! _Mm-hm. Yes. True. Very true. Maybe it'll be more of a ninety-ten split, then?"

"Wow, only ten percect loss when I'm up against a kick-ass military chick, huh? I'm impressed. I mean, she's hot, I get where you're coming from. _Still._ Didn't know I was _that _distracting to you."

Bolin nodded furiously, eyes narrow with embellished seriousness.

"_Quite _distracting."

The two gawked goofily at one another for a silent moment of attraction until Korra broke the silence with a sly remark.

"But...you _do _know she's going to die, right?"

"_What? _Don't...-!" Bolin smack her with the back of his wrist. "Don't _spoil_ the-"  
"Mmhmhmhm!" Humming laugh. Bolin's heart fluttered. "I'm not spoiling _crap, _dude, I haven't seen it! That woman dies in _every _fuckin' movie she's in, though!"

Bolin sucked in a theatrical sniffle and dabbed his thumb at his nose under a pair of puppy-eyes.

"It's so true. So very, very, true."

Another moment, their eyes lingering at each other, feeding off each other's vivid energies.

"So!" Korra hopped out of bed, arms folded across her chest to protect her precious cargo. "We gonna go..._watch _this thing?"

"We are going to watch the _hell _out of it," Bolin informed her, stealing a glance at her oblique as she walked by - it was all poking out from under her tube top, ugh, it was just amazing. His glance immediately went up to the back of her head as he watched her open her dresser. "So, what's with the box?" he asked.

Korra froze up, hands still grasping the drawer. A second of awkward silence went by until she closed it shut.

"It's...personal," she explained, her tone somber, back toward her friend.

"Oh..." Bolin's lower lip pouted with guilt. "Sorry, I didn't know." He watched her head tilt down, following the subtle change in her muscles as she took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Yea, it...-" Korra's words hung heavy in the air. She wanted to tell him. But she couldn't. "_Yea_," she puffed out, shrugging the matter off. She turned around, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes. "Don't worry about it," she assured with a smile. "C'mon. Let's go watch this thing, and we can _both _drool over the hot Spanish chick with the gun."

Bolin jumped up, clapping his hands together with vigor, eager to take Korra's mind off of whatever had just occupied it.

"All righty!"

* * *

"It's because you think I'm _stupid_," Ty-Lee huffed, jamming clothes into her briefcase. "That I can't take care of myself. Right? That's what you think."

"Ty..." sighed Mai at her friend's back. "No, that's not it at all."

Ty-Lee slammed the case shut, hunched over her bed. She grasped the handle tightly, whirling around to glare at Mai as she defended herself.

"I'll be _just fine _without...-" As the still unlatched briefcase was lifted off the bed, it popped open, the contents spilling across the floor by Ty-Lee's feet. Her cheeks puffed up in an embarrassed pout as she received a deadpan glance from Mai, complete with a raised eyebrow. "That doesn't prove anything!" Ty-Lee squeaked, slamming the now empty case back onto the bed. She scooped up her clothes in a pouting fit, and started re-folding them. "I know you think I'm an idiot for wanting to date Azula..."

Mai shrugged at this, though Ty-Lee didn't notice. Mai wasn't going to deny this truth - she simply believed that Ty-Lee was jumping too quickly, potentially setting herself up to be in a hurtful relationship where was ever-dominated. Mai's faith in Azula's judgment and treatment of others had withered away in recent times.

"Ty-Lee, my opinion...shouldn't _matter_."

"Yea? Well...-" Ty-lee stopped. "It _does._ OK? _It does._" She resumed her folding and stacking. "You think my _family _cares? You think who I date, or what I do, makes any _d__ifference _to them? I'm just another Moretti Sister. Just another...wooden doll from a matching _set. _I have a new girlfriend, and no one even notices. No one has any interest in meeting her. Everyone's just...doing their own thing. We only ever matter to each other when we're a 'complete set,' when we're all in a group, and even _then? _We just all blend together! So, like...what you think? It _does _matter, Mai." Ty-Lee finished her task for the second time, and in her muddled mindset, nearly repeated her careless mistake.

"_Wait-!_" Mai gasped out, holding up her arm. Ty-Lee froze, catching her impending mistake. She rolled her eyes at her own forgetfulness, and latched the case shut. With a weak smile, she set it down beside her. They both shared a short giggle before the weight of Ty-Lee's words sunk in, dragged them back down. Ty's gaze cut through Mai's ambivalent body language.

"Mai, I _want _you to be happy for me," Ty-Lee confessed with a shrug. "I _want _you and Zuko, and...Azula-...I just want want everyone to get _along, _like we used to."

"Yea..."

"So, like..._chyeah. _Your opinion _matters. _OK?"

Mai nodded.

"Mm-hm."

"Sooo...Like, _why _is it such a problem that I'm going to see her for Easter break?" Ty demanded with some impatience.

"Azula's been acting reckless, Ty. I'm...worried you could get hurt."

"Mai, maybe I _look _like some ditz, but...Azula's not going to _hurt _me."

"_No, _I meant...the people that are after _Azula._"

Ty-Lee's jaw popped open slightly as she contemplated this.

"_Oh_..."

"You and I both know how much trouble she's in. You going out there, flaunting around with her...It's just going to make it even more public that the two of you are involved. Then what happens when someone uses you to get to her?"

"Th...that's a good point," Ty-Lee sighed nervously, her over-active imagination running wild with crazy conspiracy theories as she clamped her palm against her forehead.

"All I'm saying is that it'd be a good idea to lay low, and not make a big scene," Mai tried to convince her friend. She could tell that she'd caused a bit pf a panic.

"...Right," concluded Ty-Lee with a deep breath.

"Anyway, about...the other thing you said...-" Mai mumbled, unscrewing the cap to her half-drinked bottle of apple juice. "Does...Azula make you _happy_?"

Ty-Lee raised a completely puzzled eyebrow.

"Uh, _doy__?_" Ty-Lee began counting qualities on her fingers. "She's hot, and sexy, and smart, and confident, and perfect, and amazing, and-"  
"Does she make you _happy, _though?"

Ty-Lee dropped her hands. down, sticking her thumbs into pockets and drumming her fingers on her thighs. She rocked back and forth for a moment, considering the depth of this question.

"I know you guys had fun at the ball and everything," Mai noted, lifting her wrist in admission as she sipped juice with the other. "But she was _kind _of a jerk to you."

"_What? _Nooooo, she was-...That was just her picking, it's...-" But Mai's glare wasn't going to have any of Ty-Lee's weak defenses.

"Do you _want _me to recite some of the things she said?"

"N-no, that's OK!"

"Mm-hm..."

"I-I guess _maybe _you're right, Mai, but...she's just, ya know, dealing with lotsa stuff. And so...-"

"Spend break with her," Mai said with resolution. "Spend_ time_ with her - when it's just you two, and she's got no one to impress but you. _Then..._-" Mai took another sip, her slender index finger pointing out. "_Then, _when you come back, and I know that Azula really _is _trying to change? Trying to treat you better? _Then _I will be happy for you."

"OK!" Ty-Lee agreed with an overly serious nod, her eyes set aflame with determination. "Deal."

"Deal," said Mai with a smirk. "Now...-" She set her bottle down on her computer desk and extended her arms. "Come on and give me a hug. We both know you're going to, anyway, so we might as well get it over with while I'm prepared for it."

Ty-Lee chuckled and obliged.

"I'm gonna miss you, Mai."

"_Heh. _It's just a couple weeks, but...I'll miss you, too."

"You gotta take good care of ZuZu, OK?"

"Only if _you_ keep an eye on GodZula."

As their hug broke, they both grinned at each other.

"What would those crazy Kurosawas do without us?" said Ty-Lee.

"Probably _murder _each other," Mai muttered quietly, her brows both perking up with observation.

"**Omigawd.**" And Ty-Lee's brain was already elsewhere.** "**If...if things, like...work out...-? And then you and Zuko...-?" Ty frantically wiggled her fingers back and forth between Mai and herself. "You and me would _totally _become, like, sisters-in-law. Righ'?"

"Uh, let's...not get ahead of ourselves, here..."

* * *

Naga's paws scratched wildly at the door. They could've been louder, but Bolin had trimmed the pup's nails earlier that afternoon.

"_Yarp!_"

"_Shhh_," Korra hushed, rubbing her tired eyes as she reached the door. It was nearly midnight. Korra enjoyed taking Naga on evening walks these days, now that the weather was nicer out. The walks were quieter, and the moonlight always calmed and soothed Korra's troubled mind. Her time alone with Naga gave her a break at the end of the day to calm down, unwind, and relax before bed.

After unlocking the door and letting herself inside, she quickly detached the grumpy puppy from her leash. Naga scampered across the living room and to her little doggy cushion bed in the corner. The dog walked in two tight circles around the cushion before plopping down upon it with a yawn. Korra peeled off her leather coat with a tired grunt. She went to hang it on the coat rack beside the door, and a voice called out from the kitchen, giving her a start.

"So...Did you and my _brother _have a good time today?"

Korra's eye twitched with irritation at Mako's demeaning question, but she sucked it up. He didn't know about her successful day yet. Yea.

_Patience, Korra. Like Bolin told you. Just be up-front, don't explode, just...be calm._

She sucked in a quiet gasp through her lips, then exhaled through her nostrils as she finished hanging up her coat.

"Actually, we _did,_" she replied with a chipper smirk, chin tilted up as she turned around. "And I followed your advice," she said, popping off her fur-edged boots. "I told him the truth, and apologized. And I, uh...asked him out on a second date."

"And he said 'yes,' of course," Mako mumbled with a dubious sigh. "And the interview?"

"Heh." Korra walked over to the dimly lit kitchen and sat down beside him. She observed that he was partway through a mug of tea, relaxing in his slippers as he ate some buttered toast while texting on his phone. He had that ugly red scarf around his neck, just like he had the last time she'd seen him, when he'd left that morning. Except...this looked even more stupid, because instead of being dressed for work, he was in a wife beater and sweatpants, wearing those dorky red slippers he seemed to constantly have on around the house. Korra got around to answering his question after the brief moment of observation.

"They must _really _need to fill that position, because I was hired on the spot when the interview was done." She grinned with satisfaction at him, though his eyes were glued to his phone. Hmph. Texting that 'Asami' girl. This wasn't even about jealousy or whatever, this was just about courtesy.

"Hm." He finished chewing his mouthful of toast. "Well, they _did _say they wanted to re-hire you for _something,_ so...I _guess _that makes sense..."

"So..." Korra tried to work past her annoyance, being as patient as she could despite his skepticism. "I'll be working to pay you guys back for helping me with those car repairs," Korra offered with solemnity.

Mako looked up at her at last.

"Really?"

"_Yea?_" Korra answered with a tint of mild offense. "Of course I am. That's...you know, _my _responsibility and shit, right? You said you wanted me to start acting on what I said. Well...this is me, doing just that."

The two exchanged glances as Mako finished off his slice of toast.

"Mm," he hummed cautiously, his mouth full.

"Come on," Korra sighed, her head cocking to the side. "Don't fuckin' _gimme _that, I'm...I'm _trying _here, and...-"

Mako swallowed, lifting his hand up.

"_Hemm!_" He cleared his throat. "No, I-...You're right. That's great," he said in earnest. "I'm just...a little surprised at the turnaround time, I guess."

"Well..." Korra smiled weakly, relieved that this conversation wasn't going to be another explosion. "I wouldn't say that just yet. I start training on Monday, and I need to pass some kind of exam at the end of the week, so...it's not set in stone just yet."

"But you've got the right attitude now," Mako pointed out.

"Uh?"

"Your attitude. You're actually _trying _to do something with yourself, instead of expecting someone else to take care of you."

"Oh...Uh, _yea, _that _is _the idea, I guess..."

"That's _good. _That's the kind of attitude you need."

"Well, sure, but...I mean, if it weren't for different people helping me out, I'd be shit outta luck right now..."

"Maybe, but you can't _count _on others to bail you out of problems like that."

"Mm..." Korra was a bit puzzled. Mako seemed to be speaking with some kind of personal incentive here.

"You're an _adult, _Korra, so you need to know how to take care of yourself - no one else is going to do it."

"Mm. Yea, sure. I know. The point is-..." Korra crossed her arm over her waist and scratched at her neck. "Mako, I'm _really _sorry about...well, _everything._"

Mako's eyes wandered off uncomfortably for a second, and she continued.

"You're right. I was being stupid, and I need to get my life back on track here. So, I know that I made things super awkward and crap, but...I hope we can still be friends."

Mako shrugged, and his eyes looked back to her hopeful smile, which he reciprocated.

"Sure," he agreed.

"Cool..." Korra took in a sigh of relief. Today seemed to be a success: she was in better standing with both brothers than she'd ever been so far, near as she could tell.

A gentle quiet lingered over them, and Mako went back to his texting. Korra got up from her chair, noting his small plate. It was empty, aside from some crumbs. As she passed by him, heading for the counter, she scooped up his dish and placed it in the sink, receiving a "Oh, thanks."

"No prob." She tore a green-tinted banana from the fresh bunch Bolin had picked up that day and removed its skin haphazardly, dropping the entire peel in the trash bin. Grasping the naked fruit, she bit into it, sitting back down. "Shhfo..." She swallowed. "Erm, how's Asami doing...?"

Mako breathed in with some worry, prying his eyes from his device.

"She's...OK. Seems that she and her father have been at odds the past few days."

"Oh?" Korra took another bite, hunched over the table lazily. Mako noted in his mind that she looked like a gorilla in that moment.

"Yea, I don't know. She's being really vague about it."

"Must be private, n' stuff."

"Of course. It's frustrating, though, feeling like I can't do anything about it."

"But you're talking with her and shit, right? That's probably good enough for now. What else _can _ya do, eh?"

"Eh..." Mako bobbed his head a bit to the side in acknowledgement, fidgeting with his scarf in worry. Korra was itching to ask for more information, her curiosity running wild, but she figured now wasn't a good time. Mako wasn't one to talk much about his personal stuff, and she could respect that. She watched him go back to his texting, finishing up her banana. She wiped residue from the fruit onto her pants and let out an involuntary yawn, her heavy eyes drooping.

"Ugh...I should probably try and get some sleep," she groaned, scratching at her rear end as she crawled up from her chair.

"Have a good night."

"Yea...You, too."

Maybe not the most ideal conclusion to a conversation, but...hell. They were housemates, so not every talk was going to be full of warmth and life-changing goodness. Korra was simply satisfied enough that Mako was giving her another shot at keeping things amicable. She trudged by her already sleeping pup, upstairs to her sloppy bedroom, and collapsed into bed. It had been a long day, but an incredibly rewarding one. For the first time since moving into this house, Korra genuinely felt like this could become a real home for her.

* * *

- Saturday, April 23rd, 2011 - First day of Spring Break

"And I walk up to the kitchen table, and there's this glass there, half-full of cream soda. And I mean, it's sitting right next to a bottle _of _cream soda, right? And it _looks _like cream soda, so, like, who am _I _to know the difference, here? And you know me, I don't like seein' stuff go to waste, right? _Especially _not food. So I take the glass, and I take a gulp. As it turns out, beer looks a _lot _like cream soda. But it does _not _taste at all the same."

Toph laughter dropped into a snort as she grasped at her side, which was starting to ache from all of the laughing she'd been doing tonight. She was sprawled on a couch in the ACC's lounge, her head propped up on one of the arms. Sokka was sitting on the opposite side, upright against the couch's back. Sokka smiled at her - for what felt like the thirtieth time today - and waited a couple of seconds for her laughter to die down.

"So, yea. That was _my _first time drinking alcohol."

"_Fff. _That's just stupid and boring."

"Hey, I didn't say my story was gonna be _better _than yours."

"Good, 'cuz my story is _way _better."

"It is."

Toph's leg's were stretched out, her feet currently resting in Sokka's lap comfortably. She crossed one ankle over the other, and began to habitually rock it back and forth, in turn making Sokka's right leg quiver. A few seconds later, and Sokka scooped up his phone from his own arm of the couch.

"_Jeez, _have we really been...-?"

"What is it?" Toph wondered lazily.

"We've been hanging out for, like..._fff. _Three hours?"

"_Daaaamn_..."

"Ugh...It's like two in the morning," Sokka lamented. "I have to be up in like, three hours for my plane."

"Ah, yea," Toph mumbled. Sokka had that extended interview for that internship to go to. From the way Sokka had described it, it was going to be a little more complex and involved than a standard interview. One way or another, it was going to be a few days before Sokka would arrive up in Akiak and enjoy break with the rest of the group. "At this rate, you should just stay up, maybe that way you can get some shut-eye on the plane ride, right? Kind of a long trip.

"Pretty much. Well..." Sokka sighed, nudged Toph's shins off of his lap. Toph obliged, uprighting herself. The two of them stretched, and Toph yawned, which turned contagious and caused Sokka to do the same. "Might as well get you back to Aqua House. _You _have a long trip tomorrow, yourself."

"Er, actually...-" Toph fussed with her hair, which was pushed back beneath a green bandana.

"Yea?" Sokka mumbled drearily.

"Can we stop by my practice room on the way back?" she requested. "I've got, like, some...stuff I forgot. I need it for break. Like, studying. That sorta deal."

"Ah, gotcha..." Whew. That had been easy enough to coerce him into. Not that she was lying, but the fact was that she had left her binder of braile pages in her room on purpose, specifically hoping to use it as a lure. It might've been a better idea to have brought it up sooner, but spending time alone with Sokka in such a comfortable state had been too precious to dismiss prematurely. Conversation just carried too naturally, sarcasm and banter exchanging back and forth like trickles of electricity. It was a magnetic force if ever she'd encountered one.

"Come on," Sokka murmured, tapping her ankle with his sneaker. She whimpered like a lazy, disgruntled dog, and Sokka playfully tugged at her arm, eliciting a surprised yelp. They both chuckled at each other's childishness while Sokka handed Toph her walking cane. Toph proudly marched forward, making her way in the general direction of the exit that was closest to their destination. Sokka strapped on his backpack and followed, quick to twist her shoulders a few inches when he saw that she was veering off course.

They reached the twin set of glass double doors leading out - Sokka opening the first for Toph, and Toph likewise opening the second door for Sokka.

"Wow, look at us, practicing our _manners_," Sokka joked at their reciprocal courtesies. "We're such good little adults now."

"_Gulgh, _don't remind me..."

Entering the outdoors sent shivers down Toph's back - and the rest of her, really.

"_Fuck_, is it cold out tonight," she chattered, pulling her hood up over her head. She was glad she'd worn a hoodie tonight.

"Jeez, no kiddin'," Sokka agreed. She could hear the friction of his hands sliding across his own sleeves. He puffed out a loud sigh of discomfort as they briskly made their way down the sidewalk, side by side.

"Don't be such a _baby_," Toph taunted him. Sokka repeated her intonations with sarcastic gibberish.

"Man, I better not get _sick _out here," he groaned.

"Shut _up, _you won't," Toph insisted. "Besides, you'll get sick on the plane."

"Don't even joke about that," he whimpered.

"Haha, I'm just bein' a _dick, _calm down."

"I know, but...I'm really freakin' nervous about it," Sokka confessed. "I mean, this whole thing's going to involve a buncha public speaking. Not something I'm all about."

_Mm. I know what you mean.  
_

"Yea, yea. Just settle down. Don't get your panties all in a bunch."_  
_

"Actually, it's boxer-briefs this time, felt like reignin' the boys in a bit today 'cuz-"  
"_Blehh, _OK, yea. That's nice." Her disgust melted into a chuckle. "TMI, dude."

"Ahhh, see, you're more of a 'boxers' kinda chick, am I right?"

"Actually, no. Well, _sometimes, _but usually the kind of underwear I-"  
_"Ha,_made you say 'underwear.'"

"Wait..._What?_" Toph had lost her place in what was going on, and she could feel her cheeks getting warm through the late night chill. Sokka snorted like a buffoon, and she smirked. "Well, there goes that whole 'adults' thing you mentioned. So, that only took, what...? Thirty seconds?"

"Probably closer to sixty."

"_La. Dee. Dah._"

"Sing it, Soul Sister."

"Uh, but I wasn't...-"

"_Ulghhh, _god, are we _there _yet? I am freezing my _ass _off out here."

"The hell are you asking _me _for? You're the one with working eyeballs, ya dunderhead."

"But it looks so far _away _still. Man, if we didn't need to walk so slow because _somebody _can't see where they're going..."

"_Hey! _Screw you!" Toph retaliated his facetious insult. "I'm keeping up just fine," she proclaimed, walking along at a steadier clip than she normally would.

"Yea? OK. So let's see you keep up, then, Dead-Eyes." Durggn the course of Sokka's sentence, his voice trailed slightly further away, and she could hear his footsteps growing quieter. She picked up her own pace to try and match his. Half a minute or so passed of him teasing her from ahead as she scampered behind him, needing to realign herself when they reached a turn in the sidewalk.

She enjoyed the challenge, and relished in the fact that he seemed so comfortable with her that he could openly pick on her lack of sight the way she would herself, trusting in her own abilities instead of doting on her. Sokka wasn't a 'gentleman,' after all, but that was the way she liked him.

Her breathing picked up with her walking speed, her body full of energy and enthusiasm despite the hour.

"_Haha!_" Wait, huh? Sokka's laughter was _behind _her... "Went too far!" Sokka called. Toph swerved to a stop, embarrassed by her own lack of attention - she should've been able to hear him stopping, had she been focusing less on her own spiraling thoughts and more on what was actually around her.

"Whatever!" she laughed back, approaching the source of the sound. Sokka's arm wrapped around her shoulder with a heavy pair of pats as she eased her toward what she figured was the main entrance door.

"Hey, not bad, Gimpy," said Sokka playfully, tugging her hoodie over her face. She huffed out through her nostrils, pushing his hand away and pulling the hood down. She retrieved the familiar-feeling student ID card from her back pocket and stretched her arms forward. Normally she'd feel her way toward the magnetic sensor, but her stomach fluttered when Sokka firmly took her wrist and pressed it in the right position. There was a beeping sound and a click from the door's lock, and Toph quickly opened it. The two of them rushed inside before the door relocked itself behind them. Warm air surrounded them their steps echoing off of the tiled floor of the tall, empty lobby room.

Toph blew air at her bangs, realigning them from Sokka's attack.

"Wow," Sokka whispered. The sound bounced around the room. "It's so weird to be in here at night..."

"Yea, kinda creepy, right?" Toph put in her thoughts with nonchalance, her voice's volume at its average height. She found her way to the right, where she knew the elevator was. Her fingers quickly found the braile poking out from where the buttons were, and she pressed the 'Up' button. The familiar chime of the mechanism was welcoming. Sokka, who was still gaping up through the building's height, slowly made his way to her side. This portion of the building was wide and open, and Sokka could see empty walkways above around the building's perimeter. He could see glass walls with metal railings, chest-high, lined the edges of the two floors' walkways above.

"Come on, Snoozles," Toph insisted. "Don't be a Pokey Little Puppy."

"Ew, don't ever call me that," Sokka flatly requested, to which Toph giggled. The elevator beeped out again, and the metal doors slid open. Toph sighed with relaxation as they filed in. This was...really nice, seemingly alone in the place that she did most of her work with him by her side. It was kind of like welcoming him into her home, in a way. She held her cane upright in one hand, her fingertips reading out the floor numbers with the other. She pressed the corresponding button, {2}, and up they went.

The ride was brief and silent, and Toph appreciated Sokka's slightly detectable scent in the enclosed space.

"Huh, that's kind of ironic," he pointed out as the doors swung back open.

"Hm?"

"Well, it's a music building, but the elevator's got no music."

"_Pff. _Well, duh, it's, like...a three floor elevator. And anyway,l why would you want music playing in a building where people are practicing?"

"I'm just _saying_."

"Heh. You say a _lot _of dumb stuff, you know that?"

"Not anymore than _you _do."

Sokka rubbed his hand over her back again, and a shiver of a different sort worked itself across her spine. She smiled.

"Fair enough." Toph led the way down the hallway, repeatedly tapping her cane along the bottom of the wall.

Sokka tried peering into each practice room they passed along the way, poking his eyes through the tiny windows in each soundproof door. They were all pitch black inside. Toph reached a corner, and turned right. The next wall was short, and empty, though a few textbooks, notebooks, and binders were haphazardly stacked along the edge of the floor. Toph nearly tripped on the stuff, and groaned to herself.

"_Fuggingrmmffllarrgmmm_..."

"Huh?"

"Nothin'."

The next corner, aaaand...Bingo. The practice room she herself used. She walked right on in. Sokka noticed as he passed into the portal to Toph's domain that her tiny window was covered from the inside with cardboard. Hm. Toph found her way to the piano bench with ease, leaning her cane up against the side of the humongous instrument and feeling her way along the piano's stand area.

Her fingers reached a thick binder, and she scanned her fingertips along its spine to double check. In braile bumps, it read, {The Blind Bandit}

"Find it?" Sokka asked, lingering by the doorway. Toph took a deep breath, her hands beginning to shake.

"Uh, yep. Yea. Right here."

"Cool...Erm...Was there something else?"

Toph swallowed the saliva that had formed in her mouth. She nibbled at her lower lip, rubbing her palms together.

"Damn, now that I'm _here _and stuff...feel like I oughtta play somethin' before I have to leave for break. Get it out if my system."

"Er..." Sokka raised his eyebrow at her.

"Ya know what? Actually, yea. _Yea_," Toph played it off like this was some spur-of-the-moment thing, when in fact Katara had helped her scheme the scenario. Toph slid to the side of the small bench, patting her hand against the wooden surface. "Sit down for a sec, Meathead. Warm up a little before you have to head out, I'll play you somethin'. Ya know, old time's sake, that whole shebang."

Sokka remembered what he had gleaned from Toph's performance at the coffee shop days before. Hm. He hadn't ever seen her really play piano up close before. His stomach churned with uncertainty. He watched her head turn, her profile's eye veiled by thick bangs, accented by a sneaky smirk.

"Well? Ya gonna sit and hear me make some magic, or what?"

"Oh, sure, yep." Sokka hesitantly stepped over to the bench. It was...really short for two people. Probably because it was designed for one. Sokka carefully sat down, queasy but admittedly aroused by the sensation of his hip and thigh sliding against hers.

"All right! Hm..." Toph rolled her head around her neck and cracked her fingers. Sokka avoided staring at said neck, though he had to admit it was kind of difficult at the moment. "_Ah, _I've got a good one, Sokka. Just for you."

"Oh?"

"Yea..."

Toph's messy hair was back beneath her bandana, she was garbed in a hoodie, jeans with holes in the knees...Her looks weren't what mattered right now. She'd dressed up all pretty at the dance, and Sokka hadn't seemed to give two shits, and she hadn't much cared for the dressing up, either. But right now, she wanted to impress Sokka with what she knew she was good at - what she cared most about, what she enjoyed doing most - and nothing else.

She went to work.

+ Youtube dotcom slash watch?v=JgHAUoEMD4Y +  
(And So It Goes; (c) Billy Joel) - (Cover by YouTube user KiraHil)

Sokka watched the way her seemingly inelegant hands managed to carefully strike each key, each chord, with precision and power. Her voice transformed from childish and sarcastic to elegant, soulful, and earnest. She sad with bittersweet melancholy, her body gently swaying with her hands and arms as she went through the motions. Sokka was too distracted by the shock of it all - his blunt, disgruntled, sloppy goofball of a friend, once again changed into that porcelain-faced musician he had trouble recognizing. Katara's remarks from the coffee house bounced through his head in-between the notes and lyrics.

_"Heh. There must be more to her than you _think_, Sokka."_

Sokka realized that his jaw had slipped open at some point, and he closed it quietly. He managed to pry his eyes from her fingers, like flower petals in a spring breeze, and studied her face. Her cheeks were rosy. Her eyes were gently closed, eyebrows tilted with sobriety. Her lips formed deliberate shapes to push out her words.

And the _words_. He was having trouble paying attention to them, so distracted by her metamorphosis that he was. But he had captured bits and pieces, comprehending the basic gist of the song. It was decidedly sorrowful.

"~And this is why my eyes are closed; It's just as well, for all I've seen~"

Sokka's chest felt like it'd been pricked by a needle from the somber irony of the lyrics she'd sung.

"~And so it goes, and so it goes; And you're the only one who knows~"

Damnit, she was _totally _singing that same way as before, on the stage. That...that _way._

"~So I would choose to be with you; That's, if the choice were mine to make~"

_Urrgh, _that..._way! _Like she was singing specifically about _him! _Was this...just how she was _like_ when she played her serious music, or...-?

"~But you can make decisions, too; And you can have this heart to break~"

Now, come _on, _why would she have picked this song, even? Hm? Oh, jeez. Oh, man...

Argh, she was beautiful, with the playing, and the fingers, and the..._pretty _movements, but it was all..._grounded. _So sincere, and solid, all the same.

Sokka's curiosity, his hunch, his gut feeling that he'd been choosing to ignore...this seemed to be making it painfully clear, but in that frustratingly indirect way that Toph often went about emotional, serious things.

"~And so it goes, and so it goes; And you're the only one who knows~"

By the end of the song, they were both pink-faced. Toph's legs were weak with nervousness and Sokka was slightly slack-jawed once again from awe and confusion. Their breathing was shallow, their heartbeats elevated. Toph made the bold move to slide her palm along the top of Sokka's leg, then patted twice, signaling him that it was time to get up. He was quick to do so.

"Sooooo," Toph slyly rolled out the word. "What didja think?" Her hands trembled in her lap, but Sokka was none the wiser - her tone carried confidence and calm, but he was standing behind her now, so that certainly helped.

"That...was...-" _Crap, hell, agh, what am I supposed to say? This is just too awkward, I don't like where this is going. _"Well, it was _good_," he confessed with a shrug, his words ringing with honesty. "I mean..._Yea. _Like, erm, nnnnot exactly the kind of song I'd _peg _you for, but...-"  
"Heh, umm...It's not like I'm just into, like, rock music. You know that, right?"

"Oh, no-no, yea. I know that."

"I mean, I've got my soft side, too, Sokka - just like you."

"No, _yea, _totally. Didn't...uh-...I didn't say you..._didn't._"

Toph's hopes were deteriorating. He sounded weirded out. _Not _the fucking reaction she had wanted. She'd really put herself into that one. She'd spent hours practicing it inbetween schoolwork and classes this week, letting herself pour the earnesty through the song, since she knew she was too...lily-livered to just come out and say it.

Sokka's brain raced with concerns and fears. No, no, no. Toph was supposed to be his girl-pal. His bosom buddy with bosoms. Especially now, with Jane gone, Toph was the only genuine friend in that capacity he had. He was petrified of the idea of putting that at risk. Sure, Aang had managed to patch things up with her despite an incredibly awkward breakup situation...but Aang was just..._better_...at that stuff. Sokka had no faith in his ability - in his own _patience _- to be able to mend that kind of thing if he opened his mind up to this idea and gave it a try.

Toph was rigid and stern and stubborn, clearly unwilling to change herself for someone else. And Sokka just wasn't sure if the risk was worth it. He couldn't accept losing this friendship. Toph was like a second little sister.

But how was he supposed to let her down easy? And for fuck's sake, where had this come from? Had he led her on in some way, or...? That was the whole problem, how this had happened: he'd let his guard on, he got all..._comfortable, _and _relaxed_, and she just swooped right in and **blammo.** Grr, and she had to be such a freaking hot Asian girl, too, with the _talent, _and the witty banter, and the same sense of humor, and...grah. He always was letting his guard on around her, see? He was doing it _right _now.

_Nope. Stop staring. No. Quit it. Stop staring at her hair. Stop it.  
_

"Well?" Toph grunted out. Oh, man, she was all huffy and impatient all of a sudden. Great. Typical womanly grouchiness, it always came out nowhere. "That was it? That was all you had to say?" Yea, he couldn't handle this kind of crap right now, it was too tense.

_Alarms, Sokka. There are wild, crazy, blaring horns and buzzers going off here. This spells disaster. Abort._

"Uh, _really, _it was..._super _good, for real. For serious. But, so, I've gotta go to the bathroom," Sokka spat out across the incredibly awkward silence.

"Whatever," Toph grumbled, still hunched over on her bench.

"I'll be...right back," Sokka insisted, opening the door. He suddenly realized how insensitive he was coming across and hurried to pass it off as irrelevant to her song. "Sorry, it's just, like, I've been holding it _in _all this time, and like, I'm gonna explode, so, yea, sorry if...ya know, I come across as-"  
"Go to the fuckin' _bathroom_," Toph huffed tiredly. She heard the door close behind her. Her face contorted with disappointment despite her efforts. She could just feel it - her face had to have been conveying her misery. Good thing no one was here to see her moment of pathetic whimpering. This was all just as well - that's what she got for getting her hopes up, right? It figured.

Fitting song she'd picked, _that _was for sure.

On the other side of the door, Sokka took a moment, clamping his hand down over half of his face. His head was throbbing, a headache suddenly setting in. It was late. He was tired. He was scared as it was of the incredibly long weekend that awaited him, and now _this. _He needed time to think on it all. He needed to deal with his priorities - this interview needed to come first. He'd have plenty of time during the commute to contemplate things.

He went to the drinking fountain, slurped some of the tinny water, paced around for a few moments, then went back. The two of them left the building in silence, a cloud of dissatisfaction floating over the both of them. Toph was pissed, he could see it in the way her mannerisms had changed. The very way she _walked _changed slightly when she was pissed off, and that was usually Sokka's cue to ditch the situation, let Katara or Aang or whoever deal with her.

But he wasn't going to be a jerk about it, he was going to be proper Aero Man and walk the lady back to her dormitory - it was tradition. At the entrance to Aqua, Sokka had to stop her before she went inside.

"What?"

"Good night, Toph," Sokka told her, pulling her in for a hug. "I'll see ya in a few days."

"Yea," she murmured distantly. "Good luck n' all that shit."

"Thanks. Have a good trip, erm...-" He watched her scan her card on the dorm's magnetic lock. "Make sure Aang and my Sister don't do anything too gross, eh?" he quickly sputtered out as she went inside. No response.

Ehhh. Whew. Well, she'd live. If she really _did _like him, as he now assumed...she could wait a few days for him to figure this out.

One way or another, this was a choice that was worth thinking about, after all - _she _was worth thinking about.


	89. Sweet Memories

**A/N: Sorry if you're not a fan of the song-fic stuff, but...I've gotta get some out of my system here. ^_^; BTW, to help clarify, you'll notice that some music scenes have things written in present tense. This has been intentional. It implies a different 'style' of narrative, in the same way a TV show will approach displaying a scene different when it's a 'music montage' scene, that sort of deal. It's a detail I might rework when I re-edit the whole story, but at this point I want it to just stay consistent. If you ever see something written in present tense, it's probably a dream sequence, or something vague, 'music montagey,' etc. It's just an experimental thing, as many of stuff in this story is. I will be trying in the future to mention songs that I like that fit a chapter's theme or message but trying not to force the music scenes in there unless I really am intending to do something with them, and in fact, many of the upcoming "music" things, including some stuff in this chapter, isn't lyrical, it's more thematic background stuff, I guess. Different, I know. You can feel free to ignore it, if you like, but it's there for those who enjoy it.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 89 - Sweet Memories_

* * *

- Saturday, April 23rd, 2011 - First day of Spring Break

After her entirely engaging evening with Sokka, Toph was frustrated by the sour taste on the tip of her tongue left by the end. She'd trudged up to her dorm room, careful to sneak in quietly and get herself straight to bed without waking Katara. The next morning, Aang woke Toph up early, startling her with his presence at such an early hour. As it turned out, he had slept the night in Katara's bed, completely unknown to her. Aang had left the room to allow Toph to change, and returned with Katara. Toph could tell that Katara wasn't quite entirely awake yet, either, despite having just come back from dropping Sokka off at a bus terminal so he could catch a ride to the airport. It seemed like she was on auto-pilot. Aang seemed in somewhat better spirits, at least. Their morning preparations a hazed blur, they filed into the car. Aang sat in the passenger seat beside his girlfriend while Toph sat in the back seat by herself.

On their way out of town, they stopped by a McDonald's to grab some quick breakfast food. It wasn't until this process of consumption that the trio seemed to engage in conversation for the first time that day, the lethargic silence cured by fast food and cheap coffee. Toph's first crispy hash brown went down quickly.

"Yea, I got a text from him a bit ago," Katara was assuring Aang. "He made his flight and everything." She sipped from her coffee. She found it bitter, despite the fact that she'd added some creamer and a bit of sweetener. The caffeine was sorely needed today, though.

"That's good," said Aang, biting into his egg and cheese sandwich. When he'd ordered this item, Toph had almost called him out on breaking his 'vegan rules,' but managed to remember that Aang wasn't vegan, just vegetarian. Her own sluggish brain activity had saved itself from embarrassment by being too slow to act.

"You know-" Katara's voice carried toward Toph, catching her attention. "-he told me that you and him had a good time last night, Toph."

"Um...I _guess_," she mumbled half-heartedly. Katara smiled with sympathy. Based on what Sokka had told her on the car ride to the terminal that morning, it had sounded like their evening had concluded in a way that had left both Sokka and Toph confused.

"Did something happen?" Katara wondered. "I mean...You seem a little put off. But Sokka really enjoyed himself."

"Yea, maybe before I took him to the music building," said Toph grumpily, chewing on a bite of her second hash brown. She swallowed it down fast. "Ya know, when I fucked everything up."

"Aw, Toph," Katara sheepishly laughed, patting her friend's shoulder with encouragement. "I really doubt that. He told me about how impressed he was when you played that song for him."

"Mm...He did, huh?" She smirked, her eyelids hanging slightly.

"Oh, he _loved _it. What did he say? _Ah, _yea...'It was like seeing a new side to her. It was nice.' His own words."

"He _said _that?" Her face had lit up, but she was trying hard to sound skeptical.

"He did."

At this, Toph's cheeks dipped into a pink hue as she nibbled at her breakfast. Katara practically beamed at this subtle reaction, flashing her approval to Aang. Aang had to contain a laugh at his girlfriend's giddy grin, with her squinted eyes.

"What makes you think he didn't have a good time?" Aang wondered. Toph's smile faded, and she swallowed. She puffed air up at her bangs.

"Agh, he was all...weird about it. I dunno. Like, there we were, havin' a good time, and then I go out and play this song, and suddenly everything's fuckin' awkwardsauce."

"Toph, I think that Sokka just needs to...think on things," Katara advised. "I'm sure that one way or another, he'll talk with you about it."

"_You _sound optimistic," Toph mumbled.

"I-..._Yes, _I am," Katara decided with a curt nod. "I really can see something in you two," she insisted.

"_I _can't," Toph replied. A befuddled silence. "That was a blind joke," she pointed out, flapping her hand in front of her face. "'Cuz...The 'seeing,' and...-"

"I'm serious, though," Katara chuckled, having not appreciated the humor until Toph had made it apparent.

"I have to agree," Aang put in. "Sokka's got a couple of days to, like...stew it over. Stew on it?" Aang made a vague gesture, swirling his wrist around. "Stir in his own juices?"

"Something like that," said Katara.

"Meaty stew juices, and crap," put in Toph.

"Er, right," said Aang, going on with his thoughts. "For you, Toph, this has lasted a little while. But for Sokka, this is probably really sudden, and...-" Aang and Katara exchanged goofy smiles. "-...and you should just stick with it. _Stand your ground._" Aang lifted his arm, hesitating for a moment, then gently tapped his fist against Toph's shoulder. She smiled.

"Yea, yea. I hear ya, Twinkle-Toes," she replied warmly. "So, _anyway, _we've got like...two weeks to burn. So what the heck are we gonna _do_? I mean, like, no offense, Sister-Face, but...your town's kinda _small._"

"Oh. Well...-" Katara shrugged, scratching gently at an irksome pimple on her forehead. "Sokka will be coming back early next week, so...pretty rough trip for him."

"Man, that _stinks,_" lamented Aang. "Being all the way on his own Easter Sunday? That's not going to be fun."

"Probably not," Katara sighed on behalf of her brother. "But we'll all have a family dinner and stuff after he gets back - kind of celebrate the holiday a little late. But so, then...I was thinking that we could maybe go over to Toronto at some point, just for fun. There's, ya know...some places there?"

"Mm." Toph finished her second hash brown and dusted the crumbs off her fingers.

"I think we're going to just take it easy for the weekend until Sokka gets back, though," Aang explained. They ate for a few moments before Aang's face lit up. "_Oh, _I've got something: we should call Meng tomorrow. Catch up with her. Wish her 'Happy Easter' and stuff?"

"That's a good idea," Toph agreed. She'd been a bit too busy lately to be in contact with her dear cousin, and Meng would no-doubt love to have a group chat with Katara and Aang present. "I hope she's doin' OK."

* * *

[_fortuneteller114_ - hey! you there?]  
[12:02 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Hello? Who's this?]  
[12:02 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - oh! lol. this is meng. from facebook.]  
[12:02 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - OK. Sorry, I just don't remember where I know you from.]  
[12:03 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i'm toph's cousin. friends with that group.]  
[12:03 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Ah.]  
[12:03 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - so hey. youre on break now, right?]  
[12:04 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Yes.]  
[12:05 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - how are you spendin your vacay time?]  
[12:05 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - With family.]  
[12:06 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - yea, me, too. then it's back to the books for finals!]  
[12:06 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Good luck.]  
[12:08 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - thanks! ^^ you too!]  
[12:08 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - umm...i'm not bugging you am i?]  
[12:10 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i'm real sorry if i am. :( ]  
[12:15 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - You're fine. I'm just busy.]  
[12:22 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - oh. ok. i can leave you alone then.]  
[12:22 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - No, it's all right. I could use a bit of a break, anyway.]  
[12:23 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - So, what year are you, again? What's your Major?]  
[12:24 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - haahhh. ^^' i'm going to be a freshman next year, i'm just finishing high school.]  
[12:24 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Oh.]  
[12:25 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - but i got accepted to sru. i don't know what my major will be yet.]  
[12:26 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I see.]  
[12:27 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i'll be visiting campus next month, though. :3 can't wait.]  
[12:28pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - It's a nice enough place. Self-contained.]  
[12:29 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - yea tophie likes it there. i will, too. i miss her so much, gonna be so cool to live on campus.]  
[12:29 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Oh, right. Toph's your cousin? So...how is she doing lately, anyway?]  
[12:31 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - yep! uh, she's ok, i think? haven't heard from her much lately. think she's been busy w/school and stuff.]  
[12:31 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Yes, I'm sure.]  
[12:32 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - btw]  
[12:33 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - you should try saying hi to her some time.]  
[12:33 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Oh, no. I'd hate to bother her.]  
[12:34 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - she still feels really bad, you know...]  
[12:34 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - What? Why? About what?]  
[12:34 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - about you. she feels bad that she hurt you.]  
[12:34 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Oh.]  
[12:35 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - you know that. right?]  
[12:35 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I guess. I'm assuming she told you about...all of that?]  
[12:36 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - yes. i am soooo sorry about that.]  
[12:36 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - srsly she is super sorry. tophie can just..be stubborn. she doesn't know how to apologize very good.]  
[12:36 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Yes. I noticed.]  
[12:37 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - but really. she wishes you and her could still be friends. she's told me that.]  
[12:38 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - She hasn't told ME that. So...]  
[12:40 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - would you...still be friends with her?]  
[12:42 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - That doesn't seem to be what she wants. Maybe if she tried to make amends...]  
[12:43 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - ok. that is totally fair. i know exactly what you mean.]  
[12:43 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - you're not the only person toph has hurt. you know.]  
[12:43 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - ?]  
[12:44 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - but she is a good person. i swear. she is getting better.]  
[12:44 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I wouldn't know.]  
[12:44 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i understand. and i am so sorry she hurt you. she is sorry, too.]  
[12:45 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - ...]  
[12:45 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i'm sure she will tell you that herself when she's ready.]  
[12:45 pm]

_[__fortuneteller114_ - she just needs time with this stuff.]_  
_[12:46 pm]

_[__fortuneteller114_ - i will talk with her about it.]_  
_[12:47 pm]

_[__fortuneteller114_ - really. she's got a good heart. she just makes bad choices some times.]_  
_[12:47 pm]

_[__fortuneteller114_ - and she beats herself up over it. she's so stubborn, i know.]_  
_[12:47 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - but she's my family. and she can be a good friend.]  
[12:47 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - OK, OK. I get it. _]  
[12:48 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i'm sorry! D: i didn't mean to annoy you.]  
[12:49 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Ha. You're fine. It's OK. You're looking out for your family.]  
[12:50 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - right.]  
[12:51 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - You seem very caring. I'm just surprised. My experience with Toph just...didn't end well.]  
[12:51 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - no i get it. i know.]  
[12:52 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I trusted her and she betrayed that. It takes time to earn that back. Which she hasn't done anything about.]  
[12:52 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - right. exactly. i'm just saying...that happened to me too. but she made things right with me. i'm sure she will with you, too.]  
[12:53 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I'll wait and see. I'm not exactly holding my breath.]  
[12:54 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - that's fine. it's her responsibility.]  
[12:54 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - That's my feeling on it.]  
[12:55 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - yes. i'm sure that will get sorted. god i'm sorry. i got really pushy. i didn't mean to.]  
[12:56 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - No need to apologize. I'm just surprised you care that much, I guess.]  
[12:58 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i just felt so bad about it. you seem like a real nice guy. nice guys deserve better than that.]  
[12:58 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Uh, thanks.]  
[1:01 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - so you play violin?]  
[1:03 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I do, yes. I'd like to become a music teacher some day.]  
[1:04 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - oh, really? that's neat! like, selfless, in a way.]  
[1:04 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I'm not sure about that. :P But I don't really study music to perform, honestly. That's not my goal.]  
[1:05 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - what is your goal?]  
[1:06 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I'm not entirely sure. Now that you ask. -_- I just want to do something meaningful.]  
[1:08 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - hm. so what kinds of music do you play? or listen to? i'm curious.]  
[1:09 pm]

* * *

+ Youtube dotcom /watch?v=r34i3aU14cY  
('You're My Home'; Billy Joel)

**~When you look into my eyes, and you see the crazy gypsy in my soul~**

Katara, casting a warm glance to Aang as she starts up the car.

**~It always comes as a surprise when I feel my withered roots begin to grow~**

"You OK back there, Toph?" she asks the girl with the distant look.

**~Well, I never had a place that I could call my very own~**

"Eh...I'll be all right," Toph sighs out, trying to smile.

**~But that's alright my love, 'cause you're my home~**

Aang's hand caresses Katara's shoulder as she drives.

**~When you touch my weary head and you tell me everything will be alright~**

His hand moves up her neck, pushing back her hair, and she smiles.

**~You say use my body for your bed, and my love will keep you warm throughout the night~**

She remembers their time together the night prior, his gentle touch.

**~Well, I'll never be a stranger, and I'll never be alone~**

Aang leans over and kisses her temple.

**~Where ever we're together that's my home~**

"Love you, Eskimo."

"I love you, too, my Penguin."

**~Home can be the Pennsylvania Turnpike~**

_{You are now leaving Wayward, PA}_

**~Indiana's early morning dew~**

Jane driving southwest along a flat highway, elbow hanging out of her car window.

**~High up in the hills of California~**

Sokka, gaping at the Rocky Mountains from within his airplane.

**~Home is just another word for you~**

He snaps a picture of the cloudscape on his phone.

He scrolls through his photos, observing his recent pics.

Many of them are of Toph, he notices. He lets himself stare at them for a bit.

Each smile, each grin, each moment he caught her unawares - like droplets of moonlight into a spring, each ripple a cherished memory.

**~Well, I never had a place that I could call my very own~**

Toph drifts to sleep in the backseat.

**~But that's alright my love, 'cause your my home~**

She dreams of her own laughter melded with his.

**~If I travel all my life, and I never get to stop and settle down~**

Katara stops at a gas station and fills the tank back up.

**~Long as I have you by my side, there's a roof above and good walls all around~**

When she re-enters the car, she notices that Toph is snoring, curled up in the back.

**~You're my castle, you're my cabin and my instant pleasure dome~**

She turns to Aang and smiles. They kiss.

**~I need you in my house, 'cause you're my home~**

Their noses rub together. She starts the car back up, and they pull back onto the highway.

The midday sky is clear and bright.

**~You're my home~**

The rumbling of the car waking back up managed to stir Toph from her slumber. She gasped awake, groping around the backseat for reference of her surroundings.

"_Humma...?_"

Seat, door, other seat in front of her...window...? _Oh, _right, car. Yes, car.

"Morning, Mud-Slug," Katara greeted, glancing up at her rear-view mirror. She spent a single moment taking in Toph's cow-licked hair and dazed expression before looking back to the busy road.

"_Rrrmmm_," Toph whimpered out groggily. "How long was I out...?"

"Maybe an hour or so," Aang guessed.

"_Fuuuuck_," Toph whispered out. "Just one? So where _are _we, then?"

"Passing through New York state," Aang explained. "Still going to be a while. I think...-" He glanced to Katara. "-...we'll be stopping for lunch some time soon, right?"

"Yea, probably in the next hour or so we'll...-" Katara yawned. "-...take a break somewhere," she finished, her voice cracking as she concluding her yawn while speaking. Aang smiled warily, patting her thigh. Katara was used to Sokka taking up driving duties for at least part of the trip, so Aang was pretty certain that Katara would be tuckered out by the time they got to Akiak.

"So, Toph," said Aang, twisting his head around to look at her grumpy face. She had pulled a hair tie out of her pocket and was pushing her messy mass of black into a ponytail. This didn't make her bangs or her new cow-licks change in any way. "What did you _dream_ about?" Aang coyly inquired.

"Huh?"

"You were giggling a lot in your sleep," Aang teased.

"You were," Katara agreed.

"I...I don't know!" Toph sputtered out, blinking with wide eyes and letting loose a sheepish laugh in spite of herself. She honestly didn't recall, as her dreams often alluded her own memory upon waking.

"I think we all know what it was," taunted Aang.

"_Yeaaaaa, _OK," Toph grunted, laying back down in the seat on her side. "I admit, it _is _likely..." She puffed air out at her bangs, moved them off her face. "Ya know, you guys...better not be like this when Sokka's around," she pointed out. "'Cuz it's...kinda awkward _already__, _and if...-" She sighed, adjusting herself in an effort to get comfortable.

"We'll be good," said Aang.

"Don't be fussy," Katara advised. A brief glance at her mirror tipped her off that her friend had laid back down. "Yea, just...get some more rest, Hun."

"Don't mind if I do..."

* * *

Sokka sighed to himself, folding his map and stuffing it into his back pocket. He fidgeted with his backpack straps impatiently, and pulled his iPod from his pocket, tapping it to resume playing its music. He couldn't wait to relax at his hotel, go eat out some place in downtown San Francisco, take in the evening sights.

+ Youtube dotcom /watch?v=ba1UFP186F8&t=1m38s  
('I'm Still Here'; Goo Goo Dolls)

["~...know me, 'cause I'm not here~"]

He took in a deep breath, pacing in place as he waited for his transportation to arrive.

["~And you see the things they never see; All you wanted, I could be~"]

Toph's visage lingered in his mind, singing with closed eyes and flushed cheeks.

["~Now you know me; And I'm not afraid~"]

Being with her was usually so simple and comfortable, and easy.

["~And I want to tell you who I am; Can you help me be a man?~"]

Toph had shown him her vulnerable side, her soft spot. Could he - did he _want _to - do the same in return?

["~They can't break me; As long as I know who I am~"]

But what _was _his soft side? What did that mean for him?

Man of Science, Man of Sarcasm - Sokka often felt like he had two brains mashed into one.

["~And I want a moment to be real; Wanna touch things I don't feel; Wanna hold on and feel I belong~"]

The way Toph had been so calm and intimate the night prior...When he thought on it, Sokka acknowledged that it was her way of reaching out to him.

She'd been looking for his acceptance. The same thing he'd wanted from Suki for so long.

["~And how can the world want me to change? They're the ones that stay the same~"]

Suki would always bother him about growing up and acting like an adult...But when would she ever lighten up, change for _him?_

["~They can't see me, but I'm still here~"]

Toph didn't bug him about that - like she had with Aang - and instead had tried to express herself to him.

["~They can't tell me who to be, 'cause I'm not what they see~"]

Toph saw him for who he was - both sides - and seemed content with that.

["~Yeah, the world is still sleeping while...~"]  
-BEEP-BEEP-

Sokka paused his player, stuffing his headphones in his pocket as the subway train approached. As it slowed to a stop before him, air rushing by from its movement, he smiled in spite of himself.

_Goddamnit, Sis, you've got me listening to this sappy music and making me think about..._feelings_...and stuff._

* * *

- Sunday, April 24th, 2011 - Easter

"So...Happy Easter!" Katara chimed into her phone, finally getting a hold of her brother after three attempts to call him.

["Happy Easter."] Sokka sounded less-than-thrilled.

"You OK?" Katara mumbled with some concern. "Um...Bro?" she added.

["Yea, yea,"] Sokka sighed out, seeming to come to his senses from some stupor. ["It's fine. I'm fine. Things are fine."]

"Sok_ka_," Katara goaded, expectantly. "Come on. Tell me what's wrong." She sat down in her bed, still dressed in her church clothes. Her hair was neat and straightened, and she was wearing a spring-time dress of yellow with orange flowers printed upon it. She had been curious about her brother ever since the night prior, when he had texted her and Hakoda rather than called to confirm his safe arrival.

["Eh, just...nervous about this interview thing tomorrow,"] Sokka explained half-heartedly. ["I've been going over my material and stuff."]

"Where are you?" Katara asked, worried that he was cooped up in some hotel room for the day.

["In the hotel,"] Sokka confirmed her doubts.

"Sokka...You should go out there, enjoy San Francisco while you're there..."

["I dunno..."]

"Come on. What's _really _bothering you?"

["Nothing!"] he insisted. ["C'mon, Sis, stop being a worry-wort, you know that stuff just makes me more nervous."]

"OK, all right..." Katara took her headband out of her hair, fluffing it into place behind her shoulders. She grinned, suspecting that Sokka was preoccupied with thoughts of Toph, the same way she had clearly been obsessed over him in the past day.

["I just...have been thinking about Toph...and..._yea._"]

"Uh-_huh_."

["Shuddap..."]

"And?" Katara slipped off a high heel. "What do you think?" She popped off the other.

["_Urgh,_ I...I get what you were saying yesterday, Katara. But Toph's not _like _Aang. If something screws up, then...there goes that."]

"Sokka, listen. I know that you're really worried and all. But I _told _you...What you're feeling, right now? I've been there. I really have. And I had to get past that. Because Aang was worth it. This relationship was worth taking that chance on."

["Sure, but...you _know _that if things don't work out in the long run, you and Aang are still going to be friends. You can't _say _that with Toph. She's..._fickle._"]

"You know, she's really not as fickle when it comes to that, Sokka. Her and Aang are just fine now."

["Yea. Because of _Aang. _Not because of _her._"]

"W-well, but...Look at the logistics - who else does she have to go to, if it came to that?"

["Well...erm...-"]

"Right. She's got _us_. She's got _you. _She has no other real friends on this campus. But anyway, besides all that..._if _she likes you, then think about it. Instead of throwing herself at you, and making out, and...all that...she played you a song. She's been dialing it back. Keeping it down. Doesn't that _tell _you something?"

["I guess..."]

"It tells you that she really cares about this, and probably that she's afraid of the same stuff you are."

["Hm."]

"Seriously."

["OK, _maybe. _But...Toph's like...a little sister to me, Katara. And I mean, no offense, but I feel like she _gets _me more than you do."]

"Mm-hm..." Katara felt a little prickle of disappointment from that remark, but she knew it was true.

["I mean, you _know _me better than...anyone else."] Ah, well, that helped her feel a bit better. And, of course, the reason Sokka had specifically added that in was because he knew _her _well, too. ["You're not _like _a sister, you _are _my sister. And I love you lots. And I'd hate for anything to screw things up between us, right? Never, ever. And Toph's...kind of like that, too. It's the same deal."]

Katara's eyes slid closed and she smiled peacefully at her brother's rare moment of sentimentality.

"I _understand, _Sokka," she assured softly, reflecting on her own similar experiences. "You _do _realize that I know exactly how that is, right? How that's precisely how I felt with Aang?"

["Right, but...-"]

Katara gave him a moment, but when he didn't finished, she jumped back in.

"_But? _Sokka, someone like that, someone you trust and who you value that much? Isn't that exactly the girl you should give a chance? Maybe instead of trying to get with girls you hardly know, like Ty-Lee?"

Sokka made an odd, sputtering sound, sighing out through vibrating lips.

["Mehh...But...but Suki...-"]

"We've gone _over _this," Katara pressed on. "You and Suki always had that issue where she expected you to change. To...To 'grow up.' But Toph doesn't. Toph likes you exactly as you already are. Hee. If anything, she'd probably be happy if you stayed a _man child _forever."

["Heh..."]

"N-not that you should do that," Katara mumbled with sudden decisiveness. "Not literally."

["_Ha._"]

"I-I don't mean-...Like, I'm not saying that...that you can't-"  
["Whoa, hey, it's fine. Simmer down."]

Katara rubbed at her nose, breathing out slowly.

"Sokka. Am I making sense?"

["Yea."]

"I love you. I want you to be _happy. _When I see you with Toph, or like...yesterday, when you were talking about the night you guys spent together-...You were so relaxed, and you smiled a lot, and-...You seem comfortable around her. You have someone who understands you. And I _know _what that feels like. When you have that person that makes you feel that way, and you're _petrified _of losing it. I _really _understand that. I swear."

["Yea, I...I'm aware. You keep pointing that out..."]

"Because it's _true. _And Aang...is so good for me. He is. _You_ know he is, I mean...-"

["I know."]

"After those other guys from high school, and...after _Jet-_...You told me every one of them would be bad news. And you were _right. _And you _also_ knew Aang was good for me the second you found out about us."

["**Oooooogie.**"]

"O-OK, let's-...No. Let's not do that."

["Sorry."]

"But...So...So, like, _think _about that. Think about how _you _felt when you saw me and Aang together."

["Mm."]

"That's how I feel about _this._"

["Yea."]

"Am I...-? Is this...this making sense?"

["Sure."]

"No, is it...is it _really _making sense? Like, sinking _in_?"

["No, yea...it's good. Yea, I get it. I feel ya."]

"You feel me?"

["I do."]

"That's gross."

["_Chh!_"]

"Ha. A-anyway..." Katara smiled to herself. Sokka _sounded _less weirded out. He sounded a bit more calm. Yea.

["You really wanna hook me up here, huh, Katara?"]

"No. _Ha! _No, Sokka. I want you to be _happy_. I want _Toph _to be happy. And I just..._really _think that it'd be worth it for both of you to just give it a chance."

["Really? You _don't say!_ When I think of it, I'm _kind of _getting that impression from you. I mean, it's not, ya know, _a hundred percent _clear-"] Quite a sarcastic tone he was carrying. ["-like, you could maybe make it a _little _more obvious for me, and stuff, but _maybe _that _might _be what you're trying to convey here."]

"Sokka," she grunted. "Just _one _date. One. People _can _go out on a date, and see if things click. And if they don't...they can still be friends, right?"

["Heh. I get it,"] he insisted with a sigh, dropping his humor. ["You see something in me and her. And while I kind of understand your comparison here - to you and Aang - there's a big difference you're forgetting. Toph isn't _Aang. _And I'm not _you._"]

"Yes. That's true. But you need to give her more _credit, _Sokka. She's grown up a lot these days. She's really trying. Don't write her off so easily."

["Mm..."]

"She hasn't dismissed _you _yet, but Suki sure seems to have done that..."

Sokka's stomach churned at that fact, which he couldn't deny.

["OK,"] he conceded. ["I'll...try to think on it some more."]

"Good. That...I mean, that's really _all _I'm suggesting."

["Actually, you're suggesting _more _than that, but...-"]

"Ugh." Katara pressed her palm to her forehead. She _was _coming across as rather forceful about all of this. "All right, I know. I apologize."

["Heh. It's OK. In a way...I _rely _on you to be a little pushy some times, Sis. A lot of the time, you know what you're talking about when it comes to all this..._feelings _and _emotion _and..._girls_."]

"Heehee."

["Speaking of...where's Aang?"]

"_H__ey!_"

["Heh. I gotta say hi to the 'girls,' right?"]

"That's not funny," Katara whimpered out crankily. "Aang's _very _manly."

["Tssh. OK, yea. If you insist."]

"You know, Sokka, there's more ways of being manly than...whatever it is you're thinking about."

["Yea, yea. I'm just _kidding._"]

"You _better _be kidding. Did you forget the entire-"  
["I _am! _He sorta saved you from a _burning building_!"]  
"-time when he..._Yes! _OK! See? So...Don't be stupid."  
["Just a joke."]  
"It's not funny. I don't like it. You'd _better _not say stuff like that to him."  
["Uh-kay, uh-kay."]  
"I _mean _it."  
["Got it. Yes, Ma'am."]

Katara laughed tiredly through her nostrils as she went toward her bedroom door, phone still up to her ear.

"And don't say anything stupid to Toph," she added in.

["I won't."]

"I'll hurt you."

["Right."]

"Don't test me."

["You _are _pretty grouchy lately."]

"_Sokka..._"

["OK! Man! Lighten up, Sis, come on..."]

Katara's stomach gurgled unpleasantly as she left her room. She could do with some food by now, having skipped breakfast. She traversed the hall and went down the stairs, where Aang and Toph were waiting in the living room. They were comically dressed, since Aang was in a button-down and slacks, having just come back from church with Katara; Toph's cow-lick from the day prior persisted, and her tanktop's shoulder strap was lazily drooping down her arm.

"All right, I'm going to give you to Aang," Katara announced, establishing eye contact with her boyfriend, who reached out his arm to accept the device.

"Sokka?"

Katara rolled her eyes at Toph, who was munching on an apple, picking wax from her ear with the other hand.

"Yea, it was all right," Aang answered Sokka. "It was really quiet. _You _weren't there, so..._Heh..._Yea, exactly...No, do it right now. Say something funny..._Hahaha!_"

"_Urk!_" yelped Toph as Katara tugged the girl's shirt upward, ensuring both shoulder straps were on _shoulders, _where they belonged, and no bra was showing. If she was going to be so lazy about how she dressed, Toph could stand to wear shirts and such that more properly covered her body. Urgh.

"There," said Katara primly. Aang laughed about whatever Sokka had just said.

"Uh, _thanks?_" Toph mumbled, confused. She set the half-eaten apple down carefully onto the coffee table in front of her.

"You were...kind of hanging out there a little," Katara whispered in her friend's ear beneath Aang's conversation. She gave Toph a pat on the back before wetting her fingers with saliva and trying to push down the girl's cow-lick.

"_Oh_," Toph laughed with a silly grin. "_Agh, _hey! What...-?!" She grimaced from Katara's hand pressing down on her head.

"Your _hair_, it's still messy," Katara sighed out. It seemed like a lost cause for the moment. "Nevermind. We'll worry about that later."

Katara made her way to the kitchen and set half a pot of coffee to brew while Aang's brief discussion with Sokka came to a close.

"Yea, I brought it, so we can play through that together some time...Yup...Sounds good. You want me to pass you over to Toph?" Aang glanced to his friend, who was wiping her waxy finger finger through a tissue. The girl seemed to flinch with worry at the prospect of speaking with Sokka. Aang gave her back a gentle and encouraging rub. "Sure," he said to Sokka. "Here she is."

Toph's teeth were clenched as Aang pressed the phone into her palm. She crumpled up her ear wax tissue and dropped it on the floor, slack-jawed. The two breathed into the phone for a second or two while Aang got up, cautiously pinching Toph's tissue and carrying it to the kitchen waste bin.

"Um..."  
["...Hey."]

"'Sup?"

["Not much."]

"Yea..."

["Er...So, what's _their _deal?"]

"Huh?"

["I've been gone for like, _one day_, and it's like Katara and Aang are already losin' their marbles, eh? What's up with that?"]

"_Fff._" Toph tried to pass herself off as nonchalant. "I..._don't know_. They miss you or _something_. _I _don't care." Her cheeks burned up with embarrassment at her own stupid remark, and how bluntly untrue it was.

["Oh, _thanks_,"] Sokka came back sarcastically. ["That, uh...Yea. That really _warms my heart_,"] he said flatly. Toph hid her red face in her palm during the awkward silence that passed.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid..._

["Anyway, sounds like _you're _still sane despite my absence."]

"Meat-Head, I'm _never_ sane," Toph joked, hoping to bypass her verbal misstep.

["Good point, Dead-Eyes."]

"It's what I get for hanging out with all _you _psychopaths."

["Can't argue with that one."]

More breathing into the phone from both sides.

["Uh...So, yea."]  
"Yup."

["Guess I should..._go._"]

"Ermm...Yea, me, too."

["See ya in a few days."]

"...Yea."

["Happy Easter n' stuff."]

"You, too."

["Peace."]  
"Later."

Toph awkwardly dangled the device up before her.

"Umm...Katara?"

"Oh." Katara was in the kitchen - probably snuggling with Aang or whatever - but her footsteps quickly approached, and she retrieved the phone. "Thanks." She cleared her throat. "Sokka?" She faded back to the kitchen. "Mm-mm...Yea, don't worry, we'll pick you up, just text me what time you're supposed to be showing up at the airport...Yup...OK. Well, I'm sorry, Bro...Yea, I know..." She sounded very sympathetic. It made Toph feel a little bad, since it meant Sokka was probably a little discouraged about something. Damnit, she should've been, like, trying to be supportive, or asking him how he was doing, things like that. Instead of telling him she didn't _care, _ugh. Stupid. "'Kay. See you soon. Love you."

"He's still a little nervous, isn't he?" Aang asked. "About the public speaking stuff, and the interview?"

"A little," Katara admitted. "He'll be fine." She smiled, glancing through the opening in the kitchen wall to the living room, where Toph was resuming her apple eating. "He just needs to be OK with putting himself out there - taking a chance."

* * *

Jane slowly trudged down the familiar steps. They were tall steps, and very narrow. The third one from the bottom squeaked loudly, flexing underneath her weight, just as it had for so long. She surveyed the living room. Desolate, drab, and kind of a mess. Cigarette smoke clung to the air, a foul reminder of her bad habit she had mostly managed to overcome. She pulled up her left leg, as it itched something fierce, and scratched at it irritably. _Gragh. _She pulled up her pantleg to double check it, and confirmed her own suspicions - it looked like a set of bug bites. Flea bites, from what she could gather. Good times. They were resilient bastards. Fuckin' eh, they didn't even have a _dog_, why...-? Ugh. Whatever. Clearly nothing was being _done _about them, and fleas were nasty little sons of bitches to get rid of. Jane was glad she wasn't going to be here long, and hoped she wouldn't be infested with the things when she left.

Her uncle was flopped back in his recliner, watching the television with a cigarette in his hand and a can of beer in his lap. He scratched at his mustache, his wary eyes glazed over as he took in the moving images being projected at him. He had barely noticed her presence since she'd arrived last night. Her cousins were scarce, as well, and despite being made aware of her impending visit, had yet to show up to see her.

Pretty fuckin' warm welcome. Yep. Just like old times, all right. Happy Easter.

Jane sighed to herself, not even caring to try and initiate contact with her uncle. She went to the kitchen, which was at least a bit cleaner than the living room. She opened the fridge, which was half empty. With some reluctance, she took a can of beer from the case she saw. There was literally nothing else to drink but nasty tap water. She'd go and get herself something else later.

She made her way back upstairs, prepared to continue her digging. She'd been sorting out old boxes and shelves all morning, things she'd pulled up from the basement - which, of course, was completely disgusting. If anything, she was hoping to salvage some of this stuff from rotting down there. She knew that _somewhere here _she would find the box she had her sights set on, though: some of her father's old possessions. A she recalled, it was mostly boring stuff, things that had never interested her as a child. But now, maybe she could find some answers, or at least form more of a retroactive connection. Upon graduating from college and moving off to live with Mary, his soon-to-be wife, some of Joel Fitzpatrick's belongings had been left with his parents, getting mixed in with his brother's things, only to end up here. As a kid, Jane had been made aware of this box after her father had passed away when her uncle had been going through his things.

She'd asked her uncle about this particular box that morning, and he'd passively dismissed it, citing that he had no clue where it could've gone off to, and that she'd have to rummage around to find herself. Which she would do, and screw him. He could go back to his...whatever that crap on TV had been. Some kind of History Channel something or other. She had a can of beer to drink and some family heirlooms to find.

Jane was getting distracted by all kinds of old family relics during her search, however. One box had been stuffed with elementary school trinkets, signed in chicken scratch with the name " E," the 'J' sometimes backwards. It wasn't until after the can of beer had been drained that Jane managed to find what she had sought out all morning. It was unlabeled, and the contents within had a film of dust over them. She choked a bit as she blew at the box, kicking dust all around. Agh, damnit, all in her eyes, and-...Gah, that had been a retarded idea.

The box contained some poster frames at the top. She pulled one out. It had cursive text laid out, with cheesy drawings of four-leaf clovers, gold coins, and beer mugs around its border.

_{When we drink, we get drunk}_  
_ {When we get drunk, we fall asleep}_  
_ {When we fall asleep, we commit no sin}_  
_ {When we commit no sin, we go to heaven}_  
_ {So, let's all get drunk, and go to heaven!}_

She couldn't help but smirk a little at this amusing find. She found a few more objects like this, with similar little phrases, mostly praising the virtues of alcohol. Jeez, her dad really liked embracing that part of his heritage, huh? The next layer down, she found a wooden slab, rustic and weathered. The paint was cracked all over, and it had a frayed length of twine attached to its back so it could be hung. Despite its condition, she could make out the words painted upon its surface. Green lettering printed on a white background:

_{Always remember to forget}_  
_ {The troubles that passed away}_  
_ {But never forget to remember}_  
_ {The blessings that come each day}_

She lingered over this piece for a minute or so, contemplating its philosophy. She grasped for her beer can and tipped it to her lips, though it was empty. She lamented its lack of liquid and placed it back on the floor. She wiped her sleeve across her nose, which had started running from all of the dust in the air.

Another layer down and she found some hardcover books - oh, _snap. _Yearbooks! Damnit all, these were his SRU yearbooks! Shit. Ha. Well, if she had any doubt _before, _this certainly had taken care of that. She'd have to take these back with her, or...something. Maybe just cut out of the pictures of her dad? Hm, come to think of it, what if her mother was in these somewhere, too? Had she attended SRU, as well? Jane had no clue. It was worth looking into later.

Wait, so, if this box had yearbooks, then...this all had to have to been Joel's college stuff, she decided. Things from his dorm room that he'd just left behind at his parent's house after he graduated and moved out. So all of these posters and stuff, he must've hung that stuff up in his dorm room, maybe? Jane pulled the yearbooks out of the box to set them aside. Something fell out from the covers of one of them.

Heh. Her curious eyes studied the pages of the magazine that had fallen out - a porno mag. Well, at least her old man had some good taste, she'd given him that. Damn, quite a rack on that hispanic chick. Hm, the asian one on the next page wasn't so bad, either. Jane was ironically drawn to the woman's face, pale and round, her eyes closed with an elegant but angry expression. Jane's mind inadvertently went to thoughts of Toph. _Okay, _well, this train of imagery had gotten very strange very quickly. Jane was rubbing a fingertip at her eyebrow at this point, both stimulated and disgruntled at once. She dropped the magazine to the floor beside the box and shook her aroused mind of such things, going back to her task.

Then she found it: an unexpected gem of a find. An ovular stone, cut cleanly. It was flat, almost like a large, oval-shaped coin of rock. But the stone was some kind of dark green marble, an intricate natural weave of pale and dark greens and grays. When she picked it up off of an old sheet of paper, its dry surface smooth but dusty, she realized that the bottom side had a divot carved into it. This gave the small rock a concave quality. She slid her thumb across the indent thoughtfully. What the heck _was _this?

She noticed the slip of paper it had been resting on, which had clovers printed on it around a poem of sorts. There was a bit of hand-writing at the top.

_{To Joel}_  
_{Happy Birthday}_

Jane's eyes were starting to water up again, that heart-tugging sensation she'd experienced back at the library on campus worming its way in. She puffed out a trembling breath and read the printed text.

{Worry Stone}  
{Rub this lucky little rock and read this poem if ever you start to worry.}

{Why Worry?}  
{There are only two things to worry about:}  
{Either you are well or you are sick.}  
{If you are well, then there is nothing to worry about.}

{But if you are sick,}  
{There are only two things to worry about:}  
{Either you get well, or you die.}  
{If you get well, there is nothing to worry about.}

{But if you die you have two things to worry about:}  
{Either you will go to Heaven or Hell.}  
{If you go to Heaven, there is nothing to worry about}  
{But if you go to Hell...}

{You'll be so busy shaking hands with friends}  
{You won't have time to worry.}

A watery-eyed grin spread across Jane's face when she read the last stanza. She giggled to herself, dabbing impending tears from her eyes with the sleeve on her wrist. She folded up the note and dropped it onto the cover of the yearbook that sat at the top of her stack. The 'worry stone' still in her other hand, she stared at it as if it were a mystical artifact from an ancient race. In a sense, it seemed it was: an artifact from _her _race. Her fingertips danced around its pleasant surface for a few moments. She proudly tucked it into her pant pocket, going back to her digging.

She sorted things out into two piles: one for things she would leave in the box and keep in this house for now, and the other for things she was going to take back to college with her - the yearbooks, some old photos, a couple of the proverb-type posters her dad seemed so fond of, some letters her mother had written to him...She had gleaned from said letters that Mary had not been a student with him, as the writings she'd found seemed to be inscribed through the context of him attending classes, and she residing elsewhere.

After she'd sorted the box's items and replaced what she wasn't going to take with her, she folded its cardboard top tightly and found a marker to write {JOEL} upon its surface. When she went through the yearbooks - there were only two, not a full set of four - she came upon something quite curious. A torn strip of loose-leaf was wedged between the final end page and back cover to the earlier year of the two. The strip had only a few words hand-written in fancy, cursive pen writing. Jane could immediately tell that the writing was not her father's - it was far too neat, he wrote much sloppier than this.

_{White Lotus}_  
_{"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."}_  
_{ - Ursa}_

White Lotus? That was the name of the school's newspaper, right? The one Jane's father had used to write for. But what did this mean? Why was it scribbled, all by itself, and stuck in this yearbook? What the fuck did it _mean?_ What did eating fruit have anything to do with a newspaper? And what the hell was 'Ursa?' All Jane's mind could think of was, like...Ursula. That gross, flabby, octopus witch from that one Disney cartoon. Bleh. Ulgh, _damn, _that thing had been so disgusting, and creepy...Uh, but...Wait, yea. 'Ursa.' What _was _that?

Jane double checked the paper, and it seemed pretty clear - that was all that had been meant to be written on it. It seemed important for some reason. _Something _about all of this seemed like it was more than a coincidence. Jane impatiently tapped her index finger against the back cover of the yearbook, glaring at the scrap of writing as if it would answer her questions. She remembered Iroh's words from earlier.

_"If you are truly that set on investigating this matter...you should look into the school newspaper for information. I believe if you look _there_, you are bound to find some answers..."_

Wait. The school newspaper...Aw, _damnit__. _Doy. The _actual _newspaper, the people _writing _it? Was _that _what the old coot had been meaning? What the fuck was with all the cryptic, vague bullshit? Why couldn't the guy have just _said _something? Well, one thing was for sure: Jane needed to ask someone else about this as soon as she got back on campus. Who did she know that might have any idea what this could mean?

* * *

["_What?_"] came Meng's shrill squeak of disappointment. ["You haven't wished your parents 'Happy Easter' yet?"]

Toph huffed, rolling over on the couch. Meng frowned at the view of her cousin's back. Just because Toph couldn't see didn't make it OK to just turn her _back _on people...That was rude.

"Why would I _want _to?" Toph sighed out.

["Tophie...You can't just, like...pretend like your parents don't exist. How are ya ever gonna patch things up if...-?"]

"Not interested."

["Mmm..."] Meng's eyes rolled around at her grumpy-pants cousin. ["OK. Soooo...What are you up to, then?"]

"Nothin'."

["Nothing? You're with Katara and Aang, right?"]

"Yea. But we haven't been _doing _anything..."

"Umm...I'm coloring Easter eggs over here," Katara called out from the kitchen. Her tone carried a teensy bit of offense at Toph's complaint.

"That doesn't exactly do much for me, Sugar-Queen."

"We're going to _eat _them soon," Aang chuckled, coming up behind the couch.

"Ok, yea, I can get behind that, then," Toph conceded.

Aang waved at the camera. Meng grinned and waved back with a fluttering motion.

"How are you, Meng?"

["I'm good, actually,"] said Meng with a nod.

"I saw on your Facebook that you're visiting SRU soon?"

["God, _yes_,"] she cheerily acknowledged. ["As soon as I'm all graduated, yea. Will you guys still be around in June?"]

"Yea, we're taking extra classes after finals, so we're still be around."

"Wait, is _Sokka _still gonna be on campus?" Toph suddenly piped in. "'Cuz like, he'll be graduated, and...-"

"I...I'm not sure," Aang said with a shrug, looking down the couch's spin to her concerned face. "I guess possibly not?"

Toph frowned, burying her head back into the couch cushion.

["Wait...'extra classes?'"] Meng took off her creature-faced hat, dropping it on her desk as she wiped her forehead.

"Oh, yea, so...-" Aang leaned on her his elbows over the couch. "When the spring semester is over, some people will take an extra course to cram more credits in. Like, you take a three-to-four credit course, and you do it within a month. So it's, like...your entire day of classes is...just the one class. So you get a whole course done in a few weeks."

["_Huhhh? _Why would you wanna do _that_?"] Meng was baffled at the idea of extra classes.

"Oh, ha." Aang scratched at his head, amused by her reaction. "Well, because that way, you can earn extra class credits, so that's one less class you need to stuff into a full-load semester."

"Yes, or you can just use it to help round out your minor degree," Katara added from the kitchen, staring at eggs soaking in coloring liquids. "That's what I do, anyway."

["Ohhhh..."] Meng nodded slowly, grasping the concept now.

"Got any plans for while you're here?" Toph wondered, flipping onto her back.

["Ermm..."] Meng tapped a finger at her chin. ["I was figuring there'd probably be stuff you wanna show me, actually."]

"Ah. Eh, yea, guess that's true. Gotta take you to eat at Appa's, at least."

["_Oh man, oh man, oh man_..."]

"Haha. It's not _that _exciting, Cuz."

["What else should we do?"]

"Ermm...I've got nothin'."

Aang shrugged in agreement with Toph.

"Yea, I'm not sure. Sokka's usually the Idea Guy, he keeps track of the schedule and what we do, I guess..."

Katara walked in the living room, carrying a bag of pretzels.

"Mm-hm," she hummed, chewing on her snack. She swallowed. "It _does _seem like whenever he's not around, we...kind of have trouble finding stuff to do, huh?" she lamented, remarking on their uneventful weekend.

Toph reached out her arm in Katara's general direction, her way of requesting the food she could detect. Katara handed her a few, and Toph ignorantly dropped one on the floor while pulling them up to her mouth.

"Yea, it's been a pretty slow past couple of days," remarked Aang. "I mean, we _were _on the road for most of yesterday, but...-"

Toph swallowed.

"But you two are too noodle-brained to come up with any ideas of stuff to _do_." She sighed, letting her head flop over, empty glance facing her laptop. "I miss Sokka," she whimpered.

"It's only been a couple _days_," Aang mumbled, a little confused by her pouty mood.

"Yea, but...in, like, a month, he's gonna graduate. And _then _what? We'll, like, never see him anymore."

"Aw, Toph..." Katara rolled up the bag's opening and set the pretzels on the coffee table. "We'll do plenty of stuff before then. Don't worry."

"_Rrmffmmghhmmm_," growled Toph through her pretzel chewing.

Katara grinned slyly and prodded at her friend's side, pushing out coy advice.

"If you're really gonna miss him so much, you should maybe _do _something about that when he's still around, hm?"

Toph rolled over again, hiding her lit up face from prying eyes.

["_Ohhhhh~_"] chirped Meng. ["So you guys found out about this, too, huh?"]

"Oh, it's going to happen," Katara insisted, sitting down in front of the couch to speak with Meng.

"Katara seems to be dying to play matchmaker here," Aang pointed out in amusement, crossing around the living room and going to the kitchen.

"What's this about matchmaking?"

Katara looked over across the table toward the hall to see her father coming down the stairs.

"_Oh! _We-...Haahh, I'm just...you know...trying to get Toph together with someone she likes," Katara vaguely explained, flashing an innocent smile. Toph bumped her in the back with the heel of her foot, though Hakoda didn't notice this as he approached.

Her dad was dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, and slippers, his hair a bit messy and damp. He'd just gotten out of the shower.

"She might go out on a date soon," Aang explained calmly, coming into the living room with a cup of orange juice.

Hakoda raised an eyebrow at his daughter, whose smile widened further with some embarrassment.

"Oh, I...see," he slowly responded, appearing to be a bit puzzled. He laughed at his daughter's awkward mannerisms regarding this matter. "I hope that goes well, then."

Toph had raised her hand over her abashed face, frowning with disapproval. She liked being the center of attention because she was _awesome, _not because people were _pick__ing _on her. Ugh. This was so stupid, and someone was going to _say _something when Sokka got back, and everything would be all awkwardsauce times a hundred and...-

["Hi, Mr. Kesuk!"]

"Hello! There..." Hakoda waved in the direction of the group as he walked by, and Katara's odd smile faded away into a giggle.

"She can't see you, Dad," Katara explained with endearment. "The camera's facing us."

Meng was laughing on her end, as well.

["Sorry, I...didn't mean to scare him."]

"Hee. You're fine, Hun."

"So, _who _is this we're talking to?" Hakoda wondered, ogling the eggs in the coloring. They were all lined up in a row on the kitchen counter.

["I'm Meng! We talked before at some point."]

"Ah..."

"It's Toph's little cousin," Katara explained, while Aang followed Hakoda into the kitchen.

"She's going to be coming to our school next year," Aang added in.

"Ohhh, I see."

"Another lunatic to join our crowd," Toph teased, taking a deep breath as she rotated onto her other side. Her cheeks felt cleared up now, at least.

["Mwahaha."]

"No. Seriously," Toph deadpanned. "You're already weird, this school's going to make you bonkers."

["No kidding. Look what it's done to _you_, Tophie."]

"Uh, I _can't_," Toph playfully countered. "I can't '_look_' at anything."

["Excuses, excuses..."]

Katara was smiling at the cousins' banter, but noticed the house's backdoor open in the kitchen. Her father and Aang were heading outside. Curious, she got up and went to follow them.

"Aang? Dad?" she caught them as Aang was about to close the door.

"Oh, don't worry," Aang assured. "We're just talking."

"Is...everything OK?" Katara mumbled.

"Wha...-? Y-yea, of course," Aang fumbled, thrown off by her assumption. "Why?"

"Uhh...Nothing. I was just wondering."

"No, it's fine. Just, you know...Guy-To-Guy talking. Stuff."

"Mm-hm." Katara nodded in compliance.

Aang smiled at her and rubbed his nose against hers. They kissed.

"Eskimo."

"Penguin."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

* * *

- Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 -

Sokka zipped up his backpack. It was lighter now, with the materials for his interview now handed in. He'd been pouring time before this trip into getting everything sorted out so that a working, playable version of his trading card/board game hybrid concept could be shown, displayed, and walked through with the test group of employees that had interviewed him. It had looked very rudimentary and plain, though Aang had helped him with a few basic design elements.

'Four Nations' - the title he'd ultimately decided to assign to the game per Aang's suggestion - had been a success, based on the feedback he'd received. Aang's brainstorming had been invaluable in helping shape the concepts of the mythological world, and thus, its rules and play elements. Sokka had been petrified of presenting his ideas publicly, but he's spent some time on his tour of San Francisco contemplating what Katara, Toph, and Aang had all been echoing over the past few weeks: that Sokka had two sides to him, and that he ought to let them coexist.

In this regard, Sokka's presentation phase entailed him letting himself be casual and make jokes, but on the same token, remain on point, be concise with his explanations, and prevent the interviewers from losing interest. It had been a big plus that he had been presenting in front of a handful of people rather than a large crowd, and in that respect, he tried to treat it as if he were trying to explain the rules to a handful of fellow students.

The multi-step process had concluded earlier that morning, and Sokka had been left with encouraging prospects. With such a heavy weight finally lifted off his mind, he could at last focus his thoughts on the _other _situation that required his contemplation.

On practically the opposite side of the continent, Toph had been lounging around the house aimlessly. The day prior, Katara's mood had taken a sudden turn for the worst. From what Toph could decipher, the girl hadn't been sleeping so well. It had come out, officially, that Katara wasn't taking her pills, but this had been a result of Aang speaking with Hakoda, concerned about the situation. Hakoda, in turn, had tried speaking with Katara, who had turned very defensive on the matter, and for the past hour, had been in _quite _a foul mood over the whole thing.

After Hakoda had left for work that day, Katara had more or less exploded at Aang with wrath, evidently feeling somewhat "betrayed" that he'd talk with her father "behind her back" about such things. Toph wanted to care. She wanted to be sympathetic to both sides, and try and help. But she just couldn't bring herself to get involved here. Rather than arguing back, Aang had ended up retreating upstairs, which left a huffy Katara to stalk around downstairs and start making preparations for the inevitable dinner Sokka would require that evening when he made it back.

Toph, already feeling grumpy, awkward, and dissatisfied, couldn't handle being in a house where even Aang and Katara were in lousy spirits. She carefully found her way through the kitchen and out the back door of the Kesuk home in her bare feet. Perhaps some air, nature, and relaxation would help her think about things more clearly.

+ Youtube dotcom /watch?v=VGepZ-srNpc +  
('Setting Sail, Coming Home'; Darren Korb & Ashley Barrett)

Sokka, pack over his back, confidently striding out of his hotel and down the city streets.

Toph, uncertain and melancholy, fumbling her way outside to the Kesuk backyard.

Sokka, pacing back and forth at the bus stop, waiting to be taken to his flight.

Toph, listening to songs on her iPod that remind her of him; that remind her of their current situation.

**~I set my sail; Fly, the wind, it will take me; Back to my home, sweet home~**

Sokka watches a plane overhead slowly making its way up to the sky from the nearby airport.

_**~Lie on my back, clouds are making way for me; I'm coming home, sweet home~**_

Sokka, laid back on a bench, thoughtful and pensive.

Toph, spread across the lawn, her face covered with shame and confusion.

**~I see your star; You left it burning for me; Mother, I'm here~**  
_~Build that wall and build it strong, 'cause we'll be there before too long~_

Sokka, pulling out his old wooden boomerang from his backpack, using his swiss army knife to carve a new notch into its surface.

Toph, running her fingertips across the volcanic stone bracelet he had given her.

**~Eyes open wide; Feel your heart and it's glowing; I'm welcome home, sweet home~**  
_~I dig my hole, you build a wall; I dig my hole, you build a wall; One day that wall is gonna fall~_

Sokka, watching the airport gates slowly go by from his position on the long conveyer belt.

Toph, clenching her toes and fingers into the grass all around her, savoring the tactility.

**~I take your hand; Now you'll never be lonely; Not when I'm home, sweet home~**  
_~Gonna build that wall up to the sky; Gonna build that wall up to the sky; One day your bird is gonna fly~_

Sokka's hand, reaching out for Yue's, slowly drifting apart. She fades away.

Toph's arms, grasping out for Aang, grabbing at him. He is pushed away.

**~I see your star; You left it burning for me; Mother, I'm here~**  
_~Build that wall and build it strong, 'cause we'll be there before too long~_

* * *

- Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 -

After an uneventful but relaxing few minutes outside on the front porch, Aang and Toph headed into the Kesuk home. Both of them had needed some air from the awkward tension of the house. Hakoda and Katara had been a bit awkward and passive-aggressive ever since Aang had introduced the topic of Katara's mood-swings and medication. This, in turn, had seemed to set Katara to 'Snippy Mode,' and it seemed like Sokka was the only person she was being nice to today, working on cooking a 'proper' holiday dinner for him to make up for his being gone during Easter.

Sokka, strangely, had been fairly withdrawn and quiet after his initial burst of excitement concerning how well his trip had gone. He'd excitedly explained the sights he'd seen, how very different things seemed on the west coast, and the details of his interview process. Toph had hung on every word, simply satisfied to hear his voice, full of enthusiasm and intelligence. For all of their goofing around, they didn't often share times of analytical conversation. Sure, Sokka had been explaining it to everyone, not just her...but it had still been pleasant to listen to, all the same. But today, he was just...so still, quiet. Contemplative. Like he was in another place.

Sokka and Aang had whiled away the afternoon playing some sort of video game together that involved lot of bullet-sounds and explosions and shouting. Toph hadn't exactly been able to get into it, though she'd made an earnest attempt.

And now here she was, re-entering the house, the sizzling and bubbling of the stove floating through the house, accompanied by sweet scents of a hearty, impending meal.

"Hey," Aang greeted casually, passing through.

"Mm," Sokka replied, distracted.

Aang gently detached Toph's hand from his elbow, freeing him to go to the kitchen. Toph lingered, immediately sitting herself down on the couch beside Sokka. Their hips touched when she did so, and they both skooched a couple of inches apart. The TV was playing some kind of dramatic tune, mixed with the playful romping sounds that Toph recognized as Super Mario. It had been impossible to date Aang and _not _become familiar with the guy's 'woo' and 'wahoo' and such. The subtle clicking of buttons came from her right, where Sokka was.

"You winning...?" Toph mumbled, grasping for conversation.

"Eh," said Sokka, simply. "Guess ya could say...-" He was cut off. From the TV: a fizzling sound, yelps of pain, and the little 'death' ditty played. "_Fuuuuck_," Sokka growled. Toph smirked. It was damn adorable how he only seemed to swear when he played video games. "Nevermind," he sighed out. Toph giggled.

"You seem to die a lot more than Aang in Mario games."

"Well...Well, _yea, _it's like...his system has some psychic relationship with him," Sokka spat out nonsense. "Besides, I'm more of a...first-person kind of guy. This is, like, all different from what I'm used to."

"Ah. Right. No guns. Or swords," Toph poked fun.

"_I know!_" he cried out, exasperated.

"It's all about the killing with you."

"_Exactly!_" The music started back up and he went to playing again.

"Umm...Yea, that...doesn't make you sound off kilter _at all_."

"Huh?" Jeez, wasn't even paying attention.

"Nothin'," Toph chuckled. "Just go back to dying, Snoozles."

"Yea, thanks!" Sokka huffed back with mock indignation. "I'll get right on that. Yep."

He promptly died again two seconds later.

"_Bahahaha!_"  
"That was..._on purpose!_"  
"You suck!"  
"I'd like to see you do better!"  
"No, thanks."  
"Yea? So..._yea._"  
"Yea."  
"_Yea._"  
"Baby."  
"Jerk."

The two of them were both grinning timidly after this silly exchange.

"-don't _need_ any...-! _Ugh._" Katara's irate squeaking growls carried from the kitchen, detected by Toph's ears. Sokka was oblivious, too focused on his game.

"I'm just trying to...-"  
"_I know, _Aang. It's-...just-...Please go."  
"You seem really tired, why don't you let-?"  
"_No, _it's _fine._"

They were whispering at each other in defensive tones. Hakoda's voice broke in.

"Aang, we appreciate it," he tried to pacify the discussion. "But we're all right here. Don't worry about it. Thank you, though."

"Uhh...Y-yea. OK."

Toph bit her lip with some concern as Aang's footsteps traveled from the kitchen toward them. She caught him sighing as he sat down beside her, filling out the last third of the couch cushions.

"You all right, Twinkles?" Toph muttered into his ear, beneath the sounds around them.

He hummed out a negative response, and Toph let the matter drop, giving him a light, painless punch on the thigh. They had mentioned Katara outside of the house, moments before, and he hadn't been too keen on discussing it.

"Oh. Aang," said Sokka suddenly, waking up momentarily from his gamine-induced trance. "You wanna join me here?"

"Mm. OK..."

* * *

- Thursday, April 28th, 2011 -

"He was trying to help, Katara."

"It wasn't his _business _to do that."

"And it's _your _business to try hooking me up with Toph?"

"That's different!"

"_How?_"

"That's not...a personal _issue. _That's just dating."

"_Just _dating. Because that hasn't caused any of us drama this year."

Katara's hands ran up through her hair with a huff. She paused, trying to contain herself.

"Can we drop this?"

"Can _you _drop this?" Sokka countered. "That's the entire point. You won't let things go."

"And _you're _so good at that."

"Well, I try. Yea."

"Mm. Like how you kept going back and forth with Suki."

"Come on, Sis. Let's not do this."

"No! No, you want to keep talking," Katara pressed in her expectedly snippy fashion. "So let's talk. You moved on when Mom died, but you can't let go of Ulrika."

"Katara, I didn't-...It's not that _simple, _I think about Mom all the time, but...-"  
"But it doesn't _bother _you the way it bothers me. The way it bothers Dad."

"What? How could you _say _that?"

"Dad needed to start going to therapy. Taking medication," Katara pointed our fiercely. "So did _I. _But you? _No, _you were apparently fine. You got by OK."

"Are you _really _implying that losing Mom didn't hurt me the same way it hurt you?"

"_Did _it, Sokka? When did you ever cry over her death?"

"Sis..."

"_When?_"

"At...at her funeral!"

"No! No, you did _not_!"

"Huh...?"

"You didn't shed a _single _tear at that funeral. I _distinctly _remember."

"What? That...-"

"You just didn't _love _Mom the way I did," Katara seethed, turning her back to her brother as she retreated for her dresser.

"_Katara_!" cried Sokka in shock, watching her begin opening her drawers and look through them. This hadn't been the first time Katara had made such an implication, and it stung just a bit more each time she had over the years.

"You seemed to come out of it fine," Katara observed. She paused, turning her head over her shoulder. "You never needed _pills _or...or therapy, or...anything. Y-you don't...-" She gestured a hand around her body. "-...become like...like _this_...-" Her eyes squinted, nose wrinkled, she went back to her clothes. her voice was shifting gears from snippy and bitter to shaky and quiet. She swallowed a sob, closing the drawers, and bent over her dresser. Elbows on wood, forehead in her hands, she took deep breaths. "Wh-when mom died...you didn't...didn't _cry, _didn't...say _anything. _When...Ulrika...-"

Sokka had taken to thinking of her as 'Yue,' that name he had come up with for her.

"-...when _she _died?" Katara continued, still hunched over. "At her funeral, you...d-didn't say anything _then, _either. You...you didn't cry..."

Sokka sighed, scratching at the stubble on his face.

"And wh...when _Jane _left?" Katara muttered, lifting up, arms clasped around her chest. "Same thing..."

"Sis...that's different."

"When you lose someone, it's...like it doesn't even matter."

"How can you _think _that?"

"What if _I _died? You probably wouldn't cry. Or say anything at _my _funeral..."

"_Katara, _please..." Sokka approached his erratic sister, who was presently shooting him dagger eyes.

"Because you just...you don't _care _about stuff the same way I do..."

"That's..._not _true," sighed Sokka, gripping at Katara's shoulder. He nudged her to sit down on her bed. "Katara, I love you," he assured as she sat down. His hands remained planted on her shoulders. "I love dad. I loved Mom, and Ulrika..." His eyes slid sideways as she considered his words. "And I love Jane, too. And I miss people when they're gone. Just like you do."

"Why...why doesn't it _bother _you as much?" Katara croaked, her eyes damp.

"I...don't _know_," Sokka admitted. "It...probably _does, _and I just...keep it in."

"_Why?_"

"I'm not sure, maybe...I want to try to be the strong one...or whatever."

"Mmph..."

"I'm your big brother. I'm supposed to be the guy...that you're looking up to, and...all that stuff..." He looked down at his sister's quivering eyes. "_I _don't know," he mumbled, avoiding her pleading expression. He was confused by what this entire conversation was supposed to be about, and sat down beside Katara. "I _do _cry sometimes, you know," he insisted. "That doesn't mean you have to _see _it..."

"O-OK," Katara whimpered out, wiping her fingers over her eyes. She sniffed. "I'm sorry, Sokka, I...I didn't really mean...-"  
"It's all right. I know."

"It's because...sometimes I can't understand how you do it. How you can lose the same things I do, but...you can keep on going, like you have hardly a scratch."

"Sis..."

"Bro..."

"Gah..." Sokka scratched at the edges of his left nostril. "I probably _do _have scratches, they're just beneath the skin."

"Mm..."

"And I don't know why I never needed medication. You seem to think that you don't need it, either, though."

"Y-yea...That's true...Ugh, I'm not doing a very good job at _showing _it lately..."

"Eh. It happens."

"I'm sorry I'm being such a jerk."

"Heh, at least you're not meaning to," Sokka tried to encourage. He gave her back a pat. "When I'm a jerk, I thoroughly intend to be one, haha."

"Hee, yea, you sure _do_."

"You know, I...think it comes down to that poem."

"Mm?"

"The one you read at Jack's funeral."

"Oh..." Katara had mixed feelings about 'Jet.' It had been complex and difficult to grasp with so much negative emotion toward him after his death, via Jane.

"Uhh, it was...-" Sokka snapped his fingers twice, brows furrowed as he tried to call the words to mind. "_Right, _yea. It was, like...'Miss me, but let me go.'"

"Yes..." Katara swallowed hard, the memory of the entire poem sweeping over her.

"That's how it is with me."

"Ah." Katara suddenly felt like a hypocrite. Reading that poem at such a solemn event, yet living her life clinging to the past...Just the idea of acting hypocritical didn't settle well with her, especially in her current state of mind and mood.

"I miss people, too, Katara. I really do. But I try to let them go when they're gone."

"Maybe...I'm supposed to be doing that, too?"

Sokka shrugged, and she could see in his eyes that this was what he thought, but he wasn't going to say it.

"I...I don't really know how to go about it," Katara grumbled. "How did you...let go of Ulrika?"

"Yue...?"

Sokka bit his bottom lip as he thought about this.

"You know, the more I think about it...the more I wonder if I really have."

Katara reciprocated Sokka's shrugging gesture, and in turn, Sokka could tell that this was what Katara was really thinking, though she wasn't going to tell him outright.

"Sounds like...we _both _might need to think about this...?"

"You might be right, Sister."

"I always am, Brother."

"Except when you're being all hormonal and grumpy."

"Bleh...Yea, maybe not then. Really, I'm so sorry..."

"It's all right. Are you going to be OK?"

"What...?"

"No offense, but...I'm worried that in an hour your switch is going flip back and you'll just be a jerk again."

"That _is _a distinct possibility," Katara groaned, palm over her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me..."

"You have two X chromosomes," Sokka picked, to which Katara shook her head with a grouchy glare.

"Pff...Yea, well...I'm still mad at Aang."

"I get ya. I don't _agree _with it, but...I get it."

"I know we'd said we'd all go out to eat together tonight, but...I don't know. Between me and Aang being grumpy and you and Toph being all...weird...-"

"Yeeeaaa..."

There was a knocking at the door. Sokka jumped up to answer while Katara furiously rubbed at her eyes, ensuring they were dry. It was their father.

"Hey, you two."

"Hi, Dad."  
"Hey..."

"Is...everything all right? Did I interrupt?"

"We're fine," Katara insisted, avoiding her father's eyes.

"Yea, it's all good. What's up?"

"Bato just pulled into the driveway, I thought you might want to say hi while he's here."

"Sure!"  
"OK..."

Katara pulled herself up from the bed, and Sokka playfully nudged her along downstairs to see the old family friend.

* * *

Sokka's fingers drummed along the desk as he pulled objects out of a cardboard box sitting on the floor beside his chair. His father had recommended he do some spring cleaning in his bedroom, and start organizing out what he was going to be taking with him after graduation from what was going to be staying here. He had needed some space to himself, anyway. Things with Toph had a heavy layer of expectation hanging over them that he was nervous to confront, and Aang and Katara were still both cranky with each other. There was one box Sokka had been avoiding, and he had finally reached it.

It was a conundrum, all right. A box full of pleasant memories, but ones he had been spending quite some time trying to hide from, trying to forget.

Katara's embittered words had stung with irrational grumpiness on her part. But there had been truth to them. It _was _somewhat hypocritical of him to criticize her when he was letting the past keep hold of him. While Katara was an open book, announcing her hurt to the world, Sokka tried to keep his self-contained. That probably didn't make it any better, really. It just ended up leading him to make decisions with women that maybe he would do well to not make.

A notebook with doodles they had scribbled together. A pair of 3D glasses, a keepsake from a film they had seen - their first 'date movie' as a couple. A collection of odds and ends he had received in his campus mailbox - they had used to send each other random notes and such every week, for no reason in particular.

Hm, what was this? A CD?

The label-less disc had something scribbled in permanent marker: {U. A.}

Sokka dredged his laptop out of his backpack and popped the CD in. He spent about fifteen minutes perusing through its girth of digital photos. He had actually never taken the time to look at the album until that day. There were plenty of moments and events that he had forgotten entirely over the past couple of years.

_Haha. That time we had a cookout together. Oh, right, that one date where she took me to that fancy restaurant. Ugh, good god, she was so pretty that night. The food was damned tasty, too. Oh, man, __Every-Ice-Cream-Flavor-at-Once-Day..._Takes me back.

* * *

The photos of the ice cream event Sokka had single-handedly made up with Yue recalled memories of the night they had first met. It was at the start of Sokka's sophomore schoolyear, during a college-hosted ice cream social gathering outside. The evening air still clung to the warmth of the late August sunset, now passed. Sokka had offered to take his sister along, who - as a freshman - was a bit petrified of the entire ordeal. This was understandable; after all, Katara had been a sort of outcast during high school, which had altogether been a very rough time.

Sokka still didn't quite understand what had possessed Katara to attend the same college as him - she had received much better offers at more prominent schools. Then again, this _had _been where their mother had attended, so perhaps it was for the sake of honoring Kya's memory. Whatever the case, he was glad she was here, though she was still fresh with sarcastic steam from an entire summer with her brother, and their sibling rivalry was in full swing.

During the course of introducing his little sister to various friends and fellow students, Sokka had come across a most peculiar sight - a girl with hair as white as snow. Artificially, sure, but...it was still eye-catching, especially when set around such a beautiful pair of blue eyes. The girl was currently wearing a somewhat shaky, uncertain expression. She looked fairly uncomfortable. How could they not see it? How was no one reacting to this? How could _he _immediately notice? Sokka had seen this girl a few times on campus this week since class had started. SRU was a small college, after all, and she was easy to pick out in a crowd.

In that instant, though, it became Sokka's desire to 'rescue' her from her social peril himself.

"Sokka? What's wrong?"

"Er, nothin', Sis. Um. Hey, listen. Ya mind if I...cut ya loose for a minute?"

"_What?_" Katara balked.

"_Uh, _no, that...-! That came out wrong," Sokka pleaded sheepishly at her indignant expression. "Listen, there's...this person I've been wanting to meet, and...well, they're-"  
"_Oho_," Katara knowingly teased, rubbing her thumb and index finger across her chin. "'_They,' _huh? So you mean, '_she_?'"

"Yes...?" The word spilled slowly and with uncertainty under Katara's stern eye.

"OK, OK," Katara sighed at her sibling's puppy eyes. "Let's go meet her, then, I guess. Maybe _she'll _want to talk with me..."

The two of them fumbled their way around mingling circles of students until they reached the small crowd surrounding this girl. Katara slurped at her bowl of Death By Chocolate, the flavor helping to sooth her social anxiety, while Sokka held a sugarcone with a stump of rainbow sherbert atop it.

"-and I was like, _'Oh. My. God. _She is totally _going _here.'"  
"It is _sooooo _amazing that you are here, girl."  
"Seriously."  
"Yea, like, seriously."

The poor girl was being bombarded by...what was this? Schmoozing? Weird. Buncha tools, sounded like. And the girl who'd attracted his attention looked thoroughly unamused by it.

"Excuse me," Sokka piped in, startled by the lot of them. They were all dressed in clothing that looked expensive for the sake of being so. One of them was wearing some kind of fancy sunglasses, despite the fact that it was evening out. Sokka didn't give the lot of them more than a second's thought, and even then, only that because of their utter surprise at him barging in. "Sorry, uh...don't mean to interrupt, it's just...-" He eyed the girl with the bright hair right in the eyes - those big, captivating eyes, blinking with confusing at him. "-...it's been so long, I almost didn't recognize you."

Her eyebrows furrowed at him for a moment while the slightly agape jaws around them hung even lower.

In that tense moment, Sokka's eyes and hers read each other's intentions and a sense of understanding was innately achieved.

"O-oh!" she muttered, putting on a smile and extending her hand. Sokka gladly shook it - _wow, _yikes, so _dainty_. He hadn't broken anything there, had he? "Yes! Of course! It...really _has _been too long," the girl announced a bit louder. She let this strange, bold lad escort her away from the group, whose conversation had been cut short. Their gazes moved to the awkward freshman chowing down on chocolate ice-cream, her braided hair frayed at the edges. Katara, upon realizing through her binging that she was being stared at, slunk away, following the other two.

"Are you all right?" Sokka asked the strange girl.

"I...I admit, I'm a little bit better now that I'm not listening to _those _people."

"Jesus, I was only there for about three seconds and I'm already relieved its over."

The blond-haired girl giggled at this, and Sokka instantly felt gratified. Mission accomplished. Bam. That had been easy.

"Name's Sokka, by the way." Sokka licked at his ice cream casually.

"I'm Ulrika," the girl introduced herself with a courteous nod. Sokka returned the nod with a dignified raise of his eyebrows. She laughed again at this gesture.

"_Whoa, _nice. I think your name might be as exotic as mine is," he joked.

"I suppose so," she chuckled back.

There was a loud throat clearing from behind them.

"Oh! Right." Sokka directed his hand to his sister. "Actually, my sis has a pretty out-there name, too. This is Katara."

Katara beamed timidly at the girl, waving her hand. The motion was sent back with a warm smile.

"Is that...-? Is that a _penguin _on your shirt?" Ulrika asked, pointing to Katara's chest, where a cute, rounded penguin was printed on her blue shirt.

"O-oh, heh," Katara shrugged with unease, her eyes glazing over. "Y-yes...It is."

"That's very adorable," the blond girl complimented.

"Thanks," Katara mumbled.

"So...Where are you two from?" Ulrika wondered, pondering their unique complexions and facial structure.

"The mysterious and far-off land of _Canada_," Sokka decried. "Where men dual in battles of bladed feet within arenas of ice, and where maple syrup reigns supreme. It is a land where only the fit survive."

The girl gasped dramatically.

"I hear your people are so barbaric, they put _mayonnaise _on their french fries," she entertained him, and he giggled weirdly at her jest. Katara raised her eyebrow at the phenomenon which would eventually become referred to as 'Sokka's Stupid Laugh.' "I'm from Los Angeles," the girl explained as they reached a table full of ice cream tubs. She grabbed a bowl.

"Wowwww, what brings you all the way over here?" Sokka wondered.

She shrugged coyly, scooping some Rocky Road ice cream into her bowl.

"I wanted to go to a quiet school, a small school."

"Why's that?"

She sighed, taking a cautious bite of her dessert.

"To avoid the sort of thing you just _saw,_" she replied after an odd silence.

"Huh?"

"You...don't know who I am, do you?" she realized, as if it were some shock.

Sokka stared at her blankly.

"Uh, well...I know you're Ulrika. And that you're from LA. Aaand...-"  
"Hahaha! You're a silly kind of guy, aren't you?"

"He has a long track record of that," Katara eagerly stuck in her two cents, relishing with amusement at the brief glare Sokka sent her way.

"I'm an actress," the girl explained. "I was in a movie that just came out this summer - my first feature-length film."

"_Whaaaa? _Are you for serious?"

Ulrika bit another chunk of ice cream.

"Mm-_hm_!"

"So...You're an _actress_. Huh? Ya know...I'm sort of an actor, myself," Sokka cockily explained.

"An _actor? _You're good at _acting _like an idiot, anyway," Katara teased.

"Do you _mind, _Katara?" Sokka jibed. "I'm tryin' to have a conversation, here." A heavy pause. "And I was in the drama club during high school, I'll remind you," Sokka sharply pointed out.

Katara wiggled her spoon in his direction, telling Ulrika, "You should _see _some of the costumes he wore for plays he was in..."

"So!" Sokka coughed loudly, ending that discussion right away. He turned back to the girl, who had snickered at the siblings. "It...looks like you're gonna be in town for a while."

"Ahaha. Yes. I do suppose so." Ulrika smirked slyly. "I hear this 'college' thing is sort of a four-year commitment."

Sokka smiled awkwardly and shrugged, and the two of them both chuckled nervously.

"I'm thinkin' maybe we could...-" Sokka's shoulders popped again, and he gave her a pleading smile. "-...do an _activity _together...?"

Ulrika's eyes squinted with humor and her face lit up with an amused grin.

"Do an _activity?_" she repeated with a giggle.

Sokka's face went pale and he chomped into his sugarcone. He had trouble eating it in his mind-numbed state, nearly choking. His sister shot him a snarky expression.

"_Very _smooth," she mocked him under her breath. "You should excuse my brother," she chimed to the girl. "He's...a little _different._"

Ulrika beamed at Sokka, who was pounding at his chest, trying to clear his throat out.

"I can see that," she remarked, her eyes narrowed with keen interest as Sokka finally recovered.

* * *

Sokka immediately recognized her platinum blonde hair from behind during his morning commute to class, and he dashed toward her from behind.

"Ulrika!" he gasped out. "Good morning!"

She was traveling with a handful of other glamorous-looking girls, but Sokka hardly even noticed them - it was like comparing flashlights to the sun. She curiously turned to face him, and her friends stuck up their noses, trailing on ahead. They watched from afar, not that Sokka even realized this.

"_So! _It was...really fun at that ice cream social, huh?"

"Ew, she _talked _with him?"  
"Ugh, another fanboy..."  
"Looks like a loser to me."

The popular girl with the glowing blue eyes and pale white hair smiled warmly at his earnest enthusiasm.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," she politely replied.

"Eh, it wasn't all that fun after you left," Sokka tossed out.

Ulrika's cheeks burned a bit at his compliment, and Sokka's flushed a bit in reciprocation. Ulrika received all kinds of pleasant remarks every day - but for some reason, _this _boy...this young man-...Something about him caught her in a way that felt true and whole, instead of the fake and empty discourse she was so often submerged in.

"S-so I was hopin' we could start seeing more of each other," Sokka suggested, quickly walking beside her when she advanced forward.

"Do an..._activity_, you mean?" Ulrika came back with suspicious eyes.

"_Y-yes! _At...a place. For...some time," Sokka spat out, petrified at the girl's stern gaze. He was overcome with relief when it withered away as she winked sneakily at him.

"I'd love to," she told him quietly, so the others couldn't hear. "Meet me tonight for dinner at six at the front steps of the campus center."

"Great!" Sokka chirped. "I'll see you-_hurk!_" -_Clang!_- Sokka had walked right into the metal trash contained outside of the Gyatso building. His knee throbbed from the impact, and Ulrika giggled at the accident. Hey, at least the pain had a purpose, then.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"Nah, I'm OK," Sokka played it off coolly. "It's all good."

* * *

Back in the present, Sokka longingly stared at the DVD case he'd retrieved from the cardboard box. It was still sealed. He'd purchased a copy while he and Yue had dated, but...he hadn't ever watched his own copy. In fact, he'd only watched watched the film once - with Yue. He rubbed at his quivering eyes and took a deep breath, cracking the seal.

**{Love Amongst the Dragons}**

In this fantasy romance, Ulrika had played the role of a Princess who served as a warrior on behalf of the Spirit of the Moon in some kind of Greek Mythology-like...thing. But with more Japanese stuff? Something weird like that. Yue had ended up getting really into lunar-themed things in particular when she found out that Sokka's family had an affinity for such things, as well. The moon became a symbol of their love and of their families. In the movie, Yue's character was grief-stricken just before the climax, due to her love interest being slaughtered in war. In a tragic ending, she'd ridden a dragon into battle and burned down the entire country. Then, she'd jumped into a volcano.

Yea. It...had actually been pretty freaking ridiculous and Sokka hadn't really found it too romantic, in particular. In fact, he'd found it downright silly. Fortunately, in watching it beside Yue, the both of them made fun of it. It had been sort of surreal - making fun of a movie alongside one of the leading roles thereof.

In Sokka's viewing of the film on this April evening, however, so many moments took on more profound emotional impact. Sokka found himself lost in a flood of memories he'd been suppressing.

+ YouTube dotcom /watch?v=G_80PQ543rM +  
('The Moon', Tonomura)

Their first dinner together, the buzzing of students around them drowned out by her sweet-mannered voice.

Her tender, delicate hands. The soft touch of her luscious lips against his own.

Their silly jokes, their verbal prods at one another. Their red-faced smiles during the odd moments of awkward silence.

Enjoying ice cream together, a favorite pass-time they had shared, born from the sentimentality of their first meeting.

Sokka writing out {U.A. = Yue}, presenting it to her as a nickname.

Sokka, taking up his purple lightsaber, er,** magical sword from space, **and defending the Princess from the Evil Hogwarts Witch Katara. This childish moment of antics had instilled a fancifully romantic notion with them. He began calling her his Princess, and she began calling him her Noble Knight.

When Sokka had protested that he was more of a peasant, she had insisted that he had helped teach her to appreciate herself for _her_, not for her reputation, and not for being able to pretend to be someone else. His title or background were irrelevant - it was who he was that mattered to her. The fact that he seemed to care so deeply for her regardless of her social status had only shown how much he, too, followed this creed.

Fancy meals full of exotic meats, each of them laughing at the other's silly remarks.

His favorite memory of her encompassed that security and elegance she had brought into his life. It was an abstract memory: the many times they had stargazed together at night. Even in the frozen winter, they'd put on their jackets and find a quiet place on the fringes of campus to sit together, keep each other warm, and stare up at the sky. Yue would point out constellations to him, and explain their mythological meanings and origins, and he would hang on every word.

Her bright, cheerful smile would light up his dark nights like the full moon itself amongst the glorious arrangement of twinkling lights in the black sky.

And just as quickly as she'd entered his life, she'd faded out of it. The sun rose up, and the monotonous day-to-day humdrum had resumed, almost like she had never been there. A fleeting ghost, so briefly a part of his life, yet leaving such a deep impact, like a crater in his soul.

Thoughts of her would linger in the back of his mind from time to time, but the sharp and intense emotions Sokka had experienced during a single semester of time with her had an equally harsh knockback when he'd lost her. He'd tucked away the things that had made him think of her, all into this box. In picking out its contents, Sokka had been holding back his tears. She wouldn't have wanted him to cry, right? She wouldn't have wanted him to be sad or to dwell on what had been lost. That sort of thing...

Sokka sifted through a pile of mail that had been lumped with all of these old college materials. It was mostly spam mail, some of it not even opened. Credit card, credit card, loan stuff, space camp, credit card, birthday card, birthday card, credit card, junk, junk, junk...

One piece of mail caught his attention. The name it was addressed to was {Noble Sir Kesuk} and the return address owner was simply marked {U. A.}. Sokka recognized it as an old Christmas card. Yue had written it and mailed it out ahead of time, so that by break, it would be there waiting for her love. Sokka had originally read it _after _her death, since she had passed away in that car accident before the school year had ended. He couldn't remember its contents, as he'd been too hurt at the time to really focus on what the letter had said. He took a deep breath and pulled the shiny-edged, ornate card out from the opened envelope.

The picture on the front showed two silver bells, side by side.

+ YouTube dotcom /watch?v=wo_bqk3DeT4 +  
('Introspective Duck in Space'; Brent Black)

_{My Noble Knight,}_

_{I bring you tidings of Christmas. I will be across the vast sea with the Royal Family. Perhaps you believe you will be amongst peasants. But I assure you, your family is true and strong. I see it in your eyes; in your sister's, in your father's. Yours is a family of warriors, no matter how ragged or plain your clothing may appear. I admire you and what you have in them. Never forget that.}_

_{While you serve your duty as my guard - and a rather handsome guard you are, I must confess - I sometimes see the chinks in your armor. The scratches and scuffs. Have no fear. I will polish them for you. A dutiful Princess does not wait for her Knight to arrive with armor shining. She seeks him out when he is weary from combat, and she keeps his armor clean from the battles he fights in her honor. You may protect me, as you insist, so long I am allowed to tend your wounds. We are a team, you and I. We are two sides of one coin. Together, we can accomplish anything. Never forget that.}_

_{And lastly, I wish to tell you that while I am uncertain of our future, I know that we can defend the Castle we have built together. While you may stray from my kingdom from time to time, I will wait here patiently for you, keeping these walls strong and safe for your return. And I know that maybe it's a little too sentimental for your tastes, my Love, but...No matter what happens, I will always be watching over you, Sokka. Even when I'm not nearby, I will still be with you. If I am like the moon, then you are my world, which I shall forever spin round and look after. Never forget that.}_

_{Fair Thee Well,}_  
_{Your Princess}_

Sokka slowly dropped the card to the table, his eyes having dropped a few tears without his permission while he had read. Were these tears of joy? Of sorrow? He couldn't decide. Too many ideas collided at once. How could a single person in a mere few months leave such a mark like this? Sokka let the tears pour out.

Yue was gone. She would be missed. She was missed right then, in that moment. She had not been perfect. She was not the end-all-be-all of his world. He had to accept this. He had to move on. Sokka did not need another Yue in his life - one had been more than enough. One had taught him a great deal, continuing to do so even while not with him, just as she'd promised. One Yue was all that had existed on this earth, and that was OK. Sokka did not need to expect someone else to be just like Yue to make him happy - rather, he needed someone to accept him like she had. And how would he truly know if he avoided finding out the possibilities?

When a scientist failed an experiment, or got an unexpected result, did they give up? No. A real Man of Science would continue experimenting, continue exploring the potential outcomes and see what results turned up. He'd investigate each and every angle, not just the ones that were easy or comfortable.

Sokka took a tissue and blew his nose, then took another and cleaned his dampened face. He couldn't remember the last time he had let himself _cry_ like this. He'd let himself get so prepossessed over being "manly" that he'd forgotten he was still human. That's probably how his sister would put it, anyway.

He finished cleaning up the mess he'd made of his bedroom, feeling more at peace with the matter than he ever had before. He had confronted all of the memories head-on. It had been mentally draining, leaving him eager for some kind of reprieve. While still working at tidying things up, he received a knock at a door.

"Come in," he called out before taking a deep breath. He wiped sweat from his forehead as the door creaked open, revealing a curious Toph.

"So you _are _awake in here, Snoozles," Toph observed, leaning against the door frame. Sokka couldn't help but notice that her hair seemed _clean _and shiny, neatly brushed, but still playfully situated.

"Yea, just...-" Sokka grunted, lifting a heavy box and setting it another another in his closet. "-...takin' care of some spring cleaning."

"Gotcha."

There was a quiet moment while Sokka carefully placed old action figures into a plastic container.

"Uhh...Miss Fussy-Britches and Twinkle-Toes are both still actin' all weird. I guess they didn't want to go out to eat tonight?"

"Yeeaaa, that was...what I'd heard..."

"Well, just 'cuz _they're _gonna be all grumps about it doesn't mean _we _should miss out."

"Mm..."

"Seriously. I'm fuckin' _bored. _I need to get outta this house, man."

Sokka scratched his nose, which was still slightly gunky from his earlier sobbing, minutes before. He placed the action figures in the closet and approached the doorway.

"You wanna go and chill with me? Just get some food somewhere?" She was presenting herself as nonchalantly as she could.

It was an awkward moment of silence as snow-white eyes stared blankly through Sokka's vulnerable form, his mind still shaky from the memories he'd been sifting through. Traces of a smirk formed on Toph's face as she awaited a response to her question.

"Uhhh...Ya OK there, Meat-Head?"

Her words seemed to wash past him in that moment, so lost in those eyes he was. They glowed at him with a familiar, warm admiration...like Yue's once had. This was a new and strange experience. In those eyes - windows to places unknown - the round, pale circles became twin moons, shimmering with the memories of stargazing with Yue, and the girl's obsessive love of all things lunar.

_{...and I know that maybe it's a little too sentimental for your tastes, my Love, but...No matter what happens, I will always be watching over you, Sokka. Even when I'm not nearby, I will still be with you.}_

Yue's handwritten words from that old Christmas card invaded the void of solace his mind had slipped into. Sokka found himself suddenly enchanted with a fanciful thought: that Yue still watched over him through Toph's elegantly empty eyes. He molded together this fable that Yue lived on as a guardian angel, still determined to help Sokka find happiness in this world. Toph was the vessel for that happiness, and Yue had led her to him through blinded eyes that glimmered like moonlight.

"Hello?" Toph's serenely neutral expression shifted to impatience. "Hey, Snoozles, I asked you a question. I know you can be pretty brain-dead and all, but...gimme something."

Sokka was amazed. Never before had a girl's face elicited such a mythological swell within his normally logical, scientific brain. And never before had Toph's porcelain face looked so...damned beautiful.

"Erm...Yea," Sokka finally blurted out, his face burning, his body tingling. "Let's, uh...Let's go do that, Toph. You and me."

"Sweet." Toph grinned, folding her arms and allowing Sokka to gently whirl her around.

"I know a good place we can go to, it's not too far," Sokka told her. He caught himself staring at her exposed shoulder blades as he nudged her toward the stairwell. He watched her grasp the wooden rail with care. "You should probably put on something a little warmer, though," he advised. "It's a little cold out."

"Um, sure. Good thinkin'. See, this is why you're the Idea Guy."

"And you're the loud, annoying jerk bringing me down all of the time," Sokka joked.

"Damn straight! Who _else _is gonna knock you down a few pegs every once in a while?"

Sokka smiled at this. He'd swore they'd had this same exchange so many times now, and it had gone both ways, with the one in need of ego-smashing swapping with each go around.

"So. Where to?" Toph wondered.

"We're goin' out on a date," Sokka explained plainly as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Wait..._huh?_" Toph muttered, eyes wide.

"A _date. _I am taking you out. For dinner. And dessert."

"Um...L-like a...what _kind _of...-?" Toph was sputtering with confusion while feeling her toes around for her sandals.

After putting on his sneakers, Sokka waved the others farewell.

"Where are you two headed?" Katara asked with a somber tone.

"I'm taking Toph out on a date," Sokka proclaimed with optimism.

"Ah, neat," Aang replied, scratching his head. "Er, we'll see you later, then." Aang waved, offering Sokka a meek smile of encouragement.

"Have fun," Katara murmured, thought with a somewhat more hopeful demeanor than she'd worn moments before.

"What's with you all...-?" Toph puffed out under her breath, apparently too flustered to find her sandals effectively. Sokka kicked them a few inches over for her.

"C'mon, Dead-Eyes," Sokka picked, tipping her slightly off balance by her shoulder. She growled at him, but before she felt back, he clutched at her flailing hands, pulling her uprgiht. "Stop goofin' around," he mocked her. Her face was boiling with embarrassment and she fussed herself into her sandals. Sokka hadn't let go of her hands, and even as he opened the door to leave, he still clutched one hand.

As they flew out of the door, Toph wormed her fingers inbetween his, and he allowed them to connect seamlessly and without incident.

"I-I'm confused," Toph laughed out nervously as Sokka led her to the passenger's seat of the car he and Katara shared. Sokka opened the door and let her enter, then neatly closed the door behind her. He grinned at the bashful smile on her face. Upon entering the driver's side, he took a deep breath, buckling himself in and checking that she had already done the same - she was looking for the right place to lock in her belt. "What's with stuff all of a sudden?" she wondered, her voice raised a pitch. Sokka helped guide her hand to the buckle.

"I did some thinking today," Sokka announced, starting up the car. "And I decided that if you wanted to go out on a date with me, I should stop being a pussy and _do _it."

"Wh-?! I..._I _never said anything about a _date, _Meat-Head..."

As they pulled out of the driveway, Sokka laughed.

"You never go out and _say _things like that, Toph, it's not your style," Sokka pointed out. "I figured it out. I'm the smart one, remember?"

"And I bet your _sister _had nothing to do with this," Toph grumbled, suddenly skeptical.

"Hey, gimme a _little _credit," Sokka demanded. "I had you pegged before I asked Katara about it."

"I call bullshit."

"Stop being a little bitch and enjoy the ride," Sokka teased. "This is 100% _my _decision. I am taking you out on a romantic evening of...food."

"And if I refuse?"

"Eh, I guess I'm kidnapping you, then."

"_Very _gentleman-like."

"You know _me._"

"Guess I _did _make it a little obvious when I played that song, huh?"

"A _little._"

"What's with the sudden turnaround? You seemed pretty awkward just last week, and now I'm supposed to think you're all wanting to give this a shot? Just like that? I don't get you sometimes, Sokka. Is there a catch, here? What your deal?"

"Damn, woman, is this 20 Questions, or am I taking you out for dinner?"

"Um...Shutting...up now?"

Sokka turned on the radio, giving his flustered but pleasantly surprised friend the choice of which station to listen to. On the one hand, Sokka realized he was acting a little spur of the moment. But the other, he'd spend the past _week _thinking on all of this. And when presented with the choice, when he stared it right in its face, his mind had made itself up pretty quick.

It was time to stop moping and worrying and give this thing a try. It was time to take a risk. It was time to give Toph a fair shake at his attention, which she had recently seemed so interested in.

It was time to move on with life. It was time to stop dwelling on old memories and start making some new ones.

+ Youtube dotcom /watch?v=ofbWiDdkHuQ +  
('Sweet Memories of Earth'; CarboHydroM)

Sokka's hand, clasping Toph's tightly. Their goofy grins as they were led to a "table for two."

Sokka admiring Toph as she feverishly devoured a plate of waffle fries before he could even down half of his hamburger.

Witty banter, merciless picking. Laughs, giggles, snorts...

Sokka explaining his past situation with Yue. Toph lamenting her previous relationships before Aang.

Moments of awkward silence igniting into snickers.

Sokka's stifled laugh when the waitress walked by just as Toph was making a blatant sexual innuendo. Toph's embarrassed grin after she informed of the fact.

Playing footsie beneath the table while finishing up food - where 'footsie' entailed kicking kicking each other's shins.

Sokka's decisive victory, gloating over Toph's stubbed toes.

Toph's pouting face dissolving into a smirk.

Leaving the diner just as they had entered: hand in hand.

The commotion of the busy diner quieted as they left, repeating their process of loading the car. They both sat for a moment, each sighing out in satisfaction from full stomachs.

"Right," said Sokka out of nowhere, starting up the car. "Time to dessert."

"Dessert?" cried Toph incredulously. "Fuck, man! I'm..._full._"

"There's always room for ice cream," Sokka gleefully decided.

"Eh...Fair point," Toph gave in.

"Besides, this evening of romance and wonderment can't end so soon."

"_Pff! _Yea, burgers and fries at some old-timey diner. _Real _romantic."

"Wasn't it?"

"You sure know how to charm a woman, ya Blockhead."

"I _do. _Don't I?"

Sokka was giddy from the emotional high, the rush of this experience. He was just...letting himself put things out there. Make light of it all. Be assertive - something he knew Toph respected - while also not making things serious. Toph seemed to be enjoying herself, and in turn, was acting naturally and comfortably, which only further heightened Sokka's new-found attraction to her.

So many idiosyncrasies of hers were suddenly..._hot_...in some stupid way. It made no sense. Sokka chalked it up to hormones.

He _needed _this. Whatever this was. Getting his "mojo" back? Or some crap?

They stopped by an ice cream parlor, and while in line, Sokka and Toph naturally clasped hands, fingers locked as before. It came so effortlessly, this simple gesture. As if their hands had a mind of their own and had been wanting this for some time.

Sokka ordered a bowl of Rocky Road, while Toph got some mint chocolate chip.

They sat at a small, round table in a back corner of the tiny shop. It wasn't too busy at this hour - whatever hour that was, they'd both lost track, and gladly so - and the two of them ate in demure silence. And therein lied the other half of the scientific equation of this "dating" thing. It was something Sokka had been able to enjoy with Toph now and again, but _never _with Suki: comfortable silence.

Sokka and Toph could rattle on for so long, their conversations positively radiating sarcasm, they could say horrible things in jest, and even under the context of this intending to be a romantic evening, there were no set expectations. No desire for the other to be acting any differently than they normally would. It was rather refreshing after being expected to reach certain criteria Sokka had never fully understood.

By the time they both finished their bowls, Sokka was eager for a second helping. Evidently his stomach had more room than Toph's tonight. She and her walking cane paid a visit to the bathroom as Sokka arrived back at the table. Sokka had a delightful little epiphany then: that Toph enjoyed him easing her along and taking care of her a bit, but she didn't _need _him to do so. She was fine on her own, but she was also fine with him choosing to be gentlemanly when the desire struck him. Again...no expectations. No artificial standards. It was wonderful.

Sokka chowed down on another bowl, the sweet blend of nuts, marshmallows, and ice cream taking him back to times with Yue he'd recently revisited. It was different this time. He smiled from what had once been, rather than lamenting what no longer was. He was living in the present tonight. Toph's enthusiasm, adorable moments of embarrassment, and the organic psynergy between the two of the was making it _very _easy to live in the present.

As Toph came back, she nudged her chair right next to his and sat down, immediately finding arm onto his back, and the other around his bicep. He had frozen in mid-bite, and for once this evening, he was the exceedingly red-faced one. Toph let her head drop to his shoulder, and Sokka delighted at her hair tickling his neck.

"Sounds like you're havin' fun there, Meat-Head."

"Mmmfffghh?"

Toph breathed out a deep, relaxed sigh, closing her eyes.

She asked him sleepily, "Was it your _plan _to make me full and fat and lazy?"

Sokka swallowed his latest spoonful.

"You could say that," he coyly mumbled back, a bit shocked at her swift physical approach.

"Just so ya know," she taunted. "I am _way _too full for, like, a first kiss, or whatever, so if you_urrrp-!_" She belched out, interrupting her own sentence. Sokka choked on the fumes, laughing through it. Toph let a flurry of giggles tumble out, slapping her hand over her mouth and pulling herself off of him. Sokka soaked in the moment, her very boyish burp accented with such a girly blush, her hand over her mouth, eyes squinted in humor.

"Mm, minty aftertaste," Sokka joked. "Yea. _Super_ smooth, there."

Toph punched him right in the shoulder. She hit him hard. It was satisfying as all hell. She hadn't physically landed a solid blow on him since...back when she'd started crushing on him.

"_Ahhh-_haahhh," Sokka winced, rubbing what could've been a bruise for all he knew. "What was that for?" he whimpered, trying to pass the pain off in humor. Agh, crap, though. Definitely got him good.

"Shit, did I get you that bad?" Toph tried to feign sympathy. It twisted itself into a devilish chuckle, though.

"Remind me, again..._why_...with the punching...?"

"That's how I show _affection_," Toph sighed expectantly, knowing full well she'd explained this before. Sokka admired her smarmy smirk, the way her hair draped across her face like curtains, her glassy eyes the windows he stared through.

"You're doing it wrong," Sokka chuckled.

"Pff..."

An idea struck Sokka like a bolt of lightning. He was certainly adventurous today, and the chemicals within him pushed him onward like a tidal wave. He closed his eyes, leaned over, and kissed her on the mouth. Her own lips instinctively puckered out, and she returned the gesture. For two seconds, they enjoyed each other's affection, until Sokka pulled away. Toph was a bit breathless, having not expected this, but certainly not minding it.

Sokka's eyes were bulging open, his face burning from the interaction - though perhaps not nearly as much as hers were. He cleared his throat and recovered. After all, it wasn't any good without the punchline.

"Now, Toph, see..._That..._is how _I_ show affection."

Toph's childish glee beamed at him for a moment before hereyelids hung low as she cocked her head sideways, pressing her face toward him.

"You mind, uh...teaching me that one again?"

* * *

**A/N: I wanted to try and develop more things from Sokka's perspective, like I did with Katara a while back concerning Aang. Ultimately, Sokka's decision comes across as quick or fast, but the idea I'm going for is that part of him has kind of been interested, he's just been internally blocking it off for a while, holding onto fear or regret of losing someone he deeply cared about (the implication being that Sui or Ty-Lee were more just distractions to keep him from confronting what was really going on inside of him. This is sort of what Toph was doing, too, except we got a more deep glance at her inner workings and hers lasted a longer period of time. I hope it all makes sense and feels like it was developed well enough up until now. This chapter was honestly hard to write and I'm still not quite sure I'm happy with a lot of it for some reason...but hopefully you guys get it well enough. =)**

**Note: I'm note sure if the thematic meaning with the music will make sense to people, but to explain, it's a theme song for The Moon. I liked the energy of it. The 8-bit original represents the past, Sokka's memories. The piano piece is somber and represents him confronting the present - the loss. The rock version represents his new-found freedom in letting go of the past and allowing himself to move on with those memories helping him rather than letting them continue to hurt him.**


	90. Secrets

**A/N: So I went pretty loose and crazy with the music last chapter. So THIS chapter, since the music that makes me think of these events isn't inherently important or symbolic and I don't have specific scenes intended for them, I'll just lay them out, and those of you interested can give them a listen. I think of them as music from the males' perspectives. ;) These will all be songs by Billy Joel. For SRU!Smellershot, listen to "Just the Way You Are." For SRU!Tokka, "She's Always a Woman," (this song was actually referenced under a very different context a logn time back) and for SRU!Kataang, "She's Got A Way." If you've never heard these before, I hope you enjoy them - if you have, I hope the context of SRU's story adds a little something to them for you, as it has for me.**

**PLEASE NOTE that this chapter starts with a flashback.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 90 - Secrets_

* * *

- Saturday, September 19th, 2010 - The Night of Jet's Death

Yellow tape surrounded the grim scene. Photos were being taken as analysts surveyed the evidence.

In his black coat, a tall, short-haired man with pale skin surveyed the investigation from the sidelines, just outside of the crime scene's boundary. A man of Asian descent, he wore a thin mustache and a sliver of a black beard. His arms were folded behind his back, his expression calm.

A stern-faced woman with piercing eyes and grayed hair approached him, a scowl on her face. She was dressed in a long trenchcoat and carried two small cups of piping hot coffee. She begrudgingly handed one to the man in the dark suit, and they stood side-by-side, watching things get tidied up.

"You _did _remember the cream this time, right?" checked the man, his voice stoic and deep.

"Mmph," was the only reply he received to his.

He took a sip of the hot liquid. Meh. Cheap, bastardized stuff. But at this hour, coffee _was _coffee. And it _did _have cream in it.

"So what do you make of this, Lin?" he asked with a casual tone unbefitting the grisly sight before them.

"Does it _matter _what I think?" Lin growled back with disdain. "I already know you and your boys are going to tidy this one up under some bullshit guise of it being a matter of 'national importance.' My opinion is irrelevant."

The man chuckled lightly.

"Mm. So you're going to make this easy on all of us this time, are you?"

Lin shot him a glare, her grip on her styrofoam cup rigid.

"Special Agent _Feng_," she quipped, her proper use of his title loaded with disrespect. "A young man _died _tonight. It shouldn't be 'easy' for _anyone._"

Feng sighed, sipping more coffee.

"Lin, if you put half as much feeling into a living person as you do any old corpse, you'd be a much happier woman."

"Spare me," she retorted with flat disinterest.

"I intend to. We will take all responsibility regarding this matter off of your back."

"And with it, you're going to take away any solid means I have of bringing _down _these ass-clowns."

"The 'Rough Rhinos' are but a minor inconvenience for now. If we deal with them too soon, it will only scare off the bigger fish waiting to be fried. And the longer it takes to catch those fish, the longer _this_ remains a federal matter."

"And the more people will be hurt in this gang war brutality."

"Chief _Jia,_" Feng spat out, his seemingly boundless patience suddenly worn thin. They exchanged glares. "We already _tried _your approach, long ago. This town will _not _be a repeat of what transpired in New York. Or have you forgotten the very reason you were expunged from the NYPD?"

"I haven't," Lin immediately came back, her voice plagued with regret.

"Constant news of an escalating crime war will put the citizens of Wayward into a state of panic, undermining everything we have worked to accomplish since its foundation. You should know by now that organized crime is far easier to contain than _chaotic _crime, which is exactly what we will have on our hands if this situation gets out."

Lin frowned with frustration at his words, her nose wrinkling, her lips tightening.

"Which it _will_," she pointed out. "Sooner or later."

"Not if _I _have anything to say about it," Feng remarked. "But...should it come to that, Lin..._then _it will be within your bounds of duty to control the situation."

Lin tore her gaze from his ever-stern expression and finally took a drink of her coffee.

"And in the meantime," she huffed, "I'm supposed to wait and watch more innocents get harmed?"

"_Innocent?" _Feng laughed. "Have you _reviewed _his record?" He turned to face the body. "Jack Chavez; aka 'Jet.' Felonies and misdemeanors across the board. We've merely let him play Peter Pan with his Lost Boys, his...'Freedom Fighters,' without consequence, all this time...in hopes of baiting out what we can about the 'Phoenix Clan'. This imbecile even disposed of Mongke, robbing us of valuable information. I'm certain that's the entire reason he's met this fate."

Lin's expression was distant and scornful.

"Come now, Lin." He went to pat her on the shoulder, but she retracted her body, stalking off. "You really shouldn't be so down-trodden over all this," he called to her back. "These matters always have a way of working themselves out."

With a light sigh, Feng shrugged, took a swig from his cup, and approached the scene. He surveyed the mangled, twisted body of the young Hispanic man sprawled across the pavement. Feng shook his head slowly at the sight.

_Foolish boy...You've chosen your own demise._

* * *

- Friday, April 29th, 2011 -

Jane clicked off her radio, turned off her air conditioner, gripped her steering wheel tightly, and took a deep breath. The familiar plains of grass greeted her in the afternoon sunlight with vigor as she slowly drove down the dirt road. It was a nice day out. The small house she remembered well appeared before her, and she carefully pulled her dingy car onto its gravel driveway. In the stillness of the moment, she checked her phone.

[From: aang]  
[just tell the truth. be natural. don't overthink this.]  
[Sent: 11:48am]

She found herself scratching at her eyebrow, staring at the message, re-reading it to herself. When she caught this, she stopped herself, prying her finger from her forehead. She pulled out her green worry stone from her pocket, and rubbed her thumb along its groove. The front door opened, a skinny young man with a tall head and distant eyes peering out at her. Jane's insides hollowed. She fumbled around, stuffing the stone back into her pants and quickly exiting the car. She dusted her pants off and fidgeted nervously with her hair, which she'd brushed quite neatly at the last gas stop. She paused in the driveway, hands in her pockets.

There was a heavy silence as her pleading eyes stared into his. His face warmed up and he swiftly approached her. he walked with a slight limp in his leg, and Jane was reminded of his time spent in the hospital earlier that year. Her heart ached at the sight.

"H-hey, Johnny, I...-" Jane's mumbled was interrupted as slender arms squeezed across her back. Her heart pounded at her ribcage, her breathing shallow from his body against hers. Familiar feelings swirled, chemicals rushing through her at his presence. It was like dropping dry kindling on glowing goals, prodding at them to spark the fire back to life. Her chin on his shoulder, she timidly put her own skinny arms over his back. When his hands slowly slid down, hugging at her hips, she bit at her lower lip, reciprocating the motion.

She pulled back her head to look up at his face. Her eyes trembled with shame and regret, but his radiated sympathy and understanding. He bent his neck forward, pressing his forehead against hers. They simply stared at each other.

Was it really any surprise that Johnny didn't need words to understand? He didn't need a discussion on this. It seemed as if he'd seen this coming, and given their exchanges over the phone for the past few days, it was no wonder he had.

All of Jane's worries, all of her doubts, gradually disintegrated away over the next few seconds. She clawed her fingers tips at his waist, scratching across the fabric of his shirt, their eyes still locked.

She wanted to say, 'I missed you.' But she dared not break the comforting quiet. She cocked her head to the side and kiss his lips. A minute or so of affection later, and Jane noticed Johnny's mother curiously peering out of the front door as she was kissing at Johnny's neck. She intook a sharp breath through her nostrils, breaking their bodies apart gently.

When their gazes met this time, she smiled along with him.

"Goodness gracious," came the voice of Johnny's mother as she flung open the door. "Jane, Darlin', is that you? Just _lookit _you! Your hair! Ya put on some weight, 'aven't cha?" Jane awkwardly shrugged, bashful at this remark as she was attacked by a motherly hug. "Lookin' just fit as a fiddle, Dear."

A half hour of meet-n'-greeting later, and Jane was completely at ease. It had been nearly a year since she'd last seen Johnny's family, and they all were just as welcoming as they had been the summer before. It was a 180 flip from what she'd encountered with her own family's home. And yet, she could hardly think of much to say. They were, after all, still somewhat like strangers to her, in a sense, especially given the long time since she'd visited. Johnny had helped her pick up the slack, offering to the discussion. Jane had completely forgotten how much more vocal the man was in the presence of his family. He was almost like another person.

But now, in this moment, Jane desperately wanted to take Johnny off outside in the afternoon sun. Coy smiles and knowing waves of goodbye saw the couple out of the back door. The two walked, side by side, through the expansive backyard. The bright sun glowed above in the clear sky. The two hiked for a couple of minutes until the house behind them was far off.

"That was...kinda cool," Jane muttered, opening up dialogue between them after the familial encounter. Jane cleared her throat, her hands jammed into her back pockets as she walked. "A _lot _better than _my _folks welcomed me..."

Johnny breathed in deeply and sighed out in peace, looking over the dry plains stretched out before them.

"Shit," Jane puffed out in relief, tousling her hair as she enjoyed the view around them. "Forgot how..._nice_ it was out here."

Johnny nodded in compliance with this.

"Uhh...So, you and me...-" Jane tapped the back of her wrist at his arm, drawing his attention. "-...we're...good?"

Johnny's lips curved up and he laughed through his nose.

"Right?" Jane sought affirmation. "We're a...'you and me' kinda deal? Again?"

Johnny nodded, and Jane gently took off his hat, carelessly tossing it into the yellowed grass behind her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You thinkin' what I am?" she asked him with her raspy, cunning tone.

He shrugged, playing innocent.

"Heh, still nothin' to say, huh?" she teased.

He avoided her aroused gaze, hands behind his back.

"_Ugh_. Ya freakin' weirdo," Jane snickered. "Not up for small talk, I see."

She grabbed his vest, unbuttoning it and and dumping it to the ground behind her. She pushed at his chest, easing him onto his back. She dropped herself over him and exerted a heaving breath as her chest pressed into his. He laughed out at her exaggerated seduction - something she was _not _known for.

"Well..." She kept up the act. "Don't need to talk to have some _fun_, right?"

Johnny sighed out at the end of his laughter, moving his hands up to her face. He caressed strands of orange away from her olive eyes, savoring the sweet, sly aggression in her toothy grin.

"No," he agreed. "We don't."

* * *

Toph rubbed her palms across his face, stretching his skin around. He grumbled in protest but didn't move. His eyebrows, his jaw line, his cheekbones, his nose, his chin, his chin _hair_...She took it all in through her fingertips.

"Are you _done _yet?" Sokka sighed as she tugged at his ear lobe.

She giggled devilishly, finding her way to his face Again. Pinching her hand across his cheeks, she grinned while she squeezed his cheeks in.

"There. Got a good look at ya," she coyly concluded their interaction, finally letting go of him. He let out an exaggerated huff of discomfort, laying back into the couch. She scooted beside him, leaning her head against his. His spine tingled at the sensation of her hair tickled at his neck. He wormed his hand around the back of her waist and rubbed his palm up and down along her hip.

"How do I check out?" he asked.

"_Eh_. I guess you pass," she decided facetiously. "I'd say you're more of a kisser than a looker, though."

"That a fact?" Sokka came back with a smug smirk. He twisted his head to the side, using his nose to push some of her messy bangs aside, and kissed her on the forehead. "I oughtta stick to my strengths, then."

Toph ran her hand across his thigh, savoring the density of his flesh beneath his denim pants. She squeezed just above his knee, and he twitched in reaction.

"**Oogie!**"

Both Toph and Sokka were jolted by Katara's shout.

"It's your _brotherly duty _to not let me be exposed to your **oogies**, isn't it?" Katara teased, approaching them with a raised eyebrow and a scathing smirk.

"Uh, I was-"  
"**Ooooogie!**" Katara cut him off.  
"Yea, yea, get it out of your-"  
"**Oogie! Oogie!**"  
"OK, I get the p-"  
"**OOGIE. **Yea, how do _you _like it?"  
"Ya know, _not _that much, actually, I can-"  
"**Ooooooooogie~**" Now Toph was joining Katara in reciting the word.  
"_Hey! _She's making fun of _both _of us, ya know!"  
"Nope. Just _you, _Sokka."

Toph laughed out and smacked Sokka's stomach with the back of her wrist.

"_Ha!_ Yea, see? Just you, Mr. **Oogie**."

Sokka sighed, letting his head flop over sideways.

"**Oogie Boogie**," Toph continued.

"Look what you've done," Sokka lamented up to his sister, who was beaming down at the two of them.

Katara cast a curious glance at Toph, who was continuing to rattle out the word '**Oogie**' in various combinations and manners.

"She _is _quite impressionable," Katara observed.

"_Chyeah _I am," Toph chortled, beginning to tug down the collar of her T-shirt. "Wanna see the _impression _Meat-Head here made last night?"

Katara saw the hickey near Toph's collarbone and burst out into a giggle fit as Sokka slapped on the backside of her skull, pulling her shirt back up.

"The hell's _wrong _with you?" he whispered in embarrassment.

"_Oh, _shuddup," she taunted, reaching her hand around his waist. "I could be _much _worse." Sokka's face went beet red as Toph's fingers grasped around his groin, and he gripped her wrist, pushing her away. Katara was only laughing harder at this, clutching at her stomach.

"Well, _all right, _then!" Aang put in, onlooking from a distance. "Looks like you two are...erm..._progressing _right along."

Toph was now wrestling with Sokka, trying to grope at him again as he pushed her off.

"Ya _know_-" Toph grunted out through the physical thrashing. "-what they _say_...Different..._stroke_s...for different _folks_..." She finally managed to grab at him, just slightly, before he pushed her off in a panic. "_Get_ it?" she squealed childishly, snorting with laughter. She was on her back now, having been shoved aside onto the cough. "'Cuz-! 'Cuz I said _strokes_, and...and...I was...-" She was gasping for breath, so consumed by laughter.

"Oh, _Lord,_" Katara sighed with amusement, rolling her eyes.

"_They _sure seem comfortable," Aang observed as he approached Katara.

"_Hello?_" Sokka growled. "I was just _mole__sted _here!" he whined with exaggeration. "This is _not _comfortable."

"You _liked _it," Toph balked slyly.

"_Mehhhh_," Sokka retorted with uncertainty, as if he himself was trying to ascertain whether or not she was right.

Katara watched Aang's puzzled expression, and she wondered what he was thinking. He seemed almost off-put but their sudden and intense degree of physical affection.

"You two...eh...have _fun, _there," he mumbled to them awkwardly, wandering off to the kitchen.

"'Having Fun''s our middle name!" Toph cried out, flailing her hands up at the ceiling.

"Are you...-?" Sokka narrowed his eyes at her. "You _drunk?_"

"Drunk on..._you_!" Toph spat back.

"That...doesn't make sen-"  
"**Oooogie**."

Katara followed Aang into the kitchen as Sokka desperately argued with Toph, clearly embarrassed by her actions. He had used their fridge's built-in dispenser to add ice cubes to a glass, and was now pouring water into it.

"Are you...OK?" Katara mumbled to him. They were still in a strange place right now, but Toph and Sokka's recent hooking up had put Katara in a more optimistic mood today. Aang shrugged weakly in retaliation, taking a sip from his glass as he stared into it. Toph shrieked with playful surprise over who-knew-what in the next room, and Aang's eyes narrowed with disapproval.

"Are they making you uncomfortable?" Katara whispered to him, hands latched behind her back.

"A little, I guess," Aang grumbled. "It's no big deal, it's...just weird, seeing them like this all of a sudden."

"Mm-hm," Katara nodded thoughtfully. "I understand."

"I'm sure Sokka felt the same way about us a while back," Aang acknowledged.

"Yea..." Katara's eyes drifted sideways for a moment, and she walked up behind him, putting her hands on his back.

"_Agh,_" he flinched, and she retracted immediately, realizing she'd probably touched a bad nerve from his back injury.

"Sorry," she spat out quietly.

"It's all right..."

Katara wrapped her hands around his stomach gently.

"You know...they don't have to be the only ones being all lovey-dovey," Katara timidly offered. Aang smiled and twisted his neck around to give her a kiss.

"I guess it's...-" Aang stared down at his half-empty glass. "-...hard to imagine being that way."

"Hm?"

"Being able to just...go at each other...like that. So easily. Being so physical so fast."

"Ha..." Katara kissed the back of Aang's neck. "They both have been attracted to each other for a while, Aang. And, I mean...they're just very physical people."

"Oh, _I _know," Aang mumbled. "I know..."

Katara smirked sheepishly from behind him.

"And there's _nothing wrong _with taking more time with that sort of thing."

"Right, no, I'm OK. It's just, like...-" Aang rotated his body around so the two of faced each other, inches apart. "I _want _to be..._doing_...more stuff like that," Aang muttered awkwardly with a shrug. "But I...don't really know _how_ to...approach that, and...-"

"Hey, hey," Katara ran her hand through his hair, straightening it out. "You don't need to. We approach things _together. _That's how it works."

Aang nodded to this with another small smile.

"Yea..."

"_Ohhhh, yesss-yess-yesss_!" moaned Toph from the living room. Aang and Katara's eyes alike popped open wide.

"I'm not even-!" Sokka yelped. Toph continued to cry out in exaggerated arousal, but when Katara and Aang poked their heads across the kitchen counter, through the wall to the living room, Sokka was standing up, hands raised, while Toph was snickering on the couch, thrashing her limbs around.

"I don't-!" Sokka pleaded at his sister in a panic. "I didn't...-! She just...-! _Why _is she...-?"

"She's being an _idiot_," Katara knowingly concluded with a reassuring nod. "You're fine, Sokka." There was uncomfortable pause as Toph cackled. Katara added, "You should quiet down, though, Toph - Dad's upstairs trying to take care of some stuff..."

_"Eh,"_ Toph dismissed, rolling onto her side across the couch's length. "Look what you've gotten yourself into, Meat-Head," she taunted. "You're _stuck _with me now! You're stuck with _this _crazy bitch, heheh..."

The creaking sound of footsteps traveling down the old staircase gave way to a worried Hakoda staring down the hallway into the living room.

"Is...everything all right down here?" he tiredly wondered.

"_Everything's fine!_" Sokka spat out, tossing his arms.

"Uhh..." Hakoda blinked at him suspiciously for a moment. "Well, I was trying to handle a phone call just now, and I thought I heard...-"

"Th-that was me," Toph piped up sheepishly, but intent to ensure Sokka didn't take any flak for her immaturity. "Just-..._heh!_ You know me! Goofin' around..."

"Mm-hm..." Hakoda raised a brow at his son, who shrugged pleadingly. "Please keep it down in here, I've got to take care of these calls."

"Yup! Totally," Toph insisted, red-faced. "Um...Quiet as a mouse!" she called out as she heard Hakoda's steps fading upwards.

"Yelling that to me isn't reassuring!" Hakoda shouted back with a tint of irritation.

Toph slapped her palm over her face, teeth grit.

"Er...Sorry 'bout that," she mumbled to Sokka as a giggle slipped out.

"You're fine," Sokka breathed with relief. "Try to calm down a bit, eh?" He lifted her feet up, as she was sprawled across the couch. He plopped himself down beside her, then dropped her legs back into his lap.

"It's...kinda hard to be calm," Toph confessed with that goofy grin on her face. "You're...my _boyfriend _now n' shit," she murmured with a sigh of disbelief. "How do you expect me to be _calm _about that? We had so much fun as it was already_, _but _now,_ with us_ dating_? The possibilities...Mwahaha..." She crossed her feet in his lap and stretched out her arms. Sokka ogled her as she did so, smiling at her oddball attempt at complimenting his character, and his cheeks heated up bashfully.

"Possibilities..." Sokka mumbled to himself, running his hand along her shin, traces of growing hair beneath his fingertips. "_That's _for sure," he agreed.

* * *

- Saturday, April 30th, 2011 -

Jane sat at the kitchen table, hand against her wrist. She just stared at him across the way as he ate his breakfast. She had hardly touched hers yet. She was still waking up. The entire reality around herself was still sinking in. A quiet, peaceful day in the country. A night spent in the warmth of another's arms. The very fact that Johnny had been so patient with her - she hadn't even needed to _ask _for another chance at a relationship - was simply astounding to her. She could make so many dumb decisions, all while he was doing his best to look out for others, and all this time, he _still _forgave her, he still _wanted_ her.

Suddenly, the prospect of getting over her romantic interest in Katara seemed...easy. For all she knew, she already had - it was too hard to tell, having not interacted with the girl in a week or so now. But one thing _was _apparent to her as she gazed at his morning stubble, his messy bed hair, and his intense eyes, scanning the newspaper pages: she was still in love with him, as she had been back in the fall.

He looked up from his paper, noticing her bleary eyes gawking, and smiled back at her. He gestured his fork to the freshly scrambled eggs on her plate, tilting his head up slightly. Jane rolled her eyes in humor at his concern and began to eat. As she acknowledged that he was, in fact, reading the paper, all of her doubts and questions about SRU splashed against her, waking her quite rapidly. She needed to talk with him about all of that, didn't she?

"We should go to that old tree on the hill, like we used to," Jane suggested in-between bites of eggs. Johnny looked up at her with curious eyes. Damned boy hadn't spoken a word all morning to her, as expected.

Jane glanced through the window behind Johnny, the bright rays of sunshine beaming through the curtains, filling the kitchen.

"Damn, it's such a nice day out, right?" she observed. Still no reply. She cocked her brow at him. "Hey, you're not still givin' me the silent treatment, are you? Haha."

"Heh." Johnny waggled his own bushy eyebrows up and down a few times.

"Come _on_," Jane goaded, sticking her fork onto his plate and swiping a chunk of his eggs. "Stop playin' that shit, John-Boy," she said teasingly. "Let's have a day where we actually _talk_." She ate the bite she'd stolen.

"Is...there something you want to talk _about_?" Johnny mumbled.

Jane nodded solemnly. She had the urge to scratch her eyebrow but resisted.

"Uh...Y-yea. Some stuff," she explained in the vaguest of terms. She fished her worry stone from her pocket and stroked it with her thumb beneath the table. "We should go out after we clean up. Visit the old tree. Have a good talk, n' stuff...Ya know?"

"All right," Johnny agreed calmly. "Is...everything OK?"

"Er, kind of?" Jane conceded, still rubbing at the rock in her hand. "Look, let's...just eat our food here," she decided. "We'll talk when we're outside."

Johnny shrugged in compliance to this. They both rushed to finish eating in a hurry before tidying up their hair and changing into fresh clothes. The great outdoors greeted them with its tall, yellowed grass, bright blue sky, and tickling breezes. The pair hiked side by side, stepping further and further away from Johnny's home. Jane had to pry her eyes away from him or else she'd get fixated on his slight was a small hill tucked away in the middle of a plain, and a lone, familiar tree sat at the top. Already sweating from the summer's heat, the two of them gladly sought shelter in the shade of the oak tree they had spent many chats beside during the summer prior.

Johnny spread out on his back and tipped his hat over his eyes with a peaceful sigh. Jane laid down perpendicular to him, resting her head on his chest. For a minute or so, they both enjoyed the solace of the rustling of leaves above. Jane watched as small waves of grass rolled in the distance.

"So..." Jane began, biting at her lower lip with some doubt. "I, uhh...found out something kinda crazy the other day?"

"Mm?"

"My dad. I was telling you about the stuff I found of his, right? Uh...I also found out that he used to go to SRU."

Johnny didn't seem to have a reply to this. Jane sighed through her nostrils, gazing up into the leaves above.

"I asked my uncle about it," she went on. "Guess that's why he suggested the school in the first place..."

"Makes sense."

"A bunch of my friends...-" Jane paused, swallowing the lump in her throat. Were they still her friends? "Well, a lot of them go to SRU 'cuz their parents did. So...Not such a coincidence. Got me thinking 'bout how _you _ended up there..."

"We...already discussed this, didn't we?" Johnny muttered. True, they _had _briefly talked about it via text messages when Jane had learned more about matters regarding Jet.

"Yea, but...-" Jane scratched her nose. "-I wanted to hear you tell me more about it."

"Mm..."

"So, yea. Would you?"

"I can." Johnny pulled his hat up from over his face. "Sure."

"'Kay."

"Like you already know, one of my family members is in the FBI - which is, well...what I want to do eventually. Attending SRU has basically been like a...sort of initiation, in a way."

"Right."

"I was supposed to find out as much as I could through Jet, the Freedom Fighters...the Rough Rhinos..."

"Did you...find out everything you needed to know?"

"Yea. I did."

"That why they let you off the hook? Helped you...get back here?"

"More or less," sighed Johnny. "I had a contact from the FBI in Wayward. He sort of...has a talent with cleaning things up, you could say. When the shootout happened, he's the one who arranged things for me to...well...get out of that mess."

"Yea..."

"You understand, don't you?"

"Huh? What's that?" Jane rolled onto her side to look at Johnny's sullen face.

"Why I'm so silent."

Jane's glance wandered away from his face with uncertainty.

"I get trusted to keep a lot of secrets," Johnny explained. "I _have _to be able to be calm - steady, silent - or I could never do it. I could never carry all of these secrets. And...-" He lifted his torso from the grass, and Jane was forced to lift her head up. She crossed her legs, her stomach empty at the way Johnny was talking right now. Johnny pulled off his hat, holding it in his lap. He rubbed at his eyes. "Jane, there's one I've been holding onto that...I think you have a right to know now."

"What...-?" Jane could feel her eyes quivering, her fingers shaking. She didn't know why - Johnny's seriousness was getting to her, though, either way.

"Jane..." Johnny reached out his hand, and she took it. "This killer-...This 'Combustion Man.' He's part of why I was sent to SRU."

"R-right," Jane affirmed her understanding of this, blinking rapidly as her eyes darted to and away from his intent stare.

"I never wanted you to get wrapped up in this."

"I...-" Jane puffed out a tired breath. "Yea, I _get _that, but...I _am, _Johnny."

"No, you're...-" Johnny shook his head, tightening his grip on her hand as he wiped sweat from his forehead with his other arm. "I know. It's fine. It's...only natural that you'd find your way into this. And now that you _are_...there's no point in hiding this from you anymore."

Jane's eyebrows bent down with suspicion.

"So...spit it out, then," she grumbled in anxious impatience.

"Jane, the reason why I...first took an interest in you was because...-" More rubbing at his eyes. "-...I actually thought back then that you were involved with the Freedom Fighters for the same reason Jet was."

"Huh...?"

"For revenge."

"I...-" Jane's head twitched in a shake of denial. "No, I don't...-" Her mind was already putting the pieces together, and she didn't like the picture it was producing.

"Jane," Johnny said with insistence, tilting his head in a solid gesture of severity. "I knew that your father went to SRU. I knew that he was involved in all of this. Part of his work is...exactly the reason why the FBI has taken an interest in that town in the first place."

"So?" Jane spat out. "Why's that...such a big secret? That's..._fine_, I get it. No...no big deal. You...had your reasons, and...-"

"These criminals - they target specific SRU graduates."

Jane shrugged, eyes wide. Her hand was up to her head now. Her thumb was rubbing at her eyebrow.

"The 'Combustion Man,' he's...a psychopath," Johnny pressed forward, despite her unease. "How does he kill his victims?"

_Fire._

Jane shook her head, her eyes dampening at confronting this train of thought. Johnny let go of her hand and gripped her shoulders tightly, insisting that she look him right in the eyes.

"How did your parents die?"

_Fire._

Jane sucked in a trembling breath before choking out a half sigh, half sob.

"_Fff. _That's-! Naw, they're-...They moved all the fuckin' way out _here_. To Texas, man. _Way _away from...-"

"Your father thought he'd be safe out here," Johnny agreed in lamentation.

"It was an _accident_," Jane insisted in a panicked tone. "Like...like a broken...gas line, or...-"

"Jane." Johnny pulled her in for a tight hug. "I'm sorry. But...if you're really going to try to do something about this man, I think you have a right to know the truth."

Jane let two tears drop onto Johnny's shoulder.

"You're saying my parents were..._murdered_?"

"Yes...as near as we can tell. Like Jet's parents were. It's...kind of why Jet trusted you so much."

"What?" Jane backed up, glaring at Johnny. "Jet...? _Guh._" She was bleary eyed from tears, her nose starting to fun. "He _knew?"_

"He did find out about it," Johnny confessed. "I think he believed that after he'd found the people responsible, he'd be able to use that to...convince you to help him get revenge. As leverage - give you motivation to join his cause, because...Well, because he seemed to think you two would have the same goal. It's what I read in his journal, at least." Jane did remember that damned book, the very one that had led to their initial break back in the autumn. The way Jet could continue stabbing pain into Jane's heart after his death was aggravating.

"So...it was all a fucking lie," Jane hissed through grit teeth. "That's why Jet put so much responsibility on me? Why he trusted me with all his shit?"

Johnny's shoulders popped up, his eyes sliding closed.

"I...can't say for sure, but...-"  
"So what about _you, _then?" Jane demanded, her brain spinning in circles. Did everything in her life have to be unraveling like this? All some secret, some conspiracy. Were the friends she'd made this school year the _only _fucking thing in her life that wasn't based on a lie or a coverup? "You take an interest in me 'cuz of my _dad?_"

Johnny sighed, holding Jane's flinching biceps tightly in an effort to settle her down.

"I admit-" he began slowly, and Jane immediately rolled her eyes, turning her head away. "-that, _at first, _that was what made me curious about you. _At first_!" he insisted, when Jane tried to struggle from his grip. "And when I met you, I was fascinated by you - so many awful things in your life, but you were so strong. You just needed someone to trust."

"_Oh!_" Jane huffed. "So it was _pity_. Fuckin' great. Yea. That's-...Ugh..."

"But when I got to _know you_," Johnny pushed on, "I saw you for you _were_, not for what had happened to you. And I...really began to admire that person. And now..." Johnny grabbed her freckled cheeks and nudged her to look back at him. She sniffled from the emotional trauma of this discussion and wiped at her eyes. "I look at who you _are, _right now, in front me, and...I am _so proud _of you."

Jane's memories flickered with every time Katara had uttered those same words to her: 'I'm proud of you.'

"And I love you, Jane. I maybe don't _say _it as much as you'd like. But just know that I _do_ love you. I've missed you every day. All of these politics, and secrets...those are maybe the reasons why I _came _to SRU, but _you_...-" He shook her gently by the arms."You are the reason I wanted to stay. _You _are the reason I still care about all of this. And...you are the one who should have the right to bring this man to justice. Not me. Not the FBI, or the police. _You _are the one who's life was turned upside down. It should be _your _choice to decide how to end all of this. And that's what I'm trying to grant you with everything I've been doing."

Jane's cheeks were trickling tears. When he was finished, she pulled in air through her nose, pushing up her bangs and wiping her eyes.

"_Guh_...I love you, _too_," she panted out, letting her tense shoulder fall down. "I...I get it." She curled up on the grass and dropped her head into his lap. "Wish I could just say 'fuck all' and...and just stay _here._"

"I know," said Johnny quietly, brushing her orange hair with his fingers. "So do I."

"All of this..._shit_," Jane bemoaned. "Violence and...fuckin' _murders, _and...what-...I don't even _know _anymore. Just-...I want it _done. _Want it to be _over._"

"Mm." Johnny kissed her on the temple. "It will be. Soon."

"I want..._them._ Back in my life."

"Your friends."

"_Yea_," Jane croaked. "Argh. They're like, the only fucking part of my life that's..._normal_."

"I'm sorry," Johnny muttered.

"Nah, it's...-" Jane sniffed, clearing her nose. "You're good. Just.._.__nice. _Having a fucking _life _with those guys. Right? I gotta do for them what...you've done for me."

"Mm?"

"Carry my secrets. Keep them safe. Keep them out until...this shitstorm blows over."

"For right now, you're in the eye of that storm. Let's try to forget about all of this, and appreciate the peace and quiet while it lasts."

Jane nodded in compliance, running her hand along Johnny's leg.

"I'd like that."

* * *

- Sunday, May 1st, 2011 -

_Rrrmmm._

Katara's attention was piqued by the vibrating device on the coffee table. The television was paused at a funny moment where the character on screen looking constipated, but that had only been interesting for all of five seconds. Aang's bathroom break seemed to be taking a little while, and Toph and Sokka were out on a second date today. Any distraction was welcome. Katara peeked at the phone on the table - it was Aang's - and noticed the text that lit up its outside screen for a moment.

[New Txt]  
[From: jane]

Katara did a double take. When the screen automatically turned off, she was still glaring at the phone. She shook herself from her shocked stupor and pressed one of the phone's outside buttons to turn the screen on again.

[New Txt]  
[From: jane]

Nope. She hadn't misread. Her nose wrinkled in disbelief, and she scooped the phone up, opening it to view the contents of this message.

[From: jane]  
[yea man. it went well. like..super easy somehow. it's like we just picked right up again where we left off.]  
[Sent: 7:41pm]

Katara fumed at this. Aang and Jane were texting each other? What the hell? Jane wasn't sending _Katara _texts...She had said she never wanted to speak to them again! What was going on, here?

Katara examined the phone's contents.  
[Inbox: 1]  
Just the message Jane had just sent.  
[Outbox: 0]

Oh, so Aang was deleting everything as soon as he got it, huh? And erasing anything he sent? Why would you do that? Because you were hiding something. Katara couldn't believe this. Just as she was feeling OK with Aang talking to her father - behind her back - now he was talking with _Jane_ - behind her back! Didn't he know better than this? She ought to-  
_FwwssshhhhHHHHHHH..._

The toilet flushed from upstairs, startling Katara from her angry thoughts. In the moments that followed, Katara pondered what to do. Her emotions were overpowering. She set the phone back down on the coffee table and crossed her arms, glaring at the hallway door, waiting for Aang's approach.

When he finally appeared, trekking down the stairwell, he slowed to a stop before he reached the couch, unnerved by Katara. She had flared nostrils, she was tapping her index finger on her opposing bicep, and her right leg was bouncing on its toes with impatience.

"Uh...Sorry I..._took _so long?" Aang apologized, hazarding a guess that she was just getting moody again. This was half correct, anyway.

"You got a text message while you were gone," Katara snipped, closing her eyes in disgust.

"Oh...kay?"

"From _Jane._"

"And...you would know that because...?"

"Because I _saw it_ right here on the table," Katara burst out, flicking an aggravated wrist at the device.

Aang, his brows furrowed, went to pick up his phone. He bent over, he and Katara still locking eyes all the while. He finally broke away from her piercing glare to check. The message was new, but it wasn't marked as such. He closed the phone, now reciprocating Katara's anger.

"You read it," he accused.

"Yea, I _did_," Katara snapped. "You left it _right there, _and-"  
"That doesn't give you a right to-"  
"-didn't know there was still something going _on _with you and-"  
"What is _that _supposed to mean?"  
"I don't _know, _Aang! You tell _me!_"  
"Jane is...going through some heavy stuff right now, and she-"  
"She said she was _never _going to speak to us again!"  
"I think that was probably an _exaggeration_."  
"So it's just _great _that she stays in touch with _you_, but decides to butt me _out, _for no reason!"  
"She _has _a reason!"  
"And that's supposed to make me _feel _better? That she'll tell _you _but not _me?_"  
"It's...complicated."  
"_Not _very reassuring!"  
"It's not supposed to be reassuring! It's the truth."  
"Which you've been _hiding _from me."  
"Because _she _asked me to."  
"So _she's _more important than I am, now?"  
"N-_no! _But...When someone asks me to keep a secret, I actually _do it._"  
"_Augh!_ And I _don't?_"  
"You practically told Sokka about Toph's crush, like, _right away_."  
"That-! Nnn...No, I didn't! He _asked _me about it!"  
"Oh, so that suddenly makes it OK to break a promise."  
"W-well...sometimes, yes! When...when circumstances change."  
"When circumstances _change._"  
"Right! And besides, I told him because I _knew _it would lead to good things."  
"OK. Well, _I _knew that telling you this would lead to _bad _things."  
"Is that _so?_"  
"Yes! And you're _yelling _about it, so...Looks like I was right."  
"I'm not-! Ugh...I'm not yelling."  
"You kind of are..."  
"Because I'm _hurt _that you've been doing all of these things behind my back."  
"Because I made a promise."  
"I don't see how that makes it _better!  
"Because..._A promise is a promise. That's how I always thought of it."  
"Yea? The world's not...always so _ideal, _Aang."  
"It never _will _be if people don't actually do their part."  
"I...I _do my part!_"  
"I _know _you do. And so do I! So don't get so mad at me when I'm only-"  
"You _lied _to me!"  
"_How _did I lie to you? When?"  
"You...just...have been acting like you don't know what's going on with her."  
"_Acting_ isn't the same as _lying._ And I kind of _don't _know what's going on!"  
"You still _talk _with her."  
"We've been _texting. _That's it."  
"Texting is...is still like talking!"  
"She made me _promise _not to tell you."  
"Sometimes being _honest _is more important than keeping someone's promises!"  
"OK, OK. So. Hypothetical situation: someday, we get married...-"  
"Aang. Just...stop."  
"-...and I _promise _you that I'm never going to cheat on you."  
"_Aang._"  
"Then I do. I _break _the promise I made. But I'm _honest _with you about it."  
"This is..._totally _different."  
"You're telling me..._That's _better that just keeping the promise I made in the first place?"  
"_Stop it! _That's...completely irrelevant! You...you would _never _do that. And _I_ would never do that."  
"Right. Sure. Because we're apparently _better _than that."  
"Huh?"  
"Because we're not _like _Toph, or Jane, or Sokka. Huh? We don't _ever _make mistakes."  
"I didn't...I didn't _say_-"  
"We're just _better _people. That's, like...how you act about this. About _everything._"  
"_No! _No, I...I just _wonder _sometimes, if...if other people maybe aren't..._trying _as hard as we are, and-"  
"We're _not _better people. We _do _make mistakes. We _do, _sometimes, do things that might hurt people we care about."

Aang sat down beside her.

"People we love," he added. "Sometimes, no matter what choice we make, _someone _is going to get upset with us. So we try to choose to help whoever _needs _our help the most."

Their eyes were raging with ferocity from their argument. Aang scratched at his ear, and Katara tugged at her hair a bit.

"Aang..."

"Jane _needs _me right now. I don't know _why. _I don't even...know for _what. _But I know she needs me."

"But...but why doesn't she need _me? _I'm...I'm always the one who...-"  
"_You're _always the one who's been there the most," Aang agreed. "Maybe that's _exactly _why she wants to keep you away."

"I...I don't-..._How _does that make any...-?"

"I think she cares about you so much - and is so thankful for you - that she hates watching you burdened with all of her problems."

"But...but it's _not _a burden, I...-"  
"She seems to think it is. Whatever is going on."

"Ugh..." Katara whimpered out in anguish with her head bobbed, rubbing her fingers up and down her temple. "But..._I'm _supposed to be...-" Her voice cracked, and she trailed off.

"What did Jane ask you to do?" Aang tried to calmly present the question.

"Huh...?" Katara looked back up to him, still touching the side of her head.

"Jane asked you to give her space," Aang reminded. "She specifically _asked _you for that."

"But...but what if what she _needs _is-?"  
"_No, _you...-" Aang sighed, clamping his hands gently onto her cheeks. "You have to stop thinking like that, Sweetie. _You _cannot make all of her decisions for her."  
"But...what if she doesn't _know_-"  
"You are not her mother."  
"I'm her _friend._"  
"And _as _her friend, you have to let her make her _own _decisions..."  
"But if she's _hurting _right now, then-"  
"Then _if _she is, it's because she _chose _that."  
"That doesn't make it _OK_!"  
"It doesn't matter. She's doing OK _enough _right now, from what she's told me. If things were really bad, it'd be different, but right now...-"

Katara retracted her head from his grip.

"I can't," Katara groaned, getting up from the couch. "Let's...just stop talking about this." She clutched at her stomach, which felt a bit woozy, as she retreated upstairs.

Aang grunted with anxiety to himself as she scratched his hands through his hair. The longer Katara held onto this, more it was going to keep poisoning her mood. And, potentially, the worse off it would make the whole situation.

* * *

- Monday, May 2nd, 2011 -

Korra sighed to herself, taking a moment's reprieve in the empty public restroom. She washed her hands, staring at her own reflection as she did so. This was her first day of real work, in a sense. She was to spend the afternoon monitoring the campus center building, within orbit of her superiors, after she'd endured a morning of being shown how to properly ticket cars that were parked at incorrect or unauthorized locations. So here she was, taking a brief bathroom break. She studied her appearance in the mirror. The black button-down and tie were...unsettling to her. And to have her shirt tucked _in_ felt like an abomination. She'd worn her hair back in a single ponytail today, and that wasn't looking right to her either. Being told about all of these rules and restrictions and things she had to do or had better _not _to was also intimidating.

She simply didn't feel in her element here.

She heard some kind of clamoring to down the long, narrow hallway she was in, which branched off from the main campus lounge. She pursued the sound, approaching the heavy door at the end of the hall, which lead to a stairway downstairs as well as one of the building's various exits. She could make out the words being discussed through the door, and a small window lent her a view.

"'-cause this town's _ours_. You get me?" The young man speaking had a bit of a slur in his speech, his words coming out dull. He was a lanky guy of eastern descent, and had his dark hair styled like some pop star or some shit, bangs hanging over one of his eyes. Oh, god, and were those _purple highlights _in his hair? _Eulgh._ He was leering over another student, slightly shorter than him - a Caucasian. "So you listen up, Whitie. You're gonna keep your opinions to yourself about that."

"It's...not an _opinion_," the meek student insisted through trembled mumbling. "I _know _for a fact that you-"  
"You don't know _shit_."  
The bully grabbed him by his shirt collar and bumped him against the wall in threat. Korra snapped out of her stupor on instinct, pushing the door open.

"_Hey!_" she snapped. She watched with satisfaction as the lanky boy immediately retracted his threatening vice on the other student, his own body twitching with fear. "What's goin' on over here?" Korra demanded, trying to play ignorant to eavesdropping.

"This guy was talkin' smack about my family," accused the Asian bully.  
"I was _not_," protested the Caucasian.

Korra rolled her eyes at this, hands on her hips. Playing peace-keeper wasn't exactly something she was good at, she'd admit.

"All right," she sighed at the two of them. "Listen. I don't give a fuck who said what to who about _whatever. _You." She gestured her head to the Caucasian. "You can go. Don't stir up any trouble." She watched the guy, clearly grateful for her interruption, nodded and hurriedly scamper off down the stairwell. "And _you._" She pointed at the kid with the emo hair and incredibly tight jeans. "What's your name?"

"Tahno," the boy replied with snark. "Can I _help _you, 'Officer?'"

Korra's lower lip popped out in annoyance at his disrespect.

"Cut the crap," she commanded. "Play nice, eh?"

"I can't believe this," huffed the kid with the purple and black hair, crossing his arms as he glared at Korra. "You're gonna side with the white boy here?"

Korra cocked a brow at the scrawny guy's arrogance. What, was this supposed to be some kind of racial thing? He was trying to gain her sympathy because she was non-Caucasian? Nuh-uh. Fuck that.

"I'm siding with the person who was getting man-handled - he could be a _green _person for all I care. I saw _you _roughin' him up. You wanna come have a chat down at the Security Office? That it?"

The boy rolled his head back in irritation and made an audible huff.

"Didn't think so," Korra concluded. She flicked her wrist to the door that led outside. "Now, go on, Backstreet Boy. I don't wanna see none of that shit from you anymore."

"Yes, _Ma'am_," the boy grunted out, pushing himself out the door with a rough shoulder.

"And cut the attitude," Korra added in a shout.

Korra took a deep breath, staring with narrowed eyes at the kid's back as he slumped away. Hm. That was a little more like it. If this job entailed being pushy and telling people to piss off, maybe it _was _something she could get used to, after all.

* * *

Toph and Sokka were sitting side by side on the couch, which had apparently become their primary hangout since that was where they often were lately. Limbs intertwined in some manner or another at all times, nuzzling and kissing and such things. Aang was warming up to the sight, he had to admit. It had caught him off guard how quickly Sokka had been able to just jump into such things with Toph, given his earlier attitude on the situation. Then again, both Sokka and Toph _were _the types of people who seemed to like to jump in over their heads with this sort of thing.

They had been listening to classic rock songs from Toph's iPod through Sokka's laptop, but she'd turned it off when Aang had come downstairs.

Sokka's head had slid down from Toph's shoulder to her bosom over time, and she could tell from the slowed rhythm of his back expanding and contracting against her that he was asleep. She took this opportunity to sift her fingers through his loose hair. It was a little rough and dry today.

Aang walked into the room, a fresh mug of coffee in hand. He sat down in the recliner beside the couch, putting his coffee mug onto a coaster on the foldable mini-table he'd set up.

"_Someone _sure looks comfortable," Aang quietly teased his friend.

Toph grinned, turned her head to the sound of Aang's voice.

"Guess my boob makes a good pillow," she remarked.

Aang smirked.

"Can't argue with that," he said sneakily.

"You _know_ you miss it," Toph bragged.

"_Oh, yes_," Aang played along facetiously, smiling to himself as he took a sip. He'd put a lot of creamer into it - maybe a little too much. It tasted good, either way.

Toph rolled her head back against the couch, smiling to herself. This was nice. Her two favorite guys in the world, just...chillin'. Hanging out. It was a little weird, in a way, this strange new context to things. Being able to make an awkward joke like that with Aang, and he seemed OK with it...That was refreshing. The security of the two of them having feelings toward other people seemed to be doing wonders toward making their past romantic conflict feel like what it was: history.

"Kinda crazy, huh?"

"What's that?" Aang wondered, sketching at his pad.

"Heh. Just...this whole _thing. _With us. Like...-" Toph giggled in a way Aang found almost uncharacteristic of her. Like a tinkling little laugh. "You and me, finding out that the people who work better for us are..._these _two clowns - a brother and sister."

"Mm." Aang nodded to himself, his attention to his drawing, though he was listening to her fine. "Yea, that _is _kind of funny..."

"If this all sticks, I mean...we'll be related," Toph pointed out. "Like, not just metaphorical bro/sis stuff, we'll _actually _be, like, legally, brother and sister."

"In-Law."

"Right."

"_Ha. _Uhh...I hadn't really thought that far ahead."

"Psh, that's 'cuz you're a _boy._"

"_That's _true. You _do _try to convince me otherwise sometimes..."

"Heh, yea..." Toph's smirk faded a bit. "Er, actually...-" She trailed off.

"Huh?" Aang looked up at her from his penciled lines, still assuming a shape.

"You _know _I just...kid about that, right?" Toph checked. "Like, when I make fun of you about that?"

"About what? Being girly?"

"Yea, yea. Like...I don't _actually _think that's a bad thing, ya know."

"Oh."

"OK, well, _usually _I don't think that's a bad thing," Toph amended. "I mean, _h__ello, _I...sorta _dated _you for a while back there. So, like...I totally think you're an awesome guy n' stuff. Ya know?"

"Ah. Erm, thanks." Aang was confused as to where this was coming from, but he wasn't going to turn down a rare and authentic Toph compliment. "You're really awesome, too."

"_Ha, _don't gotta tell _me_," she scoffed in humor. "But-...No, seriously, I mean...you're a stand-up dude. You just weren't...the right _kind _of standup dude for _me._"

"Right. Yea, I...I know."

"And we already had our apologies about shit that went down, and all that, blabla, water-under-the-bridge-stuff...so I don't wanna retread that and whatever. But, Aang...you're a great guy. You could do with a little...I dunno. Self-esteem?"

"Huh? I...I'm fine with _me_," Aang assured her.

"Well, yea. I meant-..._Gah, _see, this is what I need Sister-Face for, to explain this sorta shit. Where _is _she, anyway?"

"She's out back. Talking with her dad." Aang continued his drawing.

"Oh. OK. I'll try harder." She grinned in spite of herself, blowing air at her bangs. Sokka sniffed in a loud snort, fidgeting a bit in his sleep, and she laughed through her nose at him. "Um..." She picked at her nose a bit, though there wasn't really anything to pick at the moment. "I dunno, guess it's hard to put it in words, but you just...seem really..._distant_? Lately? Is that the word? Like...quiet?"

"Quiet?"

"_Yea, _like...in the background, I guess, I mean. Sorta. Fff, _bleh. _Told you, I dunno how to say it."

"No, I...think I know what you mean," Aang mumbled with a shrug. "I just...don't see why that's such a problem."

Toph sighed to herself, recalling so many arguments she and Aang had once shared where this topic would seep its way in.

"OK, well, like...right now, you and Katara have a problem."

"I-I suppose you could say that..."

"_No, _Aang. No...fucking '_supposing.' _You guys have an issue. What are you doing about it?"

"I've tried talking with her, Toph. I told her how I felt, what I thought she needed to do, explained myself...I don't see what else you're expecting from me."

"Heh. Yea, see...you didn't answer my question."

"Huh?"

"I didn't ask what you _said _or _talked _about, Twinkles. I asked what you're _doing._"

"Uh..."

"_Ugh, _do I gotta spell it...-? OK. Aang. You and Katara. Are you guys...having your cuddle time?"

"You mean...having _sex?_" Aang grumbled out flatly.

"I didn't _say _that," Toph pointed out in defense. "But...I mean, _yea, _that works, too."

"Toph, Katara and I haven't...gotten to that point yet," Aang explained tiredly. He was not in the mood to discuss this with Toph of all people. It was...awkward.

"OK, so, but...is that 'cuz you don't _want _to?"

"Toph..."

"'Cuz, like, if you _do _want to...what's holding you back?"

"I guess I do," Aang puffed out. Toph was too pushy and stubborn, she wasn't going to drop this.

"So?"

"So...Katara's not in a good mindset lately, and I don't feel like it's a good time to-...Listen, I don't really wanna talk about this right now..."

"_Er, _all right. Sorry."

There was an odd silence, and Sokka snorted loudly in his sleep.

"'_Ey!_" Toph called to him, slapping him on the back of the head gently. "Snoozles!"

"_Gurgh...?_" Sokka flinched awake, realizing where his face had rested. He pushed himself up groggily.

"Stop snoring all over my boob and go sleep in your _bed__, _ya goober."

Sokka belted out one of his stupid laughs in his groggy state.

"Ahhhh...You said _goober,_" he observed with slow, child-like speech, rubbing at his eyes.

"Tsh. Yea, yea..." Toph smiled, pushing him away from her. "Now get outta my face."

"But I like your face." Sokka stood up slowly and patted his meaty hand on Toph's head, tousling her disheveled hair. "I like being _in _your face. It is this new _thing _that is nice."

"OK, OK, we can spend time being in each other's faces _later_," Toph chuckled. "Now _git._" She lifted her foot and kicked the side of her leg against Sokka's shins.

Sokka yawned, and scratched at his stubble-ridden jaw - Toph could tell, too, by the exact sound this particular gesture created, one she was quickly becoming rather fond of.

"'Kay," Sokka said through a second yawn. "Catch ya laterrr..."

"Good night," said Aang with a small wave he doubted Sokka had caught.

Toph sniffed in a pleasant sigh through her nose and held her breath for a couple of seconds - silence - before letting her breath out.

"Finally, some quiet," she said to herself, taking advantage of the extra space on the couch to lay down.

Aang continued sketching for a minute or so, the two enjoying the quiet. Then, at last, Aang paused, and set his pencil behind his ear.

"I don't know what to do when Katara gets all hormonal like this," Aang confessed. "I just...want her to be _happy, _but...it's like nothing I can do helps."

"Heh...Had that same problem with me sometimes, too, didn't ya?" Toph remarked.

"Y-yea, I-...You could say that," he muttered back. he expected Toph to add something to this - to throw her opinion upon him as she usually did, but...nothing. Aang rubbed the back of his neck, setting his sketch pad upon the coffee table with care. "Whatever I say to her, it's like...it's useless."

"Yea," Toph acknowledged. "Like you're talking to a brick wall." She sighed quietly to herself, lamenting her own previous attitudes.

"Erm, well, actually, more like a...tidal wave," Aang sheepishly changed the metaphor.

"Huh?"

"No matter what I throw at it, or how I try to stop it, it's just going to be keep coming," Aang laughed nervously. "That's what Katara's like when she's angry."

"_Heh, _good call, Twinkle-Toes. I hear ya."

"I-I mean...is this just...a _girl_ thing?" he grumbled uncertainly. "When girls get upset, they get stuck in their ways, and you can't _do _anything about it?"

"Meh, prolly just a _stubborn _girl thing," Toph decided, wiggling her free toes. "Sister-Face and me, we're pretty damned different. But one thing we totally both share in common is that we're _stubborn as hell._" Toph scrunched up her toes, digging into the fabric of the couch's arm at her feet. "We decide on something, and we don't let go."

"Yea, but...that's the whole problem," Aang sighed. Toph's feet loosened at this, and Aang elaborated. "Katara _needs _to learn to let go of all of this stuff that's bothering her. I just can't figure out how to convince her, like...what to say, to get her...-"

Toph thought back on her own time grappling with her internalized issues. She remember what Sokka had said back during that time.

_'Guess us screwups just need a kick in the teeth once in a while...'  
Hm. Not everyone needs the same kind of kick, though, maybe.  
_

"You want _my _opinion?" Toph asked. Aang was intrigued by this, because Toph actually _waited _for him to respond instead of ramming her words down his throat.

"Uh..."

"If not, I can just shut up, I don't...like, wanna-"  
"No, no, it's fine. Go ahead."

"'Kay. The way it seems to me is that you need to _do _something."

"I don't...really _get _what you mean..."

"You keep saying that you're _talking _with her. Aang, that's great n' all, good on ya and stuff, but...Katara doesn't _need _talking right now. She needs _action._"

"Uh...Whhh...-? Like..._action _action?"

"Erm, m-maybe! I dunno! That's not what I meant, exactly, but...I mean, it _could _be it? Gah. Whatever. Don't worry about that right this second. Point is, you tried talking it out. That didn't fix crap. Did it?"

"Er...No, not really..."

"You love Katara, right?"

"Yea."

Toph smiled coyly, as that single word had been spoken without the shaky lack of conviction as the rest of Aang's side of this conversation.

"In my experience, when you really love someone, it shows in what you _do, _not just your words. That's the thing about being blind for me, Aang: I don't judge people on what they say, how they look, how they carry themselves, but _how _they say stuff, and what they _do._"

"Sooo..."

"You are a fucking _awesome _guy, and, uh, in case you forgot? _You saved her from a burning building. _Like, some TV hero shit and stuff! That's..._amazing. _Seriously, next time Sokka picks on you not being 'manly' or some bullshit, I promise you, I'm gonna deck 'im and tell him to do something _half _as manly as that for me."

Aang's face went red at Toph's bold compliments. He kept trying to forget that night and everything it entailed, especially since that seemed to be what everyone else had been doing, but it was hard to argue with Toph's case.

"You've got the _stuff, _Twinkle-Toes. More than any guy I know. Sokka - gimme some time with him, heh. But I already _taught __you _everything you need to know about dealing with stubborn chicks, right? And you stood up to _me, _didn't ya?"

"I...I guess I did," Aang agreed, beginning to comprehend where she was going with this.

"See?" Toph lifted her body up, her dead eyes of white seeming to stare right through him. "You're not a _wimp, _you're not a _coward_, so stop acting all wishy-washy and unsure of yourself, and you stand up to that tidal wave, and you _stand your ground _right through it!"

"Mm." Aang nodded at her stern expression. "Yea..."

"I _know_ my way isn't always the best one," Toph conceded. "Believe me, I figured that out. But I _really _think that right now, in _this _case, Katara needs you to be the...-" Toph balled up a fist, and opened the opposing palm."-...the solid _rock _that she can crash that angry wave onto." She smacked her fist into the other hand. "And she'll see that you're still standing strong afterward, and...I-I dunno, I kinda lost my place here 'cuz that sounded cool and shit, but...-" Toph huffed air out at her bangs, frowning with some frustration at how she seemed to have derailed her own motivational speech. "_Fuck. _This inspirational stuff is Katara's job, I'm just...ya know...-"

"It's OK," Aang laughed. "I, uh...I think I follow you."

"The bottom line is this." Toph dug her fingers into her scalp, trying to focus. "You're a good guy, Aang. And you're _not _weak. Katara's a strong girl, you know that, I know that. She's always the one looking out for all of us. But everyone has shitty days sometimes, and it seems like all of her shitty days for the past, like..._whatever_...are all happening at once. I don't quite get what her deal is, but I know damned well that _you _are gonna get her through it. 'Cuz that's who you are. But to do that, you gotta..._do..._that! Like, take _action. _She's a pissy woman right now, she's not gonna respond to words. You gotta show her with _action _that she needs to get the hell over herself, and that the past doesn't fucking _matter _because _you _are the present - _her _present - and...that's what should matter."

Aang wasn't entirely sure he agreed with quite everything Toph was telling him, but he _did _understand what she was going for, and he _did _find himself agreeing with the main points, at least.

"You're right," Aang decided. "Thanks for...yelling at me?"

"Always a pleasure," Toph stated with a very toothy grin, eyes squinted in delight.

"I _know_," Aang slyly retorted. "Oh, I know."

* * *

"A-and it'd be..._nice _to...to actually have, like...time _alone _with him, and we could-"  
"Katara. I understand," Hakoda insisted calmly with a humored smile.

"I-I've been taking my...my birth control for...for a while now, so...so I mean, it's not like I'm being dumb about it."

"I know."

"But I...I didn't want to just..._do it_ here...with...without your permission, because...-"

"It's _fine_," said Hakoda firmly.

"_Urgh, _it is _not_ fine," Katara whimpered, hands clamped on her temples. "I...I feel like Aang is slipping away from me, and...and I can't _lose _him, I mean...he's...so important to me, and...-"

Hakoda clutched his daughter's wrists, easing them down from her head.

"Aang is not 'slipping,'" he reassured her.

"B-but all we do is _argue _lately...A-and that's...what he and Toph were doing right before...-"

"You need to calm down," Hakoda sighed, her wrists still in his grasp. He tugged her gently, easing her to come sit at the fire pit beside him. They sat on the wooden bench propped beside the pit. The flickering flames reflected off of Katara's confused eyes, and Hakoda's heart stung at the sight. For a moment, he saw Kya in those familiar eyes.

"Aang and I, we...we're supposed to be _perfect _together," Katara lamented. "We're not supposed to _do _this."

"Every couple fights some times, Katara. No one is perfect."

"But...Y-you and _Mom, _you-"  
"-fought sometimes. And we did our best to do that away from you and your brother so you wouldn't fear that it had to do with either of you."

"He-...But, Dad, Aang _lied _to me..."

"Katara, he did not _lie _to you."

"He's been _hiding the truth _from me."

Hakoda huffed at this, scratching the bridge of his nose.

"Your mother hid certain truths from me sometimes, too."

"Wh..-?" Katara was baffled at this prospect.

"And I'm _sure _you've kept things hidden from people to protect them, too. Haven't you?"

"I-...Y-yea, I guess, but-...He's been sneaking around and talking to people, and...and...not telling me-"  
"He's trying to _help_ you, Sweetie."

"_Why _can't he help me..._honestly? _In the open?"

Hakoda stared at his daughter squarely and with resolve.

"Katara, I'm sorry, but with the way you're acting lately, I think he's been trying to keep things from worrying you too much."

Katara growled under her breath, her bottom lip quivering stubbornly.

"But he's been talking with that stupid bitch behind my back," she seethed.

"_Katara._"

"I mean, who _does _that? What kind of friend just...just up and _ditches _you with no explanation like that?"

"Let's leave your friend out of this."

"_No! _She's _not _my friend anymore, that's the _point! _And I don't even know _wh_y! _Ohhh, _but she's still friends with _Aang, _and...and _Korra, _and...guh. But _I'm _not good enough, after all I've...-"

"This isn't about Jane. Is it?"

Katara avoided her father's knowing gaze, instead focusing her attention on the small fire before her.

"Ya know what?" Katara snipped. "You're right. It's not. It's about _Aang, _and how he's hiding things from me, and-"  
"Like how _you _hide things from _me._"

Katara froze at this accusation, eyes darting to her father, who shook his head slowly with disappointment.

"You stopped taking your medicine. I know you think you shouldn't need it, but...Sweetie, _look _at yourself."

Katara swallowed hard, and the two seemed unable to unlock their fixed stares at each other. Hakoda specified his point.

"You're acting like you did back when we lost your mother. The way you are right now? This is...exactly why you were put on those pills in the first place."

Katara drew in an uneasy breath, her fretful mind scurrying in too many directions at once. The sorrow in her father's face was too much to bear for more than a second or two. She buried her forehead in her palms and coughed out a sob, her face welling up with impending tears. She hated feeling so inadequate - so out of control of her own emotions and actions. So unlike herself, and yet she knew that her attitude lately was just an extension of the dark parts of her that she loathed. The paranoia and the pain and the lack of control, all surging to the forefront of her mind, _all _the damned time these days.

Maybe she wasn't strong enough, after all.

Hakoda saw her beginning to sob, hunching over her knees. His own eyes bulged with salty water, and he leaned over, putting his arms on her shoulders and planting a kiss on the back of her head. She grasped her hands out at him, pulling his body toward her for a hug. Hakoda ached at his daughter's unstable emotional state, and clutched her tightly.

"I'm sorry," Katara moaned, letting herself cry. "I-I'm supposed...to be better than this, but...but-"  
"Shh, shh-shh." Hakoda ran his hand over her head slowly. Her back twitched up periodically from her sobbing. "Take it easy. It's all right."

+ youtube dotcom /watch?v=dcnd55tLCv8 +  
('Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)'; Billy Joel)

_I'm the one that's sorry - sorry that I couldn't have been a stronger father for you. Sorry that you had to grow up without your mother.  
_

**~Goodnight, my angel; Time to close your eyes~**

Katara's squinted eyes, burning from tears and frustration.

**~And save these questions for another day~**

"That's it. Let it out."

**~I think I know what you've been asking me~**

_Dad, am I failure? Am I weak? Why does it still hurt?_

**~I think you know what I've been trying to say~**

_Daughter, you are strong. It will always hurt. But we'll carry on._

**~I promised I would never leave you~**

_"Mom!"_

_"I'll be all right, Hun."_

**~And you should always know~**

Kya's blood, oozing out across the ground.

**~Wherever you may go; No matter where you are, I never will be far away~**

Katara's fingers, sliding across the surface of the stone around her neck.

**~Goodnight, my angel; Now it's time to sleep~**

Hakoda, looking down at Kya's pale, unmoving face from her coffin.

**~And still so many things I want to say~**

His mind whirling with everything that could've been.

**~Remember all the songs you sang for me~**

Dancing together at their wedding.

**~When we went sailing on an emerald bay~**

The Great Barrier Reef during their honeymoon.

**~And like a boat out on the ocean~**

Katara's sobs fading into her father's shoulder.

**~I'm rocking you to sleep~**

Hakoda's hand running across his daughter's back.

**~The water's dark and deep; Inside this ancient heart~**

"I love you."

**~You'll always be a part of me~**

"I love you, too, Dad."

**~Goodnight, my angel; Now it's time to dream~**

"Are you feeling a little better?"

**~And dream how wonderful your life will be~**

"Umm...Y-yea, a bit. I know things will be fine, just...-"

**~Someday your child may cry; And if you sing this lullaby~**

"I understand."

**~Then in your heart, there will always be a part of me~**

_I miss you, Kya. But I'm so grateful for the children you left to keep me company._

**~Someday we'll all be gone, but lullabyes go on and on~**

Kya's warm smile.

**~They never die~**

Katara, clearing her tears.

**~****That's how you a**nd I~

Hakoda, wiping her eyes with his thumb.

**~Will be~**

Father and Daughter, eyes glazed over, giving each other hesitant smiles of gratitude.

"I...I can't believe I'm...supposed to be a grown up...and I still cry this this."

"Being able to let yourself cry when you need to...That's not a sign of weakness. That's a sign that you know yourself, and what you need."

"Right now, I...I need Aang."

"Then you should stop worrying about what you want, or what you think is best, or right...and simply rely on what you need."

* * *

- Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 -

"_Woohoo!_ Yea!" Korra pumped her fists, her body damp with sweat.

"Gimme up top!" Bolin called out, lifting up both arms. Korra high-fived one, and Mako the other.

A brief flurry of 'good game's' and hands tiredly slapping other hands proceeded as the two teams of threes played nice and concluded their basketball game. As their trio of opponents tiredly wandered to the benches at the edge of the street court, Korra smacked Mako on the back heartily.

"Nice play there, Cool Guy."

"Yea, thanks," said Mako with a upward nod. "You, too." Korra smirked with a shrug. She knew she'd played hard today, but it was still nice hearing it. "And Bolin, that was some great defense today." Bolin beamed at his brother's compliment.

"You did awesome, Bo," Korra agreed. She and Bolin exchanged sparking smirks momentarily before they reached their own benches on the opposite side of the court. Mako immediately took out a small towel and began to pat himself dry from his perspiration, while Korra chugged some bottled water and Bolin sat down with an exhausted grunt. Korra and Mako followed suit, settling down beside him.

The chain-link fence door to the area rattled open, and a small swarm of younger folks sauntered in. Leading the pack was a guy with cold eyes, his hair styled over his face. Purple highlights. Ugh. That punk from the other day. He was holding a basketball under his arm and striding with arrogance. Tahno, right? Korra made a point to shoot him a nasty glare, though the guy was too self-absorbed at the moment to give heed. He was dressed to play, other than his ridiculous hair, and was joined by two other players, who trailed behind, and two ditsy-looking women who were clinging to him like flies on crap.

"Great. _This _guy..." groaned Mako under his breath, shaking his head.

"He's a nasty _dude_," Bolin whispered in Korra's ear, and she gave him an amused eyebrow.

"You guys know him?" Korra asked as the players on the court before them began to do some light drills.

"He's a student at the college," Mako explained with disinterest. "Captain of their basketball team. He acts like he owns this place whenever he shows up here."

"Hm. Sounds about right," Korra grumbled. "I ran into him at work the other day."

"Yea? He's a real _charmer, _isn't he?" Mako sighed.

"He's..._somethin', _all right," Korra chuckled.

After having hardly done anything on the playing field - a few dribbles, and a shot at the basket - Tahno paused, pinching at his nose as he stared around at the players resting on their benches. His teammates slowed to a stop, and his fangirls from the corner of the court exchanged worried glances.

"_Whew!_ You boys smell somethin'?" Tahno asked. "_Wwwwait_." He raised a cocky index finger upward. "I know what _that _is. Yea, that's the scent of _losers._"

"Fuckin' eh." Korra rolled her eyes. "A comedian, too," she muttered. Tahno took notice of her and approached, flaunting with each step he took.

"Well, well, well," Tahno stared down at the trio. "If it isn't the 'friend' I made the other day. Happy to see me?" Korra glared up at him with heavy-hung eyebrows and a crooked jaw. "Amateur basketball player by night, amateur se-_curr_-ity by day."

"_Pff_," Korra puffed back, feigning disinterest. She wouldn't mind nailing this creep right in the chin.

"After we met, I just _had _to learn more about you, Miss Inse-_curr_-ity. I found out you've had a lot of work trouble lately," Tahno observed. "Seem to be getting hired pretty _quick _by the school, mm? Tell me: who'd you have to hand-job to get _jobs _handed _to _you?"

Korra's nostrils widened and she snorted out steam, her teeth clenched. Bolin was frozen, his eyes bulged open, darting back and forth between Korra and Tahno.

"Back off," Mako snapped irritably, breaking the silence. Tahno sent him a wide-eyed leer before focusing his attention back on Korra. He leaned over, sticking his face right near hers and ignoring Mako's warning.

"I know you're still new in town, Brownie," Tahno whispered to her. "If you'd like, I could...show you _around_. Give you some _pointers _on how things work here."

Korra, still drizzled in perspiration, her hair tied back in a singular tail, rose up defiantly from her seat. Her threatening stare at Tahno remained locked as she did so.

"You wanna go toe-to-toe with me, Pretty Boy?" she growled at him. "I'll knock the fucking purple out of your hair."

"Go for it," Tahno smoothly egged her on.

Tension rose for a couple of lengthy seconds, Korra's fists tightening.

"Korra, _don't_," Bolin seethed to her from her left, getting onto his feet.

"He's not worth it," Mako agreed from her right, joining them in standing, their duffelbag slung across his back.

Both brothers eased Korra to the side, pushing her to come with them and leave the court. They brushed by Tahno's eye-candy companions, who frowned at them with disgust.

"You're lucky I'm not on the clock," Korra hissed at Tahno over her shoulder. "One of these days I'm putting you in your _place_, Backstreet Boy."

"Yeeaaa," said Tahno with smug sarcasm, leaning his hip to the side with a hand on it. "I'm pissin' my pants over here..."

After they'd left the street court, Korra shrugged brusquely, knocking both brother's hands off of her shoulders.

"What a _douchebag_," she grunted, teeth grinding.

"He's just an ass," said Mako. "Don't let him get to you."

"Yea, don't listen to him," said Bolin, peeling off his sweatband from his head and wiping the damp area with his wrist. "He's a brat. Ignore him and he'll back off."

"Hmph."

Ignoring assholes wasn't an enticing prospect for Korra.

In her experience, ignoring assholes meant that they'd keep on thinking that it was OK to act that way.

And that shit wasn't going to fly on her watch.

* * *

- Wednesday, May 4th, 2011 -

["Dinner is ready!"]  
["All right, Mom, I'll be down in a couple minutes, let me finish up here."]  
["You and all your devices, always talking, all the time...-"] Aunt Wu's complaining faded further into the background.

"Gotta go?"

["Nah, food won't _really _be ready for a little bit. So don't think you're off the hook. No changing the subject. Fess up, Tophie: what did you and your new boyfriend _do_ last night?"]

"_Heh_. There may or may not have been kisses involved."

["That it?"]

"_Pff_! Yea, that's _it_."

["Woooow. Learning to keep the beast at bay now? I'm proud of you."]

"_Ha_." Toph grinned, her face warm from the discussion. There was no real reason to be embarrassed, after all. This was Meng she was talking to.

["Sounds like you're really trying to take your time with him."]

"Eh. Not _really_. I mean...We _are _movin' right along," Toph conceded with a devilish mumble.

["I guess you're both more comfortable with each other than you expected."]

"Yea. Pretty much. I dunno what it is, something just..._clicked._"

["You sound...really _happy._"]

"Mm."

["Like, _really _happy."]

Toph snickered.

["Yeeaaaa. Just like that."]

Toph's laughing turned into a snort, which caused _Meng _to start snickering, in turn.

"What are _you _laughing about?" Katara's tired words cut through Toph's mind. Katara had entered the room - _her _room - and had walked past Toph, who was cross-legged on the floor.

"Oh, uh, heh...Just talkin' with Meng."

"Ah..." Katara was utterly disinterested.

Toph could hear a drawer scuffing from where Katara's dresser was.

["Huh?']

"Oh, it's...Katara."

["Tell her I said 'hi!'"]

"Meng says 'hi.'"

"Mm."

Toph scratched the bridge of her nose, containing herself. Katara wasn't being actively cranky today, she was just...distant. In a way, Toph worried that this was worse. Pissed off, bitchy Katara was at least predictable and _emotional. _This Katara was...like...weird and empty-sounding. Like a switch had been flipped off.

"You OK, Sister-Face?"

"Fine."

"Whatcha up to?"

"Going for a swim," Katara answered calmly, sliding the drawer closed. She walked right back out of the room, the door gently clicking closed behind her.

"Uh...Later...?" Toph muttered out to empty space. She puffed a sigh at her bangs.

["What was that about?"]

"Dunno. She's been a different _kind _of odd today. I don't even care."

["_Psh! _Yea, you do."]

"OK, yea, but...doesn't matter. Not my problem. She won't listen to me. Already tried."

["Um...All right."]

A long pause with no sounds but breathing. Toph drummed her fingers along her thigh.

"Sssooooo...-" She cleared her throat. "Uh, what about..._you?_ Any, like...boy...stuff...goin' on?"

["Ermm...Hm..."]

"'_Hm_?' Is that like a, 'maybe?' Heheh."

["Th-there's like...this guy..."]

"_Ohhhh, _man!" Toph jeered.

["Yea, so...we've been chatting a lot during vacation."]

"Yea? Chatting? Like...in _person, _or...-?"

["Over the net-webs. You know."]

"Uh-_huh_..."

["We only know each other online so far, but...but, like, we might meet up at some point."]

"Oh? Where's he from?"

["He's, uh...he's from the east coast, so...northeast, I guess."]

"You _guess?_"

["I...I don't _know, _I mean, he talks about where he is _now, _but that's his school. So I'm not...really sure."]

"Mm..." Toph was detecting a strangeness about her cousin here.

["He's really nice, though. Kinda dorky."]

"Sounds like you, all right."

["Heehee, yup."]

"You just...getting to know each other, then?"

["Yea. All the time. Lots of chatting. Like, practically every day."]

"Well, _wehhh-hell..._A little mutual interest, sounds like."

["Sounds like..."]

"What's he into?"

["Erm, music, actually...Aheh."]

"Ha! That so?"

["Yep."]

"Interesting."

["Mmhm."]

"What's he play?"

["_Oh, _rrrright. Yea, uh...I bet you can guess."]

Toph picked her nose as she thought.

"Violin, huh?"

["Haha, I'm so predictable, right?"]

Toph rubbed the residue she'd culled from her nostril onto her jean shorts.

"He's probably into all that nerdy geek Japanese stuff like you, too?"

["_Some _of it, sorta."]

"So, at least you'd have something in common."

["I hope so."]

"Well, good luck to ya, Cuz."

["Thanks. I...I really have _no _friggin' clue if anything will happen, we just...chat a lot, is all."]

"Yea, yea. I hear ya. Gotta start somewhere, though."

["Right."]

"But that's pretty sweet. Good on ya. Tryin' to make guy-friends n' stuff."

["Thanks. Gettin' some practice in for college, either way."]

"Yea."

["Fff...God knows I need it."]

Toph paused, hunched over her lap with disdain. Meng just didn't sound like herself today. It was starting to bug her.

"Don't go sayin' shit like that," Toph mumbled, trying to be encouraging. "You're awesome."

["Uh-huh..."] Meng wasn't going to hear it. They'd already had this talk.

It usually went, 'Easy for you to say, Toph, you're so pretty and talented and I'm a dweeb and a dork and weird-looking,' and then Toph would try and convince her about how looks weren't everything, and that there were different _kinds _of talents, and-  
["**Meng! **Are you still on the phone?"]

["Coming!"] A sigh. ["I should get going."]

"Sure. Good hearing from ya."

["Yup. You, too. Nice to know you and Sokka are working out so well. Maybe some of your luck can rub off on me..."]

"I'll try to send some of my awesomeness over to you."

["Uh..._Yea._"] Ah, damnit. That probably came out a little arrogantly. ["Good night."]

"Bye!" Toph bit her lip as the call dropped. She bumped her forehead with her wrist. Hopefully Meng got the idea, even if it had come out awkwardly.

But what was going on with her? She had sounded nervous. Hm. Jane flies the coop, Katara goes screwy in the head, and now Meng was acting weird? Were all the women in Toph's life losing their marbles all at once?

* * *

- Thursday, May 5th, 2011 -

"_Mmmm_-hm-hm-**hm!**" Ty-Lee stretched with satisfaction, the bubbling, steamy waters soothing her muscles.

"And just _what _is going through that empty head of yours?" Azula sighed, staring at her jacuzzi neighbor with suspicious eyes.

Ty-Lee floated a few feet over to Azula's side and whispered into her ear.

"That today has been fun." Ty-Lee pecked Azula on the temple, who absorbed the affection like a spoonful of cough syrup that she secretly thought tasted good.

"I suppose." Azula's expression remained stiff and unchanging.

The two soaked in the hot, shifting liquid for a minute or so of comforted silence.

"Still thinking about it?" Ty-Lee whispered. "You _are. _I can see it in your eyes. You're still worried. Debbie DOWNER."

A stubborn "Mmph" was the response that was received.

"I guess...something needs to be done about that," Ty-Lee murmured with melancholy, running her fingernail down Azula's arm. "Doesn't it?"

"Ty-_Lee_. Your guilt-inducing remarks won't-"  
Azula's sharp defense was cut through by another kiss, this one on her cheek.

"You should let yourself _care_ about this, Azula."

"You know I cannot do that. Too much is riding on my decisions to let _emotions _dictate the choices I make. This company, "

"'Kayyyyy, but...like, I _know _that. Doesn't mean ya hafta, like...close up like a clam."

Azula's eyelids sunk closed and she leaned back, resting her head against the rounded edge of the hot tub.

"We've gone days without discussing this," Azula pointed out. "Can we not appreciate our time together - our _vacation _- in peace?"

"_Chyeah, _but...but, just because we didn't _talk _about it doesn't mean you aren't _thinking _about it."

"Ty-Lee...do _not _do this right now."

"What if you don't _do _something and someone you know gets hurt?"

Azula raised her fingers to veil her face, and Ty-Lee pressed her point.

"Like _Zuko? _Or your _Uncle? _You _know _they've gotta be high on the list..."

"_Yes, _Ty-Lee, I am..._quite _fully aware," snapped Azula through grit teeth. "Your _reminders _are not necessary."

"So you _are _going to do something about it."

"What, precisely, do you expect me _to _do?"

"Ermm...You're..._God__Z__ula. _You can do whatever you set your mind to."

Azula lifted an eyebrow at Ty-Lee's naive grin.

"I suppose you're right," she concluded coolly, their eyes locked. She cocked her chin up slightly. "I _could _do anything I wished."

"And...what do you _wish__?_" Ty-Lee mumbled, prodding at Azula's shoulder with her finger.

Azula tapped her chin with her fingertips, gazing out across the rooftop to the evening cityscape.

"That _is _the question of the hour, it seems...And what is that _you _wish?"

When she looked back at her partner, the goofy girl's face was halfway dipped beneath the bubbling waters. She looked up at Azula's curiosity with childish indifference and shrugged.

"Well, then?" Azula persisted. Ty-Lee sunk the rest of her head into the water and began to drift off through the tub. Azula watched with perplexation. When Ty-Lee popped back up on the opposite end of the small pool with a gasp, Azula contained her arousal, staring with narrowed eyes. "Why did you do that?" Azula demanded with a fickle frown. Ty-Lee winked back at her. "You're acting silly," Azula dismissed. Ty-Lee coyly shrugged again, rolling her eyes upward. "Come...-! _Ugh. _Very well." Azula waded across the steaming, bottom-lit pond and leaned against the opposite end, now back beside Ty-Lee.

"_That's _what I wish for," Ty-Lee giggled.

"And what is _that, _exactly?"

Ty-Lee poked her index against Azula's nose.

"For _you _to chase after _me _for a change," she teased.

Azula crossed her arms with a smirk.

"I am _not _the sort of person you want chasing you down," Azula advised slyly. "I can be _rather _relentless."

Ty-Lee cleared her throat, then mimicked Azula's snippy manner of speech with a devil's grin.

"I am..._quite _fully aware."

* * *

- Friday, May 6th, 2011 -

"MAY-MAY."

"Tom-Tom."

"ZU-ZU."

Mai chortled at her baby brother's speech while Zuko's eyes dulled with disappointment. He didn't need _another _person calling him that, did he?

"You'll never shake that name off," teased Mai, adjusting her hold on the child in her arms. He squirmed in her grip, and she wrestled with him a bit before he tried to climb up to her shoulders by using her chest as a foothold. "_Oh_-kay," she grunted out with discomfort, prying him from her abdomen and setting him down on the floor in front of the couch they were sitting upon.

He began to babble out in protest, but to Zuko, it was gibberish. Mai seemed to understand, though.

"Go see Mom, then," she calmly replied, bending over to be closer to eye-level with the toddler. She pointed a finger over to the kitchen. "Go on."

"Mom-mee?" He didn't seem thrilled at the prospect.

"Yea! That's right." Mai nudged him on the shoulder, and he waddled off. Readjusting her bra from her brother's foot attack, she sighed with relief. "I think he's a little excited that you're here," she decided, giving Zuko a warm smirk. He shrugged, sending back a light smile of his own.

"Eh. I'm just glad you know how to handle him. I never know what to do with..._kids._"

Mai laughed through her nose, running her hand across Zuko's thigh, the texture of his sweatpants soft and inviting.

"When we get around to having a kid of our _own_, I'm going to need you to be figuring out that kind of thing," she pointed out with a tint of worry.

Zuko's glance drifted down for a moment of self-doubt before he collected his self-confidence. His amber eyes sparked with some of that familiar determination she admired. He tucked her tight shirt down, covering up the exposed bit of belly that had become visible in her shirt-fidgeting. His hand lingered along her waist, rubbing it back and forth slowly. He tried to imagine a living _being _- a _ch__ild _- being created within the space. His _own. _How would he be able to deal with that?

With his family so messy and in shambles, was it possible, or even wise in the first place, to try to continue the Kurosawa line?

Mai's slender fingers pushed out-of-place strands of dark hair up over Zuko's head, studying those stern eyes of his all the while.

"You..._do _still want to...-?"  
"_Yea. _Yes...I do," Zuko ably replied. "Eventually." Zuko kissed Mai's forehead.

"_Good_. Because the world deserves to have a kid in it being raised by someone like you."

"Mai..."

"With all of the burdens you've been carrying, you will know _exactly _how to _not _make the mistakes other fathers do," Mai insisted.

"Like keeping _secrets_?" Zuko groaned to himself. Mai's eyebrows arced with concern, and she clutched his chin.

"_No,_" she soothed. "No, you-...Your Uncle was _right, _it was _smart _to keep me out of the loop on all of that. You were just keeping me safe."

"_And _I was keeping you worried."

"And when I _asked, _you told me the truth," Mai pushed, moving her second hand up. She grasped gently at his firm jawline and tugged his face slightly, forcing him to stare her right in the eyes. "Your family has its fair share of secrets," she conceded. "And if I'm going to be a part of it, I'm going to learn to accept that, and get used to carrying those secrets for you."

"Mai, this is...the entire problem." Zuko clasped his palms over the back of Mai's hands. She let her arms drop, and their fingers tied together in Zuko's lap. "I'm _tired _of the secrets. I'm tired of trying to struggle against all of these problems from the past."

"I know."

"_Look _where all of this leads. My father, my mother, my _sister_...How can I be sure that I won't...-"  
"you are _not _any of those people. You are..._you. _Zuko, your family's ties, their problems, their..._issues_...-" Mai sighed through her nose and gave Zuko's hands a squeeze. "-...none of it is yours to worry about unless you _choose _to. And _that _is something you and your sister share in common: you both are _choosing _to do something about the sins of your father."

Zuko's glance was diverted from Mai's solemn expression as Tom-Tom plodded back into the room, a plush, fuzzy ball in tow. Mai finished her thought despite the disctraction.

"And I am choosing to stand by your side through that." Mai looked down to her younger brother, who tossed the padded toy into her lap. She smiled to him, picked it up, and dropped it on his head. He giggled before flopping onto his bottom, grabbing the item from the carpet.

"But, Mai, that is..._exactly _what my Mother did. I'm sure she had the _same _logic you do."

"There is a big difference, because...-" Mai paused when Tom-Tom rolled the ball into her socked foot. She kicked it to a far corner of the room, watching her sibling scramble to collect it. "This is different, Zuko. Your mother was at a disadvantage because she tried to act alone. What _I _am telling you is that we are going to work through things _together._"

"What if I start becoming the kind of person Ozai was?"

"You _won't._"

"But-!"  
Mai pressed her hand over his lips.

"_Heheheh. _ZU-ZU. **Quiet**."

Zuko frowned at the toddler that was laughing at his expense.

"_You _heard him," Mai declared to Zuko, her brows popped up expectantly. "Quiet." She didn't remove her hand from his face.

"**Quiet!**" Tom-Tom cried out again.

Mai stifled a snicker while her boyfriend leered at her darkly. She finally removed her palm from his lips.

"Tom!" Mrs. Chiao's call from the kitchen pulled the little boy's attention away, allowing Mai and Zuko another moment of privacy.

"You're not going to end up like your dad. And _I _am not going to end up like your mom. We're our _own _people, Zuko. You and Azula _both _need to stop living in the past. I'm starting to think that's the _reason _your Uncle has been keeping so much a secret. Maybe some things _should _be kept under wraps. Leave history where it is, and focus on the here and now. That's what I want."

"Hm..." Zuko scratched an itch on his knee and pulled Mai in for a hug, breathing deeply onto her neck. "Don't get me wrong, Mai. I...wouldn't mind that. But with the way things are going, I wonder if that's really an option any more."

Mai rubbed her nose against the edge of his jaw with a tiny grunt of doubt.

"You sure you still want to stick around?" Zuko whispered to her. "Even with what could go wrong?"

She hummed with approval.

"I knew what I was getting into," she assured him. "And I love you more than I fear what could happen."

* * *

- Saturday, May 7th, 2011 -

Kya's fearful face.

Masks. Screaming, shouting. Flames.

Korra's limp body on the ground.

Fire. So much fire.

Aang, pinned down by debris. Searing heat.

Oh, God. His back. The scar. Oh, _God._

That will never go away. The scars always remain.

The tears don't wash away the bloodstains of the trauma.

But at least the waters help sooth the pain. The warm water, cascading down her tense shoulders. She can imagine it perfectly. Maybe she should-  
"Katara...?" Aang's whisper from her side jarred Katara from her half-awake mental meanderings.

"You OK?" Aang's groggy voice inquired as he rolled over to face her side. Katara realized that she'd been staring straight up at the ceiling for some time now, eyes wide open.

"I-I'm having trouble...sleeping," Katara muttered, sucking in a deep breath through her nostrils. Ech. More like nostril - singular. One seemed totally clogged up. She'd been stirred by another unpleasant dream. No, not a nightmare. Mm-mm. Nope. Just an uncomfortable dream, that was all. But Aang didn't need to know that.

"Again? Mmsorry," murmured Aang with a yawn. He rubbed the top of his head against her bare shoulder as he maneuvered back onto his stomach. Katara had noticed this behavior - that Aang had been sleeping on his stomach lately. She suspected it had to do with the scar tissue on his back. _Ugh. _Why wasn't he wearing a _shirt? _He knew she didn't want to be seeing it right now.

Katara slipped out from under the covers. The night air was chilly, as she'd left her window open a crack to prevent the room from getting too hot. Argh, now it was too _cold. _Grr. Frrzzmgrzzm...

She fumbled with the window, which required drawing the shades _up _so that she could reach to the window's top and push it _down, _then draw the strings back down. The normally simplistic process felt agonizing in the moment, her hands trembling. She checked her phone from her night stand: [**2:47am**]

The thought of warm water flowing over her re-entered her brain, and Katara's spine tingled. Yea. A nice, hot shower. That would relax her muscles, and help her settle down. She trudged her way out of her bedroom and entered the bathroom. _Agh, _the tile floor was so cold. Grr. She carefully clicked the light on, stunning her eyes. She squinted at herself in the mirror, waiting for her sight to adjust. In her white tanktop and shorts, she looked rather miserable. Beneath frizzy, unkempt hair, her eyes were bloodshot with folds of skin formed beneath.

Back in Katara's bedroom, Aang was coming around. He'd noticed that Katara hadn't come back to bed, and she'd left the bedroom door open, allowing the fizzing sound of the shower to travel to him. Rubbing sand from his eyes and letting out a yawn, Aang sat on the side of the bed, wearing only a pair of sweatshorts. He was well enough awake within moments, and considering his situation. Katara had turned distant, opting to avoid interaction rather than lash out. In a way, Aang had found this even more upsetting that her previous actions, especially given her disinterest in physical intimacy recently despite having expressed the desire to go deeper with such things mere days before.

Now seemed as good a time as any to make due on the decision Toph had helped him come to.

Shortly thereafter, Aang found himself timidly entering the bathroom, which was filled with steam.

"Hello?" an indignant Katara called out, her shape blurred by the glass of the shower.

"It's me," Aang croaked out.

"..._Oh_."

"Can I...come in?" Aang asked simply.

"Y-_yea_," Katara quickly responded. "Um, just...just lock the door, I...-" She trailed off, her heart suddenly thumping in her chest. She had talked with her father about her struggles with sexual intimacy regarding Aang - a conversation that had started off awkwardly, to be sure, but her father had been as understanding and down-to-earth as she could've hoped. And then she'd talked with Aang in the past about trying to shower together, to help ease him into that higher level of intimacy she knew he was self-conscious about. She'd started taking birth-control not long after they'd started dating, just so that whenever Aang was ready, she would be, too. And yet here she was, feeling self-conscious herself, as well.

Ugh. This wasn't how she had planned for this to happen. She was upset and mentally unbalanced, and-and cranky, and-...Oh. Well, _OK, _then. There he was, as stark naked as she, suddenly standing before her in the shower. She had instinctualy covered her chest with her arms, but Aang's body language in that moment was unusually...bold. Water trailing down her back and over the front of her shoulders, Katara stared at Aang's wide eyes. Both seemed hesitant to remove their glances from each other's faces, cheeks all red.

Katara's tired expression shifted into a placated smile at Aang's posture - tall and intent, arms right at his sides, back straight. Katara followed his lead, trying to loosen and relax her own stance as he closed the distance between them - though not entirely.

Inches apart, eyes still locked, the two of them found their hands attaching to each other's hips.

"Umm...Y-you...-" Katara began, adjusting the position of her feet as her thoughts were utterly derailed by arousal.

"I'm fine," Aang muttered sheepishly, sliding his fingers up and down Katara's slick hips.

The two finally allowed each other a moment to take in the visual pleasure of each other's bare forms. When their eyes met back up, pupils were dilated and lips slightly ajar. Aang swallowed his nervousness, his chest ready to explode, and nudged Katara's hands up to his back. Her soaking fingers flinched in reaction to being pressed upon his still-dry scar tissue, but he forced her wrists to remain in place for a couple of seconds until she allowed herself to gently rest her hands upon the remnants of his injury. Did it...still hurt? Or...-? Oh, God, his poor back. Aang had lost so much, grown up with so little...the last thing he had deserved was to be burned alive, to be branded in fire, flesh disfigured.

Aang could see Katara's expression tense with retroactive guilt and fear, her eyes darted away from his own, and his suspicions seemed all but confirmed.

Katara was still traumatized from the night at the UR. She was in a shock of sorts. Perhaps that had been a trigger in all of this to begin with - suppressing her traumatic experience, only for Jane's abrupt disappearance to push her off of the artificial balance she'd created, and her lack of medication like the crutch being pulled away. The girl had watched her mother die right in front of her. She didn't need further trauma like that. He had saved her, but just as his burn marks would never fully heal, he worried that Katara's brushes with physical danger and loss had scarred her mind, her soul.

"This scar? It shows how much I love you," Aang explained to her, moving his hands up to her shoulder blades, the texture of her soaking hair smooth and easing. She finally looked back at him, and the two hugged each other, skin against skin in the steaming water. Both bodies were tense, hearts pounding, clinging to each other tightly but cautious not to begin stimulation. "I want you to remember that," Aang choked out, beginning to tear up from the rush of potent emotional reaction. "It's a reminder of...how I will do _anything _for you..."

"Mm...Mm-_hm,_" Katara managed out, kissing his neck. "I love you, too."

"I don't...-" Aang choked out, shaking his head, uncertain of how to phrase himself.

"I know," Katara assured. "I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean for us to...-"  
"But this is what I want. I'm..._ready _for this now. If..._you _are."

Katara nodded eagerly. These days, she was having trouble deciding what she wanted, or needed, or what was best or worst, but _this_, right now, she'd been wanting for a little while, even if she'd tried to contain it. She was an emotional wreck, and that was embarrassing, but it didn't really matter. All that was important right then, right there, was that Aang was there.

Their tears mixed in with the hot streams pouring down upon them. Hands found their way to cheeks and lips matched up together. Kisses repeated, each one deeper than the last.

Moves began to flow like water and they lost themselves in each other - like always.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for holding out with me through this chapter. I've already started 91, which I expect will come more naturally than this one did. It will be exploring a lot of the backstory, and answering a lot of questions that have remained unanswered. **

**I think some people like waiting a while and then having this huge chunk of story to read all at once, but others like reading it bit-by-bit. I can say that Esteemed will be formatted more like the latter for multiple reasons. But for SRU, please follow me on DeviantArt (user Destiny-Smasher) or keep an eye on the SRU Facebook page, (Facebook dotcom slash WhatILearnedatSRU) as I do post these longer chapters in segments now.**


	91. Keepsakes

**A/N: If you only read on FF, you really are missing out on all of the artwork for the series. Remember that you can access the project's art gallery at the DeviantArt group #S-R-U or at Facebook dotcom/WhatILearnedatSRU**

**And if you're starting to get teary-eyed that SRU is on its last ten chapters, maybe breaking them apart like this will help it feel longer, haha. But definitely remember that when SRU is done, my next project, 'Esteemed,' will begin. You can look at stuff for that one by going to DA group #Esteemed-Beifongs or Facebook dotcom/Esteemed-Beifongs**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 91 - Keepsakes_

* * *

_"We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."_  
~ David Brower

* * *

"Yea, I'm knee deep in articles for the Lotus this weekend, I won't have time until Sunday night. That reminds me, Ursa, you _can't _forget to get those photos developed tomorrow." She sighed at her empty CPO box - no mail. Not even _today._ Go figure...

"Don't worry, Kya, I'll take care of it," Ursa insisted from across the way, sniffing at the bouquet of roses she'd received.

"Rad. And Joel, did you finish editing that...-? Joel?" Kya frowned. As usual, Joel Fitzpatrick was off in another world, this time preoccupied with whatever he'd received today.

"What do you have _there,_ Joel?" Ursa wondered.

Joel didn't respond, his olive eyes scanning the hand-written page eagerly. Ursa could see his freckled cheeks turning pink as his eyelids slid down with day-dreaming affection at the photograph that had been included with the letter.

Kya swooped around with a sneaky smile, teasing the orange-haired young man, who quickly stuffed the photo in his jacket's vest pocket.

"Looks like it's from his _galpal_." She flashed Ursa an amused smile and pushed her rounded glasses up slightly, nestling them on her brown, bulbous nose.

"Ha." Ursa raised her chin at her friend. "_Someone _is jealous that they're not getting love letters like the _rest_ of us." She waggled her pink, unopened envelope in the face of her darker-skinned companion, her roses wedged in her arm.

"Take off, eh!" Kya grunted playfully, shoving Ursa's letter away from her face in retaliation.

"Y-yea, come on, Ursa," Joel mumbled out, coming to his senses as his profuse blushing faded. He folded his mail and placed it alongside his new photograph in his jacket. "You shouldn't tease her about that."

The trio wandered away from the post office portion of the campus center's basement, making their way upstairs.

"Maybe if she got her nose out of her _books _once in a while, she might find a cute guy," Ursa continued her taunting, tilting the textbook in Kya's arm off balance. Kya caught it before it fell to the floor.

Kya put out a "_Pfft!_" and tucked the book under her armpit. "Like _you_ did?" she teased right back without skipping a beat. "No, thanks, I'm not into _older_ men."

Ursa shot an exaggeratedly appalled gasp, her brows up high.

"He is not an _older man_!" she seethed with some embarrassment, smacking Kya's back.

"He-...But...-" Joel scratched his lanky fingers through his bowlcut of orange. "_How _old is he?"

Ursa's jaw stiffened as her narrowed eyes avoided her friend's slightly judgmental looks.

"He's in his thirties," Ursa confessed, trying to pass the age difference off as unimportant. "That is not _old._"

"Old _enough_," Kya chuckled, rolling her eyes. "He's, what? Ten years older than you?"

"_Yea,_" Joel murmured with some surprise. "I mean, he's not...a _professor _or anything, is he...?"

"Nope!" Ursa remained resistant to their judgment. "He's not even from around here."

"So, then...who _is _he?" Joel wondered. It had only been a few weeks, that he'd known and Joel had never met the man of mystery. Based on the way Ursa had talked about this man, they'd been involved for some time, though they'd kept it under the radar from people until more recently. Even _now _she was still being coy about it.

"He's Kurosawa's little _brother_," Kya whispered judgmentally in Joel's ear.

Ursa flicked a few dark bangs from her eyes and smiled, apparently proud of herself.

"_What? _Get outta town..." Joel opened the door at the top of the stairwell for the girls.

"Mm-_hm_," Ursa hummed in confirmation, passing by Joel. "And he's a _radical _boyfriend, _thank you _very much."

"By 'radical' you mean...ridiculously _rich?_" Joel muttered with suspicion.

"Yea. He's a total Asian _stud,_" Kya noted with flat sarcasm as she followed. She whispered into Joel's ear, "I had to listen to them on the phone last night? Blech, gag me out the door..."

Joel stumbled along behind the two young women, struggling to not stare at Kya's hips. She was wearing those brown corduroy pants again - they were always _really _distracting to Joel for some reason.

"You _are _jealous," Ursa insisted with mischief.

"Totally am _not._"

"You're jealous _to_ _the_ _max_!"

Joel rolled his eyes at Ursa's stupid slang. These two girls seemed to like flinging around silly words left and right.

"Look at your-...! Joel, look. Look at her nose." Ursa pointed an excited, long-nailed index at Kya's head. "It's wrinkling up."

Scratching his fingernail at his eyebrow awkwardly, Joel blinked with wide, confused eyes at Kya's flustered expression.

"Erm..."

"What? No, it's...-!" Kya fumbled, pinching her nose down as if to straighten it out.  
"Admit it!" Ursa egged, giggling at the discomfort she was causing.

"You're so lame," Kya blurted out with impatience. "She's lame, isn't she, Joel?"

The young man had gotten entirely used to being stuck in the middle of these two, but he did have his bias.

"You _can _be kind of lame sometimes, Ursa," Joel was quick to back Kya up as the group entered the Avatar Center Lounge.

"I'm _teasing_," Ursa placated, patting her hand on Kya's shoulder. "Did I tick you off? I'm sorry."

Kya's slight irritability quickly faded.

"What's gotten _into _you today, anyway?" Kya mumbled suspiciously.

"Nothing!" Ursa coolly wrote off. "Why?"

"You _are _acting more air-headed than usual today," said Joel, unslinging his backpack and setting it beside the couch they'd approached. Ursa stuck her tongue out at him briefly, and he sternly advised, "It's not nice to pick on single girls on Valentine's Day."

The three of them sat down, with Kya in the middle. Ursa set her unopened letter - with a wax seal - beside her fresh flowers down on the coffee table before them. The center was riddled with various holiday decorations. Balloons, mostly. Kya found balloons to be a bit tacky.

"It's really not a big deal, guys," Kya persisted to blow off any concern for her emotional well-being.

"I am _totally _sorry," Ursa jibed with a seemingly innocent shrug. "Is it _wrong _for me to think that it's criminal how guys aren't interested in my beautiful, intelligent, best lady-friend?"

"Oh, _brother_," Kya puffed, though a grateful smile leaked out at her friend's compliment. "I'm not-...You know, maybe I'm not _interested _in dating right now. There's more important stuff to worry about, eh?"

"Like _what?_" Ursa goaded.

"Like...the _Order?_" Kya whispered sternly in her friend's ear. Ursa immediately sent a 'don't-talk-about-that' glare Kya's way.

"We all...have our different priorities," Joel hastily changed the subject. "You'll find the right guy eventually, Ky."

Kya sighed and shrugged passively, trying to present herself as uncaring.

"Not _here, _I won't," she lamented, drumming her fingers on the cover of the psychology textbook in her lap. "Second semester of Senior Year? I just don't see it happening."

Joel bobbed his head to the side in recognition.

"Plenty of fish in the sea," he said.

"Mm..." Kya pushed back loose strands of messy brown hair and rubbed at her eyes. "I guess so." She tugged at her thick, matted braid and shrugged. "Not really looking for a Ring By Spring, here, guys. _No, _thanks."

"Fair enough," said Ursa. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset," Kya calmly explained with an amused smile. "Just...hearing you guys, all stoked about who you're going to be with...it reminds me of how in a few months, we're all...not going be _here _anymore." She was gazing across the busy campus center with a forlorn expression. "Ursa, if things with you and this guy work out, you could be living in an entirely different _country _maybe. And Joel, you're going back to New York, right?" Kya coughed, clutching at her chest with discomfort.

Joel nodded thoughtfully.

"Right..."

"See? Big plans, moving to new places. Don't get me wrong, I'm _happy _for you guys. But me? I don't..._have _any big plans. I'm...probably going to end up stuck back where I was before. I don't really _have _any plans, or...any _purpose. _What I have _h__ere? _In Wayward? That's pretty much _been _my purpose. I don't really know what I'll have left once that's taken away." Kya coughed again, and dug her hand into her pant pocket, pulling out her inhaler. She breathed in a dose, cleared her passage with a miserable whimper, and gazed out across the campus center with longing. "I'm really going to miss this place."

"You make it sound like your life is going to...to be _over _once you graduate," Joel sighed. "Isn't it supposed to be the opposite?"

"Hm..." Ursa tapped her cheek in contemplation. "Didn't Kurosawa say something about this sort of thing at the last meeting we had?"

"Huh?" Kya's eyebrows arced down, her memory failing her.

"Iroh. At the last..._meeting?_ He said-...Darnit, _w__hat _did he say?" Ursa looked to Joel expectantly, but his lips turned down in confusion and he shook his head quickly. "_Oh,_ yea!" Ursa snapped her fingers. "That's right. He said...-" She cleared her throat and spoke with a slow, mellow voice. "'Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not.'" She beamed with pride at remembering their tutor's words of wisdom. For such a young professor, Iroh sure seemed like a guy ahead of his time.

"I...guess I wasn't paying attention," Kya muttered. "Sure _sounds _like something he'd say, though."

"You are going to _find _a purpose in your life, is what I'm getting at," Ursa encouraged, rubbing Kya's back.

"Not _everyone _needs to have some...pie-in-the-sky life ambition," added Joel. "I mean, didn't you say you were thinking of just finding work for a local newspaper?"

"I...I don't _know!_" groaned Kya. "It's not even _about _that, guys, I mean..._ugh. _I'm going to miss you two. And everyone _else _here. You know?"

"Ky, Baby," Ursa cooed, nudging her roommate. "Don't be so sad! We're going to stay in touch. I promise."

"Yea," Joel agreed. "Besides, there's always Homecoming, right?"

"_Oh, right! _I'm such a hose-head." Kya facepalmed herself. "We...-" She sucked in a deep breath and nodded to herself with newfound enthusiasm. "We should make a pact to come to Homecoming each year. Yea! It...It'll be perfect! We can go to the dance, and visit Iroh, and...see how the school paper's doing! It'll be..._tubular._"

"To...the..._max_?" Joel slowly eked out, eliciting a giggle from the girls that he let himself slip into.

"I'm in," Ursa belted out rapidly, sticking out a down-turned hand. Kya, suddenly grinning, smacked her hand overtop Ursa's.

"I...guess I don't have a _choice, _do I?" Joel laughed sheepishly, gently setting his own palm atop Kya's soft skin.

"Then it's settled!" Kya declared. "We'll all come back every year! For the rest of our lives!"

"Wh...what happens when we get..._old?_" Ursa muttered.

"Like your _boyfriend?_" Joel mustered out with a wink.

"Then we'll bring our _families _with us, of course," Kya matter-of-factly decreed. "And you all can meet my future husband, whenever he decides to exist. Now _stop _bickering and do the _handshake, _guys! You're killing me over here."

The three grinning students lifted their stack of hands and slammed the column downward, reciting the phrase they had come to use as their 'Newspaper Team Motto.'

"_Goonies never say 'die!'_"

* * *

- Sunday, May 8th, 2011 - Last Day of Spring Break

"_Rrrrr...rrrr-_rar! _Ra__rrr..."_

Korra sighed with relief from her spot on the living room couch, watching her puppy wrestle with Meelo for a piece of plastic rope. Meelo tugged the chew toy left and right, but Naga's teeth gripped the opposing knot with rigid determination. Meelo began growling back playfully at the dog.

"_Heehee! _Korra! Korra! Kor-kor-kor-!"  
"_What_...Ikki?" Korra sighed, looking to the other side of the room.

Ikki spread her arms out, showing off the ferret perched over her shoulders.

"He _likes _me!" Ikki decreed with jubilant pride, moments before Pabu scurried down her back and bolted toward the kitchen. Ikki pursued him.

Jinora, beside Korra on the couch, rolled her eyes at her siblings from behind the cover of her current book: {**Catching Fire**} Korra had regretted even asking what it was about, as Jinora's long-winded explanation about post-apocalyptic reality television was baffling to say the least, as was Jinora's continued use of the name 'Peetniss.' By the time the teenager had uttered the phrase "Ell-Oh-Ell," Korra was entirely convinced that whatever scene this girl was a part of, it was _not _for her.

"So, guys..." Korra began, trying to regain some order amidst the chaos. "Stir-fry for dinner?"

"_Ohhhhh!_" Ikki approved.  
"_Awwww!_" Meelo did not.  
No reaction from Jinora.

Korra nudged the teen with her elbow.

"Hey. You hear me?"

"Mm."

Korra frowned slightly at the young woman's distant attitude, getting up and heading to the cramped kitchen to try and get food ready. Mako had gone to visit Asami for a few days, and Bolin was currently at work. Korra was exhausted from a full week's worth of work - the stresses of trying to adjust to a new job, and then being pulled into babysitting duties on one of her days off...it was a bit much, but she'd tough it out. No big deal. She needed the pay, anyway. The kids had been bugging her for the past couple weeks to see her pad and meet the pets, and someone needed to be around to keep an eye on the critters, anyway...so Korra had let Pema know that they'd be at her house for the evening.

"Can I watch TV?" Meelo cried out from the living room.

"Pabu! Pabuuuu~" Ikki sang out, crawling under the small kitchen table, trying to grab the animal.

"_Yar-yar-yarp!_"

"Uh...-" Reaching into the fridge, Korra was distracted by the head-pounding racket. She could hear the TV get switched on, and flinched her eyes shut in a moment of frustration. "Yea, that's fine!" she groaned out to Meelo. Ikki was giggling like a fool, and now Naga was in the kitchen, barking at her and Pabu.

As Korra gathered a bag of rice and got the rice-maker ready, Jinora marched into the kitchen with a sour look on her.

"Korra, is there some place..._quiet_...I can read?"

"Erm...How about, uh...the front porch?"

"Some place that isn't _cold_?"

"_Yar-yarrp! Rrrrrarp!_"  
"_Ewwwww! _Naga! No..._licking!_" Ikki's voice made Korra twitch with discomfort from the squeakiness.

Korra sighed tiredly, containing her impatience, and redirecting her focus on Jinora.

"Uh...Yea, you can...read in my room for a little bit, I guess. Until dinner. First door at the top of the stairs."

Her book nestled in her arm, Jinora swiftly took off.

"But don't _touch anything!_" Korra quickly called through the bustling noise.

"_Gross!_" Ikki went to the kitchen sink to wash her hands of dog saliva.

Korra laughed at this misfortune as she prepared a frying pan for the vegetables.

"Where's the bathroom?" Meelo demanded, suddenly behind her. "I gotta _poo._"

"At the end of the hall upstairs," Korra advised.

"'Kay." Meelo stood in observant silence, staring at Korra's back with an intrigued expression as the woman began to fry food. "Anyone ever tell you that you got a big butt?"

Korra's expression flashed with surprised indignation, and she whirled her head over her shoulder to shoot the creepy kid a glare. He grinned devilishly, scampering away.

_Yea, you _better _run, ya little pervert._

Korra could overhear noise from the next room.

"_Yarrp!_"

"_Heyyyy!_" Ikki snarled at her brother as he passed through, heading upstairs. "Don't say stupid stuff like that to Korra! That's rude!"

"Heheh..."

"Pervert."

_For once, you and I agree on something, Ikki..._

Things seemed to _finally _quiet down long enough for Korra to prepare food for the lot of them. She set up a folding chair at the side of the metal table and draped a picnic-patterned cloth over it. She filled three plates up with rice and vegetables, placing them at the table with exhausted indifference. Napkins, forks, soy sauce, er...Crap. The only thing to drink in the fridge right now was beer. Gragh. She hadn't had much care to go grocery shopping yesterday on her _one _day off this week. She resigned to tap water for the trio for right now._  
_

With everything set up, Korra at last incited a dinner call. Meelo eagerly bounded from the couch, his sister not far behind. Korra ran her hand through her loose hair as she switched off whatever weird cartoon they'd been watching.

"Jinora!" she shouted toward the stairs, picking up a few candy wrappers from the carpet. How'd those even _get _there? She hadn't given anyone candy... "Dinner!" Korra clarified after a few moments. She went to the kitchen, dropping the debris she'd collected into the garbage.

"Thanks, Korra!" Ikki pleasantly chirped.

"You're welcome," Korra back with a weak but warm-willed smirk.

"Yea, it's good," Meelo added.

"Thanks."

Korra watched the two eat their grub for a minute or so, lost in thought. As Meelo dumped gratuitous amounts of soy sauce all over his food and Ikki berated him for it, she couldn't help but think back to times gone by when she'd visited Katara and Sokka, back before...-

Hey. Where was Jinora, anyway?

Korra trekked up to her bedroom, the door closed.

"Jinora? Do you _want _to eat cold...-?" But Korra stopped her sentence when she'd opened the door.

Sitting on her bed, Jinora was gaping up at her with surprise, a wooden box in her lap - opened. It was rectangular, with a crescent moon engraved into its lid, plainly visible.

"How do you...turn it on?" Jinora muttered curiously, her head cocked to the side as she gaped at the contents.

Korra's nostrils were flared, eyes flaming with rage as she stomped to to the bed, slammed the box shut, and ripped it from Jinora's grasp. The girl jumped with a start, leaning away from Korra's furious motion.

"What did I _fucking say_?" Korra seethed, swiftly placing the box in its normal resting spot in her dresser. She shoved the drawer closed in a bitter motion before spinning around to confront Jinora's petrified eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," spat out the girl. "Ih-it was...right next to the lamp here-" She gestured shakily to Korra's night stand, a couple of feet from where she'd been sitting. "-and I...I was just curious-"  
"I _said _not to fucking _touch _anything!" Korra hissed through grit teeth. "_Didn't _I?"

"Y-yes," Jinora squeaked.

A tense moment of silence passed, Korra's eyes quivering with rage.

"Just...-!" Korra snorted air through her nose. "Go eat your dinner," she darkly commanded, trying to keep her cool.

Jinora, her jaw agape with fear, scrambled to scoop up her book. She fumbled off of the bed and hurried out, her head hung in shame. She looked about to cry - but then, so did Korra, in an entirely different manner. Korra's fiery eyes stayed glued to Jinora's fearful form until the girl had disappeared down the stairs, leaving Korra with a moment's reprieve. She lingered in her bedroom doorway, leaning against her propped up arm, digging her forehead with bridled frustration into the back of her wrist.

Some guilt was setting in - on multiple levels - and Korra knew that right now wasn't the time for it to bubble up and out. She had never snapped like that in front of any of the Rabten kids before. She ought to apologize, or..._some _shit. Ugh. But she had _specifically _said...-! Gragh, but that didn't mean she had to blow up like that, it was...just the _one _thing no one else was supposed to touch. Korra had completely forgotten that she'd left it out in the open from the night before. The day's events had been rather unscheduled, with babysitting duty being sprung up on her with little warning, and she hadn't expected anyone to be in her room today. It helped her sleep at night, and she'd been careless in not putting it away like usual - that was all there was to it.

Between this and the "just checking in" call she'd received from Uncle Hakoda earlier after a day home alone to her thoughts, Korra's mind had been hanging heavy with memories she hadn't wanted around. It seemed like _everything _was making her think about things she didn't want to think about today. She could hightail it from Ontario, like her parents had, but even so, the cold regrets and sorrow didn't let go - not when she was alone. It took new living conditions, new friends, a new job...a whole new _life_...in order to completely make her forget the black spots on the old one.

And really, what right did _Korra _have to be so upset about the past, anyway? Katara and Sokka, _they _sure had much better reasons than she did. And they toughed it out, which meant Korra certainly ought to be able to manage. But this weekend, mostly alone, had been stinging at her soul.

Korra was pulled back to the present by the sound of Meelo's laugh from downstairs, consequently followed by an irritated Ikki scolding him, no doubt. She sucked in air through her nose and hesitated. Her legs were a bit wobbly, weakened from the weight of her own thoughts. She needed a moment - she needed the bittersweet sound. The sound of metal clattering against plates downstairs assuring her that the kids would be fine for a minute or two, Korra quietly closed her bedroom door.

She went to her dresser. She opened her top drawer. She pulled out the box. She opened it.

The scuffed plaque on the interior of the box greeted her like an old, wrinkled smile on a grandmother's face.

In ornate cursive writing, it spelled out: {_**KESUK**_}

She breathed out with comfort at the metal mechanism that rested within the box. It looked untouched, at least. With care, Korra rotated the metal pin on the side of the device, then let go. Its tiny gears began to turn, and the music box woke up long enough to calm Korra with its melancholic but hopeful tune.

+ Youtube dotcom /watch?v=W81x-2wpJMk +  
('Legend of Korra Main Theme [Music Box] - arrg. by 'tinysaurus')

* * *

_"Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings."_  
~ Walt Disney

* * *

- December 25th, 2000 – Christmas

The Kesuk family listened with intent awe as the metal device rotated, plinking out its somber but soothing melody.

"That's our family's song," her Aunt Kya explained from the couch. Uncle Hakoda's wide arm was hung over her shoulder, and she was leaning into his side. "That music box has been passed down through the past couple of generations. It's a family heirloom. Gran-Gran gave it to me. Now I'm giving it to you."

"Oh..." Korra was unable to peel her eyes from the cylinder, mesmerized by the way the mechanism created metallic sounds.

"I think she likes it," muttered the short woman to Kya's side. The two ladies grinned at Korra's lip hanging open in awe at her gift. "Thanks, Kya. I'll make sure she takes good care of it."

"I'm sure she will, Senna," Kya said with a confident nod. "You always took good care of _your _things, after all." Kya turned to her opposite side and said to her husband, "Senna was a bit of a neat freak back in the day."

"Still am," Senna announced with pride. "And _you're _still a bit of a slob, aren't you?"

Senna gave her old friend a bemused look, and Kya grinned with some embarrassment. Senna and Kya had been friends growing up in the same neighborhood. After she'd gone through college at SRU, Kya had returned to Canada to discover that Senna had gotten involved with a beefy young man named Tonraq. Through Tonraq, Kya had become acquainted with the man's brother, Hakoda, whom she'd swiftly fallen in love with. Hakoda's mother had delighted at the prospect of the Kesuk's Inuit heritage being blended with other Inuits.

"She still is," Hakoda chuckled. He leaned forth a bit and said to his Senna, "I remember Kya told me that when she'd come to visit your house, you'd complain about needing to pick up after her."

"I sure _did_," Senna regarded this. "Kya would make a mess _everywhere._ My mother's head would explode every time."

"Remember...-?" Kya giggled. "Remember how when I would come to sleep over, you'd get upset when I left my stuff in your bedroom? You'd...you'd poke at it with your toes until it was pushed behind your door?"

"I remember," Senna sighed with a raised brow. "Some times I find myself having to do that with Korra. Seems _your_ daughter is quite the opposite of you, though."

Kya nodded and smiled, watching Katara digging under the tree, reading a label on a present, and shouting out her brother's name so she could hand it to him.

"Ah, cool," Sokka responded, grabbing it eagerly from his sibling's hand.

"What do you _say?_" the eleven year-old girl demanded with a snippy tone.

"Errr...Thanks," Sokka grumbled, rolling his eyes and stepping back away from the tree.

"In _some_ ways, she's like me," Kya acknowledged in reply to Senna. "But Katara certainly _is _a lot cleaner than I am."

"She gets that bossy _sass_ from you, though," Hakoda teased his wife.

"Ha." Senna crossed her arms over her lap, watching her thick-framed husband re-enter the room with an old suitcase in hand. They watched Korra's father place the suitcase down gently and call Katara over to look at it.

"This was your grandfather's," Tonraq told his niece. "Your Aunt and I thought you might like it. You can use it when you travel."

"_Whoaaaaa_, it looks _old_," Katara whispered in shock, running her hands on the faded stickers and scuffs along the case's surface. "_Wowww, _thanks! I'm gonna use it _right now_!"

"At least your girl's _similar _to you," said Senna to Kya from back on the couch. "_My _baby's _nothing _like me. She takes after her father, all right."

"I can _hear _you, ya know," Korra pointed out with suspicion, carefully closing the music box from her cross-legged position on the living room floor.

As Korra tenderly set the old device on the glass coffee table, she received a sneaky grin from her mother.

"We know. You like the box?"

"_Yea,_" Korra immediately responded. "I love it." She nodded with vigor to the person who'd bestowed the item to her. "Thanks, Aunt Kya. I'll take good care of it, I promise. But...-" She cast a glance to her younger cousins behind her. Sokka was trying to brag about his medieval-themed Lego set, while Katara was stuffing new books she'd received into the suitcase her Uncle Tonraq had given her. "-...why'd you give it to _me?_" Korra muttered in perplexation.

"Gran-Gran insisted that the box goes to the oldest woman in the next generation," Kya said with a shrug. "Besides, I _want _you to have it."

"We have other things to give to our own kids," Hakoda added. "But you're a Kesuk, too."

"Ah..." Korra dipped her hands into her back pockets as she contemplated the significance of this gesture.

"That's right," Kya agreed. "We want you to be proud of where you come from, Korra." Kya watched her niece's glazed over eyes flicker with consideration at this sentimental idea before the girl finally lifted her head up, smiled back, and nodded. Kya knew this kind of thing was outside of her niece's standard range of interests. Korra, still a teenager, seemed rather independent and eager to fly the coop rather than stay home with the family and be cuddly and nostalgic. It was a nice change from the norm to see the young lady showing some appreciation for family tradition rather than the usual dismissive attitude she'd expressed on previous holidays.

Kya got up, and attacked Korra with a hard, loving squeeze. Korra reciprocated the notion, a bit surprised, hugging back as tight as she could.

"You're getting stronger by the day," Aunt Kya choked out, prompting Korra to retract her arms. After their hug, Kya pushed Korra's unkempt bangs to the side. She looked down at Korra with a hopeful and knowing smile. "At this rate, some day, you're going to be able to move mountains, Hun."

Korra let herself grin at this remark, and as Kya sat back down at the couch, Korra's sight wandered to her own mother, who was looking on with a proud smirk, as if to say, 'Your Aunt's right, you know.'

"This one's from your dad," Tonraq explained to Sokka from across the room, passing him the next present.

"What is _this _thing?" came Sokka's curious and confused voice. He was now holding a curved gift, which swung it through the air, and Hakoda's face went pale at this. Hakoda jumped up from his wife's side, who was snickering at his worry, and he immediately went to his son, clasping Sokka's wrist with care.

"_Haaa_," Hakoda laughed nervously. "Gentle, there, Son. M-maybe...try _opening _it?"

Sokka ripped apart the paper, peeling it away to reveal a wooden boomerang.

"_Whoa_," he murmured, amazed by the object. "A _boomerang_? Like, a _real _one?"

"That's right." Hakoda delighted at the spark in his child's eyes. Sokka's grip on the smooth, handcrafted tool tightened, and he posed dramatically with a serious look on his face.

Kya and Senna burst out into laughs with Senna leaning into Kya, who was slapping her knee.

"_Ohhhhh,_" Kya wheezed out, recovering from her laugh. "Where's the...-? Tonraq, do you still have the camera?"

"Heh, sure do," said Korra's hulk of a father as he carefully traversed the minefield of wrappings and gifts to give the camera to Kya. Kya bounced up from the couch in an instant to start snapping action photos of her goofy son. Hakoda interrupted the photo session to further explain.

"Now, Sokka, remember: that's not a _toy_. I got that in Australia, so it's authentic."

"Your honeymoon?" Sokka guessed, recalling the stories his parents had told him of their exciting times in the land down under.

"That's right. This boomerang is something I want you to hold onto. It's going to be a new family keepsake."

Sokka's eyes glowed with pride at being bestowed such a noble gift, and Kya beamed at her son's overly serious demeanor.

"You know what they say about boomerangs, right?" Hakoda asked his child.

"They...always come back," Sokka replied thoughtfully. Hakoda patted his shoulder.

"Exactly. That's what this boomerang represents. Every time you travel to a new place, you should carve a mark into the boomerang. Then you can see how many places in the world you've been to - and always remember that wherever you go, you can always come back to where you're from - where your family is."

"_Ohhh_, I get it!" said Sokka with realization. "It's like a metaphor!"

"_Hahaha! _Yes, Kiddo. Yes, it is."

"Katara? Hun..." Kya waved her hand at her daughter, who was already lost in one of her brand new books. "Haha, Sweetie, I've got something for you, too."

"Huh?" the eleven year-old looked up at her mother's amused expression. Her pudgy face wrinkled with irritation at her Mother, who seemed to be laughing at her. "What?"

"Nothing, Dear. Come here."

Kya knelt down onto her knees with a grunt - those knees weren't what they had used to be - and retrieved a small box from under the Christmas tree. She handed it to her daughter.

"Here. This one's from me."

Confused, Katara unwrapped the gift. Inside, she found a necklace nestled in cotton. It was a choker, composed of blue ribbon and a flat, ovular cut stone of sapphire. Katara's jaw dropped. She'd never received a gift that was so..._fancy_...before. And she knew for a fact that this was mother's, as she'd seen it worn multiple times.

"This is another family present," Kya explained.

"But...This is _yours_, Mom."

"I know, Hun. Your father gave it to me when we got engaged. He got it from your Gran-Gran, who got it when _she _was engaged. And so I want _you_ to have it now. You can keep it with you, and it can be like the present your dad gave Sokka - a reminder that your family is always here for you, no matter what. That your dad and I love you very much. And then some day, you can give it to one of _your _kids..."

Katara stared up at her mother's glowing smile. It was contagious, and Katara's innocent grin radiated back.

"O-OK. I _like _it. It's..._super _pretty. I'll take...really good care of it." Katara closed the box shut. "Um...Thanks, Mom." Katara stretched out her arms, and Kya embraced her daughter with a tight hug. Korra had taken her Aunt's seat and was now sitting inbetween Uncle Hakoda and her mom.

"I think the family heirlooms idea went well," Senna observed.

"It was Kya's idea," Hakoda explained. "It's kind of funny - she seems just as eager to carry on my family's traditions as my own mother does."

"Hm...That _is _kind of funny," Senna noted, watching her husband wrestling with Sokka a bit while Kya attached the necklace to Katara's neck. "Kya didn't seem to get along with her own family all that well growing up."

"Really?" said Korra, baffled at the prospect. Aunt Kya seemed so..._nice. _And caring.

"No," laughed Hakoda. "No...she did _not._ That's the thing, though, Korra." Korra was startled by her uncle's firm hand on her shoulder. "Sometimes your family is what you make of it, not just what you're born into. But in _your _case, you were born into a good family. So you should count yourself lucky."

"_Ha! _That's good to hear," Senna snickered.

"You're a good mom," Hakoda insisted. "So is Kya. And I can promise you, Korra," Hakoda continued. "Your mom, your dad, me, Kya...and your cousins, too, I bet...we're all going to be there for each other. That's what today is all about - these gifts, they're...just a physical symbol of that. When you have something _physical, _it makes it easier to remember the reality of that sort of thing."

"Mm," hummed Korra with a shrug, trying to wrap her head around the idea. Her parents didn't seem quite so intent on this whole 'family unity' thing. They let her be off on her own, independent and stuff. 'Be your own woman,' her dad would say. When Korra had expressed the desire of not attending college, her parents had seemed entirely neutral with this, to Korra's relief. Korra could probably up and leave home at any point and they'd wish her well and that would be that. It wasn't that they didn't love her. Korra knew they did. They showed it by letting her make her decisions freely - that was their way.

But Aunt Kya and Uncle Hakoda seemed very different. They yearned for a tight, close family. The keepsakes, the traditions, the lovey-dovey talk, the hugs...It was true, what Hakoda had said - all of those physical things, those actions, all enforced the reality that Korra was now realizing.

The Kesuk family would always be there for each other. Nothing would be able to tear them apart.


	92. Scars

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 92 - Scars__  
_

* * *

- Monday, May 9th, 2011 -

"So." The young lady took a deep, contemplative breath, pinching her fingers around one of her round glasses and adjusting them on her face. "I understand you've been...somewhat hesitant in divulging details concerning that night with the police."

Aang swallowed the lump in his throat and shrugged.

"I-...W-well, I suppose you could say that," he mumbled out, confused by her tone.

This Ginnie girl was already coming across as a bit intimidating, with her serious looks, scribbling notes on her pad, recording their interview with an old tape recorder.

"Korra Kesuk spoke with Police Chief Jia herself about the matter. From what she'd said...you're a bit of a hero, Mr. Leekpai."

"Wh...-? No, I just...-" Aang's face went pink, the high emotions of that night bubbling inside him. "-...reacted to a bad situation."

"You risked your own life to save two others," Ginnie pointed out. "By the time authorities arrived, it's likely they would've been dead otherwise." She nodded to herself, waiting for Aang's avoiding glance to finally meet her eyes. She smiled at him. "I'd say that makes you a_ local_ hero, anyway. At _least._"

"Thanks," Aang sheepishly shrugged this off.

"What went through your mind when you decided to do it?"

"Pardon? _Oh, _I...-" Aang shook his head slightly. "It wasn't...a _thought. _I just..._did _it. You know?"

Jin was staring at him intently, seeming to expect him to elaborate. He scratched the back of his ear, digging into his memories.

"I ran right into the building, and...all that was going through my mind was, like...'I'm not going to let this happen.'"

"I understand you suffered some injuries during this rescue. Your back was...scarred?"

Aang sighed and nodded, rubbing at his queasy stomach beneath the table.

"Um...That's right. It's recovered. I-I mean, it doesn't hurt that much anymore, but it...still looks a little..._bad._"

"I see. How did it happen?"

"Hm?"

"The injury."

"Oh, I was...pinned down by some...debris. Smoldering wood, or...I-I'm not quite sure, I wasn't even really paying attention. I just...knew I needed to get back up."

"Were you afraid?"

Aang let his tightened fingers fall loose. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Yes," he admitted calmly. His eyelids remained shut. "I was terrified. And _angry._"

* * *

_"Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real."_  
~ Cormac McCarthy, _All the Pretty Horses_

* * *

"Aang..." Gyato's voice broke through Aang's meditation. The boy opened his eyes, which proved a bit difficult, as they were wet and sticky. He sniffled, his nose thick with slime. Gyatso seemed well prepared, though, and handed him a tissue box he'd brought over. "You seem very troubled, Child."

Aang grunted with despair, blowing his nose miserably.

"It's not _working_," he whined, tossing the messy tissue behind him. He was sitting cross-legged on the temple floor, his palms on his knees. He let his head bob down and he ran his hand over his recently shaved skull. "Even when I _do _clear my mind...I come back. And it just hurts all over again."

"Oh, Aang..." Gyatso sighed, then groaned in pain as he sat himself down at his grandson's side. "I understand the pain you are feeling. The fear."

"I...I'm not afraid of anything," Aang grumbled in bitterness. "They...they're not _really _going to take you away from me. I know that. It won't happen. You won't let it."

"My Boy..." Gyatso placed his wrinkled hand on Aang's rough head. "It is all right to be scared. But it is essential to let that emotion free from within yourself. If we let negative energies reside within ourselves, it can throw our spirits out of balance."

Aang's discouraged expression turned to a scowl for a moment, his hands balling into fists over his knees.

"I...can't understand why they would've let this happen," he growled under his breath.

"Mm?"

"My..._parents_..."

"Ah..."

"Whatever had happened, I don't-...I may not understand it, but...couldn't they have done _something _to...to solve it? Instead of...-" His eyes squinted as he held back the extra tears ready to spill from their ducts. Many of the memories from that time were simply...missing. And that in and of itself hurt - not being able to remember the suppressed visions. But he knew they had killed each other. He'd sat in their blood, trying to wake them back up. That was enough to remember, really. "Surely, there was _some _way to fix it besides _violence_..."

Gyatso moved his hand to Aang's back, letting the child have a moment of grievance and frustration. He had certainly been very angry these days, in the time since he'd found out that custody over his own being was going to be taken away from his grandfather.

"You are correct, Aang," he encouraged. "We may never understand why your parents acted the way they did. We can never _fully _comprehend every thought or every emotion that those around us may feel, no matter how much we may try. But we can react to it however we choose. If we choose violence...then it is expected that this is exactly what we will cause...and thus what we will receive."

"But...-" Aang slowly lifted his head to his grandfather. "-if we choose _peace_...-"

Gyatso smiled at Aang's conclusion.

"Any person can break a cycle of negativity. They merely must make the choice to do so. Of course...peace can never be fully attained - the world can never truly be balanced - until everyone involved wishes for it to be so."

"Right," muttered Aang thoughtfully, wiping his sleeve over his face to dry his damp eyes. His nose wrinkled with disgust and he took a deep breath, calming his own swell of anger. "And what if-...What if people _won't_ choose peace...?"

Gyatso ached for the boy, but swallowed his worries. Sitting cross-legged beside his grandson and pupil, he nodded with consideration, stroking his wispy beard.

"That can be a...very tricky situation, Aang. A complex matter, indeed. But right now, what is important to remember is that with your parents, _neither _of them chose peace...and look where it led."

"Yea..." Aang's eyes went dull and empty.

* * *

Aang sat in front of Counselor Pathik in his office at SRU, just as the the 2011 Spring semester began - after Katara had arranged for him to have therapy in his sleep-deprived state.

"So tell me, Child. What do you feel now? About all of this, which we have discussed today. The thought of being taken away from your grandfather; of the manner in which you lost your parents; the ways your caretakers after Gyatso mistreated you, and hurt you; of losing what family you had left; and now, more recently, of your girlfriend, betraying your trust...You have explained to me _all _of these tragedies, both great and small. And when you think on these things, as you are now, one after another...what do you feel?"

Aang's face quivered from the cumbersome step-by-step process of digging into all of these harsh events. His fists were tightened, resting on his knees.

"Unbelievable...pain and _rage_," he choked out in confession.

"Yes...That _is_ an appropriate reaction. You have experienced great trauma - deep, deep, scars, yes. Scars never disappear entirely. But they _can _recover enough where they do not burn with the same pain as when they are inflicted. That is how one is able to keep living, of course, after such injuries. And you have made great strides, it seems, in healing those old scars as best you could - all on your own. _Your _choices have led you to this place. To this school, to these friendships, and to this person you are today. You sit before me, enraged and angry...and yet you do not _act _on these negative emotions. You do not let those toxic energies poison your convictions. That is _your _choice, Aang. _Your _decision. You should not forget this, Aang. I have only known you for a single session of therapy...and yet, I can already see what strength you possess inside you."

"...Strength?"

* * *

Back to that day when Gyatso was trying to comfort him.

"But...but how can I be _strong_ when...all I want to do is..._hide _from this hurt?"

Gyatso nodded and winked his wrinkled eyelid at Aang.

"Oh, Aang. There are different _kinds _of strength. For some, it means relying on your own willpower and energy to accomplish whatever your heart guides you toward. For others, it is in adapting to life's obstacles with the support of friends and family, in commune. There is another strength in enduring all hardships that are thrust upon someone by remaining steady and true to one's self, no matter the resistance applied - true persistence. And, in some - such as yourself - there is power in acting like a leaf in the wind, avoiding these conflicts altogether, and allowing yourself to weave around them, and not allow them to hold you down. What I think you will find, as you grow older, is that each if these strengths is equal in their effectiveness to weather the storms that this world summons upon us, and it becomes not a matter of _which_ strength to focus on, but rather, what _time _is best to rely on each one."

Gyatso took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the air slowly trickle through his nostrils. Aang assumed his meditation stance and tried to breath peacefully, as well, with some difficulty.

"There are moments...-" Gyatso began, opening his eyes when he'd noticed his grandson's unease. "-...when peace must be attained in any of these ways. The strategy any of us may employ repeatedly will inevitably bring us to a wall. Some choose to ignore these walls, and they are in turn blocked off from those pathways in life. But if a person can learn to change,to _choose _the most peaceful solution to these problems, those new doorways can be opened."

"But...that sounds _hard_. Being like...something you're not?"

"It certainly can be challenging. Such things may require a _great _change in us - even if it is only temporary. The earth itself changes seasons, and yet life continues and flows onward, the earth remaining as it is. A child will eventually become an adolescent, an adolescent and adult, and an adult will grow old. Everything changes, sooner or later. And during those key moments in our lives, it is often only in those darkest times that we are able to find the kind of strength we may need to attain peace. When lost in shadows we will try to find light, of course. Willpower, hope, determination, or simply a desire for peace...any could lead us to make the _difficult _decisions at those complex crossroads."

Gyatso grabbed Aang's hand with his own. Aang was comforted by the calloused palm and frail fingers of the one person in the world he truly trusted. The wise man who had been teaching him these mysterious ideas, these philosophies of peace. A lot of what he was saying was a bit confusing...but it was what his grandfather seemed to believe, and thus it was worth at least thinking about. That was what was important. Aang squeezed Gyatso's hand, and the elderly figure squeezed back. They relaxed their bodies for a moment, preparing for a long meditation. Before they began, however, Gyatso finished their conversation.

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."

* * *

_When it mattered most, when I was at that low point, __I _didn't _change, Gyatso. I ran away. I was scared. Instead of facing that fear, and finding that light in the darkness, I just...hid in a corner. I let you walk onto that bus...and out of my life. And I'm never going to make that mistake with anyone I love ever again._

"Angry?" Jin asked for clarification on the statement Aang had just made.

Aang nodded, opening his eyes.

"I was angry that someone would...would _do _that."

"Do what?"

"Try to hurt the people I care about. _Destroy _the place I had helped _make _- with my own hands. The place that was supposed to bring the people of this community together...in _peace._ I mean, why _that _building? Why?"

"Mm..." Jin chewed on her eraser, captivated by the subtleties she was deriving from this young man's expressions. "That's right, you worked directly with Zuko Kurosawa on that project, correct?"

"Yea..."

"I can imagine what you felt."

"It just...made me _mad_, you know? That so many people could work so hard on that, and..._one _person...just _one_...could destroy it all. Only one person's decision, one action - that's all it takes, really, if that person's determined enough, to ruin things for everyone else."

"That's true. And you've shown that, too."

"Huh?"

"One person's action is all it takes to make a difference. The Combustion Man tried to kill people, and destroy the United Republic. _You _helped _create _it, and you _saved _people."

"Mm..."

"_I _think that's what makes a hero...well...a _hero. _Not the fame, or the power, or the means to do good, but the _act _of actually _doing _good when no one else will."

"Heh...Thanks."

"And it seems like you've been a good influence."

"Wh-...? How's that?"

"One of the people you saved - Korra Kesuk - recently took on a job as a member of the security team here at SRU. Helping to protect the people here, and keep us safe."

"Oh..._Ha. _I-I don't really think that had anything to do with _me_..."

"Regardless, Mr. Leekpai, you _are_ a good example for those around you."

"I-if you _say _so, I mean...I-I'm just _one _guy, I don't-...I'm not _trying _to set some kind of example. I just...wish people would get along, that's all."

"I can see why you and Mr. Kurosawa worked on the UR project together."

"Oh? Whhhhy's that?"

"You both seem to care a great deal about the same thing: bringing people together."

* * *

_"It's being here now that's important. There's no past and there's no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can't relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don't know if there is one."_  
~ George Harrison

* * *

"Hm...What about _him_?" She pointed her finger across the cafeteria at a butch athlete who was tearing apart a barbeque chicken sandwich.

"Ursa. Ew. No." Kya shook her head, stifling back a giggle.

"Come _on, _girl, give me something to _work _with. I can't hook you up if you shoot them all down."

"I don't..._need_...to be 'hooked up,'" sighed Kya. "Junior year has _just _started. I've got plenty of time to find a boy. It's not high up there on my list of priorities."

"Ky, baby...That _seems _like a lot of time right now, but before you know it, you'll be graduating, and you'll be single."

Kya huffed and shook her head.

"Well, then...that'll happen, and I'll move on. I really want to focus on my studies right now."

She looked up from her lunch to see Ursa's dubious and flat expression.

"_Seriously_!" Kya insisted. "I don't need a _boytoy, _it would-...You know, it would only distract me, anyway."

"So you need a _book worm_ guy. One of those dweeby, disorganized types. Like you."

"No, Hun, I don't...-"  
"_Oh! _What about that one?" Ursa cut her off with an eager but brief point to someone behind Kya's back.

When Kya gave her friend a glare, Ursa tipped her head up with persistence. Kya sighed, giving in and carefully rotating her neck. There was a number of people behind them, ugh, it could be..._any_-  
"The red-head. In the corner. He works on the newspaper with us, doesn't he?"

Kya immediately understood who Ursa was referring to now - the timid one with the bowl-cut in the back of the cafeteria, sitting at a booth, reading a magazine as he ate alone. He was scribbling notes in a loose-leaf notebook periodically.

"Oh, he...-" Kya shrugged. "That's Joel. He's just...ya know, he likes being by himself and stuff."

"I've seen him checking you out before," Ursa deviously pointed out. Kya rolled her eyes wildly.

"As _if. _Besides, he...-"  
"So he _is _your type, then."  
"N-no, I didn't...-"  
"Ahhh-_ha, _you're blushing."  
"I don't _have _a...a '_type_.'"  
"You still think he's cute."  
"Sh-sure, I mean...I _guess. _A little. He's _taken, _though."  
"_Taken? _That dweeb?"  
"He's not a _dweeb, _he's just...a loner."  
"I never see him with anybody."  
"Uh, _yea, _that's...what a loner _is._"  
"I bet he doesn't have any friends."  
"What?"  
"Have you ever _seen _this supposed 'girlfriend' of his?"  
"She...lives in another state."  
"Uh-_huh._"  
"Why do you _care _so much, anyway?"  
"All right, if it's really not such a big deal, then...-" Ursa rose up from their table, picking up her tray and half-empty glass. "-...let's go talk to him."

"_What_?" Kya's jaw dropped. She fidgeted with her glasses, frowning. "I don't-...! He...he really seems like he wants to not be bothered..."

"Like _you _were when _we _first met?" Ursa coyly pointed out. Kya froze, understanding her friend's point. Kya had been miserable those first few months until Ursa had put herself out there and pushed her way into Kya's bubble. "Come _on_. We see him here and there with newspaper stuff, it's _not _like it's going to all awkward or anything."

"O-OK," Kya huffed, getting up and following her friend.

"Man, I really gotta teach you _everything _about being social, don't I?" Ursa teased. They swiftly reached the table, and Ursa immediately sat down, leaving Kya awkwardly standing beside the booth's edge.

"Hiya there, Joe!" Ursa cried out to the startled young man who had quickly dropped his magazine to the table, hiding it beneath his notebook.

"Umm...-?"

"His name is _Joel, _not _Joe_," Kya whimpered with embarrassment. "Do...do you mind if we sit with you, Joel?" she checked with courtesy. Joel gaped up at her, his pupils dilated within his olive eyes. He cleared his throat, then eagerly nodded.

"Y-yea, all right..."

There was crawling moment of strange silence after Kya sat beside Ursa, across the table from the enigmatic red-headed lad.

"So, hey," Ursa cut through the tension with ease. "I'm Ursa. This is Kya. We've seen you around. You help with the White Lotus sometimes, right?"

"Uh, that's right," Joel replied, avoiding Ursa's gaze. He found himself glancing back to Kya, who was eating her macaroni and cheese. He blinked at her with disbelief that she was sitting right there in front of him. "Once in a while, I'll help out with some side articles," he explained, trying to pry his gaze away and back to Ursa.

"We've never seen you at any of our _meetings_," said Ursa bluntly, stirring her french onion soup. Kya paused, raising an eyebrow to her neighbor.

"Beg...your pardon?" Joel muttered, confused.

"I mean, I suppose if you're only doing the occasional article, that's probably why," Ursa theorized. "So how come you don't write that much for us? You busy with your social life?"

Kya's stomach churned with sympathy as she saw Joel's eyes flicker with remorse.

"Nnn...Not really..."

"Girlfriend?"

"Uh, technically...it's...a long distance sort of thing for the time being."

"Hm." Ursa nodded, trying to come off as serious and curious. "Well, we could really use a new face helping us with the Lotus. We just lost some people with the end of last school year, right? Real bummer and stuff."

Kya and Joel exchanged quizzical looks as Ursa prattled on. Joel could help but admire the girl's skin tone and unique features. He was trying to figure out what ethnicity she was. Kya, meanwhile, was confused as to how the mess of splotches dotting the boys cheeks somehow made him more attractive up close.

"I bet I've probably already read some of your stuff without even realizing it. You should come to our next meeting - maybe we can find a place for you to really be a part of the team?"

"Um...Wh-...? Excuse me?"

"The _team! _Work on some _real _stuff with us, instead of...I dunno...lingering around by yourself."

"_Oh_..." Joel's orange brows furrowed with consideration. "With...-? You mean, working with _you _two?"

Kya nodded with a smile, and Ursa joined her.

"Ex_actly_," Ursa confirmed. "And, ya know, some others, too. We've got a tight team, and a great leader. And we, well...-" Ursa's eyes shifted up sneakily, leaning over the table. "Some of the stuff we do is kind of..._neat._ Sort of like...a club."

Kya was glancing around to make sure no one was overhearing this. Thankfully, the coast seemed clear.

"A club?" Joel mumbled.

"What do _you _think, Ky?" Ursa asked, nudged Kya in the rib playfully.

"_I_...-? Oh, w-well, he seems...like...-" Kya and Joel's eyes locked onto each other with curiosity. "-...he could maybe appreciate...what we do."

"That's what _I _was thinkin'." Ursa pulled an ink pen from her blouse pocket and tore off a piece of paper from the first empty page of Joel's notebook. She began to neatly write on it in an elaborate, cursive style. "Our next meeting is going to be at the new coffee shop that they just opened."

Joel seemed confused.

"The Jasmine Dragon," Kya explained. "The place that used to be a study lounge?"

Joel nodded with recognition at this, suddenly aware of the location.

"It's gonna be Wednesday night at nine o'clock," Ursa explained lowering voice and sliding the note across the table and sipping on her soda. She breathed out, refreshed by her drink, and pointed at the paper, while Joel read it.

_{White Lotus}_  
_{"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."}_  
_{ - Ursa}_

"Now, the place is going to _look _closed," Ursa curtly told him in a hushed voice, briskly flicking her wrist in the air before him to get his attention. "So you're going to knock on the door _four _times. Hear me? _Four._" When Ursa saw Joel's expression panic with slight confusion as he looked at Kya, she snapped her fingers in his face, continuing to whisper out directions. "Seriously! Listen to me. _Four _times you're going to knock. One-two-three-four. Quick-like, got it?" Joel nodded, grasping the command, but still totally lost. "Then, someone's going to answer the door and ask you a question. You're gonna answer with the phrase I wrote here for ya."

"Uh...Um...-" Joel stared at the paper, flustered by Ursa's pressuring tone. "One...one who-?"  
"That's the one," Ursa shushed him, trying to keep their discussion down. "You come alone, and you don't tell _anyone_ what _I_ just told you. Clear?"

Joel swallowed hard then nodded at Ursa with wide eyes. Ursa sipped a spoonful of soup and beamed.

"What...what kind of _club _is this...?" Joel whispered, voice trembling with a bit of fear.

Kya grinned alongside Ursa, and took this question.

"Well, Joel, let's just say that we're...-" Kya winked at him. "-...fans of the cryptic arts."

* * *

- Monday, May 9th, 2011 -

[From: korra]  
[Right right. I could use some hanging out. Missed you guys during break. You sure we shouldn't try inviting the others?]  
[Sent: 5:31pm]

[Reply]  
[To: korra]  
[nah. like i said, aang's cool but just him for now. others are still pissed at me.]  
[Sent: 6:07pm]

Jane trudged up the steps, hoping that Korra would heed her words. As she passed through the short bit of hallway between the stairwell and her dorm room, she was a little relieved that the door across the hall was closed, sparing her of any potential awkwardness. Jane entered her room with a puff of exhaustion from the long day back at class. The time she'd spent with Johnny for the remainder of break had been blissful, soothing, and relaxed. She'd let her troubles wash away. Being slammed with homework and textbooks and reading and class and..._people, _all around her, all of the time...it was jarring after such a pleasant vacation.

And there were still matters to attend to.

Jane slipped her backpack off, setting it beside her bed. She sat on her unkempt sheets, untying her tall, bee-striped converse.

"Hi," greeted her roommate cautiously.

"Hey, Jin," Jane sighed out with a tired but relieved tone. Good. Jin _had _read the e-mail she'd sent. She was actually _here _for a change.

"You...wanted to speak with me?" Jin asked, closing her laptop's lid carefully and rotating her head from her upright position in her seat.

"Yea," Jane grunted out, pulling off her shoes. They looked neat and stuff, but fucking _damn, _were they a bitch to get on and off. "One sec..."

"Mmkay." Jin nodded, removing her glasses and wiping them clean with her sleeve fabric as Jane took off her footwear and retrieved her wallet. She removed the antiquated slip of paper she'd found in her father's old yearbook and got up, handing it to her roommate. Intrigued, Jin studied the note. Her eyes bulged open wide.

"Where did you _get _this?" she immediately demanded, her tone solemn, almost offended.

"In my dad's stuff," Jane replied. "What does it mean?" she cut to the chase.

"Your...your _dad's_ things...? Your father used to go here?"

Jane's eyebrows lifted up with amused reflection and she nodded slowly.

"I'm as surprised as _you_ are," Jane remarked. "I just found out right before break started. Been trying to get to the bottom of some deep shit."

"_Yea_..." breathed out Jin, aghast. She set the paper down on her desk, staring at it like an ancient artifact.

"What's it _mean?_" Jane repeated, pressing for a damned answer already.

Jin looked at her with a tint of indignation.

"That's-...I'm not so sure I can just _tell _you that."

Jane's brow lifted with impatience. She bit her bottom lip, bottling her frustration inside. She had to stay cool here.

"Well...I need to find some fuckin' answers. 'Cuz whatever it means, I think it has to do with why my parents were killed."

Jin's lips hung slightly open.

"Killed...-? I thought...you said...-"

"I thought that's how it was, _too. _Turns out there's more to it than that."

"But...if your father used to go _here, _and he was...-" Jin waggled a finger before her face, connecting invisible dots. "And that led to-...Then...-"

"Mind filling me the fuck in, here?" Jane blurted with impatience, causing Jin to flinch from her analysis.

"I...I don't _know _for sure what happened, but I think I know who _does._"

"And this piece of paper's gotta do with it?"

Jin nodded, removing her glasses. She rubbed her fingers against her forehead, squinting with stress at the compounded thoughts running rampant.

"God...I can't believe that...-" She sighed through her nose. "All right. Listen. I have to ask you to wait until tomorrow night."

"Christ..." Jane rolled her eyes. "What? _Why?_"

"We're having a meeting then."

"A _meeting?_"

Jin pulled out her desk drawer, retrieving an issue of the White Lotus newspaper. She scanned the back page, much to Jane's confusion, nodding to herself. She put her glasses back on so she could read. As far as Jane could tell, Jin was examining...the Sudoku puzzle?

"Right," Jin muttered to herself, confirming her memory was right based on what was printed before her. "Tomorrow night. Meet me here at...a quarter to ten. Yes. I can take you, and...I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this."

"You swear?" said Jane with a dark tone.

"I can't make any guarantees, but I am _very _certain that you'll find your answers then."

Jane burned her olive stare into Ginnie's surprised and nervous eyes. Jane closed her eyelids and inhaled a long breath, exhaling in peace. It was difficult to be patient after all of this waiting, but her gut was wrenching with certainty that she had finally gotten a hold of the lead she needed.

She'd finally be getting her questions answered.


	93. Cryptic

**A/N: So this is the part where I cross my fingers and hope everything written out here makes sense.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 93 - Cryptic_

* * *

- Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 -

Hands in her pockets, Korra sauntered downstairs to the basement floor of the campus center. She moved at a snail's pace, just as she had all morning. It was finally her lunch break, but in the middle of such a slow and plodding day, this wasn't specifically exciting. She had paid a visit to the campus store the day before to purchase a couple of dress items to prepare for the summer - an SRU logo cap and a pair of sunglasses. She was presently wearing both, as she'd just come from outside before punching out for break. The cool, air conditioned basement was a welcome change from the sticky outdoors.

Before she'd even gone to the counter of Appa's to place an order, she was surprised to see a collection of four familiar faces at a booth nearby, eating lunch themselves. They didn't seem to notice her presence at first, too occupied with their own rumblings. Besides, she was in her uniform. Ha. That would probably weird them out. She ordered her lunch before casually strutting to the booth, hands latched behind her neck.

"Hey, guys!" she called out to them. "So! Whatcha think?" When she had their attention, she grinned wide, arms stretched. "Pretty slick, eh?"

Three of them - Aang, Sokka, and Katara - gawked at her with confused expressions. The fourth - Toph - stared blankly down at the table, chewing with disinterest.

"Uhhh..." Sokka managed out, baffled.

"Um, Korra, we're indoors," Katara pointed out. "Why are you wearing sunglasses?"

Korra balked at their perplexed reaction.

"Oh, these aren't sunglasses, little Cuz," she scoffed with a smirk. "These are _aviators._"

"Yea, OK," Sokka mumbled. "And, uh, nice hat. Pff. Are you _wanting_ to get fired on your first day in Security?"

"Huh? You...-" Korra removed the cap, slightly irritated with their shutdown. "-...don't like it?"

"You look like a loonie," Sokka sighed. "Sorry."

Katara nodded, and Aang shrugged, both with sheepish expression.

"Y-yea, I'm sorry," Katara agreed with hesitation. "But...you kind of do."

"Well. Pff." Korra walked over to the next booth over, dropping her hat on the table. "Whatever," she breathed out tiredly, removing her aviators and hanging them off a breast pocket. "You guys don't appreciate my _fashion_," she rolled with it, offering a cocky shrug as she sat down by herself. "Besides, this isn't my first day. It's, like, my _seventh _day."

Sokka, his back facing his cousin, twisted his neck around over the booth's divider.

"Really?"

"_Yea, _man, I started work while you all were on vacation."

"How has it been so far?" Aang wondered.

"Eh." Korra flicked up a lazy wrist with a shrug. "It's all right. Been a little boring, but...-"  
"Boring's better than _unemployed_," Katara advised, leaning out over the side of her table to give Korra a look.

"Right," Korra sighed after an awkward pause. "Not _complaining,_" she pointed out. Ugh. Kat still had a stick up her ass, or something?

"Punch any fools yet?" Toph finally chirped in, rotating her head so her ear was pointed at Korra.

"_Ha! _Yea, I wish," Korra replied with a smile. "Haven't had a good enough reason to. Only dickwad that's given me any trouble isn't _worth _punching."

"When you _do _punch someone, you better tell me all about it," Toph insisted.

"You got it," chuckled Korra, bemused by this.

"_Oh-hey-guess-what_?!" Toph suddenly burst out, spinning in her seat.

"_Ow, _my ear," Sokka whined. Toph, beaming very deliberately toward Korra, flailed out one hand and casually slapped Sokka's stomach. He coughed in surprise while Toph blurted out her news.

"Sokka and I are dating."

"_Ha, _yea, I...already knew that," said Korra, rolling her eyes at Toph's childish glee. The girl was sitting backwards in her seat on her knees. "Good goin' there," Korra complimented. "Between you n' me, though, you could do better."

"_Hey_."

Toph's response to Sokka's protesting was to slap him again.

"Eh, Meat-Head here's a fixer-upper, but I-_yeeep_!" she flinched with shock at his counter-attack, a slap on her rear-end. A devious giggle later and Toph was safely seated on her bottom again, fumbling her hands around to try and tickle Sokka, who was pleading her to stop.

Korra gazed past the wrestling couple to Katara and Aang. Aang smiled with a sigh, slowly shaking his head, while Katara continued to eat, giving Korra another unamused look.

"They've been like this a lot," Aang pointed out over the slight scuffle.

_-Whump!-  
_"_Augh! _Shit," Toph seethed, clutching her elbow. She was sprawled across the booth seat, her head in Sokka's lap.

The table had shaken from Toph's loose limb, nearly tipping over Katara's drink.

"Can we stop being _children _at the table, please?" Katara groaned with sharp impatience.

Korra saw Aang's arm wrap around Katara's back, and his girlfriend's annoyed expression melted away when she looked at him, a small smile emerging as he whispered something in her ear underneath Sokka and Toph's laughing. Korra's thoughts drifted to the night prior, when Bolin had made a similar gesture toward her, trying to settle her down when Mako was being abrasive.

["Korra."]

The overhead speakerphone called Korra's name through the noise of the students around her, startling her back to her senses. As she got up to retrieve her food, she realized that Toph was still cuddling in Sokka's lap as he hand-fed her french fries, and Aang and Katara were kissing. _Elch_. PDA much?

What had initially been enthusiasm to see her family and friends for the first time in a while had swiftly disintegrated into boredom and mild disgust.

Korra took her hamburger and set it back at her own lonely booth, then went to the soda fountain. Two other students were presently using it, so she waited. As she did this, Katara let Aang out, and he went over to Korra's side, his own cup emptied.

"Is Kat _still _hung up about Jane?" Korra grunted with irritation under the cloud of campus noise. She approached the now free fountain and went to fill up her cup with Mountain Dew. Aang dispensed ice into his own.

"Er, s-sorta," he muttered. "It's kind of complicated, but...we're working on it."

"Yea? Well...It's been _weeks_," Korra lamented, watching Aang pour himself water. "I don't get what her fuckin' deal is."

"Mm..." Aang was clearly hesitant to discuss this matter, so Korra let it drop. She pushed up the metal bar for the ice, and it splashed into her cup. Some drops of sticky green soda got on her hand and dripped down into the catch tray below. Aang snickered. "Maybe try putting the ice in _first_ next time?" he teased her. Korra, a bit embarrassed at her own lack of common sense, shrugged dismissively.

"Anyway, we still on for Thursday night?" she checked.

Aang nodded.

"Yea, sure. Um...What did Jane say about...-?"

Korra shook her head, knowing exactly what Aang was asking about.

"No go, Aang. She said just you." When she noticed Aang's discouraged look, she mumbled, "Sorry." Another student was trying to get their own drink filled, so Aang and Korra shuffled out of the way. "But come on," Korra grumbled, nodding her head up to the others. "You really think any of them want to see Jane right now, anyway? I mean, _especially _Kat?"

A disgruntled puff of air fell through Aang's lips and he shrugged again with indecision.

"I guess not."

Korra lifted her brows knowingly at him with a slight nod, then stepped ahead, weaving around filled up tables to reach her seat. Aang followed. He watched Korra sit back down by herself, then paused.

"Korra, why don't you sit with us?" he offered, slightly distracted by Sokka throwing fries at Toph as the girl wriggled about, trying to deflect them in futility. Katara gave Aang a quizzical look.

"Ah, there's...not really any _room_," Korra shrugged it off. Aang walked over to an empty chair at a table that was housing two other students. He asked if he could use the spare seat, and when they courteously permitted it, Aang took the chair back to his booth and set it against the outside edge of the table.

"There you go," he assured.

Korra sighed through a smile and went to move herself over. Aang sat beside Katara.

He whispered to her, "That OK?" and she nodded with a bit of reluctance. Aang slipped his hands around her waist, kissing her cheek, and she leaned into him with a deep breath through her nose.

"**Oogie**," Sokka flatly declared at them, apparently having grown bored of his one-sided food fight.

"Huh?" Korra seemed confused.

"**OOGIE**!" Toph growled with contained ferocity, rubbing her face against Sokka's arm.

"Ugh." Korra's expression turned dull. "So, err...-" She looked over to Katara. "I, uh, saw your Facebook updates, and you _look _like you're...feeling better?"

Katara popped up one shoulder, her gaze falling to her half-eaten tuna melt.

"_Yea, _she's doin' better," Toph jumped in before Katara could reply. She grinned with lowered eyelids. "All she needed was a little _sumpin' sumpin_' to pick her mood back up."

Katara's face flashed with some embarrassment as she tossed her roommate a dark glare. Aang's mouth hung open briefly, his wrap hovering before his lips. His cheeks flushed, Aang bit into his food as Korra gave the couple an amused look.

"Not this talk _again_," Sokka wailed in exaggeration. "**Oogies **are bad enough, we don't need to be talking about...**Uber Oogies** here."

"Sex," Korra blurted at Sokka, having gathered the context. Aang had texted her about the subject earlier during break, though she hadn't caught wind of any actual love-making going on. "It's all right, Sox, we're all _adults _here," she mocked him.

"My little sister's not allowed to be an _adult_," Sokka sarcastically countered. "Growing _up _and...and doing _adult _things. Nope. Not allowed."

"Dude," Toph grunted, pushing at Sokka with her elbow. "Your sister punched Twinkle-Toes' V-Card." Aang coughed loudly, nearly choking on his food. "Deal with it," Toph added.

"_Aughhhh,_ no more talking about this," bemoaned Sokka. Aang cleared his throat, pounding at his chest.

"Um, _yea,_" Aang managed out, barely getting his food down. "I'm...right here, and-"  
"God _damnit, _Toph," Sokka growled. "Now you've got icky thoughts back in my head, and...-" He trailed off, his face in his palms.

"Well, _I _am happy for you guys," Toph made clear to announce her approval over Sokka's whining, projecting a bright smile across the table.

Katara had been silent, running her hands over her ponytail. Korra couldn't read what was on the girl's mind today.

"Y-yea, thanks," Aang expressed on behalf of the two of them.

"So what you're all trying to say, here," said Korra, grabbing her warm, toasted burger bun, "is that there was a lot of making out at poor Uncle Hakoda's house over break."

"_Woot!_" Toph cried, groping her hands across the table for her cup of Dr. Pepper. "Making out! Make-outs for _everyone!_" She sucked through her straw loudly.

"Psh, not for me," Korra muttered under her breath, a smirk coming across her as she pondered things with Bolin. Her eager brain went off daydreaming as she ate, but she caught herself, and rewinded back to Hakoda. "How _is _Hakoda doing these days? He sounded sorta bummed when we last talked."

"That was probably _my _fault," lamented Katara. "I had him worried when we were there."

Toph had figured out where the piece of lettuce in her burger was, and was trying to shove it in Sokka's face, who was grumbling at her in detestation as she scolded him to eat his vegetables.

"Yea, he...mentioned that," Korra noted, already learning to tune out the Toph and Sokka nonsense going on to the side. "I'm glad he's got Bato, at least."

"Mm," Katara hummed in agreement. "What about you, though?"

"Huh?"

"_Your _folks. How are they?"

"Oh, er...-" Korra took a moment to get another bite of her food, allowing time to consider a reply. "I think they're OK."

"You..._think?_"

"Yea, I...haven't really talked with them much lately, I don't think...that they liked me moving here."

"_Really?_" Aang was baffled. "But...I thought they were proud of you being independent, and that sort of thing."

"Yup," Korra shrugged. "They are, but it's...-" Her brows wiggled up and she repeated Aang's own words from earlier. "-...kind of complicated."

* * *

_"To observe people in conflict is a necessary part of a child's education. It helps him to understand and accept his own occasional hostilities and to realize that differing opinions need not imply an absence of love."_  
~ Milton R. Sapirstein

* * *

- November 3rd, 2001 -

"Senna, _please_," Hakoda spoke in a hushed tone. "You don't have to do this."_  
_

"I think I _do_," Senna snapped back. "I am..._sorry_, Hakoda. I am..._so _sorry. But I cannot _live _like this. _We_...cannot live like this."

"The people who did this, they...they're _long _gone by now. They-"  
"_They _are going to keep _walking free _because _you _won't do anything about it!"  
"They _threatened _my children, Senna."  
"They _murdered _your wife!"  
"Which makes it _pretty _clear to me that if I don't back off, they're going to murder someone _else._"  
"They're going to do that, _anyway, _and it's _because _you're backing off."  
"But it's not going to be my children."  
"What about _my _child, Hakoda? What if something had happened to _her?_"  
"It didn't."  
"Who says it still won't?"  
"They have _no reason _to go after her as long as I let this be."  
"They do if they think you _care _about her, which you _do._"  
"Are you suggesting...-? What? I cut off ties with you and your daughter?"  
"Do you know what she said to me the other day? She said, 'I'm going to look into being a cop, like Uncle Hakoda. I'm going to _protect _people.'"  
"She...said that?"  
"She did_. _And I don't like the idea at _all._"  
"Senna, the girl is _eighteen. _She's living on her own now, you can't-"  
"You are _not _the example I want her looking to. You don't _protect _people. You let criminals _walk_."  
"When they are _threatening _my children? _Yes, _there's not much I can do about it. Kya said they're Americans, anyway. They've probably gone back, and-"  
"That's supposed to reassure me? Well, there's not much _we _can do about it, other than _run._"  
"Senna! You don't...-! _Argh, _you don't have to _run. _They have no _interest _in you!"  
"We're all Kya's family, through you. That makes us..._connected _to this. And we never asked for that."  
"You think _I _asked for this?"  
"She was your wife!"  
"I had _no idea _about any of this until...two weeks ago, when they started sending threats to-"  
"_Two weeks?! _You knew about this for _two weeks, _and you didn't think to-"  
"I _thought _about it a _lot, _and I was _going _to, but Kya insisted that-"  
"I think we can agree by now that _Kya _didn't have the best _judgment_."  
"She was doing what she thought was right."  
"And she put my child _and _yours in danger!"  
"She _protected _them."  
"And now our children are _traumatized_. They're going to...to carry this with them for the rest of their _lives._"  
"_So am I!_"

_-Whump!_-

Korra flinched from the pounding sound that rattled the house from upstairs. She'd been standing partway up the stairwell, overhearing this conversation from the point she'd arrived home. Her stomach was tied in knots, her heart thumping in her chest from the emotional swells of familial conflict. Kya's funeral, merely two days ago, had been the most difficult thing Korra had endured thus far in her life. She'd cried - again. But far worse, they'd _all _cried. And she'd just stood there, bawling alongside them, powerless to change anything.

Powerless.  
Unable to change what had happened.  
Unable to make anything better.  
Unable to protect anyone.  
Her worst fear, smeared across everyone's faces at that funeral.

Hearing her mother and her uncle tear into each other like this right now was _not _very comforting at all, either. The shouting had paused, and when Korra strained to listen, she could hear sobbing.

"Y-you're...a _cop_," her mother's voice trembled over Hakoda's tears. "Get a _hold _of yourself."

"I'm a _father_. And I...I _was..._a husband..." Sniffles, heaving breaths.

Korra trudged up the stairs, her head bobbed with shame and frustration at the way her family had been falling apart so quickly.

"But you still _are _a father. _And _a cop. You're...you're supposed to put criminals behind-"  
"I'm supposed to _protect _people. And being a _father _comes first - I'm supposed to protect my _children._"  
"How are your children safe with those _loonies _out and-"  
"Kya is _gone. _She was the _only _person they _cared _about from our family. They have _no reason _to...-"

Korra reached the doorway to her parents' bedroom to see Hakoda, hunched over the bed, Senna standing before him. The two stared at her with surprise.

"Korra? What are you...-?" her mother eked out. "I thought you went to get groceries."

"I came _back_," Korra muttered defensively. Her father was at work, while Katara and Sokka were with their Gran-Gran. "Why are you two _yelling?_"

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Senna questioned. Korra could see that her mother's eyes were wet, too, as the woman wiped her face with her sleeve. They'd _both _been crying.

"Ya know...-?" Korra paused, crossing her arms. "_Yea. _I _was. _Because everyone's acting _weird. _What are you two talking about?"

"It's none of your business," Hakoda dismissed her. "Don't-...Just don't worry about it. This is between me and your mother."

"Did I do something wrong?" Korra questioned. It had sure _sounded _like her mother was cross with her declaration of career pursuit.

"Korra. Baby," Senna whimpered, approaching her daughter. "_No, _you...-" Korra was startled as her mother hugged her tightly, her breathing a bit rattled and shaky. Korra accepted the hug, nearly ready to cry herself just from being around two adults who seemed so..._scared._

As they broke apart, Korra asked, "Then, what is going _on?_"

Senna and Hakoda swapped dark expressions.

Senna took a step back, looking her daughter straight in the eye.

"Your father and I are moving away. You're coming with us."

"...What?"

"We're moving back to the west, where _my _family came from. Where _no one _is involved in...-" She glared at Hakoda sharply, the poor man staring down at his own feet. "-...in _crime, _or sneaking around and...doing _dangerous _things. It's-...Korra, it's not _safe _for us around here anymore."

Korra held back her tears - the ones that had been building up as she'd overheard the argument. She shrugged, unzipping her black, leather jacket - the one her father had given her as a parting gift when she'd recently moved out on her own. She dropped it on her parents' bed and sat down next to her distraught uncle.

"But why would we _leave _now?" she wondered, drumming her fingers in her lap. "What about '_family,_' and sticking together, and...-?"

"I'm not saying we can't stick together."

"You're just saying we can't _see _Hakoda or my cousins anymore?" Korra bitterly derived.

"No, I'm saying that maybe we..._shouldn't_ see them," Senna delicately rephrased. "For a while." Another hard look at Hakoda, who was still bent over in shame. "Until the people who _did this _can't hurt anyone anymore."

"I think Hakoda's right," Korra sternly disagreed. "_I _think that if those fuckers were gonna hurt the rest of us, they _would have _already." She looked at her uncle's profile.

The man was hurting.

Korra awkwardly put her hand on his back and rested it there, somewhat uncertain as to what gesture to use to express her sympathy. She looked up to her mother with fiery determination.

"If you and dad are gonna move...that's your call. I'm staying where I am. I _just _moved out on my own, I've got a job, I've finally got my shit figured out. I'm not about to uproot all over again. I _like _where I live, and...-" She moved her hand up to Hakoda's shoulder and squeezed, finally eliciting a reaction from him. She nodded to him. "Besides, I made a promise." Hakoda's face willed out a weak smile of gratitude at this.

Senna's arm folded over her waist, and her other hand lingered over her lips in consideration. She shook her head after these few seconds of thinking on things.

"No. Korra, _no_," she insisted. "Your father and I can't leave you all on your own out here, it's-"  
"But you'll leave _him_?" Korra directed her hands to her distraught uncle, who was uncomfortable being caught between the two.

Senna snorted out air, aggravated at her daughter arguing with her.

"Hakoda's an _adult_, he can handle-"  
"_I'm _a fucking adult, too!" Korra snapped, hand on her chest. "I'm _eighteen. _I'm old enough to make my own decisions!"

"That doesn't make them _good _ones."  
"That's not _up to you _anymore, Mom!"  
"I'm still going to tell you what's smart."  
"I don't _care _what's 'smart,' I'm just-"  
"Exactly! You're just like your father! You never think th-"  
"I'm not gonna be all _alone _out here, anyway!"  
"You're already alone, Korra. You live by yourself, and-"  
"See? I can _handle _stuff."  
"But if something happens to you, how will anyone-"  
"Nothing's gonna _happen_."  
"You don't _know _that."  
"Those people didn't _want _to hurt me. _Or _Kat."  
"How do you _know _that?"  
"'Cuz they _didn't._ And why would they _want _to? I don't even get why they'd-"  
"Why don't you ask _your uncle?_"

"Senna, I don't _know _why they went after Kya. She didn't _tell _me why, just that...they _would_, and-"  
"And they _did._"

"Yea, Mom, but how is us splitting _up _gonna change that?"  
"We can't change what happened, but we can prevent it from happening to someone _else_, like _y__ou._"  
"There's nothing to _prevent._"  
"That may be how you feel, but we can't be _certain _that-"  
"_Urgh! _I don't _give a shit! _I promised that I'd-"  
"You're going to put your extended family's wishes before-"  
"Because they _need us _to be there for-"  
"I'm your _mother, _I need you to stay _safe_."  
"I'm your _daughter, _and _you _need to...to let me fucking do what _I_ think is best!"

By now, Korra and Senna were inches apart, her mother glowering down at Korra.

"Why do you need to move away, anyway?" Korra demanded after they had a brief staring contest.

"I...just can't _live _this way," Senna grunted out with a stifled sob. "Living in fear that...that we could be targeted by some...what? Organization?"

"I don't...-!" Hakoda shrugged wildly, shaking his head. "I don't know how big or small they are, Senna."

"Mom..." said Korra darkly, eyes narrowed. "Is there something else...?"

"What...? No, there's-...No."

Now Hakoda was giving Senna a suspicious look. Senna shook her head, biting her lip. She opened up.

"Last night...we received a phone call," she confessed. "A threat. Like the one you said you received the night Kya was killed."

The room fell silent for half a minute or so, and Hakoda ran his palm across his face.

"_That's _why...we've made this decision. We don't know _who _these people are, _what _they could possibly want from us...but they want us to be quiet. You're a cop, Hakoda. If you can't protect us, I don't know what else to...-" She trailed, shaking her head more, looking at Hakoda with apologetic eyes. Her shoulders popped up with desperation. "I can't do this. Living in fear. And for what? For something Kya never even _told _any of us about?"

"Fine," Korra pouted, crossing her arms around her waist. Her knee bounced rapidly with impatience. "But I didn't get no threat."

"Baby, they probably already _think _they've scared you so th-"  
"They didn't!" Korra barked. "I'm not afraid of them. I'm not afraid of _anybody._"  
"Korra..."  
"No, I've-...Mom. I get it. OK? But I'm _not leaving. _I have a _life _here. I have family, and friends, and I'm taking care of myself, and...-" She shrugged. "I need to find my own path, n' stuff. Remember? Like Gran-Gran said?"

Senna nodded with some disdain.

"Yes, I _remember _what your grandmother said, I just...-"  
"I'll be careful, Mom."  
"Can you make that a promise to _me?_"  
"Yea. I promise..." Korra nodded, letting her arms drop back to her lap.

Senna stared at her daughter's eyes, studying their earnest.

"I _promise_," Korra repeated with more vigor. Senna took a deep breath, clearing her throat and wiping the mist from her eyes.

Senna had always taught Korra to take care of herself. To be independent, and make choices on her own. Now it was finally time for that to mean something. Korra didn't need her parents to take care of her anymore - but she wanted to help take care of her cousins, it seemed. And her uncle, evidently. In that moment, observing Korra's determined, unyielding expression, Senna faced the reality that her daughter had grown up into exactly the kind of young woman she had expected. And she had to accept that.

"All right. I understand," Senna conceded with a slow nod. "You're...all grown up now, Korra. Ready to take on the world. I know that." Senna approached her daughter. "Listen, I'm _really _not sure it's such a good idea for you to stay in Ontario...But I don't want you to think that I'm going to love you any less if you do."

"Yea," Korra acknowledged, staring up at her worried mother from her spot on the bed. "I love you, too, Mom."

Senna noticed an eager spark in her daughter's eyes. Korra wanted to try comforting her uncle - her hand was still on the man's shoulder. Senna decided she'd allow the girl some space to do this. She kissed Korra's forehead.

"I'll be downstairs."

"'Kay."

Senna reluctantly stepped to the doorway, then paused, looking over her shoulder at Korra. They exchanged concerned expressions - the exact same ones they had when Korra had first moved out a few months prior.

Senna closed the door on her way out gently, and Korra sighed a long, deep breath.

"Korra," said Hakoda. "I didn't mean for you and your mother to-"  
"Hey, it's cool. No problem," Korra eased. She patted his back hard before dropping her hand into her lap. "Mom and me will be fine. We always are."

"And your father?"

"Heh." Korra grinned. "Dad will find a way to convince my mom into thinking it's a good idea that I keep sticking it out on my own. But..._eh_." She tossed her hand and shook her head. "Don't worry about us, it's _you _that needs help right now."

"Mm..." Hakoda's elbows were on his knees now, and he rested his chin in his hands.

"So, erm...-" Korra was getting a bit shaky just at the heavy silence.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to try joining the force," Hakoda solemnly advised.

"...Huh?"

"In a larger city like that, it could be very dangerous."

"Sure, but I don't _care _if-"  
"I _do. _Your parents _do._"

Korra fell silent at this. She'd already picked up the application paperwork, and had been certain that Hakoda would support the decision.

"But...what about 'making my own choices?' Being all grown up, taking on the world, being my own woman?"  
"Korra..."  
"'Cuz I don't think that screwin' around with minimum wage bullshit is exactly what Kya had in mind when she said-"  
"You aren't going to _like _it."  
"_What? _Kickin' ass, takin' names - what's _not _to like?"  
"There are more moving parts to this than you know."  
"I _want _to know."

Hakoda growled to himself with impatience.

"I can't have this discussion right now."

Korra didn't reply, guilt-stricken by her own selfishness. That's what she got for running her mouth before thinking. Hakoda, his voice settled a bit, spoke again.

"I realize that you're trying to be responsible - make a difference. And I can appreciate that. But now's not the time to be worrying about this kind of thing."

Korra was eager to nod, expressing her awareness of the difficult situation she had just stepped around. She'd just had a fight with her mom. She didn't need to stir up another one.

"I'm sorry."

"It's OK, I just...-" Hakoda's hand raised up to his face, covering his mouth as his eyes glazed over. "There's a lot for me to worry about right now," he explained, muffled by his own palm.

"We're gonna-...We'll get through this," Korra insisted, trying to push some inspirational words out. "We're Kesuks. Family. That's not-...Like, we're not gonna let this tear us apart...Right?"

Hakoda didn't answer, his empty, soulless gaze falling to the floor. Korra's gut wrenched at the sight. Hakoda's eyes quietly disagreed with her flowery sentiments. They said, 'This is a scar that will never heal.'

* * *

_"Because understanding the struggle between your two great-grandfathers can help you better understand the battle within yourself. Evil and good are always at war inside you, Zuko. It is in your nature, your legacy. But there is a bright side. What happened generations ago can be resolved now, by you. Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family, and the Fire Nation. Born in you along with all the strife is the power to restore balance to the world."_

~ Uncle Iroh

* * *

- Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 -

"Hello?" Zuko sighed into his phone. "You there?" He pulled it from his face, double-checking to see that he was on an active call. He was still adjusting to how this new Sato phone worked. Definitely a slick device, he couldn't deny, but he'd hardly been using it for actual _phone _calls thus far. The call he'd been on had dropped, so he'd tried re-dialing. It _looked _like he was connected.

["Yes, I am _regrettably _here,"] huffed Azula's voice from the other line. ["Now, what were you yammering about before you so _rudely _hung up on me?"]

"I didn't..._hang up _on you, the call dropped. I'm...in a basement, it-...The service is spotty down here, and-"  
["Yes, yes, I was pulling your _leg,_ Dum-Dum. Honestly, do you truly have _no _sense of humor?"]

Zuko, standing alone in the large, darkened room, sat back down at the table to his side. Hunched over its surface, he took a deep, exhausted breath. It had been a long day.

"Not when I'm worried about a _psychotic pyromaniac _that could kill again day now! _No, _I don't find anything funny about that."

["_Ugh, _Zuko. Listen. I have _told _you. That is _not _your problem to deal with, as you seem _so _very insistent on avoiding familial affairs."]

"I'm not avoiding our family's problems, I'm trying to _fix _them. You _know _that."

["And _I _am trying to _control _them. You cannot _fix _these issues, Zuko. The people involved here? They are deviants. They are violent. They will not listen to reason. If they _did, _do you honestly think they would be involved in the activities they _are? _You talk as if these groups can be reformed - _united _- but you are incorrect. You cannot _tame _beasts such as these, dress them up, and let them sit on the couch. They are _wild animals, _not pets. They need to be put in their _cages _and taught _fear _and _respect _so that they won't disobey."]

"Putting them in prison, you mean."

["The ones that aren't _useful_, yes."]

"'Useful?'"

["Zuko, don't be naive. You know these groups exist because they once had purpose. With their leaders gone, they've fallen into disarray, but they could still serve the Kurosawa family in some-"]  
"Serve _you. _Serve the _c__ompany._"  
["The company and the family should be treated as _one and the same._"]  
"No, the _family _is here. In Wayward. What's left of us. _You _are the one off on your own out there, trying to reclaim Father's-"  
_-Tap-Tap-Tap-Tap!-_

Zuko was startled by the rapid-fire knocking at the glass door. Four times.

["What is it?"] Azula snipped.

"Uh...-" Zuko muffled his phone, looking to the unlit entrance outside the double glass doors. The shadows of the stairwell that descended to the coffee shop's entrance kept whoever was at the entrance veiled in darkness, just as Zuko himself was in the seemingly closed shop. Zuko checked his phone. [**10:04pm**] It was about time. "I have to go," Zuko grunted into his phone.

["Oh, I _see, _something more important than _berating _your Sister has-"]  
["-_Blip!-"_] Zuko ended the call. He'd deal with his sister more later.

This week's meeting wasn't important, and wasn't mandatory, either. Zuko figured it had to be Jin at the door - she always showed up, after all, but hadn't arrive yet. The other members present tonight were hidden away in the storage room in the back. Zuko tucked his phone in his breast pocket and approached the door cautiously. He could make out _two _figures, not one. That was definitely curious. He could hear some kind of grumbling from beyond the glass doors, cut off by a shushing from the other.

Zuko unlocked the door and opened it a crack. He spoke with a dull, solemn tone, and asked them a question.

"Who knocks at the guarded gate?"

"Zuk-? _Urff!_" A familiar, raspy voice from beneath a hood was shut down by the other slapping them in the waist.

Jin's equally serious tone responded, ignoring the interruption.

"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries."

Zuko put out a "_Hmph_" at this, thrown off by the awkward stranger who clearly didn't understand how this was supposed to go.

"Who's with you?" he asked softly.

"They're a friend," Jin sharply insisted. "It's important."

Zuko squinted through the glass at the dark figure. Wasn't that...Jane? That cranky girl that was friends with Aang? The hell was _she _doing here?

"All right," Zuko sighed, opening the door to let them enter. Jane was hunched, hands stuffed in her hoodie pocket. As Zuko locked the door behind him, Jane bumped into a chair in the dark, groaning with impatience.

"Be careful," Jin sighed, weaving her way to the back of the room.

"Jin, she can't go _in there _with you," Zuko spat out in a hushed tone.

"I _know _that," Jin whispered back across the room.

"Huh?" Jane was still trying to find her way around. "The fuck's _with_ you guys? Why are we in this place? How come the lights are off?"

"_Shh,_" Zuko quieted her, approaching her from behind.

Jin knocked at the storage room door four times, just as she had before. The door unlocked, and Jin silently slipped into the lit room. Jane and Zuko were momentarily blinded until the door closed again.

"Wha...-?"

"Why are you here?" Zuko demanded in Jane's ear.

"Could ask _you _the same fuckin' thing," Jane growled back. "And I don't _know _why I'm here, Jin brought me..."

The two stood in the powered down Jasmine Dragon in awkward silence before the door opened again.

"She's here?" Mai's voice came out from the doorway, her sleek silhouette a pleasant sight to Zuko's weary eyes.

"Mai?" Jane grumbled, another stack of confusion layered.

"Uh...H-_hey,_" Mai spat out, just as surprised.

Now that Jane's eyes had adjusted to the light now pouring through from behind Mai, she could see that Mai looked somewhat irate. Geez, what the hell was everyone's issue? And all the hush-hush speak-easy shit?

Mai lifted the sliver of paper that Jane had given to Jin earlier.

"Sooo..._this. _If you...follow us in here, I guess...we're going to talk about it."

Jane nodded in reply.

"Whoa, w-wait up a second," Zuko protested. "She just _shows up _here and we're going to let her _in? _What about the code?"

"This is a very special circumstance, Nephew," said Iroh, arriving in the doorway behind Mai. "We shall have to...postpone our plans for tonight. This will not be an official meeting, but...-" Iroh patted Mai on the back, grinning slyly. "-...simply a gathering of colleagues for personal discussion."

Zuko frowned at his Uncle's cheer, begrudgingly bringing up the rear. As they passed in, Mai closed the door behind them, locking it from the inside. They passed through a cramped storage room with shelves and a fridge - coffee shop supplies - and through another door that led to a paved basement storage room. Pipes ran across the ceiling, and all sorts of knick-knacks and equipment lined the walls. It was an expansive enough room to serve as a meeting place, at least. A round folding table was planted in the middle, surrounded by mostly empty chairs. Jin was occupying one, and the others were quickly filled by Iroh, Mai, Zuko, and Jane, leaving a few more still empty.

When Jane had tried to sit isolated on one end of the table, Mai had rolled her eyes and nodded her head, signaling the girl to sit alongside the rest. Jane hesitated, distracted by the various empty mugs aligned by each chair, but she shifted seats, placing herself beside Mai, who was next to Zuko, then Iroh, and Jin.

"This is it for tonight?" Jin mumbled curiously. "Kind of disappointing..."

"Not a mandatory meeting, though," Zuko pointed out, picking up the steaming teapot from the center of the table and beginning to fill Mai's mug. "You _know _how people haven't been showing up lately as it is..."

"In light of recent events, perhaps this is not such a bad thing," Iroh lamented, watching Zuko fill the mug before him.

Jane was in a state of bewilderment, having no idea what this was all about. Zuko poured tea into Jin's mug next.

"R-right," Jin stumbled, straightening her glasses as she cast a worried glance to Jane.

As Zuko paced back around to Jane, the red-head pulled off her hoodie, tousling her fingers through her hair to loosen it out, and sighed, staring at her empty Jasmine Dragon mug.

"Didn't mean to..._intrude _on your tea party, here," she muttered.

Zuko paused when he reached her, glowering down at the back of her head.

"Wha. Ha. Ha," laughed Iroh slowly, putting his thick, weathered palm around his warm cup of tea. He took a sip. "Yes. _Yes, _a tea party. That is precisely what we are having tonight, isn't it?"

Zuko rolled his eyes yet again, topping off Jane's mug. Jane sniffed, rubbing her nose with her sleeve, and breathed in the vapors. Zuko at last prepared his own drink. He then placed the kettle back where it had rested before - a large coaster of sorts, printed with an emblem portraying a white-petaled flower.

"What's going _on _here?" Zuko puffed out, conveying his distaste for the situation.

Mai nonchalantly placed the slip of paper in front of her boyfriend.

"Jane found this," she dryly explained. "With her father's things."

Zuko went white as a ghost as he read the slip. He gaped at his Uncle with lips hung slightly open, then over to Jane, who shrugged incredulously back at him. Jane tried sipping her tea-_argh, _shit. Too damned hot. How did people _drink _it so hot, anyway? She cleared her throat.

"Um, so...Let's just cut the pretentious bullshit here and, like...could _someone _be straight with me?" She stared directly at Iroh, whose eyes narrowed as that - _rurgh! _- knowing smirk appeared on his face. He _knew _what this was about, and he hadn't _told _her before when she'd asked. "What does...-" She wriggled her wrist around the table. "-...whatever the hell this little club is here...-? What does my _dad _gotta do with it? What's it got to do with why he's _dead_? Or why that bald fuck-bag with the face tattoo is burning people's houses down?"

Her teeth clenched, fist balled up against the table, Jane's burning eyes glanced at the other four sets before she squinted them shut, sucking in a deep breath.

"You...-" Zuko tried to start. He coughed. "You mean th-"  
"The Combustion Man," Jane snapped, her eyes popping open. Zuko's gaze drifted to the side awkwardly.

"Well...That's not his _name, _but-"  
"I don't fucking _care _what his name is," Jane hissed.

Iroh politely interjected.

"Perhaps you should...try to relax. Drink some of your tea?"

Jane's burning olive eyes tried to pierce through Iroh's wall of calm. When that failed, she took a very cautious sip of her drink, rubbing at her eyebrow twice. She caught herself, and stuffed her hand into her pocket to thumb her worry stone within her cargo pants.

"The reason Ms. Fitzpatrick is here today," Iroh explained to the lot of them, "is because - like Zuko's mother, Ursa - her father was a member of our...organization."

Jane and Zuko shot baffled looks to each other.

"Ursa?" Jane mumbled. "That name-...That's _this _guy's mom?" She bobbed her head to her side in Zuko's direction.

"_Was _my mom," Zuko lamented.

"Right," said Jane with some guilt.

"What you're saying," Mai derived, "is that...Jane's dad was killed by the same people who killed Ursa?"

"Not..._exactly_," Iroh sighed, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "But more or less, yes."

"Must've been another division of the Phoenix Clan," Zuko figured.

"The _what_?" came Jane. Jin took this one.

"The Phoenix Clan is a collection of smaller gangs that...compromise with each other, rather than conflict with one another."

Jane's brows furrowed as she recollected her discussion with June.

"The Rough Rhinos," she blurted out. "The Silver Serpents."

"Y-yes, that's...correct," Jin nodded, taken aback at Jane's apparent knowledge of this.

"They all worked for the same higher-ups," Jane said, shrugging up her wrists for approval. The others all nodded. Zuko clarified her statement.

"They all worked for the _Kurosawa_ family."

"...What?"

"Our family has always had close ties to this school," said Iroh with a nod, taking a quick swig. "Sozin Kurosawa was close friends with Miyazaki Roku - Sozin's wealth and Miyazaki's ideas merged together to create this college. Sozin's company, however, had only been able to rise to power with money he acquired during his time in the Yakuza."

"Yah-koo...-?"  
"They're like Japanese Mafia," Mai dryly dismissed Jane's confusion.  
"Oh."

Iroh went on.

"You see, our family's company started in Japan. As it expanded across the Pacific Ocean, it grew from an oil company to one that also produced various mechanical devices. Vehicles, primarily. Kurosawa Industries became fairly prosperous, and was able to be the primary benefactor of the founding of SRU. And then...-" Iroh sighed out in a long breath that was almost painful to watch, the normal cheer and steadiness withering from his face. "As it always does, things became quite complicated."

Jane leaned back in her seat, drumming her fingers on her stomach. This was a bit trying of her patience.

"Sorry, but...could we maybe skip ahead or...-?" she groaned.

Zuko threw daggers at her with his amber eyes, and Mai laughed through her nose, patting Zuko's leg to ease him.

"Ahaha," Iroh laughed. "I suppose I am being a bit long-winded, aren't I? But this is important. Suffice it to say that the political climate between the east and west was very difficult during that time. Kurosawa Industries faced much resistance as a result, and by the time my father was in command, he was living in America, where I was born. In an effort to make my family's name more respectable in such hard circumstances, I volunteered to serve the USA in the Vietnam War. As I was away, my brother, Ozai, had plans of his own to restore the respect the Kurosawa family once had. He sought inspiration from Sozin's time in the Yakuza. He made many connections on the east coast of America, and managed to coordinate and unite a collection of gangs under a set code of rules and principals. Sort of like an American Yakuza, you could say. He referred to them collectively as 'The Phoenix Clan.' Specifically, the more prominent figures of the organization were also of Eastern descent. Ozai believed that the US had wrongly damaged the lives of immigrants due to racial tensions during times of war - his intention was that his family, and thus the people connected to it, would 'rise from the ashes' of their financial and social resistance."

"Sounds like some flowery bullshit excuse for doing illegal stuff," Jane observed.

Jane scratched behind her ear, staring into her tea mug. She grasped it casually, and tried to drink it again - finally at a temperature she could deal with. A lot of this talk was going over her head. Why did old dudes always need to spew out their long-ass stories?

"Yea," Zuko agreed, his tone sharp. "Not all that different from the _Freedom Fighter__s, _is it?"

Jane shut up at this, and swallowed her tea with some embarrassment. After another tense silence, she spoke out before Iroh could continue.

"Urrr...So. You fought in a war. And became...a _professor?_"

"Of philosophy," Iroh amended. "What I experienced during my time in Vietnam gave me a reason to encourage others to find something to believe in. To teach them to truly _think_-" He tapped his index finger on his forehead. "-about their place in the world, and what they wish to make of it. I suppose that is a way it could be expressed. With strong ties to SRU through our family, I moved here to seek this career."

Jane studied the old man's face carefully. This was all still kind of weird to consider. The connections, seemingly more than coincidence, but also just the fact that such a warm-hearted old man could've come from such a discouraging background. Of course, when Jane pondered on it, it seemed as if she'd surrounded herself with this breed of person.

"Hm," was all she found herself able to say in reply to this knowledge. She sipped from her mug some more. Now she felt like a dick for being rude and impatient.

"Those years changed my brother and I. The violence I witnessed - it made me feel powerless. But Ozai, he...had the opposite reaction. I did not know it until years later, but a darkness had grown within him while I was away. With his newfound connections built from the Phoenix Clan, he was able to help restore some of the company's reputation and power, and our father, reaching old age, let Ozai manage things. I was young for a professor, haha. But being a Kurosawa certainly helped smooth things over. The more my brother visited the campus and tried to convince me to join him, the more I resisted. He had been open with me about his intentions, and while I did not approve, I respected his trust and kept his secrets with me for some time."

Iroh finished his mug, and carefully lifted the kettle from its coaster, revealing the flower pattern once more.

"I began to meet with my fellow staff to discuss our hobbies and interests," said Iroh fondly, pouring himself another drink. "I had always been a fan of secret societies - the idea of meeting in secret...I suppose secrets are simply a family tradition, hm?" Iroh winked at his nephew. "But I was often perplexed at the selfish motives of so many secret organizations. So...-" He set the kettle back down. "I started one of my own, with the simple goal of making life in this town, at this school, enriching and edifying. The school newspaper was the perfect way to marriage a good cover with a sense of purpose. I called this group 'The Order of the White Lotus.' For a while, it was purely faculty members who participated, until the group became official, acquired this title, and ran behind the scenes of the paper. Ursa was an enthusiastic and confident young woman - a student here - who was one of our first student members. She and your father were friends, Ms. Fitzpatrick. They were both members of this group."

Jane gulped down her warm tea, fixated on Iroh's unraveling yarn.

"Ursa and my father were both members of this...secret club," she stated her understanding. "Now they're both _dead. _Why?"

Iroh nodded with condolence.

"You see, as time passed, Ursa married Ozai. She was not aware of his history, and I could not bring myself to tell her of it. I had hoped that Ursa would be able to pull my brother away from his old ways - so concerned with social retribution, prestige, and money. For a while, it seemed that he had. But eventually, he fell back into his old habits when times became hard. Ursa found out about his past. And she came to realize that he was not going to change. She took her children away from him, ashamed and fearful of the person she had come to love. He had cut off his ties with me, as well. My own son learned of this family situation, a member of the White Lotus himself, of course. He tried to expose his Uncle's connections."

"And they offed him," Jane murmured in realization, recalling the article she'd stumbled upon in the newspaper from before. "But they made it look like a mugging."

"The Phoenix Clan's many smaller groups and individuals, operating under different names and different rules, made it much easier for them to coordinate activities without suspicion. After my son was murdered in this way, against Ozai's wishes, my brother realized the true dangers of the beast he had brought to life. I cannot be sure of Ozai's motives, but I believe that he had intended to uphold the honor of the Kurosawa family and create a secure future for his children. After he had lost that which he had worked so hard to support, it deepened his self-inflicted wounds. The more he tried to regain control of the many groups intended to work for him, the less they obeyed him. In the wake of my son's death, a young lawyer insisted on trying to fight back against the men who had committed the crime. Ms. Fitspatrick, that man was your father."

Jane, hunched over the table, looked up from her near empty mug, surprised.

"O-_oh_," she sputtered, her grip on her cup now tightened.

"And so a cycle was started. Members of the White Lotus, made aware of this situation, tried to quell it. Many of them were murdered in different ways, by different groups. Over time, many of these groups were shut down, contained, arrested...But the core of the Phoenix Clan still remained, functioning on its own until the heart of their operation was cut through. The remaining groups scattered, seeming to disappear. The Rough Rhinos were one such group. Your old friend, 'Jet,' he-...Regrettably, he, too, was impacted by this situation, as the Rhinos had felt threatened by his father."

"Yea..." Jane did not want to think about Jet right now, but it was an inevitable fact that he was also related to this. "Um...So, the Rhinos? They were the ones who offed my old man? The Combustion Man, he's one of them, or...-?"

"Actually...no. Your father, near as I have been able to tell, was killed by the group this...'Combustion Man' comes from. It was a very small group. Only four members. Very dangerous men with very unpleasant dispositions. They were a special task force, of sorts. What they shared in common was a strong belief in the cleansing properties of fire. They were referred to as The Agni Kai's."

"What about the other three?"

"Two were captured a long time ago. The third was found dead a few years back. The fourth disappeared. Until very recently."

"When he started burning down people's houses again..."

"Yes. He is the last Angi Kai. I am still not sure _why _he has been doing this after hiding away for so much time."

"How about why he'd burn the United Republic, then?" Jane wondered. This question stopped Iroh dead in his tracks, causing the man to slump back in his chair. He pinched at his beard cautiously, slowly weighing out his answer.

"I am sure that there were...multiple reasons," Iroh danced around the question for a moment. "But the most _likely_ is...that because Korra is a member of the Kesuk family."

Jane raised her eyebrow, circling her finger around the edge of her mug. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Katara's mother had gone to SRU. That was the entire reason Sokka and Katara were here in the first place.

Katara's mother had been killed years ago. It had appeared to be a mugging. Like Iroh's son.

Fucking christ.

"Korra's aunt was in this fuckin' _club, _too, wasn't she?" Jane pieced things together aloud, a guttural rage building up inside her.

"She was," Zuko chimed in. "It's...actually been Korra's relation that has made it easy to get her situated here in Wayward. With work, I mean. Her aunt sacrificed a great deal on behalf of this school. This _town, _really."

"Does Korra _know _about this?" demanded Jane.

"We do not believe so," Iroh confessed. "From what I can tell, Kya was...as secretive about these matters as she was...supposed to be."

"The _fuhh_...-?" Jane whispered to herself with disbelief. All of this shit had been connected all along, and they had never known about it. "Why are you telling _me? _Why...why don't _they _know?"

"You have _asked _about this," Iroh clarified. "And I must say, you are _q__uite _persistent."

"Fuckin' _eh, _yea, this is...my _history. _This is...why I'm _here. _Isn't it? And it's why the Kesuks are here. Why wouldn't you tell Kya's kids about this?"

"Because if she had wanted them to know...she'd have told them herself. And if _they _had wanted to know, they would have done what _you _did, Ms. Fitzpatrick: they would have looked into it. They would have asked about it. But from what I can tell in my interactions with Miss Kesuk - with Korra - that family does not _want_ to know, does not _want _to remember. They do not want to dwell on these matters, as you do. I could not bring it upon myself to tell them. Besides...I thought they would be safest if they stayed away from this knowledge."

"Yea, OK. Yea. _Right_..." Jane nodded slowly, her lower jaw crooked with frustration. She was sorely tempted to spit out protestations about this - Korra and Katara had almost been murdered, for fuck's sake - but Jane gave herself a moment to consider the counter arguments. Besides, Katara was this pissed off at Jane just for...not _talking _to her. If Katara found out about this sorts crazy-ass conspiracy shit? She'd probably flip a lid. Jane didn't want to see that. Katara didn't need any more hurting than she already carried around. It certainly was painful - people she knew carrying secrets - but she hadn't been involved in a shootout. She hadn't had to deal with the Rhinos for some time. She'd been able to try living a fucking _normal _life. And as much as it made her angry to think that Katara, Sokka, and Korra were all ignorant to these details...they, too, had been living mostly normal lives, hadn't they? But Jane couldn't do nothing with this knowledge. "So now that _I _know...you _do _get that I'm not just gonna sit here. Right?"

Jane stared across the table at the varied expressions. Jin avoided her gaze. Iroh looked conflicted. Zuko was dire. Mai was concerned.

"The whole reason I ended _up _here was 'cuz I'm trying to take down this dickwad. Now you're givin' me even _more _reason to want to off the fucker. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do. I want this asshole dealt with, same as you do. So...-" Jane shrugged up her shoulders. "-...how we gonna do this?"

"Uh, listen." Zuko cleared his throat, slicking his combed back hair with his fingers. "Jane. I know you must be...very eager to do something, but we're trying to handle it in a way that's...safest for everyone."

"Yea?" Jane cocked her head to the side. "How's that workin' out fer ya?" she asked, her words laced with toxic sarcasm. "Waitin' on more people's parents to get roasted alive before gettin' on this?"

Zuko was intimidated by her ice-cold olive glare, but managed to defend his case after a moment.

"I've...been trying to-..._We _have been trying to contain this situation, but...if we're not careful - if this sort of thing gets out - we could be dealing with...some _big _problems."

"No _shit_. So what's your _plan, _then?"

"I...-" Zuko sighed, scratching at his neck nervously. "Iroh and I have been in talks with the police, and we're trying to figure out a way to...well...lure the Combustion Man back here. To Wayward."

Jane stubbornly snorted at this, relaxing back in her chair. That made some amount of sense, at least. No use trying to follow the guy. That could get pretty risky, and this was tricky crap to start with.

"Hm. You find anything out, you gonna let me know?" Jane wondered. "Or is this gonna be another 'secret club' thing I'm gonna have to come knockin' about?"

Zuko shook his head, giving his uncle a disapproving look. Heh. Jane's presence here really seemed to ruffle the tightwad's feathers, huh?

"Jane," said Mai with a calm, patient tone. "What are you trying to do about this?"

Jane shrugged with nonchalance.

_Kill the fucker. He burned my parents. He hurt people I care about. He could do it again._

"Dunno," Jane replied through a sigh. "_Somethin'. _Can't let this shit keep goin' on. Especially with folks having no _idea _about it. Seems pretty shitty to me."

"Ms. Fitzpatrick," came Iroh. She reluctantly met his gaze. "Give us a few days to consider our options. As much as I do not like the idea of anyone being put in danger...I can see you are very determined. And you have every right to be. I apologize that I was not more clear with you before - but I did not want you to be involved unless you _truly _desired to be, and felt it would be best if you learned of your family's ties to this school on your own."

Jane's head bobbed left and right a bit, conceding to the well-meaning man's case.

"I hear ya," she mumbled, nodding to him. Her brain was already swirling with ideas of what could be done.

Justice was going to be served. Smellerbee was going to make sure of that.

"Jane, believe me when I say that I am _sorry _for what has happened to you because of my family," said Zuko, staring at her with sullen eyes of amber. "The Kurosawas have brought a lot of good into this world...but also a lot of problems. And a lot of pain. I know there's not a lot I can do about that, but I _swear _that me, my Uncle...we're trying really hard to end all of this. To put it to rest. It's _our _family that has caused all of this, and it's up to us to make it right."

"Yea, yea," Jane dismissed his solemn speech. "Not your fault. I know. You gotta clean up the mess from your past, right? So do I."


	94. Legacy

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 94 - Legacy_

* * *

_"Your past is always your past. Even if you forget it, it remembers you."_  
― Sarah Dessen, _ What Happened to Goodbye _

* * *

- Homecoming, 2006 -

"Azula..." Ursa glanced across the two-seat table with some concern. "You _really _didn't have _any _friends to invite to the party tonight?"

"I don't _need _friends, Mother," Azula groaned, shaking her head with dismissal as she looked across the cafeteria floor. "What I _need _is a proper education. That _is _what college is for, is it not? An education? Are you _quite _certain this facility is going to provide me with that?"

Ursa frowned at her daughter's sharp tongue. This place had once been Ursa's home. It was where she'd met Azula's father, and where Iroh still taught, all of these years later. The family had very deep ties to this place. Granted, maybe not _all _of Ursa's memories regarding SRU were positive, but it was still like a home away from home, no matter how much had changed.

"Yes, this place will provide you with that," Ursa assured, watching her daughter sip at her drink like a proper lady - just as Ozai had urged her to behave. It still stung Ursa now and again, watching her daughter act like Ozai's opinions were more important than her own. Daddy's Girl, through and through, even after so long living away from him.

"Father didn't seem to think highly of this university, and to be frank, after a few weeks here, I can see why," Azula protested.

"Your father has his biases..."

"As do _you. _You only like this place because my forsaken _uncle _works here."

"That _is _one of the reasons, but it's...a good school, Azula."

"I think you are blinded by nostalgia. It seems quite bland and contrite, if you ask me. I'm somewhat overqualified to be attending a minor league school such as this."

Ursa sighed at Azula's verbal pricking.

"If you _really _don't like it here, then you can have your _father _set up your degree for you."

"I suppose I _can_, can't I?"

"But your brother's going to be coming here next year, which is his own decision."

"That should matter to me _why_?"

Ursa sent Azula a scolding look, while Azula came back with a raised eyebrow of expectation. Azula concluded the discussion in her ever-persistent tone of arrogance.

"Whatever old magic that smelly uncle of mine wields over you and ZuZu, I seem to be immune to it."

"And what _aren't _you immune, then?" Ursa played along.

Azula narrowed her eyes and smiled, circling her fingertip along the edge of her teacup.

"That would be telling."

Ursa glanced across the hall to the dance area, observing the many couples swaying to the slow ballad playing.

"You really have _no _date to Homecoming?" Ursa muttered with suspicion.

"Of _course _not."

"Not a _single _boy asked you out?"

"Hmph. A couple made the _attempt, _but they could not even withstand my imposing presence long enough to be properly rejected." Azula daintily cut a sliver of cheesecake from the edge of her slice. "Besides...-" She lifted the tiny piece to her makeup-laden face. "-...men are a waste of my time."

Men, a waste of time? What was _wrong _with this child?

"Why are we here, then?" Ursa asked, curious as to her daughter's response. "If you have no friends and no date, then why come to Homecoming tonight? Why not meet somewhere else?"

"_I _am here out of courtesy and respect. _You _are here because you _always _come here for Homecoming."

Ursa's stomach churned at this truth. It was Azula's way of expressing her disinterest - of sneakily pointing out that Ursa was trying to impose her own life upon her daughter. Perhaps not unlike Ozai. In some respects, this was true, if only because Ursa was deathly afraid of Azula turning out like her father.

"Why _are _you so insistent on making the trip here each year, anyway?" Azula callously questioned. "From the look of things, _you _don't seem to have any friends here, either."

Ursa's face flashed with rage for just a second or two, which sparked an equally brief look of surprise on her daughter's face. Azula rarely ever saw her mother express anger. Ursa chose to not give Azula's question an answer, instead opting to rise from their table and exit the crowded, bustling cafeteria hall.

Azula drummed her long fingernails methodically against the table, her chin her opposing palm. She pondered what that had been all about. It seemed that Mother harbored some sort of secret in regards to this place. Why else would she get so upset without explaining? Mm. Interesting. Truly interesting.

Downstairs in the Avatar Center Lounge, Ursa found her way to one of the ugly-patterned couches that littered the building. The place was crazy with student activity, but as she sat down at an empty couch, she took a breath in slowly. She closed her eyes. She could still remember those days fondly. The memories and what had been taken from those times...she couldn't lose _that, _at least.

_"Ky, Baby...Don't be so sad! We're going to stay in touch. I promise."_

_"Yea. Besides, there's always Homecoming, right?"_

_"__Oh, right! _I'm such a hose-head. We...We should make a pact to come to Homecoming each year. Yea! It...It'll be perfect!"

It had been quite difficult, that first time that Ursa and Kya had visited without Joel.

It had been impossible a few years later, when Kya wasn't going to be making it, either. Ursa couldn't even bring herself to show up that time.

But every other year besides _that _one...she'd kept her promise.

Ursa's eyes opened, wet with tears from the sorrow of dwelling on the tragedies incurred over the years. It was one level of pain to see your friends become parents, only to die before their children. It was another level to know that the family you chose to become a part of was, at its core, the reason for them dying.

Her husband that she had once admired and felt so secure by had turned out to be rotting on the inside. Her daughter had become corrupted by him. What a monstrous young woman, talking to her own mother disrespectfully like that. How could Ursa have raised her daughter so incompetently?

And Zuko...her poor son. He'd become quick-tempered and withdrawn. What would she do with him?

Her friends, her family, her children. Had she really been such a failure to them all?

Was there nothing she could do to redeem this whole mess?

* * *

_"Children learn to smile from their parents."_  
~Shinichi Suzuki

* * *

- Summer, 1995 -

"Come on..." Joel sighed, watching his child poke at their carrots with a fork. "Aren't you going to eat your veggies?"

"Blech," blurted the six year-old with disgust. They wiped a scrawny arm across their face, sniffing snot back up their nose. Joel approached his sick kid and ruffled his hand through their matted orange hair. Jamie had Joel's orange hue but Mary's thick texture.

"Sweetpea," Joel pleaded. "You have to eat your veggies. They'll make you strong."

Jamie glared up at 'Daddy' with surprisingly icy eyes for a child. Definitely 'Mommy's' glare, even if the eye color was borrowed from Dad.

"Not _Sweetpea _today," Jamie whined. Ah. So today was a 'boy' day for Jamie, which meant the appropriate petname had to be applied instead.

"Oh, I'm _sorry_, Monkey," Joel placated his kid, smirking. "I didn't know," he explained, watching Jamie stab boiled carrots over and over with _his _fork.

After lots of research on how to handle caring for an intersexual child, Joel and Mary had been firm in the belief that they didn't want to let a doctor decide Jamie's gender, but let their child decide on their own. The problem there was that Jamie was was just that: a child. Thus, gender wasn't really something to identify with so much as to define the kid's mood depending on what day of the week it was. This...was totally fine. Really. Certainly bizarre, but Joel didn't mind having a bizarre circumstance. Jamie was going to make their own decision about that some day, and Joel was going to love his child, regardless.

"Really going to town on those carrots there, aren't you?" he mused, noting that Jamie now had a chunk of mashed carrot paste on _his _plate.

"I'm-a eat it," Jamie announced with some sadistic glee, scooping up some of the orange goop and taking a big bite. He frowned briefly with disgust before trying to play it cool and swallow it down. "I'm full," he declared, rubbing his skinny stomach with an exaggerated grunt.

Joel raised an eyebrow, sitting down at the table across from the child.

"You're _full? _Already?"

Jamie nodded vigorously.

"Hm...Too full for ice cream, then, huh?" surmised Joel. "Can't have room for dessert if there's no room for veggies, right?"

Jamie's eyes flickered with remorse ever-so-briefly, but after gazing back down at the formidable foe he'd battered into submission with a fork, he nodded again.

"Yea. Full."

Joel chuckled at the kid's surrender, surveying the plate. The meat and potatoes were gone, more or less.

"Ah, well. You _did _eat the rest on your plate. So I guess you're free to go."

"OK!" Eagerly pouncing from the seat, Jamie pulled down on his t-shirt, which had an assortment of zoo animals printed on it, along with a few stains from dinner. The child then dashed off to the living room.

Mary entered the kitchen a moment or two after, and went about cleaning up the small mess Jamie had made. She had matted hair of brown, cut short since she'd bore a child. Her eyes were a lighter shade of brown, often dull and tired-looking, and her lips had a funny kind of shape to them that seemed to have carried over to their child.

"Wasn't a fan of the carrots, either?" Mary sighed, bringing Jamie's dishes to the sink.

"Seems not," Joel replied with a shrug. He glanced behind himself to the living room, where Jamie was sprawling on the couch, looking at the pages of an issue of a nature magazine. The kitchen faucet squeaked on and Mary went about washing what was in the sink. Joel turned back around and got up, going to his wife's side. He snuck up behind her and rubbed his hands across her hips slowly. She laughed through her nose and leaned her head back, kissing him on the lips. Joel noticed the corduroy texture of what his hands were sliding across.

"Hey, you're wearing those pants I got you," Joel observed, having not really noticed since he'd gotten home from work a few minutes ago. "You like them?"

Mary nodded, scrubbing a sponge across a plate.

"Looks like you do, too," she teased with a smirk, enjoying her husband's touch against her hips.

"I _do_." Joel patted her bottom before sliding his lanky arms around her waist and glancing out the kitchen window to the hazy field beyond. "Still too hot out today?"

"Yea," Mary sighed. "I don't want Jamie out there until the sun goes down. Poor child's been cooped up all week because of that heat."

Joel smiled at his wife's concern. Jamie carried Joel's pale Irish skin which caused the young one to sunburn up a bit easily in this southern sun. Mary wasn't going to have any of that at all - she was a very cautious woman. It was thanks to her forward thinking that the two had set aside a growing fund for Jamie's future. Life had been a little more meager than expected for a lawyer's pay, but their child was more or less already set for college, not to mention the impending operation they were anticipating once Jamie had decided which gender to stick with. The doctors had warned that waiting too long could start causing some serious physical complications, and the Fitzpatricks had ensured that they'd be well prepared to deal with the finances involved.

Joel rubbed Mary's shoulders, enjoying the sunset through the window as she washed the dishes.

Adjusting to life in Texas had been a bit of an undertaking, but the sense of freedom and security had been worth it.

"Daddy! Daddy! _Heyyyy, _Daddy!"

"Ohp!" Joel released Mary's shoulders at the sensation of little bony fingers tugging at his slacks. "What is it, little Monkey?"

"What's _this _say?" Jamie was trying to stick up the magazine to an open page. It portrayed photos of lions, primarily female ones. "An'...An' how come they don't got _hair_..._d__at _one?" Jamie pointed to the alpha male of pride that had been photographed. "How come there's only _one _girl?"

Joel chuckled.

"Well, actually, see..._that _one is a man lion."

"_Whaaa_?"

"Yes. And those are all the _lady _lions."

"But that's _silly! _How come they got no hair?"

"Haha. Because, Jamie, boys don't always _have _short hair. And girls don't always have _long _hair."

"Huh..." Jamie's brows furrowed as the child contemplated this. "Umm...'Kay, but...what do the words say?"

"Come on, Monkey," came Mary, twisting off the sink. "You can try and read it, can't you?"

Jamie frowned at this. The child ate up educational programming, especially animal-based shows, and loved looking at photographs of critters, but reading was still a complicated task.

"Haha, I'll tell you what it says," Joel gave in to his child's pouting. He accepted the magazine from his child and set it down on the kitchen table. He pulled up Jamie, setting him in his lap, and briefly glanced through the side text. "It's talking about how the lady lions are the ones who go out and do the hunting."

"_Huh? _I thought that's the _man's _job," Jamie crossly disputed this idea.

Mary and Joel swapped amused glances as Mary made her way back into the living room to finish cleaning.

"Sometimes it is," Joel conceded. "But sometimes it's not. In nature, sometimes the ladies are the ones who do a lot of the work."

"Like...what _else_?" asked Jamie.

"Hm...Well, like..._Oh! _Well, bees, for example."

"Bumblebees?"

"Yea. Mm-hm. And honey bees...Actually, a lot of bugs."

"Like what else?" That was a popular question when it came to talking about animals with this on.

Heh. Jamie loved bugs, in particular. Mary wasn't too fond of that, but Joel encouraged it. They'd be going out and trying to catch fireflies later that evening once it was dark.

"Uhh...OK, so...you know when a mosquito bites you?"

"Ouchie..." Jamie nodded grumpily. "_Hate _that..."

"Haha. Me, too. When a mosquito bites you, it's always a girl."

"Really?"

"Yep. Boy mosquitos drink juice from plants. But those _lady _mosquitoes...-!" Joel pricked his finger out at Jamie's arm, eliciting some squirming and and a giggle. "You've got to watch out! Those are the ones that drink _blood._"

"_Coooool_!" Jamie murmured with some awe at this concept. "So, ladies don't _gotta _be nice."

"_Haha! _Oh, no. Not at _all_, Monkey."

"Hmph. I wanna be Sweetpea again tonight."

"_All right_," Joel playfully mocked his child's fickle nature. He kissed Jamie's freckled cheek. "You and Mommy can go out and be _hunters _tonight, like lady lions."

"Lady lions don't hunt _bugs, _silly!" A pause. "_Do _they?"

"No, ha. No, I suppose not. But Daddy needs to get out of his work clothes and eat some dinner, so you go hang out with Mommy and get ready to catch fireflies."

"_Y__eaaa!_" Jamie pumped up skinny arms, dashing into the living room.

Joel watched Mary catch the manic child and tickle them to the carpet.

As far as Joel was concerned, his child would want for nothing.

* * *

- Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 -

"Is that-...? I mean...this is all right?" Mako was mumbling at this point.

Mako scratched his hand through his unkempt hair nervously, and Korra smirked, feeling pleased to for once be on the opposite end of the awkwardness.

"_I'm _all right with it," she responded with a nonchalant shrug. She glanced down at Bolin, who was sitting on the couch, scratching at his stomach as he took this in. "But what are we gonna do about rooming stuff? I mean, like...I'm assuming I'm gonna share with her, but...she _is _your girlfriend, and it...-"

"Rrrrright," Mako slowly nodded, brows furrowed with thought. "Er, it would...be _nice _if we could share the same room, but...-" Mako looked to Bolin, whose expression heightened with indecision at both sets of eyes looking to him.

"Wh...-? I...I could probably just...crash here on the couch for a while, if...-"

"Bo, you're _not _sleeping on the couch in your own _house_," Korra strictly disapproved.

"Agh, it's not a big deal," insisted Bolin with a flick of his hand. "It's just gonna be for a little while, anyway. Right? I mean..._right?_"

Mako's eyes wandered off and he bit his lip, running his palm against the base of his neck.

"I don't _know, _bro. She didn't tell me what the actual problem was."

"You said her and her dad are just having some issues," said Bolin. "It's her _dad _we're talkin' about, I mean...I'm sure he'll come around soon enough."

Mako shook his head with doubt.

"The way Asami's been talking about her father these past couple weeks, I really am not so sure about that."

Evidently, Asami Sato needed a place to stay because she couldn't stand living with her father right now, as she had been. It sure seemed to be stressing Mako out, but on the upside, at least this was a legitimate excuse for Mako to show he was there for his girlfriend in a real way. Besides, Korra wouldn't mind having another woman in the house.

Either way, these stupid boys were making things more complicated than they needed to be. There _was, _in fact, a simple solution.

"Bolin." Korra set herself down on the couch beside her friend and flicked her head, tossing her messy bangs aside. "Let Asami stay with your brother, and...you and me can just share a room together."

Bolin's lips hung open slightly at this, while Mako nodded with gratitude in Korra's direction. Mako had backed off and given Korra some slack these days despite his grumpiness, so she was glad to try reciprocating some kindness. It was no secret that Bolin and Korra were taking steps toward something vaguely romantic, anyway. Maybe sharing a room together would help confirm how well they'd fit.

"Buh...-" was all Bolin could manage. Korra laughed a few hums out and slapped his knee. Pabu scurried up into Bolin's lap and lazily plopped himself down. Bolin scratched at his pet's back, still taking in this idea. Korra tried to ease him.

"C'mon, we're adults, I _think _we can probably handle it."

"I-...But-...Don't you need your own...like..._space?_"

"Eh." She shrugged. "I'll go for walks, or...sit on the porch n' shit. It's no big deal, eh?"

"There's...not really room in there for two beds, though..."

"Bo." Korra dropped her eyelids at him, amused by his efforts at innocence. "I know. It's fine." Korra's smirk grew at Bolin's cheeks flushing.

Mako was hovering awkwardly above them, hands in his jean pockets. He was relieved that the situation seemed to have a solution that would work for everyone.

"Uh...I'll...let you two figure out the details, then?" Mako pleaded for an excuse to give them time alone.

"Er, _sure_," Korra nodded, watching Mako slip on his shoes by the front door. "Where are you going?"

"Just going to grab some dinner."

"Sandwiches?" Korra theorized.

"Heh. Yea. You want the usual, guys?"

Korra and Bolin both nodded - he knew what they liked.

"Sure thing. I'll be back in a bit."

After Mako disappeared, the sound of Naga barking with excitement at Mako's presence echoed from outside. They'd set up a post and chain for Naga to have free access to the front lawn and porch so the pup could be put outside if she was being too rambunctious for indoors. Hm. They should probably take her back inside when Mako came back, but...eh.

Korra sighed from exhaustion, wedging her hands between her sweatpants and bobbing her head down.

"Long-ass day," she muttered.

"Yea..." Bolin readjusted his position on the couch, causing Pabu to pounce out of his lap and scurry off. Korra definitely noticed that after he'd moved, their hips were no longer touching. "Ummm..." Bolin scratched his nose, admiring the way Korra's ponytail was trailing over her collarbone. "So, like...if we're serious about this, then...I mean...we should maybe set some ground rules?"

"Huh?" Korra looked up at him, seeming to snap out of whatever trance she'd fallen into. "Oh. _Yea,_" she quickly aligned herself with the conversation. "No food fights, no dirty clothes on the floor..."  
"I _never _leave my dirty clothes on floor, but _you_ do all the time..."  
"Right." Korra grinned with embarrassment. "That's...a rule for myself."  
"Oh."  
"And you're gonna have to change your alarm ringtone, 'cuz I've heard it a couple times, and it scares the _crap _outta me."  
"Sure."  
"Aaaaand...Erm...-"  
"No touching of...uh...important...family...things?"

"What?" Korra raised a brow at him, her insides lurching momentarily.

"Oh, it's-...Jinora was just, ya _know,_ asking me yesterday about, like...a box? In your room? _I dunno_, it sounded...maybe like not such a big deal, pff, but I mean, ya know, just tryin' to be considerate, is all, I mean, like, doin' my _thang, _bein' gentlemanly and considerate, just, ya know, wondering about-"  
"How I bitched her out?"

"Wh-? I didn't say that. She didn't say that. You shouldn't say that. Nobody called anybody a bitch. No bitch-calling in this house."

"I _was _one, though. Kinda...went a little crazy on her for a second, there."

"How...come?"

"'Cuz she was touching my _stuff, _and I _specifically _told her...-" Korra had thrust out her hands with irritation, and when she noticed Bolin's widened eyes at her sudden spike of aggression. She unfolded her fists, not liking the way he had looked at her in that moment. "It...was _really _personal. I got pissed off. I felt bad. How did you talk with her about this, anyway?" Korra sighed.

"She wrote me on Facebook."

"Isn't that...kinda weird?"

Bolin shrugged.

"I dunno. I accept, like, _every _friend that adds me on there."

Korra sighed at Bolin but smiled at his effort.

"All right. Well...C'mon." She nodded her head to the stairs across the room. "Let's go upstairs, start...figurin' shit out, and...-" She grunted as she got up to her feet. There was a moment of silence as Korra rubbed at her dreary eyes before she said sullenly, "I'll explain what the box is about."

"Uh..." Bolin caught himself staring at Korra's lower back until she pulled her shirt down and scratched at her rear end, trudging up to her bedroom. Bolin swallowed the saliva in his mouth and hesitated for a moment.

"Ya comin'?" Korra's voice came out from partway up the stairs.

"Yea, yea." Bolin scrambled to pursue her. "You sure you're OK with...-?"  
"It's fine, Bo. _Really, _dude."

"R-right, no, I meant...Just now, what you said - you don't have to explain it to me if it's, like...personal." Bolin couldn't help but think about his brother's treasured red scarf. Korra's box must be something like that, and he wouldn't dare try to pry at that kind of thing. "Your business is your _business, _and all that. I don't wanna-"  
"I _want _to, though," Korra firmly stated, standing at her door, waiting for him to finish climbing the stairs.

Bolin's heart sank at the melancholy in her pale blue eyes as they stared at each other for a couple of seconds. Korra broke the gaze, opening the door to her bedroom and walking inside.

"Besides...-" Korra muttered. "-you should..._probably _know this about me if we're gonna...like..._go _anywhere."

She gave him a weak smile that he returned as he entered her room. She went about hastily kicking dirty clothes on the floor between her open door and the wall. She then frowned at the messy state of her cramped room.

"Sorry about-..._Ech._"

"Haha, it's fine. Hm..." Bolin tapped his chin, taking in the sight before him. "There _should _be enough room to get my dresser between yours and the corner there if we move it over a bit..."

"Mm." Korra nodded, approaching her dresser. With relative ease, she pushed it along the carpet with her shoulder until it was snug against the corner.

"Uh...Right. Like that," Bolin mumbled.

Korra pushed her bangs to the side and breathed out from the brief strain exerted. She opened her drawer and removed her family music box.

Korra was eager to dump out the story to Bolin. It had been so long since she'd actually _talked _about that night with anyone. Her entire family had practically spent a decade trying to forget, but Korra wouldn't let herself. She sat down on her bed and nodded to the side, gesturing Bolin to join her.

"So...this was given to me by my Aunt Kya," she said, her breathing already starting to quiver. "Ih...- She cleared her throat. "It's...a music box, and...-"

Agh, _fuck. _Tears starting to form _already? _Damnit.

"You OK?" Bolin interrupted, immediately thrown off by her sudden shakiness.

"_Yea,_ I'm good," Korra sighed out, rubbing her eyes again and blinking rapidly. "I haven't talked about this in a long time, and it's...-" A trembling half-laugh, half-sob. "Aunt Kya used to say I was...a tough cookie with a soft center. Can you tell?" Hunched over her music box, she glanced up to Bolin and smiled bashfully, embarrassed by her own emotional spilling.

Bolin was slack-jawed and surprised. His first instinct was to pat Korra on the back, unable to form out any words.

Korra opened the box and showed Bolin the engraved panel inside.

{**KESUK**}

"When...she died...-"

"Your...Aunt Kya?"

"Mm-hm. When she died, it...was really hard on all of us."

"She must've been kinda...young. From what you've said."

"Yea. She was. And...she didn't exactly die in...a _natural _way."

"Illness? Accident?" Bolin guessed. Korra had never actually told him _how _her Aunt had died.

"_No_," Korra darkly growled. "Kya was murdered."

"..._Oh._"  
Yikes. Awkward. What did a guy even _say _to something like that?

"I keep this music box around because Kya gave it to me to remind me of where I come from. My family. But...-" She ran her fingertips along the rim of the old wooden container. "It also reminds me of, like...how she died. And how I want to protect people from that kinda shit. So it's not just this reminder of the good times we had, and whatever, but also about how this world's got bastards, too, and how I'm not gonna let them hurt my family."

Bolin could see Korra's nose wrinkle with disgust as she spoke, her fingers tightening around the box.

"It...must be painful to think about that stuff," he observed.

"Yea. I guess. When she died, my whole family just...wanted to forget. Move on. And...like, I _get _that, right? Moving on. But _forgetting? _No. I can't forget stuff like that."

* * *

_"I've never tried to block out the memories of the past, even though some are painful. I don't understand people who hide from their past. Everything you live through helps to make you the person you are now."  
― Sophia Loren_

* * *

- October 31st, 2001 – Halloween

"Sounds like you've got the _G__rumpies_ to me, Kat."

"Don't _say _that!" Katara whimpered with a frown. "_Ugh, _I _h_ate _it _when you and Sokka pick on me about that!"

"Yea? Stop being bratty, then! Jesus...I mean, what's your problem _this _time?"

"It's my _costume_."

"..._Why_?" Korra asked with suspicion. Katara hadn't said a thing about the costume all evening. "What's wrong with it?"

"I look _stupid_," Katara whimpered, her chubby cheeks forming a pout as she flapped her arms up, then dropped them back down.

"_Whaaaat_?" Korra dismissed this notion, trying to placate her younger cousin. "No, you...look _super _cute."

"No, it's..._dumb_," Katara huffed, her eyebrows set low over sapphire eyes. "I'm too _big _to wear silly baby costumes. Everybody thinks I'm, like..._little. _And those boys from before? You saw them picking on me..." Katara's nose flared out as she stared at the sidewalk in frustration. "Sokka was right, this is _stupid. _I shoulda stayed at home with him and Uncle Tonraq..."

"Ugh, Katara...-" Korra sighed, her bright red boot tapping against the cement with impatience. Even for just a few minutes, this whole 'baby-sitting' thing was pretty damn tiresome. She never could see herself having the patience for it. Gragh, and these fuckin' _boots. _Stilettos boots? Korra was regretting the decision. Her feet were aching by now. How in the fuck was anyone supposed to fight _crime_ in this shit?

"How come _you _got to dress up like someone _cool_?" Katara groaned. "A superhero? What if _I _wanna be a superhero? Huh?"

Korra shrugged sheepishly. She had no idea how to get her grumpy, pubescent cousin to stop being such a whiner tonight. Korra adjusted her bright red tubetop cautiously. It had the semblance of a golden eagle printed across its surface, forming a 'W' shape. The article was rather tightly fitted against Korra's chest - Korra's chest being something that had increased in size rather rapidly over the past few years, which she was quite proud to show off now that she was 18, much to her parents' chagrin.

"Weren't you a superhero _last _year?" Korra mumbled, pushing up the plastic, gold tiara on her forehead. It was a touch too large, and kept sliding down a bit, threatening to dip over her eyes.

"_No, _I was a _witch_," Katara huffed, trying to cross her arms together. This gesture had minimal success given her costume, and she quickly gave up on it.

Korra rolled her eyes. She pulled up at the skin-tight blue pants she was wearing that completed her Wonder Woman outfit. She crossed her arms and shivered. Fuck, it was starting to get kind of cold out tonight, and this outfit was definitely not helping matters. An elderly couple exited the store, and the two girls were silent for a few moments. A worker was standing by the door to prevent anyone else from coming in, as the place was supposed to be closing up any minute.

"Well...-!" Korra popped up her shoulders again impatiently, leaning against the brick wall at the front of the building beside them. "It's making your mom really happy, so...like...deal with it, OK?"

Katara shot her elder cousin an arced eyebrow, trying to grasp her Jack-O-Lantern bucket up off the ground. With her hands encased in fabric that formed into a flipper, it was quite tricky to carry a pail of candy around.

"I don't even _get it_," Katara groaned. "Penguins are..._dumb. _They just...flop around? They can't even _fly. _They're not scary, or strong, or _anything. _Why does mom _like _them so much?"

Korra struggled to prevent her eyes from rolling once again as Katara glared up with impatience.

"_I _don't know, Kat," Korra sighed. What the hell did this girl _want_? "Your mom likes penguins, but...you like Winnie the Pooh. Right?"

"Mmph..."

"See? He's...kinda like a penguin. He waddles around. N' stuff. It's...I dunno, cute?"

"Whatever."

"You and your mom both like cute things. Pretty simple."

"Just 'cuz _Mom _likes penguins so much doesn't make it fair that _I _gotta dress as one...Why didn't _Mom _dress up like a penguin? Then I coulda been somethin' else."

"I think your Mom just wanted to do something fun with you, Kat."

"I guess."

Korra gave up on this cause. It was hard to argue, seeing as how Aunt Kya _had _pretty much guilt-tripped her daughter into wearing the costume, but...eh. Halloween was Kya's favorite holiday, and it seemed that the woman had realized that this might be her last opportunity to play dress-up with her daughter. It made enough sense to Korra. She went to retrieve her flip-phone from her own pail, a plastic purple bucket. She had to bend down – agh, _shit, _that was so damn uncomfortable in these tight pants, _arghhh, _owww, _whew. _Standing upright, and tugging her pants back to a less uncomfortable position, she opened the cell phone to check the time. It wasn't as late as she'd thought, but...still. She had plans for when this was over, and she was going to be late.

"Speaking of your mom, what's _taking _her so long?" Korra grumbled. She closed the phone and carelessly dropped it into the bucket, where it splashed into a puddle of candy.

Katara sighed, kicking up her yellow, flippered foot and slapping it against the sidewalk with a loud -_smack!_- In a way, Korra could get why the kid was in a funk. Halloween was usually that day when a kid could dress as whatever they wanted, run around like a loonie and act silly all around town, and no one batted an eyelash. But _this _Halloween, it definitely seemed more like Aunt Kya was the one who wanted to run around in an outfit, dragging along her daughter to make a matching set. Then again, it was Kya's somewhat childish demeanor regarding certain things that helped Korra connect with her so much. Kat would learn to appreciate it in time. Once she grew out of this freaking _bratty_...whatever-the-hell phase of childhood she was in. Pff. Puberty? Sure. She'd just call it that. Had Korra been such a runt during puberty herself? She hoped not.

The two girls stood in silence under the dim overhanging lights of the pharmacy. Kya had been starting to suffer from some breathing issues lately and had arranged to pick up a refill on her inhaler while they were out and about tonight. Katara, being in her fussy pubescent mood, had protested against being dragged inside the store in her "dumb outfit" and Korra had offered to stand watch outside with her little cousin so she could make a quick phone call in regards to attending a party after trick-or-treating was done with.

It had only been about five minutes since Kya had gone in, but that was feeling like a long time out here after a good hour or so of meandering the streets for candy in the chilly weather. Kya had seemed very hesitant to leave the girls outside, but Katara was having _none _of her mother's 'orders' tonight, so Kya had allowed the two a few minutes outside the front of the store, sharply advising that Korra drag Katara right in should anyone start bothering them.

Korra's eyes wandered across the night-time streetscape before her. A few parents with kids, a group of loud teenagers across the street, all dressed in various outfits, some colorful, some dull.

But there was one that caught Korra's eye as fairly suspicious. A young man, about two buildings down the street, was standing beneath a lamp post. He was garbed in some kind of heavy coat with a hood up, and had a hand tucked into his pocket. The other hand was holding a hand-crafted picket sign with words painted in red: {**THE END IS NIGH**} The hell...?

Korra squinted, trying to make out the guy's face, but...it was hidden in the shadows, cast down by the light source above. It _looked _like he was in some kind of mask. Huh. Weirdo.

"_Finally_!" Katara panted out, glaring at the pharmacy doors as Kya hurried out, taking a shot of her inhaler as she did so. The woman coughed up half a lung as she scanned the streets. "What _took _you so long?" Katara groaned, scooping up her pumpkin pail as the pharmacy behind them was getting locked up for the evening.

"Sorry, Hun," Kya eased her child, aligning Katara's beak-adorned hood with care so it was straight. Katara flinched grumpily at this fussing, while Kya coughed again, clearing her throat before patting her daughter on the head. Kya was garbed in a full-on Eskimo outfit, and Korra couldn't help but smile seeing her two relatives together in their amusing combination of costumes. Kya's eskimo coat and Katara's makeshift penguin outfit were a cute little match, she couldn't deny it.

"Can we _go _now?" Katara whimpered, bouncing with impatience.

"Yes, yes," Kya attempted to placate, pulling her fur-trimmed hood up to complete her outfit. "Come on." She patted her daughter on the back and nodded her head toward Korra to follow. Korra grabbed her bucket and brought up the rear, and the trio continued down the sidewalk.

"Umm..." Korra tried to pipe out from behind her aunt. "Do you know how much longer we're gonna be out tonight?"

"Hm?" Kya pulled off her coat's hood and craned her head to listen. "What was that? _ Oh._" It seemed register retroactively. "Right! Your party. That's soon, isn't it?"

"Yea..." Korra didn't want to be rude about it, but they'd had their fun, it was getting chilly and dark out...

"What do you think, Hun?" Kya asked, tapped Katara on the shoulder. "Are you Trick-or-Treated out yet?"

Katara shrugged, waddling along with some difficulty.

"Hm?" Kya tried to tease out a reply.

"I don't mind going home now," Katara huffed. "I'm kinda cold."

"Me, too," Korra added. She hung her bucket from her elbow, breathed into her gradually numbing hands, and rubbed them together.

"Hm. I see," said Kya, pulling her hood back up over her bunned hair. "Maybe we'll just hit the last few houses on our way back to the car, then, and call it a night..." She definitely sounded a little disappointed.

Katara nodded eagerly. Korra was relieved at the thought of finally being cut loose from her younger cousin's bad mood, at least. The sidewalk across the street echoed out the laughter of a pack of high school students as the three Kesuk women trudged on their way. Korra's eyes found themselves locked onto that weird creeper against the lamp post.

Just as Korra's unease was swelling up, the figure spoke out to them.

"Excuse me?"

Korra felt as if her intestines flew halfway up her throat at the sound of his deep, rasping voice, and she scurried to Kya's side as they passed him by.

"Huh?" said Katara, pausing briefly, but she was pushed forward by her mother.

"Excuse me," the man repeated much more intently, though the Kesuks kept their pace. "You do not want to go that way," the man warned with solemnity despite his gruff tone. He sounded a bit younger than Kya, his voice being pushed to speak with that bellowing rasp to it. "There's been a fire."

Kya froze at words, gripping Katara's shoulders tightly. Korra felt like vomiting. This guy was bad news. Why the fuck were they _stopping?_

Kya turned around to face the strange man, who had rotated his body to face them. He hadn't made any steps to approach, however. Korra was confident she could still the deck the guy if he tried anything funny, though.

"What was that?" Kya asked, her eyes narrowed.

The man in the hooded coat had rested his ominously exaggerated sign against the metal lamp post to his side, and from this angle, the mask on his face was now visible. It was all white, with a slit cut by the mouth, and a sharp, pointed nose. His eyes were veiled in shadow inside their holes, and while the hood cast shade over the top parts of the mask, Korra could tell that there was a large red circle painted on the forehead. He looked like some demon from a Japanese horror flick, or something.

"You _do not _want to go that way, Ma'am," repeated the man in the mask, folding his hands behind his back. "There's been a _fire._"

"What's...-?" Katara mumbled, offput by this.

"Don't listen to him," Korra whispered, nudging Katara along. Kya wasn't moving, though.

Korra was done standing around this loonie. She'd heard about crazy homeless guys like this nutjob. He wasn't even making any sense, there'd been no sirens, no smoke, or anything.

"_Kya,_" Korra seethed into her aunt's ear. "He's just some fuckin' creeper hobo. Come _on._"

"Who _are _you?" Kya demanded. What the hell did _that _matter? Urgh. Korra grabbed Kya's hood and yanked her to come along.

"It's not _safe _out there!" the man shouted to them, ignoring the question. Kya allowed her niece to pull her onward, shaken and uneasy at the interaction.

The group made their way around the corner at the end of the block, out of the stranger's sight.

"Who was _that?_" Katara asked, startled by the interaction.

"Just some crazy guy," Korra dismissed. "He didn't know what he was saying. Don't worry about it."

"But he said-"  
"Don't _worry _about it."

Kya wasn't speaking, which was even more unsettling. Korra didn't know what was up with her Aunt lately, getting all distant and quiet now and again, but this was a _bad _time for it.

"_Kya,_" Korra grunted out, pausing at a crosswalk. She pounded at the button that would summon up a space of time to move through the street. A handful of cars chugged by. "Kya, what's wrong?" Korra asked, staring at her aunt's suddenly fearful expression.

"Mom?" Katara murmured.

Kya, eyes glazed over, was staring at the crosswalk with wide-eyes. She blinked rapidly at the sound of her daughter's voice and seemed to regain her bearings.

"Y-yes, Hun?"

"Did you know him?" Katara wondered.

Kya shook her head, but still seemed confused.

"It was just a crazy guy," Katara repeated what Korra had said. "I don't think he's gonna hurt us..." Korra smirked weakly at Kat's effort to comfort Kya.

"I...I think you're right," Kya agreed, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself. "Let's be on our way, though."

The traffic lights changed and a beeping sound indicated that it was time to move. The three hustled along, an infuriating task for Korra given the boots she was in. They had given up on candy-gathering wanting to head straight for Kya's car, which was parked in the lot out back behind Korra's place of work - a retail chain store.

Another block traveled and they could hear shouting and yelling from up ahead. Korra's insides squirmed with doubt. That man from earlier had put shivers down her spine. She was stirred from these thoughts by some punks that were causing a ruckus across the street. A bunch teenage mongrels in various costumes - eight or so, by Korra's count - were shouting, growling, roaring, and making a mess across the sidewalk. Silly string was being splattered about, eggs were being lobbed at houses, and pumpkins were being kicked and smashed. It was sort of like watching a pack of vikings terrorize a village. One portly man swooped out of his front door, shouting at them to take off.

"The _fuck _do those...-?!" Korra grumbled under her breath, tried burning their them with her glare as they walked by, and received a couple of cat calls as a response. One lobbed a Jack-O-Lantern toward them, and it splashed across the middle of the road. Korra was ready to march right across the street and kick some asses, but Kya's mitten squeezed her shoulder, pulling her onward.

"There's a lot of weird people out tonight," Katara lamented.

"There are," Kya sighed. "Don't worry, we're just going to go right home, Hun. I'll heat us up some hot apple cider, and we'll watch some scary movies with your brother and uncle until Dad gets home. How does that sound?"

"Mm-hm," Katara hummed in vague approval.

As they hit the next corner, a police car was rounding the block, approaching the obnoxious collective of teenage idiocy that was ensuing behind them. Feeling a little more secure with a cop nearby, regardless, the trio trekked across another traffic light, and finally reached their destination. The parking lot behind the superstore was sparse, populated only by a handful of cars. Kya's car rested in the back and center, surrounded by patches of bright light from the lamps dispersed in the lot.

Katara and Korra were both chewing on some candy in this moment of reprieve.

"Did you have fun tonight, my little Penguin?" Kya asked as they crossed the lot, her voice heavy with exhaustion.

"Mmph-hmph," Katara hummed out, swallowing her chewy treat."It was OK...I'm sorry I was cranky."

"Aww...It's all right, Sweetie. I'm sorry I didn't ask you what you wanted to be before I made you that costume." Kya rubbed her daughter's shoulder. "But I'm _very _happy you wore it for me. You're adorable. How's this? Next year, you can tell _me _what to dress up as. I'll be whatever you want."

Katara gasped with delight at this prospect.

"_Really?__!_"

"Yes," Kya laughed with a hum. "You have my word."

"Scout's Honor?"

Kya wiped her mittened thumb over her chest, drawing an 'x.'

"Cross my heart."

"Heyyy, that's not Scout's Honor," Katara cheekily pointed out. Kya grinned, pushing Katara's beaked hood down over her eyes.

"I'm not a _Scout_," Kya countered. Katara pushed her hood back up.

"I _guess _that's true," she replied facetiously, standing by the back seat door of Kya's car. Korra was at her side, by the passenger's seat.

"You _guess?_" said Kya, rounding the car to reach the driver's door and unlock the car.

Korra bent down to observe something that seemed off about her aunt's car. It seemed...shorter. Somehow. Augh, _fucker, _damned tight pants made her sore just bending over. She dropped her purple bucket on the pavement, staring at the tire by her feet. It was flat.

"What're you looking at?" Katara wondered.

As Kya unlocked the car doors, Korra twisted her neck to observe with furrowed brows that the right side back tire was _also _flat. Katara was momentarily confused, but as Kya opened her door, Katara spoke out.

"_Whoa! _Mom!"

Kya was startled, and quickly reacted by glancing through the car windows to her girl.

"What is it?"

Katara pointed her fabric flipper at the tire.

"Your tires are flat," Katara advised.

"They...they are?" Kya stepped back to survey her vehicle from a distance. "Oh, no," she murmured to herself, clasping at her mouth. Korra groaned as she strained to stand back up straight. Kya looked quite unsettled about the busted up tires. They looked slashed.  
"Kids, we have to leave."

Korra's angry train of thought crashed into a wall. Before she knew it, Kya was right back around the car, her hands firmly clasped around both girls' wrists. She was pulling them back to the storefront, moving quite swiftly. Katara and Korra were both stumbling from the speed, their footwear not equipped for fast movement_._

Katara's pumpkin bucket slipped from her grip, spilling out its contents to the ground.

"Mom-..._Gah! _Too fast!"

"Sorry!" Kya slowed to stop, letting the two pause behind her. Kya's scanned their surroundings with paranoia. There was a handful of Halloween-goers in costumes approaching them, having emerged from the shadows by the store's back entrance.

"Trick-or-treat!" one of them howled out.

"Stay behind me, girls," Kya keenly advised, arms stretched out in instinct to form a protective stance.

"Mom? Why are-?"  
"Get close to Korra, Sweetie."

Katara was clearly startled by the sudden seriousness in her mother's voice and plunged herself into Korra's waist. Korra's hands hung over Katara's shoulders and she squinted her eyes at the approaching group, holding her frightened cousin defensively. Psh. These punks didn't look so tough.

"Who _are _these people?" Katara whispered to Korra.

"I dunno," Korra replied quietly. "But we'll be fine, don't worry."

-_KLSHH!-  
-FWOOM!-  
_All three women cried out with surprise.

The tarmac before them had burst with sound and light as a molotov shattered. Just a few feet before them, flames now impeded their path. Before any of them could react, two more splashes of glass and fire erupted, each complimented by Katara's shrill squeaks. The impacts pushed them to inch back. The newly created flames shed light upon the set of costumed people who were approaching from the dark shadows around the building's edge. Their outfits were a blur in the literal heat of the moment.

"There's more behind us," Katara squeaked out.

Korra twisted her head to confirm that another small group was emerging from a parked car behind them. Kya became quickly aware of this second set of seemingly sinister individuals when another set of molotovs was lobbed behind them.

Korra's heart was pounding in her chest. They were surrounded.

"**Run**," Kya darkly commanded, grabbing Katara in her arms and making a dash to the side, attempting to escape to the edge of the lot. Korra struggled to keep up. Another couple of molotovs were lobbed at them. Korra, in her frustrating boots, was being further separated. Of all the damned things...-

Her arm was grabbed by plastic claws, and she ripped it away, nearly losing her balance in the process. There was shouting, and screaming, Kya's voice yelling out. 'Help?' Maybe? Korra was too panicked and overloaded by adrenaline. She elbowed a werewolf in the ribs, jammed her knee into a mummy's stomach...pushing, growling, shrieking, flames, masks...it all became a haze, and Korra was caught in the middle of it, thrashing about in an attempt to escape. Her hair was yanked back, pain stinging at her skull, and she was pulled back into submission.

Korra wasn't able to make a clear assessment of anything around her until she had both arms pinned behind her. In that moment, what she sensed was cold, sharp metal against her neck. Teeth clenched, fists formed, Korra seethed hot air through her nostrils like a cornered bull. She could hear sobbing as she saw her cousin corralled back toward her, her screams muffled by a gloved hand. Katara was squirming, her penguin hoodie having been pulled off.

One man, dressed in a suit and fedora, his face covered by some kind of masquerade mask. His mask was colored in three bright stripes: red, green, and blue. Korra could see that he had a switchblade against Kya's neck, the woman's eyes wet with impending tears as she pleaded with them.

"-them go...I'll tell you _anything_, just-"  
"_Quiet._"

The three Kesuks were lined up in a row. The sounds of flickering flames from fizzling molotovs mixed with sobs and heavy breathing. Korra was disgusted by the smell of sweat and rubber coming from the Grim Reaper mask leering in front of her, worn by the man holding the knife up to her neck. They were tugging her head to the side by her hair. Another had her pinned from behind, her wrists contained. One wrong move would result with her neck cut right open. Cowardly bastard...Looked kind of skinny, not much muscle. If this was a fist fight, she'd knock him on his ass. She could take him.

"If you harm a _hair _on either of their heads," Kya threatened, her voice rumbling like distant thunder through grit jaws, "I won't tell you _anything._" She gently pressed her neck against the knife tip that was directed at her.

"Whadda these two know?" asked the one facing Kya. He spoke with some sort of weird accent. Boston? New York? _Some _American thing.

"Nothing," Kya immediately responded. "They kn-_Arghh!_" Having a blade jabbing at her throat wasn't making her effort at responses easy.

"Nothin'? That what ya sayin'?"

Kya gasped for air and viciously hummed out an affirmative. Korra was bewildered. What the hell were they _talking _about? Had Kya gotten mixed up with bad people? Aunt _Kya? _Sweet, dorky, wife-and-mother-of-two Kya?

"Ah. That's a relief. Was hopin' we wouldn't have to do nothin'...unpleasant...to your kids here."

The one holding Korra by her hair slid the flat end of their knife along Korra's cheek, but Korra's ice cold eyes flashed with rage, not fear.

"Doesn't mean we..._can't..._Does it?" the figure asked, patting Korra's cheek. Korra was surprised to hear that it was a _woman _hiding underneath the Reaper mask.

"Not if we can _help it,_" sternly snipped the one who seemed to be leading this pack. "Ya perv," he added with disgust to his colleague. "Now, then...-" Back to Kya. "Who was it? Eh? Who ratted him out?"

"I...I don't kn-_urgh!_" Now the man had his hand clamped over her neck.

"Don't play dumb with me, bitch. You _know _what I'm talkin' about. Now, spill it." He thrust her head back, and she struggled to break free from the mummy and Frankenstein monster that her locked in place from behind. The leader in the masquerade mask stepped to his right, where Katara was sobbing her eyes out. Her mouth had been gagged to prevent her from screaming, and she was shivering and shaking in her sweatshirt. The leader bent down and stared at Katara, his dull eyes scanning her pudgy face from beneath his mask. He pointed his blade in Katara's face, and she flinched her eyes shut in reaction, squirming about in the grasp of the werewolf that contained her. "It'd be _nice _if we didn't have to make this messy, but...-"

"I _swear _I don't _know_," Kya whimpered in desperation. Katara's muffled screams were gut-wrenching as the knife was pressed up to her neck. Kya's voice cracked in a panic. "Th-...! The _Serpents_. It was them, I think! I-I don't know _who, _I...-" She swallowed hard, relieved to see the knife slowly inching away from her daughter's face. "I heard it was...one of the Serpents," she winced. "Please, just...I'll tell you anything else, I...-"

Mr. Ballroom sighed, shaking his head as he stood back up.

"Shame. I _believe _you," he lamented. "Too bad," he sighed, pacing back to Kya. "We were hopin' for a bit more then dat."

"Ey, uh...-" One of the thugs from behind was trying to get the leader's attention. "Zolt?"

"_Whaht?_" the masked man whined, his head lulling to the side with irritation.

"Someone's comin'..."

'Zolt' craned his neck over the shoulders of his colleagues and sighed.

"You three," he whipped his finger in a loop at a group of them, then pointed off to the supposed 'someone' back behind them. Korra could hear footsteps scurrying off into the distance. She swallowed the saliva that had built up in her mouth, enduring the sting of the knife tip at her neck. 'Zolt' tapped his blade loosely against his gloved palm, walking over to Korra. As he stared at her for a couple of seconds with curiosity, she gave him as deathly a glare as she could. He rolled his eyes from beneath his ornate mask and shook his head. "Don't _you _just know fuck-all, Sweetheart?" Korra groaned out in bridled fury at him, trying to kick out her leg at him, and he stepped cautiously back to Kya. "Useless," he grumbled to himself as the Grim Reaper slammed a knee into Korra's stomach.

As Korra gasped from the pain, Zolt lamented, "Pretty face like yours ain't much use with that attitude."

There was some kind of commotion in the back. A tussle of sorts, to be sure.  
-_Crack!__-  
_-_Whump!_-  
-_Pttm! Pttm!_-  
-_Fwump!-  
-Pttm!_-

"Let's get this over with and head out."

Zolt waved his hand up in dismissal, and in an instant, Katara and Korra were both shoved forth a few feet before being pushed to the ground. Korra's arms burned from the scraping she enduring during her landing, and Katara was bawling, scrambling to try and get to her knees and ungag her mouth._  
_

"_Mom!_" Katara shrieked, frozen in place on her knees.

"I'll be all right, Hun," Kya assured, gathering all her courage into that one sentence. Korra was dazed, trying to regain her footing. "You go with your cousin."

"No!" Korra cried out, trying to tune out _whatever _kind of scuffle was going on behind her aunt.

"Listen to ya _mom, _kids," Zolt seethed out to them. "Piss off!"

Korra wanted to pounce forward like a feral beast, but Katara's shuddering gasps and whimpers were overwhelming. As much as Korra wanted to crack some skulls, her little cousin needed protection first. Korra yanked Katara backward, step by step, yet neither could look away from Kya, despite the chaotic violence transpiring around them.

Katara was stricken by the fear she could see in her mother's eyes as Kya was kicked down to her knees. The two met glances with petrified expressions.

"Don't hurt the girls!" Kya insisted. "You can take me with you, as your hostage. I'll do whatever you want, as long as-"  
"Hostage?" Zolt brandished his knife. "Sorry, Toots. I got orders. And takin' hostages wasn't one of 'em."

-_Shnnk!_-  
"_Gulgh...-!_"

Kya collapsed onto her side as blood began trickling from her abdomen, drenching her heavy blue coat. She groaned in agony, clutching at her stab wound.

Katara and Korra were speechless. Horrified.

Katara had slumped back, frozen in shock as she sat beside Korra's feet. She was wide-eyed and silent.

Korra was paralyzed. Vapors puffed out into the bitter air from between her clenched teeth. Her fingers wracked each other's bones as they tightened with fury.

'Zolt' and his gang were fleeing, scrambling for cars they had parked in the lot. Some were passing by the two girls. Korra lept into action, jumping out at the man in the masquerade mask. This 'Zolt' bastard wasn't just gonna pull that shit and run. Korra managed to tackle him to the ground, but was kicked off of him by the hulk of the man in the werewolf costume. A momentary scuffle commenced, but Korra was outnumbered. She found herself gasping for air, sprawled on her stomach. Her throat burned, her elbows and hands were scraped. She blacked out.

When she came to, she rolled onto her side, sharp pain coursing through various parts of her body. She pushed hair from her face and coughed to clear her throat. Regaining her breath, she made out the revised scene before her. They were all gone - both groups of costumed men. All Korra could see was Kya's body, red liquid having pooled around her stomach, and Katara, knelt by her mother's head. Korra struggled to crawl across the short distance. She could hear Katara's sobs and Kya's gasps, panting in pain.

Katara was shouting hysterically into...a flip phone? Korra's - Katara must have grabbed it to call for help. As Korra drew closer, dizzy and sore, she began to make out what Katara was saying into the phone.

"-have to _come! Now! _She-...Oh, God...She's _bleeding _so much, and-..." Katara's head nodded. "Mm-_hm_," she whimpered in reply to the person on the other line. "O-OK..._Please _come fast..."

Katara's emergency call finished, she placed the phone on the ground. Korra was close enough now to see that Katara's free hand had been on her mother's head the whole time, stroking through Kya's hair.

"Th...they're coming, Mom," Katara whispered shakily. "They'll...fix you. They'll fix you."

"Hun..." Kya managed to wince out with a discouraged tone.

"We'll fix it," Katara insisted, water streaming down her cheeks.

"Fucking Christ..." Korra gasped, water welling from her own tear ducts as she reached her family. "Kya, you...-" Korra carefully observed Kya's drenched, sticky coat. It looked like Katara had wrapped her penguin hoodie around the area of the wound.

"I...I need you both to...-" Kya dropped out a violent cough. Blood spattered out, and Katara paled at the sight. "-...please listen."

Korra's heart sank at the situation. Here she was, dressed up like a hero...but she was anything but. When shit hit the fan, no fucking superhero was going to save the day. Swoop in from the sky and beat the bad guys? That didn't happen. You either protected yourself, or you were screwed.

For all her independence and big talk, Korra had failed her own family when it had mattered most.

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=W81x-2wpJMk +  
('Legend of Korra Main Theme [Music Box]' - arrg. by 'tinysaurus')

Kya reached out her free hand to Korra feebly. Korra tore off Kya's mitten and clutched her aunt's hand tightly in her palms.

"Korra...p-promise me...you'll look out for...your family...Watch over...my babies..."

Korra nodded profusely, blinking to clear her eyes and let tears drop.

"I promise," she affirmed through clenched teeth.

Korra let her aunt's hand slip away, watching it redirect to Katara's cheek.

"..._Mom_..." Katara's hands were clamped across her mother's pale face.

"K...Katara, Sweetie..." More choking. Kya's trembling fingers slid across her daughter's quivering cheek. "You...take care of...of your brother for me...OK?"

Katara's eyes squinted shut, and she wiped at her tears while whimpering out, "_Mm-hm_..."

"That's...-" Kya's hand fell into Katara's lap. "That's a...good little Penguin..." Kya gave them a half-hearted smile, her eyeslids closing.

"_Mom_," Katara squealed out in horror, shaking her mother's arm.

Korra wiped her wrist past her nose, her own nosebleed staining the plastic bracelet she was wearing.

"It'll... be OK, Hun," Kya sighed out breathily. "You jus...look ou...fo...each oth...family..."

Kya slowly faded away.

The song slowly faded away.

Korra, clutching the music box in her lap, gently closed the lid. By the time its melody had finished, the tears she'd been shedding had cleared. She took a deep breath, sniffling her crying clean, and looked over to Bolin. Bolin's lips hung open, his eyes popped open. He ran his hand across his hair, his fingers shaking nervously as he did so.

"That's...-" he began, completely uncertain of where to go next.

"That's why I wanted to be a cop...to bring fuckers like _that _to justice...To protect people from that kind of bullshit."

"Yea..."

"The _one night _where it was important...I was useless. I'm never gonna let that happen again..." Korra set the box on her nightstand and leaned over the edge of her bed, hands against her temples, elbows on her knees.

"I'm sorry, Korra."

"Not near as sorry as I am," Korra seethed, inhaling deeply and clearing her breathing. She wiped at her eyes, her face drying back up. "When Kya was in trouble that night...I fucked up. When Katara was in trouble back at the UR? I fucked up _there, _too. I talk a big game, but...when I'm actually trying to protect the people who _matter? _I fail." She angrily pushed her fingers through her loose hair, scratching at her scalp with internal frustration. Bolin opened his arms to her, and she accepted his hug.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Korra."

"I _have _to be. The whole reason I'm _here _is because I've been doing a shitty job keeping the promise I made. But not anymore. Now? I'm _here_ for my cousins. And that cock-sucker who messed with us? He's going _down._"

* * *

**A/N: That last scene took a lot out of me, and to be frank, I'm displeased with a lot of it - it's been edited and revised moreso than any other scene in the whole story so far. So hopefully it came out OK.**


	95. What I Need

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 95 - What I Need_

* * *

- Thursday, May 12th, 2011 -

Katara's legs bounced with an anxious rhythm as she held the phone to her ear, listening to the call back repeat a few times.

["_-Beep!-_"]  
["This is Toph's phone n' stuff. I'm prolly out cutting someone's face off with my awesome. Leave a message of worship and praise, mortals."]  
["_-Beep!-_"]

"H-hey, Toph, it's Katara..." She rubbed at her baggy eye. "Um...Just wonderin' where you were. It's dinnertime, and I guess the boys already ate, and, so-...Well. I'll just...eat something here at Aqua, I guess."

_-Click!-_

Katara heaved out a sigh as she set her phone beside her laptop and proceeded to catch up on some television via streaming shows online. Dinner ended up consisting of a Hershey's chocolate bar with almonds and a bottle of water, both obtained from the Aqua snack desk. An hour or so later, her Wednesday evening show-viewing all caught up, Katara decided to try leaving her lonely dorm room to get some homework done. Hm, maybe Toph was going to be at the coffee shop that night doing her live show thing? Just walking across campus was dizzying in her sleep-deprived state. Last night had been a brutal marathon, attempting to finish a paper for that freaking Pakku.

The Jasmine Dragon was moderately busy when she arrived. The sweet melodies of a small string quartet was pouring from the students playing stage. Upbeat jazz made an effort to massage Katara's aching brain, but the volume was pressing too hard, causing more pain rather than helping soothe her. No Toph in sight. But then Toph seemed to have a habit of showing up just in time for her slot, and leaving just as suddenly.

After standing by the counter for a minute or so, bleary-eyed and lost, Katara tried to shake off her exhaustion and approached the register with a plastic smile. She'd fight off the onset of depression with caffeine. Ty-Lee, working her usual shift, greeted Katara cheerfully.

"What can I getcha?"

"Um...Just...a large coffee..." Katara stuffed a five dollar bill toward Ty-Lee, who accepted the cash and rung Katara up.

Ty-Lee could immediately detect that Katara was out of sorts despite the girl's attempts at smiling. Katara's eyes were bloodshot, her movements sluggish, and her voice just a bit hoarse.

"Sure thing," Ty-Lee replied with her normal pep, feeling some sympathy for the girl. She handed Katara her change and an empty cup. "How are things going?" she tried to put out some concern.

"Oh, I'm fine," Katara insisted, accepting the cup and scanning the cafe. Ty-Lee knew that this was a lie, and she was willing to bet that the exact tone Katara had employed - flatly pleasant - had been recited ad nauseum all day. Poor Katara. She must've been tuckered out and stressed from schoolwork. It _was _that time of year, after all, with things winding down to the final stretch.

"Well, good seein' ya, Cutie-Pie," Ty-Lee eased out with a touch of empathy. "Are you gonna be around for June Term?"

"Mm-hm."

"Oh, good. We still have some time to hang out then!"

Katara nodded with that same disconcerting smile plastered over her face, sighing through her nose as she trudged to the coffee dispensers on the far end of the counter. Ty-Lee frowned slightly to herself, off-put by Katara's weird mood. Mai was sitting at her usual table nearby, neck-deep in literature reading for a class. She hadn't even seemed to notice Katara's presence nearby, and Ty-Lee practically tried to telepathically communicate her worry to Mai to no avail. She was caught off guard when Katara was suddenly right in front of her again.

"Oh?"

"Um...Is, uh...is Toph playing tonight?" Katara mumbled out, clasping her prepped coffee cup with both palms.

Ty-Lee shook her head quickly.

"Nm-mm. Not this week, I guess."

"Ah...OK." With another sullen nod, Katara glanced across the cafe. She spotted Mai, soaked up in her book. After a flicker of consideration, Katara went and sat down at the seat across the table from Mai. Mai, noticing her friend, blinked rapidly as she sucked in air, as if waking up from a trance. Her paperback still open on the table, she took a sip from her coffee mug - bleh, it had gotten a bit cold. That's what she got for getting so wrapped up in her reading.

"Hi," she greeted Katara after forcing down her black, lukewarm coffee.

"Hey..."

Whoa. Katara seemed pretty out of sorts tonight. Aang had mentioned how down in the dumps Katara had been feeling, but it was another thing altogether to see the woman right there, her depression physically oozing out of her every motion.

"How..._are _things?" Mai asked with her dry caution. They had to raise their pitch a bit to get over the sounds of the band playing on stage in the background. Sympathetic as Mai might otherwise be, tonight was _not _a good night to be wasting away trying to cheer the girl up. She had serious progress to make in her schoolwork, and she could tell just by _looking _at Katara that the women was simply going to be in a bad mood tonight, one way or another.

"I'm fine," Katara recited in exactly the same way she had toward Ty-Lee, and with the same smile. She sipped at her extra-creamy, extra-sweetened coffee. "You?"

"Erm...Actually, I'm...pretty deep in stuff for school," Mai bluntly explained. "I'm supposed to have this novel finished for tomorrow, and...-" She sighed. "Then I've got to work on an art project up at the studio..." And she knew Aang was buckled down in that same spot as they spoke, hammering out a painting when she'd left for coffee, so he'd be wrapped up for the night, too.

"Sounds like...a lot of work."

"_Yea_," Mai huffed out with wide eyes, glancing back down at her book. "Anyway, so...I should keep at it here, but...-" She nodded her head back up to Katara. "Good seeing you."

"Mm," Katara grunted out with some dissatisfaction at the brevity of their discussion. She clambered up from her chair, yawned, and took a sip.

"Get some rest tonight," Mai added, looking up at Katara with thoughtful eyes. Katara avoided the glance. "You look pretty worn out," Mai advised honestly.

"Yea," Katara huffed under her breath. "I _feel _pretty worn out..." Katara slumped off, away from the table.

"See ya!" Mai called out hastily, not meaning to cut her friend off rudely. She couldn't tell if Katara hadn't heard her or if she was just being ignored, as Katara made no gesture of response.

"Later!" Ty-Lee chirped, likewise receiving no reciprocation.

Katara pushed herself free from the social gathering spot, feeling just as burnt out and discouraged whilst exiting the Jasmine Dragon as she had when she'd entered. Everybody had to be busy with this, that, and the other. Katara had spent all fucking school year bending herself over backward to help everyone else, to be there, to show how much she cared, but when _she _was the one in need of people's time, suddenly no one had any time for her. It was illogical to think along these lines, but in Katara's frame of mind, logic was taking a backseat.

Katara spent the rest of her evening with some more chocolate, some asprin, and copious amounts of YouTube videos from the comfort of her bed. When this eventually grew too boring to keep her awake, she shut her computer down, tucked it into her backpack beside her bed, and cuddled up under her blanket with her rounded, stuffed penguin pillow as her snuggle buddy. She yawned into the pillow, nuzzling up her nose against its tummy. She could smell the faint trace of Aang's saliva on its surface. Where nothing else that evening had seemed to truly pacify her, that faint smell and the comfort of the penguin pillow at least nudged Katara's thoroughly exhausted mind into the sweet relief of slumber.

* * *

- Friday, May 13th, 2011 -

"Nah, I mean...I'm _excited_, don't get me wrong. Just a little anxious. Ya know. Senior shakes."

Professor Piandao nodded in recognition of Sokka's uncertainty.

"Reasonable, for sure. All I'm saying is that you should count yourself lucky to already have a goal set after you graduate."

"_Oh, _yea. Totally."

"Many folks your age will be lost in a sea of...unemployment...when they leave this place."

"Yea...I know. It's...not just the job stuff, though, I mean...-"

"Your sister."

"Right." A wary breath pushed out from Sokka's nostrils, and he sucked in the fragrance of his espresso. "I don't know what to do with her lately."

"Mm. You _did _mention she seemed to be in a bit of a funk."

"She still is. She'll go from feeling fine to awful like _that_." He snapped his fingers, shaking his head. "And it's like...I'm about to graduate. I'm about to _leave. _The last time she and I were separated for a long time was...her senior year of high school. And things..._really _didn't go too well for her back then."

"Ah, I see. But you have to remember, Sokka, that your sister's bound to be a different person now than she was then."

"_That's _true...And she has different people in her life now than she did then. I know she'll be fine in the end, but it's still weird to think about."

"Understandable. Though I'd say it's not worth worrying too much about right now. Just make the most of the time you have left."

"Hm." Sokka shrugged dubiously. "Dunno how I'm supposed to do that at this point. Not that much time left, and everything's so cluttered from school. Final projects, exams...it's hard to find time. And especially with how she's acting lately, I just-...Ugh." His head rolled slowly around with mild despair and irritation.

"So you should focus on your responsibilities, one at a time. Prioritize."

"See, that's just it." Sokka took a sip. "Katara _is _my responsibility. She should be high up _on _my priorities. I just...don't know what to _do _about it. And I'm trying to juggle this new girlfriend, too, and-..._Man. _College. So much _stuff _to do. _Pllbthh. _Can't wait 'til this is over and things can be less complicated."

"Haha! I hate to break it to you, Sokka, but things don't get _less _complicated from here."

"Oy. Let me delude myself a _little, _eh?"

On the opposite side of the cafe, Zuko was grabbing his fresh raspberry mocha and heading on his way. He was speaking into his bluetooth headset, which was linked to his phone.

"No, it-...Azula. It makes _sense._"

["_How, _exactly, does endangering Uncle make any amount of sense?"]

Zuko carefully tread up the stone steps from the Jasmine Dragon, his hot drink in hand.

"Was that..._concern_ I just heard?"

["Spare me your sarcasm, Brother. Of _course _I am concerned. This sort of stunt won't simply put our family at risk, but also Kurosawa Industries itself."]

"I...am _aware _of that, Azula, but...this all has to be confronted, sooner rather than later."

["And _I _am the one who will confront it, Brother. On _my _terms, because _I _am the one who must endure the consequences of-"]  
"_We _are dealing with those consequences, too, except over on _our _end, people are getting _killed_."

["As if you _personally _are affected. You _will _be if you draw this attention to you and Uncle."]

"Azula, the other night I had to confront a girl who lost her _parents _to this psychopath. Iroh and I, we had to tell that girl, straight to her face, that her parents were _dead _because of _our _family, because of _our _father."

["And how, precisely, is drawing attention to yourselves going to undo that? Hm?"]

"It's..._not, _but...-" Zuko cleared his throat, swiftly trekking around the building. He checked around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Azula, if we can draw the Combustion Man out of hiding, we can make sure he gets caught - and no one else will get hurt." He reached the stairwell door that would lead to the basement of the campus center and lingered outside.

["Ever the idealist..."] Azula sighed into her speaker, and a moment of silence passed while Zuko took a cautious sip from his drink. ["Nothing I say is going to convince you of how foolish this is, is it?"]

"No."

["Very well. Enjoy your playtime. _Fff._"]

"Enjoy your board meetings and fancy parties while we try to stop a _serial killer_."

["Oh, how _scathing. _My feelings are crippled, ZuZu. Ruthless. Truly."]

"Learned it from you, GodZula."

["Hmph."]

Zuko sighed, leaning back against the stone wall of the building as another strained silence plagued the two. Some students passed out from the building, and Zuko waited for their chatter to fade before he went on.

"Listen. Sister."

["Brother."]

"This all...is _really _going to stink. I mean...when all of this gets out, it could-...I mean, the company...-"  
["I am fully aware."]

"I'm sorry. But you know we have to expose all of this. Or it's never going to go away."

["I won't deny it."]

"And we _both _have people that we want to keep safe from this."

Zuko was somewhat amused by the silence on the other line after he'd said this.

"So...for _once_...can we please just...work together on this one?"

["Zuko, I _refuse _to assist you in...in committing _suicide_."]

"That's _not _what's going to happen."

["There's hardly any Kurosawas left in the family line, and if something happened to you and Uncle, there'd be...-"]

"Iroh will be fine. _I _will be fine."

["_Yes, _well! Forgive me for recalling our late Mother exhibiting the same confidence before she threw herself into her own demise."]

Zuko took a slow breath, his stomach suddenly light and queasy.

"That...was different, it...-"

["That was not different _at all_. She was trying to accomplish the same things you are. And she failed. What makes you think you'll succeed?"]

"The same thing that makes _you _think you'll succeed where _Father _failed, I suppose."

["...Fair enough. But I still think this is idiocy."]

"Trust me, Azula. Just trust me on this one."

["Why should I?"]

"Because we're family. And it's time we try setting things right. And I _know _that's what you want, just as much as I do."

More silence.

"You have your own things you want to do about this? All right. I'll get off your back if you get off mine. For a while. We can both try and solve things on our own ends, if that's what you want."

["Perhaps that would be best..."]

"OK. Then...let's just back off for a little bit."

["Very well."]

"We've got Ty-Lee and Mai to look out for, right? So let's do just that."

["_Pff. _I suppose. Ty-Lee certainly _does _require a lot of babysitting, doesn't she?"]

"Heh. You don't even know yet..."

["Bah. I should get back to work. These pathetic people won't manage themselves..."]

"I'll let you know if anything comes up."

["Good."]

"I'll talk to you later."

["You'd _better. _You still need to actually _accomplish _something in your life before I'll be eulogizing you over a grave."]

"Is that...-? Wait, what?"

["_Urgh, _I am _telling _you to stay _safe. _Honestly! How thick-headed are you, Dum-Dum?"]

"I love you, too."

The call ended, and Zuko smiled to himself as he checked his phone for updates. Whatever operating system this Sato phones used, it ran pretty smoothly, and it made checking up on various applications a painlessly simple task. After he was finished, Zuko descended down to the basement floor of the center and popped his head into the back entrance of Appa's. He could see the back of June, slumped over the counter and accepting an order. He patiently waited until she was finished, and when she turned around, she noticed him. He waved at her, and she rolled her eyes, sticking the order slip up above the grill.

Straightening her arrowed cap, she marched to the back door of the room.

"What do _you_ want?" she puffed out in impatience.

"Give me a call when your shift is over. That favor you owe us? We need it."

June's head rolled back along her neck and she groaned with lazy discomfort.

"Yea, yea...What's your pervy old Grandpa need _now?_"

"He's my _Uncle, _remember?"

"Shuddup. I'm teasing. Whatever. What's the deal?"

"It_..._has to do with the _Owl__,_" Zuko conspicuously muttered.

June's already disinterested stare rusted even further.

"I should've known as much," she grumbled. "Fine, I'll...call you later."

"Thanks."

"Your gothic girlfriend was lookin' for ya earlier," June dryly advised. "She looked pissed. Might wanna...smooth that over."

"Uh..." Zuko's throat was dry, and he coughed to clear it up. "Yea..."

June wriggled her wrist at Zuko with a tired scowl.

"Now get the hell out, tryin' to get some work done around here."

* * *

Aang yawned, rubbing his heavy stomach and leaning back in his chair.

"Psh. What's wrong?" Korra taunted from across the table. "Full already?"

"_Augh. _Yes," Aang pathetically whimpered. "I think I ate...too much there."

"Not possible," Jane scoffed from Korra's side. "Can never eat too much pizza."

Korra wiped her face and hands with a napkin before dropping it onto her empty plate.

"You _need _a second there?" she checked, lifting a brow at Aang's slouching, his eyes closed.

"Probably," Aang confessed, rubbing his stomach with caution. He could feel his insides twisting up, and he scrambled up from his chair. "A few seconds, actually," he grumbled, heading off toward the bathroom. Jane and Korra were left in awkward silence, their food finished. The Pizza Hut was mildly busy tonight, and the trio had made plans to go out for a walk, and it seemed like a cool, clear evening to do so. Jane tapped her index finger on the table methodically, and Korra pulled her jacket up off her chair, slipping it on. She shivered briefly.

"Cold?" asked Jane.

"Guess so," Korra muttered, scratching her nose with a sniff.

Jane shrugged with indifference to the small-talk their evening had been filled with so far.

"You tell him yet?" she asked Korra.

"Huh?"

"Aang. You, uh...tell him? About...-?"

Korra shook her head, her eyes narrowed with confusion.

"Me? Why would _I _tell him? I thought _you _were. Don't you, like, hang out all the time, and...-?"  
"Not _lately_, are you fuckin' kidding me? With everyone all pissed at me?"

"Er, right. Yea."

"This is the first time I've seen him since before break."

"Really?"

"Uh, _yea. _College? End of the schoolyear? It's kinda busy for people."

"Ah..."

"So, no. I haven't talked with him about that shit."

"We should," Korra decided.

"I fucking _know _that, I'm not-"  
"Chill out," Korra swiftly interrupted with, pushing out her palm. "Calm down. Damn..." She slowly shook her head at Jane's snapping reactions.

Jane snorted out air and took a deep breath, running her fingertip across her eyebrow before slipping it up through her hair.

"I'm worried, ya know?" Jane lamented. "I've done some dangerous shit before, but...it's always been just _my _ass on the line. Not...well...-" She flicked up a wrist to Korra. "_You. _Or...Aang, or...-" She shrugged doubtfully, her eyes lingering to the crumbs on her plate.

"Freckles, hey. Relax. We got this."

Jane allowed Korra's burning eyes of ice blue to pour some of the woman's seemingly boundless confidence into her.

"Yea..." Jane nodded, the queasiness inside her settling a bit. "I dunno, after what Zuko said today, I'm...-" She trailed off, planting her face in her palms and hunching over the table.

"What? About getting that asshole to come back here?"

Jane nodded, her head still bobbed over her plate. Earlier that day, Zuko had met up with Jane to explain that he and his Uncle had figured out a way to lure the Combustion Man to Wayward, and that he was looking into enacting that plan. It was do or die time - literally. Well, a third option was 'don't do.' But sitting back and not acting at all when this man had played a part in her parents' death? It wasn't really an option. But this 'other people getting involved' business was _not _something that she was a fan of.

"You think the plan won't work?" Korra wondered.

"I-...Well, yea. It could seriously backfire."

"Jane, I fought the fucker. He got the slip on me, but...c'mon, _both _of us? Workin' together? He won't stand a chance."

"Mm...I just got a bad feeling. Like...maybe we should consider letting the cops-"  
"We can't _rely _on them," Korra snipped. "Police? With their...fuckin' _rules? _This guy...-" She grasped her hands up in aggravation. "You can't _get _a guy like this by following fucking _rules._"

Jane wasn't sure if she should feel bolstered by Korra's vigor or be put off by the contained fury in her tone. It sounded like the woman had a serious chip on her shoulder with this stuff. Every time law enforcement got brought up, she would get all pissy.

"Uh...'_Kay, _I..._get _it, but-...If we screw up, or if things don't go the way we _think _they will, who _knows _what could happen."

Korra rolled her eyes at Jane's doubt, crossing her arms as she got up from her chair. Jane noticed that Aang was back, looking relieved and ready to leave. They'd already paid off their meal at this point, so the trio bit farewell into the kitchen to Bolin on their way out the door.

Aang drew up his blue-arrowed hood, Korra tucked her hands into her jacket pockets, and Jane walked with her arms crossed over her waist.

"Where are we headed?" Aang wondered, pausing in the parking lot.

"Uh...Out n' about," Korra said with a shrug.

"Not _oot _n' _aboot_?" Jane teased. Korra casually elbowed Jane on the shoulder in retaliation. It stung - Korra had hit pretty hard.

"Can we stop by the car real quick so I can grab my stuff?"

"Sssshure," Korra slowly replied, confused. They switched directions, heading back to where Korra's car was parked in the lot.

"Stuff?" Jane prodded.

"My spray paint," Aang explained. "Do a little tagging," he clarified with a quieter voice. "Ya know..."

"_Whoa, _there, Aang," Jane grunted with sarcasm. "Such a _rebel, _man!"

"Watch out!" Korra played along.

"Yea, yea," Aang chuckled, standing patiently by one of the back doors to Korra's car. She unlocked her driver's seat and clicked the button to unlock the rest. Aang fished into the backseat and pulled out his sling pack. The three of them headed out, deliberately avoiding paying any heed to the empty lot across the road where a building once stood.

An hour or so passed of walking, reminiscing, and discussion. Somewhere along the line, Aang had picked out the side of an old brick building as his canvas. He'd unloaded his sling and gone to work, carefully painting the wall as they talked. Topics that night had started off at school and work and moved over to philosophy and childhood experiences. Aang had shared about his relationship with his grandfather, Gyatso. Korra had divulged details about her parents moving away. Jane had filled Korra in on her identity as an intersexual child.

Aang's spray paint mural of sorts was nearly complete. He'd painted an approximation of the college's logo toward the top, complimented by four splotches of color arranged below it in a square: white, blue, green, and red. With his black paint, he proceeded to decorate each colored blob with the symbols representing each of the four dorms.

"The hell are you drawing?" Korra asked.

"Huh?" Aang paused, shaking up his can of paint.

"What's with the little...black squiggles goin' on here?" Korra clarified her question, pointing out to the three Aang had already finished: Aero, Aqua, and Terra. Korra took out a cigarette from her jacket and went about igniting it with her cheap lighter.

"Oh, these are...-" Aang wiped his sleeve across his face, smudged from traces of paint. "-...the four dorms. See?"

"Eh?" Korra was lost. "Yea, the colors, but...-" She took a puff from her cigarette from her position further down the sidewalk. Jane was sitting with her back against the same wall Aang was painting on. "Ah dun geddit," she mumbled, her words disfigured by the cigarette in her mouth.

Aang laughed at Korra's ignorance to the subject as he painted out the final symbol - a ball of flame - against the patch of red in the bottom right. He took a step back, enjoying the clattering sound from within his can as he shook it up some more. He admired his handiwork for a moment, and when Jane noticed that he was staring up at the wall, she tried to lean over to observe the work herself.

Aang pointed out each of the symbols to Korra.

"The four dorms - they each have Latin names. The four elements of nature. Aero - Air. Aqua - Water. Terra - Earth. Ignis - Fire."

Korra tilted her head to the side, brows furrowed with thought. She'd been so busy trying to acclimate herself to SRU's campus that she hadn't really noticed this factoid.

"...Huh," was what Korra had to say about this knowledge before taking another drag. Watching Korra smoke was sorely tempting Jane to ask for a cigarette, but she contained this desire.

"What time is it?" Jane asked, pushing herself up to her feet. She patted dirt off her pants as Korra checked her phone.

"It's, like, 10:30," Korra advised. "Why? You got somewhere to be?"

"No," Jane shrugged.

"I sorta do," Aang pointed out, collecting his spray paint cans.

"You have to go appease your girlfriend?" Jane bitterly surmised. Aang frowned at his friend's tone, stuffing cans into a plastic grocery bag in his pack.

"Um, w-well, I told the guys I'd be meeting up with them at eleven, so...-"

"How _is _Kat doing?" Korra asked, sidestepping around Aang's efforts at avoiding the subject. "She hasn't said a word to me lately," Korra added with a touch of frustration.

"Yea, she's..._been_ like that these days," Aang sheepishly lamented. "To everyone. It's not you."

"Nah," Jane jumped in, meandering to the curb. She watched as a car slowly passed by, squinting at its brights. "It's _me._"

Aang sighed, leaving his bag on the ground and leaning his back against the wall.

"Jane, this stuff with you...it's just brought up some problems Katara's had for a long time."

"Yea..." It didn't sound like Jane much cared for the excuse Aang had presented.

"Kat needs to get over herself," Korra huffed out. She dropped her finished cigarette on the sidewalk and crushed it with the toe of her fur-trimmed boot. "People come n' go. You've gotta deal with it. Move on. Not...be a jerk to the ones tryin' to help."

Aang's eyes sparked with anger at this comment. Korra of all people should be sympathetic. Katara had told Aang the story - he knew Korra had been there that night when Kya had passed away.

"'Deal with it?'" Aang testily repeated. "Picking fights with...with biker gangs? Acting all...secretive? About whatever it is you're both up to? Yea. Sure sounds like 'moving on.'"

"_Yea, _it _is _moving on," Korra defended. "We're not...sitting around being _pout__y _little bitches. We're _doing _something."

""Doing something?" Aang's expression wriggled with discomfort. "Like _w__hat? _'Pouty little'...-? Did you just-...? Are you saying that Katara-?"  
"Aang," Jane cut him off, putting herself inbetween him and Korra, who were tossing dagger glares at each other across their distance. "Dude, there's...some stuff you don't _know_ here."

Aang took a sharp, deep inhalation, snorted out hot air, and approached Jane.

"Whatever it is, it's got to do with Zuko," said Aang pointedly. "Doesn't it?"

Korra and Jane exchanged shifty glances.

"How do you know?" Jane asked quietly. "He say somethin'?"

"Mm-mm." Aang shook his head. "Mai did. She came into class in a really foul mood today - which is really unusual for her - so I knew something was up. When I tried asking, she told me she was mad at Zuko, and didn't want to talk about it. But I could tell she actually _did _want to...which made me figure she _couldn't._" Aang stared with stern disapproval at Jane, who shrunk slightly at his rare moment of silent fury. "And with how you _and _Zuko have both been avoiding talking about _whatever's _going on, I'm starting to think it's related."

"It is," Jane quickly acknowledged. She had her suspicions that she was still on Aang's good side - which probably couldn't be said for the others - and she wanted to keep things that way, if she could. "No, it-..." She scratched the base of her neck nervously. "I mean, yea, it's got to do with Zuko. And, erm...-"  
"The Combustion Man," Korra finished darkly.

"Oh..." Aang's eyes bulged open wide, his mind flashing with the memory of that night the UR burned down. "...Whhhat's going on?"

"We're gonna confront the man who took my _parents_ from me," Jane sharply explained. There was no use sidestepping the truth of her intentions at this point. She wanted to hash it out. Get Aang's perspective. It probably wasn't going to go so well, but maybe she could get him to understand?

"Your...parents?" Aang's insides churned with doubt at the flicker of rage he could see in Jane's hardened eyes. "I thought they...-"  
"Died in a _fire?_" Jane finished his thought, watching his eyebrows sink in concerned realization.

"You mean it...wasn't an accident?"

"No. It wasn't."

"But..._how_...-?"  
"Zuko explained to her how it happened," Korra added. "That's her business. But now we know who did it, and we've worked out a way to find him."

"Find him? The Combustion Man? You know _he _did it?"

"I do."

"Aaaand what happens when you _find _him?"

"Bring him _here_," said Jane. "To Wayward."

"_Here_," Aang repeated, flabbergasted at the idea. "To _Wayward. _A serial killer."

Jane and Korra both nodded, and Aang's heart sank at the bloodthirsty looks they wore.

"Ummm...And _what, _exactly, do you think this will accomplish?" Aang demanded, judgment lingering in his words.

"_Psh_..." Jane shook her head slowly. She walked past Aang, her back turned to the other two. "What do you fuckin' _think_?"

"Jane, you can't...-" Aang lifted up his hands, his jaw agape, words hanging at the tip of his tongue as he stared at her head hung low.

"I don't think you _get it__, _Aang," Korra verbally stabbed. "Her parents were _murdered _in cold fucking _b__lood._"

"Like Katara's mother," Aang knowingly pointed out. He watched Korra's nose wrinkle with disdain as her glare jumped away from him.

"Exactly," Korra muttered.

"Like my _grandfather? _Like my _whole family_?" Aang bitterly informed her. "I _do _get it. Regret. Rage. Loss. I _understand._"

"That-..." Korra balked at him with a wild shrug while Jane lingered a few feet away without response. "But they weren't, like, _slaughtered _right in front of you, like...-"  
"You don't _know _what did or didn't happen," Aang dismissed her. "And it doesn't matter! Are we going to, like-...What? Argue over who has the most tragic history here? It doesn't..._matter._ We've _all _lost people. OK?"

Aang turned around to face Jane's back.

"It's what holds all of us together, when you think about it. Because we all _know _how much that hurts to lose someone we love, and it makes us _value _each other all the more." Aang tried placing a hand on Jane's shoulder. "Doesn't it?" She shook it off, taking a further step away and burying her hands in her pockets. She thumbed at her worry stone. "Korra." Aang whirled around. "Isn't that the whole reason you _moved _here? To be near people you care about?"

"Yea. Sure. It is. And we've just been sitting around letting this crap happen," Korra growled with frustration. "Maybe it's about time we stopped moping about shit and _did _something to stop it."

"That's what law enforcement is for," said Aang.

"Oh, _yea,_" Korra dumped out sarcasm. "They've sure done a _bang-up _fuckin' job of protecting us from this psychopath, eh?" Korra hissed right back, glowering down at him. "When me and my cousin were about to roast alive, did _you _shove your head up your ass and wait for the _firemen_ to come save us?"

Aang gave pause at this, crossing his arms. Korra pushed the subject deeper.

"No. You didn't." She shoved her palm against Aang's arm, and he flinched from the contact. "Even _you, _Little Man, you charged right in and you got shit _done. _And you've got the scar to _prove _it."

"I did what I _had to _to save you, and Katara," Aang specified. "I didn't _hurt _anyone. And I had no other _choice. _You two _do._"

"_Ha!_" Jane at last contributed to this heated discussion, but kept her back facing them. "Choice? Ya think? Wait for him to kill again?"

"Or kill him _yourself?_ What kind of choice is _that? _It makes you a murderer like _he _is. What good is that going to do?"

"She _needs _this, Aang," Korra firmly concluded. "Her whole _life _was screwed over because of this cock-sucker. This is about getting..._closure, _and...and _justice._"

Aang's brow twitched defiantly at Korra's words.

"I don't _think _so," he disagreed. "I think it's about getting _revenge_."

"_Fine!_" seethed Jane, discomforted by Aang's lack of approval. "Maybe it _is_," she confessed darkly, flinging her shoulders up, fed up by where this talk had led. "Maybe that's what I _need_. Maybe that's what he _deserves_..."

Aang's face paled with discouragement. After all that Jane had endured, this was the road she was going to choose? The very path he and Katara - and Toph, and Sokka, too - had worked for months to pry her away from?

"Jane...You and Katara used to tell me that your friend Jet died because he couldn't let go of his obsession. Because he couldn't stop himself from trying to avenge his _own_ parents. What you're saying, it-...You sound like you're going down the same path _he _did."

Jane spun right around, her olive eyes burning with confused anguish.

"It's _not _the same!" she snapped. "This is _my _problem, and I'm trying to handle it. Korra _wants _to help me, she's _choosing _to. But Jet? He...fucking _used _people. He manipulated, and lied, and-"  
"Pushed everyone who cared about him away," Aang defied starkly. "Kept secrets, got himself in too deep..."

"Tsh..." Jane flicked her hand out at Aang's disappointed stare, his wide, fearful eyes pleading with her to reconsider. The three of them stood in tense silence for a moment, before Aang lamented over their intentions, his head bobbed.

"My grandfather used to say that revenge is like a two-headed viper: while you watch your enemy go down...-" He looked up to Jane solemnly. "-...you're being poisoned yourself."

A few seconds of reflection passed, and Aang watched Jane's eyes glaze over with the pain and the regret he knew still lingered in her heart.

"And you _know _how toxic it feels," Aang added, his eyes squinting with doubt. "Don't you? '_Smellerbee?'_"

Jane's tear ducts were ready to burst from the memory of Nils. That monstrous boy...and she'd _killed _him. She'd knowingly, intentionally _killed _him, and covered it up. Had he deserved it? She had sure though so. But it didn't change the fact that Jane herself had to become someone else - she had to become 'Smellerbee' - in order to see that action through. To hurt, to deceive, to kill. Those weren't things Jane Fitzpatrick liked doing. They were things Smellerbee was able to do.

"Is that who you want to be?" Aang demanded, thrusting out his arm. "Do you want to go back to that kind of life?"

"No!" Jane blurted out instinctively, suppressing her tears.

"Because that's what you're going to be doing if you follow through with this insane idea," Aang persisted. "And I mean, _how _are you even going to _do _it?"

"We have a _plan_," Korra defended. This was a half-lie. They had a half-baked concept of how they'd carry things out, but there certainly nothing concrete at this point. Nothing assured.

"What_ever_!" Aang huffed, teeth clenched with impatience. "That's not...even the _point. _And _you_...-" He gazed at Korra's foul expression. "You _approve _of this? You want to _help _her commit this?"

"She _deserves _this," Korra insisted.

Aang studied her carefully for a minute, then started nodding, pointing at her thoughtfully.

"You never got to get even with the man that killed Kya," he recollected the story Katara had described - the man who'd stabbed Kya had been chased off, and Katara had never heard of what had happened to him. "So you think this is going to help you feel better about it?"

"No, I didn't," Korra confessed. "The bastard disappeared. They never found him. I'm not about to let someone else live the rest of their life with that empty _hole_."

"Taking life doesn't _fill _holes, Korra, it _makes _them. It's not going to help you feel _any _better about what happened in the past."

"This ain't about me. This is for _her_," Korra spit out, flailing her hand in Jane's direction. "You can talk about...whatever your _grandpa _said. But this isn't a _temple. _This ain't _church. _This is the real world - the _shit _the world's given us. I dunno about you, but I want to clean it _up._"

"Now that I know he's responsible," Jane chimed in, "Now that I know we can _get him, _stop him - _permanently _- I feel like I've got no choice."

"Jane, you _do _have a choice," Aang sighed. "You _always _have a choice: forgiveness."

"_Forgiveness _doesn't save anyone," said Korra.

"It saves _you_ from _yourself_," Aang sharply retorted.

"Maybe I'm sick of trying to '_save myself_,'" Jane hypothesized. She couldn't make left or right of what she was truly feeling in the heat of the moment.

"That..._can't _be true," Aang insisted. "I _kn__ow _that isn't true...Jane, I've seen you change so much since we first met. This isn't _you. _This isn't who you want to be."

"This isn't about what I _want_," Jane grumbled.

"I'm _worried _for you, Jane," Aang begged. "And...Korra, you, too."

Korra rolled her head back and sighed.

"Aang, guy...I'm..._super _thankful for everything you've done for me," Korra conceded. "But we're not _you. _You've gotta accept that. You protected me by...busting into a burning building. And now, I'm protecting other people by stopping this guy."

Aang let his frown dissipate. Continuing to yell wasn't going to get any of them anywhere, and it seemed clear that they wouldn't be convinced to drop this.

"Don't try to stop us," Jane warned.

"I wasn't planning to," Aang gave in.

"And don't _tell _anyone," Korra commanded.

"I _won't_," grumbled Aang. He pushed his hood off of his head and ran his hand through his hair, overwhelmed by the gravity of this situation. "This...sounds like a journey you need to take," he admitted, acknowledging the tempest of emotion contained behind Jane's dark eyes. "You need to face this man. I get that."

Jane nodded with slight relief that Aang was going to back off, walking to the brick wall. She looked up at his grafitti mural and sighed, scooping up Aang's sling. She pushed his bag into his chest and walked by, Korra following her. Aang brought up the rear, put off by their angry silence.

"But when you _do_-" Aang followed up from behind the two girls, "-_please _don't choose revenge. Let your anger out...and then let it _go. _Forgive him. Find your closure, but don't...do something you'll have to carry with you."

"We'll do what we _have _to in order to keep people safe," Korra protested.

"I just hope that doesn't mean becoming the kind of person you're trying to stop..."

Jane's heart quivered with uncertainty as the group hiked along the quiet sidewalk, making their way back to Korra's car.

Earlier that day, she'd felt so much surer of things. She wanted this fucker dead. Done. And she'd let Korra plant this idea, and Johnny encourage it. But now Aang's words were offering her different insight, and deep down she knew that this was exactly why she'd trusted him with all of this - because Aang _wasn't _like her. Because he wasn't going to stand by and not speak out about the flip side of this dangerous coin toss she was about to make, but he also knew when to let it drop. Just like he'd done with Toph - he'd gotten his opinions out, his thoughts and worries, and he'd been able to leave them on the table, and walk away from it. Just as he'd put it himself: let his anger out, and let it go.

Maybe that was the secret, after all - the way Aang had managed to turn out as such a nice guy despite having dealt with so much shit.

"Aang..." Jane turned her head over her shoulder to look at his hopeful glance. "Thanks for understanding, man," she expressed to him with a weak smile.

"Uh...Y-yea, of course...Um...Soooo...you'll think about it?"

Korra audibly groaned, but Jane shrugged.

"Yea, I will."


	96. Counsel

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 96 - Counsel_

* * *

- Saturday, May 14th, 2011 -

[From: Jane]  
[i'll let you know. sounds like it's gona be in the next few days though. stay sharp.]  
[Sent: 9:43pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Got it. Take it easy.]  
[Sent: 9:45pm]

Korra set her phone down beside her thigh on the steps of the front porch as Bolin came out from the door, two tall Sapporo cans in hand, and a tissue box wedged under his arm pit. She accepted one can from him, he sat down next to her, and the two cracked the cans open. They tapped the cans together in toast and let the bitter fluid pour down their hatches.

Bolin sniffed, rubbing his sleeve on his red-rimmed nostrils. Korra eyed his fatigued face, her brows tilting down with some concern.

"Doin' any better?" Korra asked quietly.

"Dot really," Bolin replied, his voice muffled by his clogged nasal passages.

"Sorry," Korra expressed her sympathy.

"Tanks..." Bolin sipped from his beer.

"So, uhh...Are they still...-?" Korra wondered, glancing back at the closed door briefly. Mako and Asami had been shut up in their new shared room to sort some things out. Korra figured this was an excuse for making out ASAP, given that they'd been having sex with their eyes the moment Asami's taxi had shown up.

"Mm." Bolin nodded. "Tink dey finished, but...-" He shrugged and sputtered out a wheezing cough.

It stung Korra to see the normally exuberant young man so lethargic and with so few words to say. He'd fallen ill the day prior, and it seemed he hadn't improved since. Asami had moved in, making the journey down from her home in New York. The woman had brought a surprising amount of baggage along with her, but...feh. That was Mako's problem, now: getting it to all fit in the bedroom. Due to Bolin's condition, Korra had ended up moving most of his things from one room to the other over the course of the afternoon. Now it was evening time, the house was mostly in order, and it was time to relax.

Ugh. 'Relax.' Now that the humdrum of getting the house ready for Asami was done with, all Korra's mind could focus on was Jane and this impending risky business with the Combustion Man. What if he brought friends? What if he didn't act the way they'd predicted? What if someone else - someone not involved - got hurt?

Korra's nerves were deteriorating as the weight of things fell back on her shoulders. She slurped a gulp of beer, set her can down, and pulled her cigarette box from her jacket's breast pocket. She tapped one out, stuck it between her lips, and went to get her lighter ready. Bolin's hand gently pressed down on her bicep when she went to raise the lighter to her face.

"Don't," Bolin managed out. He sniffled again. "Please," he added in response to Korra's wide eyes.

"Ehhh...A-all right," Korra fumbled, removing the tobacco stick from her mouth and awkwardly dropping it back into its box.

"My dose," Bolin explained, flopping his hand around his reddened nose. "Da smoke...gunks iddup more."

"Ah..." Korra was surprised, as he had never made any protest toward her smoking in the past.

"Cand stan da stuff," Bolin lamented, rubbing his forehead warily.

"What, the smoke?"

"Smokink...Da whole ting..." Bolin groaned, his eyes buried his hand.

"Just...smoking? In general?"

Bolin nodded slowly.

"Hade id."

"But...your brother does it all the time. So do I." She shrugged, baffled that he was bringing this up now. It wasn't all _that _surprising, really, when she looked back. Bolin didn't seem to stick around for long when she and Mako smoked, and the first time Korra had tried smoking indoors, Bolin had flipped a lid about it. "If it bothers ya so much, why don't you speak up about it?"

"Egh...Mako's ma _bro, _I'm dot gonna...-" Bolin trailed off, puffing out a tired breath. "And _you're_...-" He coughed into his arm. "Ugh...'S dot really dat...-" Now he was sneezing into his sleeve. His expression turned dire and he froze up.

"Are you _OK, _Bo?" Korra sighed, glaring at him.

"Headache," he muttered, his face contorted in pain as he pulled a tissue out from the box he'd brought out. Korra let him blow his nose, then waited as he required a second tissue.

"C'mere," Korra insisted, raising her hand up. Bolin blinked at her sleepily, letting his hands droop, and she pressed her palm against his forehead, staring at him with intent worry. "Agh, _damn, _Bolin, your forehead's a furnace, man," she grumbled, trying to suppress her concern with irritation. "What's wrong with you? Fever?"

"Dunno...Ah'll be fffine..."

"You're _not _sleeping on the couch again tonight," Korra sharply decided. After making a big fuss of it, Bolin had insisted that he didn't want to be getting his germs all over Korra at night and getting her sick, as well. She'd conceded to his doubts, but the couch probably wasn't cutting it for his sickness at this point.

"Doh, iss...fine, I just...-"  
"Shut it. _I _will sleep on the fucking couch, if it helps you feel better."

"Uhkay," Bolin sighed out his concession. Korra acknowledged to herself that she _really _was not liking Bolin this way. She wasn't much of a caretaker, but if she could do some basic babysitting, Bolin deserved _some _kind of fucking attention, right?

"You want me to...get...something?" Korra muttered in an effort at tenderness. "To help?"

"Huh?"

"Uh...Erm, I-I dunno. You need...anything?"

"Mm...Mebbe some...painkiller...?"

"_Right!_" _Duh. Stupid._ "Yea, I'll...-" Korra drank another gulp of beer, wobbling up to his socked feet. "-...go get that for you. Sit tight, eh?"

"Uhh?" Bolin glanced up to her, his eyes dry, dull, and bloodshot. Seeing him like this and actually reflecting on it was getting more painful by the second.

Korra nearly kicked her beer over her phone in her stumbling back to the door. Her stomach was feeling light with worry and a desire to...take _care_ of the guy.

After bolting in, she saw Mako and his lovely girlfriend, still powdered and prettied up, sitting together on the couch in a casual fashion, their hands linked over their laps. Mako was scrolling through his Netflix queue, but set down the game controller in his hands when she came in.

"Korra," he said with some surprise. "Where were you?"

"Just...-" Korra awkwardly gestured her hand behind her in what approximated to pointing. "Uh, Bolin and I were on the porch, we were giving you two - _ahem_ - a little _private _time?"

"You were outside?" Mako sighed. "Kor, he's _sick_. The sun's down, and it's getting cold out there. Why would you let him...-?" Mako sighed with dismissal at Korra's apparent ignorance, getting up from his comfortable position. Asami watched with some confusion as Mako blew past Korra and burst out to the porch.

"Is everything all right?" Asami wondered. Korra shot her a wild shrug, shaking her head. She could hear the two of them fussing behind her in grumbles. Asami giggled sheepishly. "Sounds like Mako's in one of those moods."

"Eh?"

"He gets super worried and starts acting a little crazy," Asami explained with some amusement. "You've never seen him like this?"

Korra shrugged, perplexed as to how Asami would be so familiar with this.

"I guess," she conceded to Asami's curious expression.

"-some soup ready while you get a hot shower..." Mako was easing his brother into the house, clutching Bolin's half-drinken beer in one hand. He pushed it at Korra with irritation as he nudged Bolin up the stairs from the living room, leaving the two women of the house alone again.

"_Mama Mako, _hard at work," Korra grumbled, glaring up at the stairs. Mako sure loved to be in control of the house, didn't he? A real 'team captain.' And what was with the way he'd glared at her? Like this was somehow _her _fault? Korra sighed, instinctually lifting the can in her hand up to her face, but Asami stopped her.

"Korra?" Asami piped up, flinching out a hand.

"Eh?"

"Um, that's...Bolin's, isn't it?" Asami's face wrinkled with mild disgust. "You probably don't want to drink that..."

"..._Oh. _Yea..." Korra awkwardly nodded with a weak smile, fumbling her way to the kitchen to dump the beer and wash it down the sink. She went out to the porch, collecting the objects they'd left there, and dumped them onto the kitchen table. By the time she'd accomplished this, she could hear Asami and Mako whispering something to each other, then a faint kiss.

"Right." Asami's voice. "I'll be in the room unpacking." Her footsteps, trailing up to the second floor.

After this, Mako marched into the kitchen, his slippers silent on the tile floor as he stared at Korra with irritation.

"_What_?" Korra snapped through clenched teeth, keeping her voice down.

"Am I supposed to do your job _for _you?" Mako grunted, opening the cupboard where the dishes were stored.

"Excuse me?"

"Taking care of Bo," Mako clarified, retrieving a glass. He opened the fridge. "_You're _supposed to be doing that now, aren't you?"

"Uhh...Yea, I'll say it again - _What?_" Korra rested her chin in her palm, elbow on the table as she watched Mako pour water from their filter pitcher into the glass.

"Korra, you _know _how Bolin is. He needs somebody looking after him," Mako pointed out, closing the fridge door and directing his concerned eyes back at Korra. "If you're going to be his girlfriend, you have to step it u-"  
"Wh-_whoa, _there, hey..." Korra thrust up her palm, shaking her head slightly. "Since when are Bolin and I...-?" She trailed off at Mako's deadpan look, and her upraised palm sagged back to the table. She rubbed her forehead against the hand her head had been leaning upon and sighed.

"You took him _outside _in the cold to drink _beer _when he should be warm, getting actual _liquids _in his body, taking medicine...not-..._Grrffm!_" Mako rustled his hand through his hair.

Korra rolled her eyes at Mako's flash of anger tonight. The guy had been in a good mood at seeing Asami. Why wasn't he just minding his own business and spending time with _her_?

"'Kay_._" Korra frowned up at Mako. "It's _not _cold out. It was _his _idea to have beer. And I'm _not _his fucking nanny. I babysit _actual _kids, Mako. Bolin is _not _a child."

Mako bit his lip, some sort of comeback on the tip of his tongue.

"What?" Korra snipped impatiently.

"If it's not cold, why'd you put your jacket on?" Mako observed her black leather coat, which was still wrapped around her torso.

"Pff. I dunno, maybe the same reason you wear that stupid _scarf _all the time..."

Their eyes struck each other like swords, sparks flying for a moment. Mako withdrew, scooping up Bolin's tissue box from the table.

"Take your _boots _off," Mako groaned, lingering around the archway leading to the living room. "I just cleaned the floor yesterday..."

Korra's glance wandered away from Mako, yet he still stood there in his stupid slippers.

"Listen, I'm sorry I snapped," he mumbled. "We're all tired - it's been a long day. Bolin's sick. He's my _bro. _I can't stand seeing him like this."

"You think _I _like this any more than _you _do?" Korra retorted, struggling to maintain a calm tone of voice.

"Then you should _do _something about it, like I am," Mako suggested, also attempting to tread lightly. "Isn't that what you're always on about? '_Doing' _something?"

Korra's head rolled around her neck, but she confessed her agreement.

"Yea, I-...You're right. But it...-" She shrugged doubtfully. "What am I _supposed _to do? _You're _Mama Mako here. I babysit a couple kids, but...that's..._different, _they're-...They need someone older to look after them. Bolin, he...-"  
"He does, too."  
"He's an _adult, _Mako."  
"He doesn't _act _like one."  
"You don't _let _him."  
"He doesn't _want _to."  
"Have you _asked _him?"  
"Have _you?_"  
"Pff..."  
"I just want what's best for my brother."  
"So do I."  
"He needs a woman who's going to take _care _of him."  
"I can _do_ that..."  
"You can't even remember to take off your shoes when you come inside."  
"That...-!"  
"You can't even make your bed, or pick up after your own laundry, or-"  
"_OK, yea, _great."  
"How am I supposed to expect you and Bolin to look out for each other when you both have enough trouble taking care of your _own _business?"  
"You think we're both fucking retards. I _hear __you. _You made your point _pretty _clear."  
"Korra..."  
"Go...babysit your _bro. _You love doing it, so...whatever."

Korra's insides were swelling with guilt at Mako's accusation. She could feel tears creeping at her cheeks, and glaring down at the table and avoiding his gaze was her effort to mask this fact.

Mako set the glass of water he'd been holding all the time on the small side table in front of the microwave. He scratched at the scruff on his neck thoughtfully.

"I'm sorry if you don't like to hear it, Korra, but it's true. You've got to start _thinking _about things other than your own plans. You go out drinking all the time with that creepy college kid lately, and-"  
"She's my _f__riend._"  
"The way she _stares _at you, I'd think she was _more _than that."  
"Oh, _bite _me...Like _you _weren't doing the same thing earlier."  
"The point _is, _if Bolin's going to be your boyfriend, you have to make him your priority. He's like your _family _now. Family looks after its own. You put people in your family _first, _not second."

Korra nodded, her eyes squinted shut, her hair hanging over her face as she was hunched over the table. That was _not _what she had needed to hear in that moment. She could feel a tear spilling down her cheek, and hoped Mako couldn't see it. She got up from her chair, eager to put her back to Mako as she dug through the lower cabinet, tussling canned goods around.

"I'll...make Bo some soup," she offered, desperately leveling her voice. "N' I'll...go...take care of him for a while. 'Kay?"

Mako blinked at the cloud of solemnity that hung over his housemate. He swallowed hard, wondering if he'd perhaps pushed the issue a little too much. It seemed like he'd pressed some kind of button somewhere.

"Uh...Yea, that...would be nice," he muttered. "Bo's in the shower, so...I'll put this water up in your room. Make sure he takes some painkillers, and-..." Mako cleared his throat, unnerved by Korra's motionless stance. "Yea. All right. Thanks."

"Mm," Korra hummed out in reply, taking her sweet time deciding on which identical can of chicken noodle soup to retrieve. When she could sense his presence lifted from the room and heading upstairs, she let her self-inflicted tension huff out in a shaky, choking breath. She grabbed the soup can, set it upon the countertop, and clutched at her mouth, holding back the unexpected whimper that tried tumbling out.

_Family looks after its own.  
But you don't really know how to _do _that, do you, Korra?  
__You let your parents walk away. How often did you even visit them?  
You stayed to 'look after' your Uncle. Your cousins.  
Did a real shit job of that, too.  
You partied, you enjoyed your fucking independence, like you always wanted.  
And you're still doing it _now. _After all this time.  
_

Korra's hand nearly slipped from the can opener during the un-canning process. She dumped the condensed goop into a bowl and ran the sink to fill up the can.

She stared at the flowing water, hypnotized for a brief moment.

_Katara won't even talk to you. She probably hates how you've been avoiding her.  
How you spend time with the girl who hurt her, while _ignoring _your own family.  
__And Sokka? He sees it. He sees his sister hurting. He stumbles around like the dickhead he is, unsure of what to do.  
But he's _trying. _You're not trying._

Korra's fingers turned cold from the sensation of water overflowing the can's lid and trickling over her fingertips. She turned off the sink and dumped the extra water into the bowl. She set the soup in the microwave and started up the machine. The whirring hum of the device put her back into a trance of thought.

_You talk about how you can't forget the past, like they choose to.  
About how you do need to _do _things. Get shit _done._  
But you're so afraid of confronting the pain the past causes them that you don't know how to handle it.  
So you just avoid it. And focus on_ doing things _instead __of just talking with them._  
_And the actual_ shit _that needs doing is the people around you need __you to be there for them.  
All of them. You have to take care of _all of them, _instead of just __the ones that are convenient._

Korra allowed two more tears to spill out and wiped her face with her sleeve. She zipped up her jacket and tucked her hands in its pockets. She bent her head over and sniffed at the leather, thinking on her father, and the kind of advice he'd give in a time like this._  
_

_Stop running from the social anxiety. From the awkwardness.  
You don't run away from anything, remember?  
_

[To: Uncle Hakoda]  
[Hey. How are you holding up out there this week? You sounded a little off last time we talked.]  
[Sent: 10:02pm]

[To: Sokka]  
[Yo. What's up?]  
[Sent: 10:03pm]

[To: Katara]  
[You feeling any better today?]  
[Sent: 10:03pm]

* * *

- Sunday, May 15th, 2011 -

Sokka, jaw dropped open, sighed out a deep breath, scratching at his goatee as he folded up the newspaper and set it down on the coffee table. A calloused hand slid across his stomach, lingering at the edges of his waist, ready to sneak under his shirt at a moment's notice. Soft, silky hair spilled across his neck and shoulders, Toph's head nestled snugly upon him. She smelled nice. It was a very foreign concept, and one Sokka knew wouldn't be the norm: Toph had washed and conditioned her hair with something that smelled vaguely of coconut. Now that he was thinking on it, Sokka realized that it was that smell his sister would have about her. Ha. So Toph had stolen some of Katara's conditioner, then? Like she was actually trying to be a little presentable now?

"What's up?" Toph mumbled sleepily. "Mm?"

"Nothin'," Sokka replied, scratching his scruffy neck. Toph smirked at the familiar 'skitch-skitch' sound. "Just the newspaper."

"I _know, _Meat-Head. Whatcha _reading?_"

"Just...stuff. Um, like...there was one about Aang."

"_Ohhh, _yea," Toph sighed out. And there it went - her hand slid under his shirt, enjoying the texture of the hairs around his belly button. "He said somethin' 'bout that before."

"Yea, they interviewed him about that whole...fire. Thing."

"With the fire."  
"And the thing."  
"The burning thing."  
"Right."  
"Yea. I remember."  
"You were there."  
"I was there. So were you."  
"Yea."  
"Mm-hm."  
"It was still kinda depressing to read."  
"I see."  
"Actually, you don't, 'cuz-"  
"_Shut up._"

They both giggled to themselves for a moment and fell back into a comfortable lull. A minute later, Sokka sucked in air through his nose, straightening himself up. He tilted his shoulders up, and Toph took the cue to sit upright. Toph could sense someone's footsteps approach and pause before them, and Sokka seemed to have frozen up.

"What...do _you _want?" Sokka grunted out with distaste, having needed a moment to gather his bearings.

"Uh...-"  
Toph's heart skipped at the barely audible sound - it was Jane's voice.  
"You two...-?" Jane grumbled out, confused about the cuddling she'd just seen. "You were just-...Are you...-?"

"What do you _want_?" Sokka repeated in a huff.

"_Shit, _calm down," Jane growled back, any semblance of calm she'd had immediately deteriorating. "Wanted to...tell you that I...-" Jane cleared her throat nervously. "Might be droppin' out soon. Transferring. I mean. Leavin' the school."

A tense moment of quiet passed, a cloud of confusion and anger swirling like a thundercloud over the three of them.

"Ohhhh..._kay_?" Toph irritably answered, a defensive wall quickly set up around her mind. "That it? All done?"

"Erm...Yea, uh..._kinda _thought it...might matter to you guys?"

"_Nope_," Toph immediately responded. She puffed out hot hair, pushing her bangs around. Jane wasn't getting Toph's sympathy here. Jane wanted to just cut off ties? Well, this was what she got for it, then. Katara's shitastic mood was probably triggered by Jane's...whatever-the-hell issue to begin with.

"Have fun," Sokka added to Toph's snide dismissal, wriggling his hand to shoo her away.

Jane snorted in frustration, shrugging her hands up in a half-hearted plea.

"Um, good-_bye_?" she snapped.

"_Bye_," Toph quipped back, her eyebrows set low with disgust above vacant white eyes. Sokka waved his hand at Jane with impatience, while Jane glared at them with baffled disappointment.

"Might never _see __me_ again," Jane specified, wrists upturned expectantly.

"I never _have _seen you, and I never _will,_" Toph testily corrected with some snooty matter-of-factness.

"Don't be such a _bitch, _you _know_ what I meant," Jane growled, her fingers tightening closer together. She sighed loudly, dropping her arms to her sides.

"And _you _know exactly why we're pissed at you," Sokka pointed out with a upraised index finger. He waggled it at her, biting his lip as his head shook lightly. He was going to refrain from foul language if he could manage it.

"You wanted out?" Toph grunted. "You _got _it. Katara doesn't need you to keep fucking her over and breaking her trust."

"_Psh, _oh, right." Jane rolled her olive eyes with disbelief. "'Cuz _you've _never done _anything _like that to _anyone_ before."

"Whatever..."

"And _you _sure as fuck never, like...told everyone to piss off for a while. _Nope._"

Jane relished how sour Toph's face was getting.

"You're allowed to be the Queen of the Cunts, and cheat and yell and be a bitch to your friends every day of the week, and _you_-" She wrinkled her nose at Sokka. Sokka was avoiding Jane's glance, which she also savored - fuckin' smart-ass knew she was right. "You can go hittin' on whoever the hell you feel like, and crack retarded jokes you _know _I don't like, just to twist the damned knife in my stomach, and then you do shit like..._grab my ass_ and...and...-"  
"That was a _man pat_," Sokka whimpered out in meager protest.

"Fuck _you_," Jane hissed at him. "_Both _of you. Like you're so goddamn perfect. I thought _you _ would understand, Toph." She glared at the grumpy blind girl who was hiding behind her own bangs. "At _least _you," Jane added with disappointment. "How many mistakes you've made? How much you need your fuckin' alone time? Thought you would get it." Jane shook her head slowly, still grasping the frustrating fact that this entire interaction hadn't gone as she'd hoped it would.

"Yea? Well...I never-"  
"Shut up," Jane severed off Toph's attempt at excusing herself. "Whatever the hell you're about to say? I don't give a shit. _Yea, _you _did_ make fuckin' mistakes. You hurt people - us." Jane shrugged, her gaze wandering off. "_Me_," she added under her breath. "But then you...-" She breathed out shakily, her insides swelling from emotion as she recalled Toph playing that music for her not so long ago - and also playing music for the whole group before that. "You made it better, though. I don't a chance to do that?"

"You..._want _to?" Sokka muttered, finally looking back at her. Jane could feel her face turning red just from the sheer emotional awkwardness. She jammed her hands into her pant pockets and shrugged, nodding slightly.

"Whhh-...Y-yea, I...-" She trailed off, swallowing a lump in her throat. Her cheeks were hot, and her eyes were stinging with impending tears.

"Why don't you make it better with _Katara_, if you care so fucking much?" Toph demanded. "_She's _the one you screwed up with."

Now Jane was the quiet one. She started rubbing the worry stone in her pocket.

"Yea, you told her you never wanted to speak with her again," Sokka pointed out.

"That was...-!" Jane caught herself and cut her sentence short, her dull eyes popped open wide. "I needed some _space _from her. What was I _supposed _to say?"

"Uhhh, that you needed some _space _from her?" Toph sarcastically quipped.

"No _shit,_" Jane huffed. "The hell do you think I told her_? _She's as stubborn as _you_. Wouldn't listen to me..."

"You talk with _Aang _still," Sokka noted with suspicion. "And Korra? And now us. But not her. Doesn't really seem like you needed to be apart from everyone."

"I said I needed space from _Katara_," Jane irritably corrected with a flick of her bony wrist. "You _know _how she gets."

Sokka nodded half-heartedly in concession to this.

"Why single _her _out?" Toph demanded, persistent in defending the girl she normally was eager to pick apart. "The hell did Sugar-Queen ever do to _you? _All she did was help."

"I _know _that, but it's like I'm a charity case to her - a cleaning project, not...not a real...-"  
"You _know _she doesn't think of it like that," Sokka coolly protested with a sharp look.

Jane's lips twisted in aggravation as she exchanged grouchy glares with Sokka.

"I needed to get _over _myself," Jane spat out.

"Uh, yea, _OK, _so...-" Toph was clearly doubtful of what Jane meant. "Once upon a time, so did I. But I didn't go...telling my _best friend _that I never wanted to _talk _with them ever again."

"_You _always get who you want," Jane snipped back.

"...What?" Toph was paralyzed with confusion.

"You _want _somebody? You just..._take _'em," Jane accused, thrusting out a hand toward Sokka. "Seems like ya did with _this _idiot. But _me? _I don't _get _to be with whoever I want, whenever I want."

"Aaaand..._what _does this have to do with...-?"

"_U__gh..._Yea, sorry I'm not being _blunt, _Toph, I know it's hard to figure things out with your thick skull."

"Ya know, you two can stop being bitchy," Sokka sighed, leaning back into the couch.

"'You _two'_?" Toph squawked at him defensively. She shook him off and pursued the point, directing her face squarely toward Jane's waist. "Nuh-nuh-nuh, _hold _up. What're you gettin' at?"

"I _really _gotta spell it out?" Jane puffed, her face red, eyes damp from the thoughts buzzing around that she'd been keeping subdued all this time. "Me and Kat, we...-" Jane dug her hand through her hair, which was unkempt today. She turned her head to the side, embarrassed at the prospect of saying it plainly. "I had a _thing _for her."

Sokka tilted his head back over the couch's spine, his eyes dull with disinterest. He remembered the fuss that had occurred back during New Year's when this had seemed to come out.

"Uhh..._Yea_," Toph said slowly. "I-...Yea, I knew about that, but I...didn't really think it...-"  
"Was _real?_" said Jane, her raspy voice cracking as rubbed her thumb over her eyes to try and clear them up. "It was fucking real. And I needed to get _over _it. Pff. Really, I...-"  
_Still do._

Jane shook her head, enraged with her own emotions swelling back up. She couldn't decide if she was embittered because she _did _still feel something - even after patching things back up with Johnny - or if she was just mentally fried from openly confronting the problem.

"So...So why don't you...-?" Toph picked her nose with a disgruntled expression. She flicked off nasal residue onto the ground. "I dunno," she grumbled in defeat. That was a tricky one.

"_Talk _to her about?" Jane theorized. "I did. Back in...January? Whenever? Shit did _not _fly with her so much...So I got my _shit _together, n'...me and Johnny worked things out, n'-...But I needed to be _away _from that."

"Away from _her_," Sokka sought clarification.

"Away from _all _of it," Jane further amended.

A few seconds of heavy, thoughtful quiet slipped by beneath the buzz of students heading up to dinner behind Jane. She suddenly remembered why she'd even spoken to them in the first place.

"Guess it doesn't even _matter _now," she shrugged. "Since I dunno if I'll even _be _here in a week." She wiped her sleeve across her forehead, lamenting the near future she both dreaded and eagerly anticipated.

"Mmph," was what Toph seemed capable of saying about all of this, frowning fairly deliberately, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Sooo...This might be good-bye, then," Jane muttered with a sigh. Toph didn't reply, and when Jane looked to Sokka for some kind of response - anything - he shook his head.

"Nah, you...let me know when it's not _maybe _good-bye, but it...actually _is _good-bye," he carefully advised. "I don't know what's going on with you these days, but...-" Sokka took in a deep breath, leaning forward in his seat, and stared Jane right in the eyes. "Listen, Freckles. You need to work things out with my Sis. No good-byes, no making up...none of that. Not until you make things right with Katara."

Jane's face, barely recovering from her maelstrom of confused emotions, was starting to heat back up again. Sokka's words struck her with a solemn sense of regret somehow. She didn't quite understand it, but at the same time, it sounded like his way of making pre-amends, perhaps.

"'Kay..." She nodded hurriedly after a drawn-out pause of deep consideration. "Uh, so...so that's, like-...Are we...good?"

Sokka's eyes shifted to the side doubtfully.

"We're..._okay_," he muttered. He looked back to her. "You ain't done anything wrong to _me, _so...just...clean up the mess you and Katara made, and...that's all."

"Mm-hm," Jane felt some kind of relief at this. She turned to Toph now. "Uhh...And you?" She watched Sokka nudge Toph with his arm.

"I _know,_" Toph whispered crankily into Sokka's ear. "What _about _me?" Toph groaned.

"What do you want from me?" Jane wondered. "Like...when you fucked things up, you put it back together n' stuff. So what do _I _do here? Mm?"

Toph's jaw slid left and right, and she scratched her nails along her temple in a quick, rough motion before yawning.

"I don't..._care_," she grunted dismissively. "Do whatever...I'm sure Sugar-Queen will drag us all together when you do, and then...-" She sighed, leaning over onto her feet. "Well, what happens, happens. Not my problem. I'm still undecided about you, anyway." She stood up, groping her bare feet around toward her sandals and slipping them on.

Jane's shoulders popped up slightly in reaction and her eyes wandered for a moment of reflection.

"Fair enough," Jane grumbled, disheartened by Toph's lack of sympathy, but unsurprised. Knowing the stubborn Asian girl, Jane figured Toph _did _care, and was pissed off - if only for Katara's sake. She watched Sokka stand up, stretch, and slink his arm around Toph's waist, who reciprocated the motion. It was an odd sight, those two seemingly entwined.

"Time for food," Toph mumbled into Sokka's ear. He hummed an affirmative in reply, and they sauntered past Jane casually.

"Later," Sokka called back over his shoulder. Jane sent him a slight wave back, standing amidst the bustling campus center lounge as the two of them got swept up in the river of hungry students.

Jane stood still for a few minutes, soaking in the familiar atmosphere of the five-o'-clock rush hour of the ACC. She felt deadened by it today - by her lack of belonging inside of thee mess of faces and bodies. Especially after Easter Break and being back in Texas, she'd realized that such a place no longer felt like home. And now, SRU seemed to be losing its luster for her.

"How'd it go?"

"Mm?" Jane snapped from her stupor to see Korra, dressed in her uniform, looking at her with curiosity.

"Agh, it...-" Jane shook her head. "Don't know, honestly."

"Hm." Korra stood with her hands on her hips, studying Jane's sullen face.

"What?" said Jane, put off.

"You _lived_," Korra observed with a facetious smirk. "Looks like that didn't kill ya_ after _all."

Jane rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Psh. Yea, let's...see how shit goes down first, _then _you let me know if I'm still alive..."

* * *

- Monday, May 16th, 2011 -

Katara paused in the stone stairwell, setting her hot, fresh cup of coffee down on one step. She groaned with frustration, leaning against the railing and clutching her throbbing skull. A few moments passed by as she leaned against the wall, eyes squinted in pain. The jingling of the bell hung upon the Jasmine Dragon's door behind her stirred her from her pain. A pair of students traversed the stairs, blowing past her, chattering away to each other in excited voices. Katara breathed out tiredly, knelt down to pick her coffee back up, and pushed loose, frizzy hair behind her shoulders.

She made her way up the stairs and to the bright campus. She had just finished her last class for the day, and it was probably time to go do some reading, or...writing, or...ugh. The very thought of pushing herself to focus on these things - things she felt wouldn't even _matter _in a year or two - was exhausting. Work, work, work. Reading, reading. Writing. More writing. There was always more to do.

"Ms. Kesuk."

Katara's steps screeched to a stop, and her grip around her cup tightened. She knew who that was, and she was _not _in the mood. Courtesy called upon her to be polite, however, so she turned around and spread her mouth open to form a crooked, fake smile.

"Professor," she grunted to the balding man in the suit that approached her, a coffee cup in hand himself. It was Pakku, that English teacher she had come to despise for the way he seemed to often single her out for the sake of ridicule - like the two went back and forth during his lectures with passive aggressive philosophical warfare with words. She had given up on even bothering lately, disinterested in interacting with the man. Earlier that day, he'd called her out to answer a question, and she'd bluntly confessed that she hadn't paid attention to the particular reading section that had been discussed. So he was going to pester her about that, was he?

"Come," Pakku gestured her, nodding his head to a wooden bench that rested alongside the sidewalk leading to the back entrance to the campus center. Katara turned, her back to him with a scowl, but obeyed, setting herself down on the bench. When he sat beside her, she inched herself away. The two sat in awkward silence for a moment, Katara's cup sitting on her denim skirt, supported by both hands. She swallowed hard, hands quivering. Anger? Anxiety? Maybe she was just feeling sick, or...-?

"Ms...-" Pakku cleared his throat and amended his statement. "Katara. You...-" He observed the way she was avoiding his gaze, her eyes bloodshot, dark bags hanging beneath them. "-...don't appear to be feeling very well today."

"I...I guess not," Katara shrugged, speaking in rushed mumbles. "Dunno...I...-" Another shrug.

"Are you all _right_?" Pakku sighed.

"Whh...What do _you _care?" Katara snorted out irritably, drumming her fingers along her cup. She took a sip, her stomach churning. She'd _thought _that, but hadn't meant to _say _it out loud - to a _professor? _God, she was...so fucking _out of it _today. A sting of pain hit her head and she frowned, trying to mask it with more coffee sipping. _Agh, _it was so hot, how did people drink it like that?

Pakku, startled by the student's rash reply, adjusted his tie thoughtfully.

"You're...my _student_," he explained slowly. "You've seemed...out of sorts during class recently."

"Y-yea," Katara agreed, brows still pushed down with impatience. "It's-...There's, like-...J-just a lot on my...on my mind."

Pakku grimaced at her fumbled attempts at speech, her body jittery and shaking. Pakku stroked his thin, white mustache and took a swig of his drink.

"Have you seen a...doctor? Or a psychiatrist?"

What the hell? Why was this _jerk _asking her stuff like this?

"Thhh...That doesn't-..." More shrugging, now with head shaking. "I don't need a...a _doctor, _it's...it's schoolwork, and...and social stuff, and I...-"

"I read that newspaper article," Pakku interjected. Katara flashed him a baffled expression before it clicked together in her addled brain that Aang had been interviewed for an article concerning the United Republic and its untimely end. "The one about the United Republic? It sounded like you went through a lot that night," Pakku observed. He carefully tapped his finger on his cup before sipping from it. Katara stared back off into space, her coffee in her lap. "Then again, it seems you've _already _been through a lot, haven't you?" Pakku sighed to himself, letting Katara consider what he was referring to.

"Huh?"

"Your mother," Pakku explained. "I...knew her. She was the one who referred me to teach at this school."

"She...-?" Katara's throat tightened, and she cleared it, seeking the warm relief of her coffee to ease things. "Hm. So, you already...know about that," Katara mumbled, confused.

"About how you lost her," Pakku clarified, joining Katara in staring off across campus with solemn vacancy. "Yes."

"How did you know her?"

"Through your grandmother. Kanna."

"My...Gran-Gran? On my father's side?"

"Ha. Is _that _what she has you calling her? 'Gran-Gran?'"

"She's...never mentioned you before."

"I'm sure she hasn't. Kanna and I...have had a very difficult history."

"Oh..."

"We were together when we were young, but...things didn't work out the way I had planned. Before we were wed, we...realized that there were still many problems that needed to be sorted out. And I...realized that-...Well, back then, she simply didn't feel quite the same way that I did."

Katara sniffed, letting her glance fall to Pakku's profile. She wiped her wrist against her nostril and drank some more as she listened.

"Hmph," she huffed out, suddenly embittered at the thought of her grandmother. Angry thoughts trickled in on top of an already jaded mood.

"That necklace you normally wear...-" Pakku gestured his finger toward her neck. "I gave that to Kanna when I asked her to marry me."

"You...-?" Katara's trembling fingers clasped at the blue ribbon tied around her neck, and the ovular gem that hung from it.

"But during our engagement, that was when things fell apart. Eventually, she found someone else. I moved out to Nova Scotia, following work. I had to move on," Pakku explained. "Given the fact that somehow that necklace ended up in _your _possession, I'd assume that Kanna had moved on, as well..."

"Yea..." Katara sighed knowingly, shaken by this revelation. "I'm...um...trying to do a bit of that myself these days."

"It doesn't look like you're succeeding," Pakku dryly noted, eliciting Katara's frown to grow.

"Yea, _thanks_," she grunted in sarcasm.

"Heh." Pakku smirked at Katara's flared nostrils and grumpy face. He'd seen that same expression on Kya's face more than a few times. "But over time, I found out that your grandmother had fallen out with her husband. After all those years, I...had still felt the same way about her. And she hadn't changed a bit. So I...started from square one."

"What do you mean?"

"I...started courting her. All over again."

"Whh...-?"

"This was back when you were still a child. We had never met."

"Oh."

"I got to know your mother and father a bit during that time. I'd been recently denied tenure at the university I'd been teaching at. Your mother insisted I'd be a good fit for this school." Pakku looked up to an old clock embedded into a lamp post, checking the time. "She was right."

"But...I'm confused. You and Gran-Gran...-"

"We managed to rekindle what we'd had in our youth. Well...As much as we _could,_ at least. By then, we had both grown out of all of the problems we'd run into all that time ago."

"Are you telling me that...you two are still _together_?"

Pakku nodded casually, stroking his long mustache.

"It became difficult for us to see each other when we lived so far apart. She ended up moving into my house to care over it as I taught here."

Katara's stomach lurched with realization. The reason Gran-Gran had moved to Nova Scotia hadn't been to run away from her family at all, had it? It had been to find some happiness in her old age with..._this _man?

"Whenever I have enough time off of work here at school - breaks, summer - I go back north and we, well...We live it up a bit, you could say."

"I...I had no idea," Katara muttered, baffled at this knowledge. "Gran-Gran doesn't talk about you. It's like she...-"  
"I think she's afraid, honestly. But then again, at our age, I suppose there's only so much to hold onto."

"I don't understand," said Katara tersely. "Why would she move so far away? Why not tell us about you? And...and why would you _wait _to tell _me _about this? And..._why _are you telling me _now?_" Her voice raised in pitch with each aggravated inquiry, and Pakku spewed out a long, slow sigh.

"I don't exactly get _along _with children," Pakku grumbled.

"_Excuse _m-...?" Katara's eyes flashed dangerously at his dismissal. "I am _not _a...-"  
"And you're doing a _commendable _job at showing that," Pakku doled out dry sarcasm.

"You're...a _professor. _How could...-?"

"Teaching in a classroom helps form the foundation of the next generation. This...interpersonal nonsense, this doesn't accomplish-"  
"Your children are _your _next generation! Shouldn't they be _more _important than-?"  
"I don't _have _any children," Pakku cut her off sharply. "That was...one of the things that drove Kanna and I apart. She wanted children - I did not. Once she got all of her..._family _making out of the way, it...opened things up."

"You make it sound like so much _trouble_," Katara said with spite. Pakku gave her an incredulous look, appalled by her attitude.

"Need I remind you, Young Lady, that I am your _professor, _not-"  
"Then why are we even _having _this discussion?" Katara popped up from the bench, fuming.

"You seem to have a serious temper problem, Kesuk."

"You seem to...have...-" Katara's comeback grinded to a halt, and she stopped herself, digging her fingers through her hair with frustration and drinking her coffee, her back to this confusing man.

"Have you looked into counseling?" Pakku wondered.

"Why? Because I _disrupt _your class full of _children _so much with my '_temper problem?_'"

"Because you're-" Pakku spoke out with a slight sense of urgency, dialing himself back the way Katara just had. "-...Kanna's granddaughter. And she's come to expect me to keep an eye on you when you're here."

"Right. She couldn't be bothered to do that _herself._.."

"Kes-...Katara, your grandmother is...a strange woman. I don't fully understand myself why she can be so secretive. I didn't want to be just another person to complicate your family's life, but-"  
"Good job."  
"_-__but, _as much as I'd prefer to go living a life where I only have to worry about young people within a classroom, I have to face the fact that if your grandmother and I are going to get married, it'll be-"  
"_Married?_" Katara finally turned back around, wide-eyed. _This _man was going to be her step-grandfather? That thought didn't settle well at all on top of everything else going on.

Pakku's patience for the day had been expired halfway through this conversation. He didn't like this girl's stubborn ferocity, and he didn't approve of the way she was talking back to her elder. But for Kanna's sake, he'd endure it this once - the girl appeared wildly out of sorts, as it was, anyway.

"I'm-...You know?" Katara puffed out, clutching her throbbing temple. "I'm _real _glad our family's so good at...at _communicating._"

"Kanna's led a turbulent life, Katara."

"So have _I, _and I'm not even...-!"

"She and I are alike - we prefer seclusion. I'm...sorry if that upsets you."

"_Pff_...'Sorry?' Yea...You know who _doesn't _prefer seclusion? My _dad_, who's...who's stuck alone back in-...And my _grandmother _left him that way."

"Which is why I'm trying to be transparent with you about all of this - because Kanna thinks we should be trying to...make more of an effort to be involved in her son's life."

Katara scanned Pakku's tired face for clarity and could see the sincerity masked behind his hesitation.

"Then...go ahead and _do it_," Katara grumbled with a wild shrug. "Why act like you need my permission when you've been keeping it a secret all this time?"

"I wasn't _asking _for you permission. And you'd do well to calm yourself down."

Katara rustled her finger through her frizzled hair for a moment, containing her temper.

"You ought to see a counselor," Pakku reiterated his advice. "It would do you some good."

"I don't..._need_...-"  
"Your brother agrees with me on this, I should point out."  
"Sokka?"  
"I explained all of this to him just yesterday."  
"And he was...just _fine _with it?"  
"A lot more fine than _you _seem to be, at least."  
"Just because you want to suddenly _act _like we're family, that doesn't-"  
"I never said I _wanted _to."  
"You don't really have a right to try telling me what to do with my personal life."  
"I'm suggesting this as your _professor_."  
"_Yea. _Great. OK..."  
"I'm rather serious. You're on edge every time I see you. If you aren't going to listen to me, listen to your brother."  
"Fine," said Katara under her breath as a cluster of students passed them by. "Can I leave now?"

Katara's bloodshot, intense eyes met Pakku's dull, hardened stare.

"I should be getting to my next class," Pakku sighed, getting up from the bench. He was as exhausted from the conversation as she was. "Keep that attitude in check, young lady. Get some professional help. And if you speak to me like this again, we're going to have a problem."

Katara's stomach churned with anxiety at his remark, and she found herself holding her breath at his stern scowl. He shook his head slightly and headed off for the Gyatso building. She realized her heart was pounding in her chest from their interaction, and when another student brushed against her shoulder in passing, she was snapped from her nervous stupor. She'd just lost it in front a faculty member - one she had been on thin ice with as it was. And he was...what? _Related _to her? That sure explained a lot, anyway. He always seemed to have his sights set on pointing out her errors. Maybe being so critical of her was his way of...being 'family?' The thought that he was just...totally fine keeping his relationship a secret all this while was rather unsettling.

Who _wasn't _keeping a secret from her lately? It seemed like practically everyone was.

Katara let herself collapse onto the stone steps of the nearby entrance to the campus center. She drank the rest of her coffee in reflection, settling herself down before the anticipated waves of stressful academics crashed down upon her some more. Blowing up at a professor so carelessly like that...It was unacceptable. It was something Katara felt deep in her gut that she...didn't _do. _That wasn't a _thing _Katara Kesuk would do. Maybe she _did _need to accept that whatever was wrong right now, she _couldn't _just fix it on her own.


	97. Big Girls

**A/N: Blablabla, spiritual mumbo-jumbo, something about me not being happy with how most of this turned out but I've got to try setting up the conclusion to this crime-drama-lite dealio going on.**_  
_

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 97 - Big Girls_

* * *

- Monday, May 16th, 2011 -

"But...-" Aang paused for a moment, letting his pen drop onto his notebook's page. He folded his hands together in front of his lips, elbows propped on the table, and stared intently at his red-headed friend. "Dropping _out? _Are you...sure that's a good idea?"

Jane, eyes glued to her biology textbook, referenced a page and scribbled an answer on a worksheet.

"Just thinkin' maybe I don't belong here anymore..." Jane mumbled out, not looking up from her work. Aang studied her stoic face, putting the together some details he hadn't added up until just now. Jane looked healthy, well-rested, her hair was clean and brushed. She was wearing jeans and a plain white T-shirt. No boots, no belt, no hoodie, no...striped anything. No stripes anywhere at all. Curious.

"'Here?'" Aang pried.

"Fuckin' _school_," grunted Jane. "This place, this town, this..._ugh..._"

"But...where would you go?" Aang asked.

Jane shrugged, her attention on her sheet faltering.

"Um...Texas, I guess. Johnny."

"You had to...think about that for a second."

"So?" Jane spat, glaring up at Aang.

"If you had this all planned out, you'd sound a little more...I don't know..._certain_."

"It _ain't _certain," Jane grumbled.

"You wouldn't miss anything here...?" Aang awaited a response, and Jane took a gulp of her root beer before going back to her textbook. "Any_one?_"

Jane rolled her eyes with impatience at Aang's questioning.

"Thought we were gonna leave that shit out today," she accused him of breaking their preset rule.

"Wh-...I-I'm not-...I wasn't...-" Aang fumbled nervously, a twinge of guilt in his voice. His posture rearranged, leaning back in the booth with his hands in his lap.

"It's a dumb-ass question," Jane huffed, remained hunched over her work. Aang twiddled his thumbs together, keeping silent. "'Cuz first off? Not everyone has a damned _boner _for this college like _you _do. Secondly? It occur to you I _already _miss people here?" Jane muttered with some disdain. "'Cuz hardly anyone will talk with me anymore?"

"...Right. Uh...-" Aang cleared his throat, then took a sip of water from his bottle. "Of course. We don't have to-...I mean, I didn't intend to bring up...-"  
"Too fuckin' late."

Aang sighed with remorse, staring at the unfinished sketch on his pad. A collection of scratchy curves and lines. From Jane's perspective, it might as well have been just garbled slashes of graphite, but Aang could see the finished image in his mind: a self-portrait in an action stance, holding a wooden staff.

Maybe this whole situation was not unlike that sketch. From Jane's perspective, in her own mind, she could see the course of events, the overarcing path she was trying to follow, but the actual lines were still being drawn out, one at a time.

"Aang? **Aang.**" The sound of Ty-Lee's chirping voice broke the tension, jarring Aang from his thoughts."Oh. My. **GAWD**_._" Her eyes were wide, practically sparkling with admiration. It was par for the course from Ty-Lee, but Aang was put-off nonetheless.

"Wh-what is it?" Aang asked, sheepishly looking up to the side of the booth where Ty-Lee hovered over him and Jane.

"OK-OK-OK," Ty-Lee excitedly thrust out her palms, nodding hastily to herself. "So, like, the new issue of the Jasmine Dragon came out yesterday, righ'? And, so, I normally don't, like-" She squinted with a slight frown, glancing upward. "-..._read..._it...and stuff..." She regained her enthusiasm, looking back down to Aang while Jane cross-referenced her book and worksheet in bitter silence. "But **omigawd **there was this article about..._you..._in it..."

Aang swallowed the lump in his throat, realizing where this was going. Ty-Lee was about the fifth person to bring this up since the issue had been published the day before. He'd been publicly abashed earlier that morning when a professor had called him out at the start of class as a shining example of "real bravery."

"Just, like...I already heard about that stuff - I mean, pff, _chyeah _- but...-" Ty-Lee's face went solemn as she leaned over the table, seemingly oblivious to the way her breasts were dangling over Jane's workspace from within their tanktop, her lengthy, braided ponytail landing right on the textbook. "What you _said, _about...like, how _scary _it was, n' about...-" She pouted out her lips. "-...how much it _hurt_. How it left a scar on your back, but how it, like...left an _emotional _scar on all of you. **And-**_and_-but...-" Her eyes twinkled with awe. "How you didn't even _think about it, _because..._she _was inside...-" Ty-Lee slapped the table, causing the already flustered Jane to flinch. "My GAWD, and when you said, like...how Katara was your 'Forever Girl?' And-and, like, how you weren't gonna let a fire cut that 'forever' short? I just...-" Ty-Lee gripped his shoulder with one hand and gave him a shake. "I totally _lost it. _That was..._sooooo _romantic."

Aang, shrugged quickly. His face - and elsewhere - were flushed from Ty-Lee's proximity and compliments. He caught Jane blinking with narrowed eyes at Ty-Lee's hips with a mixture of envy and lust - they _were _nice hips, and all, but-...Wait, what was he going to say, again?

Ty-Lee rustled Aang's hair with a giant grin about her, finally pushing herself back up from the table.

"I just wanted you to know that you're a totally sweet guy for doing what you did," Ty-Lee concluded with a thumbs-up. "I'm so happy you've got such a pretty, sweet, smart girl. You deserve each other. She's a lucky one to have somebody who cares so much about her, and _we _are a lucky school to have _you _here."

"Th-thanks, Ty..." Aang said with a nod. "Um, that-..._Yea._" An awkward laugh. "I don't...really know what to say."

"Hee." Ty-Lee squinted her eyes with a sly smirk that quickly faded. "See? Always so _modest_. Now...you keep takin' care of Katara, okies? She's...not been doin' so good these days..."

"I know..."

Ty-Lee's gaze wandered to Jane, at last, and with some disgust.

"Guess we can't expect _everybody _to be so nice," Ty-Lee sang out with her usual sweet tone, though her eyes burned a hole into Jane's temple. "But-" Back to Aang once more, light and cheerful. "Least we've got a good example like you that people are payin' attention to."

"Heh..." Aang rubbed the back of his neck with a weak smile. This 'attention' was not exactly what he'd asked for, and it was weird trying to swallow all of the praise being showered at him. On a deeper level, it was admittedly pretty _awesome, _but...he simply didn't know how to react.

Ty-Lee suddenly frowned to herself, looking over to the clock that hung up on the wall at the back of Appa's.

"What is _taking _them so lo-..._Oh._" Ty-Lee cut herself short when she noticed a furious Mai come storming up to her. Her amber eyes were deadly slits, damp at the corners, and her body was moving like a wisp of flame in a breeze. "Where's Zuko?" Ty-Lee asked with concern. Mai grabbed her roommate's arm and tugged her away in a swift, smooth motion, giving neither Aang nor Jane any heed.

While Mai had her piercing eyes set on the nearest exit, Ty-Lee warily looked over her shoulder and waved nervously to Aang, who waved back, sharing a similar expression.

"_Christ, _am I glad someone came to shut her up," Jane grunted, to which Aang frowned slightly. The two settled back into their silence amidst the midday clutter of student activity. Mere seconds later, Aang noticed a panicked Zuko come from the direction of the campus post office, a coffee in one hand and a small stack of mail in the other.

Aang pushed a confused expression his way, and he took note, arriving at their table.

"Hey, Zu-"  
"Aang. Did you see where Mai...-?"

"She...-" Aang turned his head to the direction of Appa's front counter, and the hallway leading up and out beside it. "-...went off that way. What's-?"  
"Have you gotten any strange mail today?"

Aang doubled back, aghast at Zuko's intense expression.

"Uh...Wait, what?"

"Mail. Messages. Phone calls...E-mail. Have you received anything...out of the ordinary?"

Aang and Jane exchanged baffled looks at Zuko's question.

"Erm...N-no, Zuko. Nothing like that. Why, did-?"  
"And you?" Zuko pressed, staring at Jane, who simply shook her head. "What about Korra?" Zuko further inquired Jane.

"How the _hell _would _I_ know?" Jane spat back.

"I'm just _asking_."

"You're makin' me nervous," Jane hissed, her eyes narrowing. She leaned over toward him and asked quietly, "Mind tellin' me the fuck's goin' on?"

"Yea, Zuko," Aang verbally wedged himself back in. "You look...not so good. What's wrong?"

"I'll...-" Zuko lifted a trembling finger at Aang, then shifted it to Jane. "-...give you a call later." Back to Aang. "Don't...worry about this. The less you know, the better. _Trust me._" With that, Zuko marched over to the front counter, waving irritably toward June, who was slurping at a milkshake. She yawned and lazily sauntered up.

"What's up, kid? You look pretty wired. Maybe lay off the coffee a bit, and-"  
"Can I have a _word_?" Zuko sharply insisted, casting a sideways glance to the student worker to his right accepting an order.

June sighed, shaking her head at him.

"Like I've got a choice?" she mumbled tiredly.

Back at the booth, Aang was watching intently at Zuko storming down the hall, heading for Appa's back rooms.

"What was..._that _all about?" he questioned, rotating his head over to Jane again.

Jane looked up with cold, uncaring eyes.

"Looks like our plan is about to get us some results."

"What...?"

"Zuko told you: less you know, the better."

"This...-" Aang's mouth slowed, his lips forming an 'o' as he stared at Jane with realization. "That _man_. This is about _that, _isn't it?"

"Maybe," Jane replied dryly.

"Why is _Zuko _involved? He-...You'd better not be doing anything that puts him or Mai-"  
"This was _his _idea," Jane interrupted. "We just..._tweaked _it a little..."

"He didn't look like things were going to the way _he _planned, _whatever _is happening."

"He's gonna be fine," said Jane. "Don't worry about it."

"Jane, I am doing my _best _here to be supportive of you. It is _very _difficult to not talk with anyone about this, _and _not even _know _what's going on. But I am _going _to worry."

Aang burned his eyes into Jane's with insistence.

"I'm your _friend, _and I _love _you, and I am _going _to worry, so if you're going to put me through this, at least give me _that. _And if you _do _leave, I'm...really going to miss you."

Jane's eyes flickered and glazed over, and she choked out a feeble laugh.

"Don't...-!" Aang crossed his arms. "Don't _laugh _at me, I'm serious."

"No, no," Jane shook her head, the edges of her eyes showing hints of oncoming tears. "It's-...nah, it's...funny. Ty-Lee, that...fuckin' _bimbo, _she...she's right."

"...Huh?"

"You _are _a...'totally sweet guy.'"

"...Um...I don't...-"

"You're _worried _about me. You said you'd _miss _me if I left."

"Well, _yea! _I...-!"

"That's...that's _all _I've fucking wanted from anyone all weekend," Jane whispered, digging her fingers through her hair as her eyes watered up. Aang's began to dampen by proxy. "Someone to...be _worried _about me. To say, 'I'll _miss _you.' That's _it, _that's...all I've wanted. Some kind of fucking recognition that my..._existence..._in this fucking town..._means _something to somebody. That...that I'm a _human being, _that I'm...not always gonna be here, and that when I'm not, that'll-...I dunno, that someone will _care._"

"J-Jane, I...didn't know you felt that way." Aang bit at his lip, trying to gain some sympathetic understanding. "Of _course _I care...I know I'm not the only one."

Jane gave another odd laugh, wiping her fingers through her eyes.

"But you're the only one that's _said _it. People don't-..._urgh. _They don't fucking _get it. _Either they're _pissed _at me, or _scared _of me, or..._whatever. _And you'd think, like, it's 'cuz they don't know what's up. Right? But _no. _Like...Korra? Or Zuko? _They _haven't said _fuck _all about what happens if I don't...-" Jane froze up, taking in a deep breath. She glanced up at Aang, trembling fingers on her head. She dropped her hand into her lap and stared at the biology textbook with vacant eyes.

"If you don't...what?"

Jane shook her head to herself and sighed with some despair.

"If I don't _survive._" She lowered her voice. "Aang, this is a serial killer we're talkin' 'bout. Maybe even more than one. Fucking _dangerous. _That's why all the damned secrecy n' shit, remember?"

"O-Oh, right, no, it...it makes sense, I just...-" Aang blinked, reflecting on this with wide eyes. "It makes me _more _worried to know that," he lamented.

"Like Zuko _said_: the less you know...-" Jane trailed off, flicking her wrist up dismissively. Aang thought on this concept and realized that Mai's foul mood toward Zuko lately seemed to be fairly understandable given the context. "Anyway, see, you're _saying _this. You're telling me that you care. That you're worried. Everyone else either wants nothing to do with me or just _assumes _it's all gonna be just _dandy._"

"You know, I'm...sure that if Katara..._knew _about this, she'd-"  
"She _can't _know about this. Aang, that's...the whole fucking _point. _That girl, she-...See, at least _you've _got some self control. She _doesn't._ She'd push and pry and just fucking overreact and get _involved, _and...-" A huff. "With dangerous people like this? I...can't _have _that. I can't watch her get hurt over stuff that ain't her problem."

Aang nodded solemnly, conceding to Jane's reasoning. His thinking was to just..._avoid _getting involved with dangerous people in the _first place, _but...-

"And you need to face this problem yourself," Aang agreed. "I understand that. I do."

_"__And _I gotta...get _past_...-" Her eyes shifted away from Aang. "-...some stuff. Personal stuff. On my own. I can't do that with...other people trying too hard to help."

"Mm..." Aang thoughtfully nodded his head some more, comprehending what she was referring to - some of it, anyway. "Maybe you should...confront her about it." He cleared his throat, leaning up in his seat. "I-I mean, Katara. About...you know...all of this."

"I can't," Jane groaned. "It's been hard enough trying to talk about this with people, and it blows up back in my face. Makes me just want...-" Jane took a deep breath, stilled by Aang's insisting stare. "I'll..._try _to talk with Kat. _Try._"

"That's what matters, isn't it?"

Jane sucked down a long gulp of sugary root beer and stared down at the current page of her biology book. The corner displayed a photograph of a moth's cocoon.

"I guess..." Jane sighed out with longing.

* * *

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Ma'am, least not while I was here." The elderly postal worker rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Not uncommon for campus mail to be missing a return address on it, after all..." He adjusted his blue cap. "Could've come from anywhere."

"Mm..." Lin contained her frown with a stiff nod, her suspicious eyes studying the kooky old man at the campus post office desk. He seemed innocent enough. "Thanks for your time, Mr. Hsu. You have our number. Don't hesitate to contact us if you run into anything unusual."

'Doc' nodded with vim and gave the police chief a salute.

"Yessiree, Ma'am."

Lin rolled her eyes at his toothy smile as she retreated from the post office portion of the campus center's basement. Right next door was the student administration office. The only person in the open workspace at the moment was the student in question: Zuko Kurosawa, feverishly inspecting a small stack of papers at his desk. His attention perked up at her entrance and he stared up at her with intent curiosity. She shook her head in reply, and his hopeful look withered back into tired concern.

"Quite strange, wouldn't you say?" Lin smoothly pondered.

"What's that?"

"A threat letter," Lin noted, crossing her arms. "Seems out of character for the Combustion Man. Everything I've discerned from his rituals doesn't lead to any evidence that he's been sending warning calls lately."

Zuko took a drink from his ceramic mug and nodded slowly.

"I don't think it was actually _him _that sent this," theorized Zuko.

"Right," Lin sighed, hands clasped behind her waist as she surveyed the office. "More trouble from the Phoenix Clan. No doubt about that. So why here, and now? And why _you_?"

"Well, I..._am _a Kurosawa," Zuko guessed with an exhausted shrug.

Lin noticed a water cooler in a corner of the office space and made way for a drink.

"True, but you're still a _student_," Lin pointed out. "I thought they only target graduates. People who are no longer within the safety of Wayward's fences."

"That's right. But, I mean, he already attacked people here in town, when he burned the United-"  
"Exactly." Lin pulled up a small paper cup from the stack beside the cooler. "For _some _reason, the old Clan's separate groups seem to be stirring trouble back up, despite assumptions that they had broken apart." Lin chugged down her tiny portion of water, and as she did, the glass double doors of the office swung open again. Korra, dressed in her security uniform, entered with some hesitation.

"Hey, Zuko, I...-" She noticed Lin, who instantly sent a wide-eyed stare at her. "-...got your voicemail," Korra tried to brush off the cold woman's presence. "Everything OK?"

"I'm fine," Zuko replied. "Oh, uhh...-" He bobbed up his pen in the police chief's direction. "Chief Jia's here, trying to help me figure out what the best course of action is."

"Uh..._huh_," Korra mumbled in reply, clashing glares with the gray-haired woman of stone.

"And what are _you _doing here?" Lin probed with some disdain.

"My job," Korra replied calmly, restraining her desire to be snippy. What was this woman's problem with her, anyway?

"You put _her _on security?" Lin asked Zuko dubiously.

"She was more qualified than you'd think," Zuko defended. Korra's bottom lip propped out in defense at that remark.

"Mmph." Lin made her uncertainty clear with more narrowed eyes directed at Korra. "While you're _here, _perhaps you can confirm my suspicions."

"About what?" said Korra, digging her thumbs into the edges of her pockets, her hands dangling off.

"When you were attacked at the UR, you were left in the building."

Korra raised her eyebrow, popped one shoulder up curiously, and nodded once.

"Er...I _guess_. Place was sorta...ya know, on _fire _when he left, but...-"

"Exactly." Lin rubbed her thumb along her chin, discounting the bite in Korra's tone. "But you weren't fatally wounded. Neither was your cousin."

"He smashed a fucking _bottle _on her head...And he threw me into a _table._"

"He didn't _kill _you."

Korra's lip was agape a bit, her brows set down with disbelief.

"He _left_ you," Lin clarified. "To the fire."

One of Korra's eyebrows slid upward as her brain wracked against itself to try and figure out what the Chief was getting at. Confronted with Korra's slow uptake, Lin let her eyes slip upward with impatience, and she huffed, shaking her head. Zuko picked up the slack.

"Chief Jia's come up with a theory that this man never directly kills his victims. That his intention is to burn them alive."

"Serial killers often live by ritual," Lin elaborated. "They have a system - a method - that they'll enact each time they go about their kills. This man is obviously unbalanced. In his mind, he probably thinks he's guilt-free because the _fire _is what kills the victims. From what we were able to gather about the Agni Kai group, it seemed they believed that fire would...-" She rolled her eyes and gestured her hands in tired exaggeration. "-'wipe _clean _the souls of sinners,' or some bullshit of the sort."

"That's...-" Korra tensed with disgust. "-...fucking _looney._"

"That's what I'm _saying,_" Lin dryly advised. "He's a _psychopath. _But it's something we could perhaps use to our advantage." She went to fetch herself another teeny cup of water. "We should consider making this public - that this man could be coming back to our town."

"_No,_" Korra blurted out decisively.

Lin's bitter eyes clashed with Korra's again, and she poured her water.

"'No?' Why _not? _The people of Wayward have a right to this knowledge. They're not safe."

"But...If we make it all public...people will panic. And besides, it'll just drive him off," Korra came up with her reasoning on the fly. '_I want to fuck him up myself_' wasn't a response the police chief was going to accept, after all. "I mean...-" She looked to Zuko for approval. "Right? And...then we won't have him. He'll...just keep on hurting other people elsewhere."

Lin slurped her small cup in one large gulp, considering Korra's reply.

"Yea, that's...sort of what I've been thinking," Zuko reluctantly agreed.

"Mm..." Lin wiped her sleeve over her lips, crushed the paper cup, and dropped it into the recycling bin. Korra could see it in Lin's face, too: the police chief had something personal involved here, too. "As much as I hate to say it, she may be right," Lin grumbled to Zuko while approaching his desk and nodding her head to Korra. "As soon as everything went public before, the man fled town. If we keep this all low profile, maybe we can get our hands on him ourselves. Perhaps we can squeeze some information out of him before the bigwigs take him off. Figure out why the Clan seems to be on the move recently."

"Maybe. Besides...He's after _me_," Zuko pointed out. "Not anyone else, right?"

Korra shrugged, her lower lip propped out in contemplation as she meandered to a table that had an open donut box upon it.

"Hasn't sent _me _any death threats," she said with nonchalance. "Fucker probably knows I'll mean business if I ever see him again."

"Yes, I'm _sure _that's the reason," Lin muttered dully.

Korra wrinkled her nose at this remark, grabbing a plain donut from the meager pickings left over. She chomped into it, heading for the door out, and swallowed.

"Did you need me for anything else?" she wondered, keeping her antagonism toward the chief in check.

"No, you're...good to go," Zuko explained. "Just be discrete about this."

"Mm-hm." Korra hummed, her face packed with more donut as she left.

"I can't believe you trusted _her_ to be on your security team," lamented Lin. "Iroh led me to believe you were smarter than that."

"It wasn't entirely _my _decision," said Zuko. "I've got influence, but I'm still just a student here."

"Right," said Lin with skepticism. "Regardless, the girl's a loose canon. With things as tense as they are, you're _asking _for trouble by keeping her around."

"With all due respect, Chief Jia, I understand that _you _caused some trouble in the past, yourself."

Lin's jaws ground together at the disrespect she interpreted from Zuko's cautious remark.

"I didn't _ask _to be here, kid. And it's from my own _experience _that I'm warning you about Kesuk."

"We'll see. I have faith in her. She's been doing her best."

"Your best doesn't always cut it, especially when people's safety is on the line."

"Then...-" Zuko upturned his wrist, fed up with the woman's advice. "-...take it up with my Uncle. With the people running this school, Ma'am. In the meantime, can we please discuss what we're going to do about this situation?"

* * *

"It was actually a little crazy today," Korra noted, walking along the sidewalk. "Normally, it's really freakin' _boring. _Stupid shit. But today, there were cops on campus."

"Cops?" Bolin murmured with surprise.

"_Yea, _right? Crazy. A student got a threat letter from the...-" Korra paused with a forced cough, realigning her statement. "Uh, a threat letter from someone who...seems to have some issue with him."

"Whoa. Maybe it's some kind of gang stuff? Like what your friend was involved in?"

"Yea, could be," Korra nodded slowly, doling out ignorance. "Cops were all...investigating campus, n' stuff. A little _excitement _for a change."

"Excitement, sure, but...sounds a bit hairy."

"Eh." Korra shrugged cockily. "Nothin' I wouldn't be able to handle. _Anyway_...What about you?"

"Fff...Day off," Bolin stated from her side, stretching his arms up with a grunting yawn. "Did stuff around the house, watched some UFC...took Naga out for a walk. Girl was restless."

"_Agh_." Korra batted her wrist against her forehead. "Forgot to do that _again _last night..."

"Hey, no prob," Bolin eased. "I _like _taking care of that pup. She's great."

"Thanks, Bo," Korra mumbled, her eyes dulled. "It's...kind of annoying that I forgot, though. I mean, Naga's my responsibility, you know?"

"Uh..." Bolin shrugged, jaw slightly agape. "I hear ya, Korra. I'm saying you...don't really need to _worry _about it, 'cuz it's not a big deal. It's fine."

"Yea, _well_...-!" Korra puffed air through her nose. "It's a big deal to _me,_" she explained as a gust of cool air pushed at them.

"Soooo..." Bolin held his wind-beaten hair down. "Do you want me to _not..._take care of your dog, or...-?"

Korra sighed, flicking her ponytail back over her shoulder from the wind's force.

"It's OK_, _Bolin, I just-...I mean, if I'm around, then...let me know about it, and I'll take care of her myself."

Bolin nodded hastily, eager to settle Korra down. For such a minor issue, the topic of Naga had been progressively getting more and more touchy with the woman each time it was brought up over the past week. Bolin examined Korra's melancholic profile before letting his eyes slide to the side in consideration. He put his arm over her shoulder and let it hang there. They continued walking, Korra's body language unresponsive to this gesture.

"You all right?" Bolin wondered, trying to be casual as they weaved around a man carrying bags of groceries.

"Yea," Korra responded bluntly, her eyelids sinking slightly with irritation.

After a few moments of silence, Bolin grew uncomfortable with his arm held up high over Korra's wide shoulders. He let the arm drop back down with a tint of dejection.

"What?" Korra grunted.

"Huh?"

"Are _you _all right?"

"Oh, _yea, _I'm good. Yea."

"You didn't...have to stop," Korra grumbled.

"Huh?" Was she talking about the arm thing? If she was liking that, she was doing a poor job of showing it.

"I'm not some delicate _flower, _Bolin."

"Of course not. You're a big, prickly bush with those sticky velcro seed things. Right?"

"_Ha. _Oh, is _that _why you took your hand off?"

"Oh_-ho, _now you're starting to sound _womanly. _Be careful with that."

"I'm just _sayin'. _It's like you're afraid to _touch _me."

"I-...? _Bahaha._ Nnnno, I didn't say that. That is _not _true. At all." He gave her a bemused and suggestive glance.

"How come you keep acting so weird about it, then?" she coolly came back. Evidently she wasn't up for humor right now.

"I'm not acting weird. Who's acting weird here? Nobody."

"You're not sick anymore, but you slept on the couch last night."

"I was...watching TV," Bolin explained. "I just fell asleep there."

"Uh-_huh. _We're roommates, but we still haven't slept in the same _room_ yet. Like you're _scared_."

"I'm...just...trying to be a gentleman. And stuff. Not give you my sick. Give you your _space._"

"I never _asked _for space. When I _need _space, I can find it myself."

"...Fair enough," Bolin quickly acknowledged with a baffled shrug.

"It's just _sleeping, _Bolin. Sleep? Where you lay down and don't do anything? Just because we're in the same bed doesn't mean we're going to involuntarily start _humping _each other."

"Right. 'Cuz that's not what either of us wants."

"Well...Yea."

"_You _might be OK with that sort of thing, but...it's odd to me."

"Odd." Korra seemed to take the word as an insult.

"Right. Odd. Um, but not _you. You're_ not odd. It's the idea. Of sleeping with a woman. _That I'm not committed to_," Bolin hastily amended when he saw Korra smirk.

"Committed to...-?" Korra muttered, her expression draining back to a stoic forward glance as that concept sunk in.

"Yea," Bolin sighed out.

"Uh..._Yea, _I don't...really see how that matters..."

"It's, like, when you're...like, an _item. _A thing. A couple. It just changes stuff, I guess."

"And I'm _not _interested in...that kind of '_thing' _right now."

"Yea! Oh, no, I know. I know. One step at a time and all that, right?"

"Right..."

"Which is...why it's strange to be doing...I dunno, some of the stuff that we've done."

"We haven't _slept _together," said Korra dully.

"No, but, like...there was..._you _know...the making out. On our first date?" Bolin wobbled his hand back and forth between the two of them.

"The dance thing?" mumbled Korra, her memories of that night a blur of booze and giggling.

"Right."

"So?"

"Agh, it...-" Bolin scratched his head sheepishly. "But now it's this big deal if we hold hands or not."

"No, it's _not, _you're just _making _it a big deal."

"'Cuz I don't want you to feel, like...-"  
"I'm a big girl, Bo. If there's a problem, you'll know about it."

"Mm."

"So. Ya gonna take my hand, or _not?_"

Bolin swiftly latched his hand around Korra's, and they walked in awkward silence for a moment, their hands connected. Bolin readjusted his fingers so they wove together with Korra's.

"Ah, there we go. That's better. Yes, I like that better," Bolin said with an approving nod. Korra seemed unfazed, however. Hand in hand, they traversed the last couple of blocks to their destination - Misty Palms Pub, where they were meeting up with Mako and Asami. The smells of beer and sweat and peanuts flooded Korra's nose, and the cozy, overly decorated walls assaulted her eyes. This was the bar she'd taken Sokka and Jane to in the past, and it always made her think of her old work back in Toronto. She still couldn't decide if that was good or bad.

As Korra was taking it all in, Bolin scanned the bar for Mako and Asami, keeping his clutch on Korra's hand firm. He located his brother across the way, off at a table in the corner, and nudged Korra to follow. Mako was hunched over the counter, picking at a tray of french fries, wile Asami was sipping at a glass of wine. Asami noticed them and waved politely, eliciting Mako to look up from his food.

"Hi, guys," Asami chirped with a smile. As Mako nodded to the pair, Asami observed the linked hands before her. "Ah." Her grin widened. "So...You two are actually dating now?" Lifting her glass, she wiggled her finger at their hand holding.

Bolin tilted his head to Korra, who ignored him. Korra's dull face soured a bit as she dropped Bolin's grip, reached out, and snatched Asami's hand. Asami flinched with surprise at this gesture, taken aback by Korra's rough grasp. Korra, hand clamped around Asami's fingers, shot Asami a flustered glare and popped her eyebrows up with her shoulders.

"Are _we _dating now?" she retorted to Asami's inquiry.

"Uhh..." Asami's brows lowered with some confusion, but when Korra didn't let go, she shook her head in response. Korra let Asami's hand go and threw herself down into the chair across the table. Bolin, disheartened at Korra's defensive reaction, swapped puzzled looks with Mako as he took his seat next to Korra.

An irked Korra squatted over her menu, elbows up on the table. Her finger tapped against her opposing arm with impatience as she studied her options. Asami now delivered a perplexed look to Bolin, who sent back another silent '_I don't know_' expression. Bolin sighed silently through his nose, unsure of how he should be feeling about Korra's attitude toward this matter. Korra was certainly an enigma when it came this sort of thing.

Relief swept over the table as an unshaven waiter in jeans and a logo-plastered T-shirt showed up with a notepad in hand.

"Everybody here?" he checked.

"All accounted for," Mako replied. "We're set to order," he signified, waggling a finger between himself and Asami.

_...rrrrmmmm..._

As Mako and Asami placed their order, Korra noticed her hip was vibrating. With some effort, she managed to pry her phone from the pocket of her cargo pants.

[Call From...]  
[**Zuko**]

Korra's heart jumped with excited curiosity. If Zuko was calling, it was probably related to what had happened earlier.

"And you?" The waiter turned to the other side of the table.

"Uh..." Korra was staring at her phone. "I'll...-" She scrambled up from her chair. "-...have a Guinness. Gotta take this," she advised to the group, waving up her phone as she took her leave.

She answered the phone on her way to the front door.

"Hey...What's up?" she asked with some concern.

["Korra?"]

"Yea. Hey, Zuko." Korra pushed out through the door into the early evening. "What's happening?"

["So, you didn't...get any strange messages today, did you? Nothing odd happened after you left?"]

"Uhh...Nope," she replied as coolly as she could, rounding the corner of the building and pacing through the small, packed parking lot. "I am..._threat free_. Yup."

["Ah. That's...good. Seems like...I'm the only one who got one, then."]

"Mm..." Korra leaned up against the wall of the pub, scratching her neck. "You think that Chief Stick-Up-Her-Ass is gonna be able to handle it?"

["Huh?"]

"The...the police chief. What's-Her-Face."

["Jia? Chief Jia?"]

"Sure. Her. You sure seemed pretty damned buddy-buddy with her."

["Uh...Not exactly. She's pretty familiar with my Uncle, though."]

"Right. So...Anyway, can she deal with this stuff?"

["Definitely. Iroh's told me about some of the things she's been through. She used to handle organized crime back in New York. Real crazy stuff. For her, this is probably just a little excitement to break up the tedium..."] He sighed at that thought.

"Heh..." Korra smirked. Funny, that was exactly how Korra was thinking of the situation, as well. A serial killer was something that was a refresher from that stagnant boredom. Was that wrong, to feel that way? "So what's the game plan?" she asked, casting aside her self-probing.

["Same as it has been, I guess...We all keep our eyes peeled, and wait for this guy...or...or these _people, _potentially...to show up."]

"Yea. Stay in touch, eh?"

["You, too. Be careful."]

"Heh, yea, don't worry about _me. _I look after myself just fine."

* * *

Jane bit her fat upper lip, tapping her shoe against the floor in quick rhythm. Nervous rhythm. Frantic, panicking, stomach churning rhythm. She stared at her bee-striped, tall converse shoes, which she hadn't been wearing much lately. She fidgeted with her belt - and the bee-emblazoned buckle that held it together. She pushed back some of her recently washed, tamed hair, tucking it behind an ear to show the skull earring she was wearing. It was a deliberate decision, wearing all of these things together. It represented something that she hoped Katara would notice.

Jane swallowed cautiously, glancing out through her doorway to the closed door across the hall. She could hear the muffled strums of Toph's guitar coming from the room.

Inside, Toph was plinking away, aimlessly meandering around the soundverse to decide what direction to go in. Cross-legged on the floor, she paused.

"Anything you want me to play?" she asked Katara. "Specifically?"

"Uh...N-no, Toph, I'm fine."

"'Kay." Toph continued her aimless strumming, humming in harmony with each chord she played. She slowed to another stop. "Sooooo...You wanna, like..._do _somethin'?"

Katara, feverishly typing at her desk, was jarred to a halt by Toph's question.

"Wh...-? _No,_ I...-" She caught herself being snippy and paused briefly, biting her lower lip with impatience. "I've got a lot of work to do right now," Katara gently explained.

"Ah..." Toph puffed air at her bangs, scratched at her scalp a bit, and listened to Katara's speedy keyboard skills go back to work. In turn, she continued her acoustic escapade, until Katara tensed up again.

"A-Actually, Toph, could you...maybe..._not _do that here? Right now? I'm...trying to concentrate."

"Oh..." Toph froze up, drumming her fingers along the wooden instrument in her hands. The -_clickatiktiktikclak-_ of Katara's computer keys revved back up, and Toph slouched over her lap, pondering what to do with herself. With everyone else so busy with schoolwork, the logical way to spend her time was practicing, which she had been. Between that and trying to focus on her recently formed romance, she was hardly having any fun with Katara, despite Katara's obvious need to unwind.

Toph begrudgingly fumbled her hand to her guitar case below her bed and set her instrument inside. Before sliding it back beneath her bed, she considered taking it and going elsewhere. More practice could never hurt, after all. As she checked with her roommate, Toph was interrupted by the door.

"Do you want me to maybe head-"  
-_Knock, knock!-_  
"-out...somewhere else...?"

Toph awaited Katara to reply, either to herself or to the person knocking.

_-Knock! Knock!-_

"Youuu...gonna get that?" Toph muttered.

"I don't really care," Katara grumbled out.

"Uhhh..._kay? _Guess I'll do that, then." Toph's neutral expression twisted into mild irritation at Katara's mood, and she pulled herself up to her bare feet, pushing slowly to the door. The knocking happened a third time, and Toph growled at it. "Hold yer _fuckin' _horses, I'm coming!" She reached the edge of the room, groped for the handle, and callously twisted the knob to yank to the door wide open. "Yea, yea, who is it? Whatcha want?"

Jane blinked with wide eyes at Toph's slouching form. Toph was propping herself against the archway with her arms across her chest and a frown on her face.

"I...wanted to talk with Kat," Jane eked out. She saw Toph's face pop with surprise, then dissolve into disgust.

Toph immediately whirled back around with a "_Fff!_" and found her way back to her guitar case, grumbling out, "And there's _my _cue to leave..."

"Huh?" Katara pried her attention from her computer and met Jane's eyes, her shock swiftly giving way to anger. Jane endured her neighbor's icy glare and sighed. "What is it?" Katara sharply demanded.

"Just...wanna talk..."

"_I _thought you said you never want to talk with me ever again," Katara testily replied.

"Ugh, Kat...I _told _you I needed some time."  
"Toph told me you're planning on dropping out. Good for you."  
"Kat..."  
"That'll give you _all _the time you need to keep...doing..._whatever _it is you're doing with those thugs."  
"It's not _like _that, we-_oof!_" Jane was sideswiped by Toph blindly pushing her way out of the room, shoving Jane aside. "_Christ! _Watch where-...!" Jane rolled her eyes, letting her arms drop. "_Ugh._"

"Watch where I'm going? I'll just _do that _somehow," Toph dryly remarked, clacking her cane against the wall.

"Didn't have to _push me_..." Jane muttered.

"Don't get in my _way, _then," Toph countered haughtily, sauntering off down the hall.

"You did that on _purpose,_" Jane pointed out.

"_Yup!_" Toph snarkily called back, heading through to the stairwell.

"Leave me alone," Katara commanded, pulling Jane's attention back. Katara got up from her chair.

"You won't just _talk _to me?" Jane pleaded with open arms. Katara shook her head, grasping the edge of her door and easing Jane out. "Hear me out?"

Their stared each other down in heavy moment of quiet, Katara's nostrils flared open wide.

"I'm busy," said Katara curtly.

"This is fucking important," Jane pushed_._

"This has _always _been 'fucking important,'" Katara seethed back, keeping her voice down so as not to carry it down the hall. "Why do you think I'm so upset with you?"_  
_

"So let me _explain_," Jane requested. "I don't _want _you to be upset."

"You should've thought of that sooner. And this isn't just about _you_. OK? So...-" Katara lingered in her doorway, fingers tightened around the door's edge.

"Can I come in?" Jane asked with a sigh, scratching her ear.

Katara's head rolled back with frustration, and she ran her hand through her hair.

"Fine. A few minutes," she allowed. "Then I've seriously got work to do..."

"Sure..." Jane sulked shamefully into the dorm room, head shrunken into her shoulders. Katara slid her door closed quickly and quietly before throwing herself down on her bed. Jane pulled up Katara's chair and rotated it so it faced the bed. She dropped into it and took a deep breath. They both leered at each other for another couple of seconds. "Um...A few minutes? So...the short version?"

"I don't _care_."

"Fair enough." Jane sucked in air through her nose, then puffed it out through her mouth. She let her gaze wander away from Katara, toward the sketches that hung up on the back of her door. She looked back to Katara, who shrugged at her with raised eyebrows of expectation. Jane reciprocated the gesture.

"Sooo...I might not..._be _here next year," Jane worked out the words.

"I _heard_," Katara confirmed sharply.

"Was hopin' to kinda...leave on good terms."

Katara crossed her arms and nodded with a bitter scowl.

"So you're going to tell me the truth?"

"Ugh..." Jane's shoulders sagged in irritation. "_No, _Kat, it's...not your business. Let me handle it."

"Let _you _handle it...Mm-hm. And let _you _pull Aang into...wh-whatever it is you're caught up in? And my cousin, too?"

"Your cousin _wants _to help me. And Aang's not involved, Kat. OK? Stop freakin' the hell out."

"What do you _expect _me to do when you're so secretive like this?"

"I dunno, maybe _trust me _for a change?"

"You haven't exactly made good _choices _for yourself on your own, Jane. I'm sorry, but...-"

"Don't...-!" Jane poked up her index finger, eyes trembling with rage and regret. She dropped it, moving on. "We've got it covered. We're gonna take care of it."

"Take care of _what?_"

"My problem."

"Like h-how _Ni__ls _was your problem," Katara bluntly reminded. "One you solved pretty...pretty efficiently...I'd say. Yea. Mm-hm. I mean, how could he be a...a problem for you when he's-"  
"_Stop._"

Jane had no counter to this. No rebuttal, no means of making Katara understand that choice, and listening to her friend's confused judgment was picking at a deep scab.

"If...if this was your idea of...of, like...trying to r-reassure me? It's...It's _not _working." Katara's words were spilling out with some panic now, her head shaking all the while with disbelief. She was stuttering, which Jane recognized as a classic sign of stress for Katara.

"_OK, _just...-" Jane eased up her hand, her insides crawling with discomfort at seeing Katara like this. "It ain't your business. I _told _you."

"Sure. Sure..." Katara nodded with slow fury. "N-Not my _business,_" she spitefully acknowledged. "As...as you've _said. _And here we...here we are, s-still arguing, _anyway._"

"Because I..._care _about you, Kat."

Katara's eyes bubbled over with swelling emotions from Jane's words and she clutched at her forehead to steady herself.

"And after all this time, you _still _don't know how to show it," Katara retorted. "Oh, wait, that's right. You shut me _out. _It all makes _sense _now," she snapped with sarcasm.

"I've been trying to keep you _outta _this. Don't you _get _that? That night at the UR messed you _up. _And don't even _pretend _like it's not bringing up shit from your mom, I _know _it is."

Katara's eyes bulged, her lips curved down with appalled pain.

"Yea, _thanks_, that's _exactly _what I...-"

"I know how that goes, Kat. I do." Jane went to extend her arm in sympathy, and Katara took a step back to avoid it. "And I know you're a different person from me," Jane went on, slipping her hand awkwardly into her pocket. "But you are _not _handling this well. I mean, fucking _look _at yourself. You're a wreck. Everybody can see that."

"Th-thanks to _you. _You, and-"  
"Shut the hell _up!_" Jane gasped out in exasperation, flicking up her head. "Think for a fucking second. _Christ. _Ya know, you're usually _good _at that, Kat."

Katara was stunned in silence, her brain fizzing out as she attempted to decipher what Jane meant. Jane elaborated.

"I've heard you bitch about how hard high school was for you...About how much you try to make things work with people. Don't get me wrong, I...I mean, I can _appreciate _that, Kat. Seriously." Her eyes flashed with a pleading gratitude. "But you need to get a _grip _on this shit. You need to learn to drop things. Let it be. Like...forget me for a second. Forget all this. Everything." Jane shrugged and shook her head, glancing across the room just to avoid Katara's burning blend of potent expressions. She met Katara's gaze again with solemnity. "You _seriously _think this is the only time someone's gonna hurt you?"

A dense silence hung over them, Katara's lip hanging open.

"I didn't even _want _to hurt you," Jane growled out in frustration. "Some people are gonna take advantage of your kindness, Kat. I'm-...I'm trying to keep you _outta _my crap. Outta harm's way."

"If you weren't dealing with dangerous-"  
"_Stop. _Listen to me. You are gonna hurt by people, Kat. No fucking question. And you can't _pull _this shit every time it happens. You ever think maybe _this-_" She extended her arms out to Katara. "-is the reason why you had so many problems in high school? Or now?"

"What...?"

"Your _attitude. _You care. I _know _that. But you just...fly off the damned _handle _as soon as things don't go your way. Or the '_right' _way." Jane flicked up irate air quotes. "You don't accept this shithole world for what it is. You...you_ expect _it to...get better? I don't fucking _know. _But it's retarded. Juvenile. Stupid. Get over yourself."

"But if I...if I did...n-_nothing, _that wouldn't help-"  
"I'm not _saying _to do nothing," Jane sighed with impatience. "No, you...do what you _do, _Kat. That's...good, it's...-" Jane could feel her eyes stinging. "-...amazing." She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm-...It's just-...Not everyone is gonna understand that. I do. Sure. Maybe _now _I do. When I met you? _Hell no. _I thought you were a weirdo. But I _know _you now. I know what a...kick-_ass _person you can be. But if you keep acting all controlling and clingy and shit, you're just gonna push people away. And then they don't get to see how awesome you are. And that sucks. Especially for you."

Katara was a bit bashful at what she perceived to be Jane's deep compliments to her character. In her frustration and stress, she'd been letting herself think that Jane really had dropped everything - that Jane didn't care. Hearing words like this proved that Katara's doubts were misplaced, and that Jane's hostile words from before had rung hollow; probably born from similar stress and anger.

"People are _gonna _be assholes to you, Kat. And...and people like _me? _Who really care about you n' stuff? We're gonna fuck up sometimes. And _you're _gonna fuck up sometimes. You've gotta _deal _with that. This...arguing and shit? Shouting matches? Nobody wins. I don't know what the answer is. Dead-Eyes, like...she locks herself in tight, right? Plays her music, bitches you out. That's how she deals. Then she has opposite problem - too _much _of the walls and stuff. But..._You _helped her. I _saw _it. And I...I _do _see it. Just, fucking...five _minutes _ago, I saw it. The way she was all pissy at me? That was for _you, _Kat. That was her being all protective n' shit, for _you. _When I met Toph, no _way _I could see her doing that for anybody but _herself. _You helped her figure that out. You've helped _me _figure stuff out. And...and that's cool, and-...But...-" Jane sighed, leaning herself against Katara's bed post. "Ugh...I don't...really know where I'm goin' here..."

"It's OK, I...-"

Katara nodded haphazardly, sitting herself down on her bed, her insides swirling with a rush of thankfulness and tension and every other thing going on.

"Kat. Shit's gonna happen. Always does. You can't always make it right. That's...what I'm gettin' at, I guess..."

"So I'm...I'm just supposed to do _nothing_...?"

"OK, OK...Yyyy_ea. _Here and there. Yea. When it's not your business. Like this stuff. Right now. With me."

Katara puffed out hot air in protest.

"You shouldn't need to take this..._whatever _this is...by yourself..."

"And I'm _not_," Jane insisted. "I've _got _people helping me."

"So why not _me?" _Katara whimpered. "Why don't you trust _me? _H-haven't I...proven myself to you, or...-?"

"Katara, you _have, _but...I gotta trust different people with...with different _things. _Is all. Make sense?"

Katara's eyes squinted with some disbelief. Maybe it _didn't _make sense to Katara, then. Gragh.

"OK, so...-" Jane pushed out her hands in a gesture to reconfigure thoughts. "Like...This stuff with you n' me. Right? All sensitive social stuff? You talk about that with _everyone?_"

"Whhh...N-no, I...-"

"You talk about all this with, like...Sokka?"

"Um...Nnnnot..._always_..."

"But family things. Like with your dad. You _do _bring that up with Sokka."

"Mm-hm."

"Maybe not so much with me. Or...or other people. Whatever."

"Mm..." Katara nodded thoughtfully, comprehending Jane's point.

"There ya go, then. That's-...This is just that. Like, I went to you with things that...I knew you could help me with. But this is..._my _thing. This is a different kinda deal. And it's a thing you _ain't _good with."

"But you're going to trust Korra with it...?"

"'Cuz the sort of help I need right now is stuff Korra _is _good with."

"So...So you just...just _go _to whoever's most _useful _to you?"

"Nah, it's...I-I mean, you put it like that, makes it sound selfish, but...it's just _practical. _Makes _s__ense._"

Katara didn't react to this, her body stiff from consideration.

"I wouldn't be here, who I am, if it wasn't for you, Katara. No way. But right now, this is _my _problem. And I don't need - I don't _want _- you to try to...-" Jane fidgeted her hands around frantically. "-...fucking _fix-fix-fix _every single part of my _life._ Gotta let me do some things myself. I mean, _christ, _how ya gonna raise kids some day if ya can't learn to let stuff like this go?"

Katara nodded knowingly. That was a smart button to press on Jane's part. Of course Katara wanted kids some day. And of course this added up - if she got all messed up like this because of a child disobeying her, how would that help anything? What if Aang made a bad decision? Would she freak out on him like this, too? What if she flipped out on a future boss at the work place the way she had at Pakku just the other day?

"So...you...still aren't going to tell me what this is even about...are you?" Katara asked with dull defeat.

"Uh...No," Jane admitted plainly. "Not until I...finish what I started." Jane pushed herself off of Katara's bedpost. "And if you _really _care about me - actually _respect _me - you'll leave it be. You'll trust me on this. You'll let me take care of myself. Because I _can. _I don't _need _you telling me what to do with my life...but if you can figure this out, and settle the hell down...then I'll go back to _wanting _you to be a _part _of my life."

Their eyes met for the first time in a while, and Katara's lips trembled as she attempted to offer a weak smile at Jane's small smirk.

"But...Wh-what'll that matter if you _leave_?" Katara bemoaned quietly, the idea of Jane disappearing from her day-to-day life sinking in.

"If...things work out like...I _want _them to, I won't have a reason to leave," Jane muttered in conclusion.

"And we can...put this behind us? M-move on, like you said?"

"We'll see."

"And you'll be part of the group again?"

"We'll _see_, I...-" Jane sighed, her hands latched around her head as she lingered around the foot of Katara's bed.

"All right..." Jane shrugged, approaching the doorway. "Get back to that schoolwork n' crap. Do that up. I've got my own problems - you sure as hell got yours, too. So...I dunno. Take your pills, for chrissake. See a doctor. I don't _know. _It's your issue, not mine, so...do what ya gotta. And so will I."

Katara's nose tightened at this advice but she gave Jane a nod.

"Ssssooo...-" Katara scratched her head. "We're...still friends?"

"...Probably? We both need get back on our own tracks before we can...join back up. Or whatever. _Some _kinda metaphor n' crap."

"Hee," Katara laughed shakily as Jane opened the door to leave.

"I'll catch you on the flipside, Kat. Think about this stuff." Jane rattled her knuckles against her forehead. "I've...done enough thinking for _you, _am I right?"

"Yea."

"I'll get back to you when I'm good to go, and...we'll see how you're doing."

"OK...Jane, I-...Whatever it is you're looking for, I hope you...find it." Katara's conflicting expressions pooled together as she forced a quivering smile to her friend. "You deserve that much."

Jane shrugged, temporarily frozen by Katara's intense face.

"...Thanks," she replied, making her exit and closing the door behind her.


	98. The Last Agni Kai

**A/N: Whew! Sorry for the hiatus, guys. If you missed it, I cooked up a Toph/Zuko one-shot inspired by some of my ideas for Esteemed. That's entitled 'Worthy,' if you care to take a look. Here, at last, is the end of 'The Last Agni Kai' chapter. It's taken a lot out of me, but I think I finally broke through my writer's block. ****There have been multiple artworks made for this segment, with a couple in-progress, but FF's a bitch and won't let me share those links with you, so you'll have to find them in the description of the DA version of this segment or just check out the SRU Facebook page.**  


**If you have NOT watched Book 1 of Legend of Korra, BE WARNED, as from here on out there will be vague spoilers from things in that season.**

******I hope this was worth the wait. **

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 98 - The Last Agni Kai_

* * *

- Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 -

"This is...weird," Jane flatly stated from her stall. She adjusted the baseball cap on her head - the arrowed one she had to wear as her uniform for working at Appa's.

"What's weird?" Korra asked from the next stall over.

The women's restroom in the basement of the ACC was empty aside from the two women on adjacent toilets.

"I dunno, just...we're in the bathroom together," Jane bluntly stated, unzipping her jeans.

"_Ohhh, _right. Like _girls. _Girl-talkin', eh? Yea, we're chattin' it up. Gimme some _gossip, _**gurlll**," Korra mocked.

Jane chuckled, hunched over her seat. She could hear Korra flipping through a newspaper.

"Ain't _normal _girl-talk, that's for sure," Jane noted with amusement.

"We _did _just make plans to go fuck someone's day over," Korra observed casually.

A couple of awkwardly silent moments passed.

"Why are you helping me with this?" Jane sighed out.

"Didn't we already go over this?" Korra dodged.

"The other night...Aang was...making it sound like you're helping me to get revenge."

"Ihhhhsn't that what we're _doing?_"

Jane's fingers pressed against her forehead, her face tilted down at her lap.

"I remember you said that the guy who killed Kat's mom disappeared. They never found him?"

Ruffling of newspaper. A pause.

"No." The word sounded like Korra had needed to pry it out.

"It was a whole group, though, I thought."

"Cops found some of 'em," Korra conceded. "I had to be the one to ID 'em. Didn't want Kat to need to worry about it, and Kya was...-" She cleared her throat. "I would've recognized him, his voice, his-...But they never got him. Hakoda told me the dude disappeared. No idea if he just got escaped clean or if someone else had to make him quiet."

"But you never got to see him pay for what he did."

"Mm...But forget about that, I ain't gonna let that happen to you. We'll nail this fucker, one way or another. You'll get to take care of him. I'll soften him up for ya, is all."

"Yea, that-...All right." Jane nodded - to herself, really, given that a brown, metal barrier separated them.

"I can't do anything about the bastard that killed my Aunt, but I _can _help you bring this one down."

"Right." Jane's stomach was churning. Something about Korra seemed off today. It was unsettling - even to her. "Uh, well..." She finished her business and zipped up her jeans. "Gotta get to work now. My shift's about to start."

"Yep. I'm back on in a bit, too...See you tonight."

"Tonight."

* * *

- October 31st, 2001 – Halloween

Batons had collided with bodies concealed by monster costumes. Tranquilizer darts had been shot in the commotion, and a handful of the gang members were brought to the tarmac, dragged aside and out of the way. The plan was to take them away, interrogate them, then leave them for the authorities.

A child's shriek for her mother ricocheted inside his skull as he pursued his target through the wild field on the outskirts of this town.

The miserable cries of the girl fawning over her injured mother echoed in his mind as he raced past the collapsed trio of tan-skinned females. He had warned them. He'd told them not to come this way. The woman in the eskimo costume, now laying in a puddle of her own blood, had ignored his warning. There wasn't much he could've done without drawing attention to tonight's operation. But then again, wasn't this woman connected to the Dragon of the West? For all he knew, maybe she had deserved her fate. He couldn't be sure.

But he _was _sure that the man he'd been stalking for days most certainly deserved the hammer of justice that was about to come down upon him.

He knew where the few others who had escaped would be fleeing to. Without their leader, they'd likely scurry back home. The sheep did not present the problem. Their shepherd did. And yet he was but only one unholy shepherd amongst many.

Like a predator, the vigilante in his hooded coat and ceramic mask traipsed through the rough grass. Reaching his worn out target, he gave them a light push in mid-run. The man stumbled face first into the dirt, his hat and ballroom mask flying off his head.

The pursuer slowed to a stop, barely out of breath from the sprint.

"Who're...-?" coughed out the man on the ground, fumbling to his knees. "Da Lotus...? Y-you...workin' for...-?"

"Lightning Bolt Zolt," called out the man in the white mask, linking his hands primly behind his back. His voice was cold and firm as he recounted the identity of his target. "The outcast leader of the Triple Threat Triad. You were one of the most notorious criminals that served under Yakone."

"Heh..." Zolt coughed more as he found his shaky footing. "Used to like dat spotlight, I did..."

"Indeed," came the masked man. "You've amassed quite the fortune by extorting and abusing the innocent. And now...torturing women and children? How the mighty have fallen..."

"Yakone's pretty persuasive, even when he's got his back inna corner."

Zolt's cocky tone thinly veiled his fear at the prying eyes from beneath the mask before him.

"Regardless...Your reign of terror is about to come to an end."

"Da _fuck _are you s'possed to be, anyway?" Zolt demanded, clutching at his waist. The masked man could detect that within seconds, a knife would be in that hand. "You think you some kinda lamebrain supah hero? Sayin' crap like dat?"

Zolt fumbled backward, step by step, inching his way across the bare, unkempt field in the cold night. Another figure, veiled by the black evening, approached the man in the mask from behind, two heavy batons in his hands. Zolt could hear the shuffling of bodies meandering through the grass from further behind. The man with the batons strapped his weapons into their holsters at his hips.

"A few managed to get away, but...We've detained most of them, Sir," this new voice reported calmly. His voice was ragged and worn but with a contained ferocity to it, like electricity through a frayed wire.

"Very good, Lieutenant," replied the apparent commander of this uniformed crew.

"You think you're some...fuckin' _Batman, _n' dis here's yer _Robin_?" Zolt mocked, sweat collecting across his head while he used smarmy words in a feeble attempt to hide his fear.

The masked man took two steps back, his eyes narrowed at Zolt's attempts at insult. His comrade with the batons frowned and was on the verge of threatening Zolt, but the masked man eased out his hand to quell him with a silent understanding.

"In the interest of fairness," his deep voice announced, not only to Zolt, "I will allow you a chance to defend yourself."

Zolt's eyes sparked wide in an eager panic.

"You're gonna regret doin' dat, pal!" he taunted, rushing at his assailant. His switchblade, still speckled with the blood of his fresh victim, was drawn, the hooded man in the mask its target.

The would-be victim of this predicted slight deftly dodged Zolt's blatant attack with ease, slipping sideways like a stream of water. In one quick motion, he gripped Zolt's knife-wielding wrist, twisting his opponent around. The pressure caused Zolt's blade to slip from his fingers, and with the icy hand of this mysterious man fiercely squeezing the base of his neck, Zolt was stunned. The man pressed Zolt down to his knees, retaining his solid grip. Zolt was left dazed and aghast.

"Why were you sent here?" growled the masked man. "Why did you attack that family?"

"Wh-?! I...I ain't sayin'-_Arrghh..._!" His head was pulled back as his arm was contorted behind his back. "I...I say _anything_...Yakone, he...he'd...-"

"He is not the one you should fear. The Lord sees all, Zolt. And He has guided me here tonight to ensure that you never harm another person. He has guided my hand, that I might bring you to your knees in His name. May His will be done."

-_Crack!_-  
-_Whump!-_

Ragged breaths escaped grass-ridden lips as an otherwise silent moment passed on this bitter Halloween night.

The man in the mask stared down at the broken criminal criminal before him, his hands finding their familiar position behind his back. Zolt's panting body was spread on its stomach, motionless, while his head trembled in the dirt, struggling to lift itself.

"Wh...what did you _do _to me?" Zolt hoarsely managed out.

"I have taken away your ability to hurt another living soul for as long as you may live."

"Cuh...can't...feel my...-" Zolt was sniveling now, tears streaming from shut eyes.

"You'll never be able to walk again," the masked man explained. "But I have spared your life, that you may live the rest of your days in repentance. It is the Lord's will."

By now, the audience of suited comrades had gathered, Zolt's subdued underlings in tow. They all bore witness of the masked man's demonstration of superiority.

"Yakone's time is over." The man drew back his hood. He removed his mask, dropping it into the grass beside Zolt's blubbering face. He was a handsome man in his 20's with defined jaws and fading sideburns descending down the sides of his face. His hair was wild, like a proud lion's mane. He surveyed his audience of followers and sedated criminals before continuing to speak. "The Phoenix Clan, the White Lotus...their conflict continues to be a blight upon this Earth. Men like Yakone and this monster that now lies before us have been the tools of this conflict...but that time is over. The righteous hand of the Lord will come down upon those who disturb His kingdom. A new era of justice and equality will begin tonight, with our God leading us to put an end to this unruly chaos man has wrought. Those who have devastated our lives - our families - with their tyranny...Families like the one we just passed in that parking lot...Those families will be given peace. These vile people will no longer be tolerated. Brothers, Sisters...tonight, by our divinely guided hands, I tell you...The revolution has begun."

* * *

- Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 -

"I still can't believe the old coot's fine with all this." June shook her head to herself as she watched Jane drizzle Sprite soda across the grill. Jane took advantage of the loud moment of liquid sizzling to consider her response. The syrupy vapors calmed her as she scraped her metal spatula against the grill's surface.

"He's not," Jane calmly replied before dunking more of the soda in another spot.

"That makes a bit more sense," June noted, going about straightening up the wrap preparation counter. "Why's Grandpa going along with this, then?"

Jane sighed, sniffing runny mucus back down her nostrils and pushing burnt residue along the grill's gutter.

"Think Iroh wants to make sure his nephew's outta trouble," Jane theorized. "Zuko's gonna keep himself that way if he thinks he's in danger, especially with his girlfriend on his case. And if the cops have their eyes on him...-" She shrugged, continuing to scratch metal against metal. "Think Iroh's doing this for me, too, though," she muttered as an after thought.

"You?"

Jane's eyes slid to the side as she reconsidered this.

"Er, my dad, technically."

"Ah. Right," June deadpanned back. "Sorry about all that."

"Mm." Jane shook her head slightly, her small hum some way of saying, 'don't worry about it.' Even though June's tone was flat, Jane knew the woman was sincere in her sentiment.

"I bet that old fart figures he doesn't have much to lose at his age," said June with a light chuckle.

"Guess so," Jane complied. "Uh, so...-" Jane shifted her arrowed uniform cap around. "You don't think he's suspicious about anything?"

"Zuko?"

"Yea."

"Fff. Other than the _death _threat he got?"

June's sarcasm was met by a dull and impatient glare.

"He's got no idea the note came from _you_, if that's what you mean," June sighed out quietly, rolling her eyes. "Pretty sure you're in the clear."

"Mm." Jane nodded to herself, finishing up her duty of cleaning the grill. She began tinkering around with odds and ends to tidy things up, dreading the daunting task of dumping the hot oil from the friers through their filters. The guilt weighed on her when she wasn't keeping busy. Jane had typed, printed, and sent the very note Zuko had been upset over. The threat letter was false - a carefully timed effort to distract authorities while simultaneously keeping Iroh's nephew under watch. Iroh had offered up this plan himself, which had been the more startling part to Jane.

"So that's how it's gonna go," June noted, completing her own task of ensuring all the food was sealed away. "You and Miss Manly-Arms are gonna try offin' this guy yourselves."

"That's how it's gonna go," Jane repeated tiredly. "Assuming the info you got was good."

"It's good," June eased. "This Combustion dude's got his habits set in solid, apparently. They told me that for months now, he's been consistent with his timing on this stuff. Kinda disturbing, when you think about it."

_Kind of _ironic _that you'd be calling it disturbing with the shit you've done in the past..._

"So...tonight, then," Jane checked, as if this were some casual meeting she was planning.

"Pretty likely, yea."

"I'll have my eyes keeping a lookout, then."

* * *

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=re32xnyYP3A +  
('Reignite,' cover/lyrics by 'Malukah')

Jane stares at herself in the mirror. Yellow and black stripes on her undershirt, her eyes ragged and wary, freckled shoulders and cheeks flushed red from the swell of oncoming emotion she foresees will soon drown her.

**~Hope can drown; Lost in thunderous sound~**

Jane's mind races at the memory of Aang disappearing into the smoldering building.

**~Fear can claim what little faith remains~**

Korra's throat tightens as she recalls those stone-like hands gripping her.

**~But I carry strength from souls now gone~**

A weathered family photograph in Jane's wallet.

**~They won't let me give in~**

Korra's hand shutting the music box closed with resolution.

**~I will never surrender; We'll free the Earth and sky~**

Korra, slipping on her black leather jacket and marching out the door.

**~Crush my heart into embers; And I will reignite~**

Jane, sliding two lines of red paint across each of her cheeks.

**~I will reignite~**

Jane's black boots striking the campus pavement in dark strides.

**~Death will take those who fight alone~**

_{Jack "Jet" Chavez}_  
_{1984 - 2010}_  
_{May he find his Freedom}_

**~But united we can break a fate once set in stone~**

Korra and Jane meeting up, their fists bumping together.

**~Just hold the line until the end~**

A tired Iroh, sitting down at his table with a bottle of sake.

**~Cause we will give them hell~**

The fiery-eyed duo, side by side on the sidewalk.

**~I will never surrender; We'll free the Earth and sky~**

Korra stares with bitter doubt at the sidewalk below.  
Jane glances up to the clouded stars above.

**~Crush my heart into embers; And I will reignite~**

Professor Kurosawa's house is before them.

**~I will reignite~**

"You ready, Shamrocks?"  
"Yea..."

**~I will reignite~**

* * *

[From: cherry]  
[im doin this for jet and the ff. k? not you.]  
[Sent: 9:47pm]

[Reply]  
[To: cherry]  
[yea, well i didn't ask for your help. but i get it. thanks.]  
[Sent: 9:48pm]

[From: cherry]  
[blondie in tracksuit. looks skinny tho.]  
[Sent: 9:48pm]

[Reply]  
[To: cherry]  
[not him. keep lookin.]  
[Sent: 9:48pm]

[From: yojimbo]  
[He passes by, you'll know.]  
[Sent: 9:48pm]

[Reply]  
[To: yojimbo]  
[awesome.]  
[Sent: 9:48pm]

[From: pipsqueak]  
[you sure this will work smellerbee?]  
[Sent: 9:39pm]

[Reply]  
[To: pipsqueak]  
[don't worry. we'll get him.]  
[Sent: 9:49pm]

[From: the duke]  
[No sign of him yet from this direction. Be careful.]  
[Sent: 9:40pm]

[Reply]  
[To: the duke]  
[k. we will. you too.]  
[Sent: 9:49pm]

[From: john-boy]  
[I know. I understand. Do what you need to do.]  
[Sent: 9:45pm]

[Reply]  
[To: john-boy]  
[thanks. i will.]  
[Sent: 9:50pm]

Jane took a deep breath, closing her phone. Propped up against the wall, she crossed her arms around her waist.

"Nothin'?" Korra checked from the kitchen table nearby. Jane shook her head in reply.

"Not yet," she mumbled. Her phone vibrated again.

[From: john-boy]  
[(heart)]  
[Sent: 9:51pm]

[Reply]  
[To: john-boy]  
[(heart)]  
[Sent: 9:51pm]

"He will come," came the crackling voice of the pudgy professor, sitting across from Korra. Korra raised a brow at him.

"Uh, you _do _know he's gonna...try to _kill _you, eh?"

"Wahaha..." Iroh took another sip from his hot sake cup. "He will not succeed."

"What makes you so sure?" Jane skeptically wondered.

"You will not let him," Iroh casually explained with a puffing sigh of satisfaction from his drink. "That..._is _why you are here, isn't it?"

Korra and Jane exchanged wide-eyed looks of concern as the elderly man poured himself another cup from his sake bottle, which rested in a pot of warm water on the table.

"Besides," Iroh added, "this cannot be my last day. This is not my last drink. My last drink will be jasmine tea."

"Err..." Korra lifted a confused finger. "_Yea, _I don't...think you quite get that what you drink is gonna stop bad shit from happening..."

Iroh shook his head slowly and set his cup down after another swig.

"Miss Kesuk, you should not doubt yourself. It is unlike you."

"You...don't _know _me," Korra grumbled with some defense.

"Oh, I know _enough_," Iroh insisted with a coy smirk. "You live to protect. That is who you are, down beneath. It is why you are here, correct? Babysitting children, guarding our campus...watching over your family."

Korra shrugged at this, but nodded half-heartedly.

"Right this moment-" Iroh went on, his voice raising a bit with enthusiasm. "-you are here to protect _me. _To protect your friend." He raised his cup to Jane, who avoided his glazed eyes in favor of studying the kitchen's panel flooring.

"I am," Korra conceded, "But I'm just _one _person, I mean...-" She flicked up her wrists and let the rest of her thought trail away, her mind bleeding out regrets over that night when she failed her aunt.

"One person can change everything," Iroh mused, staring into his warm liquid. "My nephew tells me that I changed his life. And Korra, a single man completely changed the lives of your whole family, is that not correct?"

Korra frowned at this, Iroh's words digging the thorn deeper into her heart.

"Pff." Jane's shoulder popped up in recognition of where the old man was going with this. "This Combustion creep changed _my _life," she deduced. "And now, we're gonna change the _fuck _outta _his._"

"_Whahaha_!" Iroh chuckled with a pat on his knee. "You see?" he said to Korra, directing his finger to Jane. "This is the kind of mindset you should have. I refuse to drink tea tonight because I refuse to let myself believe that this will be my last drink."

Korra sighed and ran her hand through her bangs in contemplation.

"Gimme something to _do _and I'll be fine," she puffed out. "I'm a 'doer,' not a 'thinker.'"

"Even whales come up from the ocean to breathe now and again," Iroh cast out his metaphorical thought with a shrug, helping himself to more sake.

"_Huh_?" growled Korra with irritation.

"He's _saying _you should step outta your comfort zone," Jane tiredly translated.

Korra shook her head and pinched at the bridge of her nose with discomfort.

"Maybe we can just...I dunno, worry about _this guy _before we 'think' about how to _think_, eh?"

_Vrrrrmmmmm._

[From: pipsqueak]  
There was an image attached - a blurry photo of a thick person in a gray hoodie.  
[just passed by. had a beard sorta. ]  
[Sent: 9:55pm]

Jane immediately presented the grainy picture to Korra and Iroh. Korra shrugged and Iroh stared at it with narrowed, curious eyes.

"Look like him?" Jane asked.

"Little hard to tell with a shitty cell phone pic," Korra grumbled.

Jane huffed with a shrug, accepting her phone back.

"Not gonna let people get a good look at him, is he?" she pointed out.

_Vrrrrmmmmm._

[From: The Duke]  
[Just saw Pipsqueak's guy. Forehead tattoo. Coming your way.]_  
_[Sent: 9:55pm]_  
_

"Forehead tattoo?" Jane blurted out.

"Yea," Korra replied, her brows furrowing.

Jane nodded with affirmation, snapping her phone shut.

"Time to get in place."

* * *

Jane's heart picked up its pace as she heard the clomping footsteps of workboots approach, joined by the sound of a liquid jostling inside a container. Her back pressed against the garage's side paneling, she found herself frozen in place. The steps stopped, and she heard a methodical knocking of wrist against glass coming from the side door. She heard the door creak open, and Iroh's unassuming voice inquire about the man's presence. Some light tapping and bumping sounds, followed by the door closing.

Jane let herself breathe. That was him. He was _here. _It was a bit much to take in during that moment. Christ, and to think of what he could've been doing to Iroh at that very moment, while she was here, paralyzed in thought. A few seconds later, the sound of clattering kitchen objects startled her to her senses. She fumbled around with her phone, fingers like lightning.

[New Message]  
[To: korra]  
[here]  
[Sent: 10:16pm]

The snap-reaction warning sent out, Jane stared blankly at her phone, her breaths already shallowing at the realization that this moment she'd been waiting for, planning for, revolving her recent life around...She was in this moment, right now. Trembling at the shock of the weight. Being useless. Jane shook off her jitters, setting her cell phone down in the grass beside the garage. She withdrew from her back pocket a leather sheath and slid out her old weapon - the dagger with the lioness head sculpted as its hilt.

_What shall it be tonight, old friend? Business or pleasure?_

_I'm thinking...'pleasure.'  
_

She knew that for this plan to work the way they'd anticipated, she had to wait a moment - as much as it discomforted her to let this psychotic zealot assassin harm an old man. She checked the backyard - the ladder leading upstairs was still there. The plan was that Korra, hiding within, would help escort Iroh outside as Jane distracted their target.

Based on what Korra had managed to glean from Chief Jia and Zuko, and what Jane had figured out from Iroh and June, The Agni Kai group had its own trend: it always killed its victims by fire. Never blunt force, or weaponry. They would batter their victims to the point of unconsciousness, then ignite the building, letting the fire consume the bodies. They were a cult - they were insane. In their minds, they weren't committing a sin, because they never actually killed anyone with their own hands.

And that was the way that this final member of that fallen clan would meet his end, like a bull to a red cape.

Zuko and Iroh had asked June to do some snooping with her contact from the Phoenix Clan, an ex-Serpent she had once worked with. Said contact had dropped info to her about the Combustion Man, referred to within the organization as 'The Last Agni Kai.' With some prodding from June, the contact had planted some info to the Phoenix Clan which would lead them to send The Last Agni Kai to Wayward to 'dispose' of a troublesome 'Dragon of the West.' According to June, this seemed to have gone according to plan. However, Iroh and Jane's scheme to send Zuko a fake threat letter had led the authorities astray, while the real threat message that Iroh had received was kept secret from his nephew, simultaneously confirming the Clan's intentions to attempt to wipe Iroh away and instill fear in his comrades. Jane had summoned the old Freedom Fighters that still remained in the area to help keep an eye out for their hungry bull.

Everything had come together - and in this very moment, the bull was charging headlong at the red cape, blinded by his own zealous insanity. It was time to spring the trap set for this beast.

She held her knife tightly in her fingers, like a firm handshake with a good friend she hadn't seen in a while. But in this moment, as she lingered outside of the Professor's house, that 'old friend' was someone she was looking at differently than the last time she'd shaken that hand. That friend was familiar, the same as they'd always been...but Jane wasn't. Jane was different than before. She'd changed, and moved on, and holding this knife was suddenly bringing back bad memories of the times this 'friend' had enabled her to do things she'd come to regret. Slashing those men in the alley the night Jet died, stabbing one of the Rough Rhinos in a fight the year prior. The things that had happened as a result of actions like these - consequences of becoming 'Smellerbee' - came flooding at her through the eyes of that 'old friend' whose hand she was shaking. She fought them off, shook them away, cast them aside...she had to.

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=yFnnNijn_OI +  
('The Last Agni Kai,' by The Track Team)

Dark rings around her eyes, cheeks striped with red paint, Jane closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and...

Smellerbee entered the house.

Making her way through the kitchen, she surveyed the scene. A broken ceramic cup was shattered, laying in a puddle of spilled sake. Some pots and pans that had once been hanging overhead were strewn around an upturned chair. Droplets of blood split on the tile floor. She could hear thumping from upstairs - muffled grunts and growling. As she passed silently through the living room, this scuffle from above was accompanied by the steady clicking of Iroh's dragon-themed grandfather clock.

_-Tick-  
_A smell. Kerosene?_  
-Tick-  
_Burning. Trickling smoke._  
-Tick-_  
Flames were licking up the carpet.  
_-Tick-_  
Magazines and newspapers swallowed whole.  
_-Tick-_  
Wallpaper was already being slurped up.  
_-Tick-  
_A painting being chewed alive.  
_-Tick-_

This psychopath had already started the fire while subduing his elderly victim, with _himself _still inside. It suddenly dawned on Jane how this man must have gotten the badly scarred arm Korra had described.

The glass of the living room's coffee table had been shattered, its now flaming contents littering glass-ridden the carpet. A thin trail of fire, still freshly feeding on kerosene, led the way upstairs.

Smellerbee noted the eerie silence from upstairs.

-Tick-  
Boots, walking down.  
-Tick-  
Stepping through the flames.  
-Tick-  
A gray hoodie. A scruffy face.  
-Tick-  
Cold, dead eyes. A stoic glare, his third eye tattooed into his forehead, the mark of his fallen clan.

He drew up his hood, his buzzcut head as barren as his expression.

The Last Agni Kai stood before her as small flames steadily grew around them. Smellerbee's heart skipped before dashing into an adrenaline-fueled frenzy as the man's eyes widened with a slowly building rage at her presence. He puffed out air through his nostrils as his fists tightened. Smellerbee readied her knife.

_¡Olé!_

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=ysSxxIqKNN0 +  
('New Divide' by Linkin Park)

The Combustion Man charged at her, and she swung her knife. A grazing hit - she sliced the side of his forehead open. He plowed right through and swung his massive arms at her. The blow slammed her into Iroh's entertainment system.

Sparks were jumping out from the devices at her back, their wires being nibbled apart by the trickling flames.

**~I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me~**

Dazed, Jane's hands were balled tight, the grip on her blade fierce.

**~I remembered each flash as time began to blur~**

All the shit she had lived through since her parents' were taken...

**~Like a startling sign that fate had finally found me~**

His wide, intense eyes stared down at her in fierce silence.

**~And your voice was all I heard; that I get what I deserve~**

_"Maybe that's what I _need_. Maybe that's what he _deserves_..."_

**~So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean~**

She fumbled to get to her feet, her body stinging with fresh cuts and a bruise or two.

**~Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes~**

His bulky hands grabbed her shoulders, and she refused to show those vacant eyes any fear.

**~Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between~**

One fist to her rib, one knee to her stomach, and she was tossed toward the kitchen.

**~Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide~**

She groaned in pain but recovered to her knees, her knife still in hand.

Her olive eyes burned at him with the fires forming around her.

**~There was nothing in sight but memories left abandoned~**

This man - he was empty, he was hollow. She saw nothing inside his face.

**~There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow~**

He approached her without hesitation, embers and flecks of ashen wallpaper fluttering in the air.

**~And the ground caved in between where we were standing~**

She swung - missed - and he shoved her back again, her head slamming against something hard, metal, and flat.

**~And your voice was all I heard; that I get what I deserve~**

_[From: john-boy]_  
_[I know. I understand. Do what you need to do.]_

**~So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean~**

Smellerbee wobbled back to her feet, scrambling to find her knife in the chaos.

**~Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes~**

The Last Agni Kai was ravaging the house around her, spreading flames, while she scooped up her blood-tipped knife.

**~Across this new divide~**

She threw herself at him, slicing at his back. He growled, practically unfazed, and whirled around, his unscarred hand clamped around her neck.

The knife fell from her fingers as she clawed both hands at his wrist, her agility feeble against his girth.

In an instant, she was pinned against wall. His foreboding, hollow face was shadowed by the enveloping glow of red, orange and yellow forming around them.

Smellerbee's throat was tightened. The burning colors were fading into a gray.

_-Crack!-  
**"Rargh!"**_

Smellerbee was released, collapsing against the wall, searing heat pricking at her face.

"Remember me, _fucker?!_" Korra's voice bellowed through the hissing fire.

**~In every loss~**  
Mary and Joel, dead and gone.  
**~in every lie~**  
Jet's manipulation.  
**~in every truth that you'd deny~**  
Toph's stubborn refusal to show she cared.  
**~And each regret~**  
Sokka's bitter, jaded words.  
**~and each goodbye~**  
Aang's heartfelt words.  
**~was a mistake too great to hide~**  
The sting in Katara's eyes when they'd last talked.  
**~And your voice was all I heard; that I get what I deserve~**

_"OK...Jane, I-...Whatever it is you're looking for, I hope you...find it. You deserve that much."_

**~So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean~**

As Smellerbee wheezed to regain her breath, choking on the smoke growing around them, Korra and the man were slugging it out.

**~Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes~**

Korra was tossed through a patch of flames. Smellerbee gripped her knife as she readied another chance to strike him.

**~Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between~**

Bloodthirsty and ragged, she delivered a grazing slice that tore at the man's arm.

**~Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies...~**

He tossed her through the now burning kitchen table. Her legs were cut by splintered edges of wood.

**~...across this new divide~**

Korra, disheveled and enraged, emerged from smoldering rubble to tackle him from behind.

**~Across this new divide~**

Smellerbee scrambled to stand up through the pain, bruises and cuts all around her, adrenaline surging through her pounding heart.

**~Across this new divide~**

With her victim finally still, pinned to the ground beneath Korra's weight, Korra retrieved from her inner coat pocket a handheld stun gun. In the moment before The Combustion Man could break free, she jabbed the device into his back and turned it on, shocking him into submission.

Jane stood in stunned silence at this violent act, and the dark satisfaction on Korra's face as she committed it.

Aang's voice:_  
"And you _know_ how toxic it feels. Don't you? '_**Smellerbee**_?'"_

The building smoke broke Jane from her stupor. She choked and sputtered, trying to veil her face with her bare hand. The heat licked at her skin, the tongue of this ravenous beast of red, yellow, and orange tickling her scraped arms.

She stumbled backward, trying to find an exit. Korra, meanwhile, had implemented the zip ties she had taken with her to restrain the dazed man's hands and feet.

"Get him!" she called through the ruckus with a violent cough, dragging the Combustion Man toward the tile floor kitchen, still relatively safe.

Korra paused, leaving their incapacitated foe at Jane's feet expectantly. Jane instinctively raised her knife up, clasped between both hands. Teeth bared, eyes wide with anger, she stared down at the man - the man who'd played a part in destroying her family.

_Do it. Do it. Stab him._

"Do it!" Korra commanded in a heated panic, watching the fires behind Jane grow.

Jane blinked, her heart skipping, mind melting from the heat and the smoke and the trauma.

"_Fuck_," Korra grunted out, realizing Jane was too shocked to carry this act through in the moment. She continued to drag the man toward their exit. "Help me!"

Jane did as instructed with her free arm - the other intent on keeping its knife - and the two of them dragged the Last Agni Kai out through the same door he'd entered, dropping him on his back against the driveway's pavement. They went on to drag him to Iroh's empty garage - the car was still parked in the driveway. With the same swift, commanding presence as she'd subdued the Combustion Man, Korra slammed the garage door shut behind them.

Korra tightened the zip ties along the man's ankles. She pushed her boot down upon his chest, crushing his knuckles between his own back and the hard ground.

"Wh...where's Iroh?" Jane mumbled, her whole body a tense block of adrenaline and fear.

"In the backyard," Korra huffed, clearing her throat of smoke. "Got him out down the ladder, like we planned," she explained, wiping ash from one cheek. "He's probably called authorities by now. You've gotta _do it_ while you've still got the chance."

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=xMBtbACXyGM +  
('Blood Theme' by Daniel Licht)

Korra and Jane exchanged intense expressions, but neither said or did a thing. A few seconds later, Korra's patience whittled away. The Combustion Man was waking back up. She stunned him again, noises pouring out from him like a wounded jaguar.

"_Come _on!" Korra insisted with another desperate look. Jane simply blinked, dumbfounded. "The fff...-?!" Korra panted out with exasperation, wide eyed up at her friend. "_Do it_!" she growled out in impatience, her eyes flickering with the intensity of the backdrop fire behind them.

Jane flinched from Korra's shout.  
Smellerbee squeezed the handle of her blade.

She looked down at him - The Last Agni Kai. This was her moment of revenge.

Her arms were shaking, legs wobbling, eyes burning, fingers quivering, teeth clenched...

_Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.  
Fucking do it.  
You're not doing it.  
Stab. Stab. End it. End him.  
Avenge your parents.  
You need this. You need to see his blood spill.  
_

_Blood.  
_

Jet, smeared across a street.  
Johnny, wounded in a hospital bed.  
Aang, ash-ridden and scarred.  
Katara, her head split open, woozy and bloody.

Nils, face swollen, sputtering miserably as he died at Smellerbee's feet.

The buzzing of those bees that she'd unleashed on him hummed in her head.

Aang's words from days ago haunted her.

_"Is that who you want to be? Do you want to go back to that kind of life?"  
"No!"_

Smellerbee's knife had never been heavier than in that moment.

_No. I **don't **want this. I **don't **need this._

"What are you _waiting _for?!" roared Korra. "Ya gonna _do it, _or n-?!"

Korra stopped when Jane flung the knife behind her, casting it against the cement floor before pushing Korra aside and glowering overtop the man's body.

Jane cut loose the contained beast of her rage, her pain, her anger - it burst out through a long, shaking screech of anguish. Korra, stirred and shocked by Jane's reaction, was silenced.

Jane glared down at the Combustion Man's face. All _three _of his eyes: hollow, devoid of life, of purpose, of _feeling._

"I always wondered what kind of a person could do such a thing," Jane whispered at his motionless face, his uncaring eyes looking up at her in a daze. "But now that I see you..." She shut her eyes. "I think I _understand_," she half-whimpered, half-snarled, dwelling on the violence that had just transpired. "There's fucking..._nothing _inside you." She opened her eyelids, her olive daggers unable to puncture his eyes of stone. "Nothing at _all. _You're pathetic, and sad, and _empty._"

"_Rrragh!_"  
Jane kicked the Combustion Man in the rib.  
"_Hrrrgh!_"  
She stomped his stomach.  
_"Nnnrrrgh!"_  
She lunged down on his chest and punched his stone face with her frail fist.  
_"Aaghh!"_  
She punched again, tears dripping down her face.  
"_Grrragrghh!"_

She dropped a heaving, raspy breath as she lifted her bruised knuckles a third time, giving pause at the broken nose and black eye she'd just caused. Her nose wrinkled, her mouth distorting into a most unsettling frown. She screeched again with frustration, delivering a final punch before pushing herself off of his body and turning away.

She panted for breath, tears of frustration running down her face.

"But...as much as I _hate _you..." She sniffed, wiping her wrist across her nose as her eyes trembled. "I just can't do it..." She turned away, walking to the corner of the garage.

Speechless, Korra took a moment to contemplate what had just happened - not at all what she had anticipated. She walked to the garage door and opened it. The honking of a firetruck's horn echoed from the distance. Korra grabbed the man's legs, and callously dragged their captured criminal to the front lawn of Iroh's house.

Jane, trembling out of control, waited until after Korra had left, then picked up her knife. Her old friend. She could practically feel the frightful clutch of this 'old friend' on her hand, begging her to not do what she was about to do. She ignored this.

Upon exiting the garage, she was met by a weary, bloody-nosed Iroh, a phone to his ear. He weakly waved to her - he seemed surprisingly calm, given that his home was going up in flames. Jane nodded back, leaving him to continue his discourse. The once faint howling of a firetruck's horn was close.

Jane approached the heat of the house and stared into the void of red, yellow, and orange.

Orange, like the color of her ragged hair.  
Yellow, like the stripes on her shirt.  
Red, like the paint on her face.

Like the blood others had spilled.  
Like the blood _she_ had spilled.  
Like the blood she chose _not _to spill.

_Goodbye, old friend.  
__I don't need you any more.  
_

Jane Fitzpatrick hurled her knife through the kitchen window, the shattering of glass her wake up call.

_Wake up, Jane. Wake up._  
_It's over._

A heavy, shaking sigh spilled from her lips as she watched the fire flicker and burn, the smoke billowing from the now open window. She lifted a tired, stinging hand to her face and let her vision blur, staring blankly at the destruction before her.

_I wanted to do it. Let it all out on him. End his life, like he's ended so many. But I couldn't._

_Is that because I'm too weak to do it, or strong enough _not _to?_

Jane reflected on this, and on the first conversation that had led to her rethinking this act: the one she'd had with Aang. She could already hear his words in her head.

'I'm proud of you.'

Their talk reverberated through her chest in that moment.

_"Jane, you _do_ have a choice. You _always_ have a choice: forgiveness."  
"_Forgiveness_ doesn't save anyone."  
"It saves you from _yourself_."_

Jane took a deep breath and dried her tears, taking a few steps back from the flames as they snapped, hissed, and banged.

_I _didn't _forgive him. I'll _never _forgive him.  
But I think I get it now, Aang...  
I'm finally ready to forgive _myself.

Jane hobbled her way to the grass beside Iroh's garage. She could hear a firetruck pulling in along the curb. She bent down and picked up her phone.

[Calling...]  
[john-boy]  
["...~...You have reached...-"]  
["Longshot."] She had insisted that he get good sleep and leave his phone on silence.  
["-...after the tone, please leave a message.]  
Johnny wasn't one for emotional phone calls, anyway.  
[-_BEEEEEP!-_]

She left her message.

After this, Jane was approached by an EMT who'd arrived with the firemen, and he bandaged up her bleeding wrist after inspecting her minor injuries. After this task was complete, she could hear more sirens drawing close, so she went out to the front lawn, where Korra was keeping the criminal in check.

**["Hey. It's Jane. So...I'm still kickin'."]**

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=gSsOnShqhw4 +  
('Astor's Birthday Party' by Daniel Licht)

Jane walked around the commotion of firefighters, the world a smoky haze. Water sprayed from a hose. A pair of police cars had pulled up, officers swarming the lawn.

**["It's over. We got him."]**

Jane approached the rough manhandling of the Combustion Man as he was pulled up to his feet.

**["But...I didn't do it. Didn't kill him."]**

Jane stared into his hollowed eyes one last time as he was shoved into one of the cars, its red and blue light flashing.

**["I mean, I _thought _I wanted to...but...-"]**

Jane glanced over to Korra's stoic gaze, her eyes reflecting the spinning light atop the police car.

**["Turns out, I didn't. It didn't feel right to me. You know?"]**

Jane sighed, rubbing the dried red paint stripes off her cheeks as she drew close to her friend.

**["I'm...actually_ relieved_."]**

Korra, one hand on her hip, lifted a fist toward Jane, smiling with some pride.

**["You know that..._weight_...I used to tell you about?"]**

Jane wiped sweat and ash from her forehead and bumped Korra's fist, the two exchanging nods of approval.

**["I think it's gone, finally. _Fuck._"]**

Korra pounded her palm into Jane's shoulder. It hurt like a son of a bitch with how sore and scraped she was, but she didn't let this show.

**["I'm done with this shit. I don't want to be this person anymore."]**

Korra's name was called by the police, and she begrudgingly obliged, while Jane stared at the forming crowd of neighbors being held at a distance by authorities. She observed the confusion and shock in their faces.

**["There's prolly gonna be a bit of fallout, I guess..."]**

She glanced back to see a furious police chief with gray hair was chewing Korra out with rhetoric. Korra, arms crossed with pride, endured the chief's criticisms with a dulled frown.

**["But this time, I know things are...going to be OK. I actually can _say _that now."]**

Letting herself get eased toward the ambulance that has accompanied the police, Jane watched as they tended to Iroh's wounds before checking her phone after she felt it vibrate.

**["I love you."]**

[From: john-boy]  
[(heart) (heart)]  
[Sent: 10:37pm]

**["And I love my friends...I fucking miss them..._So _much."]**

[From: aang]  
[zuko txted me. said you were in trouble? call me when you get this.]  
[Sent: 10:38pm]

Jane smiled, her eyes watering with solace and anticipation. Her friends...She missed them. Hopefully they would take her back. Standing beside the back of the ambulance car, Jane dialed Aang back and smirked at Iroh's attempts to flirt with the woman tending to him inside the car.

**["And I miss _you. _I hope I see you soon."]**

"H-hey..." Jane coughed out, her throat sore. "Aang...?"

Korra, having just been reamed out by Chief Jia, stalked off to the sidewalk, her body pulsing with pain. Her ego had been scratched up tonight from different angles. Jane had let that bastard live - _why _had she let him live, instead of giving him what he'd deserved? On top of this, Korra's failure to leave an impression with Lin burned at her gut, a metaphorical wound to add to her literal ones. She'd taken down the _Combustion Man. _The least that bitch could've done was given her _some _kind of fucking compliment for doing what the police hadn't been able to. Instead, Korra had been lectured about the validity of her presence at the good Professor's house that evening, why a ladder was laying in the backyard, and why she had been carrying her campus security stun gun on her person. And now Lin was probably ripping Jane a new one, when that girl didn't deserve it.

Kicking up dust outside the edge of the now-contained calamity, Korra cursed up a storm to herself as steam snorted from her nose in a fit. Korra's attention was diverted by a strange sight: two men in trench coats, standing across the road, staring right at her. No sooner had she noticed their presence did they continue walking away, side by side.

One man one eastern descent with pair of thick-rimmed glasses tilted his head to his companion as they reached the next block.

"Noah..." His voice was like electricity passing through a frayed wire. "How do you want to handle this?"

The man at his side paced calmly, his hands latched primly behind his back.

"So," he mused. "It seems they are still at work here in this town."

He nodded to himself. He was a handsome man in his 30's, with tanned skin and ragged hair accented by rugged sideburns.

"We'll have to accelerate our plans," he declared simply.


	99. Velocity

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 99 - Velocity_

* * *

_"Morality, like velocity, is relative. The determination of it depends on what the objects around you are doing. All one can do is measure one's position in relation to them; never can one measure one's velocity or morality in terms of absolutes."_  
_- David Gerrold, Star Hunt_

* * *

- Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 -

["It's getting to the point where I'm just not sure how much longer I can take this, Tenzin."]

"I...understand, Dear. I'm trying to do my best here, but work is just piling up. And especially with how things back home are getting riled around, it's that much more imperative that I continue-"  
["-that you should come _home _and be with your _family._"]

Tenzin led his head sink into his palm, propped from his desk by an elbow.

["I understand what this all means to you. I do. You _know _I've always supported you. But it's been nearly a year since you said you'd retire. A _year._"]

"Yes. R-right, I know, but...-"

["Don't you think you've done your fair share by now? This family needs its father, Tenzin - all of him. Not a weekend dad."]

"I agree, Pema. I'm sorry."

["Don't 'I'm sorry' me. This is past apologies. We're at a point now where something is going to have to give here."]  
"Right."  
["Do you get that?"]  
"Mm-hm."  
["Do you comprehend what I'm saying?"]  
"I do."  
["It's time to leave all of that work behind and do what you said you'd do months ago."]  
"I will. I promise."  
["I am _not _bringing a fourth child into this world on my own."]  
"Of course not. You won't have to."

A long silence passed, with both exhausted parents sighing into their phones.

["I don't mean to yell,"] Pema muttered.

"You weren't yelling. And you are right. You don't deserve this. I'm going to look into this, and I'm going to make this work."

["You swear?"]

"I promise. I'm going to bring this back up here this week. I'll be home during the weekend, we'll spend time together, and we can talk about this after I've made a plan."

["OK..."]

"I love you Pema."

["I love you, too, Tenzin..."]

"I'll see you soon."

["Mm-hm."]

Tenzin ended the call before finishing up the paperwork that had been interrupted. When he finally took a break to eat his takeout salad, he noticed that his answering machine had received a message at some point that morning. He played it.

["MESSAGE...**ONE**...RECEIVED AT...**EIGHT TWENTY-THREE**...A.M."]  
["_-BEEP!-_"]  
["Good morning, Tenzin."]

Tenzin paused from his eating, confused and frustrated at the voice he recognized as Lin.

["Hope I'm not _disturbing_ you."] Pushy sarcasm, as expected. ["But there's been another..._incident. _And from what I can tell, our...-"] A sigh. ["-...old friend, Noah, seems to have decided to try spreading his Bible-thumping bullshit in _our_ neck of the woods. I'm not sure what it means, but something is off about it. You should touch base with me this weekend."]  
["_-BEEP!-_"]

Tenzin stroked his short beard with care as he decided to himself that this was going to be a very long weekend.

* * *

"Whh-?...But...-" Korra rubbed at her sand-filled eyes, hunched over the side of her bed. She was halfway dressed for work, her shirt unbuttoned and her hair still in shambles. She was the phone with her boss, Mr. Saikhan, head of campus security. Unsurprisingly, she had been off to a rough start with him from day one. "I was just borrowing it," she sighed out, not awake enough for the purposes of this conversation. Bolin had rolled over, eyes half awake with confusion as he looked up at her, but she shook her head and wriggled her wrist at him to ignore her before rising up and heading downstairs. Pabu, who'd been dislodged from his position at the foot of the bed by the movement, stole Korra's spot and curled up beneath the blanket.

["Oh, _borrowing _it. And last night just happened to be the first time you've '_borrowed_' campus-owned zip-ties and a stun gun. Kesuk, Chief Jia didn't buy it, and I'm not, either. What did you _think _was going to happen?"]

"It was _self-defense_," she insisted, passing through the quiet living room.

["_Bagh_...You're lucky that the professor is going to vouch for you on this one, because otherwise...-"]

Korra found her lower lip trembling with self-loathing from the disgust in her boss' voice. She'd been working hard to try and prove her dedication to this new job, and had been expecting some credit to be given for helping catch a dangerous criminal. The _news _already seemed to be having a field day with it already, and she'd been heckled for two interviews immediately after the incident, but people who actually _knew _Korra all just seemed pissed at her. At least professor Kurosawa seemed to have her back, for whatever reason. It sounded like he was definitely one of the higher ups around here. Korra was willing to bet at this point that the old man was the only reason she was still around.

Korra dropped her face into her palm as she plopped onto the couch, the phone still held up to her ear by the opposing hand. She held in an irate sigh.

"Sooo...What am I doing, then? Sir?" Naga had waddled up and was licking at her bare shin. She watched her pet with dulled eyes as she received her response.

["You're taking the day off, and you're on leave while the administration decides what to do. You should be hearing back from us before the end of the week."]

"...Understood," Korra mumbled with as much formality as she could muster.

["I'm starting to understand why you have training experience but haven't seen any field work..."]

Korra's stomach churned with frustration, but she held her tongue.

["You should consider staying at _home _for the week. You might have better luck staying out of trouble."]

Korra's nose wrinkled at this command.

"Mm..."

["Have a good one."]

"You, too..."

She ended the call and dropped her phone down on the coffee table with a ragged growl, rubbing her palms against her forehead. Naga playfully growled in reciprocation, bending down with her tail wiggling. Korra weakly laughed, looking down at her puppy's enthusiasm.

"N-not now, Naga," she managed out. Naga growled again, then barked in impatient. Korra tried to pushed the dog's nose down but the puppy dodged backward. "No-_Shh_-No."  
"_Yar-yarp!_"  
"Bolin's _sleeping_."  
"_Rrrrr..._"

Korra sighed, slouching back and dangling her feet out to occupy her dog, who pawed at nibbled gently at one foot before sniffing wildly at it. She winced from a pain in her abdomen that suddenly shot through her. She'd declined visiting the hospital - partially due to the expense, partially due to pride - and her body was littered with Bandaids and bandages for the minor injuries she'd sustained. It was a relief, in a way, to not have to worry about getting up and leaving the house today.

Korra weaved her foot over her eager pup's head and began to pet it with her toes. As she scratched at her stomach, she saw Asami walk in from the kitchen, carefully carrying two mugs. She was in a blouse and trousers, a red scarf neatly wrapped around her neck - Mako's scarf. Korra yawned, shifting her stance upright and flinching as the aching coursed back through her sore body. She sucked in air through clenched teeth. Naga whimpered with dissatisfaction and cuddled up against her owner's legs.

"Good morning," Asami greeted, her tone subdued with worry. "Or...afternoon, I guess," she teased weakly. Asami set the two mugs down on coasters on the coffee table, one in front of Korra. "Are you OK?" she asked, being straight with doubt.

"_Agh_hhh, fine," Korra played it off with a stubborn shake of her head and a deep breath. The pain dulled away. "Probably just need some pain relievers, or...whatever." She glanced at the mug Asami had delivered, light waves of steam flowing up from it. The smell of the coffee was welcoming. "Thanks," she said, carefully accepting the cup and taking a sip. Mm, just the right temperature.

"You're welcome," said Asami, taking a drink herself. "If you want-" She gestured her finger to the stairs. "-I could go get some Ibuprofen for you..."

"Oh-..._Nooo, _no, that's-...I'll go do that myself in a bit here. Don't worry about it." Korra was avoiding her housemate's concerned look. Asami pushed back loose strands of hair over her shoulder after a moment of awkward silence, then the two drank some more. Damn, Asami had picked out the right flavor and mixture of cream and sugar. Freakin' good coffee.

"It sounded like you were in trouble on the phone," Asami observed.

"Yeaaaa..." Korra frowned. "Work. Guess I'm, like...suspended for the week, or something..."

"Hm. I guess you..._did _do some pretty reckless things last night..."

"Er, _yea, _but...I saved a guy. _And _my friend."

"Hm." Asami nodded in compliance, but Korra could see in the girl's porcelain face that she had reservations. Another critic. Great. "I'm just glad you're OK. Mako was pretty worried about you, and Bolin, he-...Well, _you _saw him last night."

Korra's body froze up at that thought. Bolin had seemed quite distraught when he'd arrived with Mako the night prior to take Korra home. In his attempts to try taking care of her and keep her relaxed, Bolin had been doling out physical affection. The emotional and physical trauma, the way he'd been so sweet in trying to look after her but not overcrowd her...Korra couldn't decide what it had been, but they'd made out for a while before backing off and letting it be. They'd slept as seemingly innocent-like as they had been. Korra had enjoyed the physical intimacy, but after the fact she didn't know what to do with it all. She felt like she was jumping into things on a bit of a whim, without really thinking things through. Argh, _damnit, _and now Mako's stern words about her doing exactly that were coming to mind.

"Yea, he...seemed pretty shaken up," Korra recalled after the pause in the conversation. Asami seemed pretty expectant for her reaction.

"The guy really cares about you," Asami stated the obvious.

"Uh..." A beat, Korra's jaw sliding sideways. "_Right_, I...care about him, too..." _What's your deal?_

"I think it's really sweet the way you two have been looking after each other."_  
_

"Huh?"

"Like...When he was sick, how you were taking care of him. And last night, how he made sure everything was all right, made you comfortable. It's sweet."

"Yea...Um, is this..._going _somewhere?" Korra looped her index finger in an impatient circle. Asami blinked, stunned at Korra's bluntness for a moment.

"I..._think _that's the question here, right?" she threw back rhetoric. "You and Bolin...is it _going _somewhere? I'm...not you, Korra, so I wouldn't know."

Korra slurped at her coffee - twice - almost as a gesture of pride that said, _'You can't guilt me with your delicious coffee-making skills, that won't work.'_

"I get the feeling I'm being judged about this," Korra defensively grumbled._  
_

"Oh." Asami's face withered from its tightened state. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to...-"

"You _are_," Korra defied with a grumpy snort. More coffee was sipped, and she stared down at her dog, avoiding Asami's gaze. "You _and _Mako. I mean, _shit_...-" She set down the mug on its coaster and opened her still-unbuttoned security shirt, revealing a bandaged cut and a few bruises. She pushed the shirt back over her bra and moved on to pointing out the various scrapes and minor injuries that littered her body, from her face to her feet. "I _kinda _have some big stuff I'm dealing with right now," she pointed out irritably, while making clear how scuffed her body was. Naga growled with disapproval at the tense tone Korra had used. Korra sighed, her body now tightened and stinging from her gestures. She scratched Naga's ear to placate the pup.

"Stuff that you _put _yourself into," Asami sighed, clasping her mug tightly. She tapped her long fingernail against the ceramic as her eyes glazed over with doubt at Korra. Korra's head rolled around in frustration and she shrugged.

"_Someone _had to stop that fucker, he _deser__ved _it..."

"Korra...I've _seen _what that does to a person," Asami sighed, running her hand through her hair and taking a sip. "Revenge? Getting even? That..._changes _people." Korra finally looked back to the woman, observing the way her eyes dropped out of focus in recollection. "I think your friend made the right choice when she let that man live. You could have _died, _Korra. You _put _yourself there, knowingly...and without telling any of us - people who care about you." Korra questioned Asami's statement, wondering how someone who barely knew her could really 'care' that much. "You have trouble committing to a relationship, but not committing to...vigilantism? What does that say about you? About what you think of us?"

Korra sighed, allowing herself to consider Asami's words instead of backfiring with a snap-reaction. She thought for a few moments, and the two drank some more. Asami was being pretty bold here, Korra would give her that. And here she'd been assuming the girl was too dainty to assert her opinions.

"I'm struggling to hold a job, my friend was in some deep shit, this _town _is just-...Something doesn't feel right about the people around here. I'm not _happy _with my life right now, OK?" Korra picked her coffee back up, groaning as she rotated her shoulder to stretch it.. "I've got bigger things to deal with. Boy stuff? Psh...Bolin's just _not _a priority to me right now," Korra concluded as simply as she could think to say it.

"Then...I suppose that says something in and of itself, doesn't it?" Asami lifted her eyebrows thoughtfully at Korra's response.

Korra chewed at her lip, her body easing from the pain she'd stirred up in showing off her battle scars.

"I don't know," Korra mumbled. "I'm...tryin' to take all of this crap one thing at a time. I don't like you and Mako getting on my case, like...like I'm intending to lead Bo on or something...I'm _used _to fucking up everything I touch, _believe _me..."

"I don't think you'd ever _mean _to hurt him," Asami affirmed. "Or any of us. I just worry that...maybe your priorities could be in a better place. On yourself, instead of worrying so much about what everyone else thinks."

Korra had no answer to this, instead getting up from the couch and slogging over to the kitchen. As Korra moaned with discomfort, Naga yipped at her heels, hungry for food and attention.

Asami's expression paled at Korra's stoicism, and she worried for her new-found friend, and the troubles that seemed to follow the woman.

* * *

Katara's eyes were burning and flickering, water building up at the corners as the line she was calling a third time now went straight to voicemail. She had a hand up to her ear to shield from the noise and commotion swirling around them.

"Still not...-?" Aang started, but cut himself short when Katara ignored him, ending her call and dropping the phone to the table.

Still glaring at her phone, Katara rubbed her sleeve along her eyes, drying them. Aang tried to rub her back with his palm, her muscles tightened, and was glad that she at least let him do this. They were seated at a booth table at one edge of the cafeteria, one couple on each side, with Mai seated in a standalone chair on the edge opposite the wide windowed wall.

Mai had begrudgingly joined the group for lunch at Aang's invitation. By the time they had gathered their food and sat down, she'd asked them what they had made of what had transpired the night prior. While Aang had gotten a hold of Jane and received a call back in the evening, it had been brief, and he hadn't had the proper opportunity in the middle of a busy school day to try discussing it until now. Mai, shocked that they hadn't heard about the events, bluntly explained things, which had led to Katara understanding that the entire 'Combustion Man' situation was indeed what Aang had been keeping under wraps this whole time.

In her distraught panic, Katara had been trying with fervor to call either of the two women who'd been involved with the incident, but to no avail.

"_None_ of you have seen _either_ of them today?" Katara fiercely asked, having now given up in attempting to reach them by phone.

"Uh...Ssssorry," Sokka jumped in slowly, befuddled by the tension that had fallen over everyone at Mai's announcement a couple of minutes prior. "I...haven't seen 'em." He shrugged his left shoulder up sheepishly at his sister's distraught glance.

Toph, firmly pressed against Sokka's other shoulder, smirked to herself, her head bobbed low. She twisted it up, facing the crowded cafeteria sprawled before them.

"_Oh! _There they are!" she chirped, stabbing her finger through the air.

Aang and Sokka both jerked their heads on instinct, puzzled as to where they were supposed to be looking, while Katara's teeth ground together at her joking roommate. After the split second it took for the boys to collect themselves, Sokka gave his girlfriend a kick to the shin with a scowl she couldn't see.

"_Ow_," Toph grunted under her breath. "Just trying to lighten the fucking _mood_..."

"_Haa. Haa,_" Mai sighed out, her tone stiff as metal, but sharp as knives.

Mai's arms were folded across her waist, her face stuck in ghastly frown of anger. Aang hadn't seen her expression budge an inch since they'd sat down. It was also somewhat disconcerting that Mai was here, yet Ty-Lee and Zuko weren't with her per the norm. She'd been acting strange all week, and had been rather unresponsive to Aang's attempts at idle chatter in the art studio.

"Yea, well, _your _attitude ain't doin' us any favors," Toph quipped back at Mai, her attempt at light-heartedness swiftly erased.

"At least I'm taking this seriously," Mai countered, unmoving.

"Why are you _here_, then?" Katara asked with some confusion. "Sh-shouldn't you be...I dunno, w-with your _boyfriend, _or...-"

"He's at the hospital," Mai flatly explained. "Visiting his uncle."

"And you didn't feel like going?" Katara incredulously questioned.

"Eat," Aang whispered in her ear, scratching her back and hoping to calm her down.

Katara huffed through her nostrils and tried to focus on filling her face with seafood salad.

"No," said Mai in a delayed and bitter reply to Katara's question. "I didn't."

Toph jumped in, keeping her temper calm but her words rough.

"Why _do _something about this when you could just pout like a little bitch instead, right?"

"_Toph_," Sokka hissed quietly.  
"_What?_" she snipped back.

"I'm not pouting," Mai firmly insisted, with the same unfeeling monotone she'd exercised throughout this conversation.

"You're not doing _anything_," Aang put out his thoughts, much to the surprise of the rest. "You've been in this...this _funk _for days now. You've been avoiding Zuko, avoiding Ty-Lee...avoiding _me_...Walling yourself in. We're worried about you."

"I'm not," Toph volunteered with smarm. Aang ignored her.

"Mai, I know you don't like getting involved with stuff, but...this is important! We're all connected to this, but it's like you're..._dis_connected."

Mai scanned Aang's pleading eyes for a second before moving her glare down to her empty plate. After a pause, she replied with scathing sarcasm.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry I can't be as high-strung and crazy as the _rest_ of you."

"I'm sorry, too," insisted Aang. "I wish you _would _be high-strung and crazy for once, instead of...keeping all of this negative energy bottled up inside." Mai had shut her eyes, as if enduring Aang's criticism with disinterest. Aang flicked his hand over to Toph, ignorant of this motion as she chewed on her grilled cheese sandwich. "Toph just said you're 'pouting like a little...-' I mean, are you going to just _take _that?"

"What do you _want _from me?" Mai groaned, crossing her arms up over the back of her neck and leaning in her chair, staring blankly at the cafeteria's ceiling. Her eyes were still closed. "You want a teary confession about how hard this is for me? About how-...What? How _w__orried_ I've been? Well, I _haven't _been. Iroh, Jane...your friend...Despite what the news might have you think, they _put _themselves in that position. And Zuko did the same thing. He _asked _for this. I don't _worry _about people who _choose _to put themselves in danger like that, who choose to draw that kind of attention to themselves. Who choose to...get _involved _in other people's business."

Toph went about defiantly munching her sandwich without any concern, while Sokka sighed at the state of this social juncture. He was exhausted enough as it was just trying to keep his schoolwork and senior semester in order. At least there was something he could agree with Mai on: this drama was tiring.

"And you know what I realized?" Mai followed up. "It's _you _guys. You stir up all of this crap and make things worse on yourselves, instead of just letting things be. And then you get Zuko all worked up about this project, and who's there when his whole dream gets destroyed? _You _guys. Who's there _now, _when my Unc-...Mmph. When the Professor almost gets _killed? __You _people. _Your _group. All semester, all of this crap with you guys has been dragging Zuko down with it. He _chooses _to get himself worked up, put himself in danger...For _your _group. And I just...don't _care _anymore."

Aang was at least proud that neither Katara nor Toph were trying to butt in. They were leaving it him - out of those present, Aang was the closest with Mai, after all. There seemed to be an unspoken expectation in that moment that Aang needed to respond to Mai's cold attitude.

"_Do _you not care?" Aang doubted. "Or is it that you're so used to just withdrawing from problems - from other people - that when you're forced into a place where this _does _impact you - pretty directly, you know? - that you can't handle it, so now you're just...clamping up. Withdrawing."

"Maybe you need to go write a _poem_ about your _feelings_," Toph jeered. "Since ya can't seem to _do _anything about 'em."

"At least I won't _parade_ it around in front of people for attention," Mai immediately stabbed back.

Toph frowned with a suspicious, "...Huh?"

Katara pushed out an audible huff and Aang squinted, taking a deep breath at whatever the girls were passively sniping each other about.

"Toph, drop it, already," Aang grumbled, making sure she could hear the irritation in his voice. He focused back on Mai. "Listen. Mai. I'm sorry. I understand that you're staying away from the people you care about the most? That's not going to help anything. Zuko needs you right now. And you need him, _especially _with what you're feeling right now."

"You have _no idea _what I'm feeling," Mai darkly advised, at last lifting her head up to face her friend.

"Maybe...Maybe I _don't_," Aang admitted with a wild shrug, his eyes wide with worry. "But that's because you aren't expressing yourself about all of this! You're just...-"

Mai pressed her palms down on the table and leaned over Aang, her eyes narrowed. The sharp knives in her tone of voice today coated themselves with poison.

"You want me to _express myself? _Fine. **Leave me alone.**"

The almost expected reaction of nearby students being offput by the social conflict went unnoticed by Aang, so entrenched in Mai's wrath he was.

"Thhh...That's a good start," Aang feebly managed in a mumble, standing up. He reached out his hand to try and comfort his angry friend. His fingers brushed against her shoulder, and she pushed his hand off.

"Don't _touch _me," she hissed in a lowered voice. "I'm _mad. _Not a blubbering _mess_."

"Rrrright," Aang conceded quickly, drawing his hand in back to himself.

"You people want to keep creating drama for yourselves, _whatever._ Be my guest. I don't want to get pulled into it anymore."

With a startlingly calm and reserved demeanor, Mai scooped up her clean plate and cup before whisping away with the same gliding, smooth motions she would when in a pleasant mood. Aang took in a deep breath again, clutching at his queasy stomach. He took the chair Mai had been occupying and placed it back at the table it had been borrowed from, nodding timidly to the indifferent students that were using the rest of the table.

Aang sat back down beside Katara and kissed her on the cheek.

"Everybody's just...falling apart," Katara whimpered, her eyes getting damp again. "She's right, it's like we.._._bring this on ourselves."

"Hey, don't-..." Aang took her hand and squeezed, and she nodded to him, her face pale with doubt. "Things are going to be fine."

"I know," Katara mumbled shakily, going back to finishing her meal.

"Way to not stick up for me back there, Meat-Head," said Toph with some irritation.

"I'm not getting involved in this," Sokka insisted, his mouth curving down with distaste as he shook his head. "For once, I agree with Miss McEmopants. This group is like a drama machine. Everybody needs to chill out."

"_Sokka,_" Katara sighed out. "Chill _out? _Our cousin and our friend almost _killed _a man last night."

"But they _didn't,"_ Aang was quick to point out.

"And _you _kept it a secret!" Katara breathed out, still reeling from this fact.

"Everything doesn't need to be your business, Sister-Face," Toph tiredly pointed out. "You've gotta let some stuff go."

"Argh," Katara puffed out in exhausted agreement. "I _know, _I _do, _I just...-"

"Dead-Eyes..." Sokka patted Toph's leg. "_Y__ou _probably oughtta not shoot your mouth off in the middle of people's conversations. _That _doesn't help, either."

"Yea..." Toph grunted with a pout. "Maybe."

"I mean, I _like _your mouth a lot," Sokka tried to lighten the blow, "But I'm just sayin'."

Toph grinned, tilting her head and landing a kiss toward his face - she hit his jawline, the stubble on his face scratching against her nose. Sokka bobbed his head down and met her lips with his own.

"_Eh,_" Toph facetiously concluded, wiping her lips dry. "Still not sure how I feel about _your _mouth just yet," she teased.

"Ouch. That cuts me real deep."

"_You _should stop flapping _your_ mouth so much, too, then. Fair's fair."

"There we go," Sokka chuckled. "There's a good idea. Let's stop talking about drama and worry about that later. Kissing now. Eating. Drama..._later. _When I'm not around."

Silence fell over the group of four, and Aang poked his fork around his salad. His mind was buzzing with what Mai had said, her frigid voice and eyes still upsetting, still physically making him uncomfortable moments after she wasn't even there.

Her words had stung at him, deeper than he'd expected from something coming from Mai.

Their group really _was _a magnet for trouble - for emotional turmoil...wasn't it? Clawing at each other, clinging for dear life, because - as far as Aang was concerned, at least - this group was all each of them had.


	100. Express

**A/N: To help avoid any potential confusion, this entire segment takes place during the course of one day.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 100 - Express_

* * *

- Thursday, May 19th, 2011 -

"I just don't comprehend why you couldn't be bothered to call me back until now," Katara breathed out into her phone, pinching the bridge of her nose. She sat upon her bed, still in her skirt, blouse, and spring jacket. Her backpack had been dropped on the floor, and she was still in her shoes. "_Everyone's _been trying to get a hold of you, Korra, and it's like you just...disappeared off the map."

["I'm fucking everything up, Kat. I know. I'm sorry, OK?"] Korra's words were rushed and exhausted, and Katara could tell in that tone that her cousin was dealing with trouble from more than just her friends. This realization led to Katara tensing up into a pause, only to release out a sigh.

"It's...confusing that you came all the way out here to find work, apparently for our sakes, but you've been keeping us at a distance..."

["Yea...Bad sense of judgment, eh?"]

"_Yes_," Katara breathed out in agreement, wiping sand from the corners of her eyes.

["It wasn't...just for you and Sox, though."]

"Um, _well, _I sort of figured that out by now..."

["I just wanted a fresh start, Katara. I was gettin' tired of where my life was, tired of living on my own, so I...up and moved. This seemed like as good a place as any, and I figured, better off around some family than not."]

"It's nice to know we were just an afterthought in all this."

["Damnit, Kat,"] Korra grumbled. ["I didn't _say _that. I moved _here _instead of anywhere else _because _of you and Sokka. OK?"]

"Right," Katara more solemnly replied. "No, I'm...sorry, too, I just-...I don't know. I'm on edge lately."

["Isn't it about finals for you guys? _Everyone's _on edge lately."]

"And then I find out about this..._stuff_...with you and Jane, and none of it makes sense, and...-"

The two cousins sighed into their cell phones before a few seconds of tired consideration eachother.

["We should go out for drinks,"] Korra spontaneously decided.

"...What?"

["Me, you, Sokka. Family time. I'll have beer, buy both of you wimps drinkies, eh?"]

"Umm...Yea," Katara nodded to herself with some surprise. "That actually sounds good. Sure. Why not?" She could probably _use _some family time before the barrage of final exams hit.

["Cool! Great..."] Katara could pick up some relief in Korra's breath. ["Ehm, I'll-...Actually, how about Saturday?"]

"I-...All right. Yea. I mean, we're eating pizza with people for dinner - I'm sure it'd be OK if you came - so it'd have to be after that."

["Ah, erm...Yep. Awesome. I'll text Sox and let him know."]

"OK."

["Soooo...I guess I'll see you then."]

"Mm-hm."

["Later."]

"Bye."

Toph, sitting at her keyboard, had stopped practicing at some point during Katara's call and removed her headphones. She was picking her nose with her pinky at that moment, and after flicking whatever she'd retrieved to the floor, she yawned, scratching her stomach.

"What was _that _about?" she asked groggily.

"Finally got a call back from Korra," Katara explained, getting up from her bed and digging into her backpack.

"Still nothin' from Freckles, though, huh?"

"No..." Katara barely muttered with some disdain, pulling out the shoebox-sized package she'd received in the mail. It was her bi-annual snack care package that she'd received from her father.

"Fuckin' figures," Toph growled under her breath, blowing hot air at her bangs.

Katara opened up the package and smiled weakly at the trove of snacks within.

"Anyway, how _was _Korra?" Toph finally gave in and asked. She could hear Katara sifting through objects with plastic wrappers.

"Umm...-" Katara's attention was diverted by the small white card in the box. It had some text printed on it.

{Stay strong, my girl.}  
{Dad}

Katara's mouth quivered a tiny smile as she set the card aside and pulled out a Baby Ruth candy bar. Having realized that in these past few seconds she'd missed Toph's remark, she recollected herself.

"Sorry, Hun. What did you say?"

"I know, you're in freakin' _awe_ at the sight of chocolate," Toph teased with a smirk. "But I was wondering what was up with Korra."

"Oh. She sounded fine," Katara noted, sitting down at her desk and unwrapping the candy. "Which was sort of weird." Katara opened up her laptop, awakening it. "But...I guess I'm going out drinking with her and Sokka in a couple days, after our pizza night."

"And you're..._OK _with this?" Toph wondered, intrigued.

"It's usually more what Sokka and Korra want to do, but-..._I _don't know...I just need some time with them, I guess. Whatever we do, I don't care..."

"I _see_," Toph puffed out, her brows furrowed as her face stared blankly at their dresser.

"...What?" Katara asked, displeased with Toph's judgmental syllable. Was she upset that she hadn't been invited?

"Wh-? _Agh, _it's nothin'."

"_What_?" Katara sighed.

"I thought I'm supposed to keep my mouth shut when I've got crap to say."

"Toph," Katara groaned with impatience, "Just _say _it." She clicked on her internet browser shortcut that would pull up YouTube.

"'Kay." Toph was clearly unfazed by Katara's tired mood. "I keep hearing you and, like, _everybody _say this one thing - uh, _two _things - lately."

Katara turned her head over her shoulder from her chair, her typing slowing to a stop.

"Oh?"

Toph cleared her throat, scratched her stomach again - _argh, _fuckin' bug bite or something - and explained herself.

"'_I don't know.__' _Or...'_I don't care._' Hell, you just said _both _of them just now."

Katara lifted a brow, confused as to what Toph was on about. She worried it wouldn't end well.

"Some shit hits the fan and everybody starts freakin' out, and it's all _I dunno, I dunno, _when they're talking. And what's this '_I don't care' _shit, huh, Sugar Queen? I thought _caring _was your whole _thing._ You know what kinda people say '_I don't care?_' Miss McEmopants, that's who."

"Toph, I don't-...If this is your way of trying to be _encouraging, _it-"  
"Wrong answer," Toph interrupted. "Yesterday, Mai was trying to blame her problems on _us, _and _Aang _was the one to step up and say something. _Aang. _And you just let her yell at him - at your _guy _- and make us out to be tight-wound weirdos, or-..._Pff._ And what the shit was with her, like, 'parading it around' comment? What was with that?"

"I...I think she gets the impression you flaunt yourself," Katara indirectly replied. "_Gee, __wherever _could she get _th__at _idea, I wonder?"

"She's just jealous."_  
_

"Toph, you kind of _attacked _her. You were pressing her buttons."

"It's a gift," Toph bragged.

"_I know._"

"She can quoth the raven, 'nevermore,' all she freakin' wants, but if she's going to sit back and not _do _anything about whatever's up her ass, she can't expect her problems to go away."

"What are you getting at?" Katara asked flatly.

"My Sister-Face isn't the sort of person who kicks back and whimpers, '_I dunno, I don't care_.' That's not the Katara I know. That's not _you._"

"Yea? The 'Katara you know' just ends up making people get sick of her..."

"Oh, _whatever! _Ya gonna go crying about Shamrocks some more?"

"Like you _don't care_ about it, either?"

"Sure I do. But ya don't see me throwin' a pity party over it, do ya?"

Katara turned away, her back to Toph as she unwrapped her candy bar, and Toph went on.

"I may not be too fond of Aang's art buddy, but I'll give her this: she's not wrong about what she said about us having drama."

"I am so _sick _of people _saying _that!" Katara burst out, seemingly out of nowhere. Her body had tightened up, and she'd squeezed her candy tightly, arms flicking upward. She went on a brief tirade. "Maybe _drama _isn't always such a bad thing! If we didn't have _drama, _would we be as close as we are? Would we really _know _how much we cared about each other? We're _dramatic _because our lives have had _dramatic things _happen in them!"

"Uhhh...Yea, _that _wasn't _dramatic _of you at _all_," was Toph's snarky reaction, which elicited a frustrated sigh.

Katara had dropped her bar onto her desk, veiling her face with her fingers as she tried to take deep, slow breaths.

"Can we just stop talking about this now?" she requested. "You're _really _not helping..."

"OK, OK, OK," Toph hastily attempted to reconcile. "Calm _down. _Now, _that _was what I was talking about - you have some _umph _in there, ya got all worked up. _That's _the Katara I know."

"The Katara you know is a control-freak who has an obsessive impulse to _fix _every problem she runs into."

"And that's not always _bad_, simmer down."

"I am, I'm simmering down," Katara insisted with a calm, cool-headed tone. She continued to focus on slowing her breathing, not tensing up, and relaxing her body.

"Not tryin' to start a fight here," Toph assured, rising up from her chair and cautiously stepping toward Katara's desk. "All I'm saying is that I miss my Sister-Face."

Katara felt Toph's fingers pressing down on her denim spring jacket. As the hand found its way from Katara's back to her left shoulder, where it squeezed, Katara felt a swell of gratitude bubble up inside her.

"And I don't like seein' her so gloomy and stuff," Toph concluded. "Maybe right now you're pissed because Jane doesn't appreciate you. But guess what? _I _do. And let's face it, I am fucking _awesome. _So you should feel special."

"_Fff_!" Katara could feel water quivering around her eyeballs, but she kept it in, smiling weakly at Toph's strange way of complimenting. "It helps a little," she decided, giving Toph's wrist a reciprocal touch.

"It's the end of the semester, this buildings-being-lit-on-fire thing is kinda crazy, people are on edge...And _trust _me, when people are on edge, they say and do shit that they regret later."

Katara, now calmed down a bit, nodded in agreement, if only to herself.

"Things'll shake out in the end because like you just said - drama llamas travel in packs."

"Huh? I didn't say...-"  
"You pretty much did."  
"I...I guess so, sure..."

"Me and that goth girl may not _see eye to eye_...-" Toph paused, awaiting a reaction. "_Ugh, _we need to fix your sense of humor." She flicked her hand against Katara's back. "Start eating your chocolate or whatever."

Katara giggled a bit and followed her orders, taking a bite of her peanut-filled candy bar.

"Bebbe Woof, ackfully," she corrected through a mouthful of the stuff.

"_Lah-dee-dah_," Toph mocked playfully. "Eat. Eat it. 'Atta girl. Now I _know _you turned on your laptop so you can look up stupid cat videos...-"

Katara looked at her screen, the YouTube homepage with the search bar that she'd filled in not long ago reading, [Kittens].

"I'm right, right?" Toph cockily checked.

Katara was silent, smirking to herself as she took another bite and clicked the search button.

"Thought so," said Toph. "So, look up your cat stuff, and lemme finish, and I'll leave you to it. Where was I...?"

"Mai."

"_Yes. _Her. Maybe she and I don't _see eye to eye_...-"

Katara belted out a loud, forced laugh for Toph's amusement, and Toph smiled.

"-...but things with her will get all patched up. Things with your cousin will be fine. And ya know? Stuff with ol' Shamrock Shakes is gonna work out, too. 'How do you know that, Toph?' I hear you ask. And aside from, 'Because I am a Goddess, naturally I know these things,' the answer would be because _you _are _you. _And Aang is _Aang. _And for better or worse, _you two _always seem to find a way to make things right. Because you're almost as amazing as I am. So, there. I'm done." Toph found her way back to her chair as Katara distracted herself with search filter options. Toph plopped back down in front of her keyboard. "I've gotta practice some more before I go hang out with the Bee-Eff. Lemme know if you find any pretzels in there."

"OK." With one last inhalation, Katara felt her body calm and stilled. She exhaled her worries, and instead focused on how adorable and funny cats could be for a while, assured with some evidence that Toph wasn't the girl she'd been when they'd moved in together. Toph had learned - and _chosen _- to understand how Katara worked, and what she needed when she was feeling down. She hadn't said it outright, but likewise, Katara had grown to understand how _Toph _worked, and that exchange had been Toph's way of saying: _It doesn't matter if you 'fixed' __Jane or not, because you 'fixed' **me.**_

For right now, that assurance was enough to get Katara through her evening. And yet, Katara couldn't deny that this same general exchange had happened between her and Toph a few times now in recent memory. Still, Katara was repeating her own self-destructive cycle. Toph was right: Katara had to _do _something about her circumstances, because _doing _was, in fact, how Katara was used to solving problems._**  
**_

So, then, what was she supposed to _do, _then?

* * *

Standing in the doorway, Ty-Lee nervously tapped the objects in her hands together. She studied Mai's posture: lethargically hunched over her laptop, fidgeting with Photoshop through bloodshot eyes. The only sound in the room for a few seconds was that of Mai's stylus tapping against her drawing tablet.

When dinnertime had rolled around, Mai had been arguing with Zuko over the phone. Ty-Lee had attempted to prod Mai to drop the call and get some food in her system, but Mai had stiffly declined, leaving Ty-Lee to eat on her own. Luckily, Ty-Lee was fairly popular, so finding meal company hadn't been a problem. She'd been hammered with some attention concerning her recent coming-out with a rich, young businesswomen, and had dominated the dinner discussion. She had sobered up from the intoxication of social egotism by the time she'd walked back to Terra House - alone - faced with the prospect of another evening with Mai, who had been in _quite _the grumpy mood all week.

Having predicted that Mai had - once again - just plain skipped out on dinner, as she had the night prior, Ty-Lee had made a stop at the snack desk in the main lobby of the dorm on her way back up.

Now, Ty-Lee stood awkwardly, a bottle of apple juice in one hand, a Mars Bar in the other, staring at her roommate with concern.

"Hi..." Ty-Lee weakly greeted. A seconds passed without to much as a glance. Ty-Lee's eyes dimmed. She trudged Mai's side and set down the snacks beside Mai's tablet. "I, um...thought you could use something to eat..."

Mai's eyes briefly darted to the very specifically selected food items. She closed her eyes, took in a breath, and sighed, looking back to her screen.

"I'm not hungry," Mai declared, her voice like dulled sandpaper.

"...OK," Ty-Lee murmured in defeat. She was petrified of a repeat of the night before, in which Mai had gone off at her for not minding her own business. "Um, well...So, it's there for you...when you _are _hungry..._"_

No reaction.

Ty-Lee swallowed the lump in her throat and retreated to her own desk, pulling her psychology textbook off the shelf. If Mai was going to be like this tonight, she couldn't handle it. The woman's dingy aura was exuding across the room, and it was simply too toxic for Ty-Lee to be around. She'd bring some study material with her to examine after her shift at work was over. Yea, she'd just...find a quiet place in the ACC and study for a while...Maybe call her girlfriend - Azula wasn't exactly the sort to cheer people up, but at least Azula could carry a conversation and keep Ty-Lee's mind distracted for a while. Thinking on this, Ty-Lee checked her phone: it was about time for her to head off to her usual Thursday night shift at the Jasmine Dragon.

Maybe the music from open-mic night would help clear her senses.

"Um..." She paused as she hit the doorway. "I'm...off to work, then..." She slowly opened the door, waiting for a response.

"Bye," was what she got from Mai.

Ty-Lee's insides churned with disappointment and doubt as she closed the door gently behind her.

* * *

[_fortuneteller114_ - hey, douglas! you there?]  
[6:42 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Yes, I'm here. Sorry, I'm busy.]  
[7:01 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - oh. :( i can leave you alone. i know it's almost finals time.]  
[7:01 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - It's OK. :) I can make time. I'm going to be up for a while, anyway.]  
[7:01 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Besides, we haven't talked in a little while.]  
[7:02 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - that's true. school school school. right?]  
[7:02 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Right. -_-]  
[7:03 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - oh, and well...more crazy creepy scary stuff! :( i heard there was another fire!]  
[7:03 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - i mean what the HECK, man? that's gotta be scary!]  
[7:03 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Yes. Someone definitely had it in for the college. But the police got the guy.]  
[7:04 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - about time, too.]  
[7:04 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - I think everything will be OK. You won't have to worry.]  
[7:04 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - ? worry about what?]  
[7:05 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - OOOOO right. when i visit!]  
[7:07 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - :) ]  
[7:08 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - How soon will that be, by the way?]  
[7:08 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - next weekend!]  
[7:09 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - That's great. I think you'll like it here.]  
[7:10 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - yea i hope so. not sure how well i'll fit in tho.]  
[7:11 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - This school has its fair share of weirdos. You'll be fine.]  
[7:13 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - you think so? :) ]  
[7:13 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - HEY WAIT. you just called me a weirdo! (mad) grrr.]  
[7:14 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - :P I'm a weirdo, too.]  
[7:16 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - no you're not. you're nice. and not crazy.]  
[7:16 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Nice and not crazy. Thanks. That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me all week.]  
[7:17 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - lol! i'm nice and crazy, tho.]  
[7:18 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Yes. You are.]  
[7:18 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - :P ]  
[7:19 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - So what do you think you will major in when you get here?]  
[7:20 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - gosh. i have no idea. i haven't thought about it.]  
[7:21 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Wait...You're coming to this college and you don't even know what you want to study?]  
[7:22 pm]

["-Bling!-"]  
Meng's computer browser icon flashed in her taskbar. She'd just received a Facebook message.

[_fortuneteller114_ - sru is a liberal arts school. i'm sure i will figure it out.]  
[7:23 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - All right. It's just that college is an expensive thing.]  
[7:24 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - but learning is priceless. right? :P]  
[7:25 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Ha. Something of that nature.]  
[7:26 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - so i was wondering about the campus. tophie told me it's like its own thing. separate and stuff. like a private school. i mean duh, i know it's private but like, isn't it weird to be separate from the city?]  
[7:26 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - That's right. It is a private school, and I guess it is a little strange, but it's nice. There's a sense of community. Why, was there something you were wondering about?]  
[7:27 pm]

Meng gave in to her distraction and checked her Facebook message.

[**Facebook - Meng Beifong**]

[**Messages**]

[**Lao Beifong**]  
[I have not seen them. My daughter has decided that she does not want her parents in her life, and we will respect that wish.]

Upon seeing this delayed reply to her message from the week prior, Meng groaned audibly, pounding her forehead into her keyboard in slow, methodical frustration.

[**Meng Beifong**]  
[ b hnb hnjjyhyj]  
She held down the {Backspace} key to clear this text and wrote her actual response.

[uncle lao, i know toph can be mean but i swear she's getting better. she's jst stubborn. and i'm sorry but it sounds like you're being stubborn, too.]

Meng paused, staring at and re-reading this line. She acknowledged that she could catch some heat if she was going to be so blunt with her uncle, but this was important. She typed some more.

[i know you want her to respect you and stuff but you are the parents. you should set the example. the example you set was to not supprt her work. not support her school or her music or her friends. and she is so stubborn like you that she has prblems admitting when she made a mistake. but you know what? she makes mistakes now and she admits it. she's learning and its because of her school and her friends. and it's a school i want to go to.]

Meng took another moment to survey what she'd written out. Affirming to herself that yes, she wanted to be this straight-forward about the matter, she concluded her statement.

[and she is GOOD. she is a good musician who cares about her work and i believe in her. you are her DAD. you should too. now please watch the videos i sent you. i worked on those, i helped toph make them, i put them online for her, and they are GOOD. maybe if you give it a chance you will understand. i hope you will because i love my cousin, and i love you and aunt poppy, and grammy would be proud of toph continuing that music. i can see that. why can't you?]

Meng's middle finger flew to the {Enter} key where it lingered for a long second as Meng was tempted to reconsider her bold choice of words. She pressed the key, sending the message, and closed her Facebook window. It was done, it was sent, and that was that.

[_fortuneteller114_ - sorry to keep you waiting. i had an impotant message to send.]  
[7:38 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - Impotent? I thought you were crazy. Wouldn't that make your message potent?]  
[7:42 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - (confused) ]  
[7:42 pm]

[_TheDukeofFreedom_ - (rofl) Never mind. :P You were asking about the campus?]  
[7:44 pm]

[_fortuneteller114_ - :O yea yea! i was. what's it like living in a dorm anyway?]  
[7:46 pm]

* * *

"...Huh?" Aang paused, blinking up at Sokka's prying eyes.

Sokka, hovering over his roommate's shoulder, studied the sketch Aang had created. It looked like some little cartoony bald guy with a giant wrench-thing.

"I was asking why you were still here," Sokka repeated.

"Oh." Aang closed his sketchbook. "I feel so _welcomed_," he jibed. Sokka prodded Aang's shoulder and rolled his eyes.

"I didn't mean it like _that_," Sokka grumbled. "I'm just sayin', I wouldn't have invited Dead-Eyes up if I'd known you were gonna change your mind."

"I feel so _welcomed_!" Toph facetiously whimpered from atop Sokka's lofted bed. Sokka sighed.

"I _like _having you both in my room, guys," he assured. "I just wanna make sure Aang can get his work done."

"Yea, Twinkles. It's not like you're hanging out with us. You're just spaced out over in the corner."

"He's been drawing," Sokka said, leaning against the side of his bed and stuffing his hands into his back pockets.

"I figured that part out," said Toph. Sprawled on her side, she could smell Sokka's head nearby. With his bed lofted close to the ceiling, Sokka's head was about level with the mattress itself when he was standing beside it. Toph reached her hand around lazily over the edge of the bed until she found Sokka's head.

"I'm fine working here," Aang insisted politely, setting his sketchpad inside a desk drawer and pulling out a textbook. "I'm just not up for being in the art building tonight. It's crowded, people are trying to finish everything up before finals..."

Toph, who was scratching at Sokka's loose hair, tossed out her theory.

"Scared of sharing space with Miss McEmopants."

"No, that's...not it," Aang defended.

"_Riiight. _She still givin' you crap?"

"N-no, she didn't even show up to class today."

"Mmph." Toph frowned, her fingers sifting through Sokka's dry, rough hair. She could sense Sokka exhale with disinterest at this change of topic. He'd been getting fairly detached lately, which Toph could understand, but it wasn't like him all the same. 'Senioritis,' maybe?

"It's just a little hard to focus on schoolwork with everything that's been happening," Aang explained, leaning back in his chair. He and Sokka nodded to each other in solemn agreement.

"Yea," Toph breathed out begrudgingly, folding her hands behind her neck as she laid on her back, one ankle crossing the other. "We haven't exactly been hanging out as much as we usually do, either. Like, when was the last time we spent time with Suki?"

"I had lunch with her last week," Sokka pointed out.

"What?" Toph was a bit surprised - a tinge annoyed, even. Was it really so easy for Sokka to just get over a girl like that? Hadn't he been so hung up on Yue for so long? Was he just a different person lately? "The hell?" Toph added with some offense. "Why doesn't Powderpuff want to hang out with the _rest_ of us?"

"She's a little intimidated," Sokka sighed. "Mai wasn't exactly lying about us being a magnet for trouble, after all." He grabbed his laptop and plopped it onto the bed beside his girlfriend. Toph listened to him type and click away.

"Eh...Fair enough," she let the subject drop out of discussion, practicing that 'not-spewing-out-everything-she-wanted-to-say' thing Sokka had been ragging on her for as of late.

"We're all going to be hanging out on Saturday," Aang tried to encourage. "Pizza night?"

"_Ahhhh, _right," Toph conceded. "We'll see how that goes."

"I wouldn't worry so much," Sokka dismissed. "This is just college, guys - everything's temporary. People come and go, it happens. If my Sis could just face that fact she wouldn't be having so many issues."

Aang frowned a little at Sokka's offhanded statement but opted to not stir the pot. Toph even felt uneasy at the particularly breezy way in which Sokka had expressed himself. The guy was set to graduate any day now, now. Naturally, knowing the blockhead, he'd be mentally preparing himself for good-byes. What did that mean about how Sokka felt about the blind bandit that had stolen his heart so recently?

"Mai's a smart girl," Sokka admitted. "I can't say I blame her for not wanting to get her hands dirty trying to clean up everyone else's droppings. Now, then...Enough of that." He was clearly eager to change the subject and began playing a loud video. Toph immediately recognized the introductory theme and all three students in the room sang along.

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=h5uUcI9-5T0 +  
_(Ask a Ninja, 05.03.11)_

Sokka had been getting Toph into a fast-paced, odd video blog series about a self-proclaimed 'Ninja' answering peoples' questions about living life as a ninja. It was a quick, loud series that Toph could enjoy despite being unable to see what was being displayed on the screen. Toph let herself phase out into hazy thoughts for a few seconds. Sokka chuckling at something she had missed brought her back to attention.

["...Uhhh, what we could use a little _more _of is, uh, some _slash _mobs. Which I always like - that's where you...surprise everybody in the mall by cutting them. Nothing brings an important issue to the forefront like _blood. _**Do ninjas play Pac-Man?! **We actually play _Smack_-Man, it's where we, uh, run around and see how many heroine dealers we can kill while...-"]]

Toph's brain had clicked together something back at 'Nothing brings an important issue to the forefront like _blood. _She had gotten an idea.

As the fast-talking voice continued its amusing if loud statements, Toph squirmed toward her snickering boyfriend's presence and groped for his head.

"Yea?" said Sokka, pausing his video and leaning in his head toward her. She kissed his scratchy face, her lips playing around his jawline.

"What time is it?" she asked, now having his full attention. He kissed her back on her lips.

"Uh...Like, eight?"

"Mm...You mind if I make a trip to get some coffee?" she asked casually.

"Erm...I won't stop ya." Good boy. He understood she wanted a moment to herself. She could hear him closing his laptop and transporting it to his desk. "You need a few bucks for it, or...-?"

"I won't turn it down," Toph replied as Sokka's hands wedged themselves in her arm pits. He helped her slide off the raised edge of his bed and drop down on her bare feet. "You want me to pick you up somethin', Meat-Head?"

Sokka fished out his wallet, then stuffed a few bills into her hand.

"Nah, I'm good. Here's four dollars, fill up on sugar and caffeine, eh?"

"Thanks." Toph folded the worn paper and slipped it into her pocket. She enjoyed Sokka's fleshy presence wrapping itself around her, and she squeezed back. "I'll be back in a little while."

"'Kay. Have fun out there," said Sokka. "Don't hurt yourself out there," he teased.

"Oh, I know," she jeered. "Fragile lil' girl like me on the big _scary _campus."

Sokka smacked her on the buttocks as he eased her toward the door, and she gave him a light jab to the arm.

As she slipped on her sandals and retrieved her walking cane from beside the dorm room door, she noted Aang's silence.

"Aang," she said.

"Mm?"

"Cheer up, man. _Jeez._"

"I'm fine," Aang muttered, off-put by Toph's command. He watched her exit the room and disappear down the hall.

"She's just worried about you," Sokka explained after a minute or so had passed.

"I know," said Aang, staring down blankly at the half-filled page of penciled text he'd been writing.

"Speaking of worrying, did Katara go to her counseling thing today?"

"Oh. Yea, I think so."

"Good."

"Have you and her not been, like...talking as much lately?"

"Ech...Not as much, I guess."

"She _is _still trying to get her mood back up."

"Right. There's just this complicated part of it where...I guess we both _know _that pretty soon, I'm gonna be gone."

"Hm. Yea. That's...like you said, part of college."

"Exactly. Katara has problems coping with that sort of thing, though, was my point."

"True."

"Senior year of high school wasn't easy on her, she felt alone in a lot of ways...I think part of her is freakin' out so much right now 'cuz it's, like...Our little _thing _- our friend group - it's sorta falling apart. And then soon enough I'll be gone, too. She's afraid of being stuck back in that kind of place, is what it is."

"You think so?"

"Yep."

"Good point. I dunno. I mean, she'll have me. And Toph, too. For sure, she'll have both of us, at least."

"See, _I _know that. Katara just gets this trust issue problem - you know how it is. I mean, really she's only known you and Toph for like, a year and a half. She's kinda used to losing people about that time."

"Oh, like her high school friends?"

"And the friends she made freshman here at college, too. She cares so much, she worries, she overthinks everything? It drives a lot of people off."

"That won't happen with us. Me and Toph will keep our eye on her. We'll look after her."

"Heh. I'd _hope _so, with how she's looked after the both of you."

"Don't worry about it, Sokka. She's in good hands. But I think you two shouldn't waste your time right now - you should be together while you can."

"Eh. We're gonna try to have some family time this weekend with Kor, so-...Yea. It's a work-in-progress."

Aang nodded in approval and looked down to his writing as Sokka diverted attention to his computer.

"More work equals more progress," said Aang with some optimism.

* * *

_Kla-kling-ling...ling..._~  
The windchimes that hung above the Jasmine Dragon's doors jangled, soothing Toph's ears amidst the the familiar sound of violin playing. Toph stood still before the glass double doors, her ears studying the spinning strings that cheerfully leapt through the coffee shop. The familiar sensations enveloped her in that moment. A few off notes here and there - _augh, _that one was flat, _yech. _Still, though, Dougie sounded like he'd been practicing. Before regret and guilt over the unresolved situation with the violinist could consumer her brain, Toph swayed her walking cane to her right, toward the front counter.

She tapped the back of someone's sneaker, receiving a mumble of, "Oh, sorry..." as they shuffled out of her way.

"Toph...?" Ah, good. As usual, Ty-Lee was working. She sounded really weird, though. "Whhhhat are _you _doing here?" she squeaked out, her voice lacking its usual pep and vigor. "You didn't sign up this week, and...someone took your usual spot..."

"Oh, that's fine," Toph calmly dismissed the girl's gloomy concern. Toph stretched out her arms a bit to try and illustrate that her guitar wasn't on her person. "I'm just here for some coffee, say 'hi'..."

"Ah...So...What did you want today?"

"Can I get a large iced coffee?"

"Mm-hm...That'll be $3.50."

"Yep..." Toph pulled out the four ones Sokka had given her and handed them over. Ty-Lee's hand was cold and dry. The barista rung up the order and dropped two quarters into Toph's hand, which she stuffed back in her pocket. Toph leaned herself against the bar as she enjoyed Douglas' music. The windchimes clattered twice during the process of her coffee being made.

"Here you are..."

Toph perked her attention toward the sound of Ty-Lee's voice and cautiously slid her fingertips across the receiving counter - Ty-Lee gently eased the frigid, plastic cup into Toph's grasp. Toph worked her lips around the cup's top, found the straw, and sucked in a slurp. It was creamy and sweet. Well, at least the girl was still capable of making her coffee right.

"Uhh..." Toph tried to get Ty's attention.

"Yea?"

"So, like-...Are you _OK?_" Toph asked pointedly.

"Nn...Not really," Ty-Lee confessed. Toph awaited Ty-Lee's inevitable explanation - the girl was a gossiper, after all - but none came.

"Oh..." Toph coughed. "So her Gothiness got to you, too, huh? Seems like she'd bringin' everyone down into her _miasma _of despair."

No response.

"Uhhh...Is she..._here?_" Toph wondered. That remark Mai had made about 'parading around' hadn't been settling right in Toph's mind, and given the combined elements of Ty-Lee working at the coffee shop and Mai's fondness of said establishment, Toph had figured out the context.

"She...-" Ty-Lee hesitated. "Um, I mean...-"

"Which table?" Toph insisted.

"Er...To your-...Here." Ty-Lee made her way around the counter and took Toph's arm. Toph was _not _a fan of being treated like she couldn't find her way around a room, but she endured the discomfort for Ty's sake. As Toph was set down in a chair, she hung up her walking cane's loop on one of the chair's edges.

"Thanks," she bid Ty-Lee, who slinked back off to her workplace without a word.

There was a heavy silence as Toph sipped her coffee calmly, leaned back in her seat. Beneath the sounds of chattering students and peppy violin, Toph could hear a hardcover book being closed across the table.

"Can I _help _you?" Mai's scratchy voice bit at Toph's presence.

Toph smugly sucked down her smooth iced coffee before slapping the plastic cup on the table. She stuck up her hand and pointed her index finger to the spot Mai's words had emerged from.

"Yea!" Toph cockily advised. "You can stop being such a downer and dragging people along for the ride."

"I don't need to listen to this, you can _leave_," commanded Mai, keeping her tone level so as not to attract attention.

With her arms crossed around her chest, Toph sucked on her straw for a moment, breathed out with satisfaction, and closed her eyes, smiling with audacity.

"Actually, I _don't. _This is a public place."

Mai was agitated by the fact that Toph was impervious to the usual dagger glares she'd been tossing out to get people to back off.

"Why are you here?" Mai asked after a pause.

"Don't sound so surprised," Toph jeered. "This is about my usual time, isn't it?"

Mai's eyes rolled as she set her chin down in one palm, gazing to the blonde-haired boy playing on stage.

"So, where's your guitar, then?" Mai wondered.

"I'm skipping it tonight - too busy practicing for finals, anyway."

"Yet you have time to come harass me..." Mai remarked, watching Toph guzzle her drink like an animal at a watering hole.

"That's 'cuz friends make time for each other."

"We're not _friends._"

"Didn't say we were. But you're friends with _Aang, _who's friends with _me. _And Katara, too." Another swig of cold coffee. "But aside from that, what the hell did you do to turn Princess Bubbles over there into a puddle of 'meh?'"

"You want to run that by me again - in _English, _this time?"

Toph's daring smirk wiped away to reveal a small scowl.

"How did you make Ty-Lee so upset?" she asked robotically.

"She wouldn't leave me alone, so we're not talking right now."

"Then what the _fuck _are you doin' _here?_" Toph blurted out in protest. "She _has _to be here - she's working."

"I come here all the time. I relax. I listen to music. I do my homework."

"You, you, you, then."

"Spare me. I don't go around sleeping with-"  
"This isn't _about _me," Toph cut Mai off at the pass. "I made mistakes, I owned up to it, I made good. And that's none of your business. But this is about your friends - _our _friends."

"Exactly. It's about _our friends _being self-destructive. I understand you know _all _about that."

"Yea. I do." Toph leaned forward in her chair and drank some more. "And when everything blew up in my face, my friends were there for me, 'cuz that's what friends _do. _Now, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, here...I thought you _loved _Zuko. Ty-Lee, Aang...they're your _friends, _right? And they didn't even _do _anything here."

Mai scratched at the back of her head and sighed reluctantly.

"But friends don't try forcing their opinions on you, and telling you how to live your own life..."

"_Ha. _Well, first off, they _do _when they actually know what's good for ya - hell knows I haven't always known what was good for _me _- and secondly, um, _so?_ You freaked out on us - at Aang - back at lunch yesterday, and he didn't even say anything that bad."

"I need _space _some times."

"So do _I. _You don't think I do? I do _all _the freakin' time. You think Ty-Lee's annoying? Well...OK, _yea, _I mean, she can prolly get pretty annoying, but so can _Katara, _and Katara's a _lot _meaner about it when she thinks she's right."

"And your point?" Mai was growing exhausted of this discussion.

"They get on our backs 'cuz they _care. _They put up with our crap, it's not too much to ask we deal with theirs, right? And space? You don't _need _to be a bitch to people to get space. I learned that the hard way. Now, when I need space, I've got my music. And you've got your..._poetry_...That's plenty of space, right there, isn't it? And they give us that when...-" Applause shattered Toph's train of thought as Douglas finished his performance in the background, the loud clapping of everyone in the cafe jarring her.

Toph huffed and administered three even claps of her own, while Mai courteously applauded for a few seconds with the rest of the audience until it faded away.

"I've got _work _to do," Mai stated. "Are we going somewhere with this?"

Toph's nose wrinkled as she drained more coffee from her cup. What was it with people and asking her that? Damnit, when she wanted to piss a person off she could do it with precision and speed, but when it came to this 'pep talk' stuff it was like sand spilling between her fingers.

"'Kay." Toph rubbed her itchy nose on her wrist and took a deep breath. "Lemme try this again."

"Oh, _brother_..."

"You're mad at Zuko and Iroh 'cuz they got involved with this psychobabble pyromaniac crap. Now, who did they go through all that trouble for?"

"...Well, your friends..."

"Is Iroh in the fucking _hospital _right now because it gives him his jollies?"

"No."

"Half his damned house burn down because it benefited him?"

"_No._"

"Did your boyfriend have anything to gain here?"

"I don't..._think _so."

"Mm. And did they bring you into it? Make their problem your problem?"

"_No._ I wanted nothing to do with it."

"Uh-_huh. _Now, Princess Bubbles, she's been - what, too _nice_ to you? Whose sake was that for?"

"...Me, I...guess."

"And Twinkle-Toes. You think he stuck his neck out for his _own _sake yesterday?"

"..."

"Seein' the pattern yet? _Fff. _And after you had your tantrum at us yesterday, you know what he tried telling us? Up and down, it was, 'Mai's a good gal, she's just in a bad way, cut her some slack.' 'Cuz Aang _forgives _people when they fuck up, but he's startin' to figure out how to set 'em straight, too. Yea, _I _taught him that. By the way. Me. Like I'm setting you straight right now."

Mai was infuriated with Toph trying to be some know-it-all here, but beneath her defensive walls, she knew this what she needed to hear right now. The next student performer began playing, utilizing the cafe's in-house keyboard to relay some jazzy instrumental tunes to the caffeinated congregation. Toph finished off her drink, receiving no answer from the now contemplative Mai. She drove her speech home.

"And for chrissake, you think I dragged my ass here for _me?_ No. You may have everybody else all in a tizzy, but I care about my friends. I'm here because _you _need someone who's not afraid to cut you down the middle." Toph allowed Mai a moment to absorb that comment. "So, you're being bitchy 'cuz _you _don't want to _care _about people. Yet you're pissed at everyone else, because they're trying to look out for _you _and not themselves. Boo-fucking-hoo." Toph loudly drank droplets from the melting ice leftover in her cup.

Mai's stomach gurgled with discomfort, the reality of her lack of dinner today suddenly hitting hard. It was also a harsh reminder of her callous lack of gratitude for Ty-Lee's gesture earlier. Mai's once sharp glare at Toph had dulled by this point.

"Are you finished now?" Mai mumbled.

"If you promise you'll apologize to Aang, that'll at least get me off your back for a while."

"_All right, _I will," conceded Mai. "You're pretty damned stubborn..."

"Works, though, doesn't it?"

"Sure, whatever, just...-"

"Sorry I had to put you through the ringer like that, Miss McEmopants."

"It's...fine, I guess maybe I needed to hear that. Wait, _what_ did you just call me?"

"Well..._This _was fun," Toph blankly concluded, getting up from her chair and bypassing Mai's question. "I gotta say, I'm a little disappointed you weren't on your A game today, Mai, but I know I'm hard to keep up with."

Mai wanted to slap Toph's smug little smirk right off her bang-covered face.

"Ah, but...seriously..." Toph's tone dropped in stature as she extended her hand toward Mai. "Whether we like it or not, we _do _share friends. Probably worth it to put aside our differences and figure out how to tolerate each other. Am I right?"

Mai let out a delayed half-grunt, half-sigh as she accepted Toph's hand. They shook.

"No hard feelings?" Toph checked.

"I guess not," Mai shrugged.

Toph squeezed Mai's bony fingers with encouragement before releasing them.

"Sorry I've been tough on you," Toph offered.

"...It's OK. I deserved it. I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

"I prolly shouldn't have been a bitch about it, but...You really _should _take a break and try writing a poem."

"Hm?"

"Your poetry - that's your escape, right? Like me and my tunes. Write a poem, get that shit out of your system. It's what I do."

"Oh. Yea, I've...noticed."

"Heh." Toph grinned. She leaned her palm down on the table and slouched her posture a bit. "I figured as much."

"You've got some natural talent. I...like your music," Mai confessed in her own dry way. "I mean, you could stand to be a little less..._arrogant _about it, but you _are _good, and...it's pretty brave to put yourself out there like that." If Mai was going to get her mind back into a sympathetic place, she might as well start here and now.

"Thanks..." Toph's stomach fluttered a little from the praise. It was one thing to hear it from the random strangers or the comments Meng would read from her YouTube channel, but another thing entirely to hear from a person she actually _knew._

"How come you only do covers?" Mai wondered.

"Ah..." Toph's lips twisted with some insecurity. "Um, in case ya couldn't tell," she laughed in spite of herself, "I'm not always so good with words, 'n stuff."

"I see." Mai stared down at her book and considered their positions. "Maybe...some time we could get together, and I could...help you write a song?"

Toph's brows furrowed with intrigue and surprise. Minutes ago they were arguing, and all suddenly Mai was offering to work on stuff together?

"Err...If you _want _to, I don't see why not," Toph decided.

"I'm sure Katara would have a field day just hearing us _talking _about doing that..."

"_Fff, _yea, no kidding."

The pianist's jazz piano had calmed down, and another round of applause shook the cafe. Toph and Mai both added their courtesies to the clapping, and after the sound died back down, another, more upbeat piece began.

Mai inhaled thoughtfully, stirring her thoughts back around.

"So...I'm sure I'll see Aang tomorrow, but...could you let the other guys know that I didn't mean to blow up on them?"

"Why not tell 'em yourself? We're having a pizza party at Appa's Saturday night. Seven o'clock."

"Oh, right. If I'm...still _invited_..."

"If you're not, somehow, I'm _re-_inviting you, right now."

"Heh. Guess I've got no choice."

"Sure don't!"

Mai's lips arced into a tiny smile as readjusted her seating and opened her book back up. It seemed that Katara and Aang's claims about Toph having grown up a couple of metaphorical inches weren't so delusional.

Mai looked back up to Toph, who was picking her nose. Eh. Baby steps, at least.

"Thanks for smacking some sense into me, Toph," said Mai with some restored calm.

"That's what I'm good at," bragged Toph, wiping her pinky on her shorts.

"What I said about us...not being friends...-"  
"We'll work on it," Toph concluded with a beaming grin, whirling about and taking her leave. "You just worry about puttin' the rest of your pieces back together before you fuss about adding my piece in, huh?"

_Kla-kling-ling...ling..._~


	101. Sugar

**A/N: Hey, everyone. Sorry for the long wait. I was busy preparing stuff for Valentine's Day. I made a blog post with a bunch of V-Day cards (some SRU related) which you can check out here: saint-roku-university dot tumblr (dotcom)/post/43088872365/valentines-2013**  
**Or, if you follow the SRU FB page or my DeviantArt journal (Destiny-Smasher) you can find it there.**

**Aside from that, I've been working on various projects. I recently wrote a script for a 4-page minicomic that has been approved for the compilation project 'You Are Not Alone' which is being produced by GrayHaven Comics. The short will be about Jane Fitzpatrick (who is technically an original character, really) in high school, and will be my first piece of fiction in a published work should it come to fruition. DA artist Doodlebuggy is on board to handle the art, and she's done a great job with Jane in the past.**

**I have also started, er...pre-production...(I guess you could call it that?) on my own original graphic novel concept, currently codenamed 'R+R.' A lot of concept sketches have been made so far. Again, if you follow me on Tumblr or DA you'll have easy access to that, but by the time SRU is finished I will figure out where to direct readers who are interested in following that project, which will ideally become a physical graphic novel some day, or at least one that can be published online. Don't worry, I'm still planning on doing 'Esteemed' as well.**

**Lastly, I've just been in a bit of a funk lately, with some mild depressive moments, cabin fever, and such going on, plus I got sick this week, to boot. Anyway, enough announcements and updates from me. Thanks to everyone who continues to follow this project, and please remember that especially during times like this when I'm feeling a lack of motivation, the words of critique and support you leave behind do wonders to help keep me dedicated.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 101 - Sugar_

* * *

- Friday, May 20th, 2011 -

There was a pause in the conversation as Aang grit his teeth with uncertainty, gazing to Katara for approval. Katara, her jaw slightly agape, scratched at her hairline, blinked with consideration, and managed out an, "Umm..."

"You think it's a bad idea," Aang immediately concluded, his eyes dulling.

"N-no, that's not it," Katara was quick to insist, her head twitching in a small shake. "I...just...don't think that right now is such a...good _time _to try doing something like that."

"Well, when _is _it going to be a good time?" Aang protested. "There's never a _bad _time to try and bring people together."

"Mm." Katara hummed out uncertain acknowledgment. Normally she'd completely agree with him, but lately was growing unsure of these kinds of idealistic pursuits. The last time Aang had followed his feelings on something of this nature, the end result had been the both of them landing in the hospital. And now Katara's thoughts were going back to how Korra and Jane had specifically chosen to bring that type of attention onto themselves again.

Aang's expectant gaze at Katara dimmed as he realized that she was losing herself in doubts. He went back to his painting. The cramped loft of the art building was quiet for a few moments.

"I mean, _you've _seen how people are looking at me lately," Aang sighed out, having collected more thoughts. "Like I'm some local hero. Shouldn't I be taking that opportunity to do something about all of the negativity going on around here?"

"I'm not disagreeing with you, Aang. I think it's...a _good _thing to consider, and I'm proud of you for wanting to try to give to this community, but I'm not convinced that...-" Katara dropped her sentence as the old wooden stairs leading up to the loft creaked. Both students looked to the stairs to see a subdued Mai greeting them with a tired, weak smile. A heavy pause weighed the trio down.

"Hey," Mai broke the ice.

"I should get going," Katara mumbled - loud enough for Mai to hear. She kissed Aang's cheek and slung her backpack from the paint-stained wooden floor to her shoulders.

"Wait," Mai stopped her, still lingering in the doorway to the stairs. "Before you go, you should know that I'm sorry about how I've been acting this week."

Katara's lips opened slightly, her eyes wandering away from Mai's dull expression. Aang twisted his head over his shoulder to observe.

"I won't lie," Mai continued. "I still mean what I said about your...'group'...attracting trouble."

Aang set his paintbrush down and folded his arms, turning his body around to face his colleague. Katara closed up her mouth and formed a tiny frown.

"_But_ I _am _sorry for being a jerk about it, and you're right, Aang - I _am _connected to that trouble. To you guys. And you were also right about how I need to express myself, because otherwise-...Well, you saw how I was the other day."

Aang nodded, letting his defensive posture drop. Mai shrugged.

"...And that's it, I guess. You were right. I'm sorry. Can we all...go back to being cool with each other?"

Aang glanced to Katara, who realized both pairs of eyes were on her now. Her shoulders popped up and she nodded in concession.

"Y-yea, that's fine."

"Apology accepted," Aang offered, walking over to Mai with outstretched arms. Mai uplifted her palms in meager protest, but Aang hugged her, anyway. Katara followed suit, and Mai endured the physical affection from the two of them.

"So, does this mean you guys are coming to the hang-out tomorrow night?" Aang asked as the group hug broke away.

"I...think Ty-Lee and Zuko were going to show up, anyway, but...yea, I was already re-invited," Mai explained with a smirk.

"By _who_?" Katara asked, brows furrowed.

"A bratty little Chinese girl," Mai wryly replied. "She's the one who pushed me around until I saw the error of my ways."

"When did _Toph _talk with you?" Katara wondered.

"Last night," said Mai. "She knew I was at the Jasmine Dragon. I...actually assumed that you'd told her I'd be there."

Katara shook her head, eyebrows perking with surprise.

"I guess that explains why she took so long getting her coffee," Aang muttered to himself.

"She...didn't even tell you she talked to me?" Mai mused, baffled. "Do you even know about how she plays music there?"

"Huh?" Aang was clueless, and Katara's face twitched with fret. Mai concluded that sort of thing shouldn't be kept secret.

"I've been _wondering _why you guys hardly have been showing up, but it's making more sense now."

"What is?"

"I'd think she'd be a loud-mouth about it like she usually is, but it sort of makes sense in a weird way that she'd try keeping it a secret...Aang, Toph plays at the Jasmine Dragon all the time. The regulars there love her music. Myself included."

"_Oh. _Wow, that's...-" Aang glanced to Katara, who looked a bit worried, and he patted her back. "Katara, I don't think you should be so worried about it if it was supposed to be a secret. I think that's..._great_. That she does that. We should all go some time."

"M-maybe," Katara half-heartedly agreed. "If she even _wants _us to come."

"All right," Aang acknowledged. "We'll ask her about it, then."

"Mm-hm." Katara nodded, conveying her uncertainty through her body language.

"Aang's right," Mai pointed out. "That girl doesn't exactly have a problem saying 'no' to things she doesn't want."

* * *

"Yea, I _know, _Meat-Head. And that's good for them. God knows those two needed a fucking lay."

"Lays. Plural. This has been a more-than-once thing."

"_I _know that," Toph snipped, seemingly insulted that Sokka would imply that she'd be ignorant to this knowledge. "What's your point?" she testily inquired, knowing full well where this was going, but wanting to know how Sokka was going to frame it.

"I just would've figured that if Aang and Katara would be doing it by now, that you and me would be...-" Sokka began fidgeting his hands together awkwardly before rubbing his palms against one another.

"If you're doing something with your hands, I can't _see _it, moron," Toph grumbled with sharpness. Flopped over on her bed, she scratched her armpit and made a frown apparent for Sokka to view when he looked down at her.

Sokka looked down at Toph, her long hair draped across her pillow in a ponytail. Sprawled on her side, she was curling up a bit, rubbing her socked feet together in that way she did to calm herself. She blew hot air at her lengthy bangs, displacing them from her face. Her tanktop had wedged up slightly, revealing the pleasant pudges of her waist alongside her hips, which protruded up from the edge of her tight, khaki shorts. Sokka scratched his nose as he studied her form in that moment, reflecting on the intriguing notion that while he could be aroused by a mere few moments of sight, Toph somehow found _him _attractive without being physically capable of seeing him at all. Sokka sat down on the bed and placed his hand on the bare patch of Toph belly that was visible.

"_Yeek, _friggin' cold," Toph grunted, her body tensing up. Sokka gave Toph's shoulder a slow kiss before laying down behind her, keeping his arm around her waist. Toph let herself relax and sighed tiredly. "Just because Twinkle-Toes and Sugar-Queen are sharing each other's sugar doesn't mean _we _should be," Toph mumbled, pulling her ponytail up from beneath where Sokka had laid his head. She tossed it over her pillow and sighed again.

Sokka's brows bent down at her remark.

"I'm starting to think we should just agree to call it 'sex' because _whatever _the hell you just said sounded way more gross."

"_Fff._" Toph paused, considering his point. "Yea, all right."

"Soooo...Explain to me why two hilarious and attractive idiots such as ourselves should _not _be having sex right now." Sokka wedged his left arm beneath Toph's side, completing a loop around her waist. He snuggled his head against the back of hers, her shoulders tightening from the tickling sensation of his facial hairs scratching at her skin. With a snicker, Toph snuck her right arm up over her back. When she found her boyfriend's head, she ran her fingers through his dry hair. He'd been wearing his hair down lately at her request - the taut-back 'warrior's wolftail' was simply not as fun to play with, after all.

As if to taunt him, Toph jerked her pelvis backwards, bumping her rear end against the bulge she could feel from beneath Sokka's sweatpants. They shared a giggle, and Sokka kissed Toph's neck.

"Hm?" he egged her on, awaiting a reply.

Toph's insides were on fire. Sokka's touches struck the match, and he'd lit her hormones aflame like gasoline. His kisses overtook her for a moment, rendering her too distracted to consider her earnest answer to his question. A few moments later, Toph managed to pull herself out of the smoke forming, her brain dizzy from inhaling these fumes. She had eased his face away from her skin. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could likewise feel Sokka's bumping against her scapula.

"We shouldn't be having sex because we're not _ready _for that yet," she explained matter-of-factly. She regretted her words a moment later, only to reclaim her assertion right after. She realized that she was reminding herself of Aang back when her heart had longed for that soul - that flesh. The motives and meaning may have been different for him than they were for her, but Toph could suddenly appreciate just what she had put Aang through: a frustrating shoving match between hormones and heart and mind.

"Not...-?" Sokka was aghast at Toph's decision. "How are we not ready?" he asked, offense in his tone. "After the way you've shacked up with guys lately, it seems-"  
"Had _sex_," Toph sighed out in correction. It stung to once again be reminded of her impulsive decisions, but she knew she had to accept them to move forward here.

"Uhh...Yyyyeaa, had _sex_," Sokka muttered. "You sure were '_ready'_ to _have sex _with European dude back at the dance. Do you even remember his _name?_"

"His name was Ohev," said Toph defensively. "He was a gentleman, and it was mutual, and it was a one-time thing, and-"  
"'One-time?' Like the _other _'one-time' when you and Jane's gang buddy screwed each other because-"  
"That was a _mistake, _and I regret doing it, so you can-"  
"It's just funny to me that _those _random guys, it was just fine to fuck them, but _me, _apparently that's-"  
"Oh my _gawwwwd, _can you just shut up for two seconds?"

Toph had rolled over on her back, pushing Sokka's arms off and breaking their physical contact.

"Don't you _get it, _you moron?" Toph whimpered out in frustration, her arms crossed over her chest. "I don't _want _to repeat that mistake again."

"So you're saying that us having sex would be a _mistake_."

"Right _now? _Yes. _Fuck _yes. Jesus, Sokka, you think I can't see what you're doing?"

"Uh, _no, _'cuz you can't..._see_-"_  
"Shuddup,_" Toph choked out in a laugh-groan hybrid, thumping her elbow against whatever part of Sokka had been nearby.

"Sorry," Sokka pleaded. "Keep goin'..."

"You're getting all..._distant _on people. You act like you don't give a flyin' fuck about Jane anymore, you're all 'meh' about your cousin, you're not even spending time with your sister - hell, I'd say it was like you were _avoiding _her...And then all of a sudden you're all pushy about us banging each other? You're about to graduate in, like, what? Two weeks? Gonna just bone me while you can? Is that it?"

"I...-"  
"'Cuz that's not cool. That _would _be a mistake. I'm not just gonna screw you because this - you and me - this is fucking _important _to me. We haven't even _talked _about how this...'_us_' thing is going to work out after you graduate."

"You...don't think we could do long distance?"

"I don't _know_," Toph grumbled, flopping her wrists over her eyes. Damnit, now _she _was saying 'I dunno, I dunno' about something, and of _all _the things, it was with her boyfriend? _That _was a bad sign...She asked him, "Do _you _think we can?"

Sokka's pause did not reassure her.

"I think we could...make it work," he decided.

"But do you _want _to? Is it gonna be worth it?"

"I...mean..._Yea, _yea. Of course."

"_Pff. _You don't sound very sure of that."

"Well, I don't hear _you _acting all confident about it, either, eh?"

"I'm..._not._ Especially not if you're all wishy-washy about it."

"I'm not wishy-washy. I'm just not worrying about that right now. Kinda have final exams, and...and _graduating _to think about."

"That makes it sound like I'm just an afterthought here."

"You're..._not! _You're totally not. OK. Wait. Back it up." Sokka inched toward Toph, touching his front to her side. He ran his fingers over her forehead, pushing her thick bangs aside. "No sex now," he tried to pacify her. "Sex _bad,_" he grunted in a primitive, mocking tone. "Man-obey-Woo-man. Obeyyyyyy. Man-obey."

"Stoppit," Toph mumbled, unmoving. "Are you _obeying _'cuz I spoke up, or 'cuz you _agree _with me? Do you get this? What I'm saying?"

"A man chooses, a slave obeys," Sokka recounted a quote. "So I'm _choosing _to _obey _you. That makes me a man who is also your slave."

"Mm. I guess I don't mind the sound of that," Toph confessed, letting her body's tense disposition loosen as she rolled back onto her side and eased Sokka's arms around her. He seemed like just the right size to be the bigger spoon. "Man slave, be a _dear _and tickle my _fancy, _would you?" Toph requested a facetiously 'proper' manner. Sokka's warmth enveloped her back once again.

"We can still have fun without the sex part, eh?" Sokka whispered sneakily into her ear, his right hand sliding in beneath her shirt. She flinched from the cold touch once again, just as she had the first time, but smiled, stroking her thumb across the hairs on his arm. She breathed out peacefully as his beefy palm pressed against her breast. "Does this please the lady?" Sokka asked, mimicking the tone Toph had just exercised.

"It certainly does, my good man," Toph snickered devilishly, closing her eyelids and exhaling with satisfaction at his touch. The warmth of the fire his hands could start was easier for her worried mind to appreciate when it was contained within the stonework of a fire pit - kept under control.

* * *

- Saturday, May 21st, 2011 -

[From: Katara]  
[Still haven't heard back from you. Are you coming or not?]  
[Sent: 3:09pm]

Jane huffed as silently as she could, her nose wrinkling with frustration. That was probably the fifth or sixth text that Katara had sent in a row without Jane replying. Couldn't Kat take a fucking hint? Jane really didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings with a 'no,' but she wasn't ready to confront the whole group just yet at this pizza party thing. Having stealthily checked her phone, Jane casually put it back down in her lap, her head spinning with emotion at the very thought of Katara. Zuko's speech was flying in one ear and out the other.

Jane chewed off a dry, dead flap of skin from the edge of her bottom lip. She swallowed it and exhaled a deep breath through her nostrils, letting Zuko's recounting wash over her in a haze. She slid her tongue along the cut at the left corner of her mouth. Her mind was now lingering on the warm glow of the flames from a few evenings ago, where she'd incurred the cut she was licking at.

"-going to be fine, they just want to keep him until tomorrow and make sure he's totally fine. I don't even _know _what's going on with the insurance on his house, but...-" Zuko scratched at his chin, his eyes glazing over. "My sister actually offered to help cover the damages, so...I guess that's going to be fine...We're still figuring out where he can stay until the house is repaired, and...-"

Zuko realized that by now he was just rambling when he saw Jane's tired expression. She was slouched over a couch in the Ignis House lounge the two were in.

"Sooo..." Jane ran her fingernail lightly across one eyebrow before wedging her hands between her legs. Her bony knees bobbed up and down in an impatient rhythm. "We're all...good?"

Zuko shrugged, his eyes open wide as everything he'd just babbled splashed across him in one mental wave of stress.

"Yea. We're all good," he sighed out.

There was an exhausted quiet that befell the both of them. Zuko fidgeted with his tie, glancing around to check that no one else was around, and Jane rustled her fingers through her hair.

"Should I...like...go _visit _him, or...-?" Jane fumbled her hand up awkwardly.

"Oh. _No, _I don't think that would be a good idea," mumbled Zuko with a light head shake. "He's fine. He's planning on being right back to work come Monday, so...-"

"Pretty tough for an old fart."

"Ha. Yea, he's...resilient."

"Yea..."

"But what about you?"

"What..._about _me?"

"You're doing all right? After what happened, it's just...-"

"Fine. Better, actually, than I was before."

"Ah. And, err...Your friends?"

Jane shrugged in response, then scratched her neck.

"They didn't seem so big on me being around, last I checked."

"So I heard, but...Now that this is all behind you, don't you think you could explain what happened?"

Jane's intense, wide eyes stared at Zuko with some irritation for a moment.

"Not as _simple _as that. I've got _stuff_..._things_...that I need to think on a bit more."

"Mm. That's-...No, I understand that. Not so long ago, I needed some 'Zuko alone' time."

"With whatever shit your family's been up in, I'm not too shocked."

"Pretty much." Zuko sighed.

"Pff. It's like everyone I fucking know around here has some messed up family crap."

"No kidding. Aang mentioned that one time to me - he said he thinks that's how we all became friends."

"Year ago, I woulda said that sorta idea was a load o' bull. But now? I think Aang's probably right."

"He can be kind of quiet sometimes, but that guy's got a good head on his shoulders."

Jane smirked and nodded, deciding that she, too, fit such a description.

"For real," she agreed with touch of warmth in her tone.

A male student passed through the room, giving Zuko a nod hello. He reciprocated, then looked up to the wall clock hanging in the room.

"Well..." Zuko straightened his button-down shirt's collar and took in a breath through his nose. Jane could tell he was ready to end the conversation. "I should probably finish up some errands before the get-together tonight. Are you...-?" He gestured an upturned hand toward her, and she shook her head in reply. "Too bad," Zuko lamented. "Sounds like a whole bunch of people will be there."

"_Pff. _That...does _not _make me want to show up," Jane scoffed at the idea of being crowded with all of these friends and acquaintances who were probably addled with assumptions and judgments of her. Jane began to stew in her bitter juices with a frown, eyes unfocused on her knees. "Besides, I can't. Already have plans..."

"Fair enough," conceded Zuko. "I really have to go, though," he advised, heading off toward his dorm room. "I'm glad to hear you're doing all right. Take care."

"Yea, you t...-" Jane's mumbling dropped when she realized that by the time she'd reacted, Zuko was already gone. She took a deep breath and flopped back in her chair, whimpering to herself in a groan as she reflected on her impending evening of self-induced loneliness. She fell asleep briefly from her state of exhaustion and stress.

Her phone vibrated in her lap, stirring her awake.

[From: Katara]  
[If you're not coming, would you just SAY SO?]  
[Sent: 3:26pm]  
[Message deleted]

* * *

"And then-and _then_, she just..._pushed _me into the hot tub!" Ty-Lee incredulously recalled, flicking out a wrist to accentuate her expressive tale.

"Why am I not surprised?" said Zuko dryly.

"Sounds like Azula to _me_," Mai noted to Zuko with a small smirk.

"But she's...getting _better_, right?" Aang wondered from the opposite side of the bookended tables that played host to the pizza gathering.

"Yea, yea," Ty-Lee quickly replied with a nod, quick to insist her girlfriend's supposed efforts.

"She's even been calling me just to _talk_," Zuko pointed out, his brows rising with realization. "It's _almost _like she's trying to be a good _sibling _or something..."

Katara squirmed in her seat at this remark, quietly shooting her brother a brief but dissatisfied glare. Sokka was ignorant to this gesture, however, occupied with a slice of pizza in one hand and Toph's hip in the other. They were whispering and muttering to each other, apparently having a jolly time on their own.

"She _really _is trying, ZuZu," pressed Ty-Lee with puppy-eyes. "I'm, like, _totally _happy that you're cutting her some slack."

"I'm trying to," Zuko said with a slow nod. "There's...very little 'slack' I have left to give lately..."

Mai scratched Zuko's back lightly, her sleepy eyes wandering down to her plate.

Toph snorted out a laugh, and Sokka whacked her lightly on the side with his own chortle, the couple attempting to reign in their own jokes. Sokka dropped his half-eaten pizza slice onto his face in order to help contain his own snickering.

"What's so funny?" Katara pointedly asked.

"Nah, it's...-" Sokka dismissed her with a headshake, covering his own smile with his hand. "You wouldn't get it," Sokka managed out in a sigh.

"You're probably right," Katara grumbled under her breath.

"Huh?" came Aang from her right.

"Nothing," Katara whispered back, taking a bite of food to relieve herself from vocal obligation.

"What...?" Ty-Lee murmured, scratching her head as she gawked at Sokka and Toph's wide grins.

"Sorry guys, we're lost in our own little world over here," Toph breathed out from the wake of her own giggle fit.

"You guys are _always _lost," Suki jibed from beside Ty-Lee, who belted out a loud, awkward laugh at this.

Katara rolled her eyes at this and turned her gaze from her right, where Aang, Sokka, and Toph sat, to her left. An empty chair sat at the edge of the dual table, having beeb reserved for Jane, who was a no show. Korra was in the next chair over, sitting directly across from Katara. Korra was slouched over her paper plate of pizza crusts. She yawned, gazing off into blank space, outside the realm of conversation. She rested her cheek in her palm, elbow on the table. As Aang tried to start discussion back up with the others, Korra's eyelids slid closed.

Katara spent a few moments staring with a boiling rage at her cousin, her arms folded over her waist as she gnawed at her dinner. And she was supposed to be going out and spending time with Korra and Sokka after this? What the hell was that going to lead to, Katara talking to herself the whole time?

The com system intruded their activity as June's voice called out, ["Ass-Clown. I mean...Sokka."]

Korra's eyes snapped open at the loud sound, as she flinched her head up from her palm, wiping her lips briskly.

Some members of the group shared a laugh at Sokka's expense, and he beamed at his boss' sense of humor. Sokka kissed Toph on the head as she scooted his seat out and trekked to the front counter of Appa's. By the time he was out of earshot - an easy feat in the crowded restaurant that evening - Zuko, Mai, and Ty-Lee were back to their talk, which had shifted to final exams. Suki, meanwhile, tried to initiate chatting with Toph.

"Wow, Toph. You and Sokka really...seem to have hit it off pretty quick..." Aang noticed the awkward way Suki's face changed shape, as if she'd realized how she might be coming across after the words had escaped her. Toph smiled slyly at Suki's comment.

"Once I got that knuckle-head to realize I liked him, stuff...took off," she explained with nonchalance.

Katara's irritable mood was paused for a couple of seconds as Aang rubbed her right thigh with his left hand. She wasn't in the mood for public affection, or any affection at all, though, and she clasped his hand beneath the table tightly before gently setting his arm back in his own lap. By the time this moment had passed, Katara had observed that Korra was already nodding back off to sleep.

"Korra, what's wrong with you tonight?" Katara asked, struggling to sound concerned. Her frustration had leaked out in her tone, however. Korra was startled back awake and blinked wildly at Katara, her eyelids flickering like a dying lightbulb.

"Ahm..." Korra yawned again, stumbling around words. "FFfff_f__uck_. Tired."

"I can _tell_," Katara sighed. "I'm guessing you're not going to be joining me and my brother after dinner?"

"Mm...? Oh..." Korra nodded warily, wiping her nose on her bare arm. "I can come still, I...just might take a nap here first, and-...Yea."

Katara frowned with bitterness as Korra set her head down over crossed arms on the table. Suki chuckled at the woman's sleepy state.

"Let her have a nap," Aang tried to ease Katara. "She's had a rough week."

Katara took a couple of seconds to observe the traces of physical injury that lingered on Korra's arms. The woman had brought the violence upon her self, but apparently this was somehow beside the point. Whatever.

Katara shrugged off Aang's comment before going back to her pizza. Sokka arrived back at the table with two milkshakes in hand, and stuck one inbetween Toph's eager fingers as he sat down. The two slurped at their confectionery beverages.

"Wow, you two...sure are going to town, there," Suki observed the couple with a lifted brow.

"Mmmmoose trackssss," Toph cooed at her drink with a sleepy grin, her side pressed into Sokka's chest. Their chairs were connected together for ease of cuddling.

"You want a sip?" Sokka offered, tilting his large cup across the table. Suki shook her head, holding back her disgust as best she could.

"No, thanks," Suki mumbled.

Sokka shrugged off her decline and stared into his milkshake as Toph sucked at her straw.

"I wonder whose idea that was..." Sokka mused into the mystery of his messy drink. "Like, who the hell thought-" He layered on a thick, joking 'Canuck' accent. "-'Let's name this here drink after dirty footprints and moose poop, eh?'"

"Or severed panda hands," Aang jumped in.

"Or adding the word '_ripple_' at the end," said Toph with disdain.

"Or 'fudge' and 'swirl,' or 'sherbert," said Aang.

"Sher-_bet_," Toph corrected with a posh and dignified tone.

"And what does 'neopolitan' even _mean_?" Sokka demanded.

"Ha, yea," Suki chimed. "And why do they keep making ice cream flavors for stuff like 'Birthday cake' and 'Blueberry cheesecake?' Why wouldn't just eat _actual _cake, instead?"

"Rocky roads?" Toph added. "Who wants to _eat _a street?"

"Y-yea," Katara tried to join in. "And, um, what's the deal with...being _killed_ by...chocolate...?"

Sokka, Suki, and Aang gave Katara quizzical looks - Toph probably wore one, as well - and Katara shrunk at the awkward moment. Zuko and Mai got up to go refill their drinks, leaving behind Ty-Lee to join in on the confused staring, lacking any context.

"B-because...Ya know...-" Katara attempted to explain. "Death by Chocolate?"

"No, yea, I got it," Toph sighed, twisting her head to direct her face at her roommate's. "It's _how _you said it. What's wrong with you tonight, Sister-Face? Anything we can do?"

Katara's expression dulled as she slouched back in her chair. Toph was even using a sweet, concerned voice, and everything - the girl was certainly learning to pay attention to that sort of stuff.

"Mrrm," Katara whimpered out with a weak shrug, squirming in her chair. Again, Aang went to comfort her by clasping her hand beneath the table. Katara accepted his squeeze and reciprocated meekly. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose and pushed back some hair behind her ear, glancing awkwardly to the empty chair to her left.

"Sorry," Aang muttered solemnly in her ear, understanding at least that Katara was lamenting Jane's lack of presence.

"Is this about fucking Frec-" Toph started up in a huff, but Sokka nudged her with his elbow to cut her off.

"Maybe she's just...busy?" Sokka meagerly placated.

Katara's glance shot right away from him with irritation. Sokka tried again, using a different approach.

"Does it really _matter_? Katara, you've gotta stop letting this get to you." Katara went to open her mouth in protest, but Sokka went on. "If she doesn't _care, _then...just stop caring about _her_ back. It's simple."

"Disconnect myself, right," Katara pointedly recited her understanding. "It's not as 'simple' as for me as it is for you, Sokka..."

Sokka grunted out a tired sigh.

"Huh...?" Ty-Lee peeped out, befuddled but worried all the same.

"Just relax, Katara," Suki pleaded. "You can't let one person - someone who's not even _here _- ruin the whole evening for everyone."

"I know," Katara plainly replied, uninterested in Suki's opinion.

"Powderpuff here hit the nail on the head," Toph agreed. "Chill out, Sugar-Queen. Whatcha want that we can get for you?"

"Toph, that's...nice, but...-"

"You want a milkshake?" Sokka offered.

"Yea, get some sweetness for our Sweetness?" Toph chirped.

"You look, like, _super _pooped," Ty-Lee noted to Katara from across the way. "I could go to the Jasmine Dragon, get you-"  
"Ih-it's OK, I'm not in the mood for coffee..."  
"Maybe some tea?"  
"No, that's fine...Thank you," Katara was sure to add in. She appreciated Ty-Lee's interest, but wasn't in the mood to be getting doted on. "I think **Korra **here could use some, though," Katara sniped, accenting her cousin's name in a blunt manner as to stir the woman awake. Sokka snorted some laughter out while Toph asked what was so funny.

"_Grrrhghghhh,_" Korra replied, muffled by her own arms as she fidgeted from her face-down napping position.

"My cousin doesn't have the courtesy to stay _awake _amidst company," Katara explained to Toph.

"Go easy on her," Aang quietly insisted.

"You're just cranky, Katara," Toph insisted. "Sugar-Queen needs some sugar. That'll perk you right up."

"Toph..." Katara sighed, while Aang chuckled.

"She's right, comfort food works well for you," Aang acknowledged.

"Nah, what she _really _needs is some liquor," Sokka concluded. Toph giggled slyly at this.

"_Sokka_..."

"You _sure _you don't want anything?" Aang checked, lifting his eyebrows with knowing look. She lost herself in his bright eyes for a moment, until she found her eyes falling to his lips. She tried to casually let her stare sink the rest of the way down, then off to the side. More fussing her hair followed as she made a decision.

"Umm...W-well, I suppose sharing a milkshake wouldn't be so bad," she said with an indecisive shrug. Aang patted her shoulder and rose from his seat. Katara decided to follow, glad to have an excuse to leave the social obligation of the very party she'd orchestrated. As they got up to make an order, Zuko and Mai came back.

"Musical chairs tonight," Zuko joked to Aang, who nodded back with a smile, leading Katara by the hand.

As Aang and Katara waited in line to order dessert, Katara hummed out her discomfort, hugging Aang's lean waist and setting her head upon his bony shoulder with longing. She wished she could just take him and leave this failed party and ignore plans with her seemingly apathetic family.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked, running his head through her hair as they stood in the crowded restaurant.

"I'm mad," Katara plainly put it.

"Mm. Looks like therapy didn't help this week, either?"

"Not really," Katara confessed. "It's still just me trying to tell my counselor about..._myself. _You know? Not really talking about what the actual _problem _is..."

"What is the actual problem?" Aang wondered as they scooted up one spot in the line. "It's not just Jane, is it?"

"No, I...think I'm just realizing how..._angry _I am with Sokka and Korra..."

"Because you feel like they don't really care."

"They _don't_."

"You can't assume that."

"They're _acting _like they don't, they-"  
"Shh..." Aang eased her, kissing her forehead as they reached the desk.

"Howdy, Lovebirds," June bid them with sarcasm. "Lemme guess," she said to Katara, who straightened herself upright. "You got jealous of your brother and his ladyfriend, so you're here for milkshakes, too."

"Pretty much," Aang conceded with a grin and an amused nod. June smirked at the two of them, then went back to her dry, flat nonchalance when she noticed Katara's dreary mood. "Why the sour face? Still down in the dumps?"

"Another rough week," Aang passed it off, having not anticipated June's curiosity. "Could we order a-...? Hey, what do you want?" he quietly asked Katara.

"I don't care..."

"Umm..." Aang's eyes whirled around, looking for a selection. When he found it on the menu board hanging in the back, he studied it for a moment. June took this opportunity to pry Katara some more.

"You look like you need a..._Shamrock-_Shake," June suggested coyly.

Katara frowned with some embarrassment, her cheeks lighting up at this woman knowing about the situation.

"Uhh...But, it's...May? I thought that was a March-only kind of...-" Aang noted with some confusion. June gave him a bemused look and he figured out the context. "_Ah. _Well, we...are just giving Jane some space right now, until...-" He trailed off with a light shake of his head. He double checked behind him to make sure they weren't keeping anyone waiting. Sadly, they were not - it would've made for a good excuse to rush this along.

"Good on ya," said June with a confident nod. "That girl just needs a bit more time. Keep your chin up, Sister," she tried to encourage Katara. "I have a good feeling it'll all shake out in the end."

"Yea...?" Katara was a little encouraged by this remark - June wasn't the sort to remotely care about social drama, but she _did _work with Jane. She probably knew about Jane's intentions, so these words brought a little bit of welcomed optimism. Aang rubbed his hand along Katara's lower back in response to her reaction.

"We'll all work it out, don't worry," Aang agreed. "But for right now, there's the pressing matter of having dessert."

"Right." Katara gave Aang a tiny smile.

"So what'll be, Champ?" June inquired, pulling her pen from behind her ear and dropping it down to her pad of order slips. He watched her scribble his name in cursive.

"Oh, uhh...-" Aang was lost again by this decision.

"Oh, _come on_," June teased him. "Make a decision here, kid, it ain't hard. Whaddya _want_?"

"How...about...-" Aang scrutinized, not finding himself particularly interested in any given flavor. Such a simple question shouldn't be so complicated to answer, should it? "Vanilla...?" he eked out an answer.

June dropped her pen and rubbed at her eyes, then looked at him with embellished disbelief.

"A boring flavor for a boring man," she lamented, shaking her head with disappointment.

"Wh...-?!" Aang was off-put by June's mockery. "Choc...olate?" he tried again.

"Ah, the_safe _bet..."

"She's just picking," Katara whispered to Aang with a light nudge, humored by the way Aang was taking this fake criticism.

"The Peanut Butter Swirl," Aang picked a third time, tapping his index finger against the countertop. June laughed through her nostrils at the way the boy had reacted to her teasing. Aang chuckled to himself, nudging Katara and repeating the word '_Swirl'_ to her in reference to what had just been discussed back at the table.

"That's a little more interesting," said June, jotting the order down. She rung up the price as Aang took out his wallet. "Get some vanilla _and _chocolate that way," June elaborated. "With some peanut butter to tie the whole thing together."

"I like the best of both worlds," Aang expressed in a serious manner, nodding his head with his chest puffed out. Katara giggled and scratched her nails along his back as he thrust out his debit card to June.

"Me, too," said June, swiping Aang's card before passing him the keycode device to enter his PIN. "It takes some careful mixing to get all of those flavors to settle together just right, though - know what I mean?" After Aang entered his code, she handed him back his card as the register accepted the payment. June leaned over and said more quietly, "Between you and me, Sokka's not too good at getting the mixture right." Katara smirked with some satisfaction at this remark. In her current mindset, hearing her brother get knocked down a peg felt nice. June studied Aang's earnest, innocent look as he put his card back into his brightly colored wallet. "You seem like the kinda guy who can appreciate the art of flavor mashing, though."

"You're starting to sound a little bit like Professor Kurosawa," Aang pointed out with a toothy grin. "Only with milkshakes instead of tea."

June tapped her chin thoughtfully at this remark, her eyes rolling upwards with consideration. Her brows bounced up, then fell back down, and she nodded slowly.

"Huh. Guess my _old age _must be showing," she jested. "In Adult Land, ya learn to appreciate the smaller crap in life...all that junk."

"And passing on wisdom to us, too," Aang continued to taunt June, looking at Katara with mocking surprise.

"She's wise beyond our years," Katara said, her smile growing at this strange exchange. "We could learn so much from this _sage_ of _knowledge_."

"_All right, _all right. Shut it, now," June slapped her notepad onto the counter a couple of times to shake them from their teasing. "I get reminded of my middle-aged-ness enough as it is, I don't need _students _joining in. I'm gonna make this shake myself."

"Oohhh, can we watch?" Aang wondered. Katara was seeming to be coming out of her shell a bit, for whatever reason, and he was keen on trying to crack it wide open if he could. June's aloof humor was somehow doing the trick.

"A master can't reveal her secrets to _non-pupils_," June wrote this idea off playfully. She wriggled her hand at them as she disappeared into the next room. "Now scram, you two. Go make googly eyes at each other while I get this done."

Aang snickered as he went to lead Katara back, but she stood still, gripping his arm tightly to stop him from heading off to the table. Another couple approached the counter, and Aang and Katara gave them space while a student co-worker took their order in June's stead. Katara eased Aang to one of the large supporting pillars that stood nearby, holding the ceiling above the basement restaurant. The place was pretty busy tonight, with students getting together to study or enjoy each other's company before the rush of final exams, but Katara didn't care. She needed this moment with Aang.

Aang laughed some more, puzzled by Katara's mood-swinging. She pushed him against the pillar by pressing her palm against his chest, but let her hand linger on his lean pectoral. She kissed him gently on the lips, and he wrapped his arms around her. Katara made sure to rub her nose against his as the kiss disintegrated, and Aang reciprocated this gesture, which had become a joint signature to their kisses. They 'made googly eyes' for a few seconds before hugging each other in a prolonged embrace, making sure to stay out of the way of any passersby.

"Thanks for putting up with me lately," Katara murmured in a whimpering tone.

"I'm not putting up with you," Aang corrected. "I'm standing by you."

"_That's _true," said Katara, closing her eyes, her head on his shoulder. "Well...You're very good at it."

"I learn from the best," Aang insisted.

"Ha...Maybe I _can _be a good teacher, then," Katara referenced her impending career path.

"You already are."

Katara let her open heart swell at his compliments despite her childish attitude that evening. She wanted to wiggle his big ears, kiss his earlobe, and rub her fingertips against his stomach, but such things would have to wait.

"I think you _are _pretty good at mixing flavors together," Katara whispered.

"Mm?"

"You put me and you together, didn't you?"

"Oh..._Ha._"

"I guess we're more alike than different, though."

"Yea...But still, your Eskimo Glue is like the peanut butter that-...How'd she say it? 'Ties the whole thing together.'"

Katara hummed a few laughs and nuzzled Aang's neck. Still, he was trying to compliment her, while she'd done nothing to deserve it tonight.

They were surrounded by other students, perhaps, but to Katara, in that moment, they were alone. She savored the tranquility as she tuned out the background noise, letting herself be soothed by the thumping of Aang's heartbeat. She was pressed against him so tightly that she could feel it in her bosom. It was relaxing.

Before she knew it, June's voice came at them from behind her.

"_Whoaaaa, _hey, now, Love Birds. I was _joking. _Kidding. It was a _joke, _the 'googly eyes' thing. Ugh. Get...-! Get your milkshake and go Lady and the Tramp with it somewhere _else. _Yeesh..."

"Thanks, June," said Aang, strolling to the counter with his arm firmly around Katara's waist as he took the cup. Katara grabbed two straws from the nearby dispenser.

"Yea, yea," June shooed them away with a smile. "Get lost, punks."

June watched the couple saunter off together, carrying a different mood than they had when they'd arrived at her desk. She didn't have a glorious job, but hell, being able to bring smiles to people's faces like that was something she could sure do with a lot more of.


	102. The Revelation

**A/N: Sorry again for the slower rate of updates lately. I'm not too happy with this portion - the last scene, anyway - but there's plot stuff that needs to happen to get places where I want to go.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 102 - The Revelation_

* * *

- Saturday, May 21st, 2011 -

Two martini glasses full of green liquid clinked together, then against a bottle of Molson Canadian beer. All three drinks were tilted far back as Katara, Sokka, and Korra guzzled down their beverages in a rush. Sokka smacked his lips with satisfaction, Katara sighed, and Korra continued to chug her bottle, uplifting an index to her companions across the table. Sokka went to exchange a humored smirk with his sister at his side, but she gloomily stared into her emptied glass, elbows on the table.

Sokka hung his arm over Katara's back and rocked her left and right, but she squirmed at his touch.

"Don't...-" she groaned out.

"I thought...you were s'posed to be a _happy _drunk," Sokka whimpered, removing his arm as Korra slapped her empty bottle onto its coaster with pride.

"Ahhh," Korra breathed merrily. She rubbed her eyes and burped, then patted her stomach loudly and leaned back in her chair.

"Whuzzat our...third...-?" Sokka raised three of his own fingers up toward his face.

"Fourth," Katara grunted flatly, scratching her nose.

A few moments without dialogue passed by the trio of Kesuks, the ambient sounds of the dive bar washing across them like waves. The nearby clacking of billiard pools jolted Katara out of her meditative state. She observed her brother and cousin - full of food and alcohol, content and sagging in their seats.

"_Grrrreat time, _guys," she spitefully spat, flicking up her wrist with irritation.

Sokka puffed out an indignant, "_Pff!_" at her attitude and furrowed his brows.

"Lighten the _fuck up_, Kat," Korra sighed, tousling her messy bangs. "What's up with the pissing party tonight?"

"Yea, ev'ryone _else_'s havin' fun," Sokka huffed.

"Having fun doing..._what_?" Katara snapped. In her intoxicated state, her brain was doing circles around what her body and mouth were physically capable of enacting. Her speech had come out much more calm and dull than she had thought it in her head - but that probably wasn't a bad thing here. "Sitting on our _asses_...?" she reiterated her rhetorical point, directing open arms to her company. "Getting..._boozed_ up...without _talking_?"

"_Y'know, _Sis," came Sokka matter-of-factly, waggling his index finger in a circle at Katara. "Sometimes...silence is _golden._"

"We're spending _family _time together," Korra added. "Who the hell _cares _what we _do? _We're together, 'n stuff."

"Pretty soon...we _won't _be," Katara growled under her breath.

"...Eh?" Sokka croaked, confused. His stomach inflated and deflated from a silent burp.

"You're leaving," said Katara slowly and plainly, lifting up her glass and sucking up the last droplets, if only to be doing something with her hands. There was a heavy pause as this sunk in: Sokka's quickly impending graduation. When Sokka had nothing to say to this, Katara nearly choked on a sob that had snuck up on her. "You're _leaving_," she repeated, quicker and weaker than before.

"I'm...-" Sokka gave himself a couple of seconds to try collecting his thoughts. This was not something he'd been prepared to discuss, and his full belly and empty brain were making it all the more difficult. "'M still gonna...visit." He squinted at his sister's forlorn scowl and tried to elaborate. "We'll still have...like, Facebook. And phone. N', like...video...chat..."

"And you keep _doing _that."

"Doon' what?"

"P-pretending as if...this isn't a big deal." Katara was making a concerted effort to keep her tone and body language calm. Where alcohol was hindering Sokka it was actually helping her.

"Maybe 'cuz...I don't wanna _think _about it right now," Sokka decided. "Or talk 'bout it."

Korra closed her eyes and leaned her head against the top of her chair. Her insides were wriggling with discomfort at this conversation - drama that she didn't want to be involved with. Wasn't the whole point of tonight to avoid drama? Leave it up to Katara to insist on that _not _happening...

"Kay..." Korra sighed through her nose and pushed her seat back. She groggily leaned forward, lifting her body up. She sucked in air between her teeth from the aches that coursed through it when she did this. "You can can _go _at it, eh? I'm gonna go-"  
"No...OK, OK...I'm sorry," Katara fumbled out in slow but insistent words, her face scrunched up as if from pain. "I'm...trying to...n-no be a bitch," Katara groaned out, looking up to Korra with pleading eyes. "But...this is-...We need to..._talk. _About serious..._things._ Can we do that? As...as a family?"

Korra stared at Katara's earnest expression for a second before rolling her head lazily around her neck and carefully plopping back down into her chair, arms crossed.

"Now that we're all...boozed up?" Korra shrugged rhetorically. "Great idea," she sarcastically puffed.

"See? We get...-" Katara sighed, letting her face sag into her upturned palm.

"Drama llamas," Sokka quipped.

"Shuddup," Katara grumbled. "That's...just your guys' laz...lazy way of...-"

"Of what?" Sokka dully asked, his eyes half closed in a stupor.

"Youuuu dismiss stuff," Katara blurted out impatiently, getting frustrated by her own body's lack of ability to form words as quickly as she could think them.

"Yea, we _dismiss _stuff," Korra bluntly acknowledged. "'Cuz me and Sox here don't _care _about th-"  
"_See?_" Katara pointed her finger out across the table to Korra. "See? See?" She patted her other hand on the table. "You don't _care..._"

"Oh, Christ," Korra sighed with another eyeroll.

"I...think you need more drinkies," Sokka suggested to his sister with an elbow nudge.

"Listen to your Bro," Korra agreed.

"Sokka," Katara breathed out. She glared at him, her nostrils flaring out. "You are..._leaving_ soon. Leaving. Gone. Going _away_..."

Even in his subdued state, Sokka was aware enough to see the quivering in his sister's eyes from a mere foot away. He avoided Katara's sapphire portals to pity and looked at his empty glass, wishing for more.

"I-I don't...know what...what I'm going to _do_ with that," Katara went on. She could feel unwanted water creeping up through her tear ducts. "I mean, you...you're an _idiot, _and...-"  
"I try."  
"-...and you might not _agree _with me, but...you _know _me. You know me, Sokka. Better than anybody..."

Sokka's guilt was wriggled in his stomach. Luckily, it was also drowning in appletinis at the moment.

"And I'm...just...going to _miss _you. When you go. So _much_..." Katara coughed into her sleeve, a sob ready to spill out. She contained it, wiping away the traces of liquid collecting on her face. "You've always just...been _there_...I'm there for you, you're there for me. Family. Constants. That-...We lost that for a year..." Sokka's freshman year at SRU, while Katara was stuck finishing high school - Sokka knew that had been a rough time for her. "I am..._so _afraid of..._that. _You not..._being _there."

Korra had shrunken into her chair a bit. OK, so they weren't fighting, but this still felt awkward. Korra just couldn't relate. She had no siblings, no deeper familial ties like that. Her cousins here were as close as she'd get. Seeing Katara's emotional wounds in that moment was stinging and painful, as Korra couldn't help but feel partially responsible. Her pile of failure was tall enough by now, so she'd best just shut up now before she added more to it.

As Korra had been introspecting, Sokka had been rocking his head left and right, unsure of how to respond. Katara spoke again in the same shockingly calm demeanor - the alcohol had done its job in settling her down, Sokka had decided.

"And lately I...feel you pulling _away _from me." Katara jerked her hands from an outstretched position to her chest. "Detaching yourself." Her hands clenched into fists. "I hate it," she growled quietly. "It makes me _angry._"

As Katara stewed in her frustration, fingers crushing against each other, Sokka and Korra exchanged concerned looks. Sokka brushed off his worry as best he could and put a hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Hey, hey..._Whoooaaa, _there..."

Katara, having her own bubbling, boiling mentality brought to her attention, loosened her fist and set her hands neatly between her bare knees.

"Sis. Listen. I am...sssorry," Sokka worked out. His lips felt like molasses. "I dunno what to to tell ya."

A heavy silence trickled by, and Korra decided that she needed a reprieve from the emotional weight that was pulling them down. She got up from her seat once more, enduring the pain of the movement again, and before Katara could question it, Korra gave her cousin an explanation.

"I'm gonna go get you guys some beer. Sound good?"

Katara's nose wrinkled, while Sokka's eyebrows perked up. Sokka nodded hastily, his head wobbling about. Katara shrugged with hesitation.

"I'll be back," Korra assured, heading off. Korra whisked herself away from the table, striding with heavy steps. She could feel her buzz now that she was on her feet, but her high tolerance helped things along. Her face warm from booze and emotional embarrassment from her familial awkwardness, she approached the bar. It still felt a bit odd, being on the receiving end. She was certainly missing her old bartending gig tonight. She ordered a trio of Molsons and hunched over a stool, letting her hands sink into her fingertips.

"Korra?" An older man's voice rang from her left. It was vaguely familiar, but she didn't quite place it. When she looked over, she saw Pema's husband - a man she'd heard spoken of more than directly experienced by now.

"Tuh...Tenzin?" she muttered out, confused. What was a guy like Tenzin doing here at a bar? He was two empty stools down from her, halfway through a glass of red wine.

"Oh, christ, Tenzin, I told you to...-" A heavy sigh. Korra tilted forward further to observe the woman who'd made this comment, but she knew that voice if only out of sheer distrust. It was Chief Jia, who was callously ignoring Korra's presence, sipping at her matching glass of wine and finishing it off.

"What...-?" Korra began, but was interrupted by the bartender delivering her drinks. She paid for them, but remained in her stool, staring with confusion at the two older folks to her side. "What are you two doing here?"

"Two old friends catching up," Tenzin calmly explained. His neighbor barked out for a refill on her wine, and the tender obliged. "And yourself?"

"Uh...-" Korra was distracted by Lin's scowling, disinterested profile. The woman hadn't so much as given Korra a glance. Urgh. "I'm just...-" Korra turned her head back to her cousins, who were still moping at their table toward the back corner of the bar. "-...here with family."

"I see." Tenzin nodded with courtesy to Korra before taking a swig of his wine. He looked at her directly again. "I'm glad to hear you're all right after what happened."

"Oh, _that_?" Korra spurted a forced puff through her lips. "Takes a lot more than that to keep me down, eh?"

"Clearly," Lin retorted, cracking open a peanut shell from the small basket that sat between her and her comrade. "I'm not on the clock right now, young lady," Lin continued, still without offering Korra so much as a look. She popped a peanut in her mouth. "So you'd better not start tossing people through tables again."

Korra's teeth gnashed together as her nostrils widened, but she kept her cool. She could feel her already warm face boiling up and she stared back down at her beer.

Tenzin, clearly uncomfortable with the aggressive tension between the two, breathed out a brief, quick sigh through his nose.

"I must admit, Korra, it..._does _seem like you've been finding your way into trouble lately."

"Well..._Somebody's _gotta deal with this shit," Korra defended.

"Just try to calm down," Tenzin eased with a downward gesture of his hand. Korra could tell he wasn't in a very patient mood right now. "I understand that you seem to have a short temper, and that's leading you to make some bad decisions. I may not know you very well, but Pema and my children talk about you all of the time. You're a role model to those kids, Korra, whether you mean to be or not. It would do you well to start acting like one."

_What the fuck? I try to get away from my family guilt-tripping me, and _this _old fart's gonna start-...?! Argh.  
__Those kids actually look _up _to me? But I'm just their babysitter. I never thought about it that way._

"Yea..." Korra fumbled with a shrug after a pause to consider Tenzin's words. "Sorry, I...don't really know what I'm doing with myself lately."

"I understand," said Tenzin. "Everyone finds themselves in that sort of place from time to time. I just think it's important for you to realize that there's a number of people in this town who have put their trust in you, and that you ought to take that seriously."

"All right, yea," Korra not-as-humbly puffed. "I hear you, eh? I'm...trying to clean my act up here..." Korra watched Lin suck down a mouthful of wine much like a cranky gorilla might swallow a bug. "Sorry," Korra offered when she met Tenzin's concerned gaze again. "Things are bad, I know."

"I'm glad to hear you're at least aware of what kind of situation you're in," said Tenzin. "You should be prepared to demonstrate that determination tomorrow afternoon."

"Huh...?" Korra's eyebrows lowered with irate confusion.

"Due to...recent events, you might be getting called to work tomorrow," Tenzin off-handedly explained.

"...Why?" Korra pressed when no further explanation was given. Tenzin elaborated with reluctance.

"Mr. Saikhan is concerned about a gathering that has recently been planned to transpire on campus property tomorrow. It sounds as if he'll be needing all hands on deck to contain the situation."

"Uh..._huh_," said Korra simply, uncertain of what that was supposed to mean.

"So if you truly mean what you say about cleaning up your act, I'd advise being ready in case you get called in tomorrow. You look exhausted, so make sure to get some sleep tonight."

"Got it," Korra replied, giving Tenzin a solemn nod, briefly distracted by the idea that she must be looking pretty tired for him to notice.

"And try not to bring any _stun guns _with you this time," Lin jibed, wavering Korra's minimal self-assurance. Korra tried to swallow her pride.

"I won't be making any more mistakes like that, ma'am."

"You certainly won't," Lin concluded, having finished off another glass. "You can start by leaving us to our business."

Korra was rather curious as to what this '_business_' was, her brain swirling with curiosities about what kind of history these two shared, and if it had anything to do with the tension she sensed between Pema and her husband. Probably - _hopefully_ - just paranoia in her stressed mindset.

"Err...Good night, then," Korra spurt out, scooping up her three beer bottles and hurrying on her way. What had _that _all been about?

Back at the Kesuk table, Sokka and Katara had been hashing out their personal conflict.

"-and so when...when you just _write _me off, it...-" Katara's jaw hung open slightly as she contemplated how to phrase her thoughts. She was staring her bleary-eyed brother right in the eyes, her own face stinging with embarrassment and anger. "-...it _hurts_, Sokka. I don't...know how else to put it." She popped her shoulders up at him, maintaining eye contact. His wide, tired eyes stared back at her, but no response came. "It hurts," Katara re-iterated. "And you _know _me, you _know _how much it gets under my skin, s-so it just...makes it _worse, _how you just push it aside..."

Sokka, who was staring down at the table with his hands latched over the back of his neck, sighed out a slow breath.

"Sorry," he managed out in a mumble.

Katara continued to stare at her brother's profile, her senses a bit hazed.

"People tell me...-" She coughed. "I hear things. About life. People lose touch after school, and...-" Katara planted her hand on Sokka's back. "-...I get scared I'll...that I'll lose you..."

"Agh..." Sokka shook his head slightly, letting his sister's calming hand rub at his back for a few moments. "Dun think stuff like that," he eased her, at last delivering her the eye contact she'd been so desperately desiring. "Yer not losin' me _ever_. What kinda brother would I be, eh?" He showed her a silly, smug smirk with an odd tilt of his head, and Katara giggled at his reply, giving him a sideways hug.

"Th-that's...good to hear, at least. It's a start," she breathed out with some relief. "I think we...we should spend some time together before...like...you have to _leave, _it would just help me feel better, and...-"  
"Yea, yea, we will," Sokka agreed in compliance, nodding as he hugged her back.  
"We'd _better_."  
"We will!"

"You 'will' what?" Korra wondered, watching the two break apart their hug as she sat down with the bottles of beer.

"See each other more before this _idiot _has to go away forever," Katara playfully explained, shaking her brother around.

"Hellll yea, more booze," Sokka called out, reaching his arm to his cousin. She smiled at his dog-like excitement and handed him the bottle. He took to it like a feeding infant. Katara more hesitantly accepted hers, but was also quick to take a first sip.

Korra set herself down again and yawned.

"Wha's up witchoo tonight, anyway?" Sokka asked suddenly, glaring at Korra at he guzzled down a second gulp.

Katara was drying her eyes with her wrist as she added, "Yea, did you...sleep bad?"

Korra's eyes widened as her taxed brain cracked its gears around. She'd decided to sleep on the couch, much to Bolin's dismay. She simply wasn't in an emotional place where she could handle sleeping beside him that night. Bad? Good? She couldn't really decide, she just wasn't in the mood. The guy had even offered to let her have a night on the bed, but she'd insisted otherwise. The end result was shit sleep on top of a shit week on top of shitty fucking _shit _arghhh...

"Korra?" Katara prodded with some concern, clutching her bottle in her lap.

"Mm?" Korra rubbed her eyes and sighed, shaking off her doubts and drinking her beer. "_Nah, _I'm fine. Slept wrong, I dunno..." She shrugged it off like nothing. Sokka scratched his scruffy neck and Katara kept a solid stare on her cousin. "What?" Korra muttered with a raised brow.

"You're OK?" Katara checked.

"_Tsh, _yea. Totally."

"Fo shizzle yo nizzle," Sokka vehemently put in. All three chuckled once at this.

"Don't fuckin' _remind _me," said Korra, rolling her eyes at her own prior silliness while an embarrassed smirk overtook her face.

"I'm glad we shook that out of you," Katara warmly teased as she lifted her bottle.

"Me, _too_." Korra stuck out her bottle, and the other two clinked their brown glass together with hers.

"All fer one, n' one for all!" Sokka cheered, raising his bottle up high and taking another swig.

Katara gave Korra an amused look of bewilderment at Sokka's behavior, and Korra shrugged back with a grin.

"Am _I _OK? Are _you _OK?" Korra spun their question back on them.

"We are _jusss _fine," Sokka insisted, his eyes squinted and his tone overly serious.

"I, um...-" Katara cleared her throat and drank a bit more. "You know, I think...we're going to be all right," she said with a thoughtful nod.

"We're all right, we're _alllllll _right," Sokka agreed. "I'm the _most _right, of course."

Katara bumped her elbow into his side, and Korra envied, if only for a moment, their sibling bond - how deeply she knew they understood each other, and how easily it seemed to come for them to resolve problems with each other. Korra couldn't even quite do the same with _them, _her own family, much less the people she was keeping company with.

* * *

- Sunday, May 22nd, 2011 -

Korra was struggling to sleep in, but the conversation from the kitchen was filtering through her barely conscious mind. She tossed and turned on the couch, and wedged her head beneath her pillow. Her body was sleepy, but her brain was too awake - too stressed, too full of worries and doubts. After some untracked period of time of trying to force herself to fall back asleep, Korra grumpily pulled her pillow back under her head and yawned for air.

"-...on _pretty _short notice, don't you think?"  
Mako's voice - he sounded confused.

"He's my _father, _I can't just...turn down an invitation."  
Asami?

"Why _not? _I thought you said you wanted nothing to do with him right now."

"I know, I know...But, still. He sounded like he wanted to apologize. Maybe I got through to him - maybe he's trying to make things right."

Mako sighed at his girlfriend's optimism.

"You could be right," he conceded. "It's just kind of strange that he'd suddenly be here in town, without letting you know ahead of time."

"Maybe he's...here for business? He _is _supposed to be supporting the college here now. He probably was...just...indecisive about seeing me, or...-"  
"Something's not right, Asami."

There was a tight-lipped silence between the two as Korra, sprawled on the couch, pushed her own hair from her face and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm going to see him, Mako."

"No, that's-...I'm not saying you _can't _or anything, just...be careful. He's guilt-tripped you before. Don't let him do it again."

"I won't."

"OK. That's all I'm worried about."

"I can handle it."

"I know you can. Sorry I'm a pessimist."

"That's what you have me for now, isn't it?"

As Korra pulled her aching body upright, she could hear the soft, smacking sounds of lips from the next room. _Ulgh. _As she pushed her blanket off, she felt a shiver spike up her back. It could've been the shock of the morning cold, or perhaps the gross sound of those two making out. Either way, she didn't like it. She yawned again, scratched an itch on her left bosom, and adjusted her white wifebeather before stumbling up on socked feet. She could hear them humming at each other _while _they were making out. _Blech._

Right now she needed coffee, so she pulled her heavy legs around to maneuver herself to the kitchen, where the kissing briskly broke up.

"Oh, good morning," Asami chirped, looking up at Korra from the small kitchen table.

"_RrMmMm_," Korra managed to reply. She checked the coffee pot - half full, and still turned on. Score.

"You sleep all right, Korra?" Mako wondered, lifting a brow her way as she went to the cupboard, her large rear end accented by the tight plaid boxers she had on. Mako immediately distracted himself with his Sunday newspaper when he came to this realization.

"_No_," Korra bluntly replied, fumbling her fingers around a mug and pulling herself back to the coffee. Just the very aroma of the drink was making her heartbeat jump a little in her chest.

"Sorry to hear that," Mako offered his condolence, flipping through pages to find his own contribution to this week's sports section. Mako had a habit of leaving his articles alone as best he could once they'd been approved for print, only to read through them after the fact to see how he felt about his own work.

"Are you still sick?" Asami asked.

As Korra's arm twisted slightly to pour herself some dark brown energy, she felt a twitch of pain on her side.

"Nah, I...-" She paused as the pain hit, but continued to pour. "-...fucking...-" She scratched wildly at her head, setting the pot back in place. "-...shitty week," she concluded with slight exasperation. "Almost _died_?"

Asami frowned a little at Korra's grumpy attitude, and glanced at mako across his paper. The couple exchanged looks, simultaneously communicating to each other the notion, '_And whose fault is that?_' without saying a word.

Korra went to the fridge and opened it, scanning it for coffee creamer, only to find none. With a groan, she shut the fridge door.

"Jesus-_fuck_," Korra growled. "Are we out of creamer _again?_"

"Wh-?" Mako was baffled.

"Korra?" Asami said with some courtesy, raising her index finger at the groggy woman. "I just picked some up last night - we still have some."

Korra blinked at Asami's sheepish smile and rubbed at her eyes. She went back to the fridge and double-checked. Still wasn't seeing it.

"Well...where the _fuck_ is...-?"  
"The bottom, left-hand side."

Korra moved her eyes from the various shelves of the fridge's door to the main compartment. On the bottom, to the left, next to a carton of beer, she found the hazelnut creamer.

_Hazelnut? What the shit? Since when did we get hazelnut? Ugh..._

Korra testily swiped the plastic bottle up and slammed the fridge shut behind her.

"That's not where it _goes_," Korra grumbled under her breath, going to drop some into her drink.

Asami, wide-eyed, turned to Mako again and flashed him a startled, amused look. He smirked back, and the two contained their humor behind Korra's back.

Korra, not-so-blissfully unaware, took a stirring stick from a nearby cup and mixed her drink. She then dropped the stick into the sink before slurping from her mug and dragging herself to the living in a most ornery fashion.

Mako and Asami swapped silent chuckles at their housemate's morning manners. As they quietly discussed what Mako was reading about, Korra sipped away at her coffee, slouched over the couch. Her head was spinning, and she wasn't sure if caffeine was going to hurt or help.

She noticed her phone on the coffee table - where she'd left it overnight - had a few text messages.

[Inbox: 4:]  
[From: Sox]  
[wooooo partay hd fun rite?]  
[Sent: 1:21am]

[From: Katara]  
[Thanks for last night. Sorry I got emotional. I'm in a bad place these days.]  
[Sent: 10:22am]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[I know what you mean. TBH I am, too. I don't know WTF I'm doing lately.]  
[Sent: 11:21am]  
[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[We should get together again ASAP. I do want to spend time with you guys.]  
[Sent: 11:22am]

[From: Aang]  
[hi. you looked pooped yesterday. everything ok?]  
[Sent: 10:43am]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[I'm fine. Sleeping like shit this week. That's all. Don't worry about it.]  
[Sent: 11:23am]

With a heavy sigh, Korra dropped her phone back onto the coffee table and stared at the vapors wafting up from her mug.

"Hey, Korra," Mako called out from the kitchen. "You _are _using a coaster with that mug, right?"

Korra blinked at her mug, dumbfounded. It was sitting directly on the table, inches away from a cork coaster. She quietly shifted its position.

"Er, yea," she replied. "Why?"

"Just checking," said Mako smoothly as he shuffled his newspaper pages around.

Korra's stomach gurgled from hunger and she yawned, scratching her stomach. Christ, even _little _things like that - damned _coasters _- she needed someone else telling her what to do, because she couldn't fucking _handle _it.

_What am I doing with myself? Where am I headed?_

Korra whiled some time away with her drink. As she was getting down to the last couple of gulps, Mako and Asami passed through.

"Is Bolin still here?" Korra wondered. She was supposed to be on-call for work, but that didn't mean she couldn't try to enjoy herself in the meanwhile.

"He's at work," Mako explained.

"Ah, right," Korra replied. As if she'd casually forgotten Bolin's schedule this week, when in fact she'd never known it to begin with. "When's he getting back?"

"I'm not sure," said Mako, heading upstairs. Asami lingered in the living room and sat down in the recliner beside the couch.

Suddenly, from outside, muffled puppy barks erupted. They were accompanied by a nervous shriek. Korra moaned with irritation to herself and trudged to the door. Still in her underwear, she flung open the door, her expression menacing.

"_Yar-yar-yarp!_"

"**Naga!** Quit your...-!" Korra paused at the sight before her: Naga, on her chain in the yard, barking at a man dressed in some kind of religious clothing. Like a robe? What the hell was this, some sort of priest? He was a gangly middle-aged man with graying facial hair attacking the sides of his face, yet sparing his chin. He looked very much like a baboon, Korra decided. He was carrying a worn sling bag, and was holding a large card in his shaky fingers, frozen on the sidewalk leading to the porch.

Naga's attention had been derailed from this stranger to her owner, and she was panting earnestly toward Korra.

"Uhhh...-" Korra was baffled, and the man in their yard swiftly grew an offended expression as he noticed Korra's lack of clothing. She awkwardly glanced down at herself, with an "Umm...-" while Naga whimpered. Korra shrugged this off, while Asami peered out from her spot on the recliner with wide eyes. "Whaddya want?" Korra asked loudly over the sound of her pet. She hobbled down the steps and walked right through the grass, uncaring of any stains to her socks.

"I...I'm here to send invitations to a...a gathering tonight, and...-" The man was befuddled as Korra unchained her pup and scooped her up in her arms. Naga began licking at Korra's face, and Korra grunted out disapprovingly at this. Asami swiftly made her way outside and greeted the stranger.

"Can we help you?" Asami asked.

The man cast Korra a glare as she wandered back inside with her dog, then turned his attention to Asami with a more respectful look. He presented the large card to her, which she accepted.

"I'm...just going to give you this, and...be on my way," he muttered, giving Asami a polite nod as he briskly back-tread to the main sidewalk and continued along to the next house.

As Asami re-entered, she found Korra struggling to keep her dog from hopping onto the couch.

"_No, _Naga, that's-! Argh. No! No. Stop. Stoppit. _Stoppit._"

"M-maybe she's just hungry," Asami theorized. "Or perhaps she wants to play?"

Korra, clasping at her forehead in frustration with one hand and shooing the dog with the other, shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"I don't know..."

Asami studied the card in her hand while Korra started scratching Naga furiously. The puppy melted into a puddle at Korra's feet from the gesture. Mako came back downstairs, sporting a T-shirt and jeans where his pajamas had once been.

"Who was _that_, anyway?" Korra asked. "Some Jehova witness prick, or...-?"

"I'm...not really sure," Asami said with a perplexed expression.

"What?" Mako inquired.

"Oh, just...some guy stopped by to give us this." Asami handed Mako the card. It was red, with a dark red cross emblazoned behind a cropped photo of a man with a stern expression and a hand raised upward. "Looks like some kind of religious thing," Asami noted.

Mako read it aloud.

{Brothers and Sisters,}  
{You live beside a den of hypocrisy.}  
{But the Lord will cast His light upon their lies.}  
{Come to the nest of falsehoods.}  
{Witness the Revelation.}  
{Tonight, May 22nd, at 6:00pm}  
{The Truth cannot be silenced.}  
_{Leviticus 26:6 - And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.}_

With eyes open and eyebrows lifted, Mako blinked at the document. Korra sniffed loudly, then drank the last of her coffee, still scratching Naga's stomach to keep the mutt placated.

"Well..._that _sounds messed up, eh?" Korra commented.

"What's he even talking about?" Asami dismissed with a shrug. "It doesn't make any sense. Where are people supposed to _go, _even?"

Mako flipped the card around.

"Huh," he puffed with curious observation.

"Mm?" hummed Korra inquisitively.

"It's just that...-" Mako squinted at the card as his head tilted a bit to the side. "There's a map on the back, and it's...directing people to the college."

"SRU?" Asami tapped her chin thoughtfully, and both Mako and Asami turned to Korra. "Any idea what it could be about?"

Korra's lips arced downward with puzzled disbelief.

"Fuckin' got _me._.."

* * *

Korra straightened her black button-down shirt, trying to make sure her collar was properly folded. Her guts churned with anxiety at the very sound of the crowd that had gathered outside on the campus quad. As Tenzin had predicted, she'd been called in at about two o'clock to come back to work. In her current employment status, she didn't have much choice but to work the shift. What she'd assumed was just going to be some kind of religious hippie speech had apparently become a full-on rally that had started in primary parking lot in front of SRU. The crowd marched across campus, around The Ring sidewalk that encircled the ACC, and then traversed to the quad. A temporary outdoor stage and stereo setup that the college had been using for various spring events was being procured by whatever organization was running this thing.

Korra had inquired about what the hell was going on, and if it was such a problem, why it had been allowed to occur on campus in the first place. The response she received from her boss was vague, but the problem seemed to stem from the religious group's misleading description of the event combined with funding they'd provided to be allowed to host the event on campus - money that the college needed all it could get of these days.

During the rally march, Korra had been working more menial tasks while the more experienced security officers were monitoring the situation. What baffled Korra was how they all seemed on edge - to the point of dragging her into work again on despite their reservations about her. What was making them so worried about some stupid preaching crap?

Korra's thoughts were jolted by the crackling of the walkie talkie strapped to her belt. Saikhan's grouchy commands rang out through light static.

["Kesuk: I've got my hands tied out here. Jimenez is holding down the fort, but I need a pair of arms out here."]

By the time he'd finished, Korra had lifted the talkie up to her face. She clicked the call button and responded.

"Got it."

Korra straightened her SRU cap as she solemnly marched toward the buzzing crowd that had gathered before the empty stage. She checked her phone for the time: [5:58pm] Whatever was supposed to happen on that stage, it was about to any minute, and people were already riled up with confusion.

The small wooden stage was strangely empty, but there were a couple of...soldiers? Why were there men in military uniforms beside the stage? Korra recognized one of them, she'd seen him on campus. He trained students in the ROTC program. What was his name? Zhao? Yea, that was it. Jane had warned Korra that the guy was a prick. Based on Zhao's practically permanent stuffy expression, Korra was inclined to agree. So who was the other soldier with the glasses and the fucking Foo Manchu mustache? Were these two acting as some kind of security, too, or what?

As Korra watched Saikhan resolving some kind of conflict within the crowd, she moved closer, trying to circumnavigate the edge of the group to the side of the stage.

Within the crowd itself, Katara and Aang stood, hands linked, wondering what was about to transpire.

"Wow," Katara murmured in Aang's ear beneath the crowd's waves of discussion. "I didn't think this many people would show up..."

"Yea, I've been seeing folks from downtown," Aang observed, seemingly impressed by this fact. "I think I saw Chong and Lily on the opposite end of the crowd."

"Oh, really?" Katara tapped her chin. "I wouldn't think they'd care much for a religious sort of rally."

"To be honest, Sweetie...-" Aang nudged his head in the direction of the two uniformed men to the left of the stage. "-...I'm starting to think maybe this isn't _just _a religious thing..."

"_Oh_..." Katara's brows furrowed with disdain at the sight of the soldiers. She'd heard some unsavory things about Zhao, but either way, the presence of military men at what she had thought was going to be a religious speech didn't settle well in her stomach. "Hey..." Katara's eyes squinted at the woman with the distinct hairdo in the campus security getup that was striding up to the two uniformed men. "Wait, what's Korra doing here?"

"Korra?" Aang stretched his neck to make out what Katara was seeing. "I thought she was, like...on some kind of work suspension, or...-?"

"Yea, me, too," Katara replied, perplexed.

Korra, meanwhile, was inquiring the two men about their presence.

"Simply a precaution, Ma'am," Zhao had calmly advised, unmoving.

"Why? Does somebody wanna hurt this guy?" Korra asked, hands on her hips. The other man replied. His voice gave Korra's arms mild goosebumps; like electricity sparking from the edges of a live, cut wire.

"Noah is a public figure who has extreme opinions," explained the man Korra didn't recognize. He was studying her from behind his round glasses, as if he'd seen her before somewhere. "When you're so vocal about these kinds of things, trouble follows you."

Korra blinked at his solemn answer for a moment, baffled as to what to say. Something about these two was giving her the creeps, she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"What, so...he's run into 'trouble' in the past?" Korra asked. The man with the glasses frowned slightly, but before he could speak, Zhao spoke.

"You have no obligation to this rent-a-cop, Lieutenant," he said, giving Korra a spiteful smirk. "Let her worry about her own business - overseeing the safety of _students_."

"The safety of this _campus_," Korra pointedly corrected. "Which is where we _are_. Right _now_."

Zhao sighed through his nose, while the Lieutenant blinked with a look of surprise at her boldness.

"Ma'am, you're in no position to be giving _us _orders."

"I'm not, I'm just...-" Korra swallowed the lump she found in her throat. These were, like, _army_...guys...What the hell was she doing, stirring up crap with them? She cleared her throat. "I wanted to make sure I don't need to be worried about anything."

"If anything, I think _we _are the ones who should be worried about _you_," the Lieutenant advised.

"...Huh?" Korra's eyebrows sunk.

"You're that woman who was involved in the recent incident regarding Professor Kurosawa."

"I...-" Korra's eyes shifted from the accuser to Zhao and then back. "Yea, that was-...I _protected_ Iroh from that psychopath."

"My understanding is that there's more to the story than that," the Lieutenant grunted.

Korra could feel her stomach twisting from this encounter. This wasn't going anywhere. Another man came up from behind the stage with a small entourage, with a woman straightening his shirt for him.

"I don't know what you heard, but it's not related to _this_, so-"  
"You have a job to do," Zhao cut her off. "So do we," Zhao concluded.

Korra hated this position she'd caught herself in and conceded, backing off from them but lingering near the side steps to the stage. She watched this new figure nod to both men as they let him pass, rising up to the stage. The crowd began to quiet down at the commanding figure that had stood up before them. He walked across the wooden planks with long strides, his hands neatly folded behind his back. All Korra could read from him was the cliche, 'tall, dark, and mysterious.' He wore a button down shirt and dark slacks, his hair like a trimmed lion's mane with rugged sideburns that faded down the edges of his face. He had sharp eyes and a confident smile about him, and as he stopped in the center of the stage, Korra couldn't deny that he carried some kind of charisma while simultaneously weirding her the fuck out.

Zhao took his place at the other side of the stage, and this man - Noah - approached the microphone which stood alone on a stand. He cleared his throat into it, the sound carrying through the speakers beside the stage, and he waited a few moments until the commotion had simmered down.

Noah spoke, his chin tilted up, his face directed to the crowd of a hundred or so people before him.

"My quest for equality began many years ago," he started. "When I was a boy...-" He scooped the microphone up from its stand and lifted it toward his face. "I lived in one of the most diverse cities in the world. It was a place where each street practically had its own culture, its own people; a great statue stood at the face of this city, welcoming any and all visitors with the promises of freedom, unity, and equality. As a child, I loved seeing the Statue of Liberty, standing tall above the water, shining her torch with the flame of idealism. And as I grew older, I learned...-" He nodded slowly, his head bobbing down slightly. "I learned that it was simply that: idealism. You see, my family wasn't rich - my parents were immigrants. We weren't pure-bred Americans. Life was not easy. But my father was a man of action and determination. He found ways to get us by. By the time I was a teenager, what I came to realize was that the money that paid to put food on my table was extorted from others. My father had chosen a life of crime. Not because he _had _to. He _wanted _to. I watched as the man I thought I knew became a monster before my very eyes. His name was Yakone, and he had become a crime lord in New York City. he committed unspeakable acts every week, if not every day, feeding his family a string of lies. It was during this time that I met my _true _Father." Noah pointed upward to the sky. "The Lord, He eventually gave me the strength to confront Yakone. And when I did, Yakone took my family away from me."

In the pause that followed, Korra realized that she'd found herself hanging on his every word. Apparently, so did the congregation, as things had become deathly quiet.

"It was that dark day that the Lord showed me what true loss feels like. An unspeakable pain I would not wish on my worst enemy. It was that day that I realized what my purpose was: to prevent others from losing their families, as I did. To bring to justice to those who put others' safety in danger - who gain at the expense of lies and falsehoods. And that is why I am here today."

Murmurs and mumbling spilled over the crowd like trickles from a pebble dropped into a pond. Noah gave another pause.

"As you all may know, a tragic string of murders - _families, _burned alive - was put to an end recently when a serial killer was apprehended by authorities during an attempt to murder one of this school's professors. This inhumane beast - 'The Combustion Man' - had been traveling from city to city, methodically setting fire to buildings and trapping the occupants inside. When I heard of this, I felt the Lord calling me to see His will be done, that this ravenous wolf be locked in a cage for devouring His previous sheep. The more I researched, the more I came to realize that there was one thing that tied this murderer to his victims: the very ground on which we stand here and now."

As the crowd muttered to itself some more, Korra's eyes awkwardly shifted around, trying to survey her environs, but finding nothing suspicious. She was confused as to where this was going. She wasn't an expert, but she was pretty confident sermons weren't supposed to go like this.

"This school, and the administration that runs it. Or, perhaps more accurately, the _family _which runs it. The Kurosawa family. If any members of that family were here right now, I'm sure they would tell you that they have worked closely with SRU for years in order to maintain _peace _and _balance _in the community of Wayward. But they are wrong. Their family is responsible for _every _fire, _ev__ery _victim of the Combustion Man, and many other acts of violence. They continue to follow in Ozai's footsteps: Ozai Kurosawa, a man who has also been brought to justice for working with _my father _to acquire the funds he needed to grow his successful business. The Kurosawa family has been lying, hiding truths, and leeching off of the trust of this town for decades. But all of that...is about to change."

By now the crowd was getting a bit angry - Noah was starting to receive boo's. He nodded slowly at this reaction, and set the microphone back on its stand.

"I present to you a recording I was recently sent. What you're about to listen to is a conversation between Zuko and Azula Kurosawa."

The speaker system quieted, then jolted back to life as a recorded discussion played back. Noah stood silently on the stage, observing the crowd with a curious look as he latched his hands calmly together at his waist.

["Yes, yes, I was pulling your _leg,_ Dum-Dum. Honestly, do you truly have _no _sense of humor?"]

Who was that? 'Azula?' The name sounded a little familiar, Zuko had mentioned it in the past.

["Not when I'm worried about a _psychotic pyromaniac _that could kill again any day now! _No, _I don't find anything funny about that."]

Wait...That was definitely _Zuko. _Korra wouldn't forget his gloomy voice.

["_Ugh, _Zuko. Listen. I have _told _you. That is _not _your problem to deal with, as you seem _so _very insistent on avoiding familial affairs."]

Korra was baffled. This was a talk between Zuko and some snippy bitch - about the Combustion Man, at that.

["I'm not avoiding our family's problems, I'm trying to _fix _them. You _know _that."]

It was about now that Korra noticed that the anger that had just been fueling the crowd had transformed into shocked bewilderment.

["And _I _am trying to _control _them. You cannot _fix _these issues, Zuko. The people involved here? They are deviants. They are violent. They will not listen to reason. If they _did, _do you honestly think they would be involved in the activities they _are?_"]

As Azula's rant was played out, Katara quietly asked Aang, "Do you know what this is about?"

Aang shrugged, his eyes wide with some panic.

"No, but...I'm willing to bet it has to do with what happened to Jane and Korra..."

"Zuko and his sister _knew _about this?" Katara snipped back, keeping her voice hushed. "And they didn't _warn _anyone?"

"I...I don't...-" Aang shrugged at Katara's incredulous frown. He hadn't played any part in whatever this was about. "I didn't know about this," he managed out, trying to put Katara at ease. They finished listening to Azula's speech.

["You talk as if these groups can be reformed - _united _- but you are incorrect. You cannot _tame _beasts such as these, dress them up, and let them sit on the couch. They are _wild animals, _not pets. They need to be put in their _cages _and taught _fear _and _respect _so that they won't disobey."]

["Putting them in prison, you mean."]

["The ones that aren't _useful_, yes."]

["'Useful?'"]

["Zuko, don't be naive. You know these groups exist because they once had purpose. With their leaders gone, they've fallen into disarray, but they could still serve the Kurosawa family in some-"]  
["Serve _you. _Serve the _c__ompany._"]  
["The company and the family should be treated as _one and the same._"]

After the recording had finished, Korra was left dumbfounded, her arms folded across her chest. She was getting the strange feeling that she'd been used somehow in all of this. If Zuko had known the Combustion Man was going to attack Iroh...who was to say he hadn't known that the United Republic was in danger before the fact?

Noah took the mic again, voicing his follow-up over the uneasy tones of the crowd.

"And there are more recordings like this - proof that the Kurosawa family was _aware _of the dangers caused by a serial killer, that they were _aware _of the threat posed to the people of _your _town, of _this _school, yet they hid this truth from you. Why, I ask, would they keep such information concealed unless they had something to hide? And if they have been hiding this secret, what else could this school's administration be keeping from you?"

Korra was fixated on this swelling sense of doubt as she pondered the implications. The crowd seemed to be doing the same.

"Just what is going on here?" Korra was - once again - startled by Saikhan's voice, this time clear and present from just behind her.

"I-I'm not sure, Sir," Korra fumbled with a shrug. "Wasn't this supposed to be some kind of...religious sermon...thing?" She looked to her boss for confirmation. Saikhan was glaring at the man on stage, who was continuing to bad-mouth the school he worked for.

"It was," Saikhan confirmed, his gaze deadlocked on Noah. "He's slandering the school on our own grounds."

"Shouldn't we...stop him?"

"He had permission to hold a peaceful rally, but not..._this._"

"Soooo...-?" Korra was eager to _do _something here instead of just standing around.

"-all because you stuck-up chinks like your pop had to fuckin' invade this town like a..._disease_-"  
"What'd you just call me?"

A pair of students were starting to get into a shoving match at the back end of the crowd. Korra recognized _both _of them as people she'd had to put in their place in the past: a thick Caucasian and a slick-haired Asian.

"You heard me!"  
"You wanna go?"

Saikhan sighed at their squabble and nodded his head for Korra to follow.

"You people don't _belong _here," seethed the Caucasian.  
"Aw, you're so _scary_," taunted the Asian with the purple streaks in his hair. "Privileged asswipe..."

A couple on the sidelines were looking on with concern as the two pushed at each other a couple more times.

"Hyde, what are you _doing_?" demanded the mousy-looking girl of the pair.  
"Yea, man, just let it go," insisted her scrawny boyfriend.

Korra remembered this 'Hyde' fellow - the guy who'd picked a fight with Aang back on St. Patty's Day. She'd had to tackle him to the ground to get him to lay off.

"Better listen to your pals before you get hurt," goaded Tahno, giving Hyde another push before stepping off at the sight of the campus security that approached. Korra certainly hadn't forgotten Tahno. The prick had proven to be a magnet for trouble, and she had her suspicions that he was a catalyst for crap like this.

"Gentlemen," Saikhan called out to them through Noah's ranting in the background. "I _tried _playing nice with you two. Now, you're coming with me."

Hyde's eyes bulged open and he thrust his hand out at Tahno, who wore a smug smirk.

"But..._he _was-"  
"Don't wanna hear it," Saikhan insisted, spinning Hyde around by the shoulders and easing him away.

In that moment, Tahno's eyes latched onto Korra, scanned her from head to toe with a voracity that made her skin crawl.

"Well, well, Miss Inse_curr_ity's in today," Tahno teased, while Hyde was struggling to protest his case with Saikhan. "Always a pleasure seeing _you _around, Brownie. I've missed you."

"Save it," Korra spat at him, crossing her muscular arms over her chest when she noticed his gaze lingering there.

"Tahno, you're coming, too," Saikhan commanded with a loud sigh. "Kesuk, you keep things under control over here."

"Understood," said Korra with a light tip of her hat. Tahno walked backwards a few steps to catch up with the other two, giving Korra a suggestive eyebrow waggle as he did so. Her shoulders shuddered, and she gladly refocused her attention on the stage. Noah was now reading passages from a black book - a Bible, Korra figured.

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."

Korra rolled her eyes at whatever nonsense this guy was on about and circled back around the crowd, making way for the stage.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

Within the crowd, Aang was listening with a dubious expression.

"What's he reading?" he wondered.

"I'm pretty sure he's reading from the Book of Revelation," Katara replied, equally disconcerted. "I don't know...I don't like this."

"Me, neither," Aang agreed.

"I hate it when people like this make religion out to be, like...crazy," Katara grumbled. Aang patted her shoulder, knowing full well Katara's frustrations with this topic.

Noah kept on reading.

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."

"Is that what this is all about?" Korra shouted up at him from the side of the stage. "_Truth?_" Much to her chagrin, Noah ignored her and continued.

"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely."  
"Hey! _Hey! _I'm talking to you!"

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."  
"What the hell are you babbling about?"

Korra's attempt at interruption wasn't going unnoticed. She was getting some indignant glares and puzzled glances as she approached the front of the stage, nudging her way through the few who were in her way. Interrupting the bible was something that some people didn't take kindly to, apparently.

"What are you _doing_?" Katara groaned under her breath at her cousin's rude actions. Katara was all for someone speaking up about this, but...Korra wasn't the most careful with her words.

"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars...-"  
Korra lifted herself up on top of the wooden platform, while Zhao and Lieutenant immediately began to approach. Noah, still looking to his book, merely raised up his palm to request them to stop. They obeyed, and Noah finished the current sentence as Korra stood beside him, an imposing woman, indeed.  
"-...shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

With this, Noah calmly closed his Bible and looked at this young woman in the eyes. They both stood with chests puffed out - Korra's arms crossed in front, Noah's hands folded behind.

"A non-believer, I see," Noah observed, his voice still carrying through the speaker system. "You have a question?"

"Yea. _Yea, _ya know, I _do_." Korra nodded briskly, her lower lip propped out with irritation. "What are you doing? One minute you're shit-talking the people who let you _speak _here, and the next you're reading some ancient gibberish. What is it you're trying to say? What's the _point _of this?"

Noah laughed through a snort of his nose.

"I am merely saying what I have been called here to say," Noah replied with a light shrug. "This university is a farce - a den of lies, and lives have been lost because of its secrecy."

"Where did you get that recording from?" Korra pressed.

"I'm afraid I cannot say," Noah answered. "But I did not record it myself, if that is what you're accusing me of."

"I'm pretty sure the people who run this school wouldn't be happy to know that you're bad-mouthing them."

"Of course not - that is the entire reason I'm here. They insist on clinging to their secrets. I am merely shining a torch toward the dark corners."

"Sounds like a fancy way of saying that you're here to stir shit up, eh?"

"I'm doing what's necessary to inform the people of this community that a shadow of deceit has loomed over them for far too long. I am here to light the way to the truth."

"Maybe _your _version of the truth..." Korra walked two steps closer, her strong arms at her sides, fists bared.

Noah pulled his gaze away from Korra and to the crowd, addressing them once again.

"Observe the way she is trying to impose force upon me. The way she is trying to silence me. _This _is the community you live in."

Korra received some angry shouts, and she dismissed them. She could tell from a cursory glance that the crowd had gotten larger since when she showed up, passersby gathering to hear what was going on.

"I'm not trying to _silence _you, I'm...telling you to go be loud somewhere _else, _off of my campus."

"Oh. _Your _campus."

"I-..._This _campus. _Our _campus. If you're going to shit-talk our school, go do it somewhere else."

"This is a peaceful protest. I'm doing nothing-"  
"You're disrupting the peace, and...and intruding on student life, and _besides _that, the college didn't invite you to come here for..._this._"

"They also don't pay you to censor a non-violent rally."

Korra wanted to deck this prick in the face _so bad. _Why couldn't he just go thump his bible elsewhere?

"Don't make me force you to leave," Korra threatened.

"I wouldn't dare to do _that_," Noah coyly replied. "You've earned quite a reputation for herself around here, haven't you, Miss Kesuk?"

Korra's heart skipped a beat at the intrigued smirk on the man's cold face.

Noah spoke more directly into his microphone again.

"Quite a strange _coincidence _it is that you instigated a brawl, then were there when the United Republic was burned down, and _also _happened - purely by chance, was it? - to be present the night the Combustion Man was captured. Why, I even heard you happened to have campus security equipment on your person and assisted in the arrest yourself. It would seem almost as if you were _aware _of it beforehand, and that you bring violence with you wherever you go."

Korra's hands had fallen sheepishly into her pockets, her arms rubbery and numb, her lips cold and trembling. What could she say to that?

"And _yet_...-" Still speaking into the microphone, Noah turned his head to Korra. "-...the school deems a person such as _you _fit to look after the safety of _these _good people-" Clutching his Bible to his chest, Noah stretched his hand out to the crowd. "-while you bring pain and suffering with you wherever you seem to go." He pointed his hand at her in defiance. "You have been connected to every major conflict that has transpired in this town since you arrived." His finger was so close to her face that Korra reacted on instinct and roughly flicked it away. There were some gasps from below.

How...-? How the hell did this guy _know _all of this? What, did he..._research _her before he came, or...what?

"It's all right," Noah eased, flicking his wrist a little from the impact it had received. "I know that resolving problems with anything other than your _fists _is difficult for you. But the people of Wayward - and the students of SRU - deserve to be safe and secure. And people such as the Kurosawa family - such as _you _- will not keep them safe when instead you attract violent people."

Korra's once numb body had tightened up, her fists clenched, teeth grinding together with frustration.

"I've made some _mistakes_," Korra confessed, pressing her hand to her chest and looking to the crowd. She grabbed the microphone stand and tilted it toward her face. "I've...made some mistakes," she repeated, now that her voice was projecting better. "Just like anyone _else,_" she added. "But I care about this school I work at, and the town I live in, and I...-" Korra trailed off as she realized her words were getting drowned out by the audience.

"Boooo!"  
"Brute! Heathen!"  
"Get this dyke off the stage!"  
"Hey, she's just trying to do her job!"  
"She's a liar!"  
"This Noah guy's just a loudmouth with-"  
"He's onto something here, and-"  
"Explain that recording!"  
"Yea, we want to hear what Noah has to say!"

By now, Aang was leading a furious-faced Katara out of the commotion, while Korra had given up on trying to make her case. She let the mic stand fall back into its upright position, and noticed Noah giving her a bemused look - he was getting some sanctification from this. But why? What the fuck did she ever to _this _loon get on his shit list? Noah's expression in that moment reverberated Korra's own thoughts: _You're a failure. No one can trust you. Just leave._

Korra could feel her knees tremble, her heart pound, her face on fire from humiliation...  
She abhorred the idea of walking away from this - of leaving herself looking like such an idiot, of letting this stranger have the last laugh.

She briefly envisioned herself smacking his bible from his hands, pushing him onto the wooden floor, and juicing his face full of pepper spray. She'd fuck him up so bad for crossing her that he'd have to hide his _face._

That flicker of aggressive thought, however - the very temptation to commit that act - only proved Noah's words to have truth to them. She didn't like that one bit.

Without another word, she hopped off the stage, forcing her way around the crowd with a shield of apathy. She had to remain present in case things got too rowdy, but she wasn't going to give this Noah character another shred of her attention. She spent the rest of the rally studying the various faces before her. Some were enraged, some confused, some intrigued...She'd been living in the area long enough to recognize a few of the faces that she knew weren't students - brought here due to those fliers, she figured.

So what if Zuko's family had some secrets? Didn't every family have its secrets? Why couldn't people just let crap _be _and leave it alone?

When the rally had ended - vocal, loud, but nonetheless peaceful, as Noah had ensured - Korra approached Noah and his little group, stern and steeled.

"The wounded pup is still licking her wounds," Zhao taunted her.

"What do you want this time?" asked the Lieutenant.

"I could ask _you _guys the same thing," Korra retorted. "Hey!" she shouted over the solders' shoulder. "Noah!" Noah, who was speaking with a handful of folks left over from the rally, looked up to her. "Yea," she confirmed that she'd gotten his attention, and waved her hand. "I wanna talk with you real quick."

She watched as Noah casually placed his current conversation on hold and came up to her.

"What's your problem?" Korra demanded.

"I beg your pardon?" Noah lifted his brow slightly.

"Why do you have it out for SRU? For...for _me? _How do you guys even _know _about...-?"

"It's called the _news, _young lady. Around here, you seem to be all over it lately. Chief Jia has vented her frustrations about you, as well."

"You..._know _her?" Korra was offput. This guy was _not _the type she'd peg Lin to be hanging around with.

"You could call us...old acquaintances," Noah passively replied. "As for this college? I have my reasons, and they're not of your concern."

"Why are you _here?_" Korra pressed.

"I am here to cleanse this city of its impurities. The facility you work for has been corrupted. It plagues the people of this town."

Korra, slapped her hands on her hips and pointed her finger at him, head cocked to the side.

"Yea? And just who do you think _you_ are, Bub?"

Noah let out a laugh at her spry attitude.

"I...am the solution."

With that, Noah turned his back to her and walked away. Korra was left no choice but to do the same.

* * *

**A/N: Noah's reading was from Revelation 21, King James Version**


	103. Social Interaction

**A/N: This chapter is largely going to be about character interactions and setting things up for character arcs to be resolved. If there's any particular combination of two characters you'd like to see interact at this point in the story, let me know who and why - maybe I'll write a scene with them.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 103 -_ Social Interaction

* * *

- Monday, May 23rd, 2011 -

Mai's gaze wouldn't leave Zuko's face. She hadn't seem him look quite like this in a long time. He sat in silence, leaning back against his car seat. His styrofoam food box was still warm in his lap, unopened. Mai took a bite of her chicken wrap, still staring at her forlorn boyfriend all the while. She chewed, while he continued to stare blankly through the car's dash. After she swallowed, she set her wrap back down in her own box, brushed residue from her fingers off her cargo pants, and slipped her bony fingers along Zuko's thigh.

"Hey...Aren't you going to eat your lunch?" she quietly asked.

"I'm not really hungry," Zuko mumbled half-heartedly.

Mai lightly squeezed her fingers on Zuko's leg. He didn't react.

"You skipped breakfast," Mai pointed out reluctantly. "You have to _eat_...Don't you have an exam soon?"

Zuko sniffed in a deep breath through his nostrils before sighing out steam, grumpily opening up his box. Vapors rose from the still-warm food.

"Hey..." Mai almost whimpered with dissatisfaction at his attitude. She jostled his knee a little. "Why won't you talk to me about this?"

Zuko's eyes slid toward Mai's deep, concerned look, only for his gaze to immediately retreat with remorse.

"I don't really know what to _say_, I...-" Zuko chewed at his bottom lip, letting his neck tilt as his head leaned against his driver's seat window.

"You're _not _a failure," Mai insisted. "This can still be turned around, and...-" She shrugged, shaking her head a bit. "-..._maybe _it's better this way, I mean, now you don't-"  
"_Better_?" Zuko asked incredulously, lifting his head back upright and glaring at her. She flinched from his snap reaction.

"I...-" Mai wasn't able to work out a response, startled from her boyfriend's anger.

"Do you _understand_ what's going to happen?" Zuko asked. Mai blinked at him, her lips agape. "With those recordings out there, my reputation is going to be-..." Zuko shook his head, his jaw crooked with frustration. "And now my _Uncle_ could end up in trouble, and this could have a domino effect on the entire school." Zuko flicked his wrists in rotations, his face in a panic. "And I don't even _want _to think of what could end up happening with the _town _if this...religious _freak _keeps shaking the hornet's nest..."

Mai scratched her nails against Zuko's pantleg before lifting a slender hand to Zuko's exhausted face, clamping her palm along his sharp jawline. She could sense the beginnings of scruff beginning to form, which itself was a sign of the young man's stress. She kissed his cheek, and in return he kissed her forehead.

"At least...now you won't need to worry about carrying these secrets around," Mai strived for some optimism. It was something she'd been starting to pick up from Katara. She had come to notice that when the people Katara cared about were feeling down, Katara would seem to always try to be optimistic - to show hope. Hope was something the Kurosawa family had already been in need of. Now, even moreso.

Zuko bounced one shoulder up and stared into his lap at his lunch. Mai plucked an onion ring up from the meal and lifted it to Zuko's face. He smiled - only halfway, and only for a split-second, but it was enough. He reached up and took the food from her fingers to feed himself.

"You've been through worse things," Mai reminded him, scratching her fingers through his dry hair. "And you've got a lot more people looking out for you now than you did before..."

Zuko swallowed and nodded.

"Yea," he mused with melancholy.

"Everything's going to be fine," Mai insisted. The two both took bites of their food, and Mai was a bit relieved when she observed Zuko's appetite finally taking hold of his attention. "One step at a time."

"First step: make my stomach stop gurgling," Zuko muttered, giving Mai a weak smile before popping another onion ring into his mouth.

Mai waited until they both had swallowed once more before leaning over Zuko's seat and kissing his cheek.

"Next step..." she whispered, grabbing his thigh as he squeezed her waist. "Cure your girlfriend's boredom."

* * *

"You wanna, like...talk about it...?" Ty-Lee cautiously waited for a reply, her phone pressed against her ear. "...Zulie?"

["It's infuriating,"] Azula answered, her voice surprisingly calm despite her apparently foul mood. ["Here I am, attempting to mop up my Father's mess, and some zealot is attempting to force the sins of _his_ past onto _my _present."]

"It's _totally _unfair," Ty-Lee agreed. "He seems like a big jerk."

["Did you _meet _him?"]

"Huh? Wh...N-no, I didn't, but...-"  
["Regardless, anyone who mixes religion with politics is bound to be overcome by one or the other. The two simply do not get along."]

"You think?"

["I know."]

"You sound...not as angry about this as I thought you'd be."

["Oh, _please. _I am entirely ornery, I'm simply...restraining myself."]

"For _me?_"

["For..._us, _perhaps, but...still. You may not be the brightest light, Ty-Lee, but even I can admit you were right about my...-"]  
"Anger issues," Ty-Lee coyly finished Azula's though.  
["Hm. When you visited, and we-...And then _I _said-..."] Azula cleared her throat, having caught herself in a rare instance of mumbling. ["Suffice it to say I was not pleased with some of the things I said to you while you were here."]

Ty-Lee grinned, her stomach afloat.

"I know," she chirped, simply glad to hear Azula apologize, even if indirectly. "But, like...it's fine, you're workin' at it."

["Indeed..."]

"You've been going to counseling like I asked?"

["_Yes, _Ty-Lee - exactly according to schedule. Honestly, do you not trust me?"]

"No, I-I trust you, Zulie, but...with your work, and with...all this stuff, I dunno..."

["I will continue the program. You've no need to concern yourself."]

"You _promise_?"

Azula sighed. She could picture Ty-Lee's puppy eyes just by the tone of voice.

["Yes,"] she replied firmly.

"Oh, good. Thanks."

["You've no need to _thank _me. Honestly..."]

"I really think it's going to be good for you."

["To be frank, Ty-Lee, I think that...-"] Azula dropped off.

"Yea...?" Ty-Lee prodded.

["Hm. I think...that your companionship is doing much more good than any institutionalized treatment ever could."]

"Umm...Wait, so...-?"

["I was getting to the point of requiring a _strait _jacket before you...-"]

"Huh?" Ty-Lee was playing ignorant just to hear Azula clarify.

["Simply having you here to _talk _with has become an immeasurable benefit. How _else _shall I phrase it for you?"]

"You're saying you _love me _but with fancy words," Ty-Lee goaded with a giggle.

["I..._appreciate _you, more than I anticipated I would,"] Azula confessed with another sigh. ["And if I am being transparent, the fact that my brother and uncle have yet to disown me certainly does not hurt matters."]

"They love you, too, ya know."

["Hmph."]

"They're your family."

["So is my _F__ather_."]

"No. He's really _not._"

["If Zuko and Iroh are allowed to overlook _my _transgressions, I don't see why I cannot-"]  
"OK, OK...I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, I meant...-"  
["My Father is just as much my family as Zuko and Iroh are."]  
"Right, but, like...the other two _act _like your family."  
["I'm not so sure why that should _matter_."]  
"_Because, _Azula, don't you _get it? _When people _act _like your family, that's what makes you better."  
["Beg your pardon?"]  
"You just said, with your big words...you're feeling better lately."  
["Somewhat, yes."]  
"Because of _me_. 'Cuz of how I treat you."  
["Correct..."]  
"I'm your _girlfriend, _and I _act _like it."  
["That's...also correct."]  
"Your Daddy hasn't _acted _like a daddy. And youalways are talking about how you're trying to 'clean up his mess.'"  
["Well...Of _course, _why would I not? The Kurosawa family has honor to uphold. Responsibilities."]  
"Right."  
["I cannot stand back and let the hard work of the past generations fall apart."]  
"And your brother cares about that, too - but it's 'cuz he loves his uncle, and _you_."  
["I fear you have still lost me, Ty-Lee."]  
"_Hee-hee, _me? Being too smart for _you_?"  
["Oh, please. I didn't say-"]  
"That must be a first."  
["Hardly."]  
"Seriously, though."  
["I am _always _serious."]  
"I know! It drives me _crazy!_"  
["I thought I was the certifiable one here?"]  
"You're going to pull me alone with you!"

The two had a chuckle at each other before Ty-Lee set the conversation back on path.

"Azula. I'm not saying you should forget your Daddy exists. I'm saying you should keep on paying attention to the peeps who are _acting _like your family."

["Very well, your point is taken. It's been slightly...difficult to adjust."]

"'It's a process.' That what Zuko says a lot when it comes to you."

["_Does _he now?"] Azula sounded offended. Ty-lee attempting to lighten the tone.

"W-well, _chyea, _and I mean...he's right. Doncha think?"

["I suppose."]

"He can see it, too, like I can - that you're doing better lately."

["Can Mai see it?"]

"I-...Probably? I guess I don't know for sure."

["Well, I heard from her today - evidently my brother seems to be taking this debacle far worse than I am."]

"Yea..."

["I'm afraid I can't even _call _him now. For all I know, this discussion right _now _could berecorded as some form of _blackmail _for this hypocritical-"]  
"_Ohmigosh_, no-no, don't even _joke _about that, Azula!" Ty-Lee squeaked, her brain whirling with fear that her private discussions with Azula could be heard by others. Even the _possibility _of that idea was all sorts of uncomfortable.

["Calm yourself, Ty-Lee. We've nothing to hide."]

"That's true," Ty-Lee muttered. Just because she had 'nothing to hide' didn't mean she didn't want her privacy, though. As the two young woman breathed into their phones for a few moments, uncertain of what to say next, Ty-Lee smiled to herself. Azula wasn't trying to press the discussion ever onward in her own direction. "So I was wondering, like...whatcha gonna _do _about all this?"

["I'm still considering my options,"] Azula sighed.

"'Kay. Just keep me in the loop, Zulie. That's all I w-"  
Ty-Lee dropped her sentence as her dorm room door's handle was jiggled from the clicking of a key unlocking it. Mai entered, gave Ty-Lee a confused glance, and dropped her art bag by her desk before planting herself in her chair.

["What is it?"] Azula inquired with some impatience.

"Oh, it's...-" Ty-Lee stared blankly at the back of Mai's head for a second. "Yea, Mai's here, so...I oughtta, like...let you _go _now, or...-"  
["Put me on speaker phone."]  
"Huh?"

["Speakerphone,"] Azula repeated. ["That way we can all converse."]

"Uhh..." Ty-Lee scratched her sideburn for a second, blinked at Mai's back again, then adjusted her phone accordingly. "'Kay. You're good."

["I'm on? She can hear me?"]

Mai's head spun around her shoulder, and she watched Ty-Lee place her cell phone on her stomach and give Mai a hopeful look.

"I-...Azula?" Mai's eyebrows furrowed with doubt.

["Ah, yes. How is ZuZu doing? Did you check on him?"]

Mai and Ty-Lee swapped amused looks, for they now could both confirm the mutual sibling concern.

"I did, he's...taking this all a little hard on himself, but...-"  
["That's fine. Let him - for a while. My Brother sometimes must indulge his impulse to loathe himself. But he shall overcome it."]

"Don't sound so _worried_," Mai retorted dryly.

["Oh, I assure you - I'm not. Zuko is a Kurosawa, after all. Our family has its share of secrets, perhaps, but we've always seen things through. I expect this will be no different."]

"We'll all pull through," Mai concluded. "It's not the end of the world."

["Until the town is set ablaze by extremists,"] Azula joked with nonchalance.

"A_zu_la, don't _say _stuff like that," Ty-Lee whimpered.

"It _has _happened with two buildings so far," Mai pointed out with a devilish smirk, joining Azula in teasing their friend.

"You two are _horrible_," groaned Ty-Lee, crossing her arms with a pout.

["It was a _joke_. You're permitted to laugh at them, you know."]

"It's not a _funny _joke," insisted Ty-Lee.

"She's right, Azula - you're not very funny," Mai changed sides. Playing these two off of each other was especially fun now that they were a couple.

["I suppose we can't all have the dulled, dry _wit _that you possess,"] Azula came back with sarcasm.

"Yea," Ty-Lee added. "You're as dry...as...umm...myyyyy _lips. _In the wintertime?"

Mai spilled out a laugh through her nose at her roommates incredulous attempt at 'insult.'

"You're right, Azula, we _can't _all have my wit," Mai agreed - maintaining the expectedly flat tone of voice. When she saw Ty-Lee's eyes bulge open the teasing, her mouth about to spat out indignance, Mai smiled and patted her friend's shoulder to ensure this was all in good humor.

There was a pause in the discussion, all three girls seeming to arrive at the same realization.

"It's...been a while since all three of us talked like this," Ty-Lee vocalized it.

Mai nodded, her brows raised with some surprise as she thought on it.

"Yea..."

["Perhaps I could stand to try being less incorrigible if it means Mai will tolerate my presence..."]

"Ha. Something like that," Mai said with a spark of warmth.

* * *

"And how did that exam of yours go?"

Jane laughed through her nose at this question. Iroh's slower way with words offered her more time to consider their meaning, but this particular question was almost baffling. The professor seemed to have his own problems to be dealing with, especially after what Jane had heard from Korra and Aang earlier that day. She took a spare moment to take a test sip of her fresh cup of coffee - _ack,_ still too damned hot - and shrugged in response as they walked.

"It, uhh...I dunno," Jane replied honestly. "Guess it was OK..."

"I suppose it shall remain a mystery until you see the results."

"Yea."

"Not unlike this situation my nephew seems to have gotten himself into..."

Jane smirked. She'd only shared a few conversations with the old man by now, yet she could already predict that any time they'd talk, somehow Zuko would be brought up by him. When she dwelt on the thought, she dug up jealousy. Iroh looked at Zuko like a _son_, his own child - far from what Jane's own uncle had given her.

"Sound pretty worried - been a running theme with him these days," she observed.

Iroh took a deep breath and nodded thoughtfully.

"That does appear to be the case." He took a swig of his coffee, then smacked his lips a couple of times, as if out of distaste.

The poor guy was drinking coffee from a shop downtown in Wayward, rather than his own store - with the campus abuzz from the commotion the day prior, Jane wasn't too surprised that he had wanted to meet outside of school grounds. Students were occupied with exam week now, but the big fuss caused by some religious nut had been the talk of the student body that day.

"Not likin' it?" Jane checked, wondering about his drink.

"It has...-" Iroh's face was contorted, but it gradually resumed normalcy. "-...a different texture to it than what I am accustomed to..."

Jane's small smirk widened a little. Iroh seemed to be a bit of a snob when it came to tea. It reminded her of how picky Toph was with her music, while the careful way Iroh had avoided insulting the drink made her think of Aang.

"We can...go get something somewhere _else _if you...-?"  
"No, no," Iroh insisted with a shake of his head. He took another sip, heavily braced this time. "It is fine."

Jane shrugged off this matter, sticking her spare hand in her back pocket as they walked down the sidewalk of downtown Wayward. 'Downtown' was a bit of a stretch, perhaps, given that Wayward was no bustling city, by any means. Jane sucked in air through her nose - it was a bit moist out, and she could practically smell the onset of rain. The skies were gray, a cloudy haze, and the streets were quiet this afternoon. They walked about a block before Iroh disposed of what Jane guessed to be two-thirds a cup of coffee into a nearby trash can.

"Nice weather out," Jane muttered after a few seconds of quiet.

"You think so?" Iroh mused, running his fingers along his wispy little beard. "It looks rather...gloomy to me."

Jane smirked and nodded pleasantly.

"Like I said: nice weather."

Iroh puffed out a 'Waha!' from his belly and nodded back to her, amused.

"So, uhh...-" Jane scratched her eyebrow twice, then shifted her hand to brush aside loose bangs. "That stuff happening? With your nephew...Sorry about that."

"Mm? What for?"

"Fff. Ehh...It's _kinda _my fault, ain't it? This stuff with Combustion Man, like...if I hadn't done anything, maybe you guys wouldn't-"  
"We helped you because we _chose _to, Miss Fitzpatrick."

Jane's eyes wandered cautiously away, and she carefully drank a bit of her coffee.

"You must understand," Iroh went on, "I feel partly to blame for what happened to your family."

Jane's insides gurgled with remorse at this, and she couldn't decide how to respond, instead letting the man continue.

"I am not so sure how I feel about this man who has arrived in our town, but from what I have heard, I will say he _is _correct about one thing: the Kurosawa family has held on to many secrets. Perhaps now is the time we are to lay them to rest."

"And you...think that Zuko will...what? Redeem that? Or...-?"

"I _know _he will."

"Huh." Jane took another sip, pondering Iroh's steady belief. "Wish I had somebody that believed in _me _like you do in him..."

"I am sure you _do_," Iroh warmly decided. "Perhaps you have not realized it."

Jane shrugged at this in concession while she considered the people she cared about. It was hardly a second before Katara's glowing face overpowered her memories. It was Katara whom had pulled Jane out of the pit she'd tossed herself into, and now what did they have to show for it? A bunch of passive-aggressive, hormonal bullshit. How could a girl like Kat be so amazing one day and then so fucking _frustrating _the next? No way she could've trusted Katara with the truth of all she'd been dealing with.

"But, you know...-" Iroh waggled his index finger toward her. "-...I sense that you struggle to show faith in _others_."

Jane's face wrinkled a little at that statement - one she couldn't deny.

"Yea, well...I've got my reasons."

"_Everyone _has their reasons. Everyone has their ways of self-preservation. I sense you are still in a lonely place."

Jane bobbed her head left and right in half-admittance.

"Kinda, I guess..."

"You required distance from your friends so that you could face the demons of your past. And you have. You cast them away into the fires that night. I saw that look about you - it was the same look I once saw my Nephew wear when he freed himself."

"Freed himself?"

"From the past."

"Oh."

"And now I sense that you feel...a little lost."

"Eh. Sorta been my lot in life."

"It does not _need _to be."

"I know..."

"You wish to be with your friends again."

"Well..._Sure, _but...-"

"I recall what you told me of how you met them. Did they not believe in you then? Did they not put their trust in you?"

"Yea." Jane's eyes squinted shut for a second, a flinching reaction to memories of Katara. "They did." Toph, and Aang, and even Sokka...they all had eventually rallied behind Katara's initial belief that inside Jane was a good person - her _own _person, someone Smellerbee could never hope to be, because all Smellerbee had been was a mask she'd come to enjoy wearing. Like red paint on Jane's face - more like blood, on some days - that she had finally found the strength to wash away. She couldn't have reached that point if it had not been for the Fearsome Fivesome. "_Eh, _no...yea, they _did_," she reiterated, more aloud to herself than to Iroh.

"Maybe it is time you reciprocated some of this. _You _were the one who broke apart from them."

"...Er...Right," Jane hesitantly agreed when Iroh gave her an expectant look.

"_You _need to be the one to rebuild that bridge. Even now, I bet they _still _believe in you - believe that you will come back to them."

Jane fidgeted with her cup, taking frequent sips as Iroh spoke.

"_Eh. _I just...don't know if I still _belong_ here. And, like...when I told them I might be dropping out, it didn't seem a big deal to 'em. Pff. The girls have even been a straight-up bitch to me about all this..."

"Mm. It would be wise to remember that different people may hold different shields over their hearts."

"Uhh..._What?_"

Jane's puzzled look was met with a toothy grin from the warm-hearted old man.

"People have many ways of protecting themselves from pain. Some use shells to hide and endure, while others project spikes and spines to retaliate."

Jane shrugged, figuring she now understood what he was saying in his roundabout way.

"And you," Iroh nodded. He coughed once, then a second time to clear his throat. "_You _used wings to take flight, to distance yourself from what threatened you."

"Sure, I...I _guess_..." Jane took in some of her drink - as it was reaching a more tolerable temperature, she was enjoying it more than Iroh had his own.

"Yet you seem ready to return to your hive, full with new nectar and pollen."

"_Fff._" Jane smirked. At least the guy knew where to twist his metaphor to seek her approval. "Well...Either way, I've got to get through my final exams."

"This much is true."

"All this studying, doing papers, reading textbooks...It's like I'm a _college student _or something," Jane facetiously muttered. "Like I'm supposed to be here to _learn _shit..."

"There are many things that no classroom can teach you," Iroh pointed out.

Jane tipped her head sideways in thoughtful reaction to this.

"_That _much is true," she conceded.

"Now, then - a left here." Iroh pointed a wrinkled finger to the block on their left.

The two walked the next couple of blocks in silence, which Jane approved of - because she didn't appreciate what the elderly gentleman had to say, but that she was grateful for a moment's respite. In this couple minutes' span of time without words, Jane observed Iroh's shambling walk. The man was using a metal cane, its bronze tip taking the form of a dragon with an open maw. She could see the scuffs and signs of wear from the fire it had survived not too long ago - something she could likewise say for the man using said cane, his step lacking a bit of its usual jolliness. Her brain was pricked by remorse at the fact that he'd been injured by recent events. Jane and Korra were young and spry, but an old coot like Iroh shouldn't have been tossing himself into conflict. At least he was a hardy fellow, she'd give him that much. Still smiling and cracking wise with his metaphors despite a near-death experience at his old age.

As they approached their destination, Jane at last broke the quiet.

"So, erm...You're doin' OK there?" she asked, bobbing her head to the quaint house they drew closer to. "I know those two can be...uhh..._weird._"

"_Wahaha. _I am fine, I assure you. It is a pleasure to be living with company for the time being."

"How long will it be before you've got your old place back?"

"Mm..." Iroh stroked his beard. "I am not sure. I have been told that work will be started on it within the week."

Jane nodded to this as they reached the stairs of the front porch. She flinched with worry as she watched Iroh force himself up each step, trembling all the way. She wanted to help, but couldn't think of how to do so when he had one arm on his cane and the other on the stairs' railing. When he arrived safely at the porch, she followed in his footsteps with ease.

Iroh pressed the doorbell, and within seconds, the vaguely familiar face of Chong - a man of the 'hippie' generation who Jane knew through Aang.

"'Ey, there, Uncle Iroh," Chong's laid-back voice greeted with a bright grin. "Just the man we were waitin' for. But ya know, you're our guest. No need for ringin' the doorbell." He let Iroh in and widened his eyes at Jane's presence.

"..._Uncle?_" she inquired with raised brows.

"_Oh, _ha!" Chong slapped his own leg. "Iroh Kurosawa? He's _everyone's _Uncle around these parts!"

"It is true!" Iroh chuckled, lifting up his index finger knowingly as he found his way inside.

"So I see ya brought us a friend today, Uncle!" Chong stuck out his hand, and Jane gawked at it. "I know yer face, young lady, but your name's slipped out. Sorry, there."

"It's, uh...Jane." The words dribbled out awkwardly as she meagerly took his hand - she let him handle the shaking before she stuffed her hand back in her pocket and took a drink of her coffee.

"_Ahhh, _yep. Right, right. A student up at the school. Friends with our meditative friend."

"Mm," Jane managed out sheepishly, watching Iroh hobble into the house and take a nearby seat. Chong was leaned back, leaving space for her to enter. Chong's wife, Lily, arched her neck over around Iroh from her seat at their dining room table. She waved.

"Don't be shy! Everyone's welcome in our home," she eased.

"Uhh, well, I-..." Jane thumbed her worry stone within her pocket. "It's finals week, and I-"  
"All the more reason to take a break!" Chong advised.

Jane glanced to Iroh with some confusion. She'd only expected to meet up with him for coffee and a walk, not some house gathering.

"Surely you can humor us with some company," Iroh insisted to her.

Jane sighed, her fingers wrapped tightly around her father's stone. Jane's dad had come to trust this strange old man enough to put himself in danger - and Iroh had in turn put himself in danger for _Jane_. There was perhaps a bond of obligation, but in that moment, as Jane let Chong nudge her inside toward a dining room table, she swallowed her worries. Jane watched Lily set up the board pieces for Settlers of Catan before she caught Iroh sending a smile her way. It was a strange smile he gave her - one that reflected his own guilt for her loss. She gave him a smile back, her own olive eyes reciprocating that complex, bittersweet subtlety.

Perhaps they had met due to unfortunate circumstances, and maybe their so far was a bond of obligation - but it didn't have to stay that way.

If Iroh could be Zuko's Uncle, Mai's Uncle, or even _Chong's _Uncle, who was to say he couldn't be hers, too?

* * *

Sokka dragged himself into his dorm room, striding in with an eager desire to collapse and relax. It had been a long day - two freaking exams long, in fact. He was in desperate need of a break. The next day was totally open, so he could cram in studying then. When he immediately noticed Aang, cross-legged on his bed with closed eyes, Sokka's face snapped into a nervous expression as he attempted to close the door behind him quietly. Had he already ruined Aang's concentration?

"Hey, Sokka."

Well, crap. Apparently so.

"Sorry, Bud, didn't mean to interrupt your mojo."

Aang was motionless - his eyes still unopened - and he smiled wryly.

"I think my mojo is fine," he replied with a sneaky glee.

Sokka paused, glaring at his roommate's cheer.

"I don't _wanna _know, do I?" he grumbled facetiously.

"Nope," Aang answered with pep.

Sokka burst out a single 'Ha!' as he sat himself down in his desk chair.

"Good for you, dude," he encouraged, looking around the room as he decided how best to unwind. "You're loosening up while the rest of us are going crazy over exams." His mind wandered to the idea of Aang and Katara doing..._things_...while he and Toph were not there yet. "Count yourself lucky."

"I'm not so sure if luck has to do with it," said Aang. He opened his eyes, sucking in a deep breath through his nostrils as he re-acclimated to his dorm room.

"Well, be _thankful, _then," Sokka rectified his statement with a sigh, rummaging through his entertainment center. He clicked on his TV. There was a beep, followed by a low whirring hum of a tiny fan and an orchestra tuning itself up - Aang recognized the sound as Sokka's Playstation 3 being switched on. He watched Sokka shove various cases, wires, and electronic doodads around.

"Whatcha looking for?" Aang inquired.

"My...freakin' controller," Sokka grumbled, scratching at his scalp.

"The black one? It's right there on the left."

"Nah, that one's busted. I need the blue one."

"Oh. Hm. Sorry, I haven't seen it."

Sokka huffed to himself irritably, wiping his palms across his face.

"Where the _hell _is it...?" he groaned.

"You need help-?"  
"I've got it."

Aang moved his eyes from Sokka's back to Sokka's desk. Sure enough, there it was: the controller was resting on top of wrinkled worksheets in front of a family portrait of Sokka, his father, and his sister.

"Hey."

"Yea?" Sokka twisted his head back around to see Aang pointing a finger at his desk. He caught sight of the possession he'd misplaced and rolled his eyes in spite of himself. "_Ah. _Thanks." Sokka tiredly pulled himself up to his seat, flopping into it like a glob. His controller wasn't supposed to be in his workspace with his family photo - it was supposed to be across the room with the rest of his entertainment stuff. Sokka sat in his chair, his controller in his hands, staring blankly at the floor as everything on his mind oozed out through his ears.

"Doing all right, there?" Aang asked from his bed.

Sokka blinked rapidly a few times, stirring himself back to his senses.

"Long day," he mumbled, establishing eye contact with his roommate. "I need to chill out."

"Something happen?"

"No, no...Just a lot happening up here." Sokka pointed to the side of his head. "My brain's wrinkled."

"That's going around this time of year," Aang observed with a steady nod, drumming his fingers on his crossed legs. "I know something's up with Korra and she's feeling lost - honestly, I think Katara's in a similar situation."

"Yea, well..." Sokka shrugged, clicking through a menu on his TV. "My sister sorta needs to get over herself, and just...-"

"She's working on it," Aang was quick to defend, off-put by Sokka's continuing dismissal. "It's a lot of things all at once - you know that, right?"

Sokka shrugged, uncomfortable with digging into this matter. Katara had gotten all weepy at the bar over the weekend, and Sokka was none too interested in more of that. He was getting ready to leave the nest - and sooner or later, Katara would need to learn how to do the same. She wouldn't be able to do that with Big Brother always looking after her.

"Sokka?" Aang prodded, desiring some kind of reaction other than his roommate's glazed over eyes staring blankly at a TV screen.

"No, I...I know that," Sokka muttered with a slight head shake. "It's fine, Aang. Just don't worry about it."

Aang frowned at this response with a curious concern. 'Don't worry about it' - that was what Korra had texted back to him the day prior.

"She's your sister," Aang pointed out. "And...ya know...my girlfriend? I _think _it's something we should _both _worry about."

"Not if there's nothing we can do about it," Sokka retorted, his tone sprinkled with spite. "I just spent time with her the other day. She's going to her therapy n' stuff, right?"

"You don't even know?"

"It's not my _business._"

"Maybe it should be."

Sokka took in a sharp breath through his nose, set his controller in his lap, and turned to face Aang, wide-eyed.

"Maybe I'll decide for _myself _what is and isn't my business."

The two young men stared at each other for a couple of irate seconds.

"OK." Aang nodded briskly. "_But_...-" He shrugged, wandering his eyes away from Sokka's impatient expression. "If you and Katara don't work out whatever this weirdness is _now, _before you have to leave? It might stick. I mean, isn't that why things with you two and your cousin are so off?"

Sokka's glare withered at that thought, his glance blurring away from Aang. That was actually a good point he had. Having Korra in town had been kind of cool, but...it just hadn't been what it once was when they'd been younger. The years apart, stacked by the breaking off with Korra's family that had happened in light of Kya's death...it had left a gap there, one that still didn't feel filled up. When he had that possibility pushed in the path of his current Senioritis-Tunnel-Vision - the possibility that the person who knew him better than anyone else could drift away - well, that was...not a pleasant prospect. The fact that Aang seemed to keep bringing this up repeatedly over the past few weeks suddenly clicked in Sokka's head: Aang had been standing in the middle this whole time, hearing both sides of it, and he kept prodding Sokka to act.

"Maybe," said Sokka in reply to Aang's theory. "But, so what? What do you want me to do? I've got a lot on my plate right now: exams, graduation, moving out on my own, I...-" Sokka flicked up his wrists in inquiry. "This _college, _Aang. And it's _this _close to being over for me."

"I don't know what you should do, Sokka. I could be blowing this out of proportion, but-...Katara's your sister. And you two seem a _lot _closer than most siblings I know. It'd be a shame if you lost that."

Sokka sighed at Aang's earnest words and nodded.

"I'll think about it," he decided. "I've-...Tomorrow's free for me, maybe I'll find some time to do something with her if you think she'll care that much."  
_Maybe something not involving alcohol and crying,_ Sokka added in his head.

"She will," Aang immediately agreed. "Thanks for hearing me out."

"Yea, no problem..." Sokka scratched his wide nose in contemplation, gazing at their dorm room carpet as he lost himself in ideas.

"Soooo...Are you seeing Toph later, or are you here for the night?" Aang wondered, sliding his legs off the edge of his bed and stretching his arms up.

"I was just with Toph, actually. Had dinner, hung out for a while...But, yea. No, I'm here for the night."

"We should do something."

"Like...-?"

"Well, you said you needed more help with ideas on that board game you're designing, right?"

"Oh. Err..._Yea? _Not..._now. _I need to drain my brain fluids tonight, man."

"Got it. Whatever you're up for. Maybe we could get some of the guys on the floor together, play some cards, or something?"

"Mm." Sokka's lower lip folded out with intrigue at that. _Damn, _soon enough he wouldn't be seeing any of those guys anymore. Like, probably _ever. _Staring at the control in his hand, Sokka concluded that Aang seemed to know what was up - they ought to be hanging out while they still could.

"Here." Aang had gotten up from his bed and was extending his hand to Sokka, gesturing for the controller.

"Oh, uh...-" Sokka let Aang take it and watched him set it aside the other devices across the room, turn off the TV and game console and return to his side.

"C'mon, let's do it." Aang slapped Sokka's shoulder, eliciting a tired groan from the scruffy-chinned college senior. "Get you up and out there."

"_Ughhh, _social interaction," Sokka mocked, dragging himself along like a zombie as they exited their room.

* * *

**A/N: Parts of Azula and Ty-Lee's discussion are tongue-in-cheek regarding the recent comic 'The Search' in which we see Azula has been institutionalized for her insanity after the events of the war - so I'm expressing my belief that perhaps if Azula had at least ONE person she could've trusted in who had faith in her to set things right, perhaps her situation would've worked out better.**


	104. Bird's Nest

**A/N: I wrote a blog post today in regards to the state of the story, and some analysis of the main character arcs - or at least, some of my intentions with them. I'll try to approximate a link to that.  
fav dot me (slash)d60kl50  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 104 - Bird's Nest  
_

* * *

- Tuesday, May 24th, 2011 -

[From: Katara]  
[Right. I was thinking maybe me and Aang could take you and your boyfriend on a double date?]  
[Sent: Yesterday, 11:12pm]

Korra's face twisted into a frustrated frown at Katara's assumption. Sokka had probably fed her some bullshit about Bolin despite her protestations. She read the second message her cousin had sent.

[From: Katara]  
[Nothing fancy. We'll pay for dinner. Maybe this weekend, after final exams are done? What do you think?]  
[Sent: Yesterday, 11:13pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[He's not my boyfriend. He's my roommate.]  
[Sent: 10:37am]

[Send]  
[To: Katara]  
[And I don't know. Give me a couple days to see what my weekend's like.]  
[Sent: 10:38am]

After a lion's yawn, Korra noticed the voicemail symbol on her phone's homescreen. She was hesitant to check it, worried that it could be Mr. Saikhan giving her grievances about the last shift she'd worked when things with Noah had went down. She checked her [Missed Calls] list.

The most recent entry read:  
[X] - [Pema Rabten]  
[May 24th, 9:23am]

Korra was filled with some relief - a feeling that was quite alien to her these days. If it was Pema calling, she probably needed babysitting, which Korra was more than happy to oblige to, especially with her up-in-the-air job status with the school. A bizarre thought popped into her brain as she dialed up her voicemail: she kind of missed seeing Pema's children. Even Meelo. _Eulch. _If that wasn't a sign of her desperate times, she didn't know what was.

["**First **new message."]  
[-Beep!-  
["Good morning, Korra. I hope you get this soon. There's been some...complications at home, and me and my husband are going to be taking a trip out of town this weekend. I know it's probably a stretch, but I'm trying to see if someone can housesit and keep an eye on the kids while we're away."]  
["**Oooohhh,** Mommy-Mommy-Mom-Mom!"] Ikki's voice was squawking in the background.  
["What is it, Dear?"]  
["Is Korra coming over? Is that who's on the phone?"]  
["We'll see, Ikki. Maybe."]  
["**_Hi, Korra_~**"]  
["**Hiiiiii**!"] Now Meelo was roaring his own hello. Their voices faded into the background - a door closed, and Pema sighed.  
["Ha. As you _might _be able to tell, they miss you. Just a _little._ But if you're busy, I understand. I know it's a big time commitment - _trust me_, do I know...Anyway, please just get back to me as soon you can so I can make arrangements for the weekend either way. Have a good one, Dear. And really, even if you can't do this weekend, know that we'd love to have you over to visit whenever you have time."]  
[-Beep!-]

By the end of the voicemail, Korra's shin was being licked by her pup. She took a few seconds to give Naga some affection - scratch behind her ears, ruffle her head a little...Puppies, children...Why was Korra entrusted with little creatures that required such care and attention when she seemed hardly able to handle her own affairs?

With a groggy smile on her face, Korra set her phone down on the coffee table, shoved her blanket up over the couch's spine, and dragged herself to the kitchen to begin her morning routine. Mako was at work and Asami was out job-hunting. Bolin was probably upstairs still. Korra's chest inflated from the sensation of the scent of fresh coffee filling her nostrils. She eagerly grabbed a mug and poured the contents of the pot inside - exactly enough for one cup, as if it had been left just for her. She spruced it up with a dash of creamer and returned to the living room, too tired to bother making herself breakfast. Or maybe it would've been lunch at this hour.

As she drank her coffee and played with Naga using a chewtoy rope, Korra called back Pema's number, only to be directed to voicemail.

"Hi, um...Pema. It's Korra. Just...ya know. Calling you back. Actually, I'm free this weekend, so house-sitting shouldn't be a problem. Count me in. Just let me know when you need me and we can...I dunno. Talk about payment and arrangements, and...all of that. Talk to you later. Bye."

"Babysitting duty?"

Korra looked toward the stairs, where Bolin's voice had come from. He was tussling his damp hair around, unbrushed and uncombed. Korra could tell that he'd just gotten out of the shower, and she briefly admired the way his messy hair trickled over his forehead.

"Yea," she replied, looking back to her coffee as she found herself running her fingers through her hair. They caught on a twisted knot and she pushed through, hiding the pain prick this induced. She was suddenly feeling very gross and filthy.

"Cool," said Bolin, passing through the living room. Korra had expected more from him on the subject - the kids had adored him when they'd met him and she'd presumed the feeling to be mutual. But Bolin rolled on through to the kitchen. Korra hesitated, fidgeting with her own mangled hair for a few seconds before grabbing her half-empty coffee mug and walking over to the kitchen, still in her underwear, as usual.

Bolin was hunched over in front of the fridge, digging through the shelves. Korra gawked at the tightened muscles of his rear end before redirecting her attention to the coffee pot.

"Have you seen the butter?" Bolin asked. "_Ohp _- Never mind." He pulled out brown, plastic container of spread on the counter in the narrow space between the sink and the fridge. Korra popped open the coffeemaker and retrieved the used-up grounds, dumping them into the trash bin. By the time she'd set up a new filter and grounds, Bolin had opened a fresh bag of english muffins and was slicing one open with a butter knife.

"I'm-..." Korra started, but her voice caught on some gunk in her throat, so the word didn't even make it out right. She cleared her passage and tried again, toward Bolin's back. "I'm making more coffee, you want some?"

"No thanks," Bolin replied with a sort of plastic courtesy, dropping his muffin slices into the toaster.

Korra took the empty coffee pot and approached the sink to fill it. She lightly bumped shoulders with Bolin from the proximity, and he shifted a step to the right to give her space. They were avoiding eye contact all the while, and Korra couldn't decide if this was intentional or just..._was._ She dumped the newly acquired tap water into the coffeemaker and switched it on. The two of them stood in awkward silence for a few seconds as they awaited their respective appliances to do their jobs. Korra scratched her nail across her forehead. She could feel acne starting to pop up, and her skin was oily to the touch.

"Umm...So, you just took a shower," Korra observed with slow words, staring at the trickling brown liquid in front of her.

"Yea, you'll want to give it a little while for the water to reheat," Bolin explained.

He was completely lacking in that pizazz, that goofiness that Korra generally associated with him. It had been this way for days now. It was almost as if Korra's recent encounter with vigilantism had brought about Bolin's change, but he hadn't really said anything about it. In the weird stillness of the late morning, Korra was conflicted with thoughts of regret for having become as physical with Bolin as she had earlier, but all the while tugged at by the sexual tension that lingered in the room - she'd wished they had done more, gone further, before this _akward__ness _had pervaded it, and yet she simultaneously wished none of it had happened at all and they could just start off fresh.

-_Ch-chink!_-  
Bolin's muffins popping up tapped at the ice their interaction was stuck in.

"Did you sleep OK?" Bolin wondered off-handedly. He whispered an "_Ow..._" to himself as he pulled his steaming food out of the toaster and onto a plate.

"Yea," Korra sighed out, rubbing sand from her eyes.

"We can always get a second bed, you know."

"...Huh?" Korra turned her head to look at him, but he was tending to his muffins, applying spread. _Argh. _Shit. Her neck ached a little. Stiff as a sunnuvabitch.

"So you don't need to sleep on the couch," Bolin clarified.

The two of them watched as Naga padded into the room, her nails clacking against the kitchen tiles. Naga chewed at her hard food as the two continued talking.

"Oh, th-...No, it's cool. I don't mind."

Bolin laughed through his nose at Korra's reply.

"I know _you _don't mind - you won't let me talk you into sleeping on an actual _bed_."

"That's-...It's not _you, _Bo."  
"Because, I mean, I get it. We could at least take _turns _or something, until we can get another mattress."  
"Our room barely fits the bed that's _in _there..."  
"...OK, but..._still. _You don't have to, like, ground yourself to the couch, or something."  
"I'm not. I'm-...I need some space to myself when I sleep lately." Korra dumped her leftover, lukewarm coffee into the sink. "Not your fault."

"You _sure _about that?" Bolin sat down at the table with his plate, and established eye contact with her at last. "I mean, maybe I'm just _weird, _but I was under the impression that we were doing all right before."

Korra held back a reactive sob, which had nearly snuck up on her out of nowhere. She wasn't in the mood for this discussion. Then again, that seemed to be a recurring - if ironic - problem lately: Korra wanted to get shit done and turn things around, but she couldn't handle _talking _about any of it.

"What...? We _are_ all right," Korra feigned ignorance, diverting her focus to the coffee pot. She may as well have been watching molasses drip into it.

"Right," Bolin came back, loaded with irate sarcasm. He bit into his breakfast.

"_Right_," Korra repeated testily, switching the coffee machine off as it had reached at least enough for one mug's worth. She hastily poured a fresh serving and added some creamer to it, her muscles tense and her stomach uneasy. Bolin's pet ferret poked its head into the room, staring at Naga. When Naga noticed him, he disappeared back into the living room. Naga gave pause before going back to her food, only for Pabu to reappear a couple of seconds later. This time, the two animals stared at each other, tails up with intrigue, before Pabu dashed away again. Naga gave chase, '_Yar-yarp_'-ing all the while.

"Naga, _stop!_" Korra growled out, but it was in useless. The two critters could be heard scuffling across the house.

"You really should go get her and _make _her stop," Bolin suggested with a sigh.

"What?"

"She's not supposed to get on the couch, remember?"

"I don't...-" Korra pressed her fingers into her temple with frustration. "Why is _she _not allowed to, but _your _furball can?"

"Because _my _furball gets his nails trimmed properly," stated Bolin matter-of-factly, before breaking eye contact and looking back at his food.

Fucking perfect, now _Bolin _was joining everyone else in the 'Korra Messes Everything Up' Club. Just what she needed.

"And by the way," Bolin started. Oh, great, great. More. "Speaking of the couch, Mako really doesn't like you sleeping there so much lately, either," he pointed out, gazing out the kitchen window to his side.

"What's _he _care?" Korra demanded in a grumble, taking a loud sip of her drink.

"He said he doesn't want your B.O. stinking up the cushions," Bolin explained, his tone carrying some passive aggressiveness.

Korra's nostrils flared open at such an incredulous remark.

"Oh, _Mako _said that?" Korra snipped, switching the coffeemaker back on so it could continue producing.

"Ask him yourself if you don't believe me," Bolin said with a shrug, still maintaining a plasticy pleasantness. Korra did not like this side of Bolin. Not at all. What was his _deal?_

"Fine, then. I will."  
"He'll appreciate that."  
"I bet."  
"So are you going to take care of _your_ dog today, or should I do that again?"

Korra had to set her coffee mug down on the counter before she chucked it into the wall. Barely awake and her temper was already ignited. And now she was thinking about that religious weirdo and what he'd said about her in front of all of those people, and..._fuck._

"Uh, well...-" Korra scratched at her scalp in a swift, cranky fashion. "Ya know, I _think _I'm good," she said with austerity, hands on her hips.

"You really should clip her toenails..."

"Yea, I _got _that," Korra defiantly acknowledged, grabbing her coffee mug and stalking back to her makeshift nest that was the living room couch.

"_Yar-yar-yar!_"  
"Naga...Seriously. _Ack. _No, I don't want-...Get off!"

Korra gave in her to puppy's relentless attack and wrestled with Naga and her chew toy a bit. For a few fleeting moments, Korra's frustration melted off her brain. Naga was a dog, someone who would give her unconditional love, regardless if she made mistakes. Or that was what Korra had come to believe about dogs, anyway. Perhaps she should invest more time in this one than she had been. A life-long companion might not be so bad for troubled times like these.

Bolin, his breakfast finished, walked through the living room and headed back upstairs in a rather unceremonious fashion.

To Korra's dismay, Naga dropped her playtime and followed him upstairs.

Her small bubble of bliss ruptured, Korra was too sore and embarrassed from her talk with Bolin to try calling the dog's name.

She couldn't even take care of a fucking _puppy _correctly. Why on earth did Pema and Tenzin want to trust her with their children? Cross-legged on the living room carpet, Korra dropped Naga's chew rope down and guzzled liquid caffeine from her mug on the nearby coffee table. In her solitude, she choked on another sob that was trying to force its way out. She wouldn't let it. She drowned it in coffee.

Korra was overcome in that moment with a painful idea: that she was physically incapable of making anyone happy - her roomates, her family, even a goddamned dog - least of all herself.

* * *

"It's _awesome,_ man. I can't believe how wicked talented you are."

"_Isn't _she, though?"

"Uh..." Toph could feel her face glowing from the compliments. She drummed her fingernails on her cup of tea. "Heh. I'm just...doin' my thing, that's all it is."

"It's a fucking _rad _thing."

"No lie."

"_Chh. _Well...Thanks." Whoever these two random guys were, they seemed _all _into her. It was one thing to hear the applause after her performances, and another to hear random strangers gushing praise all over her.

"I can't _wait _'til your band plays again." The Kyoshi Warriors was what he was referring to - since Jane's departure from the group, the girls had seemed to give up on that.

"Oh, _snap_! I almost forgot about that. Seriously, when are you going to do that?"

"Ermm..." Toph felt a lump in her throat at this prospect. She felt the odd compulsion to not let these newfound fans of hers down. "I..._dunno, _we might...do something for FestivALL next month?"

"Are you for real?!"  
"Oh, my god. _Yes._"  
"Crap! I'm not gonna be here for June-term."  
"I'll record it for you, man."

"Uh, erm..." Toph cleared her throat. "B-but it's not, like, set-in-stone, or nothin'."

"Oh. You're still going to be doing your _own _stuff, though, right?"

"Yea, The Blind Bandit, man! We've been to all the shows you did in town this semester."

"_Ha. _Wow, really?" Dedicated fans. Yes, perfect.

"Uhh, _yea?! _Every time we hear you're doing a show we're all like...-"  
Both voices at the same time: "Time to get our faces cut off by _awesome_!"

Suddenly, Toph was self-aware of the bizarre nature of her pre-performance catch phrase. On the other hand, well..._shit. _She felt almost like a proper indie-star or something.

"Oh-oh-oh, dude. Dude." And for some reason, she didn't mind being called 'dude.' "Can you, like, sign this for me? One sec..." He was scuffling through a bag, it sounded like.

"Uh, hey, man? She's, uh...-"  
"I _know _that, you don't think I know that?"  
"Then why are you...-?"  
"Because it'll be _awesome_."

"Heh. It's cool. You got somethin' you want me to sign?" Toph asked, sipping her tea before setting it down on the table. She reached out her hand to accept whatever it was. She was eager to partake in this - it wasn't every day that someone asked for her autograph. The whole 'being blind' bit inherently put a damper on that prospect, anyway. She waited for a few seconds while the boys - whose names she didn't even know - retrieved whatever it was they wanted her to scribble on.

One of the boys cautiously placed a marker in her hand. She got a slight sense of his dry skin, quivering slightly. And the writing utensil - such a foreign object in her fingers. Not one she was entirely inexperienced with, but it had been quite some time.

"Sooo..." She played with the marker for a moment, savoring its plastic simplicity while the droll hum of student activity served as background noise. "What am I signin', here, boys?" she asked, popping off the top and setting it beside her cup of tea. She sniffed the marker out of curiosity, enjoying its strange and wonderful flavor.

"Oh! Uhh...Here. It's, like...I recorded one of your live shows and burned it."

-_Clack_-  
It sounded like a CD case being set down on the table in front of her. Toph sniffed the marker again. Heh.

"It...It's, uh, I put it on the tabl-"  
"I think she can tell where you put it, bro."  
"Gimme a break, I'm nervous."

"_Pff!_" Toph was amused as she reached her hand across the table's surface, finding the thin, plastic case. "Nervous?" she taunted, a sly grin spreading across her face. She slid her fingertips across the jewel case and tapped at it. "Here?"

"Oh, just-...Yea, anywhere is cool."

The boys were suddenly rather quiet with anticipation.

Toph scribbled symbols from muscle memory. Her parents had practically forced into her the motions for writing her own surname.  
{**北方**}

It stung to write those characters - more than she had anticipated. The robotic ability to draw out that family name recalled so many memories she didn't want to have. Then, almost out of spite, Toph printed her first name after her last name - in English.  
{**TOPH**}

She tactfully adjusted the marker's position down an inch and made a scribble - a circular motion, then a jaggy line running across it. Sure. Something different. She wasn't going to just leave it at her name.

Her signature of sorts complete, she found the marker cap and went to put it back on, only to pause and give the marker another whiff. Smirking giddily, she recapped it and placed it down on the jewel case. There was a moment of awkward stillness between the trip as Toph waited for them to retrieve their belonging.

"You can take it now," Toph clarified, picking her pinky at the edge of her right nostril. "I'm not gonna bite or anything."

She waited, and listened.

When she could sense her fan reaching out in front of her, she flinched from her nose-picking and thrust her hands up with a quick, quiet "_Rargh!_"

"_Eaulgh_!" squeaked out the boy. His companion was snickering, as was Toph and he joined in sheepishly.

"That work for ya?" Toph wondered, cocking her head sideways as she grabbed her cup of tea.

"That-...Y-yea, it's awesome."

"What's the Chinese say?"

"Oh, uh...-" Toph's brain grumbled to itself. "'Beifong.'" She listened to the two guys as they hovered above her.

"_Ahhhh_. Sweet." _Not really, no._

"So cool." _Still no._

"Oh, frick, man."

"What?"

"We're supposed to be meeting with the study group, like, five minutes ago."

"Dang. Better jet."

"Oh! B-but, uh, thanks _so much, _this is amazing."

"You're even cooler off stage than you are _on _stage."

Toph cockily replied, "Yea, I know," flashing them a smirk with her hands folded across her chest. She had a reputation to start thinking about.

"Can't wait for your next show."

"Maybe you'll get back to the mic-night stuff during June term?"

"Maybe," Toph answered to them as their voices distanced.

"Cool!"  
"'Kay, bye."

"Peace!" Toph bid them as coolly as she could.

Toph took in the lovely jangling of the Jasmine Dragon's doorchimes as her two fans left.

_Kla-kling-ling...ling...~_

Smiling to herself with satisfaction, Toph leaned back in her seat. She dangled her arm over the corner of her chair and fed tea to her mouth with the other hand.

She let her eyelids slide closed and soaked in the atmosphere. The coffee shop was a bit quieter than usual today, which made sense - people were either working on final exams or possibly even on their way home for the summer.

The elderly voice of Iroh gently nudged Toph out of her half-napping state.

"Someone seems to be popular with the young men."

Toph took in a breath through slightly parted lips, opening her unresponsive eyes and scratching at her stomach as she readjusted herself, posturing her body to be more alert and acknowledging of the man's presence.

"Heh. Can you blame 'em? I'm the cat's meow."

"_Wahaha. _And the cat's claws, too."

Toph wore a sly smile at Iroh's remark. She listened to him sit down in the chair across the table from her. Something sounded a little off with him, though she couldn't put her finger on it. The way he groaned to himself after he'd sat only reaffirmed this idea.

"Umm...'Sup?" Toph greeted.

"Ah. Taking a break before I must oversee another exam."

"Mm. Sounds like good times," Toph puffed with sarcasm.

"Oh, the 'good times' are made all the better by the hate mail I have been receiving."

"Hate mail?" Toph had trouble comprehending the notion of anyone having reason to hate such a charming old gent.

"There has been a ruckus brewing this week, you see."

"Heh. Actually, I _don't _see, buuuut...-"  
"Whaha..."

"Somebody giving you trouble?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes. But, in truth, it is trouble that I have had coming to me."

"Not sure I understand."

"It concerns affairs that I have put off for quite some time."

"Gotcha..." Toph gulped at her drink, curious as to what that could've meant, but not wanting to pry. She'd hate to have someone asking her to air _her _dirty laundry.

"I suppose that sooner or later, we are all haunted by our mistakes or regrets - what could have been. The 'what if' questions that can keep one awake at night. Unfortunately, it has been one of those weeks for myself, and I suspect for my nephew, as well, where we are faced with so many of those questions at once. After all, ours has been a tumultuous family history, you see."

Toph's brain froze up at Iroh's words.

{**北方**}

Her nose wrinkled with disdain, and she eagerly pushed her remorse aside with a swig of tea.

"Ah," came Iroh with a knowing tone.

"...What?" Toph grunted, confused.

"You can relate, it seems."

Toph decided that her aggravation must've been showing far more easily than she would've liked, and she made an earnest effort to keep her expression neutral.

"I guess," she off-handedly confessed, hiding her face with her cup as she took three consecutive sips.

"Hm." _-Scriff-scriff- _Iroh was scratching at his beard. "Zuko has a tendency to lose sight of the bigger picture. He becomes so wrapped up in the 'now.' You and your friends - you are students. That is a temporary state of existence. Before you know it...-" -_Snap!_- "-...you will no longer be here."

Toph chewed at her bottom lip, Iroh's statement recalling Toph's recent interactions with Sokka, which had been marred by the weighted fog of this very fact: that college didn't last forever, and that Sokka would be gone soon. _Very _soon.

"Just yesterday," Iroh went on, "I was able to spend time with a friend of yours - Miss Fitzpatrick. It was somewhat relieving to see that she appears to have come to appreciate this truth. She spoke of her friends - of you - and how she has decided to stay in school."

Toph's thoughts had shifted gears yet again. From her parents, to Sokka, and now to her most recent direct interaction with Jane: when Jane had told her and Sokka she might be dropping out. Toph had reacted quite forcefully and without sympathy, and Jane had scarred her pride with the dirty, muddy truth that Toph had not been a paragon of good behavior herself over the past year. While Katara had been pretty outwardly upset over the whole situation, Toph had taken her usual approach to such matters and brushed it all under her internal rug.

"Uhh...Good for her?" Toph mumbled out, perplexed as to what business Iroh had bringing this up. Did he know about their whole social situation, or something? Had Jane been gossiping? That wasn't very like her.

Then again, Toph would've figured that betraying the group's trust wasn't very like her, either.  
Yet that had been something Toph herself had experience with.

"What if...-?" Iroh posed rhetoric. "What _if _your friend had made the choice to leave? Would you be satisfied with your actions toward her?"

Ugh. Sneaky old man. Trying to get her to agree with him, but phrasing it in that way. She couldn't argue with his point, one way or the other.

"Honestly ask yourself that question," Iroh insisted solemnly. "Based on your expression, you would _not _be very happy with that prospect. Am I right?"

"Yea," replied Toph, blowing hot air at her bangs. "What'd she tell you? Are you trying to get me to apologize?"

"Haha...I am not 'trying to get you' to do _anything _but ask yourself if you are happy with your own decisions. Nothing more."

"'Cuz it _sounds _like you're trying to get involved in my social life..."

"Am I not already?"

"Wh...-? Um, _no?_"

"Are we not socializing right now, in this very moment?"

"_Pff, _technically, but...I don't...think that _counts_."

"Ahhh. Haha. And why is that?"

"Well...This is just, like...not a regular thing. I don't see you on a regular _basis. _You're a Professor for classes I don't even _take._"

"Our interactions are not a normal fixture of your day-to-day life."

"Yea."

"Our relation is not permanent."

"...Right."

"Do you honestly think that everyone you call your 'friend' will always be there? That they will all remain permanent fixtures in your life?"

"..."

"I can assure you - one way or the other - that they will not. Some, perhaps. If you are _lucky. _But that will require a mutual effort."

"Fine, OK. What's...-? Where are we going with this?"

"If all that matters to you is what is steady, what is set-in-stone and permanent...then your entire existence at this school _does not matter_. This is merely a passageway into your adulthood. By its very nature, this place is a temporary experience for students who pass through. And yet the entire purpose is to gain knowledge that is carried along _with _them. Are your experiences here, in this place, of value? Of meaning?"

Toph took a deep sigh through her nose, considering Iroh's point.

"...Yes."

"Then can you agree that even a single conversation such as this can also hold value?"

Iroh's question jolted Toph with the memory of her night with Ohev - the sparks that had flown that night, the savory discussions, the entwining of music, of words, and of bodies...A temporary, fleeting experience with a young man she knew she would never have that sort of evening with ever again. Hell, she hadn't even spoken with him since that night, and she figured she probably wouldn't.

She didn't regret that evening, though. It had helped her realize things she had needed to figure out in order to accept how deep her feelings for Sokka had become. A one-night stand had been of value to her in its own strange way. If that could be true, then the rest of what Iroh was saying certainly held merit.

"OK, _OK. _I get it," she gave in to his implied argument. "My friends here aren't going to be around forever and I should be a decent human being to them and laugh and have good times and blabla n' all of that stuff." As she'd spoken, Toph had kicked off one sandal beneath the table and was scratching an itch on her opposing shin with the nail on her big toe.

"Something like that," Iroh chuckled. "You will eventually leave this bird's nest. You might as well enjoy it while you are here."

Toph spitefully mumbled under her breath, "Eh, it's better than a _cage_, at least..."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Nothing. Just...thinking out loud."

"That can make it easier to hear one's own thoughts, I suppose."

The two sat for a few moments without words. Toph slipped her foot back onto her sandal and finished off her drink. Iroh then insisted that he would dispose of the empty cup for her, which she reluctantly allowed. It wasn't even out of stubborn independence, she just felt worried for the old fart given how slowly he seemed to be moving along. She'd decided that she could practically _hear _his joints creaking like a rusty old car or...something.

"You feeling OK?" Toph wondered with some dire curiosity after she'd heard him groan, settling his weight back into his chair. "I heard that you, umm...haven't had a good week."

"Haha...You heard correct. But I am managing well enough."

"If you _say _so," Toph expressed her doubt at his assurance.

"I _do _say so," insisted Iroh. "The future may be uncertain, but I am still surrounded by loved ones - new, and old."

"If they're old by _your _standards, they must be ancient," Toph jibed.

"_Wah! _Haha. Indeed..."

"Yea, I don't...really _have _any 'old friends,' in a manner of speaking."

"But you have a family."

"_Ech. _Not really."

"Did you lose them?"

"Erm...N-no, nothing like that, we're just...not on speaking terms. Exactly."

"Mmmm...You sound a bit cross."

"Heh, umm...More like, pissed _off _as hell, I think."

"Oho, I _see_. 'Tumultuous family history' for you, as well?"

"_Yea. _Somethin' like that."

"In that case, I sincerely hope that you are able to work these things through, the same way that my nephew is."

Toph's lips slanted with disagreement at this. Iroh was doing a good job at pointing out the cracks in her wannabe-rockstar armor. She'd been able to cope with her own idiocy, she'd made up with Meng, with Katara, with Aang...She'd dealt with and accepted her feelings for Sokka, and she could even see herself accepting Jane back.

But her parents? That was a whole different issue, and one she'd much prefer leaving in the past. They'd had her entire fucking childhood to figure that shit out, and they'd wasted it, as far as she was concerned. The very _idea _of opening to them again was like releasing the floodgates of all the suppressed nonsense she'd walked away from. She'd just be setting herself up for more disappointment. So...fuck that.

"Iroh?"

Toph was relieved by the interruption after the awkward pause in their conversation.

"Ergh? Oh, hello, Jin."

"Yea, um, hi."

This 'Jin' girl Toph knew by voice well - she was Jane's roommate, across the hall. Hardly was ever actually _in _said room, but Toph never forgot a voice. She sounded nervous.

"Hey," Toph greeted calmly.

"H-hello...Erm, Iroh, can I...maybe have a word with you?"

"Of course, of course. What's the matter?"

"In private, I mean," Jin sternly clarified. "Perhaps in your office?"

"_Ah. _Right. Right."

"Don't worry about me," Toph sighed, lifting her sleep-deprived body up from her seat. "I've got practice to be doing, anyway." She scooped up her cane from against her chair and waggled her hand in the direction she figured Iroh was still sitting in. "Later," she bid them, taking off as quickly as she could. Iroh had more important things to worry about than Toph's family life, she decided - as did she.

* * *

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]

[I'm graduating in a few days.]

[It's freaking WEIRD to think about. You know? Four years of college, coming to a close. What am I going to do with myself? I'll be starting to work on my card game prototype so I can have that done by July in time to start the program. It'll basically be my full-time job for next month. A month sounds like a long time, but I'm honestly not sure if I'll be able to get it done and have it...be GOOD.]

[You'd think that this stuff would be my main concern. Right? I still have a paper and an exam to worry about first. Then I'm supposed to be heading home for June after graduation. It'll be good to spend time with Dad. Just us. But at the same time, things just don't seem right. Something's off. I hate to admit it, but this business with our friend bailing out on us has hit everybody harder than I thought it would. If I'm being honest with myself, I guess it's starting to hit me, too.]

[And I mean, should it matter? Hell. I'd be saying good-bye to her in a few days, either way, right? What's a few weeks' difference? I thought about it tonight. Being forced to say good-bye sucks balls already. Having someone I thought gave a crap about me and my friends turn tail and ditch us made me put up a wall. Maybe? Something like that. One good-bye is hard enough. A whole bunch at once is just...shitty. I need a freaking helmet to deal with all the mental trauma. I've just been cutting myself off from letting pesky FEELINGS get the best of me. It's making me second-guess things with my new GF. She's great. Don't get me wrong. Amazing.]

[But I've already had to deal with heartache a few times during school, and all this 'farewell, I'm off to be an adult now while you stay a student for two more years' stuff ain't fun. I'm not sure I've got the real estate in my heart for another hole. And there's something really special about this one, too, which pisses me off even more to think about it. Me and her just...get along. It's so easy. Hell, it's almost like nothing even changed when we started dating, except we started touching each other more inappropriately than we had been. But I get the impression that she doesn't do long-distance. I know I sure don't.]

[So I just don't know what we're going to do.]

[And then there's crap with my sister. She's really pissing me off. Like, I get it. She's angry and sad and all this. I am, too. But it's time to get over it and move on. Seriously. She wants me to spend time with her before I have to leave, but she wastes my time crying at me and bitching about how I'm not spending time with her. WTF?]

[I'm going to survive this week if it kills me.]

[Edit: Yes, I am aware of the irony in that statement.]

[Posted on _May 24th, 11:12pm_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

[**5 Comments**]

[**fortuneteller114**]  
[you'll survive if it kills you? LOLOL. you and tophie will make it through, though. maybe it'll be tough but you can't give up. do you need advice with her? bet i could help. ;D besides, she and i stay in touch pretty well. i think she'd do the same for you.]  
[Posted on _May 24th, 11:41pm_]

[Reply by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]  
[Thanks. We'll see how it works out. You have to remember I'm less of an Optimist like you and more of a Realist.]  
[Posted on _May 25th, 12:05am_]

[**The Dark One**]  
[I hate you.]  
[Posted on _May 24th, 11:53pm_]

[Reply by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]  
[I know, The Dark One. You hate me. Now stop trolling my blog.]  
[Posted on _May 25th, 12:06am_]

[**GhostWitchMalu**]  
[from what you wrote about your sister before, it sounds like she's depressed. like, actual depression.]  
[depression isn't like being hungry. or needing to take a piss. it's not something so easy.]  
[people don't just GET OVER IT. if that's your advice to her you could be making it worse.]  
[you said she's doing counseling, right? have you gone with her? you should think about it.]  
[and even if she was taking her pills? that might not even fix anything. sometimes it can make things worse.]  
[you said yourself you've put up a wall. maybe what your sister needs right now is her brother.]  
[Posted on _May 25th__, 3:21am_]


	105. Cramming

**A/N: For clarity, this entire segment takes place on the same day, starting very early in the morning (at night)**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 105 - Cramming_

* * *

- Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 -

"See what I mean?" Aang asked, pausing to give his colleague a moment to inspect the image. "It's not as harsh a contrast now."

"Mm," Mai hummed thoughtfully, studying the color difference Aang had tweaked in her Photoshop project. Mai blinked rapidly, her eyes tired and strained from the hours she'd been spending looking at screens. She rubbed at her eyes and sighed, looking down at her keyboard.

"You OK?" Aang asked, backing off from his position over her shoulder.

"Just tired," Mai muttered, looking back up to her screen and saving her project's data.

"I don't blame you," Aang said as he watched Mai save her backup copy, as well. Mai slumped her head down again, leaning on her hands, her elbows propped up on opposite sides of her keyboard. "Hey." Aang lightly tapped her shoulder with his palm. "Why don't we take a break?"

"_Mmmph_," Mai agreed, dragging her body up from the her computer desk.

"C'mon," Aang encouraged her with a light chuckle at her zombie-like state.

He opened the wooden door to allow Mai an exit from the computer lab, and he kicked the rubber wedge prop beneath the door's edge to keep it open. It was after-hours, so the lab door was locked for the night. They were the only ones present at the moment, burning the midnight oil to finish their projects before bed. Aang was just about done with his, but Mai seemed to be struggling.

Aang quickly caught up with his friend down the dark hall. They walked in silence together, and Aang took the moment to savor the quiet - Mai's silhouette in the black hall, the dimly lit lobby ahead of them, the empty chairs and cushions of the lobby, and the freshly mopped staircase they passed by. Aang noticed Mai drearily wandering off to the center of the room. She collapsed herself into one of the sofa chairs decorating the room with an exhausted sigh.

Aang approached the water fountain in one corner of the room, by the women's bathroom, and took a quick drink. He inspected the nearby vending machines. His change clinking into one machine echoed across the room in a way it never would during the busy school days. He made his choice and watched the coiled metal rotate behind the plastic window, gently nudging a bag of M&M's into the receiving compartment. Aang plucked them out, then turned his head to check on his friend. She was sprawled back in the chair, her eyes closed, head propped back against the seat's edge. Her hair was bunched into a disheveled bun, and her skinny hands were folded neatly in her lap over black cargo pants. She looked at once peaceful yet discontent.

"You hungry?" Aang asked, tearing off a corner of his candy bag.

"Mm-mm," Mai hummed out a 'no,' motionless.

Aang popped a blue M&M into his mouth.

"Thirsty?" he wondered, the candy wedged in one cheek. He chewed through chocolate and peanut.

"Mmm," Mai replied, her hum carrying a more open tone of uncertainty. It was the kind of sound that Aang interpreted to mean that she wouldn't turn down a drink if one was offered to her. Aang smirked at her absence of words and checked the next vending machine over, scanning over the pictures of various bottles. He swallowed his candy before prepping a few more for consumption. As he chomped down on them, he set his bag of M&M's into one back pocket, then reached into the other, retrieving his wallet. He removed a dollar bill and slipped it into the bill slot - it rejected his money. He tried again, but it wouldn't take. Aang creased the worn sheet against the corner of the vending machine, and tried once more. It took. He punched a large button with the side of his fist, and the machine whirred, delivering a bottle of apple juice. After all of the time they had spent working together, Aang knew it must've been her favorite.

Aang walked over to where she sat, apparently half-asleep, and placed the bottle gently into her lap before sitting on the ottoman across from Mai. She breathed in deeply, her face contorting with discomfort at the prospect of forcing her body to stay awake. She opened her bloodshot eyes, sat upright, and struggled to twist her cap open. Her hands were apparently too tired to even manage this, and she winced out a half-laugh, half-whimper, collapsing back in her seat. Aang let out a quiet laugh through his nose, leaned forward, and took the bottle from her. He gripped it tight and twisted - it was actually a bit slippery, damp from the chilled inner workings of the vending machine, apparently. Aang wiped his shirt sleeve on the cap, then tried again. It popped open, and he handed it back to his friend.

Mai hummed out again with some relief as she drank the cold, amber juice. It was a 'thank you' of sorts.

Aang smiled at this entire interaction, no words having been needed. He found himself pleased that while some familiar faces like Sokka and Zuko would be disappearing from his college life, he'd still have his art colleague around to keep him company when schoolwork needed to be done.

Aang ate the rest of his M&M's, and Mai drank her juice. His candy finished, Aang took a quick restroom break. While on the toilet, he checked his phone.

[**3:23am**]  
Geez, it was late. Good thing he didn't have to be anywhere until after lunch.

After finishing his business, Aang slipped back out into the Gyatso Center's lobby. When he reached Mai, he noticed that her head was tilted off to the side, her eyes closed again. He considered calling her name, but decided against it upon further inspection. He could tell from her slow, deep breathing that she had fallen asleep. He smirked at this and carefully picked up her now empty juice bottle from the floor at her feet, placing it in a nearby recycling bin.

When he got back to the seat she was napping in, he allowed himself a longer moment to appreciate the serenity about her. She'd spent all evening - all week, or maybe even all month - in a generally foul-tempered mood. It was nice seeing his friend at peace, if only for a moment. Her gloomy expression was relaxed, her tightened posture loosened. She needed sleep, preferably in her own bed. She'd saved her work before they'd left the lab, so he decided to try and coerce her into proper sleep.

Aang tapped his shoe against her boot. She didn't budge. He scratched his nose awkwardly before tapping her shoulder. She groaned lightly, but still didn't awaken. Aang squeezed her arm and jostled it a little - she finally stirred from her sleep, clearing her throat and blinking rapidly.

"_Ughh..._" Mai irritably pulled herself up to her feet, wobbling slightly. "Sorry," she muttered, moving her feet via willpower to get herself back to the lab.

"It's OK," Aang warmly chuckled. He walked up to her side. "I _think _you should maybe head off to bed," he suggested.

"I can't," Mai flatly explained, scratching the edges of her scalp. "This project's due in the morning..."

"Oh," said Aang with sympathy. He yawned. "Ugh, _man_," he groaned, feeling as if he'd just been knocked by a wave of exhaustion. His second - or third? - wind must've just run out. "Well...I really oughtta go to sleep, myself."

"Yea," Mai agreed as they reached the lab's entrance. "You should. It's late."

Aang lingered in the lab's still open doorway.

"You really should, too..."

"I..._can't_," Mai repeated, dropping herself into her lab chair.

"Can you maybe ask for an extension?"

"Not really..."

"Hand it a day late and just...take a grade penalty?"

"It's _already _going to be a day late, it'll be _two _days late if I don't hand it in by 10am tomorrow."

"_Oh_..."

"I kind of...-" Mai planted her elbow on the table beside her keyboard, letting her face sink into her palm. "-...got dragged into some stuff with Zuko and his Uncle last night, and it...-" She yawned, the last bit of her sentence the exhale. "-...set me behind."

"Ah..." Aang rubbed his hand along his neck as he considered what that could've been about. Based on his sparing interactions with Zuko over the past few days, he'd figured the guy was pretty occupied with trying to sort out the potential mess that had been caused at that rally the previous Sunday. Aang had opted to not even ask about the details. Zuko didn't need another person doubting his intentions, and Aang had faith that his friend was trying to make whatever was wrong right.

"Don't worry about me," Mai insisted, lazily swiping her opposing hand in the way to shoo away Aang's concern. "I know you've been done for a while. Go to bed. I'll manage."

"You sure?" Aang checked.

"Mm-hm." Mai nodded, looking up at him with bags under her eyes.

"OK," said Aang, walking over to his computer and shutting it down. Mai opened her work back up as he did this. Moments later, Aang was at her side, arms outstretched. She smirked, rolling her eyes at him, and opened up her arms, allowing him to hug her good night. "I'll see you tomorrow?" Aang asked as their brief hug broke apart.

"If I don't kill myself first out of _boredome_," Mai joked dryly.

"I'll send you a text tomorrow."

"Yea."

"Have a good night, Mai."

"Thanks. You, too, Aang."

* * *

"But-...I don't understand. I'm supposed to be with _you _next month. I'm supposed to be getting things together for my internship, and...-"  
["Sokka. It's fine. You're going to see me in a few days."]  
"I didn't exactly plan on staying on campus _after_ this weekend."  
["And you don't _have _to. No one is saying you have to."]  
"You're pretty much saying I have to, Dad."  
["I'm not."]  
"How are you not?"  
["It's your choice, son."]  
"Right. Uh-huh. Take care of my own problems like an adult, or continue to coddle my baby sister. _What a choice._"  
["Where's this hostility coming from?"]  
"I'm not..._hostile, _just...really, really annoyed."  
["Why?"]  
"Because I'd like to be defined as 'Sokka, the Man,' not...'That guy who's Katara's brother' and..._stuff._"  
["...Maybe we should leave this alone for a few days. You still have until the weekend to decide."]  
"I'm supposed to be a grown-up. That means dealing with my own things. Sooner or later Katara's going to need to start doing that, too."  
["I think she's done a fairly good job of that as it is."]  
"Not lately. You haven't seen what she's been like."  
["If it's as bad as you've said, Sokka, that's all the more reason to be there for her."]  
"She doesn't _need _me. She-should-not-need-me."  
["Son...Are you trying to convince _me _of that? Or _yourself?_"]

Sokka had been isolated in his dorm floor's lounge room that morning as he talked on the phone with his father. Aang was still sleeping - seemed he'd been out late working the night before. After this phone call, Sokka was planning on doing a bit more cramming before lunch with Toph, and then his final final exam. His final final. After that, it'd be _final.  
_

_Eugh. _Graduating. This was supposed to be a happy time.

"Dad...I'm ready to break out of this cage. Be my own man now." Sokka sighed with longing.

["Being a man is knowing where you're needed the most. And for you, right now, that's there with your sister."]

Sokka, his phone clamped to his ear, leaned back against a wall. He squinted his eyes and grit his teeth, sucking in a deep breath.

"I'll...think about it," he grumbled.

["Thank you."]

"Sorry about my attitude."

["Haha...It's all right. There must be a lot on your mind."]

"There is."

["Since it'll still be a couple of days before I'm there, I really think some time with Katara won't just help _her._"]

"I know."

["I don't want to keep you from your studies."]

"Mm..."

["You're graduating from SRU. Your mother would be proud."]

Sokka had been so preoccupied with everything lately that this very fact hadn't settled into his mind for a while. The entire reason he'd attended SRU in the first place was because his mother had gone there. Following in her footsteps...

["And I'm proud, too. More than you know."]

"Thanks, Dad."

["And so is your sister."]

"Yea..."

["She is."]

"I guess."

["You'll see."]

"I have to actually do the 'graduating' part first, let's not all...go congratulating and stuff just yet."

["Right, right. Haha...Well, I'd better leave you to that, then."]

"OK."

["I love you, Son."]

"Love you, too, Dad."

* * *

"It was actually pretty easy," Katara insisted. "Our final project was the essay, so we just handed those in and then spent the exam period talking about the readings and what we'd chosen to write about."

"Sounds like a breezy final," said Sokka, shuddering slightly from the cold afternoon air.

"The paper took all of yesterday to work on, but...yea. Definitely manageable."

"That's good," Sokka sighed out tiredly. The drizzle all around them wasn't doing much for his spirits.

"Mm-hm." Katara nodded, wearing a relaxed and cheerful smile as her eyes took in the wonderful sight of rainfall all around them.

The brother and sister walked side by the side in the rain, the droplets tapping at their shared umbrella that Katara held.

"Ermmm...Nice weather," Sokka sarcastically muttered.

"It _is_," Katara earnestly agreed, breathing in the crisp, cool air.

Sokka shivered when a couple of droplets landed on his arm. As he wiped the liquid off his hairy skin, Katara giggled with some sympathy. She wrapped her free arm across his shoulder and eased him closer to her.

"You need to borrow my jacket?" she teased. He'd left with his own coat back at his room, having decided that he didn't need it 'encumbering' him while on their stroll.

"No," Sokka growled in a childish whimper.

"Poor _baby_," Katara jeered, squeezing his shoulder. He squeezed back. Their hands ended up sticking to each other's backs, and they continued to walk, maintaining their bond.

"You seem like you're in a better mood today," Sokka observed, watching the way the shallow puddles splashed beneath his black loafers. "Find a cure for those Grumpies, huh?"

"_Hee. _You know, I _am _doing pretty well today. And so are _you_, huh?" She scratched her fingernails up and down his back a little. "You're _done_. I mean, that's...gotta be a weight lifted off, right?"

Sokka stuffed his hand on his pocket, his wide shoulders shrugging up from the cold. He allowed himself a smile, feeling his sister's gaze from the side. He answered her with mellow, calm voice, nodding in agreement with himself.

"It _does _feel nice to not have to worry about homework ever, never, ever again."

"I'm pretty jealous," Katara replied. The wind whipped at them a bit, and she gripped their umbrella tightly, her other hand instinctively tightening on her brother's back.

"_Whoo_!" Sokka shuddered from the sensation, his arm hairs standing on end.

Katara whimpered out a slight, "Aw..." Sokka straightened his neck upright and gave her a nervous, toothy smile. "We're almost there," Katara tried to encourage him as they rounded a street corner. "But, hey, maybe _next _time when I tell you to bring a coat, you'll _listen _to me," she teased. When he shot her a glare, she poked out the tip of her tongue at him.

"Statistically speaking, I guess you have to be right _once _in a while," Sokka joked back in his nonchalant style, shrugging.

Katara grinned at his mutual picking. They had reached their destination: a local sandwich shop in Wayward that Korra had recommended. Katara, still holding up the umbrella, opened the glass entrance door. The bell jingled, its chime swallowed by the trickling rain. As Sokka rushed himself in and their side-to-side contact broke, Katara patted his back. She followed him in, shaking water from her umbrella onto the floor by the door and closing it behind her. The shop was quaint, and quiet, with a flat-screen TV up on the wall in the dining area, which was presently empty - there were only about four tables there. They had the place to themselves, apparently.

"Goddamn," Sokka grunted under his breath, rubbing at his bare arms. A T-shirt today had clearly been a bad choice. Katara set her umbrella against the wall by the shop's entrance - not like anyone was around to steal it, or anything. She approached her brother, his body quivering from the cold as he gawked at the overhanging sandwich menu.

"Hey..." Katara murmured to him, slipping her coat off. It was a thick coat with a fuzzy inside and a hairy, fur-like trim around the hood. She primly attempted to slip the coat over his back, the girth of his shoulders too much for her coat to contain.

Sokka let out a pleasantly surprised, "_Oh,_" at the warm, fuzzy sensation, and tightened it across himself. Katara wore a childlike grin as she popped the hood over his head, its brown, fuzzy trim circling his suddenly unamused expression. She chuckled and hugged him with both arms.

"Yea, yea, we love each other," he grumbled in dismissal, embarrassed by her gestures as an older woman trudged up to the desk. "What's gotten into you?"

"Ain't you two a cute couple?" she announced to get their attention.

Bug-eyed and embarrassed, Katara and Sokka practically shoved each other off, sputtering out protestation in unison.

"She's my _sister!_"  
"H-he's my _brother!_"

The woman on the other side of the deli counter rolled her head back and guffawed.

"Ah, _jesus, _I'm sorry," she breathed out, hands on her hips as she shook her head. "You seem pretty chummy - more chummy 'n _I _am with _my _brother, anyway..."

Katara, still recovering from their socially awkward moment, shrugged sheepishly.

"I, umm-...Y-yea, we're _super _close," she explained, giving Sokka a sideways glance.

Sokka looked over at her, scratching his scraggly neck, and nodded lightly.

"Yep," he squawked out, still puzzled by his sister's eager mood. As Katara looked up to the menu, Sokka glanced back to the woman at the counter, who was squinting at them studiously.

"_Ahhh, _yea, yea...I can see it, really," she said with a smirk, running her hand across dirty-blond bangs. "Got the same nose." She slipped her index finger along the edge of her jawline. "Same jaws...What kinda blood you got? Indian?"

"We're..._Canadian_," Katara awkwardly answered, giving a brief smile with squinted eyes.

"Eskimos," Sokka more bluntly specified, pushing the hairy-edged hoodie off of his head to avoid looking like a stereotype. Katara snickered and added a tiny nod to that.

"_Oh, _well..._Dayum, _no wonder ya look so exotic. Ain't got many of _that _type around here. Mostly whites and chinks, ya know?"

Katara sighed out a strange, "_Heh_..." and cocked her head slightly to the side. The woman went on, waggling her finger.

"Seems like a _lot _of Asians around here for Pennsylvania," Sokka noted.

"Yea, well...Wayward's a pretty odd town. That school down the way's really what brought new people here. Can't complain. Kinda nice seein' new kinda of faces around. Really."

"Yes, we actually go to SRU. My _brother _here is about to graduate this week," Katara said with some pride, looking up to him as she pushed wavy hair back over her shoulder.

"_Really_, now? Good for you, guy," the lady congratulated Sokka.

"Yea, thanks..."

"There's, umm...-" Katara rubbed her thumb and index finger on her chin. "-...a lot more racial diversity around here than the town we grew up in," Katara explained. The woman nodded thoughtfully, squinting at them again.

"Mm...Come to think, there's this chick who looks a _lot_ like you. Comes by now and again. _Beautiful_ lady. Really."

"That...must be our cousin, actually," Katara theorized with another shrug. Sokka was surprised at his sister's patience. He knew she was hungry, yet she seemed to be acting awfully polite.

"She actually told us to try this place," Sokka interjected. "Said you make a mean Philly cheese steak." There - changing the topic to food.

"Oh_oooo, _a tight little family ya got here in town, ah? That's great. Really."

Sokka sighed through his nostrils, slinking his hands into his jean pockets as he swayed forward and backward on his heel and toes.

Katara rubbed her palm along the plastic fiber of her own coat on Sokka's back.

"Tight little family, all right," she chirped, shooting Sokka a beaming smile. He smirked weakly back and nodded, his face warming from the pride in his little sister's face.

"_Awww, _you two are _killin'_ me, here," the clerk gushed at them, pulling out her notepad. "What can I get you little cuties today?"

"Oh, I _have _to try that Philly cheese steak," Sokka quickly insisted, grateful for this small-talk to be done with.

"Could I get a tuna melt with swiss on wheat bread?"

"You got it." The woman typed in entries onto her register. "Anything else? Drinks, fries, coleslaw?"

"Um, two drinks, one fry, one coleslaw," Katara quickly added. Sokka intuited that the fries were for him, while she was going to eat the coleslaw. He didn't know _how _he knew this, exactly...he just knew.

Sokka shrugged off Katara's coat, letting it hand on his arm as he went to fish out his wallet. Katara tapped him with the back of her wrist, pulling out her own wallet.

"This one's on me," she insisted, handing over her debit card before Sokka could react.

"Haha, little graduation present for your brother," the lady noted.

"That's right," Katara agreed as she punched in her PIN number to confirm the payment. After taking back her card, she pointed the piece of plastic in Sokka's face, nabbing her coat from out of his loose grip as she marched proudly past him.

"All right, you want your receipt?" asked the clerk. Sokka accepted it, but Katara quickly grabbed that from him as well, jamming it into her pant pocket with a sneaky little laugh. "Haha, I'll whip this up for you folks real quick, really. Go have a seat. Relax."

"Thanks," said Sokka.  
"Thank you!" Katara chimed, having already found a table for them to sit at.

Katara slipped her coat back on, her shoulders quivering. It was still a bit chilly in this cramped building. Not very good heating, apparently.

Katara caught a glance at the TV across the room. It was muted, running subtitles. The five o'clock local news was on, and the current segment was airing footage of the same man Katara has seen on school campus the weekend prior. The one who had publicly humiliated Korra in front of those people during that rally. She started to read the constantly scrolling subtitles set against a black bar.

[of them out there. and they will keep coming until some-]  
[thing is done to stop them. these are dangerous people]  
[and last week's events are only proof that the]  
[kurosawa family and the college are responsible for]

"Sis?" Sokka, his back to the TV, waving his hand at her to get her attention. She blinked rapidly, deciding to ignore the TV.

"Bro?" she replied. They both stared at each other for a moment of odd silence.

Sokka raised a brow at Katara.

"_Hh_-What?" she asked, a laugh forming into the word as she reciprocated his perplexation.

"You...just seem different."

"I'm...feeling better," Katara belittled this remark with a shrug. "Trying to look at things differently."

"Seems like therapy's really helped turn stuff around."

"Ha, well...Yea, mm-hm."

"Did, erm...you and Jane actually...-?"

"H-huh? _Oh_, no, that's...still up in the air, she said-...Well, I'm just waiting on her, I guess. I don't know. We'll see."

"Mm." Sokka's face twisted with dissatisfaction at this. Katara deserved better than to be cast aside the way Jane had. And yet, Sokka would've _sworn _Jane wouldn't just walk away from Katara without reason. "Yea, we'll see. Can't count her out just yet, eh?"

"Mm-mm," Katara agree with a subtle shake of her head.

"So, what is it, then?" Sokka wondered.

"I-I'm not sure, I'm...trying to appreciate everything I have, I guess? I mean...like...-" Her eyes rolled up in pondering before a sly grin worked its way across her face. "Things with Aang have been...going pretty well, too," she coyly slipped in. She wiggled her eyesbrows at her brother, her eyelids halfway closed. She looked down at the table, letting herself dwell on thoughts of Aang's satisfied hums and intense eyes.

"**Oogie**," Sokka growled with disgust, his chin in his palm.

"Toph's been really friendly lately, too. _Gee,_ I _wonder why_," Katara pointedly picked, leaning forward with wide-eyes at her brother. "What could _possibly _have Toph in _such _a good mood lately?" Katara continued to dole out the facetious tone. An involuntary smirk crawled over Sokka's face as his mind wandered to Toph. Her sneaky giggle and the way she'd bite her bottom lip when he'd squeeze her- "**Oogie**!" Katara mocked, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Hey, leave some sarcasm for the rest of us," Sokka grumbled, shuffling in his seat. "That stuff's a valuable resource to some of us - not to be wasted."

"Oh, _is _it now?" Katara jibed.

"_Yes, _it _is,_" Sokka came back, wobbling his head with pretend irritation. "I need it to _survive, _woman. People like you and Aang need air to breathe and water to drink. I eat, I _breathe _sarcasm to get by."

"Ah-_huh_." Katara crossed her arms. "Soooo, you _don't _need the food _or _the drink I just bought you..."

"Ya know, you're really sucking at this _not _being sarcastic bit, eh?"

"Oh, I'm _sorry, _Sokka. _Whatever _is the matter with me?"

"She _said,_ **sarcastically.**"

They both glared at each other with shifty eyes for a moment until Katara broke down into a giggle. Sokka instinctively joined her. For that moment, it was like being transported back to an earlier time.

Then, suddenly, Sokka watched Katara's face transform. It was like seeing a flower wilt in front of his eyes, being melted by searing heat.

"Katara...?" he whispered.

"I'm...-" Katara's eyes began to squint, welling with tears, and she quickly dried them. She took a breath, sighed out a "_Whoo..._" and was trying to maintain a weak smile. "I'm _really_ going to miss you," she squeaked out, her sapphire eyes trembling.

"I'm going to miss you, too," Sokka confessed in earnest, his voice cracking. "A lot." He sniffled, his nose beginning to leak out the runniness it had built up from the cold. His stomach churned uncomfortably, and he grabbed a napkin, blowing his nose. Then he had to dry his eyes.

Katara's bottom lip quivered uncontrollably.

"Sokka...you _do _have a heart," she said, her words a deep blend of love and fear, longing and pride, sarcasm and honesty.

A small, pathetic laugh escaped Sokka's nose and he coughed, suddenly overcome by it all. It was hitting him like a brick wall, somehow harder than it ever had.

"Yea, I've...got _you _to thank for that one," he managed out. "Best little sister in the world...I'd be a pretty damned horrible person to _not _find a heart with you around."

"I'm so _proud _of you," Katara oozed out, extending her hands across the table, palms upright. "_Mom _would be so proud of you..."

Sokka paused, awestruck by his sister's honest outpouring, her words echoing what his father had said earlier that day.

"I...-" He didn't even know how to reply, and so Katara got an awkward shrug.

Katara's hands started shaking a little. She jittered them up and down a little with a nod.

"Sokka, if Mom were..._here_...if-if she could see you? If she could-...Sh-she would be _so _proud of you. Of...of who you are, she-she would just be happy, and...and she'd see _us_, together...h-happy, and-...Maybe she's seeing us _right now, _and is...-"

Sokka had scrapped together a solemn, skeptical look to veil his raw emotion. He delivered her a deadpan, sarcastic remark to lighten the tone.

"_Well, _scientifically speaking, there's no way to _prove _that-"  
"Oh, Sokka, _just hold hands_," Katara groaned out, her head hanging low as some tears dripped from her face. She was laughing a little between her sobs.

Sokka maintained his plastic aloofness just long enough to push Katara's patience before quickly placing his hands in her own. They were smooth and soft in his grasp, while his were rough and dry in her own. They both took a few seconds of solitude to appreciate how far they had come over the past few years. They were both different people than they had been four years ago, but still just as opposite as they had ever been.

"I love you, Sokka."

"I love you, too, Katara."

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately."

"No, it's-..._I'm _the one who should be looking out for you, and...-"

"You've already got so much to worry about, though. It's fine."

"I wish I'd been paying more attention before, instead of just writing you off, and...-"

"Hey, hey. You're paying attention right _now, _and...that's all I need."

"Yea?"

"Yea."

Another round of bittersweet sighs. Katara squeezed her brother's hands tight, and he reciprocated before they broke apart.

"I'm glad you asked me out to dinner today, Sokka."

"Yea. Me, too."

"It really helps."

"Eh. Nah, I've been a loser, Aang and Toph have been doing a lot more good for you. At least they're still gonna be around for you."

"You will, too, though. Right? Just...not _here_."

"Oh. Whhhhell, yea. I mean, right. I'm not goin' anywhere. Err, except, I _am_, like, I'm...going to California n' all that, but I mean..._you _know what I mean."

"Heheh. I know what you mean. And it means a lot. And it's the same the other way around. Don't ever forget that."

"Forget what?"

"That what we've got is special, and I'm never going to let go of my brother."

"Sounds like I'm stuck with you. Damn."

"Totally stuck with me."

"Suppose I'll somehow find a way to manage."

"Hee..."

Katara rose from the table and went to go ask for their drinks while they waited. She asked for a lemonade, and ordered a root beer for Sokka - she knew that was what he'd want. When she arrived back at the table and set Sokka's drink in front of him, he nodded in approval at her instinctual knowledge of his habits. They both sipped from their straws once. Sokka continued to gulp at his while Katara pulled back, reaching into her pocket.

Sokka watched her pull out a blue pill, pop it into her mouth, and wash it down with a gulp of her drink. Suddenly, so much of her curious activities from that week made sense.

"You...-" he began incredulously, his eyebrows furrowed.  
"My therapist convinced me to get back on them for finals week," Katara explained sheepishly, twirling a finger through her hair as she drank her lemonade. "To help with the stress."

"That's...good, right?" Sokka was aghast, having recalled how vehement Katara had been about the desire to avoid reliance on the depression medication.

"Mm-hm," Katara nodded casually, her body language slowing to a cautious stop. She stared into blank space as she explained. "It's good. I mean, sooner or later, I know I'll want to be independent from them - to be able to function, you know...without having to rely on them all the time."

Katara paused, staring at Sokka's blue eyes with a solemn melancholy. She finished her thought.

"But, well...right now?" She shrugged, her gaze remaining locked on her brother. "I still need them. And...they're still helping me." She smiled, her eyes narrowing a little. "So, I'm going to appreciate that while I still can."

Sokka smirked with some embarrassment at her implication and shrugged. He lifted his cup up.

"Sounds like they're being put to good use, then."

Katara, smiling wide, lifted her own up to match his. She paused, a twinkle in her eye.

"They're a little _hard to_ _swallow_ sometimes," she teased with a smug look.

Sokka shook his head at her slowly, his eyes narrowed in mock irritation.

"Watch it with that sarcasm, woman," he threatened with a whisper.

Their joking faces melted away into warm smiles as they tapped their paper cups together.

"Cheers, Little Sister."

"Cheers, Big Brother."

* * *

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Meng Beifong**]  
[wooo! touchdown in PA! finally get to check out my new home for the next four years. so excited!]  
[5 people like this.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - We're excited, too! It'll be nice to meet you in person. Toph says she can't wait to NOT see you. =P ] - [Meng likes this.]  
[**Meng Beifong** - lolol. that silly girl. my flight is still on schedule but i have ur number now just incase.]  
[**Katara Kesuk **- OK! Text me if anything changes. Toph and I will pick you up Friday night.]

[**Katara Kesuk**]  
["Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away." - George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)] - [With Sokka Kesuk]  
[Mai Chiao, Aang Leekpai, Sokka Kesuk, and 4 others like this.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - I (heart) you, too, Sis.] - [Katara likes this.]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - he DOES have a heart. :') ] - [Meng likes this.]  
[**Toph Beifong** - Half a heart. By the time I'm done with him, he won't have any. Mwahaha.] - [Sokka likes this.]

[**Sokka Kesuk**]  
[is finally DONE with school. Forever.]  
[9 people like this.]  
[**Hakoda Kesuk** - I'm proud of you, Son.] - [Sokka, Korra, & Katara like this.]  
[**Korra Kesuk** - WOOT WOOT!] - [Aang likes this.]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - congrats. :D ]  
[**Suki Kyoshi** - Way to go, guy! BTW we should hang out again before the weekend. One more racquetball game? How's Friday look?]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - Thank you, thank you. Hold your applause. No, seriously, I don't actually have my diploma yet. Suki Kyoshi Friday should work!]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Very happy for you. =) ] - [Sokka likes this.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - I'm all done with homework and papers and school FOREVERRRRR!] - [Korra likes this.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Now you're just rubbing it in...=P ] - [Sokka likes this.]

[**Aang Leekpai**]  
[midnight breakfast tonight! we should go guys! Katara Kesuk Sokka Kesuk Toph Beifong Jane Fitzpatrick]  
[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - uhhhh?]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - Yea, I'm in. C'mon, Shamrocks. You should come.] - [Aang likes this.]  
[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - didn't know i was wanted.]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - well i want you there. ok? just come!] - [Korra likes this.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - Hey, Korra Kesuk why don't you come, too?]  
[**Korra Kesuk** - LOL. Aang already asked me. I'm not a student, idiot. :P It's too late for me, anyway. I need to catch up on Z's.] - [Jane likes this.]  
[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - dunno. we'll see.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - I want you there, too. And I'm graduating, so...come pay your respects. ;D ] - [Aang & Korra like this.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Toph and I will come. So us, Aang, Sokka...What about the other guys? We should ask them.] - [Aang likes this.]

[**Mai Chiao**]  
[Ughhh. I'm so bored. And tired. And dead. I want this week to end already.]  
[Zuko Kurosawa and Jane Fitzpatrick like this.]  
[**Tylee Moretti** - awwww! hang in there! huggles~ get some sleep tonight!]  
[**Mai Chiao** - Thanks. I actually napped this afternoon because I was up all night. Now my sleep schedule's going to be all messed up...]  
[**Zuko Kurosawa** - Sorry I can't see you, but I'll be free after tomorrow.]  
[**Mai Chiao** - I know, it's OK.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Will you guys be at the midnight breakfast tonight? We'll be there.]  
[**Tylee Moretti** - yessssss! we'll totally be there too!] - [Katara likes this.]  
[**Mai Chiao** - Um. Looks like I've been volunteered. Sure, we'll see you guys tonight. When is it?]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Haha! Well...it's a MIDNIGHT breakfast, soooo...it's at midnight. ;P ] - [Aang & Sokka like this.]  
[**Mai Chiao** - Damnit. Have I mentioned how out of it I am? =_= ]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - :( you don't have to come if you're not ok. we understand.]  
[**Mai Chiao** - No, I want to. We'll be there. Might even be able to drag Zuko Kurosawa along, too. ;) ] - [Aang, Katara, & Tylee like this.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Aw, I'm sorry you're so tired, Hun. ~hug~ But we'd all love to see you there.]

* * *

[To: Freckles]  
[Yo. Hear me out. You should come to midnight breakfast tonight.]  
[Sent: 8:13pm]

[From: Freckles]  
[why? does everyone want me there? even toph an kat?]  
[Sent: 8:18pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Freckles]  
[They do. Trust me. Toph won't admit it, and Katara just doesn't know what to do with it.]  
[My Sister's waiting on you. She told me herself. You're the one who left, you need to come back.]  
[Sent: 8:20pm]

Sokka paused as he re-read what he'd sent. The wording had come out...odd with 'you need to come back.' He'd meant, like...she was the one who needed to put the effort to come back, but...at the same time, maybe he'd had a bit of a Freudian slip-up or something. Everyone needed her to come back. Sokka could admit to himself that even he felt that way. He wanted to see her for a bit before he'd graduate, after all.

[From: Freckles]  
[truth?]  
[Sent: 8:21pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Freckles]  
[Fact. So please. Just come. Katara's in a better place right now. She'll listen.]  
[Sent: 8:22pm]

[From: Freckles]  
[fine. i'll come. thanks for inviting me btw.]  
[Sent: 8:23pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Freckles]  
[No prob. See you there.]  
[Sent: 8:24pm]


	106. Reasons Why

**A/N: Just a reminder to check out the SRU art gallery if you haven't in a while. New stuff getting added all the time lately. You can access it from my DeviantArt profile (Destiny-Smasher), the Featured Folder of DA group #S-R-U, or from the 'What I Learned at SRU' Facebook page. Thanks for all of your continued support and comments, guys. Sorry this section was a bit delayed, hopefully it came out all right. Also of note, sorry the only YouTube link I can find for this sections lyrical-song has...weird visuals. But if you just listen to the audio, it's all good. ^_^;**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 106 - Reasons Why_

* * *

- Thursday, May 26th, 2011 -

[12:08am]

[Send Message]  
[To: Freckles]  
[Where are you? We're all in the cafeteria. Right-hand side.]  
[Sent: 12:08am]

Sokka sighed, closing his phone and dropping it back into his lap.

"Why do you keep checking your phone?" Toph asked quietly in Sokka's ear as she sniffed at a piece of bacon she'd plucked from her plate. She bit half of it off. Sokka smiled at Toph, admiring how her eyes were half covered by her own hair, yet how perceptive she could be.

"Seeing if Jane's gonna show," Sokka whispered back to her, beneath the conversation happening on the other side of the round table.

"..._Oh_," was Toph's off-put reply.

"-a number of them, actually," Zuko was explaining. "He's uploaded them on some website he's directing people to. We're trying to figure out where they are and see if we can't shut the site down."

"Have you figured out how he managed to get the recordings in the first place?" Katara asked.

"Yea," Aang jumped in. "I mean, those were phone conversations, right?"

"We have our suspicions," Zuko sighed, prodding at his hashbrowns with his fork. "It's a delicate situation, though. We can't point fingers without solid proof. Besides, we're not exactly in the position to be _accusing_ anyone at the moment."

"I've heard a few students complaining about that this week," Suki cited, cutting her butterless, syrupless pancakes into small pieces. "A couple even said they're going to transfer to a different school because of all that."

"Really?" said Mai, a bit surprised. "I haven't heard _anyone _talking about it..."

"You _have _been locked away, working on art finals," Ty-Lee pointed out with a wiggling index finger.

"I guess _that's_ true," conceded Mai with a shrug.

"I haven't actually heard any of this Noah guy's talks, or the recordings, or anything," Suki clarified. "I sort of assumed people were overreacting."

"What?" Toph posed a sarcastic question. "People? Overreacting? _Never._"

"He's just a pompous, bible-thumping windbag," Sokka dismissed with a shake of his head. "If people wanna be idiots and blindly follow him, let them."

"I can't stand how he's trying to use God's name to justify manipulating people," Katara sniped. "And it makes me so angry, because people like him give Christians a bad reputation. Not everyone who's a Christian is a...a...-"  
"-...blowhard," Toph finished for her.  
"Thank you!" Katara spat with agreement.

"He _does _have a good point, though," Aang cited with some reluctance. When Katara flashed him an incredulous look, Aang's head shrunk into his neck a little. "I-I'm just saying that he's _right _about problems around here lately...I mean, he wouldn't be here, saying things like this, if he didn't have a _reason_..."

Katara frowned with some bitterness and she shrugged. Sokka, likewise, shrugged, but his gesture was more in quiet accordance.

"And what's that 'reason,' then?" Katara grumbled.

Zuko's lips hung open slightly, as if he were on the verge of speaking up, but Aang answered Katara's question, having not noticed Zuko.

"I'm not saying he might not have some kind of...I don't know, ulterior motive, or whatever, it's just...he _is _right about the core issue."

"What core issue is that?" Mai asked with skepticism.

Aang crossed his arms around his waist, his stomach uneasy as he recollected that afternoon days ago, when he and Katara had attended Noah's rally. He tried to rationalize his observations.

"The people in this town aren't happy; if they were, no one would be listening to Noah to begin with. And his main point was that our school is connected to violence that has been happening around here this year. Now, I'm sorry, but...isn't that the truth?" Aang looked to Zuko with wide eyes of expectation. Zuko chewed on his upper lip with shame and nodded begrudgingly. "Don't get me wrong, I _love _this school, it's...my home these days, but...people have _died _this year. Think about Jet. Think about all of the gang violence that happened - think about the entire reason we struggled to get Jane to spend time with _us _instead of _them_."

"'Cuz we didn't want her getting caught up in all that shit," Toph answered Aang's rhetoric.

"Exactly," said Aang.

"Too bad she did, _anyway_," Toph sprung her verbal trap.

"And she dragged our cousin into it, too," Katara spring-boarded off her roommate's criticism.

"That's...-" Aang's shoulders tensed up, his expression flinching with impatience. He sighed through his nose. "Korra made that decision on her _own_. If anything, Korra was the one pushing Jane to become _more_ involved with that whole situation. But this just proves my _point_. There was a _really _dangerous man trying to hurt people - people we care about. If it weren't for Jane and Korra, more people might've been killed by that man. The fact is that the Combustion Man was a _problem, _here in our own backyard, and he was connected to _your _family," Aang lifted his hand to vaguely point toward Zuko.

"To my _father,_" Zuko specified.

"Right. But I don't think it even matters who or why, the point is that people were hurt - people were _killed_ by that man. And in case you all forgot, Katara was almost one of those people. _Korra_ was almost one of those people. _I _was almost one of those people...and I have the scar to prove it."

There was a heaviness that pressed down upon everyone's minds as those who'd been present recalled that night.

Katara pressed her fingers into her forehead for a moment, her nostrils wide with irritation, her head spinning with mixed thoughts.

There have been dangerous people around here lately, and I get the feeling it's just going to get worse until something is done about it."

"What are you saying, Aang?" Katara asked. "You think that people should be playing Batman and Robin and...bringing thugs to _justice_?"

"Frankly, I'm kinda _glad _they did it," Toph announced her opinion. "Someone's gotta lay down the law, right? When you get down to it, the fist is mightier than talking about our _feelings._"

"_No, _that's not what I'm saying at _all_," Aang replied sternly. "The secrecy, the violence...they share something in common - they're cyclical. They reproduce each other." Aang whirled his index fingers around one another. "Violence begets violence, and secrets just lead to more secrets."

"Aang's right," Zuko finally spoke up. "My father is responsible for causing a lot of this, but in order to resolve this situation, there needs to be honesty and peace."

"And _that _is exactly what Noah seems to want," Aang expressed. "That doesn't mean I agree with how he seems to be trying to get that to _happen, _but...-" Aang shrugged, taking a deep breath. "Too many people have been hurt by this whole mess..."

Katara swallowed her remorse for lashing out as she studied Aang's deep-seated frustration, evident in his profile as his eyes lost focus toward his plate. She placed her hand on his back, gently caressing the spot on his back that had been scarred in the United Republic fire. She could detect the bandages he was wearing beneath his shirt. She was a bit surprised - was the burn acting up and giving him pain more recently? She'd been so preoccupied, lost in her own cloud of depression, that she was losing track of just how brave Aang had been that night. The entire traumatic event had been the trigger for her bout of depression, and as much as she tried to push it from her memory, it had only transpired a couple of months prior. One way or another, Katara knew that she owed her life to Aang. She'd return the favor in an instant if she could, but while her injury had mostly healed back up by now, Aang's had been much more severe. He'd be wearing a scar for the rest of his life.

"I know, Aang," Zuko lamented. "I couldn't agree with you more. And, for what it's worth, I am _so _sorry for the trouble you've been through. If I'd known what kind of danger...-"

"It's all right," Aang insisted, his eyes still glazed over and undefined. The table had succumbed to a sickly silence while the normal bustle of a full cafeteria swarmed around them. Aang blinked a few times, and recollected himself. He ate a spoonful of his cereal.

"Noah might be a zealot, but I'm not just going to dismiss him," Zuko proclaimed. "I'm tired of living in my father's shadow and watching the aftereffects his selfishness continue to burden innocent lives. Noah was dead-on when he said that my family has brought pain and suffering to this town - but I'm going to make things right."

"How are you going to do that?" Sokka wondered.

"Yea, how, Zuko?" Ty-Lee chirped curiously.

"I...don't know yet," Zuko admitted with some dejection. "But I'll figure something out."

"It doesn't sound like it's going to be easy," Suki muttered with uncertainty.

"Look, can we...let this go for right now?" Aang asked pointedly, stirring his cereal with some impatience.

"Y-yea, why don't we talk about something more...light-hearted?" Katara offered a change of pace. "What are people's plans for the summer?"

"Oh-oh-oh-_ohhhhh!_" Ty-Lee wriggled her hand up with excitement, as if eagerly awaiting to be 'picked.'

"Uh, yes?" Katara chuckled, nodding in recognition.

"I'm gonna be helping tutor summer sports back at my old high school~"

"What, like a gym teacher?" Sokka wondered with some doubt at the girl's ability to tutor anyone at anything.

"Yea! Like, a little bit of coaching softball, and...-" Ty-Lee slowed to a stop, blinking past the opposite side of the table. "Oh, uhh...Hello," she awkwardly greeted with a meek wave, her gaze landing above and behind Katara and Aang's shoulders. Everyone's heads turned to see who was hovering around their table. Everyone except Toph, anyway, who simply twisted her neck a little to better hear whoever had walked up.

A lanky, pale-skinned girl with a freckled face, bright orange hair, and dull olive eyes greeted them. She had one hand in her pocket, and the other was raised to deliver forced wave.

"...Hey," she said to them. "Uh...Jane here."

* * *

_+ youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=VGmf0jEtWwo +_  
_('Reasons Why' by Saving Jane)_

**~In the company of strangers I am less than fine~**

Jane's freshman year: alone, isolated, unnoticed.

**~I am turning into wallpaper before your eyes~**

Jane getting ignored; Smellerbee calls attention.

**~Somehow I always end up on the wrong side of this fight~**

Smellerbee's lips entwined with Jet's.

**~One day I will get it right~**

Katara's inviting gestures of friendship.

**~And I am not so hollow~**

New friendships reawaken Jane from Smellerbee's shadow.

**~I have nothing left for you to borrow~**

They try convincing her to leave the Freedom Fighters behind.

**~Maybe it's not too late for me to fly~**

Four people who want to see more of Jane, less of Smellerbee.

**~Maybe you underestimated me, and now it's time~**

The Freedom Fighters want to see more of Smellerbee, but less of Jane.

**~'Cause I am tired of this fire, and I don't need your reasons why~**

Swinging her knife in a dark alley; Jet's body smeared against the street.

**~No more choking on regrets to keep you satisfied~**

Jane's hand on Jack's tombstone.

**~I am coming up for air out of this heavy night~**

Katara's hand on Jane's shoulder.

**~Oh, the scenery is different when you're not so small~**

The Treetop's bar stools fading; Appa's booths replacing them.

**~I think I can take this fall~**

Storming out on Longshot - leaving the Freedom Fighters behind.

**~I am not so hollow; I have nothing left to borrow~**

Jane tossing Jet's lighter to the snowy sidewalk; walking away.

**~Maybe it's not too late for me to fly~**

Katara, Toph, Aang, and Sokka - laughter, smiles, hugs, tears.

**~Maybe you underestimated me, and now it's time~**

Messages from gang members, ignored and left forgotten.

**~'Cause I am tired of this fire, and I don't need your reasons why~**

Jane's heart racing with fear as she watches the United Republic burning, her friends caught inside.

**~Light up the sky for me; Oh, I've been down too long~**

Sparing, treasured text messages and phone calls with Johnny.

**~And when you turn your eyes to see me, I'll be gone~**

Jane closing her dorm door shut; ignoring Katara's texts, calls, knocking...

Jane losing herself in her father's yearbooks, his old possessions, his news articles.

Jane losing herself in Johnny's eyes over spring break.

Talks with Zuko, with Iroh, with Korra; preparing to face the man who ruined her family.

**~Maybe it's not too late for me to fly~**

Jane wrestling with the Combustion Man.

**~Maybe you underestimated me, and now it's time~**

The old knife is cast into the flames; the face paint is washed away by her tears.

**~'Cause I am tired of this fire, and I don't need your reasons why~**

Jane letting her anger out, then letting it go.

Jane walking up the steps to the cafeteria.

Approaching the table full of familiar faces.

Heads spin round, a host of eyes staring at her.

Katara's face flickering with cautious hope.

* * *

The group gawked at Jane's inelegant hand waving with confusion.

"Jane...?" said Katara with bewilderment, staring up at her friend.

"Why are _you _here?" Toph grunted. Her insides were tied up in a knot, instantly regretting her own instinctively hostile tone.

Jane shrugged as the hand she'd just waved with scratched at her eyebrow. She cleared her throat and wedged her fingers back into her rear pocket.

"I, uhhh...-"  
"You came!" Sokka cheerfully exclaimed, reaching out his hand.

Jane gaped at Sokka's palm with perplexation before recovering her senses and taking his grasp. They shook, Sokka's grip much tighter than her own.

"It's good to see you," Aang greeted with smile. "I know things have been crazy for you lately." The two exchanged gazes, and Jane took in Aang's calming energy.

"_That's _a fuckin' understatement," Jane muttered with a nervous smirk.

"We've _all _had a busy week," Sokka hurriedly tried to move things along. "It's _finals _time, we're all tired, it's late, let's relax and eat, and drink, and be merry, and all that good stuff."

Katara shot her brother a suspicious glance, eyes narrowed for an instant. Sokka had somehow gotten Jane to show up, hadn't he? Trying to get everyone to make amends, no doubt. Katara's thorns of doubt retracted when she felt Jane's bony fingers on her shoulder. She looked back to Jane to see a thoughtful, concerned expression.

"You guys mind if I borrow Katara for a bit?" Jane asked the group. She had to pry her gaze from Katara to the others, who shrugged, nodded, and passively OK'd the proposal.

"Take her _away,_" Toph jested. "Take her out of my _sight_."

"Har-har," Sokka deadpanned, nudging her rib with his elbow.

"Just for a few minutes," Jane clarified. "We'll get something to drink and be back in a bit."

Katara was aghast at Jane's assertive action. Jane wasn't one to put herself out in front of people, much less for the express purpose of..._talking. _For talking's sake, at that? Nevertheless, Katara found herself quickly rising up from her chair and nodding to the group.

"We'll be back," she bid them. She looked to Aang, and in that moment he was giving her a warm smile of relief, which she reciprocated. Before she knew it, she was trailing Jane's yellow-and-black sleeves through the dimly lit sea of students and breakfast food, heading back to the food area. The two were silent for a moment as Jane fumbled with a pair of ceramic mugs she grabbed from a mug rack that rested beside the coffee machines. She placed one mug beneath a cappuccino dispenser and pressed in a button, watching the creamy liquid pour. She stood casually, one hand up on the button, the other tucked in her back pocket. Katara watched for a moment, enraptured by her friend's calm, nonchalant demeanor.

"Uh, that's...-" Jane gestured her head to the other mug. "Dunno what you want..."

"Oh, umm...-" Katara shrugged pensively, grabbing the mug and pouring some decaffeinated coffee into it.

The two girls stood, side by side, alone by the beverage counter for a few moments. Her head bobbed down to observe her mug being filled, Jane pushed back some hair behind one ear and sifted some bangs sideways. Katara, who had been studying the girl's body language, couldn't help but notice the state of Jane's hair: clean, brushed, neat, a little bit longer than she remembered. Jane as a whole just...looked different, somehow. Katara couldn't place it, as the technical check-marks were all still about the same. Her 'aura was pinker,' was perhaps how Ty-Lee might've put it?

The whirring of the cappuccino machine died down as Jane watched the trickle of liquid go from brown to clear, topping her beverage off. Katara stopped the coffee dispenser, and ended up dumping an extra bit into the drainage tray to make room for some creamer. They awkwardly hovered over their mugs for a moment, and Katara looked back to Jane's profile as the young woman tested her drink to her lips.

"_So,_ your...hair is looking really nice," Katara observed out loud, sprinkling some sugar on her words.

"Mm," Jane hummed from behind her mug. She swallowed the droplets of piping hot drink and set the mug carefully back onto the countertop.

"It's getting longer," Katara noted. "Looks good."

"Thanks," Jane managed out, confused as to how that, of all things, was how Katara was starting the conversation. In that moment, standing side by side, Jane could feel her face starting to burn up from the long-desired proximity of her friend. Those radiant, sapphire eyes studying her physical form with compliments to administer was almost surreal to Jane, especially after how they had exploded on each other previously.

Jane stared at Katara as creamer was stirred into coffee. Katara had her hair down, its wavy edges playing with her shoulders. Jane had managed to set her previous feelings for Katara aside, but was being reminded in this socially inept exchange that her physical attraction to the Inuit girl was still in tact.

"You look...like you're feeling better lately," mumbled Jane in an attempt at reciprocation.

"I am," Katara answered with a trepidatious smile. When Katara lifted her mug up in both hands, ready to go find a place to sit, Jane snatched up her own, and the two scurried off, back into the throng of tables and students and food. In the seconds that followed, Jane's mind was racing with a spike of worry. That smile Katara had given her, what was that about? Why had she looked nervous? Why had Katara complimented her hair? What was up with- "Here?"

Katara, who had taken the lead, had approached a small table in a back corner of the cafeteria. She set her mug down by one chair before looking up to Jane. Jane nodded complacently and sat in the adjacent seat. The two hugged their fingers around their warm mugs for a couple of moments, taking in the gentle waves of activity from the student body and the simultaneously quiet appreciation of missed company.

The two glanced at each other briefly, each caught in a cloud of uncertainty. Their bodies went stiff, lips tightened, but neither spoke. Katara scooped up her mug and took a few consecutive gulps of coffee. Jane sighed, rubbing her palm against her neck before letting her hands drop into her lap. Her pent up emotions were churning around now, bubbling and boiling in her stomach. Her lips, tightened shut a mere moment before, quivered from the pressure of her remorse.

_+ youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=Pu6aaiZOgws +_  
_(AtLA OST - 'Reconcilation'; by The Track Team)_

"Kat," she squeaked out, looking to her friend - _her_ _friend_. Katara had always been that. "You prolly have mixed feelings about me lately," Jane theorized. Her cheeks were burning from so many different colors of fire, all burning at once. She pulled her gaze away. "But I want you to know...-" She sucked in a shaky breath through her mouth, exhaling through her nose while she bit her lip. She forced herself to look Katara in the eyes again. "-...I am so, _so _sorry, Kat. Sorry and ashamed of what I did. What I've done. Before _and _after I met you."

Katara's eyes were welling up, which was causing Jane's to get watery, as well. Katara's lip hung open at Jane's words as she continued.

"No fuckin' idea what I can do to make it up to you...make things right. But I-"

Jane's words were cut off as Katara's arms reached out. Katara's hands clenched down on Jane's shoulders, pulling her in and squeezing her in a tight, desperate hug. They embraced each other with force for a few seconds. Katara sobbed, and Jane sniffled, their faces dripping out their held in regrets. Katara pressed her chin against Jane's shoulder, and Jane in turn pressed her cheek into Katara's neck. The cloud of uncertainty lifted.

"You...you forgive me?" Jane mumbled, taken aback by Katara's intense gesture. "Just like that? Don't even know what I did-"  
"It doesn't matter what you did," Katara insisted. "You came back."

"I needed time."

"I know."

"My past, it...wasn't done with me yet."

"_I know_."

"I'd been lost for so long before...before _you, _before...you _guys_, and then...then you _found me, _and it-...But part of me was still lost, still pulling...I had to face that, and...-"

"I understand."

"I get why you were pissed at me."

"No, you...were right, I was butting into stuff that...wasn't about me."

"Didn't want you to get hurt more than you already had."

"I didn't get that before - I do now."

"Seeing you and Aang in the hospital, it just...-"

"I get it."

"Didn't think it through. Tried to keep you from getting hurt, n' I just...hurt you, anyway."

"It's OK."

"You don't deserve that shit. _Especially _from me, after all you...-"

"No, I needed this. I was mad at _myself, _but I put it on you."

"Yourself?"

"I'd made myself responsible somehow. I had thought I was letting you slip - letting you lose your way again."

"I _had _lost my way. You were the one who helped me find myself in the first place."

"I just opened the door. You had to walk through it. I tried pushing you, but it...it was something you had to do on your own."

"And I did. Sorry it took as long as...-"

"It's fine. You _did _do it. You're-...I-I don't know, you seem _different _now. Better. You seem _better._"

"I am. You do, too..."

"Yea. I'm just...happy to have you back."

"Happy to _be _back."

At last, the two broke their hug, hands clamped on each other's shoulders as they enjoyed a moment of mutual appreciation. Jane's heart felt full to bursting, having been pumped like a balloon by the emotional resolution she'd just experienced. She had dreaded that moment for days, and yet it had ultimately been so simple, so painfully clear that Katara had wanted to resolve it just as badly as she had.

Jane choked out a laugh in spite of their tear-ridden faces, and she wiped her bee-striped sleeves over her face, drying her tears. Katara chuckled, as well, and did the same. The two sipped at their hot drinks and spent a few seconds relaxing from their emotional highs.

Katara lifted her mug to her mouth to take another gulp, then paused, reaching her hand to her side and pressing it down on Jane's wrist. She smiled at Jane, whose cheeks were still red.

"I missed you, Hun."

Jane blinked at Katara's face, exuding so much gratitude and relief. It was still so dumbfounding - that Katara could care so much, and so easily, and have the capacity to actually express it at will so often.

"Missed you, too," Jane replied as clearly and earnestly as she could.

They drank for a minute, this silence between them free and clean of the doubts from minutes before.

By the time Jane had sucked down her cappuccino, Aang, Sokka, and Toph had approached the table. Katara raised her eyebrow at them.

"Guys?" she acknowledged.

"People are gettin' antsy," Sokka explained. "It's late. Other guys had to all turn in. Thought we'd come check in on you two."

Jane cast a cursory glance at the wall clock hanging in the front of the cafeteria. It was about 12:30 at night.

Toph, hand on her hips and chin high, picked her nose with her pinky finger.

"You two kiss and make up yet?" she asked with a smirk, wiping her pinky on her jeans.

"Toph..." Katara sighed, glaring at her friend's gross public gesture. "Yes, we're good now."

Jane's head was swiftly muddled by the many memories and emotions ringing through her skull now that Toph had struck her mental gong with those words. Knowing Toph, Jane figured the girl had been very intentional with that phrase.

"So you ladies sorted things out?" Sokka checked with a bit of sarcastic knowing, giving Jane a 'told-ya-so' look.

"Yup," Jane replied with a shrug and a nod.

"That's great," said Aang. "We could go hang out in the lounge for a little bit? We finished our dinner."

"Our dinner?" Toph amended, due to the time of day. "Or..._second _dinner?"

"First breakfast," Sokka re-corrected. "Then we'll have second breakfast in the morning."

"_I _sure as hell won't," Toph balked. "I won't be _awake_."

Jane and Katara got up from their chairs, and Jane watched as Aang quickly drew near to his girlfriend, giving her a kiss on the forehead. Jane got the impression this was almost like a congratulatory kiss of sorts. When she looked over at Toph and Sokka, they were kissing on the lips. That was something she wasn't used to just yet.

Having found herself wandering in memories of Johnny and a longing for more memories as such, Jane was stirred back to her senses as Toph's squishy form plowed its way into her, nearly tripping over a chair in the process. Jane had caught her by reflex, and Toph hugged her friend tightly and briefly. Jane tried to return the hug with a nervous chuckle. As the hug broke off, Toph slapped at Jane's sides - hard enough to make Jane flinch.

"Sorry for being a hard-ass on ya," Toph proclaimed her apology.

"Yea...I'm sorry for ditchin' you guys..."

Toph propelled her fist forward and bumped Jane below her left collarbone. Jane coughed from the impact.

"You wouldn't be the first," Toph casually pointed out, rubbing her full stomach with a yawn.

Sokka came up from behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist.

"You won't be the last," Sokka added with am ambivalent shrug. Jane watched as both Sokka and Toph's expressions paled for a moment.

"We're all together right _now, _though," Aang reminded them, approaching Toph and Sokka and putting his arm over Sokka's back. Katara, in turn, hugged Aang from the side, and Sokka eased Toph out so the four of them created a near-circle, shoulders connected. The three who possessed eyesight look over to Jane, while Toph blinked at the floor.

"Are we doing a group hug thing here?" Toph asked. "Is that what this...-?" She groped her right arm around at the blank space where she expected Jane to be. "What are we doing?"

"Jane, being part of the group means being part of group hugs," Katara chirped, also stretching out her arm to welcome their friend into the circle.

Jane, her hands in her back pockets, smiled bashfully as she lurched forward, letting Katara and Toph's arms latch onto her back. Jane squeezed them in return, linking her hands against Sokka and Aang's wrists. In that moment, all five bodies each made contact with the other four. They came together in a group hug, and Jane's heart felt like exploding with relief. So much stress and turmoil and drama had transpired, but in the end, it really hadn't been all that difficult to rebuild burned bridges.

When the ring of friends disconnected limbs, wide smiles filled their ranks.

"See?" Toph jeered. "Not so hard, is it?"

Jane laughed sheepishly, uncertain of how to reply to Toph in her embarrassment.

"Now we've got a few more weeks left to hang out," Sokka pointed out. "Let's make the most of it."

"That's what I've been saying," Aang agreed. "We should do something together."

"Wait, a few weeks?" Katara was puzzled. She picked up her and Jane's mugs from the table they'd been sitting at. "So you decided that you're going to stay for June term? For sure?"

"Why not?" Sokka said nonchalantly. "Besides, something crazy is bound to come up and you guys'll need ol' Idea Guy around to set things straight."

"What makes you say _that_?" Katara asked with suspicion.

"_Mm-_mm," Sokka shrugged as he grabbed Toph's hand and led the group off. "I'm just saying...weird stuff happens to us."

"You mean _shit _happens," Toph mumbled under her tired breath as she rubbed her eyes.

"Guess it's gotta happen to _somebody_," Jane sighed out, bringing up the rear of the group after having grabbed an apple on their way out.

"See, now, _there's _the pessimistic Freckle-Face I know and adore," said Sokka, pointing back at her as she returned the smile, tossing her apple into the air and catching it.

"Whatever might happen, we'll be fine," Katara decided, placing the two mugs on the dishwashing conveyer belt at the front of the cafeteria. "We've got each other's backs," she declared as she rejoined the others. They all headed downstairs to campus center lounge.

"Just a few more weeks left before summer," Jane noted as they all plodded down the stairs. "Least we'll be together."

Aang patted her back and nodded with optimism.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he proclaimed.

* * *

[**Facebook - Katara Kesuk**]

[**Katara Kesuk**]  
["Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end. If not always in the way we expect." - Luna Lovegood]  
[Jane Fitzpatrick, Aang Leekpai, and Sokka Kesuk like this.]  
[**Korra Kesuk** - You guys worked shit out eh? That's awesome.] - [Jane likes this.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Yes. We're trying to do something together Friday night, before Sokka's graduation. Send me a message or text me, we'd all love to have you.]  
[**Korra Kesuk** - LOL. Yup. Aang already sent a txt. I'm game.] - [Aang likes this.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Oh. I see. I will call you when we have details set up.]  
[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - dafuq you still doing awake Kat? :P ]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Finishing up studying. One more exam tomorrow.]  
[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - shit i can hear toph snoring from across the hall. O_O ]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - omg her snoring! so loud. used to keep me up at night.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - Wish someone coulda warned me about that. -_- ]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - Just be glad you don't have to deal with it every day. ;P ] - [Jane likes this.]  
[**Korra Kesuk** - What are you guys all still doing up? Don't you have tests?]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - guess we're all too excited to sleep. big weekend.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - I am friggin' DONE with tests. FOREVER.]  
[**Jane Fitzpatrick** - i hear it only gets harder from here on out.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - It's been 15 minutes and she is STILL snoring. Girl sleeps like a rock.] - [Sokka likes this.]  
[**Tylee Moretti** - you guys are SOOOO KEWT~ so happy u all made up. :3 ]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - we always fix things up. :) ] - [Katara likes this.]  
[**Zuko Kurosawa** - Not every problem can be fixed so easily.] - [Jane likes this.]  
[**Sokka Kesuk** - Yea. Some men just want to watch the world BURN.]  
[**Mai Chiao** - That supposed to be serious or a joke?] - [Sokka likes this.]  
[**Aang Leekpai** - too soon sokka.]  
[**Katara Kesuk** - And some problems can't ever be fixed. Like this woman's freaking SNORING!] - [Korra likes this.]  
[**Korra Kesuk** - Just wake her up. Nothing a good slap in the face can't solve.] - [Sokka likes this.]


	107. While We Can

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 107 - While We Can_

* * *

- Thursday, May 26th, 2011 -

Korra lazily plunked the gallon of milk into the door shelf of the fridge, then breathed out a sigh of relief, closing the refrigerator shut. She bunched up the bundle of plastic grocery bags she'd just unloaded and stuffed them into the small recycling bin in the corner of the cramped kitchen. Korra cracked open the top of a cardboard carton, then poured herself a glass of orange juice, fresh from the store.

_-Clack-clack-clack-clack!-_

The sound of Naga's still untrimmed nails tapped against the kitchen's floor tiles as the pup meandered in. Korra turned around, glass of juice in hand, to see the dog looking up to her, panting with an open mouth. At least Naga had calmed down a bit since Korra's entry into the house. She'd been gone for roughly an hour, but one would've thought it had been the whole day with how the dog was acting. Naga whimpered at Korra.

"What is it?" Korra tiredly asked her pet. "Huh?"

"_Yarp!_"

"What? What do you want?"

"_Yar-yarp!_"

"Hungry?" Korra glanced over to Naga's food dish, which had some still-damp remnants of wet food in it. Bolin had already fed the pup earlier. "You still haven't eaten what you _have_," Korra sighed. The water dish was empty, though - dry as a bone. Given the heat today, Korra wasn't surprised. Huskies were built for the cold, after all, so it wasn't any wonder that Naga was panting so much today. Korra set her glass on the counter beside the sink, bending down to get the bowl. Naga swiftly approached, barking with excitement. "Yea, yea, I'm getting you a drink. Calm down."

Korra proceeded to fill the bowl with tap water. Naga's fat paws pressed against her calve, sharp nails pushing at her skin.

"_Ow. _Fuck...Naga," Korra groaned with irritation. "Down."

The pup removed her forefeet from her owner's leg and sat on the floor, tail wagging in anticipation of water. With the bowl full, Korra went to go place it beside the food dish. Naga sprung into action, playfully attacking Korra's arms in an attempt to get at the water. Korra protested, and in the commotion, water was tipped from the bowl onto the floor. By the time Korra got the bowl set down, it had lost a third of what she'd poured into it, and her wrists were now wet. She sighed, tearing a few sheets of paper towels from their dispenser and proceeding to dry the wet floor around her dog, who was lapping up her drink with ferocity.

"Thirsty, huh?" Korra observed aloud, dropping the wet towel into the trash before grabbing her own drink. The two drank in peace for a minute or so until Korra was finished. She rinsed her glass, set it in the sink, and wandered back to the living room. The couch was still in shambles, her blanket lazily tossed over its spine, one of the cushions out of place. She straightened it up and plunked down, scratching an itch on her stomach. Her armpits were still damp from sweat, having been bustling around for the past while in the heat. She turned the TV on and checked the listings on a few of the channels she would normally watch. Finding nothing of interest, she switched the set off and checked her phone.

[1 New Message]  
[From: (Restricted)]  
[You seem to be in the news a lot lately. We know about your ties to the school.]  
[Picking fights with the Rhinos and the Agni Kais?]  
[We know your game. Better quit while you're ahead.]  
[You think you're a hotshot but you're just a chickenshit.]  
[Get the fuck out of our business or you're going to regret it.]  
[Keep off the streets and stay out of our way, bitch.]  
[- TTT]  
[Sent: 11:31am]

Korra was left baffled by this multi-paged text message. She couldn't obtain a return number, and after re-reading through it, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Who the hell was 'TTT?' What did they want with her? Korra suspected that they must've been tied to the gang bullshit Jane had brought up in the past. The Rhinos? Those had been those punks she'd laid waste to back at the restaurant a few months back. Agni Kai's? Sounds familiar - Korra was pretty sure the Combustion Man had been tied to that name. The more she thought about the situation, the more she could feel her head pounding, a blood vessel ready to pop. Just who did these hoodlums think they were, trying to threaten her like that? Fuck it. She didn't care. If anyone messed with her, she'd just kick them to the curb like she had the rest. She had no reason to be afraid of dickwads who had to travel in their stupid little packs because they were too cowardly to face her mano-y-mano. Yea. Whatever.

Korra was jarred from her angry thoughts by a fresh message.

[New Message]  
[From: Aang]  
[hey just checking on you. you manage to get good sleep? or still nightmares?]  
[Sent: 12:46pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[No nightmares last night.] _Lying._  
[Slept well. Feeling good today.] _Lying._  
[Stop worrying so much, you're becoming my cousin.]  
[Sent: 12:47pm]

[From: Aang]  
[sorry. lol. you seem off lately and we're worried about you. that's all. sorry.]  
[so you're still up for tomorrow right? what about that double date?]  
[Sent: 12:49pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[Stop apologizing, too. Don't overthink stuff.]  
[I'm not off. I'm fine. Just busy.] _Lying._  
[But yea, still good for tomorrow. No on the date. Babysitting, remember?]  
[I wouldn't wanna do something like that, anyway.] _Lying._  
[Sent: 12:51pm]

[From: Aang]  
[ok what's up?]  
[Sent: 12:52pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[Huh? What do you mean?] _Playing dumb._  
[Sent: 12:52pm]

[From: Aang]  
[something is up. what's wrong?]  
[Sent: 12:54pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[OMFG. Did I not just say to stop worrying?] _Dodging the question._  
[Sent: 12:55pm]

[From: Aang]  
[sorry sorry! -_- ]  
[Sent: 12:56pm]

Korra sighed to herself, typing out [For fuck's sake, stop apolo] but was distracted by her dog getting up in her business, licking and nudging her head around, desiring Korra's attention.

"_Yar-yar-yarp_!"  
"Urgh, Na-!"  
"_Yarp!_"  
"Naga! Quit it!"

Korra tried lightly pushing the pup away, but Naga was relentless in the pursuit of being pet. Korra shut her phone, discarding the text she was about to send, and set the device on the coffee table in front of her. With dog saliva on her bare shins, Korra leaned over and scratched Naga's head, digging her fingernails behind the dog's ears. With her other hand, she tugged on her t-shirt's collar, trying to get some kind of air circulation around her abdomen. Her phone vibrated from the coffee table, calling her attention. She rolled her eyes upward, knowing it was Aang again.

It wasn't.

[From: (Restricted)]  
[Hot weather today.]  
[I hope you got that milk in the fridge by now.]  
[You did check the expiration date before you bought it, right?]  
[- TTT]

Her heart skipped a beat at this, but she quickly let frustration fill her head where fear of the unknown was wanting to take up residence. She pounced up, still in her sneakers, and scoped out her windows, checking to see if anyone was outside her house. _Aha, _there was-...Oh. Just a mom pushing a stroller across the street. No one else in site. Damnit.

With a growl, Korra stomped over to the kitchen. Naga growled in reaction to Korra's sound.

"Yea, that's _right_, girl," Korra egged on her pet, glancing out the kitchen windows to the driveway and back yard. "_Rrrrr!_" she repeated for her pup, leering through the blinds.

"_Rrrrrrr-arf!_"

Nobody in sight. _Fuck. _Who the hell was this person? Or 'people?' The phone vibrated again.

[From: (Restricted)]  
[We'll be watching you.]  
[Good thing you've got such a fine ass, at least.]  
[Makes our job easier on the eyes.]  
[- TTT]

Wide-eyed, Korra huffed through her nostrils, scratching her dirty nails through her bangs with irritation. She wiped sweat from her forehead with her palm, pausing for a moment as a brief bout of dizziness fell over her. She took a deep breath and waited for the sensation to pass. She then attempted to reply to the most recent text, eager to slap a [Fuck off.] at whoever was harassing her, but with the other line restricted, she wasn't able to send a message. How cowardly was that? Not even letting her reply..._Argh. _She'd deck the next suspicious-looking punk that got in her face without a second thought. She locked the front door, and went to make sure the back door was also locked.

"_Yar-yar-yarp!_" Naga was back to nipping at Korra's heels all the while.

"_Rrragh_!" Korra roared, her pulse pounding with anxiety, her head whirling.

"_Rrrrrrr_..."

As Korra stomped up the stairs in an aimless huff without any destination, she pounded the side of her fist against the wall in her aggravation, rattling the various wall hung photographs. Naga barked up at her from the bottom of the stairs.

"_Naga!_" Korra snapped, the puppy's infinite 'yarping' battering her sore brain. When she'd reached the top of the stairs, her body channeled out the fury that had boiled to the top, like a volcano burping out a drizzle of lava: she kicked her foot at the wall. To her surprise, she punctured a hole in the drywall. A pretty noticeable hole, at that.

"_Yar-yarp! Rrrrr-arf!_"

"Shut _up, _already!" Korra exploded at the husky, the stairs separating them. "Fucking _christ,_" she growled under her breath, storming into her bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"Aang?" Katara's voice cut through Aang's thoughts.

"Mm?" he hummed back, still staring at his phone. He pried his gaze away for a moment.

"Who are you texting so much?" Katara asked. Aang had been at his phone for about ten minutes now, leaving her curious.

"Oh, just Korra. Trying to make sure she's doing all right," Aang explained, finishing his message and sending it.

[To: Korra]  
[sorry sorry! -_- ]  
[Sent: 12:56pm]

Katara, sitting beside Aang on the campus lounge couch, contemplated this for a couple of seconds.

"You seem to be texting her a _lot_ lately," Katara let her observation out. She had tried to reign in any potential judgment from the remark, but based on the expression she received from Aang, she'd failed.

"Well...Yea, I have," Aang replied, his tone carrying some defense. "She seems to answer her texts more than Facebook. Just makes more sense."

"For inviting her to things we're doing," Katara clarified, still showing a tint of wariness.

"Right," Aang replied concretely.

"What's up right _now, _then?" Katara wondered with a shrug, closing her book in her lap.

"Oh. Well, she's...not been feeling well this week. I was just checking on her."

"Huh? How is she not doing well?" This was baffling to Katara. In her recent interactions with her cousin, Katara hadn't caught any sign that Korra wasn't 'feeling well.'

"I...I don't know," Aang answered, his lips arced down, eyebrows set upward. "She's just been feeling off this week. I was trying to find out what's up."

"Aang..." Katara wormed her hand around his, and they locked fingers together. "That's...really sweet that you're concerned about her, but...I'm _pretty _sure she's getting by all right. She doesn't like people prying into her personal life, or getting worried about her. Trust me, I know."

"Yea, I've been...noticing that about her," Aang replied with some discouragement. "Like, yesterday she told me how she's having nightmares, but when I asked what they were about, she...-" He shook his head. "I don't know, she got really prickly about it, and wouldn't explain."

"What? Nightmares?" Katara was confused.

"Yea, I guess she's been losing sleep over it the past few days."

"Oh...That's probably was why she was up late last night on Facebook, huh?"

Aang nodded thoughtfully.

"Yea, we chatted about it for a little bit until I convinced her to try going back to bed."

"Hm..." Katara found her guts bubbling with uncertainty about this. She couldn't decide what was bothering her about this, but something surely was.

"I mean, she's sleeping on the _couch _these days," Aang pointed out. "And with stuff not working out with her roommate, I think it's just hitting her harder than she cares to admit."

"Huh?" Katara's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, back up. Why is she sleeping on a _couch?_"

Aang's eyes widened at Katara's confusion.

"You don't know about any of that?" he mumbled.

"No," Katara grunted, popping a shoulder up with irritation as she puffed a sigh through her nose. "I told you, she doesn't like talking about that sort of thing..."

Saying those words out loud prompted Katara's brain to pose the question, _So why is she talking with _you _about these things, Aang, and not me?_

"Oh," Aang said simply after an uncomfortable lull in the conversation.

"Well, nevermind," Katara grumbled. She pulled her hand out of Aang's grasp and opened her book back up in a hasty means of mental retreat. "Clearly, my cousin still has crap she needs to keep from me for some reason, so...-"

"Hey." Aang tried to console Katara by reaching out to her arm, but she shrugged him off. "I don't think she's, like, trying to keep secrets from you, or-"  
"Like she wasn't just a _week _or two ago?" Katara snipped, her eyes focused on her current page while her thoughts were flying elsewhere.

"Didn't you guys talk about stuff last weekend?"

"Oh, we did," Katara snapped impatiently. "Sokka and I did. We told her all about..._stuff. _Everything going on lately. When it was _her _turn it was all, 'Nothing's going on, same old same old,' like everything was fine. You know, this is just typical for her," Katara was ranting now, her book pointlessly sprawled open in her lap as she shook her head with pursed lips. "She pushes us away, keeps us at a distance, no matter what we say. I don't even understand why she _moved _here if she's just going to keep...-"

Aang let Katara trail off, watching her shut her book back closed and drop it to the floor between her feet. She hunched over, elbows on her knees, forehead in her palms.

"I'm sorry," Aang muttered, scratching his nose. He was uncertain of how he could help. It seemed his act of trying to do something might've made things worse - trying to 'do something' further would probably just make his girlfriend more upset.

"No, it's...not your fault," Katara sighed out after a few seconds to cool down, closing her eyes and recollecting herself. She turned her head to face him and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry, Sweetie." She took his hand again and rubbed her thumb on his wrist. He reciprocated. "I'm worried about her, too. You how frustrating it gets for me when I feel like I can't do anything."

Aang nodded, his glance wandering to the floor as he considered this.

"I think that's something you and her share in common," Aang observed in a mumble.

"Yea," Katara agreed, bobbing her head.

"Why don't we try talking with her about it tomorrow night?" Aang offered.

Katara nodded, comforted by Aang's optimism and his suggestion.

"Sure, that's probably a good idea," Katara acknowledged.

"Better than getting too worked up about it right now."

"Right..."

Aang rubbed her back briskly and planted a kiss on her cheek. Her face lit up with a smile, and she touched her fingertips against his jawline, easing his face in for a second kiss. A second became a third, a third became a fourth...

A cat-call whistle interrupted their brief makeout session from across the relatively empty lounge. They bashfully broke up their kissing and both looked toward the source of the sound.

"C'mon, guys, some of us are trying to _study_!" Jane taunted them, striding their way.

"Hey," Katara greeted, springing to her feet. She accidentally kicked her book when she stepped forward. After flinching from this and stumbling through her embarrassment, Katara hit Jane in mid-walk with open arms. The two hugged, and Jane returned Katara's greeting in kind, an amused laugh accenting it.

"Hi," said Aang with a friendly wave.

Jane nodded back to him with a "'Sup?" She redirected attention back to Katara. "Sorry I'm late. You guys eat yet?"

"Nope," Katara perkily replied. "Figured we'd just wait for you."

"Thanks."

"No problem," came Aang. "Let's go downstairs. It's probably pretty quiet down there." He nodded for them to follow. The campus lounge was almost eerily quiet for midday, with many students having disappeared, their classes out and their schoolyear over. As the trio headed for the nearest stairwell, Katara approached Aang, who stuck out his hand for her to take it. Jane watched this subtle act and found herself pining for a certain cowboy she hadn't been able to touch for a few weeks now.

"How'd the exam go?" Katara asked, raising her voice slightly over the echoing footsteps in the empty stairwell.

"Uhh...Good," Jane answered from behind, hands in her pockets as she brought up the rear. "I guess," she amended.

"Are you done now?" Aang inquired.

"Sure am," said Jane, that fact delivering some relief.

"Until next week, anyway," Katara sighed. She paused, struck by realization. "Wait, you..._are _doing June term, right? Or...-?"

"Yep," Jane answered. "I'll be here."

"We'll have to make up for some lost time, then," Katara decided.

"Good idea," said Jane, standing steady at the last couple of steps. She watched Aang open the door to the ACC basement and let Katara in. He remained by the door and bowed slightly, pushing his hand sideways.

"After _you,_" said Aang.

"_Pff_." Jane smirked as she accepted the token gesture. Katara swooped her arm across Jane's shoulder, and the red-head felt her heart swell with that familiar, pleasant pounding. She was somewhat immobilized, as of yet not re-acclimated to the frequency and intimacy of contact her friends administered. They walked together, sides connected, with Katara's arm over Jane's back, and Jane's hands clenched in her pockets. Aang followed casually, humored at the sight of the two girls getting along again.

They proceeded into Appa's: dim lighting casting a warm and fuzzy glow to the place, as usual. A handful of students were scattered across the restaurant.

As Katara and Jane went to the counter, Aang couldn't help but notice a cluster of students sitting in the booth adjacent to where Aang's group was accustomed to occupying. It was a trio: a Korean guy with wavy hair slicked over half of his face, purple highlights accenting a heavily makeup-ridden face. He had his arms wrapped around two glamorous girls, one on each side: a Korean with a slick bobcut, and an Hispanic with wavy auburn hair. Aang knew of them, as he'd seen them in passing often enough. Korra had once pointed the guy out as 'a bratty little asswipe.' Aang wasn't quite sure where Korra had gotten off slapping that label, but all the same, something about the guy rubbed him the wrong way. He and his 'ladies' were huddled together on a single booth seat, watching something on a laptop propped on the table in front of them.

The boy leaned over to the bobcut girl and whispered something in her ear, a sly look about him. Aang could feel his skin crawl just seeing the boy's expression. The bobcut girl grimaced and slapped him on the chest. As she did so, she whined out, rather loudly, "Haji_maaa_~" in a way that Aang couldn't decipher as irritation or flirtation. The girl on the other side shot the two of them a dark look before all three refocused attention on whatever they were watching.

Aang shuddered a little. Just looking at people like that, slopped over with makeup and hairgel, dressed in over-priced clothing, with those weird expressions...it made him feel a bit sick. As much as he tried not to judge people as a rule, with that particular guy, Aang couldn't help but pity him somehow.

At the counter, Jane and Katara looked like two peas in a pod, wearing dumb grins as they looked at the menu and observed June cooking some vegetables on the grill, oblivious to them. June heard them giggle, which finally pulled her attention from the lunch she was making herself. She shot them a confused glare, but that only made their stupid smiles widen.

"All right, what's so funny?" June demanded, scooping up the pile of vegetables with her spatula and slapping it on a plate of rice she'd recently fried up. She set these things aside and came up to the counter.

"Nothin'," Jane replied with a twinkle in her eye.

June stared the two down with her nonchalant, disinterested eyes.

"Well, well, Shamrocks," she noted. "I see you worked things out with your _girlfriend_."

"Something like that," Jane balked, not letting the comment phase her. Katara, suddenly a little offput by June's remark, detached herself from her friend, but continued to wear a pleasant smile. She was relieved when Aang came up and took her hand again.

"Careful, now," June remarked to Jane with a small twist of her neck. "All that _smiling _and _laughing_? Not good for your reputation 'round these parts..."

There was an unspoken moment of satisfaction between June and Jane that went over Katara and Aang's head. For weeks now, June had been pretty much the only 'friend' Jane was consistently seeing, and thus the gloomy, apathetic woman had come to understand how much this issue had weighed down on Jane. It was nice to see the freckle-faced little weirdo looking happy for a change. Jane picked up what June was trying to say through the sarcasm: 'Good on ya, kid.'

"Fuck my reputation," Jane declared facetiously, tossing her hand in dismissal. She pulled a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and placed it firmly on the counter. "Make me a sandwich, woman."

"Heh. Whaddya want? I get to keep the change, right?"

"Nnnnnope."

"And here I thought you'd become a better person," June played a cocky smirk, pulling her pen out from behind her ear and getting her notepad ready.

"Oh, I have," Jane insisted, carrying along the banter. "But you're not gettin' extra _money _outta me, screw _that._ Gimme a _raise _first, maybe I'll think about it."

"_Tsh. _You're bolder than you used to be, I'll give you that. Now come _on, _stop wastin' my time. Whatcha gettin'?"

* * *

The sun beat down on Mako and Asami as they traversed the short distance from Mako's car to the front steps. Korra was hunched over the stairs, sitting in the afternoon sun. Mako could tell she'd been there for a little while given the worn look about her, face dull and hair sticky. Korra sitting in that pose with one leg up, her arm casually slouched over one knee, it was a common sight - but something was off about her. Her right knee, the one on the lower step, was bouncing rhythmically as she stared across the street with narrowed eye, a half-consumed cigarette billowing between her fingers which she lazily dangled off her left leg.

"Uh...Hey, Korra," Mako greeted, pausing at the base of the stairs. He readjusted the duffel bag he had slung over one shoulder. Asami was right behind, quickly retreating to the sheltering shade the porch provided. She sighed an exhausted breath, and Mako wiped sweat from his forehead. Mako had gotten out of work not too long ago, and had just finished a brief workout session at the gym with his girlfriend. He was looking forward to relaxing at home and enjoying a quiet evening.

Korra grunted out a "Hey," in response, continuing to stare ahead. Mako took a quick glance across the street, expecting to see something suspicious with the way Korra was leering. Instead, all he saw was a middle-aged man in running shorts jogging down the sidewalk. Korra took a drag on her cigarette and sighed the fumes through her nostrils before coughing a couple times.

"I'm going inside," Asami informed. "You want me to bring you out something to drink?"

"Oh, uh...-" Mako removed his attention from Korra's oddly gloomy, dark attitude. "I'm coming," he assured, walking up past Korra. As Asami opened the door, Naga scampered up to her and began barking and licking at the woman's legs. Asami laughed at the pup and pet her a bit, ensuring she kept the dog from escaping outside unleashed. In this moment, Mako looked back over his shoulder to Korra. He watched her tap ash from the edge of her cigarette and take another smoke.

"You all right, Kor?" Mako checked.

"I'm fine," Korra mumbled, with a practiced tone. The pleasant plasticity of her words didn't match her expression or posture at all.

Mako turned back to the doorway, where Asami lingered, scratching a now content Naga behind the ears. Mako shrugged, and they both entered their abode, closing the door to behind them. The house wasn't much cooler than the outside, unfortunately. Naga barked a few more times before simmering down and flopping herself on the floor in front of the couch. Mako sighed at the blanket and pillow that were slopped to one side of his once pristine couch while Asami removed her shoes.

"Damn," Mako groaned from the heat, kicking off his sneakers and scratching at his scalp. "We really need to get an air conditioner in here..."

"No kidding," Asami agreed warily, fidgeting with her frayed mess of a ponytail. She went to the kitchen and pulled two glasses from the cupboard. As Mako dropped his duffel bag to the floor beside their shoe rack, she opened the fridge and filled the two glasses with water from their filter container. Mako entered, and she said quietly to him, "I wonder what's up with Korra. She's _crazy, _sitting out in this heat."

"Whatever floats her boat," Mako grumbled with apathy, watching Asami take a tray of ice from the freezer.

"She looked really out of it just now," Asami pointed out, bending the tray to crack ice cubes free. She dropped a couple into each tall glass of water. "I'm worried she'll...I don't know, get a heat stroke or something."

"She said she was fine," Mako dismissed. He was rather not in the mood to try helping the woman who refused being helped. He accepted the cold water Asami handed him with a relieved sigh of, "Thanks," and both of them took a couple of large gulps.

Asami gave him furrowed eyebrows of concern, and he intuited that she was going to be insistent about their housemate.

"All right, all right," he caved in, smiling at her. "We'll get her to come inside. But...-" He swooped one arm around her waist and pulled her abdomen against his own. "Maybe we should take advantage of the quiet house we have right now?" His eyes quivered with desire, and her concern melted away to match his expression.

"But it's..really hot today," she murmured coyly.

"That can't stop us from having a good time," Mako said slyly, taking a sip from his glass.

"If you think you can still keep up with me after that workout," Asami taunted, also taking a drink.

"Some extra stretching exercises couldn't hurt."

"_Heh._ Let's see what you've got, then, Champ." She kissed him on the lips.

The two gulped down the rest of their cold drinks before whisking themselves away up the stairs. Naga's tail wagged at their presence, but the dog was evidently too hot and tired to bother chasing them. At the peak of the steps, they froze to a stop. On their left, beside the bathroom door, was a hole in the drywall, about a foot or so in diameter.

"_What _the...-?" Mako whispered in perplexed horror, his anger rising over a few seconds. His face was steaming with indignant rage as he let go of Asami's hand and marched right down the stairs. Asami lingered, gaping at the damage in the wall with curiosity.

Mako swung the front door open and glared at Korra's back, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Korra?" he asked with flat irritation. "_Why _is there a hole in our wall?"

"'Cause I was having a shit day," Korra matter-of-factly replied, not even turning to look at him. She sucked in another puff on her cigarette.

"_Ah_," Mako replied. "Right. Of course." He rolled his eyes, chewing his upper lip in bridled fury. "You _are _going to get around to fixing that, then."

"Yup."

"When?"

"Some time," Korra replied in complete apathy before she took in a dry sniff and inhaled more toxin before dropping the cigarette onto the sidewalk and crushing it beneath her sneaker.

Mako's teeth were grinding at Korra's callous attitude. He managed to maintain enough of his cool in this infernal heat to not explode at her. He'd been able to tell something was wrong with her since he'd seen her, but it must've been something pretty bad if she was just kicking holes through things without remorse. His energy would be better spent trying to unwind with his girlfriend, rather than attempting to get Korra to _care _about something she clearly didn't have on her mind.

"We'll figure this out later," Mako sighed, heading back in. Naga's barking echoed from the house as Mako re-entered.

"Whatever you _say, _Team Captain," Korra grumbled, a hint of annoyed sarcasm coming through. "_You're _the boss..."

The door closed behind her, and she scanned her surroundings. Her face was melting in the sun, and she shoved sticky bangs to the side to help clear her hazy vision in the heat. Not a soul in sight - smart thing, too, given how warm it was. She double checked her phone - still no new messages from anyone all day since the last one she'd received from whoever 'TTT' was. Korra breathed out a tired, achy breath. All of this sitting around was driving her insane, yet she didn't feel right leaving to go somewhere for fear of those - wait, no. Not fear. No way. A few anonymous text messages, and that was supposed to scare her? Ha. Right. It was just...too hot out to do anything, and besides, it wasn't like she had anywhere _to _go. Yea.

Korra decided that she'd go inside, have a cold beer, and take her mind off of this bullshit. For all she knew, it could just be some bluff - someone playing a prank on her. Like Sokka, maybe. Yea, he knew enough about electronic...things. He was a crafty guy. Maybe he was just pulling something on her. While...somehow stalking her despite being on campus. Ugh. OK, well, it might just be a single whack-job who took issue with her vigilantism and was trying to make themselves out to sound all that. Or - oh, hey, what if it was maybe the police trying to teach her some kind of sadistic lesson? Yea, see? Could be anything. No use worrying about the unknown when she could be drinking a beer with one hand, lifting a handweight with the other, and watching some stupid action flick, or seeing what games were on. Hell, maybe even get a bit of 'alone time' in the bathroom, because fuck knew she could use some of that - damnit, _why _hadn't she thought of that while the house had been empty? Missed opportunity, right there.

Hm. Missed opportunities seemed to be a common occurrence these days. Maybe this weekend, Korra would be able to turn things around.

Maybe she'd finally stop needing to rely on the word 'maybe' so fucking much.

* * *

- Friday, May 27th, 2011 -

Toph sucked in a deep breath and exhaled a proud, "_Whoo!_" Her palms were clammy, her arm pits were damp, and her long bangs were sticking to her face a bit. It was fucking _hot _today, so the air conditioning was cranked up, but she was still managing to work up quite a sweat. She tried to puff air at her hair to remove it from her nose, but when that failed, she flicked her head leftward.

A single pair of hands clapped together from straight ahead, and Toph wore a clumsy but satisfied grin at this applause.

"_Whoooo, Blind Bandit!_" Sokka cheered, slapping her palms together. He proceeded to alter his voice into various tones to simulate a 'crowd.' "Uh-muh-gaw, she's soooo good, mm-mm! _She's sooooo dreamy~_ **MY FACE HAS BEEN CUT OFF BY AWESOME!** _TOPH-TOPH-TOPH-_OO_RAH! _I'd tap dat talented ass! **EEEEEEEEE! EEEEEEEEEE!**"

Toph was lost in a giggle fit by the time Sokka was squealing like a fangirl. Suki was laughing along with her, being able to appreciate the added layer of idiocy of Sokka rapidly fanning his face with his hands as he shrieked.

"**EEEEEEE! EE-EEEEEEE-!"  
**"Shuddup, already!" Toph barked between laughter.

"Was that-? Am I being-? I mean, is this accurate?" Sokka spit out, words tumbling out swiftly.

"Not at _all_," Suki snickered.

"Shush," Toph hissed. "It _should _be."

"It's usually just a bunch applause and a few cheers," Suki earnestly explained, giving Toph an amused smirk.

"_Aaaaand _some cat-calls," Toph insisted, wiping sweaty hair to the sides of her face after she carefully removed her guitar strap from her shoulders_._

Sokka whistled a cat-call, getting up to his feet from his position against the wall.

"Just like that," Toph said with a cocky smirk. "You gotta watch out, Meat-Head - I'm a hot item. Before ya know it, I'm gonna have _hordes _of starstruck fanboys _throwing _themselves at me."

As Sokka approached Toph, he noticed Suki rolling her eyes with a smile, entertained by Toph's predictions of grandeur.

"Like...-" Sokka prepped his arms, like a thick raptor ready to strike. "-..._this_?" He lunged forth, scooping Toph up off her feet. She yelped in surprise and flailed her limbs wildly as Sokka bent down, dropping her on the floor with just enough roughness to momentarily stun her momentarily.

"Dickwad!" Toph cackled through giggles, nailing him in the pectoral with a punch.

Sokka prodded and tickled at her sides laughing maniacally. This earned him another punch, which got him to back off.

Suki got up from her seat and grabbed her drumstick bag from the floor, tucking the pair of wooden sticks she'd just used into the pocket designated for practice sticks. As she closed the bag up, she smiled to herself in spite of her two friends flirtatious tomfoolery, the childish giggles echoing through the room. As Suki tidied up the drumkit in preparation for putting it away, laughs eventually faded to hums, then silence. At this point, Suki glanced over to see the two of them entwined.

"Um...I'm still here, guys," she pointed out with a laugh and a raised eyebrow. She found herself reflecting on the fact witnessing this act hadn't been as uncomfortable as it had been earlier on when Sokka and Toph had started dating, weeks before. Sokka seemed consistently more happy, and goofy, and...'Sokka-ish' than he had not so long ago.

"Sorry," Sokka sheepishly said, backing up off of Toph's abdomen with some embarrassment.

"Eh, he couldn't help himself," Toph explained, sprawled on her back. "I'm all hot and sweaty and just blew his _brain _away with musical talent. Can you blame him?"

"_Psh_," was Suki's response as she tended to her task. Toph's over-emphasized arrogance was endearing, but only to a point.

"Riiight," Sokka said with mock innocence. "My _brain, _that was what you affected..."

"Huh?" Toph mumbled, having missed what Sokka was getting at.

"Tell you when you're older," Sokka callously dismissed, teasing Toph's tummy by rubbing his palm across it.

"_Oh_," Toph murmured, snorting out a childish laugh.

"You still want to do racquetball?" Suki asked, observing Sokka's maintained physical proximity to his girlfriend. "I don't want to...you know, _interrupt_...-"  
"No, no, we're fine," Sokka assured, patting Toph's stomach before lifting his hand away and pushing up onto his feet. "Sorry."

"It's OK," Suki insisted through a chuckle. She figured that Sokka was perhaps assuming this was more awkward for her than it actually was. "Once I get this put away, I'll leave you two to your business, and I'll just meet Sokka over at the court in, say, 30 minutes?"

"Yea, sounds good," Sokka replied. He noticed Toph silently grin that sneaky smile he had quickly come to recognize as one of anticipation. "Uhhh...So, when is your next show going to be, guys?" he asked, approaching the drum set to help Suki tuck it back in the corner of the room.

"Oh, thanks," Suki muttered, grateful for the help. Her and Sokka cautiously lifted the bass drum and escorted it to a safe spot beside a marimba. "Actually, we're going to be playing downtown this Sunday."

"Nice," Sokka grunted as they carefully set the drum down.

Suki sighed from exhaustion, leaning on her own legs for a moment of respite. Her wrists sore and her right leg aching from slamming on the foot pedal.

"I think after today we're probably going to be set," Suki said tiredly, rubbing her palm over her damp forehead.

"Sounded perfect to me on that last go," Sokka encouraged. "You OK?"

"Oh, yea," Suki replied. "Just a little worn out."

"You _said _it," Toph piped in from her relaxed spot on the floor. "My fingers are fucking _numb, _man."

"So, uh...What about the Kyoshi Warriors?" Sokka wondered as they looped back to the rest of the kit.

"Yea," Toph chimed in again from across the room. "Janey-Jane told me last night she was down for trying to give the band one last go before you leave."

"She did?" Suki looked to Toph with some surprise. "I...hadn't really thought too much about it, but...if Jane's interested, I'll have to ask her and Katara about it."

"That'd be awesome," Sokka decided. He pumped out his fists. "One last show, going out with a _bang_. I'll have to record it."

"_Ha!_" Suki smirked as she picked up one of the cymbals. Sokka took the other. "We'll have to _practice, _then, to sound decent enough to be worth recording," she expressed over the rattling cymbals.

"You ladies will be _fine_," Sokka insisted. "The band was _your _idea, Suki. I think you'd regret it if you didn't take the chance to have one last go of it, eh?"

"He's actually _right _for once," Toph declared as the other two set the cymbals down.

"For _once?_" Sokka growled under his breath with mock indignity.

"Besides, it'd be a good excuse to hang out with you some more," Toph insisted, rolling past Sokka's pretend offense.

"Toph, are you sure you're OK with me stealing you from _this _clown to practice?" Suki checked, shooting Sokka a teasing glance as they came back for the last pieces.

"_Eh, _music is more important," Toph playfully dismissed.

"Ouch," Sokka whimpered, toting a pair of drums beside Suki. "Yea? Well...Maybe _racquetball _is more important, and I'll just...be on my _way_, then!" he jeered with plastic pretension.

"OK, _OK_," Toph admitted defeated, wiggling her wrist lazily in the air. "This is a flag over here. See? See it? Flag waving? Surrender?"

"Duly noted," Sokka said with some satisfaction, after glancing over his shoulder. "Truce."

"For now," Toph slyly specified, letting her hand fall onto her stomach.

Suki and Sokka put the last parts with the rest, and Sokka nodded at their task, now accomplished.

"You have fun with _that _one," Suki picked with suspicious eyebrows, nodding her head to Toph. She grabbed her stick bag up from the floor. "You're going to have your hands full with her, so maybe I ought to give you an hour?" She gave Sokka a knowing, bemused look.

"Yuhhh, _sure_," Sokka accepted the offer with a shrug. "Sounds good."

Toph snorted in a giggle, mumbling something to herself as she kicked her legs around a bit.

"..._hands full_..."

"Aaaaand that's my cue to leave," Suki proclaimed, making a hasty exit. "Don't get into any _trouble, _you two."

"**TrOuBlE's mY mIdDlE nAmE**," Toph seethed in a deep, raspy voice as Suki closed the door behind her.

"What?" Sokka snickered incredulously, walking over to Toph.

"**TrOuBlE cAlLs tO mE**," Toph continued, maintaining the strange, creepy voice. "**LIkE tHe nIgHt. BeCaUsE iT's dArK. LiKe mE. wE'rE bUdS. DaRk bUdS.**"

"You are...even weirder than usual today," Sokka laughed, locking the practice room door. He switched off the light.

"**i'M nOt wEiRd,**" Toph rasped out. "**i'M bAtMaN.**"

"Are you _high_ on something?" Sokka chuckled quietly, kicking off his sneakers and laying down beside her.

"**hIgH oN jUsTiCe.**" Toph coughed a few times from all the recent strain on her throat.

"Oh-my-god, I love you," Sokka whispered through laughter. He placed his hand on her hip, and she rolled onto her side to face him. "Now stop talking like that," Sokka succinctly commanded.

"You're my sidekick, Bucko. That makes you Robin, and you can't tell me what to do," Toph stated, sticking out her tongue. Sokka could barely see this, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness.

"_What? _I am _not _Robin. I'm-...Wait, _I _should be Batman, and you should be, like, Catwoman, or something."

"_Meeeee-_ow," Toph purred, groping her hand around Sokka's left butt cheek and pinching it surprisingly hard.

"Agh-no-not-OK-stoppit," Sokka whimpered while simultaneously giggling. She slid her hand over to his hip, and the two held a moment of odd silence, calming down and letting their breathing settle.

"I think all that rock music made me a bit horny," Toph bluntly explained.

"Figured that one out, there."

"How come you're all tense and stuff? I embarrass you?"

"Huh? Oh, nah..."

"Yep, I did."

"OK, well, _yea. _But it's fine. Suki'll get over it."

"It's just kinda weird."

"What? Because she and I used to date?"

"Um, _duh?_ That shit is _awkwardsauce._"

"Eh. I think she's pretty much over it. She was the one who broke up with _me, _remember?"

"..._Oh, _yea."

"Toph, people...break up. It happens. We get over it, we move on."

"Yea, yea, bla-bla. I just remember it was...really weird, being on the other end."

"Huh?"

"With Aang and Katara."

"Oh. Damn, you're even using actual _names _here. This must be serious, eh?"

"Shut _up_," Toph laughed, pinching her fingers at Sokka's hip.

"_Ow_..."

"That stuff can be weird. Like, _really _weird."

"Ah. Sooo, like you." Another pinch. "_Ow! _Damnit..."

"I used to think that Suki was all, like, stuck-up and kind of...I dunno. Like she thought her shit didn't stink."

"She _is _kind of like that some times."

"Well, _yea, _but I'm kind of a _bitch _sometimes, and...ya know, whatever, right? She still puts up with me. I mean, hell, she's the one setting up shows and giving me drum backup, and she doesn't even take the credit. We still run under the name 'The Blind Bandit.' Guess it took me a long time to, like, figure out how cool she can be, even if she doesn't hang out with us a lot."

"Yea. Suki's a pretty cool person. It's nice you two kinda worked out how to get along."

"Mm."

Sokka ruminated on his friend a bit: "She's really independent and likes to take care of herself _by _herself."

"Heh. Sounds like somebody I know."

"Haha, exactly."

"It's strange, 'cuz I actually, like, want to make sure she doesn't feel that _weirdness _around us."

"You? Thinking about _other people's _feelings?"

"Right? What the hell's with this 'growing up' bullcrap? I didn't sign up for this."

"Me, neither, man. _Puh_..." Sokka closed his eyes as his brain began to meander from this facetious notion to more serious affairs that were looming just over the horizon. It was mid-afternoon, but he felt like he could probably pass-out right now if he wanted to. Toph's words stirred him back to his senses after a moment.

"You ready to be _a MAN_ starting tomorrow?"

"Honestly? No," Sokka confessed. "But I'm going to graduate. And I'm going to be..._me._"

"Hm. I like the sound of that."

"What I'm worried about is that being 'me' isn't quite all I want."

"Huh?"

"What I _really _want is...well, to be _us_." Sokka slid his hand up and down Toph's hip.

"_Ah_," Toph replied with some doubt. "Yea, that's...kinda gonna be a little...impossible. In a month or two. Isn't it?"

"I'm not sure," admitted Sokka. "But...let's not worry about that right now. I mean, we could be-" He began to shift position, but before he knew it, Toph had rolled him onto his back and was on top of him, crushing his stomach with her pelvis.

"-spending time together while we can," Toph devilishly concluded. Her damp, sticky hair was trailing down over her shoulders and all over Sokka's face. He sputtered and and flinched a little. "What's up?" Toph asked with confusion.

"Argh, you're-...Well, you're pretty..._wet_, huh?" Sokka murmured reluctantly.

"_Pff, _not _yet _I'm not, pal, we still gotta-"  
"I _meant _you're _sweaty,_" Sokka choked out.

"..._Oooohhh._" Toph fumbled her way off of Sokka. Using a hairtie she had been wearing on her wrist, she fussed with her hair and tied it up into a messy bun. She reassumed her position. They had to fidget around a little until Sokka could actually breathe consistently. "Ya good, Meat-Head?"

"Aye-aye." Sokka slapped his hands on Toph's sides.

There was an odd moment of physical pressure, their bodies being pushed together by gravity, hearts pounding with arousal, until Toph decided to just go for things and plunged her lips down at Sokka's face. They ended up landing on his cheek, and she kissed at his stubbly face repeatedly, scratching her fingers up and down the base of his neck, letting his abnormally slick hair slide between her fingers.

Some undetermined period of time passed as the two embraced each other with physical affection. At some point or another, shirts found themselves to the floor of the dark room, but the 'Pants Rule' remained in effect. This dictated that if they were going to postpone sex, they had to draw the line somewhere, and Sokka had concluded that the most logical line was the waistline. Or, well, the 'layers-of-clothes-below-the-waist' line.

Sokka's seething breaths of pain were what brought their physical encounter to a sudden conclusion.

"Wh...-?" Toph pulled her mouth from Sokka's ear, licking up saliva from her lips. "You OK?"

"You bit my ear," Sokka groaned. "Like, _hard._"

"_Ha._"

"It hurts."

"Ohhh, don't be a crybaby."

"Your teeth are like _razors, _woman."

"_Rawr_."

"Man, that-..._Agh, _you got me good there."

"You bleeding or something?"

"I-...Frick, I hope not. _Ohp_ - Nah."

"All good, then."

"Man," Sokka groaned after an odd moment of quiet.

"What?"

"I _like _the ear stuff. But now I'm gonna be all paranoid."

"_Hahaha_..."

"You _would _laugh at my misfortune."

"_Yup!_"

"Ohhh. I like you a lot today. You're a little crazy."

"_I _like me a lot _every _day," Toph jeered. "You're a little _tame _today."

"Eh. I know. Sorry. Stomach's all in a knot because of tomorrow."

"Gotcha."

"Mind if we just take it easy right now?"

"Well, _that's _no fun," Toph pouted. "But...I'll live."

"Thanks, there, Dead-Eyes."

"I'd do stuff for _you, _Snoozles."

"Stuff? I think you mean 'anything.'"

"_Fuck _no, 'anything' could mean..._anything_."

"Haha. Crap, almost got ya there."

"You're pretty smart, Idea Guy, but I'm not _stupid_."

"You are _kinda _stupid sometimes," Sokka teased.

"Whatever. So are _you._"

"_I-know-you-are-but-what-am-I?_"

"Shuttup."

Sokka sighed peacefully, playing with Toph's greasy bangs as he told her, "I'm just glad I've got someone who can stoop to my level of stupidity when I decide to go there."

"I'd go to the deepest realms of stupidity with you anytime," Toph declared.

"_Any_time, you say?"

"..._Fuck._ Got me."

Sokka, grinning wide by now, strained his neck forward just enough to kiss Toph on the lips.

"I've gotta try being all _smart _for my graduation ceremony tomorrow, so let's save that 'anytime' for...some _other _time."

"Sounds good. My throat needs some rest before I try doing that Batman bit again."

Sokka took her mention of Batman as an excuse to start giving her his own impersonation.

"**yOu'Re tHe sExY iDiOt i dEsErVe, bUt nOt tHe oNe I nEeD rIgHt nOw.**"

"Hey, _I _was doing the Batman thing first. Me. All me. Now you're just stealing it."

"**StEaLiNg fRoM tHe bLiNd bAnDiT?**"

"I will have you _know _there is..._honor _among thieves. Sometimes. When I say there is."

"**SoMe wOmEn JuSt wAnT tO wAtCh tHe wOrLd bUrN...**"

"Oh, god," Toph sighed out with humor. "Did I start another _thing? _Is this gonna be a humdiddle with us? Is this a _thing _now? 'Batman-Sexy-Voice'?"

"**WhAtEvEr dOeSn'T kIlL yOu sImPlY mAkEs yOu..._sTrAnGeR_.**"

"That's-! OK, _Joker _says that. Not Batman. Seriously."

"**WhY sO sEriOuS?**"

"I am _physically uncomfortable _with how attractive I'm finding this. Stop. Stop now."

"**i cAn'T sToP. i CaN nEvEr sToP. i aM BaTmAn.**"

"I hate you so much right now."

Another kiss.


	108. Flickering

**A/N: A new series of SRU artworks was finished - a set of more detailed portraits of the main cast members. An awesome new wallpaper of all six of them was also completed, and one portraying Aang and Korra from the end of this segment was done, too. You can find these pieces in the Featured folder of DeviantArt group #S-R-U, in the galleries on the side of my DA profile (user Destiny-Smasher) or in the photo album of the 'What I Learned SRU' Facebook Page. **

**I hope you guys like how this is all coming together; please feel free to leave feedback as I do read every comment/review I receive and appreciate them quite a lot. Thanks for reading as always.**

**Note: this segment continues during the same day the last one ended on.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 108 - Flickering  
_

* * *

- Friday, May 27th, 2011 -

Sokka flung the blue, rubber ball straight up into the air. He tightened his grip on his racket, waiting for it to come back to him. He swung with force, aiming for a corner of the paneled room. The ball whizzed through the air, bouncing around chaotically. Sokka dodged its path as it flew by, watching it eventually lull to a stop. As he walked over to the rolling object and scooped it up, the door to the racquetball court opened, and Suki walked in, dressed in a different set of clothes than she had been in a mere hour before: tight, athletic shorts and a jersey, with a pair of plastic safety goggles over her eyes. Sokka, by contrast, was still in baggy jean shorts and a wrinkled t-shirt, having ignored the precaution of goggles.

"Hey, Goofus," Suki greeted, waving a spare pair of goggles she'd grabbed on her way in. "What are _you _doing here early?"

Sokka shrugged and waved. Suki extended her arm to offer him the glasses.

"How many times will you have to be hit in the face before you learn?" she taunted him.

He accepted the gear and strapped it to his head.

"Eh," he shrugged in dismissal. "Probably another six or seven times?" He flashed her a smarmy grin. She whacked his shoulder with her racket and he flinched. "_Agh, _it's still tender there."

"From what?" Suki asked incredulously.

"What do you _think_?" came back Sokka.

"_Pff._" Suki rolled her eyes, finding her position in the serving lane. "She's pretty abusive, isn't she?"

"It's horrible," Sokka said with exaggerated seriousness. "I am _peppered _in bruises, bite marks, and-"  
"And you're happy," Suki pointed out, trying to reign in Sokka's tendency to fly off in jest. "Right?"

Sokka froze up, then let his arms drop to his sides as a dumb smile overtook him.

"Er, _yea, _I mean...she's great, and...-" He trailed off, nodding to himself as he stared blankly at the floor.

"She is," Suki agreed. "I'm glad you two have found that sort of connection with each other."

"Yea...?"

"Mm-hm," Suki nodded in earnest. "She's...very much _your _kind of girl. Now that I've seen you two together, it just seems natural."

"Oh. Well, er, thanks...Sorry about earlier. We didn't mean to, like, make you feel weird, or...-"

Suki bounced the ball on the floor a few times as she continued.

"You're fine," Suki assured. "Really, Sokka, it's all right. We're still friends - it's good to see you happy. And I really mean that."

"Er...Thanks. You seem happier, too."

"I am," Suki declared. "A few warmup shots?" she asked. Before Sokka could answer, Suki served the ball, and Sokka flailed his racquet at it. His strike faltered, and the ball feebly flopped to the ground a few feet in front of the wall.

"I wasn't ready," Sokka immediately defended. Suki chuckled.

"You should get better at playing things by ear," she taunted, scooping the ball up and going back to her serving position. "Not everything can be worked out with a plan, you know?" She whipped the ball with force and speed against the wall, and Sokka managed to rally it back off the side wall. It hit the back wall, then Suki eked in a swing which sent it colliding between the back and opposing side walls. Sokka took a wild swing but whiffed it entirely. He frowned with exaggerated disappointment at Suki, who was twirling her racquet with a sly smirk.

"But if I don't plan things out, how am I supposed to have an epic moment of awesomeness at the end?" Sokka proposed.

"Huh?" Suki was perplexed as she prepared for another rally.

"Sports are like a battle. To get the coolest results, you need to go in with a game plan! The drama!" Sokka insisted with a theatrical pose, thrusting his racquet skyward. "The struggle! The buildup, the epic climax! The grand finale! The-_oop!_" Suki had served the ball while he'd been flaunting, and he made a daring leap for it as it bounced overhead. In this moment of snap-reaction, Sokka whipped his arm, slapping the ball forth. Suki had been anticipating it to head left, but instead it veered right, outside of her range. Having won the practice point, Sokka was baffled at his own success.

"Did you plan _that _out?" Suki asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"Er..." Sokka stuck both fists on his hips and puffed out his chest. "Whyyyy _yes. _I most certainly _did._"

"Uh-_huh._" Suki stepped over the still-rolling rubber ball, stopping beneath her shoe.

"This is going to be our _last _game of racquetball ever," Sokka explained as Suki scooped up the ball. "We have to make it count. Make it memorable."

"How do you know it'll be our last?" Suki proposed. "We might play again next month, or...maybe the next time we're both visiting campus."

"Do you honestly see yourself coming back to visit people here?" Sokka pressed with a suspicious look.

"I...might," Suki sheepishly admitted to Sokka's point.

"You're more the type who's going to go off and drive for success, and all that hooplah."

"That..._is _the plan," Suki confirmed.

"_Aha. _See? Plan. _Plan._"

"_Well-! _But it's more like a goal. And besides, sure, I have things planned out for my _career, _but...it's not the same thing as playing a game."

"Either way, we're close to the end, here - pretty soon this school and everything we've done here...it'll all just be a memory. Don't you want to do something crazy before you leave?"

"_Ha. _Crazy's not really my thing, Sokka. That's more what your girlfriend is into, remember?"

"Mm. Right, right..." Sokka nodded quickly, scratching his facial hair.

"Besides, crazy stuff...just happens. You can't really _plan _it, that defeats the point."

"_Oh, _but how wrong you are!" Sokka pointed his racquet out like a weapon. "If I don't _make _something crazy happen at the right time, how can I guarantee that it'll end on a high note?"

"I'm...pretty sure you're just overthinking this, Sokka..."

"_Am I_?" Sokka rhetorically demanded. "Or...am I thinking at just the right level?"

"..._No, _you're...just overthinking it," Suki deadpanned back. She suddenly sprung into motion, hurling the ball at Sokka in one swift act. He fumbled as it pelted him in the chest, but managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

Sokka glared at Suki with narrowed eyes as he clenched the ball in his fist.

"What?" said Suki with a shrug.

"This is the part where you go like, 'See? Didn't think about catching the ball, you just _caught _it, told-ya-so,' and that sorta thing."

Suki rolled her eyes, but smiled at Sokka's continuing trail of misplaced logic.

"No, I...just threw it at you," she explained with a shrug. "It was just something I did."

Sokka nodded slowly, his eyes still narrowed.

"Well...I...will...just...dooooooo...-" He waggled his arms around in seemingly random directions, one hand holding the ball, the other the racquet. "-..._this!_" He sliced the air with his tool, sending the racquetball whizzing around the walls. As Suki dodged it, Sokka retreated a few steps back and fled through the door, exiting the court. Suki was left confused, and waited for the chaotic ball to gradually come to a stop. By now, Sokka had not yet returned, and she couldn't see his face through the plastic window of the door.

"So!" Sokka's voice echoed from above. Suki glanced up at the narrow horizontal opening in the wall on the second floor, where people would normally spectate from. Sokka's face appeared over the balcony with a wide grin. "I came here early because I wanted to prepare something."

"What?" Suki shouted back.

"I don't think you'll forget _this _game anytime soon," Sokka assured as he disappeared from sight. A few seconds later, the air around Suki filled with splotches of neon green. It registered a moment later that Sokka had just shoved a basket full of tennis balls out onto the court. Suki shielded her face with her racquet and watched in amazement at the short-lived sight, an odd wonder to behold. Just as the flurry of green, fuzzy chaos collided with the hardwood floor and bounced up around her, another basket was deployed, and for a fleeting few seconds, the entire court was alive with a hundred bouncing orbs flying in every direction. It was planned chaos, and it was indeed a memorable sight. A few seconds later, having been bumped by a few tennis balls, Suki's gaze wandered up to her friend, who was looking down at his enacted event with glee. She smiled at the curious young man and started swing her racquet around at the balls, prolonged the moment of haphazard movement.

"Now you have to hit them back up at me!" Sokka declared. "And I have to catch them."

"But...this isn't racquetball," Suki clarified. "This isn't a real sport," she added, confused and amused at once.

"Does it matter either way?" Sokka proposed. "Just go with it. Just do it - like you said yourself."

"Heh." Suki picked up one of the many fuzzy balls now littering the room. She let it fall through the air for a split-second before smacking it upward and into the balcony. Sokka was caught off guard and made an attempt to catch it, but missed. He could hear it land in the stray court behind him. He nodded with satisfaction and looked back down to her.

"That's Suki: 1, Sokka: 0."

Suki was already prepping her next hit while he spoke, and Sokka barely managed to react in time, letting the ball pound into his palm. He caught it with the opposing hand and dropped it into one of the baskets at his feet.

"1 to 1!" he called.

As the two went at it and a few of Suki's balls hit the walls instead of the balcony, Sokka acknowledged that he'd perhaps gone a little overboard and thrown too many into the court. Even with a plan, he'd missed calculating things to perfection. And it was still just two people, doing nothing spectacularly exciting. Sokka pondered this thought inbetween attempting to catch tennis balls: that no amount of artificial effort could guarantee the 'perfect college experience.' That he was still graduating tomorrow, one way or the other, and that even _if _was able to attain some theoretical nirvana of college fun-times, it could never be encapsulated, captured, or properly caught on film. It would be a memory, and one that would deteriorate over time, as all his memories did. He'd fill in the blanks with fiction or exaggeration over the years, and so-on.

Sokka's impending last day on campus as a student would never be perfect, and would never be able to fully reach his own internalized expectations. But at least in trying to put some kind of effort into it, he could still create some worthwhile memories with the time he had left.

* * *

"Hey!" Katara greeted, wide-eyed with excitement. She waved out her hand with a bright smile. Toph's cousin was looking as cute as a button, her hair tied up in two fluffy braids across her shoulders, accented by a ladies' straw hat with a deep purple ribbon and bow tied around it. She was dressed in simple t-shirt that matched the tone of her hat's ribbon.

"Oh, my gosh! Hi!" Meng chirped in reply, briskly trekking along the sidewalk, her rolling suitcase bumping along behind her. The bus she'd just gotten off of hissed out air, rumbling as it slowly took off behind her. Toph, being tugged along by Katara's hand, took in the appealing scent of the engine fumes around her. Katara's hand slipped away, and Toph was assaulted by Meng in a tight hug.

"'Sup, Cuz?" said Toph, squeezing back hard. As Meng tried to break the hug away, Toph pounded her back with some force. "Good to have ya. Been missing you a bit."

"Me, too, Tophie," Meng laughed, coughing from the back slams. "It's going to be awesome to hang out with you guys. You'll have to show me all the cool places on campus and stuff."

Meng moved from Toph and went to Katara, going right in for another hug. Katara let out an instinctual "_Oh!_" of surprise, but welcomed the gesture all the same.

"Hey, _troublemaker_," Katara teased with a grin as they hugged.

"Hey, _floozy_," Meng retaliated with a wink and a small raspberry as they split apart.

"You hungry?" Katara asked.

"I'm starving," Toph whined, rubbing her stomach with longing.

"_Man, _me, too," Meng eagerly agreed, grabbing her rolling case's handle.

"Good!" said Katara, nodding her head for Meng to follow as she started to walk toward the car. "We're going to be cooking some hot dogs and s'mores pretty soon!" Katara gave slight pause, looking to ensure that Meng would take the opportunity to play escort with Toph. Meng eagerly clasped her cousin's hand, and the two followed Katara's lead.

"Sounds great to me," Meng cheered, a spring in her step. Katara glanced back at her again to see a youthful, invigorated smile of excitement, and it was in this moment that it truly sunk in - Meng was supposed to be attending SRU the next year. Katara would probably be seeing a lot of the odd, quirky girl, which she decided she was pretty OK with.

They walked down the sidewalk a bit until reaching the part of the lot Katara's car was in. Upon stepping down from the curb, Toph stumbled a bit, having no forewarning or indication of the change of terrain.

"Sorry," Meng squeaked as her case bumped down the curb behind her. "Guess I've gotta get used to being the leader. It's been a while."

"Nah, you're good," Toph said with a humored smile. "Ya just need to learn how to reign me in now and again. Ask Katara, here: I'm sure she'll show ya the ropes."

Katara unlocked the door to her car and gave Meng a knowing smirk, popping the trunk button.

"It's _much _harder than it looks, handling that one," Katara informed, unlocking the other doors and opening driver's side back door. Meng delivered Toph to Katara, and Katara gave Toph a pat on the back as she nudged her into her seat.

"You think I made things difficult for _you_?" Toph jeered playfully toward Katara. Meng rounded the vehicle, dropped her case into the trunk and shut it, then snuck in beside her cousin, while Katara sat down in the driver's seat. Toph concluded, "You're _family, _Meng. I'm gonna make things _extra _hard, heheheh..."

"I can take it," Meng insisted, tapping Toph's arm with her knuckles.

"_Fff. _What was _that_?" Toph spat as Katara started up the car. Toph slammed her fist sideways, bumping Meng's ribs.

"_Blurgh_-! That was...really _hard_," Meng groaned in shock, rubbing her side and hoping it wasn't bruised.

"I _told _ya it'd be extra hard," Toph taunted. "Ya didn't think I meant it?"

"It _has_ been a while since you've actually had to put up with her, hasn't it?" said Katara from the front seat.

Toph was now poking and prodding her fingers at her cousin, who was shooing the grubby hands away as best she could.

"Hey-! Quit-! Stop-!"

"Make me!" Toph giggled maniacally.

"Behave, you two!" Katara bellowed in jest.

"_Mooooom, _Toph's touching me!" Meng whimpered, still staving off poking fingers. Meng biffed the back of Toph's head with her palm.

"_Hey!_" Toph flinched, grinning with some surprise. "You're supposed to be too _nice _to hit me back! I...mean..._Moooom, _Meng hit me!"

"She's still touching me!"

-_Paff!-_

"Meng hit me again!"

"Don't make me turn this car around!" Katara roared in jest.

"Yes, Mother!"  
"OK, _Mom!_"

The childish chuckling and snorting died down and the two cousins leaned their shoulders against each other during a quiet moment of appreciation.

"Have I mentioned how much fun it is to be around you?" said Meng.

"You could stand to mention it more," said Toph with a proud smile.

* * *

Oranges, yellows, and reds flung themselves at each other and bounced apart before her glazed eyes. She was hypnotized by the crackling fire's energy.

"Yo." Jane's quiet word brought her to the present moment.

"Mm?" Korra hummed back, still a bit out of sorts.

"Here." Jane wriggled her wrist, lightly shaking a stick in Korra's face. Korra accepted the stick, and the bag of marshmallows that Jane handed her afterward.

"Mm-mm-_mm!_" Sokka smacked his lips together with excitement from the opposite side of the campfire, carefully rotating his soon-to-be meal. He had two neighboring hot dogs on one stick, and was attempting to cook them to a perfection.

Toph, on Sokka's left, yawned and leaned to the side to scratch at her ribs. The stick she was holding with her other hand before the fire dipped down into the flames, and Sokka quickly tilted her stick upright to prevent her hot dog from being burned.

"Watch it," Sokka spat cautiously.

"Uh, _I can't_," Toph retorted in a brief moment of irritation.

"R-right, but...I don't want you to burn your food," Sokka explained in a rush, trying to keep his voice down. It was somewhat pointless - it wasn't like anyone present couldn't hear him. He was slightly adjusting the height at which Toph was holding her stick, and she sighed, fussing her elbow at him to back off.

"I got it," she insisted with a tired voice.

"Well, just...-" Sokka flinched with concern at the sight of Toph's sausage, lingering within the licking flames. A waste of meat - processed or not - was a waste, indeed. "You're gonna overcook it," Sokka winced.

"So _what_?" Toph dismissed his worry. "Let me burn it, then," she scoffed, though to Sokka's relief she lifted it from the fire an inch or two. "I'm allowed to burn my own food. I'll deal with it."

"Just be careful," Katara requested from Sokka's right. She was unwrapping a bar of Hershey chocolate. "Your food getting burned may be OK, but _you _getting burned isn't."

"What? You mean, like...-" Toph leaned back, lifting her bare foot from the dirt and pointing it at the fire, its heat tingling her senses. Her dirty, calloused foot was illuminated by the glow of the nearby fire in that second. By the time she'd gotten her leg raised up, the collective had reacted with a gasp. In that brief moment, Katara dropped her opened candy bar into her lap and reached her hand out, her face pale and horrified. The others all flinched, and Sokka immediately grabbed Toph's knee and re-aligning her foot with the ground. Katara's hands sagged to her sides and she sighed with relief.

Korra smiled at Toph's attitude, scooping a marshmallow up from the plastic bag at her feet. The girl had guts, at least.

"Don't even joke like that!" Katara whimpered with frustration. "You could've just hurt yourself."

"Oh, c'mon, I knew what I was doing," said Toph, puffing air at her bangs and going back to her blind cooking.

"And what you were doing was kinda stupid," Sokka added matter-of-factly. He rubbed his hand on Yoph's thigh and leaned in close. Sokka whispered Toph's ear, "It _was _funny, though - Katara's face was priceless." Sokka patted Toph's leg twice before retrieving his stick, which he'd leaned against the log he and Toph were sitting on.

"Yea, yea," Toph mumbled with a smirk, easing Sokka off. She fidgeted her rear end on the wood to get comfortable, crossing one ankle over the other. "Worry about your _two _hot dogs, Meat-Head," Toph laid the subject to rest with some humored inflection.

"Two?" Jane's brows fell down as she leaned to her side to observe Sokka's campfire stick - yep, two hot dogs. One of Jane's brows lifted. "Compensating for something?" she teased Sokka, who gave her a deadpan stare.

"And you're worried about _me _getting burned," Toph said coyly, grinning wide.

Aang laughed to himself from Korra's left as he removed his golden-brown marshmallow from the heat and stuck it between two graham cracker pieces, adding a square of chocolate to match.

Korra suddenly noticed a flaming ball coming in close from her right. Wide eyed, her shoulders popped up and she leaned back, realizing it was Jane's marshmallow set ablaze. Jane huffed a quick burst of air, then another, removing the fire. Korra eagerly popped a marshmallow on her own stick and followed this same process of ignition with a grin._  
_

As Jane slurped off her ash-covered treat and chowed down, Korra pulled back her own mini torch from the campfire. Jane readied another to continue this trend, and Katara sighed.

"Are you two setting your marshmallows on _fire _over there?"

Korra's body froze up awkwardly as she glance to her cousin like a deer in headlights. She looked back to her flaming marshmallow and blew it into submission.

"Duh," Jane gleefully replied. Jane pulled back her second ignited treat and cooled it off. Korra and Jane both slurped their food up, the outside burnt to a crisp, the inside soft and gooey. Katara, watching the two raise eyebrows at each other smiled with some endearment.

"Just don't...-" Katara trailed off, watching them reload their campfire sticks.. "Be _careful_, guys," she said.

"Just _don't _be careful?" Toph goaded, manipulating Katara's words against the tone with which she'd expressed them. "Awesome! Glad you're cuttin' loose over there, Sugar-Queen," she said with sarcasm.

"Always," Katara answered flatly, popping a pair of small chocolate rectangles into her mouth.

Sokka smiled at his girlfriend's smarm as he slowly rotated his food over the fire. He gave his sister a glance and noticed that she wasn't cooking anything, but rather eating a chocolate bar straight from the wrapper.

"Hey, _whoa, _Sis," he sent exaggerated offense in her direction. "Are you just eating chocolate _without _the rest of the s'more business?"

"_Mmph_," Katara hummed back in defense with a shrug, her mouth full.

"That why _you're _so quiet over there, Twinkle-Toes?" Toph verbally probed. "Stuffin' your face, too?"

Aang, who was indeed eating at that moment, nodded and hummed a compliant, "Mm-hm!"

Toph, still letting her hot dog cook with one hand, reached to her left until she hit Meng's arm.

"And, Meng, you _are _still with us, righ-?"  
"Careful," Meng muttered. She was holding a nearly-eaten hot dog on a bun, and Toph's movement had almost spilled some mustard onto her lap.

"Eatin'?" Toph checked.

"Yea," Meng quietly replied.

Toph frowned slightly with some frustration. Meng had been just fine in the car, but since they'd all gathered around the campfire, she'd clammed up. It wasn't something Toph was used to - her cousin getting all shy and quiet - and as such, she didn't quite know what to do about it.

"Uhh...Is it good?" Toph asked, groping for some kind of conversation to get Meng involved.

"Yea," Meng said again, giving the lot of college students a quick glance. The food was helping ease her stomach, at least. It was somehow a lot more intimidating, being in the company of all of these..._older _people, these college students. She wasn't quite there yet, and it was socially terrifying. What if she came across as a noob? She watched as Sokka nodded with a proud smile, placing his two hot dogs in buns on a paper plate and drizzling them with ketchup. She saw Katara munching on chocolate, eying the flames in a relaxed state. Aang was finishing his s'more, licking his fingers before brushing them on his pants. Jane was beaming, while Korra stared off into space as they both lit up yet another marshmallow. Meng realized that she had been holding in her breath, and let loose a gentle sigh, stuffing her mouth with the last of her hot dog - mostly bun. She hated that last bite, when it was mostly bun like that.

"C'mere," Sokka grunted at Toph, grabbing her stick and trying to inspect her hot dog in the dim glow of the fire.

"Well?" Toph asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back. "How'd I do, O Master of the Meat?"

"_Eh_," Sokka callously dismissed. "Tha'ell doo, Donkay..." He pulled the blackened hot dog from Toph's stick and leaned to his right, grabbing a plate and bun. "Whatcha want on it?" he asked.

"You brought relish, right?" Toph checked.

"Yea," Sokka answered, grabbing the jar of pickle fragments, a plastic spoon wedged within its green goop.

"The dill kind, like I said?" Toph double-checked.

"Yes, Ma'am," said Sokka casually, dolluping three scoops of relish over the hot dog, smothering it in the stuff. Meng, her hands wedged between her knees, smiled as she watched Sokka do this. Sokka then carefully set the plate in Toph's lap, and the girl's white eyes sparked from their thoughtful state of patience into one of anticipation. She grasped the edge of her plate with one hand, and reached the other out to Sokka's face. It found contact with the scratchy facial hair she had come to adore, and she gently tugged his face inward.

"Hey, thanks - you _are _good for something," Toph picked on him, planting a small kiss on his cheek.

"Once in a while," Sokka played along, rubbing her shoulder tenderly as he reached for his own food. The two chowed down voraciously, and Meng grinned at the sight - two peas in a pod. Meng's throat was choked by envy for a second or so as she found herself wondering how long she'd have to wait until she found some romance in her own life. Vicariously living through melodramatic, unfulfilled romances between anime and manga characters was growing pretty tiresome by this point in her life. She averted her gaze elsewhere, but seeing Aang and Katara holding hands and murmuring something to each other wasn't helping out Meng's guttural frustration.

Aang and Katara both looked over to Korra, who was spaced out, having set her stick in the dried grass by her side.

"How are you doing, Korra?" Katara asked, watching her cousin's weary eyes blink rapidly with awakening. "You've hardly spoken ever since we got here," Katara noted.

"Good," Korra answered quickly with a single-shoulder shrug of nonchalance. "Eating food, n' all that," she explained her lack of speech.

"We should do something soon," Aang declared. "Like, play a game, or...swap stories, or something. Get everyone talking, you know?"

Toph quickly swallowed her current mouthful of food as Aang spoke.

"There's an idea, Twinkles!" Toph cried out, eagerly supporting this decision. She burped. Then Sokka burped, a bit louder. Then _Korra _burped, pushing one out even louder. Jane, smiling wryly, tilted to her right and passed gas in Korra's direction with a surprisingly audible toot. Jane grunted with satisfaction as she set her rear end back down. Sokka and Toph burst into a giggle fit while Jane flicked her wrist toward Korra. Korra gave Jane a playful glare and pinched her nostrils, shooing the air away.

"Who was _that_?" Toph demanded to know through the laughter.

"That was _Jane_," Katara sighed, giving her freckled friend a set of lowered eyebrows. The two smirked at each other.

Meng was a bit bewildered by this - college people laughing at...flatulence? She caught sight of Aang, who was shaking his head with slow, mocking disapproval. Their eyes met, and Aang shrugged at her, as if to say, '_I don't know, my friends are children._'

"Oh my _god_," Toph belted back out, surprised at this revelation. "That was impressive, Freckle-Face."

"Was savin' that one for the right moment," Jane casually explained.

Meng took this moment to try and contribute to the conversation.

"Very _lady-like_," Meng said to her left, where Jane sat.

Jane's smirk whisped away in a brief moment of confusion. Their eyes met, Meng's hopeful for acceptance, Jane's flickering with confusion at the multitude of memories the very phrase 'lady-like' had brought up. Sokka's Stupid Laugh was finally dying down in the background, the uncomfortable silence

"Uhhh...-" Toph went to whisper a warning into Meng's ear, but Meng caught on before her cousin could say anything.

"_What did you say?_" Jane growled with squinted eyes, her already raspy voice made all the creepier.

"I'm-so-sorry!" Meng squeaked quietly with embarrassment, wriggling her hand out in frantic apology. "I forgot about your-...I-I mean, not that it should _matter, _because you-...What I _mean _is-"

Jane burst into laughter, slapping her thigh and tapping Korra's arm with her opposing wrist. Korra, still generally out of sorts, offered Jane a small smile of amusement and nodded."You're all good," Jane made clear, giving Meng an entertained closed her eyes and took a deep sigh of relief, her palm on her chest. Her heart had skipped a beat for a moment.

"You OK, there?" Jane teased, pounding Meng's back with a harsh slap.

"Y-yea," Meng eked out, fussing with her puffy black braids.

"Jane, don't be so mean," Katara jibed, giving her friend a raised eyebrow and a humored smile. "Meng is a little sweetheart, she doesn't need to be corrupted by us."

"Oh, it is _too late_," Toph announced, slamming her fist against her chest. "She has already been _exposed _to our radiation." Toph leaned to Meng, lifting her hotdog to her face and twisting her head to face her cousin. "It's only a matter of _time _now," Toph devilishly decried, her white eyes maniacal beneath a mess of black. There was some more laughter from the group, and as Toph swallowed some of her relish-ridden hotdog, Meng's insides fluttered at the feeling of acceptance.

* * *

The campfire had died down over time, but still had a few logs of pre-prepared firewood left over to burn cooler's ice was by now melted, but all of the beverages contained within were either now consumed or in the process thereof. Korra and Toph were sprawled against each other on a log, with Toph lazily chomping down on the last hot dog and Korra slowly sipping at what was probably her fourth or fifth beer.

The hour was late, and things had been winding down. Katara was topping off a round of ghost stories with one she had claimed had actually happened to her mother. She was wearing an exaggerated tone of creepiness with an overly serious look about her. Aang and Jane were enraptured by it, not getting to see this darker side of Katara too often.

"So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family," Katara was recounting, staring at Jane with wide eyes of interest. "When they got there, no one was home - just a fire, flickering in the fireplace." Katara turned her attention to the slowly dying flames before them. "While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice." Katara's face morphed as she spoke with a heightened pitch, as if imitating a child. "'_It's so cold, and I can't-get-warm!'" _She swiveled her head, shooting a spooky glare toward Sokka, who smirked a little, having heard this story before. "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire," Katara explained, directing her eyes toward Korra and Toph. Toph was finishing her food, eyes open with interest in the story. "She was blue, like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but...when everyone came back, Nini was _gone."_

There was a silence that fell over the group, the gentle sparking of the fire snapping and popping.

"Where'd she go?" Aang asked.

"No one knows," Katara cryptically answered. "That cabin up in the mountains stands empty to this day." Katara nodded her head off toward the mountain range in the distance, past the woods. "But sometimes, hikers see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to _get warm_..."

The lot settled into another cold bout of quiet, letting the fantastical idea wash over them - except for Korra, who was rather aloof, drinking her beer as she had all evening.

Toph suddenly gasped and sprung up to her feet with a gasp.

"Wait!" she cried. "Guys, did you hear that? I just heard someone scream!"

Sokka tossed his arm with an eyeroll. "_Pff, _nice try, Dead-Eyes."

"No, I'm _serious," _Toph insisted, arcing her head to get a better listen of the land behind her. "I _hear _something."

Katara and Sokka, side-by-side, exchanged skeptical glares.

Katara dismissed her, saying, "You're probably just...jumpy from the ghost stories."

"Yea," Jane said sarcastically, shooting Sokka a dull glance. "'Cuz listening to 'The Man With a Sword For a Hand' was..._sooo _fuckin' scary."

"That one is a _classic_!" protested Sokka with upturned wrists.

"Wasn't it originally a hook instead of a sword?" Aang mused.

"Sword's more dramatic," Sokka swiftly assured.

"_Mmph_," Toph grunted to herself with narrowed eyes of suspicion.

"You _really _hear someone?" Aang asked with a touch of nervousness.

"You _scared?_" Jane teased, jabbing an elbow at Aang.

"_Huh_...It just...stopped," Toph observed with some unease.

"Wh...Where did it come from, then?" Katara wondered.

Toph stuck out her finger and directed it behind where she had been sitting.

"Somewhere over there," Toph cited. "Distant."

Korra pulled out her phone to check for messages. Er, the time. Yea. Check the time. No new messages, anyway. So, yea.

"You _for real _heard someone?" Korra asked with cynicism, putting her phone in her pocket and going back to her beer.

"Yea, I _did_," Toph growled back with some indignity, crossing her arms in defense.

"Should we, like...go check?" Sokka proposed with unease, making ready to get up from his seat beside his sister.

"It's...pretty late," Katara pointed out. "And dark. If it stopped, then...maybe it was just people being crazy."

"Like we just were a few minutes ago," Meng added, referring to the growls and roars that had transpired during a previous ghost story.

"True," Aang agreed with a light nod.

"Forget I said anything," Toph sighed, dropping herself back down into her seat beside Korra. She ended up sitting partway on Korra's leg in her lack of sigh, and Korra groaned, shoving Toph over. "Heh," Toph laughed. "Guess I'm a little too frisky for my own good tonight."

"You always are," Sokka stated.

"Yea, yea," Korra blew Toph's humor off with irritation. "Just stay off me, would ya?"

"_Pbth, _simmer down, Hothead," Toph eased.

Korra was a little shaky, her fingers beginning to tremble as she found herself wondering if the people who seemed to have it out for her were looking over them right that instant.

Toph's attempt at lightening the mood involved slamming Korra's shoulder with a punch. Korra nearly spilled her beer from the impact combined with her heightened sense of stress. Korra frowned, nailing Toph back with a blow of harsher force than what she'd received.

"_Agh_-_Fuck,_" Toph growled in surprise, flinching from the blow. She rubbed her now-sore shoulder, matching Korra's frown. "That's, uh...-"

"Now _you_ remember what it feels like," Aang teased from across the way.

Toph went to pop Korra with a retaliation punch (to the retaliation punch) but Korra caught Toph's blind swing and twisted the girl's arm.

"_Augh-!" _Toph was surprised at the hostile gesture and the pain she was receiving from it. "OK-OK!" she spat out through grit teeth. "You win, you-..." She breathed out with relief when Korra tossed Toph's arm away. "Damnit," Toph seethed from the aching.

"Yea, maybe don't dish it if you can't take it," Korra grumpily advised.

"Message _received_," Toph grumbled, gently rubbing her recently twisted hand.

"Are you OK?" Meng checked on her cousin, straining her head to look over the fire.

"I'm good," said Toph, quelling her own temper.

"What was _that_?!" Sokka demanded, giving Korra a disapproving glare.

"That was your girlfriend trying to pick a fight she shouldn't start," Korra snapped back with a shrug, scooting her way to the opposite side of the log.

"You just hit a _blind girl_," Sokka growled. Katara was already nudging him, knowing full well this statement wasn't going to help matters regarding either woman acros the way.

"I'm not _helpless,_" Toph snipped back. "She's...got a point," Toph confessed, her voice whittling down its volume. "I'm the one who started it, and-"  
"I don't give a fuck if she's blind," Korra steamrolled, brushing her words past Toph and directing them to Sokka. "She shouldn't go starting shit, then."  
"Rrrright here," Toph muttered, poking her chest with an index finger. "I'm literally right next to you. Blind, not deaf."  
"So you wouldn't mind if I gave you a black eye, then?" Korra taunted.

"Maybe you _children _need a time out?" Sokka proposed with some irritation.

"Calm down," Katara quietly suggested to her brother, pressing her hand on his back briefly.

"It's fine, Sokka," Toph assured, flicking her strained wrist to loosen it out. "We're just foolin' around. No harm done. Right Kor?"

Korra didn't reply, opting instead to guzzle down the last of her bottle of beer. She dropped it to the ground at her feet, letting it topple to its side and roll against her boot. Toph's effort at optimism wilted.

"Did something crawl up your ass today?" Toph asked tiredly, her patience worn out.

"_Yes, _so...back off," Korra snarled, lowering her tone after the first syllable had escaped her mouth.

"What happened that has you so shaken up?" Katara probed.

"Wh-? _Nothing, _don't-..." Korra scrambled up to her feet, uncomfortable with the current track of conversation. "Who said I was 'shaken up?'" Korra's face was wriggling with discomfort, the corners of her eyes getting wet from tears of fright and stress and anger that she was desperate to hide.

"You've been acting strangely quiet," Aang noted.

"You have," Jane put in her two cents. Jane and Korra swapped suspicious looks, and Korra wondered if Jane had some idea of what was wrong. Had Jane gotten the same sorts of threatening messages? Korra hadn't dared ask.

"Yea, just tell us what's up," Toph goaded, just as eager to settle the tension as anyone else. "What're you so afraid of?"

Korra, already on her feet, started marching out of the circle. Twisting her abdomen sideways in midwalk, she slapped her palm against her chest, and shouted back to the group, "I'm not _afraid _of anybody!" She made swift progress toward the woods in the opposite direction as the trail.

"Then, why are you walking away?" Toph yelled back.

"I'm...looking for the bathroom!" Korra called back caustically, her silhouette fading from the campfire's light. "I'm taking a piss!"

"Yea? Well, **piss off**, then!" Sokka bellowed. His serious tone vanished as he faced the group again. "_Ahhh, _been saving that one all night," he breathed out to himself with some pride. "Get it? _Piss _off? 'Cuz she's-"  
"We got it," Katara flatly crushed Sokka's train of thought. "And you're not helping, Sokka."

"She's in a funk, give her some room to blow off some steam," Sokka wrote it off.

"Sorry about that, guys," Toph apologized to the group. "I got a little carried away, there. I'm not used to somebody who hits me _back _so hard, heh."

"You still thought it was cool, though," Jane predicted with smarm.

"Hell yea," Toph agreed.

"Is she usually like this?" Meng asked, thumbing off to where Korra had disappeared to.

"Errr, sort of?" Sokka replied with uncertainty. "The '**argh-I-am-woman-hear-me-roar**' part, yes. The...quietly-brooding-to-herself-and-not-speaking part, only when she's in a bad mood."

"Ah," Meng answered, a little dumbfounded at Sokka's manner of reply. It wouldn't have been the first thing she'd been dumbfounded by that evening, but the sensation was growing on her.

* * *

- Saturday, May 28th, 2011 -

It was nearing one in the morning, which Sokka had declared as the 'cut-off' point for campfire activities for the night. After all, he had a graduation ceremony the next morning. Thus, the group had tidied up their mess at the campfire station by the side of the hiking trail and prepared to roll out to get some sleep.

Aang and Katara stood in the distant dim flicker of the campfire, waiting for Sokka, Meng, and Toph to trek down the hiking trail. Korra was loading the final piece of firewood onto the fire and stoking it by kicking her boot against the unlit edge of the wood.

Sokka sighed with relief, pulling the plastic container with him in one hand, Toph's grip holding the other.

"This cooler is so much _lighter _when there's nothing in it," he observed aloud.

"Real keen scientific mind ya got, Snoozles."

Meng snickered at Toph's joke.

Katara waited a second for the trio behind her to get a few feet of distance.

"Are you sure she's going to open up to you right now?" Katara asked Aang.

Aang shook his head and shrugged.

"But it's fine," he decided. "She just needs to know she _can _open up when she needs to."

Katara's head tilted sideways with reluctant agreement.

"It's so _dark _out here!" Sokka could be heard bemoaning in the distance. "I can't see a thing!"

Toph mocked him, overflowing with sarcasm.  
"_Oh, no!_ _What a nightmare!_"

Meng giggled at her cousin's humor - poking fun at her own blindness. Their steps were growing fainter by the second.

Aang and Katara both smiled a little at their friends' silliness, but their expressions hardened when they remembered what their concern was.

"Just a _few _minutes," Aang pleaded in a whisper, giving Katara an earnest look.

Katara's eyes slide sideways with some doubt, but she looked back with a calmed expression and grabbed his hand between her soft fingers.

"All right, Hun," Katara allowed. "Maybe you can talk some sense into her, at least. Get her to chill out a bit."

"I'll try," Aang replied. They kissed and broke apart, Katara clicking on her flashlight. As she walked off to pursue the others, Aang's eyes lingered on her dwindling outline. She looked back to him over her shoulder, and they exchanged one last glance of mutual concern before Aang turned around. There he saw Korra's back. She was standing in front of the fire in her t-shirt, fists balled at her sides.

Aang approached her timidly and lingered by her side for a few seconds, staring into the fire along with her. It whipped a couple of times in the wind, and the both of them shuddered. Aang zipped up his hoodie and drew his hood over his head, while Korra wedged her hands into her pant pockets.

"Aren't you cold?" Aang wondered.

"A little, I guess," Korra admitted in a mumble. Aang looked toward where Korra had been sitting. Korra's jacket was still slopped over the log, surrounded by a small minefield of stray beer bottles.

"You, uh...drank a lot more than I _thought_ you had," Aang pointed out, nodding his head to the mess she had yet to clean up.

"A couple of those are Toph's," Korra shrugged. Aang warily double-checked the collection. Korra had to have downed at _least _five bottles.

"And you just...kept going," Aang noted with a sigh.

"You know what they say beer leads to," Korra said to Aang with a dark smile. Aang swallowed, his mind quickly jumping to words like '_abuse' _and_ 'sex_.' "More beer," Korra answered her own thought, and in turn replied to Aang's observation regarding her drinking habits that evening. They stood in silence, Korra's eyes quivering in contrast to the restrengthened flames burning at her feet.

Aang cleared his throat.

"Korra, are you..._doing_...all right?"

"Yea," Korra eased, still staring at the glow. "I'm...fine."

Aang noticed that she was wobbling ever so slightly, the alcohol having hit her brain.

"Why don't we sit down for a bit?" Aang offered the idea.

Korra shrugged with apathy, but walked toward a clean patch of grass and dirt by the fire - where Katara had previously been sitting. She huffed out a tired breath and wobbled a little before collapsing on the ground. Aang sat down beside her and let her have a bit of quiet brooding.

"So...What's up?" Korra asked after about ten or twenty seconds of silence.

"Oh, well...I'm glad you came to hang out with us tonight, I just...wanted to make sure it was for the right reason."

"...Whhhhat does that mean?" Korra inquired with some suspicion.

"I'm...not sure," Aang confessed with a shrug. "I mean, you tell _me. _You've acted strange all night, like something else is on your mind.

"Yea, I'm busy, n'...stuff. I'm just really...focused on trying to get my act together, is all."

"Right, that's...what you said before," Aang muttered, scratched behind his ear delicately as he determined how to get across what he was thinking. "You know, Korra, it's OK to be scared. After all of the stuff you're going through these days? We've been pretty scared, too. You think I _wasn't _scared when I ran into that building to save you?"

He studied the side of Korra's face, while she continued to avoid said gaze. Her face hardened at his words, and Aang could sense the frustration bubbling within her. He felt he had come to Korra well enough by now to understand that part of her was angry at him for helping save her that night. She wouldn't admit it, but he had not able to shake that idea. When she didn't say anything, he went on.

"I know you're just trying to show everyone how strong you are, but...we already know you are. Pushing yourself so much isn't..._good. _I mean, you're only _human, _Korra. Just like the rest of us. Being scared is...being a human _being_. Right?"

Korra continued to stare into the campfire, and her head sagged down an inch, eyelids sliding halfway closed. Her arms, crossed over her upright knees, tightened together as another breeze blowed over them. Aang sighed clamping his hand down on her shoulder. She intentionally ignored the gesture, her muscles tightening up at his touch.

"The important thing is to talk about our fears," Aang explained. "Because if we don't, they can throw us out of balance." Aang slid his hand across her thick shoulder a couple of times before standing up. He walked toward the log to retrieve Korra's coat, giving a forlorn look toward the mess of bottles Korra had consumed. He reflected on her strange moods that evening as a sign that Korra was, in fact, _not _in balance today.

Korra hesitantly looked up to Aang from her spot before the fire. She had been all clammed up to avoid, defend, and ignore Aang's attempts at verbal assault to try and decipher what was wrong with her. Aang instead brought her coat to her and set it over her back. She tucked it tightly against her skin, comforted by being warmed from both sides.

Standing over Korra's shoulder, Aang opened his lips to speak to the statue-like woman, but paused, reconsidering what he might say.

"Katara's...amazing," Aang stated. "Sokka's like a brother to me. That sort of makes you and me family, too, in a way."

When Korra still didn't budge or respond, Aang decided to conclude the conversation then and there.

"I'm always here for you, if you want to talk," Aang comforted her.

A couple of minutes drifted by as each of them let the atmosphere soothe and relax their tired minds. Aang eventually remembered that they really needed to get going, and he shot Katara a quick text message informing her that they would be leaving momentarily. He got up, grabbing a trash bag they'd been using to collect recyclables. He went to go pick up Korra's bottles, but she finally stirred from her motionless state.

"I got it," she insisted, extending her arm out. Aang was confused as to how this had been the one thing he'd done to get Korra to acknowledge anything during the conversation, but handed the bag over, allowing Korra to clean up her mess. Aang went to grab the last item that was left - a gallon of water they'd filled with Aero House's hose. Korra finished her task and set the bag down at her side to appreciate one last moment of this evening. Another gust of wind kicked up around them, tossing Korra's hair and Aang's hood around. Aang unscrewed the cap of the plastic gallon and waited for the gust to die down before he tipped the jug over over.

The cold air swirled over them as the water drizzled down toward the dry earth and collided with the flickering fire.

This act complete, Aang and Korra were swallowed by darkness. Korra retrieved the bag of bottles, its loud rattling of glass on glass unsettling in the tranquility of the forest. Aang took out a small flashlight stored in his hoodie's pocket and clicked it on, leading the way. The light was surprisingly strong and bright for how small the device was. Korra and Aang walked in silence down the well-worn trail, side-by-side in the black of night.


	109. What Lies Ahead

**A/N:  
**

**I WROTE A COMIC! ABOUT JANE! IT'S GOING TO BE PUBLISHED! IT AN ACTUAL BOOK!**

**Ahem. A four page mini comic showing part of Jane's backstory was recently finished by DA artist 'Dooglebuggy.' It's called 'Metamorphosis' and is slated to be published in Grayhaven Comics' upcoming compilation 'You Are Not Alone.' I hope to tell more (longer?) stories in comic form in the coming months. Please take a couple of minutes to check out 'Metamorphosis' and leave us a comment. You can find it in the SRU art gallery, the #S-R-U DeviantArt page, and the photo gallery on Facebook(dotcom)/WhatILearnedatSRU.**

**On with the prose, now.**

**What I have learned by writing a graduation scene and in turn revisiting memories of graduations I have been to is this: Graduations are actually really stuffy and boring and you just kind of want to get them done and over with so you can move on with the story your life. Hopefully I managed to work in some moments and some bits of foreshadowing/character development that merit how…generally uneventful this event is. ^_^;  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 109 - What Lies Ahead_

* * *

- Saturday, May 28th, 2011 - Graduation Day

"You can't just..._skip _your graduation ceremony, Zuko."

"I can if I'd be disgracing the school by going to it."

The cafeteria that morning was much busier than it normally was for how early the hour was.

"Ugh, you can't...-!" Mai tensed up, teeth clenched as she glared at her boyfriend. Zuko was guzzling his coffee down in a rush, his eyes scanning his surroundings every few seconds. "I may not be a bundle of sunshine, but even I can appreciate that there are _some _days where you should..._try _to be happy and optimistic, and...I think your graduation is supposed to be one of them."

Zuko looked up from his coffee at Mai, who had paused from eating her breakfast croissant to glare at him with expectation. From that one look, Zuko could tell that nothing he said was going to win her over on this one.

"You're right," Zuko gave in with a shrug. He took another sip and sighed, the caffeinated liquid calming his soul and waking up his mind. "Happy. Optimistic. Sure." He nodded thoughtfully. "You want to know what will make me the _opposite _of those things?" Mai's stern eyes had some of the sharpness dulled at Zuko's expression. He finished his thought. "Spending an hour or two in front of the entire school after what's happened. That would _not _make me feel very good."

Mai's lips pursed with reluctance at this idea.

"I don't think you have as many haters as you think you do," she theorized.

"Do you _want _me to show you the pile of e-mails and letters I've gotten over the past week?" Zuko posed with raised eyebrows.

Mai's eyes rolled upwards, away from his negativity. Her short supply of optimism had about run its course already. She wasn't going to argue about this with him.

"OK, I get it, whatever," she mumbled with a shrug, taking a bite out of her breakfast pastry.

"It's fine, don't get worked up," Zuko insisted with a more gentle tone. "I'm not angry. You _are _right - today should be a good day. And I think it would be better if I spent that time with you, with my Uncle - with people whose opinions I don't have to worry about."

"Hm..." Mai nodded begrudgingly. "It's been four long years, Zuko," she reminded. "You deserve to have all of the time you've spent studying, and slogging through classes, everything you've tried doing for this community...It should be rewarded. Honored. You know?"

Zuko extended his arm across the table, and Mai knowingly accepted his warm grasp.

"Mai, I don't need a ceremony, or a diploma, or anyone else to honor my time here. My memories, my experiences...that's good enough for me. I'm done trying to win over people's approval. I want to put others before myself, but I still need to do what feels right to _me._"

Mai smiled, and Zuko's solemn look shifted to match her subtle glow.

"And _that _is what's going to make you a good leader some day," she assured, squeezing his palm.

"Thanks," he murmured with gratitude. "We'll see..."

"We will," Mai agreed with insistence.

They went back to their breakfast, and by the time Zuko had finished up his coffee, he'd noticed a perky, wildly waving young lady approaching them - it was Ty-Lee, with a groggy-looking Azula being dragged by the arm.

"It's the man of the hour!" Ty-Lee chirped. "Good morning, guys~"

Zuko, Mai, and Azula all gave Ty-Lee an dull look. She seemed entirely too peppy for how early it was.

"It _is _a morning," Azula noted.

"Not just _any _morning!" Ty-Lee gushed. "This is the morning that Zuko graduates!"

"Yes, well..." Azula shrugged. "I suppose that makes it a _noteworthy _morning, but 'good?' Hardly."

"Ohhhh, brighten up, Zuly." Ty-Lee smooshed Azula's cheeks together, pulling her in for a sloppy kiss that was struggled again.

When their faces broke apart, Azula's was flashing a dangerous shade of red, while Ty-Lee's was a pretty pink.

Zuko made a mock puking sound, to which Mai smirked, Ty-Lee pouted, and Azula rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a _child_, Zuko," she scolded, adjusted the collar on her vest. "And why aren't you dressed up? You look quite disheveled."

"I think he looks nice with a little bit of stubble," Ty-Lee mused wryly, studying Zuko's face with careful observation. "But she's right - you're pretty grody-looking. And no offense, Mai, but you look like you just rolled out of bed. Literally."

"Maybe because I _did_. Literally," Mai came back, dry as ever.

"Guys, I'm not going to the ceremony," Zuko explained, getting their discussion off of appearances.

"Whhhhat?" Ty-Lee gasped out slowly. Her eyes began to quiver with worry. "Y-you're not going? But...but what-?"  
"It's OK, Ty," Mai insisted gently. "He's still graduating, he's just skipping out on the formalities."

"But you _love _formalities!" Ty-Lee squeaked, staring at Zuko with expectation.

"_I _don't," Mai grumbled under her breath, going back to her food with a shrug.

"Brother, I'm not sure you've quite thought this through," Azula sighed, detaching herself from Ty-Lee and rounding the table. She hovered over Zuko, hands folded behind her back. "I walked that stage to receive my diploma, and our mother did before us. There is a reason there is a ceremony for this event - it is a right of passage. As of today, you are - as much as I don't care to admit it - officially deemed 'an adult' by the standards of this society we unfortunately reside in. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and no brother of mine is going to squander his graduation day moping around." The longer Azula indulged in her monologue, the less it seemed that Zuko was listening, and the more Mai and Ty-Lee became aware of this fact. "Now, come along," Azula insisted with a an upward nod of her head. "Finish your meal and let's be off. You must look presentable. We can't have you disgracing our-"  
"This isn't _about _you, Azula," Zuko at last interrupted her, finally looking up to her.

He'd spoken calmly and clearly, his eyes not burning with anger or pain. Azula was taken aback, her brother's face firm and conclusive, but without the normal rage she'd grown accustomed to seeing him send her way.

"If this really _is _'my day,' I'd prefer to spend it how I please," Zuko explained in simple terms. Terms that Azula would be less likely to find some loophole or nitpick with. His elder sister wrinkled her nose at him, looking off to the side in reluctant submission. Ty-Lee swooped to Azula's side and reattached their hips together.

"But...what about our friends?" Ty-Lee objected with timid hesitation. "Some of them are graduating...It would be, like...totally _rude _if we just skipped that. Don't you think?"

Zuko scanned his sister and her girlfriend - they both looked their Sunday best. Dressed up sharp and clean, both insisting that Zuko not make a decision he might regret. Azula's apathetic expression had a subtle disappointment to it that Zuko could read, while Ty-Lee was being predictably transparent, if not exaggerating. The two of them sure seemed to care about this ceremony more than Zuko himself did. Over the past few months in dealing with staff, police, students, and the general public regarding the incidents he'd been connected to, Zuko Kurosawa was in a state of existence right now where he was not in favor of being in the public eye. He needed a fresh start, and that was what today represented. As far as he was concerned, though, he might as well start by bucking tradition. All the same, he couldn't completely disregard the effort through which his sister had gone simply to be present for such an occasion.

"How about this?" Zuko proposed after his few seconds of observant silence. "If any of you girls want to go - seriously - it's fine. I don't mind. I just am not comfortable going _myself. _I'd rather just lay low and wait until the technical ceremony is over. I'll meet you guys outside when everyone is filtering out, taking pictures, doing their meet-and-greets..."

Mai nodded, her mouth full of croissant, while Ty-Lee's eyes quivered with uncertainty. Azula rolled her eyes with tired resolve.

"Very well," said Azula. "If you refuse to listen to reason, I suppose it can't be helped." The words carried a humbled tone to them, Azula's brain seeming to understand Zuko's feelings but her ego refusing to acknowledge them.

"You're still gonna wear your cap n' gown, though...right?" Ty-Lee pleaded, clasping hands up to her chest.

"Yea, I'll wear it," Zuko replied, confused but endeared by his friend's request.

"Oh, _good_~" Ty-Lee chimed. "We're all going to have _gorgeous _photos together."

Zuko gave Mai a look, and they both exchanged a silent, split-second reaction to this - of course Ty-Lee would be concerned about how they'd all be looking in photos as opposed to other aspects of this day.

Mai wiped her lips and dusted her bony fingers off over her now empty plate, gulping the last of her morning milk. Zuko continued to nibble away at his omelet for a moment or so.

"Guess that means _I'd _better go clean up, too," Mai decided, rising from her seat. She was wearing a gray t-shirt and baggy jean-shorts - the same clothes she'd just slept in the night prior. And her hair was slapped up in a lazy bun, bags beneath her gloomy eyes.

"Gosh, you seriously need, like, a total overhaul here," Ty-Lee mused, shaking her head slightly with a finger to her lip.

Mai sighed, one hand in her pocket and the other stacking her cup on her plate.

Mai pondered aloud, "Is that your way of saying you're going to follow me back to the dorm and work on my hair or something?"

Ty-Lee cried back with enthusiasm, "You **betcha****!**"

Mai shrugged to Zuko, who smirked at what he considered Mai's misfortune. Mai kissed him on the cheek, scratching her nails through his unkempt hair.

"I'll call you when I'm done," Mai told him, grabbing her dirty dishes and heading off.

"What she said," Ty-Lee hurriedly explained to Azula, following Mai's lead and leaving the two siblings alone.

Azula, having not expected this sudden but intentional opportunity to have a private chat with her brother, cleared her throat. The two blinked awkwardly at each other for a second before pulling their glances apart. Azula shuffled into the seat Mai had just been occupying and twiddling her thumbs as Zuko cut another slice of omelet with the side of his fork and consumed it. Azula adjusted her position, her cheek in one palm, elbow on the table. She drummed her long fingernails across the table as Zuko continued to eat.

"I visited him again last week," Azula told him casually.

Zuko's chewing slowed down to a pause for a moment as he studied her face - she was looking off across the cafeteria. Despite a lack of reply from her brother, Azula elaborated.

"You were right, you know. About how he views this whole mess we've found ourselves in. Naturally, it's _our _fault, not his. No responsibility on him, at all, it seems." She wobbled her head left and right, her words reeking of frustrated sarcasm. "He refused to discuss it beyond laughing at my apparent lack of competence."

"Forget him," Zuko advised. "I _told _you, he doesn't care about either of us. Maybe he will in time, but it sounds like prison hasn't done its job yet."

"He's our _Father, _Zuko, there's no use in...'forgetting' him."

"Fair enough. Ignore him, then."

"Mm. I suppose that is a viable option for the time being..."

As Azula contemplated this thought, Zuko finished eating his food. The cafeteria was humming with energy, various family members talking with the students they'd see walk that day - utensils clattering and scraping against plates. But the stillness between Zuko and Azula was uncomfortable. Azula was reminded of that same day the year prior, when she had been the one graduating.

"I suppose that, perhaps, I may have been wrong," Azula muttered as Zuko cleaned his face with a napkin.

Zuko, placing his napkin down on his plate, stared at her with lowered brows.

"About...-?" he murmured back, baffled by the very idea of Azula even vaguely apologizing.

"About this school," Azula sighed, straightened her posture. "I attended SRU more out of obligation to our family - to Mother - than anything else. Last year was...admittedly challenging for me."

"Really? I thought your Senior year went well..."

"Oh, it _did, _insofar as grades were concerned. Everything else? Well...Suffice it to say that Ty-Lee has brought some things to my attention which I may have overlooked while I was a student."

"Is that..._regret _in your face?" Zuko playfully poked. Azula's nose scrunched up briefly, her eyes narrowing. "Sorry," Zuko quickly backed down, realizing that his sister was attempting to have a serious moment.

"I regret nothing of my time here," Azula insisted off-handedly. "What I regret is...trying to coerce you into dropping out."

Zuko relaxed back into his seat, hands folded on the table.

"You were under a lot of pressure," Zuko reminded her with a shrug. "Trying to fill in Ozai's shoes while...simultaneously living on your own for the first time?"

"Mm..." Azula nodded carefully. "I retract my statement - there _is _something I wish I had done differently while I was here."

"Oh?" Zuko was intrigued by the very rare flicker of remorse in his sister's eyes.

"I wish I had treated Mother with more respect," Azula reflected, her face distant from the present. "She thought I was a _monster, _didn't she?"

Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat, aghast as Azula's somber words.

Azula added under her breath with self-spite, "I suppose she had goodreason to feel that way."

"She...misunderstood you," Zuko defended, scratching his cheek. "But she _did _love you. She loved all of us. Even Ozai."

"She had very little reason to, with the way I treated her - the way Father hurt her."

"You know, I've thought about that, Azula," Zuko was quick to confer. "And...well, that's how you really know when someone _does _love you, don't you think?"

"When they let you walk all over them and _use _them?"

"Uhh...Wh-when they _forgive _you and still love you even _if _you do those sorts of things..."

"Mm. Well, I gather this is the part where you regale to me once again the tale of you and Uncle, and how he _so graciously _took you back under his wing after-"  
"I wasn't going to repeat it, but...obviously, that's where my mind was."

"The man _does _seem a bit of a fool in his old age, tolerating as much as he does..."

"That's exactly what I mean, Azula. You and I both like to try and be perfect, sure. But let's face it: neither of us is. It takes people like Iroh to put up with our mistakes long enough for us to learn from them."

Azula shrugged and sighed at her brother's ideal proclamations.

"Statistically speaking, _one _of us has to be an optimist," she mumbled. "But, all right. I won't deny that your argument does have some merit to it."

"Azula," Zuko chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "I'm not-...This isn't an argument, I'm just expressing my opinion based on all that's happened."

"Yes, yes," Azula complied, checking her elongated nails. "You know, I wouldn't give you such a hard time if you weren't so easy to perturb."

"And I wouldn't repeat my sentimental ideals if you didn't act so cold-hearted about everything."

Zuko and Azula paused in a moment of confused tension, each trying to read the other - had that been a playful, facetious exchange? Or had it been more aggressive?

"If it is any consolation," Azula continued the conversation, calmly, "Ty-Lee has been rather stubborn about warming this 'cold heart' of mine."

"_Has _she, now?" Zuko asked with a dubious look. Azula frowned with some bitterness.

"Do _not _judge me, Brother."

"I'm not," Zuko insisted. "It's still...hard to adjust to the idea. That's it."

"Hmph. Well, imagine what it must be like for me, after all this time spent ignoring...-" Azula trailed off, her fingers interlocked in her lap. "At least out west we're not subjugated to the kinds of _looks _we receive around here..." Azula's face flickered with contained aggravation, and Zuko was reminded of the stuffy business partners from the Golden Dragon Ball who had made a fuss about Azula's date that evening. Looking back, he certainly had to hand to it to his sister: she had guts, and wasn't afraid to take what she wanted and flaunt it all the same.

"I try my best not to give you those kind of looks," Zuko expressed. "I'm sorry if I don't always succeed."

"It's quite all right, Zuko. I know that your default state of expression is 'grouchy.'" Azula sent him a sly smirk, and he managed to smile a little in reciprocation.

"Hey, I've gotten a lot better," Zuko defended with a mellow tone.

"So have I," Azula pointed out with an equally pleased voice.

"And I'm, well..._happy _for you. For what you've found with Ty-Lee."

Azula gave pause, leaning back in her chair with skepticism.

"You _truly _mean that?" she muttered, eyes narrowed.

"Yea," said Zuko in earnest. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still getting used to it - but I promise you, it's _not _because-...I mean, Ty-Lee being girl, you two being...you know, a same-sex couple...That's not what's weird, that's..._fine. _It's just odd for me because I've known Ty-Lee for a while now, and she's so..._not_...what I would've expected in a partner for you."

"I can put any concerns to rest and assure you that she and I find ways to manage," Azula explained. "And frankly...-" Azula cleared her throat and leaned over the table slightly. "Don't let that woman's clumsy demeanor and puppy eyes fool you. She is a minx if ever I've known one."

"Y-yea, I...gathered that," Zuko mumbled shakily. Once again, the uncomfortable 'too-much-information' alarm was blaring in his head. "As long as you're happy."

Azula drummed her nails on the table at Zuko's sappy words, her eyes staring down into blank space.

"I'm afraid it may be some time until I am entirely happy," Azula confessed with an odd melancholy. "But it is a work in progress," Azula scoffed in spite of her own mood change, quickly reverting to her own 'default state of expression' - in this case, 'cynical.' "You can only truly account for yourself, after all. I can't help if everyone in my daily life is an imbecile, or refuses to accept simple truths such as...one's age in running a business, or one's sexual preferences."

Zuko scratched at his neck as he considered a response.

"I was just saying to Mai before you two showed up: I've decided to stop worrying so much about others and just do what feels right to me."

Zuko watched Azula's face brighten with a certain satisfaction at his words.

"So, this school is teaching you something, after all."

"_T__aught_," Zuko corrected, popping his eyebrows up and down.

"Pardon?"

"Taught - past tense. I'm _done_, remember? Graduating today? The entire reason you're here?"

"_Ah_. Right. Yes, yes."

"And the way you don't care what people think if you date Ty-Lee? That's how I feel about this ceremony. I don't care if some people judge me for it. It's...-" Zuko shrugged. "-...not an event I want to participate in."

Azula blinked at Zuko with reflection, his comparison bringing the idea into a different light she hadn't considered.

"Very well," she acknowledged his choice. "Once again, a sound argument. I won't waste my energy refuting it."

"We're not _argu_-"  
"Such easy buttons to press, Brother. _Do _lighten up some. Your default may be 'grouchy,' but today is not a 'default' kind of day."

* * *

Sokka stood on the sidewalk, his knees a bit weak, his stomach a little queasy. In mere minutes, he would be experiencing the moment he'd worked four years to reach. It was a bit crazy to consider how very different his life was now than it had been when he had arrived at Saint Roku University. What would be different even a year from now? Sokka's eyes wandered toward the growing collection of dark blue cloth, his colleagues and fellow senior students conglomerating in preparation for the morning's ceremony. He glanced in the opposing direction, toward the quad. His group of friends was escorting Hakoda across the grass. Sokka had just bid them farewell, and mere moments after their departure, the reality of everything had inflated his brain.

Sokka took in a deep breath and bent down to double check his loafer's shoe laces. Yep. Still tied tight. As they had been ten minutes ago. The tassel dangling from his square-topped cap got in his face and he puffed air at it with irritation. He stood upright again, shoving the tassel to the left side of his head with a sigh. He fussed with his cap, adjusting it to a more comfortable position, and checked to ensure that his gown was straight.

"You look nervous."  
"_Augh_!" Sokka yelped, his whole body flailing as he erected his position.

After spinning his head around, he found the face of professor Piandao greeting him. The man was dressed up in his academic regalia. Sokka found the mess of varying colors and accessories across the faculty to come across as random and confusing, but he figured that if such people spent even more years than he just had dealing with homework and the like, they had earned the right to wear whatever damned color they wanted. Piandao chuckled as he came to a stop right beside his student. Piandao rubbed the side of his finger along his weathered chin, studying Sokka's wide-eyed expression.

"You _are _nervous," Piando observed.

Sokka shrugged, continuing to fidget with his outfit.

Piandao reach out his arm and pinched Sokka's tassel, flipping it around the corner of his cap so that it hung over the opposing side of his head.

"You'll want to keep that on the right until it's time to turn them over," Piandao explained.

Sokka sighed and nodded.

"Just another rule or tradition waiting for me to mess up," he muttered.

"Sokka," Piandao said with a slightly scolding tone. "When you first arrived in my classes, you were _so_ unsure. You even seemed _down_ on yourself. But that first day we sat and had a talk, I saw something in you right away." He patted his heavy hand against Sokka's shoulder and squeezed. "I saw a heart as strong as a lion, and _twice_ as big. I saw a young man whose mind was brimming with ideas and aspirations; someone who could think critically but still laugh in spite of himself. And as we continued those talks, and I continued to have you in my classes, it wasn't your test scores or your essays that impressed me." Piandao's hand dropped off of Sokka's shoulder as he raised an eyebrow and smirked at his pupil. "No, it...certainly wasn't your grades," he mused, giving Sokka a beat to frown slightly at the joke. "But you showed something beyond anything that can be measured by a letter or a number: Creativity. Versatility. Intelligence. _These_ are the traits that define a great student, and a great leader. And _these_ are the traits that define _you_."

Sokka could feel his tear ducts filling up with some kind of joy or pride at his teacher's compliment, and he looked down at the cement below his feet in an effort to avoid showing his bashful face. Piandao went on.

"You once told me that you weren't sure if you were really an adult. That you felt you weren't ready for life after school. But Sokka, acting in childish ways or laughing at childish things doesn't _make _you a child." Piandao latched his firm grip onto Sokka's shoulder again, calling the young man's attention. Once he had Sokka's gaze back to him, he finished his thought. "Being true to yourself, true to your beliefs and values, and enduring the uncertain - those _do _make you an adult. And I believe you are one of the most mature students I have ever taught. I believe you are _already_ an adult."

Sokka's lips fell open slightly at his mentor's compliments, but in his moment of fumbling for words, Piandao pulled him in for a hug.

"Congratulations, Sokka. Your presence will be missed on this campus."

"Y-yea...Thank you, Professor," Sokka managed out, returning the hug.

As their moment ended, Piandao slapped Sokka on the back, nudging him toward the river of students heading toward the river of dark blue cloaks. Sokka's brain immediately jumped to some vague, unformed pun about a _school _of fish, but such thoughts were quickly cast aside as he found himself a part of the subject he was trying to come up with a joke about.

Here was everyone, all dressed up in silly clothes with weird tassel things that were supposed to hang a certain right way...Sokka felt oddly out of place. And his hat was a bit too tight for his head, which was already starting to frustrate him. They received their instructions on what to do, how to act, what _not _to do, but it was all kind of a blur over Sokka's head. He found himself eager, anxious, bored, and just wanted to be handed his piece of paper and sent off on his way.

And then, when the class began its walk across campus, traversing around the quad and making for the auditorium, all of Sokka's anxiety disintegrated.

It was a strangely quiet couple of minutes - the sidewalk rumbled with so many footsteps, yes, but there were no words. No plastic greetings, no hum-drum student activity, no odd banter...Just the warm glow of the late morning sun, peeking down through the cloudy sky. Birds tweeting in the distance, fluttering across the trees strewn about campus. In the moody seriousness of it all, Sokka had a thought. He hastily pulled out his phone, raised it before him, and began recording the moment - a surreal slice of ceremony, now captured in fuzzy pixels.

Then Sokka noticed the flute. A calming, mysterious flute broke through that formal silence. It played a strange, eastern-imbued tune that was subtle and slow with occasionally quick flourishes. The distant but commanding music transformed their journey across sidewalk cement from a studious march toward a stage into a right of passage.

* * *

+ Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=2dQ5c5SIYnc +  
_('The Greatest Adventure,' circa The Hobbit [1977])_

The auditorium is dimmed as the bright stage is filled with a parade of students and faculty.

Everyone stands - the National Anthem is played.  
It is not Sokka's own home anthem - not the one he grew up with.

**~The greatest adventure is what lies ahead~**

A sea of cloaked students on a stage, hot lights shining down on them.

**~Today and tomorrow are yet to be said~**

An ocean of friends and families looking onward with anticipation.

**~The chances, the changes are all yours to make~**

Jane, impatiently fidgeting with her itchy scalp.

**~The mold of your life is in your hands to break~**

Korra, slouched back in her seat, eyes heavy, half asleep.

**~The greatest adventure is there if you're bold~**

Toph, picking her nose with her pinky and brushing it off on the bottom of her seat.

**~Let go of the moment that life makes you hold~**

Hakoda, patiently watching the proceedings, a permanent soft smile about him.

**~To measure the meaning can make you delay~**

Katara, bouncing her leg and fidgeting her fingers together.

**~It's time you stop thinking and wasting the day~**

Aang, silent and still, his mind wandering to dozens of different places.

**~The man who's a dreamer and never takes leave~**

Meng, occupying her boredom with her portable DS system.

**~Who thinks of a world that is just make-believe~**

Sokka, hidden on stage amongst many, playing a game silently on his phone.

**~Will never know passion, will never know pain~**

A speech by someone Sokka doesn't know - flowery and fitting, yet forgettable.

**~Who sits by the window will one day see rain~**

The long, daunting wait as each department presents its degrees.

**~The greatest adventure is what lies ahead~**

Sokka's turn - he crosses the stage. Katara feverishly snaps photos with her phone.

**~Today and tomorrow are yet to be said~**

Piandao shakes Sokka's hand, delivering his placeholder diploma with the other.

**~The chances, the changes are all yours to make~**

The class' tassels are moved from the right side to the left side.

**~The mold of your life is in your hands to break~**

Sokka, marching outside with his class, a rolled paper in his hand.

**~The greatest adventure is what lies ahead~**

* * *

After filing out of the auditorium, Sokka lingered on the quad, which was now littered with various tables full of snacks and drinks - balloons and streamers all about, with various workers dressed in black vests and pants. Sokka recognized amongst the throng of bodies one set of tight-panted buttocks to be that of June, who seemed to wear the tuxedo-like outfit well. When the figure turned around to set a large bowl on the table she was manning, Sokka confirmed that it was, in fact, June, and reveled in a moment of minor pride at having recognized the woman merely by her ass.

He decided to approach her and say 'hi' while grabbing something to eat while he was at it.

"Ah. It's _you,_" she greeted him with the same lack of fanfare she did every other day. "That piece o' paper ya got there make ya feel like a million bucks yet?"

"You'd _think_," Sokka laughed, scooping up a plastic cup of punch and taking a sip. Mm, nice little combo of cherry and tang and sour. "I'm gonna end up _owing _half that to pay this freakin' thing off over the next thirty years."

"Heh. Can't put a price on _knowledge_, though, right?"

Sokka laughed again at June's facetiously sly smile. He couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or trying to be sentimental. Likely the prior, knowing her.

He gulped down the rest of his small portion of punch before dropping it into the nearby recycling bin.

"Get back to me in a few years and I'll have an answer to that," Sokka replied, making a cracker, meat, and cheese sandwich and chomping it down in one bite.

"Lord knows _I _sure as fuck ain't goin' anywhere," June sighed with a dull shrug. "Come back in a few years, and I bet I'll still _be _here."

"Mm." Sokka swallowed his snack, and made way for a family to swoop in and partake in the goods.

A fellow Senior classmate whose name he couldn't pin down but whose face he knew well passed through, as well, and they bid each other hello. Sokka realized too late that it would probably be the last time he'd ever see that guy.

"This place really isn't all _that _bad, though," Sokka decided, talking to June from beside the table as more and more people were filling up the surrounding area. "I mean, if I could work here for a while longer, I would."

"_Hmph! _Is that your way of offering to be a sub this month?" June posed.

"Errrr-" Sokka immediately regretted his phrasing.

"Yea, I didn't _think _so!" June balked, raising her brow his way. "Anyway, hey. Kid. You put in your time - good on ya. It may _seem _like everyone n' their mother goes through college...-" Sokka couldn't help but have a weird, queasy feeling of lightness in his stomach at that particular phrase in this context. "-...but seriously, guy, even now, _most _people in this country still don't. Be proud, be happy...I don't know, fuckin' _revel _in the fact that you're probably already smarter than _I'll _ever be."

Sokka scratched his nose as he considered this thought - the idea that regardless of monetary value of his degree, or technical, measurable 'knowledge,' just the sheer fact that he had gone through this multi-year experience had taught him a great deal. He'd had the opportunity to shape his brain into a way of thinking that many others weren't fortunate enough to exercise. June did not strike him as a very happy person, or as the sort who had been granted the privilege of higher education. She clearly had made some mistakes in her life, and Sokka decided that her words in this exchange had been some way of June expressing, 'It's good to see someone who will be luckier than I am - who won't end up at a dead-end like I have.'

"Hey, you taught me how to grill a good burger, at least," Sokka tried to lighten the tone. "And let me tell you, _that _is some damned priceless knowledge I will take with me to the grave."

"_Psh._" June smiled with half of her mouth, looking down as she prepared a new cheese platter to replace the one that was quickly disappearing. "Glad to hear I taught you _somethin'_, at least, Kid."

The quad had rapidly transformed by now as the girth of blue-robed graduates was swallowed up by their friends and family. Sokka spent the brief period nodding, waving, and generally greeting acquaintances that passed by. In time, the clump of beings that had attended in his owner drew near.

"**Knucklebrain! Meathead!...Idiot!**" Toph's shouts were hard to ignore, anyway.

"Speakin' of _meat-_" June callously picked. "-there's yours, mooing at you over there."

"Yea, I can hear that," Sokka sighed in a stupid, pleasant way. It was a little hard not to admire the way Toph was blindly calling out to him with her impatient, almost pouting face.

"You go have fun," June insisted. "Thanks for stoppin' by."

"Uh, _yea,_" Sokka hastily said, his attention having been all but stripped away from quite uncommon sight of Toph in a dress. "I, erm, I'll see you around," Sokka told June. "We'll probably still be hanging out down there over the next few weeks."

"Yup," June casually dismissed him with a wave.

"**Snoozles! Oh-Captain-My-Captain! **Come on, here, I'm runnin' out of-"  
"**Dead-Eyes!**" Sokka called back, imitating her tone. She was close enough by now where he could savor the way her face lit up at his voice.

"He's by the _food_," Katara chimed out, pointing Sokka out to the group.

"Yea, real _shocker, _there," said Jane.

Katara led the charge, fording a path through the crowds. People were fanning out across campus, at least, allowing for some more maneuverability. Sokka scurried forward, going to meet them partway.

Katara was dressed in a white tubetop dress, her hair straightened, two large locks tied and hung over each shoulder. She was toting a bouquet of roses in one arm, waving frantically with the other. In the smallest of moments, Sokka's brain saw his mother where his sister stood. He stared down at the rolled up piece of paper he now held in his hand, finding himself wishing that Kya could have been there in that moment to see his accomplishment. Once Katara was within arms reach, she clutched her brother's shoulder with a warm hand and a glowing smile. Sokka glanced up to her and smirked weakly, and her smile grew wider. She pushed the roses into Sokka's free hand before enbracing him with a tight hug. His hands both full, Sokka laughed at her tight squeeze.

"Way to go, Sokka," Katara spoke into his ear. "I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Sis."

Katara pulled her body back off of his, giving his shoulders a firm slap. She stared at him, smiling like a fool, her eyes quivering from joy. Sokka didn't know how to react, and could feel his own eyes starting to water up.

"OK, all right, girlfriend coming through!" Toph was stretching her hands out, detaching from Meng and fumbling her way through Sokka.

Katara blinked rapidly, her emotional moment interrupted. She sighed peacefully as she let Sokka go. As if to prevent herself from getting overly sappy, she quickly backed off and lightly twisted Toph's shoulder to direct her toward Sokka.

Toph's hair was tied back in one long braid that was flopped across the front of one shoulder. She was dressed in the same green satin dress with golden flower print highlighting one side, a sash tided around her waist. It was familiar, as Sokka had seen her wear it to two dances now - and that was fine by him, with how glorious she looked in it. A golden chain necklace accented her outfit, and yet, despite all of her beauty, Sokka chuckled to himself when he was reminded of her feet that day - clean, for a change, yet sitting within a pair of green sandals.

Sokka stood awkwardly at her approach, his hands upturned - a diploma in one, the roses in the other. Toph's hands found their way into his chest, and once they had, they immediately scaled up to his face. Toph tugged Sokka's face downward slightly, pressing her face at his. The two engaged in a long, rather wet kiss - Sokka's eyes shut closed in the moment, and amongst all of the madness swirling around them, for that second or two, it was just her touch, her lips, her hands on his face, that existed. Toph squished her frontside at him with an amount of passion that caught the young man off guard, and he slowly wrapped his arms around her back as they kissed, his hands tightly grasping the objects they still possessed.

"**Oogie!**" Katara teased their public display of affection.

Toph ran her hands up and down the back of Sokka's neck vigorously, tipping his graduation cap off center. She savored his sweaty hair between her fingers, pressing her forehead against his chest.

"Good job, Bacon-for-Brains," Toph congratulated him, her eyelids still closed from their kissing. "With yer..._diploma_...n' yer bein' all..._smart _n' shit..."

She took in a deep sniff, breathing in the strange mixture of scent that was Sokka's unique odor combined with the sterile fabric of his graduation robe. She released him from her clutches, and he found himself glad that he was presently wearing said loose-fitting robe, given the sudden swell that had naturally occurred between his legs due to her contact.

"Next time you try calling me an idiot," Sokka explained, "I'll have _this _to prove you wrong." He wiggled his diploma in the air.

"Yyyyeeaaa," Toph answered with smarm. "Somehow, I'm not sure that's gonna do much."

Sokka grinned, lightly bonked Toph on the head with his paper, and kissed her on the forehead when she flinched from the impact. Just after the kiss ended, Toph nailed him in the gut with a well-placed punch, which he had seen coming and absorbed.

"Why do you keep _hitting _him?" Meng asked her, humored but slightly concerned.

"There's no use reasoning with her," Sokka wheezed out, recovering from the blow.

As Toph reluctantly withdrew from her boyfriend, Meng eased her out of the way of the others.

"Congratulations!" she bid him. "You deserve the kissing, but not the punching."

Sokka nodded with a simple, "Thanks."

"Oh, he deserved the punching," Toph coyly insisted.

Before Sokka knew it, Katara was swiping his diploma and roses from him to free up his hands for the next hug in line, which came from Korra. Korra was in a gray button down with black slacks, which was probably about as formal as Sokka could've asked for. Her hair was even lacking in any manner of 'tails' of any sort, which was rare form. Korra charged straight at him, and went as far as to scoop him up clean off the ground, a foot or so into the air, and he worried for his own back.

"Woot-_woot_!" she roared, crushing him in her strong arms. She dropped him back down - a rough landing, giving him a moment to cough out and breathe before Korra flipped his cap off of his head. He scrambled to catch it and set it back in place, and Korra lifted a hand for a high-five. Sokka swung, slipping up with a loose, _-pfft-. _"Aw, c'_mon_," Korra insisted, raising her hand again. They both wound up and released, a much more satisfying clap being their reward. "_Yea_! You're free now!" Korra declared, swinging her fists up into the air.

"_Tsh, _yea, now I get to take my soul from school and give it away to some corporation or something," Sokka mused with some skepticism. Korra gave him a raised eyebrow and shrugged, slapping him on the back.

"Hey, man, you still did something I never could: finished school."

"Not the easiest thing. Thank god it's over."

"Right!" Korra swiveled off to the side, allowing Aang to come in and give his roommate a more gentle hug. Aang was wearing a white, collared polo with his hand-painted SRU tie and a matching pair of white khakis. His hair was brushed back and neat, which Sokka decided looked odd on him. Still, his friends all dressing up on his account was something he could appreciate.

"You did it," Aang simply stated.

"Sure did. Always knew I would," Sokka proclaimed smugly.

"No, you didn't," Aang incredulously picked on him. "But you still got there." After their hug ended, Aang asked him, "Do you feel like a 'man' yet?"

"_Eh_," Sokka shrugged and nodded carefully. "A little bit."

"I'm not sure what we're going to do without our Idea Guy," said Aang. "He's going to be missed."

"True," Sokka agreed. "And I don't pity _you _at all," he concluded.

"Why's that?" Aang asked, confused.

"Uh, 'cuz now that I'm gonna be livin' the life of _Manhood,_ _you're _gonna stuck with all these _women._"

"_Ha!" _Aang grinned. "You know you're gonna miss everybody."

"Well, maybe not...-" Sokka leaned over to the side, looking past Aang toward Jane. "-..._everyone_," Sokka goaded her. Her off-put expression - wary from the thick crowd she was wedged in the middle of - transformed into that dull smirk Sokka had come to know well. She was kind of shelled up, standing inbetween Katara and Hakoda, her hands crossed around her chest - in her current outfit, there were no comfortable pockets to place her hands.

"..._Ass,_" she grumbled, her pale, speckled cheeks turning pink from embarrassment as Sokka dramatically waved his arms inward, signalling her to come in for a hug.

Jane shuffled her lanky body over to him, keeping her arms folded all the while. She was wearing a bold and noticeable spaghetti strap dress of yellow and black stripes that ran down to her knees. Her spotted shoulders were flushed pink from the sunlight, and her hair was brushed neatly, though a bit frizzy at the edges.

They hugged. Sokka - having just been choked, squeezed, pounded, and slapped around by everyone else - found Jane's hug to be very different. It had been quite some time since he had hugged her - just Jane. He couldn't actually remember when it had last occurred. She was much more...light and gentle in the way she hugged him, compared to everyone else. Their hug would've been much shorter than the others, as well, had Sokka not pulled her back in to extend it.

"Yea, I'm pretty much an ass, all right," he conceded to what she had called him a couple of moments before. "Good thing you're tough enough to deal with me, though, eh?"

"Uh, I guess," Jane half-mumbled, half-laughed, her arms tightening a little to reciprocate Sokka's embrace.

"Glad you came back while I've still got some time left around here, Freckles," Sokka told her.

"Me, too," Jane replied, allowing her weak smile to widen a bit as their embrace ended.

With only one person left, Sokka made his way around the rest of his friends to meet his father. Hakoda had been standing quietly, patiently, his back straight, his hands tucked together in front of his waist. He was dressed in a simple suit of blue, The two had not yet had much time to interact that day, and Hakoda hadn't arrived into town until earlier that morning - later than anticipated. In a way, it was like Hakoda had almost been avoiding prolonged contact with his son to prevent himself from gushing all over him. This was made pretty evident in the way his arms pressed against Sokka's back, one hand sliding up and down his shoulders, the other patting the back of his head. It was a tender moment - as if this was the last time Hakoda could hug his 'boy' like he were a 'boy.'

They spoke quietly in their bubble of physical proximity, talking below all of the commotion transpired across the quad.

"She'd be so proud of you, Son. I hope my own pride is enough here."

"It always has been, Dad," Sokka assured. He was forced to sniff in a deep breath, his nose becoming runny. The tears had been building up with each hug, each moment of realization that very soon, each person wouldn't be the permanent fixture of his life that they had been. This was even more painful with his father, because Sokka was forced with the truth that this was already the case, and had been for most of the past four years. At this point, much to Sokka's chagrin, the tears had started running. Not too many to bear, but enough to warrant a good wiping of his face.

"I'm thankful she left me you and your sister to see grow up and follow in her footsteps."

"Mom's aren't the only footsteps I plan to follow."

Just as Sokka was about ready to go separate from his father, Katara side swiped the two of them. Their familial group hug was tight and heartfelt. Kya's absence in this moment was made up for by double-bonds between the three of them.

"So sweet," Meng gushed quietly from the sideline.

"Yea," Toph whispered back with nonchalance. "Sokka's got a squishy center."

"Like you?" Meng giggled in Toph's year.

"Heh," Toph smiled with a hint of bashfulness.

"You should be in there, too," Aang muttered to Korra quietly, pointing the bouquet of roses (which Katara had handed off to him) at the other Kesuks.

Korra, staring at her extended family with a melancholic longing and sympathy, simply shook her head to Aang's suggestion. Jane, likewise, had no words to contribute, her heart conflicted by joy for her friends and lament at her own lack of equivalent experience. Katara had handed her dad a handkerchief she'd pulled out of his coat's chest pocket. He dried his tears with the cloth, while Katara wiped her own eyes with her wrists, smiling and laughing out the remnants of her joyful sobs.

A dry, crackling voice complimented what had unfolded as the Kesuks broke apart.

"_That_ one's probably going to make the yearbook..."

The words had belonged to Mai, who was just lowering her camera from her face. She'd snapped a flurry of photos of the moment that the others had just been engaged by.

The Kesuk family turned toward the gothic art student, her lips black, hair tied up in a sturdy bun. She was wearing a maroon Chinese dress with a sideways slit, the satin fabric trailing down to her flat top shoes. She was wearing some eye makeup that alluded to butterfly wings at the edges of her face.

The group greeted Mai, and she said her 'hello' back to them all

"_Wow, _Sokka," Mai taunted with lowered eyelids and a smile. "I didn't realize _tears _were a thing you were capable of."

"_Fff_." Sokka brushed his face with his robe's sleeve and sighed peacefully. "Yea, I forget that sometimes, myself."

Mai let her camera hang by its strap over her neck and extended a hand.

"Congrats on graduating." He accepted her handshake, and was bold enough to lean forward and give her a light hug, catching her by surprise.

"Thanks, Gloomy Girl."

The group greeted Mai, and she said her 'hello' back, though Hakoda was confused.

"Oh, yea," Sokka snapped his finger, looking toward his father and gesturing toward the photographer. "This is Mai. She's an art major. One of our friends."

Mai exchanged a brief glance with Sokka, pleasantly surprised by his warmer-than-usual attitude. On any other day, she might find it suspicious or even annoying, but she could get behind the cheerier vibes for a day like this. She shook Hakoda's hand - his grip was a lot more sturdy than Sokka's - and nodded to him. It was a bit strange from her perspective, meeting this man who she presumed knew very little about her, and yet she knew he had lost his wife many years ago, and struggled with depression through it. She was inclined to respect the man right off the bat, especially given how his children had turned out despite the circumstances. Even without the comfort of a wife, it sure sounded like Hakoda had been a much more consistent and present father than the ones Mai or Zuko had been dealt.

"It's very nice to meet you," Hakoda greeted. He rubbed at his eyes a bit. "Although I guess it's a little embarrassing for you to see a grown man leaking like a faucet..."

"Actually, I'm...really glad I saw it," Mai admitted, trying her hardest to give the sharp-cheekboned gentleman as earnest a smile as she could muster. "I hope you don't mind." She lifted her camera up slightly. "I see beautiful things, and I shoot them. It's instinct at this point."

"Oh, no, thank you!" said Katara. "You're so good at it, I'm actually really happy you're here." Katara turned to her Father. "Dad, she does photos for the newspaper, the yearbook, that kind of thing."

"Ah, yes, they've mentioned you before," Hakoda acknowledged Mai. "You'll have to make sure you send these two copies of photos from today." Hakoda pulled his son and daughter to his sides, his arms slung over their shoulders.

"Definitely," Mai promised, nodding to Sokka. "Um, actually...-" Mai clasped her device with both hands. "I could take some more pictures, if you'd like." She seized the moment of their tight framing and steadied her hands.

During this exchange, Jane and Korra stood quietly beside one another, feeling out of sorts amongst all of the pleasantries and socialites. Meng was scanning the crowd, while Toph questioned who she was looking for.

Aang, meanwhile, had noticed Zuko, garbed in his graduation robe, lingering in the shade of a tree just outside of the quad. He quietly pondered why the young man had not participated in the ceremony, and why he had separated himself from the crowd. Zuko had certainly been more withdrawn as of late - well, more than he normally was, anyway. It made Aang worry a bit. Whatever had transpired over the last week, Aang knew it hadn't left his normally ambitious, idealistic friend in high spirits.

"Hey! Twinkle-Toes!" Toph's voice broke apart his moment of reflection. "Your _Lady _is trying to get your attention."

"You, too, Toph!" Katara clarified. "All of you. Over here! We need some photos of all of us. To mark the occasion."

"_Bleh,_" Toph stuck out her tongue and crossed her arms.

"Don't be a little bitch," Jane snickered at her friend, flicking Toph in the back of the head. Toph snorted a laugh and dropped her arms back to her sides.

"Being part of the group means being a part of group photos," Aang repurposed Katara's reused saying as Jane took Toph's arm and led her over to the others.

Korra and Meng were left wondering if this was a 'Fivesome' kind of deal, or what.

"You guys, too!" Sokka insisted, jerking his head sideways as he took center in the cluster of companions. Toph was sitting in the grass below him, Hakoda linked on one side, and Katara on the other. Jane was kneeling down in front of Hakoda, and Aang likewise in front of Katara. Meng ended up finding her way standing next to Katara, and Korra took the other side, slinging her arm across her uncle's back.

Still holding Sokka's graduation items, Aang presented them to Sokka.

"I got you flowers," Aang joked.

Sokka accepted his props and winked at Aang, making a clicking sound through grit teeth.

"_Roses _- my favorite. How did you _know?_" Sokka jested.

Katara slipped one out and stuck it sideways in her brother's mouth. He bit down on it, waggling his eyebrows at Mai's camera - she smirked and rolled her eyes, recalling him fashioning a rose in the same way back in the fall when she'd taken their Homecoming Dance photo.

"There, I got him to shut up," Katara teased, eliciting a round of chuckles and a puzzled expression from Toph.

Mai was directing the lot of them with commands and hand gestures, trying to attain the right proportions. She twisted her lens and tweaked her position.

"You know you belong here, too, right?" Hakoda whispered to his niece.

Korra didn't reply, her brain too addled with emotions to respond - emotions, those things she had grown so accustomed to ignoring and pushing aside, to the point where even on a happy occasion she was having trouble feeling that happiness that everyone else was radiating.

"-aaaand hold it. That's it." Mai bit her bottom lip as she steadied her hand, clicking at her shutter button repeatedly. "Smile, people. Come on. _Smile_. Smile. Even _I_ can do that, come on, let's-...OK, Toph, smile a little..._less. _No. That's just-...You're smiling _more. _That's just creeping me-..._Eugh, _no tongue. No hanging out tongues. OK, _yes, _just like that, Toph. Like a normal human being. Hold that steady. OK, but, Korra, _smile. _Seriously."

A few minutes, many poses, many combinations of subjects, and oodles of photographs later, and Mai felt pleased with the possibilities she's captured. It hadn't been as much for the yearbook as it had just for the sheer entertainment and pleasure of placing such an eclectic collection of people into photographic form. She saw beautiful things - like the connections shared between Aang and his friends - and she felt compelled to freeze them through her lens.

They bid Mai farewell, and the girl immediately swooped off to find her next target to nail down.

Katara was ecstatic at the prospect of high-quality pictures, which was a lot better than what they would've captured using their phones. Sokka was getting tired of wearing his stuffy robe in the hot sun, and Hakoda was showing signs of his lack of took a deep breath, unbuttoning his robe and tossing it over his shoulder. He was wearing a dress shirt, which he'd left untucked out of his belt-tightened beige slacks. Katara delivered Toph's hand to Sokka's, and Sokka smiled as he quietly walked with Toph on his own side, his father on the other. He noticed his dad was looking fairly tuckered out all of a sudden.

"You sure you don't, like, need a nap?" Sokka asked his Hakoda with some concern as the lot of them made their way off of the quad, aiming for the campus center.

"Agh, I haven't my coffee yet today," Hakoda explained.

"Yea, you were falling asleep during the ceremony, Dad," Katara pointed out.

"I think we _all _were," Toph amended. Hakoda laughed at her remark.

"I did," Meng openly admitted, lifting her hand.

"I was playing Fruit Ninja on stage during part of it," Sokka gleefully bragged.

"You were _not_," Katara gasped, her shock evaporating into humor and she slapping her brother on the back of the head.

"You were _what _now?" Hakoda asked.

"I was playing a video game," Sokka coolly rephrased with a smug shrug. "Oh-oh!" He got excited and pointed his finger up in front of his face. "_And, _I also video recorded this one part where people were applauding us."

"You...recorded a video of the _audience?_" Hakoda was utterly baffled.

"Sure did!" Sokka confirmed.

"It's good to know some things are still the same," Aang decided.

"Amen!" Toph agreed. "Don't go growin' up _too _fast on me." She jiggled Sokka's arm a couple of times.

"Oh, don't worry," Sokka insisted. "Next time I hit a spurt of maturity, I'll make sure to take you along with me - then you'll actually know what it _feels _like."

"_Mur-mur-_mur-_mur,_" Toph childishly mocked Sokka's intonations.

"See, Dad?" said Sokka. "She _literally _speaks a different language from the rest of society."

"Then she might actually be able to understand _your _brand of nonsense," Hakoda noted with a smile.

"I _try_," Toph claimed. "I fuckin' _try, _believe me..."

Behind them, Meng was walking beside Aang and Katara, admiring the campus around them. It was...more _green _than she'd been anticipating.

"This place is so pretty," Meng remarked, watching a squirrel stare at her from twenty feet away before scampering up its tree.

"It's definitely easy to get used to," agreed Aang, looking up to the bright, cloudy sky.

"I think you'll like it a lot here," said Katara, watching Meng pull out her cell phone and type at it as they walked.

[From: Tylee]  
[omg did i just miss u? mai said she just saw u guys! we gotta meetup!]  
[Sent: 12:18pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Tylee]  
[lol. it's ok. i should have time later tday. :3 ]  
[Sent: 12:19pm]

[Send]  
[To: Douglas]  
[hey! graduation is done. lunch now. maybe we can meet up tonight?]  
[Sent: 12:19pm]

Meng tucked the phone back in her pocket and nodded, late in responding to Katara.

"I think what'll be the tricky part is figuring out what to _study_."

"You might as well take a little bit of everything next year," Aang suggested. "Balance things out, get your gen ed's out of the way."

"That's probably what I'll do," Meng decided.

In the year, Jane and Korra dragged their feet, occasionally glancing at each other before diverting their attention elsewhere. With the campus center finally in reach, Jane broke the ice.

"You doin' OK?"

Korra's eyebrows furrowed a little.

"Why's everyone asking me that?" she muttered warily.

Jane shrugged, her fists balled up at her sides - they had no pockets to slip into, after all. Korra noticed that the girl looked a little out of sorts, walking around in a dress but with strides like a dude.

"You look beat, man," Jane explained simply.

"I _shouldn't_," Korra huffed, running her hand through her loose hair. "It's not like I've been _doing _much of anything," she spitefully grumbled.

"Looks like you haven't been chilling out, either," Jane observed.

"Too late for that _now_," Korra sighed out as they walked up the small set of stairs that led into the back entrance of the campus center. "I'm gonna have to bail in a couple minutes here, or I'm gonna be late for work."

"Damn. Sucks," Jane sympathized.

"Yea, I'll live," Korra dismissed. They passed into the bustling campus center, the drop in temperature a welcome change from the humid outdoors.

"Well, we should, uhh...-" Jane awkwardly pushed some hair back behind one ear, scratching at her lobe. "You should hang out with us again some time."

Korra avoided Jane's olive eyes and shrugged up one shoulder with uncertainty.

"Or, maybe, like, just you n' me?" Jane offered another option, finding her throat tightening at Korra's negative body language.

"We'll see," Korra reluctantly replied, head bobbed. "I'm dealing with _stuff_..._things._"

Jane was immediately suspicious of this, but before she could inquire further, a loud, dinosaur-like roar cut through the campus center. At the base of the stairs that led up to the cafeteria, Toph and Sokka were wrestling, making loud monster-like noises and generally disrupting the overall peace of the crowded center. Hakoda stood on the sidelines, a bit terrified, from the look of it. Katara giggled at her father's reaction.

"_This _is what I get to deal with," she told him over the sound of bird-like screeching.

"No _wonder _you've been stressed," said Hakoda wryly.

"What was that you said, Aang?" Jane asked with humor. "'Bout things never changing?" She presented her arm out at their two friends. Sokka had captured Toph using his robe, which she was now wearing like a sheet ghost. "That's _good_?" Jane rhetorically picked on them. "Ya _sure?_"

Aang grinned, watching Toph flail her arms around Sokka, smushing her robe-covered face into his. Sokka was smiling widely and warmly in a way Aang didn't see too often.

"_Some _things haven't stayed the same," Aang decided.


	110. Wisdom and Compassion

**A/N: This segment picks up on the same day as the last one ended, after Sokka's graduation.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 110 - Wisdom and Compassion_

* * *

- Saturday, May 28th, 2011 - Graduation Day

"Well?" the boy demanded an answer. "_Would _ya?"

Korra blinked warily at Meelo's crazed expression.

"I-..." Korra was distracted by the sounds of an obnoxious commercial Ikki was watching in the background. She tried to refocus on Meelo's persistence. "What? I don't...-" Her face contorted with some irritation at the boy's perverted question.

Meelo huffed out a loud, forced sigh, heaving his eyes upward in an exaggerated roll. He repeated his question in short, heaving syllables, one at a time.

"_Would...you...make...out...with...her_?"

He wiggled his Playstation Portable up from his laid back position in the recliner. When Korra tried to lean in and squint at the screen, Meelo jiggled the device at her a second time, signaling her to just take it. She did so, briefly worried that she might break the thing - it felt slightly sticky for some reason.

"Now, what am I...-?" Korra mumbled to herself, staring at the screen in her hands.

+ youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=1lIQtZ-dplo +

A well figured, slender young woman with short, messy blue hair stood on the right side of the screen. Korra couldn't comprehend exactly what the character was wearing - it involved long, flowing...things, and...black hot pants? And...metal shoes? On the left side of the screen, a panel was highlighted, containing a rather anime-looking portrait and the name [**AQUA**] beside it. There was an accompanying caption:

[A kind young woman whose sense of right and wrong never wavers. She is nimble, and a gifted mage.]

Sounded like the sort of character Katara or Aang might like, or something. Hmph. Still, Korra couldn't argue with the figure in question - she'd probably tap that, her 'type' or not. Besides, this 'Aqua' chick looked bad-ass enough, with her...key...sword? And what was on her boobs? Like, a purple...'X?' What? Hm. Well, any excuse to stare at boobs worked for her, anyway...

Korra suddenly realized that she was squinting at the breasts of a video game character on a screen two inches from her face. When she noticed the sneaky way Meelo was staring up at her, it made the moment all the more...unsettling. Korra sighed, but ended up too tempted to not take one last glance.

_Seriously, when did they start making cartoon characters so sexy?_

"_Welllll_?" Meelo asked, his fingers pressed up together in his lap, like some evil dictator sitting at his throne.

Korra's lower lip propped out with stubborn acknowledgement, and she dropped the PSP into Meelo's lap. He flinched, recoiling from pain from where Korra had dropped the object.

"Sure," Korra answered his question. "She seems pretty hot, I guess."

Meelo suddenly seemed over his pain, and was jabbing a pointer finger up at his sitter.

"_Ha! _I _knew _it! You _are _a pervert!" Meelo accused, setting his PSP on the lampstand beside his chair.

"_What?_" Korra snapped back, wide eyed with indignity. "Y-_you _were the one who-"  
"Why do you like _girls _so much?" Meelo inquired, perplexed as he ever was by the idea.

"_I..._-" Korra narrowed her eyes at the little punk. "-...like boys, _too_. Ya know. Anyway, why do _you_...-" She leaned over and started tickling his armpits. "-...care so much about what I like?" she taunted playfully, making the strange-looking child wriggle in the recliner. "Eh? _Eh?_"

"_Augh-hee-pblthh-stop!_" Meelo struggled to plead through his frantic laughing fit, his squirming useless in Korra's muscular arms.

Over top of Meelo's giggling, Ikki burst out with a "_Ssshhhhh!_ Shh!" She was hopping from her position on the couch, flapping a dismissing hand. "It's gonna be on now!"

"Oh!" Korra flung up her arms, freeing Meelo from his torture. The boy breathed out deep sighs of relief, still laughing.

["Are ya _ready, _kids?!"]  
[**"Aye-aye, Captain!"**]

"Oh, god," Korra muttered to herself at the sound of the television.

["I can't _hear you~_"]  
[**"AYE-AYE, CAPTAIN!"**]

"That's my cue to leave," Korra announced, swiftly heading into the Rabten house's kitchen. The theme song to Spongebob Squarepants blared from the living room, Ikki's shrill voice singing along. Meelo joined in, shouting off-tune. As Ikki berated her little brother for his intentionally annoying intrusion, Korra sighed to herself with a smile, cracking open the stove with care. The lovely scent of pizza flooded Korra's wide nostrils, and she sucked in the vapors with delight. The pizza looked about ready - she preferred hers a little bit overcooked and crispy, but knew the kids didn't. She'd need to take it out now if she didn't want it burned.

Korra clicked off the stove and slipped on the pair of rubbery oven mits she'd set aside. She casually slid out one pizza pan, then the next, and set both overtop the stove's burners. As she tolerated the obnoxious voices playing from the next room, Korra swiped a pizza cutter out from a drawer and eagerly hacked away at the pizzas. Whilst she sliced it up, Korra lamented the lack of meat. She couldn't have even cooked pizza with meat if she'd wanted to - there wasn't any in the house. At least the Rabtens were lacto-ovo vegetarians. Korra needed her protein, and there was a full carton of eggs ripe for consumption the next morning. It had been the one food item Korra had requested from Pema for the weekend, but Korra was still pleasantly surprised that the busy, no-doubt stressed woman had remembered. Jeez, when did Pema even _do _her grocery shopping amidst of the chaos? The lady probably deserved a weekend away with her oft missing husband.

Her pizza cutting complete, Korra wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist and retrieved a stack of plastic plates from the cupboard.

Between waking up early, getting dressed nice (nicer than usual, anyway), attending Sokka's graduation, and rushing over to the Rabten home to spend the entire day dealing with babysitting, Korra was...quite exhausted. But she was admittedly enjoying things now that the house had calmed down a bit. Being around people who looked _up _to her rather then _down _at her was refreshing.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she checked it without thinking.

[From: (Restricted)]  
[Babysitting for the congressman.]  
[How patriotic.]  
[Don't worry, we'll keep it PG for the kids.]  
[For now.]  
[- TTT]  
[Sent: 7:33pm]

Korra's head spun in a short-lived panic that she chose to dismiss, putting the phone back in her pocket. She distracted herself in the moment by retrieving the bottle of saké hidden away in the fridge and pouring herself a shot. After tossing it down, she took a deep breath, placed the glass in the sink, put the bottle in back in the fridge, and smothered her face with her hands. Her body tense and frustrated, she rubbed her palms against her cheeks in rapid stimulation before slapping her head from both sides and opening her eyes wide.

_Keep your shit together, woman._

"Dinner's ready, kids," she called out, having recollected herself. She paused momentarily, horrified for the briefest of moments at how that had sounded. She'd spoken the words in very much the same way her own mother had years ago. And here Korra was, filling in as a substitute mom for a trio of Asian children in an Pennsylvanian suburb. Definitely not at _all _the sort of thing she had seen herself doing a mere year earlier when she was bartending in Toronto.

Meelo's wild scampering into the kitchen jarred Korra from her memories. She loudly smacked his lips and hopped up and down in front of the food, wide-eyed and manic.

"Whoa, whoa," Korra eased him, grabbing his shoulder and firmly pressing him down to keep him still for a mere couple of seconds - this was a feat in regards to Meelo. "Slow down," Korra lightly commanded. She handed him a plate, and the second she released him, he was right back to his hyperactivity, grabbing vegetable-laden slices and making a dash back to the living room.

Ikki's voice shouted out at him almost immediately.

"_Meelo! _Don't be messy! Eat at the table!"

"I don't gotta!" Meelo countered.

"Yea, ya do!" Korra taunted from the kitchen, piling herself a couple of slices onto a plate.

"Awww, _mannnn_," was Meelo's whiny reply.

Ikki stuck her tongue out at her dejected brother as she pranced into the kitchen to retrieve her dinner.

"Thankies~" Ikki chirped, scooping up her food and going to join her brother in the dining room.

"..._Thankies_...?" Korra mumbled to herself as Ikki disappeared. Shaking this momentary confusion off, Korra recalled that Jinora was upstairs. Korra entered the dining room, setting her plate at the head of the table. Meelo was already chowing down, but Ikki was giving him a scowl.

"You're s'pposed to _wait, _Meelo," she complained, hands on her hips as she leaned forward in her seat. "Jinora's not _here _yet."

"_Mm-mmph_," Meelo hummed back in vague reply, his mouth stuffed.

Korra sighed out a laugh, having not yet sat down. She headed back out.

"I'll go get her," Korra insisted. She paused at the base of the stairs and shouted upward, "Jinora! Food's ready!" She waited a few seconds, but received no sign that her words had been heeded. Korra scratched an itch on the side of her head as she wandered up, assuming that the girl was in her bedroom reading, or wearing headphones, or...whatever it was Jinora did up there all the time. As she journeyed to the second floor, Korra called out the girl's name a second time.

Jinora's bedroom door was a crack open - its surface had that dreaded 'Twilight' movie poster that made Korra cringe. Korra sighed at the mere sight of it, averting her eyes from the sight of pale-skinned emo Edward Cullen. Korra's brain flickered with irritation at the fact that she _knew _the character's name, but being around Jinora on even a semi-consistent basis made this unavoidable. Korra knocked at the door three times, then opened it up all of the way and entered.

She found Jinora sprawled on her bed, stomach down, fiddling with her laptop. She was just removing her headphones as Korra entered.

"...What?" Jinora asked with impatience. She'd been carrying a weird tone of antagonism all day.

"Oh, it's...-" Korra nodded her head over her shoulder. "There's pizza."

"Pizza again," Jinora sighed under breath. Korra's nose wrinkled at the girl's attitude. "You made sure it didn't have _meat _this time, right?" Jinora grumbled, closing her laptop as she got up from her bed.

"Yyyea," Korra replied slowly, struggling to keep her temper at bay. "It's stuff from the freezer - your mom got it, so..._yea. _It's got no meat." Korra had overexplained her answer in her effort to stop from lashing back, but Jinora simply walked by with indifference, heading downstairs. Korra brought up the rear, wondering to herself how difficult she had been a decade ago when she'd been living under her parents' care.

"-super _rude_! You're so _gross_!"

"Mwahahaha..."

The dining room was, as expected, occupied by the bickering between Ikki and Meelo.

"All right, guys, c'mon," Korra quelled them as she and Jinora took their seats.

"_Finally_!" Meelo exclaimed. "What _took _you so long?!"

"_Shh!_" Ikki hushed him. "It's time for the blessing." Ikki turned her attention to Korra with anticipation. "Are you gonna do it this time, Korra? Huh? Are ya?"

"_Erm, _I...-" Korra's shoulders popped up with hesitation. "-don't remember it...yet," she replied hastily.

"I'll do it," Jinora sighed, sifted her bangs off to the side of her face as she got comfortable in her seat.

"_Aww_!" Ikki whined. "But if Korra's not gonna do it, _I _wanted-"  
"_Fine_!" Jinora spat out, her dulled mood sharpening quickly from the presence of her siblings. "Do it, then."

"_Yess_." Ikki folded her hands up with excitement, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. Jinora and even Meelo followed her lead, and Korra awkwardly looked down at her food, hands folded in her lap.

Ikki recited in her swift, formulaic fashion:

"We give thanks to all beings  
Who have helped to bring this food to our table,  
And vow to respond in turn to those in need  
With wisdom and compassion.  
Let us eat."

As Ikki had spoken, Korra glanced at each of the three children - serene, calm, at peace. How was it that even a psycho-supervillain-in-the-making like Meelo could be capable of sitting so still when prompted?

As soon as the words 'Let us eat' had been uttered, all three kids took to their food.

Meelo had finished a slice from one pizza and was moving onto the other type. He sniffed it with uncertainty.

"This don't got _meat _in it, does it?" he checked with suspicion.

Korra sighed through her nose, covered one eye with her palm.

"_No, _Meelo," she moaned. They weren't going to let her live it down, were they? It had happened _one time_.

"It smells _weird_," Meelo insisted.

"It's Alfredo sauce," Jinora explained, talking down to her brother's simple mind.

"It's fine, just eat it," Korra dismissed the conversation.

Meelo took a reluctant bite, squirming all the while as his face writhed in embellished agony.

"Ah dun _wyke _et," he complained with a full mouth. He spit it back onto his plate, and Ikki squealed with disgust.

"Sick!" Ikki whined. Meelo went on to produce artificial puking sounds, riling Ikki up further. "_Eulgh! _Gross! Yuck! Ack! Korra, make him _stop._"

"Why do you do this?" Jinora demanded, slapping her hand down on the table. Meelo and Ikki both froze, staring at their eldest sibling with confusion. "You both put on a show every time Korra's here! I'm sick of it! Why do you think I've been up in my _room?_"

Ikki and Meelo blinked, both faces stark with rejection. Jinora pushed out more of her thoughts.

"When Dad actually bothers to show up, you both act _crazy _and ruin everything and just make him and Mom stressed! And when Korra's here, you do the same thing! She's not _special, _she's just our babysitter - you don't need her attention, so stop-"  
"Jinora," Korra cut her off. "Lighten up, they were just-"  
"And _you're _not my mom!" Jinora spat out, staring Korra directly in the eyes. "All you've done since you got here is made Mom and Dad fight even more than they were before! You're not even a good babysitter! _I _could do a better job."

Meelo and Ikki had both shrunken into their seats by now, while Korra and Jinora exchanged furious gazes.

"Then why am I _here?_" Korra presented the question through a quite snarky politeness, her rage bubbling inside her.

"Because Mom feels _s__orry _for you!" Jinora spat out with some disgust. There was a thick silence in the room for a few seconds, as Jinora's piercing, hormonal aggravation cut through Korra's wall of nonchalance.

"She..._said _that?" Korra murmured, a bit flabbergasted.

Jinora nodded, her eyebrows raised with stinging satisfaction, as if she'd been waiting to spring this up for some time.

"I heard her and Dad talking about it last night - about why you keep being at the hospital, about the people you _put _in the hospital, about why you were in the news before..." Jinora was slowly shaking her head. What surprised Korra most was how much that look of disappointment - as if Jinora somehow felt betrayed - it actually _hurt_ Korra to see it.

Jinora rose from her seat, taking her plate up off the table.

"You're...a brute," Jinora concluded with a baffled shrug. "And I hate you. And I hate people _like _you. You just push everyone around to get your way. And Mom's an _idiot _for trusting you."

"Hey don't talk about Mom like that!" Ikki piped up. "And stop yelling at Korra!"

"Heheh, you're a _brute,_" Meelo snickered, pointing his finger at Korra.

"I'm not yelling at anybody," Jinora snipped in her snooty yet calm tone, looking down at her sibling. "I'm just being honest."

"You're being _mean,_" Ikki insisted. "You've been mean a _lot _lately."

"You're a _boot_," Meelo poked his finger at Korra, who was still reeling from the impact of Jinora's words. "You're a _boob. Boooob._"

"_Stop_," Korra hissed sideways, shaking her shoulder to get Meelo to stop touching her.

"At least I'm not an annoying pervert like _some people_," Jinora countered her sister, at once criticizing her brother. Ikki crossed her arms and frowned, while Meelo seemed to glow with a creepy pride at the comment. Meelo tooted out a short but loud fart, which elicited another shriek of disapproval from Ikki and an eyeroll from Jinora. Korra's face seemed to be getting progressively redder by the second at the chaos around her.

"I'm going _outside_," Jinora declared, marching off to the front door with her plate in tow. "I need to get away from all of you..."

Korra's chest tightened at this idea - of Jinora going outside, alone, with this [- TTT] person potentially looming about.

"You're staying _inside,_" Korra commanded.

"You're not my _M__other_," Jinora dismissed, disappearing into the living room. Korra pounced from her seat, pounding her feet through the house in a rush, and grabbed Jinora by the shoulder to stop her. "Don't _touch _me!" Jinora snapped back. Korra didn't remove her hand.

"I'm not your mom, but I _am _in charge right now, and you're staying inside."

Jinora's face burned with bridled anger and aimless rage. She spoke back.

"What are you going to do if I say 'no?' _Hit _me? Throw me through a _table? Zip tie _me in the lawn? Like you did those _other_ guys? Am I going to end up in thehospital, too?"

Korra's body froze up at Jinora's accusations. The phrase '_fucked up_' came to mind. Jinora, this kid, had heard that stuff? And was back-talking to her about it? Then again, well...it wasn't exactly a secret. By now, Korra should know better - Jinora was the sort of girl who actually _read _the newspaper, for starters. And she was sixteen years old, bright-minded and intelligent, to boot.

"I...-" Korra swallowed the hard lump that had formed in her throat. "_No, _don't be stupid. _Why _would I do that to you? Those were..._bad _people, they deserved-"  
"_They _were bad people?" Jinora rhetorically quipped. "It's not like you're innocent! Mom complains that as soon as she helps you feel better, you come back to the hospital from some other fight you're in. And _Dad_ says the only reason you're not in _jail _is because he's friends with the police."

Korra's brain froze up - she remembered Chief Jia and Tenzin talking on the day she had met them both. She remembered the two of them at the bar together a week earlier.

Jinora ripped her body out from underneath Korra's grip and berated her babysitter further.

"You-...You go _asking _for trouble! And you can't control your temper! You kicked a _hole _in your wall!"

"Wh..._What?_" Korra's eyes bulged open. "Where did you hear that?" she demanded in quick, cutting words.

"I saw it on _Facebook_," Jinora sighed. "Bolin posted a photo of it," she explained with a tinge of prissy know-it-all-ness.

"That...-!" Korra's teeth ground together and her fingers crunched together with frustration. What the fuck was Bolin doing, posting stuff like that? Embarrassing her in front of people...

"When I first met you," Jinora recounted, "I...thought you just had bad luck. I thought you were _cool_. And nice, and different, and...not like most grown-ups. But now, it's like...-" She was shaking her head, gradually stepping away from Korra. "You're just bossy and pushy and shove everyone around, like...like a school bully. It's why you got fired from your job, and-"  
"I didn't get _fired, _I'm...on probation, ih-it's a compli-"  
"-bring this stuff on yourself. You shouldn't be trusted to take care of my brother and sister."

"Know what? We're done. This discussion's done. Over. I don't need this lip from you."

"Fine! Then I'm going to my _room_."

"Yea? Well..._Good!_ Because...you're grounded!"

"That's fine," Jinora taunted from the bottom of the stairs. "I don't _want _to leave my room, _anyway._"

"Then...you have to stay downstairs, instead!" Korra struggled to assert her dominance.

"You can't _make _me_,_" Jinora matter-of-factly pointed out, stomping up to the second floor.

"_Urragh_," Korra huffed to herself, tearing her fingers through her hair. Hormonal teenagers were not something she had the skillset to deal with. The now all-too-familiar weight of disappointment and failure looming over her already stressed head, Korra slogged back to the dining room. It was startlingly quiet. Korra decided to call this a 'win' and dropped down into her chair, finally taking a bite of her pizza. Hm. It wasn't too bad for something from a freezer.

"_Ffff! _" Meelo puffed out, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He shrugged with a smug smirk. "Girls. Am I right?" His attempt at humor was outright ignored by Ikki, and Korra shot him a razor-edged glare that got him to put his attention back on his food.

"Jinora's been acting weird," Ikki explained, trying perhaps a little too hard for her own good to come across as mature and knowledgeable. "I heard her and Daddy fighting yesterday, and on Monday she was arguing with Mom, too."

Korra's head sagged, the emotional turmoil rattling her poor brain. She couldn't handle all of this..._drama._

"Well, Jinora's...about that age," Korra tried to simplify things. "In a few years, you'll have days like this, too," Korra decided, loosely pointing her slice of pizza in Ikki's direction.

"Yea, bitches be _crazy_!" Meelo belted the words out. When both Korra and Ikki stared at him with shock, he shrunk his head into his neck with a sneaky smile - he knew he wasn't supposed to say things like that.

"You can't _say _that!" Ikki gasped.

"Yea, don't use that word," Korra reprimanded him in a foul mumble. "It's...bad," she off-handedly added.

"_You _say it," Meelo cheekily pointed out. _Ohhhh, _man, this little punk was just asking to be slapped tonight, wasn't he?

"That's 'cuz _I__..._am an adult," Korra retaliated on instinct. Jinora's criticisms from moments before had burrowed a hole in her brain. Listening to herself try to rationalize her maturity sent hollow claims of 'I'm an adult' bouncing around the drilled tunnels in her head. It was pretty fucking painful.

The three of them ate for a few seconds, and Korra found the tranquility - awkward as it was - to offer some sweet relief.

"Is what Jinora said true?" Ikki asked with some timid concern. "Are you actually like that? Do you really..._hurt_ people...? Are you, like..._crazy?_"

Korra stared at the young girl's worried look, dumbfounded as to how to respond. She tried to speak, but nothing came out at first. She cleared her throat, taking a couple of seconds to bite off another piece of pizza and consider what to say. She swallowed, tilting her head sideways in cautious recognition.

"No, I'm not _crazy_," she blurted with a fake incredulity.

"But you..._do _hurt people," Ikki concluded.

"I...-!" Korra was quick to try spitting out some counter-argument, but whatever she had just been ready to say would've been a lie. "I _have_...hurt some people," she confessed, scratching her nose. She sniffed dryly. "By accident, sometimes," she added. She immediately questioned why she had said that - as if it somehow mattered. As if making a mistake as a result of a stupid decision was any better than just making a stupid decision. "B-but, I mean, other times, it's because they're _bad _people, and I'm trying to protect myself, or-or my family."

"_Bad _guys hurt people," Ikki murmured with a forlorn frown at her food.

"_Yea, _bad guys!" Meelo quietly cheered, fist-pumping. He reached out a hand to offer Korra a high five. "Bad guys are _awesome_."

Korra sighed and avoided Meelo's sneaky little smile.

"No, Meelo, they're..._not_," she muttered. "They do...dumb things - _bad _things - and they get what's coming to them. Or...or else they don't _stop._ You know? That's...the reason why sometimes...people have to get hurt. So they can't do bad things anymore."

"Like _Batman!_" Meelo decided.

"Uh, _heh. _Nah..." Korra shook her head. "I _wish _was like Batman - except I might pick a better prison. Those guys keep breaking out."

"It's 'cuz Batman doesn't _end it_!" Meelo punched his fist into his palm, his words a little too eager. Seriously, Korra was considering having a word with Pema about this little guy.

"But that's what makes him one of the good guys, right?" Ikki defended the caped crusader. "'Cuz he lets them live still."

"...Yea," Korra agreed after a moment's thought. She personally had conflicted feelings over that can of worms - if Batman just offed the fucking Joker it would save a lot of people a lot of problems, after all. But Korra had a feeling that Pema wouldn't want her kids to be even considering that sort of idea. "But anyway, I'm not like Batman - for one thing, he's a _man._"

"So you're more like Wonder Woman, maybe?" Ikki offered her thought.

A girl in a Wonder Woman costume, sprawled across a parking lot, dazed and bruised. Another girl, dressed as a penguin, whimpering, screaming at the pool of blood forming on the pavement, seeping from a fur-edged coat. Tears, blood, headache, heartache.

"No," Korra replied, her lip quivering as she pushed back the bad memory. She stared at the slice of pizza in her hand, a melancholic glaze over her eyes. "I'm...nowhere near as cool as Wonder Woman..."

* * *

Meng rubbed her stomach with satisfaction, having just consumed a hearty dinner. Based on the cafeteria offerings, she was already anticipating adding a 'Freshman Fifteen' to her figure within the year and was at peace with that idea.

"So how come Sokka didn't eat with us?" Meng asked, having realized after the fact that the usually loud young man had been absent.

"He's with our Dad," Katara explained. "They're probably going to be stuck at the hip this weekend, since it may be the last time they see each other for a while."

"Ah..." Meng nodded with understanding, a silent burp building up in her abdomen before popping out of her nose. It had an aftertaste of banana pudding.

"You mentioned you met up with Ty-Lee before dinner," Katara brought up. "How did that go?"

"Yea, didja guys powder your faces, paint your nails, and talk about _boys_?" Toph dryly inquired.

"Ha. Not exactly," Meng replied, ignoring the hint of antagonism in her cousin's tone.

"Why are _you_ so curious?" Aang picked on Toph. "Are you _jealous_ that she's making friends so fast?" Aang flicked Toph on the shoulder.

"_Tsh_," Toph scoffed, trying to hide a bitter look. "Yea, because hanging out with _Ty-Lee _is just...all _kinds _of my idea of fun," she sarcastically spouted.

"Heh, yea, I...don't think you woulda had fun," Meng assured.

"What did _she _want with you, anyway?" Toph asked critically. "How'd she even _know _you?"

"We met on Facebook," Meng muttered with a shrug. "We've chatted a few times, and when I told her I was visiting campus she said she wanted to meet. I dunno...She seems fun."

"_Psh. _Yea, that's one word for it," Toph sighed. "Well, anyways, while you were gone, I got a ring from Suki," Toph explained. "She wants to squeeze in a bit more practice before we play downtown tomorrow. So I was thinking you'd wanna come and watch us rock out in person."

"Oh..." Meng froze up, eyes popping open. "I..._Yea, _um, I actually...sorta...-" She poked her index fingers together nervously. "-...made plans to meet up with someone _else _tonight, for a while."

Toph was silent for a couple of seconds, her eyes squinting a bit, lips crooked as she pondered this notion. Katara caught the bit of tension and tried to offer Meng some defense.

"Wow, making all kinds of friends already!" she cheerily encouraged.

"That's great," Aang added in. "I mean, you spent all of last night putting up with us, you deserve a break from the crazy."

"True," Toph shrugged, letting her defensive curiosity fall to the wayside.

"Yea, I'm...making friends here," Meng hastily explained. "Meeting people. Seeing faces. In person. For the first time. Social...butterfly-ing it up. And stuff."

"...Yeeeaaaa," Toph replied with some suspicion. "You do that. Have fun. Seeing us practice would prolly be boring, anyway..."

"Thanks, Tophie," Meng said sweetly to her cousin, giving Toph a quick hug. "I'll give you a call when I'm done."

"Uh, aaaactually, I might not _hear _you," Toph confessed. "With all the...ya know...loud music."

"...Oh."

"You can just call me," Katara offered. "I can let you into the dorm."

"There, you're all set," Toph dismissed technicalities. "So who're you meeting up with, anyway?"

"_Er, _m-might be a whole group, I...I'm not sure yet," Meng walked around an answer. "There's some other prospective students visiting campus right now, and...so...yea."

"...Uh-_huh_," Toph replied, eyes narrowed with suspicion at Meng's weird, fumbly way with words. Meng sheepishly grimaced at her cousin's stern face - hollow white eyes hidden by black bangs, set below harsh eyebrows.

"Don't be so nervous about meeting new people," Aang encouraged her, by-passing the tension. "Just try not to overthink things, and...be yourself."

Toph's face loosened up with relaxed agreement.

"Coming from you," she noted to Aang, "I'm surprised, Twinkle-Toes."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," Toph mumbled, not in the mood to try explaining herself.

"When are you meeting these people?" Katara wondered, speaking to Meng.

"About ten, fifteen minutes," Meng said with a shrug. "Uh, at the...erm...-" Meng's fingers started twirling through her mop of curly hair, free of its usual tiered braids.  
"-...at the gym," Meng finished.

There was a pause as Toph scratched her nose, and Katara and Aang observed Meng's blank look.

Aang slowly wondered, "Do you...know where the gym..._is_?"

Meng grinned with embarrassment and shook her head.

"Well, you're going back to your room, right?" Aang checked with Katara. She nodded. "And Toph, _you're _going to the music building to practice."

"Yep."

"OK, well..." Aang looked Meng square in the eyes and smiled. "I'm going back to Aero House to work on some art, and the gym's right around there. I'll take you."

"Cool. Thanks," Meng quickly jumped on board. Aang could tell she was quite eager to head out. He exchanged glances with Katara, who nodded her approval.

"Have fun, Meng."

"Thanks, Katara. Good luck with the practice, Tophie."

As Meng started shuffling off toward the campus center's exit that led off to the quad, Aang waved back to his girlfriend.

"I'll text you when I'm ready to hang out."

"Sounds good, Sweetie. See you later."

As Aang and Meng vanished out of the campus center, Toph sucked in a deep sniff through her clogged up nose, one hand on her hip, the other clasping her walking cane.

"I don't need _luck_," Toph grumbled, late-to-the-party in her reaction.

Katara giggled and took Toph's hand, leading her out an alternate exit and toward Aqua House.

"What's up with you? You seem grouchy," Katara observed.

"_You _sound _surprised_," Toph came back with a facetious smirk. "I'm always grouchy, what are _you _talkin' about?"

"_Pff, _I mean, with your cousin."

"Guess that makes two of us, then," Toph noted off the cuff.

Katara paused - it took her a second to recognize that Toph was referring to Katara's frustration with _her _cousin.

"Ha," she laughed once it hit her. "I guess so. But _your _cousin's not really acting weird."

"Actually, she kind of is."

"Oh?"

"...Eh. Whatevs. It's no big, I just feel like she's hiding something."

"Something like..._what?_" Katara asked, a bit incredulous at the idea of sweet, geeky Meng harboring some dark secret.

"Forget it," Toph sighed. "Like I said, no big."

"You seem kind of bummed out that she's spending time with other people."

"_Well, _sort of? I mean, I just...kinda figured she'd be more pumped to see..._me_," Toph's statement trailed off into a murmur by the end.

"I'm sure she _is, _Toph. She's just taking in a whole lot all at once. You have to remember, this is her time on campus. Don't you remember what it was like when you first arrived at school?"

"Yea, I _do,_" Toph spitefully huffed. "It was lonely, and boring, and awkward as fuck."

Katara hesitated to respond, contemplating an appropriate answer. She recalled being hyped and excited as all get-out to come to SRU. It had represented leaving behind all of her anxieties from high school, all of her social stigmas that she'd accumulated. She couldn't help but connect with Meng retroactively in this regard, given what the girl had vented with her about over the Internet in the past month or so. Katara's freshman year had still had its fair share of loneliness and all, but she had her brother, she had classmates - who were also awkwardly stumbling around, seeking to carve out their social niches.

But Toph...Katara remembered meeting Toph a few months after she had taken Aang under her wing. Aang had been so earnest and dead-set on reaching out to the anti-social music student. In that odd moment of quiet that Katara wads sharing with Toph, walking through the hallways, Katara saw a snapshot of that cold, bitter, abrasive blind girl who didn't want anything to do with anyone. It clicked in Katara's brain: Toph had pushed everyone away when she'd arrived at this school and was frustrated for her entire first semester without any friends, and in a nonsensical way, it seemed 'unfair' that Meng was making fast buddies and being invited to meet people on her first weekend on campus.

"Well...then you should be happy for your cousin," Katara concluded. "I mean, she's been a bit of a loner lately, hiding on her computer all of the time."

"...Mmph..."

Katara's eyes popped open in a flash of what she wanted to call 'wit.' She instinctively raised her index finger and slyly repurposed her phrase.

"Hiding behind her..._keyboard_?"

Toph was frowning rather purposefully at Katara's implication.

"Get it?" Katara prodded, squeezing Toph's hand. "Sound..._familiar?_"

"Ohhh, Sweetness," Toph playfully sighed. "You're...so clever."

"Hee."

"I feel ya, though," Toph decided with some reluctance as they passed through a stairwell, heading straight outside. The air was damp, warm, and heavy. Toph didn't much care for it. At least the practice room would be nice and cool. "But, like, don't _you _wanna hang out with your Dad n' stuff?"

"I do," Katara insisted, her tone wavering with some earnest empathy. "I'm going to get to spend the summer with him, though, and Sokka...well, it just means a lot to him to have that 'guy time.' You know?"

"Oh, _I _know," Toph conceded.

"He wants some Father-Son hanging out while he can have it. So...I want to respect that. So I'm giving them space. _Oh!_...Ahem, yea, giving them _space. _Ya know? Eh? Sound fam-"  
"Yea, yea," Toph said with a snorting laugh, shaking Katara's arm as they paced down the sidewalk toward Aqua. "I got it."

Across campus, Aang was leading Meng toward the gym. He found it endearing, the way Meng was still marveling at the simple, rural sounds and sounds of the campus transforming from spring into summer. Her bright eyes lit up with curiosity, wonder, relief...Aang could recall feeling the same way back when he'd shown up on campus. President Bumi had walked him across campus - it had been a lot to take in.

"Whoa..." Meng had stopped along a paved, uphill pathway to gawk at a tree completely speckled with dried up pieces of gum.

"Oh, ha." Aang grinned, scratching his head as he doubled back a few steps to where Meng had slowed down. "Yep, that's the Gum Tree."

"_Gross_," Meng noted with humor despite the negative word employed.

Aang stood patiently, wiping sweat from his forehead as he waited for Meng to finish admiring the post-modern piece of natural art.

"Cool," Meng muttered, bounding back to Aang's side. A couple of seconds of walking later, and she jabbed out a finger at the patch of trees that rested between the path they were on and the road beyond. "Hey-look-a-squirrel!" she belted out rapidly. The squirrel in question that she had spotted immediately whirled behind a nearby tree and latched onto its side, out of their sight. Meng was giggle-snorting a bit, and Aang raised an amused eyebrow her way. She sighed out the last of her laughter, her palm over her mouth. "Sorry, got some ADHD today," Meng defended herself. "It's like you said: your guys' craziness is rubbing off."

"Seems like it," Aang noted. "So, uh, who is it you're going to see? You seemed kind of weird around Toph when she asked."

Meng's giddiness faded away, and Aang caught a hint of blushing at the edges of her cheeks as she looked away from him, continuing to observe the nearby vegetation.

"Mm...Yea, I don't know how she'll feel about it," Meng considered with wistfully.

"About...-?"

"I might be seeing a few people," Meng clarified, "but the main person I'm going to see is, umm...-" Aang caught her twirling her already curly hair. She turned her face back to him and sheepishly asked, "Remember Douglas?"

Aang smirked and laughed through his nose.

Aang asked with a casual teasing tone, "The one who's been 'Liking' everything you post on Facebook for the past month?"

"Aheh..." Meng shrugged, a bashful smile crawling across her face.

"You know, Meng, I think Toph would be OK with that. I mean, you two aren't even dating or anything, right?"

"Oh, _no, _no-no," Meng insisted. "Like, we're...just chatting a lot, and I don't even-...This is our first time meeting in person, and we'll...see what happens, I'm-...You don't need to worry about...like...-"

"Haha, hey, hey. That's your own business, Meng. I'm not judging you."

"You're not gonna tell her, are you?"

"Huh?"

"Toph."

"Ah, right. No, that's not my place. But she seems to know something's up - you should probably tell her yourself."

"_Argh, _but...-" Meng tugged at her hair with grit teeth. "It's so _awkward_!"

"_Haha! _Meng." Aang gave her a hard look. "It was awkward when me and Katara started dating. But Toph's a big girl. She can handle it. And you and Douglas are just friends right now, anyway, right?"

Meng nodded vigorously.

"So don't worry about it," Aang insisted. "You're not in high school anymore - things are a lot different, and they'll be a lot easier if you're just open with things."

"Yea, that makes sense," Meng mumbled. "I just don't want to make either of them feel weird."

"I'm not sure about Douglas, but right now, Toph _already _feels weird, because she doesn't know what's up."

"Bleh." Meng's nose wrinkled as she frowned in recognition of Aang's words. "Good point..."

They had hit the top of the hill now and the gym lay before them, the nearby parking lot fairly empty in light of the semester having just ended.

"Anyway, there you are."

"Cool. Thanks for showing me around, Aang."

"Yea, no problem. Have a good time."

"Totally. I'll catch you later!"

* * *

- Sunday, May 29th, 2011 -

Korra's bulky hands, pressing hard against bony, pale shoulders.

Freckled face, bobbed down. Eyes hidden beneath shadows. Mess of orange and sweat, blood, tears.

Burned fabric, cuts, bruises.

Ashes float around them. Smoke. Glow of fire.

Korra's hands grab battered wrists.  
Korra forces those bruised palms against her bosom. They pull back.

"_Come_ on!" Korra bellows. Commands.

Jane flinches, dumbfounded. Motionless.

"_The fff...-?!_" Korra pants out with exasperation, eyes wide. Impatience.

Korra pulls freckled, cut, bleeding hands around her hips. Slides trembling hands up, inside her tattered shirt.

"_Do it_!" Korra growls out in impatience. Her eyes flicker with the intensity of the backdrop fire behind them.

Jane's hands lifelessly flop down, against Korra's demands.

Korra's hands pound against Jane's chest. They twist Jane's small breasts.

Grunting, pain, fear. Jane is afraid.

Korra's eyes are closed. She bites her lip, breathes deep, squeezes lean flesh between her strong hands.

No fighting back. No emotion. No participation. No reaction.

Flames of frustration.

"What are you _waiting _for?!" roars Korra. "Ya gonna _do it, _or n-?!"

"**I always wondered what kind of a person could do such a thing**." Jane speaks.

Korra is frozen.

Water trickles down freckled cheeks.

"**But now that I see you...**"

No. It is not water.

"**I think I _understand_,**" Jane half-whimpers, half-snarls.

Tears of blood run down Jane's cheeks.

"**There's fucking..._nothing _inside you.**"

Jane opens her eyes. Glares at Korra. A red glare. Just red. No white, no olive. Inhuman eyes of red.

Eyes that are hollow, devoid of life, of purpose, of _feeling._

"**Nothing at** _**all.** _**You're pathetic, and sad, and _empty._**"

The wall Jane is pinned against dissolves, the fires consuming it.

Jane's flesh burns to ash between Korra's fingers, floats away. Gone.

Ashes to ashes.

A hand claws at her shoulder.

"_Aghhh!_" Korra sprung awake from her nightmare, sucking in a sharp gasp after her short scream. Her hair was in shambles, greased over with sweat. Eyes wide, pupils shrunken, Korra quickly surveyed her surroundings. She was on the couch in the Rabten family's living room, the sounds of a cartoon show playing quietly from the TV set in front of her.

Ikki was gawking at Korra nervously from right beside the couch. It was Ikki's hand that had stirred Korra awake.

Korra caught her breath, clamping her palm on her damp forehead. Meelo was on the recliner nearby, also staring at her with a bit of fear in his face.

The pounding of feet flying down stairs came from the nearby hallway.

"What happened?" Jinora's voice demanded before she had actually shown up in the living room. When she slid into sight in the doorway, she was still in her pajamas, a hairbush in hand.

Now Korra was sitting on the couch, stirring in her own sweat, looking like a child in front of children. Ugh.

"Ih...It's all right," Korra sighed out, hoping her shame wasn't showing too much. Ikki leaned over and gave Korra a hug, much to the woman's surprise. She awkwardly accepted the gesture and hugged Ikki back. "I just had a...bad dream," Korra explained.

"It's OK," Ikki assured. "We're not nightmares."

"_I'm_ a nightmare," Meelo growled with mischief, shooting Korra a smarmy little smile. Eulgh.

Jinora's eyes dulled with some irritation. She scratched at her head, her still-drying hair halfway brushed. She whirled back around and headed upstairs and back to the bathroom. Ikki bounded to the kitchen with a purpose as Korra slowly dragged her legs off the couch. Korra's head was throbbing, her heart pounding. How many nights in a row, now? She couldn't live like this.

Meelo eagerly tried getting her attention to look at something 'way cool' on the TV, and Korra pretended to care, but she was in a daze.

Ikki came back into the living room with a plate in hand. The plate contained a smattering of dry, scrambled eggs and a pair of toast slices.

"I made you breakfast!" Ikki chirped, handing the plate to Korra. Korra accepted it and stared blankly down at the food for a couple of seconds. Then, Ikki swiped it back, citing, "Oh, but you gotta eat at the _table_. Right?" As Ikki marched into the dining room to set the plat down, Korra smirked a little, pushing hair from her face.

"Right," she replied, getting up. Her knees and elbows ached. She scooped her phone up from the coffee table and trudged to the dining room in her usual zombie-like morning state.

By the time Korra found her way to the dining room, Ikki was gone again, back to the kitchen. Confused but not awake enough to ask, Korra wiped sand from her eyes and sat down in front of her breakfast. She chewed into a piece of toast - it was soggy with butter and a little stale. Ikki must've made it a little while ago. Korra shrugged this off and continued to eat the now-chewy toast.

By the time she'd made it through half the slice, Ikki had returned with a coffee mug. The scent alone was helping Korra wake up.

"Oops!" she squeaked, dripping coffee onto the hardwood floor. She set the mug down beside Korra with some pride.

"Aw, hey, thanks," Korra murmured out, eyelids still half-closed.

"You're welcome~" Ikki sang, grabbing a napkin from the table and hurriedly wiping up the small spill she'd created.

Korra took a sip of the coffee. She nearly sputtered from the strange taste. It had some milk and sugar in it. Maybe a bit too much. But Korra could appreciate the gesture, all the same.

She checked her phone as she ate.

["**First **new message."]  
["_-Beep!-_"]  
["Korra. It's Bolin. Listen, I had yesterday off, so I worked on that, uh...that hole you left. In the wall? Got that fixed back up."] Korra sighed as she listened to the message. He sounded kind of glum and exhausted. She never asked anyone to fix the wall, anyway... ["I had to pick up some stuff from the hardware store for it, so, erm...I'll show you the receipt when you get back, if you wouldn't mind re-cooping that. Your housesitting bit's not over until tomorrow, right? Guess we'll see you when we see you."]  
["_-Beep!-_"]

Korra deleted the voicemail and went to work on her breakfast. Hm. Eggs were definitely dry. Needed some pepper. She groaned groggily as she leaned across the table to grab the pepper shaker from the center. A large helping of the black stuff added some much-needed flavor to the food.

"How is it?" Ikki asked with anticipation, walking in as she drank a glass of orange juice.

"Mmmn," Korra hummed, nodding with full cheeks. She swallowed hard, the dry clumps not chewed as much as they should've been. She did her best to not cough and pointed at the dish. "Good," she grunted out, flashing Ikki a thumbs-up. "Uh, thanks. You didn't have to make me food...I mean, I'm supposed to be taking care of _you_, remember?"

"I make breakfast for Mom some times. Jinora's better at it than I am, though."

Korra placated the kid by munching down on another forkful of eggs. Ikki sat down beside her and watched her eat, sipping at her orange juice in frequent, small gulps. Korra could tell that Ikki wanted something.

"Fo, whuffup?" Korra asked in mid-chew.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Ikki casually scolded, taking another slurp of juice. "I was wondering, like...could we maybe go visit your house today?"

Korra paused to consider this, then finished her bite and swallowed.

"Eh, nah, Ikki. Sorry. Today's not a good day." The way Ikki's entire demeanor slumped a little at Korra's answer was like a splinter being jammed in her stomach. "Why do you wanna go there?" Korra prodded, seeking some kind of compromise.

"I wanted to see your pets," Ikki replied with some dejection. Korra felt a little for the kid. Ikki seemed to love the critters, and Korra knew that Pema didn't allow the kids to keep pets.

"Oh-oh-oh!" Meelo was interjecting now, having snaked his way into the dining room. "I wanna go somewhere today. We've been stuck home. It's _boooooring. _Can we go out to eat?"

Korra grunted a sigh and scratched her hand through her hair. She couldn't just live the rest of her life hiding indoors. Besides, Naga loved the kids, and the kids loved Naga.

"Pleeeeease?" Meelo pleaded with exaggeration, falling to his knees beside Korra's chair. He groped at her shins, tugging on her sweatpants. "Plea-hee-hee-heeeze...?"

"Augh-! OK, OK!" Korra shook her legs, kicking Meelo off. "Sure. Sure. We'll...go do something."

"_Yessss_." Meelo pumped his fist.

"Can we please play with your dog? Pretty Please?" Ikki was dumping a pretty thick layer of sugar on top with her request.

Korra was reeled in by the girl's begging. Ikki had been behaving a lot better than previous visits, Korra had to admit - even helping keep her little brother in-line.

"All _right_," Korra caved in. She decided on a fitting scenario that would please both kids. "We'll stop by my house, pick up Naga, and go for a walk to the park. And then we'll...eat out somewhere on the way back home."

Meelo and Ikki burst into celebration, hooping and cheering. They gave each other a high five.

"Thank you-thank you-_thank you_!" cried Ikki in jubilation.

"Yea, thanks!" Meelo quipped, immediately rushing back into the living room.

"I'll go see if Jinora wants to go," Ikki offered, bounding off in the direction Meelo had gone.

Korra caught herself smiling, watching the little guys scamper off. She continued to eat her breakfast, but her mind wandered back to her nightmare, and her head began to ache again.

[Send]  
[To: Aang]  
[Hey. Slept like shit last night. My cousins are hanging out with Hakoda today. Your offer still stand? To hang out.]  
[Sent: 9:42am]

[From: Aang]  
[busy this afternoon but free later on. sure. whats up?]  
[Sent: 9:44am]

Korra licked her fingers of toast crumbs and scooped the last bits of egg off her plate before replying.

[Reply]  
[To: Aang]  
[Still babysitting. Gonna take the kids to the park later today. Want to meet up there? Get a bite somewhere nearby?]  
[You could meet these crazy little guys. I think you'd like them. Something about them reminds me of you.]  
[Sent: 9:46am]

[From: Aang]  
[ok. sounds good to me. what time?]  
[Sent: 9:48am]

* * *

**A/N: Korra's nightmare scene here, including all of the dialogue, is calling back to the night she and Jane fought the Combustion Man.**


	111. When Extremes Meet

**A/N: God damn, this update has taken a lot out of me. I've had the core elements of these two scenes planned out for roughly a year now, and it's wonderful to _finally _have this stuff out of my brain and shaped into words, but damn, has it been mentally exhausting to lay it out. To be honest, I'm not really happy with this entire swath of the story, but the surrealistic corner I've painted the narrative into in order to get the more dramatic endgame stuff I have in mind has led me here, so...might as well follow through.**

**Just a WARNING: some violence incoming, so be wary if that sort of stuff is difficult to read.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 111 - When Extremes Meet_

* * *

- Sunday, May 29th, 2011 -

From backstage, the pounding sounds of the band playing out in front the crowd was muffled, the speakers projecting their blasting audio in the opposite direction from where Toph and Suki stood. The low strums of bass thumping into her eyes, Toph lamented for a moment on the fact that they had no bass player of their own today.

"Didja see any of 'em out there?" Toph asked, adjusting the strap on her bare shoulder. She was a bit worried that it might chafe, but it was way too fucking hot out to be wearing layers. A tanktop and shorts was simple, comfortable, and the way to go.

Suki had insisted on Toph having some kind of 'flair' if she was going to be presenting herself on stage in front of a broader audience than usual, and Toph had enlisted Katara's aid with this task. Katara had taken one of Toph's hairbands and glued on a couple of fluffy...puffy things on the sides. Big cotton balls? Toph wasn't quite sure what they were, but Katara had cited that Toph's puffball earrings had been the inspiration. Katara had also insisted that the look was oddly appropriate, and had gone on to attach long, flowing ribbons to the ends of the hairband, tying them around the back of Toph's head and scrunching her hair into a big, poofy ball. A ginormous hair bun. Toph wasn't so sure how she felt about it - she normally liked her hair to be wild and free, not all up in a bun. It reminded her of her old life, back with her parents, always bothering to keep up appearances. Katara had explained something about 'first impressions' and such, citing Toph's socially lacking freshman year as proof that a lack of attention to impressions wasn't going to help win her an audience. Toph had tuned out a lot of her roommate's chatter, ultimately deciding to just let Katara have at her hair. The bangs stayed, and she refused to have any makeup applied.

"I know Meng is out there," Suki replied. "She brought a few people."

"Ah." Toph was still trying to let Meng's socialite-seeking roll off her back. "What about the other guys?"

"Mm. No, I didn't see them," Suki lamentably informed. "Sokka said that he and Katara were spending the day with their dad before he goes back up north."

"Yep..." Toph sighed. She had been hoping that her roommate and her boyfriend would've been able to make it, but she had all morning to accept the notion that their family was more important to them than Toph's family was to her. She would live. "Korra's babysitting," Toph cited. "Aang's working at the snack desk..."

Suki tried to pick up Toph's trace of disappointment: "I mean, I..._think _I might've seen Jane out there, but...-"

"You just saw red hair in the crowd," Toph dryly guessed.

"Heh. Yea, pretty much," Suki confessed. "But she _did _say she was going to try and make it out today."

"Cool..." Toph pushed out a small smile and slid her fingers across the neck of her Les Paul guitar, savoring the sensation of each fret beneath her fingertips. The guitar was anticipating this just as much as she was - she could feel it. That was what mattered here: Toph and her guitar. In the end, that was all that was important, right?

"You OK?" Suki asked, prodding Toph from her evidently melancholic state.

"Yea," sad Toph, plucking a few warm-up chords on her unplugged guitar.

"You know...I'm sure they're all proud of you and support you."

"Mm..." As the music being played out on the stage came to a stop, the crowd burst into applause. Toph heard a stage crew guy chatter with Suki briefly. "We up?" Toph asked.

"We are," Suki replied with some spice in her voice. Toph appreciated her comrade's enthusiastic attitude.

"Awesome." Toph pulled up the pair of shades she'd had dangling from the collar of her shirt, and fit them over her eyes.

Within a couple of minutes, the two girls were on stage, behind a curtain. The event's host was out on the very front of the stage, recapping the previous performance and...some kind of anecdote, or something. Toph was not really paying attention, nor was she interested.

Toph could smell the outdoors just beyond the musty wooden stage now at her feet. The curtains flapped in the brisk wind. She didn't feel that familiar wave of heat from an overhead lamp, and was thankful they were playing outdoors on an afternoon. She heard Suki set down a wooden stool they had brought along, and Suki advised her partner that she'd set an open bottle of water on the seat. Toph, her electric guitar strapped across her shoulders, carefully set down her other guitar case beside the stool. She cautiously felt her way to the stool and grabbed the bottle of water, chugging down three large gulps. She sighed with relief, wiped her lips with the back of her wrist, and worked her way a couple of feet back to her left, where the microphone stood. She grabbed it, running her fingers along its smooth, metal pole and up to the ridged microphone. She tweaked its angle down slightly, adjusting for her height. Eh, more than slightly. Whoever had played lead from the last band was a fair amount taller than she was. Suki handed Toph the plug for her guitar before sitting down at the on-stage drums and readjusting them for her personal preference.

This process of pre-performance setup was always exciting, a rush of adrenaline oozing its way through Toph's veins at the sound of the gentle rumbling of the crowd.

Before she knew it, it was time to begin.

["-...the Bliiiiiind Bandit!"]

As Toph heard the curtains unfurl before her, Suki began pounding the drums. A few moments later, Toph jumped in on guitar for the opening rifts. She could make out a few cheers from the crowd at recognition of the song. Se belted out a raucous "Whoo!" before she began singing, Suki's dextrous drumming combining with backup singing. Their music billowed from the speakers, washing over the crowd like a tidal wave.

_+ ('Without a Fight,' by Hoobastank) +_

["_~Wake up, our life is calling! We're smoking, but not on fire!_  
_Give us a sign that we're alive!~_"]

Amongst the throngs of attendees, Meng was clapping her hands together with the booming beat.

["_~Step out of indecision! How we've been hypnotized!_  
_To think that everything's all right!~_"]

Douglas, standing at her side, looked at Meng's gleeful demeanor with some charmed confusion.

When Meng noticed his stare, she stuck her tongue out at him, bouncing up and down on her toes. Douglas was still adjusting to just how adorable the girl was in person. He stuck his tongue back in retaliation and joined in her clapping.

Meanwhile, Jane was standing beside them, slightly bewildered by the way The Duke was interacting with the girl. The thick hand of Pipsqueak prodded at her shoulder from her other side. She looked his way, watching his lips move, but the music and commotion was too loud. She raised a brow and leaned in.

"-_said, _they're cute together, huh?"

Jane's lips fell open in a light-hearted laugh of amusement. She turned her head back around, casting another glance at the two, who were now hopping in sync and clapping to the song's rhythm. She shrugged her head to the side at Pipsqueak.

"I guess," she spoke loudly, her apathy hard to convey through the forced volume of her words.

"So what's with Longshot these days?" Pipsqueak wondered, all but ignoring the current performance. Jane was a bit irked by his questioning - she just wanted to enjoy the one part of the show she was here for. She popped her shoulders up wildly, with some irritation. Her annoyance wasn't just at Pipsqueak, but also at the fact that Johnny hadn't been returning her messages recently. "You two still together?" Pipsqueak poked some more.

"Sure," Jane snapped back briskly. "Tryin' to see the show here."

Pipsqueak, puzzled by the nature of her response, took the hint and went quiet.

Hovering outside of the congregation, a dull-faced, gray-haired woman stood, a walkie-talkie in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other.

"No, stand down," she calmly spoke into her talkie, eyes glued to the clump of people in question. "They haven't done anything yet. Let's wait and see what happens."

She released the button on her talkie and received a reply.

["Roger that, Chief."]

With a tired sigh, Chief Jia took a sip from her half-emptied drink. A voice spoke to her from behind.

"I didn't know you were into this kind of music, Lin."

"I'm _not,_" Lin sighed, her eyes sliding closed with impatience. She contained herself, but didn't give the man behind her a glance. "My source informed me that a situation might be transpiring here today..."

"Lin...Don't tell me you've gone back to working with that religious _nut_..."

"Hardly," Lin insisted, her word like a cold knife. "This is simply a mutual scratching-of-backs."

"...Right."

"The fact that _you've _bothered to make an appearance lends credence to the information I received," noted Lin, taking another sip of her drink.

"Perhaps."

"Unless, of course...-" Lin at last turned around to face the bald man in the suit behind her, his eyes veiled by sunglasses. "-...you're here to see _me, _Special Agent _Feng._"

Feng's already apparent smile widened a bit.

"Why, yes," he came back, "I'm just delighted by your _radiant enthusiasm._"

"Aren't we all...?" Lin murmured, her focus back to the crowd as the current song finished and applause broke out.

Toph was basking in the praise for their performance. She flicked her head to push now-sweaty bangs to the side in anticipation of chugging down some water. She unplugged her electric guitar and carefully stepped toward the stool, trying her best to look casual. She cautiously reached for the stool, located it, and grabbed the water bottle, sucking down some more.

"Before we get _old_, Grandma!" someone in the audience berated her lollygagging. While still chugging at her water, she flipped her middle finger up toward the voice, which elicited a few chuckles from audience members. She smirked in spite of her own thoughts, inevitably finding the irony in someone calling her 'Grandma' given whose steps she'd followed in getting here.

Toph proceeded to swap her electric guitar with the acoustic one in the case on the ground, and Suki improvised a few seconds of drumming to give the speakers something to do. Toph kicked off her sandals, letting them fall ambiguously near the guitar case. She dragged the stool across the floor, reaching out for the microphone. There was odd chatter from the audience, but Toph paid them no mind in that moment. She set the stool down by the mic. As she sat sat down at the stool, she set her water bottle between her legs, and readjusted the mic to capture her acoustic's sound best. She sucked in a deep breath and sighed pleasantly, appreciating all of the sensations around her. The windy afternoon air, carrying the scent of popcorn and corndogs. The clamoring of eager people, waiting for more music. The heat of the sun, caressing her cheeks. The feeling of wood all around her. The floor, her stool, the guitar in her hands...Gram-Gram's guitar. The instrument that Toph's Grandmother had taken on so many shows of her own, and passed down to her granddaughter. The slightly warped wood, the dents and cracks, the refinished fingerboard, the weathered stickers, the etchmarks...This instrument has seen a lot of action, and every time Toph wielded it to battle before a live audience, she could feel her grandmother's spirit lingering within.

She was brought out of her mind-wandering a few seconds later as the crowd began expressing their impatience.

"What's the hold up?"  
"They're doing _another_ one?"  
"Where's the next band?"  
"Are you _actually _blind?"  
"Some one get these gook-eyes off the stage!"  
"Racist!"  
"Fuck you! You chinks can get outta our town!"

Toph sighed, pulling a guitar pick from between her guitar's strings. She used it to strum a quick, loud, one-two of noise from to try and get peoples' attention. Dissatisfied with the feedback, she fiddled with the mic again slightly. She then spoke to them, pushing her voice over the audience with the help of her microphone.

["Hey-hey-hey, _whoa. _Guys. People. I know you're all _moved _by our tunes, here, but ya don't actually gotta start _literally _fighting."]

-_Crrsssh!-_

Something made of glass shattered against the side of the stage, somewhere in front of Toph. She frowned.

["C'mon, you're not gonna throw shit at a _blind girl, _are ya?"] she taunted.

"Whatever, you're not fucking _blind_!"  
"Get off the stage already!"  
"Play something!"

Toph pulled off her sunglasses and let them drop to the floor beside her stool. She pointed a finger at her own pale eyes.

["Actually, _yea, _I _am _blind. Ya got a prob-_bllpth!_"]  
She was interrupted by some kind of clothing colliding with her face. Based on the horrible stink and dampness of the article, it was some huge dude's T-shirt. Toph flinched her arms around wildly, flicking the grotesque article off of her.  
"Oh, yea?" Toph grabbed her water bottle, still containing some liquid, and whipped it blindly at the crowd. Someone cried out in frustration from getting splashed by it, and there was another shattering of glass. ["Seriously! Who's throwin' shit? Get up here and I'll smack that grin off yer _face!_"]

The large, rotund, bearded man who had thrown his shirt at her crossed his arms over his flabby chest, a huge, dull frown cast across him.

"I'm _not smiling_," he bellowed.

["Then I'll..._make _you smile,"] Toph blurted into her mic.

"_Blind Bandit! I love you!_"  
"_Totally! We love you!_"

Toph recognized a pair of voices to be her fanboys she'd interacted with back at the Jasmine Dragon not so long ago.

["_Whoo!_"] Toph cheered, her voice carrying across the lot. ["Yea, 's what I'm talkin' 'bout! Get rowdy!"]

Suki, a bit perplexed by what was going on, scratched the back of her head with her drumstick and wondered what would happen next. She slapped a cymbal and Toph hooped at the sound, beginning to strum chords of the next planned song in quick fashion. She heard a couple of gasps in the crowd, which sounded like it was getting a bit rougher. Some kind of shouting match was going down. She couldn't make out what it was, but her high on attention was mixing with her love of the rambunctious. She felt an empty drink can bump against her shin. She heard a bag of popcorn get spilled across the stage to her left. Another bottle collided against the wood on her right. She hopped up from her stool, giving her guitar an aggressive, rapid plucking.

["_Yea!_"] she cheered, flipping the wooden stool over with a -_kathunk!_- ["Let's break some _rules!_"] She kicked at the stool with her foot, and it slid off the front of the stage. She could hear it snap as it collided with the cement out in front of her.

From up in the distance, Lin had guzzled down the rest of her coffee and dropped it in the grass. She watched one of her officers break up a fist fight that had started. She spoke into her walkie.

"What's going on down there?"

["Phillips just took down one of our suspects. It seems like their goal is to create a scene here. No firearms spotted yet."]

Lin responded with another question: "Anything else?"

A different voice replied.

["One of Noah's guys just chased a suspect off."]

Lin's face wrinkled with displeasure as she noticed a pair of figures quickly fleeing the scene. She grunted.

"Fine," she spoke to her officers. "Let his people do their work. But focus on the Monsoons, everyone," she commanded. "That's our target. Permission to engage if you see a weapon drawn."

Lin kept a watchful eye on the increasingly boisterous audience. The performer at the microphone was yammering away.

["'Kay, people. I _know _our awesome just cut your faces off n' all that, but let's simmuh _dun __now._"]

Lin glared at the idiot girl whose annoying voice was being blasted through the speakers. The guitar player seemed oblivious to the increasingly tense situation forming in front of her. She began playing another song.

_+ ('All You Need is Love' by The Beatles) +_

["~Love, love, love~"]

"What's the imbecile on stage _doing_?" Lin grumbled to herself.

["~Love, love, love~"]

Agent Feng, hands tucked in her suit's jacket pockets, stepped up to Lin's side.

"So the Red Monsoons and the Equalists are having some fun on our account?"

["~Love, love, love~"]

"It's been madness today," Lin groaned.

["~There's nothing you can do that can't be done~"]

Lin elaborated. "We managed to catch some of the Reds earlier at a drug bust."

["~There's nothing you can do that can't be done~"]

"There's been sightings of the Triple Threats today, as well."

["~Nothing you can sing that can't be sung~"]

"All these old names, together again." Feng mused, stroking his chin hair. "Sounds just like the Big Apple."

["~Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game~"]

Lin took a deep breath, her unpleasant memories taking over for just a second.

["~It's easy~"]

"Sounds like exactly what we don't _need _here," Lin sighed.

["~There's nothing you can make that can't be made~"]

"So, that's what you will receive," Feng chuckled. "Naturally."

["~No one you can save that can't-_Uuaagh-!_"]  
Toph's singing was cut off as one of the men who'd been instigating trashtalk had reached out his arm across the stage, grabbed Toph by the ankle, and yanked her off her feet. She'd toppled over backward, falling on her and was dragged off the stage. Flailing her limbs out in defense, Toph struggled against her assailant before she was fully yanked off, a harsh landing on her back. Her guitar, still strapped around her, jangled against her abdomen.

"Toph!" Suki cried, bounding up from the drumset and hurling her drumsticks at Toph's attacker. One missed completely, the other smacked his shoulder uselessly.

The man, an unseen, unknown entity to Toph, grabbed Toph's guitar. In her stunned state, she couldn't figure out what was happening as the guitar was ripped from her, one end of its bands snapped.

"Give it...-!" Toph hissed, reaching out her hands for the object as she realized what had happened. Her body was firmly pressed down by the man's weighty foot. "Get the hell off me!" she growled, struggling to try and kick, scratch or bite him.

"Yea, see..._now_? Now I'm smiling," the shirtless man taunted her, lifting her guitar by its fretboard.

"Stop!" Suki shouted, hopping off the stage and shoulder-checking the man. Her agility was a bit useless against the guy's sheer girth, and he took a swing with the instrument, knocking Suki in the back. Toph was sickened by the sound of the impact and Suki's cry of surprise. Toph was attempting to scramble up to her trembling bare feet. She was wary of unseen glass shards strewn around her.

"You're some hotshot?" he goaded Toph. "Yea, I can make music, too."

-_Thok!-Thok!-Crack!-Crunch!-Snap!-_

Toph was paralyzed on the spot by the unsettling sound of wood striking wood. Bending, breaking, cracking, snapping from each rapid strike. She could feel bits of debris hit her from the impacts - splinters and shards. She knew what had just happened, and it felt like part of her soul was sprinkled across the ground in the splinters now strewn about.

Toph was brought out of her frozen, enraged stupor when the man grabbed her the hair and yanked her to the side. Her bun was undone, and she was tossed across the cement, her arms getting scraped and scratched by wood chips and glass shards from the broken bottles. As Toph scrambled through a mess of long, black hair and bits of glass to get back to her feet, Suki shoulder tackled the man.

"Get _off _her!" Suki screeched, her body check causing the man to stumble a few feet over.

"Toph!" Meng's shriek of fear and concern pierced through the now crazed crowd. There were multiple incidents of violence that had broken out by now, and the audience was in disarray. It was all a wave of sounds, distress and anger, senseless white noise. As Toph got up on her feet and her ears stopped ringing, it became apparent to her how much pain she was in - the impacts sustained from being assaulted, the scrapes and cuts across her skin practically lighting on fire in that instant of realization.

Before Toph knew it, the man who'd just shattered her guitar was wheezing and sputtering in pain off a few feet away.

"-your fucking _problem_?!" That was Jane's voice.

"Just makin' a scene," the man grunted out - Toph could detect some kind of weird amusement in his voice.

"Don't-!" -_whump!_- "Don't move." That was Suki.

Toph was jarred by Jane's hand on her shoulder, but coherent enough to recognize the girl's presence.

"Not dead, are ya?" Jane checked on her.

"Eh, just my eyes," Toph pushed out the words, gripping at her arm. "Nothin' new." Her bicep had been strained in her struggling - a pulled muscle, felt like. It was strangely comforting in that moment, her friend's arm across her back. Her whole body stung and ached, and the noise was all encompassing. The wind blustered, whipping Toph's undone hair in every direction.

"Hey! _Hey!_" Jane was snarling at what Toph presumed to be the attacker. "You stay the fuck down!"

**-BANG!-**

Shrieks, gasps, screams.

Toph's body was swiftly pushed to the ground, Jane's presence acting as a shield. Cement, glass, Jane's hot breath on her neck. It was a tense moment that dragged on for a small eternity. More gunfire rattled Toph's ears - two separate guns, she could tell.

**_-bang!-bang!-  
_-BANG!-**

Jane's grip on her friend tightened at the noise, and Toph's body was numbed from pain and pressure and tension. Toph heard Jane grunt out a startled, "Fuck" amidst the chaos. Voices came from the distance. One was growling in agony, another screaming in terror. Then there were more steadied voices of what Toph presumed to be police officers.

"Officer down!"

"Drop your weapon!""Drop it!"  
_-click!-_  
"I said _drop your weapon! _If you don't-"  
**-BANG!-  
****_-bang!-_**

Scuffling, shuffling, wrestling, running...Toph had never heard anything quite like it. Such a swarm of human activity but in such a horrible way. There was a heavy cloud of wordless fear that clung to the lot. It reminded her of the night Aang's presence had sunk into that wave of heat and smoke and ashen smell. A hot, heavy dread.

Toph could feel Jane's heart bumping against her ribcage, Jane's lungs taking in air in short, quick, panicked puffs through grit teeth. Jane was suffering from some kind of bout of mental trauma, but Toph was too dazed, lost, and bewildered to be able to comprehend the danger around her in the thick of that moment.

Minutes passed in what felt like a small eternity of quiet, motionless insanity as the dust gradually settled.

"Are you all right?" came a stranger's voice.

"Y-yea," Jane's raspy voice croaked. "We're good..."

Footsteps from the stranger trailed off as he attended others.

Jane finally got off of her friend, then helped pull back up. The two of them were shaky and startled, and Jane gripped Toph's hand tightly as if to reaffirm that the blind girl was still alive.

"Tophie..." Meng's whimpering voice approached before Toph's cousin hugged the two of them in relief.

"What just...-?" Toph mumbled out, still dazed.

"Shitcock _mother_fuck!" Jane seethed out in a stream of post-traumatic frustration, digging her nails through her hair.

"That's..._one_ way of putting it," Suki blurted out. She was holding Toph's guitar case. "Let's...let the police do their jobs here..."

"Yes, can we _leave _please?" Meng winced, clearly unsettled by lingering in the area.

"Uh, sh-sure, we can do that..." Huh? Wait, wasn't that Douglas' voice?

"Yea, you guys get outta here, I've got Toph," Jane dismissed them. "_Come _on," Jane grunted under her breath, easing Toph up on her bare feet. Toph suddenly realized that her legs were rubbery and heavy, and she'd been leaving against Jane for support. She stood on her own two feet. It burned.

-_ppafft-tt!-  
_The sound of Toph's flip-flops landing in front of her. It was a comfortable, familiar sound that offered just the smallest slice of reprieve in that heavy moment.

"I got your shoes after everything settled down," Suki explained. "There's...glass and things everywhere, you shouldn't go walking around barefoot."

"Thanks," Toph breathed out.

"You OK, Tophie?"

"Still in one piece," Toph replied to Meng.

"That was...not fun." This was a deep, weighty voice that Toph couldn't pin to a name, but she knew she'd heard it before. Someone Jane knew - one of Jane's little gang buddies, like Douglas. "There's cops _everywhere_..."

"Let's go," Douglas insisted.

"_Please_," Meng whimpered shakily. "I'll...I'll go wait by Suki's car for you," Meng called back as her presence drifted off. Toph knew that she had been the one addressed.

Toph's nose was slapped awake by a pungent scent - it was metallic. Copper, or iron? Metallic and...something else.

"So...so what went _down_?" Toph mumbled to Jane. She broke apart from her friend and groped her stinging feet for her simple shoes, slipping them on.

"I don't...even fucking _know_," Jane sighed in quick, quiet words. "Looks like those bullets that got shot _hit _some people, though..."

"This is a crime scene now," Suki puffed out in bewilderment, unsure of what to take away from what had happened. "Someone was just..._killed _right-...Just thirty feet away? What...-? Why would...-?"

Toph's brain wanted to crack a dumb joke:  
_Well, shit, I didn't realize our singing was sucking _that _bad..._  
She kept this knee-jerk thought to herself.

"Yea, n' we're prolly gonna need to answer some questions before we get shoved outta here," Jane lamented. "Cop's comin' our way."

A sturdy woman's voice with a sharp edge to it bellowed directly in Toph's direction, like a clean, polished nail.

"'Let's break some rules,' mm?"

Toph stood in awkward silence, her body disheveled. Toph didn't let the icy woman's harsh attitude phase her, though.

"_What_?! Pff! That…that wasn't me!" she casually muttered in reply. "I didn't say that!"

"Mm-hm…" Two firm footsteps brought this woman up close to Toph. "I know your type, little girl. Trust me: you don't want to lie to me."

"Chief!" came another voice - one of the officers.

Toph growled in meager dissatisfaction at this 'Chief's' words. "I'm not a 'little girl'," she pouted angrily under her breath.

"What was that?" the woman swiftly snapped back.

"Nothing, Ma'am," Toph babbled with stiff obedience.

The officer who'd gotten this no-nonsense lady's attention whispered in her ear. Toph could barely catch fragments of what was said. She definitely caught the word 'incident,' though, and the Chief's reaction was a slow, tired snort through her nostrils that Toph could plainly hear.

"You'd think there'd been a breakout at a goddamn _asylum _last night with the way today is going," the woman grumbled. "Get Jacobson and join the others there, I'll make sure the ball gets rolling here and catch up."

"Chief." The word was both an acknowledgment of the officer's orders and a farewell.

"As soon as you kids leave this place," the officer turned her attention to the girls in front of her. "you go straight home. You lock your doors. You stay inside for the night."

Suki gave an, "Mm."  
Jane muttered a, "Yea."

"You were up in front of the crowd," the Chief cited to Toph. Toph could feel the woman's breath pressing against her skin. "Did you get a good look at the assailant that pulled you off stage? Can you point him out?"

"No, I _can'__t,_" Toph snipped. "What's _wro__ng _with you fucking people?" she muttered in a huff. "I _specifically _said I was blind, that wasn't a _joke, _that-"  
"O-OK, Toph, hey..." Jane gripped her tightly, eliciting the already near-manic girl to tighten up in a flinch. "Chill out." Upon realizing it was Jane, Toph's arms relaxed._  
_

Lin scowled at the two of them, and Jane knew that face on this woman: it was a face that boiled down to them getting a bit of a tongue-lashing and being let off. Jane hadn't even had a month yet to distance herself from the last time it had transpired.

"So, not only were you _encouraging _disorderly conduct," Lin scolded Toph, "you also can't tell me a _thing _about what happened five feet in front of you. Well, aren't _you _just useless to me?"

Toph's teeth were grinding behind frowning lips, but Jane's tight grasp on her shoulders reminded her to keep her cool - this was a police officer.

"He threw her to the ground," Jane burst out formally. She gestured an elbow to Suki. "Me and my friend here got him to back off." Suki was being quiet through this conversation, and Jane couldn't blame her. Jane finished her explanation. "Someone in the crowd popped a round off n' when bullets started flying, guy drew a gun, n' then your guys...-" She swallowed. "Uh...pretty sure you passed the dude back there..."

Lin whipped out: "So you can confirm that the deceased initiated force, drew his weapon, and did not relinquish his firearm when instructed to do so?"

Jane blinked at the officer with startled eyes.

"Wh-?! I-I'm not...gonna have to go to, like, _testify _this shit, am I?"

"Wouldn't _that _be ironic?" Chief Jia sighed. "To be frank, Ms. Fitzpatrick, I'm not sure your testimony would be worth much, given your reputation. Between you and your Canadian cohort, it seems like one of you two always shows up at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"_No. _I didn't have anything to _do_ with this," Jane firmly defended herself.

"Right. And I'm sure your-" Lin daintily flicked out her wrist in a mocking gesture. "-_Freedom Fighters_...are no where to be seen?"

"They're...-" Jane paused, her lips tightening as she controlled herself, ensuring to _not _look in the direction The Duke and Pipsqueak had escorted Meng. "I already _told _you, Ma'am: the Fighters are outta commission. We're done. We got nothin' to do with this shit."

Jane endured Lin's studious, sharp stare for a moment.

"Fine," Lin dismissed, evidently satisfied. "I'll find more _useful _witnesses. One of my officers will take your account down on your way out. Take your irresponsible _friend _here and get out of my sight."

As Lin stalked off to the hub of attention, Toph could feel Jane's grip loosen, a puff of air escaping her friend's nostrils. This act in turn allowed Toph a sense of relief to let her own tension dissolve.

"So _that's _the creepy psycho-bitch police chick you n' Korra mentioned before," Toph quietly muttered to Jane as they stood in their confused state.

"...Yea," Jane mumbled back.

There was a strange pause of consideration.

"She's terrifying," Toph concluded. "...I like her."

"...You _would_," Jane moaned under her breath. "Suki, hey," she tapped Suki on the shoulder to stir her from a stupor. Jane's eyes were wide as she exchanged a bewildered look of relief with the girl.

"Let's get out of here," Suki insisted, reciprocating Jane's dire expression.

"Don't gotta ask _me _twice," Jane agreed, tugging Toph to follow along. Toph was staunch and didn't budge. "Wh...-?" Jane was puzzled.

"My guitar," Toph blathered out, one hand smacking itself into the side of her face. The thought had just hit her like a sack of bricks. "Where...-?!"

"Toph, I've got it," Suki quickly replied as she tapped her fingertips on Toph's guitar case. Suki was quite eager to get the lot of them out of this scene. "Let's _go._"

"N-no," Toph coughed out, her eyes quickly pooling with water. The pain of that sack of bricks was dizzying. "My..._guitar..._Where is it? I _need _it."

"Uh, y-yea, Dead-Eyes?" Jane jiggled Toph's shoulder, glancing over to the stage, where shattered pieces of wood were strewn about. "It's an _ex_-guitar now..."

"But that...-! That was-...My _Gram-Gram _gave that to me, I can't...-" Toph's hands were now plastered to her face, trembling. Her voice cracked with desperation and rage.

Jane and Suki glanced at each other. Jane's lip curved down disparagingly on one corner, while Suki flashed bared teeth of doubt. Both faces read: '_Yikes_.'

Suki looked back over to the stage, and her eyes lit up with a moment of determination. She unloaded Toph's green electric guitar from the case she had scooped up, and handed it to Jane, who slung it over her back with its strap. With the carrying case in hand, Suki deftly flew back to the stage and went about collecting wooden shards of Toph's heirloom that had spilled onto the ground, stuffing them into the guitar case in as stealthy a manner as she could.

She couldn't take the entire thing, especially with the thinning crowd giving way to investigation, but she had collected enough pieces to suffice, she figured. With a case half full of broken pieces, Suki regrouped with the other two.

"C'mon, girls. Time to go."

"Wh-?! But-!"  
"_Toph_," Suki snapped. "I'm really sorry, OK? But someone just got _shot_. We should _leave._ Right now. Let's go follow where the other people are, get...get processed or...whatever...and _leave._"

As a pair of tears fell down each cheek, Toph reluctantly allowed Jane to pull her along. As the three of them made a quick exit from the scene, Jane felt awkward - not just because of the obviously violent event that had transpired. In some strange way, this hadn't been hard to deal with. Instead, the most traumatic moment of all of this for her was that last part - as they left. Toph's normally snarky, witty, childish tomboyism had disintegrated into a sniveling, shaking, panicky state. Jane couldn't recall having ever seen Toph quite like this before. At _least _not in some long while.

It was discomforting, to say the least, most of all because Jane had no idea what to _do. _This was _Katara's _job, the comforting and the supporting and the touching and hugging. Jane decided she'd try and act on what she'd learned from Kat's lead, and rubbed Toph's shoulder as they walked. Toph sighed out a heavy breath and wordlessly entwined her fingers between Jane's. With her other hand, Toph wiped tears from her face, pushing her bangs to one side.

Toph whimpered out two words of despair.

"She's gone..."

* * *

"_Yar-yarp! Yarrrrrr_..."

"C'mon, girl," Korra grunted, tugging up to tighten the pull of Naga's leash. The pup was digging her collar into her neck, so hard was she pressing to break free from her master's constraints. "Ugh...-"

"You should let her roam a bit," Aang suggested. "We're in the park, seems quiet here today. I mean...it should be OK."

"Oh-oh-oh!" Ikki hopped, rapidly clapping her hands with anticipation. "Let me take her out to the grass and play catch!"

"Yea!" Meelo agreed. He bounced a tennis ball he'd brought down into the park's sidewalk as hard as he could. It flew upward and he slowed down to try and catch it.

"Mm..." Korra hesitated at this idea. The park _was _pretty empty, though, from the looks of it.

Ikki excitedly rambled to Aang about how badly she wanted a dog, but their mother wouldn't let them, but she'd find a way to convince her some day, but then she'd-  
Aang patiently nodded and listened, unfazed by the girl's hyperactivity.

While this transpired, Jinora had a brief exchange with Korra, who was still struggling to keep Naga from running off the sidewalk.

"Just let us have the dog for a bit. I'll keep an eye on them," Jinora stated - it wasn't an offer so much as a passive-aggressive declaration. "So you can talk with your...-" She glanced over at Aang with a raised brow. "-..._friend._"

"What...?" Korra was offput by the girl's implication, her pup's leash tightly wound across her wrist. "He's _dating _my cousin," Korra whispered with defense, appalled at the girl's shifty assumption.

"I _know _that," Jinora quipped back calmly.

"-by the time I go to college, like you, I'll be able to have a _bunny, _oh-my-gawsh it'll be so _cute, _I'll get one with spots and-"  
"Mm-hm." Aang was doing his best to follow Ikki's every word, but it was exacting, to say the least.

"_Yar-yarp! Rrrrrarff!"_  
"Grahhhh..." Meelo was hopping in front of Naga, antagonizing her with a menacing monster-like pose.

"_Ohhhh, _oh-oh!" Ikki suddenly dropped what she was saying to Aang and whisked over to the barking dog and began trying to pet her. Naga twisted and dodged to escape the girls grabby hands.

"Guys," Korra sighed. Naga licked Ikki in the face and the girl chuckled with glee.

"Let them play with the dog," Jinora insisted with an audible huff and a visible roll of her eyes.

"Fine, fine, OK," Korra gave in, containing her irritation. She bent over and roughly scratched Naga behind her ears. The pup lapped her slimy tongue across Korra's face, and Korra endured it with a smirk. She unclipped Naga's leash, and the little white dog blinked at her for a moment, tail wagging wildly, eyes glassy and energetic. "Go on, girl," Korra eased, rubbing her hand across Naga's head. "Go on!" She gestured to Meelo and Ikki - Meelo was wiggling the tennis ball in Naga's face. He tossed it into the park's grass.

When the dog realized this, she burst into action, scrambling clumsily to retrieve the ball. The loud clacking of her yet untrimmed nails rattled the sidewalk before giving way to the rustling of grass.

Ikki and Meelo sprinted off after Naga, giggling all the while. Jinora followed them at a much slower pace, leaving Korra and Aang at a standstill on the sidewalk. They watched the children playing with the dog for a few moments - Jinora was even joining in.

Korra, relieved by a break from all of their walking, popped off her sandals and plunked them to her side. She sat down on the sidewalk's edge, letting her tired toes take in the cool grass blade's tickling. Aang followed her lead, kicking off his shoes and taking in the sensation of the grass. Two both breathed sighs of respite. A breeze washed over them. It had been an undesirable mixture of hot and humid that day, and even the regular winds didn't offer much reprieve. Aang and Korra took in the sight of the kids at play with the rambunctious puppy.

"They seem like a pretty energetic family," Aang observed. "What's with the bigger sister, though? Is she mad at you?"

The corner of Korra's mouth stretched downward briefly and she shrugged.

"I don't even get what her problem is," Korra muttered with a sigh. "Probably just...teenager...hormones. And stuff."

"Ah..." Aang nodded slowly. Another quiet few seconds between them. "So, umm...-" Aang scratched his eyebrow as he shifted gears. "You wanted to talk?"

"Oh. Rrrright," Korra meekly mumbled in reply. "Nah, it's just...-" She fidgeted with her white t-shirt awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation.

"You said you didn't sleep well," Aang recollected. "The nightmares are still bothering you?"

Korra's eyes shot off to the side and she shrugged.

"Eh, yea, something like that, or...-" She trailed off again.

"You know, a while back, I was having trouble with nightmares," Aang sympathized, resting his cheek in one palm, his elbow on his leg. "I was pretty stressed out about a bunch of things. But my nightmares actually sort of helped me figure out things that were bothering me that I hadn't realized. You know what I mean?"

Korra shrugged. Aang continued, looking back to the children.

"The thoughts you have when you're asleep...I mean, sometimes it's like you can see an unfiltered look at what's really going on. Other times, it's...just random stuff. Ha." He smirked in spite of his memories of his sleep-deprived, hallucinogenic state earlier in the year. He refocused his gaze on Korra with some solemnity. "Your dreams - is it just, like, weird, unrelated stuff? Or is it actually related to anything that's happened recently?"

Korra's lips hung open ever so slightly as she contemplated a response.

_Oh, ya know: Blood, fire, and sexually assaulting people - yea, a _little _bit fucked up._

Aang, upon realizing Korra's discomfort, retracted his question. "Uh, you...don't actually need to tell me if you don't want. If it's personal, or something. I get it." He nodded thoughtfully. "I guess I meant it more rhetorically. That sort of thing."

"Mm." Korra's head bobbed slightly, her sight falling to the sidewalk at her feet.

"I get the impression that you're feeling pretty frustrated lately," Aang noted. "I, uh...I know there's a few people who maybe aren't too happy with you..._Erk__, _the decisions you're making, I mean."

Korra rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What did she say?" Korra asked tiredly.

"Huh?" It was a little pathetic, the way he was trying to play dumb with her.

"Katara," Korra flatly clarified. "What's her problem with me _this _time?"

"N-nothing, she's...worried about you, because-"  
"She's _always _worried about me, Aang. The girl's a constantly bouncing ball of..._worry_...ing."

"She feels like you won't open up to her about this stuff that's gotten you down lately."

"Yea, well, maybe 'cuz it's not her _business._"

"R-right, I _get _that," Aang hastily pointed out. "And...and Katara does, too, that's why she's been a little distant from you lately."

"Yea, OK." Korra shrugged. "Anyway, what do you want from me?"

Aang blinked at Korra, dumbfounded for a moment.

"I..._don't _want anything from you," he pointed out. "_You're _the one who wanted to...talk with _me._ Remember?"

It was Korra's turn to deliver an awkward pause, after which her nose wrinkled up, she squinted her eyes shut, and pressed her palm against her forehead with exhausted frustration, veiling her eyes.

"Yea, I...-" She groaned to herself. "It's kinda been a long week, and...-"

"It's OK, I get it," Aang played it down. When Korra's sights didn't meet back with his own, he twisted his torso around to look behind them. His memory wasn't serving him wrong. The park was..._dead _today. So quiet. He expected more from a warm Sunday, even in the evening. "Man, sure is quiet today," Aang noted.

"Mm," Korra hummed, her face still enveloped by her palm.

Aang recalled when Korra had picked him up from the art building, where he'd been holed up all day. It had seemed pretty desolate on campus, too. Then again, graduation had just transpired, so a huge chunk of the campus' population was definitely gone at this point. Still, it had been uncharacteristically quiet on their ride back into town, and the park as well. Where _were_ people today?

_-Vrrrrmmmm!-_

Korra's pocket wriggled, her phone vibrating at her. She lazily tilted her sitting body to one side, opened her eyes, and retrieved her phone.

[From: (Unknown)]  
[hi, brownie.]  
[Sent: 7:21pm]

_What the fuck...?_

"What is it?" Aang asked, watching his friend's expression go pale with panic.

Korra was scanning their surroundings. Much to her confusion, she spotted the familiar, slender figure of a young man she despised, waving his phone at her from the distance alongside Jinora. She could hardly make out the guy's face, seeing as half of it was veiled in dark, curly bangs with purple highlights. The other two kids were frolicking with Naga behind them. Korra's teeth clenched and she nearly crushed in phone between her fingers. Stuffing the device back into her pocket, she outright ignored Aang's question, bouncing right up on bare feet and marching in long strides across the park's field - it was as if everything and everyone else didn't exist but a stupid smile she wanted to wipe off the face of the planet.

"Jinora, what the _hell _are you doing with that slimeball?!" Korra roared as she closed the distance.

"He just came up and-" Jinora was cut off by Korra's persistent inquiry, this time directed at the suspicious young man.  
"What are you doing here?" Korra bellowed at Tahno. "Huh?" She was closing the distance fast.

Aang, bewildered, scratched his nails through his hair in a few seconds of uncertain consideration. He reluctantly followed, also leaving his shoes behind, his stomach suddenly empty save for a deep dread.

"Was just in the neighborhood, Brownie," Tahno called back to her, slick and smooth as he ever was. "Noticed this lovely little lady here-" He smirked at Jinora, who timidly shrunk with flattery at his words. "-and decided it'd be rude to _not _say 'hi.'"

"Why is Korra yelling?" Ikki asked bluntly from further back.

"Is she your babysitter?" Tahno asked the child, pointing a wriggly finger in Korra's direction, who had nearly closed the distance. Ikki and Meelo both nodded, confused by the suddenly tense atmosphere.

"_Rrrrrawrf!_" Naga sprinted over, cheerfully snapping at Tahno's feet. He flinched at the pup's attention, wriggling his foot to get the dog to back off.

"Naga!" Ikki chirped. The dog froze, staring up at Tahno, tongue panting. Tahno glared down at her. She let out a tiny growl. Meelo whistled, and Naga bounced back to the kids.

"You look like a _girl_," Meelo spat out suddenly as Ikki scooped up the dog.

"He's right, you do," Ikki agreed off the cuff and just as earnestly. Naga licked at her face, which she seemed to endure happily.

Tahno grunted with impatience, and by the time he'd redirected his attention at Korra, she was right up in his face. She shoved him sharply, causing him to stumble backward a couple of steps.

"Korra!" Jinora screeched. "What's your _problem?_"

"This _asshole_ is my problem," Korra darkly proclaimed, prodding her finger into Tahno's chest with enough force to push him back another step. She gave him a sinister scowl, ensuring to impose her slightly height advantage over him. "He's an arrogant little douchebag. Here to stir some shit up, eh?"

Tahno pouted his lips and bobbed his head at Korra, fluttering his eyelids a few times.

"Aw, you're a real _heart_-breaker, Brownie," he mocked.

"Yea?" Korra raised impatient eyebrows at his jibing. "That's not the _only _thing I'll break if you don't piss off..."

"What are you _doing?_" Jinora asked in aggravated confusion.

Korra ignored the girl and shoved Tahno again. He feebly pushed back, smirking all the while, though she hardly budged. His upper body strength was no match for hers. He gave his dark purple vest a tug, straightening it from their scuffling.

"Your _babysitter _just likes to play rough, that's all," Tahno explained to Jinora.

"H-hey," Aang pleaded from his position behind Korra, about ten feet behind. "Why don't we all calm down and...and just go our separate ways?"

"He's the one who got in _our _way," Korra insisted, not even looking back to Aang in her response.

"All he did was _introduce _himself," Jinora defended the smug stranger.

"He's a sleazy weasel, Jinora," Korra insisted. "He can go take a hike and leave us alone."

"Heh. Yea, that's cute," said Tahno quietly, nodding in amusement. "Alone, huh? You sure nobody was..._followin' _you?"

Korra's face scrunched up with perplexation.

"...What?"

"You think it's a coincidence I'm here?"

"I don't. You go outta your way to be an asshole to me."

"_Tsh. _Way I understand it, _you're _the one who's been pokin' your nose in my friends' business..."

"What's he talking about, Korra?" Jinora asked.

"What _business?_" Korra asked with suspicion, bypassing Jinora's question.

"You been gettin' any...text messages lately?"

Korra's eyes narrowed.

"Like what?" she prodded.

"_Ha._ All that muscle, but no brain?" Tahno shook his head. "No one ever taught you not to play with fire, huh?"

"Wait...You?" Korra jabbed out her finger. "_You're_ the one who's stalking me?"

"Don't I _wish_?" Tahno teased, sliding his eyelids down with a lustful smirk. "Some friends of mine have been getting...distracted by you these days. In _every _sense of the word..." A shiver went down Korra's spine at the lustful look he gave her. "And they've been on my back to do something about it."

Jinora glanced over to Aang expectantly, and he shrugged with a shake of his head.

"The 'TTT?' You're with them?" Korra quipped.

"The Triple Threat Triad," Tahno specified. "And I'm not _with _them, they're-"  
"_Ha! _Like I should be afraid? It's sickos like _you _that I've been dealing with!" Korra snapped back. "Trying to threaten me? Trying to bully people around? You think 'cuz you're rich and dress fancy that you're invincible, Pretty Boy? You and your '_friends' _are using your power to oppress and intimidate people, like fucking _cowards._"

Tahno raised a sly eyebrow at her.

"And you _don't_?" he posed.

Korra's jaw fell open, eyes wide at the accusation.

"Of-...Of _course _not!" she spit out in offense.

"Isn't that what you've been _doing, _ever since you swaggered into town?" Tahno goaded her. "Breaking up fights by joining in?" He waggled his brows at her knowingly. "The Rhinos, the Combustion Man...even now...you coulda called the cops when you got threats. But you didn't. Did you?"

Korra's nose scrunched as she glared Tahno down with grit teeth. Her fingers were practically crunching against each other with how tightly they were balled together. She snorted a huff, not unlike a bull, and whipped her right arm out in a flash. Her fist collided with Tahno's cheek, causing a few drops of blood to fly from his lips as he recoiled in pain. He fumbled backward and landed on his bony rear in the grass. The kids all gasped in shock at this reaction, and Aang's jaw fell open in bewildered fear.

Korra stood tall over Tahno, shaking her fist loose with a satisfied, menacing smirk.

She scoffed down at him, "I didn't call the police 'cuz I don't _need _'em to deal with asswipes like _you._"

"_Korra!_" Jinora shrieked in a fit, rushing to Tahno's side. When she tried to help Tahno up, he shook his head with a dismissive flick of his wrist.

"_Puh_," Tahno laughed, nodding. He touched his fresh bruise tenderly, readjusting his jaw and spitting some blood to the ground. "Yep," he grunted, pushing himself back up to his feet. He wobbled a bit as he regained his footing. "See, that's what I like about you, Brownie: you go to _extremes_ to get what you want. Now that?" He tousled his bangs to try and straighten them. "Yea...That's somethin' we share in common..."

"A-are you OK?" Jinora pandered to him, placing a gentle hand over his shoulder. He slipped forward slightly, reaching around her back for support.

An instant later, that arm was wrapped around Jinora's neck, while his other hand had withdrawn a switchblade from his inner vest pocket and poked it into Jinora's neck. A second later, after she'd realized what had happened, Jinora yelped in fright. Korra instinctively took a step forward, fists at the ready.

"You bas-"  
"_Aaghh_!"Jinora cried out in pain as Tahno's blade tip pierced her skin. Korra was frozen in place by the girl's pain.

Jinora's struggling had stopped, her body paralyzed by pain and fear. Her eyes, wide and terrified, stared at Korra in a desperate plea.

Korra's sped up heart stopped for a split second as memory bled into the present. In that fraction of a moment, it wasn't Jinora, but a twelve year-old girl in a penguin costume.

"_Yar-yarp!_" Naga's burst of barking spiked the tension up a level.

"Shhh," Ikki hushed the dog in desperation, trying to clamp its jaws shut. "Shh-shh...!"

"Why are you doing this?" Aang demanded, his words shaky.

"A debt's a debt," Tahno called back to him. "And I don't like owin' one to the Triple Threat Triad."

"..._What?_" Korra spat, her body trembling with rage, ready to explode at a moment's notice.

"How much do you think a Congressman's kid is worth?" Tahno taunted, caressing his blade's tip across Jinora's neck. "Probably more alive than dead, right? Of course, there's some things money can't buy that an elected official _can_..." Tahno's knife remained locked onto Jinora's throat, a tiny trickle of blood seeping out from the small cut he'd made. "And there's always..._other_ uses..." Tahno's other hand slid down from Jinora's neck to the girl's chest, pressing against it. All the while, Tahno was staring at Korra with a snakey smile.

The humid air clung to Korra's face as a trickle of sweat from the heat slid down the back of her neck. Shadows from nearby trees stretched far across the grass in the dusk as the sun was vanishing from the sky. Jinora's wincing, Ikki and Meelo's stunned whimpers, Naga's muffled growls, Tahno's exhaled laugh through his nose, Korra's heavy breathing through grit teeth, Aang's silence.

"Let her go," Korra commanded darkly, boldly closing the distance to Tahno.

"Korra...?" Aang called out warily.

Tahno flinched from Korra's advance, his hand that had been molesting his captive quickly tightening back around the girl's neck. Korra was unrelenting, the heat of her stare melting through Tahno's greasy smile and dissolving it away into a flicker of fear. Korra swelled with confidence as Tahno's dissipated.

_Yea, that's right. You're too chickenshit to get your hands dirty, you creep._

Tahno's bluff called, he pushed Jinora to the grass and readied his blade for his attacker, prancing back a few wide, quick steps. Ikki scooped up Naga, who was frantically clawing to escape the girl's grip. Ikki and her brother swerved away from the commotion, regrouping with their sister as Tahno and Korra had a standoff.

Korra pounded a menacing fist into her opposing palm.

"Let's _go_!" she taunted. "You and me, Pretty Boy..."

Tahno twirled his blade in a showy flash and frowned.

"Thought you'd never ask," he growled back, struggling to maintain his smarm.

The two circled each other, the air thick with tension. Tahno's blade glinted in the setting sunlight. Korra's raised fists clenched with willpower. A strong breeze blew, whipping each combatant's hair around, but neither set of eyes wavered.

A few seconds later, as the wind died back down, Tahno's own will gave way to nervous impatience.

"Come _on, _Little Girl," he coaxed, flicking up his free wrist whilst tightening the handle on his weapon. "Gimme your best shot."

Korra drew a few inches closer, her eyes narrowed as her reactive brain clicked together a plan of action on the fly.

In a demonstration of speed and strength, she enacted a one-two attack. She faked him out with a quick right jab, which he swerved to her left to avoid, only to immediately fall victim to her fierce left knee right between his legs. She tilted her head to her left to dodge his half-hearted knife swing, then watched him double-over to the ground. She crushed his blade-wielding hand against the ground with her heel, wrenching his weapon away from him. A solid punch to the side of his face, and Tahno was sent flopping over to his side. She scooped up his switchblade, skillfully flicking the knife back into its compartment, and tossed the object to the grass behind her.

Staring down at her fallen foe, she laughed through her nose and reciprocated his wrist-flicking taunt.

"_Hmph. _Fuckin' _chump_," she dismissed him.

Aang took this period of inactivity to dash to the three young folks present.

"Are you OK?" Ikki was desperately asking her sister, who was sitting in the grass. "You're _bleeding_!" Ikki whimpered.

Meelo was clawed at his head fretfully, baffled as to what to do in this situation.

"_Yar-yarp! Rrrrr..._"  
"Shhhhh...Shh..." Ikki clung to the pup, who wrestled with activity, intent on what Korra was doing.

Jinora's eyes were wide open and startled, her palm clasped against the cut on her neck.

"You three all right?" Aang checked, clutching Jinora's back and propping her upright.

Jinora flinched at the sound of Korra laying into the stranger that had just assaulted her.

"Where's your smile _now, _huh?!" Korra snarled, kicking him in the stomach to roll him onto his back. "Fuckin' pedophile!" She punched him square in the face, breaking his nose. "_Pretty Boy?!_" She stomped his groin, and he recoiled, sputtering and coughing.

"_Jinora_," Aang shook her. "C-c'mon, we...-" Aang cast a quick glance to Korra. "Let's get you guys outta here..."

"But...But Korra...-" Jinora choked out, taking in a deep breath, unable to tell whether her neck was still bleeding, how deep the cut had been. "If we don't stop her...-"

Naga's growling layered on top of Korra's beatdown and Ikki's crying, creating an incredibly stressful atmosphere. Aang clenched his teeth and squinted his eyes for a moment, the noise and pain around him too much to handle. He sucked in a deep breath, but there was no way he was going to be able to meditate this insanity and clear his head. He opened his eyes, and lifted Jinora to her feet. She was dizzy and in shock, leaning on Aang for support as she caught her breath. Aang wiped her neck with his sleeve, his shirt's fabric soaking up the traces of blood. It was a scratch, a cut, nothing deep or serious. That, at least, was a relief.

"O-OK, it's...it's not so bad," Aang sputtered out, patting Jinora's neck dry. "You're...OK. You're OK. It's all right."

Jinora planted her face into his shoulder, sobbing out some of the fear and anguish that had been pented up in her moments of being held hostage. Aang rubbed her back with comfort but eased her to start walking.

"We need to get you guys outta here," Aang advised.

Jinora rubbing her tears against Aang's shoulder, looking down at her confused, scared siblings, then back at Korra. Jinora's feelings were in tangles. It was quite horrifying on one hand to see this side of Korra - the side she'd read about, heard about, but never actually _seen_. It was as grim as she'd expected. And yet, on the other hand...-

"You never...-" Korra tugged Tahno up by the collar of his blood-splashed shirt. "-..._ever_...-" She flashed her bruised, red-stained knuckles at his face, and he cowered. "-...even _look _at that girl again! You fucking _hear _me?!" She rattled his head against the ground. "_Eh?!_"

"_Mmmph!_" he barely managed to reply, his face a mess of red, black, and blue.

-...it was strangely comforting to see such ferocity exerted on account of Jinora. Suddenly, Korra's aggression held some amount of sense that was mixed with the chaos and _non_sense. Jinora still couldn't condone the woman's actions, but in that moment, she at least could understand part of where they came from.

Jinora suddenly noticed that Aang had stopped easing her away from the conflict transpiring behind them. When she turned to look up ahead, she noticed that another man was standing before them, looking thoroughly unamused. He was another lanky, lean guy, like the one Korra had just beat to a pulp. He had darker skin, gelled hair, and a soul patch. His blue, stylish vest was accented by a gold medallion that hung loosely from his neck.

He was pointing a suppressed pistol right at Aang, the gun twisted sideways, its elongated barrel directed right at Aang's chest. The man's hand, twisted sideways, exposed three knuckles which were tattooed with letters.

|**T**|**T**|**T**|

"_Rrrrr_..." Naga was clearly not trusting of this man, either.

"Better shut that dog up," he commented, shooting Ikki a dark look. His voice was disturbingly slick and smooth, much like Tahno's.

Korra had finally stopped pounding on Tahno at the sound of this man's yelling.

"Woooooow," the man dully gawked at Korra, hunched over his compatriot like a ragged gorilla. "Yer a piece o' work, Korra. I can see why Bolin likes you so much."

"_What? _Who are you?!" she demanded, utterly put up with what was transpiring.

"Me?" He smiled, pressing his palm to his chest. "I'm an old pal of the Brothers. Used to do some work with 'em. And I'm your guardian angel that's been lookin' watch this week."

Korra was now leaving Tahno's battered body behind, slowly advancing to this new 'opponent.'

-_pafft-pafft!_-

The figure with the pistol fired two silenced rounds into the dirt at Aang's feet, smoke pouring from his weapon. The shells from his gunfire clattered to the sidewalk he was standing on.

"I'd keep your distance," he warned. "No telling where the next round might go, right?"

"We can take you," Korra insisted boldly.

Aang swiveled his head back and glared at her with horrified indignation. His face read, '_Are you crazy?!_'

"_...rrrrmmmm_...!"

The gunner flicked his pistol in the direction of the muffled sound, which was emanating from the creature Ikki was clinging to in misery. Ikki sobbed in fear of the barrel she was staring down, shutting her eyes tight. Meelo hugged her from the side, his face now wet with tears. Jinora removed herself from Aang's side and dauntlessly placed herself in front of her siblings, using her arms to ease them behind her. Naga continued to make noise from between Ikki's arms.

"What is it that you want?" Aang asked, his voice trembling under duress despite his attempts to stay calm. "Who are you guys?"

"The pulpy mess back there's Tahno - an associate. He owed us a favor. I'm Shin. Now...What _I _want?" the gunman nodded slowly, scratching his jaw thoughtfully, while still pointing his gun at the children. "_Huh. _I don't get asked that too often. It's always about what the _Triad_ wants, right? They get what _they_ want, and I get to sit pretty, back in the big city. But then, _then_ yer buddy _Korra _here started makin' trouble with some associates of ours, n' things get messy...so I'm here to give us a little bit of _leverage_." He shrugged, wiggling his gun at the three Rabten kids. "Send a warning to the _pot-stirrers_..." He gave Korra cold eyes but a sickeningly warm smile. "But you seem just as capable as the stories I heard. So, listen. I got an offer for ya."

"Not interested," Korra immediately belted back.

Shin's relaxed smile wore thin.

"Now _come on, _it's nothin' crooked, you didn't even _hear _what I had to-"  
"_Grrrrarp! Yar-yar-yarp!_"

Ikki's arms flailed to contain Naga, but the pup finally broke free of the girl's grasp, instantly bolting for the attacker. Shin's attention diverted for an instant, Korra took advantage of the situation and bolted forth.

-_pafft!-  
-pafft-pafft!-_

Bullets flew as Korra relentlessly charged at Shin, twisting his gun-toting hand in a struggle to jerk it from his grasp. Startled by her strength, Shin popped a few more rounds off in the arm wrestling, but Korra kept the gun pointed away from her and toward the ground. By now, there was more gasping and sobbing, and Jinora was screaming. Aang was panting from anguish, shock, and confusion, and as Korra got the upper hand, Aang was whisking the kids away from the conflict. His shouts of help echoed across the seemingly barren park alongside Jinora's shrieks of agony.

A trickle of blood followed where Aang was carrying Jinora, her foot having been shot in the flurry seconds before. Ikki was tugging the baffled Meelo alongside Aang, all four of them shaky and stumbling in their dash to escape the conflict.

"Is she...OK?!" Ikki squeaked as they ran, gawking at her elder sister's pained expression.

"Y-Yea," Aang panted out as they took refuge amidst a patch of bushes. He cautiously set Jinora down, covering her mouth to quiet her screams. His brain whirled, his bare feet wary, his heart pounding. Here he was in a dire situation with three strangers, and children, no less, whose safety was relying on him. It was a most uncomfortable weight to bare. Aang took a single moment to shut his eyes, inhale deeply, and exhale, letting his head collect some kind of plan despite Jinora's whimpers and Ikki and Meelo's sobbing.

Aang went to retrieve his cell phone - _agh, _monkey-feathers. He'd left it back at the dorm to charge that morning.

"Phone?" He blurted out with exasperation.

"In my...-" Jinora wriggled her hand into her pants, pulling out a cell phone. "There."

Aang swiped it, then shoved it on Ikki. He clutched the side of her head and stared directly at her quivering eyes, his chest heaving heavy breaths. He spoke to her with clear, direct urgency while maintaining as calm a demeanor as he could.

"While I help your sister, you need to call the police. 9-1-1. Tell them there's been a shooting in the park by the fountain. OK? Can you do that?"

Ikki swallowed hard and nodded vigorously. Aang released her head and let her call, while Jinora moaned through clenched teeth something indecipherable.

Meelo was at Aang's other hand, sticking out the shirt he'd just pried from his own back.

"We gotta wrap her foot," Meelo mumbled with uncertainty.

Aang blinked at the kid, dumbfounded for a moment, but took the boy's shirt and began quickly tearing it into strips.

"How are you doin', Jinora?" he asked, her head in his lap.

She merely answered with a whimper, her neck dripping with a small trickle of blood. Her heartrate was elevated, which wasn't helping her cut clot up as well.

"Hey-hey, hey," Aang tried to ease Jinora as Ikki spoke on the phone behind him. "We've got ya. It's-...Everything's all right." Unsure of any exact procedure to follow, Aang wrapped one strip of cloth gently around Jinora's neck to at least cover her cut wound and help it clot. Meelo clutched Jinora's hand and let her squeeze it to help calm her down. Aang focused his attention on the girl's foot. Thankfully, the bullet seemed to have passed through the edge of her heel rather than somewhere more critical. He tried his best to wrap a tight makeshift bandage of cloth around the wound, and then another around her upper shin to help slow the bloodflow in the girl's leg.

While this was transpiring, Korra was clashing with Shin.

In the moments right after his gunfire, Shin's gun had puffed out a small cloud of smoke that tainted his wrestling with Korra. Korra forced him to drop the weapon to the sidewalk, then immediately kicked it, sliding it along the cement. She received a punch to the rib for her trouble, but retaliated with a knee to Shin's gut. She pushed him off with enough force to send him on his back in the grass before immediately going for the firearm, her bare feet slapping loudly against the cement. As Shin scrambled to his feet, Korra popped the pistol's remaining few bullets harmlessly into the grass beside her, its suppressed, clicking pops an empowering sound while she wielded it. It clicked a couple of times, and she discarded it with the assurance that it was now empty and no longer a factor.

"What _now_?" she coaxed Shin, her breath ragged and heavy, arms stretched wide. She loosened out her shoulders and hands as she prepared for another bout, her knuckles still raw with Tahno's blood. She watched Shin stagger and regain his balance, his own switchblade drawn. "_Fuck_," Korra growled under breath, instantly regretting her taunt. What was with these cowards and their weapons?

Then it smacked her upside the head, a metaphorical punch with more impact than any physical one.

Naga was lying, motionless, on the sidewalk before her, a small pool of blood formed around her, soaking into white fur.  
Motionless, lifeless.

Korra's heart had stopped. For a flash, all she could see was Aunt Kya, dying in front of her eyes. Blood soaking into the white furred edge of that eskimo costume.  
Motionless, lifeless.

Shin said no words, going right for her to take advantage of her momentary breakdown. Enraged with tear-stained cheeks, Korra bobbed, weaved, and twisted around his swings, but was nicked and cut in a few places. What little energy Korra had held within her underslept, underfed body had been exhausted in pummeling Tahno into the dirt, and her adrenaline was starting to wear out. She managed to back herself up against a nearby oak tree. In one last artful move, she managed to swerve around one of his knife swings and throw his arm off course, stabbing his blade into the tree bark. When she made to kick at him, he was forced to leave the blade behind.

Korra attempted to send a fist to his face but was sluggish, and he countered with a body blow, then a punch to her left eye. Shin followed through by smashing her face right into the tree. Her nose splattered blood and she toppled over into the grass, her body getting scratched up by the tree's rough skin all the way down. He kicked her in the side, the rib, stomped on her back, and left her sprawled against the base of the tree.

Korra rested for a bit, dazed and aching in so many ways. As she finally managed to force herself up to one knee willpower alone, she realized that Shin had stirred Tahno from the ground. Everything was hazy. Leaning against the tree for support, Korra choked and sputtered from her pain, a small glob of blood and saliva hanging from her lips, and some more of the red stuff dripping from her nose.

The wind whistled through her ringing ears, tossing her three tails off to one side. Wobbling on her feet, barely standing, Korra readied her fists. Her eyes stung with tears, slipping down her face. Covered in cuts, scraps, bruises, blood, and dirt, she was a sore sight, her disheveled hair whipping in the warm winds. With clenched teeth and hardened fists, she stared, wide-eyed, as Shin helped Tahno onto his feet.

Korra's heart was ready to burst from her chest, her skin burning with pain all over. Each inhalation was a sharp, deep, rough action, each exhalation shaky through grit teeth, her abdomen aching from side stitches in her breathing. Dizzy and exhausted, Korra fell to her knees, unable to maintain balance on two feet. When she'd regained some of her senses, it was from the Shin's shadow, cast down on her as he blocked the sunset. A battered, cowering Tahno lingered behind him, a fuzzy shape in Korra's distorted senses. They had an exchange she could hardly make out, but she made sure to growl and flash her teeth at them despite her half-open eyes.

"-w... ld...fffuggin' _end her_...-"  
"-...st...sh..._beat_ y...no...blo...n our...ands...-"  
"-...hat d...we _do_...?"  
"_..._not get _caught_..."

Shin, having retrieved his empty pistol, slammed it against the side of Korra's head.

"_Oough!_"

Korra's body slumped over, her head hitting the grassy ground as things went black.

A little ways across the park, Aang was cautiously peeking his head out from behind the bushes he and the kids were holed up behind. He watched their two assailants scrambling away, making for the nearest exit from the park. Aang's gut was emptied, his brain frozen at the prospect of what could have befallen Korra.

"They're...they're running away," Aang quietly informed the kids.

"Should...we...go _after _them?" Meelo wondered, still clutching Jinora's hand.

"_No_," Jinora immediately decided for him. "That's-..._argh_...That's stupid. The...the police are coming, and...-" She sighed, squinting her eyes and letting her head sink into the grass.

"What about _Korra?_" Ikki wept, rubbing her sleeve against her wet eyes. She was still on the phone. "Th-that's our babysitter," Ikki mumbled into the phone, evidently answering an inquiry from the other line. "She might be hurt..."

"She's...-" Aang took in a cautious, thoughtful breath, studying their environs.

The criminals were shambling away, off in the distance by now. He could make out a small patch of red on the sidewalk they had fled from, and a lump of white and brown that could've been...Korra? Sprawled in the grass? Oh, dear.

"I need to check on her, make sure she's OK," Aang fretfully observed aloud. He looked down at Jinora, whose body was tensed with pain, her legs elevated over Meelo's lap.

"Go," Jinora fussed, nodding slightly.

Aang's glassed over eyes checked with the other two kids, who both nodded with solemnity, agreeing with their sister. Aang puffed a determined breath through his nose.

"I'll be right back, promise me you _won't go anywhere_," Aang carefully advised.

Jinora gave him a weak smile from her position on the ground, bandaged and injured.

"Um," she grunted, slightly readjusting her position. "I _think _that won't be a problem."

Aang was far too stunned and startled to appreciate Jinora's attempt at lightening the situation, and his reply was merely to blink at her with disoriention for a second.

Aang then sprung to his feet, sprinting across the barren, bleak park at twilight. His bare feet padded against the grass, and this isolated sound was unnervingly calm and quiet in spite of all that just transpired.

As Aang drew near, Korra's eyes strove to open at his footsteps.

"...Aang?" she murmured in a stupor.

Aang slid to his knees in the grass, grabbing the battered woman's body by the shoulders and propping her limb torso upward.

"Korra!" he cried with petrified concern mixed with a tinge of relief. She was alive, at least. His worries gave way as he pelted her with questions. "Are you all right? What happened? Where's Naga?"

"Y-yea," Korra groaned, nudging herself from Aang's grasp as she grabbed her throbbing forehead, sitting on her hip. "They...-" She gasped, glancing to where her puppy had once existed. There was nothing but a splotch of red on the sidewalk where the deceased dog had once been. "They killed her..." Korra whispered, her voice hollow and empty, the trauma haven't not fully hit her yet.

"I...-" Aang's eyes started welling up with water at the deadened look in Korra's face. He started scanning her body for injuries. There were a few splashes of blood on her shirt. "Did...Did he _shoot _you?"

Korra, back to clutching her aching skull, slid her hand around her abdomen briefly, so confused and stunned that she couldn't quite remember what had happened.

_+ youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=fRObwQOePRE +_  
_('Hide Your Tears' by Daniel Licht)_

"No..." she murmured shakily. She looked up to Aang, his stark concern some slight comfort in all of this. "I'm OK," she assured him with some amount of certainty.

"_Ohhh, _thank goodness," Aang seethed out warily, letting his head bob as some of his fears slid out of his heavy head.

A melancholic and regret-filled silence engulfed the two for a few seconds.

Then, that trauma - that reality of what had just transpired - fully hit Korra.

An involuntary sob spurt out from Korra. Fresh tears spilled down her face, and she sniveled, plunging herself into her friend's chest in a desperate hug.

Korra's words tumbled out through bawling whispered.

"Wh-when-...that _gun, _at...at the kids, and-and..._you_, and-...I was so _terrified_..."

Aang's face leaked out tears at this moment, his empathy and mental upheaval too much to bear. He hugged her back.

"-...th-thought I might...-" Korra was still working to push her words out. "-...he-he would _kill, _b-but...my _dog, _it...I-I felt so...helpless..._useless..._f-f-fucking..._ulgh..._-"

Aang tried to shush her and calm her down. Her reaction to this was a side of Korra he had never seen, and never _wanted _to see, so disheartening it was.

"It's...it's all right," Aang's own once wavered in pitch. "It's over, they're...they're gone now, and...-"

"Y-you...-" Korra eased herself off of Aang's body and stared at him, her damaged face trembling with a child-like shame. "You were _right_," she confessed, her voice quivering. "I've been scared this whole time..." She wiped her bloodied nose with her arm, then weakly fumbled her messy face into her sleeve.

"It's all right," Aang repeated, baffled as to what to say to the broken woman. He knew she'd been stressed for some time. This was a verifiable breaking of the camel's back. "I'm scared, too. We're all going to get through this."

Korra wheezed into her arm then sniffled loudly.

"I-I've...never felt like this before, so...so _fucking stupid, _and...and...-" Korra squinted eyes were running with tears. With one eye blackened and slightly swollen, she stared at Aang in an anguished urge for reassurance. Those icy eyes were dulled with pain. She was tired - of everything. "Aang, I don't fucking know what to _do_!" Korra wailed, plunging herself back into Aang's embrace.

It all bled out through her eyes. The pain of Kya's loss. The pain of seeing her dog, shot dead at her feet. The pain of those she loved doubting her, and the realization that they had been right to do so all this time. The weight of guilt for even seeing those three children in danger. The weight of guilt for the mistakes upon mistakes she had been making lately.

Everything Korra had kept stacked and tucked in the dark closet of her heart was flooding out, scattering across the floor in a messy, befuddling, agonizing mess.

As he held onto her shuddering shoulders, Aang pressed his forehead into hers. There was such hurt emanating from her. Such internal damage that she had been keeping locked away. It was overwhelming for him to try and accept it from someone he had only seen acting so headstrong and self-assured.

As the sound of a police siren echoed over the eventide, Aang sighed, clamping his hand against the back of Korra's neck.

"I'm not sure what you need to do," he admitted tiredly. "But...admitting our fears is the first and most difficult step in overcoming them."

* * *

**A/N: There have been multiple pieces of artwork made depicting scenes from this update in the SRU art gallery.**


	112. Wrong

******A/N: I will no longer be adding Guest comments to my stories (for now). I will read them all, as I always have, but if you truly care about your opinion remaining posted, just create an account like everyone else. I would frankly LOVE some actually negative constructism criticism on SRU, but for me, that means focusing on the 'how' and the 'why' rather than the 'what' and the 'who'.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 112 - Wrong_

* * *

- Sunday, May 29th, 2011 -

Toph sat, cross-legged, on the normally comforting short carpet of her dorm room floor. She was finally alone after all of the craziness that had recently transpired. Meng was seeing Douglas out of Aqua House, and Suki was with Jane in the room across the hall, trying to get in touch with the others.

Mere seconds after Suki had closed the door behind her, Toph sucked in a shaky breath, running her hands over the textured plastic of her familiar guitar case. Her fingers found their way to the weathered, rust-touched latches, and she clicked them open. She pushed the case open and paused, her hands lingering at the edges of her case's lid. Her head bobbed, pale eyes quivering at the confrontation of this loss now strewn at her lap, Toph sniffed deeply, blinking.

After a moment of empty thought, Toph sighed, reaching her hands down into the case. Her fingers trembled at the sensations they received. Sharp, dry edges of cracked wood. A couple of frayed, disconnected strings. A mess of broken pieces, once forged in a time before her own, now a pile of memories, most already lost to the ether when the instrument's previous owner had passed away.

This had been the guitar Toph had _learned _how to play on. It had been the object that had awakened within her a love for music. Piano had been forced upon her by her parents, and she had in time come to learn to love it, but guitar - _this _guitar - had been love at first touch. And now it was no more.

Toph spent her couple of minutes of solitude drowning out the conversation happening across the hallway, grieving the loss of her heirloom.

Familiar footsteps approached, and the door opened. Toph could tell that the person who'd just entered was Katara, based on the distinctive sound of Katara's low-heeled leather boots. Toph quickly tried to clear her nose and rubbed her fingers at her dampened eyes. There was a pause after Katara closed the door.

"_Toph_!" Katara cried out in shock, quickly rushing across the room. "Oh my G-! What...What _happened?_"

"I got beat up," Toph grumbled, her casual tone unaligned with her battered appearance.

"Oh, no!" Katara whimpered, immediately dropping to her knees at her roommate's side. "What _happened_?" Katara repeated, clasping Toph's shoulder.

"I just _told you_," Toph groaned. "I got _beat up._"

"I meant _how_," Katara quickly snipped back with an equal measure of impatience. "And, wait, whhh...-?" Katara hand fell off of Toph and prodded at the shattered chunks of wood in the guitar case. "Is that your _guitar?_"

"_Was _my guitar," Toph huffed, blowing hot air at her dirtied bangs. "Some asshole smashed it..."

Katara seemed awestruck by this notion. Toph could hear the young woman scratching at her head in confused consideration.

"How did...-?"

"Some kinda mob invaded the concert," Toph off-handedly mumbled. "I guess there's been...-" She sniffed some runny mucus back up her nose. "I dunno, lotta crap happening downtown, from what the cops told us."

"The cops...?" Katara murmured.

"Yea, where the hell have _you_ been?" Toph asked incredulously.

"I-...Me and Sokka went out of town with our Dad for the day, we just got back from dropping him off at the airport, this is-..." She took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Toph coughed, cleared her throat, and ran her finger along a scrape she had accumulated on one of her elbows. Katara's presence overtook Toph's in a sudden, concerned hug.

"Are you OK?" Katara whispered.

"I'm...-" Toph sighed. "Grammy's guitar didn't make it...but _I'm _still in one piece..."

"Here," Katara grunted as their hug broke apart. Toph's body flinched at first from the shock of Katara's hands groping at her face and neck. "Is there anywhere that's hurting? You need-..._Ugh, _you're just all scratched up, you poor...-" Katara pushed Toph's messy hair around to inspect the girl's shoulders, then moved to her arms. Toph simply let this inspection pass. The sensation burned a bit from all of her various bruises and cuts, but it was aesthetically pleasing at the same time. "We should clean you up to make sure you don't get any infections..."

"Oh...Y-yea, not a bad idea."

"Ohhhhh, jeez," Katara puffed out tiredly. She could feel her phone vibrating from her skirt's pocket, but she ignored it in lieu of the pressing matter before her.

"There was a shooting," Toph flatly informed.

"..._What?_"

"Kat?" Jane entered the room.

"Uhh...J-jane, hi, I...-" Katara stopped checking Toph's minor injuries and a frustrated breath sighed from her nostrils. "What exactly _happened?_"

"Buncha shit's been going down today," Jane explained bluntly. "Toph got dragged off the stage by some punk, me n' Suki got him to back off..." Jane shrugged, shaking her head. "Some guys pulled out guns, n' then-"  
"Wait, _guns?_"  
"-cops were already there, like they were _expecting _it, put the dude down..."

"Janey-Jane here protected me," Toph muttered, that fact suddenly dawning on her.

"It was crazy," Jane sighed, sitting down on Katara's bed on the opposite side of the room.

"It was," Suki darkly agreed, hovering in the doorway. "From what we've found out, we weren't the only ones. There's been a nasty bar fight, a store robbery, a car-bombing...The school president almost got mugged, I mean...-" Suki trailed off, her arms crossed.

"I was just on the phone with Sokka," Jane explained. "He's on his way here. He's telling me that the news is reporting this stuff. A bunch injured and a few deaths today."

There was a heavy silence as eyes wandered awkwardly to the floor. Katara pressed her hand against her forehead.

"What is _going on _in this town lately?" Katara moaned.

"Whatever it is, bet it's related to that house-burning fucker that me and Korra caught," Jane mused darkly.

"Maybe he's got friends?" Toph posed. "I mean...I dunno."

"Either way," Suki concluded, "I'm starting to get a bit worried about whether...-"  
["~All you need is love~"]

Toph's cellphone was ringing, causing Suki to trail off.

["~All you need is love~"]

"Oh, erm...-" Toph was about to crawl to her desk to retrieve her phone, but Katara eased her to remained seated.

"I've got it." She handed the phone to Toph.

["~All you need is love, love...~"]

"That's Sokka," Toph noted, recognizing the ring tone's association.

["~Love is all you-"]  
_-Beep!-_

"H-hey, Meat-Head..."

["Toph! Hey!"] Sokka spoke in an almost hyperventilated manner. ["Are you OK? Are you hurt? Are you all right? Your guitar, Suki said it-..._Fuck, _man, I am _so _sorry I wasn't there, it-"]  
"Whoa, whoa," Toph laughed weakly, the sound of her concerned boyfriend offering some complicated reprieve. "Settle down. I'm a bit dinged up, but, agh...-" She sniffed, rubbing at her nose with her knuckle. "Thanks to ol' Powderpuff and Freckles here, I came out in one piece."

["Ah...W-well, erm...That's, uh, that's good. That you're safe! I mean. Not the guitar part. That's bad. A-and you getting hurt! Also bad!"]

Toph bit at her lip, Sokka's awkward mumbling strangely comforting to her ear. They breathed into each other's phones for a moment.

"Sooo...You and Twinkle-Toes are good, right?"

["Huh? I thought Aang was with _you_."]

"Nnno, he...-" Toph paused, cocking her head in Katara's direction. "Katara, where's Aang?"

Toph couldn't see the way Katara's eyes widened with worry, but she could certainly detect the slight waver in the young woman's voice.

"Aang?" Katara swallowed, pushing loose hair up over her ear as her mind whirled. "He's...at the art building, he had work to do today, and-...Sokka should be picking him up right now."

["Umm...Yea, I swung by there already,"] Sokka explained to Toph, having heard Katara's remark. ["He wasn't there, and his phone's back in the dorm room. I figured he must've met up with you guys, but...-"]

"_Oh._" Toph felt a strange pit in her stomach, given the state of affairs the community seemed to be in today. "He's not there," Toph cited to Katara. "Aaand...he's not _here, _either," she stated, for Sokka's benefit.

Katara was looking to Jane and Suki with expectation. Jane shrugged and Suki shook her head.

"Sure he's fine," Jane muttered to Katara with some level-headed assurance. "Not like he'd get himself into trouble."

"R-right," Katara sighed in agreement, nodding. "He...probably had a dinner date with someone. Like...like Mai!" she theorized, finding some relief in her logic. "Or Zuko, or...someone."

"Uhh..." Toph was distracted by the conversation happening in front of her. "Hey, listen," she spoke to her phone. "I think we're just gonna ask around and figure out where he went to. You just come down here. It'd be...really nice to have you around for a while."

["Yea..._Yea, _no, I'm...walking right up to Aqua right now, I'll be there in a sec."]

"Sounds good. Meng's there in the lobby."

["Right. Yea. OK..."] A heavy sigh. ["Love you."]

"Mm."

-_Beep!_-

Toph sat still with her phone in her hand for a few seconds as her friends scrambled to get in contact with others.

Katara was already on the line with Mai on her own phone.

"You're sure he's not there?"

["Yea, I've been here all afternoon,"] Mai's crackly voice informed. ["He left a few hours ago, said he was meeting up with someone."]

"He didn't say who?"

["Sorry, Katara, I didn't think to ask..."]

"Oh, no...It's-...You're fine, just with...everything going on today, I'm a little...-"

["Oh, I got a few messages from Zuko earlier, I guess a lot of messed up stuff has been going on downtown."]

"Right..."

["I'm sure Aang's fine. Sorry I don't know who he went to see."]

"It's OK. We'll figure it out."

["Yea. Make sure to let me know what's up. Now you've...got me a little worried, or something..."]

Katara smiled weakly at Mai's mutterance of caring.

"Sure thing. Have a good one."

["Yea, you, too."]

As Katara ended her call, Suki finished checking her phone.

"I just texted Ty-Lee," Suki informed. "Got a reply back - she hasn't seen Aang today."

"Yea, Mai says he was at the art building but left to 'see someone' a few hours back."

"Someone?" Jane inquired.

Katara shrugged.

"She didn't ask who."

"Ah..." Jane nodded complacently, arms crossed in consideration.

Katara's phone received a fresh text message.

[From: Mai]  
[Just asked Zuko. He hasn't heard from Aang all day. Sorry.]  
[Sent: 9:13pm]

Katara growled under her breath with frustration.

"What's up?" Toph asked, reaching a blind hand out to her roommate's shoulder. As Toph found Katara's arm and clamped her scratched up palm against Katara's sleeve, Katara sighed.

"He's not with Zuko, either."

"Well...Let's keep trying," Toph encouraged, squeezing Katara's arm.

"Right," agreed Katara, pulling up her phone again and scrolling through her contacts. She sent out a mass text, inquiring about her boyfriend. She received a few negatory responses as Sokka arrived. As Sokka and Toph grasped each other in a relieved, uncharacteristically solemn embrace, Katara remained glued to her phone, hoping to share in a calming hug herself. Her head was starting to get light and dizzy as that night at the United Republic swept back into her brain. The fire and smoke, the blood, Aang's burned back, that scarred tissue that remained...The fact that she was jumping to dark onebs was something that Katara figured was either a sign of her worry-wort attitude, or a signal that this town was in a bad way. From the news she was hearing, it was perhaps _wise _in this case to be concerned.

"Yea," Meng was explaining to Sokka as she led him in. "This girl here was _so _brave." Meng patted Jane on the back, and Jane blinked at her, wide-eyed, as the cousin went on. "After they got the guy off Tophie, the cops were there, and he drew a gun, so, like, Jane just...-" Meng tensed up her fists in front of her chest and flung them out in a quick gesture. "-...just, like, _jumped _on her, like...protecting her? You know? I mean, like on instinct or something. And I swear I saw some bullet holes in the stage, I mean, Tophie could've been hurt if Jane hadn't...-" Meng sighed with an amazed shrug. "Whew. I'm just glad she was there."

"Me, too," Toph ensured her gratitude was heard.

Jane shrunk with a bashful look at these words, and at Sokka's proceeding bewilderment.

"_Damn,_" Sokka murmured, raising his eyebrows at Jane, who avoided his look of awe. "Well, erm...Way to go, Freckles."

"Yep," Jane awkwardly took his compliment with a shrug.

"Hey. Hey," Toph whimpered from the floor, reaching up her slightly battered arms. "C'mere, guy. You. Guy. Here."

"_Ohp_," Sokka squawked, making his way around the girls present and nearly tripped over the guitar case. He paused, observing Katara's oddly distant body language. The girl was lost in her phone, apparently trying to figure out where Aang was. His heart stung for a moment, but he knew he should attend to Toph, who was opening her guitar case back up to show him the damage.

"So, uhh..._this _happened," Toph explained with a dejected, flat tone.

"Oh. Wow..." Sokka was groaning at the sight of Toph's shattered guitar, its mangled pieces strewn in her case. "Uh, someone...must've _really _hated the song you guys played..."

Toph's withered expression sprouted an involuntary but grateful smirk at Sokka's humor, reminding herself of what she had thought back at the plaza.

"Sokka," Suki grunted at him, protective of Toph's attachment to the instrument in question.

"It's OK," Toph insisted.

"Sorry about that, Dead-Eyes," said Sokka with some sympathy, closing the case up and nudging it aside, to the foot of Toph's bed. "Here," Sokka reached down and pulled Toph up to her feet from the bed's bottom corner post.

"Well, _I'm _not broken, at least," Toph declared as her feet touched the carpet. Worming her arms around Sokka's waist, she took a deep breath, taking in his scent. Sokka ran his fingers up and down her back, scratching her slowly.

"You _do _look dirtier than usual," Sokka prodded another joke at her. She laughed through her nose and squeezed him. "Uh, but...-" Sokka's voice projected away from Toph. "Thanks, you guys." He was talked to Suki and Jane. "For getting the dude off her, I mean."

"Yea, yea, no prob," Jane coolly accepted his gratitude.

"I'm sorry we didn't stop him before he broke...-" Suki gestured to the closed guitar case.

"He ain't gonna be breakin' anything _else _anymore," Jane grimly proclaimed.

"Uh...Y-yea," Sokka acknowledged, off-put by that thought. "That, err...That's true. I guess. Since he, um...is kinda _dead _now, and...-"

A loaded silence weighed down on the group. This seemed to be a regular occurrence today.

"_Ohh _my G-..." Katara gasped out at her phone, eliciting everyone's attention.

"What?" Sokka wondered, off-put by the way Katara's face was changing gears from worried and confused to a boiling rage.

"_Well, _I figured out who Aang's with," Katara snapped with a passively livid tone, getting up to her feet. Katara stared Sokka right in the eyes from a mere couple of feet away. "_Korra_," Katara snipped, her lips pursing with subtle, tense nods.

"O-oh, well..." Sokka blinked at her barely bridled fury. "That's, erm, _good, _right? That we know where he-"  
"They're at the _hospital_," Katara interjected, her voice cracking at the end with disbelief. "The fucking _hosp__ital!_"

Oh, jeez. With that squeaky, enraged swearing, Sokka knew right then and there that someone was in for a fierce scolding of some nature. It would be best to just let the woman's rage fizz out.

"The _hell _are they doing there?" Jane demanded, baffled.

"She won't _tell_ me," Katara snipped with a wild shrug. "We've gone back and forth for, like, _three _texts now. It was a struggle just to get her to tell me where they _were._ I...I can't deal with this! Sokka, can you-?"  
"I got it," Jane insisted, gripping Katara's shoulder and making her still. "I got it," Jane whispered gently with an affirming nod.

Katara's glassy eyes were about to shed tears, and Jane couldn't bear that sight. She eased Katara to sit at the bed and took out her phone, dialing Korra up.

"I don't...-" Toph muttered out, brows furrowed. "Why would they be at...-?"  
"Just let her make the call," Sokka decided, rubbing Toph's back briskly and planting a kiss on her forehead. He got a slight taste of pavement from the traces still left on her face. "No need to stress ourselves too much yet. I bet Korra just got herself in a scuffle. Ya know. _Again._"

"We need to go check on them," Katara determined, directing her words at Jane.

Jane lifted an index, trying to pay attention to her call. "Yea, hey," she greeted Korra.

"Sorry, guys," Suki said to Sokka, her voice lowered beneath Jane's call. She turned off her phone and stuck into her vest pocket. "One of my friends got a bit stranded from all of this stuff today, they need me to go get them."

"It's OK, go on," Sokka told her with a tip of his head. "Seriously, thanks for helping us out today."

"Yea, no problem, guys," Suki said with some sympathy. She bid them all a wave. "Stay safe out there," she sternly advised.

"You, too," Meng said back. "Man..." Meng sit herself down in Toph's desk chair, trying to take in the craziness that was going on.

"That Suki's pretty all right," Toph remarked into Sokka's ear while Jane conversed on the phone.

"She is," Sokka agreed. "I'm glad you two have been getting along lately."

"Mm. Kinda wish I'd given her more of a fair shake earlier..."

"Ah, it's OK. It's good she was there today."

"Yea, she even got the pieces of my guitar. Not that...ya know...I have any idea what I'm gonna _do _with 'em, but...-"

"We'll figure something out."

"Well...Enough worrying about me. Hopefully Korra didn't _throw _a guy into Aang's head," Toph whispered into Sokka's ear. "I mean, we've got enough brain damage in this group as it is between you and me." They both cracked the tiniest of smiles, recalling when Sokka had nearly sustained a concussion due to his cousin's recklessness. Sokka fiddled with Toph's messy hair, straining a few bits of gravel from the black strands.

"Aang's fine," Sokka assured. "Guy can walk through _fire, _right? He's tougher than we give him credit for."

"You finally figured that one out, didja?" Toph observed as Jane spoke on the phone in the background.

Sokka nodded to himself and eased Toph's back against the side of his chest. She let her head rest against his and they sat in silence, letting Jane's chattering bleed over them as their breathing gradually synced together.

"I did figure that one out," Sokka at last acknowledged as Jane finished up her call. "My cousin can be a loonie sometimes, but I'm sure Aang's managing all right."

* * *

Korra's stomach was tied up in knots as she sat in the chair of the busy hospital waiting room. Her leg was bouncing on its toes, her feet slipped over her sandals from earlier, their thin soles spattered with dried up traces of a puppy's blood. Her bruised hands were fidgeting with one another, twitching here and there as she found herself craving a cigarette. Or maybe even better, some liquor. God, _fuck, _something to calm her down...

Her phone vibrated, eliciting a sharp, startled intake of breath as she scrambled to lift it from her lap and check it.

[From: Shamrocks]  
[here. should be there in a sex.]  
[Sent: 9:43pm]

Korra paused, staring at the typo in Jane's text.

[should be there in a sec.]

No. Wait. She'd just misread it. Ugh. Damn, did she need to unwind tonight. Shaking off her jitters as best she could, Korra turned to her right, where Aang was seated, head bobbed, hands neatly folded in his lap. What, was he...sleeping? Or doing that 'meditation' bullcrap? Without any regret, she shook his shoulder, jarring him awake, one way or the other.

"What?" he grumbled with some irritation, rubbing at the edges of his eyes.

"The others are here."

"Mm..." Aang blinked, scanning his environs. There were a fair number of others occupying the waiting area, but his friends were nowhere to be found just yet.

"In a minute," Korra explained. "They just got to the hospital, I mean."

"Oh." Aang stretched his shoulders back and yawned before letting his head sag back down. He rolled it around on his neck to loosen the muscles out.

Aang's quiet nature was starting to piss Korra off. He'd hardly said a damned word in all of this.

"Uh...Crazy night, huh?" she attempted small talk, prodding at a small bandage on her forehead.

"Crazier than it needed to be," Aang sighed into his hands, his face shielded by his palms. He'd spoken the phrase with a bit of disdain.

"Yeeeea," Korra started replied, staring at the side of his head with some confusion. "That, erm-...Shit happens, I guess."

"Yea," Aang breathed out, lifting his face back up to the air and staring into the crowd of fellow hospital guest. "Especially when you go _looking _for it to happen."

"Wh-..._Excuse _me?" Korra quipped back.

Aang's head lulled to one side as he swung his gaze over to her. He clarified to her in a dull, exhausted voice.

"When someone points a loaded _gun _at you, just...charging right at them is _asking _for trouble..."

Korra rebuffed, "He was going to try _kidnapping _Jinora, I couldn't just stand by-"  
"You were too busy _brutalizing _that other guy," Aang pointed out.  
"Huh?" Korra was lost.  
"Maybe if we'd _left _the park instead of you wasting time battering that-"  
"Yea, well if you'd actually helped me take the dude _out _instead of running away like a pussy-"  
"We're all still _alive _because we ran away."  
"Not _all _of us are still alive, Aang."  
"Right. Sorry. And who's _fault _is that?"  
"The guy with the fucking _gun_."  
"Yea. Mm-hm."  
"You tryin' to say this is _my _fault?"  
"No. You're right," Aang acknowledged with some sting in his tone. "We _had _to fight them back, _clearly _there is no other solution to-"  
"Better solution than letting them have their way with us."  
"You don't _know _that was going to happen, it-"  
"Waiting around to see what other people do is what leads to things like my _aunt getting stabbed_ _to de-_"  
"Rushing right at an armed thug is the whole reason we are _in a hospital right n_-"

"Excuse me!" a nurse bellowed at them in passing, their feverish growling having raised in volume enough to disturb the low, steady hum of the waiting room.

Korra, still frowning, shrugged in defiance at the nurse, while Aang turned sheepish and hastily squeaked out a "Sorry."

As soon as the nurse's attention had drifted away while she walked down the hall, Aang and Korra both slumped in their seats and sat in bitter disagreement for a few minutes until Korra's phone started vibrating.

[Call from...]  
[Sox]

Aang stared at Korra's phone inquisitively for a second until Korra reluctantly took the call.

"Yea?" she breathed out to her cousin.

["Hey. Can you guys come down to the lobby? They're not letting us in. Place is too crowded, apparently? And we're not related to the girl you're there for."]

At Sokka's words, Korra glanced at the waiting room they were in - there wasn't a spare chair empty, and a few folks were standing up, leaning against walls or beside their seated companions. The Rabten siblings were all in a hospital room with their sister and some other patient. They weren't going to be going anywhere, if the past while had been any indication. She _could _really fucking use a cigarette break...But she ought to stay with the kids, right? Tenzin and Pema were still on their way.

Korra puffed out a breath, vibrating her lips together with indecision.

"Uh...I, uh, I really oughtta stick around here for a sec, but...but I can send Aang down."

["Shhhure, yea. All right."]

Having just come off of a frustrating bickering match with Aang, Korra was reluctant to establish eye contact, though she could sense his presence shift at the sound of his name.

"OK."

["Lemme know when we can see you."]

"Yea."

Korra hung up her phone and let her head sag for a moment.

"What's going on?" Aang asked.

"Place is too crowded, so they can't all come up here. They asked if we could just go meet 'em in the lobby out front."

"Ah." Aang immediately stood right up. "So, you're not coming?"

"I need to stick around a bit longer until their parents show up," Korra sighed, burying her eyes in her palm. "Go ahead."

Aang lingered in front of Korra, his face squirming with some regret at their argument.

"Hey, everything's all right," he meekly muttered to her. She lifted up her other hand, eyes still veiled, and flashed her palm at him.

"_Just-..._Go on. I'm fine."

Aang's weak-willed concern quickly dissipated to mild irritation as he left Korra behind, per her request. As his footsteps carried off down the sterile, tiled hallway, Korra lifted her head up to look at his back before he disappeared into an elevator. She drummed her fingertips against her cheek glumly, then got up and made her way for the room the Rabtens were shacked up in.

Stepping into the small room was suffocating. The other bed, which had full earlier, was empty now, but the bed further into the room had an exhausted looking Jinora sprawled across its plain surface, her foot elevated and bandaged. Korra's stomach crawled at the sight, the aftermath of the evening still not settled in. At this point, the thought of losing her dog had been buried inside, but now Jinora's injury was front and center. The poor girl was out like a light, with Ikki sitting in a nearby chair, standing vigil as her little brother slept on the floor, propped against the wall.

Ikki's gloomy face lit up like a flickering oil lantern at the sight of Korra.

"Hey..." she greeted with some relief.

Korra went to speak, but her throat was tightened, and no words came out. She quickly covered her mouth, coughed to clear things up, and tried again.

"Uh, hi. How...-" Korra stood at Ikki's side, looking down at Jinora's sleeping form. "How's she doing?" Korra quietly inquired.

"They're waiting for our Mom and Dad to come, but...the Doctor said that her foot's gonna be OK, but...-"

Korra's heart skipped at the way Ikki trailed off.

"But...-?"

"But, well...-" Ikki shrugged, rubbing at her tired eyes. "It's just that her ankle might be bit messed up from now on..."

Korra's throat was tight again.

"...-_hh_..." was about what she could manage, staring starkly at the girl in the hospital gown, out cold.

"Thank you," Ikki muttered with all due respect.

Korra nearly choked on her intestines at this.

_'Thank you?' Ikki, your sister's foot had a hole put through it because of me._

"For...for what?" Korra asked, baffled.

"You protected us," Ikki insisted, reaching out her dainty little arm and spreading her hand. Astounded and confused, Korra's weak, wobbly arm accepted Ikki's hand. Ikkie squeezed tightly. "Those guys were going to take us away," she surmised, "and hurt us, but you were there. You stopped them. You're the best babysitter ever."

Korra swallowed, her lips tight at the sight of Ikki's gratitude, flickering in that bittersweet, worn but warm way that a lantern would.

"I'm-...No, Ikki," Korra whimpered out, shakily placing the girl's hand in her lap. "I'm the _worst._"

That little glow in Ikki's eyes faded, and she shrugged, her eyelids sagging.

"You and your friend made a good team," Ikki decided with a yawn. "You both helped us get away from those hood...-" She paused, exhausted eyes squinting. "-...hoodlums?" she concluded with uncertainty at her word choice. Korra smiled timidly and nodded, drawing a bit closer and patting Ikki in the shoulder.

As Ikki yawned again and leaned against Korra's hip, the woman flinched slightly. She'd gotten cut up a little on the very spot Ikki was leaning against. Korra suddenly realized how bizarre she probably looked, her hair matted, her eye blackened, her knuckles scraped, and her clothes tatters, dirty, and slightly blood-stained. And here Ikki was, making her out to be some kind of fucking saint in all of this. Korra looked down at Ikki, peaceful and innocent, nodding off to sleep after a crazy evening. The girl's double top-knots were disheveled, her jeans stained with grass. Korra looked past her shoulder at Meelo, who was dressed in a medical sheet gown over his shorts - his shirt, she remembered, had been ripped up to serve as temporary bandaging for Jinora's foot. The boy was slumped over, hands flopped onto the tile floor, back against the wall. How could he _sleep _like that? And Jinora, resting in the bed, looked at once peaceful and pale. Bags hung from her closed eyes, and her normally smooth and well-groomed hair was full of sweat, sticking unpleasantly across her face. Korra felt stressed simply looking at her, facing this pain that she was now feeling guilty for.

Korra took a slow, shaky breath as she stood in perplexed and horrified silence, stunned at the realization that her heart was pounding in her chest. She could feel the veins in her neck thumping at her skin, at her temples. This was fear. They were in a hospital, everything was fine, and yet Korra was petrified in that moment. But there was nothing to _do_ about it, because the fear and adrenaline Korra was experiencing was the sort that didn't come from something external that could be shoved aside, plowed through, or punched.

_Oh, fuck. Pema. Tenzin. What will they say? Ohhhh, shit. Shit. They're going to be so pissed. How can I even show my face to them after this? After everything they've done to help me, and I just go and make it all a goddamned mess, like everything else...Rrrgh._

When Ikki shifted herself up from Korra's hip and yawned, scratching at her neck lazily, Korra came back to. Korra noticed that her fists were clenched, her teeth were clamped together. She loosened her tension and took a deep breath. Ikki continued to watch Jinora, but Korra slide the girl's chair into the nearby corner and eased Ikki's head against the wall.

"Take a nap, kiddo," Korra mumbled. She pushed some strands of unkempt hair over Ikki's ear, only to pause afterward and wonder _why _she had done this. Seeing that Ikki's eyes were already closed again, Korra sighed, standing back upright. She looked toward the wide paneled window in the room and gazed out at the night sky - the outside lights of the hospital's parking lot, the traces of moonlit clouds being nudged along by the high altitude winds of the night.

Korra pressed her palm against the sterile glass pane and leaned her forehead into her battered knuckles. She breathed in and out, watching the vapors from her lips form soft, quickly dissipating fog on the window.

_Korra, old girl...What is wrong with you?_


	113. Sympathy

**A/N: This update is one long-ass scene and takes place very shortly after the prior one. Stay tuned at the end of the update for an important thank-you message for ALL READERS.**

**Fun fact: I was up until 5am last night working on getting this scene finished. ^_^;**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 113 - Sympathy_

* * *

- Sunday, May 29th, 2011 -

Katara, who had practically been holding her breath for the past ten minutes, expelled a puff of relief when Aang's tired form trudged into the hospital's main lobby. Katara bolted for him, catching him off guard with a tight hug and a kiss on the lips. They lingered for a moment, attached to each other in quiet calm.

"Thank God you're safe," Katara mumbled with a grateful intensity, slinging her arm around his hip and guiding him to the others, who all rose up from their seats.

"Are those twinkly-toes I hear?" Toph called out, easing herself out of Sokka's guiding grasp.

"I'm OK," Aang assured warily.

Toph crossed the short distance toward his voice, arms stretching forth. Katara gently guided Toph by the shoulder, and Toph clamped both arms around the couple, squeezing them tightly. Sokka, right behind Toph, joined in on the collaborative embrace.

"Augh, I'm fuckin' _glad_ you're OK, Aang," Toph breathed out.

"Yea, you, too," Aang reciprocated.

Meng and Jane hovered above the plastic chairs they had just been waiting in, unsure of how to react. Katara, looking over Toph and Sokka's shoulders, smiled to the other two, tilting her head to the side to goad them to come in.

Katara advised to them, "Being part of the group means being-"  
Jane chimed in with a slow nod, smiling bashfully as she recited alongside Katara, "-being part of group hugs."

With her hands folded across her waist, Jane walked over to the others and wedged herself inbetween Katara and Sokka. Meng cautiously wandered to the space between Aang and Toph, and Toph, sending her cousin's presence, tugged Meng inward.

A sense of peace and security flooded the lot of them for a few seconds before they all broke off in their various ways, heading back for an empty pond of seats. With tired grunts and exhausted sighs, they all collapsed into a clump, a few on-lookers from across the room staring at them with some confusion.

"So...Uh...-" Aang scratched at his neck timidly before rubbing at his eyebrow. Katara, still enraptured by his physical presence, rubbing at his thigh and kissed him on the head. He smiled weakly. "So erm..._you _guys had a pretty bad day, too...huh?"

"_Tsssshhh_," Toph blew hot air through her teeth, scratching at her hair. "I got roughed up, guy busted my guitar, gunshots, bullshit, I don't even-..._Puh._"

"Oh..." Aang stared blankly at Toph's frustrated face, her head bobbed. His face squirmed with condolence. "I'm sorry about your guitar, Toph," Aang offered, giving her a pat on the back.

"We're all still alive, so that's what counts, I guess," Toph dismissed. "So what happened to _you_?"

"Yea, Korra was...really dodgy about it," Katara explained. "If you're OK, and she's all right, then...-?"

"We got jumped by a couple of guys who were trying to kidnap the kids Korra was babysitting."

"Wow, wait, _what_?" Sokka was baffled.

"Their dad's a government official," Aang explained with a shrug. "But Korra seemed to sort of know the guys who jumped us, or something..."

Jane squirmed in her seat, her lanky arms back to being folded across her waist.

"Gang shit, right?" she inquired with a dull displeasure.

Aang tried to read Jane's grim face, but couldn't decipher anything from beneath the freckles and olive eyes.

"I guess," Aang concluded. "Anyway, there was a scuffle, and one of the kids was hurt. Not lethal - they're going to be fine, it was their foot, and so-...But it all just-..._Ugh. _Korra's dog, she didn't...-"

"Huh?" Katara leaned forward, head twisted to the side as she hung on Aang's every word.

"Naga, she was shot, and...-" Aang trailed off, shaking his head.

"Jesus," Katara gasped, her mouth ajar.

"Fuuuck," Toph sighed, her face still pointed at the floor between her feet.

Sokka simply rubbed his hand across his scruffy jawline, dumbstruck, while Jane scratched at her eyebrow with a sigh.

"Wait, who...-?" Meng was a bit lost, fidgeting with one of her poofy, braided pigtails.

"Korra's dog," Sokka quietly clarified to her. "She was still a puppy, pretty much..."

"_Oh_..." Meng's eyes wavered with sadness at the prospect. What kind of person would shoot a kid and a puppy?

"How did that happen?" Katara wondered, wrapping her hand around Aang's. She could tell that he was pretty shaken up by the event, understandably. After what he had endured not so long ago - the warped skin on his back still in a state of recovery - Katara's once worry-riddled mind was beginning to race with anguish and anger at the thought of Aang having to endure more trauma.

"Well, um, we were in the park, and the kids were playing with the dog, and this..._guy _was there, and...-"  
"Guy? What guy?" Katara inquired.  
"I-I don't know, some student. I've seen him on campus, he's...creepy."  
"Hm."  
"Anyway, so...-"

As Aang recounted events, a trio of weary, eager adults was storming into the hospital. It was the children's parents, accompanied by one local Chief of Police. They checked in and swiftly headed for the nearest elevator, discussing matters at hand.

"Frankly," Lin was prattling, "I'm utterly baffled as to _why _you would leave your children in the care of that imbecile during a time like this."

"We have our reasons," Tenzin vouched.

"Oh?" Lin mused, pressing the 'up' button for the elevator.

"Tenzin and I just really needed a weekend to _ourselves_," Pema sighed, fidgeting with her hair bun. "And we also needed some time to discuss...some big changes in our lives."

Lin did a bit of a double take, scanning both tired expressions for some context. She'd known that things with the two of them had been somewhat shaky lately due in part to Pema's insistence that Tenzin look into retirement.

"Is everything all right?" Chief Jia asked, glancing to Tenzin with a rare look of concern.

Tenzin's eyes went all shifty for a moment as he stroked his little chin beard with hesitation.

"I'm pregnant," Pema explained under her breath, not keen on this private information floating around her workplace just yet.

Lin's head slowly tilted up, her mouth slightly agape, and she nodded gently, unsure as to how to react.

-_Ding!_-

The elevator doors swung open, and they hurried inside.

"Good news," was the phrase Lin decided upon as she punched in the floor button.

"Thank you," Pema muttered with some uncertainty.

Pema leaned against the elevator's metal railing, her husband at her side, while Chief Jia seemed to balk at the metal sliding doors, arms crossed over her chest as she watched them close.

"We really appreciate you coming with us, Lin," the Congressman said.

"Of course," Lin formally replied.

"I knew that things around here in town were starting to get a bit tense," Pema observed, her pitch heightening, "but I had no idea that so many, just..._crazy _people were...-"  
"Pema, calm down," Lin sharply advised. "I'm going to handle all of this."

"Like how you 'handled' things with Yakone?" Pema retorted in a wide-eyed grumble.

"Dear," Tenzin grunted with disapproval at the accusation.

"Pema..." Lin bit at her bottom lip, containing her impatience. She turned her head to a right angle, her expression cold and stiff. "I am going to _handle _this." The two women glared at each other, with Tenzin standing between them.

-_Ding!_-

The elevator door swung open, and the three hurried out into the bleak, white hallway. Lin gave pause, letting the married couple whisk past her, but she latched out her hand onto Pema's shoulder, freezing them in their tracks.

"I am..._so _sorry that your kids were affected by what's happened today," Lin earnestly sighed to the doctor. Pema's lips hung open, startled and unsure of how to respond. "I promise you, we will find who did this, and-"  
"Lin," Tenzin groaned, trying to ease the woman's ferocity, but Lin squeezed at Pema's shoulder and finished her thought.  
"-and I will make sure they get what they deserve."

This time, the tension between the two womens' stares ran parallel rather than violently intersecting. Lin nodded to seal her claim, and Pema nodded back in acceptance of this offer. They made their way to the appointed hospital room, a couple of employees offering Pema their condolences. Lin slowed to a stop in the doorway, lingering there as she watched the familiar yet alien event begin to unfold around her: a mother gasping with fright at her injured child, a father looking on, his hand on his wife's back.

It was a world Lin had never desired to be a part of, but all the same, she couldn't help but feel her stone heart crack at the sight.

And there, off to the side, was something Lin hadn't expected.

That troublesome Kesuk girl was sitting on the floor, back to the wall, asleep. Ikki and Meelo were huddled at her sides, both kids leaning against the battered woman. Korra looked oddly at home there, strangely innocent despite her cuts and stains. That single image told Lin all she needed to know about what had transpired: that young woman had protected Tenzin and Pema's children.

"Jinora...?" Pema was whispering. The girl hummed something inaudible, and Lin watched the mother's face distort with anguish.

Lin was startled as a nurse came sweeping by to enter the room.

"Pema," the nurse called gently. "There you are."

Lin decided to duck out of the room and leave the Rabten family to their grievances.

In a strange way, this brief moment had energized her. All day, she had been running around Wayward, trying to manage the chaos.

That single moment of seeing a family reunited...It was easy to forget that this was what Lin's job was ultimately about: keeping people safe. Keeping families together. In some ways it was easier to focus on other peoples' families than to even consider starting one of her own.

Lin waited in the hallway, while downstairs in the lobby, the younger folks were reeling from Aang's first-hand account of events.

"-that's when she was just...laying _into _him, I mean-..._Whew._" Aang's eyes were glazed over with trauma as that image of an enraged Korra replayed in his head. Like an animal tearing apart its prey. "You couldn't even recognize his face after she was done with him...It was, I mean, _really _bad."

"Heh, sounds like Korra," came Toph with some smug approval.

"Sure does," Sokka mumbled, carrying quite the opposite tone.

"That was before the other guy," Jane checked.

"Mm-hm," replied Aang. "That's what I'm saying. We stayed there because Korra wouldn't stop...just..._beating _the first guy."

"So why didn't you just _leave _her?" Sokka wondered.

"Hey," Toph grunted at him, not in support of this notion. "We don't leave people behind." Toph grinned. "Even if they're stupid cousins."

"_Heyyyy_," Meng facetiously whimpered back.

"I'm just _saying_," Sokka bobbed up his shoulder, wriggling his hands around in defense. "If Kor wanted to stick around, that was _her _choice."

"Toph's right, we couldn't just leave her," Aang solemnly concluded.

"No, OK, but...back up," Katara slashed her hand through the air, eager to get back to the details. "He had a _gun._"

"What?" Aang was now lost.

"The second guy," said Katara. "He shot Naga - Korra was wrestling with him, and he fired off his weapon. That's when the girl and the dog were hurt. Correct?"

"Mm," Aang nodded. His expression paled as he floundered, hoping to not shake the hive of Katara's fretful nature.

"But before that. After Korra was beating on the first guy, before anyone was shot. The _second _one showed up. He had a gun," Katara repeated, insistent on exploring this point. "Pointed at you?"

Aang's eyes slid away from her and toward Sokka, who was sitting with Toph and Meng a few feet away on the opposing aisle of chairs.

"Uh, y-yea, I guess he did," Aang off-handedly muttered.

"You _guess?_" Katara snipped.

Aang raised one shoulder in admittance.

"OK, yes, he _was _pointing a gun at us."

"At _you. _And how close was he?" Katara pressed further.

"I'm...I'm not sure, maybe...ten feet?"

"And he shot at you."

"He shot, like, at the ground. Near me."

"In front of you."

"R-right, like a...like a warning shot."

"And you were guarding the children," Katara clarified.

"Uh, w-well, I mean, not '_guarding_,' like...there wasn't really anything I could do, but...-"

"But you were with the kids," Meng cited. "While Korra was...-?"

"She was...-" Aang cleared his throat. "You know, making sure the first guy wasn't getting back up."

"So, OK." Katara readjusted herself in her seat before summarizing events. "This man had a gun pointed at you, he fired it right in front of you, and then...-" Katara was shaking her head, practically clawing at her hair with disbelief. "Korra _bum _rushed him? _That _was Korra's plan?"

"I...-" Aang's lips cocked awkwardly to the side and he shrugged. "It wasn't a _plan, _it was just how she reacted..."

"Not reassuring," Katara flatly retorted.

"She took him out, though, right?" Jane theorized.

"Ah, not...not exactly," Aang fumbled around, having no desire to dwell on the stressful details.

"That's not the point," said Katara sternly, giving Jane a dissatisfied look. "There was a loaded gun directed right _at Aang _and Korra made a stupid move."

The group was silent at Katara's bubbling rage.

"L-listen, Katara," Aang shakily tried to calm her down. "Korra was looking out for us, and I mean, look." He patted himself briskly. "I'm - look, see? - I'm fine. I'm OK."

"But you almost _weren't_ OK," Katara insisted, her voice wavering slightly as her eyes began to water up. Aang's own tear ducts were managing to find a few extra drops despite the many he'd already spilled that night. Katara clutched at Aang tightly, squeezing his abdomen. She heard him grunt in pain a bit, and she lightened her grip. She savored the sensation of his fingers running through her tangled hair and they both remained glued to each other's sides.

"Wait..." Toph murmured to herself during the intimate moment transpiring in front of her.

"What?" Sokka asked, looking at her.

"I hear Korra," Toph quietly informed Sokka. "She's with that awesomely horrifying lady I told you about."

Sokka gave her a perplexed look, but knew he shouldn't doubt the girl's hearing.

"Up ahead," Toph advised, hearing his body shifting around as he tried to examine their surroundings.

"Ah," Sokka confirmed her theory, spotting his worse-for-wear cousin being escorted by a vaguely familiar police officer with gray, wavy hair and an ice-cold face. They were conversing to each other, but he couldn't hear what they were saying until they got closer. The entire group's attention was diverted to Korra at this point, who looked like a wreck, and thoroughly embarrassed to boot, with the way Chief Jia was talking to her.

"-had happened to her, I can assure you that things would not have gone well for you." Chief Jia stopped at the partially filled block of chairs that Korra's friend currently resided at. The other gawked at Korra, whose head seemed to have shrunk into her shoulders. Jia concluded, "That family seems to have a certain faith in you that I can't comprehend, but don't think that means I've taken my eye off you. I'm getting damn sick of seeing your face in my town. This is strike two, girlie. You don't want to see my third-strike face."

Jinora's words from their argument prior to this whole incident were jangling in Korra's skull: _'And _Dad_ says the only reason you're not in _jail_ is because he's friends with the police.'  
_

Korra was grateful, at least, that if she had managed to win over some affection from _someone _in this town, it had been an influential family.

"Understood?" Lin jabbed.

"Yes, Ma'am," Korra obliged with all due submission, evidently lacking in energy or spirit to even bother putting up an attitude. "It won't happen again."

"_Hmph, _where have I heard _that _one before?" Lin scoffed, harkening back to the last time they had talked.

Lin's dead-set glare at the side of Korra's bobbed head subsided as she was allegedly appeased.

"Now, then," Lin said, more clearly to make her presence known. "You." She pointed at Aang, and he and Katara disconnected limbs. "You've already been processed, as well?"

Aang nodded, his head sagging into his palm.

"All right." Lin gave pause, studying the body language of the young man. It seemed like he'd been through enough mental strain for one day. Now that she was looking at him, wasn't he that kid from the building fire a couple of months back? She remembered interviewing him back then over the incident. Nice kid. Shame he was associating with rebellious fools like Kesuk and Fitzpatrick. "The children up there are personal acquaintances of mine," Lin explained to the boy. "I understand you kept them safe in a pinch."

The boy shrugged modestly, unable to find the words to reply.

"I can assure you that their parents are grateful. As am I."

Korra, standing right beside this interaction, was containing a bitter frown as best she could.

"Uh, y-yea," Aang stammered. He nodded his head in Korra's direction. "I mean, I helped them get away, but...if Korra hadn't been there, I-I don't know what would've...-"

Lin cast another glance at Korra's head, but offered no compliments to match Aang' 's heart was pounding with shame and jealousy. Korra had helped protect those kids, too, but did Lin give _her _a thank-you? Fuck that. Korra's eyes wandered up to Katara, only to notice that her cousin was shooting her a stink eye.

Katara then raised up her hand slightly to gain the officer's attention.

"Ma'am, um...I-if we end up finding any new information, or...or if we encounter anything suspicious, is there maybe...a way we can contact you?"

"Katara!" Sokka whispered from a few feet away. More like a shouting-whisper, if it could called that. "They have a number! It's _nine...one...o-"_  
"I meant _her, _Sokka," Katara sighed. "Specifically." She rubbed sand from her eye as her eyelids sagged. He was trying to be funny, but she was _not _in the mood.

As Katara re-opened her eyes, she offered the Chief a sheepish smile of apology.

"Don't mind him. He's an idiot."

Lin gave the young woman a smug smirk.

"Miss, my _job _is in dealing with idiots," she assured with a spot of humor as she passed Katara her business card. "Lin Jia," she announced her name. "Anything comes up, give me a call."

Katara accepted the card - as plain as a business card could be - and stuck it in her back pocket with a nod.

"Thanks," she said to the Officer, who had her hands on her hips as she surveyed the lot of them.

Lin's head swiveled left and right with some disfavor.

"I'd tell you all to stay out of trouble, but what's the point?"

This was her conclusive statement as she changed direction - heading back toward the hospital's elevator.

"She really _is _pretty mean," Meng whispered in Toph's ear.

"I know, right?" Toph snickered, beaming.

The attention of the group had refocused on Korra, who was standing ungracefully behind the chairs that Aang and Katara were seated at. It took a few seconds for some kind of conversation to transpire.

"You OK?" Sokka broke the ice, getting up from his seat and working his way to Korra.

Korra, whose eyes were bulging with water, blinked rapidly and rubbed her thumb at her nose. Sokka could tell as he drew closer to his cousin that she'd taken a bit of a beating that evening, her nose still showing traces of blood, her eye a bit black.

"Still standing," Korra answered Sokka's question matter-of-factly. He grabbed the side of her defined bicep and pulled her over to give her a hug.

"Like always," Sokka grunted through their embrace, her squeeze a bit heavier than he'd anticipated.

"I call dibs on Korra," Toph blurted out, startling the group.

"Say what?" said Jane, squinting at her.

Toph proclaimed, "Me and Ladybro here need to have a heart-to-heart."

"..._Lady_bro?" Korra balked, confused.

Sokka, eyes closed with confidence, patted Korra on the collarbone whilst nodding over her shoulder.

"I helped her with that one," he quietly explained. "Just roll with it, it is _way _better than what she was _gonna _call you."

Korra saw Toph's teeth stretch across the blind girl's face at that remark, and she found this dispiriting.

"Let's have a chat," Toph asserted.

"Sure," Korra huffed. Whatever this girl had in mind, it had to be better than getting subjected to twenty questions from Katara, which Korra was willing to bet had already happened to Aang.

"Let's go outside," Toph decided, rising up to her feet and lifted out her elbow for Korra to interlock. "Get some air. This place has a funky smell. I don't like it."

With a begrudging sigh, Korra clamped down her fingers against the fringe of Toph's arm and pulled her along. Toph, a bit of a frown about her, grabbed Korra's arm and the two whisked off.

"See you in a bit," Aang bid them.

"Back in a few," Toph called back, trying to keep up with Korra's long strides.

"Don't do anything crazy!" joked Sokka.

"_Those _two?" scoffed Jane with a smile. "Not fuckin' likely, man."

Korra and Toph reached the entrance door and Toph cautiously found her footing at the steps, using a metal railing to help guide her. She sat herself down and Korra plopped down a foot or two to her side and a couple of steps lower. The air was still hot and mucky for how late it was. To Toph, it didn't feel quite like what time she figured it was. It was a little unnatural.

"So, yea," Toph suddenly babbled. She puffed air at her bangs and scratched at her left bosom. "Long night," she stated, readjusting her bra.

"No shit," Korra sighed. "You look like hell," she remarked, having noticed the visible signs of the tumble Jane had described to her over the phone.

"_Ha. _Yea, I bet you do, too. Smell like it, at least."

"What's this about?" Korra asked earnestly, wanting to get on with it.

"You're cool," Toph laid this optimistic idea out. "I like you."

"But...-?" Korra wheezed. She knew the drill.

"I _don't _like Twinkle-Toes having fucking _guns _and _kni__ves _in his life," Toph spit out, her tone quick and pleasant enough, but with a sharp bite to it. "Took us long enough to get Janey-Jane to leave that stuff behind. Now it's your turn to get over yourself."

"Yea, uh, I don't mean to piss on your parade, but your kiddie nicknames for everybody don't make you seem old enough to be giving _me _advice."

"That's fine," Toph let the retort roll off her back. "This ain't about me. Er, well, this _part _ain't. Listen, just...-" Toph caught herself digressing and scratched at her bangs impatiently. "Don't pull this shit anymore. If you _really _gotta, just, I don't know...leave Aang out of it. Leave _all _of us out of it, but _especially _him. You know what he's been through?"

"I've got an idea," Korra muttered reluctantly.

"Yea. So, this is me, just letting you know, woman-to-woman here, that if he gets hurt again because of you, you will have my wrath."

Korra was perplexed at the artificial pleasantries of Toph's manner of speaking despite the acrid implications.

"'Kay. So. Bad part's over," Toph rapidly dismissed. "I've got a feelin' that Madame Fussybritches is gonna rip ya a new one over this, _anyway_, so that's enough from me."

"Uh...W-wait, who's-"  
"Katara."  
"Oh."

"Yea, yea. But keep up, this is the positive part here."

"...All right?"

"Trust me when I say that this advice comes from experience. See, this problem you have, it's like dog shit on the carpet."

Korra's breathing hardened at the image, which thereby implied a dog. Which immediately called back an extremely unpleasant image from earlier that evening.

"_Oh, _shit," Toph spouted under her breath. "Sorry, I forgot th-...Well, whatever, moving on. So there's..._shit_...on the rug."

"Oooookay?"

"So the shit is like when you do something stupid."

"Yea, picked up on that."

"You're a smart one."

"Get to the point."

"Well, shit stinks, right? You let it sit long enough, though, n' it crusts over, dries up, whatever."

Korra sighed. It figured that if Toph was going to use a metaphor, it would involve feces. Korra thought to herself that this was proof of fact that Toph was certainly a woman after Sokka's own heart.

"You forget about it," Toph continued.

"What? That's gross, and...-"

"_Ya don't say_!" Toph quipped. "It's stupid, right? Why would you do that, right? Well, it's what _I _fuckin' did over and over. And it's what _you're _doing right now. You're letting all of these turds get laid all over your rug, and you figure that if it stops stinking, suddenly it ain't a problem. Until you step on it and get it all on your foot. And then that inner, not-crusted layer is all, like, still smelly, and stuff?"

At this point, Korra's face was buried in her hands, but she was still listening to Toph's bickering.

"So!" Toph smacked her hand on her knee. "Your first flaw here is that you haven't been cleaning up all the daw-...all the shit, right? And that's great, you keep talkin' about doing it, but yea. You haven't. But, see, here's the thing, Korra." Toph flicked out her hand at Korra's position, brushing up against the girl's back. "Here's the thing. If you really want this problem to go away, ya gotta go the source. I recommend the _original _source."

"Uhh...So, what does _that _mean?"

"It means that cleaning up the crap's not good enough. It's the source of the stink, but it's not the _original _source. It's...well...-" She hesitated, and but went through with her metaphor. "It's the _dog. _The dog that's shitting all over your rug."

"Kick the dog out of the house?" Korra hazarded a guess, shrugging up her wrists with disinterest.

"Wh-? _No, _the dog...the dog's, like, _you, _it's...it's your-"  
"That doesn't even make sense."  
"No, wait. Listen. It's like your dark side, or temptation, or I dunno, whatever the fuck. You _can't _kick it out because it's part n' parcel with the house, whatever. You gotta _train _the dog. See, _that's _the key. Train the dog so that when it needs to take a shit - and it _will, _because you're a human being - you-"  
"You just said I was a dog."  
"The...-!" Toph's nose wrinkled. Korra was liking pressing her buttons, at least. "You're a _person, _so you're gonna do _dumb stuff _sooner or later, and the dog is the part of you that does that. Soooo, ya gotta _train _it, so that when it needs to dump that idiotic choice out, it's gonna do it outside on the lawn instead of in your house."

Korra blinked at Toph for a couple of seconds, attempting to process all of this.

"Yea, I know," Toph grumbled, re-aligning her tanktop's straps as she shifted her seat down one step. "I'm not exactly Iroh over here, but do you get me?"

Korra laughed through her nose at Toph's reference. From her interactions with Professor Kurosawa and others who knew him, it seemed to be a bit of a running joke that the man loved his metaphors.

"I think I get you," Korra acknowledged with a steady nod.

"Like...with me," Toph slowly regaled, "Aang and me had some problems, and...a lot of that was because I was blaming my problems on, like...me n' him not screwing. I cheated on him, and I focused so much on the sex stuff, but the real problem was just that I was impatient - I wasn't happy with myself, and so I was looking at Aang to fix that. So, like, I had to find that original source - my own inner-nastiness n' crap - and I had to clean that up a bit."

Korra's eyebrows had moved upward at Toph's self-reflection. The Toph that Korra had once heard about back in the autumn did not seem like the sort who would be interested in thinking about things in this way. It made Korra ponder if she had changed much at all herself over the past year - looking at her actions, it seemed maybe not so much.

Toph thumped her fist into Korra's broad back, which absorbed the blow easily.

"No hit-backs," Toph playfully spat, flinching her abdomen backward in a defensive stance as soon as she'd delivered the hit. Korra hadn't even reacted in any physical way to the punch, having seen it coming. She smiled a bit at Toph's demeanor, which reminded her of the kids she had spent the weekend with. This, in turn, gave way to that sinking guilt she was waist-deep in.

Toph had scooted down another step, now directly at Korra's side.

"Hey," Toph said quietly, with a more serious tone. "You OK?"

Korra dabbed her fingertips at the corners of her eyes. Nope, no tears yet. Ah, fuck, and her one eye still burned at the touch from the blow it had endured. Her face felt so warm and dizzy that she was worried tears would start up any second. Maybe she'd already spilled them all out on Aang's shoulder earlier that night.

"No," Korra confessed. "I'm not. I'm so sick of fucking everything up..."

"I hear ya," Toph consoled, looping her arm across Korra's back and tugging at her. "You're tough, though, you got this. I used to be a lot more stubborn and stuff, n' sometimes that doesn't fly. Just try a different approach, you'll be OK. We're all on your side, here, Ladybro."

"Yea," Korra sighed out, appreciating Toph's effort. She was a strange one. Korra found herself regretting her initial judgment of the girl back when they'd first been introduced.

"She's right."

Korra and Toph both perked up at the sound of Jane's voice from behind them. Jane's steel-toed boots clomped down the stone stairs and she lingered behind them, watching an ambulance quietly roll by. Jane tapped her boot against Korra's lower back in a friendly prod.

"Thanks, guys," Korra muttered, running her fingers through her bangs. She slid her middle fingertip across the long cut on her forehead. "What's up?" Korra asked Jane.

"Just checkin' on ya," Jane shrugged. "You guys need anything?"

"Actually..." Korra chewed at her upper lip, letting her hand drop back to her lap. "I could _really _use a smoke right now..."

"Uhh..." Jane swayed left and right a bit, her eyes sideways as she thought. "Oh, I think I still have some old ones left over in my car."

"Really?" Korra's heart lightened a little at the allure of a cigarette.

"Yea, c'mon," Jane flicked her wrist for Korra to follow as she meandered around them, down the steps.

"I'll stick around here," Toph dismissed lazily, picking her pinky finger at her nose.

"Shouldn't take long," Jane advised, leading Korra off to the parking lot. It was a small sea of metal, pavement, and spots of light flooding from the streetlamps above them.

Korra's thoughts wandered to many things in those couple of minutes to the car. As they reached Jane's old, rust-edged vehicle, Korra's phone delivered yet another reminder of her recent mistakes.

[From: Bowlin Ball]  
[hey, korra. where r u? thought you'd be home by now.]  
[Sent: 10:46pm]

Korra groaned at her phone, letting her hand drop down to her side as she tilted her head up in aggravation.

Jane was a few feet away, shuffling through the glove compartment of her car.

"'Sup?" Jane wondered as she searched her vehicle.

"Uhh..." Korra planted on hand on her hip as she gawked at Jane's tight-jeaned behind for a moment. This didn't even make sense - by all accounts, Korra had dismissed the girl as thoroughly unattractive when they'd met. She was skin and bones, certainly not Korra's usual kind of thing, be it boy _or _girl.

"What?" Jane asked again, rising up from her leaned over position. Korra's eyes gladly refocused on the half-empty carton of cigarettes in the red-headed woman's hand.

"Nothing," Korra shrugged off the matter with a quick shake of her head. She stood for a moment in classic 'Korra' fashion: hands on her hips, leaning her abdomen back slightly, chest puffed out. "Hey, listen," she started.

Before she continued, Jane offered Korra the cigarette carton. Korra slipped one out, but Jane pushed the small box a bit.

"Nah, take 'em," Jane insisted with a dry sniff. "_I_ don't fuckin' need 'em."

Korra gave Jane a puzzled look, and Jane, brows arridly lowered, propped her lips out with impatience, wriggling the box in Korra's direction. Korra shrugged, poking the cigarette she'd swiped into her mouth with one hand and accepting the rest with the other. She dropped the small carton into her left back pocket.

"Thanks, eh," she lazily expressed some gratitude, her lips holding her cigarette in place as she searched her pockets. Phone, keys, carton...ah, right. No lighter. "Light?" she requested, still talking through clenched teeth.

"One sec," Jane nodded, going back to the car, and thus giving Korra another moment to consider the unorthodox view. For being such a shrimpy thing, Shamrocks seemed like a lean, mean little scrapper. Korra lost herself for a second, remembering the tenacity the ginger had shown the night they'd taken down the Combustion Man. She recalled Jane's knife, wielded with rage, only to be tossed into the flames afterward. "Got it," Jane grunted back, wiggling up an orange, disposable lighter.

"Nice," Korra acknowledged, accepting the object and immediately putting it to work. She feverishly flicked at it twice as Jane locked up her car. Korra suddenly realized just how shaky and anxious her hands were.

"Got it, there?" Jane dubiously mocked.

Korra laughed nervously, trying a third time and failing to generate more than a spark. She checked through the lighter's translucent, orange plastic to confirm that there was still fluid inside. Korra made a fourth and fifth attempt.

"Here," Jane grunted, reaching for the lighter. Korra flinched back with a frown.

"No, I've got-"  
"Hey," Jane interrupted, staring Korra down with a deadpan look.

Jane flicked her wrist up, gesturing Korra to hand the lighter over.

"Ladybro? Chill."

Korra's nose wrinkled with reluctance for a moment at Jane's words before she begrudgingly handed the lighter over. With ease, Jane brought the finnicky lighter to life and carefully extended its flame to Korra. Korra in turn leaned forth, letting the tip of her aged cigarette burn, and immediately took in a breath through its nicotine-infused filter. Her eyelids sunk as the fumes floated around in her head before she calmly spewed a stream of smoke out. Jane passed the lighter back over, then bobbed around Korra, her eyes set back on the hospital's entrance.

"You needed something?" Jane recollected, looking over her shoulder.

"_Mm!_" Korra's eyes opened wide as she took another puff. She pulled her cigarette out of her mouth and tapped some ashes off. "Right, yea, I was just...-" She shrugged, her eyes wandering to the parking lot pavement. "-...wondering if I could stay at your place tonight."

Jane off-handedly shrugged with a slight nod, then did a double-take.

"Wait, huh?"

"Ih-it's just that I don't...feel 'right' going back home tonight," Korra sputtered out. She sucked in more smoke, avoiding Jane's confused gaze. "I can't show my face to _anyone _right now, it's like the whole world's pissed at me, and I just...-" Korra sighed, shaking her head a little, ashamed of her own request. She dropped another bit of ash to the ground. "You said your roommate was gone, and so I thought, ya know...extra bed, and I mean, _shit, _do you know how long it's been since I slept on a bed? I just need _one _fucking night to be a normal person, and get all of this outta my system and...-" Korra spit the remnants of her cigarette to the pavement, blew smoke out to the side, and crushed the cigarette with her sandal's heel. She took a few steps to Jane and clamped her palms against the woman's skinny shoulder's, staring at her with pleading, icy blue eyes. "Please. One night, that's it."

"N-no, yea, I mean, sure," Jane stammered out, taken aback by the woman's evident desperation and their physical proximity. "You can stay, it's...it's fine."

Korra's gut swelled with satisfaction at the way Jane was clearly enamored, her sympathy won over. Freckled cheeks had lit up red like a stop light as soon as Korra had made that physical move. A nagging voice in the back of Korra's mind was berating her for pulling the same kind of crap she had on other people - what fists couldn't accomplish, curves could, hm? - on this traumatized red-head. However, Korra was too stressed, too hurt, too scared, and too horny to really care in that moment whether or not what she was doing was 'right.' Jane still had made a choice here.

"Oh, _thank you_," Korra breathed out, giving Jane a rough shake by the arms before smacking her friend and backing off. "You're the best."

"Heh. Y-yea, no big deal..."

Jane's head was spinning a little at the prospect of Korra's intentions. Her thumb was rubbing at her orange eyebrow awkwardly as she stood before Korra. Korra made a deep sigh, resting her hands on the back of her neck. Jane couldn't help but study the girl's appearance in earnest in that moment. Not her figure so much as the traces of dirt, grass stains, blood, bruises, and scratches that littered Korra's clothes and body. She really did have a shit night, so...yea. This wasn't weird. Korra just needed a night away from the house. Yup. Nothing wrong with that. At all.

Jane noticed that Korra's eyes had wandered off toward the hospital, and she was staring with furrowed eyebrows.

"Kat?" Korra called out, confused.

Jane spun round to see Katara drawing near, Toph at her side.

"Oh, hey, guys," Jane greeted them, hands stuffed in her pockets. "What's up?"

"Well, we're thinking it's about time we headed home," Katara decided with a stern nod. "It's getting late, and tomorrow's our last day before classes start back up."

"Classes?" Korra muttered. "_Oh, _the...extra credit...things."

"June Term," Katara rigidly clarified.

"Right," Korra puffed out.

"Geez, Ladybro," scoffed Toph. "You sound pretty out of it."

"_Chyeah_," Korra agreed warily.

"Uhh..." Jane scratched an itch on her arm pit. "So, Kor, you know where to go?"

"Yea, yea," Korra assured.

"What?" Katara prodded for context. She looked to Korra for this, but Korra refrained from speaking, so instead Jane divulged the plan.

"Oh, she's spendin' the night over in my room," said Jane with as much informality as she could present. "Jin's, ya know, gone until tomorrow, I mean, so, um...there's room for an extra person."

There was a weird silence as both Toph and Katara took in this concept. Neither seemed to be without some suspicion.

"More the merrier," Toph complied, pushing aside her curiosity and holding no judgment.

"Aaaand why does Korra need some place to stay?" Katara asked, glaring at her older cousin, whose arms tightened in defense.

"Kat," Jane swiftly defended the implicitly accused. "Just relax. She doesn't feel safe going back home. They know where she lives, remember? Stalking her, and stuff?"

Katara frowned with uncertainty at Jane's explanation, but Jane's concerned, pleading expression won her over.

"Ah," Katara murmured, backing down a little. "I...guess that makes some sense. Well, we've all had a long day. We should get some rest, then."

Just the idea of getting some sleep apparently induced a yawn from Toph_. _She groaned tiredly after this gesture and rubbed at the skin beneath her eyes.

"Sounds like a fuckin' plan to _me,_" Toph put out her opinion. "Let's go get Meng and say g'night to the guys, then."

"Sure," Jane agreed.

"I, uh, I'm just gonna, like...-" Korra paused, tapping Jane's shoulder to make sure she had the red-head's attention. "-...get to my car and meet you over at Aqua?"

"Yep," Jane nodded, giving Korra a rough pat on the back. "I'll meet you in the parking lot."

"Hey..." Toph meandered away from Katara's side, heading to Korra. She extended a balled, sideways fist. "We cool, Ladybro?"

"Oh, heh." Korra sheepishly shrugged and lightly tapped Toph's knuckles with her own. "Yea, we're-"  
"Whoa, c'mon, don't do me like that," Toph swiftly interrupted, tightening her hand and wriggling it. "Gimme a solid."

Korra hesitated, catching a brief but ice-cold look from Katara. She delivered a more forceful impact to Toph's knuckles, her own scraped skin stinging from the impact.

"Yea, there we go," Toph encouraged the act. "Anyway, just think about what I said."

"About...-?"

"About turds," Toph reminded.

Katara and Jane swapped raised eyebrows while Korra smiled warily and sighed out a laugh.

"Got it," Korra acknowledged. "Thanks, Qu-...Er...I don't-...Mud-Snail?" Agh, damnit, all of these nicknames and she couldn't remember one for Toph.

"Good try," Toph chuckled. "Catch you back at the dorm."

"Right." Korra went to make her move and escape to her car, having not been able to shake the feeling that her cousin Katara was scowling at her. "See ya in a bit," she called as she took quick steps backward.

"Wait! Korra, can I have a word with you?" Katara belted out firmly, her leather boots clopping away from Toph and pursuing Korra's flimsy sandals on the tarmac. "I'll meet you guys in the lobby," Katara assured the other two, giving Jane a wave.

"'Kay," Toph complied.

"Let's get to it," Jane decided, brushing her elbow along Toph's arm. The blind girl gently clasped her fingertips on Jane's shoulder and let her friend lead the way.

They went off in one direction, and Korra made fast steps in the other, her insides swarming with that unpleasantness she'd experienced in the hospital room. That self-loathing disappointment was confronting her pretty squarely, as she could anticipate Katara's angry words. Rather than stopping and waiting for her cousin, Korra kept up a brisk pace. She could hear Katara pick up in speed behind her.

"Hey," Katara quietly blurted.

Korra could feel it again, just like before: the pounding pulse against her skull, her neck, her chest, her stomach squeamish and her legs weak.

Katara groaned from behind, jogging up to Korra's side. Katara checked back behind them, noting the physical presence of Jane and Toph still fading out of earshot. Deciding to wait a few seconds more, Katara simply crossed her arms in a most ornery fashion. Yup. Korra was in for a scolding, all right. One she knew she deserved, too - which made her all the more anxious.

They reached Korra's vehicle, and Katara made sure to swing her body around, blocking Korra off from the driver's seat.

"Can we talk about this?" Katara snapped, keeping her voice volume steady but her tone volatile.

Korra snorted through her nose and gave Katara a slight pop of her shoulders, a slight shake of her head, a brief glance of shame.

"I-I dunno what you want me to say, Kat, I-"

"I can't _believe _you."

"I know."

"I...I cannot _believe _you!" Katara repeated with more frustration, her voice cracking. "Do you-...I'm just, like, _wondering, _here, if...if you actually _understand _the...the gravity of this."

Korra was standing complacently, head bobbed, arms sagged at her sides - she felt like a puppy being scolded for pissing on the rug.  
Agh, fuck. _Not _the best metaphor right now...

"I fucked up," Korra stated simply, eyeing her dirty, blood-stained bare feet.

"Y-..!" Katara almost laughed with disbelief. "Well, _yes, _I suppose that's _one _way of putting it." Katara slapped herself in the forehead and took a deep breath. She flicked out her arms to her sides as she spoke, letting them slap at her thighs with impatience. "Some psychopath had a _gun _pointed at my boyfriend's face, and your _first instinct _was to _punch _him?"

Katara could see Korra's adam's apple slither nervously as she swallowed hard.

"Korra, I am _sorry _about what happened to Naga," Katara inserted some sympathy. Korra's brain immediately dwelt on the reminder that Naga had been a family gift - a Christmas present from Uncle Hakoda. She could hardly take care of a puppy for a few months without it dying in more gruesome a manner than most dogs ever did. "But that could've been _Aang. _It-it could've been one of those kids. It almost _was _one of those kids - the kids _Aang _put himself in front of, by the way. Aang's first reaction was to put himself at risk to protect them - and yours was-"  
"The fuck do you think _I _did?!"  
"-to disregard them, and make an unstable situation even-"  
"You think this is _Aang's _blood on my goddamn shirt?"  
"-worse, and one _small _change, and Aang would be lying up in that bed. And Aang walked away from this with the _girl's _blood on his clothes, by the way. Not his own, not anyone else's. Because _he _was actually looking out for her."

Both Kesuk women heaved out tense, heavy breaths, their faces wrinkled with rage.

Katara continued her offensive in regards to Aang's safety.

"That boy has already-"  
"_Puh, _yea, that _boy_," Korra goaded, eliciting Katara to grind her jaws together.

Katara thrust a furious index finger back at the hospital.

"That _man_ - that beautiful, thoughtful, courageous young man - has been through _enough_ on account of you - of _us_." She pounded her own chest. "Maybe it's easy for you to forget, since - as usual - you came out with just a few bumps and bruises, but that _man _is going to live the rest of his life with a gaping _scar _on his back. A scar he earned protecting _me, _and protecting _you. _His back is disfigured, because he took an injury that could've gone to you or me." She jabbed her finger again up to the building behind her. "And that girl? That poor girl...her _foot _is now disfigured, because _she _took a bullet that could've hit _you_."

Korra was at last silenced, her attempts at spiny self-defense retracted back to her original, self-loathing shame.

"And I'm not saying you _literally _caused that, Korra, I'm not, but when I look at things, it sure seems like those were _both _acts that were a backfire off of some stupid stunt _you _pulled to begin with."

Korra knew what Katara was getting at: The Combustion Man being drawn in by Korra's unnecessary assault on the Rough Rhinos. And then Tahno and that Shin creep coming after her because she took down the Combustion Man.

"Now, I don't know what you and Jane _did _that night when you captured that criminal who caused the fires, but whatever happened, you _scared _her. I could sense it when I tried to get her to explain it to me. And just tonight? When Aang was telling me what happened? The _same _thing. He tried to downplay it, but I could see it in his _eyes,_ Korra: he was _scared _of you. Of what you were doing, of who you were when this all happened. Of...of...whatever it is that you _become-_" Katara reached out her palms at Korra in presentation. "-when these things happen. I mean, _Jesus, _Korra, look at you!"

Katara gave Korra a couple of thick seconds of tension to reflect and examine her own battered appearance.

"You bring this on yourself!" Katara concluded, her eyes starting to water from the emotional conflict boiling out. She immediately wiped at her eyes, shaking her head with pursed lips. "You always _have! _I've seen you hurt Sokka, Toph, and you've gotten both Aang and Jane involved in dangerous _nonsense, _and-..." Katara lingered on her own words.

"Kat, it's just my way of...of having your guys' backs..."

"You know, Aang seems to manage that in his own ways, and nobody gets _hurt _in the process."

Korra frowned with disdain. She wasn't liking this whole bit - getting compared to good ol' Aang, Mr. Hometown Hero, when she'd been the one getting shit done around here and putting idiots in their places.

"I'm _not _Aang," Korra retorted. "And I'm never going _be_ him, but that doesn't mean I can't watch out for my family, or my friends."

"Friends that you apparently don't feel safe to spend the night with?"

"They...-! I can't show my _face _there! Not after everything that's happened."

"Oh. So it's not just _us _you're disappointing, it's a whole _other _set of people, too."

"What is _up _with you, Kat? This isn't fair. Everyone _else _seems to be giving me the benefit of the doubt here, even _Aang, _after what just happened...They're all giving me another chance. Why can't you?"

Katara huffed out an incredulous breath.

"Oh, another _chance, _huh? Everyone else? I was the _first _of us to give you the benefit of the doubt. A second chance. Back at the United Republic! The night it burned down - it's the whole reason I was _there! _To try and show you that I believed in you, that I had faith that you'd turn a new leaf here, instead of repeating the mistakes I've had to see you make ever since you graduated high school. My _dad _gave you a second chance when he invited you over for Christmas. When he gave you that poor dog that you neglected and now that dog is _dead, _and-...Hmph. When we first heard that you were moving here, Sokka and I didn't know what to think. I had my doubts, but I pushed that stuff aside. I gave you a second chance. And in the time that's passed since then, all you've done is make mistake after mistake after mistake, dragging everyone else down with you."

Korra endured her cousin's harsh words with closed eyes and a flinching expression.

For a flash, all Korra could see was Aunt Kya's pale face, moments before her detah pleading to Korra: _"Watch over...my babies..."  
Yea, great job you're doing at that, Kor._

"You're family," Katara said, pulling Korra back to the present. "And-and I love you, I _do._" Katara was tugging at her chest, clenching into her own shirt as if to quell the anger inside her for that moment. "But you're self-destructive, and I can't bear to see _your _choices hurt my friends anymore."

"H-hey, Cousin," Korra shakily pleaded. "I'm-...I'll do whatever it takes. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"You really want to know?" Katara snipped. "_Hm_," she snarkily hummed, pinching her thumb and her index against her chin. "Can you make scars magically vanish? Can you bring dead dogs back to life? Can you wipe away the trauma that people around you now have? _I'm _not who you need to make anything up to, Korra. At this point, this isn't about what you _can _do, it's about what you _shouldn't _do."

There was a cold quiet for a moment as Korra nervously scratched at her forehead. Katara leaned against the side of Korra's car, arms crossed, head bobbed. Korra studied her cousin's face: the flared nostrils, the quivering lower lip. She was pretty damned pissed.

"You might have everyone _else's_ sympathy," Katara began. "But you and I _both_ know you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past." Katara closed the distance between them, placing her threatening expression directly into Korra's sight, inches away. "So let me tell you something _right now. _From where you stand, you'd better start going straight forward." Katara leaned forward, shoving Korra by the collarbone and into the car. "Straight as a fucking _arrow_." Katara's intense eyes and bitter frown enveloped Korra with their proximity as Katara made her ultimatum._ "_You don't _touch _Aang, you don't screw around with him, you don't do _anything _out of line, and you _sure _as hell don't get him involved in your stupid decisions. You make _one_ step backward, _one_ slip-up, give me _one _reason to think you might get Aang hurt again, and you won't have to worry about your rent, or babysitting, or how _tough _you look...Because with all you've done, I will find some way to have you put in _prison, _where crazy people like you belong. Maybe _then _this shit will finally sink into your thick skull."

Korra's heart was pounding with a brand of anxiety she hadn't experienced in years - not since Kya's death. She couldn't even recall if she had ever seen her cousin full of this much rage. It was quite unlike the Katara that Korra knew, and shockingly intimidating, to boot. Katara could get very protective, but evidently, when it came to Aang, this was raised up to a new level of ferocity.

"Are we clear?" Katara hissed with impatience, her sapphire eyes furious and cold like wrathful blizzards.

Korra was frozen in place, unable to speak, swallow, shrug, or any of her standard reactions to events this evening. She found the ability to feebly nod, the rest of her body frigid.

Katara blinked at her, lips tight, fists formed at her sides. After a sharp intake of breath and a quick exhale, Katara whirled around and stormed away without another word.

A few seconds later, Korra was able to let herself breathe again, and she found herself almost gasping for air as she fumbled around with her keys and got into her car. She slid the key into the ignition, but stopped before she turned it. Her hand was trembling uncontrollably.

Two tears spilled down Korra's cheeks. This entire fucking mess was much bigger than two teardrops, but Korra was _not _in the mood to sob herself to death in her car. If only she hadsomething to take this insane edge off...Ah! Cigarette!

In the tiniest of victories, Korra rubbed her wrists at her cheeks, drying her tears, and retrieved the carton and lighter from her pockets. Gifts from Jane - and she hazarded a guess that they might not be the only gifts of reprieve she'd be receiving that night. Korra brushed her sticky bangs to the side of her still-stinging forehead. She slipped off all of three of her ponytail ties and dropped them into the passenger's seat. She scratched her fingers against her sweaty scalp and shook a cigarette loose from the small box, pulling it out with her teeth. She lit up her cigarette and began to suck the drug in, filling up her car with smoke.

* * *

**A/N: Video Message for all of you guys, put together for me by my friends at Pocket Vinyl.  
**

**Youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=syBPucJqqTw**


	114. Rise Again

**A/N: To help clarify, this segment starts off the same night as the last one. There is also a very small flashback - you might recognize it as an excerpt of a previous scene in Chapter 91, Part 2.**

**Also, apologies for the delay in update - I took a week off from SRU to write a gift-fic for a good friend (PowerPuff Girls story entitled 'Cold') that ended up becoming more involved that initially planned. If you care to check that out, it's in my profile.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 114 - Rise Again_

* * *

- Sunday, May 29th, 2011 -

Commercial break. Time to check the phone again.

Bah. Still no reply. What was up?

He double-checked the last text he'd sent a while back.

[To: Korra]  
[hey, korra. where r u? thought you'd be home by now.]  
[Sent: 10:46pm]

"Something wrong, Bolin?" Asami asked from the other side of the couch.

"Huh?" Bolin's attention popped up to his two housemates, who were occupying the two couch cushions beside his own. Both were puzzled, with dubious eyebrows. "_Ah, _it's just...-" Bolin shrugged, locking his phone and dropping it back on the couch's arm. "I was pretty sure Korra had said she'd be back tonight, but...-"

"Bro, I'm sure she's fine," Mako insisted.

"What if something's up?" Bolin presented, his broad shoulders raised.

Mako sighed, rolling his head back. Asami flashed him a scolding glance, directing an empathetic look to Bolin.

"Bolin," she said. "I know that people are in a bit of a panic today, but you shouldn't stress yourself so much. I'm sure Korra would let us know if she needed us."

"Exactly," Mako agreed, scratching his sideburn, his eyes hypnotized by a car commercial. "Just relax."

"But, Korra, she...-" Bolin's eyes squinted with uncertainty. "I dunno, guys, I just have a bad feeling. Right here." He prodded at his stomach.

"You probably have a 'bad feeling' because of what we just saw on the news," Mako sighed, still flipping through channels to find something worth watching at this hour.

"Aghhh, yea," Bolin groaned, pushing himself up from the couch. "I need to _do _something, I've been sitting around all night."

"OK," Asami eased him with a nod of understanding.

"I'm gonna go lift some handweights for a while," Bolin decided, dragging himself upstairs.

"Sounds good," Mako encouraged. "Take it easy."

"Yep."

After she heard his bedroom door close, Asami let her concern show on her face. Mako was distant in that moment, his eyes glazed over, reflecting the bright glow of the TV set in front of them.

"Does it make us bad friends if we're not worrying about her?" Asami muttered, brushing stray hair strands behind her ear.

"Huh?" Mako pried his gaze from the TV, blinking at Asami for a moment as his brain caught up. "No, no-no," he eased, patting her thigh. "She wouldn't _want _us to be worrying for her sake, anyway."

"Hm." Asami shrugged, nodding thoughtfully. "I guess so." That _did _sound like Korra, anyway - always trying to take care of business on her own. Heck, the woman didn't even want to share a _bed _with someone, so afraid of commitment she seemed to be.

"Hey, come on," Mako quietly eased, nudging her to lean into him. "Let's just enjoy the rest of our evening. I'm sure Korra will touch base with us tomorrow."

Asami cuddled against Mako's lean body, but couldn't focus on the television, her mind lingering to what she had seen and heard on the evening news a half hour prior.

"I'm...a little confused as to what all of the commotion in town is about lately," she murmured, her eyes unfocused and staring into space.

"Ah, it's...ya know, folks getting up in arms with the school across the way."

"No, I get that - I remember you were telling me that some of the officials there have been connected to...some bad people...-" She bit at her lip fretfully.

"Right, exactly," said Mako, his arm slung across Asami's shoulder. "And what happened today? That's exactly why you've got people like that religious nut having his rallies, and...digging up dirt on the school..."

Asami was familiar with the figure. She'd seen him on the news and they'd gotten that house call from one of his followers not so long ago.

"Dirt?" she asked, not as acquainted with what that meant here.

"Oh, well...-" Mako shuffled a bit, blinking at Asami as he tried to recall. His sight wandered to the ceiling for a moment until it dawned on him. "Ah, so, he's been putting out these recordings, for example...Uh..." Mako scratched at his jawline thoughtfully, trailing off.

"Recordings of...?"

"These conversations involving that no-good Kurosawa family_, proving _that they're entangled with the crooks who have been making a mess of Wayward these days."

"The Kurosawas..." Asami's brows lowered with contemplation. That girl she'd met at the banquet a while back - the short-tempered, really uppity woman who'd brought a girl along as her date. Azula Kurosawa - yes, that was the name. Asami had kind of liked her, if only for her boldness in the company of stingy old men, but she could also relate in the sense of being the daughter of a wealthy businessman who had likely caused a lot of grief.

"Right, those lying little...-" Mako huffed, dropping his thought again in dismissal. Asami could tell that he didn't seem keen on the subject.

"Do you have bad relations with that family?" Asami questioned. If this family was in fact shadier than she'd presumed, perhaps they had been part of the influences affecting her father's inconsiderate actions as of late.

"Wh-? No, no, not personally," Mako swiftly explained. "I mean...I don't _know _any of them, I've just...you know, heard a lot about what their family has been involved in over the years..."

Asami shot him a suspicious look that he didn't catch, as he was too busy trying to drown his thoughts in the inconsequential TV programming glowing in front of him.

"So...these recordings," Asami prodded at the topic some more. She watched Mako visibly flinch with discomfort and roll his eyes at being asked to linger on the discussion, but her curiosity was piqued. She persisted. "I'm just wondering where he _got _them from, I mean, what are they discussions _about_?"

"_I _don't know," Mako grumbled, wiping at his long-haired eyebrows at he changed the TV station with the remote. "I didn't go looking into because it doesn't concern me, I just heard that it was this set of phone recordings that got intercepted, and someone sent them anonymously to that Bible-thumping activist."

Asami's heart skipped a beat as her fears were all but confirmed.

"Oh..." she mumbled, trying to keep her cool. "Wow, that's...kind of crazy. I guess the Kurosawas have made some enemies, haven't they?"

Mako paused, turning to face her, and offered her a stern nod.

"They sure have," he confirmed, his eyes sparking with an unspoken knowledge.

Asami nodded back, immediately breaking their gaze. She re-snuggled herself into Mako's side.

"Maybe I'll do a bit of research on that tomorrow," she concluded as calmly as she could, her brain sizzling with rage.

"Sure," said Mako, happy to be done with this talk. He pulled up the television guide. "So, what are you in the mood for here?"

_The truth_, Asami's mind quietly replied.

* * *

"But...that sounds _hard,_" Aang said to Gyatso. "Being like...something you're not?"

"It certainly can be challenging. Such things may require a _great _change in us - even if it is only temporary. The earth itself changes seasons, and yet life continues and flows onward, the earth remaining as it is. A child will eventually become an adolescent, an adolescent an adult, and an adult will grow old. Everything changes, sooner or later. And during those key moments in our lives, it is often only in those darkest times that we are able to find the kind of strength we may need to attain peace. When lost in shadows we will try to find light, of course. Willpower, hope, determination, or simply a desire for peace...any could lead us to make the _difficult _decisions at those complex crossroads."

Gyatso grabbed Aang's hand with his own. Aang was comforted by the calloused palm and frail fingers of the one person in the world he truly trusted. The wise man who had been teaching him these mysterious ideas, these philosophies of peace. A lot of what he was saying was a bit confusing...but it was what Aang's grandfather seemed to believe, and thus it was worth at least thinking about. That was what was important. Aang squeezed Gyatso's hand, and the elderly figure squeezed back. They relaxed their bodies for a moment, preparing for a long meditation. Before they began, however, Gyatso finished their conversation.

"When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change."

* * *

- Monday, May 30th, 2011 -

"Aang."

The soothing sound of Katara's voice and the smooth touch of her hand eased Aang back into the reality around him - like a gentle song waking one up rather than a blaring alarm.

"Mm," Aang hummed back to her, a drowsy smile oozing over his face.

"You fell asleep, Sweetie," Katara pointed out. Her hand was already planted on his neck, and she caressed the edge of his hairline with her thumb.

"-...was meditating," Aang murmured groggily, rubbing at his eyes.

"_Hee_," Katara let loose a quick, soft giggle, rubbing her entire hand across his neck. "Right. Must've been some _deep _meditation," she teased.

"Mmyea," Aang yawned, lifting his head up from the table. He blinked at the laptop set up on the table in front of him. He'd been surfing the web while Katara had been reading a book, the two of them snuggled up together on a booth in Appa's. At this late hour, they were alone, the entire place dim and quiet. Since Appa's was an open restaurant and part of the campus center's basement, it was just as free for students to relax in as the main campus lounge was.

Aang squinted at the corner of his laptop's screen to make out the time. It seemed he'd drifted off for about an hour or so, now, and it was about one in the morning.

"You look ready to turn in for the night, Sweetie," Katara teased, rubbing her hand across his back. He flinched, his shoulders tightening at the sensation against his back tissue, and Katara quickly removed her hand. "Sorry," she cooed, setting her book down on the table.

"It's OK," Aang grunted, rolling his head around his neck. "It's been better lately, just...has its moments."

Aang sat quietly for a few seconds, not looking at or thinking about anything in particular, his expression tired and grouchy.

The sensation of Katara's fingers against his neck soothed him. She had noticed his head-rolling and was forcefully digging her fingers into his neck to help work out the knots in his muscles. Katara using both hands, cautiously working her way to his shoulders, and Aang hummed with relief at her healing touch.

"How's that?" Katara asked as she firmly massaged out his tense muscles. "Is this working?"

* * *

"I'm just not sure if it's helping, Grandfather."

"Aang, meditation takes time. Patience."

Aang sighed at Gyatso's words.

"I know." He nodded to himself. "Right, I know," he mumbled, stumbling around in his contemplative state.

"What is upsetting you today, Child?"

"Well, it's...-" Aang scratched his fingernails against his bald scalp. "I've been thinking about what we discussed yesterday."

"Oh?"

"And you said-...You told me, 'When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change.'"

"Yes, I remember."

"Well, last night...I just couldn't stop thinking about it. My parents, I mean. I...I don't _want _to change how I feel. How angry it makes me to think about it."

"Aang..."

"Does that-...Does it make me a _bad _person to feel that way? To question what really happened? To feel...so _mad _when I think about them?"

"It is only natural in this world that we all step into the darkness from time to time. While I do think that change is good, and healthy...it should also be natural. Not everyone grows and changes in the same manner. But change _is _life. Ours is a world that exists with night and day at once."

"Hm?" Aang stopped his nervous pacing. That sounded like some kind of meaningful philosophy talk again, like the day before.

When Aang saw his grandfather's thoughtful squint, stroking his wispy white mustache, Aang could feel the impending wave of serious talk. He rested himself in front of the old man, his legs crossed, hands clamped on his knees, leaning slightly inward to show that he was paying full attention. Gyatso spoke.

"At any given point on this planet, there is always day, and always night - always some light, and always some dark. We all spend parts of our lives in both. A delicately balanced cycle. And yet, most will live out the bulk of their experiences in the day. We do not forget to wake up in the morning simply because we took a moonlit stroll."

"So...You're saying that...as long as I don't lose sight of what I'm trying to do, that...it's OK to have these negative thoughts?"

Gyatso nodded sagely.

"The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost. The true heart can taste the poison of hatred without being harmed."

"Hm..." Aang nodded, his brows furrowed as he tried to take this vague wisdom in. Something about Gyatso's words felt as if the fingertip of cosmic wisdom had penetrated his chest, injecting its knowledge straight into his heart. A sense of peace washing over him the more he dwelt on Gyatso's words, Aang continued to listen.

"It is not just the seasons or the cycle of day and night, but so many things that remain in an equal but opposite balance while maintaining their identities. For example, the Moon and Ocean have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other. Push and Pull. Life and Death. Light and Dark. Yin and Yang."

Gyatso, garbed in his orange robes, pointed a wrinkled index finger to the wooden pendant draped across his neck - a simple, circular slice of wood, smooth and elegant, the size of a fist, portraying the iconic 'Yin Yang'. Aang lost himself in the cyclical symbol as his grandfather explained.

"Night gradually lightens and turns to day, and day will eventually grow darker as it becomes night. We are born from this earth, and we die - and we return to that earth when we die, forming the body of another life. Some friends may become foes - but so, too, will some enemies become allies. You will notice that the Yin Yang depicts two shapes evenly interwined, yet they each carry a piece of the other. You may feel angry at your mother - you may think of her as a shadow. But just as the black half of this symbol contains a piece of white, so did your mother once contain you within herself."

Aang was a bit slack-jawed at this talk, comprehending that it was indeed profound, but perhaps yet too profound for his current state of being to fully grasp. Gyatso seemed to pick up on this given Aang's expression, and he concluded his thoughts.

"Aang, you mustn't be harsh on yourself for feeling the breadth of emotions that you will experience over the course of your life. Like either half - Yin and Yang - no matter what path in life you take, you will always carry part of the other half. It is in our nature as human beings - and in the nature of this world - to not wholly function as any single entity but rather to be in balance with everything around us, and within ourselves. If you can learn to accept this, I am sure you will be able to find more consistent inner peace."

Aang nodded slowly, struggling to process what this meant in regards to his harbored anger. So it was...OK to feel angry sometimes?

Gyatso slowly pulled his weathered body from the temple floor. He tugged a bit at his mustache some more before nodding once to himself.

"Aang, I have something I'd like you to look at. A moment, please."

Aang smiled, sitting as still as he could as he watched his grandfather retrieve an old book from his shelf. Gyatso flipped through the pages as his old legs made their slow, steady return to Aang's proximity.

"I would like you to read a poem," Gyatso explained. "It was written by a man named Shítóu Xīqiān. He was a master and teacher of Zen philosophies."

"Oh," Aang obliged, receiving the opened book from his Grandfather and poring over its pages.

**{參同契}  
{Harmony of Difference and Sameness}**

{竺土大仙心 The mind of the great sage of India}  
{東西密相付 is intimately transmitted from west to east.}  
{人根有利鈍 While human faculties are sharp or dull,}  
{道無南北祖 the Way has no northern or southern ancestors.}  
{靈源明皎潔 The spiritual source shines clear in the light;}  
{枝派暗流注 the branching streams flow on in the dark.}  
{執事元是迷 Grasping at things is surely delusion;}  
{契理亦非悟 according with sameness is still not enlightenment.}  
{門門一切境 All the objects of the senses}  
{迴互不迴互 interact and yet do not.}  
{迴而更相涉 Interacting brings involvement.}  
{不爾依位住 Otherwise, each keeps its place.}  
{色本殊質像 Sights vary in quality and form,}  
{聲元異樂苦 sounds differ as pleasing or harsh.}  
{闇合上中言 Refined and common speech come together in the dark,}  
{明明清濁句 clear and murky phrases are distinguished in the light.}  
{四大性自復 The four elements return to their natures}  
{如子得其母 just as a child turns to its mother;}  
{火熱風動搖 Fire heats, wind moves,}  
{水濕地堅固 water wets, earth is solid.}  
{眼色耳音聲 Eye and sights, ear and sounds,}  
{鼻香舌鹹醋 nose and smells, tongue and tastes;}  
{然於一一法 Thus with each and every thing,}  
{依根葉分布 depending on these roots, the leaves spread forth.}  
{本未須歸宗 Trunk and branches share the essence;}  
{尊卑用其語 revered and common, each has its speech.}  
{當明中有暗 In the light there is darkness,}  
{勿以暗相遇 but don't take it as darkness;]  
[當暗中有明 In the dark there is light,}  
{勿以明相睹 but don't see it as light.]  
[明暗各相對 Light and dark oppose one another}  
{比如前後歩 like the front and back foot in walking.]  
[萬物自有功 Each of the myriad things has its merit,}  
{當言用及處 expressed according to function and place.]  
[事存函蓋合 Phenomena exist; box and lid fit;]  
[理應箭鋒拄 principle responds; arrow points meet.]  
[承言須會宗 Hearing the words, understand the meaning;]  
[勿自立規矩 don't set up standards of your own.]  
[觸目不會道 If you don't understand the Way right before you,]  
[運足焉知路 how will you know the path as you walk?]  
[進歩非近遠 Progress is not a matter of far or near,]  
[迷隔山河故 but if you are confused, mountains and rivers block your way.]  
[謹白參玄人 I respectfully urge you who study the mystery,]  
[光陰莫虚度 do not pass your days and nights in vain.]_  
_

"So...What do you think, Aang?"

Aang, distracted by Katara's voice, pried his tired eyes from his computer screen, and from the poem he'd been reading.

"What?" he muttered, lost.

"Do we want to just...sleep here, or...-?" Katara shrugged with a laugh slipping through her nostrils. They were sitting at their booth in Appa's still. Not the most comfortable place to shack up, was it?

Aang glanced at the clock on his laptop screen - two in the morning now. Monkey-feathers. They really ought to have been sleeping by that point. Aang creaked out a whimpering groan, closing his laptop and dropping his body sideways. He flopped the side of his head into Katara's lap. Her textured denim shorts made a comfortable casing for the pillow that was her squishy legs. Aang nuzzled his head against her thighs, eyes closed peacefully. Katara, bags hanging under her own eyes, smiled weakly down at him. He'd had quite a day, she was sure. She scratched her finger slowly across his dry scalp, admiring his sigh of relaxation.

"Hey," she quietly prodded. "Are you actually going to sleep there, Hun?"

"_Mmphff_," Aang replied, barely moving.

Katara laughed through her nose again. She adjusted herself a bit, trying her best not to disturb Aang. She scratched one socked foot's toes against the heel of the other, resolving an itch, and placed one elbow on Aang's hip, the corresponding hand resting up against his pectoral. She rubbed said hand's thumb against his chest a few times, yawning as she dropped her head to her left and against the wall that their booth was connected to.

"OK, then," Katara quietly proclaimed, letting her eyes slide closed. "Good night, my little Penguin."

"_Wahnk-wanhk_," Aang spurted out, creating a strange and irritable sound that evoked a certain cartoon penguin from an animated program.

"All right, _Gunter_," Katara teased, lightly slapping her hand on his chest, her eyes closed all the while. "Let's get some sleep."

* * *

"Damn," Jane snorted, slipping off her pants and chucking them carelessly at the floor beside her bed. "That's fucked up."

Korra sat a couple of feet away in Jane's desk chair, garbed only in her underwear, as well. The chair was turned away from Jane's bed, but Korra was sitting in it backwards, using the chair's back to support her arm and chin.

"I know, right?" Korra quipped with a sharp shrug, stealing a glance at Jane's bright yellow boxer-briefs. Even on the girl's pasty body, they were blinding.

"Like...-" Jane was obscured by her own shirt as she wriggled it off. She dropped it over her pants. "She actually _threatened _you?"

"Pretty much." Korra half-heartedly wobbled her head up and down, eyeballing Jane's black tubetop bra.

"Doesn't sound like Kat," Jane mused, scratching at the base of the back of her neck as she wandered drearily to her desk.

Korra was intrigued by Jane's twiggy figure, dotted with freckles all over. It was certainly different from the athletic, muscular company Korra kept at home.

As Jane passed by, she noted Korra's ogling and smirked.

"Yea, she scared the shit outta me," said Korra. Jane's midriff lingered at her eye level, hunched over the chair, and she decided to bury her face in her arm.

"Heh. _Y__ou - _scared?" Jane scoffed, picking up a bottle of pills and dropping one out.

Korra looked back up, noting Jane's pink cheeks - the girl really did blush easily, eh? - and Korra's own expression withered for a moment while she took in a deep breath, stirring herself into a recovery.

"I know I'm a fuck-up lately," Korra conceded, "but I think she's overreacting."

"Mm..." Jane shrugged, swallowing her pill dry. She perched herself onto her bed, a couple feet in front of Korra, and let her hands flop into her lap. "Well, Aang's a pretty weak spot for her."

"Yea, no shit..."

"She fuckin' _loves _him, man," Jane bluntly declared. "I mean, you almost got him hurt again, the hell'd you _expect _she'd say?"

"That wasn't _on _me, I-"  
"You knew those guys were after you."

Korra paused, unpleasantly reminded of her callous disregard of the threatening texts she'd received.

"And, I mean, _shit,_" Jane huffed, whipping up a wrist, "He almost got shot 'cuz you charged at the guy."

"What? No way," Korra insisted. "I'd have been shot first, not Aang."

"Yea?" Jane nodded dubiously, her brows raised.

Frowning, Korra nodded back insistently.

"Yea, 'kay," Jane dismissed, biting her lip with frustration. "Then tell me how you didn't walk away with a bullet in you but that _girl _did."

Korra's frown dissipated into anguished shame.

"Coulda been Aang, instead," Jane pointed out. "Coulda been some place more important than a _foot, _too."

"OK, OK," Korra sighed, burying her face in her arm.

Jane's defensive stance shut down at the sight - Korra's face disappeared within her muscular arm, her back heaving up and down as she huffed out a deep sigh. Jane stared at the way her wavy-tipped hair cascaded over her brown skin. The cut on Korra's forehead, the scrape on her elbow, the red edges of her knuckles...Jane's stomach was left empty at the contrasting appeal of her buff, headstrong friend in such a seemingly vulnerable, almost innocent state.

"I get you," Jane tried to backpedal. "N' I don't think you _or _Kat is totally right on this one. This whole crap-pile is pretty grey. Somethin' bad was gonna happen no matter what. Difference here is Aang doesn't have a streak of shitty decisions like _you _do..."

Korra rolled her her head to the side, still leaning it on her arm as she stared off into the empty space that was the dresser across the way. Jane admired the cascade of wavy-tipped brown that trickled down Korra's broad shoulder.

"Yea, 'cuz Aang doesn't _make _decisions at all," Korra grumbled under her breath. Before Jane could counter this remark, she quickly jerked her head back in Jane's direction. "But, wait: 'Streak of shitty decisions?' Was Kat smack-talking about me?" Korra murmured with mild irritation.

"Nah," Jane recollected herself, "But...stuff between you guys has, ya know...come up a couple times."

"...Such _as_?"

"Err." Jane choked a bit, having been put on the spot. Her lips squirmed with indecision. "Just...ya know. Things."

"Yea," Korra sighed, letting the pressure off. "Well, I'm not proud of some of those...'_things._' And Kat keeps having trouble letting it go. _Tsh. _Besides, it was _not _going to work out with her and that one idiot, anyway, so...it was like I was just smoothing out the process."

"You call that '_smoothing_?'" Jane noted with dull discouragement.

"_Pff. _Listen, whatever." Korra ran her fingers through her hair wistfully. Jane studied the musculature of the woman's arm, flexing up to perform this action. Korra looked back at Jane to notice the girl's lips hanging slightly open, only to snap back closed. Korra let her eyelids slide down a bit with a suggestive glance, then shrugged, looking back to the floor. "It's all in the past for everyone involved, so...-"

"Uh..." Jane could feel her cheeks heating up and tried to change gears. "Kat's Senior year was just a shitty time for your whole family, huh?"

"It really was," Korra agreed wistfully.

Jane nodded along to Korra's words, shifting in her seat. Her eyes were wandering to Korra's arms again, while Korra's gaze was curiously observing Jane's flustered freckles. Suddenly self-aware in the silence that blanketed them, Jane's fingers bungled around with each other.

"Uhh...Soooo, how come you never went to college?" Jane fished for the first related topic that came to mind. "Why'd it not work out with the police academy thing?"

"_T__sh._" Korra pulled back up on her chair, swinging her other arm over the first one and leaning forward against the chair's spine. "Like I said, I'm a fuck-up," she groaned, scratching her thumbnail on her nose with regret. "Why'd _you _flunk outta ROTC?" she slyly followed up, shooting Jane a sneaky eyebrow.

Jane's curiosity melted into some embarrassment to match her friend's, and the two skulked over their lost opportunities for a couple of seconds, neither desiring to dredge up these past failures.

"Fair enough." Jane rubbed her pinky across her right eyebrow, staring down at her short-socked feet to avoid gawking at the way Korra's thighs were wrapped around the edges of her desk chair. "You're not the _only _person Kat's been mad at before. You know."

Korra stared at Jane's awkward body language for a moment before glancing back down at the carpet - and in, turn, also at Jane's bony feet.

"I know where you're goin' with this," Korra assured. "Toph beat you to it."

"Heh." Jane smirked, pleased to hear this. "Just more proof that I'm right. Her n' Kat, they're both stubborn."

"Like I don't know that," Korra scoffed, the two of them still avoiding each other's eyes.

"No, yea, I mean, you _do, _but-...I'm talkin' about how Kat sticks with you. Like fuckin' glue."

"Sure does," Korra sighed.

"Maybe she overreacted," Jane admitted. "I mean..._I _think she did. But it shows how much you mean to her." Jane braved her own surge of hormones and looked squarely at Korra's face. "Right?"

"Hmph." Korra continued to gaze sullenly at the floor.

"Seriously. Just, like, apologize, and th-"  
"What am I supposed to _say?_" Korra retorted, reciprocating Jane's earnest stare. "Huh?" She flicked out one wrist. "At this point?"

"Er...-" Jane shrugged, at a loss as she squirmed at the proximity of Korra's icey eyes. It was like looking straight into a glacier at night. "How about you try...'I'm sorry?' Usually works."

"Shamrocks. For real. I don't get what she _wants_. Nothing I _say _can make her happy - believe me, I have _tried_. I just need to..._do _something."

"Or maybe _not _do stuff."

Korra's head flopped over to one side in disgruntled acknowledgment.

"Or maybe _that,_" she agreed reluctantly. She glanced at her phone sitting on Jane's desk. Its screen was lit up, so she decided to check it.

[From: Bowlin Ball]  
[haven't heard back from u. we're worried.]  
[Sent: 1:23am]

With an irritated groan, she typed out a reply.

"What's up?" Jane inquired, raising a brow at Korra's reaction.

[Reply]  
[To: Bowlin Ball]  
[i'm fine! why are you up? go to sleep.]  
[Sent: 1:25am]

"Argh, it's nothing, it...-" Korra shook her head a bit as she dropped the phone back on the desk. "Just Bolin being all clingy on me."

"Oh..." Jane's eyes glazed over with thought, and she stole a look at her own phone, but there was nothing new. "Stuff still weird with you two?"

Korra frowned, her nose wrinkling at the thought.

"'Stuff?' There _is _no 'stuff,' we're not...even a _thing, _he just...-" Her shoulders twitched up impatiently. "I'm keeping him at a distance and he doesn't wanna let go - won't take the fucking message..." Korra grumpily gazed off at the floor, while Jane studied the irate expression on Korra's face, reflecting on her own circumstances all the while.

"At least he's trying to _talk _to you, though," Jane observed with a hint of envy. "I haven't heard from Johnny in a while. Don't even know what he wants from me, either."

"Yea, well...screw him, then," Korra wrote off the matter, hunched over the chair. "Can we just forget about this stuff and...-?" Korra trailed off.

Jane soured at Korra's dismissal before yawning, scratching sand from her eyes.

"What?" Korra grunted, off-put by Jane's expression as the red-head got up and went to her closet.

"Just don't get you," Jane blew her off, shuffling out a spare sheet from a box in the closet. "Must be nice, to just forget about people as soon as you don't need 'em for something..." With a crumpled black linen tucked under her pit, Jane swiped a spare pillow from the top shelf of her closet. She marched past Korra toward the bare mattress behind her that was Jin's unoccupied bed. "There ya go," Jane huffed, discarding the articles like trash onto the mattress.

"H-hey, whoa," Korra eased warily, spinning around in the chair and sitting it properly. "What'd I say? I piss you off?"

"Yea!" Jane puffed out, glowering down at Korra. "Just 'cuz _you _don't give a shit about this guy who's all into doesn't mean I don't miss mine."

"Ugh, but...-" Korra wriggled up her wrists as she considered what to say. "Why worry about the guy if he's gonna _ignore _you?"

"I dunno," Jane snapped with a sharp shrug. "Guess the same reason Bolin's still nippin' at your damn heels..." Jane strode past Korra with her fists clenched.

"Wait." Korra reached out her thick hand and grabbed Jane's wrist, halting her place.

Jane stared down at Korra, her olive eyes burning like cinders of irritation. But Korra's face was strangely complacent and pleading, her brows arced with desperation - those glaciers for eyes were shimmering wet on the surface, melting in the heat of her self-loathing. Jane knew that place all too well, there was that lurching attraction again at Korra, wearing such a vulnerable, subtly desperate expression.

"I'm sorry," Korra mumbled. "I've...kinda had a crappy day here, and...-" She let go of Jane's wrist. "More like a crappy..._year_," Korra muttered under her breath. She fiercely rubbed at her eyes and regained herself. "I know maybe it _seems _like I'm full of myself - and I guess I am, but...Lately it's just, like...I keep wearing this coat of armor because...well, maybe because I feel like without it, I wouldn't be much of anything."

Jane found herself endeared to Korra's babbling. Specifically, Korra's mention of 'armor' made Jane reflect on her old identity as 'Smellerbee.'

"Anyway," Korra murmured on, scratching her scalp with exhaustion. She sucked in air between her teeth, having accidentally clawed at a cut on her forehead. "I mean, I'm not tied down at the moment, and...well, you don't even _know _what's going on with you and...-" Korra sighed, her face wrinkled with pain as she pushed herself up from the chair. "I'm just saying, I could use a little unwinding tonight," Korra explained, flashing Jane those glassy blue eyes. "From the sound of it, you could, too," Korra offered with a gentle shrug, bruised hands on scratched hips. Jane's sight lingered on Korra's waist for a second or two before she pulled her eyes up to her friend's forlorn face.

"Uhh..." Jane's fingers wobbled nervously around her ear, pushing hair back. She took in a slow, steady breath through her nose, and acknowledged this opportunity for what it was. "A-all right, I...think I get ya," Jane replied, exhaling a relaxed sigh through her lips.

* * *

+ Youtube dotcom /watch?v=VUyXIg31SqA +  
_('I Will Rise Again'; Uncle Daddy)_

Wind whips at Korra.  
She shivers. No clothes, save for black boxers and bra.

Exposed.

A hand on her shoulder.

She jams her elbow into its owner.  
Spins round, smashes her fist into his face.

He falls to the ground. She pounces atop him.  
Fist against flesh. Knuckles against nose.  
Bones against bones.

A pathetic pulp of red is all that remains. She stands, unable to look at her horrid handiwork.

She closes her eyes, fists balled at her sides.

Wind tossing her hair. Waves lapping at her bare feet.

**~No man is an island, but I'm in the waves~**

Korra stands alone in an ocean of white.  
Water slides across ankles.

**~And the water's rising; I feel right at home~**

Water slides across shins.  
Blood drips from bruised knuckles, stains the waters red.

**~I wanna walk on horizons, but Jesus hasn't called me from the boat~**

In the distance - a black figure standing atop the water.

He extends his hand to her. His eyes glow beneath a hood.

**~It's hard to stand firm when you're on the run~**

Red water slides across thighs.

Korra extends her hand to him.

**~Been tryin' to feel pain, but long ago my heart went numb~**

Red liquid slides across hips.

She steps forth. Splashes, ripples.

**~ been tryin' to heal, but don't know where this blood is comin' from~**

Blood slides across bosoms.

Her stomach burns. Her head throbs.

**~I might be dead, but I'll overcome~**

She reaches up her hand in desperation for his help.

She sinks into the red.

**~I wanna live on the edge of dyin'~**

Drowning in red.

**~Wanna bleed 'til these bones are dry, yea~**

Flailing limbs against resistance.

**~Wanna burn 'til there's nothing left~**

Chest on fire - no air.

**~And I will rise again~**

Struggling, struggling...

**~I wanna scream 'til my lungs explode~**

She falls out of the red ocean, gasps for breath.

**~Fight the devil 'til it kills my soul~**

On her back, she stares at the red waters above.

Her reflection.

**~Burn in hell 'til there's nothing left~**

Coughs, sputters out blood.

**~And I will rise again~**

Korra climbs to her shaky feet.

She walks tirelessly forward.

Directionless.

Another shadow appears. He wields a gun.

**~I don't know what I'm fighting, just dodging bullets left and right~**

She bull-rushes. Wrestles. Shots fire.

A hole through Korra's foot.

**~Lookin' for reflections, seein' shadows without light~**

No details in the shadow's face.

She shoves him to the ground.

**~I hear the Sundays, but don't remember it Monday morning~**

Katara's face up close. Anger, threats, shouts.

Korra pushes her aside.

**~I might be dead but I'll overcome~**

Limps forward, foot searing in pain.

**~I wanna live on the edge of dyin'~**

Muscles shake. Fingers tremble.

**~Wanna bleed til these bones are dry, yea~**

Nose bleeds.  
Knuckles bleed.

**~Wanna burn til there's nothing left~**

She falters, stumbles.

**~And I will rise again~**

Picks herself up. Moves on.

**~I wanna scream til my lungs explode~**

A primal roar at the red ocean sky.

**~Fight the devil til it kills my soul~**

More shadows up ahead.

**~Burn in hell til there's nothing left~**

She sighs bitter flames.

**~And I will rise again~**

Another hand on her shoulder.

Korra flinches, ready to strike - the shadowed hand stops her fist.

Glowing eyes beneath a hood.

_"...Aang?"_

He eases her fist down.

He pulls her into an embrace.

Red rain trickles from the ocean above.

Wind picks up, whipping at Korra's hair. Red droplets prickle her cheeks.

He crumbles to ashes in her grasp, wisps away with the wind.

Red rainfall turns to black ashfall.

She sinks to her knees.

_"Everything I touch turns to shit. Always has, always will."_

**~Tell me where are the wonders you promised with this life~**

She is kneeling over a man with an eye tattooed to his forehead.

**~Try to pray away the demons but I guess you need something more than sighs~**

Jane, on top of him, levels a knife above his chest.

Tears in her eyes, Jane hesitates.

**~I'll be your Isaac, I'll even help you bring down the knife~**

Korra lunges forth, grabs Jane's hands.

Korra plunges the knife into his chest.

Blood.  
Blood pools.

**~I wanna live on the edge of dyin'~**

Now he is Aunt Kya, laying at Korra's feet.

**~Wanna bleed til these bones are dry, yea~**

The knife in her chest.

Blood pools.

**~Wanna burn til there's nothing left~**

Ocean of fire above.

**~And I will rise again~**

Korra stands up. Stares at Kya in horror.

Jane's shadow speaks.

**~I wanna scream til my lungs explode~**

_"I always wondered..."_

**~Fight the devil til it kills my soul~**

_"...what kind of a person could do such a thing."_

**~Burn in hell til there's nothing left~**

_"There's fucking..._nothing_ inside you."_

**~And I will rise again~**

_"Nothing at _all._"_

**~I wanna live on the edge of dyin'~**

_"You're pathetic, and sad, and _empty._"_

**~Wanna bleed til these bones are dry, yea~**

Korra lashes her fiery rage at Jane's shadow.

**~Wanna burn til there's nothing left~**

Ashes to ashes.

**~And I will rise again~**

Dust to dust.

**~I wanna scream til my lungs explode~**

Korra roars, billowing dragon's fire.

**~Fight the devil til it kills my soul~**

More shadows approach.

**~Burn in hell til there's nothing left~**

Fists, feet, flames.

**~And I will rise again~**

Korra brings them all to the ground.

**~oh~**

Piles of ashen bodies at Korra's feet.

**~oh~**

The ocean sky of fire descends to earth.

**~oh~**

Korra shouts at the approaching hell.

**~And I will rise again~**

The ashes blow away.  
The shadows disappear.  
Bloodied bodies remain in their place.

Mom. Dad.

Katara. Sokka. Hakoda.

Bolin. Mako. Asami.

Jane. Aang. Toph.

Jinora. Ikki. Meelo.

Tears of blood stream down Korra's face.

She closes her eyes.

She accepts the fires that come down over everything.

"**Gargh!**"

Korra's eyes snapped open with a horrified gasp, her body flinching awake.

"_Grrrnn-?!" _Jane sprung awake in a groggy shock, turning over in her bed. "Whh...-?"

Korra's bare hip was prodded at by Jane's sharp elbow.

Korra's heart was slamming against her ribcage. Sweat stuck hair strands to her forehead. Propped up on her own elbows, Korra blinked, lost and confused at her surroundings.

Where was she? What was this?

"Dude," Jane croaked from Korra's left. "...You 'kay...?"

Right. Korra was in Jane's room. She'd spent the night there.

With a disparaging sigh, Korra let her tense body collapse, her head sinking into Jane's pillow.

Korra whimpered out a slow, aching groan. Her whole body was sore and twisted.

"_Urghhmfff," _Jane grunted, eyes squinted at the trickling light from her window blinds. "Fuggin'...timezit?"

Korra leaned her body to one side, her breath skipping from the pain. She grabbed her phone and checked the time.

"Urm..." Korra rubbed her eyes, letting her body slip back into a more comfortable position. "Eight...twenty-somethin'," Korra mumbled.

Jane lazily nudged her frizzy head against Korra's shoulder. She yawned, dropping her eyelids closed.

"You got class?" Korra asked, observing the rivulets of morning sunlight coming into the room.

"Mm-mm," Jane hummed in the negatory. "T'morruh..."

Korra scratched at her right temple, uneasy of Jane's head against her left shoulder.

Korra tried to let her body stabilize. Her breathing was still rough. She could feel that thumping of blood vessels in her neck - the same sensation she'd experienced in the hospital room. The memory brought the past day's events all crashing against her in a cold wave of reality.

She was awake now. No use in trying to go back to sleep.

Korra carefully shrugged Jane's sleepy head off of her, eliciting Jane to intake a deep breath through her nose and roll off onto the pillow. Korra slid her abdomen out from beneath their shared blanket and planted her bare feet on Jane's carpet amongst strewn clothes.

Arched over the edge of the bed, Korra let her head sink down, stretching out her neck.

"Ge'in up?" Jane muttered from behind Korra's back.

"Mm," Korra confirmed, her eyes closed.

She rolled her head around slowly. She could feel bones snapping and popping a little. She stretched out her arms and yawned, then scratched an itch at the top of her left bosom.

"Um..." Korra opened her eyes, a mess of dark brown hair blocking off her periphery as she blinked mindlessly at her toes. Her brain regained its bearings. "So, like...just to make sure...-" She stretched her neck around to the side, looking over at Jane. "-...that was a one-time deal, right?"

Korra blinked at the still-groggy Jane, awaiting an answer. Jane poked one pale-skinned, freckled arm up from out of her blanket and pushed her orange bangs to one side.

"Oh. Yea," Jane agreed, her raspy voice recovering from its sleepy state. "No, that's fine," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "I figured, ya know?"

Korra nodded in reply, twisting her neck in the opposite direction to work out her muslces some more.

"Sorry that I kinda...forced myself on ya," Korra mumbled.

"Wh...-? Oh, nah," Jane put her worries at ease. "I let you. Usually it's me doin' that, so...-" She tipped her head to the side with a smirk. "Nice havin' a little changeup, I guess."

"_Pff. _Well...Seemed like I still wasn't doin' much for ya," Korra noted, recollecting the night prior.

"Yea, that's...-" Jane shifted her position, rolling onto her back. "I'm less sensitive down there, is all. From my surgery n' stuff."

"Right, right," Korra acknowledged, still somewhat amused and baffled by the brought-upon awkwardness.

"_You _seemed to have a good time, though," Jane callously remarked with dry amusement.

"_Puh_. Guess I...needed that," Korra confessed. "Been a long time."

"Really?" Jane furrowed her brows, taken aback by this notion. For Jane, it had been a couple of months or so, since Easter Break. How long was 'a long time' in Korra's eyes?

"_Oh, _yea," Korra warily answered. "Like...since before I moved." Korra couldn't deny that the entire act of their intercourse had been the result of Korra's long-hungry libido being let loose from the stressful night's events.

"Whoa. For real?" Jane was startled and surprised. Korra was, to put it bluntly, pretty damn appealing. Jane would've figured the woman was getting banged left and right. "I thought you and Bolin had already...-"

"I _wanted _to," Korra confessed. "We almost _did, _that night after the party - the fancy dance thing? We were both wasted, and...-"

Jane nodded, recalling that formal ball she had opted out of. She'd heard about Korra's drunken escapade from Sokka, naturally.

"Yea, but...he turned me down," Korra explained. "Like, it was...just weird for me to understand. He's _totally _into me. Hook, line, and sinker. I know it - he fuckin' makes it obvious enough. But he wouldn't take it there. He said it was too soon, and then-...Well, then I started really screwing shit up, and it got complicated, I don't know..."

"Huh." Jane didn't have much to say. She was starting to reflect on her own experiences. This was something she couldn't quite relate with, as Johnny had never asked. He had simply been patient, and quiet - as he often was - and had waited for her to initiate when she'd been ready. Given how that previous night had played out, however, Jane could at least attest to the idea that she wasn't so insecure about intercourse as she had been before coming to college.

"Sounds like you ain't talkin' with him at all," Jane observed. "You even still want to try and make stuff work with him?"

Korra bit her lip, rotating her arms around their shoulder sockets. Jane admired the woman's muscular flexing from behind, while simultaneously worrying over the cuts and bruises she could notice from the scuffle Korra had experienced.

"I'm not sure," Korra confessed with uncertainty. "Maybe. I mean, fuck, I gotta get my act together before I worry about that stuff, anyway..."

Jane nodded at Korra's back, understanding the sentiment. Maybe Korra was like Johnny - wanting her keep herself at the distance when she needed to work out her crap. Hell, Jane had done it herself, too. This had been a mutually beneficial act for both women: they'd endured stressful crises of violence, sharing an intrinsic physical bond through that, and now they'd released that pent up tension and gotten it out of their systems.

Korra, meanwhile, was contemplating this idea of getting her act together. What did that entail? What was the first priority?

For some reason, the image that came immediately to mind was those three kids she'd spent the weekend with.  
Why was that? Was it some idiotic hormonal bullshit? Like her body trying to convince the brain to care about maternal instincts, or something?

"Hey, Freckles..."

"'Sup?"

"You ever want to have kids some day?"

As Jane's face hardened at the question, Korra rolled herself back into bed. Laying on her side, she observed Jane's stoic profile, the girl's olive eyes piercing through the foam ceiling tiles.

"Doesn't matter," Jane quietly answered. "Not ever _going _to..."

Korra was off-put by the particular tone that Jane had employed.

"But, nah," Jane followed up, rotating her head to give Korra a more casual glance. "Even if I could, I don't _want _to."

"Soooo, what, you can't?" Korra inquired, curious.

"Well," Jane rolled her eyes. "I mean, _maybe, _I don't...-" She shook her head in quick, short swings thrice before looking back up at the ceiling. "Not quite everything works...? I guess is one way to put it?"

"Ah. Gotcha."

"Which, hell, fuckin' works for me. Got enough problems in my life, I don't need to be tryin' to raise some kid who could get born with...-" She trailed off, shaking her head to herself again. "Yea, don't really wanna get into it."

"Sorry," Korra muttered, somewhat ashamed she'd brought it up.

"Anyway, where'd _that _come from?" Jane demanded with perplexation.

"It's just-...Heh. It's stupid."

"I just spilled to you - tell me."

"Eh, well...Those kids," Korra quietly admitted with embarrassment. "I swear, it's like being around 'em turns on the fuckin' Mommy Switch sometimes. I hate it - aaand, I dunno, I sorta _don't _hate it. It makes me want to, like..._protect _people."

"Some kinda Mama Bear thing."

"Hell if I know. It's why I flipped the fuck out last night, n' raged on that Tahno prick. Now I feel like a retard for what happened, but it was just...like an instinct."

"I hear ya. Oh, _ha!_" Jane chuckled to herself.

"What? What's so funny?"

"There it is," Jane noted aloud, poking her index finger into the blanket over Korra's left breast. "You n' Kat, that's what you share in common: the Mama Bear switch. You actually need _kids _to flip yours, but anyone can trip over Kat's."

"Ohhh, yea, yea," Korra huffed, crossing her arms over her bare stomach. "We're just two goddamn peas in a mother-fucking pod, then," Korra spewed out sarcasm.

"Calm down," Jane scoffed playfully. "Just screwin' around."

Korra word a childishly smug grin as she said, "And I thought we already did enough of that last night, eh?"

"_Woooow, _you really just said that," Jane puffed out with disapproval. "No wonder you n' Toph get along. You're both fuckin' middle-schoolers."

"Heh." Korra wore a silly, toothy smile on her face as she glanced at Jane's warmly lit window shades. "I spent all _weekend _with middle-schoolers, and you're surprised?"

The two shared in their moment if humor, and after it calmed down, Jane tried to bring things back to a more solid note.

"Tell you what, though, LadyBro: this shit with you and Kat, we gotta get that straight. Lemme talk to her."

"Wh-? No, it's cool, I can-"  
"Just lemme do it," Jane coolly insisted. "You got other stuff to deal with today, right?"

Korra's heart sank at the prospect of confronting the people who's she'd deftly avoided last night.

"...Yea, that's true," Korra acknowledged.

"So you go do that. I'll let you know how it goes."

"_Blehhhh_," Korra sighed out. "What the hell's with this, eh? You doin' all this nice shit for me all of a sudden?"

"Hey, you helped me a while back, now I'm tryin' to return the favor. Just covering your ass best I can."

Korra's cheeks puffed out from an instinctual laugh that she barely contained.

"Fuckin' christ," Jane snickered to herself at Korra's reaction. "Really? _R__eally?_"

"Consider my ass _covered_," Korra breathed out through stifled laughter. "...Again," she sneakily added inbetween another pair of chuckles.

"That doesn't even...-!" Jane rolled her eyes, giving up. She had to pretend that this really was like Sokka or Toph she was dealing with, where saying the word '_poop__' _might as well make her a comedian. "Korra, you got some low standards," she teased.

"Well, _psh, _obviously!" Korra taunted back, raising her brows at her current bed-partner.

"Hey!" Jane furrowed hers at Korra with a smirk. Begrudgingly, Jane conceded. "'Kay, I walked myself into that one..."

* * *

"Yea, I mean...good on ya," Toph conceded, somewhat flabbergasted. "I guess."

"You're sure it...doesn't bother you?" Meng double-checked.

"Why...why would it?" said Toph shakily. "No, it's all good. You're good."

Meng nodded - to herself, technically, since Toph of course couldn't see it. Toph caught onto the awkward silence.

Toph followed up, "Really, like...Dougie's a good kid. I sorta...used him, and I feel crappy about that, but...seriously, it's fine."

"And we're not even a couple or nothing," Meng insisted. "You know, we're just getting to know each other, and...-"

"Yea, but you've already hooked him in."

"...Huh?" Meng was puzzled by the way Toph smirked.

"Dougie's got a _thing _for Asian chicks. So you're already set on that front."

Meng snorted an embarrassed laugh. She was humored - but not surprised - that Toph would say such a thing.

"Wh...-?" was what she was able to respond with.

"I'm serious!" Toph chuckled, nudging Meng's rib with her knuckles. "And here, I'll give you a tip..." She leaned to her side, turning her face to plant some words in Meng's ear. "Complain that your shoulders are sore."

"What?" Meng giggled, bemused and bashful by this exchange.

"Really," Toph insisted. "Get him to give you a back massage - fucking _phenomenal. _He's a wizard. Won me over, anyway..." Toph slapped Meng's back and rubbed it up and down, and the two shared a laugh.

"Oh-my-god," Meng gasped inbetween her snickers, covering her face.

"He's pretty good at piano, too," Toph admitted. "But violin - he'll try and tell you he's no good, but he's all right. You gotta get him to play violin."

Meng was too busy tittering at her cousin's bluntness to reply.

Toph asked, "You good? Convinced you've got my 'approval' yet?"

"Yeh-! Yes!" Meng managed out, slapping her thigh. "I'm good..._Whooo_..."

"Cool." Toph fidgeted her palm around Meng's back until she found the girl's shoulder, then squeezed. "Don't worry so much."

Toph got up from her bed, retrieving her walking cane from her bedpost. She poked it around by the foot of her bed. It thunked against her guitar case twice before she froze in place.

"...Oh," she murmured, her smirk fizzing out.

"Huh?" Meng blinked at her, confused for a moment.

"Umm, no, it's...-" Toph continued poking her cane around, pretending as if she was trying to track down something else.

"I thought you needed to go practice," Meng recalled, glancing at the mess of clothes Toph was fidgeting her cane around.

"Yea, yea," said Toph in dismissal, poking her cane aimlessly around.

"Did you...need help finding anything?" Meng wondered, looking at Toph's blank profile with sympathy.

"Um...Oh, right." Toph doubled back and bent down, retrieving a binder from beneath her bed. She swiped her finger over the label on its side, reading its braille text: {Fun Stuff} "Nope, found it," Toph assured, flashing Meng a plastic smile. The technical muscles that Toph was twisting in her face read '_a smile!_' But something was amiss, and Meng could tell.

"You were going to go practice guitar," Meng noted aloud. She watched Toph's fake smile disintegrate.

"Maybe," Toph murmured, her bottom lip starting to quiver.

"Aw," Meng squeaked, getting right up and hugging her cousin. "I'm sorry, Tophie..."

Toph puffed out a quivering breath over Meng's shoulder and returned the embrace.

"Thanks, Cuz."

"You go play some piano, 'kay? Take your mind off it."

"That's the plan," Toph weakly agreed, containing her anguish over the reminder of her loss. They broke apart. Toph groaned in spite of herself and dabbed her wrist at her dampening eyes, quickly getting over her brief bout of shock.

"Should I walk you?" Meng asked.

"Nope, nope," Toph insisted, slipping out a weak laugh of gratitude. "I'm fine. I dunno where Katara's at, but...I'm sure she'll show up soon. I'll catch you guys at lunch. Just have someone call me and I'll come down."

"Right. Sounds good."

"Yep. Catch ya later," Toph bid, finding her out the door.

"Take it easy," Meng sweetly called, radiating empathy with her tone.

When Toph was gone, Meng sighed to herself, playing with the uneven edges of her poofy pigtail braids as she looked down at Toph's guitar case. A few moments of contemplation later, she felt motivated enough to follow through with the idea that had come to her mind over the course of the previous night.

With a somewhat determined look on her face, Meng rolled up her sleeping bag, tucked it beside her travel case beneath Toph's bed, and pulled out her phone from the case's front pocket. Her 'Hello Kitty' phone charm dangled innocently back at her as she swiped her finger through the phone's menus.

[Calling...]  
[Uncle Lao]

Meng plopped herself down into Toph's desk chair, linking her ankles across each other as she drummed her fingers along her kneecap.

["...H-hello...?"]

"Yea, er, hi! Uncle Lao?"

Meng couldn't quite tell if it was, in fact, Toph's father who had answered the phone. It didn't quite sound like him.

["...Meng?"]

"Yup!"

["Ah, I-...Yes, this is Lao speaking. But, Meng, why are you calling? Is something wrong?"]

"Oh! Well, it-...I mean, nothng's..._wrong, _exactly. We're fine! Yea, we're OK. Well, _mostly, _because, _actually, _yesterday was a little-"  
[I'm sorry, what was that?"]

"Rrrright!" Meng slid her jaws together anxiously as she figured out how to put her thoughts. "Uncle Lao, I was just calling because...Toph was in an accident last night. So I just-"  
["What? An...an _accident?_"]  
["Dear?"] Aunt Poppy's voice in the background.  
["Is...is she _OK? _Is she hurt? What happened?"]  
["Lao, what it is?"]

Meng's stomach was churning with regret at her action, but _someone _had to let them know what Toph had dealt with, right?

"Ohhhh, no-no-no!" Meng swiftly eased. "Toph's OK! She's fine! She's safe."

["Well, thank goodness for that,"] Lao sighed. ["Our poor, helpless girl has enough problems as it is, I can't bear the thought of...-"]

Meng's eyes rolled in their sockets at her Uncle's belittling tone.

"A-actually, no, she wasn't really _helpless_," Meng defended. "Someone jumped her - while she was _on stage_, I mean, playing _live _music? Like, in front of a crowd..."

["On stage? What on earth was she...-? Who would let a blind girl-?"]  
"She _put _herself there - on purpose. It was a concert."

["Poppy, our daughter was trying to perform at a _concert_. Can you believe...-?"]  
["Goodness..."]

"No, she was...just doing what she _likes _doing, and people _liked _her. I mean, mostly - the guy who _hit _her obviously not, but...-"  
["Hit her? Someone _hit _our little girl?"]

"Sort of, it...it was kind of a riot, there was...-" Meng tactfully opted to _ignore _the part involving the guns. "Wh-what's important is that Toph was roughed up a bit, _but _she's OK! I figured, I dunno, someone ought to let you know, and...-" But Toph's parents were bickering with each other over it, ignoring Meng's words.

["-what she deserves, if she's going to be involving herself with such _petty _nonsense. Uncultured-"]  
["Now, now, I'm trying to listen to Meng, Dear."]  
["Ah, yes, yes..."]  
["Meng."]

"...Yea?" Meng blurted impatiently.

["Is Toph with you? Right now?"]

"Erm...Nnnnooo, actually," Meng slowly answered, chewing on her lip.

["I...see. Where is she?"]

"She went off to practice, and so...-"

["And she left you? All alone?"]

"Er, w-well, not exactly, I mean, I _wanted _to stay behind. See, I have a friend that I'm going to-"  
["Did you report this incident?"]

"_Ummmm_..." Meng squinted, recalling the messy scene they had left the day prior. "Yea," she squeaked uncertainly. "The police were there, aaand...yep. They, ya know...they...aheh...did their thing!" Meng's voice was quivering awkwardly, her eyes wide as she was trying to scrub the stressful situation from her brain.

["Poor Toph,"] Poppy mourned.

["We _told _her to stay away from that...that _troublesome _school,"] Lao grumbled.

"Uncle Lao?" Meng attempted to redirect the flow of the discussion.

["Yes?"]

"Did you get my messages from before? On...on Facebook?"

["I...-? Ah. Ah, yes, the-...Yes, right."]

"The videos I sent you - the ones I recorded with Tophie. Did you...watch any of those?"

["I'm afraid that I've been...too busy to spend time with that sort of thing."]

Meng's eyes snapped shut with aggravation.

"You _really _should...maybe make some time for that," Meng peacefully chimed, knowing well to keep her voice as courteous as could be. "Toph, she...really put her heart into those, and...I just really think you should give those a look, is all."

["I'm not sure I understand. What does that have to do with anything?"]

"Ah, see...It's about Tophie's guitar - the, um, the one Grammy gave her?"

["Mmph. Yes, I'm...aware."]

"Er, well, it...it kinda got..._broken_...yesterday, during the accident, and, so...-"

["Pardon?"]

"The...the guitar - it's broken, someone stole it from her, and-"  
["You mean to say that Toph was _playing _that instrument out in _public_?"]

"Umm...Y-yea, isn't...-? Why wouldn't she...-?"

["That was a family _heirloom, _not some _toy _to tinker with."]

"N-no, it...it's not-! I mean, _believe _me, Toph felt the same way, she wasn't...-! She took _really _good care of it, and...-"

["-was _broken, _evidently."]  
["Oh, dear..."]  
["'Oh, dear' is right,"] Lao was ranting. ["That irresponsible girl should know _better _than to-"]

Meng tuned out for a few seconds, trying to contain a frustrated huff.

["-would possess her to do such a thing?"]

There was a pause, and Meng opened her eyes, intent to defend her cousin.

"Toph wanted to play it - she _loved _that guitar, and she just...wanted to share that love with everyone listening." This was not exactly how _Toph _might have put it, of course, but Meng knew that she needed to win these two over.

["Hm..."] Lao was contemplating this remark.

"Listen," Meng pushed further, eager to crack open this nut. "Uncle Lao, I know that Toph has been...somewhat rash...over the past year, but-"  
["Quite the understatement, I would say..."]  
"_But! _Please let me finish. Toph's...done a bit of soul-searching lately, and...I really think she's a bit different than when you last saw her. And a big part of that has been because of her music. I'm _telling _you, you really need to watch her play - not just listen to it, but _see _it. Those videos I sent you, please just...watch them. I'll-...I can re-send them, even, in case you lost track, I just..._really, _really think that - especially as her parents - you guys should at least try to understand Toph's interest. I mean, she's been _heartbroken _about Gram's guitar, she has, and...I honestly think that if you two actually want to make things right with her, this is the way to do it."

Meng sucked in a deep breath, recovering from her ramble.

["You seem to have a lot of faith in your cousin,"] Lao observed after a couple seconds' silence.

"I do," Meng insisted. "I swear, she _has _grown up a bit, and...her music, it's something special. Not just to her, but I mean, in general. That girl's talent, seeing her play...it's like a bit of a miracle. You know?"

Uncle Lao considered this for another few seconds.

["I suppose I could find some time to look into these recordings you've mentioned..."]

"Yes!" Meng piped up, half in cheer, half in relief. "Please! I promise, you'll like them! I'll, um...-" Meng bounced from her seat, reaching for her laptop, which she'd left on Katara's desk in the girl's absence. "I'll get on and re-send the ones I think are the best. I'll do it right now..."

["All right, all right,"] Lao sighed, somewhat off-put by his niece's excitement. ["I'm not sure what you think this will prove, but if you're so insistent about this, I suppose that we can spend a few minutes to see what this is all about."]

"Awesome." Meng bit her top teeth down on her bottom lip in a giddy smile as she booted up her computer. "Thank you. She-...Toph really does feel bad about things with you guys, and...she just has trouble, like, expressing it, and so...-"

["Yes, I understand your point, Meng."]

"I mean...she's your _daughter. _And maybe it was her choice to break things off..." Meng paused, staring blankly at her login screen. "She feels like you and Aunt Poppy don't respect her. Don't appreciate her."

["She...said that to you?"]

"...Yea," Meng mumbled.

["But...that's nonsense,"] Lao sighed, discouraged. ["We...we _love _her. All that we've done is try to protect her. From...from disappointment, from the world, from...herself. I've been afraid of her getting her hopes up with these aspirations of...of musical _stardom_. We've simply been trying to get her to see reason. With her condition, it's not very likely that...-"]

"I-...OK, so I _think _I understand what you mean," Meng conceded, the caveat hanging on the tip of her tongue. "But, really - you don't seem to get that she can really _do _this: be a performer. She could make a living off of doing what she loves. Especially if she had her parents supporting her. I know it - in my bones - that if you just gave her a _chance _to show you why this matters to her so much...if you came to her and really asked her to show you-...I just know that could be the door you all need to open to reconnect with each other."

["Hm..."]

Meng logged herself into her computer, a swell of confidence having bubbled up and out of her. Yea, this _had _been a good idea. Just maybe, after a year and a half of this familial conflict, this could be what Toph _and _her parents needed.

["I appreciate your straightforwardness, Meng."]

"Mm."

["I will...discuss this with your Aunt. We'll...watch these recordings, and consider your words."]

"Yes, of course! Thank you, Uncle Lao. I have faith that you and Aunt Poppy will understand. Thank you so much."

["All right. But I'm confused - why do you keep thanking me?"]

"Because...W-well, it sounds like you're trying hard to trust me, even if you're not sure." Meng's eyes widened as she blinked at her desktop background - a flaming skull wearing triangular sunglasses. She smiled to herself as she recollected a favorite quote. "I'm just thankful that you're willing to believe in me...who believes in you."


	115. Second Chances

**A/N: I've gone back and re-worked the chapter structure so that now we're running properly where each update is labelled as a "chapter" with its own title. This also means I cannot say for certain how many chapters this story will run until, but do know that an end is definitely approaching. At this point I basically have to finish resolving character arcs (mainly Aang and Korra's), try and shed just enough light on some unexplained backstory elements, and then tie together the final conflict and wrap everything up with a bit of time afterward for resolution.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 115 - Second Chances_

* * *

- Monday, May 30th, 2011 -

[From: Korra]  
[Yea. It's fucking bad. Feels like i hardly slept at all. Sore all over.]  
[Sent: 12:17pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[sorry. :( that stinks. what about the kids? are thy ok?]  
[Sent: 12:17pm]

[From: Korra]  
[I'm a mess right now. I don't know what to do.]  
[Sent: 12:17pm]

Aang gawked blankly at his phone as his brain froze up, lingering on the sensation of Korra's battered body sniveling over his shoulder the night prior. She had said the same thing: _"Aang, I don't fucking know what to _do_!"_ He had no answer to provide then, and he didn't here, either. Why was she asking _him_? Aang's phone lit up as a string of messages flooded his inbox, one after the other.

[From: Korra]  
[Kids are ok. I'm actually going to check on them right now. I'm parked outside the hospital.]  
[Seriously. I'm texting you to procrastinate. I have no fucking idea what to say to their parents.]  
[I'm hopeless. Katara was right. I brought this all on myself.]  
[What am i supposed to say? Sorry i got your kid's foot blown up!]  
[Shit. Shit fuck ugh.]  
[Sent: 12:20pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[just be honest. i'm sure they'll understnd. you stopped them from getting kidnappd at least.]  
[Sent: 12:21pm]

[From: Korra]  
[No. You don't even understand. it's my fault we jumped in the first place.]  
[I'm such a piece of crap. I can't get a single thing right.]  
[Sent: 12:22pm]

Aang stared with confusion at the texts he was receiving. It sounded like Korra was still feeling pretty emotional, which wasn't what he was used to in the slightest. Part of him felt weird as he considered his own lack of response to everything that had been happening lately. Korra took pride or shame in her endeavors and encounters, where he was just trying to distance himself from it all.

"Aang?"

Aang tilted his phone back down into his lap at Katara's verbal prodding. He noticed that she was staring at him with suspicion, a forkful of casserole hovering above her plate.

From across the table, Sokka was boastfully explaining to the group. He was discussing the concept of the game he was spending the month designing the prototype for.

"-so they'll each have, like, weaknesses and strengths against each other, and everything."

"What, like Pokemon?" Meng inquired.

"Erm..." Sokka squinted thoughtfully. He scratched at his chin scruff. "Not in quite that same way, I mean, I'm thinking more in terms of the strategies each Nation relies on."

Aang was letting himself listen in, but when Katara had finished her current bite of food, she prodded him with her elbow.

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked with quiet concern beneath Sokka's babbling.

"Yea," Aang murmured back with a hasty nod, tossing around his untouched salad with his fork. His phone went off again.

[From: Korra]  
[Something is seriously fucked up with me. I don't even know.]  
[Sent: 12:24pm]

_I think I maybe have some kind of idea, _Aang thought to himself, his gaze losing focus.

"Who are you talking with?" Jane asked from Aang's opposing side. She chewed on her tuna melt, her eyes trying to sneak a peek at Aang's phone.

"Oh, it's...just Korra," Aang calmly explained, putting his device into his khaki pocket. "She's...well, stressed out over last night."

"She probably _should _be," Katara bitterly grumbled under her breath.

"To be fair," Aang cited, "I probably should be, too..." And yet he sort of wasn't. Why was that? Maybe something was wrong with him, too?

Aang and Jane both shot Katara an offput glance, but when Katara didn't look back, they ended up exchanging worrisome looks with each other.

"-put people I know in there, just...-" Sokka shrugged and took a sip of his milk. "You know, have fun with it."

"Awww, that's so nifty!" said Meng with a goofy grin. "And also kind of sweet," she added, nodding to herself.

"Oh, yes," Toph flatly agreed. "Turning your friends into trading cards - height of sentimentality."

"So what do I get to be?" Mai dryly asked with some curiosity.

"Huh?" Sokka blinked at her, confused by the question.

Mai, who at this point was chewing on her casserole, wriggled her wrist at him for a second before swallowing.

"Well," she started. "You're making yourself some kind of politician...?"

"A Councilman," Sokka clarified.

"_Booohhhring_," Toph interjected her opinion.

"H-hey, I'm a warrior, too!" Sokka pointed out. "I have a whole backstory and everything."

"Yea, yea," Toph chuckled. "All right, _Gary Stu_."

Katara giggled at Toph's reference to this term.

"Huh?" Sokka's suspicious glance went from Toph to his sister, who simply raised up her eyebrows with amusement at her brother's ignorance.

"What am I again?" Zuko mumbled, having just taken a swig of coffee.

"You're a banished prince with a dark and terrible secret past," Sokka off-handedly explained.

Zuko's eyelids sagged down with dull frustration and he wiggled them up at Mai, taking another sip.

"Yea, that...sounds about right," Zuko sighed irritably. Mai smirked weakly at his reaction and rubbed her long fingers over his knee.

"So what're you going to make _me_?" Mai finished her thought. "I'd _better _not be a princess," she darkly specified.

"I-I dunno," Sokka sputtered, wide-eyed at Mai's critical glance. "I haven't thought you out yet."

"_Oh, _I get it," Mai snapped in her usual crackly attitude. "I'm not important enough to be part of your game..."

"Wh-!" Sokka's eyebrows wriggled with flustered confusion. "No, I didn't...-!"

"Dude," said Toph, bumping her shoulder against his. "She's fucking with you," Toph quietly informed him.

Sokka glanced back over to Mai, who was taking a drink of tea with a small ceramic mug. She was lifting it with her pinky stretched out, giving Sokka a sneaky look with those shifty amber eyes of hers. Zuko was nodding in response to Toph's statement, stirring his soup with a humored smile.

"Knives," Mai said out of nowhere after this moment of weird silence. "I want to throw knives."

"Uhhh, sure," Sokka quickly agreed, it making no real difference to him. "Done." He just didn't want those dagger glares heading his way - _ohhh, _ha. _Dagger _glares, classic.

"_Oh-oh-oh!_" Ty-Lee suddenly squealed from beside Mai. "And me! Can I be in the _circus_?!"

"Err-..." Sokka scratched his head. "I don't really know what a circus has to do with...-" Sokka blinked at Ty-Lee's over-excited mannerism, watching her bounce up and down in her seat.

"I know," Zuko decided, giving Ty-Lee a taunting smirk. "You can be a _clown._"

Ty-Lee's lips pouted at this, and Mai snorted a laugh at the thought - she could picture Ty-Lee's puppy-dog face in that instant with a big red ball on her nose.

"Not funny," Ty-Lee whimpered, glaring at her friends.

"Right," Zuko said with a nod. "_Not _funny. You'd be one of those sad-faced clowns with teardrop paint on your face, and-"  
"Hey," Mai half-heartedly scolded him, giving him a light slap on the back of his head.

Aang, who was quietly eating his food while this discussion was going on, was pulled away yet again when his hip vibrated.

[From: Korra]  
[OK. I've got myself together. Going to do this now.]  
[Sent: 12:27pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Korra]  
[tell me how it goes.]  
[Sent: 12:27pm]

"_Why_ is she texting you so much?" Katara grumbled at Aang.

"I don't know," Aang muttered back, hastily putting his phone back away. He began chugging at his water, evidently more thirsty than he'd assumed.

"There some reason she shouldn't be?" Jane inquired, goading a response from Katara. Katara gave Jane an indignant look and the two argued with their eyeballs for a couple of seconds before Katara backed off.

"I'm just not so sure if spending time with Korra is a good idea right now," Katara muttered irritably, keeping their discussion below the other half of the table's chatter.

"I _think _I can handle it," Aang quipped back, wiping his wrist over his lips as he set his cup down.

"It's...-" Katara's eyes flashed with frustration, and she rolled them around as she bit her tongue for a moment. "Take it from me, Aang: it'd just be better if you left her alone for a while..." Katara went back to eating her meal, leaving Aang to stir on this thought.

"I disagree," Aang firmly replied, keeping his voice calm.

Jane gawked at their angry passivity with an incredulous, disappointed expression before recollecting herself with a slight headshake.

The attention of the table shortly shifted from Sokka's game discussion to the gangly young man that was now hovering above Meng's seat.

"Oh!" Meng squeaked, her face lighting up with excitement. "Well, _hello _there, Douglas!" she greeted him with a stupid grin. The tooth missing on her upper jaw only further accentuated her goofy smile, and Douglas reciprocated with his own awkward posturing.

"Hey," Douglas muttered with a weak-willed wave. "Um...-" He nodded in response to the assortment of greetings he received from the table. "I was...just wanting to make sure that you guys were...I-I don't know, all right, I mean, since yesterday...-"

"We're survivin'," Toph replied casually.

"Ah...that's good," Doug muttered. "Oh, um...-" He fished around in his slack pockets and pulled out his phone. "So...so that movie you wanted to show me...I, uh, I forgot...-"  
"Princess Mononoke," Meng spurted out with an eager nod.

Douglass blinked at her, aghast for a second or so. He was clearly uncomfortable from all the table's eyes on his interaction.

"H-how do you..._spell_...-?"

"Here," Meng reached out and took his phone, efficiently punching it the letters. Her fingers kept finding their way to incorrect letters, and she had to re-spell it out three times. "Yea, you should see if...-" She passed the device back. "-...the library here has it. If they don't, I'm sure we could find it online or something."

"On-...online?" Douglas muttered, his face paling.

"Ha, don't worry," Meng insisted, tousling her loose, curly hair and dropping some of it over one shoulder. "We'll figure it out later."

"Right! Sounds good."

There was a strange moment of quiet between the two as they gawked at each other, neither knowing how to conclude their interaction. Everyone else was stuffing their faces with food, and the cafeteria's hum of student activity enveloped them.

"So, how's your back doing?" Douglas wondered quietly - but not so quietly that Toph couldn't hear. "Feeling better?"

"_Haaa_," Meng squeaked out in a slow, embarrassed sound. She rotated her shoulders a little. "Y-yea! Better. Thanks."

"No problem. That's...good."

"Yep."

Toph suddenly got up from her seat.

"Welp! I'm in the mood for some cappuccino," she blurted out.

"Oh," Meng started to shuffle in her seat. "Do you need-?" But Toph stuck out her hand and pressed on Meng's back, keeping her down.

"You mind giving me a hand with that, Mr. _Duke_?" Toph calmly asked.

"Wh-? Oh, erm...Sure."

Sokka, side-swiped by whatever was going on, glared with confused eyebrows at Douglas, an irritated "_Mmph_" puffing through his nostrils. He hadn't forgotten the young man's previous history with Toph, after all.

"Sokka: stop grumping at Meng's friend," Toph scolded him sharply, nudging her hand against Douglas' back. "Don't mind my guard dog, here," she joked, edging Douglas to move forward. "C'mon, lead me on the path of delicious caffeinated...stuff."

"R-right, I...-" Doug felt Toph's hand clamp down on his shoulder, and he cautiously guided her toward the cafeteria's cappuccino machine. "It's _The _Duke, by the way," he corrected her.

"Ah," Toph replied.

"Not _Mr. _Duke," Douglas pressed, his baffled frustration at Toph's sudden pushiness bleeding through his two traveled without incident for a few seconds. When they reached the machine, Douglas stopped, advising, "We're here." Douglas sighed, evidently at a loss of what to do next. "So...what kind do you want? They've got...erm...-"

"I don't care, any kind," Toph sighed out lackadaisically.

Douglas glared at her as she stood beside him, her mischievous eyes veiled in black, floppy strands. Puzzled by what the purpose of this encounter was, Douglas shrugged her off and took a ceramic mug from the nearby stack. he set it beneath a dispensing tube and pressed in a button, filling it with french vanilla flavored beverage.

"So, hey," Toph began, her hands crossed over her waist. The buzz of the machine at work filled her ears, and the smell of sweet, sugary liquid warmed her nose. "Thanks for looking after my cousin lately," she said, the words tumbling out more roughly than she would've expected. She was finding talking with this young man more awkward than she'd thought it would be, their prolonged tension over the previous semester weighing her mind down.

"Oh..." Doug's tone instantly had a change of heart in regards to Toph's slightly bossy behavior. "It's no trouble, I-...Meng's fun."

"She is," Toph agreed with a smirk, pleased by the particular way Doug had spoken. "I know she really appreciates making some new friends here."

"Ah. Right, that-...Yea, that makes sense," Doug verbally tripped over himself. He released the button on the machine, grimacing as it continued to drizzle out steaming water, overflowing the mug.

"Uhh...-" Toph took in a deep breath, then puffed air at her bangs. "Yea, so, just...wanted to say that. I guess."

"OK," Doug mumbled with a hasty nod. He tipped the mug over and cautiously dumped a bit of excess cappuccino into the drip tray.

Toph's chest tightened at the lingering tension and she grunted out a sigh, scratching at her nose.

"Listen, Dougie, I...-"

"I know," he replied. "No, it's fine. You don't have to-"  
"I'm sorry," Toph insisted. "You seem like...a nice guy, and...I was in a bad place, and took advantage of your..._nice_ness?"

Toph thought to herself, _It_ _wouldn't have been the first time I've done that to somebody..._

Doug, flustered and embarrassed, was putting the mug on a saucer.

"It's fine, seriously," he sheepishly mumbled back.

"I'm a lot better now," Toph explained. "Just wanted you to know I really _am _sorry about what happened."

"All right," Douglas acknowledged. "Apology...accepted."

"It seems like you and Meng are, ya know, gettin' _along _pretty nicely," Toph slyly observed, trying to change gears. This caused Douglas' face to tense up. "So I figured I'd make sure, ya know, that...we're good. Just in case...-"

"Oh! N-no, it's not like that," Douglas insisted shakily. "W-we just _met, _you don't have to worry...-"

"_All _I'm sayin'-" Toph pushed with a smile. "-is that _if _you two decide to hook up, that you shouldn't worry about me."

"Mm...Hook-...hook up? Why, did she...-?"

"I'm just covering bases, here," Toph knowingly assured.

"Uh, Buh-..._Bases?_" Douglas peeped, his voice cracking a bit.

"Hey, slow and steady," Toph razzed. "Don't need to go repeating any mistakes."

"Right! No, _nooo, _definitely not."

"OK," Toph concluded her thought.

"All right," Doug sighed out - there was some relief there, Toph could detect.

"And hey," Toph added. "If you maybe end up, I dunno, wanting any _advice_?" She slapped him on the back, unknowingly causing him to spill some of her drink into the saucer. "Just sayin'. Me n' her are maybe a little close, so...-"

"R-right, OK..." Douglas clearly didn't seem to know how react to this, but that fine by Toph.

"'Kay," she chuckled. "Let's head back, n' you and Meng can awkwardly mumble at each other some more, huh?"

"_Ahhahahh_," Douglas warily laughed in reply. "We-...we sorta _do _that, don't we?"

When the two arrived back at the table, Meng was showing her phone to Sokka, who was gaping at it with surprise.

"Whoa, is that...like, _blood_, on her face?"

"Mm-hm!" Meng peppily hummed.

"Well, _damn_," Sokka mused, scratched at his chin. "That's _my _kinda princess, I guess!"

"It's a good movie," Meng insisted. "One of the best, if you ask me."

"Oh, great," Toph said, sitting herself down. "You've got Meng talking about _anime, _haven't you?"

"Ghibli movies are in a _whole _other category," Meng put on a snooty tone, waggling her finger.

Douglas set down Toph's recently acquired drink.

"There you go," he mumbled.

"Thank ya, Sir," Toph grunted, scooting her chair up and cautiously reaching for the saucer.

"Douglas," said Meng. "Do you think you might be up for extra company tonight?"

"Huh?" Douglas gawked at her enthusiasm.

Toph bent over and sipped at her mug's edge. Yikes, still piping hot.

"Well, Sokka's never seen it," Meng explained, "And Aang and Katara said they might be interested in watching it with us, too."

Douglas meekly glanced over at the two Meng had just referenced. Katara nodded courteously, but Aang was focused on his food.

"Oh, that-...Yea, that sounds good, I guess," said Douglas, allowing himself to be coerced into it.

"Awesome-awesome!" Meng cried with jubilance, pumping her fists a little. "I'll send you a text later!"

Douglas nodded quickly, ready to take his leave.

"Sounds good! Yea! I gotta go, but...See you then!"

"Bye!"

As Douglas whisked himself away, Sokka studied the girl's goofy smile, her uneven teeth biting down on her bottom lip as she stared the meek little guy escaping the cafeteria.

"_Ah_," Sokka blurted out in recognition.

"Mm?" Meng blinked rapidly, twisting her head over to Sokka. She suddenly noticed that Toph was grinning sneakily, and both Mai and Zuko were smirked, as well. Ty-Lee, however, was practically beaming.

"_Ohhhh, _heehee!" Ty-lee chirped, clapping her hands together lightly. "So cute..."

"Right?" Toph agreed, nudging her knuckles into Meng's arm.

"Whhhhhat?" Meng slowly asked, her eyebrows arced with a bashful concern.

"Your _back _is feeling better, huh?" Toph teased. Meng's cheeks, already pink from all of the staring she was receiving, reddened further at Toph's remark. "Betcha had some _help _with that problem," Toph picked.

"Ssh!" Meng spat, giving her cousin a little shove.

"Wait-wait," Katara yammered, squinting her eyes at Toph. "Was that...-?" She grinned suspiciously at her roommate. "Toph, were you just playing _matchmaker_?"

"_Pffff_," Toph blew hot air through her lips. She left it at that and sipped some more at her hot drink.

Katara laughed through her nostrils with a pleasantly surprised mirth in her eyes.

"Guys, come on," Meng whimpered out through a diffident gleam, shielding her cheeks with her palms. "It's not like that...We just met!"

"Yea, yea," Toph chuckled. She was charmed by the fact that Meng had employed the same phrase that Douglas had minutes prior. "Hey, Meat-Head," she flicked the back of her wrist on Sokka's chest. "Was I like this back when I was crushin' on _you_?"

"Errr..." Sokka blinked at her, raising one brow. He shrugged, having been put on the spot. "Sure, I guess."

Toph frowned a bit, perplexed by the specifically dismissive tone in her boyfriend's voice.

"What?" she asked quietly, sensing something was bugging him.

"Nothing," Sokka calmly insisted - he wasn't going to talk about it, at least not right then. Toph could've had a verbal throwdown and get to the bottom of things right then and there, but decided against it. Everyone was getting along for a change, and she ironically wanted to keep things that way.

Meng focused her attention to Mai, Zuko, and Ty-Lee on the other side of the round table, choosing to ignore this quiet moment of weird tension that had transpired right beside her.

"So what about you guys?" Meng asked them. "Do you want to watch the movie with us tonight?"

"Ah, I...-" Zuko's face wrinkled with doubt. "-...really ought to help my Uncle out with...-"

Mai crossed her arms, leaned back in her chair, and lowered unamused eyelids at him.

"...With..._what_?" she prodded with suspicious intrigue.

"Erm...-" Zuko shrunk in his seat. He cast a disgruntled look at Mai, befuddled that she was actually in a social mood.

"Come _awwwnnn_," Ty-Lee goaded him, shaking him by the arm. "We should hang out with them." Zuko frowned and shook her off, but nodded complacently, resulting in Ty-Lee cheering out a high-pitched, "Yay!"

"Hey, Sokka," Katara called. He blinked at her, his cheeks full. "You should get a hold of Suki - see if she wants to come, too."

"Mm!" he nodded in agreement, his face puffed.

"Wait, so, _what_ are we watching?" Jane muttered to Aang, lost in the conversation.

"Princess Mononoke," Aang explained. "It's a classic Japanese animation."

Jane slowly tilted her head up, lips propped out thoughtfully, then lowered her head in an understanding nod. Aang laughed at her evidently confused reaction.

"I think you might like it," Aang said.

"You think?" Jane verbally poked, giving Aang a teasing leer.

Aang breathed out a laugh and rolled his head in a bob.

"I _know _you will like it," he amended.

* * *

"Korra!"  
"Yaaaay!"  
"Korra..."

The excited chirps of the Rabtens helped steady Korra's shaky heartbeat, but her legs were still rubbery and weak in their presence.

"_Heyyy_...guys," Korra awkwardly greeted them.

Jinora, still looking worse for wear, smiled sleepily at Korra. Ikki and Meelo, looking less hardened than when she'd last seen them, tackled Korra's hips from both sides. She laughed shakily at their greeting and gave them awkward pats on the head, their father's dire glance piercing her skull.

"You smell _weird_," Ikki noted with some sudden disgust, pulling back and huffing air out of her nostrils.

The hair on the back of Korra's neck crawled at the sensation of Meelo digging his nose into her side as he 'investigated' this claim with his own nose.

"_Plegh_," he concluded, his already weird face wrinkled as he stepped away. "Have you been _smoking _again?" he scolded her with a fierce finger waggle.

"Uhh...-" Korra shrugged as her mouth twitched nervously. She suddenly recollected filling her car with cigarette smoke the night prior - her spare shirt in the trunk must've taken in some of that scent, but better that than coming in wearing the same ragged, bloodied outfit from yesterday.

"Are these swimming trunks?" Ikki inquired, poking a curious finger at the bright yellow shorts Korra's thighs were currently clothed in. Given the tattered state of her jeans from the day prior, Korra may or may not have had to borrow some temporary leg-wear from Jane, whose figure was much too skinny for the girth of Korra's wide hips, leaving elastically waisted shorts as the most practical option.

"Hey, let's...not worry so much about my outfit, eh?" Korra hastily mumbled to Ikki, slightly shooing both kids off of her - she wouldn't mind so terribly if Tenzin wasn't glaring at her with that stoic beard-scratching. "_Uhhh, _so!" she spouted out more loudly, slapping her palms on her sides as she nodded to herself. There was a tense quiet that hung over the room, and Korra made haste to Jinora's bedside, avoiding Tenzin's eyes all the while.

"Hey," Jinora croaked out with some optimism. The girl looked like she'd just been woken up.

"Hey," Korra replied back, her tone solemn and full of regret. Korra's hand seemed to act of its own accord without her brain's consent - it found its way around Jinora's delicate fingers. "How're you holdin' up?" Korra asked.

Jinora hummed out a weak-willed reply, and Korra's heart sank at the very sound.

"I'll be all right," Jinora insisted. Korra felt the pale teen's fingers squeezing slightly against her brown hand.

"They're taking good care of you, right?" Korra checked. After the words had tumbled out of her mouth, she found herself wondering where they'd even come from to begin with.

Jinora smirked, her eyelids sliding closed. She slyly joked, "They haven't fed me any _pepperoni, _at least."

Korra breathed out a stifled laugh at the girl's reference to that previous mishap. Korra could feel her eyes watering up, filled with pre-stress emotion she'd spent minutes in the parking lot trying to bury within herself.

"I'm really sorry," Korra forced out. She blinked quickly, clearing up her eyes as she turned to look at the other two kids. "For...for all of this," Korra mumbled sheepishly. "Everything," she added, looking up at the stoic eyes of the children's father. "I've...-" She swallowed, pressing the side of her fist against her lips as she stared aimlessly at the wall, considering her words carefully.

"What's wrong?" Ikki peeped. Korra gave the girl an uncertain glance.

"Tenzin," said Korra, dropping her hands on her hips. She had expected the man to have thoroughly reamed her out by now. He hadn't said a word to her the night prior, and he was still ever silent. She gaped at him, opening her mouth but unable to speak. She gestured up her shoulders silently, then let her arms drop to her sides.

She figured she probably looked entirely ridiculous and unkempt in that moment: a black tanktop smelling of cigarettes, banana yellow swimming trunks, grungy flip-flops, loose and sweaty hair, a black eye, red knuckles, and a collection of scrapes and bruises.

"Korra," Tenzin replied plainly, carrying a patient expectation to see where her words were going to lead.

"I...-" Korra looked down at Ikki and Meelo, who were both rather confused by the quiet tension in the room. "Tenzin, I would..._completely _understand if you and Pema, you know...didn't really want me around after everything that...-" Korra couldn't even finish her sentence when she realized how dejected Ikki's face had turned at these words.

"Is that what you want?" Tenzin asked, back to stroking his graying beard.

Korra raised a brow at him and fidgeted with the drawstring on her shorts.

"What..._I _want?" Korra murmured back, aghast. She shook her head slowly. "I don't really think that..._matters_ right now, after everything that's been going wrong lately." She huffed out a "_Pu__h_!" as she shrugged again, gesturing at herself. "For f_uh_-...-" She caught herself and corrected her dialogue for the kids. "Ffffor _Pete's_ sake, I can't even...-" Her heart burned, her eyes flinching shut for a brief second before she continued. "I can't be trusted with a _dog,"_ she choked out, her voice wavering. "Or even _myself_ right now...much less other human beings..." She flicked a trembling wrist toward Jinora's bed.

"It's...OK," Jinora tried to assure from her forced position of recovery.

"Now, I mean," Korra pressed on not letting her shame be graced with Jinora's sympathy, "I know that you and Pema don't _need _a babysitter - your kids are old enough to take care of themselves, so I don't-"  
"No-_ooo_!" Ikki whined out, crossing her arms. "You can't just quit!"

"Dad," Meelo grunted, tugging at his father's pant leg. "We _do _need a babysitter," he insisted, providing no reason or explanation.

"Is that right?" Tenzin mumbled, humoring his son, but still stroking his beard with a critically stoic look.

"No," Korra sighed. "Kids...You really _don't _need me, I'll just...-"

"We _want _you," Jinora explained. "I...shouldn't have said what I did, you-"  
"No," Korra repeated, shaking her head and turning to the bed-ridden girl. "Jinora, you _should _have said that stuff," she insisted, directing her hand toward the girl in bed. "You were _totally _right," Korra mused, slowly pulling her hand back. After rotating her wrist, she gazed in forlorn wonderment at her bloodied knuckles. "I _am _just a...'_brute.'_"

"But...but you're _our _brute," Ikki bemoaned, her eyes starting to water up.

"Yea!" Meelo swung his fist haphazardly through the air.

"Children," Tenzin put them at ease. He pressed his bony hand on Meelo's lumpy skull, stopping the kid's motions. "May I have a word with Korra?" he checked with them.

Korra was somewhat astounded at the very idea: _asking _your kids if they were all right with you doing something?

"_Ooooo_kay," Meelo huffed, his whole body slumping as his father's hand rubbed on his buzz-cut head.

Ikki timidly pleaded, "You're not gonna..._yell _at her, are you?"

Tenzin chuckled lightly, moving from his son to his daughter.

"Of course not," he calmly assured. Korra's own stomach lightened along with Ikki's at this prospect, at least.

"'Cuz we really like her," Ikki squeezed in two more cents, giving her father the complete pouty package.

"I know, Dear," Tenzin placated with a nod, patting his palm on her skull. He looked to Jinora. "Will you be all right for a few minutes?"

"Yea," Jinora meagerly replied. Korra gaped at the girl for a moment, noting Jinora's gentle but hopeful expression.

"We'll be good," Meelo promised.

"You _can't_ quit now," Ikki mumbled at Korra, trying to grip the woman's semi-mangled hand.

"Ikki," Tenzin sighed, trying to keep his patience.

"It's OK," Korra said to Ikki, flexing her fingers around Ikki's bitty hand with sympathy.

"We'll be just outside," Tenzin informed his brood, edging Korra along by the shoulder as if she were an overgrown child, herself.

Korra glanced back over her shoulder as she followed the man out of the hospital room. A trio of worried, distraught eyes peered at her.

In the hallway, Tenzin guided Korra to a nearby pair of chairs propped against the wall. Korra found her sore body hesitant to sit down, creaking in pain. She groaned lightly alongside her elder as they took their seats. They watched a nurse push an elderly, sleeping man in a wheelchair by, solemnly silent all the while. When the hall was clear, Tenzin turned to Korra.

"Korra...What you did was brave - and it must be said how grateful I am that you protected my children. However, it was also quite foolish - my daughter was wounded, and it could easily have been more severe. And now, whoever these men were that attacked you, they may yet have their sites set on you and my family. I am incredibly thankful on one hand, but on the other, I'm also disappointed in you."

Korra complied with a dull nod. Head bobbed, she glanced over at Tenzin's red-brown loafers, flexing against the polished tile floor as he shifted in his seat. She was having trouble meeting his intimidating gaze.

"I know. And-" She shrugged irritably. "-if it helps you feel any better, _I'm _disappointed in me, too..." She blew air through her nose as she shoulders sagged.

"The last time we talked about this, you told Lin and I that this sort of thing wasn't going to happen again."

"_Yea, _well...-" Korra reaction was to jut out needles in defense, but she paused, letting her tightened arm muscles loosen back up. She was avoiding his analytical gaze all the while. "I told a _few _people that I'd turn things around, and _whaddya _know?" She slapped her hands on her thighs. "You're _definitely _not the only person I've let down." Her fingers trembled in her lap, her scuffed and scratched skin still stinging.

Tenzin took a couple of seconds to size Korra up, studying her dejected profile. He awkwardly ran his palm across his pleated, brown pant leg.

"It certainly sounds like you must have a lot on your mind," Tenzin noted.

Korra's face twitched briefly with frustration - _Yea, no shit! _- but she let it pass without a word.

"What, exactly, is troubling you?" Tenzin inquired.

"I don't understand what's _wrong_ with me," Korra grumbled with dissatisfaction, hunched over in her seat. "I got a fresh start, I left my old life behind, I've worked _three _different jobs, I've met all sorts of people, I keep trying, and...-" She flicked up an aggravated hand in self-dismissal. "I _still _can't get a fucking single, measly thing _right_!" Her anger quickly gave way to despair as she hunched over her knees.

"I'm a failure," Korra concluded with self-depredation.

"No, you're not," Tenzin settled in a rather calm, logical tone. Like he was talking to one of his kids.

Korra, confused as to his disagreement and his tone, glanced over to him.

He explained, "You just need to work through this mental and emotional blockage that's holding you back."

Korra rolled her eyes and cast her gaze away from him again.

"_Amazing_ advice," she muttered, her tongue wet with sarcastic impatience. "I'll get _right _on that..."

"I wasn't _finished _yet," Tenzin testily quipped. He recollected his calm and elaborated. "You see, during traumatic periods in a person's life, they might carry the weight of their experiences with them. Oftentimes, we rely on someone we trust to help us shoulder and set down these burdens." Korra sighed through her nose - this spiritual, psychiatric babble wasn't her cup of tea - or bottle of beer, as the case may be. "Someone to call upon for guidance," Tenzin went on, "with whom we feel comfortable with discussing intimate and challenging issues. Have you made any connections like that here in Wayward? Maybe your cousins...?"

Korra's lower lip was propped out, her heart raw from the recent wounds to her ego.

"_No,_" Korra snipped, eyebrows raised. "Of _course _I haven't. Didn't you get the _memo _from your friend Lin? I'm a walking disaster area. And just trying to get along with my own _family?_ I'm a failure at _that, _too. I piss off everyone I fucking _touch_..."

"Hm."

Tenzin stroked his beard, nodding thoughtfully. Yea, just perfect - not only did this guy think she was a goddamn _teenager, _he was agreeing with her self-inflicted disappointment.

"You may have found a connection without realizing it," Tenzin theorized with optimism. At least _someone _here had some on her behalf. "Perhaps someone you might not think of at first?"

Korra's memory snapped to the night before, her involuntary snivels leaking over Aang's lean shoulders. His soft skinned hands rubbing over her back, struggling to keep her calm. His voice, weak and unsteady itself, but attempting to bring solidarity to her breakdown. The day before that, sitting beside him at the campfire. That same gentle but reassuring grip on her shoulder.

Aang's earnest words: _"I'm always here for you, if you want to talk."_

Korra's eyes were now lingering off to the side in contemplation, an uncertain and droopy look about her.

"_Maybe_," she at last replied to Tenzin's theory, carrying uncertainity. "I have...this, uh...this _one_ friend, I guess," she muttered, her voice heavy with hesitation. "But, _pff, _we're hardly alike," she quickly dispelled, trying to keep her glimmer of hope squashed.

"Mm..." And Tenzin was scratching his beard again. Real shocker, there. "Korra, I would urge you to reach out to this individual. Even without these 'failures' you've convinced yourself of, you've been through quite a lot of various trauma lately. These sorts of things can take their toll."

"All right, OK," Korra sighed with a half-hearted shake of her head. "I'll...think about it."

"Good," Tenzin concluded with a nod. He gave her shoulder a firm squeeze before retracting it. "I believe some _thinking _may be exactly what you need."

Korra was quite conflicted by this interaction - she at once could see the value in what Tenzin was proposing, yet was flustered by the particular way in which he seemed to look down upon her. She _had _been acting rather childish in some ways, sure, but she was decidedly older than his children, and Tenzin was _not _her father.

Hm, now there was an idea: her father. It had been some time since they'd talked. Worth a phone call, perhaps? If only for old time's sake...

"But Korra," Tenzin spoke, his voice slightly warmer than it had just been. "You _are _most certainly incorrect about one thing."

"Which is...?" She frowned a bit at him, completely not in the mood for more scolding.

"You said you upset everyone you touch."

Korra's brow raised, her glare still retaining.

Tenzin stopped fiddling with his beard and folded his hands in his lap, clarifying his thought.

"My children are quite fond of you."

Korra's hardened expression dissipated somewhat, though not entirely.

"They-...Yea, I mean, I _guess. _Jinora was chewing me out just yesterday - it's like her near-death experience has somehow shaken off her hatred of me..."

"Jinora does not _hate _you, Korra. You mustn't think like that."

"_Ha_, right - so the part when she literally said, '_I hate you_.' I misheard her, eh?"

Tenzin sighed, twiddling his thumbs.

"To be fair, Jinora has told both her mother _and _myself that she 'hates' us at some point or another. I can assure you as her father that the way she has spoken of you over the past day, and even just by the way she looks at you - she does _not _hate you. If anything, she seems to admire something in you. And her siblings to echo that sentiment."

"_Eh_...-" Korra shrugged, baffled as to how to react. She _was _an utter failure. What was she supposed to say to convince those children of that obvious truth? Anything otherwise was just setting them to be let down some more. "I'm having trouble understanding what any of you could see in me at this point other than _pity_. And I'm not really in the market for that..."

"Korra, it..._is _true, what Jinora told you: we currently do not _need _a sitter. However, you _do _need work - you need income to continue living here."

"I'm starting to wonder if staying here even _is _what I need," Korra grumbled.

"Well," Tenzin lifted up a palm in her direction. "This is exactly what I was getting at when I asked what you wanted. My children often feel isolated, and the younger two have had some difficulty making friends, while Jinora tends to keep to herself. They all seem to benefit from your presence - with some adjustments, I'm certain you could continue to be a valuable companion to our family. _If, _of course, that is what you want."

"Tenzin, I just...-" Korra paused in place, cocking her head sideways with uncertainty. "Why _me? _There's got to be better sitters, better...'Big Sisters,' or something. Big Brothers, Big Sisters? Is that a thing around here? I mean...-"

"Korra, Pema needed a helping hand while I was away. I'm planning on retiring soon, but even so, I am not exactly the spry young man I once was. Furthermore, to be blunt about it...-" He leaned close to her, which threw Korra off guard, her shoulders tensing up at his proximity. "Let us be discreet on this for the time being, but...my wife is pregnant. Within the year, we could do with a dedicated caretaker."

"_Wh_...-!" Korra's eyes bulged out of their sockets, her jaw agape. Tenzin gave her a scowl, as there was a doctor and nurse not too far down the hallway. Korra cleared her throat, straightening her back with a solemn look. "Are you saying...-?" She was whispering heatedly now. "What, like, you want me to be your _nanny_?" She panted out, exasperated, scratching her fingernails through her hair. Once again, as she had back in the hospital room, she spread her hands out, pointing at her own disheveled body. "I look like a fucking_ hobo, _not a...-"

"It is _simply _an offer," Tenzin alleviated. "It is _not _at all common for us to find someone who can actually get along with all three of our children, much less manage to keep them under control...We also don't know the intentions of this group that attacked you, or if they may try again. Assuming you can learn to control your aggression...-" Tenzin's normally stern eyes, encased within his wrinkled skull, shone for just a second with gratitude. "-...I think I'd feel much safer knowing that my children are in the capable hands of someone who is willing to risk their _own life _to protect them."

Korra's insides buzzed and squirmed, her brain unsure of what to make of this father's words. It was a small weight lifted to feel _some _kind of victory in all of this: that despite her faults she had earned some kind of respect and trust. She wrapped her arms around her waist, as if to contain that empty, wriggling feeling inside, and she leaned forward in her chair again. Her greased hair slid over her shoulders, veiling her face from Tenzin's intent gaze as she struggled to process all of this.

"You have made mistakes," Tenzin acknowledged. "But you have also proven loyalty and dedication. You remind me of-...Well, of a good friend of mine, in her younger years. She's committed her fair share of faults, and once upon a time, she needed someone willing to trust her with a second chance. She rose to the occasion, and has found a new life - just as I know you can. You have the same potential, the same spark of endurance in your eyes. Now, I know we might not be terribly close, but I _can _tell that you seem to care about those children, and they care about you - whether you wish to admit it or not. And I'd much rather have someone helping look out for my family who I know is there for more than just a paycheck. But at the same time, this is a choice for you and you alone to make - not the children. If you don't want me to support you out of pity, then I'd ask you do the same with regards to my family."

His case presented, Tenzin leaned forward, cautiously easing his old bones up to support his body. Korra, still lingering within the shadow of her hair, took in a sharp sniff and rubbed sand from her eyes.

"I do," she croaked out meagerly.

Tenzin stood in place, glancing down at her expectantly with a "Hm?"

Korra pushed her bangs to one side and looked up to him.

"I _do _care about your family," she expressed soberly. "I just...am not so sure if this fucking _town _is willing to give me a second chance, the way that you are."

Tenzin laughed through his nostrils and gave Korra a knowing smirk.

"Well, Wayward is a place that believes in second chances - I will tell you that."

* * *

["So, that's working out well for you, then. You're...adjusting?"]

"Sure, Dad. Yea, it, uh...-" Korra scratched at the top of her right butt-cheek. "About as well as I could be, I guess."

Korra, squat over a toilet seat, had her phone up to her ear. She was crammed inbetween two brown panels within the confines of a public restroom in the hospital. After her chat with Tenzin, she had eaten lunch with the family. The kids had been relieved to hear that their 'hero' would continue visiting regularly, and seeing their smiles had poured some desperately needed energy into Korra's nearly empty tank. Between her time with Jane and now her time with the Rabten family, Korra felt that she had just enough strength replenished to go home and confront her housemates. One weight off her shoulders: what she had expected to be dreary, unpleasant, heart-wrenching good-bye had instead become a therapeutic session of forgiveness and encouragement.

Due to Tenzin's paternal habits, however, Korra had been reminded that it had been some time since she'd talked with her own folks. She'd been ignoring their fleeting calls, and she figured that if she was facing up to everyone else lately, it couldn't hurt to add her parents to the list.

["Hakoda told me that you got a job working as a security officer?"]

Korra's face squirmed in an instinctive grimace of shame. She was glad this was a phone conversation. As far as she could tell, she seemed to have been let go from her security position - or at least it was being considered. Either way, it had been some time since she'd worked there regularly.

"Uhhh, _yea_," she played along. "It's, uh...been more boring than I expected."

["That's good,"] Korra's father casually decided.

"How is that good?" Korra mumbled.

["It means you're staying out of trouble for once, haha."]

"_Heh_." Korra hoped this involuntary laugh hadn't sounded as awkward and nervous as it had felt. "Er, honestly, I still...manage to find some...now and again," she shakily explained.

["Well, as long as you don't get caught, eh?"]

"Yea, right?" Korra sighed out a laugh.

["It's good to hear you're doing better."]

"Mm."

["I know you were pretty tired of good ol' Toronto."]

"Heh, yea, that's...definitely true. I needed to spread my legs a bit."

["Nothing better than a new town for that. So, how is the roommate situation?"]

"Oh, it's...-"

["I bet you've been having some trouble _there, _at least."]

"_Pff_." Korra smiled weakly at her father's teasing. "What, _me? _I'm such a _people person_," she facetiously defended. The sarcasm was sweet relief amidst her coverup.

["Ahaha. Just like your _father, _eh?"]

"Chyea..."

["So what _is _the setup, there?"]

"Eh? Oh, like-...It's me and three others: two brothers and a chick."

["Oh, I see. It must be tricky for you, having to get along with another woman in the same bedroom, huh?"]

"_Uhh_-"  
["Ha, you and Katara couldn't even sleep in the same room when you were kids, you'd bother each other so much."]

"Ha, yea..."

["Heh. I remember that you used to cause quite a shitstorm during sleepovers..."

"_T__sh._ Yea...Some things never change," Korra mumbled under heard her father laugh through his nostrils at this.

["So what are they like?"]

"Mm?"

["Your roommates."]

"The bros. are both into a lot of the same things I am - like sports n' stuff. Ya know. And then the girl, she's-...uh, well, I guess we're still figuring each other out. She moved in a little more recently, and so...-"

["Right, right. One step at a time."]

"Yea."

There was a bit of awkward breathing into phone speakers, and Korra took this opportunity to finish her toilet business as discreetly as possible.

["_So_, well! It's good hearing from you, Korra."]

"Yep! Same."

Argh. It was always like this - small talk, small talk, and then the conversation would die. They never seemed to know what to discuss. Like father like daughter: keeping what really mattered close to the chest.

["Want to talk to your mom while we've actually got you on the phone?"]

"Uhhr...Sure."

["All right. Stay steady, Kor."]

"You, too, Dad."

Korra took the few moments inbetween conversation to flush the toilet. She re-clothed and pinched the phone to her ear against one shoulder as she went to wash her hands at the public restroom's sink.

["...-lo?"] She could barely hear her mother through the water running.

"Mom?"

["Korra."]

The water stopped running, and Korra ripped a brown paper towel to dry her hands.

"Sooo...How are things up north?"

["Fine."] A pause. ["Oh, actually, we went to go visit your Gran-Gran last week."]

"Oh, yea?"

["Mm! She seemed to have more pep in her step than I remember last time."]

"That's good."

["Yes. You know, she was playing a bit coy with us, but...I _think _she might have found herself some late-blooming love."]

"Whuh-? _Gran-Gran_? What, like...a boyfriend?"

Korra's mother giggled into the phone - the sound swept Korra's heart back to simpler times when she and her mom actually..._talked._

["I think so!"]

"Wow. Uh, well, awesome. Good for her!"

["I guess it just goes to show that there's a second chance for everything, right?"]

Korra's heart skipped as that phrase tore away the thin veil of pleasantry this phone call carried, barreling her brain with her current circumstances. The heavy question's haunting shadow still loomed: _Is there a second chance for _me?

"...Yea."

["What's wrong?"]

_Argh, shit._

"Huh? Oh, no - nothing's wrong."

["Korra..."]

Well, damnit. There was no use trying to dismiss her mother's understandable worry. Her dad wouldn't ask a question like that because they had a bit of an understanding to leave that sort of thing alone. Of course, Korra couldn't really argue with her mom's questioning - it was the woman's way of caring, naturally.

Still lingering by the sink, Korra stared at her reflection - her black eye was especially noticeable in the bathroom's lighting.

"Agh, it's...-" She couldn't bear to look at herself and turned away from the mirror. "-just that not everything's going how I thought it would, and...-"

["Ah. I understand."] At least her mom could tell it wasn't something Korra wished to discuss. She could appreciate that about her mom: she tended to let Korra handle her own problems, at least. ["I suppose you have your cousins there in case you need anything right?"]

Katara's stinging anger from the night before sent a shiver up Korra's spine.

"Yep."

["Oh! That's right! I almost forgot."]

"What?"

["You have that dog to keep you company, too, right?"]

"...Oh." Korra's stomach churned.

["I saw some photos of her on your Facebook - such a little cutie."]

"..."

["That was a very sweet gift from your Uncle. I wonder why he doesn't get a companion like that for himself? He must get lonely these days..."]

_He probably _should _have gotten it for himself. Fuck knows I sure didn't deserve it..._

Korra had to force her throat to swallow the lump that had formed.

"Eurgh, _yea, _that's...not a bad idea. M-maybe I'll...work something out with Kat n' Sox, and we'll...get him a pet. Sometime."

["Aw, now, see? That's a very thoughtful idea, Korra. You might think you're such a lone wolf but you should give yourself more credit."]

_What? Mom, it was _your _idea. And you don't even know the shit I've caused lately..._

An awkward "A-_haa_" spilled from Korra's lips.

["I'm really happy you decided to move down there."]

"You...you are?"

["_Yea, _why wouldn't I be? You're making a new life for yourself, like you said you wanted to do for a long time. Finding your own path, right?"]

_Psh, yea, my own path off a fucking cliff-side, maybe..._

"Oh, I...guess. Yea."

["Seriously! And you're looking after your cousins...I think Kya would be proud of you. I know _I_ am."]

Korra's eyes burned, her cheeks flashing with the heat of shame and embarrassment. She pressed her forehead against the tiled wall of the bathroom's entryway.

"Thanks, Mom," Korra croaked through a dry throat, her face draining of life as she drifted into self-doubt and regret.

["You sound like you're eager to head off and take care of things."]

"Oh, n-no, it's...-"

["I should probably let you go. Your father and I have a turkey roasting - I'm trying to teach him how to cook it right for a change."]

Korra laughed through her nose, recollecting the multiple holiday occasions in which her dad had burned various fowl with his lack of caution.

["But it's been really nice hearing from you."]

"Mm..."

["Your Dad might not make it clear, but I will: it really means a lot to us to hear from you."]

"Sure. Yea, I'm...sorry I waited so long to call..."

["It's OK,"] her mother chuckled warmly. ["You're a busy woman with a lot on your shoulders."] _You don't even know the half of it. _["We miss you, Korra. And we love you _so much_. OK?"]

"Mm-hm. Love you, too. _Uh-! _And Dad - tell him the same."

["I will. You take care. Fight the good fight, and that sort of thing, haha."]

"You got it..."

["Bye!"]

"Bye..."

Head pressed against the cool ceramic tiling, eyes shut closed, Korra dropped her phone-arm to her side, pressing the 'end call' button and heaving out a deep sigh. She opened her eyes, staring at the breath-fogged surface Right in front of her.

The door swung upon, and upon hearing the sound, Korra awkwardly pushed her aching body upright with her opposing hand. Ignoring eye contact with the elderly Asian lady who'd just entered, Korra trudged to the small vending machine attached to the wall near the bathroom door. She fidgeted around the netted pocket of the yellow swimming trunks she was wearing to retrieve a trio of dollar coins - change from a bottled drink she'd bought earlier with money Tenzin had lent her. She then scanned the vending machine's contents.

Bandages, tampons, condoms...Ah, pain relievers. Fuck, did she need some of those right now. She expended some cash in exchange for a couple of packets of pills. Another, much larger woman entered the bathroom and began tending to her face in the sink's mirror as Korra tore open one packet, swallowing the red pills dry. She tossed the empty wrapped in a wastebin and tucked the other packet in her pocket before taking her leave. As she made her way through the main lobby, filled with a handful of tired-looking folks, Korra noticed a familiar face: a man with shaggy sideburns and stern eyes, reading a newspaper in a waiting seat.

It was the man who'd shamed Korra during that stupid religious rally. And his dumb military lackey was sitting right beside him. Korra attempted to sweep past them without incident, but the Lieutenant noticed. He had to do a double-take, after which his response was to chuckle at her appearance. Confused, Noah looked up from her paper, and the man gestured an amused finger in Korra's direction. Korra kept walking, fists balled in her pockets as her freshly flushed face was reigniting with embarrassment.

"Wait," called the Bible-thumping smart-ass that Korra wanted nothing to do with. "Ma'am!" She could hear his paper shuffling as he set it aside, getting up. Korra quickened her pace, heading for the hospital's main entry to bolt out.

"Sir...?" His cohort was confused.

Korra kept going, taking long and fast strides.

"Miss Kesuk," came the rasp-edged voice of the public speaker.

"Leave me alone," Korra growled back, struggling to keep her dejected humiliation inside.

Korra escaped into the blinding midday sun - her speed slowed momentarily as the sweltering heat of the summer, enhanced by the sizzling tarmac around her, swallowed her up in ungodly warmth. _Blech. _Mere seconds and her forehead was already sweating. She heard the door behind her re-opene, the clopping footsteps of Noah's dress shoes pursuing. She whirled around, hands still in her shorts.

"The _hell, _man?" she snapped with ferocity, eyes squinting from the brightness around her. "I said, leave me alone!"

"Defensive as ever, I see," Noah mused, shielding his eyes with one hand as he approached.

"What the fuck do you want?" Korra growled, continuing to take backward steps.

"I wanted to warn you," Noah explained darkly.

"_Ha! _Like I've got any reason to be scared of _you_." Korra came to a halt, shrugging up her shoulders and pulling her hands from her pockets. "You wanna go?"

"Not _me_, you stubborn...-" Noah huffed under his breath as he reached her, keeping his face covered by his hand. Korra looked past him to see his little 'Lieutenant' rushing up to them.

"What?" Korra asked. "I'm not in the mood for shit, but if you take another step toward me, I won't think twice, Bub."

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger," said Noah warily.

Korra squinted even more ferociously at him, her brows furrowing with bafflement.

"Nevermind," Noah sighed, rolling his eyes. "I can tell you're not one for words," he mused, noting her disheveled appearance. In particular, her lightly mangled knuckles caught his eye. "So, it _was _you," he observed.

"Huh?" Korra shook her head in a couple of quick, short gestures. This was really testing her patience.

"Sir, is everything-?"  
"We're fine, Lieutenant," Noah assured, his glance unwavering from Korra.

Korra took one step back. She could bluff all she wanted, but especially right then, in her sore and drained state, two-on-one was pretty bad odds.

"You engaged with a couple of members of the Triple Threat Triad," Noah concluded.

"Yea," Korra boasted, her chest puffing up slightly, hands on her hips.

"You'd do well to keep a low profile," Noah advised. "I'm afraid there's only so much we can do to keep people safe right now, especially with things as they are..."

"_A-pff! _I'm sorry..." Korra rolled her head around with some disbelief. "I'm supposed to think you're here to _protect _people?"

"You really _haven't _heard thing I've said, have you?" Noah said, running his fingertips along the wrinkles on his forehead. "There are dangerous people who have shown up here recently, and if you continue to play the vigilante, I can assure you that they will respond in kind."

Korra ran her fingers through her hair - having just washed her hands, but not her hair, it made the uncleanliness of her hair all the more noticeable.

"In case you weren't aware," Noah explained, "Wayward is in a state of dischord at the moment - things are delicate enough as is without you continuing to make headlines."

"Fine," Korra shrugged, frustrated by this vague and foreboding nonsense. She began to step backward some more. "I don't have time for this..."

"He's tasked you with watching over them, hasn't he?" Noah surmised. This caused Korra to stop again, just as she'd turned her back to them.

She coughed from the humidity and looked over her shoulder.

"Who?" she checked.

"Mr. Rabten. Some of the people who are in this town have a bone to pick with the man - I suppose this is expected of any politician, but the kinds of enemies he has made don't settle their matters in courts or meetings. This is a fact I believe you realized last night."

Korra stared at this man's intense expression, his hand gesturing out toward her, the other shading his face.

"If you'd like to ensure that you, your friends, and those children stay out of harm's way, you'd best let the police and I handle this situation."

"Wh-...? The cops?" Korra flashed him a raised brow. She wiped sweat from her forehead with her palm.

"You can assume all you like," Noah said. "But we share a similar goal: we both desire justice."

Korra's lower lip slid out with suspicion as she frowned at him.

Noah continued, "And I can assure you from experience that _your _method of bringing justice leads down an unpleasant road."

"_Mmph._" Korra wasn't sure how much stock to put in this man's words.

"You have more than your own safety to consider," Noah warned. "Keep that in mind."

With this, Noah high-tailed it back to the hospital, leaving his Lieutenant and Korra a brief moment to glare each other down before he followed off after his 'master' like a German Shepard following after its owner.

She had to admit, if that guy _was _somehow connected to the gang activity, then why on earth would he be at the hospital? Why would he be all over the media, putting his face out there? If his intents were truly malicious, she figured he'd be doing a better job masking himself.

Korra, her cheat tight with tension, breathed out a sigh as she traveled across the sizzling parking lot. She didn't understand who that religious nut thought he was, trying to tell her what to do - and yet, she couldn't help but draw the conclusion that had advised the same thing everyone else was: that she needed to keep her head low.

That was a nice sentiment, but Korra felt like she was already so low as it was, she was drowning. From the outside and even within, every force around her was pelting her with rejection and reprimand.

And now she had her roommates to look forward to - unlike her parents, she couldn't just mask her issues over the invisibility of a phone call. This was perhaps as good a time as any to come clean with them. What else could go wrong, at this point?


	116. Crossroads of Destiny

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 116 - Crossroads of Destiny_

* * *

_"Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences."_  
~ J.K. Rowling

* * *

- Monday, May 30th, 2011 -

Korra's heavy head lightened a little at the sight of an empty driveway - it meant that there might not be anyone home. After pulling in and shutting down her vehicle, Korra stepped out from her recently air-conditioned car into the blazing sun. She made quick steps toward the porch, and noticed the front door was open. Some pressure pushed back on her skull as she cautiously entered, wondering who was home.

Asami was sitting before her on the living room couch, garbed in a maroon button down shirt and black slacks. She was surveying her laptop, and looked up to Korra with surprise.

Korra tiredly kicked off her flip-flops and gave Asami a weak-wille, lazy wave. Asami gawked up at Korra, her lips hanging open slightly.

"Hey," Korra casually grunted, her appearance less than flattering.

"H-hey," Asami muttered back. "What...happened to _you_?"

"Long story," Korra moaned, trudging toward the stairwell.

"Mind _telling _me?" Asami insisted, closing her computer and setting it down on the coffee table.

"Nah, you...look busy, with...-"  
"I'm just working on my resumé," Asami dismissed, getting up and following Korra.

"Huh? You're looking for work? Aren't you, like, set up with your fancy-pants dad?" Korra muttered. She was lugging her body up the stairs, rubbing at her eyes. She flinched from the inadvertent pain she caused on her still-bruised left eye.

"Well, I'm...starting to think that might not work out," Asami mumbled, pursuing her housemate up the steps. "I'm just keeping my options open, but, _hey, _hold up!" Asami caught her unkempt friend before Korra could retreat into the bathroom. "What's going on? Why do you look...-?"

"Like shit?" Korra sighed, lingering in the bathroom doorway. Her eyes fell to the recently plastered spot in the wall by her left foot - the spot she'd kicked in days before which Bolin had tidied up on her behalf. "Can I...take a shower here first, before I get assaulted with questions?"

Asami frowned a little at Korra's hint of irritation, but she nodded in reply. Tucking her, loose squiggly lock of hair behind one ear, Asami bobbed her head and nodded a second time.

"Sorry," said Korra with some earnesty, shaving off the prick her tone had carried just before. "You can maybe tell-" She gestured her index finger toward her face. "-but I had a rough weekend, eh? Let me clean up and...I'll explain stuff. I swear."

"All right," Asami answered, appreciative of Korra's shift in attitude. "Can I...maybe get you something to help you relax?"

"Nah, I don't need...-" Korra was shaking her head, but stopped herself. She glanced back up to Asami and forced a small smile. "A-actually, I could _really _use a coffee, come to think of it..."

"Sure," Asami complied, twisting around to head downstairs. "I'll make us some."

"Hey, thanks," Korra called out to the woman as she watched wavy black curls bounce down the stairwell. Korra proceeded to lose herself in a cleansing of hot water and steam. It was painful in some ways, but also relaxing, the pressurized water soothing her muscles. The few minutes alone gave her wandering mind time to dwell on her thoughts, which rapidly gave way to dwelling upon her failures, in turn. It wasn't just the recent failures or the larger failures - people getting physically injured, job stuff not panning out due to her lack of professionalism...

It was all of the smaller failures, too, lumping together.

Poor Naga. Korra felt awful for the pup - not just because of the dog's untimely death, but Korra's own lack of nurture and care for it. Bolin had been taking better care of that dog than she had been. And Naga had been a painstakingly sorted gift from Hakoda and Bato. Speaking of Hakoda, what was Korra doing to help that man's kids? She was making their lives _more _stressful by living here. Her roommates? She was making _their _lives more stressful. And as much as the Rabten kids liked her, Korra knew there were much better caretakers and 'Big Sister' figures out there than she. For fuck's sake - when looking back at the night prior, Korra couldn't even help but conclude that even just having _sex _was suddenly something she was a failure at. Sure, maybe Jane was a tough walnut to crack in that regard, but still - had Korra even really _tried? _Or had she been too focused on filling her own needs, her own wants?

As Korra twisted the shower off, she took in a deep breath of the steam-ridden air, then exhaled a thoughtful sigh.

She grabbed a thick, dark blue towel from on top of the toiler seat and dried herself off, being somewhat cautious with her drying so as not to re-open any of her scrapes and cuts. She wrapped the towel around herself and exited the bathroom, her body sagging with self-inflicted dejection. The scent of freshly brewed coffee tickled at her nostrils as she passed through the hall and into the bedroom.

As she opened her underwear drawer, Korra was greeted by the bittersweet sight of her music box. It elicited a pause, and Korra carefully scooped it up, setting it on top of her dresser. She sniffed air, clearing her nose, while she blinked at the box for a second or two. She ended up deciding to crank its key and let it play as she re-clothed herself. She slapped on gray sweats and a blue tanktop, and tucked her hair into the three 'tube' style she liked, all the while letting the melancholic plinking of metallic melody caress her weary soul like gentle waves on a moonlit beach.

By the time she had finished, the music box was slowing, its notes spaced further and further apart than intended. Korra picked it back up, rewinding its key as she exited the bedroom. Clasping the box in her muscular arms with the protectiveness of a child toting a beloved teddy bear, Korra descended into the living room, letting the box's music spill across the first floor of the house. She set herself down, cross-legged on the living room couch, gazing down at the box.

Korra could smell freshly cooked bacon from the kitchen as she saw Asami creep into the living room with curiosity, intrigued by the music.

"That's...really pretty," Asami noted, off-put by Korra's downtrodden expression.

"Yea," Korra sighed.

Asami stood for a moment, confused as to how to react to this sight.

"What...-?" Asami cleared her throat, walking over to the couch. She elegantly sat down, one leg over the over, and folded her hands in her lap. "What song is it?"

"It's-...I don't know, it's original," Korra muttered with a shrug.

Asami noted the engraving on the inside of the box: {**KESUK**}

"A family keepsake?" she guessed.

"Something like that," Korra replied with a solemn nod. "The song's supposed to be, like...a family anthem, or...-"

Asami was bewildered at the woman's utterly defeated face, the morose glaze over icey blue eyes.

"Um...I...-" Asami started, wondering if food and drink was the answer.

"My Aunt gave this to me," Korra elaborated, at least lending Asami eye contact. "Before she...-"

"Passed away," Asami concluded, feeling some sympathy.

"Right," mumbled Korra. "Did...-?"

"You've mentioned it before," Asami reminded. "And at one point Bolin said you told him about it - that it was a sort of...jarring experience?"

"_Pff, _yea, that...sounds like a good word for it," Korra moaned, planting her forehead into her palm.

Asami's eyes shifted around as she contemplated this glum moment the two were sharing.

"Did you...want to talk about it?" Asami wondered. "I-I mean, you don't have to, but-"  
"It's OK - I...I _do _I think."

Korra chewed at her upper lip, squinting at her music box as its melody slowed down again.

"I dunno, I guess that's why I brought this down here. It just...-" She started winding the key back up. "-...makes it easier to talk about it for some reason."

"Ah." Asami nodded thoughtfully, appreciating seeing this more tender side to the woman who was always passing herself off as tough and buff. "Oh, um-" Asami jolted herself up from her seat, gesturing to the kitchen. "There's coffee, and I was making BLT's, I thought maybe you might be hungry, so...-"

Korra let the music box start back up, placing it cautiously beside Asami's laptop.

"That...sounds _really _good right now, actually." Korra had recently eaten lunch, but havign skipped breakfast, she could do with some food - and that aside, she was inclined to not turn down Asami's offer. The two had never really spent quality time alone so far.

"OK!" Asami nodded to her friend and began to whisk herself into the kitchen. "You take it easy, I'll get you set up, and...-" Asami paused as she crossed the borderline between the living room carpet and the kitchen tiles, looking back to Korra. "Maybe we can chat about all of this over some food?"

"Sure!" Korra acknowledged, pushing out her encouragement with a nod. "Yea, I'd...like that, I think."

"Great." Asami flashed Korra a smile and disappeared into the kitchen.

Korra let her self sink into the couch, absorbing its cushions against her tight back and soaking into the cool, soothing melody of her music box. She stretched herself out across the couch, letting her eyes slide closed. But then her head started stumbling, threatening to fall back into that pit of self-loathing. She decided to check her phone, if only to serve as a distraction.

[From: Zuko]  
[Would you be interested in having dinner with my Uncle and I tonight? We're buying.]  
[Sent: 2:03pm]

[From: Zuko]  
[I heard about what happened last night and we wanted to make sure you were all right.]  
[Sent: 2:04pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko]  
[I'm fine. The kids are OK, but one of them was shot in the foot.]

Korra's brain meandered, her fingers hovering over her phone's keypad until the screen shut down. She woke the device back up and finished her message. Tenzin's words from earlier struck her - the part where he was encouraging her to reach out to someone she felt she could trust.

[Sure. I guess I'm down for dinner. Do you mind if Aang comes along?]  
[Sent: 2:42pm]

"Would you like mayonnaise on your sandwich?" Asami called out from the kitchen.

"That's fine," Korra replied.

[From: Zuko]  
[That should be fine. Do you have a preference of where we eat?]  
[Sent: 2:43pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko]  
[Nah. Wherever. Just give me a heads-up.]  
[Sent: 2:44pm]

Korra placed her phone beside her music box, which at this point had died out. She closed its wooden lid lazily, and when Asami entered the room moments later, Korra sat herself upright. Korra moved the laptop and music box to the lower level of their coffee table to clear space.

"Thanks," said Asami, setting down two plates, a sandwich in each.

"No big." Korra's mouth watered at the sight. This definitely beat the food at the hospital, if the smell alone was any indication. Toasted bread, lettuce, tomato, and bacon - four components merged into a brilliant combination.

As Korra chowed down into a diagonally sliced half of BLT, Asami went back to the kitchen to fetch the two of them coffee. By the time Asami returned, Korra had devoured one half of her meal.

"Hm, I'm assuming I didn't do half bad with the food, then," Asami guessed with a smile, setting down the two mugs of coffee on coasters.

"_Mmffgood_," Korra explained as she chewed. She licked at her fingers and immediately went for the coffee mug.

"Glad you like it," said Asami, taking a sip of her own warm drink. "I'm not a very good cook, so I have to keep it simple."

"Me, too," Korra replied, gulping at her beverage. Mm. Asami has added just the right amount of creamer.

"So..." Asami drank another delicate swill. "Your...aunt?"

"_Mm!_" Korra hummed out in remembrance as she drank more, herself. She sucked in a satisfied breath and nodded. "Yea, I guess I've got some things to tell you about, eh?"

* * *

"_Maaaan_," Aang sighed. "They just don't make movies quite like this anymore."

"I know!" Meng trilled. "Right? Everything's all, like, CGI now, and stuff."

"_Ohhh, _ew," Katara whimpered, grimacing at the screen. "It just-...Oh, that's...kinda gross," she remarked at animation of a giant boar melting, leaving behind its skeleton.

"_Yuck_," Ty-Lee winced at the sight unfolded before them. "Poor guy..."

"I hope that doesn't happen to the dude's arm," Douglas muttered to Meng with uncertainty.

"Yea, so, wait," Jane said to Aang quietly. "I'm gonna guess that guy's, like, _cursed _now, n' some shit?"

"Maybe so!" Meng teased, jutting her tongue at Jane.

"So what's he gonna _do_?" Jane demanded. "How do you un-curse it?"

"Heh, just watch the movie and find out," Aang taunted her.

Jane wrinkled her nose with an "_Mmph_," settling back into her seat.

The lounge of 2nd floor Aero was filled with their lot, the couches and chairs rearranged to provide a more optimal movie-going experience.

"What is this lady doing, rolling dice?" Sokka sighed, trying to decipher the meaning of the clacking sounds coming from the film.

"She reminds me of Gran-Gran," Katara noted with a warm smile, noting the elderly woman on the screen.

"Ha, she does," Sokka agreed.

"OK, but, why is he just _sitting _there?" Jane grunted impatiently at the scene's lingering silence.

Meng shushed everyone, and Douglas flashed her a humored smirk.

["I'm afraid this is very bad,"] proclaimed the village elder in the movie. ["The stones tell me the Boar God came from far to the West. He had some kind of a poison inside him driving him mad. A poisonous hatred that consumed his heart and flesh and turned him into a demon monster. Prince Ashitaka."]

["Yes?"]

["Show everyone your right arm."]

"Ohhh, boy," Katara squirmed as the figure onscreen unwrapped the bandages on his injury. Aang ran his hand along her leg, entertained by her discomfort at even animated injuries.

"Yikes," Jane noted the dark purple flesh wounds.

"_That _can't be good," Douglas muttered.

Startled gasps came from characters within the movie elicited Toph - who was relaxing her head on Sokka's shoulder - to whisper her observation.

"Guessing the dude's arm is fucked up."

"Pretty much," Sokka quietly replied.

["My Prince,"] called the elder. ["Are you prepared to learn what fate the stones have foretold you?"]

["Yes,"] the Prince replied. ["I was prepared the very moment I let my arrow fly."]

Aang was jarred from the film by his phone vibrating. It immediately did so a second time, indicating that he was receiving a call. With some reluctance, he pulled it from his pocket with as much subtlety as he could.

[Call from...]  
[**Korra**]

Without saying a word, Aang rose up from the couch and took his leave, not desiring to interrupt the film's pivotal setup scene.

["The infection will spread throughout your whole body - bone and flesh alike."]

Katara flashed him a concerned, confused look, and he merely tilted up his phone at her to indicate why he was leaving the room.

["It will cause you great pain, then kill you."]

The movie's audio faded as Aang pushed his way out through the lounge's wooden double doors and down the hallway toward his dorm room. As he lifted the phone to his ear, he passed by Suki, who had just come upstairs from a snack-desk run - she had taken a long time, for some reason. He nodded to her without incident before answering his device.

"Hello?"

["Hey, Aang?"]

"Yea. What is it?" Aang lingered by his desk chair, the door to his room left open behind him. "Is everything all right?"

["Oh, y-yea, it's fine. The kids are OK, and...a-actually, it's weird, their dad was way easier on me than I expected."]

"Ah. Erm...So, that's good, right?"

["I...don't _know. _It's just strange, I guess."]

"Hm."

["But, yea. So I'm home now, just...waiting for my roommates to come back from work so I can, ya know, air this all out with 'em. I'm making sure they all know about Aunt Kya."]

"Oh...Guess that might be hard to talk about, but...maybe good to let out?"

["Yep."]

"Soo...Did you need something?"

["Uh, well, yea. I was just thinking that maybe we could hang out tonight. I got an invitation to dinner from your friend Zuko and his Uncle - I don't feel right going by myself. I dunno, is that stupid? Does that make sense?"]

"Oh. No, that makes sense...Y-yea, I mean, you'd probably need to come pick me up, but...I could go. Sure."

Aang noticed movement coming from the hallway, and when he looked up, he saw a troubled Katara leaning against the doorway, staring at him with curiosity.

["Cool. I wanted to run it by you before I made plans."]

"Yea, that's fine," Aang calmly assured, raising an index finger to Katara. "Just let me know what's going on as soon as you can."

["Sure thing. Thanks."]

"Mm-hm. See you soon."

["Later."]

_-Click!_-

"Is something wrong?" Katara wondered, approaching Aang.

"_No, _no-no," Aang hastily eased with a quick head shake. There was an awkward couple of seconds of silence, Aang not clarifying anything further.

"Whooooo was that?" Katara slowly inquired, having decided she already knew. "Korra?"

"Yea," Aang replied steadily. He struggled to hold back a grimace at the way Katara's nostrils flared out over a contained frown.

"What did she want?" Katara asked, arms crossed.

"She got invited to eat dinner with Zuko and his Uncle. They were wondering if I'd be up for joining them."

Katara raised a brow at Aang, tapping her thumb against her opposing arm.

"I think they feel bad about what happened," Aang theorized. "Since this whole mess seems to have come about because of Zuko's family, from what he says."

Katara tipped her head to the side with concession.

"I'm not comfortable with you two hanging out right now," Katara reminded with a small headshake of disappointment. "I don't know why she's so fixated on you all of a sudden..."

"She's not fixated," Aang dismissed. "I think that it's...-" Aang trailed off, second-guessing his hunch.

"What?" Katara prodded.

"Well," Aang scratched at the back of his neck. "Maybe she just needs someone to talk to who she feels won't be...hostile to her, or-"  
Katara's eyes rolled up with some fury, her head cocking back with disbelief.

"_Right, _because _that _makes sense," Katara huffed. "Poor Korra, so innocent and helpless - I wouldn't want her to feel _threatened _at all. She wouldn't know _what _to do with hostility."

"Sweetie..."

"See? This is what she _does, _Aang."

"Huh?"

"She gets all down on herself, and she uses that as her excuse. She treats people like crap and then writes it off as '_Well, _I'm just a bad person, I can't help it!' like that somehow makes it all OK."

"I..._don't _really think that's what she's doing..."

Aang and Katara stared at each other with some heated bitterness. When Aang didn't look away, Katara pulled her gaze off. Hands latched around her waist, Katara approached Aang and pressed her body into his, letting her nose sink into his hair as she hugged him.

"I don't want to see you get hurt again," Katara mumbled, gently running her fingertips across Aang's back. "This whole...'you almost dying part?'" Katara choked out a stifled laugh, halfway mixed with a sob. "It's not exactly my favorite thing."

"Me, neither," Aang weakly chuckled back. He let his eyes close as he enjoyed the light trickling sensation of Katara's fingers across his back.

"It just feels like you're taking Korra's side here, or something."

At Katara's words, Aang's eyes opened up as a tired grunt of air spilled from his nose.

"I'm not taking anyone's _side_, Katara..."

"Of _course _not," Katara groaned under her breath. "You want to try and be neutral," The tone in Katara's voice noted some displeasure at that idea. "You know, I guess what's bothering me is that I can't tell if you're doing this because _you _want to, or because _she _wants you to."

"Huh?" Aang released himself from her hug but kept his hands lightly locked on her arms.

"I thought you were angry at her," Katara objected.

"Er, w-well, I sorta still _am, _but...-"  
"Then why are you still talking with her, and...and going out to _dinner, _and...-"

"I don't just stop _talking _with people just because I'm angry, and neither do _you. _And it's not going to be _just _us, Katara, don't worry about that."

"Aang, I trust you - you hang out with...with a bunch of girls, alone, all the time. OK? That doesn't bother me, I'm not trying to put you on a leash here. It's _her_ - it's Korra, that is my problem. And I can't comprehend why you're letting her use you."

"How is she _using _me?"

"Listen, I don't know if she _means _to, but...she kind of has a habit of doing that. She just..._flaunts _herself, and pushes herself on people..."

"Explain," Aang puffed, digging his hands into his pockets.

"_Gruh, _I don't-...Come on, you've _seen _her do it a _bunch _of times." Katara looked to Aang, expecting recognition, but receiving none. She threw her hands up in defeat. "I don't want to argue about this right now."

"OK, then let's _not_."

"Aang..."

"You seem all surprised that I'm trying to be there for her - _I'm _surprised you seem so hostile about it. She's your own _cousin, _your family."

"R-right, I know that." Katara ran her hand across a lock of hair nervously. "I..._know _that, and it's what makes this so complicated..."

"I don't get what has to be so complicated," Aang sighed with a shrug. "She's family. She's going through tough times. She needs me right now, and so-"  
"That's what this is about, isn't it?"

"Whhhhat is?" Aang was a bit confused.

"I get it, Aang - I know what it feels like." Katara extended her arm out to Aang, who took her hand with some confusion. "To feel needed," Katara clarified. "It's...a _good _feeling," Katara confessed. "I mean, it's...it's part of how Jane and I became friends. And isn't that _kind _of why you and Toph started dating last year? Because she was all...isolated, and needed someone to break her out of that shell?"

Aang's eyes slid upward as he considered Katara's theory.

"I get what you mean," he muttered.

"I just-...I'm trying to get you to think about _why _you're spending time with Korra. That's all," Katara struggled to articulate. "Not because I don't trust you, but because I'm...sick of seeing you get hurt when you try helping people. And I'm sick of _her _getting her way all the time when she acts like a child."

"I understand," Aang eased, letting go of her hand. "I don't know, I'm...trying to do what's right, is all."

"I get that, Aang. Promise me that you'll put some thought into _why _you're doing what you're doing."

Aang pushed forth a sigh of frustration, running his hand across the back of his neck.

"I just _told _you, Sweetie, it's just...-" He rubbed his hand over the back of his head. "-...trying to do the right thing."

"Aang, that's...a sweet sentiment, and trust me, I get what you're talking about. I feel something in my heart and it's just...'the right thing.' But I also try really hard to not let myself act on that without deciding _why _I think it's 'the right thing.'"

"So you...get all controlling?"

Katara's nose twitched, her nostrils opening wide with silent frustration. A forced breath slipped out of those nostrils.

"I'm not _perfect, _Aang, and I'm still working on the 'how' part, but I feel like I've got the 'what' down. Does that make sense?"

Based on Aang's expression, it didn't make sense. She elaborated.

"I mean what this all _means _to you. Like, your purpose. You know, what drives you? Toph loves music because she can express herself, and be independent - say things in song she can't in words. Jane loves...-" Katara shuddered. "-..._bugs_, and...animals, because she finds this personal connection with them. And - oh!" She was getting into this. "And Sokka? he likes all of his fantasy stuff because he loves how lore and history are inherently connected and similar, even though they're so different. And me, I want to be teacher, because I..._like_...children, and...I love reading, and I want to...y-you know, foster childrens' imaginations, encourage them, and...and help show them the importance of reading, and stories, and...what we can learn through them, and...-"

Normally, Aang wound find it cute, the way Katara was being so studious about her friends, but getting a bit coy and stammering when she was explaining her own motives. Right now, however, he just found her entire ramble to be overindulgent. Such was the power of a bad mood.

"...It sounds like you're overthinking all this a bit," Aang doled out his uncertainty. Katara's head rolled around slightly.

"I could explain, but _apparently _that's not what you want, so...nevermind. My point is, Aang, I don't think you get to decide if I'm 'overthinking' because you...don't seem to think at _all _about this stuff. Why do you even draw your art? Why do you like...mish-mashing animals together? Why are you obsessed with the college's logos? The arrows, and the four colors? Don't get me wrong, I love everything you make, and it's pretty, it's wonderful, I love watching how you've improved over the past year. But what do you want to _do _with that after you graduate? What _motivates _you?"

"Uhh..."

Aang stared at Katara's thoughtful gaze with an antsy look. When she raised her eyebrows at him with expectation, he pulled his eyes away, his head empty.

"_You _motivate me," he murmured sheepishly.

Katara's brows curved up and her lip pouted, an '_Aw_' at the tip of her tongue.

"Aang, that's...great, you motivate _me, _too, but...I don't think you get what I'm really saying here. I mean, you try so hard to think before you act, sure, but you don't seem to have, like...a _reason_, outside of just 'doing the right thing,' like you said. And that kind of action is going to keep getting you in positions where you get hurt, and people use you - if the only reason you're being nice to people is _just_ to 'be nice' to people, that is going to be _abused, _and...I don't _want _to see that happen. You're a beautiful person, and I can't stand the thought of selfish people taking advantage of that. OK?" Katara, her vexation-filled raving out of her system, shot blasts of pleading sympathy through sapphire eyes.

"Look, I don't know," Aang grumbled, eager to blow off this conversation. "All I'm trying to do is help your cousin - your _family _- feel better, and so...-?"

Aang trailed off, his tone wandering to confusion as he saw Jane poke her head into the doorway past Katara's back.

"Hey," Jane greeted after a moment of awkward silence. "I interrupt somethin', or...-?"

"What?" Katara muttered, spinning round. "No, you're fine," Katara eased, her voice shedding off its discomfort. "What is it?"

"Er, just wondering...-" Jane bobbed her head off to the side, gesturing down the hall. "Sokka paused the movie, he's acting like a little bitch about it, and soooo...-" Jane drummed her fingers along the doorway arch. "Ya'll comin' back any time soon, or...should we keep going?"

"_Oh, _sorry," Aang sputtered out, brushing by Katara. "Yea, we're coming back."

"Cool," Jane said with a nod, tilting her body back to allow Aang room to scurry off. Jane noticed that Katara lingered behind, seemingly upset by Jane's inadvertent intrusion. The woman's nostrils were flared open, a tell-tale sign Jane had come to recognize. "Something up?" Jane inquired.

"What?" Katara blinked, stirring awake from her own thoughts. "No, nothing's up."

"You just...look all serious, n' stuff," Jane observed.

"Oh, _no, _it's...just that Korra seems to keep bothering Aang, and...-" Katara shrugged, attempting to avoid this avenue of discourse.

"Aaaaand," Jane began with suspicion. "That pisses you off 'cuz you threatened her about it...?"

"Wh-?! She _told _you about that...?" Katara's cheeks burned red at Jane's shifty accusation.

"She mighta mentioned it," Jane casually said, waltzing into the room with her hands slipped into her back pockets. "I don't wanna make a fuss over it, but...what you said to Korra? Not cool."

Katara lifted a hand to her face, covering up one half with a sigh through her nose.

"OK, _no, _I...I guess it was not '_cool_,' but it-..._Someone _needed to make her aware that what she's doing is wrong, and, so...-"

"I can get behind ya on that, Kat - seriously - but last night? _Kinda _sucky timing to pull that shit, ya hear me?"

"I know, yes, you're..._right, _I was...I was worked up, and just-...Me and her have this...this _history, _and...I lost my temper a bit."

"Just sayin', ya _might _wanna sort that out with her."

"Mm-hm," Katara hummed out with a nod, fidgeting with her hair. Jane caught herself staring and took a step back, placing her body in the hallway.

"Figured I'd say somethin'," Jane explained herself, shrugging up her freckled shoulders from her black summer tanktop.

"It's OK," Katara mumbled, approaching the doorway. "I might've been...a bit harsh, but...she really needs to clean up her act. You know?"

Jane nodded in agreement, propping out her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Korra knows that," Jane defended. "She's workin' on it."

"We'll see," Katara murmured with some doubt, passing out of the room. "Thanks for being upfront with me," Katara conceded. "Now I'm thinking on it and...I feel kind of like a jerk, but...-"

"No prob, just wanted to mention it to ya," Jane calmly insisted, walking alongside her friend back to the lounge.

Aang and Ty-Lee were hovering around the entrance to the lounge, and Sokka was bemoaning the shuffling of people.

"**Oh-my-god**!" he roared, thrusting his hands up in the air. "Can we watch this damn thing or _what?_"

"I didn't know you cared so much about the fine art of anime, Sokka," Meng goaded him. She cast Douglas a sly smirk and he coyly reciprocated.

Sokka countered, glaring at those standing by the lounge's doors, "I care about the fine art of people not _wasting-everyone's-time_!"

"_Fuck, _man," Toph growled, slapping her hand out in the air at him. She whiffed air at first, but immediately tried again, slapping his stomach. "Calm down..." What was Sokka's problem today? Seriously...

"Yea, we're back," Jane coolly proclaimed, heading straight for her seat. Katara joined her. "Chill out."

"Don't worry about us," Aang insisted. "It'll just be a second."

Sokka stared at his roommate with impatience for a moment.

"Sokka, it's _not _a big deal," Suki eased him.

"Yea, go ahead and hit 'play,'" Ty-Lee insisted, wriggling her hand out.

"Wait, where are you...-?" Katara leaned up over the couch's spine with some concern.

"Just visiting the snack desk real quick," Aang hurriedly explained. "You want anything?"

"No," Katara replied, containing her huffy mood as best she could.

"Back in a jiffy!" Ty-Lee bid them, exiting the room with Aang following her.

No sooner had the double doors to the lounge closed behind them did Ty-Lee instantly start up conversation.

"Are you and Katara OK?" she timidly inquired.

"Huh?" Aang was thrown off whack, startled at Ty-Lee's observation.

"Um, well...-" Ty-Lee twiddled her thumbs behind her back as they walked down the hall, side-by-side. Ty-Lee hastily mumbled her observations. "You sorta disappeared, n'...then _she _disappeared, all annoyed. And then you came back before _she _did, aaaaaand...you both just looked irritated, and soooo...-" Ty-Lee huffed, fluttering her lips. Arms still tucked behind her back, she shrugged up her shoulders, looking to Aang to study his reaction.

They reached the double doors that led to Aero's stairwell, and Aang opened one up, allowing Ty-Lee to pass through. She caught the way he was avoiding her inquisitive gaze, and stood at the top of the stairs for a moment, waiting on him. He acknowledged her concern and looked up to her, noting her ever-so-slightly puckered out lips of curiosity.

"Wh-? No, it's fine," Aang muttered out with a head shake.

Ty-Lee caught the corners of Aang's lips arcing downward, his pupils losing focus as he blinked off at the stairs. He was lying - something was troubling him.

"Sorry," Ty-Lee apologized, giving him some space and starting to trek down the stairs. He followed. "I don't, like, wanna pry or...-" She rounded the stairs, her words bouncing across the walls of the spacious well. She added with some peppy sympathy, "If you need to talk about it, I'll listen. That's all."

Ty-Lee's encouraging words reminded Aang of himself the weekend prior in regards to Korra.

"Er, thanks," Aang spat out with some gratitude as they hit the first floor of Aero where the snack desk resided.

At the desk, the two were greeted by Teo, who was furiously clicking at his USB mouse - he was engulfed by whatever was happening on his laptop screen on the counter. Haru was lounging in a displaced school desk behind him, surrounded on both sides by modest shelves of candy and snack food. He seemed to be participating in the same activity Teo was.

"C'mon," Teo advised. "I'm done - let's go Mid."

"Nah, dude," Haru dismissed, clicking away. "I'm gonna Jungle."

"Don't Jungle," Teo sighed. "Malu's already Jungling - go Mid with me. I need backup."

A voice called out from the lounge - a girl's voice, Aang could tell, but a bit low and dry sounding.

"**I'm already Jungling, Haru! ****What are you _doing_**?!"

"**Yea, I just told him that!**" Teo replied in a shout at the spacious lounge room.

"_Fiiiine_," Haru puffed, taking a gulp of energy drink as he stared at his screen.

Aang's eardrums were pelted by the loud noise, stacking more anger onto his irritation.

"Good boy," Teo wryly said with a sneaky smile on his face. "_Uhhh, _hey," he off-handedly greeted the two on the other side of the next. Evidently both had been too timid to speak up. "What's up, guys?" He gave them a brief glance before continuing to play his game.

"Uhhh...Can I...-?" Ty-Lee was muttering, but stopped when she didn't receive eye contact.

Aang rolled up his eyes with impatience at the situation. He asked her quietly, "What do you want?"

"Just some...uh, some orange juice, and...a Mars Bar. _Oh, _and a granola bar. The honey-nut kind, like...-" She poked her finger out across the counter. "The green one?"

Aang paused, crossing his arms over his chest.

"**Damnit!**" roared the girl from the lounge. Apparently, she was...playing with them? In the next room? **"Just got pincered over here!"**

"Aw, _man_!" Teo grumbled. "This other guy's just _Feeding_, this is no good..."

"Hey, uh, _speaking _of 'feeding'-" Aang interjected, his tone spiced with edginess. "-we came to the _snack _desk to...buy snacks."

Ty-Lee's eyebrows jumped up with surprise at Aang's moodiness.

"_Oh! _Yea, sorry," Teo nervously sputtered out, furiously clicking. "Just...just a second, aaaaand..._OK_." He freed up his hands into the air, staring at his customers. "What can I get you guys?" His dorky smile dissolved into a plastic one when he saw Aang's deadpan expression.

"I..._think _you maybe couldn't hear me," Ty-Lee quickly theorized, attempting to move things along. "No biggie!" she hastily added with a chirpy voice and a bright smile. Her stomach was crawling at the awkward tension. Her theory that Aang was in a bad mood became a confirmation in that moment. "Could I maybe get, like, an orange juice...aaaand...-" Ty-Lee tapped at her cheek, a bit distracted by Haru hopping up from his chair and bounding to the fridge in the back of the cramped room behind the counter. He pulled out the appropriate bottle and hovered by the fridge, looking toward Ty-Lee with expectation.

"**Hey, where _are _you guys? They got the Mid tower!"**

"**Yea, sorry, Mal,"** Teo cried out in response. **"Customers!"**

"Aang, you gettin' a drink, too, man?" Haru wondered, practically ignoring the yelling going on.

Aang diverted his attention away from Teo, who was back to tinkering with his mouse.

"Err...-?" Aang recollected himself. "Oh, just...bottled water is fine."

Ty-Lee dropped out a quiet giggle at Aang's haphazard tendency in this moment.

Haru dashed to the counter, leaning over Teo to drop the beverages on the wooden surface. He gave Teo a slap on the back as he got back up, as if to signal to the lad at the counter to pay attention to his assigned task at hand. Teo's attention sprung from his screen a second later.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"A Mars Bar, also," Ty-Lee courteously requested. "And a honey-nut granola bar, too!" she rapidly added as she watched Haru swipe the first object.

As Haru delivered the snacks to the front, Ty-Lee dropped down a five-dollar bill to pay for the lot. As Teo shuffled through a metal box for their change, Aang tried to give Ty-Lee the cost of his water bottle in quarters, but she insisted that he keep his money.

As the two bid Haru and Teo to have a good evening, Ty-Lee double-checked her phone. This was more of a means of playing off of circumstance than genuine checking - she wanted an excuse to pull Aang aside for a moment.

"Hey, so, Aang?" she chirruped up at him as he started to go up the stairs. "Mai's on her way," she explained, gesturing up her phone. "You wanna go out front and get some air while we wait for 'em? Mm?" With her last syllable, she bobbed her head to the side.

"But...-" Aang's face twitched with remorse, and he pointed a finger up ahead of him. "We told them it'd just be a sec, and...-"

"They're not, like, _waiting _on us," Ty-Lee insisted with an quiet laugh through her nose. She tucked her phone back into her pocket - her shorts were so tight that the shape of the phone could distinctly be made out through the fabric. "You were just sayin' earlier that you've been cooped up all day, right? C'mon, the air will do ya good!"

Ty-Lee went right off before Aang had indicated that he would follow - but he did, anyway. The two entered the warm afternoon air, the sun pressing upon them.

"_Whew!_" Ty-Lee puffed out, fanning the collar of her T-shirt in and out and sticking her tongue out unpleasantly. "Omigod, _bleh, _I forgot how _hot _it is out today," she bemoaned immediately opening up her drink. Aang was already beginning to guzzle down his water.

"Yea, I've been inside all day for a good reason," Aang pointed out with a tint of confusion.

A gust of air blew by, and Ty-Lee took in a pleasant breath, her intricately braided ponytail swaying in the breeze.

"At least it's windy," she noted. "It's kinda nice, right?"

"Yea," Aang agreed simply, gazing down at the sidewalk they were standing on. "Wait," his brain was rewinding. With lowered brows, he looked at Ty-Lee, who was unwrapping her granola bar. "You said Mai's on her way? I know she and Zuko said they'd be late, buuuut...is Zuko not coming?"

"_Hm..._" Ty-Lee took a big bite of her bar, lightly tapping its remnants along her lips as she chewed. After she swallowed, she tucked the Mars Bar into her bag pocket snugly, freeing up her other hand to more efficiently drink her orange juice. She then replied "I guess her and Zuko had, like, a bit of a spat? He decided to not come."

"Ah." Aang's face flickered with some sympathy.

"I think it's pretty...I dunno, like, cool? The way you and Kat can still get along when you're with your friends. Like, if you two have a fight, it's not like you all still can't do stuff together."

"Uhhh...Y-yea, I guess," Aang mumbled. "But, I mean...we shouldn't be fighting at _all, _don't you think? Mai and Zuko sure seem to be having a lot of trouble lately..." Aang scratched behind his ear. "And me and _Toph _were fighting a lot before we broke up, so...-"

"Do you think it was because you argued so much? You guys got sick of it?"

"Well, I guess? It was...because it always felt like we had trouble reaching compromises."

"But you and Katara, you make compromises."

"Yea, we do - all the time."

"And does that work better?"

"I..._think _so, but...lately, it's like...-"

"Neither of you is getting what you want."

"Yea!"

The corner of Ty-Lee's mouth perked up. Getting people to open up and tell the truth was just a matter of hitting the right psychological pressure points.

"Compromise is overrated," Ty-Lee coolly proclaimed, taking a chug of juice.

"Wh...-?" Aang was startled. "Isn't that, like, what relationships are all about?"

"Some people say so," Ty-Lee conceded. "And I mean, yea - but I don't think in that fifty/fifty kinda way. Ya know?"

Aang scratched his neck and took a sip of water.

"I think," Ty-Lee went on, "it's more like, give and take. You don't split things in half, you just both give and get."

"Hm..." Aang wore a dire look of contemplation as he glugged down more of his drink. Ty-Lee regaled him a personal experience.

"I came from a family of _seven. _And in our household, _everything _was totally split even, all of the time - including our parents' attention. And sure, that meant that things were fair and square, even steven, but, like-...That meant that we never got their _full _attention, ever. We all got the same amount of money spent on us on Christmas, the same kind of birthday parties...but it meant none of that really had _meaning. _None of it was personal, 'cuz our parents never took the time to _fully _learn about any one of us. We spent family time together, but we never got to spend _quality _time with our folks..." Ty-Lee wistfully gazed up at the swaying tree branches above them in Aero's front lawn, the wind tussling everything around. "I would've rather spent actual _time _with my parents - just me - once in a long while, than stuff getting all divided up..."

"I'm...sorry to hear about that," Aang mumbled, being reminded of his own family history - or lack thereof. "It must've been nice, at least, to _have _parents. Or siblings. In the first place."

Ty-Lee's eyes popped open at her ignorance, and she took a bite of her granola bar to give herself time to rethink things.

"_Ugh, _I'm like, _totally _sorry, Aang," she fumbled out hastily. "I-I forgot about that..."

"It's OK," Aang assured with a dull shrug. "I'm sort of in a bad mood today..."

"Y-yes, I can tell, but...I was just...trying to say that you and Katara won't _always _see eye-to-eye. And that's OK! Me and Zulie disagree on _lotsa _stuff, but we both give each other something. Get what I mean?"

"I..._think _so," Aang replied with some cautious consideration. He noticed a raven-haired girl with pale skin approaching from the distance. "I think I see Mai..."

"_Oh, _cool~" Ty-Lee sang out, waving an arm out. The figure passing along waved back from their spot in the parking lot of Aero House. "But, so, like, _anyway_!" Ty-Lee padded her palm on Aang's back. "I dunno what's up with you and Katara, but you're a real sweetheart, and so is she - I think it'd be good if you two learned to take some losses and give some wins to each other. Ya get it?"

"Yea," Aang nodded in understanding, finishing off his water. "I'll stew on that."

"Awesome!" Ty-Lee flashed him an enthused smile, a wink, and a thumbs-up. "Now that we got that settled...-" She leaned up to Aang, swallowed some juice, and asked him, "So those boys at the snack desk - how long have they been dating?"

Aang was glad he'd already finished his water or else he might've choked.

"Wh-_what?_"

"'Cuz it's, like, I _always _see them together, and just the way they interact, I guess I can just _tell, _but I was wondering if they'd come out, and-"  
"I-I don't even _know _what you're talking about," Aang awkwardly sputtered, wide eyed and confused.

"Ohhhhhh," Ty-Lee slowly poured out with an accompanying nod of gradual understanding. "So they _haven't _come out yet. _Hmmm. _Interesting...Oh, _hey, _Mai!"

Aang was left aghast at this seemingly ditsy girl's sneakily astute observations as she greeted her roommate. His brain was running laps - every time he saw Haru and Teo all semester, they had always been together. They were roommates, and all, but was there really something more to it that he had never considered? Was it even his business? Maybe it was best to let a girl like Ty-Lee dwell on such things, while he focused on his own full plate of concerns. He was still digesting the rather heavy meal that had been the day prior.

"_Ha, _aw, thanks," Mai muttered sheepishly as Ty-Lee handed her the previously purchased Mars Bar.

"Yup!" Ty-Lee chimed back.

"Wow," Mai noted. "Did you drag Aang out here in the hot sun?" she asked her friend.

"Sure did!" Ty-Lee beamed. She pulled him in by the shoulder, and he tensed up at their physical contact. "I was layin' some _advice _down on him. _Relationship _advice," she added in a loud whisper.

Aang's grouchy head was swirling with an indignation at the idea that Mai had instantly assumed - correctly - that Ty-Lee had 'dragged' him along. Everyone just thought he was this passive little lapdog, huh? Argh. And she was making it sound like he and Katara were having some kind of heavy problems with each other, which was not the case.

"_Ohhh, _dear," Mai dryly reacted, giving Aang a glance. "I am _so _sorry," she apologized mockingly. "Forget she said anything."

"_Heyyy_," Ty-Lee whimpered. "I gave him a good idea."

"Sh-she did, actually," Aang agreed, more complacently than his foul mood would've liked.

"Well, I'm impressed," Mai jibed with raised eyebrows at Ty-Lee, who wore a proudly calm look.

"Where's Zuko?" Aang suddenly asked, quite curious. Ty-Lee's face soured with discontent at his question, and Mai blinked at him with some confusion.

"_Uh, _he...didn't want to come," she explained. A small head shake. "We had a bad day. You know how he gets when he's stressed, and he couldn't handle the social interaction."

"Ah," Aang complied, wondering why on earth Zuko was interested in exactly that - social interaction with he and Korra.

Ty-Lee groaned, lightly nudging both of her friends along with her elbows. She insisted, "Let's get inside out of this _heat._"

"Sounds like a plan," Mai agreed, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead with one hand and chewing into her snack with the other.

Aang allowed himself to be corralled back inside, all the while considering what Ty-Lee had suggested. He found himself thinking back on the poem he'd been reading the night prior, and his grandfather's teaching regarding Yin and Yang. Ty-Lee was perhaps onto something - it was two even sides of black and white, each with a piece of the other - not one mass of gray. Perhaps, Aang decided, he'd been living life these days too much in the gray. But then, wasn't the saying that life wasn't blacks and whites, but shades of gray? _Blah. _Well, but that was more like, talking about events, or stuff, not _people,_ right? People could be in more...distinct colors? Or something?

* * *

"Did you get a good look at the guy?" Mako asked, popping off the cap to the beer bottle and passing it Korra's way.

"Yea," Korra irritably spat. She'd _just_ finished explaining what had happened. She'd wrestled with the creep, how could she _not _have seen him?

Nevertheless, Korra took the beer Mako offered and sucked down a large gulp.

"Anything distinct?" Mako asked. "I mean, _jeez, _Korra, do the cops know about this?"

"_Yea, _the fuckin' cops know," Korra groaned, slightly more irked by Mako's belittling tone. "And he-..." She paused, trying to recollect. She took another drink of the bottle. It was pretty hoppy beer, exactly as she liked it. She stuck out her knuckle, sliding her index carefully across her injuries. "He had tattoos on his fingers, spelled out 'T.T.T.'"

Korra watched a lump form in Mako's throat.

"Huh," Mako muttered, looking away from Korra as he sat himself down in the recliner on the other side of the living room. "Wonder what that stands for..."

Korra sipped at her beer some more, trying to study the reactions of those around her. Bolin, sitting on the opposite end of the couch as Korra, was palely staring at the carpet, while Asami seemed to have a slight frown about her.

Korra's brain fired off a memory from the night prior - an exchange she'd had with the man with the gun.

_"Yer a piece o' work, Korra. I can see why Bolin likes you so much."_  
_"_What?_ Who are you?!"_  
_"Me? I'm an old pal of the Brothers. Used to do some work with 'em."_

Korra could still picture the man in her head, and her stomach emptied at the words he'd spoken that she had discarded in the heat of the moment.

"_Uhh_," she sputtered out, conflicted over how to approach this. She scratched at the bottom of her left breast and consumed more beer, raising her index finger up. "He, er, he had like, a blue vest, and...a gold necklace. Like a medallion."

Korra tried her best to pay attention to how Mako and Bolin reacted to this. She wasn't too good at this 'observation' thing but she was trying her best. Bolin seemed to be without reaction, drumming his fingers along the side of his Sapporo can, while Mako sighed, opened his own bottle of beer.

"He was a darker-skinned guy," Asami added from inbetween Korra and Bolin, recollecting the detail from Korra's earlier recitation.

"The Triple Threat Triad," Korra spouted, the name having been bubbling in her head. "That's who they were working for. You ever heard of 'em?"

Asami, holding a can to match Bolin's in her lap between two hands, took a careful swig before looking to her boyfriend.

"Uhh...-" Mako shrugged, his lower lip propping out to feign ignorance. Bolin, who had yet to drink any of his beverage, set his can on a coaster on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch thoughtfully. He was staring at the pillow bed in the corner of the living room where Naga had once rested.

"From what he said, he _knew _you guys," Korra proclaimed, glaring spitefully at her bottle.

"What?" muttered Mako.

"He said he was an '_old pal'_ of yours," Korra snipped, staring at Mako with expectation. She chugged a couple of gulps of her beer as she locked eyes with Mako. Asami's lips fell open at Korra's remark, and the woman turned from Korra to Mako, all the while startled and agitated. Bolin, leaning back against the couch's spine, gazed up to the ceiling, not saying a word.

"Any idea what he meant by that?" Korra pressed for a response, dropping her bottle down impatiently, directly on the table. She savored the subtle reaction Mako had to her lack of coaster-usage. "Do you know the Triple Threat Triad?"

"W-well," Mako started, shrugging his lean shoulders up. "I mean, we used to do some work for them back in the day..."

Korra's jaw fell open. She had anticipated that maybe the Brothers in question had had some sort of previous run-in with these guys, and that her assailant had been sarcastic. But they had _worked _for them?

"Wh-?...Uh, _what_?" Korra snapped, glaring at Mako in alarm._ "_Are you some kind of _criminal_?"

"N-no!" Mako spat back. He exchanged a glance with Asami, who was speechless, then angrily forced words back at Korra. "You don't know what you're talking about! I just ran numbers for them and stuff. Our mother was sick, I did what I had to do in order to pay her bills and make ends meet. I had to protect my brother, and help keep my family together. And, you know, another thing: _you _judging me for making some shady mistakes? That's pretty hypocritical."

Korra's stomach twisted at Mako's confession, matched with his counterpoint. She had never heard him bring this up before - their mother had been sick? Why had he needed to pay the bills?

"OK, sorry, but...What's this about your mom being sick?" Korra asked, hoping to change the tone of the conversation.

"Our mother has a terminal illness," Mako grumbled, clearly uneased at discussing this sensitive familial matter. "My father was laid off of work when she was hospitalized, and _someone _had to help pay her medical bills, or they wouldn't treat her. I...-" Mako shook his head, his eyes cold and glazed over as he gave his brother a glance over. "Bolin and I found work however we could, and at the time, those bastards were the only job we could get that would pay enough to...-"

Mako huffed in spite of this recollection. Asami shook her head to herself in disappointment.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Asami wondered.

"Listen, I did some things I'm not proud of," Mako confessed irritably. "_Just _like Korra. And I'm trying to put that stuff behind me." Mako and Asami's eyes wavered at each other for a moment until they regained solidarity at Mako's words, "I'm sorry, Asami. But I promise, that's in the past."

Korra's heart ached at this notion, her memories stirred around. She could entirely relate with Mako's standpoint on this, even if she didn't agree with him hiding it. Then again, wasn't that what she'd been doing herself, to more than a few people?

The idea of Mako bearing that weight to make ends meet for the sake of his family shook the walls of Korra's skull. Being presented with the concept was reminding her of her cousin, Katara, struggling to keep her father and brother grounded in the tumultuous time following Kya's death. A time Korra had _not _helped her out with at all, but instead had made worse.

"...I'm sorry," Korra murmured, bobbing her head with hesitation. "I-I didn't know. It must've been _really _hard..." Korra could picture Katara, a few years younger, enduring the pain and anger of Kya's loss while keeping her brother and father together. "Can I ask...what happened to your parents?" Korra wondered. She might as well use this as an opportunity to learn more about Mako and Bolin's family. "I mean, how come you don't live near them?"

Mako exhaled deeply, scratching his fingernails across his forehead. Bolin ended up replying, still gaping up at the ceiling all the while.

"Our mom needed special care," Bolin explained. "She needed to be transferred to a different town."

"Our dad moved with her so she'd have someone to be there to support her," Mako expounded. "Dad left me in charge of this house while they try to fix our mom up..."

Korra was slack-jawed. She had never really put much thought or consideration into _why _Mako and Bolin continued to linger in this building, away from their folks. She'd just written it off as something similar to her own experience - some kind of familial separation, a need for independence, or...something. But it sounded like it was fairly different from that.

Bolin remarked with bluntness, "That's why he's a bit of a neat freak," directing his remark at Korra. "About keeping the house clean?"

Korra gawked at Bolin, who swiftly looked back away from her. He at last took his tall can of beer in hand and started to drink it.

"Wait...So...-" Korra directed both of her index fingers at Mako. "_That's _why you're so fucking anal about me being messy?"

Korra watched Asami nod - the woman probably already knew about all of this. Mako tipped his head to the side slightly and kicked out the recliner to elevate his legs.

"That would be the reason," Mako acknowledged, chugging at his beverage.

"_Fuck_," Korra sighed at all of his, sifting her fingers through her bangs. She was staring down at their coffee table. She opted to make the two second effort to place her drink on a coaster, preserving the furniture that Mako seemed to have a familial connection to. Korra recalled in that moment that her music box was still tucked away on the layer of the table, having been left there from her talk with Asami earlier. "We've all got some fucked up family history, eh?" Korra sighed out, having not forgotten that Asami no longer had a mother, either.

"We sure do," Asami bitterly grumbled, tipping her can up to her lips.

"OK, Mako," Korra said with some firm conclusion. She took a sip of her beer before setting her bottle down carefully on a coaster. She reached down for her music box. "I guess there's something about _me _you should know, too, while we're...getting this stuff out there..."

* * *

Aang lost himself in the ocean of decor around him. Antique photographs, sports memorabilia, old road signs, a rustic life preserver, stained glass lampshades, a painted wooden duck carving, an old-  
"Hey."

Korra had abruptly bumped her beefy arm into his side, jarring him from his stupor. She was poking a finger at a page in her laminated menu.

"You wanna split a Two-for-Twenty with me?" Korra asked, right into his ear - they were wedged together in a booth, with Zuko and Iroh directly across. The physical proximity was making him uneasy - why couldn't they have sat at a table? When the waiter had asked for their preference, he hadn't spoken up. His irritation at his own lack of action stacked on top of his foul mood.

"Erm..." Aang started fumbling with his menu, absent-minded about this. Korra had been acting totally different this evening than the day prior, and much more casual than she had over the phone and in text messages earlier that day. It would seem that her weights of worry had been lifted a bit.

Korra snickered at his haphazard navigation of his menu. She playfully pinched at his rib, and he scrunched up with irritation.

"It's not hard, Little Man," she teased him. '_Little Man?' _He had _told _her before how much he hated being called that.

Korra wrapped an arm over his shoulder muttering a "Here." Much to his chagrin, she took over his menu for him, flipping it to the appropriate section. Aang was rather flustered by this proximity - her thick, warm arm across his back, her curved hip pressed into his side, her sly and mocking smirk inches away from his face. Korra sharing physical traits in common with Katara - features he already found attractive - was also not helping matters. Even with a bruised eye and her various marks of battle, Korra's appeal was obvious to Aang in this moment, and he could comprehend why Katara seemed to deliberately uncomfortable with the woman's attachment to him.

Aang tightened up his shoulders, sucking in air between his teeth as if to express physical pain - pain he didn't actually have.

"Fuck, sorry," Korra sheepishly mumbled under her breath, assuming she'd upset the burned tissue on Aang's back. Aang took this moment of detaching bodies to scoot himself _just _another inch away, so their hips didn't touch. "Uhh, but...-" She poked her finger at the food listings before him. "Yea, you should pick out sometime, and...-"

Aang quietly surveyed the items, his face stoic as he did his best to contain his irritation. Maybe Katara had been right, and he should do as Ty-Lee said - accept this whole thing as a loss, that he was wrong, and not concern himself over it.

_Argh, _what?! All of the entrees on this had meat. Meat, meat, meat...Aang did not _eat _meat. Didn't Korra know that by now?

"We'd share an appetizer," Korra explained, ignorant to Aang's glower. She leaned over so that her study shoulder brushed up on his - their bare skin touching again. "I'm up for the boneless wings." She cocked her head to the side and grinned at him, letting her triple-tails of hair tumble across her neck, the curled edges of brown complimenting sturdy clavicles. "Sounds good, eh?"

"Err...Sure," Aang muttered out in the moment before thinking, ripping his sight from Korra's neck as his stomach lurched with guilt, rather than hunger.

"Cool stuff," Korra confirmed their allegedly agreed upon decision, rubbing her burly hand on Aang's lean shoulder. It was a very intentional gesture, more gentle than Korra normally touched people, as if to specifically acknowledge her fear of hurting his poor back again. It was at once aggravating because Aang did not _want _her touching him right then, and also piled onto his infuriation that she was belittling him, like _usual._

Aang stared at the abraded skin on the knuckles of the hand that was touching him in that instant, but Korra was unaware, her focus already back on her menu as she considering what to drink.

Aw, shoot. Aang realized that he had just agreed to order boneless chicken wings. But Aang certainly was NOT interested in boneless chicken wings - he wanted the spinach and artichoke dip. Lighter, healthier, and more importantly, lacking in any parts of dead animals. Once again, he'd just played along and not spoken up, adding to his annoyance with both himself and his seating partner. _Augh! _Neighbor. Seating _neighbor. _Oh, boy - his stomach was feeling emptier by the minute, at least. Even when Korra was being all chummy and nice she was still...just..._urgh. _Like, pushy, somehow.

As Korra asked the Kuroawas for advice on what to drink, Aang's consciousness wrangled his thoughts in enough to pose a question: should he be getting angry at Korra for bothering him - when she clearly did not realize she was doing so - or angry at _himself _for not speaking up about it?

Their waiter swooped by to check in and see if they were ready to order. Aang was, once again, choking on his own timidness, unable to say, 'No, we are not ready.' Instead, he just sat there quietly, politely, allowing everyone else to confirm that yes, they were all set, when he was not.

Iroh had already placed his order as Aang stirred himself out of his skull, and Zuko was now ordering.

"-a coffee to drink, and I'll have what he's having." Zuko thumbed to Iroh with a smile.

"Coffee?" Iroh muttered quietly to his nephew. "At _this _hour?"

"I'm behind on work for the _OWL_," Zuko whispered back, eliciting Iroh to pinch his fingers at his beard with some stingy disapproval.

"And you, Ma'am?" the waiter turned to Korra.

"We're going for the two-for-twenty," said Korra.

"And your appetizer?" asked the lively young man, preparing to scribble on his notepad.

"Uh, yea, the boneless wings," Korra ordered. "Barbeque."

"And your entree?"

"The steak," Korra eagerly requested. "Well done," she specified the preparation she preferred.

"And you, Sir?" the waiter prodded Aang for a response.

"Err..." Out of the corner of his eye, he could sense Korra casting him a sly, amused smirk. "The, uhh-...Can I have the oriental salad, but _hold _the chicken?"

"Oh? No chicken..." The waiter jotted this down. "Would you like me to have them maybe put some extra noodles or veggies in there, instead?"

"That would be...great," Aang replied, thankful that _someone _here was considering his desires.

"All right - and to drink?"

"Just a water for right now," Korra answered. "We're still deciding." _We? _Who was this 'we?'

"Y-yea, just...a water for me, as well," Aang mumbled out.

"Excellent." The waiter surveyed his notes and collected their menus. "By the way," he directed his gaze at Korra. "Love your hair, Ma'am," he complimented her somewhat eccentric style.

Korra hummed out a small laugh through her nose and shrugged, fidgeting with her top-set back ponytail. In her sleeveless tanktop, the act of her raising her arm to do so drew Aang's attention to her armpit, and consequently the way her somewhat toned pectoral led into her-_arghhh, _was she just doing that to bring attention to her breasts, or something?

"Thanks," Korra muttered out awkwardly to the waiter after she was done tightening her ponytail.

"Very unique," the waiter remarked, concluding that thought. "If you don't mind my asking, what happened...-?" He gestured toward his corresponding eye, implying a curiosity as to Korra's bruise.

"_Pff, _someone picked a fight with me," she scoffed. "You should see the _other _guy," she joked. Aang did not find this joke funny, because he had _seen _the pulp of a face Korra had left on that 'other guy.'

After a mutual chuckle with Korra, the waiter looked across the table.

"Well, I'll send in your order and get your drinks out to you momentarily. Sir," he said to Zuko, "creamer for your coffee?"

"No, thanks," Zuko dismissed the option.

The waiter nodded as he scurried off to his work, and Aang was left anxious.

"What's up with _you_ tonight?" Korra asked - not in the concerned way, but in that teasing way that Aang was _not _in the mood for. She tapped at his slender bicep with the back of her fingertips. "You're acting all...squirrelly. Or something, eh?"

"Can I, um...-" He gestured his hand past Korra. "I have to use the bathroom," he grumbled, trying to ease Korra out of the booth. She had him pinned in.

"That's usually _my _excuse," Korra snickered to herself, pushing herself up from her seat. She groaned, her face twisting up a bit. Aang guessed this was because her recent battery had caused a little more damage than she was willing to admit.

Aang took a few minutes to himself to use the bathroom, all the while simmering in his aggravation. Korra had made it sound like she was in a bad way today, all nervous and upset, but she seemed strangely cheerful and relieved. What did she need him for, then, if she had herself all feeling better and stuff?

And then this stupid shyness, or timidness, or whatever it was - it was really bothering him today that even when he was in a bad mood, he found such difficulty simply getting himself to express it.

Katara's words from earlier stung his braincells: _"Promise me that you'll put some thought into _why_ you're doing what you're doing."_

What, did she think that he _didn't _already think about things before he did them? But Aang's other half knew this wasn't what she had meant. She had meant that she was starting to pick up on a trend that he himself was putting off - he kept putting himself in situations with this blind idea of 'I want to be a nice person and do nice things.' Now that Katara had made a point of it, Aang's mood had soured as he realized that so much of his day-to-day actions were about doing what everyone around him wanted or expected of him.

Why was he even _here, _at this dinner with Korra? A few minutes in and he was already miserable. He'd been so eager to spend time with Korra, defending her in spite of Katara's criticism, and here he was, flustered and annoyed with her. All because of this idea that he was supposed to nice and polite because that made him a good friend? When he questioned it, that was...all he could come up with. He'd thought and considered his action before the fact, he'd planned on coming with Korra tonight, and yet he hadn't..._decided _on it. Not really. He hadn't made a _choice, _he'd just...gone along with Korra's request.

And now he was running circles around his brain, riling himself up all the more. He finished up in the bathroom and washed his hands. As he exited the bathroom, he was grumpy that the skin on his hands was already feeling uncomfortably dry from washing them. He arrived back at his table, noting drinks had already been delivered. Iroh was sipping at a mojito - a lime and some sprigs of mint were mixed into his beverage. Zuko was stirring some sweetener into his black coffee, and Korra was ignoring her water, ranting about something.

"-was the worst boss _ever_," she was growling as Aang reached the table. Korra slid out to allow him to enter, her attention still directed at Zuko. "So...-" She raised up her hands, slightly trembling with frustration. "_Whatever_," she huffed."He doesn't even want to _tell _me when I'm fired? Fine. Fuck 'im." She shrugged up her shoulders and carried a tone of indifference.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Zuko sighed, running his palm back over his slicked hair. "I...would've thought he'd at least have given you a phone call or something."

"_Nope_," Korra snipped, sitting herself back down besides Aang. "He hasn't said nothin'. No, like I said, fuck _him. _Besides, I think I've proven that I am a _shitty _security guard anyway, eh? I cause more problems than I solve, and I screw up anything I try doing, and so...-" She was bitterly shaking her head, staring off into blank space with angry remorse.

Now seated, Aang took a drink of his ice water. _Ech. _It tasted...tappy. Like, tapwater. That figured.

"OK, just...calm down," Zuko quelled her grumbling, raising up a palm to ease her. "We can maybe help you find a new job somewhere here in town. I'm not so sure working for the school is going to be a good idea at this point."

Korra spurted out, "Who says I _want _a new job? In this town?"

Iroh sighed out with satisfaction from his drink, which was already halfway gone.

"Do you not wish to live here any more?" Iroh inquired.

"Maybe," said Korra, taking in a deep, contemplative breath as she laid back in her seat, stretching her arms out across the spine of the booth. The hairs on the back of Aang's neck were tickled by this motion, and he leaned forward a bit to avoid contact. He concerned himself with his water as a distraction.

"You're...going to need work if you decide to stay here," Zuko pointed out the obvious.

"I mean...-" Korra shrugged and looked across the table to Zuko, slouched back in the booth. Her arm was still relaxed across the wooden spine. "I might have some kind of job lined up already," Korra muttered with a distant look in her eye. She tilted her head up and gawked at the stained glass shade from the overhead light hanging above them. "But I don't know if I'm really ready for the sort of job it is...and I'm not even sure it's what I _want, _anyway." She ended her thought, mumbling under her breath, "Kinda..._not _really my thing, when I think about it..."

"Mm." Iroh scratched his chubby thumbnail along his broad nose. "It would seem that perhaps you wish to return to your home."

"_Ehh,_" Korra winced out with uncertainty. "But what's even _home _anymore? Wherever I go, seems I fuck everything up. I probably should've just left this place earlier on, called it a day, just high-tailed it before things went south. If I had just cut my losses back when I got into that bar fight, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." She bent in her stretched out arm, letting her outreached hand tap Aang with sympathy on his shoulder. He sighed through his nose quietly, letting her continue. "Maybe Aang and Kat wouldn't have been hurt," Korra cited, giving Aang a glance of regret. She took her hand off of her and flipped it upward to express her hypothetical doubt. "Maybe the UR would be a _building _instead of a pile of ashes." She slumped her hand back onto the wood. "Maybe I wouldn't have gotten those kids _traumatized._" She bitterly shook her head, her bottom lip propped out stubbornly and quivering ever so slightly. "You know what?" Korra pulled both of her arms into her lap, crossing them with an embittered nod. "Maybe sometimes, it's just better to call it quits before you fail."

"No, it's not," Zuko firmly disagreed. He finished stirring his coffee and set the spoon he'd used on his napkin. "Look, Korra, you're going to fail a lot before things work out."

Korra sighed out with irritation and a furious shrug, "That supposed to make me _feel_ better?"

Lifting up his mug, Zuko completed his thought, despite her interruption.

"But even though you'll probably fail over, and over...and _over_ again...-" He took a sip.

"Seriously," Korra grunted with dull, burning eyes. "_Not_ helping."

Zuko swallowed. "-...you have to try every time," he insisted, setting his mug down. "You can't quit because you're afraid you _might_ fail."

Korra bobbed her head at Zuko's stern means of encouragement.

"Not sure it's a '_might' _so much as a '_whe__n.'_"

"That doesn't quite...make sense," Zuko carefully pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Korra scrambled out in irate embarrassment, glaring downward with her arms still crossed.

Aang specifically did _not _look her way in this instant, avoiding any temptation to ogle. He was done with his water by now, and was opting to start chewing on the remnants of ice shards, content with not being a part of this conversation.

"What, exactly...-" Iroh slowly began. He swished his beverage around in his tall glass, and Korra and Aang were both mesmerized by the way the mint sprigs twirled within it, like leaves in the wind. "-...brought you to this town? What motivated you to come here?"

"I, erm...-" Korra blinked, taking her eyes off of the glass and up to the thoughtful, wrinkly face posing this question. "I wanted a fresh start, I guess. I thought coming here would...help me 'find my path,' or something. I needed some freedom. I don't know, it's just, like...I'm always struggling to do what everyone else expects from me, trying to keep up appearances when I don't even _know _what I want that...appearance...to be? Know what I mean? I can't figure out what people _want _from me, or...by the time I _do, _I've already dug myself six feet in the ground and...I try to climb back out, and it's like I'm just _widening _the fucking pit for everyone around me to fall in." Korra, her brain burnt out from the effort required to come up with some kind of metaphor that made a lick of sense, frowned with clenched eyes, rubbing the skin of her forehead up and down in slow, anguished movements.

Aang found himself considering Korra's words, setting aside his grievances for a few moments of consideration.

"It has been a few months," Iroh noted, lifting his glass for a drink. "I can still remember helping you prepare your first pizza back at the restaurant." He smirked with fond remembrance of a time that was actually not all that long ago, but felt so due to circumstance. "You may not have noticed, but I can see it plainly in your eyes." He chuckled. "_Waha, _even in the bruised one." Korra sheepishly grinned at the old man making light of her injuries. "You are not quite the same person you were mere months ago. You may not understand what brought you here, but...here you _are._" Iroh tapped his index finger against the table. "In this place, at this time. It would seem you are at a crossroads, Korra. You say that are you looking for your 'path?' I say...you make your _own _path."

Aang nodded silently in agreement with this.

"OK, but...-" Korra impatiently flicked up her wrist. "How do I do _that? _I keep trying to make the most of what I've got - I've fight tooth and nail for it, eh? But...it hasn't done me or anyone _around _me any good."

Iroh took in a dry sniff as he drank more mojito, hearing Korra out.

"I think...-" he spoke with that steady, cautious tone he often carried, "-...that you are _maybe _focusing so much on the outward that...you are neglecting the inward."

Korra stared at him with expectation, her lower lip poking out thoughtfully.

"You are still young, Korra. You should start asking yourself some important questions: who are _you? _Who is Korra Kesuk? And what does _she _want? Inside, deep down."

Korra's head sagged slightly to one side.

"I...guess I don't really _know. _Not really. I'm...just trying to tread water here, guys, I haven't had time to _breathe._"

Aang was smacked in the face by Korra's remark. 'Time to breathe.' He had skipped his meditation today, and the day prior, it had been half-heartedly wormed around sleeping. On a table. He'd enjoyed Katara's company, but the quality of sleep he'd gotten at Appa's instead of a proper bed, along with his energy-reviving meditation schedule being thrown off...Well, _that _couldn't be helping his mood.

"You should set yourself some goals," Zuko suggested. "That helps me. But before you do that, you have to think about what matters most to you. Go from there."

"_Mmph._" One corner of Korra's lips arced downward begrudgingly. She didn't want to _think, _she wanted to _act. _But then again, when she thought of things this way, lately she was _re-_acting to things, more than acting _on _them. Fumbling to right wrongs - hers or someone else's - but nowhere in the equation was there any...just...doing _rights? _Agh. Her head was spinning just trying to figure out what they meant.

The waiter showed up and delivered Korra a plate of barbeque-flavored boneless wings, the appetizer that she 'co-ordered' with Aang. He assured he'd get them a pitcher of water for refills, having noted Aang had already drank his, and he vanished again.

As Korra immediately dug into her food with her bare hands, Iroh recalled, "Korra, you said that...you continue to struggle with maintaining the expectations of others. But...what do you expect from _yourself?_"

"_Mmm-mm,_" Korra toned an 'I don't know,' lifting her eyebrows as she ferociously chewed. Aang's nose wrinkled in a grimace at her ravenous teeth tearing apart the poor dead bird. Blech, more like more _processed _dead bird, for all he knew. When Korra had finished her fist piece, she explained, "I expect...to just...be _better_. Than I have been."

"At...what?" Zuko wondered, confused as to why she'd phrased it so simply.

"I...-" Korra gawked back at Zuko. "Just..._things_. I mean, I'm..._better _than this. This...idiot who keeps fucking up everything."

Aang spoke up at last. "You're mad at yourself for not being good at _everything_?"

Korra's lips hung open, off-out by Aang's irritable tone. She occupied her embarrassment with more meat.

"Aang's right," said Zuko. "You can't just throw yourself at any task and just _expect _to be good at it."

"Yea, yea, practice makes perfect," Korra grumbled, recanting what Mako had said earlier.

"Maybe not _perfect,_" Zuko conceded, which Korra appreciated. "But better. Which is what you said you want, right?"

Korra glared at Zuko, her cheek puffed with chicken.

"Liffen," she grunted, mouth half full. "Uh dun_no _whuf I _want._" She swallowed and grabbed a third piece, only to give pause when she saw that Aang was swirling wet ice around in the bottom of his empty glass. "Hey, Little Man, dig in," she insisted with a tip of her head.

"I know something _I _want," said Aang grumpily, setting his glass down. "I want spinach and artichoke dip," he expressed. He had intended for it sound more...bold. Or something. But it ended up coming out more like a whimper, much to his frustration. "Not _chicken._"

Korra's brows furrowed at him.

"Huh? But...you said...-"

"I'm a _vegetarian, _Korra," Aang starkly informed her. He knew for a fact this wasn't the first time she'd been made aware of this. "But I guess you '_don't know_' how to '_be better_' at remembering things..."

Korra was in shock at Aang's pouty, trying-hard-to-sound-hostile tone. She popped another piece of chicken into her mouth - just to be doing something besides awkwardly staring_._

"I was _wondering_," Zuko stated after the fact, having known about Aang's diet. "Why didn't you say anything? You just agreed with her."

"I wasn't..._thinking_," Aang confessed as Korra finished her bite of food.

"_Ha, _yea," Korra smugly concurred, licking her fingers of sauce. "You were too busy staring at my _tits, _Little Man."

"I was-!" Aang quietly seethed, frowning all the while. "It was your _hair, _it was distracting, and _anyway,_ don't call me 'Little Man,' you know I hate that name. And also, while we're at it...-" His fingers tightened up in front of his face. "-...just stop _flirting _with me. I mean, even just now, did you _have_ to say that? I don't get what your _problem _is! I have a girlfriend. I'm not even your _type. _You keep _t__ouching _me, and-"  
"_What?_" Korra snapped back in what was almost a squeak of appallment. "Flirting? A-_pff!_ I wasn't _flirting_," she hissed in a whisper at him. "Just because _you _can't stop _s__taring _doesn't mean it's _my _fault that-"  
"But you do these _things, _like you _want _people to stare."  
"Fine. I'll just _never _touch you again, OK?"  
"Good, yea, do that."  
"And you can just keep giving me the cold shoulder, here, 'cuz if you fucking so much as _look _at me, we're somehow cheating on Kat, right?"  
"At least _now _I see why Katara has trouble trusting you to be around me, because-"  
"I was just trying to be _friendly,_ I thought you _wanted _me to treat you like family, and I'm _friendly _with my-"  
"Not _that _kind of friendly. You were _flirting, _that's not-"  
"Fucking _eh, _I was not _flirting_-"

"Hey, whoa, guys." Zuko snapped both sets of fingers at the two of them, catching their attention. "We're...in a restaurant," Zuko sighed. Luckily, it was a Monday night, and thus kind of slow - they'd been tucked away in a quiet corner, and maybe one or two nearby tables had been slightly thrown off by their discontent discussion. Aang found himself all the more irate that he and his friends seemed to have a recurring problem getting...'dramatic' out in public. Mai had at least made a fair point on that front a while back, he found himself concluding.

Korra and Aang were glaring at each other with twitching brows and quivering eyes, as if both were trying to interpret how the other really felt.

Zuko asked in startled alarm, "What is _up _with you two, all of a sudden?" as he watched them break apart their furious eye contact.

Aang's elbows were up on the table, and he was gazing up at the decor on a distant wall.

"I've had a bad day," Aang stated plainly.

Korra's arms were slung across her chest, and she was staring off toward a flat-screen TV displaying a sporting event.

"Not as bad as _mine, _I bet," Korra grumbled. Oh, yea, big surprise, Korra trying to upstage him at...having a bad _day_? Ridiculous. Aang's conscious niggled at him that she was probably _right, _but that wasn't the point.

"Why, what happened?" Zuko wondered.

"Why'd you even _come _if you're in such a pissy mood?" Korra murmured, keeping her voice down but side-stepping Zuko's question.

"I _came _because you _asked _me to," Aang matter-of-factly informed. "Like it was important to you or something..."

"_I_...-!" Korra flinched with indecision. "I guess maybe it _was, _I...wanted an excuse for us to hang out, and...-"

"Well, we're sure having _fun_," Aang dismissed.

"Aang. Korra." Iroh's firm tone shook the two of them into an instant state of humble silence. "This kind of negativity...it will not do either of you any good." Iroh's dire expressed melted into a humored smile at wide-eyed looks on their faces - like a cat and dog being scolded for in-fighting in the living room. These two both seemed to want the approval and acceptance of the other, he could tell. In a way, it reminded him of his Nephew and Niece - two opposing halves of one coin, constantly flipping the other around to see who could land on top. "However, this sort of anger does not rise out of loathing," Iroh observed. "It would seem you both desire something from each other."

Both seemed disinclined by this idea, and Aang shook his head in small, quick gestures.

"Nuh-uh," Aang cleanly tossed aside the notion. "There is no..._desiring_...over here," he insisted before thinking about his words. Just the connotation made him uncomfortable, like he was pining after someone else. Korra was supposed to be like family, and he was just trying to encourage that, and help encourage her through a tough spot.

Korra's eyes flickered in a split-second of hurt at Aang's seeming about-face in regards to their friendship. Maybe she'd been wrong in her hope that Aang was that 'person' Tenzin had advised she seek out for support. If Aang and Kat were going to be together, that made Aang like her cousin, too, and she wanted to avoid making the neglectful mistakes she had already made with her _other _cousins.

"Yea, _same_. I invited you because I was...just trying to be _nice_," Korra spitefully agreed after a moment of careful deliberation.

"Well, I only came because that's all _I _was doing," Aang explained in a prim echo of sentiment.

"Then you were both wanting to do well by the other," Iroh sought an optimistic conclusion, eliciting confused looks from the two of them. He stroked at his beard and drank more of his beverage, leaving little more than ice and mint leaves in the glass. "Perhaps you two should discuss these matters...in _private_," Iroh proposed.

"N-no, I don't think that's such a good idea," Aang mumbled shakily.

"He _means _not in public," Korra grunted. "Not go on a fucking _date_..."

Aang leaned over her shoulder and whispered testily in her ear, letting what had been plaguing his head slip out.

"I'm just trying to avoid repeating the mistake Katara's _high school _boyfriend made with you. Or, I don't know, the mistake _both_of the guys you live with have made?"

Korra's face squirmed with that same kind of shame Aang gotten used to her conveying lately. But, as usual, it was once again quickly expunged by a bitter scowl, and Korra, eyes stinging with self-hatred, chomped at her chicken. It was still so surreal to him, to see Korra that way: hurt. To even realize that Aang was _capable _of hurting Korra's feelings was a bizarre thought for him to face.

Aang suddenly regretted having aired this out - at least in this place. Yes, the 'in private' idea was probably best, and he realized how out-of-character it was for him to have started arguing with her at all. Iroh was right: there was some kind of _something _they apparently needed to work out.

"Guys," Zuko huffed, pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aang, I will...buy you that appetizer you wanted," he pacified. "Fair enough? Now why don't you both...call a truce for the evening?"

"Sure," Aang agreed, his voice having waned.

"Fine," said Korra quietly, not looking up from her meat.

"I don't know where this is coming from," Zuko openly admitted to the two of them. "But things around here have taken a turn for the tense lately, and I don't just mean you two, I mean the whole _town. _Now, I am trying to work hard to find a way to make this situation right, and I was _hoping _you two could help. But it sounds like you two need to help _yourselves _before you can do anything about this."

As he tossed around his chicken-less chicken salad, Aang pulled in a slow breath through his nostrils and expelled in through his lips in a quick puff.

He remarked, "Maybe some of those 'big questions' you mentioned, Iroh?"

Iroh nodded, his eyelids partway closed as he offered a nod.

"Who are _you_?" Iroh presented said questions once again. "And what do _you _want?"

* * *

**A/N: 'Malu' has been referenced before, in comments on Sokka's blog. She is a reference to 'Malu the Ghost Witch,' a character made up for ATLA's trading card game (Sokka wasn't the first to have that idea, after all). Coincidentally, this chapter also makes some of Mako and Bolin's backstory a little more apparent (it's about as deep as we'll need to go there) with their ties in 'Shady Shin' from earlier - there is a mini web-series Nick is putting up which is giving us insight into the canonical backstory. It's called 'Republic City Hustle' and I definitely recommend you check it out as we get ready for Book 2 of Legend of Korra to start airing.**


	117. Lost

**A/N: This chapter ended up going off in a few places I didn't expect, but I guess that only plays into the chapter's theme. I'm sorry if the story is dragging on a bit - I guess I just feel compelled to try to make sure I am fulfilling on all of the character development and tie up loose ends and such before the finale. Thanks for sticking with me.  
**

**WARNING: there is some implied, unpleasant imagery in one scene, but I don't describe much detail. Just a heads up.**

**Also! I have officially started writing Esteemed, my next Avatar project after SRU. I've decided that a year after conceiving the project, and many fan art scenes later, I am ready to start putting time into Esteemed when I have writer's block with SRU. Don't worry, I am definitely going to be finishing SRU before giving Esteemed my full attention. But if you want, you can read the first and second chapters of that project, with a third on the way (though here on it may need to be put into a separate story thread as a Legend of Korra fic). You can find Esteemed in my profile, and I will post a link to an introductory 'master' blog post in my profile.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 117 - Lost_

* * *

_"Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you."_  
― John Green, _The Fault in Our Stars _

* * *

- Monday, May 30th, 2011 -

"_Sooooooo_...-" Sokka began, turning down the car radio's volume as he pulled into SRU's campus. "You seem...like you had a good time," he facetiously stated, after having dealt with utter silence from Aang for the duration of their ride home.

Aang didn't reply, staring out the passenger seat window with irritation.

"Something happen with you and Kor?" Sokka wondered. Korra had picked Aang up for dinner, only for Aang to ring Sokka up for a ride back. Clearly, something had gone awry.

"I don't want to talk about it," Aang replied.

"Uhh...So, that's a 'yes,' then."

"Can you _please _just...drop me off at Aero?" Aang grunted.

"Y-yea, sure thing," Sokka quickly answered, startled by Aang's uncharacteristic aggression. Korra must have _really _ruffled his feathers somehow, which was odd to consider given how irritated Katara seemed to be at Aang defending their cousin recently.

Sokka silently drove through the small campus and toward Aero House, parking his car in the small lot closest to their dorm. They quietly exited, and Aang slammed Sokka's car door with more force than usual, immediately stalking off toward the track field that lay beside the dorm.

"Uhhh...-" Sokka was confused. He locked the family car up, glancing up at Aang over its backside. "Aang? Dude? Where are you going?"

"I need some time alone," Aang bitterly replied without stopping.

"It's, er, _kinda _windy lately, Bro," Sokka advised, raising his voice to reach his friend, who was growing ever distant by the second. "Maybe you should put on a jacket?"

"I'm fine!" Aang called back across the parking lot, continuing his headlong trek toward solitude.

"Going for a jog?" Sokka checked.

"Something like that!" Aang answered grumpily.

"...Huh," Sokka puffed to himself, bemused. Aang had been going off on evening jogs and such a lot these days, but normally without this..._angst. _Sokka didn't like it.

Oh, ha. _Aang_st. Heh. 'Cuz his name was Aang, and-...Hm. Probably best that no one had been around for him to vocalize this bad joke to.

Sokka opted to head back to their room and wrap up his evening before sleep. he had enough on his mind to bother trying to understand whatever Aang was on about.

* * *

- Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 -

-_Ding-dong!_-

The doorbell's jarring ring shattered Korra's slumber.

With a "_Gragh!_" she flinched awake, rolling off the side of the couch. Her elbow smacked against the edge of the coffee table on her way down, shooting pain through her arm. With a groan, she pushed herself up from the carpet, coughing on her own phloem. She rubbed sand from her eyes, still on her knees, and used the coffee table as a support to lift her abdomen enough to get one bare foot on the floor.

"_Kuh_..-!" She couldn't get the word out, and had to clear her throat as she set the second foot down. "...Coming!" she hoarsely huffed out. Korra stumbled her way to the front door in a daze. Dressed in nothing but a tanktop and boxers, she fidgeted with the door's locks, taking longer than she could have. After finally undoing the locks, she pulled the door open.

No one was there.

Instead, a brown paper bag sat on top of their cement porch, inbetween their welcome mat and the top step. The brown bag was damp at the bottom. Korra squinted at it, confused.

Korra stepped out onto the porch, her bleary eyes blinking as she scanned the environs, only to find no figures present. Her bare feet clapped against the cold concrete porch. _Urrghh, _so cold...! She tensed up from the unpleasant sensation, but closed the distance. She bent down to study the...package? Seemed odd, being a paper bag, and...-

Wait, there was marker writing on it.

{**TTT**}

Oh, no.

And, wait, why was it...wet? The bottom of the bag - it was red. And damp.

Aw, god. _Fuck._ It smelled. _So_ bad. What...-? Something was sitting next to the bag, glinting in the morning sunlight.

Korra bent down to inspect the object next to the bag.

It was a dog tag - a very familiar dog tag, scratched and scuffed, stained red. The text engraved into it was still recognizable.

{**Naga**}

Korra's eyes widened with alarm, her heart skipping a beat. In a panic, she unfurled the top of the bag, inspecting the inside despite her churning intestines from the disturbing scent. She had some kind of notion what was inside.

The sight that greeted her from within the bag only made her feel more ill. A well-known but unfeeling set of eyes looked blankly back up at her from an incomplete face.

With her gag reflex kicking in, Korra slapped a palm over her mouth and turned away, wrinkling the bag closed. The fist that was holding Naga's old dog tag tightened as rage was bubbling up within.

Korra wandered back inside in a stomach-churned daze.

"_Hello_?" she croaked out, wondering if anyone was home. It sounded like she was here on her own. Ugh. Alone again. But this was her mess to clean, anyway.

Still in her underwear, she stumbled around into the kitchen. The normally enticing smell of fresh coffee oddly made her feel a bit sick in that moment. She ignored it, instead making her way to the kitchen sink. She cranked the sink's water up to a steaming stream and let it torrent over the stained dog tag she'd collected. She doused her own hands in the hot water to give them a quick rinse before grabbing a pair of a garbage bags from their spot beneath the sink.

She twisted the sink knob off and looked down at the dog tag - its back side was face-up now, visible through a draining pool of water.

{**Kesuk**}

Korra sighed at the traces of blood still ingrained into the metal tag, literally staining her family's name.

She left the tag in the bottom of the otherwise spotless sink, taking the trash bags back to the porch and unfurling them. That awful smell clung to her nose ferociously, bringing out nausea, but she grabbed the heavy bag of disheartening contents without hesitation or fear. She dropped it into one bag, unsettled by the sounds it made. She tightly tied the first bag up and wrapped it all within the second, sealing it shut. Her guts twisted in a knot, Korra marched around the house to their sturdy metal trashcan. Her head dizzy from the pungent odor all this while, Korra tiredly dunked her delivery in the can, slamming the lid shut.

Korra suddenly realized how weak in the knees she was, and found herself leaning against the side of the house for support with her elbow. Her insides contorted, and she could feel a sudden spike in pressure in her abdomen. Without warning, she wretched over the lawn, an acidic burning seeping up her throat.

Pinching back her disheveled hair, Korra allowed her nauseous body to expel a dribble of vomit. _Ulch. _At least she hadn't eaten yet today? There wasn't much to hurl up at this point, but _damn _did it feel crappy all the same. Still sore from the recent encounter which had taken Naga from her, Korra's body ached from the tension this gesture was producing.

Korra wanted to feel angry. Enraged. She wanted to _want _revenge. But that willpower was by this point drained. As she fumbled back into her house, she decided that this was perhaps for the best. Already tired and miserable right at the start of her day, Korra dragged herself back inside to disinfect her body in a hot shower.

Not unlike the dog tag minutes prior, Korra's blood-stained body endured a pounding of steaming water. Korra's brain, turn, was rattled by the harsh reminder of the loss of her dog, and all that it represented in the scheme of her failure in supposed new life. This 'path' she had been so sure she should follow...Iroh was right: it had divided itself into a crossroads.

* * *

Korra stared off into the dimly lit void that was the empty road before her – the city limits. Pine trees and tall grass dotted the nearby landscape. Korra was huddled on the end of a dingy curb. One knee was tightened closed, propped up in front of her, the other leg lazily sprawled out over the curb's edge.

Upon hearing about the 'package' Korra had received, her friends had decided to take her out to a dive bar on the outskirts of town. Despite their support, Korra simply didn't feel right about it all. A deep-seated part of her – pride, maybe – was certain it was all just pity. She still felt lonely somehow, even in their company, at least that night, and she wanted a few minutes to herself. While they'd been watching a rousing sports event on the bar's TV's, she'd slipped off to 'look for the bathroom,' her always reliable excuse.

And now, here she was, brooding on the side of a road. Korra was nursing a can of beer in one hand and a nearly consumed cigarette in the other. She breathed in the last drag of her smoke and dropped its butt into the curb, crushing it with her boot's heel. As she slowly seeped out a wisp of gray, she stared at the large sign down the road, lit by its own installed lamp.

{Welcome to}  
{**WAYWARD**}  
{_Not all those who wander are lost_}

She scoffed the sign in her head.

_Pff. Fuck you, some of us are _so _fucking lost..._

Korra was buzzed enough to be spitefully glaring at road signs without caring. So, that was going well. If she just kept at it, soon enough she'd be so out of it that she'd start angrily yelling at the damn sign out loud and not even remember it the next morning. That was the level of toxicity she wanted to reach that evening.

Something about reading that goddamn sign snapped the part of Korra's chest that had been holding in her emotional reaction to the morning's incident.

A pair of tears finally broke free of her stubborn grip and slid down her cheeks, and she slapped her palm against her forehead. She struggled to keep it inside, but choked on the bitter sob that needed to escape her chest.

"Korra?" Mako's voice echoed from the bar behind her, across the nearly empty paved lot. "You out here?"

Korra grunted in anguish, frustrated by the fact that she could not find the solitude she so desperately wanted.

Bolin's call accompanied his brother's. "_Korrrrrr-aaaahhh_!"

The hand on Korra's face slid down a bit, rubbing gunk from her squinted eyelids. She could hear Mako shushing his little brother, and she tried to ignore the sounds of their footsteps approaching, hoping they would just leave her be.

"Is that her?" Asami asked her companions from behind Korra's back.

Korra desperately wiped her palm across her face, her motor skills a bit lacking in her stupored condition.

Bolin's heavy steps quickened as he walked up to her side.

"_There _you are," he greeted her with an upbeat tone.

Her eyes barely skimmed him before their dull discomfort stared off, aimless and glazed.

"...Are you OK?" Bolin quietly questioned, his voice offering concern.

Korra took a chug of her can of beer and flicked up a floppy, casual wrist.

"I'm fine," she insisted in a hazed mumble, keeping her voice as calm and collected as she could. She posed her response as if she was surprised that he had even asked.

"Come on," Mako eased, a hand on his hip as he looked down at Korra's back. "What's wrong? You can tell us," Mako assured.

Korra's stomach was churning at the guys' expressed concern. It was supposed to be encouraging her, but all it was doing was reminding her of how she had hurt both of them - manipulated them. Just like she had everyone else around here, just pushing everyone around to say what she wanted to hear or do what she wanted them to do. It wasn't a rational thought, exactly, but in her current state of mind it was the thought that was bubbling around the surface.

"We're all here for you," Asami said gently.

Korra glanced up at her three housemates, then huffed out a reluctant sigh, looking away from them again as she gulped down the last of her beer. She set the can down upright on the road.

Korra then replied in a growl, her words slurring together slightly. "How am I s'pposed to make a living in this fuggin' town if I don't even know what I'm living _for?!_" As she finished her sentence, she slammed her boot down on the can, crushing it flat. "I moved to 'nother _country _without any kinda plan, cause trouble fer anyone who comes near me, I can't hold a job, kid's foot is messed up 'cuz of me...Even just somethin' simple like raising a fucking _dog, _I can't...-" She shook her head in short, furious gestures, frowning. "I'm...just...like...the worst adult _ever_."

Korra's friends, startled by her outburst of self-loathing, gawked down at her, speechless. She let her head sag. Despite all of the friendly faces around her, the offers of forgiveness, the open doors of redemption, Korra could not find peace against the pressure, like her skull pressed in a vice.

Korra concluded, nearly whimpered out her anxiety, "I just feel..._alone_."

"No, that's nonsense," Asami asserted. "You're _amazing_."

"Yea," Mako earnestly agreed. "And you can't expect to handle all of this on your own."

_Argh, but, why the fuck not? I'm supposed to be an adult, I'm supposed to take care of myself._

Korra vocalized her dissent, "I also can't expect someone _else _to just...magically _fix_ all of my fuggin' problems for me, either."

"Well, yea, but...-" Bolin fidgeted a bit, sitting down on the curb beside his friend. "That's why we gotta act like a _team, _right? Have each other's backs...?" He looked to Korra expectantly.

Korra stared at the almost child-like hope in Bolin's soft eyes. She could sense that he had nearly given her a pat on the back but had opted not to - probably out of some idea that this could make her uncomfortable. It still baffled her how he could still care about her idiotic self after how she'd treated him.

She ended up nodding in solemn agreement with him, still uneasy with herself.

"And I haven't exactly been a _team player _lately," Korra bemoaned quietly, running sore fingers across her scalp. "Sorry I didn't keep you guys in the loop," she apologized to the lot of them.

"You'll get better at this stuff," Bolin encouraged. Korra forced out a shaky smile for his sake, but in that moment she did not believe his claim.

"You're used to living on your own, and taking care of yourself," Asami acknowledged, as if reading Korra's brain. "But Bo is right: we should all be here for each other, especially if we live under the same roof."

"What she said," agreed Bolin, a bit of his mellow and optimistic tone growing back. "You just need some practice at this 'roommate' thing."

"Bolin and I have gotten really good at it," said Mako. "Even _if _my brother's an idiot." The two siblings exchanged facetious smirks. "Living with others can be hard, but I think it's worth it. Practice makes perfect," Mako concluded.

Korra puffed a spiteful laugh through her nose. She didn't agree with that one bit. Practice didn't make 'perfect.' Sometimes it just made her keep failing at the same thing over and over. Sometimes it made her keep hurting the people around her over and over. Sometimes a person was just plain _bad _at something, and no amount of practice could fix that, she thought to herself.

"Live and learn," she put in her two cents, eyes cast with a melancholic glaze.

"Let's head back inside," Mako eased her, giving her a sharp tap on the shoulder.

"_Yep,_" Korra grunted, trying to push herself up. She wobbled and swayed a bit, the booze had not hit her thought processes that hard but clearly had struck her motor functions. Bolin flinched with fret, catching her by the back. She smirked at Bolin, amused at her own intoxication, and he awkwardly nudged her along to straighten out before cautiously pulling back his hand.

The group trekked back through the lot, heading back to the dive bar at the edge of town. Bolin noticed that Korra, hobbling forward, was going to walk right into a concrete parking bumper.

"Hey, watch your st-" he started, but she wasn't paying attention. She fumbled right into the bumper in the dim light, toppling over. Bolin clutched at her arm while Asami and Mako, just ahead, caught her shoulders, preventing her face from hitting the hard ground.

Korra was too stunned and dizzy to comprehend what had happened in the immediate moment, let out a laugh at her own misstep - yet another stupid move on her part. As her friends tipped her back up right, Mako jibed at her.

"I don't think I've ever seen you this drunk," he teased. "This must be an all-time low point for you, huh?"

"Hey, yea, great teamwork, eh, guys?" Korra brushed Mako's joke aside. "Practice makes perfect?" she repeated Mako's phrase. "How 'bout I trip _you_," she taunted him, "and we see if we can _catch _you. Practice."

"_Ohhh_!" Bolin chimed in. "Let _me _trip him! Can I trip him? Let-me-tell-you, I am pur-_itty _good at tripping people."

* * *

- Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 -

Korra was sitting in her car, parked in the lot of Aero House on the SRU campus. Her window rolled down, she was smoking a cigarette to calm her nerves, reviewing her series of text messages that day.

[From: Kat]  
[What did you do to Aang that made him so upset? I told you to leave him alone...]  
[Sent: 1:03pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[Huh?]  
[Sent: 1:24pm]

[From: Kat]  
[He and I got into an argument over you last night and he insisted on seeing you.]  
[Then he needs Sokka to pick him up? He's been very grouchy ever since.]  
[Sent: 1:27pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[How is that my fault? I didn't do anything wrong. He was overreacting.]  
[Sent: 1:34pm]

[From: Kat]  
[He said you made him uncomfortable, you kept touching him, and you were flirting with him.]  
[Sent: 1:35pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[OMFG I was not flirting with him jesuschrist.]  
[Is that what he told you?]  
[Sent: 1:37pm]

[From: Kat]  
[No. That's what Zuko told me when I asked him about it.]  
[Sent: 1:38pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[He's lying. I didn't fucking flirt. Just being friendly.]  
[Sent: 1:38pm]

[From: Kat]  
[You know what? We could just keep arguing about this.]  
[Let's not. The point is, you deliberately disobeyed my request.]  
[Sent: 1:39pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[It wasn't a request. It was a threat.]  
[Sent: 1:39pm]

[From: Kat]  
[BUT even though]  
[Sent: 1:40pm]

[From: Kat]  
[OK. Yes. I am sorry. I should not have said what I said the way I did.]  
[Sent: 1:40pm]

[From: Kat]  
[But the fact that you did exactly what I told you not to anyway]  
[only proves why I felt I needed to act that way in the first place.]  
[Sent: 1:41pm]

[From: Kat]  
[I'm willing to give you another chance. But you need to make an effort.]  
[Could you maybe come by campus tonight?]  
[Sent: 1:42pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[K. Where? When?]  
[Sent: 1:48pm]

[From: Kat]  
[Aqua House. 8pm.]  
[Sent: 1:49pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Kat]  
[Sure.]  
[Sent: 1:50pm]

[From: Pema]  
[Yes, she's doing fine. Thanks for asking.]  
[Sent: 4:03pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Pema]  
[Tell the kids I say hi. See you all tomorrow.]  
[Sent: 5:12pm]

[From: Jane]  
[kat says your comin tonight. she say sorry yet?]  
[Sent: 5:32pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Heh. Yea. You put in a good word for me, eh?]  
[Sent: 5:37pm]

[From: Jane]  
[i always do.]  
[Sent: 5:38pm]

[From: Jane]  
[usually. :P ]  
[Sent: 5:38pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Jane]  
[Thanks. A lot. BTW you hear back from your cowboy yet?]  
[Sent: 5:40pm]

[From: Jane]  
[no. fml. dunno what's up but it's pissin me off.]  
[Sent: 5:41pm]

[From: Sox]  
[WTF is up with you, Aang, and Katara? Things all right?]  
[Sent: 7:03pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Sox]  
[Hopefu]

-_Tok-tok!_-

"_Yugh!_" Korra sprung in her own car seat, startled by the tapping of knuckles against her driver seat window that interrupted her texting. She looked up to see a semi-familiar, semi-goth Asian chick giving her a deadpan look. It was...Aang's art buddy? Whats-her-name...

"Hey," greeted the gloomy-eyed girl, her voice muffled by Korra's window. She was holding up an art bag strap with one arm and a cup of coffee in the other.

Korra rolled the glass down, confused.

"Uhh, hi?"

"Everyone's at Aero," the girl nonchalantly explained. "Also...-" Disenfranchised eyes of amber glanced down at the tarmac below Korra's tires while she took a sip of her drink. "-...you parked in a handicapped spot..." The girl's head slowly tilted back up to offer Korra another half-awake, blank stare.

"_Oh_...Right..." Korra began fumbling with her key, turning the ignition hastily. Without giving her creepy onlooker any warning, Korra deftly pulled her car back out of its current spot, easily manipulating the vehicle through the largely empty lot to suitable parking location. Korra switched her car off, only to note the looming presence of the girl in the dark, partially torn clothing. Bleh, the girl's pasty skin showing through those rips in her jeans was sick - not in the good way. She could do with a tan, Korra decided.

Korra pulled a hair tie out of her glove box and whipped the mop on her head into a single tail, then plunged herself into the humid twilight air.

"Didn't you used to be a security officer?" the dingy, raven-haired woman checked. She adjusted her shoulder strap, tucking her sling behind her back.

"I did," Korra acknowledged, catching the whiff of bemusement in the girl's tone. She was noting the irony of someone who had been enforcing the rules nearly breaking one herself. If only she knew the half of it.

"...Hm." The vacant girl simply stared, a hint of a smirk at the edge of her lips. She took another gulp of coffee. Well, damn, wasn't _she _just a fucking hipster? _Ugh._

"Uhhh..." Korra was disconcerted with the weird tension between them as she rolled her car up and exited it, locking it up. "Are you...going to hang out, too?"

"Mmmm-_hm_."

Korra approached the woman, who'd been standing in the same spot this entire time.

"Yea, err...-" Korra glanced off sideways, scratching a finger at her jawline. "I forgot your name," she confessed.

"Mai." The doll-faced punk tipped her head off toward Aero, signalling Korra to follow. "I recognized your car," she off-handedly explained as the two walked across the parking lot. Another sip of coffee. "I don't think Aang knows you're coming."

"_A__gh_..." The sigh popped out without any thought.

"Pretty awkward stuff, isn't it?"

"What...?"

"Ah, just...-" Mai shrugged, lifting her paper cup up again. "All this drama going on with you guys."

"_T__sh_..." Korra was a bit intrigued by the way the girl seemed to separate herself from it, yet here she was, going right in alongside Korra.

"Does it feel weird? Being back on a college campus, coming to hang out with students..."

"A little. I, er, never actually _went_ to college, though, so...-"

"Ah. Right."

"Yea..."

How had Mai just put it? 'Pretty awkward?'

Said awkwardness continued for a few more seconds as they reached the entrance to Aero. Mai swiped her ID card on the security panel to open the door, and the two entered.

"Well, good luck," Mai offered with an uncaring pop of one shoulder. As they whirled around the entryway, she topped off her coffee and dropped the empty cup into a nearby trashbin.

"Thanks," Korra grumbled out, arms folded.

Mai ended up lingering at Korra's side as she went to purchase a couple of bottles of root beer from the snack desk.

"Ah," Mai dryly observed. "A peace offering. Good idea."

Korra cast a curious glance at Mai's sneaky eyes. Mai's head was bobbed as she sifted through her art bag. The girl's finely trimmed bangs of black were streaked with red highlights, and Korra only just now realized that her eyes were edged with makeup.

"You should get him a bottle of vitamin water, instead, though," Mai advised casually, digging up a half empty package of spearmint gum.

"Wh...-?" Korra was confused.

"Hey," Mai called out to the student employee at the fridge in the back of the room. "Can we swap that second root beer out for some vitamin water? Some Dragon Fruit?"

The student obliged, and as he did so, Mai turned to Korra.

"Here," Mai handed the gum over. "Offer him one of those, too."

Korra raised her brow dubiously, but Mai's eyes were like knives, sharp and serious.

"OK..." Korra accepted Mai's 'gift' and paid for the pair of beverages, following the curious art student downstairs. They could hear a racket drizzling out from below.

"Aang's been in a crappy mood all day," Mai cautioned in a quiet mumble. "He might not want to talk tonight. If that's how it is...give him some space for a bit."

Korra couldn't help but feel a bit envious. It seemed like Aang had a little entourage of folks looking out for him in their own ways. Korra suddenly remembered that unlike her, Aang didn't have parents, an uncle, cousins...no place to go back to. She had all of those things. Sure, times were shitty right now, but from what she knew about Aang's life, the majority of it had been shitty. The kid had his reasons for acting up now and again, just like she did.

"Uh, thanks," Korra pushed out her gratitude as they hit the basement floor, regaining track of the present.

They passed through the antiquated wooden doors, entering the spacious basement lounge of Aero House. It was pretty rowdy, with a quartet of game players at the big-screen TV. Toph was sprawled back in a recliner, a iPod player on a small table nearby, blasting out some techno...electronic...something. Something weird like that. It wasn't really Korra's style. At all. Actually, it sounded more like Sokka's kind of music, when she thought about it.

"_Ahahaha!_"  
"Last place again?! _Bullshit! _Would've gotten first that time if you hadn't gotten that cock-sucking red shell, you shit-biscuit!"  
Aaaaand that was Jane, there, with the colorful commentary.  
"Fuck-nugget!" she added spitefully. Yup. Definitely Jane.

"_Geeeez_," Sokka gawked at her. "Add some _more _curses to that cocktail, why doncha?"

"_Ass_," Jane flatly replied, pounding her bony knuckles into his meaty arm.

Before Korra noticed his presence, Zuko had gotten up from his seat and approached Mai. They'd exchanged a gentle kiss.

"Oh, hey, guys," Katara greeted their new guests from her position on the floor beside Aang. They were both holding game controllers. Korra was nearly blinded by the red-and-black plaid fedora Katara was sporting that evening.

"What?" Toph called out, perking up in her seat at Katara's words.. "Who's here?" Toph asked through the myriad bleeps and whirs and thuds of the music player beside her.

"Maybe stop blaring your noise and you can hear 'em," Sokka grumbled at her from his spot at the base of her chair.

Toph puffed hot air through her nose and pushed her bare heel out, bumping Sokka's back irritably. She tuned her player's volume down. She waved her arm up in wide, flopping motions.

Toph cried out, "Hi, someone-I-don't-know-who-it-is!"

"Hey," Mai called out across the room.

Zuko nodded toward Korra, who nodded back, giving him a hint of stink-eye for...whatever it was he'd said to Kat, exactly. Nothing good, she imagined.

Jane set down her controller as soon as she noticed Korra's presence and popped up from the beanbag chair she'd been occupying.

"Hey, you," Jane greeted in a quiet tone, tackling Korra with a surprisingly friendly hug. Korra was a bit surprised by the gesture, and her hands were already full, each occupying a bottle. Rather than reciprocating the gesture, Korra dropped out an embarrassed laugh, holding out the drinks over Jane's back.

"Yea, _hi_," Korra muttered back as they separated.

"How're you holding up, Kor?" Sokka inquired. Toph was tickling the bottom of her foot along the brush of hair he had tied back in his 'wolf tail.'

As Korra answered, "Agh, ya know...Surviving, eh?" she watched Sokka irritably shoo away the blind girl's foot. Korra set down the two bottles on a nearby ping-pong table behind the crowd, contemplating how to approach Aang and Katara.

"Anyone wanna take my spot?" Sokka offered, lifting his bizarrely-shaped game controller into the air. It was translucent and purple.

"Korra," Jane insisted, sitting back down between Aang and Sokka. "You should join in, help me put this _dickwad_-" She facetiously squinted at Sokka. "-in his place."

Sokka slyly glared back at her, lowering his controller back into his lap.

He taunted her: "_Or_ she should take _my _place so you actually have a chance at winning at _all_."

"I was _this _fucking close that time, and you gunned for me." With narrowed eyes, Jane pointed her finger in his direction. "You _saved _that goddamn shell until _right _before the end, I _saw _you."

"What?" Sokka played dumb.

"You were behind Aang, and you didn't shoot it!" Jane ranted. "You waited until _just _after you passed him, and _then _shot me, instead."

"Somebody's a sore loser," Sokka let her accusation roll off his back.

"Ya know what? It's...this..._fucking _thing...-!" She fidgeted with the bizarrely shaped game controller in her hand. It was banana yellow, compromised of three...prong...thingies. Jane rattled the boomerang-shaped object around in frustration. Yea. It was definitely weird-looking. Korra recognized what they were playing as some older model of Nintendo Sokka used to play around with. "Stupid dick-stick is limp," Jane cited, showing Sokka what she perceived to be a fault in the controller's joystick.

"Aw, _hey,_ now," Sokka snipped back with defense. "Old Polly is a _refined woman, _she has no _dick-sticks_."

"Whhh...-? The _fuck _is 'Polly?'"

"Polly," Katara dully explained to her confused red-headed friend. "That's 'her' name. The system."

"Get it?" Sokka seemed barely able to contain his..._oh-so-witty _joke. With eyes squinting and a horrendously childish grin barely contained within his lips, he blinked at Jane, awaiting her reaction. "Polly? 'Cuz of..._poly_gons?" Korra recognized a troll-face when she saw one.

Jane was unmoving all this time, her freckled hands ready to snap the piece of plastic within them. Eyes sunken and unamused, she wiggled the apparently loosened joystick with her index finger, then growled through grit teeth at Sokka with a smoldering fury.

"Stupid...dick-stick...is limp."

"Come _on, _Freckles, yours is the same as the rest - I even gave you the _yellow _one."

"Fuckin' _eh, _this one's busted, I'm _telling_ you!"

Mai was snorting out a laugh at how worked up Jane was getting.

"_Serious _business," Mai whispered to Zuko beneath the bickering.

"Give her a break, she's Irish," Zuko muttered back. "Besides, last place in Mario Kart, three times in a row? That's practically having your honor shamed for a college student."

"Ah. Well...Good thing you and Sokka are finally _past _all that," Mai teased, tugging at his shirt to come follow her to the loveseat she wanted to occupy.

"Good thing," Zuko chuckled back, accepting the proximity of Mai's legs as she slid her hip up onto his lap.

"-just swap the plugs, n' we'll see how _you _do with it," Jane advised, tinkering with the controllers' analog connections. She shoved her bright controller in Sokka's lap, who was scrupulously stroking his chin hairs. Korra wasn't sure at this point if Jane was legit pissed off or still joking around, but she could _definitely _tell that Sokka was just going to milk this for the sheer amusement, either way.

In this odd moment of relative quiet, Korra noticed that Katara was scratching Aang's back as he brooded, cross-legged on the floor. Had Aang even said anything since Korra and Mai had entered?

"I have to go to the bathroom," Aang mumbled, getting up. "She can take my spot," he passively offered on his way out.

"Uhh...-" Korra started reaching up a hand to try and get Aang's attention - he hadn't so much as exchanged eye contact with her yet - but he was already gone.

The room fell into a hushed quiet. Even Toph's music was absent by now, as the girl had opted to slip on headphones and curl up into her seat, as if to take a nap with her music. The tension in the room was palpable, and Korra let her muscle-toned arm slowly slink back down to her sides. She awkwardly tucked her broad hands into the rear pockets of her cargo pants - her skin, still bruised, stung from chafing against the pocket edges.

After waiting just long enough to know he was out of earshot, Sokka dismissed Aang's grumpiness.

"Don't let him bring ya down."

This earned him a bit of a frown from Katara, and he rebutted with heightened brows and a shrug.

"Sit yer ass down," Jane egged Korra, pounding her palm against the carpet before planting herself into the beanbag.

"Are you sure it's all right?" Korra murmured with uncertainty, pacing over.

"_Sit_," Jane commanded.

Korra did as she was told, plopping herself down between Katara and Jane. Katara lifted up her strangely colored hat and scratched at her head, eying Korra all the while. It wasn't the angry death-glare Korra had been expecting. No, it was...apologetic? Korra couldn't quite read it right. Argh, something _else _she needed to get better at.

"Goddamn," Sokka puffed, turning up the TV's volume. Korra was shocked - Sokka went as far as to actually _get up _and adjust the TV manually. With its on-deck buttons. "Three-to-one girl-on-guy ratio?" Sokka whined. "I don't approve."

"Oh, _deal _with it," Korra grunted at him. She suddenly realized that her own mood was more sour than it could've been.

"Yea, I thought you _preferred _that sort of ratio," Katara pointed out with lowered eyebrows.

"Not when it's _family_," Sokka sputtered out. "Also, video games? These odds are out of whack. I have no competition now."

"Oh, _fuck _you," Jane snickered, amused by this competitive streak. "I'll get you this time."

"Not playing as that dumb-ass turtle, you won't."

"Says the guy playing as fucking _Wario_."

"_Oh, _Jane. Poor, Plain Jane, and your southern simplicity. You just can't handle Wario's eloquent, sophisticated _style._"

"Yea. Fart-jokes. High-class shit, right there, Sokka."

"Indubitably."

Katara sighed through a smile at Jane and Sokka's banter, glancing over at Korra's confused look. Korra took note of her concerned cousin and reciprocated a sheepish smirk.

"Less trash-talking, more _racing_," Mai commanded over the playful bickering. "I'm _bored_."

"You just _got _here," Zuko chuckled, his arm stretched up across Mai's back.

"I know, that's my _point_," Mai retorted in dry words with a glint in her eye.

An assortment of cartoony sounds erupted from the 90's game on the TV. Korra recognized the characters' faces, but their names by and large eluded her.

"Hole-ee _crap_!" Sokka gasped out in shock after everyone had made their selections.

"Wow, Donkey Kong, huh?" Jane mused at Korra's selection. Korra shrugged.

"All _three _heavy-weights?" Sokka seemed aghast. "Kat, have you _ever _seen all three heavy-weights get picked at once?"

"No, Sokka," Katara deadpanned, humoring her brother. "No, I have not."

"This is a momentous occasion," Sokka decided.

"Race, already," Mai called out from the couch.

A half hour or so passed, and Korra got so entwined in the activity - the escapism, specifically - that she didn't even notice Aang had returned until she found herself thirsting for that root beer she'd brought down. As Jane gloated her victory in Sokka's face (Sokka consequently admitting a fault in his controller), Korra rose up from the carpet and scanned the room. Mai and Zuko were snuggling, Toph was snoring, and Aang was folded up in a grouchy lump, alone on the couch behind the game players.

"Uhh...Man, it's kinda warm in here," Korra muttered out, fidgeting with the collar of her tee. As Korra grabbed the two bottles from the ping-pong table in the back of the room, Zuko took her place at the game system, and the racing continued. Korra set herself down beside Aang on the couch, and he scooted sideways, continuing to watch the TV with glazed-over eyes.

Korra cleared her throat under the commotion of go-karting antics and pushed the bottle of vitamin water into Aang's lap. He stared at it drearily.

"Got ya something to drink," Korra mumbled, twisting off her bottle's top. "You look...erm...a bit sleepy," she fumbled around. "Wanna go out, get some fresh air?"

Aang lifted the bottle from his lap and set it on the floor beside Korra's foot.

"I'm not thirsty," he cited.

"Oh..." Korra blinked at the rejected offering, then at Aang, who seemed to want to embed himself into the couch. She took a sip of her carbonated drink, which wasn't as cold as she would've liked at this point. Maybe being more direct was what was needed here.

"All right, way to go," Mai was congratulating.  
"Thanks!" Katara chimed back.  
"I thought you were rooting for _me!_" Zuko squawked.  
"_Eh, _I root for you every other day of the week," Mai teased.

As Sokka and Jane reeled in surprise at Katara's unexpected victory, Korra tried again.

"So, Litt-..." She caught herself and cleared her throat again. "Uh, Aang?" He twisted his neck toward her. "Could we talk?"

Aang's head turned back to the TV without a word.

"Aang...?" Korra prodded, tapping at his shoulder. He tensed up, his fingers wriggling in his lap with frustration.

"_Don't...-!" _he grunted, shrugging her touch away.

"_Agh..._" Korra breathed out in startled reaction from his sudden gesture.

Katara seemed to take note of this odd interaction, her place in the on-screen race be damned.

"You two...all right?" Katara asked over her shoulder.

Korra shot her cousin a wide-eyed look of exasperation, while Aang sighed through his nose, staring at the busy, noisy screen.

"You two should talk," Katara advised sternly. The rest of the group was hushed in spite of the social anxiety, glad the colorful and crazy distraction on screen could blanket the awkwardness.

"I'm not in the mood for that," Aang declared.

"What's your problem?" Korra huffed, running her fingertips against the stray hairs on the base of her neck.

"Who invited _you _here?" Aang grumbled, dodging the question with another.

"I did," Katara admitted. By now her in-game go-cart was motionless, its engine puttering in place while the other three partitions on screen were still in heated competition. "I thought you _w__anted _to work things out..."

"Not right _now_!" Aang spat back. "You didn't _tell_ me that she was...-!" He trailed off in an irate sigh.

"Hey," Korra barked. "If you've got a problem with me, tell it to my face, eh?"

Aang glared at Korra with impatience in a tense moment.

"_Uhhhh_-boy," Sokka murmured with dull disapproval, continuing to play without incident.

Jane seemed to be shrinking into the beanbag chair, expressionless, while Zuko was wearing his annoyance on his face.

"Guys," Katara tried to ease them, having set her controller down. She was up on her feet, hovering in front of the couch. "Come on, let's...take this outside." She gestured her hand toward the backdoor of the lounge, which led to the dormitory's backyard.

"I am _not _in the mood for this," Aang growled, getting up in a huff and swiftly making his exit through the door. Korra spitefully gulped at her pop, following him.

"_I'm _not in the mood for your...-" Korra folded her arms with a cross snarl, flicking up a wrist at him. "-...your passive-aggressive _bullshit_. Whenever things get rough you just..._clam up_, like a _coward_." This caused Aang to give pause, his hand gripped around the metal door handle. "Aang," Korra declared, jamming her index finger through the air at him. "You've got beef with me, eh?" She hopped up to her feet and sliced her arms outward as she drew close to him. "So let's just cut to the chase, and settle this thing." Her bulky body now in close proximity to his, she puffed out her chest at him, chin tilted up. "_If _you're man enough to face me."

With this bold remark, Korra wrapped her large hand around the door handle, dwarfing Aang's skinny fingers, and ripped it open herself. Nudging him aside she marched outside and slammed the door behind her, jarring Toph from her snoozing.

"_Errmahuh?!_" Toph snorted awake, thrusting herself up from her seat.

Aang growled out in a huff, "I am so tired of all of you people and your expectations!" The door slammed again as Aang followed suit behind Korra.

Flinching from the sound, Toph ripped her earbuds off. "The hell...-?"

While Jane and Sokka were both struggling to ignore this conflict, playing their video game, Katara was bewildered, while Mai and Zuko both looked quite unamused.

"_OK_, then," Mai said, cutting the dull, harsh silence. She cast her eyes to Katara, who shrugged back. "Your cousin's a show-off."

"Got _that _right," Sokka murmured in a tired tone, tapping away at his game controller.

"She's got some heavy stuff goin' on," Jane mumbled a defense. This elicited a suspicious glance from Sokka, but no one opted to further that discussion.

"Wait, whuh-?" Toph was lost, rubbing her pinky finger to pick wax from her ear.

"What's wrong with those two?" Zuko asked, seemingly to Katara, his attention diverted from the TV screen.

"I'm not sure," sighed Katara, approaching the door. "But I plan to find out."

Upon exiting the dorm's basement back door, Katara found herself in a beaten patch of dirt and grass. A carved out footpath led to her left, heading up toward the dorm's small side parking lot. Korra, indignant and a bit pouty, was leaned up against the wide window that formed the back of the dorm's lounge. Bits of indoor light trickled out around her through the shades as she sipped at her brown bottle.

Katara scanned the evening backyard. She spotted Aang's outline off in the distance. He was moping in a patch of lightly forested terrain just outside the edge of the dorm's yard. A faint clicking sound was echoing against the dorm's tall back wall, the sound originating from up ahead.

"He blew right by me," said Korra with cold disappointment. "I went to try and follow him and he just..._shoved _me."

"_Pff_!" Katara frowned with confusion. "With what you just said, what were you _expecting?_"

"I don't know!" Korra spat. "I was...-"

"Riling him up - like you do with _everyone. _Nevermind, let me handle this..._Um, _just...-" Katara pressed forward, pushing her palm back pleadingly at her cousin. "-...wait here, OK?"

"Whatever," Korra scoffed. "I'm going back inside."

Korra rolled her eyes and shook her head, tossing her empty bottle into a a recycling bin against the back wall of the dorm before re-entering.

Katara could feel her nose tickled by the pollens drifting around through the windy environs. She savored a moment of quiet by herself, caught inbetween her two frustrated loved ones. The golden glow of the setting sun was dripping over the dry vegetation overhead. Aang was grumpily thrashing a whip-like stick against nearby trees to vent his anger, the sound of the repeated sound.

Something about the way he was moving made Katara's brain recalled a vision of an angry little boy in a white wolf suit, growling out, '_I'll eat you up!_'

Standing a few trees away, Katara got his attention by calling out his name.

"Aang."

He paused, looking over to her. His face twisted with some child-like embarrassment, and he turned away from her again, thrusting the stick off into the trees before him. It collided with a branch before collapsing into the dirt beyond.

A breeze swept across the two of them, creating ripples in the pond of green leaves above them.

Katara steadily broke the silence.

"You know, it's...OK to feel frustrated with us. Your friends? It doesn't make you a bad person to feel annoyed some times. And...-" Katara took a step closer, brushing wind-tossed hair behind her ear. "And you don't have to keep it all knotted up inside of you. Your anger?"

But Aang did not respond. Instead, he glared pensively into the lightly wooded area in the distance. Katara wanted to reach out to him - build assurance through touch. Instead, she kept her distance, latching her hands together in front of her waist. Her blouse ruffled in a gust of chilly evening wind, and the gentle caress of leafy waves lapped against the unknown shores above.

"What's going _on_ with you?" Katara asked with concern. "Just the other day, all you cared about was helping Korra, and...now, it's like you don't care about her at _all_."

Aang's head was slightly slumped, his arms crossed over his lean stomach with melancholy. Still not turning to face her, he slowly lifted up his gaunt shoulders in some sort of defeat.

"I'm just in a bad mood," he confessed. "I'm not sleeping well, and...I'm still kind of shaken from what happened on Sunday, and just-...I'm so sick of _caring _about people and things that I can't do anything _about._"

Katara took two more steps forward, letting her arms fall to her sides. She ached inside at his torn expression as an instant passed where she could see the trauma of that night flicker in his face.

"But...now, you're not letting yourself feel _anything. _I know sometimes it hurts more to hope, and it hurts more to care, but you have to promise me that you won't stop caring. Come on." She reached out her arms across the distance between them, though she was not yet close enough to reach him. "You need a hug."

Aang shook his head at her, his lips quivering with embittered, internal turmoil. She could see in those flickering eyes so many..._things. _So many frustrations, bottled up, crammed inside his head, like wild animals locked away in cages.

"Thanks for your concern, Katara," Aang replied, shoving his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts. He started to walk away without another word, heading off toward the side of Aero House which gave way to the track field. Katara was left with a dent on her heart from his rejection of support. She watched him walk off in silence for a few seconds as her mind raced with thoughts on how to approach the situation.

Should she leave him alone? Of course she should. He needed space, right? Yea. He was all walled off.

Wait, no! That was foolish! He was hurting. She'd seen that burning in his eyes. He'd been feeling foul all day, and she _knew _what that feeling was: all of this tension and stress he was keeping inside, instead of letting it out. He'd keep it all to himself, let his pain eat him inside out. As if he was supposed to always help and pacify others, but keep his own issues locked up and ignored. As if keeping the peace between their varied and unstable friend group somehow inherently trumped his own personal problems, instead of allowing his turmoil to be included with everyone else's. As if he was never allowed to show any sign of weakness or flaw - he was supposed to always act without negativity? He had helped _her _and been patient with her through her own problems, why wasn't he letting her reciprocate that? Why wasn't he opening up his problems and letting them go?

The more Katara's brain spun these thoughts around - all in a matter of a few fleeting seconds - the madder she got. It'd be careless to let Aang run off on his own right now. She jogged up to him, clasping her skirt to avoid ripping it on tree bark or branches. When she reached him, right at the spot where the wooded area faded to grass, she plunged herself into his back.

This caused Aang to stop. Her hands pressed into his chest, Katara felt his ribs expand and contract in a deep breath. She could feel his heart beating beneath her left palm. Pressing her chest against his back, she slightly shifted her hand so she could detect his pulse more efficiently. She sniffed his hair, its dry, rough strands getting shaggier after months without a trim. He lifted his hands up and placed them over top hers, glancing up to the sky.

The bluish black twilight sky was speckled at the edges, with stars straining to be seen despite the setting sun. The moon's uncertain face gawked down at them.

A wave of wind blew across the field, tossing around clothing, hair, and grass alike.

"I guess I _did _need a hug," Aang admitted with some melancholy. He turned to face Katara, and she kissed him on the lips.

"You can let it out," Katara assured. "What's eating you?"

"...Stuff? Things..." Aang shook his head slowly, pulling himself out of Katara's grasp so he could instead grapple with his thoughts. "I mean, your cousin, for example."

Katara nodded complacently, figuring she had some notion of what he meant.

"Korra is..._scary_," Aang put it simply. "She's so..._big. _And strong, and...the way she _pummeled _that one guy...It just kind of freaked me out. And she also makes me feel, I dunno, kinda _useless _somehow. Like, being around her reminds me of everything I'm _not._ And now, especially after what you said, it's like every little thing she does - I see all of her problems. It's frustrating. I thought I could help her, but when I try to give her an inch, she takes a foot."

Katara nodded solemnly, understanding what Aang meant and the frustration it entailed.

"And then, like...-" He clapped one palm against his cheek, and lifted the other toward Katara. "It's weird, it's like she suddenly decides I'm worth her time, and I don't even know why! And then once I realize I don't know why, it makes me start wondering about everything _else. _Like, what you said to me before? About _why _I'm doing the things I'm doing? It...made me really _angry_."

Katara's lips propped out with uncertainty at his venting, and she gave him a moment to consider explaining, rather than interjecting.

"It made me mad at _myself,_" Aang clarified. "Because you were right. You were _so _right. I'm halfway through college, and it's like I'm just spinning my wheels. I keep doing the same things, I keep slinking by with the same grades, I keep making the same _art _and it doesn't even _mean _anything anymore, I'm just-...Like, I'm obsessed with this school, and its symbols, and its imagery, and for what? _Why? _Because it's the first time I've ever felt _at home _anywhere? Even when I think back on my time with my grandfather, I'm still not _happy _with it. I always feel like I could've been _better. _A better student, a better grandson. If I'd asked questions more instead of just doing everything he told me, maybe I could've even learned more from him. And then part of me gets kind of bitter. Like, maybe _he _could've been a better grandfather. Maybe he could've looked at me as a _person _instead of a religious _pupil_. We had fun sometimes but-...Is that horrible for me to feel that way? It is, isn't it? But it also isn't fair - I can't expect him to have filled the role two parents usually do, that's-...And then my _parents, _just...leaving me alone like that, I don't...-! I don't even know where I'm going with this."

"Aang, it's OK," Katara assured.

"No, it's _not _OK," Aang huffed. "My pointless life right now is held together by a stupid education system that doesn't even make _sense _to me, and by my friends. That is _it. _That's all there is to my life! I have nothing before this, nothing planned after this. Maybe it's better to just stay quiet and let people believe I'm-...Well, believe whatever they want to, instead of the truth: that I have no idea what I'm doing with myself."

"I think...that I understand why you try to keep all of those feelings a secret: because you've lived your life without any consistency. You want people to trust you so that they'll stick around - but you're afraid that if they know how you really feel about things, they maybe won't put their faith in you, the way you do in them. Mm? You keep things bottled up inside because you're scared that if you don't, they'll think you're...a failure. And that somehow that means they...won't want you around? Am I getting some where?"

"Sure, you...-" Aang shrugged with impatience, trailing off. "But the problem is, _what _is there to put faith in with me? I'm wishy-washy and neutral and I never can...-! I _do _fail my friends, all of the time."

"Aang, that's not true."

"It _is _true. Like...With Toph. She needed companionship - back when we met her? She needed someone who would love her and accept her, someone who could _lead _for her and...and be _assertive. _Help her...learn to stop pushing people away. But I _failed _her. I failed! I failed so badly she turned to someone _else _to get what I couldn't give her. And then I abandoned her. I made the call - I broke things off. And what happened? She was lost all over again, like nothing had happened, and she _pushed _everyone away, just like she was doing in the first place."

"That's not exactly how it-"  
"_You _were the one who helped her, Katara. Not me."

"You're not giving yourself enough credit. When she talks about that situation, she thinks about things she learned from you."

"Like how to _not _make decisions?"

"_Ugh..._No. And by the way, you're making it sound like _you _were the one who caused all of those problems, and you _know _that's not how I feel at all about that situation with you two..."

"Well, what about Jane?"

"Hm...?"

"She trusted me with what was going on - when she broke off from the group? She trusted _me _with all of that stuff, and when I knew she was going to do something she'd regret, I didn't...I didn't _fight _for it. I didn't convince her to leave it alone. I let Korra win - I let both of them put themselves in danger, and I didn't tell anyone! Not you, not the police...They could have _died. _Or Jane could've killed another person, the way she did back when...-! And that is the _last _thing she needs on her conscience. And I just sat there and let her go in with that plan. And it all just made things between you and her so bad, because you didn't know what was going on. So in a way, I failed _you, _too, _and _her. I should've known that, once again, _you _would be better at fixing someone else's problems than I am."

Katara sighed out her protest through her nose, her lips cracking open to refute him, but not knowing quite what to say.

"And now," Aang went on, "someone is trying to open up to me, and expecting me to somehow help them."

"Wh...-? You mean, Korra?"

"Yea! And I feel like I'm just going to let _her _down, too."

"She has _enough _problems, I don't think you can really fault yourself for not being perfect."

"And _then _there are these problems in town! Zuko seems to think that because I'm some local hero in the news that I would make a good symbol of unity between the college and the town. But I wouldn't. I'm too much of a pushover, too indecisive, too...-"

"But, Aang," Katara extended her arms, trying to carry herself with optimism. "Remember, there's still a plan. A way for me to help you, and for us to work together with Zuko and help bring peace to what's going on around here."

"And I _hate _the 'Avatar' plan, too!" Aang snapped, kicking his sneaker into the ground. "People have _died _in Wayward this week, and if I go putting my face out there, after what Korra's been doing? It's going to just bring _more _unwanted attention to the people I care about - to _you. _I'm sick of seeing people getting hurt around here, _especially _if it's because of my mistakes. Whether it means they're heartbroken, or get their head cut open, or...or get _shot?_ Because of my inability to _do _anything. At least Korra can _act_. All I can do is mope around, apparently!"

"No...Hey..." Katara tried to once again close the gap between them. She grabbed his hands and squeezed. "You're my Penguin - and I'm going to make sure we're stuck together with Eskimo Glue. You keep focusing on things you think you've done wrong, but you're totally ignoring all of the _good _you've done for people."

"Katara. _Please_," Aang pushed her hands off of his.

Perhaps her glue was not as strong as she had hoped.

Or perhaps Aang had more steam he needed to expunge from his system.

Aang went off on an exhausted tirade as he paced in a tight circle, and Katara, startled by the outpouring, was somewhat relieved all the same to see it occur.

"How can you and Zuko _honestly _expect me to somehow be some example to other people? It's so messed up! I'm living life as some free spirit, going wherever the wind takes me - from foster home to foster home, to Chong and Lily's, and now here, and who _knows _where I'll end up later, I don't even _think _about that yet. I don't think about my future, what I'm going to even _do _with this degree I'm trying to get...When someone wants something from me, I just..._do _it. Because, what? Like, I'm 'supposed' to? I guess? Because helping people, and getting along, that's kind of my thing? Is that all I'm meant to do? My life is just swirling around in circles, like I'm stuck in some loop. I go through the same process, I care too much about people but never can figure out what to _do _about it because I'm too shy and reluctant. And so people need to _tell _me what to do, but then I get mad at myself for _being _shy and reluctant, and I get mad at people telling me what to do, and then I have the same mood swings, I get the same grouchiness, I do that...passing - wait, what did she say? - 'passive aggressive bull_stuff_,' and then I snap at people, like I'm snapping at you right now, and then it's _right back _to square one again. A blank canvas. Right back to trying too hard to live up to my grandfather's expectations, or everyone _else's _expectations - it used to be Toph's, and now it's _yours, _or somehow Korra's, or depending on which day of the week it's Sokka, or Toph, or Jane, or _Zuko, _and just...everyone complaining about how not-a-man I am, and how I should be _more manly, _and make more _decisions, _but I don't _know _what decisions I should even be making! And people asking how come I'm can't like I was that night during the fire? I still get people on campus who treat me like I'm supposed to be some heroic person just because I...was stupid and ran into a building that was _on fire_. People keep looking at things I've done in the past - or things I _haven't _done - and just deciding what I want _for _me based on that, instead of letting me decide for myself. But can I really blame them, if I'm _not _deciding for myself? _Argh._" Aang let out a crazed sigh, tugging at his hair. "I am so _sick _of it. I'm just _one kid, _but I'm too _old _to be a kid, and not old enough to be a 'man!' And between everyone's noise, I don't even _know _what being a man _means _anymore, or if I should even _care! _So you said you wanted me to promise you that I'll never stop caring? I'm...sorry, Katara, but I don't think I can make that promise right now, because I don't even know what I really care _about _anymore...!"

His rant spilled out, Aang vibrated his lips with an irate huff and dropped himself down into the grass.

Katara's were eyes wide at her lover's anguish. He really seemed...so _lost._ Didn't he? She was determined to help him find his way. Katara sat down beside him, nudging him over to lay down with her in the grass.

"You're not alone, Sweetie," she told him plainly, kissing his forehead. A weak smile came across his wet-eyed face. "Maybe you've felt lost for so much of your life, but...you don't have to feel that anymore. You have us - we're your family now. You have _me. _I'm not going to be leaving you. Everything's going to be OK."

* * *

A half hour after the socially awkward burst of growling had interrupted the group's session, Katara and Aang uneventfully re-entered the lounge room of Aero's basement. Sokka, Jane, Mai, and Zuko were bopping bright, colorful dice on screen, navigating a cheerfully tropical virtual board game.

Toph and Korra were sitting together on the main couch, arms latched over one another's shoulders in comradery as they cracked wise at the sights - and sounds - of what was unfolding before them.

When Katara and Aang came in, Toph cocked her head over, noting the sound.

"Hey, that you guys?" Toph asked.

"We're back," Katara said. The two received a callous wave from Toph's hand, her head sagged down with relaxation. The group of four was too busy mashing buttons on their controllers to pay attention, but between the four of them, two or three 'hello's' of sorts were muttered out beneath the music and sound from the TV.

"Hey," Korra greeted them, looking over her shoulder up toward them. She made sure to establish eye contact with Aang, and could tell that he seemed to have recently bawled his eyes out. Korra's eyesbrows arced with regret at the sight. "_Uh, _why don't you sit down with us?" Korra offered.

"Huh?" Toph was puzzled as Korra gently pushed at Toph's abdomen, getting her skootch sideways to make room.

Korra rifled through her pockets. As she did so, the group of party-players whooped out a mixture of cries of victory and defeat. Katara and Aang exchanged glances, and Aang nodded to Katara, as if to signify that he was OK. The two sat down, Aang and Korra occupying the middle of the couch, with Katara and Toph on the ends. Korra pulled out a small green wrapper and stared at it, offering an apology.

"Aang, hey, I'm...really sorry for being a dick." She looked over to him. His eyes were raw and damp, and she still had remnants of a black eye, herself. "Something dodgy happened to me yesterday," she explained. "Something I can't do anything about. Sorry I took it out on you. I'm...feeling a little lost these days."

"Hoo, boy," Toph sighed knowingly. "I know that feel, LadyBro." She patted her palm against Korra's shoulder, and Aang and Korra smirked at each other at their friend's gesture.

Aang then nodded, his nose wrinkling at he dabbed at it with his wrist. There was an unspoken acceptance between them that Aang took her apology.

"Uhh...So...-" Korra was uncertain if she was reading Aang's face right. "We don't need to hash crap out right now if you don't want."

Aang took a deep breath, as if relieved, and gave Korra another nod. Katara rubbed his shoulder tenderly, and gave Korra a look of approval for these words.

"Let's just hang out," Katara suggested.

Korra lifted the packet of gum toward Aang. He paused, then shrugged and accepted it. Korra then reached under the couch and set the bottle of vitamin water from earlier back into his lap.

"Had to stop Toph from stealing this," Korra advised, scraping her knuckles across Toph's head in a noogie.

"Heheh," Toph sneakily snickered, bumping her fist into Korra's rib.

Katara and Aang both grinned at this, and Aang let Katara take a few gulps from the bottle before partaking in it himself.

["Doh, I _missed_!"] bemoaned the portly figure on the television.

"_Ohhhhh-ho-hohhh_," Sokka whimpered, tossing his head back.

"_Bahaha!_" Jane was in hysterics. "Yea, _fuck _you, Wario!" She cast an open-mouthed, taunting smile in Sokka's direction, waggling her tongue at him. "Bowser just _ganked _all your shit! That's my man! Don't mess with us Gingers."

"Hey," said Zuko to Mai. "Should I team up with you?" he offered. "I'll help you win, and these two trash-talkers will lose."

Mai shrugged indifferently, but then smirked with a glint in her eye at the appalled looks Jane and Sokka shot them.

"_What?!_" Sokka balked. "You can't...-! _No! _You can't have an alliance!"

"Yea!" Jane agreed. "Teaming up? That's bullshit!"

"Jane, Hun?" Katara piped up from across the room. "You're getting pretty angry about video games."

"This is about sticking it to _The Man_," Jane furiously defended. "Where _The Man _is your dickwad, chovinist _prick _of a brother."

Jane and Sokka glared at each other with embellished anger before clashing in a comical slap-fight.

"I love you, guys," Katara chirped at them. "Play nice."

"Play nice?!" Sokka roared. "I've got _this _loonie..." While gawking at his sister, Sokka sideswipped Jane, smacking the back of her head by surprise. She tried to tackle him, but his chunky body was too heavy for her light frame to topple over. "And _those _two yahoos-" Sokka grunted while wrestling, pointing a finger at Zuko and Mai. "This is _war!_"

"All's fair in love and war," Zuko dismissed, clicking at his controller to roll his virtual dice. "But, my friends, this isn't war," Zuko grimly concluded, gravelling his voice for dramatic effect. "This...is _Mario Party_."

* * *

_"There are no shortcuts, no do-overs. What happened, happened. Trust me, I know. All of this matters."_  
~ Jack Shephard, _LOST_


	118. Want

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 118 - Want_

* * *

- Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 -

[To: **Hiroshi Sato**] - [July 1st, 11:23pm]  
[Subject: I Am Done With This]

[Father,]

[I'm tired of your excuses. I don't care what you think about the college. I don't even care if it really is related to Mother's death. I honestly don't. What you are doing is degrading the lives of innocent people who had no involvement with what happened to her.]

[Someday we can be a family again? Are you serious? After everything you've done? You have been taking technology - technology I helped you invent! - and using it to spy on people! We designed that recording software to assist with security work, with police investigations, _not _to invade and expose the private lives of the very people who have the power to fix what caused all of this.]

[I can appreciate that you and your pastor friend mean well, but this is not the way to do it. What you have done has made things worse. There is _more _violence and _more _crime in this town than there was before we showed up! Yesterday, my roommate found the _decapitated head _of her murdered dog on our doorstep! A child nearly had her throat cut open! People _died_ this weekend! The hospital is over-crowded now. All over this old nonsense you refuse to let go of! Do you even understand how serious this is? You leaking those recordings has only brought more unnecessary conflict to this poor town.]

[Mother is gone. But what you are doing is _wrong. _It's like you don't even feel love for Mom anymore - just hatred. You've worked so hard to build Sato Mobile, and now you are driving it into the ground in pursuit of revenge. You're no better than Ozai. Mom would hate you for what you've become. I am trying so hard not to hate you, myself. But I cannot do this back and forth with you anymore.]

[I get why you don't approve of Mako. He's not perfect. But neither are you. I feel safe around him. And up until this week, I was starting to feel safe in this town. I thought I'd finally escaped everything that was wrong in NYC. But you just won't let go. And now what was plaguing me there is haunting me here, as well. Perhaps you should stop worrying about who I am 'traipsing around' with and put an end to this misguided pursuit of revenge.]

[Azula and Zuko Kurosawa are _not _the same as their father. And neither am I. They are trying to reverse what their father has done. This is now my intention, as well.]

[- Asami Sato]

[_Message Sent!_]  
-

[To: **Azula Kurosawa**; **Zuko Kurosawa**; **Iroh Kurosawa**] - [July 1st, 11:31pm]  
[Subject: RE:Sato Mobile]

[I appreciate everyone's understanding, and I again apologize for having not reached out to you sooner. I wanted to be sure that my assumptions were correct before I contacted you. I am also sorry that I won't be able to help with this matter, but I am simply too personally attached to the situation. I know that I said yesterday I'd consider operating as a double-agent, but I simply wouldn't be able to at this point. Being a spy just isn't in me, I guess.]

[Zuko - Yes, that's correct, I live in the same household as Korra, actually, with two others.]

[Azula - I have not been directly affected by all that is going on, but just yesterday, the Triple Threat Triad did threaten our household very directly. I'm going to try to convince Korra to contact the authorities regarding that. If she doesn't, one of us will.]

[I'm so sorry for your family's losses. My family has suffered from this long-standing conflict, as well. I look forward to working with you in resolving this matter.]

[With any luck, we can repent the sins of our fathers.]

[- Asami Sato]

[_Message Sent!_]  
-

* * *

- Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 -

"Oh-my-gosh, that is..._soooo _great!" squealed Meng into her phone. "She is gonna _flip_!" A pause. "Oh! No-no! In the _good _way!...Yea...Exactly! Seriously, you have _no _idea how much this will mean to her...Uh-huh...Uh-huh!" Well, she seemed pretty chirpy about whatever it was she was talking about.

Sokka fluttered his lips tiredly, staring off into blank space. He had lazily tossed himself across the couch of the Aero House basement lounge. The two were there alone at this earlier part of the day - the rest of their cohorts were at that whole '_class_' thing Sokka was so glad to be done with. Ergo, Sokka had very little to focus his attention on. He glanced back over to Meng, who gave him a giddy grin, pointing at her phone. Uh, OK? Like he was somehow supposed to know what was going on?

Meng's hazel eyes were brimming with excitement, and they drifted away from Sokka's confused look as she nodded - to herself, technically - and spoke again into her phone.

"That's right. If you guys can get to the main lot by the campus center, I can come meet you there, and take you to her. Can you...-? Yea! Totally. No problem..."

Sokka yawned, stretched out his legs and scratching at his somewhat furry stomach.

"It's a plan, then!" Meng confirmed. "Tomorrow at four 'o clock! Give me a call when you guys are getting close to town and I'll make sure everything's set. OK? OK! See you soon, Aunt Poppy...Mm-hm!" Meng tapped her smartphone to end the call, shoved it into the chest pocket of her denim overalls, and sucked in a deep, satisfied breath. She exhaled with a proud smile, slapping her hands on her hips.

"So...-?" Sokka mumbled, perplexed.

"This is a good thing," Meng stated plainly, gazing thoughtfully into space. She blinked, then looked back at Sokka and nodded once. "I'm doing something good, I think!"

Sokka shrugged, pulling his shirt back down over his stomach and yawning again.

"Sorry, I'm lost here," he stated lazily.

"Oh!" Meng squinted, grinning in spite of herself asshe pounded her wrist against her forehead. She dropped a giggle - geez, she really was in a tizzy over something, wasn't she?

"That was, umm...-" Meng gestured her hand over the back of her shoulder, as if directing to something behind her. "It was Toph's mom - she and her dad are on their way!"

"Wh-? On their _way_?" Sokka's attention was suddenly captivated, and he fidgeted his body upright. The very _thought _of Toph's parents showing up, after everything he'd heard, was leaving his stomach in immediate knots.

"They'll be here tomorrow!" Meng chirped, bouncing on her toes. "You'll get to meet them! They're coming to make up with Tophie - you know, like, try and put the past aside and stuff."

"..._Ahh_," was what Sokka managed to say to this, wide-eyed. "And she...-? Toph doesn't know?"

Meng shook her head with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Nuh-uh! Keep it a secret, OK? I want her to be surprised."

"_Ohh, _she'll...be surprised, for sure," Sokka mumbled, running his fingernails across his jawline.

"I told my uncle and auntie about what happened to her guitar, aaaaaaand-" Meng coyly rolled her eyes around in a full circle. "-they kinda decided to get her a replacement."

"Whoa," Sokka spurted, startled. "What, on a _whim_?"

"Prrrretty much," Meng gleefully explained.

"Aren't guitars, like...expensive?"

"Tophie's parents are loaded, remember?"

"So you...tugged at their heart strings to get them to...dole out for _new _strings?"

"Heehee. Well, that wasn't my _intention, _but I'm sure Tophie won't mind! They want to come give it to her in person, sort of a...passing-of-their-blessing, kinda thing? I had them watch her YouTube videos - the ones I recorded and set up for her? I guess it left a good impression on 'em!"

"No foolin'..." Sokka was still aghast at this. He scratched behind his ear and sighed, letting himself flop back down into a relaxed position on the couch.

"_Oooo, _I gotta make sure Kat knows about this!" Meng pulled her phone back out, tapping furiously to send out a text message.

"Whaddya think Toph will do with her old guitar?" Sokka wondered aloud. "The pieces, I mean - of the broken one? Her grandma gave her that, I mean...she seems kinda attached."

"She, uhhh...-" Meng was distracted by her phone. She finished up and came back to Sokka. "Right. _Right! _Yea, that's a...good point. I'm not sure."

"Just saying," Sokka put out with a shrug. "It's like...me and Kat could go buy Korra a new puppy, buuuut...that ain't gonna change what happened to the one she had. You can't exactly _replace _certain things."

"Whh...? No, no," Meng insisted, leaning over the couch. "It's not like that, Sokka. Toph _needs _a guitar if she wants to keep studying it, anyway - and it's not supposed to, I dunno, _replace _what our Grammy gave her, it's more like...umm...like their way of showing her they're serious about making up."

"Mm." Sokka looked up at her and nodded, laid back on the lounge's couch. "Yea, I get it. I just wish we could, like...combine 'em or something. That would make it perfect."

There was a pause, then Meng gasped in a large breath as gears in her head seemed to click.

"Oh-my-god, _Sokka! _That's amazing!"

"Huh?"

"What a great idea! Ohmygod, what a _great idea._"

Sokka was glad he had bestowed his boundless wisdom and ingenuity to the girl...but he didn't know exactly _what _his 'great idea' was.

"We _have _to do that!" Meng insisted. "Ohhhh, man. It'll be double-whammy of surprises. More like a _triple-_whammy! Her parents, and the guitar, and then we'll _combine _'em, and...-! Oh, _jeeeez. _Oh, man. This is so exciting."

"_What _is going on in that fuzzy head of yours?" Sokka demanded, his tone humored by her giddiness.

"The pieces, Sokka! The broken pieces!"

Sokka, mouth agape, tilted his head up as if to nod. He didn't complete the gesture, awaiting her to expound further.

"We'll take the broken pieces, and we'll _combine _them with the new guitar! It's amazing! It's brilliant!"

"We'll-...Wait, what? How...-?"

"Aang ought to be able to help, he's all..._artsy. _Yea! Ooooo!" She went right back to texting, presumably sending Aang a message this time. "We'll get Aang to help. _Yes. _He'll help you put it together. She'll think it's so romantic! I bet she will." Meng waggled her eyebrows toward Sokka. "You better watch out, she might get too excited for her own _good _after all this, if you know what I mean."

Sokka could feel his guts lurching at all of the implication Meng was bringing to mind.

"Yeeeaaaa, let's...maybe not think about that," he said disparagingly.

Meng was finishing her text message, and by the time Sokka had her full attention, she was giving him a suspicious glare. She walked around the couch and shooed at the chunky fellow to sit upright and give her space to sit beside him.

"What's _with _you, guy?" she asked. "You and Tophie are perfect for each other, but you've both been all weird. I'm trying to _help _you two, here."

"I can..._see _that," Sokka sighed, letting his loose hair drop as he leaned over his knees. "Honestly, it's sorta 'cuz of your _own _boyfriend ya picked up."

Meng's cheeks went hot and she shook her head quickly, tugging at her brillo-like strands of hair.

"I didn't..._pick up_ any boyfriend, Sokka," she insisted with some offense. "And it's _not _like those two are interested in each other anymore."

"Oh, I'm aware," Sokka touchily agreed. "That's my whole problem."

"...I'm...not sure I get it."

"Meng." Sokka lightly cut his hand through the air, pausing as he considered how to describe his thoughts. After pausing for longer than was natural, he frowned, dropping his elbow on his knee, resting his chin on its palm, and grunting.

"What?" Meng insisted.

"Toph is...fickle," Sokka summarized. He elaborated, wobbling his opposing hand in small circles as he did so. "She stuffs her face, then moves on to the next meal. She plays an album on repeat one week, and then picks another one the next. She got sick of Aang? She took advantage of your _not-_boyfriend. She got over him, dropped him like a rock. Had a one-nighter with some _other _dude I don't even know. Aang and Kat get together? She gets jealous, latches onto me, eh?"

"Hey, come _on, _Sokka, she's...-"

"I'm _just saying_," Sokka insisted, staring at Meng's naive, quivering eyes with a vulnerable anger in his own. "I am _leaving _soon. You _really _think she's not just gonna go for the next flavor of dude that she gets a whiff of once I'm gone?"

Meng, somewhat surprised by Sokka's line of thought, took in a deep breath. The two stared at each other intently, thoughtfully, each contemplating Sokka's notion, and not liking where it took their minds.

"I don't think she will," Meng decided. "Not if you two can manage to, like..._commit_? I think is what I mean?"

"Yea? What's your evidence?" Sokka wondered.

Meng laughed through her nose, blinking rapidly at the floor.

"Heh, ummm...-" She scratched her nails against the back of her head twice. "She hasn't, _you know_...banged you yet?" Meng seemed to almost snort on a chuckle. "Sorry, sorry, just funny to..._say _it."

"Maybe she hasn't _banged _me yet because she knows when she _does, _my use to her as a boyfriend will be done."

At Sokka's hypothesis, Meng slowly shook her head, but then stopped, giving him a light shrug.

"Or maybe she _likes _you so much that she's afraid of repeating the process you just explained she goes through."

Sokka's brain was stopped in its tracks at this idea.

"That...-" He wiggled his pointer finger at her. "-...is a good point. _Maybe._"

"Seems like a whole lotta '_maybe'__s_' with this, Sokka. I bet if you talked it out with Tophie, you guys would turn 'maybe' into 'yes' or 'no.' Doncha agree?"

"_Ughhhh_!" Sokka groaned into his hand, covering his face with distaste at this idea.

"I'm..._just sayin_'," Meng mocked him, giving his shoulder a shove and sticking her tongue out at him. "Heheheh."

"What, like you and Doug talked about _you _two?" Sokka

"We _have, _actually," said Meng matter-of-factly, knuckles propped on her hips. "We are _not _going to date for the time being. We are going to just be friends first and we'll see what happens."

Sokka's brows moved up, then down. He was a bit surprised - he'd figure Meng to be a little too flightly from all of those comics and animes she was always watching, filling her head with idealistic nonsense. Maybe he'd pegged her wrong.

"Uh, well, _OK, _then," Sokka said, as if waving a verbal white flag. "Sounds like you've got your act together a bit better than me and Dead-Eyes do, huh?"

"_Pfff, _yea, right," Meng puffed out. "I've got _no idea _what I'm even going to study, I just wanted to come to this school 'cuz Tophie made it sound like a good place to be."

"Fair enough."

"We're _all _trying to figure out stuff, right? Just different _kinds _of stuff."

"Welcome to college," Sokka sighed. "Sit back, relax, stay a while...it gets crazier."

"I can't wait," Meng squeaked through a grit teeth grin.

"You really _are_ , aren't you?"

"Says the guy dating _Toph!_"

"...Looney as you are, you continue to make valid points today, young lady."

"I'm on a roll. I know. Now, c'mon." She hopped up from the couch. "Let's see if we can track down that artsy roommate of yours and figure out this guitar-combining thing!"

Sokka breathed out with exaggerated irritation, dragging himself behind.

"Man, _all _you Beifongs are pushy, aren't you?"

* * *

[To: **Zuko Kurosawa**] - [July 2nd, 4:02pm]  
[Subject: Project Avatar]

[Hey,]

[I got the edited copy back from Ginnie. I had Aang look over it and approve it, and he says it's good. I'm attaching it here. Give me a head's up if your uncle prints these out today and you need help distributing them. Also, please, please let me know if you or Iroh have any feedback. I'm not used to writing this sort of thing.]

[Thanks for giving us this opportunity. I'm going to write your uncle to give him my thanks.]

[And yes, Aang has definitely been acting strange. I'm sorry about all of the awkwardness he and my cousin have caused recently. They'll work it out, I'm sure.]

[I think Aang really needs this right now. Some kind of purpose, you know? He's felt a bit directionless lately, so thank you for helping give him something to work toward.]

[We won't let you down!]

[~ Katara Kesuk]

[**1 Attachment**]  
[**Avatar Letter 1 .doc**] - [13kb]

[_Message Sent!_]  
-

[To: **Iroh Kurosawa**] - [July 2nd, 4:13pm]  
[Subject: Thank You]

[Professor Kurosawa,]

[Thank you so much for sharing that anecdote with me and directing me to those articles. I had no idea my mother worked so intimately with the White Lotus newspaper. I knew she wrote for the paper, but I had no idea it was such a big part of her time here at SRU, which it looks like it must have been, given the volume of pieces she worked on. It's so strange reading these words she wrote years ago, when she was my age now, about things that existed before I was born. You were right - reading her old writings helped give me the inspiration I needed to get that letter finished.]

[This all helps me feel more connected to her, which is bittersweet, because it also reminds me of how much I miss her.]

[But really, I appreciate it more than you know. And I feel so honored to be a part of this project that Zuko has come up with. I also think you're correct in that this could help Aang. He's been so troubled lately, and I've been having difficulty waking him up out of this funk he's in. I'm sorry for the way he and Korra acted up the other night. They usually seem to get along, so I'm guessing maybe they're both just under a lot of stress after what happened on Sunday.]

[I didn't realize quite how serious the situation in Wayward was, but I will do my best to assist. Thank you for this opportunity.]

[~ Katara Kesuk]

[**1 Attachment**]  
[**Avatar Letter 1 .doc**] - [13kb]

[_Message Sent!_]  
-

* * *

- Friday, June 3rd, 2011-

"Nothin'? Like...at _all?_" Jane sounded exasperated, but Aang was a bit too per-occupied to concern himself over her frustrations.

"Er, yea, sorry," he mumbled offhandedly, giving her a shrug. "We've sort of been giving each other space, I guess."

"_Gagh_," growled Jane, feverishly rubbing her fingers across her forehead. She slid her palm down over her face with frustration and fluttered her lips in a sigh.

Aang, meanwhile, was hoping she would take the hint that he wanted to be left alone as he worked on this painting. They were in the small loft area of the art building, and there were other students in the floor below. Some kind of ska music was drifting up to them from a room downstairs, offering some kind of background noise amidst the studious artists, each focused on their tasks. Aang cautiously filled in a happy little cloud sitting at the periphery of the large bundle off fluffy white forms he had painted.

"The fuck is _with _everyone givin' me the cold shoulder?" Jane vented her irritation, pulling Aang back to his guest.

"W-well, I'm...not _meaning _to, I'm sort of busy with this, and...-"  
"Oh, not _you, _man. Nah, I mean, like...I _still_ haven't heard a word from Johnny, his phone's not even _on _anymore, and Korra won't return my messages, just-..._Fuck._"

"I-I'm sure they're...you know, busy? As well?"

"The hell would _Johnny _be busy with?" Jane snarled, taking her anger out on her friend. "Huh?"

Aang shrugged sheepishly, having not expected the sharp tone Jane carried.

"Is it _that _fuckin' hard to take two goddamn seconds to send me a reply? Really? Jesus christ, they'll let me know when they need me for somethin', but once that's over, I'm chopped liver, or what?"

"Listen, I...I'm _sorry, _Jane, I don't even know what's going on, so...-"

Jane puffed hot air through her nose, flicking her thumb across her eyebrow hairs as she bit at her upper lip. She pulled out her worry stone from her pocket and began running circles across its smooth groove with her thumb.

"Didn't mean to spaz," she muttered, her voice calmed down and sullen now. "Stressin' out over here, man," she explained, head slumped down in defeat.

"I know the feeling," Aang muttered, dabbing faint blue shades against the white clouds.

"Yea, you've been edgy lately, too, huh? Kat said you've got some identity crisis goin' on?"

Aang paused, rattled by Jane's prodding. She had done a lot of opening up to him these days, and he'd not had much to reciprocate in that regard. Perhaps her perspective could...help?

"You could say that," he replied calmly, continuing to paint.

Jane dropped herself into a chair behind him. She reached her bony fingers into one of her military boots to scratch an itch on her shin.

"Like, what's the deal?" Jane casually wondered. "Pissed at the world? Yourself? What?"

Aang's eyelids closed for a second or so as he sought some desperately desired inner peace. He reopened them and went back to his task.

"I'm worried I've been running around in circles," Aang cited. "And with all of this...violence, this..._stuff_...going on? It makes me _mad._"

"_Tsh, _yea, tell me about it," Jane huffed. She began flipping her green worry stone with her thumb like a coin. "What those cock-suckers did to Kor, man? I mean, _fuck. _Just...gross. Some sickos, for sure."

"Yea," Aang absent-mindedly agreed. Korra's explanation of having a dog's head delivered to her doorstep was _not _something wanted to dwell upon.

Jane watched Aang stroke at his black canvas, streaking light blue to accentuate the large swirl of clouds he'd created.

"Whatcha makin'?" Jane asked.

"Something for the school," Aang vaguely replied.

Jane lifted a brow, confused as to how a picture of some ball of fluffy clouds would be useful to the college. She continued flipping her stone, catching it, and flipping it again, crossing one boot over the opposing knee.

"So, umm...-" Jane flicked her head to the side, tossing bangs aside. "You and Kat, gettin' all progressive. Rallies and school spirit, crap like that?"

"It's not _crap_," Aang objected.

Jane's stone made a noticeable smacking sound as she caught it in her palm, then clamped her fingers around it.

"Right, right," she quickly eased. "Didn't mean it like that."

"Anyway, can I _help _you?" Aang's arm dropped to his side and he turned to give Jane a glare over his shoulder.

Jane blinked at him with half-open, half-awake eyes, bags hanging beneath them. Aang's eyes were wider, angrier, but all-the-same exhausted.

Aang added, "Or are you just going to keep staring at my butt while I try to get work done?"

Jane's eyes blinked another couple times, then slid down to Aang's buttocks, which were behind baggy corduroy shorts, then back up to his eyes. His nose wrinkled, and she smirked at his flustered demeanor.

"Sorry, man, just figured you could use some company."

"I don't need any company," Aang said bitterly, turning back to his art. He dabbed his brush into his easel. "You're distracting me, and this is important."

"Why?" Jane prodded, readjusting herself in the rickety wooden chair. "_Why _is it important?"

"_Because!_" Aang snapped, nearly dripping paint onto the already-filthy tile floor. "Can you just leave me alone?"

Jane's seemingly apathetic look gave rise to some irritation.

"What's up?" she asked solemnly. "C'mon, you need to vent, or what?"

"No, I don't," Aang sighed, carefully sliding his thin brush tip on the canvas. "I want to get some work done."

"I know what it's like," Jane stated. "Diving into work, following someone else's lead. 'Cuz ya don't know what it is that _you _want. That was my mistake with Jet. I did what _he _wanted 'cuz I didn't know what _I _wanted."

"This is _not _the same," Aang explained. "Zuko is totally different from Jet. He's not just _using _me for some ulterior motive."

"Yea, I know," Jane conceded with a slow bobbing of her head. "Just makin' sure _you _know that you don't got nothin' you need to prove."

Aang stopped for a second to consider that notion, then finished up the last touches on his illustration.

He elaborated. "I want to prove I'm not simply some..._loser, _some...wimpy little geek, who just sits on the sidelines..."

Aang carefully scooped up his painting by its edges and set it aside, leaning it against the loft's iron railing. It was accompanied by various other paintings by other students. Aang grabbed a second canvas, square-shaped, black, like the one he'd just been working on.

"Aang, dude..." Jane shook her head, fiddling with her stone in her hand. "Take it from me. Makin' a fuss over appearances? Ain't worth it."

"It's not about appearances," Aang grumbled, rinsing out his brush in a mason jar of murky water.

"Sounds like it is," Jane noted.

"It's _not_," Aang pressed.

Jane hopped up from her chair, stuffed her stone her back pocket, and marched over to Aang, who tensed up at her proximity.

Jane stared at Aang long and hard before asking him a question.

"Are you getting all worked up over stuff Kat said to you? Stuff Korra said? Or Toph, Sokka, or me, even? Gettin' all worked up, grumpy, tryin' to put yourself out there...Are you doing this for _us, _or what?"

Aang, easel in hand, glanced sideways, eyebrows arcing down as he contemplated her words.

"No," Aang replied. He looked back to Jane, and his eyes had a more confident spark to them. "I'm doing this for _me._"

Jane grinned and gave him a slap on the shoulder, nearly toppling him into his easel.

"Good man," she encouraged with a deep, guttural tone. "That's all I needed to hear."

"Whuhhh...-?" Aang was startled by her demeanor.

"Yer a good man, Charlie Brown," Jane concluded, dipping her hands into her pockets and giving him a nod. "But that 'good grief' shit doesn't work for ya. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doin'. I've made some pretty dumb-ass moves followin' other peoples' orders. Took me a while to find myself. I don't wanna see you gettin' lost down that kinda road, ya know?"

Flustered, Aang turned back to his painting and began readying his blue hues for work.

"Uh, thanks?" Aang muttered, his back to her.

"_Ech_." Jane shrugged. Aang seemed a bit too focused on his work to really get what she was trying to say. "I'll leave ya be, but don't so worked up about this junk. Not unless that's really what _you _want, OK?"

"Mm-hm."

Jane gave Aang's back a suspicious look, worried that he was still tuning her out. She shrugged the matter off and made her way to the stairwell leading down from the loft.

"Don't burn yourself out for Zuko's sake," she advised. "Can't wait to see this..._whatever _it is you're workin' on," she called out, disappearing down the steps. "Later!"

Aang muttered under his breath, "Ohhh, you'll see it, all right..."

* * *

{Aqua. Terra. Ignis. Aero.}

{The dormitories of Saint Roku University are named after elements of nature. The elements, while functioning in very different ways, maintain balance with each other and are all part of a greater whole: the world we live in. The same could be said for us, as human beings that occupy that world, and also specifically for us, the students of this campus who reside beside the town of Wayward.}

{This week has seen terrible tragedies fall upon our neighboring town, and the administration of SRU is being indirectly blamed for these activities. Regardless of your opinions as to the validity of this claim, it does not change one central fact: our school and Wayward rely on each other. The town relies on our business, and we rely on the town's services and locales. The unfortunate injuries and deaths that have occurred this school year do not just impact the townsfolk, but they impact our campus, as well.}

{Students and faculty of Saint Roku University: you may not know who I am, but I know of you. I am one with you. I have lived among you, and I have heard of how much has changed over the past few decades of this school's history. Some of you may think that you are powerless in the face of the atrocities which are occurring in Wayward. Yes, there are dangerous people walking among us.}

{But these gangs - these brutes - they can not take away our courage or our love. And it is those things which they should truly fear, because our tightly knit sense of community is what binds us together, and it runs deeper than any wound they can inflict.}

{It is the strength of our hearts that makes us who we are - hearts that will remain unbroken when even when our bones _are_.}

{Let us not quarrel over our differences, but work together to bring unity, harmony, and balance to our community.}

{Our college will soon be holding a peaceful protest against the allegations made by recent visitors to our community, and against the criminal activity that has disrupted the peace of our Wayward neighbors. More information will be found in this weekend's edition of the White Lotus.}

{The time to stand up is now. Let your voices be heard.}

{- The Avatar}

The printed letter Sokka was reading was marked with an intricate drawing of four arrows, arranged like a compass, each one tipped with some allusion to one of the four elements the dorms were named after.

"Hm," he hummed dully, setting the sheet down on the table where he had found it. Appa's was busy during this Friday lunchtime, with students eagerly awaiting the weekend after an exhausting first week of June term. Sokka was relieved that he didn't share this experience, as he was totally done with classes.

Katara, sitting around from him, was staring at him intently, leaning forward over her meal.

"So?" she prodded after a pregnant pause between them.

"Uhh..." Sokka shrugged, shaking his head slightly. "It's OK, I guess."

"...Ah," Katara murmured back, seeming to withdraw to her french onion soup.

"I mean, I don't know, Sis," Sokka quickly said, worried he'd hurt her feelings. "I'm not exactly..._into_...this kinda stuff."

"Doesn't stop you from liking over-the-top _manly _speeches in all of your movies," Katara mumbled with a hint of confused frustration.

"Sure, but this is like...-" Sokka popped a shoulder up again as he picked up his cheeseburger. "-...a _girly _speech."

Katara chewed on her lower lip, her nose wrinkling as she stirred her soup around.

"Oh, right, I'm _sorry _I exposed you to something so _effeminate_," she snipped under her breath. "My bad for trying to spread some _hope _around."

"Whoa, whoa, hey," Sokka put her at ease, lowering his uneaten food. "It's fine, I didn't say it was _bad, _I just...don't think I'm the best person to seek an opinion on it. Besides, Aang helped you write it, and _he _likes it, and...the Professor liked it enough to have it printed off, right?" Sokka gestured his hand across Appa's, where a small army of identical sheets had been placed at every table. Some students seemed to be reading or discussing the letter at that very moment. Or maybe Katara was just thinking self-centered like.

"You're right," Katara acknowledged, nodding as she cautiously slurped a spoonful. "I'm just feeling nervous and...maybe a little defensive about it."

"Ha, uh, _yea_?" Sokka raised a brow her way. "That's what happens when you put your work out there for, like, what - _hundreds _of people to see?"

Katara blinked at him, her eyes glazed over as she swallowed her soup.

"_Heh, _y-yea, guess it's...a sort of natural reaction," Katara eked out self-consciously.

"Why are you being all...anonymous, though?"

"This was Zuko's idea," Katara clarified, dropping the volume of her words. "For right now, he wants this to be more like...a symbol? I guess? I'm just a voice. Aang will be the face - people already think of him as like an underdog-local-hero kind of thing, so Zuko thinks people will react well to him. So that's the plan right now. We feel like the people around here want some kind of _i__dea_ to get behind first."

Katara caught herself getting worked up and excited when she realized how disinterested Sokka looked.

"Aaaaand I'm boring you, apparently," she concluded with bitterness. Sokka seemed to snap awake from his stupor.

"Nah, no, not that. It's-...I mean, you and Aang wanna try making a difference around here? That's...cool, and stuff. You should do it." Sokka nodded, finally taking a bite of his food. After chewing it down, he added, "Frankly, I could care less - I'm _outta _here soon."

"_Couldn't_ care less," Katara corrected.

"Mmfh?" Sokka was on a second bite.

"If you _could _care less then it would mean you cared."

"_Mmmm_," Sokka nodded slowly in recognition of his sibling's correction.

Sokka was a little discouraged by this quality time so far. He wanted to be enjoying his sister's company while they had easy access to each other's time, not fussing over political whatsit and crap. But that was like Kat, eh? Always worrying about everyone else, trying to fix all their problems.

"Umm..." Katara tousled her hair a bit in an awkward moment. She proceeded to open a packet of mayonnaise and squirt it over her small pile of french fries. "So, heh, Toph's...folks, huh? Just a few more hours and they should be here." She opened a second packet and repeated the process as Sokka nervously plowed through his burger, hoping to fill his empty stomach. "That's exciting, right?"

Sokka didn't reply, blankly staring at his sister's mess of mayonnaise fries.

"_I'm_ pretty happy about it, at least," Katara noted, plucking one fry and quickly devouring it. "It'll be a big weight off of her shoulders, don't you think?"

"Don't _I _think? Errr, I haven't _thought_ much on it," Sokka dismissed. "It's not really my business."

Katara frowned a little at Sokka as she ate a second fry and he continued his path to victory over his greasy meal.

"But...Sokka, I mean...this is a _big deal_. We're talking about, like...your future _in-laws, _how would you _not_-?"

Katara was cut off by Sokka's sudden coughing, choking on his beef. He dropped the remnants of his burger onto his plate and pounded at his chest.

"Are you all right?" Katara checked, reaching out her hand instinctively. Sokka nodded, continuing to clear his throat as he extended a raised palm to set his sister at ease. It took another twenty seconds or so for Sokka to ensure his pathways were cleared up, after which he finally offered a response.

"In-laws? Kat, _erm,_ don't you think that's a bit of a _leap_?"

"Ah, um...-!" Katara grit her teeth with furrowed brows, realizing her careless remark. "No, you're right. Sorry, I'm just...-" She trailed off, occupying her mouth with a couple more fries. "-...thinking in ideals," Katara finished her thought moments later.

"You should know by now how well me and _ideals _get along," Sokka grumbled before gulping down some of his soda.

"Things with you and Toph aren't...going so well?" said Katara. She spoke it in a strange way where Sokka couldn't tell if she was posing a question, making a guess, or knew something.

"They're going...OK," Sokka dodged her implication.

"Aang told me about what you two and Meng are scheming," Katara brought up. "With the guitar? I think that's very sweet of you. She'll love it. I bet that'll help you two out."

"Maybe," Sokka shrugged the idea off.

"So...what is it, then? With you and Toph?"

"You sure someone hasn't _gossiped _it to you already?" Sokka retorted in a spiteful murmur.

Katara huffed through her nose and scratched at her forehead with her pinky nail, staring off into space at the student body around them.

"Meng...mentioned you confided in her," Katara confessed. Sokka immediately flipped up his hand, ready to spit out an '_Of course_,' but Katara squeezed in, "_But _she didn't explain _what _you said. Toph won't talk about it, either - I could tell something's up with you two just because you've been acting distant to each other lately. When I asked Toph, she insisted that I'm just over-worrying. Imagining things. But I'm not, am I?"

Sokka rolled his head back around on his neck and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Listen, Sis."

"Listen. Bro."

"Oy, well...basically, we're at a point where I'm not sure if we'll be able to make long-distance work."

"Mm-hm." Katara nodded solemnly, plucking another mayo-laden fry.

"And just...Toph can be..._you _know...a bit of a 'player.'"

Katara's eyebrows snapped up in an instant of emoted-but-not-spoken judgment, and Sokka knew that Katara agreed with his sentiment.

"You're afraid she'll cheat on you," Katara knowingly concluded. "I understand. But I think you don't give her enough credit."

Sokka gave his sister an uncertain headshake as he finished off his food.

"We'll see."

"You know exactly what I'm going to tell you."

Sokka sighed out through his nose as he finished chewing.

"_Mmm_," he hummed out begrudgingly.

"Get on it. Talk with her."

Sokka swallowed, then protested his defense.

"I wanna wait until this visit with her folks today rolls by, n'...make sure that goes well before I stir the pot anymore, eh?"

"That's..._fine_," Katara agreed. "That's a good thought. I agree. But, I _know _how you both get - you _and _her - and if someone doesn't prod you about it, you'll both just ignore it until it blows up."

"Yea, n' then she'll tear me a new one."

"And then she will tear you a new one. Mm-hm."

"And I don't want that."

"Sokka. You love her, right?"

"Kat..."

"Well, do you?"

"Yea? Sort of? I guess."

"Sort-of-you-_guess?_"

"Gimme a break, here, we've hardly started dating."

"Sokka, I don't mean to sound rude, but you've been closer with Toph for longer than you even _knew _U.A. _And _she's a lot more like you than U.A. was."

"_Ooooo_kay, let's...not...-"

"That's all I'm going to say about that. I'm just making sure you know that I really think - and this is coming from the girl who is your sister, who has known you for _almost _your entire life, and, oh yea, the person who _probably _knows Toph better than anyone at this school because I _live _with her? I see _so much _potential in you two. You can make each other _so _happy. And you both already have changed a bit since you started dating, and for the better. It's a good sign. You just need to work on your communication."

"Eh, you might be right." He scratched at the peach fuzz beneath his nose before guzzling more of drink.

"I'm serious," insisted Katara. "Do you want my take on all this?"

"Not...particularly, right this minute, buuuut you're gonna give it to me, anyway, so...-"

Katara was glaring at him now, and he defended himself with a shrug.

"Nevermind, then," Katara snipped impatiently. "Apparently I _care _about stuff more than you, with your Senioritis. The infection has fully contaminated your brain by now, and you're just _totally _ready to up and go, and leave everyone behind."

"Sorta, yea," Sokka confessed. "But I'm not _happy _to leave, Kat. You know that, eh?"

Katara gave him an unsure look, which actually stung a bit. Had Sokka really not made that clear to her?

"Hey," he eased. "Don't...go lettin' this stuff with Dead-Eyes or the school, or whatever-...Don't let that overwrite what we already established here. I'm gonna miss the crap outta ya. You're my sister. I love you."

"I love you, too..."

"A'ight? So...What's your take on this, then?

""Um...W-well, it...-" Katara looked down at her food, ate a french fry, pushed hair behind her ear, and rubbed sand from her eye. All the while, Sokka was hanging on her next words. "I...happen to think...that...-" _Geez, woman. Get on with it. _"-...you and Toph...are both..._scared. _You're afraid to commit because the last time either of you did that, it didn't work, you were hurt, and you both felt guilty over the loss. You both feel like you've failed, and you care about each other - about your _friendship _- so much that you're petrified of failing _that. _And...yea. I mean, that's basically how I'm interpreting this."

Sokka nodded contemplatively, seeing his sister's logic soundly enough. This conversation sounded somewhat familiar. If he wasn't mistaken, it was akin to back _before _Sokka had taken Toph out on their first official 'date.' Go figure - they'd both been running away from this problem, and here it was, back to give them a kick in the teeth.

"Makes enough sense," Sokka conceded. "I think I needed to hear that. Thanks."

"Oh..." Katara was wide-eyed. Since when did Sokka just...accept her input so earnestly? Then again, if he really _did _care that much about Toph like she theorized, taking this seriously and earnestly perhaps wasn't such a shock. "Um, y-you're welcome. Thanks for...hearing me out."

"I've been stalling because...I guess I just wanted to not have me leaving SRU be on this bad note. Ya know?"

"If you and Toph figure out what it is you both want, and how you'd deal with the long-distance aspect, I think you should be fine."

"But right now I think it'll be better to let this whole..._parents_...thing...come to pass."

"Yea. Like I said, I think that's a good idea."

"_Man, _Aang got it easy."

"Huh?"

"He never had to _meet _Toph's parents when they were dating - and when he started dating you, Dad already knew he was a decent dude."

"Oh, _fff. _Yea, sorry, Sokka. I don't know what to tell you there. Good luck?"

"Aghhhh...I'll probably need it. The Beifongs all seem pushy in one way or another, so I'd better expect the worst."

"Come on, it won't be _that _bad."

"There you go, again - lying to yourself."

"What? How is that lying? I'm being optimistic."

"Same thing, basically."

"_Ha_! Sooner or later, Sokka, I'll get you to see _some _glass half-full."

"Yea, maybe when pigs fly."

"Then you can count Toph and her parents as pigs with wings, because I've got a good feeling about this."

* * *

"Perhaps we'd...best not disturb her."

"She _does _look busy...So focused."

Meng smirked at her aunt and uncle's bewilderment. They were hovering in the hallway of second floor Aqua, just outside of Katara and Toph's dorm room. Toph was encompassed by her thick, padded headphones, slamming away at her keyboard. She was wearing a green bandana and a black tanktop, both articles looking a bit stained and ragged. Her unseeing eyes had arced eyebrows of intensity as she pounded at the plastic keys, oblivious to the world around her.

"Is she always like this when she practices?" wondered Aunt Poppy in a hushed tone. "So serious..." Poppy was dressed in a formal summer dress, white with washed-out flowers printed across its surface.

"Not...always," Meng muttered with a shrug. "I mean, she loves playing music and stuff, but she can be her own worst critic."

"If I didn't know any better, I wouldn't even realize I was looking at my own daughter," sighed Uncle Lao. He was in a white button-down with a black tie and slacks to match. He had his business coat draped over one arm, and a guitar case in the other. "She looks rather studious," he observed. "She truly does take this seriously, then?"

"_Yes_, very," Meng insisted, fidgeting with her scruffy-edged braids. "I actually haven't been able to spend as much time with her as I thought, 'cuz she's been really good about keeping up a practicing schedule."

"Uhh...-" Katara was hovering in the hallway behind them, having just come back from the bathroom. "You guys are...welcome to go inside," she politely said to the Beifong trio.

They unceremoniously scooted into the room, which was now instantly crowded with a keyboard-playing girl and her three relatives standing in what little open space there was. Meng was eagerly setting up her tripod and camera with a giddy grin about her. Lao was being careful with the sleek new guitar case he was toting, and he set it down neatly on Toph's messy bed, which he dropped a quiet sigh toward. The girl's bed was a sloppy mess, and there was a small pile of dirty clothes he'd nearly tripped over to get to it. Poppy tenderly patted his shoulder and gave him a peck on the cheek, attempting to assuage his neat-freak concerns.

Katara caught herself fantasizing about growing old with Aang, getting all wrinkly together and having a moment like this over one of their future kids. But that was neither here nor there - right now, this was about Toph's family.

Toph's keyboard jamming slowed to a stop, her nose wrinkling with confusion. She pulled back one phone off of her right ear and spoke out.

"Yo, Sister-Face. What's with the smell? You puttin' on some fancy perfume for Twinkles or something?"

Katara snorted a laugh.

"Wh-?" Toph's impatience bubbled across her face. She was wrapped up in her work, most certainly not in the mood for jokes.

"Someone's here to see you," Katara explained.

Meng was peering through her camera and flashed a thumbs up at the others to signal that everything was operational.

Toph puffed out tiredly but pushed her headphones back over her neck, extending an arm out toward the pungent smell.

"Hey, uh..._someone_," Toph mumbled, bemused. "Who is it? Whaddya want? A signature, or somethin'?"

Toph's mother reached out a hand and shook Toph's gently. What little color existed in Toph's face immediately drained, her lips hanging open. That hand felt awfully familiar.

Toph murmured in shock but caught herself.

"_Agghhhmmmm_**Mom**?"

Katara admired the moment from the sidelines - the way Poppy's face glowed at how her daughter had recognized her.

Toph pulled her hand back with some resistance before Lao grabbed it, giving it a more firm shake.

"Hello, Toph," he said to her formally. "It's...good to see you."

"_Ugh_-? Whhhh-?" Toph was distraught and baffled, palming her forehead and pushing greasy bangs up. She opted to go with her sarcastic gut and make light of the situation. "I, uh...-! I'd say the same thing, if I _could _see you. _Heh!_" It didn't come out quite as light-hearted as she'd intended, more stilted and shaky.

"Meng told us about what happened," said Poppy, inching her way around Toph's keyboard.

Toph was speechless, her eyes quivering, brows twisting up in a blend of too many emotions for her to process all at once.

"Are you all right?" Lao asked, working his way awkwardly between Toph's keyboard and bottom bed post. As soon as he was within arm reach of his daughter, he planted a concerned hand on her bare shoulder. She seemed stunned by the contact, but managed to pat her father's wrist in recognition. He withdrew his hand but lingered to her left.

"Here, let me...-" Poppy, from her right, cautiously removed Toph's headphones and set them aside on the keyboard.

"Toph," Poppy spoke in sullen tones. "Your father and I, we...-"

Toph's eyes spilled two tears and she whimpered out a restrained sob, plunging herself into her mother's chest.

With a surprised, "Oh!" Poppy took her daughter abreast, wrapping her delicate arms around Toph's back.

"I'm sorry," Toph stated. It was difficult to push the words out with how suddenly her emotions were getting the better of her. Her voice had shaken but she'd held it together. "I'm _really _sorry," Toph emphasized. She clutched her mother's back, taking in a deep whiff of her perfume. What had initially been an irritation to her nose was now sweet relief.

"_We _are sorry," stated Lao, stretching his arms across Toph's back and over to his wife, encircling Toph in a warm blanket of paternal affection. It was a quite foreign feeling for Toph. Alien, strange...powerful.

Katara carefully slinked her way around this familial moment, taking care to not get caught in the line of sight of Meng's camera. She took refuge on her bed. On the one hand, she wondered if she shouldn't be here, because it was a 'family' moment. On the other, she looked at Toph as a sister, and after all she had put up with and helped Toph work toward, she felt like she had earned the right to witness this moment.

"I probably...really hurt you," Toph realized. Vocalizing this, out-load...it put everything in perspective. This notion that she'd been in denial over for months and months was being confirmed by the manner in which her parents spoke, by the way in which they were _holding _her. Toph's parents didn't _hold _her, that wasn't a _thing _they really ever did. And yet here they were. After what an ungrateful little brat she'd been.

"It's taken us this time to understand how _we _hurt _you_," Lao conceded. Their group hug separated slightly, but Lao's hand remained on his daughter's shoulder, while Poppy was wiping Toph's eyes of their tears. Toph, red in the face, laughed sheepishly in spite of herself.

"We're sorry it took us this long to see it," said Poppy. "Sometimes _we _can blind, too."

"_Heh_," Toph weakly laughed through a sob.

Lao cited, "It wasn't until Meng showed us your videos that I realized what a mistake I had been making in discouraging you from this path."

"What...-?" Toph sniffed and rubbed her finger against her nostrils. "But what was it that changed your mind?"

Lao and Poppy swapped looks, and Katara sensed something communicated silently between them.

"Toph, you...-" Lao rubbed his palm across his mouth, still a bit taken with emotion, himself. "-...you reminded me of my mother."

Toph drew in a sharp breath, startled and overtaken. Her full chest swelled with appreciation at this remark before she shakily breathed it out.

"When I was younger," Lao recalled, "your grandparents used to deal with a lot of arguments - a lot of strife. There was bitter work to be done, and my father gave it his all, while your grandmother pursued what my father thought were more frivolous activities."

"Her music," Toph noted.

"Yes. My father worked and worked his entire life - and I've tried my best to follow his example, and it's exactly why we have been able to live the lifestyle we have."

"R-right, no, I..._totally _get that, Dad," said Toph, groping her hand up over her shoulder and patting his wrist. "For real, I...feel like such an idiot for what I said before. I _do _appreciate what you've done for me and mom. Seriously."

"Ah, it...means a great deal to actually _hear _you say that," Lao said, his lip trembling just the smallest bit.

"It sounds like you're not the same girl who left us back on Thanksgiving," Poppy observed.

"_Heh,_ well...-" Toph smiled bashfully. She gestured her hand around in random directions. "I dunno where she's at but - you here, Katara?"

"Oh, I'm right here," Katara peeped from the corner of the room, snuggled up on her bed. She had her arms wrapped around her plush penguin pillow.

"Yea, see," Toph pointed her finger where Kat's voice had come from. "You can thank _her _for a lot of my...attitude adjustment."

"Ah, your roommate," Lao nodded at her, and she nodded timidly in return.

"We appreciate you looking after her," said Poppy with warmth.

Katara took a second or so to formulate her reply, fidgeting with her plush penguin's beak.

"Of course. I...really care about your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Beifong. I've tried my best to be there for her, especially with...well...-"

Toph pointed out, "Kat's been wanting me to work things out with you guys since day one."

Katara shrugged with some embarrassment at the intrigued glances she received from Toph's parents.

"I understand where Toph has been coming from with your whole situation. And I know things are complicated. But truth be told, she _can_ pretty much take care of herself."

"Well, _yea, _I can," Toph agreed, her heart lighter and lighter as this interaction was passing. "But! Like, at the same time, Katara's become my Sister-Face."

Poppy blinked at Katara, whose head shrunk a little into her neck, while Lao tilted his head at his daughter's grin.

"Your...-?"

"My sister from another mister," Toph clarified. Katara wasn't sure if Toph's brand of clarification was _too_ much more effective, but-...Toph continued. "She does a pretty bang-up job keeping me outta trouble and breaking out the ruler when my hand needs slapping." Katara cringed slightly at Toph's particular phrasing. "Yep, Kat keeps a good eye on me when I...well, _heh, _when I can't. Literally. _And _the other one."

"What Toph's trying to say," Meng put in her two cents, "is that Katara here's been a _good influence _on her."

"Yes!" Toph cried out. "That! What she said."

Katara snickered, a bit humbled and touched at how Toph was trying to openly convey appreciation. It meant a great deal.

"But, so, Dad," Toph redirected her focus. "I don't get it. I thought you and Grammy...didn't get along."

"Regrettably, we did not get along as well as I might have liked," Lao confessed. "But I think in the time I've had to reflect on all of this, I've realized that I don't want to make the same mistake with you. I may not agree with the choices you're making, but...you are still our daughter, and we want you to be happy."

"You do?" Toph had trouble believing that.

"We want you to have a secure future," Lao added. "But without some manner of happiness, I suppose that goal would be pointless."

"We are willing to let you pursue this decision," said Poppy. "See where it leads you, and do our best to support you."

"Mm," Toph hummed back, still stunned to hear her parents saying things like this. Mebg had really pulled through and gotten to them, huh? But if she had been able to adjust and change over the course of the semester, it stood to reason that her father could have a change of heart, as well. Toph could feel her eyes boiling over with impending tears of joy all over again. "I, uh...-" Toph scratched her ear and pulled her messy hair over her back. "Well, I just want to be able to take care of myself. I don't want to be a burden on anybody, but...I guess I want to make you guys proud by showing that I can be who I am, and do what I want, but still be doing something _good _for people - in my own way. Like Grammy used to."

"I think it's a beautiful sentiment, Toph," Poppy encouraged. "I'm sure she'd be proud."

A tear slipped down Toph's cheek, pushed over the edge by the tide of guilt that arrived with these words.

"But...-" Toph started.

"Your mother and I came here to visit you in person," Lao informed her. "Not only to make amends, but...-" He hovered over the case that was laid on Toph's bed. "-...we were hoping we could see our daughter play us a song, perhaps?"

Toph coughed on her built-up phlegm. Her mother had begun playing with her hair, gently weaving it into a braid. It reminded Toph of the many times Katara had done the same thing.

"Er, I, uh-...Dad, the guitar, it was...-"

"I know," Lao stated. "I'm sorry to hear about what happened."

-_Clik-clak!_-

Ah, frick. Was he opening the guitar case? What, was he surveying the damage? Fuck, it probably looked _bad._

"It may not be quite the same...-" Lao seemed to be finagling with something. Something that sounded an awful like a hunk of hollowed wood and the subtle vibrations of strings. Toph knew that sound well. "-...however, your mother and I would like for you to have something we picked up for you on our way here."

Before Toph knew it, it was in her hands. She clutched it at with the caution and care one would when being handed a newborn baby. And, just like a baby, Toph didn't quite know what to do with it. Just holding it in her hands made her wary of breaking it. She was floored. They had gotten her a guitar? A brand spanking new guitar?

Aw, man. Shit. This thing was gorgeous to her fingertips. Maple laminate, steel string, grand concert body shape - perfect for stage performing with her smaller stature - and it was an electric acoustic, to boot.

Katara smiled at the look on Toph's face, watching her slide her fingers across the new instrument, surveying it. Those white eyes weren't empty or dead at all. They were filled with life, still glazed from her tears, still damp at the corners.

Meng was focusing her camera on Toph's hands, palms gently caressing the laminated black surface of the guitar. Meng decided that the black color had been a good choice. It suited Toph well - it matched her hair color, to boot. Meng was happy to catch such a warm moment here. Uncle Lao, timidly observing his daughter's reaction, Auntie Poppy braiding hair, and Toph, admiring her new instrument - and Meng knew for Toph how big a deal it was, because for Toph, instruments weren't just tools, they were an extension of her expression.

A few seconds passed, the entire room quiet, hanging on Toph's reaction. Her mouth was agape, and her expression seemed to be straddling the line between heartbreak and joy. For her parents, it was hard to read, but Toph knew for sure that one guitar felt good in her hands.

"Now...-" Lao seemed uncertain of her reaction, watching his daughter find her fingertips along the fret board. "-...I know this can't truly replace your grandmother's, but...we hope you can see it as a token of...-"

The strings sang as Toph strummed a chord with her nail. The vibrations of sound rippled across the room, reverberating through the acoustic cavern of wood.

As the sound died down, Toph whispered.

"...I love it."

Toph played another chord, her awe-induced face spreading open with a wide, gleeful grin.

"I love it-I love it-_I love it_!" she squealed, giddy as a child in a candy store. She jammed some more chords and individual notes as her family laughed at her reaction.

Poppy ran her hands across the puffy braid she had made of Toph's unkempt hair and gave her husband a knowing smile.

"Tophie," Meng called out over the excited guitarist's strumming. "Play something!"

"_Oh! _Guh-_doy_," Toph snickered in spite of herself. "Yea-yea! Gimme a sec here, guys..." Toph began adjusting knobs and making practice strikes to the strings to tune her guitar.

Katara snuggled up with her plushy penguin pillow, resting her chin on its head as she held back her own tears of joy on behalf of her friend. She caught Meng giving her an endeared glance, and she reciprocated. After months of watching Toph run away from this matter, it was freeing even for both Katara and Meng to see it resolved, made all the more rewarding by knowing they had both taken action toward seeing this reunion transpire.

"'Kay!" Toph cried out. She rapidly plucked a few notes, then gave a sturdy, short strum. "I'm gonna cut yer faces off with my _awesome _here, so...watch out."

Poppy and Lao gave one another concerned looks at what their daughter had just stated, and Katara smirked.

Toph then began to play a song she knew well by now - one she had played over and over, but until now had never played for the two people she had always meant to. It began with a steady, gentle bass line, like a heartbeat. Toph repeated the riff a few times, waiting for the room to settle down, for her heart to sync with the strings, for her mind to slip into the music. She waited, and she listened. When the right moment came, she sang.

_"~Yea, I'll...tell you something...I think you'll understand...When I say that something...I wanna hold your hand~"_

+  youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=Oq5ItFCyg9E +


	119. Comfort

**A/N: Sorry for the wait between chapters. This one's 13,000 words, though. Plus, I have officially started writing Esteemed, so I'm going back and forth between both projects.**

**IMPORTANT announcement for those who are not yet aware: due to many comments and suggestions I've received from fans, friends, and even some writers (including Gene Yang, who writes the Avatar comics), I have decided that after SRU is finished in its current fanfiction form, I _will _be re-working the entire story to serve as an original series, since that is effectively what it already has become.**

**In the meantime, I've been working with various artists to get some concept art made of revised designs of the characters to serve the purposes of this goal. You can check that out in the usual places. As a refresher, you can follow these things at the following places:  
**

**DeviantArt group #S-R-U; or the gallery in my favorites section, username Destiny-Smasher.  
'What I Learned at SRU' on Facebook; and I also have a Tumblr blog, URL Saint-Roku-University (where I also write commentary on various things, such as Legend of Korra episodes).  
**

**Thanks again for all of your support.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 119 - Comfort_

* * *

- Friday, June 3rd, 2011 -

Uncomfortable.

That was one word to describe the atmosphere surrounding the four of them that evening. Toph nervously drummed her fingers on the table as her father completed their round of orders. This restaurant was certainly classy - even Toph could _feel _the 'classiness' in the way things smelled, the soft-spoken tones of other dinner-goers, the gentle sounds of tableware scraping more against plate than against food. It brought up a lot of old memories. Those memories weren't pleasant ones. But this could be different, right?

"Toph," her father denounced with a sigh. "Elbows off the table."

Hrmph. Or maybe not so different.

Toph's finger-drumming halted and she did her best to hide her frustration, tucking her hands between her bare legs. Ugh, this dress was way too tight. She could hardly move her legs in it.

Sokka could apparently pick up on her unease, quietly sliding his hand over her thigh and clasping her fingers in his own. He gave her a silent gesture of support by squeezing her hand.

"So! Sokka..." Mr. Beifong intruded on their moment.

"Uhh-whh-Yes, Sir?" Sokka retreated his hand and began tinkering with the large, cloth napkin folded across his waist.

"That's...-" Mr. Beifong, eyes narrowed, glared at Sokka's chest. "-...not your _nicest _shirt, is it?"

Sokka gawked downward at his black and white striped button down. It had a few odd wrinkled creases from his hasty ironing job.

"Oh, oh, _this? _It's-...Nah, I mean, I have a suit, but...on such short notice, I didn't...have time to...-"

"Dad, give him a break," Toph sighed. "Please?" she added, hoping to keep tensions low here. She'd just had a good afternoon with her parents, playing music for them, explaining to them her passion for performance, her life at the college, the friends she'd made...She didn't want it all undermined by boyfriend-related conflict. That had been what had sparked issues back at Thanksgiving.

Sokka gave Mr. Beifong as earnest and neutral a look at he could, trying to endure the man's cold glance. He certainly looked like a tired fellow.

"Toph," Mr. Beifong said. "With all due respect, it's slightly embarrassing for us to be here as a family with your gentleman looking-"  
"He looks _fine_," Toph advised sternly. Just because she didn't want this to devolve into bickering didn't mean she wasn't prepared for that possibility.

"But...you can't even...-" Mr. Beifong's words were cut short when his wife placed a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"Dear, we are here for _Toph_ today," she reminded. "If she feels that everything is satisfactory...-"

"I suppose you _are _just barely out of school," Mr. Beifong logicked, speaking to Sokka. The more he spoke, the tighter Sokka's intestines knotted into. "I'm sure that come winter time, your new work will be able to support finer clothes. Speaking of which...what _was _your impending career? You graduated with a...History Major, correct? How, exactly-"  
"_Dad, _come on," Toph pleaded.

There was a heavy pause as Toph ensured to flash her dad what she could only imagine was some kind of unpleasant, disapproving look. In reality, it ended up looking much more subtle than Toph was feeling about it, but that was likely to her benefit.

Toph pointed out, "You said you weren't gonna...-" before trailing off, sighing through her nose. She nudged Sokka and turned her head in his direction. "Sorry, it's been a hell of a day, and so...-"

"No, it's OK," Sokka mumbled back to her, though his eyes were locked with her father's.

As Sokka went to try explaining to her dad what he was he'd be doing over the summer, Toph fidgeted with the edged of her summer dress. Its spaghetti strapped top was barely containing her bosoms. This simple dress was a year or two old, and her parents had brought it with them for her to change into for this occasion. The problem was that Toph was a year or two more full of college cafeteria food, and so the thing didn't fit as well as it used to. But she was willing to endure the discomfort to make her folks happy, given all they had done that day for her.

The tell-sale sigh of disapproval from Daddy Beifong got Toph to stop fussing over her boob-containment and instead refocus on the actual matter at hand.

"In other words," Mr. Beifong concluded to Sokka, "you have no interest in formal business practices."

"No, Sir," Sokka replied. "Er, I mean, not right _now, _anyway..."

"I see. My daughter seems to lack the necessary skills to maintain my business, so I had been hoping that perhaps...-"

"Lao," said Mrs. Beifong.

"Dad," Toph spoke up. "I can get that you want someone to carry on the family name n' all that, but...I mean, we _just _spent a while today talking about how I _want _to carry on the family name, just...in a different way."

"My mother's way," Lao lamented. Poppy rubbed his back.

"Right," said Toph. "You can't go putting your hopes on my _boyfriend _here. He's not here to make _you _happy, is he?"

"Whh...-?" Sokka was startled by Toph's straightforward speech.

"I suppose not," Lao reluctantly conceded to her point. "I apologize Sokka," he expressed. "It has been...a rather straining spring."

"Sounds like it's...been that way for a lot of people," Sokka awkwardly mumbled, thinking of all that had happened over the course of the semester.

"I simply want my daughter to be well taken care of," Lao explained. "Given her special needs, I worry about her future."

"Toph is just _so _used to having so many things handled on her behalf," Poppy noted. "We don't want her to be quite so jarred by the world after her time at university."

"Dad, Mom. I'm _right _here," Toph pointed out with some disappointment. Man, it was getting really hard to not just spaz at him here.

"R-right, yes," muttered Lao.

"Sorry, Toph," her mother said. "But you understand our concern, don't you?"

"I mean, sure, some things I _do _need help with, but...-" Toph scratched her nose, putting thoughts together. "Ask Katara and Meng - I can take care of myself _fine, _I don't have 'special needs,' some stuff is just different for me. That's all it is."

"Of course," Lao said.

But he'd said it in that way Toph knew meant that he didn't actually _believe _her...At least he was appeasing her, which was good enough for now. She couldn't expect her dad to just completely do a 180 about all of this. But it was the trying that counted - he was trying to let her have space, she was trying to give some slack in return.

"Yea, she can...erm...-" Sokka scratched his chin hair, a sound Toph loved. "-...Your daughter's pretty headstrong, you know? She barely needs me for anything, really."

"So, you can't take _care _of her, then," Lao presumed with some judgment.

"He _can_," Toph chirped with the plastic politeness her parents desired. She reached her arm up to his head, and upon finding his neck, she stroked her thumb along the edge of his jaw. It was oddly smooth - no doubt Sokka had just shaved on his way out the door. As she physically demonstrated some essence of 'lady-like' affection for her parents' appeasement, Toph explained. "And on the _rare _occasion that I require assistance, I _choose _to _let _him take care of me, and he does an_ admirable _job. Now, then. May we please...talk about something else?"

Sokka was somewhat mortified by the hollow-eyed, china-doll smile on his girlfriend's face in that moment. The touching of his face, well, that was kinda nice, but...also incredibly awkward given the stink eye that Mr. Beifong was shooting him. And what was with Toph talking all _proper _like? Freaking _weird. _It wasn't _her. _It was like a trained animal, and Sokka didn't like seeing Toph's carefree spirit jumping through hoops like this. She could just, what, turn this off and on like a light switch, at will? Sokka's thoughts went to a place he didn't like: _Is this the sorta crap she pulled to hook Aang and that Doug kid?_

"Toph," Mrs. Beifong muttered, raising a brow. Well, good. So Sokka wasn't the only one who was confused.

Toph released her boyfriend's face, tenderly groping her fingers along the tablecloth until she located her cup and saucer. She cautiously scooped up her full tea cup and lifted it to her face.

"Mother," she responded courteously. "I'd almost forgotten to ask: how are those yoga sessions going? Did you manage to bring Father along?"

Poppy and Lao exchanged disheartened looks before Mr. Beifong spoke.

"Toph, you have made your point," he said with some bridled frustration. "I apologize for my tone."

As Mrs. Beifong added to this thought, Toph daintily sipped at her tea.

"Your Father and I want to try adjusting to being around...well...the '_you_' that you are most comfortable being."

Toph had gone to set her cup back down, and Sokka anxiously gawked at this, fearful she'd misplace it and spill it, but she managed to set it down without much difficulty.

"You do?" Toph probed, intrigued by this. She seemed to slouch a bit in her seat, giving up her prim-and-proper act.

"While I don't approve of your...-" Mr. Beifong was momentarily distraught by the sight of his daughter picking her nose. "-...particular mannerisms or approach to things, you..._are _my daughter, and I _do _wish for you to be happy."

Toph brushed dry, flaky mucus from her pinky onto the side of her dress, eliciting a cringe from her parents and a smirk from Sokka.

"Even if that means I do whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like?" Toph wondered.

Sokka's momentary smirk withered at her words, his brain drifting back to the land of doubts, where he theorized entire scenarios in seconds' time about the myriad ways Toph could cut things off between the two of them at the drop of a hat, on a whim, without second thoughts.

"I suppose...that depends," Mr. Beifong said. Sokka could definitely tell that the man was tense over all this.

"We want to encourage your music," stated Poppy. "But at the same time, Dear, we'd very much like for you to exercise some discipline in return."

Toph's face wrinkled a little, her face bobbed downward.

"Yea, I figured," Toph spoke calmly. "B-but I understand," she was quick to clarify, eager to express some give-and-take. They'd been give-give-giving all day up until this meal, qhich was rather unlike what Toph was used to. But it made it easier for her to let them have some 'take' in return. "We can talk about it later." Toph grinned and bumped her shoulder into Sokka's arm. "I don't want this Meat-Head getting all stressed over our personal affairs."

Sokka laughed weakly, but all of this conversing and weird tension was making him feel rather out of place. Mr. Beifong had a valid point, after all: if Toph was going to pursue such an abstract and unreliable profession while ignoring the 'family business' and all, it didn't speak highly of her security if her lover was equally disinterested in formal career paths. Between that, this fancy restaurant, this being kept out of 'serious' talk, and Toph's bilateral behavior, Sokka's stomach was churned some more on top of his recent doubts.

What if his life and Toph's just didn't mesh? Toph was hot, and talented, and funny, and made Sokka feel more worthwhile, more meaningful as a human being, to exist and bring her happiness. But at the same time, he found himself doubting if he could be a proper caretaker for her, if he could support them both in two years' time when she graduated...assuming they were even still _together _after that long. Sokka was not yet convinced that Toph was taking their relationship seriously, given her previous romances. And hell, Sokka wasn't exactly running with class-act record, himself. Could they really last for two years of long distance? And if by then, could they manage to be responsible enough between them two of them to stay afloat in this frustrating economy?

It was a whole lot of "if's," and a whole lot of potential heartbreak for her _and _for him. And for the same reason Toph had not yet wanted to have sex, so, too, did Sokka wonder if this relationship was meant to last: they cared so much about each other as human beings, about their friendship, that it inherently over-ruled the desire for romance.

"Ain't that right, Sokka?" Toph bumped him lightly with her elbow, but he had been so mentally lost he had no idea what they were talking about now.

"Toph..."

"_Right, _sorry, sorry," Toph played along with her father's bemused disapproval. She took a sip of her tea. "Is that not correct, _Good Sir?_" Toph rephrased her sentence, her words polished to a sheen with courtesy.

"Errm...Sorry, _what, _now?" Sokka muttered with embarrassment. He'd put on pants that were too tight for comfort, and things were starting to ride up. Just great.

"My _music, _ya dolt." She put back on the 'lady' voice. "Did my harmonious melodies not _inspire _you with my affections?"

"Uh, your..._huh?_" Sokka readjusted his position in his seat while simultaneously readjusting _himself_ down below, hoping that the table's cover had made it discreet.

"When you walked in on me that one time?" Toph reminded. She strummed her fingers at invisible strings. "Playing guitar? _Tsh._" Toph's cheeks were getting red just at the thought of that night. In retrospect, it was pretty damn embarrassing that Sokka had seen it. _That _had been how he found she had feelings for him. "Remember? I was playing that sappy-ass song?"Toph smirked, adjusting her spaghetti strap.

Sokka could feel his own face heating up as he recollected that moment, down in the Jasmine Dragon.

_"~I hope that you see right through my walls~I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling~"_

Sokka was gaping at Toph's coy smile, her porcelain face pink at the cheeks. With her hair uncharacteristically combed back into an orderly bun, her entire face, goofy smirk and all, was a sight to behold, accented by snow-white eyes like a full moon reflected in pools of cold water.

As Toph slid her hand against Sokka's thigh, down toward his nether regions, he suddenly realized just how swollen it suddenly was down there, and-  
_Augh-hhh~! G__oddamnit, Toph, your parents are right across the friggin' table!_

As Toph kissed Sokka on the lips to ease him from the distraction her lightly groping had brought on, Mrs. Beifong sternly cleared her throat. Sokka, bewildered at his girlfriend's childish sneaking, also cleared his own as Toph abashedly withdrew, grinning like the little minx she was.

"So, you two are already quite..._close_, I see," Mr. Beifong sighed, downing a shot of his saké before refilling it with his freshly opened bottle.

"Sorry, Dad," Toph apologized with a playfully rebellious edge to her words. "Ya know, this guy here, he just...gets me all in a tizzy," she explained in a way where Sokka couldn't decipher if she was being earnest or sarcastic.

"D-don't worry, Sir," Sokka was quick to point out. "We're not going to be letting things go too far for a while yet."

"_Right,_" Toph butted in, though with a bit of irritation. "But that's..._our _private business, and so...never mind that. My point is, I really like this guy, and I stole his heart with my music."

_What the hell, Toph? Am I some prize to you now, or something?_ _Yeesh. You can be such a pain._

"So what _was _it about our daughter that drew you to her?" Mrs. Beifong inquired.

"We were...I mean, already good friends, so it...seemed natural I guess."

"Oh, _come _now," Mrs. Beifong pressed. "Surely there must be more to it than that."

Sokka was relieved when, in his moment of contemplation over this, their appetizers arrived, creating a blockade in the discussion as the hungry lot got their mouths ready for food. This was definitely something he could get behind. But geez, this weird family political..._whatever _this was? He was not at all comfortable being wedged in the middle of it. Toph, her dad, her mom, even Meng...all of the Beifongs seems adept at nudging and pushing him around. He didn't much appreciate it.

And then all of those '_if_' questions came right on back.

Uncomfortable.

* * *

- Saturday, June 4th, 2011 -

The library was providing Jane with all of the quiet she needed to work on the essay that was due on Monday. She wasn't specifically keen on chemistry, but had found a way to incorporate her passion into related topic she could muster up the interest to write about.

Jane's eyes were dull and tired, staring at her laptop screen as she hacked away at her project.

[**opening statement** (ask kat for help)]

[for example, the ampulex compressa (jewel wasp) uses complex toxins to control its host. she will paralyze a cockroach enough to temporarily disarm it. then a precise strike to the cockroachs brain injects specialized venom which shuts down functionality of dopamine. dopamine contorls physical action and senses. by turning off this chemicals function with a different chemical the jewel wasp can use the cockroach to carry out its will. but not before taking a drink of the roachs blood to regain energy used in its surgical toxic sting. with the cockroachs dopamine disabled, it is powerless to escape. the wasp will lead it by tugging its antennae to cause physical reactions and move its host to a burrowed out hole. the cockroach is like a zombie and will be led to its death to be food for wasp larvae. the toxin in the roach will keep it lethargic for days so the wasp larva can feed on its organs.]

Jane felt a bit of pride at working in the word 'lethargic' without needing to look up a thesaurus. Then she felt a bit frustrated by her own lack of writing know-how despite her education level. _Then _she smirked at the grim fact that she could write 'feed on its organs' in an essay.

[it is important to note that this is a specific and precise use of specialized chemical. not enough venom and the roach would escape. too much venom and it would die. it is not only the chemicals being used but also the exact skill of the creature using it which causes this phenomenon. jewel wasps do not practice this specific ability. they are born with it. born with the chemical knowledge to |]

The vertical cursor sat, caught in mid-sentence, blinking in and out existence - not unlike Jane's attention span at this point.

Jane groaned to herself after finally finishing that first goddamn paragraph, at least. She buried her face in her arms against the tight, cubby-like desk she was seated at. Why did science have to involve so much writing? That was what _writers _were for, right? Fuck. She just wanted to study insects, not have to explain in specific ways what she learned, just..._use _it. Or something. Ugh.

This made her a bad scientist, didn't it? What was she even going to _do _with this degree? Practically speaking, Jane could acknowledge that she was not at all cut out for formal scientific work. Writing journals and essays and lectures about findings and data and _bleh. _Yea, not so much.

Still folded on top of her arms, Jane scratched at her armpit, fussed with her pants, then recollected herself. Maybe she just needed a break? She opened up her Internet browser and checked her Facebook to see that a message was awaiting her.

[**Facebook**]  
[**Korra Kesuk**: Yo. You busy tonight? I'm taking the kids to see fireworks. You up for meeting them?]  
[Call me.]

Jane blinked at her computer screen for a moment, bewildered and utterly distracted by Korra's profile picture.

Boobs. Korra's boobs. Korra's arms.

Fuck. Well, there went Jane's concentration, her thoughts swinging eagerly back to her evening with her friend.

They wouldn't leave Jane's mind. These thoughts, these memories, these...desires? Urges?

Clawing at an itch on her scalp, Jane huffed in spite of herself, removing her gaze from her internet browser. Her eyes shifted downward, scanning textbook pages about chemical reactions. Coincidentally, chemical reactions were likely what was causing her mind to be rather distracted from what her eyes were struggling to take in.

Jane was brought out of her stupor by the sound of shuffling feet and the voice of who she recognized to be the librarian.

"Ah, um...Yes, there she is."

Jane twisted her neck around to see a bald man with thin wisps of facial hair. He was dressed in a black suit and was carrying himself in a stiff and stern manner. Jane recognized him - vaguely. She couldn't pin-point from where right away, but he she could recall that he was somehow involved with the police.

Jane's stomach quivered with uncertainty, her heart quickening at the prospect of some official seeking her out. That couldn't lead to anything good, as her previous experiences had shown. She tried to focus back on her computer with casual nonchalance, being sure to back up her essay progress.

The deep voice of the man called out her name in its complete form, startling her.

"Jane Marigold Fitzpatrick."

Jane flinched at the booming quality of the man's voice from right above her shoulder.

She turned her body around ninety degrees in the rickety old chair she was sitting in, looking up at him.

"Uhh...-?" She blinked up at him, tired bags hanging beneath drab eyes of olive disinterest. "Yea?" she responded after a dull moment of tension.

She remembered who this man was: some FBI agent that had been in Wayward for a while. She had been forced to speak with him earlier, the night when the entire 'Combustion Man' situation went down.

"I am Agent Feng," the man reminded her, hands tucked into his vest pockets. "I'll need to have you come with me."

"Wh-? Did I...-? Wait, I didn't _do _anything," Jane snapped with defense. She was not at all keen on being further exposed to cops or agents or _whatever _at this point.

"Perhaps not _recently_," Agent Feng noted quietly. "But this isn't about you. It's about a mutual acquaintance of ours."

Jane's brows slid down with confused irritation. What was _that _supposed to mean? Had Korra gotten herself into some stupid shit again, or what?

"Who?" she asked in a hissy whisper. "The fuck's this about?"

"As I _said, _I will need you to come with me."

Jane turned away from him, re-saved her document, and closed her laptop in a bit of a huff.

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," Feng quipped, keeping his voice steady and discreet.

"I...I wasn't," Jane sputtered out in a mumble, her every action shaky and uncertain as she fumbled to get her laptop into her case. With all of the things she had done since arriving at SRU, more fed involvement inherently put her at unease.

"Good," said Feng, motionless as he watched the young woman get herself together.

Once Ms. Fitzpatrick was standing, bag over her shoulder, Feng led her along through the library to the back exit stairwell, usually reserved for emergency purposes. Following the man in black, Jane paced through shelves of books, one or two stray students giving her an intrigued look as they walked by.

They traveled down a flight of stairs and exited the library. Right there, waiting for them, was a black car with shaded windows. Ugh. Perfect. Like she needed this kind of shit today. Agent Feng opened the backseat door, ushering her in. She avoided his glance and quietly obeyed his wish, dropping herself unceremoniously into the sterile-smelling vehicle. With a bit of a scowl, Jane sighed, dropping her messenger bag between her legs and ruffling her humidified, frizzy hair.

Feng entered from the opposing door and sat right down next to Jane in the back seat. After he closed the door, the driver - wearing a matching suit and ear piece - started the car up and pulled them out of the small library parking lot.

Jane glared across the way at this Asian man of mystery, off-put by everything about him. A few moments later, and they were passing by the ornate sign that welcomed people to Saint Roku University.

"Now, then," began Feng with a tired sigh.

"I told you _last _time," Jane grumbled warily, "I...I'm not _into _that shit anymore, I haven't-"  
"Quiet," Feng hushed her sternly.

In a way, Jane was relieved to have the expectation of excusing or explaining herself removed.

"Ms. Fitzpatrick," said Agent Feng, casually glancing sideways to her. "Do you know who I _am_?"

Jane blinked at him twice before straying her gaze, intimidated by his deep voice and cold eyes.

"Y-you're the fed who...I worked stuff out with before. About the Rhinos. And you smoothed shit over with the Chief after me and my friend took out that psychopath."

"Correct. But do you have any idea why I'm speaking with you now?"

"Uhh..._Fff_!" She shrugged with indignity. "No. I don't. Thought were done, n' you didn't need me anymore. It Korra? She do somethin' dumb again?"

"_Haha,_" Feng chuckled in earnest, then slowly shook his head. "Not a bad guess, but _no_. This has to do with a _different _acquaintance we share."

Jane lifted a brow. Who else besides Korra would be chatting with an FBI agent? Oh, wait...

"I am agent Long Feng," the man reminded. "I believe you are quite...familiar...with my contact: agent 'Long _Shot._'"

Jane's heart stopped at those last two syllables, her lips hanging open slightly. Oh, god. Fuck. What had happened?

She had meant to ask that out loud, but she was too shocked by the drop of his name to do so. Feng elaborated.

"After the incident that Long Shot took part in against the Rough Rhino organization during the winter, we removed him from the region post-haste. We secluded him back in his home, in Texas, so he could recover from his injuries. However...-"

"He OK?" Jane managed to mutter out with some desperation, interrupting Feng's explanation.

Feng paused, and his grim eyes did not reassure her.

"We are confident that he is..._alive_," Feng explained with drab disinterest. Jane's teeth clenched with anxiety.

_Shit, fuck, fuck, argh. Sounds bad. Bad-bad-shit-fuck-ass._

"The _fuhh_...-?" she eked out, her insides boiling in fear.

"Regrettably, your involvement with the Combustion Man stirred suspicions within the Phoenix Clan triads. His arrest has stirred much controversy within the gang hive mind - which has to do with why Wayward has been under recent attack, near as we can tell. They presumed that Long Shot was still managing the Freedom Fighters from afar and targeted their...rather talented pyromaniac. Assuming that he was responsible for the Combustion Man's capture, it seems that one of the triads tracked down Long Shot."

Jane swallowed the lump in her throat. Longshot _had _been managing the gang from afar...on account of her.

"I don't-! Wh-? But, so...-" Jane was tripping over her lips, struggling to put a proper thought together.

"He's been captured," Feng dryly explained. "He and his parents were abducted."

In an instant, all of Jane's bitterness and irritation at her unanswered calls came crashing down on her, taking the form of bricks of guilt and boulders of fear. Oh, shit. _Ohhhh, _shit-fuck. Just moments prior, she'd caught herself fantasizing over Korra, when all this time Longshot could be in danger, maybe even fucking _dead._

"Why are you telling _me _this?" Jane asked, trying to circumvent her own guilt.

"Unfortunately," Long Feng began slowly and with some disdain. "we have not been able to locate Long Shot. We believe he is being held captive in New York, and are coordinating efforts to get information from members of the Triple Threat Triad that were detained earlier today."

"Oh...kay?" Jane wasn't sure where this was going, and was impatient. This stuffy car, those pressed suits, it all irked her to no end, and served as a reminder of the sorts of people she was indebted to, much like June was. Jane didn't want to end up stuck in the back pocket of some feds, living out a miserable life of monotony like June did. She feared the more involvement she had with these sorts of people, the more likely that possibility became.

"We hoped you would be able to point us in the right direction," Long Feng said. "You _did _cross paths with the Rough Rhinos many times, and the Triple Threats are an allied organization."

"I don't know fuck-all about the Triple Threats," Jane half-lied. She'd heard _of _them, she knew they were based in New York City - one of the groups June had told her about. Wait, hold up. Speaking of June... "Don't you have other contacts you could go to?"

"We do - and we have. But it's not as if these organizations keep their hostages in the same places every time they kidnap someone. What we need is someone willing to become their hostage. Someone notable enough - like Long Shot - whom they would take back to their home base, their headquarters."

"What, like...a _sting _operation?"

"Something to that effect, perhaps."

"_Puh!_" Jane was bewildered for a moment. "You think I'm gonna do somethin' fucking _batshit _like that for you?Ain't that sorta what got Johnny into this shit-storm in the first place?"

"Hm. Amusing."

"_What_?" Jane snapped.

"You call him 'Johnny.'"

"That's...his _name, _so, uh..._yea._"

Feng was shaking his head slightly, a bemused smirk about him.

"Johnny Johnson?" he recited rhetorically. "_Truly_?"

Jane's brain was petrified by the earnesty in the man's humored tone. This was terrifying to Jane on some quiet, deep level. Had Johnny...not actually _been _a 'Johnny' in the first place? But...then what _was _his name? And then Jane was hit by memory after memory of all of the times he would get flustered when she called him 'Johnny.' The times she'd point out "_That's your _name_,_" and he'd be unmoved by it. The times he'd insisted that the Freedom Fighters was his 'duty,' his 'responsibility.' Because it was all just one big goddamned act, or...-? Fucking christ. This was the last thing she needed right now on top of emotional complications. He had explained to her his involvement with the FBI, sure, but...just..._fuck._

Not only was the closest thing to a 'lover' she had found in her existence not _actually_ who she had been led to believe when they'd gotten together, he was...also kidnapped. Maybe dead.

"The _hell _makes you think I wanna play along with all this?" Jane grunted out, after having taken a few seconds to consider Long Feng's remark.

"While there is clearly still a lot you do not know about Long Shot, it is clear that you care for him a great deal, given the activities you aided him with, and the manner in which you two have spoken about each other."

"He's told you about me?"

"He has. But we're digressing, Ms. Fitzpatrick. The matter at hand - his life is on the line. Will you help us, or not?"

"Mm..." Jane's intestines squirmed, tying themselves in knots. "I don't think I'm the right person for this," Jane swiftly decided. "After the shit _I've _done against them? They'd slit my goddamn throat."

"That _is _a distinct possibility. Which was why we were hoping you perhaps knew of someone else that might fit the bill."

"Like..._who_?" Jane shrugged with exasperation. She was about done with this entire conversation. It ached, the guilt and the remorse and the apparent betrayal, just...a whole tangled mess inside her. But what could she do about it? This was shit 'Smellerbee' had been built for. And 'Smellerbee' was dead. Maybe 'Longshot,' or 'Johnny,' or whoever-the-fuck her 'man-of-mystery' really was - maybe he was dead, too. What could she do about that?

Long Feng sighed at Jane's irritable attitude, but he had come to this expected such, and pressed onward.

"Given your friend's lack of cooperation with authorities, we were hoping you might be willing to talk her into working with us."

"Wh-...? _Korra?_"

"Kesuk has a background in police work, she-"  
"She's a fuckin' _dropout_. I don't think-"  
"She is on the Triple Threat's hit list, so to speak. While the 'Combustion Man' may have wanted her dead, that must not be the case with the TTT, or else she likely would be by now. We have information that suggests the TTT may be hoping to find some use of our of her. Perhaps blackmail, perhaps using her as a double-agent, perhaps getting her to work as another hired thug - she seems quiet capable of that line of work."

"_Mmph,_" Jane agreed with a distrusting shrug.

"You would like to see Long Shot and his parents returned, safe and sound. We would like to recuse any other hostages the TTT may have and strike them from within. And we suspect that Kesuk wouldn't mind some revenge, given her previous actions. What we're proposing could benefit everyone involved."

"So _what _are you '_proposing_?' Whaddya want me to do? Whaddya want _her _to do?"

"We'd ask that you...shall we say...put in a good word for us? Convince her to work _with _the authorities for a change, rather than _aroun__d _them. As for what we'd expect from her, that is something to be decided when we have the opportunity to discuss the matter with her directly, and is not of your concern."

_She's my friend, you smug little bald ass-clown prick. She's my fucking concern._

"Fine," Jane flatly decided, leaning her head against the tinted window and gazing out into the foothills off in the distance from the highway they were driving upon. "Gimme the weekend, n' I'll...talk with her about it."_  
_

"Good. I'm glad we have an understanding."

Jane huffed air through her lips, the vapors of her breath fogging up the window. She was so sick of this runaround. Of the secrets, the sneaking around, the violence, the bloodshed, the gangs, all of it. She'd cast it out, left it behind, and now it was trying once again to claw at her, to drag her back into its depths. She wasn't going to slip down that road, not again. She already regretted taking action against the Combustion Man. She had hated bringing that person back out from within. 'Smellerbee' was dead. That was final.

* * *

"Uh-huh. Just like that." Aang watched over Sokka's back as his friend cautiously brushed the glue across one side of the shard of wood, then carefully placed it upon the glossy surface of the black guitar. Apparently, Meng had suggested to Sokka that he take the broken pieces of Toph's momento and attach them to the instrument her parents had just given her.

"Eh?" Sokka checked for his friend's approval.

"Yea, that's fine," Aang replied off-handedly, his attention quickly diverting elsewhere.

"You're not going to help?" Sokka asked, uneasy at Aang whisking himself to the opposite side of the loft area.

"Huh?" Aang was puzzled. He began prepping his paint and brush. "She's _your _girlfriend, Sokka, I thought you were doing this yourself."

"_Ah, _well, I mean, _sure, _I just...figured she'd appreciate if it was...from both of us, or...-"

"What?" Aang's irritability was apparent, his patience already thin enough. "Sokka, are things with Toph not going so well, or something? You keep acting all odd about her."

"I'm not sure," Sokka stated plainly. He picked up another shard of wood from Toph's smashed guitar and tried to line it up beside the two that were already in place on the new one. He shuffled through a couple of more pieces as he tried to find one that would work well. "I'm starting to wonder if we'd really fit into each other's lives well once I'm off campus. Ya know?" He found a good arrangement, and dipped the brush Aang had given him into the container of specialized glue. He slathered it across this new shard of wood and cautiously pressed it into place. "Eating out with her folks last night, it sort of made me realize how she and I come from different worlds, and then just this stuff with Meng's hookup, like I said before...-"

Aang was already at work on his current piece, which involved painting a black 'S' in the center of a whirlpool like sphere he'd been working on earlier. He was paying attention to what Sokka was saying, but had no advice to give. Sokka's expressed doubts about Toph's dating habits were understandable, Aang supposed - but also somewhat hypocritical. Hadn't Sokka himself sort of drifted around in regards to romance? Aang distinctly remembered his roommate trying to work his way into something with Tylee.

"So what do you think?" Sokka wondered, prepping a fourth piece of shattered guitar.

"About what?" said Aang.

"I mean, _you _dated Toph, and...well, yea. You think I should cut my losses before we get too involved?"

"I thought you liked her a lot."

"I _do, _I mean, especially as a friend, right? I don't want to lose that. I'd _kind of _like us to stay close. I've never met a girl who gets me the way she does."

Aang sighed and rolled his eyes, dabbing his brush in black paint.

"Isn't that a _good _thing? That means you _do _like her, and you should stick with it, right?"

"Does it?"

"_Hggh, _I don't know, Sokka. It's not my call. Why are you even asking me about it when you know how I'm going to answer?"

"Sorry, man. Just bouncing thoughts off the wall. You're still in a pissy mood, eh?"

"Something like."

"I thought you and Korra got crap figured out?"

"Nnnnot _really, _and besides, it's not even about that."

"OK, OK. You don't wanna have bro-talk time, I hear ya. Geez."

Aang's eyes dulled at Sokka's assertion, and his somewhat dismissive tone. Weren't people allowed to just...be in bad moods some times? It wasn't like Aang was normally like this, anyway.

With a couple of minutes, Aang had pulled out his laptop from his messenger bag and had started having it play some therapeutic instrumental music to help calm his mood. Sokka made some teasing remark about it, which Aang had ignored. A while passed, and by the time Aang was finished with one painting and had started the next, Sokka seemed about done. He checked with Aang, who advised that Sokka leave it to dry, and he'd take it with him when he left. At that, Sokka bid him adieu and retreated from the art building. By the time Aang was halfway done painting a swirling circle of flames, he was welcomed by different company.

"Hey." The gravelly voice of Mai was a welcome sound, because at least with Mai, Aang could expect to not be asked to deal with problems on top of his own.

"Hi," he greeted back with a slight nod. Oh, wait. Tylee was with her? That was a bit peculiar. Tylee didn't stop by the art building very much.

Aw, monkey-feathers. Tylee looked all shaken up, makeup drizzling off her eyelashes. She offered Aang a sheepish, weak nod, and Aang reciprocated.

"Thought you might be here," Mai stated with a sigh, hands folded across her waist. "I tried texting, but I guess you're ignoring your phone?"

Aang shrugged. That was true enough.

"What's wrong?" Aang asked. He honestly wasn't in the mood for this, but at least he figured it was more pressing than Sokka's repetitious romantic coin-flipping.

"You haven't seen Zuko, have you?" Mai wondered. "Or heard from him?"

Aang shook his head.

"_Ech_." Mai self-administered a face-palm. "He left me a voicemail earlier saying our meeting today was cancelled, and that he and his uncle were leaving town for the weekend."

"Uh...No explanation?" Aang checked.

"He said they needed to go visit Azula, and that we shouldn't worry about it."

"Oh..." Aang managed to _not _his eyes at this, as much as he wanted to. Oh, hey, Zuko being all vague and secretive about some serious nonsense again? Big surprise...

"A-And...-" Tylee was shaky and wound-up. "She was gonna come visit, a-again, this weekend, but...but instead, Zulie told me that...that we should...'_take a break_.'" Tylee choked up after this. Aang was baffled as to how to react to this. Tylee had a habit of exaggerating, but that was the weird part - in this instance, she looked authentically upset, but not bawling her eyes out. In fact, she wasn't dripping tears at all. It was unsettling, seeing the happy-go-lucky girl so...subdued. Defeated, somehow.

"Ah," Aang awkwardly reacted. "Uh, I'm...sorry, Tylee. I don't...really know...-" He shrugged, trailing off.

"C-can I...-?" Tylee waddled up to Aang timidly. She stuck out her hands, making a meek grabbing motion with her fingers. "I need a hug," Tylee mumbled, lower lip quivering. She wasn't even flashing her puppy-eyes, either, just...glumly staring at the ground.

Aang, his mouth slightly agape, exchanged glances with Mai. Mai's brows were arced upward with sympathy for her roommate, and she shrugged at Aang. Aang certainly recollected the instances in which Mai, on her bad days, would grumble about Tylee's 'attention issues.' Still, it wasn't normal for Tylee to act in this particular way. Aang set down his brush and, after a moment's hesitation, leaned into the distraught girl and offered her a hug.

"Thanks," Tylee mumbled. "I'm having_, _like...a _super _poopy day," she whimpered quietly during the duration of their hug.

They broke off, and Tylee inhaled a deep breath, rubbing her wrist against her damp eyelashes.

"I'm...sure it'll work out," Aang muttered. "It sort of sounds like the Kurosawa family is dealing with..._something_." He shrugged, at a loss. Tylee, arms latched across her stomach, as if ill, took a couple of steps back, retreating to Mai's side.

"Azula was supposed to come this weekend to see this one-" Mai patted Tylee's shoulder, but the girl was still in a melancholic daze. "-and to help work with the police, since this gang crap is connected to their dad, but...I don't know why she'd change her mind..." Mai shook her head, gazing off toward the guitar mosaic that was drying in a corner of the loft. She lifted a brow at it, then glanced at the painting Aang was working on.

"Oh, I...-" Aang whirled around, stepping out of the way so Mai could take a better look at it.

Zuko's newest project had entailed spreading the word through the school paper of a peace march during the upcoming week to raise awareness of the college administration's desire to help in any way they could regarding the violent attacks in the town, which was perhaps especially important given the accusations that preacher Noah and his followers had been slinging had asked Aang to use his 'usual thing' and put together some kind of banner image representing the college that promoted a theme of harmony. Aang had decided to visually depict the four elements each dorm was named after - and thus the four circles representing the college logo.

"Ah, so you're finishing that up," Mai noted. She sighed. "The way things are going, there might not be a peace march to put your paintings to use at."

"Yea, I gathered that," Aang grumbled, scratching an itch on his arm as he surveyed his work.

"Sorry," Mai empathized. She'd be pretty pissed if a bunch of her work went to waste like that - like painting for a final project, only to have the assignment changed up? Annoying.

"Ah, I'll finish it, anyway," Aang shrugged it off. "I might as well, at this point."

"It's pretty," Tylee meekly complimented.

"Thanks," said Aang.

A few moments of heavy silence later, and Mai inquired as to the guitar, which she knew had not been there earlier in the day. As Aang was in the process of explaining, another figure came up the steps to the semi-enclosed loft space. It was Katara. Aang trailed off from his explanation as hello's were swapped around.

"Ty?" Katara immediately noticed the girl's out-of-sorts condition. "Hun, what...-?" Katara's question hung in the air when she saw Tylee making a gesture that indicated a desire for a hug - the same one she'd just demonstrated to Aang a few minutes before. Katara gave Tylee a tight hug as she was relayed the news.

"-and-and, so...like, I don't _know _what to think," Tylee was wrapping up, their hug parting. "She's never acted, or said stuff like that before, and every time someone's ever said they '_needed a break,_' it always just...never...-"  
"I know, Hun," Katara instantly placated, pushing Tylee's bangs up over one ear. "Hey, I'm sure she's just stressed and doesn't want to take her frustration out on you."

"Y-yea, that...might be it," Tylee conceded with some hope.

"Just hang in there," Katara encouraged. She ended up giving Tylee a second, shorter hug for good measure. "I'm confused, though," she said, turned her attention to Mai and Aang as she continued to slide her palm against Tylee's back. "What are we supposed to do about the article for the paper?"

Mai shrugged, wide-eyed with a hint of impatient frustration at the matter.

"Don't look at me," she dryly warned. "If I was either of you guys, I'd be pissed, frankly. It's pretty rude of Zuko to go asking you two to help him and then just leave you hanging."

"Yea, but, I mean, it's not like him," Aang defended.

"I know that," Mai retorted with just a tint of irritation. Had Aang struck a nerve of some sort? "But it's also not like Uncle Iroh to do that, either, and-..." She puffed out yet another sigh through her nostrils. "I get really fed up with these family secrets, and obviously they're pretty bad if they're related with what's been going on..."

"Didn't Zuko say that he and his sister were going to just go public with this sort of thing?" Kat asked.

"_Yea_," Mai instantly answered with a pop of her shoulders. "That's why it's...kind of bullshit that they're seeming like they're gonna back out all of a sudden.

"M-maybe they want to make sure Zulie is on the same page?" Tylee theorized.

"Yea, could be," Mai drearily decided. "Either way, I'm sorry you two have put work into this, only for-...But, listen, if I hear anything, I'll let you know."

"Sure thing," Katara confirmed.

Aang simply nodded his response.

"Umm..." Kat fiddled with her braided ponytail. "Well, I came here to ask Aang if he wanted to come see fireworks tonight, but...I mean, you guys are welcome to come, too."

"'Kay," Mai obliged, not seeming to indicate her interest or lack thereof as she walked to her own non-official portion of the loft and grabbed a box of drawing pencils from her small pile of supplies. "We should head off now. We've both got some work to do for Monday."

"OK. I'll, um...I'll text you guys?" Katara decided.

"Yup," Mai answered, easing her roommate to come along with one arm, her pencil box tucked under the other. "Later."

"Bye..." murmured Tylee.

After seeing the two off, Katara scanned Aang for a moment. She'd been so distracted by Tylee's shattered demeanor that she hadn't realized how tired Aang looked. She kissed him on the cheek and slid her hands over his hips, letting them settle there.

"Are you all right?" she asked quietly.

"I'll manage," Aang answered under his breath. He kissed Katara back, but on the lips.

"OK," said Katara, noting Aang's lack of desire - or energy, from the look of it - to dwell on discussion. "Maybe you should take a nap before dinner."

"I'm fine," Aang insisted.

"You sure?" Kat gave him a bit of a pleading look. "You could take a break, at least."

"I-...Yea, I will," Aang half-heartedly told her. "I have to wait until Toph's guitar dries, and then I'll head back to Aero and break until dinner."

"Good. That sounds good." Katara pulled him in, nuzzling her wide nose against his neck. "Thanks for helping Sokka out with that," she said, regarding the guitar.

"Yea..."

Aang rested his cheek against her taut hair and breathed in her scent. He could detect that coconut scent from her shampoo. He let his hands slide into the back pockets of her jeans, appreciating her curves. She creeped her hands beneath his paint-stained shirt, cautiously moving up his back. She ever-so-slightly brushed her fingertips across the patch of scarred skin on his back.

"I'm sorry all of this stuff still has you caught up in it, Sweetie," Katara whispered.

Aang didn't really how to respond, and opted to kiss her forehead.

"I'm going to go talk with Korra tonight. I've been thinking about it, and it's not fair for me to expect _you _to smooth things over with her when _I _still haven't done it, myself..."

"OK," said Aang with an approving tone. "I hope that goes well."

"It will," said Kat. "I know it's maybe hard to believe, but she _is _a lot better than she used to be, back when we were in high school. And we're family. We'll work it out."

"Yea, I know," Aang agreed.

Katara pulled her hands out from beneath Aang's shirt and enveloped his cheeks with her palms, pulling him in close. His skin was just the slightest bit scratchy, which was a very rare occurrence, given how slowly and slightly his hair grew out. She rubbed her hand up and down his jawline, as if to savor this rarity. He tilted his head to one side and kissed her lips, which led to a few more, their noses slowly rubbing together in an eskimo kiss as they separated.

"I love you, Hun."

"I love you, too."

* * *

"W-wow, are you...are you serious?" Korra was aghast at what she was hearing.

["That's what Chief Jia relayed to me,"] Tenzin explained over the phone. ["They apparently caught him at an airport trying to flee the country. A couple of his colleagues were also detained, and they're attempting to connect them with the other activities that happened on Sunday. They'll likely be asking you to testify some time soon."]

"Fuck yea," Korra practically laughed out with relief. "Of course I will. That's...-" Korra turned to gaze across the living room of the Rabten home, and the confused expressions peering up at her. "That's great news. Bagged the assh-..." Korra bit her upper lip, stopping herself as she remembered there were kids nearby. "_Uh, _caught 'em! That's...yea!"

["The other suspect is still at large, and there's much more work to be done, but it _is _an optimistic sign, I agree."]

"_Yea, _whew. No kidding. Well, uh, thanks for the head's up."

["Of course. How are the children?"]

"Oh, they're...doing all right," Korra advised. She gave the living room a once over.

Jinora, laid back in the recliner with her foot in a cast, was looking up to Korra with curiosity. Ikki, cross legged on the floor, was sitting a bit too close to the TV, but was also presently engaged with what she could make of Korra's conversation.

Meelo's portable gaming doohickey was in his lap. He was seated on the couch, playing his video game. Jane was beside him, looking tired and disinterested in her surroundings. Korra chalked this up to how much the girl had been bombarded by eager young minds that afternoon. Maybe Jane just couldn't handle kids?

["Jinora isn't in pain, is she?"] Tenzin inquired, bringing Korra's thoughts back to the phone.

"No, she's OK," assured Korra. "We've been making sure that she's taking the right meds, and drinking lots of fluids, and eating what Pema specified, and...yea, I mean, she's taking it easy." Korra glanced at Jinora, who smiled weakly back, knowing that she was the current topic of phone conversation. Korra returned the gentle smirk and nodded. Jinora went back to reading her book.

["Right, yes. Of course."] Tenzin breathed out a deep sigh.

Tenzin had asked these exact same questions the last time Korra had watched the kids, but she wasn't in any position to object.

["I suppose I ought to get back to work."]

"Sure. No problem."

["Pema should be back before it's too late, but I expect to arrive sometime before one in the morning, at the latest, just in case."]

"That's fine. Er, you sorta didn't answer before, but...Is it gonna be OK for me to take the kids out to see fireworks?"

Tenzin sighed audibly. He was obviously not keen on the idea.

"There's a town festival," Korra reminded. C'mon, Tenzin was, like, a member of the government and shit. He should totally appreciate celebrating patriotism and whatever. Not that Korra did - this wasn't really _her _country, after all. But _explosions_? In the sky? How could you go wrong with that?

"_Please, _Daddy!" Ikki cried out her please. "_Please?_"

"Yea!" Meelo tossed out his opinion. "Yea, Dad, it's _fireworks!_"

"I haven't been out of the house in days," Jinora meekly pointed out. Watching fireworks wouldn't involve a lot of moving around, eh? It was a perfect opportunity to let the poor kid get some air.

Korra smirked and shrugged up shoulders that Tenzin couldn't see.

"Uh, sorry," she sheepishly muttered. "I _kinda _talked it up a bit before...checking with you?"

["Yes, yes, fine...You said your friend is with you, as well?"]

"_Oh, _mm-hm. She's cool, eh? Between the two of us, they'll be in good hands."

["All right. But, still...have those officers escort you, all the same."]

Now Korra was the one audibly sighing. With everything going on, and the threat messages received, Chief Jia had personally ordered two officers to watch over the Rabten household at all times. They put Korra at unease, and this seemed to be doubly true for Jane, who had been kind of weird and shaky as soon as Korra had broguht her there.

"Are you sure?" Korra muttered. "I mean, we're going out to a public place, there'll be tons of people there..."

["There were plenty of people at a concert where your friend was attacked, were there not?"]

"...Yea," said Korra in admission. "OK, all right. I'll what you asked."

["Thank you."]

"Everyone will have a good time, and Jinora said she wants an excuse to get out of the house."

["Yes, yes. I understand. It's fine."]

Korra beamed at the group.

"Your dad says it's OK!" she confirmed for them - this was met with cheers, while Jane grumpily endured being swayed around by Meelo's weight shifting the couch cushions around.

["Have a good time,"] Tenzin said gently.

"We will," Korra replied, her face practically glowing with excitement to match the childrens'. It had been a grim, dull, depressing week. It was relieving to finally feel like she could do something - _anything _- to bring smiles to those faces. It made all of her failures disappear from her mind. Maybe only for a second, but any second of smiles was welcome these days.

["Call me when you get back home,"] Tenzin requested. ["And make sure to leave Pema a message explaining _where_ you are, in case she gets home before you get back."]

"Yup, yup, no problem," Korra assured, heading to the kitchen to scrawl up a note before she forgot to do so.

["Tell my children I love them."]

"Hey, Kids!" Korra bellowed from the kitchen as she began scribbling on the magnetic notepad attached to the fridge. "Your Dad loves you!" She held out her phone in their direction.

"I love you, Daddy~"  
"Back atcha, Dad!"  
"I love you, too, Dad."

Korra chuckled, bring the phone back to her ear.

"You hear 'em?" she checked.

["I did,"] Tenzin answered. For just those two syllables, he sounded at peace. Calm. Relaxed.

That was something Korra could relate with him on - confirmation of the love and admiration of those children seemed to bring the two of them some semblance of relief.

["I'll see you tonight."]

"Yep. Have a good one."

["Good night."]

-_Beep!_-

Korra hung up the phone and proceeded to finish her note.

Back in the living room, Ikki was turning the volume back up on the TV.

Jane, meanwhile, was completely miserable. Her head was full of stress and strife and worries and fear and doubt and anger.

Aaaaand her _eyes _were full of the horrifying yellow that was Spongebob Squarepants. Her ears assaulted by his annoying voice and his eternally squeaking shoes. At least _this _episode had some awesome, out-of-place Texan Squirrel lady, unlike the last episode Ikki had subjected them to. Still, though. Fucking. Spongebob.

Jane's festering hatred for the cube-clothed undersea menace was interrupted by her couch neighbors lumpy head hovering over her. It was Meelo, the youngest of the three. Jane had needed to ease his grabby little boy hands off of her a couple of times that evening, and had caught him gawking at Korra's ass. Meh. Poor kid was going through puberty, and _Korra _was his babysitter? Dude was gonna have problems.

And he was gonna have a problem with _Jane _if he didn't stop glaring at her the way he was in the instant she'd thought that.

As he hovered over her from his cushion on the couch, Jane fidgeted with her yellow-and-black flannel, rolling down her sleeves from her elbows to her wrists. Just being near this snot-nosed kid was making her feel gross.

Meelo asked, eyes furrowed, "Why's yer face all dirty?"

Jane's own eyebrows arced down with offense at his implication.

"...Huh?" she grunted out, trying to give the kid the benefit of the doubt.

"It's got all this weird gunk on it," Meelo explained, jabbing his index finger mere inches from Jane's cheeks. She leaned back with discomfort while Meelo pressed for an explanation. "What's with _that_? Did you get burned? Are you sick? Is it chicken pox?"

Jane swatted his hand away, nose wrinkling with irritation.

"Uh, yea, _no. _Not chicken pox. Not 'gunk'-" _You ugly little shit-stain. _"-it's my _face, _dude."

"What?" Meelo was digging his pinky finger around the edges of one nostril.

"My _face,_" said Jane. "It's my skin. They're freckles." Jane had barely managed to get the words out through clenched teeth in grumbling that was borderline hostile. She had bigger things to be concerned with right now than this weird-looking little pervert up in her business.

"_Ohhhh..._" Meelo nodded, eyes wide, brushing off his pinky on his shorts. "Your face is funny lookin'. And your hair's _orange, _is it _supposed _to be orange? Or is that color you put there? And how come you're wearing boys clothes? That's weird. And-"  
"Your fuckin' _head's _weird, kid," Jane snapped at him. "Buzz _off, _would ya? Leave me _alone_."

Meelo's lip fell open at her insult, and his eyes quivered. Instantly dejected, he scooped up his gaming device and shuffled his way upstairs. Jane sighed in self-deprecation at the backlash she'd just administered. When she caught the older of the three kids giving her a rather disapproving glare from the other side of the room, she immediately avoided it and stared into her lap. Her lanky arms wrapped themselves around her waist, Jane felt angry tears building up at the corners of her eyes.

"Daddy says that there's supposed to be no swearing in our house," Ikki cited in her rapid way.

"Sorry," Jane muttered back stubbornly. She had _way _more important fucking things to worry about that some stranger's children being upset because they didn't know when to back the hell off.

"He didn't mean to upset you," Jinora defended her sibling, turning a page with prim irritation. "He was just curious. Don't _yell _at him like that..."

"Yea, we don't yell in our house, Mommy says that-"  
"I _said _I was sorry, OK?" Jane growled back. Couldn't these kids take a fucking clue?

Spongebob Squarepants audio lulled over the trio of ladies in their moment of tension.

"All right, guys," Korra announced, re-entering the room. "If we wanna catch the fireworks, we've got a couple...-" Her words and body language lulled to a stop when she realized something was up. "Did I...miss something?"

["**Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!**"] The grating sound of Spongebob's laughter interrupted the tense moment.

Ikki tattled, "Meelo was asking Jane questions, and Jane yelled at Meelo and made him upset, and then he went up to his room, and now he's probably _cry-ing~_"

"Ikki, stop picking on him," Korra swiftly enacted a sharp little scold. She immediately directed herself at Jane. She dryly noted, "You aren't good with kids, eh?"

"_No,_" Jane coldly replied. "Especially not when I got more important stuff to...-" She trailed off.

"Huh?" Korra raised a brow, confused.

But now wasn't the time for it.

"Nothin'," Jane dismissed. "I've had a pretty crappy day, 'kay? He was up in my face, and..._touching _me, and wouldn't gimme space, and...-"  
Korra was watching Jane explain this frustration, watching her expression and her uneasy gesturing. But what she _saw _was Aang.

"OK, whoa, _easy_," Korra assured, plopping herself down beside her friend. "It's fine, I ain't mad."

Korra caught Jinora rolling her eyes a bit but ignored it.

"I get it, Meelo can be...kinda...a _little_...-"  
"Creepy," Jane whispered in Korra's ear.

"_Eh_," Korra squeaked out with an uncertain shrug. "He grows on ya, I guess. Maybe."

Jane didn't reply, and Korra got the message. She didn't understand why Jane had come to visit if the girl was gonna be all stink-eyed to the kids. Them getting acquainted was something Korra had been anxious about - she'd wanted them to get along, two different parts of her life being connected. It would've been nice. But it wasn't gonna happen today, at least. Then again, maybe the fireworks show would go better. Some time passed, and after a few minutes, Ikki went upstairs to console her little brother. Seconds after the girl vanished, Jane was all too eager to change the channel. She flipped on a nature documentary, receiving no complaints, and shifted her body around awkwardly.

The warmth of Korra's body was tempting at Jane's side. She could feel her hair brushing up against Korra's arm, which was spread across the back of the couch. And there were those chemicals again, mudding Jane's mind, poisoning its concerns over Johnny - er, Longshot, or..._whatever _she was supposed to call him. Jane lifted herself up from the couch, physically removing any temptation to interact with Korra, and wandered to the kitchen aimlessly.

"You need something?" Korra called over her shoulder.

"Er, somethin' to drink?" Jane asked, gawking at the refrigerator. "Coffee? Tea?"

"Yea," Korra grunted, popping off the couch and following to where her friend was.

Jane was leaning slightly toward the metallic fridge doors, examining some photos. One depicted three kids and their parents - the kids looked a few years younger. There was another photo that was much more recent - a selfie photo of Korra, grinning like an idiot, the three children tackle-hugging her from both sides. Red marker had been drawn over the picture: Korra had been fitted with horns and a mustache, Ikki had a lightning bolt on her forehead, Jinora a halo, and Meelo's eyes were colored over with what approximated to a pair of sunglasses.

"What was it you wanted?" Korra asked quietly, passing into the kitchen. She gave Jane's behind a casual bop with the back of her wrist to stir her friend from a photo-gawking stupor.

"Tea, coffee...?" Jane mumbled back with a shrug.

"_Tea-coffee_?" Korra teased with a raised brow, pulling open a drawer. "Yea, I'm not sure how to make that right."

"_Tsh_..." Jane wasn't quite in the mood for Korra's more flirtatious side right now, but also felt guilty about being a jerk back in the living room.

Korra pulled out a handful of tea bags and dropped them onto the counter. She checked the filter that was attached to the sink's tap to make sure it was set right.

"How 'bout some camomile, eh?" Korra asked, shuffling through the cupboard for a kettle.

"Sure," said Jane, stuffing her hands into her tight pockets and leaning her back up against the fridge. She prodded her elbow up at the group photo of Korra and the kids. "So, uh...these little guys mean a lot to you...huh?"

Meelo and Ikki could be heard snickering about something as they decided downstairs. Ikki gagged in disgust at whatever was on TV while Meelo cheered - Jane figured it was probably some animal eating another one. The TV changed stations as the volume was increased, more cartoon sounds washing out over the living room.

Korra took a deep, thoughtful breath. She poured water from the sink into the metal kettle, and switched on the electric stove to begin heating up a coil. After setting the kettle in place, she turned to Jane, running her hand up and over her scalp.

"I guess they do," Korra at last replied, staring at Jane with hollow eyes. Korra blinked, and the homebody life she'd assumed took back control, leading her to retrieve some ceramic mugs. "Hey, you you like dinosaurs, right?" Korra playfully asked, waggling a mug in Jane's direction.

"Yea, real cute," Jane answered flatly.

"Thought so," said Korra, setting the mug down as she gathered some more. "So, what's on your mind, eh?"

"Nothin'," Jane lied. A tension fell over the two of them for a second or so until Jane nodded her head back toward the living room. "That kid was invading my _bubble, _n' being all nosy and annoying..."

"Your '_bubble_?'" Korra joked. "I thought you told me _I _had one of those, and you didn't."

"Wh-?" It took Jane half a second to realize that Korra was referring to an earlier conversation involving ass sizes. "Shut up," she huffed with an amused eye roll. "Sorry I yelled at your _kid_, is what I'm gettin' at."

"Eh, it's fine. Only way that loonie's gonna learn is if he gets a slap in the face once in a while."

A quiet laugh fell from Jane's nostrils.

_Psh, sounds like somebody else I know_.

"This is pretty weird, gotta say," said Jane.

"What is?"

"_Unh_-unh," Jane murmured with a shrug. "Ya'll just...being some weird..._family_. I mean, _you? _Fuckin' making tea with crayon-colored mugs, n' Spongebob, vegetarian dinners, n' kids, just...I dunno. You're a goddamn _nanny _or something."

"That a problem?" Korra asked, immediately defensive.

"N-no, it's fine," Jane eased off. That _had _sounded sorta judgy. "I mean, it's _cool, _I guess? Breakin' outta your comfort zone? Getting in' touch with the 'lady' part of 'LadyBro.' I mean, it's...cool."

"It is," said Korra with a firm nod. "I can't explain it, it just feels..._right_. Looking after people, being like...their protector. They, uh...-" Korra scratched her neck and nodded slowly, staring down at her bare feet and sweat shorts. She looked back up to Jane, her eyes glimmering with a tender kind of emotion that Jane could appreciate but also could understand the difficulty of expressing.

"They look up to you," Jane observed. "Fuck, even after what's happened? And they _still_ believe in you."

"_Yea_," Korra breathed out, embarrassed. She took another deep sigh to clear her face from emoting too much, then looked at Jane. Korra's expression was warm and grateful as she spoke. "I guess I'm just so used to people telling me how to do things, I...forgot what it was like to have some one trust in me." She smiled, her eyes glazed over as she stared past Jane's side, glancing to the marker-laden photo on the fridge. "It's like these kids have...been a light I found while I was lost in the dark. _Heh. _Somethin' like that..."

Jane smirked. She could feel her own expression syncing up with Korra's. She fumbled around with her phone and pulled up an old photo - it was one of her, Kat, Aang, Sokka, and Toph, all dressed up for Homecoming back in the fall. She showed it to Korra.

"Know what ya mean," Jane empathized.

Korra's warm smile turned into a toothy grin.

"_Ow-ow, _lookit you, rockin' that dress."

"_Psh_..."

Jane's face was already warm from their shared moment of gratitude - Korra's flirting was making it worse. She jammed her phone back into one pocket. With the opposing hand in the other pocket, she thumbed at her worry stone a little.

_**~Ding...Dong~**_

The house was stirred by the doorbell. Korra and Jane swapped puzzled looks.

"Uh, mind setting the tea up for me?" Korra requested, rushing out toward the front door. "Lemme get it, Ikki," Jane heard Korra from the other room.

Jane studied the kettle - it was starting to whistle a little, reaching its boiling point.

"Kat! Whoa, hey!"

Jane's attention was diverted back to the living room, where Korra was welcoming Katara in. The hell? What brought Kat out here?

"Hi, Aang's girlfriend!" Ikki greeted chirpily.

"_Ha. _Hey, guys," Katara greeted them back. She gave them a wiggle of her hand and a nervous smile.

"What's up?" Korra asked, leading her cousin to the kitchen.

"You're asking _me? _Why are there _cops _set up in front of this place? They nearly scared me to death on the...-" Katara's speech slowed to a stop when she saw Jane, awkwardly standing in front of the stove. The kettle's whistling had reached a piquing point, and Jane spun around to tend to it.

"Oh, I invited her to come hang out," Korra explained Jane's presence without incident. "We're gonna go to the fair, pet animals, see fireworks n' stuff together."

"I didn't know you cared about petting animals," Katara remarked, amused. "But, yea, we're actually doing that, too. I was...trying to get in touch with you about that, Jane, but...I hadn't heard back." There was some irritation in her tone, which Jane could understand. She _had _pretty much blown off Kat's text, opting to ignore shit and just hang out with Korra for the evening. Unfortunately, it was not proving to be as relaxing as she'd hoped.

"Uh, sorry," Jane sputtered out, dropping tea bags into mugs.

"We should all together," Korra decided. "You could hang out with the Rabtens - ya know, _not _in the hospital?"

"Oh, umm...maybe," Katara replied with a courteous nod. "I'm just not so sure Sokka and Toph would be up for that."

"Eh, whatevs," Korra blew that concern off. "Those love birds can go off on their own, if they want. Besides, why would Toph even wanna go?"

"W-well, it's not like Toph doesn't just..._not _hang out with us when...-" Kat trailed off, watching Jane pour water into tea-bagged mugs. "Um, but, I actually came by for something else, too. Can we chat for a few minutes?"

Jane set the kettle back on the stove and scooped up the mug with the brightly colored dinosaurs on it.

"Somethin' wrong?" Jane wondered. She noticed that Katara was carrying that leather-bound journal she'd been toting around a lot lately. The maroon one with the crescent moon, and the inscribed title {**FAMILY**} on its cover.

"No, it's just family stuff," Katara put Jane at ease. She was telling the truth, Jane figured, and based on the particular look Kat gave, it seemed likely Katara was here to actually set things straight with Korra - which was what Jane had suggested a while back.

"You guys could go upstairs," Jane advised, palms clasped around her hot mug. She took the tiniest of sips. "I'll, erm...stay with the kids, n' whatever."

"Thanks," said Korra, giving Jane a small pat on the arm before the two Kesuk cousins retreated to the living room. After Korra checked with Jinora to see if they could use her bedroom as a place to talk in private - which Jinora approved without incident - they headed upstairs.

Katara was enraptured by the various photos on the tight stairwell, encased in antique frames. There were a few black and white photos of monks garbed in robes. It was intriguing to her.

The two ventured into the least cluttered of the three upstairs bedrooms. Korra, familiar with the layout, easily found and turned on the light switch. It was a quaint room with a single bed, the sheets made neatly. Katara was immediately floored by the wall-wide shelf of books that greeted them there. It was less a bedroom and more like a personal library. After closing the door behind them, Korra stretched one arm out to welcome Katara.

"This is Jinora's room," Korra explained, pulling out the wheel-bound chair from the desk beside Jinora's bed. Korra offered the chair to her cousin before setting herself down on Jinora's bed. Korra smirked at the way Katara's lips hung open at the site of the wall of books. "She's the oldest - the one whose foot got jacked up. I think you and her would at least share _one _thing in common, huh?"

"I guess so," Katara agreed. She drummed her fingernails on the cover of the journal in her lap as she eyeballed the teenager's inconsistent sense of style, taking her back to her own bedroom back home.

"Soooo...Yea." Korra verbally poked at Katara to stir the woman's attention.

"Ah, yes." Katara straightened her hair back over her shoulders and twisted the chair to face the bed. "Listen, I just wanted to come down here and...-" Katara broke eye contact, gazing off to a garish poster of shirtless movie actors. Yeesh. "-...um, I dunno, I was just curious to see if you and these guys were...OK, and...-"

"We're doing fine," Korra told her, carrying a hint of offense.

"The girl - Jinora." Kat's eyes refocused on Korra. "She's OK?"

"Mm." Korra nodded with a one-shoulder shrug. "As 'OK' as she _can _be right now..."

"Ah."

The two blinked at each other, each trying to get a handle on what the other was thinking.

Katara cleared her throat and decided to cut to the chase. She handed the journal to Korra, who accepted it awkwardly.

"I was hoping I could get you to write another entry in there this weekend."

"_Ech_," Korra sighed. "I...dunno, Kat, I'm not...-" Korra stared at the title: {**FAMILY**}  
It filled her with shame.

Korra placed the book on Jinora's bed to her side.

"Listen," insisted Katara. "I'm sorry that I lashed out at you the other day."

"I told you, it's...fine, I deserved it."

"No, but...I _really _want to make sure you know that I regret putting you in that position. Here. I want you to take this."

Katara leaned forward, reaching into her back pocket. She retrieved her wallet and pulled out a slightly worn business card from it, passing it Korra's way. Korra was at first baffled, but then realized it was police chief Jia's business card - the one Lin had given Katara back at the hospital earlier that week, the night Katara had ripped into Korra with her threats. Korra wasn't sure exactly Katara was giving _her _this stupid thing, but...whatever. She got the sentiment: Katara wasn't going to be trying to turn her in to the fuzz.

"Oh...It's cool, Kat," Korra tried to belittle the matter, putting the card in her own pocket. "I get it. I can't say I wouldn't have acted the same, if it was someone _I _loved who got hurt."

"OK."

The two stared into each other's eyes again, both faces earnest and laden with regret.

"_I'm _sorry for all the shit I've given you and your friends lately," Korra offered. "And I know it was a long time ago, but I _am _still sorry about what happened back when you in high school. You know that, right? I was even stupider back then, and with all the shit you were dealing with, it was pretty rude for me to do you like that."

A weighted silence kept either from moving for a few seconds, their eyes still stuck to each other's.

"I, er...-" Korra mumbled, trying to get words flowing. The quiet was making her uncomfortable. Were Katara's glazed eyes judging her? Were they reflecting pain, anger, or...what? "I mean, you _know _why I moved out here in the first place, right?" Korra checked, running her fingernails through her bangs.

Katara nodded, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Yea, it was...for me and my brother."

"And I fucked that up. Hardcore." Korra shrugged, her eyes welling up as that deep down self-deprecation was settling in again. "I'm a hot mess over here, and I'm spilling it all over everybody. But I _will _make things better - even if it means high-tailing it outta town."

"Korra..." Katara eked the word out, her eyelids sliding halfway down.

"No, I mean it. I've had the goddamn biscuit here, Kat. If I fuck things up _one _more time before I turn 'em around, you have my word: I will _leave_. I'll...pack my bags, get in my car, and drive straight back to the homeland."

"That's a little extreme," Katara sighed. "You really shouldn't look at it that way."

"Kat." Korra spread out her hands. "I don't know how else _to _look at it. I want to _help _people, not screw 'em over."

Katara's eyes dulled with fear at Korra's remark, and she got up from her chair, taking two steps forward. She patted Korra's arms and gestured her to stand up. The two hugged.

Korra spilled a couple tears that seemed to have crept up out of nowhere alongside that nasty guilt.

"I'm so _done _with being a fuck-up," Korra grumbled miserably, the contact of her cousin reassuring.

"Hey, _heyyyy_..." Katara clutched the sides of Korra's stubborn head, though Korra looked away in shame. "You're trying," Katara observed. She put her hands where they had just been - Korra's back - and the two squeezed a tight hug. "And I really appreciate that," Katara went on. "It means a lot to me, your apology. I'm sorry I've been doubting you. You _will_ make things right. I know it - I believe in you."

Their hug separated, and Korra briskly dried her face. Jesus christ, what was up with all the crying these days? Korra hated that. It made her feel weak - but then again, just now, in this instance, it had made her feel strong.

"Thanks, Cuzzo," Korra worked out through a dry sniffle, laughing weakly in spite of herself.

Katara matched her cousin's awkward laugh with one of her own.

"No problem. I love you, Hun."

"Yea, you, too."

"And even on my worst days, you _know _that sooner or later, I'm going to come around for you, Korra. We'll always find a way to make things work. After all...We're _ohana._"

"Eh?" Korra was puzzled.

Katara grinned goofily, scooping up her journal from the bed. She handed it to Korra with resolution.

"_Ohana _means 'family,'" she reminded Korra. After a second, the two both lit up, their memories on the same page. Korra accepted the book.

With childish grins, Katara recited the first half of the quote, and Korra completed it.

"'Family' means nobody gets left behind."

"Or forgotten."


	120. Greatest Change

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 120 - Greatest Change_

* * *

- Friday, June 4th, 2011 -

"_Wooowwww~_"  
"Ooooohhh..."  
"_Ahaha_."

The night sky shimmered with periodic explosions of light, each accompanied by a distant booming sound that echoed from the valley off in the distance. Some would fizzle and pop, or spiral and whistle. The Rabten kids were huddled together on a blanket set over the damp grass, Korra leaning back on her palms behind them. They had been smiling, laughing, partaking in what few festival foods they were allowed, soaking in the crowds around them and over all just enjoying being out of the house. Even Jinora seemed to be pleased and at peace. Korra's spirit swelled at seeing the three of them getting along, grinning and snickering.

The park's wide open spaces were populated by various individuals and groups, with some food stands lined up along a main side walk path behind them.

Even the pair of officers that had been assigned to the Rabtens for the evening had needed to bail a few minutes back - they'd been called on backup duty due to something going on at a nearby bar, apparently, and had advised Korra to go straight home, where they'd meet up. In a weird way, Korra felt _more _comfortable without them lingering around, and she figured the kids did, too.

Right behind Korra and the kids, spread across a couple of other blankets, were others in their group. Ty-Lee was sprawled on her back, observing the fireworks show in quiet but unenthused peace - she looked ready to fall asleep. Mai was off taking pictures of the event from various angles while the fiery displays were flickering overhead. Jane, whom Korra had expected would've been sitting alongside her, was sitting between Katara and Toph. Katara was snuggling against Aang, the two of them mellow and enjoying the moment as they shared a bag of kettle corn.

Sokka was cross-legged, observing the display above with a distant glaze over his eyes. His face was scraggly and unshaven, and his hair was undone, a floppy mop hanging over the sides of his head. Toph was leaned against his shoulder, arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing a black beanie over her unkempt hair, her eyes half veiled by black hair and black hat. She looked more like she was enduring the entire event, tense and unable to relax.

In the brief moment that Korra observed all of this behind her, she found herself momentarily disheartened at the disconnect between her, the kids, and her friends. Not to mention that her roommates had declined coming. Mako had simply stated he 'didn't do kids,' Bolin had work that evening - the guy seemed to be working an awful lot lately - and Asami said she was going to stay home with Mako and hash out some work-related stuff.

But Korra's slight melancholy was wiped clean when Ikki's hand prodded violently at her shoulder, egging Korra to look upward rather than backward.

The fireworks display ended with a immensely bright, loud, and colorful barrage. Upon its conclusion, there was an applause that echoed across the park. Following this, the throngs of festival-goers began folding up their portable chairs, rolling up their blankets, scooping up their trash - most of it, anyway - and making their way toward the park's various exits.

Toph groaned, scratched her nose, and pulled herself up from his side.

"Mm?" Sokka looked over to her, getting the sense she was discontent.

"Yer fuckin' light show over yet?" Toph grumbled.

"Oh, er, yea, should be," Sokka muttered back. "Didn't like it, huh?"

"No," Toph grumbled, pulling up her hat to expose a grouchy and confused sort of expression. "Wanna know what fireworks are like for _me_?"

"Uh...-?" Sokka was puzzled.

"Close your eyes," Toph insisted, giving him a nudge on the arm with with knuckles. Sokka sighed through his nose but did as he was told. "Closed?" Toph checked.

"Yea."

Toph leaned her face toward his, then bellowed out a uproarious "**BOOM!**" right into his ear, startling him.

Sokka flinched, cupping his hand on his ear as he leaned back and yelped with discomfort. A short-lived daisy chain of random voices from the small sea of attendees - mostly children - repeated and remixed Toph's onomatopoeia.

Toph then flopped her head down, arms still crossed with a sour disposition.

"Ohhh, _Toph_," Katara cooed, snickering at her brother as she worked her arms around her roommate's neck and gave her a hug. "Don't be such a grump," she warmly suggested. Pulling her head off of Toph's, she kept her hands attached to the blind girl's shoulders. "You're out with your friends on a beautiful night, we're having fun."

"_Mmph_," was the extent of Toph's reply, nose wrinkling as she pouted her lips in a frown at her friend.

"C'mon," Katara eased, giving Toph a shake. "C'_mawwwn_..."

Toph replied with a stubborn, nasally growl, not unlike a displeased dog.

"More food?" Katara theorized. She began baby-talking Toph, as if her friend were, indeed, a displeased pet. "Is that it? Huh? Is that it, girl? Is that what you want?"

Toph's cross visage crumbled and she snorted a laugh. Kat laughed in kind while Sokka, still prodding at his ear, glanced at their goofy interaction with apathy.

"Maybe if we go now, we might be able to catch some of the food stands before they close up," Aang suggested.

"Oh, are we eatin'?" Korra asked, her stomach still eager for one of those chili dogs they had passed by.

"_Oh-oh _can we have some cotton candy?" Ikki pleaded.

"_Yea!_" Meelo chimed in, baring his teeth in a wide grin.

"_Haha, _I don't know, _can _you?" Korra checked, humored. Naturally, she received eager nodding from both sides.

"We maybe _can, _but we _shouldn't_," Jinora cited, resulting in some dejection for her siblings. "If you could get some pretzels without butter, that...should be fine."

"_Ohhh, _yea, the big, warm, _chewy _pretzels," Ikki cried out, jumping right back into enthusiasm.

"That's OK, I guess," Meelo mumbled with a shrug. He would normally protest this kind of thing more, but Korra had noticed that both Ikki and Meelo seemed to be listening to and respecting their older sister more than usual since the incident that injured Jinora's foot.

Speaking of which, Korra's body still tweaked in certain places as she got herself up from a sitting position to a standing one.

When Korra surveyed the scene behind her, she realized that Katara, Aang, and Jane had already headed off to grab food, leaving Ty-Lee behind on their blanket. Sokka and Toph were having some hushed discussion. The kids seemed to be enjoying the fresh air at dusk, and the gradually increasing population of visible fireflies around them. And besides, if they'd all just be coming back here, she really didn't want to drag Jinora around - the poor girl had one foot she couldn't walk on at the moment, after all. Korra figured it was better that Jinora took it as easy as possible.

"All right. I'm gonna go get us all pretzels," Korra announced, getting a '_Yes_' from Ikki, a nod from Meelo, and a calm smile from Jinora. "Now, you two watch over your sister," Korra advised the two younger ones. "OK?"

Ikki and Meelo both saluted, chins high - this had become a sort of ritual over the past few days, and it made Korra smirk every time she saw it. Korra gave the two a solid pat on the shoulder in tandem. Jinora turned on the device that had been in her lap, and the three of them swarmed around it.

Sokka and Toph were just starting to follow them. Sokka had cast a glance over his back, and Korra waved to him as she stepped toward him.

"Oh, are you coming?" Sokka paused to check on Korra, causing Toph - who was following behind him - to bump into his back.

"Uh, _yea_," Toph growled, pushing her displaced hair out of her face.

"I _meant _Korra," Sokka explained in a sigh, holding out his elbow to her.

"Right," Toph muttered with some embarrassment, reaching her hand out and quickly finding his arm. She clamped her fingers against his elbow for guidance.

"Yea, sorry, I'll be right behind ya," Korra said to them, walking around the blankets they were sitting on. Korra noticed Ty-Lee was lounging by herself, no more than twenty feet away from the kids. Korra looked back at the trio. They were currently hovering around Jinora's smart phone as she was showing them something, its bright light white against their faces in contrast to the night shadows that had settled over the park's grassy plain. Korra smiled at the light against their faces within the evening's darkness when all three burst into a laugh at some evidently funny thing they were watching.

"What is it?" Ty-Lee asked, looking up to Korra from her relaxed position.

"You're staying here while we get snacks, eh?" Korra checked.

"Mm-hm," Ty-Lee replied with a nod. Huh. Girl seemed kind of morose or something. Korra recalled that this was the prissy, hyper one, right? She seemed much more chill than usual tonight.

"Mind keepin' an eye on the little loonies for me for a minute?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Cool. Thanks!"

Korra trekked across the darkened park, making way for the street lamps that were spread across the sidewalk. Many of the festival attendees had gravitated to this area, but Korra could tell that the park as a whole was getting ready to close up, with the food stands starting to shut down. She jogged her way to catch up to Sokka and Toph.

"_So, _uhh...-" She began, letting her thumbs hook onto the edges of her cargo shorts. "Toph! Yea...Sorry about Meelo."

"What, now?" Toph immediately came back. "You mean the one who kept talking so much I couldn't hear the goddamn _explosions?_"

"Errm...No, that was...probably Ikki. Meelo was the boy - the one who was trying to tickle you when you took your shoes off?"

"_Oh, _pff." Toph laughed. "That's messed up, that _boy's _the '_icky_' one, am I right?"

"Uh...Heh." Korra had no idea how to react to this, and ended up shrugging sheepishly, only to realize Toph couldn't see this gesture.

"Don't worry about it," Toph dismissed casually. "Crazy as he is, I still bet I was more of a psycho at that age."

Korra chuckled at Toph's self-directed humor. Sokka seemed pretty quiet, but Korra figured she had some notions of why that was. Korra's eyes caught sight of the pretzel stand they had passed earlier, and she advised the couple that she'd go grab those and meet up with them at the chili dog stand.

By the time she caught up with the others, Sokka and Toph were finishing up chili dogs, Aang was sipping a drink, and Katara was munching on a funnel cake. They had met up with that gloomy girl - Mai, the one who was all buddy-buddy with Aang. Korra remembered her name this time, at least. Mai was holding a plastic-wrapped pillow of cotton candy, but wasn't eating like the rest of them. She was having some kind of discussion with Kat by the time Korra reached their group spot beneath a lamp post.

Korra smiled her way and gave her a small wave with one hand, toting a stack of warm pretzels in the other. Mai smirked at her and nodded her greeting back before refocusing on Kat, who was talking.

"-and so I get what you're saying, but it's OK. I'm still on board with this," Katara declared. "I mean, you work with the paper, so if you're still willing to go through with it, we can make _sure _that notice still gets printed in the White Lotus tomorrow. And then? I'll print off a bunch of fliers. Maybe the Kurosawas are too preoccupied, but that doesn't mean we can't follow through with the peace march plan." Her mini rant done, Katara tore off a piece of her funnel cake and inhaled it.

"What do you think, Aang?" Mai asked, tinkering with the fancy camera hung from her neck.

Aang shrugged uncertainly in reply, slurping at his straw. Ech, still being all wishy-washy, eh? Korra wasn't going to get on his case about it right now, though. Little Man had it rough enough as it was lately on account of her.

Jane mumbled her two cents. "Nah, I mean...I think that's..._good._" She gave a slow couple of nods. "Yea, I'm down for that. I'll...help you out."

"What?" Sokka spewed, surprised. "Since when are _you _into protests, Ginger?"

"Since I quit the fucking _gang life,_" Jane snapped back in a dull, quiet manner. "I'm over that. I wanna see it _end._ And I'm not gonna sit around and let shit happen to other people. I got off easy 'cuz I snitched, but I still used to be _part _of that problem. Least I could fuckin' do is own up to it and try to make some kinda difference."

"Whoa, hey, OK," Sokka eased, flashing up his palms. "Touchy subject. I hear ya. Sorry."

There was an awkward silence between the group for a few moments as some kids being led off by their parents started igniting sparklers. Their giggles and the crackling sounds echoed nearby.

"You sound...pretty serious," Katara noted, intrigued and confused at once.

"That's 'cuz I _am,_" Jane earnestly replied, staring at Katara with a 'pretty serious' look.

Katara admired the determined fire in those windows of olive. A sparkler fizzling from behind Katara reflected off of Jane's eyes. Where that glassy olive had once been dull and lifeless, these days it shone with purpose and vigor.

"So, wait-wait-wait," Sokka flung his wrists around. "What's the _name _of this plan?"

"Huh?" Katara blinked at her brother, stupefied. "The peace march plan?"

Sokka waggled air quotes at her. "'Peace-March-Plan?' That sounds...lame. You need something more energetic. Something that _sounds _important."

"Oh, yea?" Katara deadpanned. "OK, Bestower-of-Titles, what the heck would _you _call it?"

"Hmmm..._Hmmmm!_" Sokka pondered with exaggeration. "Well, like, what's the main goal here?"

"Peace," Katara sighed vaguely, popping her shoulders up.

"Harmony," Aang added. Ah, see, _now _he spoke up. "It's harmony. Peace is just people not fighting - _harmony _is people blending together, actively getting along, appreciating each other's differences. _That's _what me and Zuko have been trying to work toward between the college and the town."

"_Ahh, _right, because the town's got so many white people, and the college is, like...hella Asians."

"Sokka," Katara mumbled with some disapproval at her brother's black-and-white view of things.

"Harmony, huh?" Sokka prattled, nodding vigorously with narrowed eyes. "So there ya go: the March for Harmony. A.K.A. the Harmony March. Boom. Named. Sokka's stamp of approval, eight-out-of-ten."

"What's with you and the goofy names for everything?" Toph deadpanned.

"_Wow, _hypocritical much?" Sokka retaliated with an amused but defensive tone. "And _by the way, _that reminds me, we still haven't gone over our revised group name."

"We don't _need _one," Aang expressed his apathy at this.

"Hey, maybe _you _don't," Sokka eased. "But I do. I need something solid that sticks, something to refer back to when I'm off living on my own and stuff."

"Thought we were the Fearsome Fivesome," Jane recollected.

"_Ehhh, _but we need something different now," Sokka insisted. "OK, hear me out. I've been thinking on this for a while-"  
"I bet you _have_," Toph picked. Sokka ignored her.  
"-...and I thought we could be - wait for it -" He flashed up his palms. "-...The Fearless Five!"

Sokka's proclamation was met with awkward silence. Jane cleared her throat. Korra began eating the pretzel on the top of her stack.

"Hey," said Korra, her mouth half full. She swallowed. "But there's more than five of us here."

"Don't look at me, I'm not part of this," Mai insisted with a shrug. "I've got my own group of crazy people to look after."

"You're an honorary member, or something," Sokka dismissed.

"What about Meng?" Toph prodded. "She's actually gonna be here next year."

Sokka made a shooing motion in her direction with his hand.

He said to her, "She's not even _here _right now because she got invited to some party with her not-really-but-totally-is-boyfriend."

"I'm your _cousin_," Korra grunted, chewing off another piece of pretzel.

"Meng's _my _cousin," Toph sighed, licking her fingers of residue chili. "I guess Meat-Head here doesn't cut extended family a break."

"Besides," cited Sokka. "You're not even a student."

"_Puh!_" Korra laughed, spitting a few pretzel crumbs out onto the sidewalk. She swallowed, eager to point out with a raised brow, "Guess what, Pal? _You're _not a student anymore, either."

"I...-! I _was_," Sokka realized, wriggling his own brows at her. The two swapped smarmy looks. Korra maintained her playful glare as she devoured more of her salty, warm confection.

"Yea? And _I_...was...a security officer. For a bit," Korra recalled. "For the _school._" Her eyes narrowed, awaiting his come back.

"The Fearless Five...-" said Sokka slowly. "-...Plus One."

"_Ungh?_" Korra gaped, her mouth full as she finished off her snack.

Sokka nodded with his arms crossed, chin raised. "When it's the six of us, we can be The Fearless Five Plus One."

"Fucking christ," Jane huffed to herself, tossing back her head at their petty bullshit. She began making her way back to the spot where they'd been sitting, and the others followed, leaving the comfort of the lamp posts.

"Mm _weh_ mrr furrliz den...-" Korra choked a bit on her pretzel, eyes bulging as she coughed. She pounded her chest, nearly dropping the three-tiered snack of baked goodness in her opposite arm. "I'm _way _more fearless than the rest of you," Korra cockily defied, eyes watering from nearly choking.

"Doesn't matter," Sokka laid it rest, tossing his hands up. "It's not your call."

"Why is it _your _call?" Toph mumbled, her fingers re-pinched against his elbow as they walked.

"Yea, yea, hey. Why not put it to a vote?" Korra proposed slyly.

"Guys," Jane huffed. "Enough already, _damn_...Can we just get back to campus already?"

"To be continued," Korra snarkily said to Sokka, pointing at him with a competitive look.

Within a minute or so, the lot of them had made their way through the flickering light of Jinora's phone. But something was off.

There were no cheerful little faces to reflect that light.

Korra squinted as they got closer. She scanned the nearby environs, noting many fireflies that were coming into focus as her eyes re-acclimated to the darkness. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, but it turned out to be some punky high schoolers that passed by.

At this point, they were close enough to where they'd been sitting that it was looking like the kids had gotten up and left.

"Uh, you guys see the loonies anywhere?" Korra asked, eyes frantically searching. It was when she spoke to ask this question that she realized how tight her throat was, how her chest had frozen up, and how her heart was pounding, that familiar and petrifying pulse of fear swarming her.

The others expressed some confusion as they looked around. There were a few small clusters of people making their exodus out of the park, but at this point it was pretty empty.

All that remained where the kids had once sat was a crumpled blanket, a smart phone, still playing a video, and Jinora's crutch.

Ty-Lee was crumpled on her side, unmoving. Had that fuckin' airhead taken a nap?

"Where the hell did they go?" Korra growled out, stomping over Ty-Lee's unconscious form, a trio of pretzels tucked under her arm. There was no response from Ty-Lee. "_Huh_?" Korra kicked her boot at the girl, but there was still no reaction.

"Ty?" Mai called out, her voice shedding its usual veneer of apathy to expose some concern. Korra took a step back, startled by the speed at which Mai had unslung her camera and dropped into onto the blanket. Mai was down on her knees, inspecting her friend's unmoving state. "Hey, c'mon, wake up," Mai commanded, her tone darkening as she dug her long fingers into Ty's shoulders, jostling her around and flipping her abdomen upward. Ty-Lee was still motionless. "She...she's not...-" Mai muttered out in quiet, confused monotone. This was probably more shock than anything else.

The playful, petty banter that the group had been engaged in moments before felt like some bizarre, distant memory in an instant.

Korra chucked the pretzels she'd been carrying into the grass at her feet and stomped off a few steps, nails clawing her scalp fretfully.

"Move," Jane ordered to Mai, pushing her way over and dropping to the grass by Ty's head. Jane shooed Mai's panicky hands away, setting Ty-Lee's body back on its side. She tilted her head down to Ty's mouth, ear against the girl's lips, and stuck her index and middle finger against Ty-Lee's neck. The second or so that this lasted seemed to take entirely too long to pass by. "She's fine," Jane's gravelly voice concluded in swift, efficient syllables. Jane's brows furrowed, as if she realized something. Her nose wriggled, and she then twisted her head to put her nostrils to smell Ty-Lee's breath. Jane immediately pulled back her face and rubbed her wrist on her nose. "The fuck...-?" she mumbled under breath. It had smelled...sweet. A unnatural kind of sweetness that Jane recognized. She didn't like it.

While this was happening, Korra was aimlessly wandering around the dumbstruck lot of them, frantically making a phone call as she hissed '_Shit-shit-shit'_ to herself.

"She's OK?" Mai checked with Jane. "Why is she...-?"

"_Shh_," Jane hushed. Her gaze was locked on Ty-Lee's face.

The poor girl's eyes were fluttering about as she regained consciousness, sputtering a few coughs into the blanket as she wobbled her arms around, struggling to push her face up. Jane could hear a pretty audible release of breath from Mai at this, while Korra groaned in frustration at her phone, only to try making another call.

"Wh-whoa, Korra, hey," Katara walked up to her cousin, hands out. Korra was pacing around, eyes wide as she continued to search the park, which was only getting darker by the minute.

"Whh...-?" Ty-Lee moaned in a daze, rubbing her eyes as she gawked at Jane and Mai's close faces. Mai instantly leaned over to give her roommate a hug, but Ty-Lee was still regaining her bearings.

"What happened?" Jane cut right to the chase. "Somebody grab you?"

"Huh?" Ty-Lee squinted from over Mai's shoulders. The two broke off, Mai allowing her friend some space.

"Er, just...breathe for a sec," Jane let the girl be for a moment, studying the blanket that the kids had been seated at. It looked disheveled in a weird way, like it had been dragged along the grass a bit toward the right, crumpling in a uniform direction. Kids getting up and leaving wouldn't leave the blanket looking quite like this - but kids being dragged across and up from it might.

"I'm sure they're nearby," Katara was trying to ease Korra in the background. "They...p-probably just...y-you know, um, went to _car, _because...because they were cold, or...-"

"_Urgh_," was Korra's response to that, dropping her phone-toting arm to her side. She spun around, eyes wide open and wet. She thrust her hand out toward where the kids had been seated. "Why's her _crutch _still there?" Korra retorted. Katara grimaced, accepting her cousin's reasonable fears and succumbing to them herself.

"Yo," Jane snapped behind her back at Sokka, Aang, and Toph, all of whom seemed slack-jawed at what was happening before them. "Wake the _fuck _up, guys. Look around."

"R-right," Aang obliged, slapping Sokka's arm and stirring him from his baffled stupor.

"Yea," Sokka affirmed his understanding. He pulled his elbow out of Toph's grasp and the two of them split up, starting to shout out into the park's rapidly emptying populace.

"I...-!" Toph spat out in a befuddled huff, regaining her footing after losing Sokka's support. "What the hell d'ya want _me_ to-?"  
"Call 911," Jane sternly commanded, examining Ty-Lee's face as the girl prodding her fingertips at her lips. "Tell 'em there's been a kidnapping at Wayward Park."

"_Wh_-?" Toph panted out. "We don't...even _know_-"  
"Did I stutter?" Jane lashed back.

Toph swallowed the lump in her throat as she fumbled around for her phone. After fidgeting with the device, she spoke mechanically into its speaker: "Nine. One. One."

Jane refocused her attention to Ty-Lee, who was rubbing water from her eyes, her lips caving into a horrified pout.

"Some..._people _were just...here a second ago," Ty-Lee whimpered out.

"Did someone grab you?" Jane coolly inspected. "Shove somethin' in your face? Like a rag?"

"I...I don't _know,_ I-don't-_know_," Ty-Lee winced out, planting her face into her palms.

"You had _one _goddamn job," Korra hissed at Ty-Lee's back. "We were gone for _five minutes, _not even! How could you j-...?!"

Korra was stopped suddenly by Katara's gentle but firm grip on her collarbones.

"This wasn't her fault," Katara informed her cousin.

Both Kesuk women stared at each other for a second before Korra's lips curled back into a toothy grimace and she tore herself from Katara's grasp, storming off a few steps.

"Bastards have been waiting," Korra growled to herself. "Waiting for me to _fuck up _- big surprise..."

"What?" Katara asked. "The people from _last _weekend?"

"Uh, _yea_!" Korra shouted irritably. "Who _else _would it be?"

Ty-Lee was now sobbing, and Mai was mumbling words of comfort to her.

"And...-! And it...-! I didn't...-!"

"Hey, hey-hey, I know. You're OK. Just _breathe._"

Sokka and Aang were calling out in the distance, checking with the rare passersby that remained.

"**Jinoraaaa!**"

"**ICKY...! MILO...!"**

Toph was nervously fumbling through a phone conversation about what she could gather was going on, answering questions.

"Uh-huh...Uh-huh. N-no, I didn't...get a look at them, I've...got no idea, they...-"

Jane was using her phone as a makeshift flashlight, looking through the grass to see if she could find any kind of evidence, but nothing was turning up.

"Fuck, _arghhh, _shit-_tuh_!" Korra was swearing out her aggravation, suddenly leaving for the parking lot. Her voice faded off, raving in the distance. "I am _so _fuckin' dead. I am _so dead_."

"Korra! Wait! Stop!" Katara chased off after her.

Jane finally took a second in all of this chaos to find some quiet within her own freckled fingers, shutting her eyes and sighing. This was all her fault, wasn't it? She'd dragged Korra into this bullshit with the Combustion Man, and that had set off this goddamn domino chain. Now Longshot was missing, these _kids _were missing, and the-fuck-knew who else was getting hurt by all of this craziness going on lately. Jane fought back the short-lived desire to shed a tear of anguish.

Then, she nearly had a heart attack as some weird, fuzzy recording played from nearby.

["So the lion fell in love with the lamb..."]

The sound had petrified her briefly, before she'd realized that it had been Jinora's goddamn ringtone. The teenager's phone was still sitting on the blanket to Jane's side. Jane grunted as she crawled a few feet over, her knees a bit scraped and her pants a little damp from tussling in the grass.

Jane shakily scooped it up and examined it, and her heart sank at what she read.

[**1 new txt!**]

[From: (Blocked)]  
[You're next Kesuk.]  
[**- TTT**]

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_"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."_  
― Leo Tolstoy

* * *

- Saturday, July 5th, 2011 -

The early evening wind swept across the neighborhood, tussling Korra's hair and flapping her jacket against her abdomen. Slumped over the steps of front porch, leaning over with her elbows on her knees, Korra stared at the dim glow of her cigarette, entranced. Another breeze flickered, stirring the burning ash stick that hung from between her two fingers. The rush of air caused the cigarette to burn faster. Korra's head was foggy, her consciousness in a dulled daze. She caught herself stalling between breaths and took in air through her nose. She lifted her cigarette to her lips and inhaled deeply. She coughed and sputtered, then tapped the leftover ashes to the sidewalk at her feet.

Her other hand, lazily grasping a brown bottle, feebly lifted her drink to her numbed lips. She washed down her smoke with bitter, dark beer.

Minutes passed like this. Somber and quiet. To her right sat Mako, casually smoking without saying a word. To her left sat Bolin, sipping at his beer very slowly, giving Korra concerned looks. She caught his glances out of the corner of her eye but dared not reciprocate.

Korra went through her entire bottle and two cigarettes like this, attempting to numb herself. She thought nothing of what had happened the night before. She felt nothing, either - or what she did feel was too submerged in alcohol and nicotine for her to be aware.

After dropping her second burnt out cigarette to the sidewalk and crushing it beneath her fur-edged boot, Korra got up without incident. She trudged inside. The living room was filled with a handful of boxes, a large duffel bag, a suitcase...Asami was sitting on the couch, taking freshly washed clothes from the bin at her side and folding them, placing them into the suitcase at her other side. Korra passed right on by without thinking to grab another pint-sized bottle of beer from the fridge. She cracked it open and was already sucking some down as she re-entered the living room. In her daze, she had tipped her bottle too eagerly, before her lips were ready, and had spilled some beer on her shirt and denim coat collar. Without so much as a sigh, Korra carried on, giving Asami a curious glance as her brain caught up with what her roommate was doing. The clothes Asami was folding were Korra's possessions, though the suitcase was not.

"-'sami..." Korra mumbled. "What're you _doing_?"

Asami at first offered Korra a hopeful, gentle smile. At the sight of her broken-hearted friend, however, Asami's expression turned pale, then sympathetic.

"I'm helping you finish packing," Asami explained.

"Buuut...-" Korra flopped her hand out - the one holding her fresh beer - and gestured the tip of her bottle toward the suitcase. "I'nt that _your _suitcase?"

"Mm-hm." Asami nodded, folding a wrinkled pair of black boxer-briefs and tucking it on top of the small underwear stack she'd formed for Korra.

"'Mm not...keeping that," Korra flatly declined, referring to Asami's luggage carrier.

"I know," Asami replied calmly. "I'm letting you borrow it. You don't have enough space in your bag for all of your clothes."

"Umm..." Korra blinked, brows furrowed with disapproval.

"You can return it the next time you come to visit," Asami concluded, taking a dark blue button down and folding it as neatly as she could. Geez, all of Korra's clothes were so wrinkled, but that wasn't Asami's problem. Ironing them out would just be a waste - the poor girl was just going to stuff them into drawers when she arrived back in Canada.

Korra was gawking with narrowed, glazed over eyes as Asami went through a few articles.

"I'm..._not _comin' to visit," Korra decided darkly. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

"Well..." Asami slowly began, pausing as she folded up a pair of worn-out jeans. "Then I...will pick it up. When we come to visit _you._"

Korra grunted a sigh through her nose, then took a swig of her bitter drink.

"By the way," said Asami, her tone shifting from courteously sterile to solemn. She leaned over the coffee table before her, looking for something. It was full of odds and ends, Asami's laptop, some folders, Korra's music box...Ah, there it was. Asami scooped up a very thin metal chain necklace and dangled it up in the air toward Korra. "You must've mixed this up with your laundry last night. I...found it in the washer."

Korra stared at the metal piece, delicately hanging from Asami's fingers. A dog tag dangled from it, swiveling to and fro. It was scratched, scuffed, and had traces of pink stained into it. One side read {**Naga**}, the other {**Kesuk**}.

Korra's expression didn't change in the couple of seconds she gazed at it.

Asami observed that cold, deadened look in her friend's once energetic eyes. Korra's eyes looked hardened over with a sheet of ice, her lips hung open in a dumfounded stupor, a bottle of beer barely grasped against her hip. Korra's cocky slouch and swagger was replaced by defeat and numbed loss.

Asami couldn't bear the sight for more than those couple of seconds, and when Korra didn't move, Asami got up. She walked over to her friend and placed the chain around Korra's neck, tucking it beneath her denim collar and dropping the dog tag down the front of Korra's T-shirt. She gave Korra a hug, but Korra didn't return it. She just stood there, frozen over in the blizzard of her brain.

"We're going to miss you around here," Asami ensured as she broke off of her friend. "Mako's too stubborn to say it, so I'm saying it for both of us."

"Y-yea, uh...-" Korra scratched at the edges of her nostril. "Ya know, you don't...gotta do that for me," Korra changed the subject, nodding her head over to her clothes.

"It's not a problem," Asami insisted, making her way back over to continue the task. "Let me take care of this. You spend some more time with the boys. Relax."

Korra cleared her throat as if to say something, but didn't speak a word. Instead, she took another sip of beer, taking slow steps toward the front door.

"We should all hang out tonight before you leave in the morning," Asami decided. "I think Bolin picked out a movie we could all watch together, he said it was one of your favorites."

"Mm," Korra replied with a complacent hum, opening the front door up to the windy, humid afternoon. "Uh, oh...but...-" Korra turned back to Asami and took another sip of beer. "Thanks for helping," Korra muttered to her friend.

Asami smiled weakly at Korra's glum and dreary face.

"You're welcome," said Asami.

* * *

_"The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking."_  
― Albert Einstein

* * *

"Oh, man, I love this, uh...this...-" Bolin wiggled his finger at the TV screen. "The pirate guy! From Firefly!" Bolin snapped his fingers a couple times, searching for the proper name.

"Alan Tudyk," Mako informed him from his spot with Asami on the recliner.

"_Shh-Sshh_!" Korra hushed them, flapping her arm about.

["Yea, um...Shouldn't we, like, learn by dodging balls that are thrown at us, or...-?"]  
["That's what this sack of wrenches is for."]

"Oh-my-god," Asami instantly sputtered out as the wheelchair-bound man in the movie slammed a big bag of metal on the table beside him.

"_Yee_-**up!**" said Korra with a relaxed glee, grinning with anticipation. She was lounged back on the couch besides Bolin, her hair loose, over her white Maple Leaf shirt and a pair of gray sweats. She cradled a can of beer in her lap and took a drink.

"I don't see this ending well," Bolin muttered in quick, fearful syllables, fingers drumming along his own can.

"_Heh_." Korra stretched up her free arm over the couch's spine and gave him a hearty slap on the back.

Bolin fidgeted with his UFC-branded T-shirt, and Korra enjoyed the awkward grin on his face at her contact. She let her arm linger over the couch behind him as they continued to watch.

["If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."]  
["..._What?_"]

The lanky lad questioning his teacher's methods was instantly smacked in the face with a metal wrench.

"_Oh!_" Bolin yelped in reaction, his shoulders popping up with alarm at the sight. Korra had been watching him instead of the movie - one she'd seen many times already - and drew comedy from his childish surprise. "_Agh_...!" Bolin panted out as the character on-screen writhed in pain on the ground. "_Man, _that is-..._Ow. _Geez..."

Korra laughed - that humming laugh that Bolin loved - smiling like a fool at him. Her face was warm with booze, and he sheepishly shrugged back at her.

Mako had let slip a small chuckle at this, while Asami had one hand over her mouth and a raised eyebrow, apparently trying to decide how she felt about it.

["Any other questions?"]

A dodgeball training montage commenced, bringing out more startled chuckles from Bolin, some stifled laughs from Mako and Asami, and some giggles from Korra, who waited rather intently through it all so that she could quote along with the movie, '_You're about as useful as a poopy-flavored lollipop!'_

The evening was anything but highbrow class, to say the least. But if this was going to be her last evening spending time with these guys, Korra wanted it to be lacking in drama, lacking in melancholy, and purely silly. Her vision for the night was being fulfilled in this regard over cigarettes, booze, dumb movies, and stupid humor. They re-watched Korra's favorite UFC match from the habit Bolin had gotten the house into partaking in. They ended up too drunk to play sports and set up a makeshift beer pong game in the living room using an old foldout table from the garage. They dined on homemade pizza that the four of them prepared together as a late night meal as the alcohol worked its way out of their systems. Korra inherently ended up flirting with Bolin all the while, but he always managed to bashfully create a bit of distance when she did so. Bolin's little ferret, who hadn't quite been himself since Naga's passing, got riled up by the positive energy flowing through the house, leaving his normal spot on Bolin's bed and getting cuddly with everyone. Even Mako seemed out of his usual element, eventually cracking up into _actual _laughter by the night's end. That was some kind of accomplishment, as far as Korra was concerned.

It wasn't a magical evening. It wasn't anything particularly fancy or special compared to multiple evenings they had managed to share together since Korra had moved in. It was familiar, ordinary...comfortable. Nothing worth writing home about.

And it was precisely that fact - that it had been such a homey, technically uneventful evening - which made Korra's insides lurch with remorse when their time together needed to make way for sleep.

Hugs were exchanged when the lot of them made their way upstairs, the downstairs in shambles. The others had told Korra they would clean up after she left the following day. While Mako brushed his teeth, Asami emerged from their bedroom in her night robe, giving Korra a hug.

She assured, "We'll all get up early tomorrow and Mako and I will cook a nice breakfast."

"Sounds good," Korra answered back. "I could use a full belly for the, uh...long drive."

"Great. See you in the morning."

"Yea. You, too." Korra watched Asami slip back into the bedroom she and Mako occupied.

"_Oh, _and I'll burn you a mix-tape for the road," Bolin offered. "Er, I mean, more like a mix-CD, I guess, 'cuz, yea, but...-"

Korra approached the door to her and Bolin's shared room but paused in the doorway before she'd fully closed it behind her.

"Make sure it has a few sad songs on there," Korra requested sullenly, peeking back at him from behind the door.

"...Why?" Bolin asked.

"Because leaving behind everything that I've found here? That...calls for some sad songs."

Korra closed the door and gave the room a wary once over. It didn't actually seem all that emptier with all of her possessions removed from it. Almost like she'd never inhabited it. Like she had never belonged there to begin with. She peeled off her T-shirt and put on a black tanktop. Standing in her makeshift pajamas, she lingered above the bed. It was a space she had once enjoyed, but now kind of despised. It would be nice if she could change that, given that tonight was project to be her last here. She fidgeted with her blue hair tubes, and considered pulling them out for the night. She was too restless. She wasn't tired.

Her head was rapidly filling up with all of the thoughts and emotions she'd spend the evening dumping out. The loss, the regret, the shame, the anger, the...-

"Oh, did Korra head off to bed?" Mako's voice was muffled by the wall between Korra and where the brothers were standing.

"Uh, I dunno, she's in the room," Bolin explained. Korra could hear the bathroom door close behind him.

She popped open her own door and re-entered the hall.

"Er, not quite yet," she mumbled to Mako. "Why, are you?"

"Yea, it's time for us to turn in," Mako explained. "But we'll see you bright and early."

"Right." Korra nodded to him. She stood there awkwardly before him for a moment, as if expecting something. She didn't really know what, though. A hug, like Asami? Some kind of sentimental something-or-other?

It didn't matter, though, because Mako squeezed his way by her and headed for his own bedroom door, mere feet behind her.

"Good night," he said to her.

"You, too," she replied, twisting her head around to catch him before he disappeared.

In these seconds of quiet, alone in the hallway, Korra simply stood, lost and without a direction. She scratched an itch on one heel with the toe nail of the opposing foot. She scratched another itch on her neck, and another on her arm. She fidgeted with her sweatpants.

The toilet flushed, and Korra was snapped out of her strange stupor.

Bolin emerged, still clothed in his T-shirt and jeans. He blinked at her with some confusion, as she was blocking his way to the door.

"Uhhh...Whatcha doin'?" he asked.

Korra picked sand from her eye and shrugged.

"Err...Waiting for the...bathroom?"

"All yours," Bolin gestured his head back to where he'd recently emerged.

With her head bobbed to avoid his quizzical look, Korra awkwardly shuffled her way around his stout form, allowing him into his own living space.

"Wait, so...-" She stopped him just as he'd gotten inside. "Am I...-? I mean, like, are we both sleeping in there, or...-?"

"_Oh, _no, no," Bolin immediately replied. "I was just...ya know, gonna get ready for bed. Me n' Pabu were going to take the couch tonight. Let you get a good rest and all."

"Ah..." Korra chewed on her lip, palms resting on the back ends of her hips. She drummed her fingers along the top of her rear, as she watched Bolin swap his T-shirt for a white wife-beater. "'Cuz, well, I was...thinking that I'd be totally cool with us sharing the bed tonight, I mean...-"

Bolin turned back around to look at her through the door frame. He'd been briefly startled at first, having thought she'd gone to the bathroom.

"_Agh, _mmm..." He made that scrunched up kind of face that signaled to Korra that he wasn't down for that. "I dunno, I think...you'd be better off without me. You tend to toss and turn a lot, and so...-"

Korra forced out a yawn, stretching up her arms with a deliberate attempt to showcase rather than to stretch.

"_Ech,_" she grunted out through the tail end of her yawn. She clawed her nails at her left butt cheek. "It's not a problem, really."

"Nah, that's...OK, it's no big deal," Bolin nervously muttered with a slight head shake. He grabbed his pillow off of the bed and casually held it against his waist. Korra figured that while she'd just meant to show off something, Bolin was meaning to _hide _something.

Korra's brain managed to gain control of her hormones for a split-second, which was long enough for her to decide she was being an idiot. She was doing exactly what she'd just done days ago with Jane.

"Ah, all right," she let it drop. "But, uh, ya know, I should sleep on the couch."

"Huh?" Bolin was confused.

"Seriously, you take the bed. It _is _yours, ya know...And besides, at this point, I've gotten so used to sleeping on that couch, I might throw my back off or something if I changed it. Ya know?"

Bolin gave her a look that she couldn't decipher. Was it pity, maybe? She couldn't tell, and she didn't _want _to tell. Looking at him right in the face was too hard right now. She instead looked down and grabbed the pillow right out of his hands, dropping it against the wall besides the bathroom - against the spot she had once kicked in that he had fixed on her behalf.

She quietly concluded, smirking to herself. "I guess if I'm leaving tomorrow, I might as well, uh-...How'd Mako say it? 'Leave my stink' on the couch?" She glanced back over her shoulder to him, and he shrugged, returning her smirk in kind.

"Might as well," Bolin agreed.

"I'll catch you in the morning, Bo."

"Yea. Sleep well."

Korra entered the bathroom, then realized it'd be kind of nice to give him a 'You, too,' but when she poked her head back out, his bedroom door was already closed.

Korra let it go and went to the bathroom. Even taking a dump and brushing her teeth felt eventful tonight. It had some strange reverence to it, the feeling like she wouldn't be going about this process again in this same space.

After doing her business, Korra scooped up the pillow she'd left and waddled down stairs with it tucked under her arm. The living room was a mess, and disturbingly quiet. Korra dropped the pillow down on the couch and slumped onto it, but didn't lay down. She didn't feel sleepy. Tired, exhausted, drained, but her head was spinning too many thoughts. Her head was starting to ache a little, likely from how much she'd drunk that evening. She'd downed a fair bit of water after the fact, but more liquids couldn't hurt. She needed something to occupy herself.

Working her way around the small pile of boxes stacked in front of the coffee table, Korra noticed the dog pillow in the corner of the living room - the one Bolin had picked out for Naga. Pabu was curled up in it. It could've been Korra's own feelings seeping into her imagination, but he looked sad.

Korra was so distracted by this sight that her toes bumped against the edge of a box that her memory was not used to diverting around in that space. She grunted a '_Shit_' to herself, and continued into the kitchen. By the time she was at the mug rack, she could hear the slight jingling of Pabu's collar behind her. Unlike Naga, he moved much more quietly, his feet silent on the kitchen tiles. He approached her ankles and sniffed a bit, then went to his food dish.

"Hungry?" Korra quietly asked. But when she observed Pabu's dishes, she found his food and water both full.

This moment invited reflection as Korra recalled how regular it had become that Bolin would take care of Naga, and how she had neglected the poor pup.

This reminded Korra of her Uncle, and how she'd let him down. This, in turn, led to thoughts of her cousins, and of her parents, and of the friends she had made...By the time Korra had filled a coffee mug with water and stuck it in the microwave, she had forgotten the reason she had gotten up to do so.

The microwave hummed, and she stared at her rotating white mug, mesmerized by it while her mind swam upstream against a rushing current of cautionary tales in which she was the lead character.

The hair on Korra's back tingled, and she shivered, rubbing her elbows, only to realize that her forehead was sweaty, and her itchy arm pits were damp.

She stopped the microwave before it could beep. She pulled out an earl grey tea bag and dunked it a few times into the hot water, then let it sit and steep. She cautiously picked it up by the handle and made her way back to the living room.

Korra dropped herself down with a groan and sipped at the hot tea. After a few thoughtless sips, her mind started slipping again. She set the tea down - on a coaster - and leaned sharply forward, pressing her hands against the sides of her head, as if this would silence the vicious whispers from within.

A few seconds of this emotional containment went by, until a furry presence tickled at her bare heels. For just an instant, Korra thought it was Naga. When she opened her eyes, she saw that it was Pabu, shuffling around her. He propped one hand up on the couch and poked his nose at her. Her dog tag chain necklace had slipped out of her tanktop and was dangling down in front of the ferret. Pabu sniffed at it, flinching when its lightly swinging metal would tap his curious nose.

Korra took a deep breath, leaning back up and against the couch. She exhaled out a sigh and lazily scratched at Pabu's head.

"I miss her, too," Korra whispered to the critter.

After Pabu grew bored of Korra's physical effort at affection, he meandered back to Naga's old sleeping spot and curled back up.

Korra wished that she had a warm body to keep her close on this evening. A puppy, or a person...even a ferret would do.

She tilted forward, took another gulp of tea, and removed her dog tag from her neck. She ended up holding it in her hand for a while as she drank.

_You're a failure. You're a child. You never learn. You never act when you should. You always act when you shouldn't. You're selfish. You're violent. _

_When will you admit that you're insane? Something in your head isn't right._

_That's why you have to leave this place. You've done enough damage here._

_Maybe, _just _maybe, if you're fucking lucky, your parents will forgive you. And you can start over. Again._

When the nagging voices became too much to bear again, Korra reached out for the music box that had been sitting on the coffee table all evening. She opened it up, wound its key, and let it play.

Its soothing, somber melody once again brought her back to simpler times, as she come to rely on it to do so.

She set the dog tag inside the box, and let the tinny notes wash over her.

Korra had come to Wayward seeking a new life, and at every turn, she'd been tossing punches, waving her sass, and generally provoking everyone and everything around her.

_Who _are_ you? What do _you _want?_

_I want to stay. I want to make all of this right. But I can't. I just can't. It's no use.  
_

Korra's phone vibrated, though she didn't notice it the first time beneath the music box's aura. She winced to herself as she picked it up.

[From: Kat]  
[Please don't leave without seeing us. We want to say good-bye if you're really going.]  
[Aang and I are awake. I think it'd mean a lot to him if you two talked. But he won't ask you himself.]  
[So I am.]  
[Sent: 2:42am]

Ugh. Korra's self-inflicted bitterness was only compounded by the thought of Aang. She had never set things right with him. They'd both gotten cold feet about it.

All day, the damn phone had been going off, and it'd gotten to the point where she'd just started ignoring it. It was all the same. People shocked and appalled that she was leaving, people demanding to see her before she 'ran off,' people telling her she was being too rash - and she couldn't deny it, that was just who she was, apparently. Rash, violent, psycho fuck-up, right?

She'd been contacted by the police and had needed to go in and testify what she knew about events that had been transpiring, which was what had led her to a depressed state of drinking and smoking that afternoon.

Chief Jia had been the one to inspire Korra's idea of leaving.

"_Get her out of my city_" had been Lin's exact words, spoken to Tenzin.

Korra was surprised she hadn't been contacted by Pema or Tenzin since. She had furthermore been surprised that neither seemed angry at her. Maybe they were just...too _nice? _Or something? It was almost unsettling to her, that way they had seemed almost prepared for it and had accepted it.

Jia would help them get it all sorted out. Korra was sure of that. Korra had agreed with the Chief: her presence in Wayward only made her another target, another potential victim, another potential pawn in someone's game. She wasn't about to let herself further muck things up for others.

Korra ended up writing up a message to Aang. Their previous message history showed up on her phone, and she noticed that he had not texted her at all since before the fireworks shit had gone down.

[To: Little Man]  
[Yo. Kat says you two are up. You wanted to see me?]  
[Sent: 2:44am]

[From: Little Man]  
[hey. still having trouble sleeping?]  
[Sent: 2:45am]

[Reply]  
[To: Little Man]  
[Yea. I'm too depressed.]  
[Sent: 2:46am]

[From: Little Man]  
[i understand. i guess i'd be down for seeing you. there's something i've been wanting to show you.]  
[Sent: 2:46am]

Korra hesitated as she started typing her reply. What was that supposed to mean?

[Reply]  
[To: Little Man]  
[Are you sure? It's pretty late.]  
[Sent: 2:47am]

[From: Little Man]  
[exactly. its perfect timing. come meet me at Aero.]  
[Sent: 2:47am]

[To: Little Man, Kat]  
[OK. I'll come meet you guys.]  
[Sent: 2:48am]

* * *

_"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again."_  
― Eric Roth, _ The Curious Case of Benjamin Button screenplay _

* * *

- Sunday, July 6th, 2011 -

Korra drove the short ride from Wayward to Aero in the late night - or super early morning. At this rate, she might just need to say, 'Fuck it,' and stall her leave of town by another day or something. She wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight. She had cracked the window down to let some brisk night air seep in. It was still pretty warm and muggy out, but the cool air was refreshing as it rushed in through her car window.

Korra arrived at Aero and parked her car in a lonely corner of the semi-full parking lot. In her sweatpants, tanktop, and sandels, she skulked between evening shadows and the pools of light spilled by the overhead lamp posts. She passed over the makeshift basketball court markings painted into the lot's pavement - this parking lot was used for summer basketball camp practice, apparently. The school was struggling enough to get by that in recent years it had needed to rely on hosting summer camp services, apparently. Well, at least Korra wouldn't have to be around to witness that: all those stupid little brats, running around and laughing and shouting and yammering away with their dumb, cute...-

"Hey."

It was Kat. Oh, and...friends? Apparently? Korra was met partway to Aero, beneath the light of the last lamp she would've passed by. Katara was joined not just by Aang, but also Toph, Sokka, and Jane.

"O-oh, uh...-" Korra was startled at this company, and weakly lifted a hand to wave.

"So this is it? Huh?" Toph immediately asked, cutting through any potential pretenses. "You're just givin' up? Going back home with your tail up your fat-ass?"

Korra gawked at Toph, lips hung open. Toph was pissed - Korra could tell that even with those blind eyes shrouded behind a pair of shades.

Staring at the ground sullenly, Jane pointed out, "Seems pretty shitty to just cut and run when those twerps were your responsibility."

"Guys..." Korra's turmoil was quickly bubbling up to the surface. "Don't...do this," she pleaded with barely contained desperation.

"I ain't doin' nothin'," Toph came back. "I'm just saying...-"

"Toph," Aang sighed in a quiet, disapproving tone from behind her back.

"Maybe you can help the cops find these guys," Jane mumbled out a suggestion with a hesitant shrug.

"_Ha! _Yea, OK," Korra balked.

"Was serious..." grunted Jane irritably, staring at her feet.

"So you forgot how much the cops in this town _hate _me," Korra reminded.

"Yea, they pretty much do," Sokka agreed, receiving a scolding smack on the arm from his sister.

"Well...-!" Toph huffed out, her body tight with frustration. "Maybe..._if_...you didn't...keep fucking things up so much, then-!"  
"I know!" Korra snapped back, her words slamming inches away from Toph's face, causing the startled blind girl to flinch. "Why the hell do you think I'm _leaving_? Huh?"

Toph's teeth were grit with shock at Korra's sudden aggression, and she fidgeted with her hands in tense silence, having no retort. Korra glared at the rest of them, a mixture of different expressions - Jane was outright not even looking at her, which stung in particular. Did she not even care about Korra leaving?

"Huh?" Korra repeated with more intensity, shrugging her shoulders up violently.

Still, no one said a word.

"No one's gonna miss me when I'm gone," Korra solemnly proclaimed. "I came her to start something new, n' everyone had all of these different expectations from me. And I'm apparently too goddamn retarded and useless to live up to _any _of them. So, whatever. All I've done since I got here is become dead weight and made shit worse for people. I'm a failure. I see that now, I'm...accepting that, and I'm moving the _fuck _on with things, so...just let me _do_ that."

Aang weaved between Toph and Katara and stood right up to Korra, looking her square in the eyes, their heads shadowed from the overhead lighting from the lamp post above.

Aang said plainly, "Do what you have to do."

"Wh-?" Toph panted out with some exasperation. "After all the crap she's caused you, you're just gonna-?"  
"That's between me and _her_," Aang firmly cut Toph off. "When you and I had our problems, it was between me and _you_. I don't like seeing other people drag each other down. So leave her alone."

Aang looked back up to Korra with a solemn expression.

"Korra's doing what she feels is best for everyone," Aang spoke to the rest of the group, his eyes on her.

Toph sighed forcefully, blowing up her bangs around with irritation.

"But what _is _best for everyone?" Sokka posed. "How is her running away from this mess she started doing anyone else any favors?"

"Mess _I _started?" Korra defensively checked.

"Yea," Sokka nonchalantly confirmed. "This gang stuff. You're the one who started picking fights. I had a bearded _biker __dude _thrown at my _face_, I haven't forgotten."

"A-actually...-" Jane sheepishly muttered, looking up toward him. She was ignored, her speech too quiet.

"Uh...Um, guys, I...I think Aang is right," Katara attempted to calm them down, stretching up her hands at her brother.

"_You're _the one who got mad about this in the first place," Toph grouchily pointed out.

"I-I know," Katara fumbled with her tongue. "But...but I was in a bad...in a bad place, and so...-"

"You mean the place where you almost burned alive?" Sokka dryly retorted.

"Yea, or the place where your _boyfriend _almost got shot?" Toph jumped on board.

"_Urgh!_" Korra puffed out as she spun back around, stomping off. "I'm _sorry!_" she growled out, her voice cracking as she tried to make herself scarce.

"Korra, wait," Katara pleaded.

"_Good-bye!_" Korra called back out to them, her voice quivering. "I'll...fucking...see you whenever..."

Jane longingly gazed at Korra's back, her insides bubbling with regret and the rush of that '_what if?_' sensation. But she didn't seem able to muster the strength to do anything about it.

"Ya know, fine," Sokka breathed out tiredly. "Just let her go," he said to no one specifically. "This is what she does. She uses people, she doesn't learn a thing, then she gets all angsty and self-hatey and...bails on you. That's what she did when Mom died, that's what she did when I left home, and it's apparently what she _still _does, so...-"

"Sokka, take it easy," Katara urged him, her tone walking a fine line between condescending and sympathetic.

Toph was doing a strange gesture, seeming to be pressing her palms into her temples, brows furrowed.

"_Why _can I...just _not _be a bitch?" Toph grumbled under her breath. "Not even for five seconds..."

"Huh?" Jane was confused.

"I don't _get it_," Toph growled in spite of herself, rubbing at her eyes. "I get worked up and I just _spit shit _out of my ass, like...just...-!"

"Don't go feeling sorry for her," Sokka insisted. "Korra's supposed to be a big girl at this point. We all need a kick in a teeth some times - remember?"

"Well, _sure_," Toph agreed. "I mean, fuck, I know I do sometimes, but...when they're already bleeding on the fucking _floor _with half their teeth _missing, _what's the point? _God, _I'm such a retard..."

"You were just trying to defend me," Aang tried to placate her. "And I...appreciate the thought and stuff, but...seriously. Just because I'm not always jumping to.._._stand up for myself, or something, it...doesn't mean I can't. Sometimes I don't _want _to because I'm actually OK. And really, with this stuff with Korra, I think I'm going to be fine."

"_Gugh_," Toph whimpered out, wiping her sleeve at her face. She was started to choke up, which came as a surprise to the others. "Sorry Aang, I-...The shit is _wrong _with me...?" Toph whispered to herself, sniffling.

Aang, standing right beside Toph, cast an expectant glance over at Sokka, as if to suggest, '_Hey, your girlfriend's kind of upset, shouldn't you do something?'_

Sokka shrugged back at Aang, eyebrows lifting up, as to reply, '_Don't look at me, I didn't do anything.'_

Aang was relieved, then, when Katara stepped in, her own eyes wet at the edges, and pulled Toph in for an extended hug. Sokka's head slumped a bit to the side with some disinterest, which left Aang evermore frustrated that the guy still had yet to sort out whatever was going on with him and Toph.

"This is my fault."

Everyone's attention moved to Jane, who had spoken these words.

"How?" Sokka asked.

"Korra might've started picking fights with people n' shit, but did you forget that I was _in the middle _of that? The guys that Korra roughed up at the restaurant? Those guys and _my _guys had bad blood. And the Combustion Man? _I'm _the one that asked _her _to help me take him down. And then...-" Jane's throat tightened up, unable to open up about Longshot, and her suspicions that the kids' kidnapping was somehow connected. About how she'd immediately recognized the smell of chloroform on Ty-Lee's lips, and how she'd quickly pieced together what had happened because she had once been on the other end of that equation. About how she was a murderer. OK, well, 'Smellerbee' was a murderer, but...really, how was that much of an excuse? Maybe it was her past self, but it was _still _herself that had done those things, right?

"Well, yea, but...-" Sokka scratched the base of his neck with uncertainty.

"It's easy to look at this shit storm like it's all black and white," Jane noted. "But it ain't. Korra's...-" Jane sighed, her heart pounding from anxiety at a mixture of so many tangled thoughts and feelings regarding so many different people over this past year. "She's a goddamn idiot," Jane fumbled out with a half-laugh, half-wince. "But so are we. We're this...big...fucked up family, gettin' ourselves caught up in shit over our heads..."

"We _are _a pack of drama llamas," Sokka bemoaned, rolling his head back around his neck in lamentation. "What'll you guys do without _me _here to at least _try _to get you to calm the hell down, eh?"

Katara and Toph were still glued together, and Toph sucked in a deep breath through her nose, nuzzling her cheek against her roommate's chest as she sighed out her regret. Katara was running her hands through Toph's mess of hair with one hand, and stroking Toph's back with the other, comforting the girl like the little sister she never had.

"I think...-" Aang started, clamping his hand on Sokka's shoulder. "-...we'll probably have to figure a few things out without our Idea Guy around, but...it's not like you're disappearing. And it's not like we won't get through this. So _what _if we're all...messed up? That's what keeps us together - because we all know what it's like to fail, and what it's like to lose things we care about." Aang could hear his phone vibrating in his pocket repeatedly, but he ignored it. The matter at hand was more important. "Right now, Korra's the one failing, losing everything she cares about. Maybe that's her own fault, maybe it's not, but...does that even matter at this point? What matters is that where she is right now, we've all been there. We've all hit low points like that, and...we've all changed because of it."

Aang nudged Sokka toward the two embracing girls, then stepped over to Jane, gently grabbing her wrist. She resisted at first, her face flush with shame, but Aang placed his other hand on her back and carefully pushed her into the fold. The lot of them shared in a group hug, each one pre-possessed with a different expression, a different dominant emotion. But they all shared in a sphere of affection, regret, uncertainty, and longing. They all breathed in the same humid night air, they all bathed in the same summer moonlight, their feet were all rooted in the same earth, and their hearts all pulsed with the same fire.

As their circle broke apart, Aang smirked at Toph and Katara, who still clung together. Katara, he realized, had started crying along with her roommate, and Toph's arms had worked their way around Katara's waist. If people as different as Katara and Toph could learn to get along - to harmonize, to converge - to develop that unspoken understanding of each other's needs and desires...If that was possible, then Aang was sure that he and Korra could find some kind of resolution in all of this.

Aang realized in this moment of reflection that he still had his doubts about the over-arcing populace of Wayward, the community of SRU, and the acts of violence tearing them apart. Was harmony on that kind of scale possible? He still wasn't so sure about that as he had once been. But that wasn't a matter to consider right now. His phone vibrated again - only once. Having spoken his piece, he gave the others a moment to collect themselves as he checked it.

[**1** missed call]  
[From: **Korra**]

[**1** new voicemail]

Aang bit his lip a bit, tapping his phone against his palm as he considered what to do.

"Can we...just..._ugh_...fuggin' go _home_?" Toph was grumbling to Katara.

"I...I mean, we..._can, _but...-" Katara looked up to Aang. "Shouldn't someone try to talk to Korra? We can't just...-"

"Isn't she...gone by now?" Aang theorized. Why else would Korra be calling them if she was still nearby?

"I didn't hear her car start up," Sokka observed. "Did you?"

Aang's brain snapped with insight, and he rationed that he had not heard it. It made sense that she was still somewhere nearby. Aang quickly pieced together Katara's logic - if Korra was still nearby, it was because she couldn't bring herself to leave things the way she just had. If Aang was willing to guess, Korra was probably feeling not unlike Toph right now: shaken, frustrated, bitter, and confused by her own attitude. Except Toph had Katara, and the others around her. Korra didn't seem to have anyone right now.

Aang noticed that no one else seemed to be checking their phones.

Korra wasn't calling 'them,' she was calling _him._

"S-someone...-" Katara coughed, clearing her throat from her own unexpected tears. "Can...one of us...-? I-I mean, we can't...leave things like that, right? We...-"

Aang could tell that Katara wanted to try talking to her cousin, but was already disposed, which was why she was asking the group. Aang's stomach got very heavy very quickly. He wasn't sure he was capable of trying to confront Korra right now, with the tension thick in his head. He was holding his cool right now, sure, but he was dealing with people he knew very well, very intimately...By comparison, Korra was still not very familiar, and they both had a habit of rubbing each other the wrong way. What if Aang just made things worse for her?

Aang turned to Sokka, Korra's other cousin. Yea, he might be willing to use that logical head of his to work this all out.

But Sokka was shaking his head in that '_Hell no_' kind of way, his lower lip propped out in a scornful, slightly disgusted look. Aang found it unfortunate that Sokka seemed more and more ready to up and leave all of these matters with each passing day, and yet he couldn't quite blame the guy at the same time.

Aang cast a glance toward Jane. She had her hands stuffed into her pockets, eyes glazed with sullen self-deprecation and head bobbed. Aang got the impression that Jane was dealing with some heavy things - the kind of things Aang already knew by now that she kept to herself. Not to mention that something about Jane's relationship with Korra seemed to have been complicated ever since they had rallied together against the Combustion Man. In either case, she wasn't in a place to talk with Korra right now.

"Guys..." Toph pouted. "I'm tired, and...-"  
"I know, Hun," Katara cooed. "Me, too."

Aang took in Toph's emotional instability. He was so used to her sarcasm, her self-righteous smarm, he cocky attitudes and the way she would wear a grin she herself couldn't see just to make sure she projected her confidence at those around her. But when it came down to it, there was more to Toph than putting on that act. She had a soft center, and at this point - after everything that she'd been through that year - she was self-aware of her own destructive tendencies. Toph wasn't crying and upset right then for her own sake. Aang could tell. He'd dated her, she was one of his closest friends now. Toph was crying out of guilt, and out of sympathy for Korra. She was crying because she had stuck out her porcupine spikes just minutes ago out of hormonal habit, only to recognize immediately thereafter that she hadn't really _wanted _to hurt Korra, but had done so, regardless, similarly to so many times in the past.

Lastly, Aang looked toward Katara, who had seemed to come to the same realization he had. They stared at each other with sympathy and concern, eyes syncing up with the same worries, the same longing, and the same sense of protectiveness for this haphazard family they had spent the past year or two forging together. Aang had gotten rather used to Katara being their Canadian Eskimo Glue, pulling them together and keeping them that way when he knew that so many other social cliques around them broke apart in that same amount of time. In this moment, Katara was praying at him with those eyes, asking and hoping that he would act and pull Korra back, while she held things together here, as she always did.

Aang glanced back to the phone in his hand, reading Korra's name again.

Right now, Korra was in a horrible place. When Aang had felt lost days ago, Katara had been there for him. And in so many different ways, each of them had been there for each other when they'd felt lost. But Korra didn't seem to have anyone like that for her right now, at least not in a way that she was comfortable with. Maybe it had been those three children...but they were gone at the moment. And Korra couldn't do anything about that - it felt like none of them could.

Maybe Korra running away and leaving matters in the hands of others was best. Aang didn't really know. But what he did know was that he had spent years trying to find somewhere he belonged, hoping to find a place where he could fit into place and find meaning. He couldn't help but feel like Korra had struggled that same journey, aching to find a her own path. Aang had repeatedly put his trust and faith in Korra, and lately, it seemed like she was attempting to reciprocate that.

Mere seconds had passed while all of these thoughts and emotions has passed through Aang's fibers. He put his phone in his pocket and walked up to Katara, who had managed to get Toph in a state where she was ready to walk back to their dorm.

"I'll go talk to her," Aang assured Katara. "I'll bring her back." He kissed her on the cheek, and she blinked appreciatively at his assertion. "You guys go get some rest," Aang suggested.

"All right," Sokka said with some cynicism and a shrug.

"Sounds...good," Jane eked out.

"Thanks, Twinkle-Toes," Toph mumbled out with gratitude.

"Tell her we're sorry," Katara requested. "And...that we want to actually see her before she leaves."

"I will," Aang declared.

With that, Aang put his phone back in his pocket and parted ways with his friends, going off into the night to find Korra.

* * *

_"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."_  
― Lao Tzu

* * *

Korra let her spare tears dribble down her cheeks. She sobbed quietly, balled up over the curb of a road that led off away from Aero. With Aero House at a far edge of campus, grass and trees and forest spread out in the distance beyond.

_I spent all today pitying myself and trying to forget and ignore just how much I've fucked everything up.  
And now I'm just running away from it, because...I can't do anything right._

Cautious, hesitant footsteps plodded against the grass behind Korra, then paused behind her back. She felt a familiar presence linger above her shoulder.

"Not now, Kat," Korra whimpered out, wiping her sleeve across her face to dry her cheeks. "I just want to be left alone..."

"But...-" It was Aang. "You called _me_ here..."

Korra whipped her head around to look up at Aang. The lean Little Man was looking down at her with sympathy and worry, his arms latched around his elbows in fret.

"Aang," Korra breathed out with a mixture of apology and relief.

Neither said anything as a late night breeze drifted by, Aang approaching Korra with arms still cross-latched. Korra's breath was shaky as she took in air, sniffing mucus back in and finishing her efforts at drying her cheeks. By the time her vision was unhindered, Aang's hand was upturned toward her, beckoning her to rely on its pull.

Korra puffed out a self-conscious laugh through her nose and clasped her thick fingers around his wrist. His skin was soft and dry, but he gripped her arm in kind and tugged, helping her help herself back up to her feet. Aang made a gesture to give her a hug, but her broad arm gently kept him at bay as she stared at the sidewalk below, eyes glazed over with defeat. She didn't want a hug in that instant. She didn't deserve one.

"You said you...had something to show me?" Korra recalled, looking up to him as she wedged her hands into her sweatpant pockets.

"Oh, erm...-" Aang withdrew from Korra a step and a half, his arms hooking back together across his waist. He cleared his throat and nodded his head off past Aero House. "Yea, it's a bit of a walk, but I mean...we could still go if you...-"

"No, yea, that's...-" Korra sighed. "Sorry, I'm kind of...in a bad place?"

"Right. Oh, no worries. With everything going on, it...-" Aang shrugged, losing track of where he'd been meaning to go with that statement. "So, yea, if you're...ready for a sort of hike, we can...like, _go, _right now, I mean...-"

Aang slowly stepped past her, looking back to check that she was following. Indeed, she was - and she looked a lot more of a mess than he'd anticipated. He doubted whether her sandals and lack of a long-sleeve shirt was a good idea, though.

"Aren't you cold?" he checked, waiting for her to reach his side.

"Nah," she dismissed the concern, her head slumped into her broad shoulders. "I'm fine, we can go. I could use some air. Tune out from...all this shit. Clear my head."

"Ah. Yea, that's...that's good, because that's-...I mean, what I want to show you and all, it's...where I go when I need exactly that."

Aang offered her a nervous smile, and she replied with an awkward smirk of her own.

"Lead the way," she requested, gesturing her hand up to allow him to move a few steps ahead.

Aang obliged, and the two trekked past Aero House. They traversed down the steep tarmac path that led to the sports field, then cut off sideways for the nearby forest. They cut off from the man-made path, heading for the forest pathways that Korra recalled from their campfire excursion a while back. It was gentle, peaceful, and quiet, with the moonlight's glow cast down upon them. Their eyes adjusted to the darkness by the time they had reached the uphill path that Korra recollected. The only sound that either heard for a few moments was the shuffling of feet across grass. In her sandals, Korra could feel the cold, dry blades lick at her toes.

Another bitter breeze swept by, kicking up Korra's hair and causing her spine to tingle.

_{參同契}_  
_{Harmony of Difference and Sameness}_  
_{by 石頭希遷}_

_+ youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=gt5upty9u7U +_  
_(A Peaceful Place; Jeremy Zuckerman)_

_{竺土大仙心 The mind of the great sage of India}_  
_{東西密相付 is intimately transmitted from west to east.}_

Korra was momentarily sidetracked by the sight of the barren, empty bleachers and soccer field nearby.

_{人根有利鈍 While human faculties are sharp or dull,}_  
_{道無南北祖 the Way has no northern or southern ancestors.}_

"C'mon," Aang bid Korra. "This way." She followed him, the grass continued to nip at her calloused ankles.

_{靈源明皎潔 The spiritual source shines clear in the light;}_  
_{枝派暗流注 the branching streams flow on in the dark.}_

A pond of water rested at the base of the hill's well-beaten path. Its still surface reflected the moon above.

_{執事元是迷 Grasping at things is surely delusion;}_  
_{契理亦非悟 according with sameness is still not enlightenment.}_

As they walked by, Korra ogled the silhouettes of fish circling one another beneath the pool's surface.

_{門門一切境 All the objects of the senses}_  
_{迴互不迴互 interact and yet do not.}_

They reached the pathway. Grass begot dirt. Dirt begot brush. Brush begot trees. All the earthen matter connected and separated.

_{迴而更相涉 Interacting brings involvement.}_  
_{不爾依位住 Otherwise, each keeps its place.}_

Both walked in silence, enjoying the rhythmic, soft grinding of shoes against dirt, accented by the occasional clacking and clicking of tiny stones being tapped or kicked.

_{色本殊質像 Sights vary in quality and form,}_  
_{聲元異樂苦 sounds differ as pleasing or harsh.}_

Further down the path, Korra could see the glow of a small campfire. She heard its comforting crackle. It was the same campsite Korra had shared with Aang and his friends from before.

_{闇合上中言 Refined and common speech come together in the dark,}_  
_{明明清濁句 clear and murky phrases are distinguished in the light.}_

Two students were huddled on a log, whispering to each other, sharing a blanket over their shoulders. Their foreign faces were illuminated by the warm glow before them.

The campers waved to the two strangers walking by them. Aang and Korra waved back quietly as they passed.

_{四大性自復 The four elements return to their natures}_  
_{如子得其母 just as a child turns to its mother;}_

They had been walking for some time, silent all the while. The clomping of soles on dirt was shifting into the swishing of grass as the pathway was exiting the woods and feeding into a field.

_{火熱風動搖 Fire heats, wind moves,}_  
_{水濕地堅固 water wets, earth is solid.}_

Her bones rattled from another cold gust, as she stared up into the night sky. Between the misty clouds streaming past, beyond the mountains on the horizon, she saw faintly burning stars, a collection of candles above.

_{眼色耳音聲 Eye and sights, ear and sounds,}_  
_{鼻香舌鹹醋 nose and smells, tongue and tastes;}_

Korra was awestruck by the wonder of it all. Nothing crafted by human hands in sight: nature surrounded her. The crisp clarity of it all was euphoric to her senses.

_{然於一一法 Thus with each and every thing,}_  
_{依根葉分布 depending on these roots, the leaves spread forth.}_

Aang led her onward, headlong into the sea of grass, barely lit by the moon. The blades rolled in waves, bowing down to the zephyrs that blew by.

_{本未須歸宗 Trunk and branches share the essence;}_  
_{尊卑用其語 revered and common, each has its speech.}_

"...Wow," Korra sighed out in awe, her jaw agape.

"This is where I go when I need to clear my mind," Aang explained, noticing that Korra had stopped.

_{當明中有暗 In the light there is darkness,}_  
_{勿以暗相遇 but don't take it as darkness;}_

"Heh." Aang smirked at Korra's child-like gaping. "C'mon." He pushed at her back to get her moving again.

_{當暗中有明 In the dark there is light,}_  
_{勿以明相睹 but don't see it as light.}_

"I...just...-" Korra was wide-eyed, suddenly rendered speechless.

_{明暗各相對 Light and dark oppose one another}_  
_{比如前後歩 like the front and back foot in walking.}_

With Aang's hand against her bare back, Korra let him guide her onward through open space, her steps syncing up with his.

_{萬物自有功 Each of the myriad things has its merit,}_  
_{當言用及處 expressed according to function and place.}_

"I found this place after we were caught in that fire," Aang told her. "I come here all the time now."

_{事存函蓋合 Phenomena exist; box and lid fit;}_  
_{理應箭鋒拄 principle responds; arrow points meet.}_

"It's...really peaceful here," Korra breathed out. Her eyes were watering. The serenity of it all was exactly what she had needed that night.

_{承言須會宗 Hearing the words, understand the meaning;}_  
_{勿自立規矩 don't set up standards of your own.}_

"Yea," Aang agreed, nudging her along. "It's just...I dunno, like, when I meditate here, I feel...like I'm harmonizing with nature, or something."

_{觸目不會道 If you don't understand the Way right before you,}_  
_{運足焉知路 how will you know the path as you walk?}_

"_Agh_," Korra grunted out, holding back a sob. "Fuck, I...-" She covered her mouth to prevent another snivel.

_{進歩非近遠 Progress is not a matter of far or near,}_  
_{迷隔山河故 but if you are confused, mountains and rivers block your way.}_

"What is it?" Aang asked with concern, sliding his hand up and down her shoulder blade.

"Nah, nothing, I...-" Korra shook her head slightly. "It's nice."

_{謹白參玄人 I respectfully urge you who study the mystery,}_  
_{光陰莫虚度 do not pass your days and nights in vain.}_

"When I'm stressed these days," Aang told her, "I go out for a jog. I come here. No distractions, no people, just...me and..._everything_." He waved up his free arm to the sprawling landscape they were trekking across. "But also, me and _nothing._" He tapped that hand against his forehead, glancing her way.

"What do you mean?" Korra mumbled, sniffing and dabbing her wrist at her nose.

"I meditate," Aang told her. "And tonight, I'm going to share that with you."

"Wh...-? A-Aang, I dunno, I'm not...exactly the type for that. I'm about as opposite a...meditation-y...person...as you can get. I don't think I can do that stuff..."

"Don't worry," Aang assured her. "It's not about _doing. _It's about..._not _doing."

Korra sighed through her nose and shrugged, uncertain and uneasy with where this was going.

"Listen. Little Man. This is...really, uh, sweet, and pretty, and...junk, but...Meditating? That's just...not my jam."

"Oh..." Aang slowed them to a stop. "W-well, we don't have to if you don't want to."

Korra stared into his solemn, sympathetic eyes and considered his proposal.

Fuck it. Why not? Korra felt like shit, she was at the end of rope, ready to up and leave. A simple change of scenery had brought her some peace of mind somehow. Maybe whatever Aang had in mind would bring about something greater.

"OK." She offered him an wary smile. "Let's try it. I'm a pretty shitty-ass student, but...you're welcome to hit me with your best shot, eh?"

As they walked through the grass, Korra savored the way the earth tickled at her skin, digging its cold vegetation between her toes as they traversed the plain.

Aang's skinny arm eventually worked its way up over her shoulder, and she slung her chunky limb over his back in kind. They journeyed together, side-by-side, like two young siblings wandering home after a long day at play.

All of this time spent together, walking the same path, seeing the same sights, and Aang hadn't spoken out in judgment of her. He hadn't lectured her on her string of mistakes. He hadn't told her what he thought she needed to do with her life. He hadn't tried to get her to talk about it. He somehow seemed to understand that all she needed right now was this: quiet. Calm. Serenity.

Aang wasn't advising her how to act. He was simply showing her, firsthand, how he got through his own troubles. Korra wondered if she would find similar success. She wasn't so sure, but she put her trust in Aang. Even if he was wrong, and even if his way of relieving stress was of no use to her, she had this feeling, deep in her gut, that she'd still be able to take something away from this evening.

After a minute or two of this blissful march of harmonious oneness with nature, Aang brought them to a slow stop. He let go of her, and sat himself down, cross legged. She glanced down at him, her head tilted thoughtfully, and she carefully observed how he was sitting. Without a word, she assumed a similar sitting position. Her back felt stiff, her knees ached with pain, and her stomach gurgled from hunger at this hour of night.

"First, we'll just try to relax," Aang suggested. "That was a bit of a walk, so...let's catch our breaths, calm our bodies..."

With her palms pressing down on her thighs, Korra hunched forward a bit, staring at Aang with a bit of impatience as she watched him take a deep breath, his eyes now closed. Puzzled, Korra tried to replicate his warm-up, slamming her eyes shut tight, shoulders tense. After a couple of seconds of this, she groped her hand around to her back and scratched at her butt cheek.

She huffed a grunt, opening her eyes with furrowed.

"Yea, this ain't working," she moped.

Aang opened his eyes slowly and blinked at her. He sighed and scratched at his chin before he spoke.

"Huh?" He was baffled by her sudden change in attitude. "No, we're...not even trying to meditate yet, we're just...-"

"I don't need to breathe," Korra whimpered in frustration, her head sagging sideways. "I need to...clear my head."

"Right. No, I...I know," Aang tried to placate her. "Don't worry about trying so hard. This isn't an exact science."

"Sure, but...what should I be _doing_?"

"Nothing. We're not-...You don't need to be _doing _anything."

"Ugh..." Korra's head rolled around as her eyes started to bubble up at the edges with impending tears. There was nothing specific about this event that was bringing about this reaction - it was more just a physical response to that repeated confrontation with failure.

"Korra, you're...really tense," Aang noted.

"Yea, no shit," Korra snapped in a groan. "_Urgh, _sorry," she quickly recuperated. "It's...pretty fucking sad, though. Sitting and breathing - that's _it, _fucking it, nothing more complicated than that, and I _still _can't even do _that _right."

Aang noticed the palms on Korra's thighs balled up into fists.

"_Korra_." Aang reached out his hand and gripped at her knee, shaking her from her impending frustration. "Don't think about that. This isn't something you _win _at, it's not something you can 'do wrong' or 'mess up,' OK?" He stared at her through the darkness, unable to fully decipher her expression in the dim moonlight. "You need to stop thinking like that, and stop comparing yourself to everyone else."

Aang was finally sticking some firm advice Korra's way, but rather than feel angry and defensive as was the norm, she found his assertive words - after so much slack and lack of lecturing - to be refreshing. He had _thought _this stuff through, what to say to her, and how to act. To take her out all this way and show her this place, and sit her down and try and do this..._thing. _It had been planned out, all on account of her. She decided she owed him the respect of hearing him out.

"OK," she sighed, trying to accept his words. "I want to, but I...I need _something_ to focus on."

"So, I...guess it might be helpful for you to have something to _do, _huh? Like, with your hands?"

"_Ha, _yea, that...would help."

"Hm." Aang glared at her form contemplatively. "Well, what do you think you need?"

"Say what?"

"Well, like...What is wrong? What's bugging you? What do you feel like you need here?"

Korra gawked at Aang, caught off guard by this question. She hadn't been thinking even that far into things, she'd just been letting him guide her out here.

_Who are you? And what do you want?_

"I...I'm just..._lost_." Korra coughed, reacting to the tears built up in her eyes. She blinked, and they spilled down her cheeks. "I try, and...and I try-" She sniffled, biting her lip. "-and it's always just...-" She flicked up an irate wrist. "_Ohp, _there's Korra, fucking up everything she touches-" She pounded that hand back down on her thigh. "-just like _every. Other. Time." _She let her head bob forward and choke on a dry sob.

"Hm." Aang removed his hand from her leg and rested his arms limp in his lap as he considered this. "It sounds like you want...direction. Wisdom. You want to receive knowledge to calm you. Something like that?"

"Mm-mm," Korra moaned with a shrug, not even bothering to wipe her face.

"Here, I think I know a good form, nice and simple. Try this with your hands." Aang rubbed his palms together a few times, then held them before his stomach and inhaled deeply.

Korra coughed, clearing her throat, then tried to imitate. She scrubbed her palms together, the warm friction soothing in the chilled night. She held her hands before her stomach and breathed in a deep, brisk volume of air. She slowly expelled it, closing her eyes and allowing her tense muscles to relax.

"All right." Aang's words stirred her to open her eyes. "Now, I'm going to show you the gyan mudra."

"The..._what _now?"

"_Heh, _d-don't worry about what it is right now, just...follow my lead."

Aang rested his hands on his legs, the backs of his wrists relaxed over the sides of his knees. He pinched his thumbs and index fingers together, then watched Korra try to imitate this. He could tell by the way her arms and fingers were positioned that she was squeezing hard, jamming her fingertips together.

"Uh, no, no..." He calmly tried to sway her. "Not so hard. Let your fingertips touch, so the energy in you can flow, but...don't press so hard. Just touching, like holding a grain of rice. And straighten your back a bit, try to relax your muscles. Keep breathing - in, out, in...-"

"Mmm..." Korra nodded firmly back at him as she quickly repositioned herself.

"Good, yea." Aang offered a small smile to her, which she couldn't really see well. But she could hear in his voice that he was being very patient with her.

She shut her eyes tightly and sucked in a big gulp through grit teeth. Aang practically flinched as he watched her do this. She huffed the air out in a forceful push through her snout, like a bull ready to charge.

"Erm, just...try to _relax. _This isn't a...race. It's not a competition, there's no 'winning.' You want to just be _calm._ Don't _push _the air in and out, simply...let it flow naturally."

"Hm. Naturally..." Korra nodded again. She stared blankly at the grass in front of her and breathed slow, steady breaths. "Like, uh...-?" she checked, suddenly self-conscious.

"Yes, that's fine. Try not to think about it so much, just...exist."

"_Mmph_," Korra whimpered. How could sitting and doing _nothing _feel so hard?

"Sometimes it helps when we let our minds focus on a single thing," Aang explained, attempting to assuage her impatience. "Some will count up and down from one to ten, for example."

"Eh...I don't...-"

"A-all right, maybe...Let's close our eyes - keep your mudra held - and breathe. Just keep breathing."

"_Yea, _I...I _know, _I mean, _breathing, _not exactly gonna stop doing that anytime soon..."

"Korra."

"Sorry, sorry...I'm sorry. OK. Just gonna do the breathing now..."

Korra closed her eyes - gently this time, like readying for sleep. Or maybe her eyelids had sunken down on their own. She wasn't sure - she was pretty damned exhausted at this point, which was probably where some irritability was coming from. Aang's calming voice was like a lullaby in her sleepy state.

"We're going to connect with the earth. Sit beneath the heavens.

In. Out.  
In.  
Out.  
In.  
Out.  
In...  
Out...

In...

Out...

..n...

..t...

Korra shivered as a breeze rushed by, pushing over her body and awakening her. She suddenly realized just how _cold _she was.

"Korra."

"_Hnmmngh...?_" Korra's eyelids fluttered. Half of her body was being prickled. Grass? Yea, sure smelled like it. What...?

"Hey." Aang's voice was calling her awake. His hand was on her shoulder, and she could make him out - he was sideways...?

Wait, no. _She _was sideways. She was laying on the ground, in the grass.

"The sun's starting to rise," Aang informed her.

"_Wh_...-?!" She fumbled to push her body upright, grumpily sweeping off dirt and stray blades of vegetation. "Did I...fall _asleep_?" she panted out angrily, practically giving the ground a snarling look.

"Yea, for a while. It _is _pretty nice out tonight."

Korra look past her shoulder, toward the mountain range in the distance. The night sky above, filled with its many stars, faded into a gradient of purple and pink, bleeding into the orange glow of the sun peeking out from the horizon.

"What did you...just..._sit _here all this time?"

Aang laughed, rubbing at his eyes.

"I, uh...might've dozed off for a bit myself, too. It hasn't been _that _long, I mean...it's about five in the morning."

"...Fuck," Korra whispered. She felt like she'd wasted her entire night, despite having only spent maybe an hour or two of it sleeping. She began clawing at her raggedy mess of hair, sifting out particles of earth and flecks of grass. "God..._damnit_," she cursed again through stifled breaths. "_Argh._" Her knuckles were pounded into the ground at her side. "Sitting and breathing - I _told _you, Aang, I can't even fucking do _that!_"

"Whoa! Whoaaaa," Aang eased up his hands in her direction, his eyes wide. "Korra, geez, calm down..."

"No, that's the _problem,_" Korra whimpered out, rolling her eyes. "No matter _what _I try, it's always the same! Failure. On and on..."

"Korra, you cannot _fail _meditation."

"Funny, 'cuz I just _did_. Like everything else..."

Her legs crossed, Korra hung her head as her eyes flickered with agony. She wanted to cry more, to continue seeping this poisonous thoughts out. Instead, she buried her face into her palms and growled with rage, her shout muffled by her hands. That energy expelled, she let her arms go limp, flopping over into her lap.

"Stop doing that."

Korra was frozen, startled by Aang's words. They had been serene yet firm at the same time. She rubbed at her still-dry eyes, removing the grit that had collected in them, then blinked up at her friend, who clarified, his eyes glazed over solemnly.

"Stop letting what happens around you determine your worth as a person."

"But...-" Her rigid body stared at him with disbelief, her thick shoulders shrugging up with confusion. A held-back sigh puttered out. "How can I feel like I'm worth a damn if I can't do anything right?"

"You're looking at this all backwards, Korra." Aang's head tilted upward as he gazed to the sky above. "You don't see it?"

"Huh?" Korra set her sights in the same direction, noting the way the stars were already starting to fade out of sight with the rising of the sun.

"You're trying to set things right in everything around you, hoping it will fill some...some _void_ inside. Hoping it will balance you out, keep you steady. If you ask me, I think that it works the other way around: you have to find balance inside yourself before you can bring balance to the world around you."

"So...what, I have to..._change?_ Myself?"

"I'm not sure," Aang replied honestly. "Like I said...it's not an exact science. There is is no 'right' or 'wrong,' you know? Everyone's different. How can you expect to discover who you naturally are - the _real _you - and what that real you wants and the true potential of what you can do if you're constantly trying to stack yourself up to some set of expectations of yourself? You can't discover yourself if you keep chasing some idealized version of yourself. Just allow yourself to _be. _To _exist. _Action is important, and...trust me, I know I'm not the best at it. But all the same, it's _just _as important, I think, to _not _act some times. To take a step back from everything, and _breathe. _Just _breathe. _When all you're focused on _is _breathing, your mind is probably going to have no other place to go other than to consider _why _you're breathing in the first place."

Korra was in the kind of place right now where Aang's words stuck. They drilled through her thick skull - the wall that resisted and pushed and shoved at any who would enter.

Aang's words continued to sink into her being.

"My grandfather used to have this saying: when we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change. It seems like all around us, everyone tries to make that sort of thing out to be this magical, instantaneous _click_. Like...I don't know, King Arthur pulling a sword from a stone. You know? Or, like...the heroes in so many stories - books, and movies, and TV shows - it's always at the last minute, in the nick of time, something comes along and that 'great change' happens, and all of a sudden, their problem is solved."

Korra sniffed at her runny rose and rubbed her thumb against it, letting Aang's rambling wash over her on the currents of the breeze that was picking up around them.

"And I've seen it in you, Korra. I've seen you try, and try, and keep _pushing _and _fighting_, trying to find that moment. That magical moment when you'll solve it all, fix everything. You keep trying to find it."

"Which I _don't_," Korra was eager to bitterly point out.

"No. No, you don't," Aang agreed with a thoughtful shake of his head. "Because that moment doesn't exist. You're not going to find it because, like that idealized version of yourself you keep holding your expectations up to, it _doesn't exist._ No outside _thing _can change that. You're the only one who can let that change happen." Aang leaned over, extending his arm. He pressed his finger to her forehead. "Here..." He tapped at her chest, just below her collarbone. "And here. _Inside. _No one else can change that, no one else can let what's in there outside. Other people, we can _help, _we can...try to make you feel better. But I didn't take you out here tonight to make you feel better."

"You...didn't?"

"Uh-uh. I took you out here to help you help _yourself _feel better - _about _yourself."

"Aang, I...can't-"  
"Just relax. Don't think about all of that. Right now, for this moment_,_ let's clear our minds."

Korra sighed at Aang's suggestion as she watched him assume his meditative stance once again - pinching his thumb and index finger together lightly, closing his eyes.

_OK, Korra. Yea. Just relax. Take it easy. Deep breaths...or...something?_

Korra closed her eyes, anxiously chewing dry skin off the edge of her lip. She inhaled deeply through her semi-clogged nose, and exhaled slowly through her mouth. Her trembling hands took on that form Aang was using. She took another breath.

In. Out.  
In.  
Out.  
In...  
_What are you doing?_  
Out...  
_How is this helping anything?_  
In...  
_Those kids are lost. Probably_ hurting.  
Out..!  
_And you're sitting on your ass._  
In..!  
_Fucking breathing. Lotta good that's doing._  
Out.-!

Korra's throat tightened and she coughed phloem that had drizzled down due to her sniveling. With a tired groan, she opened her eyes, hand over her mouth, and coughed some more, working the gunk out and spitting it off into the grass as the wind played with her hair. She irritably pushed strands from her face and let an guttural grunt come out through her nostrils.

"Korra." Aang let his hands fall over his knees. "Have you tried what I said about counting?"

"No, that's-_Puh!_" Damned hair, the wind kept pushing it in her face. "I dunno, I don't think that will help."

"It'll help to find one thing to think about and just...focus on that."

"Mm..." Korra glanced off absentmindedly toward the horizon behind Aang.

"Here." Aang extended his left arm to Korra, hand open.

Korra stared at that hand for a second or so, her mind spinning with so many times where people had offered her help, and she'd rejected them.

She took Aang's left hand with her right one, and suddenly realized how shaky and shivery she was as the firm, steady warmth of Aang's dry skin enveloped her fingers. They clasped their palms together, and Aang took on his meditation pose once more. Korra followed his lead, closing her eyes again.

_+ youtube(dotcom)/watch?v=1TmVGoLVi0o +_  
_('Greatest Change'; Jeremy Zuckerman)_

The two of them were quiet for a few moments.

They breathed. The cold, clean air passed through them. The gentle morning mist clung to the inside of Korra's nostrils. The grass rippled beneath her legs. The subtle heat of the rising sun tickled at her shoulders.

Korra could feel her hand steadying, relaxing within Aang's grasp. She let herself become enveloped by the sensations around her, the natural world inviting her tired soul into its arms. She felt compelled to speak - to let the thoughts within her trickle out in aching whispers.

"I'm lost, Aang..."

"I know. I am, too."

"I'm not sure what I'm doing...I don't...-"

"It's OK. Just breathe. Everything will be all right."

Korra inhaled shakily.

The wind was picking up. It softly flicked at her back, at the strands on her head, at the hair on her arms.

It whispered in her ear, like fluttering notes from strings. It was a soothing sound.

_Everything will be all right._

_Just breathe._

_It's OK._

She let herself think of the wind. Free, flying, soaring. Everything she wished she could be, but was outside of her nature. Outside of her reach, her efforts.

Tears were coming back to her face - they'd escaped without her say-so while she'd been listening to the breeze.

"Can...-" she choked out, eyes still closed. "Will they be able to forgive me?"

"Korra. You've made mistakes. _Everyone does._ You have to forgive yourself."

"But...-! _Ugh, _I can't...-" Her voice was quivering from that damned crying.

"You _can_," Aang assured, giving her hand a squeeze.

Korra gripped his palm back and heaved on a sob.

"Let yourself _be_," Aang eased. "Let reality be reality. Let you _be you._"

The wind pushed at them, rolling the blades of grass in a graceful song of serenity. Korra focused on the wind and how it danced across her skin.

Korra let the tears she'd been fighting all night pour out. Seconds of sobbing passed, her face damp, her jaws clenched, and Aang's hold on her hand remained gentle enough to be relaxing, but connected enough to feel assuring.

_Forgive yourself. _

_Let you be you._

_You can._

Aang's words echoed in Korra's mind, swirling around her on the murmurs of the winds.

_Can I? Really? Am I allowed? Am I capable? After everything I've done, all the pain I've caused...-  
_

The wind replied, '_Just breathe.'_

In.

Smiling faces.

Out.

Laughter.

In.

Hugs.

Out.

Wet tears on her cheeks.

In.

Soft grass between her toes.

Out.

Warmth from Aang's hand, from the sun.

In.

The wind caressing her head, tickling her back, massaging her exhausted soul.

Out.

That wind, echoing Aang's encouraging words into her ears. Its natural rhythm, flowing and circling around her, rustling the grass, starting and stopping like a heartbeat.

Korra lost herself in the rocking, swaying lullaby of the air coursing across the valley. For a time, she forgot about everything else, focusing only on the wind.

Korra was gently emerging from her meditative state as the air was speeding up, rushing by quicker and faster. Her hair was being whipped all around, but she kept her eyes closed, and kept her grip on Aang's hand.

The wind suddenly pushed with some force in a gust, those gentle whispers rising to demand answers to those questions Korra kept asking herself.

**_Do you know who you are?_**

_My name is Korra Kesuk. _

**_Who are you?_**

Katara and Sokka.

_I'm a cousin. _

Mom and Dad.

_I'm a daughter._

Asami, Bolin, Mako.

_I'm a roommate._

Aang, Jane, Toph.

_I'm a friend._

Jinora, Ikki, Meelo.

_I'm a big sister._

**___What do you want?_**

_I want to protect the people I love._

_I **want** to protect people._

_I **can **protect people._

The wind died down, lulling to a zephyr.

_You can._

_That is your reality._

_Let reality **be** reality._

_Let you **be you.**_

Like awakening from sleep, Korra's slowed, shallow breaths ended with a soft gasp through her nose. Her eyes opened, and she yawned, rubbing at her eyes with her left hand - fresh tears had formed while they had meditated. With her right hand, she squeezed Aang's hand, and released it. She pushed her messy hair back over her shoulders, scratched at her scalp, and rubbing her palms against her shivering arms.

"How're you feeling?" Aang asked.

Korra looked over toward his empathetic smile.

"...A little bit better," Korra eked out a reply, still drying her eyes as she laughed in spite of herself.

She and Aang peered into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

"Bit by bit," Aang encouraged her. "That's all it takes to get where you need to go. Wherever that place is, you'll find it - I know you will."

Korra smirked at him and crawled onto her knees, tackling him from the side with a grateful hug.

"Thank you, Aang."

In this short trip to a field of grass, Korra's life had not suddenly changed. She had not found some magical moment where all of her problems were gone.

But there had been a great change within her, all the same.

Korra had acknowledged that her mistakes did not prevent her from having the future she wanted.

Korra had realized that she _was _allowed to stop, to take a break, to take a moment to _breathe._

Being encircled by nature and letting those guilty thoughts drizzle out of her head had brought the clarity to her she had been unable to see.

The universe did not care if she made mistakes - it did not condemn her for them. Why should she condemn herself?

She _wanted _to make things right. She _wanted _to become a better person - a better Korra Kesuk, one that could protect the people around her.

And if she _wanted _to do that, she still _could, _regardless of her seemingly never-ending streak of failures.

She could always try again, as long as breath still passed through her.

She could still do what Korra Kesuk _wanted _to do: protect people.

_I can. Everything will be all right._

_I can try again. I can always try again._

_I will._

_And I'll never give up._

* * *

_"Be the change that you wish to see in the world."_  
― Mahatma Gandhi


	121. Skeletons in the Closet

**A/N: So! Couple important things.  
**

**FIRSTLY, since we are getting close to the planned ending of the story (for real, I'm actually running out of things to write about with this story as I've nearly written everything I'd ever planned and then-some) I was thinking of putting something together with the help of some of you guys. All it would take for anyone to participate would be a camera (video or photo) and a piece of paper. It might impact the very last chapter of the story, too! If you might be interested in participating, please send me a PM on whatever site providing your e-mail, or preferably directly send me an e-mail to my address 4sher at gmail and let me know you are interested.**

**Also, I have no idea how I fucked this up, BUT...apparently no one noticed, and even I didn't notice until I started work on this chapter. The current story is supposed to be happening in June - it's June term, and all of that. But the story oddly skipped its dates from March to JULY. So that whole fireworks bit was on July 4th. Except...it shouldn't have been 4th of July, because it was just the start of June. I've gone back and edited the past couple chapters. It doesn't really change any story, but it's a glaring technical error so I tweaked the fireworks scene for some alternate context. For those who've already read before this edit, the re-worked context is just that it was some kind of town fair deal.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 121 - Skeletons in the Closet_

* * *

- Sunday, June 5th, 2011 -

Korra certainly looked at peace as she snored loudly from the couch, curled up in a ball that spanned only two of the three cushions. Staring down at Korra from the third cushion, Jane's insides wobbled and wavered with a blend of feelings that had been hard for her to swallow.

Korra squirmed around on the couch, her pillow caught between her arms like a stuffed toy as she wriggled and adjusted her sleeping position. Jane was motionless, seemingly petrified of waking her friend. Korra's head found its way onto Jane's thigh, a mess of hair slopped across the girl's bony leg. Jane felt like her insides were burning as she sat there in awkward silence. She took a deep breath, glancing around the living room - no one else was there still, but Jane could hear the sizzles and pops of food being prepared off in the kitchen area a room away to her left.

Jane casually rubbed her brow and glanced around, perking her ear toward the stairs to her right - no sound.

Suddenly, Korra squirmed again, smacking her lips together in her sleep as she pulled her pillow up over Jane's thigh to prop her head. Jane was as still as a statue for these couple of seconds, and once her friend's movements settled, Jane silently sighed. She hesitated for a second before reaching down her lanky fingers and pushing Korra's matted bangs out of her face. This revealed that Jane's asleep companion wore a disgruntled, pouting expression despite breathing peacefully. Jane allowed her fingers to remain on Korra's head, appreciating this rare look at her always troubled friend, relaxed and motionless for a change of pace.

The sound of plodding footsteps startled Jane from this moment. She flicked up her arms and stretched, making a show of a yawn, only for a real yawn to induce itself.

"Lunch is ready," Asami informed in a hushed tone. She smirked down at the sight: Korra's head plopped into a pillow held up by her red-headed friend's lap. "Still sleeping, is she?"

"Y-yea, guess so," Jane mumbled lightly with an amused shrug. "Like a log."

"She _was _out all night," Asami recalled with a shrug. "But it sounds like that was actually a good idea if you guys convinced her to stick around."

"Oh, I...-" Jane swallowed, her throat dry as her chest tightened. She shook her head lightly up at Asami, then stared back down at Korra. "Nah, had nothin' to do with me...Was all Aang."

"Ah. That's your friend, the one that was with her when they were attacked?"

Jane nodded sullenly.

Asami blinked with empathy at the forlorn red-head that was glumly studying the sleeping Inuit girl in her lap. Asami's head couldn't help but wander toward thoughts of the two of them having some more complications to their friendship than they let on. Asami dumped some encouraging words on Jane.

"I'm sure Korra will happy to see you're here when she wakes up."

"_Tsh. _Yea, _when _she wakes up." A tiny grin spread over Jane's pale face. "Fuck knows how long 'til that happens..."

"She _does _have a habit of sleeping in," Asami conceded. "She'll get up soon, I'm sure."

"Eh, yea, let her...sleep in a bit more," Jane decided with a slight shrug. She carefully squirmed her way out from beneath Korra's head, to which Korra responded by rolling over.

"There's some lunch ready for you," said Asami, leading Jane to the kitchen.

"Ah, thanks," Jane sighed out with some relief. Her scrawny stomach gurgled at the scent of seasoned omelets.

"Have a seat," Asami eased, giving Jane a gentle nudge on the back. "Would you like some toast?"

"Errr...Y-yea, OK. Sure." Jane awkwardly slipped into the chair at the tiny metal table in the kitchen.

As Asami dropped two slices of bread into the toaster, Jane pushed her knees together, wedging her hands between her thighs and bouncing her feet up and down on their toes. Asami placed a paper plate with a steaming omelet in front of Jane along with a fork before going back to tending to more food.

Jane picked up the knife, her mouth watering from the vegetable-laden omelet before her. She poked at it a bit before beginning to chop of a segment with the side of her fork.

The stove sizzled as Asami poured more egg goo into it.

"_Mmph, _phuggin' _goob_," Jane complimented in the middle of a full mouth of deliciousness.

"Thanks," Asami said with a laugh from her nose. As the omelet cooked, she took a quick moment to switch on the coffee machine, which she'd already set up to cook up a fresh batch of bitter caffeine.

Jane swallowed her first bite, and as she cut off another, she asked, "Where the bros at?"

"Bolin's at work, and Mako's on his way here for his lunch break."

"...Damn," Jane said plainly, reflecting on the concept. "Work on a _Sunday_?"

"Heh, yea, you...do what you need to do," Asami said with a nod, going back to fixing the egg.

"Guess so," Jane weakly acknowledged. What did _she _need to do? What the hell was she going to end up doing after school, anyway? A bug science student who could barely write a goddamn essay without it being full of mistakes and shitty grammar. Yea, awesome. She'd fit _real _well into the fucking biology world...

"So, um, Jane..."

"Mm?" Jane hummed back while chewing.

"You and Korra, I'm wondering...Is there something between you two?"

Jane accidentally swallowed sooner than she'd intended, her throat pinching with pain as the food slowly slid down.

She breathed out a grunt, her eyes watering a bit as she attempted to reply as calmly as she could.

"Uh, wh-? I-...What?" So much for that.

Asami looked back over her shoulder at Jane's reddened face before flicking her attention back to the food.

"I'm sorry," Asami spat out sheepishly. "That's-...I shouldn't have asked that, it's not my business." She was shaking her head fretfully, her ponytail swaying to and fro. Jane was reminded of conversation she'd had with Korra in which Korra had ranted envy at her roommate's hair. Jane could see what Korra had meant, but...eh. It didn't do much for her.

"_Mmph,_" Jane said through her nose as she rubbed at her eyes. "Ain't nothin' worth talkin' about," she wrote off the matter with some bitterness. She was half-tempted to ask Asami about Korra and Bolin, but opted not to. Some romantic nonsense wasn't what she was in the mood to chat about, especially with more important things going on.

"Right, I'm...really sorry," Asami again apologize as she cooked.

"Where'd you get _that _idea, anyway?" Jane wondered, letting her throat clear before attempting to eat more.

"Well, I mean, I know Korra's stayed over with you before, you two seem close, and...she used to be really, I don't know, hush-hush about what she was up to with you."

"Uh, _pff, _wh-? _That_ stuff? That was...like...the gang stuff, and...-"

"No, I know! I know...Sorry, I'm probably just-...You know, wishful thinking, I guess."

Jane raised a brow. The hell was _that _supposed to mean?

"I mean," Asami struggled to elaborate quietly. "It's just, her and Bo, he gets-...Well, I don't think it's good for either of them."

Jane shrugged, though Asami wasn't looking.

"Yea, I don't...really _give _a shit about her love life, I mean...that's _her _business."

"Right!" Asami turned off the stove and went about buttering the toast she had prepared. "Yes, exactly, that's...why I said I was sorry, and...-"

She dropped the two slices of lightly buttered toast on Jane's plate, then brushed her hands off on her jeans before going back to the frying pan.

"Forget I said anything," Asami mumbled pleadingly with a dismissive flick of her wrist.

"Mm..." Jane frowned skeptically at Asami's back. Seemed like this lady was trying to look out for her boyfriend's little bro - if Korra was distracted by someone who could 'take' what Korra dished out, it kept her from hurting Bolin. Something like that? Ugh. This nonsense was hurting Jane's brain and making her stomach crawl, just thinking about things like this. She opted to eat quietly instead.

Asami set the second omelet in front of the seat across from Jane, plopped two more bread slices into the toaster, and asked her if she'd like a drink.

By the time this was finished, a car had pulled into the driveway. At the sound of the living room's front door opening, Jane twisted her head over to see Korra's friend Mako enter. He was dressed in a button-down with a raggedy red scarf draped over his neck.

"Hey, Champ," Asami casually greeted him from the kitchen.

"Hey," he said back as he waved to Jane, kicking his shoes off.

She feebly gestured in what hopefully approximated as a wave, watching Mako sling his scarf off and hang it on the coat rack beside the door.

Jane, trying to be unassuming, plowed through a slice of her toast as Mako strolled into the kitchen. He gave Asami a...rather friendly hello, pressing his body against her back and kissing her cheek. They said something quietly to each other, but Jane ignored it, practically glaring down at her meal as she went right into the second toast slice.

Mako spoke out to Jane as he poured himself a fresh cup of .

"I see you helped convince a certain someone to stick around."

Jane shrugged, her mouth intentionally too full to reply.

"We're glad she changed her mind," Mako concluded. "Thanks for talking her out of it."

Jane swallowed, and made to speak out against this falsehood, but Asami swept in with another courteous question.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jane - I forgot to offer you something to drink. Coffee? Milk? Juice?"

"Uh, s-some coffee, guess that...sounds good..."

"Have you heard back from the police yet?" Mako wondered.

"About...what? The kids?"

"Yea. Do they have any leads?"

Jane gave Mako a curious brow. Something about the way he'd asked seemed weird. Why was he so interested? Asami set down a mug of black coffee in front of Jane.

"Not yet," Jane mumbled back.

"Did you need any sugar, or creamer?" Asami quietly prodded regarding the drink she'd just delivered.

Jane shook her head and continued.

"But we're pretty sure it was the same dickweeds that attacked them _last _weekend: the Triple Threat Triad."

"Ah." Mako sipped at his coffee contemplatively, scrolling through his smartphone. "So, they already know that the children are probably up in New York by now..."

Jane nodded, shooting him a suspicious look. How would he know that?

"Yea," she slowly began. "But...they don't have any ideas on an exact spot, or nothin'." She stared at him, her olive eyes attempting to pierce his outward ambivalence. "_Why_?" she added sternly when he ignored her.

Mako raised his glance from his smartphone and finished chewing on his bite of food. He reciprocated her shady look.

"Because...-" Mako took a sip of his coffee and set it down. "-...I have some history with the Triple Threats. They're _not _the kind of people you and Korra need to be mixed up with."

"_Puh!_" Jane scoffed at his claim. "Pretty sure we can handle a few chumps like those guys."

"OK, first of all...-" Mako cleared his throat, placed his elbows on the table, and rested his chin against his hands, his sharp eyes clashing with Jane's dulled ones. "There's _more _than 'a few' of them. They're big enough to operate outside of a single city at this point."

"We're not tryin' to start a _war_ here," Jane rebutted. "Just rescue some hostages. Anyway, whadda _you _care?"

"I used to _be _part of that group," Mako stated.

Jane was left with her lips hanging open. Mako had seemed like a pretty no-nonsense, straight-edge sorta dude. He used to be in a gang? Like Jane had? That was pretty hard to believe.

"No way," Jane refuted.

Mako nodded rather solemnly.

"Bolin and I used to run with those creeps," Mako stated with a frustrated shrug. "I'm not _proud _of it, but we did what we had to do for our folks...Anyway, I don't want to get into that right now. The point is that these sort of people don't ever _really _leave you alone, they-"  
"I used to be in a gang, too," Jane blurted out. "I _know _what this stuff leads to, that's why I'm _not _going after these assholes."

"You...-?" Mako's long, sharp-edged eyebrows lifted with surprise. "Ha. _You _used to be in a gang? Which _one_?" He sounded extremely dubious.

"The Freedom Fighters," Jane coldly informed him. "Used to call me 'Smellerbee.'"

"_Puh-!_" Mako's eyes were wide again, but this time he looked more impressed than doubtful. "Wait, you...-?" He pointed at her, and she tilted her head up half an inch in defiance at his questioning tone. "Smellerbee? That's _you? _The person who-...I've heard about you. You took off Twelve-Toed Ping's extra toes."

_Shrieking. Blood. Blade slicing open flesh and bone beneath the glow of a flashlight in the dark._

Jane shrugged off the chill that ran up her spine at this reminder, then snorted hot air through her nostrils took a bite of her omelet. She leaned back in her chair, chewed, and crossed her arms as she swallowed.

"Yea," she said plainly. "So?"

"W-well, I-...The way I'd heard it, Smellerbee was a...a, um...-"

"A _guy_?" Jane growled back with disdain. "I ain't lyin', I _was _Smellerbee. You heard fuckin' wrong."

Jane was instantly uncomfortable by the way Mako was now studying her face. She felt like she could read his mind, as this wasn't something new. He was probably thinking something to himself, like, '_Oh, yea, she _does_ look like a little boy, I can see them assuming.'_

"I don't _look _the same," Jane quipped grumpily in protest against Mako's condescending glance. She was slightly relieved when Mako's brief but aggravating gawking ended. Instead, his expression switched to realization.

"Wait, is _that _why Korra got involved to begin with?"

Jane's heart skipped a beat as someone finally vocalized this observation with an appropriate tone of anger.

Rather than reply, Jane continued to eat her food, her half-opened eyes gazing at the remnants of her meal.

"It was _you_," Mako concluded. "She got caught up in this mess because of _you_."

Jane glanced up - yep, he was still glaring. She gave him a shrug, trying to keep her cool while her chest was burning with guilt and remorse.

"She _chose _to, all right?" Jane defended. "Anyway, what was it ya just said? _Oh-yea, _it was, 'I ain't _proud_ of it.' I've done a lotta crap _I _ain't so happy about, either, OK? You wanna swap fuckingnotes on how many lives we've messed up, or something?"

Jane was fuming, her breath having increased in speed, her heart-rate elevated as her fingernails were digging into her pant legs. Mako, however, was cool as could be, looking at her with an intense..._calmness. _It was bizarre to Jane. As if the louder she'd gotten, the more calm his demeanor had become.

"Are you done?" Mako dryly asked.

Jane huffed through her lips and ate some more.

A groaning could be heard as a zombified Korra fumbled into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and scratching her thigh.

"Wha's with all th...-?" Korra cut her own sentence off with a lion's yawn, too lazy to bother finishing her sentence afterward.

"Good...morning," Asami squeaked as Korra reached her side. Asami, obviously, was a little off-put by the discussion Jane and Mako were partaking in.

"_Mehhrrmm_," was Korra's answer to that. The woman was clothed in a tee shirt and shorts, at least. She was fumbling around with the mug rack, and Jane's eyes predictably observed Korra's wide rear-end before jumping away. Jane stared at her drink, still steaming, and she finally partook of it with a careful sip. It was rather bitter, but maybe she was in the mood for that today.

"Point is," Jane muttered out, trying to play things casual as Korra poured herself coffee. "We _all _got skeletons in our closets, so...How 'bout we _leave '_em there?"

"_Whrr...-?_" Korra blinked at Jane, startled. "Fruh...-?" She coughed, clearing her passageways, and shakily put the coffee pot back into its burner. "_You're_...here," Korra noted plainly, staring at her friend with narrow, bleary eyes.

"Heh, yea..._I'm _here," Jane mumbled back, amused.

Jane was pleasantly surprised when Korra trudged a few steps over, set her coffee down beside Jane's, and leaned over Jane's back, giving her a hug.

"Good to see ya," Korra said through another yawn.

"You, too," Jane sighed, her head swimming in contemplation for a moment as she absorbed Korra's friendly hug but did not reciprocate it.

Korra slapped Jane's back in that familiar, just-barely-painful way before backing off a few steps with her coffee mug.

"Heard Aang got you to change your mind," Jane explained. "Wanted to come see you. Make sure-...Ya know...-" She shrugged, taking a drink of her dark coffee.

"Yea," Korra breathed out with a nod. "Thanks," she said, running her fingers over her forehead to get hair strands out of her eyes.

"Korra," Mako cut in on their moment. "You never told me she used to be in a gang," he blurted, nodding his pointed chin in Jane's direction.

Korra's mouth was agape as she scanned the room with what little attention she could muster in this state of mind. Mako was glaring at Jane, Jane was ignoring him and drinking coffee, and Asami was leaning against the fridge, eating with her head bobbed and a melancholic look about her.

"I...didn't think it was your _business_," Korra slowly replied, rubbing her nose against the edge of one nostril.

"When it's the reason why I'm getting _dog heads _delivered to my door step, it-"  
"I had _nothing _to do with that," Jane growled beneath him.  
"-might be my business that that point."  
"Don't go lumpin' me in with _them, _you prick, _you_-"  
"Guys," Asami was trying to settled them down.  
"-used to run _with _the same people who did-"  
"That was a long time ago! When was the last time _you _were-?"  
"Oh, sure, get on _my _case when _you've _done-"

"**Hey!**"

The kitchen fell quiet at Korra's command. All eyes were on her as she glowered at her two hot-headed friends. She sniffed dryly, her nose plugged, and drank some coffee, letting them stew in the silence. With a sigh, she scratched an itch on her stomach and bobbed her head, closing her eyes.

She took a moment to breathe.

"Stop fighting," she said to them. "This is _my _mess. Whatever you two did in the past? Leave it there: in the past." She looked back up to them, brows raised expectantly. "OK?"

Both gave her begrudging frowns lacking in energy. Mako nodded his head to the side a bit, and Jane shrugged up one shoulder.

"You know whose fault this all is?" Korra went on. "The people _doing _this. We can sit around and point fingers, but that's not going to _change _anything. Besides...-" Her lips pouted with some self-disdain, the reality of her situation leaping back to her memory after a night of forgetting all about it. "I'm pretty sure _I'm _the one who's fucked up the most here lately. You both have put your mistakes behind you - let me do that for myself, eh?"

"The cops think they know a way we can help," Jane offered up.

"Huh?" Korra was perplexed. The very notion of Chief Jia in _any _way whatsoever asking Korra and Jane for help sounded unbelievable. "What..._kind _of help do the cops _want?_"

"Um, it's...-" Jane scratched her eyebrow, casting a shifty glance to Mako, who was eating his food in quiet defeat. Asami had gone back to cooking, trying to 'mind her own business,' no doubt. "I'm not sure it's something we need to be talkin' about here," Jane muttered with some passive aggression.

Korra cast a disappointed look at her friend and shook her head.

"Nope," Korra snipped. "Whatever it is-" She waggled her head toward Mako and Asami. "-you can say it in front of these guys. From now on, I'm done hiding, I'm done with secrets." She took a swig and stepped toward Jane, her imposing build towering over her seated friend. "And _also, _what the _hell, _Freckles? I thought _we _were both done with this shady bullshit."

"Wh...-? Well...Never-fucking-mind, then," Jane scoffed, shaking her head and finishing her plate.

"Hey, no, don't do that," Korra quickly scolded. "Don't give me that, just _tell _me what's up. Why's this so secretive? I thought you said the _cops _wanted our help."

"They _do_," Jane insisted, lifted up her bony shoulders. "Want us to help them infiltrate the Triple Threats."

"_What?_" Mako cried out, appalled at the idea.

"Not, like, _be _one of them," Jane swiftly defended. "But figure out where they're keeping hostages."

"How the _hell _are we supposed to do that?" Korra balked.

Jane replied, "They want someone to _be _a hostage."

"...Eh?"

"What, like, a sting operation?" Mako noted. "Send someone in who volunteers to be the bait?"

"Exactly," said Jane. "Only way to find out where they take their hostages is if they follow someone who gets _caught._"

"Wait, wait," Korra was shaking her head a bit, puzzled by all this. "Then what do they want from _us_?"

Jane bit at her lip, her eyes drifting off to the side as she shrugged again.

"..._Ohhh, _fuck _me_," Korra winced, slapping her palm against her forehead as she realized. "That's...-"

"Why did they ask _you _about it?" Mako questioned Jane.

Jane grimaced.

"'Cuz a mutual friend of ours got caught, too. We figure he's wherever the kids got taken to."

"Why don't _you _do it, then?" Mako proposed cynically.

"Be_cause_-" Jane irritably quipped._ "-_if even _you _know who I used to be, and you ain't even _been _with them, doncha think they'll know me pretty well? With the shit _I've _done, I wouldn't be a hostage, I'd...-" She tossed out her wrist. "-...I'd be a fucking _example_. A message." Jane looked up to Korra. "Like your dog was..."

Korra and Jane exchanged bitter glances, a mixture of regret and empathy passing between dark looks.

"But Korra," Jane elaborated, "if they wanted her dead, they woulda _already _offed her back at the park. Right?" She turned up her wrists at Korra, who was reminded of that night days ago.

She'd fought back when they had first tried to kidnap the kids. She'd beaten the hell out of Tahno, only for that other asswipe to knock her out. He had a gun. He _could _have shot her, laid her dead right then and there. But he didn't.

"And they sent her a text the other night, when they took the kids: 'You're next, Kesuk.' They want her _alive_."

"...Why?" Mako wondered.

Asami finally put in her two cents. "Probably the same reason they have hostages in the first place: they think she's valuable in some way."

Korra felt a pang of guilt at this comment. She didn't feel very worthy, that was for sure. What value had she been to _anyone _lately?

"_So, _the cops figure-" Jane went on. "-if Korra gets herself caught, they can have someone _tail _her, find out where the Triple Threats are keepin' people locked up, and send the NYPD in to bust their asses."

"NYPD?" Mako was intrigued. "So, they _know _that's where the kids are being held?"

"What they seem to think," Jane said. "We've got...an inside source, like a...double-agent sorta-deal. She says it sounds right."

Korra's arms were crossed, one hand periodically lifting her coffee to her lips to continue consuming it. As the caffeine hit her system, she was processing all of this.

"What if they aren't there, though?" Mako presented an example. "What if Korra gets taken there, and those kids are somewhere else?"

"Then she's still _helping_ fight against these fuckers by getting some of them _caught_," Jane insisted. "N' maybe we get some dirt out of 'em."

"Mm..." Mako was, of course, dubious about this. But Korra didn't care. This wasn't his choice to make.

"I'll do it," Korra declared.

"You will?" Jane's eyes flickered with gratitude and hope - it brought a swell to Korra's chest to see.

"Korra," said Asami. "This sounds...pretty dangerous. Shouldn't you think this through?"

"What's there to _think _about?" Korra replied. She planted her empty coffee mug onto the table. "Those kids are in this mess because of _me_, I mean, I _think _I owe it to them to put my life on the line here, eh? After everything I've done, what do I have to _lose?_"

"...Uh, gee, well, _everything?_" Mako came back.

"_Tss_." Korra rolled her eyes. "You _know _what I mean! I could finally do somebody some _good _here, help fix this." Korra waved up her index finger at Mako. "_With _the police, by the way. Hasn't everyone been saying I shoulda done that in the first place?"

Mako sighed, dropping his forehead into his fingertips as his elbow rested near his plate.

"If something goes wrong, I'm strong enough to defend myself," Korra added. "_And _strong enough to help break those kids out. This is _my _responsibility, and there's no other point to me staying in Wayward if I'm just gonna sit on my _ass_. They will _find _me - again - sooner or later. I might as well turn myself into something _useful _instead of a liability."

There was quiet in the house as a curious ferret scampered in, evidently attracted by the noise. It sniffed at Korra, who had on hand on her chest and the other directed out toward the front of the house. As the pet rubbed by her ankle and moved to his food dish, Korra breathed out a sigh, letting her arms drop to her sides.

"Do what you've gotta do, Korra," Asami supported, breaking the quiet.

"We can _do _this," Jane encouraged, getting up from her chair. "Maybe we went about Combustion Man wrong, but...whatever, we'll just do it _right _this time."

"OK," Korra nodded to her. "Sooo..._How_...do we do this? Exactly?"

Jane grimaced, and she scratching behind one ear, sheepishly looking down at her feet.

"Uhhh, we're...still figurin' that out, and...-"

Korra huffed impatiently through her nose, but kept her tongue tied.

"_Well!_" Jane spat. "We didn't _know _if we'd have your help or not, so...-"

"What's the next step, then?" Korra asked. "Where do we go?"

"You should call the Chief, let her know you're in - I'll go set up a meeting with our contact, and give you a buzz in a bit."

"Sounds good," Korra said to Jane as her friend walked past, exiting the kitchen and going for the front door. "Wh-whoa, hey!" Korra called out.

"Gotta run," Jane called back, whizzing out the door. "Talk later."

The door slammed shut behind her, and Korra was left befuddled and a little annoyed. It would've been nice to just...spend some _time _with Freckles for a change, instead of all of this runaround. On the other hand, Korra had already spent an entire day putzing around. Three children were counting on her. There were bigger things to be thinking about - and _doing_, more importantly - than trying to work in satisfying social time.

The door opened back up, startling the three in the kitchen.

"Sorry!" Jane spat at them from the doorway. "Thanks for the food n' whatever! Sorry for...the yelling...'n stuff." She continued to linger at the entrance. "Uh, and also...your car's blocking me, and...-"

Mako sucked in an irritable breath through his nostrils as Asami rubbed his back.

"I'll go move it," she offered, holding out her hand. Mako dug out his keys and gave them to her.

Jane let out a sheepish "Heh" as Asami approached.

"You're welcome," Asami chuckled at Korra's odd friend, heading outside.

"You'll call me?" Korra called out to Jane as the door closed.

"Yea," Jane's voice came back, muffled through the door.

"_Pshewww_," Korra fluttered her lips, sifted her dirty nails through her scalp. "Sorry about that," Korra said to Mako.

"It's fine," said Mako tiredly, finishing off his meal.

"Is...this for me?" Korra wondered, noting the finished omelet sitting on the stove.

"Mm," Mako confirmed through his nose as he chewed.

Korra eagerly grabbed a fork and went about digging into the egg and veggie combo right out of the frying pan.

"You're serious about all this," Mako noted, placing his dirty dishes into the sink.

"_Mmph_!" Korra nodded, her mouth full. She looked pretty hungry from the looks of it.

"When was the last time you ate?" Mako wondered with a raised brow.

Korra shrugged as she took into another large bite.

"Uhhh-_boy_," Mako sighed, shaking his head slowly at the sight. The body of the woman, but the elegance of a kindergartener, looking like a street urchin, bent over a stove and eating out of a frying pan. "Those kids are counting on _you_, huh?"

Korra frowned up at him in a manner that conveyed the insecurities Mako knew she was doing her best to push through.

"At least you're wearing _clothes_," Mako picked, attempting to lighten the mood. She ignored him. "You know I'm hard on you because I don't want to see you get hurt...right?"

Korra swallowed - wow, already finished with that food.

"Yah, ehno," she muttered through full cheeks, wiping her lips with her wrist and dropping the pan and fork into the sink, which was getting full at this point.

They could hear cars starting up and shifting around out in the driveway.

"Guess I oughtta...I dunno, shower?" Korra muttered to herself, walking by Mako. "Check in with Tenzin? Call the police...? I don't-..._Ugh._"

Shaking her head to herself, she entered the living room, and dropped herself down on the couch, shoving her pillow and blanket into a pile to her side. She opened up her music box, sitting upon the coffee table, and scooped up Naga's dog tag from within, draping it around her neck.

Mako studied her from afar for a few seconds, unsure of what to say. While he had his doubts and cynicism about this girl who pretended to be a woman, this child who struggled to be an adult, Mako could tell that Korra had changed since she'd moved in.

He watched her kiss her scuffed dog tag necklace and tenderly close her music box, her eyes glazed over but determined at the same time.

Mako could see it about her: at some point down the line, Korra had let it really sink in that she was the 'Big Cousin,' the 'Big Sister.' And Mako decided that based on that glint in her eye, Korra understood that it was time to step up and put on those 'Big' pants. Maybe she was doing it years later than he had, but he could still root for her, if he did so more quietly than Asami or Bolin did.

"Hey, Korra," Mako wondered, approaching the girl who was staring at her feet. "Are you going to be OK?"

Korra looked up to him, rubbing her dog tag like a charm. She tucked it in her shirt and got up from the couch.

"Yea," she replied. She paused at the base of the stairs, her hand lingering on the edge of its wooden rail. She gave Mako a resolute glance, eyes like blue-fired coals. "I'll be OK. I've _got _to be."

* * *

- ? -

Staring down at the frothy-mouthed, motionless body, Lin was dumbstruck. After all she'd seen over the course of this long-winded operation, she had still not gotten used to sight of dead bodies. Hovering over the bed the fresh corpse was laid within, Lin cast a sideways glance to her comrade, who was rifling through a loaded wallet. With a sigh, Lin cautiously slid the man's eyelids down from their seemingly peaceful, open state. She pulled up the blanket the man was wrapped within and covered his face.

"Poor bastard," Lin muttered.

"Why the fuck do people always say that?"

"Mm?" Lin looked over to June, who was shuffling over toward her.

June glared down at the lump on the bed, covered by a silk blanket.

"This cockshit wasn't '_poor,_'" June declared. "And 'bastard' is too goddamned nice a word for him. Not every one who gets put down around here deserves your sympathy, you know that?"

"June, you _killed _him," Lin protested quietly.

"Just doing my job. _You're _one to talk."

"And what's _that _supposed to mean?"

"Oh. Right. Miss 'Can't-Get-Her-Hands-Dirty.' You're gonna _have _to, sooner or later. Isn't that _your _job?"

"That's not the plan, nor is it 'my job.' The higher ups want him _alive._"

"_Tsh, _yea, good luck with that one," June scoffed, trudging over to the man's dresser at the side of the room. She uncorked a half-empty bottle of wine and sucked down a gulp straight from the bottle. With a satisfied breath, she walked back over to Lin and lifted the bottle toward her, offering her some. Lin shook her head, knuckles on her hips.

"Stop fooling around," Lin scolded with a flat glare.

"Lighten up, Sourpuss," June countered indignantly, having another nip at her stolen bottle. As she did this, she fished around in her coat pocket and pulled out a tape recorder from the wide inner pocket of her winter coat. "I got what ya _came _for, so...-" June wiggled it in the air in Lin's direction, and when the woman went to grab it, June jokingly yanked it away. Lin then gripped June's wrist fiercely and pried it from her.

"This isn't a _game_," Lin hissed.

"_Ow, _shit! Damn..." June irritably flicked her wrist in the air and swallowed another gulp of wine, avoiding Lin's dire stare. "You sure take your work seriously, huh?"

"One of us has to."

Lin was surveying the tape recorder at this point. She clicked a button and waited a few seconds for the tape to rewind a little, then hit the play button. The crackling, muffled recording started playing. All that could be discerned was panting and moaning.

June smirked, tipping her bottle back and chugging another sip as Lin frowned with disdain, clicking the rewind key back in.

"Guy did pretty OK before the poison kicked in," June noted with a sadistic humor, wiping her damp lips with her sleeve.

"You _swear _there's information on Yakone here?" Lin inquired with stern impatience.

June slipped her nearly empty wine bottle into the spacious inner pocket her recorder had previously been. She raised up her hand, pinching her pinky and thumb together with the other three stuck upright.

"Scout's honor, Ma'am," June declared.

Lin sighed and rolled her eyes, placing her fresh evidence into her trench coat.

"I can't believe _you're _the one they trusted to work with," Lin grumbled.

"Heh, well, I wasn't their _first _choice, but I was the only one who'd take 'em up on their offer. And hey, _you're _trusting me, too - right now. I can't be _that _bad."

"You're pretty bad," Lin said dryly. "Noatak is a lot more tactful."

"_Ha, _yea, maybe 'cuz he's fuckin' obsessive_._"

"He has a _reason _for being the way he is: his father's a monster. What's _your _excuse?"

June shrugged.

"What can I say?" she said plainly. "I like money."

"Enough to poison men you've had your way with them. And Noatak is the crazy one here?"

"Hey, I _get _somethin' outta my work. Noatak's after revenge, nothin' else. Call it like I see it."

"I'd like to see how a _shrink _would call you, then."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Linny Bear."

"Fucking christ," Lin huffed under her breath, going for the door. "How much did you _drink _tonight?"

"Enough to not give a single _fuck _about any of this."

Hands jammed into her wide coat pockets, Lin watched June pry around the man's night stand.

"I hate getting bounties on men," June announced stubbornly, crouching down and checking beneath the man's bed. "Women around here, they've usually got _something _valuable lyin' around. This cocksucker doesn't even have so much as a watch."

"We need to leave," Lin stated sternly.

"Geez, you really _do _take this too seriously."

"My future's on the line here," Lin defended. "I've got places to go - unlike _you, _who's already squandered away her life. What are you going to do when this is all over? Hm?"

June offered a playfully apathetic look, tapping her lips as she uncovered a special-looking box.

"_Heh! _I'll cross _that _godawful bridge when I get to it." She opened the box, only to realize it was just a bunch old baseball cards. Not her kind of loot. "_Pff!_" She slammed the wooden container shut and shoved it irritably back under the bed. "Wayward can't be _that _bad."

"You say that now," Lin noted, glancing out the apartment window. The sprawling urbanscape of the city at night was laid out before her. "But have you ever been there?"

"_Nnnnope," _Jun called back from beneath the bed.

"It's a dead-end town," Lin explained. "There's nothing _there_ but misfits, mom-and-pop shops, idiotic students and dive bars." Lin admired the way the snowflakes were flitting down, illuminated by the city lights. "Wayward is quite the opposite of...all _this. _You'll probably go crazy there. Crazier than you already _are, _anyway."

"But-!" June emerged with another box. "I won't be dead," she slyly pointed out, placing the box on the night stand. "_Or _in prison." She cracked open the box, and was beholden by the sights within. "So I might as well enjoy the good shit while the gettin' _is _good."

Lin elaborated. "Wayward is where they send people who can't be _controlled _out here in the wild. Where do you think the place got its _name _from?"

"...Huh?" June glanced up to Lin, puzzled.

"Nevermind," Lin sighed, shaking her head.

June opened the ornate box and grinned at what she saw.

"My point is," Lin concluded, "I'm not _like _you. You're making the best of the shitty situation _you _got yourself into. I am trying to _a__void _falling in as deep as you have. I intend to stay _here, _in New York, where I belong."

"Damn," June grunted, plucking a gold studded ring from the box. "You _really _don't like that Wayward place, huh?"

"It's more that I'd rather not be trapped somewhere like that."

"So it's a cage," June acknowledged, slipping the ring onto her right index finger, which was barely thick enough to hold the men's jewelry in place. "I get it. Nicer fuckin' cage than one with iron bars, though, right?"

"I suppose it's all about perspective," Lin breathed out tiredly.

"Hey, lookee." Ignoring Lin's solemn conversation topic - and the recently deceased body on the bed beside her - June chucked a Rolex watch over toward Lin, whose quick reflexes allowed her to catch it in time. "I'm feeling in a generously good mood tonight, Linny Bear, and _you _seem quite down in the dumps, so how about we look at that as a peace offering?"

Lin sighed disparagingly. How was she supposed to accept a _stolen _gift in good conscious but this stupid girl who absolutely infuriated her?

"And what am I supposed to do with _this_?" Lin muttered with disdain.

"Uhhh, _wear _it?" June proposed with a shrug, her peppy attitude cracking at Lin's ever-pressing cynicism. She found another ring - this was decidedly feminine in design, with a diamond crested on top - and slapped it on the ring finger beside her other new trinket. "You _could _give it to your boyfriend."

Lin rolled her eyes, dropping the watch on the nightstand beside June.

"I'm sure Tenzin would be just _thrilled _when he found out where I got it."

June huffed, dropping the emptied jewelry box on the floor and sliding it beneath the bed with her boot.

"Oh, right," June scoffed. "He's probably got as big a stick up his ass as _you _do, huh? Birds of a feather."

"Some of us can learn to stick things _through _instead of cutting and running at the first sign of trouble," Lin passively sniped at the raven-haired girl before her.

"I'm sure you two will have _quite _a happy wedding," June countered dryly, swiping the watch Lin had rejected.

"Are you finally finished with your petty theft?" Lin impatiently asked as June buttoned up her winter coat. "Since first degree murder wasn't enough for one day's work."

"Get off your fuckin' high horse, lady. Both of us are just following orders - at least I get to _choose _what orders to follow in my line of work."

"And _this _is what you choose," Lin extended her arm to the dead body lying beneath a blanket.

"I choose to go where the money is," June defended. "Why are _you _here?"

"I'm doing my duty. Double-agent work isn't exactly _easy_. I don't have much to gain for how difficult this bullshit is."

"Maybe _you _oughtta be the one reconsidering her line of work, then," June dismissed, approaching the apartment's exit and drawing her winter hood up.

"Like I said," Lin insisted, following June out the door. "Some of us see things through."

* * *

- Sunday, June 5th, 2011 -

Korra stared at the card with one hand as she held her phone up to her ear with the other. As the ringtone repeated a few times, Korra's intestines tied into knots.

{Lin Jia}

The card was a bit worn at the edges from its week-long travels from Katara's possession to Korra's. Kat had given the Chief's business card to her cousin a couple of nights prior, and now that she had the motivation and reason to contact the woman, Korra had decided to go for it. She wasn't going to sit and do nothing...but she wasn't going to try the exact same strategy she'd been employing with everything else.

Her parents and Jane were right: the police needed to handle this.

That didn't mean Korra couldn't _help_, though.

["Chief Jia, Wayward P.D."]

Korra took in a sharp breath, preparing to speak, but she was briefly paralyzed at the sound of the woman's voice.

["Hello?"] came Lin's voice, rapidly shedding its formality.

"Heh-..." Korra cleared throat. "Hello?"

["...Who _is _this?"]

"Ih-it's me, J-..._Er, _Miss, uh, I mean, _Ms., _erh...Chief. Ma'am."

["Jesus _Christ_,"] came a muttering of disbelief blended with impatience. ["Is that you, Kesuk? Mumbling like a goddamn child?"]

"Y-Yes, Ma'am."

["What would _you _be calling me for? Mm? What mess have you gotten yourself into _this_ time?"]

"Uh, w-well, I was-"  
["After what happened this weekend, I hope you've skipped town by now."]

"Actually, I'm...still here...?"

A groan came from Lin's end.

"But it's because I feel re...-" Forcing the word out was a bit tricky, but Korra managed. "I'm sorta responsible for this, and I wanted to help."

["We don't _need _your help. And besides, you have a tendency to make things _worse _than they were in the first place."]

"I know that. Right. You're right. I'd..._really _like to change that. And I heard there _was _some way I could help."

["..._Did _you, now?"]

"Uh, well, my friend, she...-"

["Fitzpatrick?"]

"Yea, she told me...I could help you guys out with, like...a special...thing?"

Another groan spilled into Korra's ear through her phone.

["Unfortunately, I'm aware of what you're referring to. That's an FBI affair, a hair-brained idea a couple of old friends of mine are trying to cook up, but if you're really serious, then by _all _means, make yourself a bigger target."]

"I'm _already _a target, Ma'am. I'd rather try doing something that can make up for all this."

["Fine. What are you asking for, my goddamn blessing?"]

"No, I just-...I was told to call you, and...-"

["I'll let our operative know. Just try not to get anyone _killed_, Kesuk."]

"That's the plan."

["Including yourself,"] the Chief sighed.

"Yea."

* * *

"You haven't seen it, have you?" Toph demanded. "With those _eyes _of yours, n' crap?" She was scratching her nails through her hair fussily, bent over beneath her bed.

"Uhhhh..." Meng twiddled her thumbs, watching her cousin crawl about the pile of dirty clothes at the foot of her bed. "I think, erm...Sokka...had it...?"

"What?" Toph snapped, dubious. "Why would _he _have my guitar? He doesn't even _play_."

"Uh, maybe you should, like...ask him?" Meng was struggling to be vague and not ruin the surprise. Sokka would be there any minute with the little craft project Aang had helped him with. Given the craziness of the weekend, Toph hadn't even looked into practicing with her new toy until now.

"God..._damnit_," Toph grunted, irritably shoving a couple of shoeboxes out of her way as she dove further into the abyss beneath her bed. Her voice muffled from within the cavern of eternally lost socks. "My guitar case was _here._ I _k__now _it was, I mean...it's been a few days, but...-"

"I'm sure Sokka will help you find it," Meng meekly chirped from above, sitting patiently amidst disheveled bed covers sprinkled with music note symbols.

"That doesn't even...-" Toph started in protest, but huffed, then coughed harshly. "_Argh, _fucking...-!"

More shoving.

"You OK down there?" Meng prodded, wearing an amused smirk.

"_Ugh_," Toph came back after letting another cough pass.

Meng silently waited for her older cousin's finagling to pass, and by the time the young woman emerged, even messier than before, Meng saw fit to carry on conversation.

"So, uh...Hey, Tophie."

Toph puffed her bangs out of her face as she crawled off to the space tucked between her bed and closet.

"Yea?" she replied.

"Ever since I got here...things seem, I dunno, just...really crazy. Weird." Meng was fiddling with her curly, frizzy mess of hair. There was an aesthetically pleasing habit she had of toying with her own hair tips when she let it grow out. "You know?"

"Mm," Toph hummed back, intent in her search.

"Is it _always _like this? I mean, is this just...college?"

"_Ha, _noooo, no. Normally, classes are busier, campus is more packed, and all this weird-ass shit _ain't _happening. This stuff with Korra? Like...that ain't normal, trust me."

"So this town, it's...actually usually OK?"

"Well, _I _thought so, but fuck if I know anymore. Frankly, I barely had a reason to go down there outside of fast food runs and, like...eat-in food runs, and...maybe groceries..."

"Food reasons."

"Yea."

"You never...go out on dates?"

"Huh? A-_psh!_ I mean, maybe some times, but...on campus, mostly. I don't really _do _dates. But there's been a couple dances I went to. They were both...fun."

"I guess Dougie's a little more...erm...gentlemanly? Than most college guys, I mean."

"_Uhhh_...-" Toph considered it. "Yyyea. _Yea. _Ya know, I guess he is. Good on ya. Or something."

"Heh. Thanks."

"But, nah, like...for real, I don't even _get _what this shit is all about. Like, what Kat's all getting activist-y on, and Korra's gotten herself into some shit, and _Janey_ was already a hot mess when we met her, I don't even...-"

"So, next year will be a lot calmer?"

"_Oh, _yea. Next time around, things will be more chill, count on it."

As Toph had been speaking, Sokka had silently snuck up to the open doorway to the dorm room. He was holding Toph's recent gift - a black guitar - and Meng had to contain a squeal at the sight of it. The shards of Grammy's instrument created a rather unique and beautiful semi-mosaic effect. She beamed at Sokka with approval, but the guy just gawked back at her awkwardly.

"Cool," Meng concluded their chatter. "Uh, so..._Sokka_. Hey!"

Toph perked up at this, whirling her body to face the general direction of the door.

"_Unh? _Meat-Head, where you at?"

Sokka stepped in, cradling the guitar like a baby - being a young man entailed holding babies with a deathly fear of dropping them.

"R-right here," Sokka sputtered. He cleared his throat. "Found something of yours."

"_Ah_." Toph smirked, getting up on her two feet from the carpet.

Sokka was surprised. Toph's half of the bedroom had a floor almost as clean as his sister's half. Of course, that was only because crap had been...shoved around into the corners, but...still. It was a rare sight for him to see.

Toph waddled up to him, pushing her shirt back down over her waist. She extended her arm, hand open sideways.

"_Ahem_," she wriggled her fingers in a grabbing motion. "_Would you kindly _hand me my _instrument, _Good Sir?"

Sokka smiled weakly at her and cautiously extended the guitar's neck for her to strangle.

As he did so, Sokka recited, "A man chooses."

"A slave _obeys_," Toph gleefully completed their reference.

As she grasped it between both hands, Toph swooned and sighed in exaggeration, giving it a strum with her finely carved thumbnail. She then flinched from what apparently was off-key, and immediately went to tuning it. Her hands had yet to have reason to touch the edited surface of the guitar.

"What were _you _doing with this?" Toph asked as she tweaked some knobs and strummed again. "Did I leave it in your car after we went to the park, or...-?"

"Nope. I stole it," Sokka bluntly confessed.

"...You what?" Toph deadpanned.

"I took it. Meng had an _idea, _and so...then Katara and Aang, they helped, and-"  
"Idea? _What _idea?" Toph didn't look like she had any patience for this.

Sokka sighed, taking a step forward and snatching Toph's wrist. She tried to jerk her arm back, startled by his movement.

"_Hey! _Wh-?!"

But before she could struggle too much, Sokka had pressed her palm against the guitar's body. Toph's body froze. Sokka let go and backed off a bit to let her drink it in through the way Toph could: her hands, her fingers. He watched her face squirm and contort in strange ways, brows furrowed as she felt her way around.

"You...-" Toph whispered, savoring the strange sensation of old and new within the same place.

"It was Meng's idea," Sokka was quick to reiterate. Just as she was taking in the pleasant senses at her fingers, Sokka was taking in the sight of her awe. "And, like...Katara helped us sneak the guitar out, so...Aang could actually help get the wood on there, and...-"

"Yea, but, like...-" Toph strummed again, evidently satisfied that it was in tune now. "You got this all together - just for me."

"I-I dunno if it was quite like _that_, it was...more a group effort, and...-"

Trying to conceal her confused irritation, Toph posed, "Can I not at least _pretend _like you wanted to do something romantic for me?"

Sokka sighed at this, giving her no reply.

"Sooo...-" Toph suddenly felt a lump in her throat that she had to push past to speak. "Whh...-? You mean, you _didn't _do this to try and be romantic?"

"_We _did it because we're...your _friends, _and after it got broken, we-"  
"What is _with _youlately, Sokka?"

"Me? What's with _you_? I'm..._leaving _soon."

A tension of unspoken doubts and unexpressed frustrations filled the room as the two stood, face to face. Sokka was staring at Toph, while Toph's head was bobbed and tilted. She plucked a few single note strings, her lips pursed.

"_Uhhh_...-" Meng was entirely uncomfortable by all this. So much for things being 'chill.' She hopped right out of Toph's bed and awkwardly tried to slide past the two of them, who were occupying the sparingly small space in the room. She gave them both a pat on the shoulder as she passed by. "I'll let you two talk," she plainly put it. "See you at lunch."

Toph blew a frustrated breath at her floppy bangs before cautiously setting her new treasure aside, leaning it against her desk. Meng quietly closed the door behind her.

"We haven't exactly been in sync lately," Toph observed in this moment of quiet.

"Don't you mean, more like...not singing in harmony?" Sokka proposed.

"...Huh?"

"Uh, 'cuz...like, music? With the guitar, and...-?" Sokka trailed off, picking up on Toph's impatience.

"Yea," Toph said flatly. "Like that? Not in sync..."

"Well, sorry," Sokka grumbled, rather disingenuously. "I don't know what to tell you."

"Maybe you could actually act like we're still a _couple_? That'd be nice."

"Are we, though?"

"Wh-? I...-! Why would we _not _be?" That lump in Toph's throat re-solidified itself.

"I don't know," Sokka mumbled back sharply. "Maybe because, in a few weeks, I won't _be _here?"

"Um, _OK, _but...-"

"How is this supposed to work when we can't see each other?"

"Sokka, you _moron, _I can't _ever _see you in the first place..."

"I _know, _I meant-...! _Urgh, _you know what I meant."

"Did I?" Toph retorted. "'Cuz if I did, I don't think-"  
"I love you."

Toph was frozen in mid-sentence by Sokka's declaration. There was that phrase, that dreaded, loaded, weighted phrase that she had issues dealing with.

"I...love you," Sokka repeated with a sigh. "And that's why I don't want to see our friendship get mucked up because we can't figure crap out."

"Uhh...I-...That's...-?" Toph grunted through her nostrils, brows arced from internal conflict.

"I mean, where did we think this was going to go?" Sokka reflected. "It's been fun and stuff, I mean...you're..._awesome, _like...obviously..."

"_Chyeah_," Toph panted out in a nervous laugh. "W-well, you're...-" Her mumbling wandered off, her brain unable to put into words whatever positive compliment she had been intending to reciprocate.

"And then once I graduated here, it sunk in, eh?" Sokka sighed, scratching behind his ear. "I'm leaving. And you're still stuck here for another two years."

"Yea..."

"And then your old sort-of-boyfriend-but-not-quite-'cuz-you-already-h ad-a-boyfriend...started showing up with your cousin?"

"...What? Douglas?"

"And _that _reminded me of how you just...dove right into things with _him, _apparently. And also that _other _guy, from the dance?"

"Oh..." Toph's stomach felt very queasy all of a sudden.

"I'm just saying, one reminder can lead to another, and before you know it, I've got a chain of ideas - and that goes back to me, too, and how stupid I was acting, bouncing around Ty-Lee as soon as Suki broke up with me, only to just go over to you, and...-"

"What, are you...worried I'll cheat on you?"

"_Uh_...-! Yeeeaaa...? Kind of? _B-but _I mean, also, me. That I might cheat on you?"

"...Oh. Well." Toph gave him dull words with a sharp tip of her tongue. "Fucking awesome. Glad for that vote of confidence, Meat-Head."

"I just don't want to turn a blind eye to what's happened."

"..."

"That wasn't supposed to be a pun! Or a joke. _Argh._"

"_Yea_...Well...Hard to tell with you, isn't it?"

"Toph." Sokka's eyes rolled back in his skull as his gears grinded together. How to put it? "You can't escape the past, right?"

"What does...-?"

"You. Me. We haven't exactly handled our love lives so well. That's all I'm saying."

Toph chewed at her lip and scratched her nose, unsure of how to respond to that, but knowing that some attempt at snarky self-defense was not the answer.

Sokka continued.

"The way you and I both ping pong off people, I just don't see how we'd be able to make this work in the long run. I don't do long distance. Do you?"

"I guess...not?" said Toph in a way that did anything but reassure Sokka. "I haven't _tried, _but-"

"And what if you meet someone else?" Sokka pressed. "What if _I _meet someone else? What then?"

"Then we...fucking..._figure-it-out_, OK? I don't get what...-" Toph snorted irritably. She was not at all liking Sokka's uncertain tone here.

"Or we can just 'figure-it-out' right here and now," Sokka proposed. "I just don't want to even _deal _with that sort of complication."

"Now, hold _up _a sec here, Idea Guy..."

"We need to get this squared away because this you-and-me thing? It's cool." The '_scriff-scriff_' of Sokka scratching his forming neck beard. He tried to add a touch of humor. "I like the '_us_' bit. Even _before_ I got to play with your boobs."

Toph snorted a laugh and fluttered her lips a little.

"_Um, _well..." She tried to play along a bit. "They _are _pretty awesome boobs..."

"They are. And that's great. But the...whole..._you_. As a person. When we were just friends? That was _already_ great. I don't want to lose that."

"Well, _same, _so...why-?"  
"Long-distance stuff with us? That is going to complicate things."

"What makes you so-?"  
"With the way we both rebound and chase tail, it might be a better idea if we're just plain about it."

"Wh-? Sokka...No. No-no-no," Toph pushed, extending her hands out as her voice quivered. The way he was speaking was not good, and she wasn't going to have any of that. She found his arm and quickly slid her hand up to her shoulder, pulling him toward her.

"I'm _just saying_," Sokka spat, shrugging up his meaty shoulders as he resisted.

"You're not trying to break up, here, are you?"

"_Eh, _no, but, just-...It's more like I'm trying to prepare for that possibility."

"That _possibility_?"

"Like, we don't know what'll happen come the autumn. So, let's...you know, like, enjoy stuff as it is, but...I was thinking that we could leave things open."

"Huh? What, like...not committed?"

"Unless you're saying you want to commit. To _two years _of long distance."

"That...-" Toph's stomach churned. She did _not _want to commit to that idea. It sounded horrible. Toph had never gone six months without being in some kind of relationship, and she had yet to be in one that lasted more than a year, to boot.

"See?" Sokka pointed out her hesitation. "Oh, and how did you react when I said, 'I love you?' Because you didn't say it back."

"That...doesn't _mean _anything, you know I'm not exactly about that stuff, it-"  
"'That stuff?' Wanting to be with someone for, I dunno, ever? That's not 'your stuff?'"

"I...don't _know, _I don't _think _about this shit, I just...-"

"That's my whole _point, _you don't think or plan or commit. And, I mean...to be fair, do I? Not with romantic stuff. It's why Suki broke up with me - _twice. _Because I'm freaking crappy at commitment."

Toph crossed her arms and made sure to twist her face around to show her discomfort. Hm, maybe pouting the lips a bit? Yea, stick those eyebrows down. Look mad, look unhappy.

Toph let out an "_Mmph_..." to make sure her point got across.

Why did this Meat-Head have to choose _now _to go over-thinking these things? Why couldn't they just approach this kind of shit when - and _if _- it happened? Ugh.

"Anyway, that's my thinking," Sokka resolved. "We keep enjoying what we've got here, and then when I leave campus - for good - we leave things open. You find some other guy in the fall? You can go for it, no big deal, rolls off my back."

"Aaaand...if _you _find someone?"

"W-well, sure, same thing, but, _psh_...not as likely."

"Hm. True. You don't have awesome boobs."

"I don't. Kinda hurts my chances."

"_Tsh..._" Toph's grumpy, put-on pout withered a bit at Sokka's dry humor in all of this.

Did he maybe just not care the same way she did? Or did _she_ not care as much as she _thought _she did? This was confusing. And annoying as fuck.

Sure, she'd been with a number of guys over the past few years and all, but...Sokka kind of 'clicked' better than the others. It was like he said - even apart from the playing-with-boobs part, their 'them-ness' was still pretty great. If neither of them could be willed to commit to the two-year road ahead, maybe his idea wasn't so bad. If anything, it would keep their 'them-ness' safe from being muddled with romantic complication.

But Toph _wanted _that romantic complication. It seemed she had to consider just how badly she did, and if it was worth doing what she was always expecting the boys in her life to do: stand one's ground.

"Sooo...-" Sokka was waiting on her for a response. "That...sounds OK?"

"Umm...Whatever, I mean...I still don't think this is something that needs to be all planned out, or...-"

"If it makes no difference to you, I...kinda like having _some _kind of plan."

_It _does _make a difference to me, you dunderhead._

"'Kay."

"Uh..." Sokka scratched his itchy neck again. "So I guess that's...that?"

"I guess," Toph grumbled, thoroughly unsatisfied, but bottling it inside. There was no use arguing - that would only prove his point.

"All right. Now, how about we go meet up with your cousin, get lunch - down at Appa's, that way you're guaranteed to have some french fries - and...you bring your new toy, play a song, sing a thing..."

"Sing-a-thing?"

"A song," Sokka corrected himself. "Sing a song."

"You said 'sing a _thing,_'" Toph pointed out plainly.

"Yes. That's true."

"...Just, wow."

"I'm nervous. And awkward. We just had a very uncomfortable discussion."

"They're called '_songs_,' Snoozles. Wake your brain up. It's not hard."

"My brain _is _awake. I think it just needs..._food_."

"You and me both." Toph sighed, sensing his body heading for the door to exit the room. She fumbled behind and reached out, taking his elbow. "Let's go eat," she declared, squirming her arm to interlock with his. As they entered the hallway together, she felt him administer a blundering kiss to her forehead. It wasn't..._him_-like, the particular manner in which he'd kissed. But Toph would take what she was given right now, ignoring the stinging worry that this conversation had stuck into her chest for the time being.

* * *

Jane's fingers twitched in her pockets as she watched the raven-haired woman lift her cheap lighter to her lips, shielding it from the breeze around them. June flicked at the lighter, and the tiny orange glow of its flame lit up her pale face, skin caked with make-up. Simply watching June light up her cigarette and press it between her defined lips made Jane's old addiction to the habit shake her up from the inside. They waited a minute as a nearby faculty member trekked through the mostly empty parking lot and started up their vehicle.

"So," June began their conversation, breathing smoke out of her nostrils. She pulled out a folded piece of loose-leaf from her back pocket and extended her arm out to Jane. Jane took the sheet after a moment's hesitation, then unfolded it and studied its contents. Sloppily written names of chemicals and equipment used for concocting certain kinds of unsavory things...Jane couldn't help but be reminded of herself: tinkering with scientific materials and practices while lacking the formal know-how. Was this kind of thing such a person's fate? Using those skills to mix up stuff for criminals?

"So," Jane repeated June's single syllable with expectation.

"Think you can swing that stuff?" June checked.

"Er...Prolly can manage the horse tranq," Jane mumbled, re-scanning the chicken-scratch list. Korra, standing beside Jane, paled at this remark. Jane continued. "But...Thought that was all you needed. What's with the other stuff?"

"Uh, _weelllll_...-" June shrugged off this question, her eyes squinting as they slid sideways.

"_Ugh. _C'mon, June, you're killin' me, here," Jane grumbled with disapproval.

"I just figure if I'm making the _trip, _I might as well squeeze in a little extra revenue on the side, and-"  
"The Chief told me you already agreed on terms," Jane grunted.

"_Tsh, _yea, not sure 'agree' is a word I'd use with that woman, but...-"

"I'm not getting you all this shit," Jane hissed, shoving the now-crumpled note back in June's hands. "Besides, I go fuckin' stealing all this from the lab and _someone's _gonna notice, ya think? That's problems on top of ones I already got."

"All right, all right," June eased her off. "Not gonna pick a fight with you, Shamrocks. Sorry I asked."

Jane's glare stuck to the pale-faced woman with ever-tired expression.

"I said sorry," June muttered with a bit of a pout to her.

Korra, a bit surprised at how June genuinely seemed to want to stay on Jane's good side, finally spoke up.

"Uh, _tranq? _I heard the word 'tranq?' What, like 'tranquilizer?' As in, knock-somebody-out-for-a-long-period-of-_time _tranquilizer?"

"Very _good_, Korra," June patronized, flicking ash off the tip of her cigarette. "You're not as thick-headed as I was led to believe."

Korra shot the snarky woman her own dagger eyes, but her hard stance softened when she detected the good-natured smarm about the woman.

"June's gonna have to put you out for a while," Jane explained. "That's how she used to..._erk..._-" Jane stopped herself, her shoulders flinching as she instantly realized her slip of the tongue.

"Used to..._what?_" Korra asked. It all clicked. "_Wait, _so _that's _why you're helping, because-...! _Argh._ Is fucking _everyone _in this town a goddamn criminal?" Korra sighed.

"Heh." June took another puff. "Town's called _Wayward_, bucko. What'd you expect?"

Korra rolled up her eyes, not dignifying the woman with a reply.

"Dude, Korra, be chill," Jane tried to ease. "You _chose _to get involved in my business? This used to be my world. 'Kay? It's shitty. I'm beyond sick of it. You think bad of me 'cuz of what _I _did?"

"N-no," Korra spat, not having thought the circumstances through when she'd fired off her tongue. "But you prolly had your _reasons_, right? I mean...-"

"Your buddy Mako did, too. And I figure June did." Jane nodded to their current partner, who raised a brow of curiosity. "But it ain't our business. Fact is, we got ourselves stuck in this shitstorm, people are in trouble, and we've gotta see this through. Let's just fucking get this last job done."

June caught herself gawking at the orange-haired girl's burning determination. It was a far cry from the apathetic, gloomy runt Sokka had introduced her to months prior. Her words - 'see this through' - were a harsh reminder for June.

"Last job?" June remarked. "I thought you were already over all this gang stuff?"

"I thought so, too," Jane mumbled bitterly. "But like I said, I'm just trying to finish what I started. Korra got into all this 'cuz I asked for her help - and those kids got dragged in 'cuz _she _stirred junk up. I'd go with you guys, but I can't."

"Triple Threats would skin you alive," June knew as a matter of fact.

"So I'm gonna send ya'll off on your merry goddamn way and do what I _can _do here in town: help Kat n' Aang with the peace-march stuff." Jane slapped Korra on the back. "But you got this, LadyBro. I know you do."

"I do," Korra replied, pounding one set of knuckles into the palm of the other. "Creeps won't know what hit 'em."

"They won't," June agreed. "Mostly because they're prolly gonna get sniped before you could even land a hit on 'em."

"Say whuh...-?"

"Listen," June took one last drag on her cigarette before callously flicking it off into the grass at the parking lot's edge. "The whole 'punch-punch-punch' schtick - it's cute, I like it - but it ain't gonna fly. These guys are gonna have _guns._"

"What the hell?" Korra sighed. "Give _me_one, then."

"_Oh, _right," June balked. "Yea, I'll just...-" She shook her head, trailing off at the notion. "You're gonna be a _hostage_, remember?"

"Kor," Jane nudged her. "You're gonna need to have some fucking _restraint _here for once. June's gonna knock you out so she can deliver you, make it look legit. Tied up, gagged, all that crap. The _cops _are gonna tail you guys and take care of stuff. You might not even be _awake _for half of this."

Korra's teeth were grinding together with frustration. What kinda good was she going to be knocked out, tied up, and...-? _Rawrgh! _This plan was stupid! Those guys needed to _pay _for what...-

Jinora's smile flashed into Korra's head. It was followed by Ikki's enthusiasm and Meelo's laughter. Korra's frustration withered at these thoughts and the emotions that followed them.

"Please," Jane begged solemnly, her eyes flickering at Korra's with desperation. "Those kids aren't the only folks on the line, here..."

June concluded, "If you're gonna help save Ginger's cowboy, you can't _be _a cowboy."

"Been waitin' to say that?" Jane dryly asked.

"You bet," June smugly came back.

"I'm still in," Korra reaffirmed. "I'm just confused about what fucking good I'm gonna do when...-"

"Just do what June tells you," said Jane. "She's got your back."

Korra gave June a curious look. When June shrugged with disinterest, Korra glared back at Jane.

"She _does_," Jane insisted. "You _do_," Jane reiterated to her boss.

"Yea, yea," June playfully scoffed. "I do. Besides, there's a bounty on your ass," she explained to Korra. "There's money to be made - not _my _problem that the fuzz is gonna flip you right back outta there. I get my paycheck. You gals get your folks back. Cops bust a hideout. Everybody wins."

"But...you _are _doing this for more than just the money," Jane stated, checking for the authenticity of her own words.

June shrugged.

"Sure," she callously replied.

Jane glowered at her.

"Don't _gimme _that look," June pouted again. "I'm fucking _teasing_. I'll help your _girlfriend _here get your _boyfriend _back, 'n you can have a lovely little threesome together, and-"  
"_Oh_-kay," Jane cut her off with an eye roll, shoving June's shoulder.

Korra felt thoroughly weirded out by Jane's apparently older friend and co-worker. It was hard to tell when she was joshing around and when she was telling the truth.

"Now, hey," June spoke up to Korra, pushing past Jane in jest. "When this storm passes, you take good care o' my little _Shamrock Shake _here, comprende?" June lifted her brows before shining her teeth at Korra, who flinched back with awkward rigidity, blood rushing to her ears at the implication. "You're a big girl, Korra," June elaborated, slapping Jane on the back. "But _this_ one's a bony little twig, so no roughhousing. Don't want my best frycook getting broke on me. I've still got another year of manual labor to squeeze outta her. Be _gentle _on the gal, would ya?"

"_Ugh_," came Jane from behind, steam practically billowing from her ears. "_Told _you," Jane grunted to June, her freckled cheeks burning red. "'S not like that...Anyway," Jane turned to Korra and bobbed her head in June's direction. "Lady's a fucking handful, but she's like me: we been through shit, we know how to handle ourselves. That said...Be glad you're gonna be _unconscious_ for most of the trip."

Jane and June, like a mother lion and her cub, engaged in a rough side-hug which June initiated.

"She's right," June agreed. "I'm gonna blast up the 80's rock ballads and sing off-key the whole ride. You're gonna _want _to be asleep for it."

Korra smirked at the two of them, June's calloused hand bumping over Jane's matted orange hair in an approximation of paternal affection. June looked endeared to her employee in her own almost sadistic way, while Jane looked flustered, grumpily embarrassed. June's arm, bent upwards to rustle Jane's hair, exposed its bicep to Korra, and she noted the coiled snake tattoo that resided there.

"So, eh...-" Korra sifted her nails across her scalp. "We gonna, like..._do _this thing, or...-?"

"Can't yet," June replied dryly, freeing Jane from her arm. "The feds have to get their ducks in a row."

"Knowing Chief Jia," Korra muttered, "that won't take very long."

June took in a deep breath, and sighed out tiredly, arms crossed as she surveyed the quiet parking lot before them.

"Nope," June said through her sigh. "Not long at all."

"What am I supposed to do?" Korra wondered.

"Well," June puffed. "Jane's gonna rustle up the supplies I need tonight. Give it a day or two, and once I get the go ahead from Lin, I'll let you two know."

"Then we can finally put all this bullshit behind us," Jane breathed out disparagingly.

"Yea?" June observed. "You can try, at least."

* * *

- ? -

The sharp edges of the green bottle cut and tore, scratched and sliced, leaving trickles of red dripping down as muffled screams of agony accented the horrifying moment before her.

But Lin wasn't looking at the poor woman - a nameless, unknown entity to her. Instead, Lin's horrified eyes were glued to the next woman in line along the wall. Her mouth bound and gagged, June was tied up, on her knees, awaiting her fate. She was a very different girl than she had been months before, ransacking that apartment. She had bags hanging from her eyes, her raven hair was cut short into a bob, and a sweatshirt hoodie was draped over her head.

Motionless, June was looking up at Lin, pale-faced and terrified, but her eyes were hollow.

Those eyes said, '_This is the end._'

Lin's fists were balled tightly, her ears deaf to the struggle in front of her. A firm, steady hand fiercely grabbed her shoulder, tugging her back a step. Startled, she felt some small relief when she realized it was Noatak, the young man who'd been standing beside her all this time. He wore the fine brand of clothes he shared with his father. Noatak had a young lion's mane of groomed hair, a clean-shaven face, and a cold, unfeeling look about him. But the glint in his tired eyes spoke to Lin in that moment.

Those eyes said, '_The time is now._'

A shriek startled the lot, but it was quickly silenced as a gurgling escaped from the woman Yakone had been torturing for information. June's eyes shut, as if bracing for the same to happen to her.

Yakone, the burly crime lord with the mutton chops, let fall the nameless woman's body. As the body slid down sideways, it left a streak of dark red against the brick wall behind it. Lin strained in the dark to see the woman, and from she could discern, her face wasn't terribly identifiable now.

Yakone flicked his rigid wrists about, loosening them up after the tense work he'd just executed. He approached June, a bloody-edged broken bottle still in his grasp.

"Your friend here cooperated well enough," his gravely voice bellowed, leveling the bottle at her face. "So you'd better have something damn good to say if you want to have any chance of living." The sharp chunk of glass was pressed against June's neck as Yakone violently yanked her mouth gag off, letting it hang and absorb the trickle of blood already dripping from June's chin. "We both know how easily you _squeal _when up against the meat grinder."

Teeth grit, June's eyes dashed over to Lin, whose heart skipped a beat. Would the foolish girl sell her out? She'd certainly proven persuasive of turning in her allies at the first sign of trouble, just as Yakone had vocalized.

"Sorry," June hissed back at Yakone. "Ain't much else to tell." Lin felt a dry patch of relief at June keeping their secret.

"Is _that _right?" Yakone impatiently huffed, keeping the pressure of the bottle at June's neck and he squeezed his hand against her face. She choked in reaction, struggling to keep her breath. "Where'd the rest of my men go? They should've _been _here by now."

"Maybe the fuzz finally caught up to 'em," said June through forced breaths. "Gee, wonder how they _found _your guys, huh?" June's words carrying a certain cheekiness that her current position didn't afford.

"You _little_...-" Yakone pressed the glass into June's shoulder, and she cried out in agony, only to be muffled by Yakone's hand.

"Stop," Lin growled through grit teeth. It was the word she had longed to say to Yakone for months now. "The police are on our tails, and you're wasting time on this imbecile. She doesn't know any more than we've already gotten out her, so why-?"  
"Toughen up, Lin!" barked the kingpin over his shoulder. "You'll need a thicker skin for this line of work. This pathetic coward isn't a friend of yours anymore."

"I signed on to be your body guard, not a thug-for-hire," Lin defended. That had been her role in this undercover affair, and they were so close to closing the book on this madman. She hadn't been lying - the cops were literally tracking them down on Lin and Noatak's signal that evening. A few more minutes of stalling and Yakone would be cornered. Yakone's previous right-hand man had been picked off merely a couple hours prior, leaving Yakone scrambling to figure out who was after him.

"Yes. A body guard," Yakone noted. "And right now, guarding me entails snuffing out backstabbers and traitors."

Lin's tense body twitched with fright as the bloodied victim Yakone had tossed to the cobblestone moved, gurgling and whimpering for help with indecipherable syllables.

Yakone sighed, requesting, "Will one of you take _care _of that for me?"

Lin quivered with rage at the man's callous attitude as he lingered over her comrade, June, digging his fingernails fiercely into her cheeks. Lin's unsteady hand wobbled at her gun holster. She had half a mind to end things right then and there.

Standing behind his father, Noatak stepped up to Lin, who trembled at the suffering, bloody woman on the tarmac. His cold, icy hand clenched down on Lin's wavering fingers, easing her hand away from her gun. Horrified and perplexed, Lin watched as the young man drew out his own pistol with one hand and screwed on its silencer with the other.

Noatak pointed his weapon at the poor, misshapen woman in the shadows. Lin watched Noatak end the woman's suffering without incident, expressionless and devoid.

"_That's _the way it's done," Yakone commended, slapping June on the cheek like a cat playing with an injured mouse. "_That's _what you need to strive for."

Lin watched as Noatak, gun still in one hand, took his other hand and tapped his forehead, this chest, and both shoulders. As June whimpered against Yakone's grip, Noatak silently prayed to himself over his father's most recent victim.

"Lin," Yakone beckoned, ramming June's head against the brick wall she was laid against. "Your turn."

Lin's lips hung open with shock as she watched Yakone get up on two feet, presenting a semi-conscious June.

"You've done this before," Yakone sighed.

"Those people were _armed_," Lin muttered. As if this even mattered to the man. "And it was in defense, not...-"

"Don't get _soft _on us," Yakone snarled. "I'm trying to harden you for the road ahead. This _is _in defense." He kicked June in the side, and she choked in pain. "Your _friend _here is a _traitor_, and a coward."

"No," Lin insisted. "I won't do it. I'm not going to-"  
"_Argh, _you're a _disgrace,_" Yakone barked. "A weakling." He readied the broken bottle in his hand and loosened the tie on his neck, approaching Lin with fire in his eyes. "I'll teach you a lesson, you insubordinate-"  
_-Click!_-

Yakone was stopped by the sound of a pistol's rack being slid, the silenced barrel being pressed against his temple.

Noatak hissed into Yakone's ear.

"Stay..._away _from her."

Yakone seethed back in anger, dropping his makeshift weapon. It shattered into pieces.

"How..._dare _you raise your weapon to me...?"

"What are you going to _do _about it? _You're _the _weak _one. You always say that making others fear you is the most effective way to control them. But it isn't. Making them _trust you _is. You trusted June to do your dirty work, and now she's betrayed you - she has you running like a rat in a maze. And Lin? She's been working with _me_, to bring you down. And you never saw any of us coming." Noatak cocked his weapon, ready to fire. "What could be more effective than _that?_"

"Have you suddenly forgotten what happened to your mother? To your _brother_?"

"No. I haven't forgotten where _you _led them to."

"And you think _you'll_ lead them any better than I have? You're still practically a _child, _you barely know-"  
"Quiet," Noah commanded. "Lin. Untie your friend. Get out of here."

"Noatak," Lin called out with doubt. He flicked his head at her ferociously, and she obeyed begrudgingly.

No sooner than she'd been freed did June go sprinting off into the night in a panic, ditching Lin outright. Lin had expected this - June had seemed like the type to only look out for herself. The authorities were close, though. June would get apprehended soon enough, and their arrangement would get enforced. Lin had her own task to attend to.

Noatak's silenced pistol went off - twice - calling Lin's attention back to the two behind her. Yakone had called Noatak's bluff, shoving his own son down on his back. The two were wrestling now, Yakone's girth overtaking Noatak's as he strained his arm out to reach for the dropped pistol, all the while pinning his traitor down by the neck.

"I made you what you _are_," Yakone seethed through grit teeth. "You're _mine._"

"I'm your _son,_" Noatak choked out, resisting his attacker. "Not your tool of revenge."

Lin dashed over to the two, scrambling for her gun as she did so. Her eyes were so distracted by Yakone's hand grabbing the gun that she was fumbling with her own weapon.

"This is _my _city," Yakone declared. "I'll be back one way to claim it."

As Yakone barely grasped the pistol from the ground, Lin forcefully kicked it from Yakone's hand, causing it to misfire into the cement before it was flung away once again. She immediately thereafter cocked her gun and jammed the barrel against Yakone's skull.

"No," was Lin's icy reply to Yakone's declaration. "You won't."

-_Bang!_-

* * *

A/N: With any luck, there is only _one _more crime drama scene left: the sting operation. My apologies for those who aren't too much into this. But as Lin's character verbalized in this chapter, I'm trying to finish what I started, see things through, etc.


	122. Ignore

**A/N: There's obviously a lot of drama to go around as I build things up for the story's conclusion. I wanted to take a brief break from all of that and go back to some scenes that highlight what this story is really about and, in some ways, how different some of the characters' relationships are from when the story started.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 122 - Ignore_

* * *

- Monday, June 6th, 2011 -

"Dude, _what? _That was _you_?"

"Oh, wow, no way!"

Haru and Teo were both surprised at Katara's claim, which had arisen while waiting in the campus center to go up to eat lunch. Teo had been reading the week's new White Lotus issue, and was curious about the particular article Katara had submitted to be run anonymously.

"Well, _shh_," she hushed them with an embarrassed grin, her cheeks flushing. "I mean, The _Avatar _wrote it," she explained with a shrug. "_But_...I might have _helped_," she added a cheeky wink.

"So..." Teo adjusted his glasses, double-checking the newspaper in his lap. "There's going to be a peace march downtown _this _weekend?" He pointed his index downward at the article in question. "Like the one that's coming up?"

Katara nodded vigorously.

"Do you guys think you'll come?" she wondered, hoping to not come across as too desperate. She could see Teo's head shrugging to one side with uncertainty.

"I'm not sure," Teo muttered. "I mean, it'd be a little tricky for me to get down town, and...-" He tapped at the circular bar on one side of his wheelchair.

"_Oh,_" Katara spit out hastily, worrying that she'd come across as insensitive. "No, no, I _totally _understand, I mean...if you _want, _I know there's going to be a shuttle, they can accommodate, and-...Th-that's why I was asking," she recovered.

"Ah, really?" Teo seemed intrigued. "So the school is actually, like, giving this their support?"

"_Mm!_" Katara offered another eager nod. "I-I mean, there's...some, um, some politics involved with all of this, but...the school administration is aware, and, so...you know, they want to try and do their part. This peace rally is the _school's _idea, I'm just trying to spread the word."

"Cool, cool," Haru said with a slow thoughtful nod, leaning over Teo's shoulder and glancing at the newspaper.

"Not everyone pays attention to the Lotus," Katara explained, "so we're going to be doing, like, this awareness...thing...out on the quad this week, and...-" She was tugging at the long ponytail her hair was currently braided into. She felt odd, as if she was trying to sell her fellow students some kind of product.

"Dang," Haru said with a short whistle. "Sounds like you're totally into this."

"Ah." Kat shrugged sheepishly. "Aang and I found ourselves involved in the entire situation, and so...we're just hoping to make a difference."

"Neat," said Teo, a light-hearted conclusion to their conversation as he glanced up at Haru expectantly.

"Errr, so-!" Haru bluntly stated. "We'll, like...keep this stuff in mind, maybe check this out."

"Awesome," Katara breathed out. "Seriously, if you have any questions, or need help sorting out a shuttle, just, um...just let me know, and...-"

"Sure thing," Haru replied.

They were already heading off, Haru walking beside Teo as he rolled down the concrete slope from the campus center doors.

"Thanks," Teo called back. "Gotta get to class! Later!"

"Bye, guys!"

Katara waved them off, though they were already whizzing off toward an academic building. She re-entered the campus center, still tugging and stroking her ponytail, her shoulders tensed up with fret. She couldn't decide if she'd just been wasting their time, or if they earnestly cared and were just busy, or...-

"You OK, Kat?" Jane's raspy-edged voice caught Katara off guard, and she instantly pried her hands from her ponytail, tossing it over her shoulder.

"_Hey_," Katara greeted with a smile that Jane could tell was 'off.' "What's up?" she asked, bypassing Jane's concern. "Where's Toph?" Katara was glancing about the center.

OK, seriously, two derails in a row? Jane knew something was up.

"Thought she was with you," Jane remarked, tight-lipped as she studied her friend's every awkward little nuance.

"Oh. But...she said she was going to practice with you."

"We did," Jane earnestly acknowledged. "It's been weird, though. I dunno, I'm worried I picked a song she thinks is dumb, and...-"

"Don't think like that," Katara cooed. "I'm sure she likes it just fine, or she wouldn't be doing it."

"You sure?" Jane muttered back with a wincing look of uncertainty. "She just...seems like she doesn't even care."

"I'm sure she's just stressed," Katara guessed. "All of us are. But, where would she be, then? Did she say?"

"We tried practicing for a while, n' neither of us was feelin' it. So we stopped, she said, 'Catch you at dinner,' and that was that. Figured she went back to Aqua."

"No, I haven't seen her since breakfast," Katara noted.

"She's prolly with Sokka, then."

"Sokka and Aang went out down town," Katara explained with furrowed, quizzical eyebrows. "Sokka said he needed a 'guys' night' sort of thing."

"_Fff._" Jane rolled her eyes. "That ass-clown wants _every _night to be-" She flicked air quotes." "-a fuckin' '_guys night_.'"

"He just...needs some time to not worry about..._girl _things," Kat defended him, speaking with uncertain tones.

"The _hell _is that supposed to mean?" Jane balked. "_Girl _things? _Boy _things? Pretty much all the _same _things, n' we just trick ourselves into thinking...-!" Jane caught herself fuming when she noticed Katara's brows raise with alarm.

"N-no, you're, um, you're totally right," Katara was quick to agree. "I-I mean, I'm just-...Think about it from his perspective - he's surrounded by girls _all _of the time, and we can be...sort of a dramatic bunch."

"Fuck that," Jane scoffed. "I grew up with a bunch of _dudes, _that doesn't make me...-" She sighed, not in the mood to get into that line of thought. "We're _women, _not sub-humans, who...fucking...have no self-control, or...-" Jane snorted through her nostrils. She was definitely in an irritable mood, and Katara didn't even want to know all of the reasons why.

"I'm not saying he's right, Jane," Katara tried assuage. "Sokka can be a little misogynistic, and yes, that's...stupid. But we're all a little stupid in _some _way. There's some ways of thinking you can never really change about someone, and I've grown up with him - this sort of stuff where he writes it all off as hormones? That's just how he thinks. You know?"

Jane had to force herself to let her pulled in breath of angry air slowly seep through her nostrils. She unclenched her teeth, let her shoulders relax, and stuffed her hands into her pockets.

"He thinks _wrong_," Jane grunted with bitterness. "Pretty sure I got some notion of that kinda shit."

"You do," Katara empathized as best she could, clamping her hand on Jane's shoulder and giving it a quick and gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."

"_Ech, _nah, you're fine, it's...my own problem."

"It's...-" Katara stopped, faltering for the right phrase. Instinct wanted to say, '_It's our problem_' but Katara knew that was not technically accurate. It was only Jane's. "It's OK," Katara picked her words back up. "You shouldn't feel bad about it."

"I don't," Jane came back.

"Well...Good," said Katara.

"What's good?" came Toph's voice.

Katara and Jane whirled round to see the blind girl having tracked them down.

"Me," Jane bluntly replied. "Not givin' a fuck 'bout what misogynistic ass-wipes think."

"_Whoa-_ho." Toph laughed, pushed her beanie hat up a bit to scratch at her forehead. 'Misogyn-...Sugar-Queen, have you been teaching Ginger some fancy new words?"

"She would know those words," Jane remarked, turning her glance back to Katara. "She grew _up _with that prick."

"O-OK, let's...-" Katara fussed with her necklace a bit and straightened the collar of her blouse. "He's not _that _bad..."

"Who?" Toph checked. "Your brother?" She directed her face toward Katara's voice.

"Y-yea..."

"Your _boyfriend,_" Jane clarified, poking Toph on the shoulder.

"_Pff_..." Toph let that roll off her back and yawned, rubbing her stomach. "We gonna eat, or what?"

"Mm!" Katara took Toph's hand, their fingers interlocking. "I heard there's tuna melts today." She led them up to the cafeteria steps.

Jane sighed with some relief, her own hunger rattling from within.

"'Bout fuckin' time," said Jane, following her friends upward. "I'm so ready for this day to just be fucking done with."

"Yikes," Toph reacted as they trudged up the steps. "Sounds like someone needs some early dessert today."

"I know you're having a rough patch," Katara sympathized toward Jane, "but we _all _are right now."

"_Mmph_." Jane wanted to protest that her problems were inherently more serious and dire, what-not with people being kidnapped, but decided against it.

"C'mon, Grumpy-Face," Toph playfully picked, groping her free arm out and finding Jane's hip.

"_Get_-!" Jane huffed, wriggling out of Toph's slippery grasp. "Stop adding 'face' to everything."

"Only when it stops being accurate," Toph chirped as she and Kat swiped their student IDs on the scanner at the top of the steps, checking in for their meal.

"It's _not_...-!" Jane grunted as she followed suit.

Katara looked over her shoulder with an amused look, eyelids half closed as if to pose, '_Really, now?_'

Jane's frown intensified slightly.

"She's wearing a super grumpy face right now," Toph theorized. "Isn't she?"

"Mm-hm," Katara hummed in reply as the three of them passed into the self-serve cafeteria line. With Toph around arm, Katara pulled a reluctant Jane around the other, slinging her arm across Jane's skinny shoulder. "The boys are having a dinner together, so we're having a dinner together."

"Please do _not _tell me we're going to have a ladies' night," Toph sighed as they waited for their spot in line to get closer to the tuna melts. "I _still _worry that I have fucking toenail paint from what Ty-Lee did last time."

"Hee. It was cute," Katara picked. "But, no, I was thinking more like we could hang out in our floor lounge, listen to music, maybe you two could practice? I could bake us some stuff..."

"I'm there," Toph agreed.

"And you?" Katara wobbled Jane around a bit. "Hm?"

Jane begrudgingly nodded her head. It was too hard to ignore her friends' advances. Somewhere along the line, they'd become her light - her reason for existing on this campus. If anyone could help turn her mood around, it was them.

"I've got some lab shit I need to take care of," Jane mumbled, recollecting what she still needed to get for June and Korra's 'operation.' "But, uh...yea, I'll swing by some time tonight."

"You should," Katara encouraged. Her warm smile was a relief to Jane's weary soul. It made her all the more frustrated that this entire mess had still not been dealt with, but no matter what happened with Longshot, she was at least motivated enough by moments like this one.

* * *

"I'm not going to _ignore _it," Aang defended in a mumble, flipping open the laminated menu. "She was all quiet and distant last night. And now you are today."

"I'm not saying to ignore it," Sokka sighed, slicking his palm back over his taut hair. "Just leave it be."

"How is that not the same thing?" Aang insisted, glaring at his roommate. Sokka was fidgeting with his 'wolf tail,' staring down at his menu glumly.

"You do it fine all the time," Sokka muttered, scanning the appetizers section. "You see an issue, you know it's there, and you leave it alone, let it sort itself out."

"Well...That's...not always _good, _so I'm working on it."

"It's my sister, right? All her buzzing around lately, and her obsessive 'fix-it' bullcrap-" Sokka prodded his index into his forehead. "-it's getting in your head. Jeez, what the hell are you all gonna do when I'm gone?"

Aang frowned at Sokka's dismissive remark, which he'd sword he'd heard many times since Sokka's graduation. The guy was obviously having a bad day, because something obviously happened with him and Toph the day prior, and he was _obviously_ doing his dumb 'Sokka' thing and ignoring it, which was _not _helping because based on his understanding, this wasn't the sort of thing that would 'sort itself out' so much as fizzle off and leave a nasty aftertaste.

"You _are_ leaving pretty soon," Aang remarked. "Maybe, for you, that means that anything left unresolved just...goes away. But it won't be like that for us. Have you thought about that?"

"OK. Dude." Sokka's nostrils flared out a bit before wrinkling inward. He set his elbows down on his menu and grabbed a tortilla chip from the basket between them, dipping it in the bowl of runny salsa. He put the whole thing in his mouth.

"What?" Aang tiredly asked as he did this.

"You know the Betchdel Test?"

"The...-?" Aang frowned with confusion.

"Right." Sokka grabbed another chip. As he dipped it, he explained, "It's this test you run on movies, eh?" He chewed on his newest chip, talking through a mouth half full. "'S simple to pass. Easy peasy." He swallowed, then coughed a bit from the spiciness. "Ya just gotta have at least _one _scene with two chicks...-" He slurped at his water to wash down the salsa. "-...where they have a conversation, right? But it can't be about boys. Not about men. _Especially _not romance crap. It could be anything else - even, like, freaking painting nails or knitting."

Aang's eyes were narrowed in a dull, disinterested stare, unsure of where his movie-loving friend was going here.

"And so...-?"

"_So, _funny thing..." Sokka waggled his index up and took another sip of ice water. "Most movies don't pass. They fail. Even, like, really great stuff - classics. Star Wars? Lord of the Rings? They fail."

Aang was feeling a bit grouchy himself at this point, but his curiosity was definitely eliciting a brain-scan of his memories of such films - ones he knew Sokka adored.

"What are you getting at?" Aang wondered.

"It'd be real dandy if for one goddamn day I could live a life that passes the Betchdel Test, _and _the reverse."

"Um...-?"

"No conversations between women about boys, and no conversations between men about girls. That too much? Is it? Eh?"

The two young men stared at each other, Aang looking much more exhausted and worn-down, and Sokka looking much crankier and defensive. As they both collected their sleep-deprived thoughts, their waitress swung by and took their orders. Sokka naturally got some kind of meat-filled burrito platter, while Aang opted for some black bean and corn quesadillas.

When Sokka ordered some coffee, Aang followed his lead, as both were certainly in such a mood where caffeine could be appreciated.

When this transaction of requests ended, Aang took a respite in the public bathroom of the Mexican restaurant. It was at least pretty clean - this place was a bit nicer and tidier than most he'd been to in Wayward, though he'd decided that their interior decoration could use a lot of work. The place had an odd kind of green and beige motif that didn't settle well with him. He checked his phone.

[4 New Texts]  
[1 new Voicemail]

[From: Katara]  
[Hey, Sweetie. I hope it's going well.]  
[Sent: 7:31pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[it could be better but thanks.]  
[Sent: 7:52pm]

[From: Jane]  
[i know. i agree. but this aint your problem. just let her do what she's gotta do.]  
[Sent: 7:45pm]

[From: Zuko]  
[I think Azula still needs to talk with her, but they'll be fine.]  
[My sister just needs her space so she can take care of this.]  
[Sent: 7:38pm]

[From: Zuko]  
[BTW is Mai doing all right? I'm worried if she's avoiding me or if she's just that busy.]  
[Sent: 7:39pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Zuko]  
[i guess. ty is still pretty gloomy but i believe you.]  
[mai is just very busy. we're all having a bad week is all.]  
[Sent: 7:54pm]

["You have...**ONE**...new voicemail. **FIRST **new voicemail:"]  
["-_Beep!_-"]  
["Hey, Twinkle-Toes. Thanks for the chat, n' whatever. It _did _help a bit, so...there's that. I heard you're eating out with that imbecile tonight. I know what you're going to try to do, and, like...I appreciate it - seriously - but just don't bother. For real. You know, and I know, and we _all _know he's just going to blow it off, so...I don't even know. It's whatever. Like I said, I don't even care at this point. Ball's in _his _fucking court, so-...Anyway. So, yea. Just try to have a good time. Eat some yummy stuff on my behalf. Later."]  
["-_Beep!_-"]

Aang let out a tired sigh from his seat on the stall, taking a few seconds to try and let his brain leak out its poisonous contents with the rest of the waste, right down the toilet. It didn't seem to work, and he gave his reflection in the bathroom mirror a bitter glare as he washed his hands. His entire sleeping cycle had been thrown off from his night out meditating with Korra, and the busy rush of classwork, and trying to help Katara with this political stuff, and trying to work in time to be there to listen to his friends all vent about their different dramatic issues...it was getting to be a bit much.

He brought himself back out to the restaurant and to Sokka's company, where a fresh cup of coffee was awaiting him. He sat down and immediately went about adding some sweetener to his drink, leaving it black.

As he stirred in a couple of packets into his coffee, he spoke.

"I didn't know you cared so much about women's representation in media."

Sokka sipped at his white-ish coffee before reaching for another chip.

"What's that, now?" he mumbled, confused.

"The, uh...that test you were just talking about," Aang elaborated. He took the tiniest of sips, fearful he'd burn his tongue.

"_Mm!_" Sokka hummed in realization as he chewed. "I don't, really," he put it plainly. "Katara was telling me about some time last week and rubbing in my face how my favorite stories don't pass it. I'm just thinking that there's a lesson I can take away from that, which is maybe we'd all be a bit better off _not _gossiping about each other's love lives."

"I guess that would work out fine if we all were on _top of _our love lives instead of 'letting them sort themselves out.'"

"We should play a video game after we get back," Sokka bluntly diverted topics.

Aang sighed and blew a gentle puff to help cool his coffee down.

"Sure," he conceded.

"Something co-op, no competition," Sokka specified.

"Uh-huh."

"Maybe that multiplayer Mario game?"

"What, the run-and-jumping one?"

"Yea, the 2D one."

"That one can get frustrating, though."

"With four people, sure - not with two."

"Uh...Right. OK." Aang realized he was just in a disagreeable mode at this point, but he couldn't deny that Sokka's approach was ironically best in that moment. Maybe Sokka trying to ignore his social issues with Toph was a mistake, but doing so with Aang made more sense - the two technically had no quarrel, after all. It was just hot air. No point in even bringing it back up because it was just going to be more drama that neither of them needed or wanted. If Sokka was going to just let things with Toph sit out in the open like that, well...that was his loss.

"You make up your mind yet about this weekend?" Sokka asked, doing a surprisingly good job at dodging Aang's grumpy passivity. He _did _have a lot of practice, at least.

"No," Aang honestly confessed, cautiously sipping his drink. "Katara seems to think I _need _to do this."

"That's because she believes in you, dude."

"Wh-..._Yes, _but...I just don't see why."

"Sooner or later, if you and her are going to keep being a thing, you're going to have to accept that my sister always sees people for what they _can _be, not just what they are."

Aang, his eyes unfocused, gazing into his coffee, smiled with some warmth at that idea - one of the things he admired about Katara. She always seemed to put her hope and faith in the people around her, even when logic dictated this was foolish. But somehow, Kat had a way of making it work. She'd pulled Aang into their group, she'd brought Jane motivation to leave behind her horrible life with the Freedom Fighters, and she'd helped Toph realize what she needed.

Aang was always encouraging Katara to be that Eskimo Glue holding things together, but his own uncertainty in himself was preventing him from letting her go through with that on _him_.

"Yea, I know," Aang replied to Sokka's remark. "That's a _good _thing. I mean, usually. Just...The timing's weird."

"For what?"

"Putting myself..._out _there. I thought I was ready before, and...then I wasn't. And things went south. A couple times, really."

A rainbow of colors, dripping, melting before his eyes as the heat and flames swallowed his work.  
Bloody footsteps, shrieking, fearful and wide eyes of children.

But then Aang was reminded of the very reason his sleep had been thrown off: his evening with Korra, and how earnestly she had made an effort. How grateful she had seemed to be for his support.

"Uh, I'm _pretty_ sure your track record is in the green," Sokka pointed out. "Or the positive. Or whatever ya wanna call it."

"Mm." Aang shrugged bashfully. There was that expression on Sokka's face again. It didn't come up very often, but Aang couldn't forget it - it was the '_You saved my little sister's life' _face. And Aang never had words for it. Sokka's casual sarcasm and smark would, ever so briefly, give way to a bonafide appreciation, a glimmer of pride and gratitude in his eyes. While Aang couldn't deny that he seemed to naturally gravitate toward 'sisters' in his life these days, he was surely grateful that he had someone he could look to as a 'brother' in as true the sense he had ever understood. Not even quite two years, they'd known each other, but they had been a rather lived two years.

"Is it because you feel weird following Kat's lead?" Sokka wondered, referring to Aang's self-doubt in regards to the upcoming peace march, and his role in it.

"It's not that," Aang replied. He tore open another sweetener, adding it to his coffee. It was pretty dark, after all, and he was having profound difficulty getting it down. "It basically boils down to...I'm not sure if I _want _to be involved in this."

"The political stuff."

"Right." Aang clattered the edges of his ceramic cup with the metal spoon he had been provided. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense, right? I keep spending time on this stuff, making art for these projects, and then...I just get tired of it or something."

"That's your feminine side talking," Sokka teased, finishing off his cup of coffee. "Contradictions, _emotions, _all that not-making-sense stuff. God _damn, _dude, next year it's gonna be you and _four _girls. Or, what, maybe more than that? I mean, you're hanging out with Mai a lot, and then Ty-Lee, and now Toph's cousin is going to be going here...Freaking _eh, _all these goddamn girls. Before you know it, you'll be on a menstrual cycle or something."

Back when Aang had first met Sokka, a remark like this might have rubbed him the wrong way, made him feel insecure, or otherwise just generally irritated him. And while he couldn't quite tell for sure _how _Sokka had meant it in that moment, Aang still chose to appreciate the fact of the matter: Aang seemed to be surrounded by women. Once upon time, Sokka had convinced him that this was somehow bad, somehow diminishing his masculinity.

But, if anything, Aang had come to realize recently that by spending time with so many different kinds of women, he had come to respect them - all of them. Not just the ones that treated him politely or the ones he found specifically cute or charming, just...all of them. Wasn't it _more _'manly' to actually _respect _people than to scoff and dismiss them? Perhaps this was part of his frustration with Sokka recently: Aang had known Toph, in particular, fairly intimately for a time. And it was a bit aggravating to have come to know Toph on that deeper level and learn to appreciate her intricacies, only to see Sokka seeming to blow them off or ignore them. And now Aang had gotten to know Katara in an equally deep manner, and still Sokka's reaction was the same: dismissal.

That was, of course, Sokka's way of coping with things that couldn't be solved like puzzles. Women - or rather, _people _- weren't so logical. Maybe lacking a mother in his adolescence had lent some negative impact on Sokka's understanding of women. Then again, Aang hadn't ever had a consistent maternal figure, and he didn't seem to deal with such an issue. But on the other hand, Sokka seemed-  
"_Hey._"

Sokka snapped his fingers. "I was picking," he sternly explained. "Don't overthink stuff, man."

Aang finally stopped stirring his spoon around his cup.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about...-" Aang scratched his chin as he scooped up his cup. "-...how I'm pretty sure I won't mind that much."

Sokka's head tilted to one side as he watched Aang drink his no-doubt sugary-sweet coffee.

"You are a braver lad than I," Sokka commended his roommate with a facetious salute. "I go nuts as it is when I'm dealing with just one woman at a time. I don't know how you can hang out with so many of 'em at once and not want to gouge your eyes out."

Aang laughed at Sokka's dry line delivery, and Sokka in turn chuckled. His eyes darted over behind Aang's back and widened for a moment before he pulled his sight back to Aang.

"But really," Sokka solemnly said, nodding to himself. "Not gonna lie, I'm a little jealous some times - I just can't 'get' girls. Like, Toph? Korra? Those are maybe the closest I know, and even _then_, it's-...And I mean, damn, Jane's even like...well...-" He shrugged, leaning back in his seat as their waitress arrived with two plates of food. "_You _know," Sokka vaguely put it. Aang wasn't entirely sure he 'got it' but he could guess the basic sentiment.

"Thanks," Aang said to the waitress, which Sokka echoed. Sokka asked for a refill on his coffee, and the waitress whisked off.

"My point is, brother: if you can see how the other half lives, I mean...enjoy it."

"I try," Aang put it simply, immediately digging into his meal.

"I'm sure you'll figure out some way to do something with that kinda talent - and it _is _a talent, if you ask me. And, like...Real talk? I'd much rather my sister be with someone who actually _understands _her. I think back on the other guys she was with before you, and just...my mind is blown by how little sense it made."

Aang took his second bite of his delicious food, a sly smile already on his face through puffed cheeks. He swallowed, then let out his retort.

"I thought we weren't going to be talking about girls, or dating, or romance?"

Sokka bore his teeth wide at his friend's remark and nodded.

"Touche. Look at me, with a plate fulla freaking _meat _in front me, and what am I talking about?"

"Girff," Aang said through a mouthful of corn and black bean quesadilla.

"I guess maybe they're not as horrible as all that if we've surrounded ourselves with 'em, eh?"

* * *

Toph was sitting on the linoleum flooring of the cramped shared kitchen of 2nd Aqua. The cool, plasticy flooring beneath her bare feet, the warmth of the oven in front of her, the smell of freshly made cupcakes blending with the scent of potatoes baking in the oven, and the sound of Katara humming along to that musical about the Oz witches playing fro,m her laptop in the lounge room beside them...It all combined into delightful blend of sensations.

Then Katara inadvertently ruined it by continuing their conversation from a minute before.

"He told you he loved you...And you didn't say it _back_?" Katara sounded practically mortified in her hushed, incredulous whisper. She opened the stove to check on what was currently baking. Hm, couple more minutes...

"Don't..._talk _to me like that," Toph grumbled, tugging her dress shirts' sleeves to unroll them back over her wrists.

Toph puffed an indignant breath through her lips, letting her body sag to one side. She leaned her head up against the low cabinet door to her side.

"But you _do _love him, don't you?" Kat clarified. Ugh, she was using that..._tone. _That judgy tone.

"We're not having this talk right now," Toph bluntly brushed off the whole thing.

"Toph..."

"Katara."

"I'm...just-"  
"You care," Toph acknowledged. "I know. This ain't about you. I'm not mad, but I also don't wanna talk about it."

"All right."

Toph could hear Katara fussing with the a metal pan, likely preparing the cupcakes she had just finished cooking.

"OK?" Toph double-checked after an awkward silence.

"Mm-hm. I'm sorry." Oh, weird. That judgy tone was...totally gone. Easier than expected.

"You're good," Toph assured her friend before sighing deeply.

"Um...What about you and Jane?" Katara asked. Toph sensed Kat's presence distance a bit and the communal fridge was opened.

"Huh?" Toph was puzzled. "We're fine, what...-? _Oh_." Toph remembered what Kat was referring to. "You mean practice?"

"Yea, how's that coming?" Kat asked, plunking down a half-empty gallon of milk onto the counter. "Jane told me she was a little worried you wouldn't like song she picked."

"Oh, heh. It's got a bit of...I dunno, folksy...ness? Not my usual thing, but, c'mon, you guys should know me better by now."

"_I _know," Katara agreed, pouring a glass of liquid. "But Jane's not always listening to your playlists like I am. I think she still sort of pegs you for a rock n' metal kind of girl."

"_Tsh, _well...-" Toph pushed her mess of bangs to one side, readying her face for food consumption. She muttered facetiously, "Hate to disappoint her by being a little more complex than all that."

"You want some milk for the cupcakes?" Kat checked.

"Yea, hit me," said Toph. She heard a second glass get poured.

"So you're having fun?" Katara wondered, bringing a small plate and a glass to Toph.

"Eh?" Toph carefully reached her fingers around between her spread legs where the plate had been set down, and accepted the cold glass from Katara.

"You and Jane. I mean, everyone's on edge lately, I'm hoping this is something you can...I don't know...enjoy?"

"Yea, we'll pull it together," Toph said before biting into the cupcake. Mm, nice and fluffy. A little dry, but then there was milk to remedy that.

"Oh, y-yea, I _know _you will," Katara acknowledged. "I'm sure you two will do fine, I just-...I mean, it's not a bother, is it?"

"_Oh, yes_," Toph groaned in exaggeration, taking a swig of her milk. "So _very _bothersome. You know how much I _just cannot stand _playing music in front of people. _Such a pain_. Ya know, I just _hate _all the attention."

Katara snickered weakly at her roommate's sarcasm.

"OK, just making sure," said Kat. "I didn't mean for this whole peace rally thing to suck everyone in, is all..."

"Dude. Sugar-Queen. Come on. We all got pulled into this shitstorm _together, _am I right? I'm just following your lead."

"Mm..." Toph could detect from the quality of the sound that Katara was chewing on her own cupcake, and a brief smacking of lips confirmed this. "But, I don't really _mean _for people to be-...I don't know. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"Huh? I thought you _liked _being in charge."

"Maybe it doesn't make sense," Katara admitted with a sigh. "I think this is all really important, but...I don't expect everyone else to, and-...I guess since I'm just used to feeling like I'm the only one who...-" She cleared her throat, trailing off, then took another bite.

Toph did the same, finishing off her cupcake in two chomps. She washed it down with another chug of milk, then balled up the foil the dessert had been cooked in and dropped it on her tiny plate. It was a lovely little '_pfft_' sound as it landed.

"Hey, uh, Sister-Face?" Toph called out over the sound of Katara opening the stove back up. "You ever think maybe the reason we're all playing along is because we think you're _right_?" Toph let her words sink into her friend. Toph added, "I know, like, tough pill to swallow. I'm supposed to keep you in line - and the other way around, right? But guess what? You _do _get to be right once in a while. I promise. It's cool."

The clanging and shuffling of the stove proceeded as Katara cautiously pulled out a pan holding three clumps of potatoes, lovingly baked in aluminum foil.

"So," Katara slowly began, carefully placing the pan on the unlit burners. "You're doing this because...-?"

"'Cuz I'm _with you _on this. Just because I don't care about political mumbo-jumbo doesn't mean I don't get to agree with you. You seem to think that stuff is bad around here, and, uh...I have a broken guitar that agrees with you."

"Toph, I'm sorry..."

"I'm not used to you putting yourself all out there, so when you _are, _I figure you might know what you're doing."

Katara stuck a fork into one of the potatoes, carrying it over a few steps and setting it down on Toph's plate on the floor. Toph could feel the heat radiating from the food, and Katara cut it open with the side of the fork, releasing a small steam vent of the delightful smell of crispy-metal foil and baked potato.

"Careful, it's hot," Katara warned. When Toph went to reach down and grab eagerly at her snack, Katara specified, "_Really, _it's...hot. Um, m-maybe give it a minute."

Toph smirked at her friend's care. She scratched an itch on her left bosom, inhaled the satisfying scents through her nose, and enjoyed the harmonious vocals of two witches singing from the other room.

"I don't...-" Katara sighed, sitting down against the cupboard before Toph. "I mean, so, you agree? You believe that this peace march is a good plan? Do you think this whole thing is right?"

Toph coughed a bit, having swallowed some milk down the wrong tube. She pounded at her chest twice, then breathed out to ensure her airway was clear. She extended her arm cautiously toward Katara's presence, hand balled into a fist.

She said plainly, "I believe in _you, _Sister-Face. I think _you _are right."

Katara, aghast at Toph's demeanor, smirked and bumped her own knuckles into Toph's.

"Thanks."

* * *

- Tuesday, June 7th, 2011 -

"I was thinkin,' so...-" Toph paused her speech, giving her sentimentally-infused new guitar a strum. "How there's like...'~What _we_~' and then '~What _I_~'? What if we changed it so like, '~What _I_...~'" Toph sang the 'I' with a more emphasized note.

"Yea." Mai was nodding - though, of course, Toph couldn't see it. "I like that," she added.

"Right?" Toph agreed with a boastful smirk. "I know, I know, I'm a genius." Toph had been lathering the pride on thick enough to the point where Mai could recognize it was good-natured.

"You're _talented_," Mai dryly clarified, her own face matching Toph's sly smile. "'Genius?' Eh...I'm not so sure on that one."

"Heh." Toph ran her fingers carefully across her guitar - black ebony with cracked pieces of older, brown wood glued and shellacked over to smooth it. She continue to play and sing.

"-...~not gonna do much at-all for me~" Toph sang. She paused, then repeated the same lyric with the same strums, adding emphasis on different syllables in the sentence.

"Yea, good," Mai encouraged.

Toph went through the past few lyrics again, then continued, strumming at her strings.

"~Without _You, _without _me_...with...~" She trailed off, frowning a bit. "Fuck, messed that up," she grumbled.

"Heh. It's 'With_out _You, with_out_ Us, with-"  
"_Ah, _right-right, got it." Toph was quick to carry on.

She sang and played some more.

"~With_out _You, with_out _Us, with_out _We...~" She then hummed out the tune she'd come up with for the next sentence, stroking her guitar with enthusiastic strikes.

Mai watched and listened with a certain sort of awe as Toph continued to repeat this portion, figuring out how she wanted the notes to go, where she wanted the emphasis to be put. Mai felt her insides warm at the sight and the sound - her words, her lyrics, being completed with singing and music. It was a unique creative experience she had not lived through until that afternoon.

Toph took a moment to drink from the bottled water sitting on Mai's night stand. Mai and Ty-Lee's dorm room was rather aromatic. Some kind of potpourri, perhaps? There was a scented candle, at the least, burning at that moment. Also some chai tea action going on. That must've been the particular flavor Mai had made for herself. She'd offered Toph some, but Toph had declined. It was a bit warm for tea, in her opinion.

There was a crinkling of plastic from Mai's seat at her desk. As if reading Toph's mind, Mai offered some.

"Peanut?"

"Sure," Toph accepted, holding her hand out over the gap between the bed she was sitting on and Mai's chair. She felt Mai's elongated nails scuff her palm, opening to release a few salted peanuts. Toph eagerly popped them into her mouth, gobbling them up quick before taking another swig of water.

A couple of minutes of quiet passed by, the two drinking their respective beverages and nibbling on peanuts as a scented candle burned on the night stand beside them. Toph had been hanging out with Mai for an hour or so now, and could certainly see the appeal of one-on-one time with the gothy girl. Mai seemed to have an appreciation for _quiet, _and Toph liked that. But quiet could only last so long, and Toph was eager to keep working on this music. She'd tinkered around with instrumental stuff of her own, but never had really tried to add music to words in this manner. It was neat, working on her own stuff instead of only fiddling with something someone else had created. It was energizing.

By the time she'd experimented her way through the second verse of the song, however, the door to the dorm room opened, bringing with it the tuckered-off huffing of an irate Ty-Lee dropping her backpack onto the floor. Toph could hear the door get closed with a bit too much force, then high-heels getting kicked off, clopping across the floor.

"Toph...?" Ty-Lee gave pause.

"We're writing music," Mai explained.

Ty-Lee groaned out a whimper before throwing herself into her bed.

"Bad day?" Toph guessed.

Ty-Lee replied with a muffled, "_Arrghhmmmph..._" from her pillow.

Toph wondered if maybe some calming music would help, and without another word, started strumming at her guitar. Before she even got to singing, however, Ty-Lee pleaded for her to stop.

"Please don't. I have a migraine."

Toph respected thee girl's request, awkwardly letting her instrument sit in her lap.

"You should take some Excedrin," Mai suggested.

"I did," Ty-Lee sighed. "I _really _hope it kicks in soon...I'm gonna, like...take a _nap _and stuff...'Kay?"

Toph heard Ty-Lee shuffling through sheets and blankets, and Mai getting up from her chair.

"All right," Mai responded. She blew out a quick gust to Toph's side - putting out the scented candle. Toph could smell the lovely smoke waft a bit.

"I, uhh, have to meet up with my friends soon, anyway," Toph announced, getting up from the bed. "Argh, fuck, what _time _is it, anyway?"

"A quarter past three," Mai advised.

Toph smacked herself in the forehead.

"Damnit, I'm late."

"Time flies when you're not being bored," Mai concluded as she slurped the last of her tea. "Where do you need to go?" Mai asked.

"Agh, just the music building," Toph answered, sliding her feet around the floor to find her sandals.

"You want me to walk you?" Mai asked.

Toph scooped up her guitar case from the edge of Mai's bed and hurriedly stuffed her guitar inside.

"Nah, no need," she insisted hastily. "I'll be fine on my own."

"I didn't ask if you _needed _me to walk you," Mai remarked with a cinder-like warmth. As Toph slipped her guitar case over one shoulder, she felt her own walking cane brush against her arm as Mai was handed it to her. "I asked if you _wanted _me to," Mai clarified.

"Uh, yyyyyea, cool," Toph decided. It was a bit odd for Mai to be the one extending social conduct, wasn't it? Usually Mai was the first one ready to leave group stuff.

"Do you need anything before we go?" Mai called out to Ty-Lee.

"Nuh-uh," Ty-Lee puffed out, motionless.

"Feel better," Toph encouraged.

"_Mmm_," Ty-Lee moaned out her appreciation.

"I'll come back before dinner," Mai told her roommate. "Have a good nap."

"Lock the door, please," Ty-Lee requested.

"I will," Mai assured.

The two amateur song-writers slipped out of the room, and Toph lingered in the hall for a second as Mai slowly and quietly closed the door behind them, ensuring it was locked.

They enjoyed a minute or so of quiet as they made their way out of Terra House. The warm afternoon rays of sunlight washed across them as they trekked along the campus' sidewalks.

"Urm, so she's a bit out of it, huh?" Toph remarked vaguely, cracking open the silence.

"Ty's a little stressed as it is," Mai explained. "She's juggling a lot this June term - I _warned _her, but she gets really enthusiastic and-...But, yea, then what happened over the weekend, it's left her a bit traumatized, I think. And _then_ this stuff with her and her girlfriend, that's not helping."

"Ah, yea. 'Cuz, what, like, both of your sig-nifs are all, I dunno...away on business?"

"_Something _like that," Mai sighed. "They'll be back soon enough, and I'm sure the girls will figure things out. It's just bad timing. Long distance is really hard for Ty - not a surprise, really."

Toph swallowed, trying to whet her dried throat. Bad timing, eh? Long distance?

"Yea, I can see that," Toph muttered. "Me n' the ol' Meat-Head are about to be dealing with that kinda shit, too." She sighed deeply. "Fun times."

"Fun times," Mai repeated tiredly.

"Oh, but...Ty's going to be all right?"

"I'm taking care of her," Mai stated plainly.

Toph was a little taken aback by the manner in which Mai had stated it - almost immediately, and fairly firmly, to boot. It wasn't like Mai to be that way. Heh, that was a kicker, it was: Mai was like the 'Katara' of that roommate sisterhood, huh? Mai was like the bigger sister to Ty-Lee, like how Kat was to Toph. Kind of amusing. Then again, Toph didn't like people assuming that she was some ice-queen bitch who couldn't care about things or people or stuff. It was a little hypocritical of her to keep on maintaining this illusion that Mai was any different. They were both just..._people, _right?

Mai, evidently desiring to move the conversation forward, changed topics.

"Katara told me that you and Jane are going to be helping promote the peace march?"

"Uh, _yea, _actually."

"That's...cool. I didn't think either of you would be into that sort of thing."

"Eh, well...Trying to mix things up, I guess. That's actually what I'm late to - Shamrocks n' me gotta practice up so we don't sound craptastic."

"Shamrocks and _I_," Mai picked.

"Yea, yea..."

"Is Aang still on board?"

"Say what?"

"Aang. Is he still up for being a part of the whole thing?"

"I..._assume _so," Toph slowly replied, slightly confused. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"We were in the lab yesterday and I asked him about it. After what happened to those kids over the weekend, I think he's a little shaken up. He didn't outright _say _it, but I got the impression he doesn't really want to be involved."

"Oh. Well...that's his call, I guess," Toph shrugged it off.

"Exactly," Mai agreed. "I'm just worried that he'll...-"

"Be _him_?" Toph said knowingly. "Do it, anyway, even if he doesn't want to?"

"Mm, right," Mai muttered uncertainly.

Another lingering moment of quiet. It wasn't awkward, it was just...tired. Toph wasn't - she was actually feeling in a much better mood today. But she could tell Mai wasn't so much.

"Uh, by the way," Toph blurted out. "The whole 'you-hanging-out-with-us-more' thing. That's awesome. Keep doing that."

"Even if I bring Ty-Lee along?" Mai cheekily checked.

"_Especially _if you bring Ty-Lee along," Toph chuckled.

"I supposed I've gotten used to _not _hating you guys as much as I thought I would," Mai said in a roundabout manner.

"Heh, yea, I-_oof_!" Toph huffed out in surprise as a swift punch hit her in the shoulder. It wasn't very hard or painful, just surprising. "What was...-?" Toph started, then quickly caught on. "_Ahhhh, _sneaky bitch," she said with some glee.

"It's not easy keeping up with you," Mai snarked back, "but I'm trying." Her words were echoing a bit, signaling to Toph that they'd reached the tunnel that cut through the music building.

"Welp, we're here," Toph concluded, a smile on her face. "You guys down for dinner with my crew?"

"I am," Mai replied. "But I'm not sure if Ty will be. Have someone call me when you're getting ready and I'll see how she's doing."

"Sounds good, sista-inda-hood."

"Don't ever say that."

"_Boy-eeee._"

Mai began gently shoving Toph toward the door into the music building.

"Say _whaaat? _Hey_oooo_-"  
"Just stop," Mai growled through a laugh. "No, just no. Don't." She opened the door _for _Toph and continued pushing her in.

From inside the glass pane door, Toph stuck out her tongue and blew a loud raspberry at Mai.

"You're a beacon of maturity," Mai told her on a deadpan tone.

"I know!" Toph agreed, muted a bit through the glass.

"You're also late," Mai reminded.

"_Ah, _shit."

"Later!"

"Peace-out, Gloom-N-Doom!"

Mai shook her head, smiling to herself as she left the crazy blind girl to her own devices. She did not envy Katara. That kid was a handful - but at least she could now appreciate why Aang had been so insistent, months ago, on keeping that friendship in tact. If anything, Mai was definitely not _bored _when Toph was around.

* * *

The weathered acoustic guitar hummed with each slow and steady strum. Unrefined, imperfect chords flooded the small space that was Toph's practice room, and Meng let herself drift lazily along the rolling waves of sound. Each chord bounced off the walls of the sealed room, reverberating back onto itself in a loop. It was all rather relaxing, and Meng could tell this was not only the case for her, but also for the person playing in front of her. Hunched backwards over the piano seat, the red-head in the summer dress had been practicing guitar for five, maybe ten minutes now. Meng had walked in on Jane whilst guitar was being practiced, and neither had exchanged any words, simply letting the scraps of music wash over them.

"~..two by twos...~" Jane's singing was ragged and raspy, but Meng thought it matched well with the girl's guitar playing.

Meng, who had simply slapped on a tanktop and jeans for the day, had initially been surprised when she'd entered the practice room, as Jane was about as gussied up as Meng had ever seen. A yellow-and-black striped summer dress, with her hair finely brushed back in a puffy mass.

"~...are hard to get used to...~" Something about Jane's vocals sounded...a little weird. Meng was trying to figure out what it was. Like she was singing flat, maybe?

"~...wood is tired...wood is old...~" Oh, doy. Of course - Jane was trying to practice the harmonies, because Toph was going to be singing lead. No surprise there. But, wait...hadn't Jane been the one to pick this song? Meng hoped Toph hadn't bullied Jane about singing lead. Nah, probably not, right? Tophie was doing a lot better.

"~...make it fine...weather ho-olds...~"

Meng shifted in her seat on the short carpet of the practice room, closing her eyes and taking in the gentle singing and string striking. It came to a sudden stop as Jane tried again, evidently not satisfied.

"~...wood is _old..._weather ho-_olds_-...ho-_olds..._~ _Mmph._" Jane gave her guitar a rough strum and sighed, her practice pausing.

Meng opened her eyes to see the young woman rubbing sand from her eyes with her pinky before wiping sweat from her forehead in a huff. She continued, not paying Meng any heed.

"~...holds...~" Another huff. "~..._holds..._missed the point-..._point..._missed the _point_...~"

This process continued for another couple of minutes as Jane continued to repeat her portion of the refrain a few times over. Eventually, she stopped singing, and went back to just playing the notes. Another minute of that, and she stopped. Meng had nearly fallen asleep, her lack of sleep mixing with the soothing pool of folksy sound to generate a chamber of relaxation.

But when Jane's playing stopped, Meng was almost startled back awake by the quiet. Taking in a sharp intake through her flat nose, Meng blinked drearily at Jane. The red-head had set her guitar aside, leaning it up against the piano behind her. She was bent over her knees, palms pressed against her face.

"Janey-Jane...?" Meng croaked out. She cleared her throat and tried to sit upright.

Jane was startled back to her senses, realizing Meng was still awake. She sniffed in air through her dried, plugged nose and rubbed her eyes some more.

"Yehp?" Jane muttered, glancing at Meng. Her eyes looked a little puffy at their bases, her bleak olive irises glazed over.

"Are you OK?" Meng wondered.

Jane didn't directly answer, instead dropping a sheepish "_Tss_" through an awkward grimace of a smile.

"Mm?" Meng verbally nudged, crossing her legs and leaning forward a little.

"Lot on my mind," Jane wrote off the concern. It was a little strange, being alone with Toph's younger cousin.

"Very pretty," Meng commented. "Your singing. And, um, and the guitar? Also, your dress." Meng took a moment to actually study Jane's shoulders, bare and on display beneath two thin yellow straps of a dress - the girl was incredibly freckly.

"Uh, thanks," Jane mumbled back, confused as to where this had come from. She didn't feel particularly pretty, and if Toph had been here, her sad excuse of a musical performance would've been berated, for sure.

Meng was so...completely different from the french-fry devouring music snob Jane was so used to spending time with. It was almost bizarre to consider that the two were not only related but apparently somewhat close. Jane had _lived _with her cousins and had never felt close. They surely hadn't bothered to come visit _her_. Yet here Meng was, sleeping on the floor of Toph's dirty half of the dorm room just so she could spend time on campus. If anything, Meng seemed much more like Kat than Toph.

"Where's your cousin at, anyway?" Jane wondered, tussling her finely brushed bangs. "Late," she remarked indirectly.

Meng shrugged. She was suddenly curious, herself, as what the deal was. Toph should've been here by now. The two were supposed to practice some more for their performance on the quad in a couple of days.

"Ya know," Jane remarked, "Yer boyfriend uses the next room over, could just go see _him_. Don't gotta listen to my craptastic playing..."

"He's not my boyfriend," Meng curtly pointed out. "But I was just with Dougie before I came here."

"Ah."

"Anyway, seriously, are you OK?" Meng stared up at Jane with serious, unrelenting eyes. They made Jane think of Kat. And Toph. At the same time. It was incredibly weird. Jane was suddenly rather frustrated as her insides bubbled with that all-too-familiar warmth. Being pansexual was incredibly aggravating for her sometimes, because, in the right moments, practically anyone and everyone could be attractive. And Jane had enough of _that _bullshit going on as it was. But goddamn, if Meng's weird-ass mess of wavy, curly, brillo-like hair wasn't cuter than usual that day. Fucking damnit. Jane had such a weakness for hair, and practically all of her friends had _something _cool going on there.

Jane shook off her obviously imbalanced hormones and tossed her wrist.

"Nah, I'm fine, just...lot on my mind, like I said."

"Such as...-?" Oh, fuck. Meng wasn't gonna just leave it be, huh?

"Lotta shit," Jane continued to be vague.

"It's the song," Meng immediately hypothesized.

"Uh...-" Jane wasn't in the mood to lie.

"Ya know, you and Tophie are alike in that way," Meng pointed out. "You both like to play songs that _mean _something to you, right?"

"I, uh...-" Jane shrugged, not keen on this interaction getting any more intimate than it needed to. "Sure."

"Songs that are heavy for you. Like, personally."

"Mm-mm," Jane shrugged, uncertain about all that.

"So what's the deal with this one?"

"Huh?"

"This song. What is it?"

"'The Wood Song,'" Jane answered.

"Who's that by?" Meng asked.

"Indigo Girls."

"Who's that?"

"A coupla lesbians who...play...I dunno, folksy...stuff..."

"A-_huh._"

"Ain't a couple, though. But, yea. They're cool."

"And...-" Meng started slowly, staring at Jane with narrowed, empathetic eyes. "-...that song makes you think about sad things."

Jane raised up one lanky arm to her forehead, pushing out bangs to the side from her left-hand part.

"Somethin' like," she sighed out.

"Right." Meng pushed herself up off the wall to help her stand up. She walked two steps over to the piano seat and sat herself down next to Jane, who cautiously dangled her bony ass halfway off the seat to ensure their hips didn't touch. It was fucking uncomfortable, but in this current state of mind - or whatever - it was better than the alternative. "So," said Meng, "Just like Tophie - you want to deal with the song because that's like an easier way of dealing with _yourself._"

"Meng..." Jane smirked, shaking her head slightly in bemusement. She arose from the piano seat and gave Meng's back a rough, boyish double-slap with her palm. "You been hanging out with Kat a bit much."

Meng cheekily grinned, her smile missing a topside central incisor. Before Jane's thoughts could linger on certain animals might look like with such a tooth missing, Meng spoke.

"Me? _You've _spent a lot more time with Katara than _I_ have. And that worked out good for you, right?"

Jane nodded, sniffing in air through her dried, plugged up nose as leaned herself against the wall Meng had just been sitting against.

"Yea," Jane wistfully agreed. "I was just picking," she clarified in a mumble.

"I know," Meng assured with a small laugh.

Jane wasn't smiling, though, and was still standing against the wall, staring at her own two feet.

"Is this about Korra?" Meng wondered.

Jane's eyes squinted shut in the briefest gesture before her eyes rolled.

"_No, _fucking everything is _not _about her," was the gruff, tired answer Meng received.

"OK," Meng squeaked hastily, not wanting to rub Jane the wrong way. "I'm just...guessing. I don't know, and so...-"

"Has Toph told you about the sort of stuff I used to do?" Jane asked, still staring at her toes as she wriggled them within her sandal.

"A little," said Meng. "She and Katara told me that you've been involved in some gang violence."

"Yea..."

"I'm sorry."

"_Tss. _Not like it's _your _fault."

"I know, I meant...-"

"I don't even _know _what kinds of of things The Doo-..._uh, _Douglas did. But I bet it was sorta my fault, too."

"...Huh?"

Jane looked up at Meng, suddenly self-conscious that she might've said something she shouldn't have.

"_Oh_," Meng suddenly realized...something. Now Jane was puzzled as to how much the girl knew. "Janey, he didn't do anything that bad," she explained. "All those shady things, that was back when...well, uh...when Jack was in charge."

Jane's eyes widened into a stark intensity of worry.

"_Wh-? _How much did he _tell _you?" she demanded in a hushed growl.

"I-I'm not sure," Meng muttered back quietly. "His whole...side of it? I would-...I mean, I'd _think._"

Jane fluttered her lips in a deep sigh, then scratched her eyebrow, glancing off to the wall beside her.

"He shouldn't have told you _anything_," Jane expressed with a frown.

"He told me as much as he should have," Meng disagreed. "He's not involved with that anymore. And neither are you. So, what's the difference?"

"Meng, that kinda shit comes back to bite you. Better left alone."

"Maybe for you. But I thought that was the entire reason you helped catch that man."

"_Ugh_."

"Douglas told me that he didn't understand _why _you and Korra needed to go after him. But he helped you, anyway - because he figured that was your way of confronting it. You know, so you could leave it behind. Just like how Toph had to face her parents - and me, in a way. And _you _guys, and Douglas, too."

Jane's finger was digging into her forehead, rubbing its skin up and down in a fluster.

"This crap is a _little _goddamn different than the stupid social bullshit your cousin got herself into."

"I know," Meng replied, with a sort of sternness that caught Jane off guard. "That's why it's taken you so much longer to get past it. But you _did_. Right?"

Jane let her eyes close and her head sag down, her stiff back neck muscles stretching. Her mind flitted to the memory of throwing her father's old hunting knife into the fire - that blade that she'd almost dug into the Combustion Man.

"I did," Jane acknowledged solemnly, opening her eyes back up. "Staying out of this shit with Korra and those kids, too, but...it's more complicated than that. Can't just...-"

"-...ignore it," Meng finished Jane's thought. "So you're helping Katara. Because it's a different way of doing the same thing: confronting that stuff."

"You normally spend this much time thinkin' about crap like this?" Jane asked dryly.

Meng shrugged, her eyes rolling up as she scratched an itch on the back of one wrist.

"Usually about people that don't actually _exist_," she replied with a goofy smile.

Jane laughed through her nose, assuming Meng was referring to all of that Japanese comic and cartoon stuff she seemed big into.

"Yea, well...-" Jane rubbed her sleeve against her nostrils, agitated by how dried out her nose was. "Not sure how much good that's gonna do ya with real-life people n' real-life problems..."

"More than you might think," Meng quietly replied, gazing over her shoulder at the piano and the guitar leaned up against it.

"There ya go, soundin' like Kat again. She's really big into b...-"

The door to the practice room swung open and a surprisingly clean, casually dressed Toph entered. She had her cane in one hand, and was holding her new guitar in her old guitar case over the other shoulder.

"Hey."  
"Hi."

"'Sup?" Toph replied to the two. "How...long were you guys waiting?"

"Not long," Meng eased.

"Where were you?" Jane wondered, carrying a hint of suspicion.

"Ah, just workin' on things," Toph vaguely replied. "Anyway, sorry I'm so late." Well, at least she was apologizing. "I'll get you guys coffee after dinner, or something to make up for it." Wow, and she was in a generous mood?

"'Kay," Jane shrugged off her irritation with ease at Toph's positive attitude. "You good to practice?"

"Yep." Toph adjusted the strap over her shoulder, setting her cane down against the wall beside the door. "It's a bit crowded in here for three," she pointed out. "Let's go check around, see if we can find a better place to practice."

"Mm-hm." Jane could get behind this notion, and grabbed her guitar.

When she turned back around, Toph's hand was reaching out inbetween where Jane stood and Meng sat. Meng got up and offered her elbow, letting Toph latch onto it.

"Let's go rock the hell outta this song," Toph declared as they entered the quiet hall.

Meng shushed her cousin, as if they were intruding on the silence of a library.

"_Let's go rock the hell outta this song_," Toph whispered in reaction, receiving a slap on the arm from Meng and a stifled giggle.

"It's a folk song," Jane sighed with a small smile as she closed Toph's practice room door.

"Then we'll _make _it a rock song," Toph facetiously decided, letting Meng lead her toward the larger room she had guitar lessons in.

"Let's not," Jane mumbled in reply.

"I'm teasing," Toph easily backed off.

Jane puffed hot air through her nostrils as they entered the room with the wooden floorboards.

"You OK, there, Freckles?" Toph wondered as Jane shut the sound-proof door behind her.

"Why does everyone...-?" Jane started, letting her question hang with another irate sigh.

"You're on edge," Toph plainly observed, letting Meng guide her to a seat in the middle of the room. "We don't gotta talk 'bout it or nothin', just figure you should know I'm here."

"Me, too," said Meng. "She knows we are," Meng muttered over Toph's shoulder.

"I know," Jane reiterated, sighing yet again as she pulled up a second chair to sit across from Toph. "Just don't have much to say. Shitty week. Let's just hammer this out, hm?"

"I can get behind ya on that," said Toph. She paused, snorting. "Might need a _strap-on _first," she muttered, desperately trying to contain a giggle. "_Hammer _it out," she repeated Jane's remark in a hushed squeaking voice, sighing out her laughter.

"_Ew, ugh_," Jane rolled her eyes as she whapped the back of Toph's head with her wrist.

"_Oh-oh, _What's the name of the _song _we're practicing?" Toph whispered, her face practically glowing with anticipation.

Jane sighed, scratching her eyebrow as the punchline popped into her head.

"The _Wood_ Song," Jane grumbled, shaking her head as Toph cackled beneath her palm, trying to stay quiet.

Nonetheless, Jane found herself smirking. Not at Toph's idiotic sense of humor - if it even counted as that - but more at how amused she seemed to be in spite of her friend's own immaturity. Toph had been rather sour the day before. If she could turn her mood around so quickly, Jane could probably try working on that, too.

"...Huh?" Meng mumbled, the entire joke having soared clear over her head.

"Tell you when you're older," Toph picked.

"It's a sex joke, isn't it?" Meng dryly asked Jane. Jane nodded, reciprocating dulled eyes that were at once amused but also slightly disgusted.

Jane remarked with a cocked brow, "This is your _cousin, _what do _you _think?"

"You're gross, Tophie," Meng decided wryly. "Stop being a pervert and play your guitar."

Toph had to breathe in and out a couple of times, sigh, fiddle with her hair, and shake off her silly vibes before she could get into the right mindset for music.

Jane plucked at a few individual strings, keeping her impatience in check.

"You good?" Jane checked.

"We'll see," Toph said. "Uh, I mean, _you'll _see, heh."

Meng and Toph shared a short snicker as Jane initiated guitar strumming. Toph joined in and took up the lead, and the two filled the room with their work-in-progress performance.

* * *

"Did _Dad _send you to talk to me?" Korra demanded stiffly into her phone.

["Your father doesn't know I'm calling you,"] Senna confessed. ["Korra, what's going _on_ with you?"]

"Ask Dad," Korra snapped.

["I _tried_, but he won't talk about it. I had to ask your Uncle what was going on because you weren't returning my calls. Honey, it breaks my heart to hear that things are going on with you and you can't talk with me about it."]

Korra was leaned up against the paneling of the back of her house, her face buried in one arm with the other holding up her phone to her ear.

["Korra...I'm glad that you least told Hakoda yourself, but why couldn't you talk with us about it?"]

"'Cuz I'm a shitty daughter?" Korra irritably huffed. "_Rrgh, _sorry, I'm just-...I mean, I _know _all of this stuff is bad, believe me, I am _kicking myself. _I'm mad at myself. I guess I decided that if I could get my act together soon enough, it'd look like I was doing fine, and you guys wouldn't have to worry, and...-"

["Honey, we _love _you. We've made mistakes, too. Just be honest with us from now on."]

"I hate letting you guys down."

["Korra, you hate letting _anyone _down."]

Korra's face twisted with reluctance at her mother's observation.

["You hate letting _yourself _down. You still beat yourself up about Kya. I know you do. That's what this is all about - that's where it's coming from."]

"Mom, it's...not as simple as that."

["I'm sure it isn't, but am I wrong? It's why you went to the police academy in the first place."]

Korra said nothing, and her silence was practically acknowledging her agreement.

["You have to let go of that. What happened happened, and it wasn't your fault."]

"I know. But what's the _point _of letting go of that if I don't take something away from it?"

["What do you mean?"]

"If I'd been...stronger, or...or smarter...-"

["If those people had left you all _alone_, it wouldn't have happened."]

"Yea, but...I can't put my faith in other people to _not _be assholes, Mom."

["You also don't need to take it upon yourself to prevent them from doing so."]

"But I _want _to. I don't understand what the problem is. You and Dad understood why I tried being a cop. I'm even working _with _the cops here."

["The problems that you're caught up in with these gangs started a long time ago. You can't expect to undo them in a day."]

"So, what? I should just sit back and let this gang warfare hurt _more _people? Let them hurt those _children _that were under my watch?"

["_No, _but this situation might be out of your control! You can't try taking this into your hands. I don't want you getting caught in the middle of this."]

"It's too late, Mom. I'm _already_ in the middle of it. And I'm not going to do _nothing_."

["Sometimes 'nothing' is the best thing you _can _do."]

Korra let her mother's words linger for a moment, and she remembered her night with Aang, meditating in the field, and how much peace it had helped bring to her.

"You're right," Korra acknowledged. "_Sometimes _it's a better idea to back off. But _this _time, I have to undo a problem _I _created."  
["You didn't-"]  
"Even if _I specifically _didn't start this, it _is _because of me that those children became targets. I'm going through with this. I need to finish what I started."

The tension was heavy, even across the cell signal. There were no tears, no crying between them.

["All right. I don't support this decision, Korra. I don't agree with it. But I understand. _Argh, _you're your father's daughter, all right..."]

"I'm sorry, Mom."

["It's OK. It's not my decision - it's yours. I don't support the _decision, _but I will support _you. _Please call us before you have to go. OK?"]

"Yea. Yes, of...of course. Mom, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. I'll make sure of it."

["I know you will."]

"I love you, Mom."

["I love you, too, Honey."]

After she hung up the phone, Korra paced over to the back porch and sat down on its steps, taking a moment to herself.

She so desperately wanted to leave her mistakes in the past, move on from them, ignore them...But she couldn't ignore them anymore. She'd already faced and dealt with so much of these problems - now there was only one left to confront. She had to see it through.


	123. Breathe

**A/N: Sorry this chapter has taken so long - and to be honest, I don't think it's particular good. But it finally brings the crime drama sub plot to a definitive close, which is at this point all I really wanted to do so that I can finally approach the last handful of chapters and deal with things that SRU is really more about.**

**The upside is that the next chapter is a little different from usual and is actually already written. I plan to post it tomorrow, as it's rather fitting for New Year's.**

**I hope you are all enjoying a happy holiday season. Thanks for sticking with me - I promise that the end is coming soon (chapter 130).  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 123 - Breathe_

* * *

- Wednesday, June 8th -

Jane was slouched across the lounge's couch, munching lazily on her second donut stick. Her face was warm, cheeks flushed pink. She'd brought her backpack with her to Aero House, sneaking a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream with her. By now she'd gone through a few shots of it on an empty stomach, and was feeling much more relaxed and at ease than she had been all week thus far.

In her tired, uninhibited state, she'd curled up on two thirds of the couch. Presently, her head was rested in Aang's lap, which occupied the third cushion.

The show they were watching was some superhero cartoon, and the current scene depicted a green-skinned, pointy-eared kid in purple and black spandex. He was interacting with a gloomy, gothic girl in a cloak. They were talking through a closed door.

["Raven? It's me. Look...I'm sorry."]

["For what? You're not the one who...-"]

["No. I'm sorry that...he broke your heart."]

["I know it was all a lie. But he was the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't...creepy. And don't try to tell me I'm not."]

["OK. Fine. You're _way _creepy. But that doesn't mean you have to stay locked in your room. You think you're alone, Raven. But you're not."]

The purple-haired girl locked away in her room opened her door and plunging herself into her green-faced friend. It was an intense hug of appreciation – one that Jane could relate with quite well.

"Aw," Jane blurted out in a mumble. "She _duzz _care..."

"Told ya this show had its sentimental moments," Aang said, smiling down at his intoxicated friend. Her eyes were glazed over, and her lower lip was quivering a bit. "Wh-...Are you _crying_?" he muttered.

Jane sniffed loudly, her nose plugged up with gunk, and she wiped her bee-striped sleeve across her face.

"Iz just-...Like..._She _hugged '_im, _ya know? Makin' that...firsstep to...-" Jane sighed deeply, fluttering her lips as the episode was ending on a comedic note. She rolled onto her back, letting her eyelids sink closed as she popped the last chunk of donut stick into her mouth. Some crumbs stuck to her lips, and a bunch of stray bits had scattered across her shirt and the couch she was laying on.

"Yea, she figures things out over time," Aang assured, amused at Jane's dopey nature. The girl looked like she was about ready to go to sleep. "She kinda reminds me of somebody," Aang picked, flicking his finger against the top of Jane's head. She flinched, but with a bit of delay.

"_Aghh,_" she groaned in a slow, discomforted fashion, her face wrinkling as she squirmed. "Dick," she pouted. "Kat's...nicer n' yoo...N' her...like...legs are squishier..."

Aang raised a brow at Jane, then grinned. He wriggled his right leg up and down, bumping Jane's head around a bit. She protested this with more pouting, then curled up a bit more, resting her head on the couch, pressing it up against Aang's hip.

"Lucky," Jane sighed with some bitterness, her sleepy eyes glazing over as she let the left side of her face sink into the cushion. It smelled funny.

"Hm?" Aang checked, fiddling with the DVD player's remote control.

"Nuthin'," Jane puffed out, licking the crumbs off her lips. Some stray hair got in her mouth, as well, from the cushion, and she spit it back out. She tried to refocus her eyes on the TV screen. A DVD player logo was bouncing around the corners of the screen.

The warmth of Aang's hip against the back of Jane's head disappeared, her world wobbling as his weight lifted off from the couch.

"Ain't we...gun' watch s'more?" Jane wondered, wiping her plaid sleeve against her dribble-covered lips. She was far too comfortable for this hang out session to end. "N' where's fuggin' _Kat? _Unh? Where...?"

"She's _coming_," Aang patiently assured. "She should be here in a couple of minutes. I'm going to set up the next episode. So...-" He was scanning the packaging of his Teen Titans DVDs. "What do you want to watch next? Should we switch to a comedy episode? Or should we start the next main story arc? Or do you want to watch an episode about a certain character, or...-?"

"Want...Kat," Jane mumbled, letting her eyelids slide closed.

"Heh, me, too," Aang chuckled, making his way back to the couch. He lingered, staring down at the girl who was flopped across its surface. "C'mon, scoot," he requested, bopping her frizzled head with the back of his wrist. "You're hogging the whole thing."

"'S mine now," Jane said, letting out a yawn as she stretched up her arms, taking up the entire couch.

"Now _you're _being mean," Aang picked, opting to sit on an adjacent couch.

Jane reached up into her shirt to scratch an itch on her stomach, then yawned again. She opened her eyes halfway, noticing that Aang had just moved position altogether.

"That it?" she taunted, pointing a wobbling, dramatic finger in his direction. "Givin' up? Not gun' _fight _me for it?"

"For...what?" Aang posed, digging his hand into a nearly empty box of baked, un-salted potato chips.

"Fer the _couch? _Duh..."

Jane rolled onto her stomach, drearily stretching her hand down toward her backpack. It was a small struggle to unzip it.

"What are you...-?" Aang asked, but he let it roll off with a sigh as he saw her pulled out her dark brown bottle. "I don't think you need any more of that," he noted with some disappointment.

"Yer thinkin' _wrong_," Jane snickered. She nearly dropped the bottle, but caught it in her lap. She laughed in spite of herself.

"Sounds like _you _guys are having some fun in here," came Kat's voice as she entered the room.

Jane gawked at the girl, who was dressed in a long, flowing white skirt and matching blouse. Her dark, wavy hair was taut back into a ponytail. She immediately walked to Aang and leaned over the couch's back, kissing him upside down. Jane envied their moment, and the way one kiss turned into two, then three, until Aang pulled his head sideways. They laughed quietly and Kat scratched her nails across Aang's scalp before walking over to Jane.

"_Oho,_" Katara noted, tilting her head up as she watched Jane twist off the cap to her Irish Cream. "So _that's _why you're suddenly in such a good mood..."

Jane took a glug of the stuff before wiping her wrist over her dampened lips.

"Notta _good _mood," Jane said, shaking her head. "_Little _better n' yesterday? Yea..."

"Ohhh-_kay_," Katara said meekly, taking the bottle from Jane's hand as she sat down beside her. She awkwardly fumbled around, noticing Jane's open backpack. She stuck it inside, and zipped the backpack up, pushing it out under the lounge's coffee table.

"No fun," Jane grunted, scratching her nose, then her forehead, then her ear.

Katara gave Aang a wide-eyed look with raised eyebrows, and he shrugged back. Katara, sitting on the center cushion with Jane on her right, patted her hand on the empty seat to her left.

"Why are you over there?" she wondered. "Come. Sit."

"_Somebody _was being a goofus," Aang explained as he got up. He tilted his bag up to his face, dumping the crumbs into his mouth. He folded the bag in half and set it down on the table before seating himself beside his girlfriend. He leaned into her side. Jane, in her loose stupor, leaned into Kat's other side.

Katara lifted her arms up and let her hands fall down on each of her friend's shoulders.

"_Well, _then," she said. "Everyone's just cuddly today, huh?"

"Mm-hm-hm," Jane agreed in a laughing hum, her face warm against Katara's shoulder. On impulse, Jane reached out her hand and pressed it against Katara's thigh. "Squishy," she noted.

"C'mon," Katara nudged her off. "Behave," she said primly.

"OK," Jane glumly obeyed. "See?" she said to Aang, leaning her head over and looking across to him. "Her legs are squishy."

Aang and Katara exchanged confused but entertained glances, and Aang rubbed his palm across her knee, then up to her thigh.

"Yup," he agreed.

"OK," Katara laughed awkwardly. "Can we stop...talking about how fat my legs are?"

"But...thurr _nice _legs," Jane muttered. "N' they got...knubby knees, n'...-"

"Stop," Katara requested. She shrugged Jane's head off of her and gave her friend a pleading but stern look. "Please?" she added in a whisper, a pleading look on her face. Even in her intoxicated state, Jane could tell that look was more Kat not wanting to have to be strict about Jane's behavior. Normally it was Toph was was misbehaving.

"Sorry," Jane said in a quiet, dejected sound, sighing through her nose with longing. This whole fucking 'hormones' thing was pretty goddamn annoying.

"It's OK," Katara eased. "You're stressed, so you're cutting loose, you're having your drink. I understand."

"Fer yoo it's juss kittin videos n' chocolate."

Jane shrunk back into the couch, pushing around strands of her bed-head to free up her vision.

"And books," Kat pointed out.

"Soooo, I like a lil' calm-me-down...So what?"

"It's fine," Kat insisted, reaching over and helping Jane sort out her own hair. "Just don't overdo it," Katara suggested.

"You _seen _my Irish face?" Jane retorted with a silly grin, rubbing her palm across her freckled cheeks. "Iz our _duty _to overdo it."

"Yea, yea," Kat murmured. "So, we're watching...-?"

"Teen Titans," Aang replied hastily, eager to get the attention of the ladies onto fictional problems rather than stirring the awkward-sauce.

"Oh, neat," said Kat, hopping on that bandwagon. "It's been a long time since I've seen this show."

"Likin' it OK," Jane put in her two cents. "'S got its moments..."

"Who's your favorite?" Kat wondered. "I bet I can guess..."

"Oh, ya?" said Jane.

"It's Raven, right?"

"_Fff_..." Jane smiled, rolling her eyes. "Yes," she admitted. Her face had been lit up red this whole time, but she looked particularly bashful in that instance. "And I bet _yoooo-_" She spun her index finger in Katara's face. "-...like the nerdy lovey-dovey one a lot."

"Her _name _is Starfire," Kat insisted with facetious indignity. "And she's not 'lovey-dovey.' She has a big heart and cares a lot about her friends. And also kicks ass."

"She's cute," Jane acknowledged. "N' she's like you."

"Raven's like _you_," Aang was quick to point out. "You even cut your hair like her, come to think of it..."

"Not today," Katara teased, ruffling Jane's mop of frizzy-ended hair. The girl's red bed-head had edges curling in various directions and split ends were plentiful.

"Gimme a cape," said Jane, indulging in Katara's fingers across her head. Kat was starting to get finicky, trying to straighten the hair out a bit. It was a failed endeavor. "N' some powers," Jane added.

"I don't even want to _think _of what you'd do with superpowers," said Katara, smoothing out the part in Jane's hair before leaving it be.

"Heh..." Jane shrugged. She didn't even bother to imagine the possibilities. Her brain was too sedated to care about it. Just the idea of a cape had been enough.

"Hey, wait," said Aang. "Jane, you haven't seen the episode where they switch, have you?"

"Huh?" Jane blurted, totally confused.

"Starfire and Raven – there's an episode where they get switched. It's-...Well, we'll just...-" He bounced up from his seat, heading right for the DVD cases. "-...watch it right now."

"_Ohhh, _I remember that one," Katara said. "It's really cute. I like that one."

Jane yawned, then squirmed a bit, nestling her side against Katara's and leaning her body forward. Kat sighed softly, but got the message. She began running her fingernails up and down Jane's back, scratching it methodically.

"Thanks, Kat," Jane mumbled, taking to the gesture like a sleepy dog.

"No problem," Katara replied. She grinned, flashing her teeth to Jane. "I've always got your _back_," she added, snapping her fingers at Jane in a corny manner.

"_Gawd,_" Jane whimpered, letting her head sag as she giggled.

"Uh...-?" Aang returned to the couch, having started up the proper disc in the player. "What's so funny?"

"Absolutely nothing," Katara said, shaking her head slowly.

"She's juss a fuggin' dork," Jane explained.

"_Oh. _Well!" Katara removed her hand from her friend's back. "No more back-scratching for you," she teased.

"_Awwnngh," _winced Jane, putting on quite the insipid pout.

"What are you, five years old?" Katara asked rhetorically, while Aang fiddled with the remote.

"Naw, I'm _drunk_," Jane clarified, flipping her wrist daintily, her eyes dulled and her cheeks warm.

"I can _see _that," said Katara wamrly, winding her arm across Jane's shoulder. She stuck the other one around Aang and pulled both of them inward, assuming the position they had before.

Jane savored the intimate contact, and slouched in her seat so that her head could comfortably rest on Katara's shoulder. It was a comfortable shoulder. Softer and squishier than Korra's, but more meaty and comfy than Johnny's boniness. Jane experienced a pang of longing, the alcohol in her system causing a flood in the memory banks of her mind. That attraction towards Kat – not of the body, but of the mind, of the heart – toward the person that had pulled Jane out of her old life and into this new one...That part of Jane that she'd buried was floating up to the surface in the flood caused by the booze.

As the fanfare of the WB logo played, Jane could hear Katara and Aang's lips sliding together a couple of times. It stung a little. But Jane had accepted that she would never have that heart, that mind, or that body. As much as she could bury it beneath the layers, that nagging feeling, that desire, it would always be there, somewhere. Jane had just learned to carry on despite it, because this friend was too valuable to leave behind. Maybe, some day, this nagging would go away for good. Maybe it wouldn't.

But this beautiful person who'd scooped her up, who'd polished off Jane's battle-worn armor, who'd taken her aboard and introduced her to this life she never had known she'd wanted...She could rest her head on that shoulder, as she was right then, and everything felt like it would be OK. That pang of difficult emotion would pass, and what would remain would be the core of it – that type of love Jane had never known she was capable of experiencing before she'd met Kat. The pure kind, the kind that existed, just as strong as it could be, whether there was physicality involved or not.

Kat had taught Jane what it was like to be loved in that way by her peers, and in turn, how to love that way toward others.

That was good enough to leave a smile on her face.

* * *

"We're..._trying _over here, guys, but...-" Mai sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she sent a prayer to the Advil gods. "I think it's going to take more than just a peace march and some hopeful ideals."

["And _what_, precisely, would you propose?"] Azula snipped from Mai's laptop screen. She and Zuko were displayed on the video chat window, sitting beside one another on some tacky black and white 'modern' couch. Mai was not a fan of Azula's interior décor senses, to say the least.

"A lot of people are getting suspicious about your family," Mai explained. "And for _good reason. _Maybe you both need to come back here, show your faces, I don't-..." She sighed through her nose, shaking her head slightly as she closed her eyes, her headache pulsing against her skull. "Have a freaking press conference, do something..._official_, show the people here that Noah is _wrong _about you."

["Are you all right?"] Zuko asked.

"_No, _Zuko," Mai sharply responded. "I am _not _all right. Ty is being a _pain – _and can you _blame _her? She could've been kidnapped. But now I have to deal with her, andI miss _you, _Zuko, andI'm sick of all of this fucking drama, OK? I am the opposite of all right. My patience is _gone. _That's...fine that Katara and Aang want to help you with this, but I..._don't_-...Ugh. I'm just glad that in a few weeks I'll be with my family – I don't even get _along _with my family. It's _boring _with my family. But at this point? I'd rather have 'boring' than 'goddamn crazy.'"

Mai finally opened her eyes back up, and she looked through the window of the Internet toward her love, his sister, and now their uncle standing behind them on the couch.

Iroh spoke, wide-eyed.

["I see that...you could maybe do with a strong _drink_. Perhaps some camomile-"]  
"_No, _Iroh," Mai dryly interrupted, her tongue like a knife. "Fucking _tea _is _not _going to...-" Mai caught herself venting her anger out with such bursts of steam, and covered her mouth up. Her eyes quivered out of focus as she stared off at her desk, aimlessly wishing her pain relievers would kick in already. Her migraine had been persistent for some time now.

"Sorry," Mai breathed out as she rubbed her fingers along her sinuses. "I don't...mean to blow up at you guys, but seriously. You need to get _back _here and do something. I love you – all three of...-" She weakly laughed. "All three of you crazy Kurosawas, but...-" Her small smile disintegrated. "I can't keep going on like this."

["We'll come back as soon as we can,"] Zuko assured. ["I know this is difficult, but...you need to hang in there."]

Mai pursed her lips at this, her eyelids fluttering with impatience. She nodded spitefully and lifted her index finger to her camera, signaling that she needed a pause.

"I'll be back in a minute," she told them, gazing toward her door to feign that someone was present.

She clicked the mute button on her video chat program and closed her laptop's lid down.

Mai then shoved her laptop over to one side, displacing a couple of stray loose-leaf notebooks, and buried her face in her arms against her desk. A dizzying ache pounded at her brain, pressing against her sinuses. The frustration of the Kurosawas' lack of understanding added pressure to the pain. Mai heaved out a couple of dry sobs in her moment of solitude. Wet tears would not come because Mai's body had been trained to not produce them. She was tired of trying to tread water, and tired of trying to express herself in these stressful situations, and tired of putting on the calm, level-headed face while everyone around her spazzed out, and tired of..._everything. _It wasn't unbearable, and it wasn't as if she had it all hat bad off. But goddamn, was it all just so tiring.

_-Rrrrrrrmmm!-_

Mai's heart skipped as her body jolted with alertness from the vibrating on her desk. It was her phone, of course, but in that moment it had scared her half to death, as if she'd been scared that Ty-Lee had returned. Pff. How idiotic, getting so jumpy about such a thing. But Mai would rather continue to endure all of the mental taxation than let her roommate or her boyfriend think she couldn't be counted on when they needed her most. It made very little sense, Mai was aware - she hadn't asked to assume this supporting role, but here she was, now clinging to what she'd once put off in dismissal.

Tiredly, she checked her phone.

[**8 New Txt**]

With a sigh, Mai looked at the one that had just been delivered.

[From: Katara]  
[Hi. Were you coming tonight, or are you too busy?]  
[Sent: 4:13pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[Busy. Maybe next time.]  
[Sent: 4:14pm]

Mai dropped her phone into her lap and wiped her wrists up over her forehead, brushing her bangs to each side. They were getting a bit long. She'd need to trim them and re-dye her red highlights soon. And there she was, fussing over how she'd present herself out in public when she'd struggle over how to present herself to her prospective husband and in-laws.

After rubbing the sand from her eyes, Mai sniffed in through her stuffy, dried nose. She blinked a couple of times before opening her computer back up and un-muting her microphone.

"Sorry about that," she muttered to them.

["No problem,"] Zuko eased. ["Did you need us to leave? We can stop talking about this if you want."]

["Oh, _please, _Zuko,"] Azula grunted. ["Mai is old enough to inform us of any discomfort, there's no need to-"]  
"No, it's OK, we should try...-" Mai stared at the startled expression on Azula's face. The woman did _not _like to be interrupted. "-...to take this one step at a time."

Mai's phone rumbled in her lap. As Azula went over her business mumbo jumbo, Mai found herself tuning in and out of focus, but more of her attention was going to her text messages.

[From: Katara]  
[Thank you for spending time with Toph, BTW. I know she's a handful, especially when you're stressed.]  
[Sent: 4:15pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[No trouble. When we're both in a decent mood, she's fun.]  
[Sent: 4:15pm]

[From: Katara]  
[When you're BOTH in a decent mood? At the same time? I bet those stars don't align often =P ]  
[Sent: 4:16pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[Often enough.]  
[Sent: 4:16pm]

[From: Katara]  
[Aang told me you seem really tense today. If you end having time later, we could hang out over some coffee? Or tea?]  
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[As long as it's just us. I can't really do groups today. Migraine.]  
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[From: Katara]  
[OK. Sorry about that. But sure, just us. And no peace march talk, I promise.]  
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[Reply]  
[To: Katara]  
[I'll let you know if I have time.]  
[Sent: 4:18pm]

[From: Katara]  
[All right. Feel better!]  
[Sent: 4:19pm]

["-even _listening _to us, Dum-Dum."]

"Wh-?" Mai blinked up at her laptop, putting her phone aside after silencing it. "Sorry, someone was-...Yea, sorry. Go ahead."

["You look tired,"] Zuko observed plainly.

"Oh, _thanks_," said Mai back with some offense.

["Such sensitivity doesn't become you,"] Azula remarked. ["If you'd rather type messages into your phone than discuss the situation with us, then we can keep this _family _matter within our _family_."]

"It's fine," Mai insisted, knowing full well that she wasn't going to win here. "Whatever you want, I can...leave, or...stay here, I don't...-"  
-..._care either way, I just want this day to be over and for my head to stop hurting._

["You look like you could use some rest,"] Zuko reiterated his previous statement, phrasing it a little more carefully. ["We'll let you go for now, and...we'll catch up on this when you're feeling better."]

"_Thank _you," Mai puffed out, all-too-eager to bury herself in her bed for a nap.

["Get well soon,"] Zuko offered his sympathy. ["Love you."]

"You, too," Mai absent-mindedly replied with a vague answer. "Bye."

Mai immediately closed her video chat program, set her computer to sleep mode, shut its clam-shell closed, and cautiously dropped herself into her bed, wincing in spite of her own headache. She desperately hoped that rest would come so that she could get her schoolwork done later on after dinner. The sooner she could get through June term, the sooner she could take a break from this madness.

* * *

["I know, I _know_,"] Jane grumbled irritably. ["Just...go do whatever you're gonna do..."]

"This isn't just for _me_," Korra specified. "You _get _that, right? Just because _you _don't want to help...-"

The evening wind was whipping about, but Korra was still pretty sure she heard Jane sigh.

["I _am _helping, just...in a different way..."]

"Yea, well...I'm gettin' my hands dirty so you don't have to."

["...And-...Thanks. For that."]

"You're welcome."

June, who was filling up the gas tank of her car, cut into their conversation from behind Korra's shoulder.

"Eh, tell Shamrocks I said 'hey,' wouldja?"

"You hear that?" said Korra into her phone.

["Yea. Tell _her _I said she'd better take good fucking care o' you."]

"Erm...-" Korra paused, then turned her head over to face June. "She says you should keep me alive."

"Oh. Good call," June dryly replied, topping off her tank. She hung the gas hose back on the pump. "I almost forgot about that part." She twisted the gas cap back onto her car and brushed the residue from her hands on her pants.

"Jane, you sure I can trust this loonie?" Korra checked, making sure June heard her.

"I'm a loose canon, all right," June stated in a flat, disinterested tone.

["June's been through more shit n' either of us,"] Jane stated. ["Follow her lead. She helped us deal with Combustion Man. She'll help you with this, too."]

"Right..." Korra sniffed, scratching her wide nose as she took in the pungent, pleasant scent of gasoline.

"Is that ginger talkin' shit about me?" June asked, swiping her debit card into the gas pump's scanner.

["You can trust her,"] Jane was continuing, evidently having not heard June's remark. ["She's a cranky bitch, don't get me wrong, but...she's got goodness on the inside."]

"Oh, man," Korra sarcastically said in reply to June. "Fuckin' _awful _things..."

"Yep," said June, not skipping a beat. "I knew it."

["Wait, what...?"]

"Nothing," Korra chuckled into her phone. "I believe you, Jane. We'll, uh-...We'll get this done. I'll bring him back for ya."

["Mm..."]

"Don't do that," Korra murmured with a whimper about her.

["I don't-...Look, sorry. I just...don't wanna see you...-"]

"You just told me this'll be fine."

["I know, but...-"]

"You want me to trust her, you want me to trust _you, _but...you won't trust _me_?"

["N-no, it's not that..."]

"What _is _it? Why are you still givin' me that..._tone_?"

["Sorry! I'm...moody, shitty week, n'...-"]

"She's _worried _about you, fucking moron," June interrupted, having caught enough of their chatter. "I think it's that 'love' thing I keep hearing so much about..."

["_What's _she saying about me?"] Jane asked, flustered.

"Awful, horrible things," Korra responded, giving June a wry grin.

["So, something embarrassing,"] Jane translated.

"_Nooo,_" Korra assured. "She was just saying that you're worried about me."

["_And _her,"] Jane was quick to add. ["Fuck, I'm worried about _everyone _right now..."]

"You sound like my cousin," Korra noted with a smile.

["Good,"] said Jane. She left it at that, and this intrigued Korra some.

"Hey," June slapped Korra's back with her knuckles. "Tell your girlfriend we've gotta go. We're fucking _late._"

["Tell _her _to...stick her-...Uh...-"]  
"Why don't _you _tell her that when we get back," Korra said, rounding June's station wagon and heading for the passenger seat side.

["..._Mmph._"]

"We've gotta go," Korra said, opening the car door. "Soo...I'll...I dunno, give you a call after we're done?"

["That...That it? Just...gonna fuckin' go Rambo now, n'...-?"]  
"Wh-? _No!_" Korra puffed with irritation as she strapped into the car. "I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

["You swear?"]

"Scout's honor."

["You're not a scout."]

"I _swear_, Jane. C'mon..." Korra watched the little town they had made a pit stop in disappear as June drove them out. "Have some fuckin' faith in me, would ya?"

["OK, OK. I _do, _Kor, I mean-...Fuck. Just...don't do anything stupid."]

"I _just said _I wasn't."

["I know. Makin' sure it's getting into your thick skull."]

"It's in there."

["Right."]

The two breathed into their phone speakers awkwardly as June drove Korra along. Korra got the nagging feeling that June was ready to pick on them at any second, and was grateful that the woman didn't.

["Do what June says,"] Jane reiterated. ["I'm not there to look out for ya, but she will."]

"Yup..."

["Um...Good luck? N' shit? Call me when you're in the clear."]

"_Yup..._"

["I, uh-...Yea. Just wanna see ya'll get back in one piece."]

"We will."

["Go get 'em."]

"You, too."

["Uh...Later."]

"Bye."

Korra kept the phone stuck to her ear for another second or two until she heard the feedback on Jane's line end. She breathed out a long, worrisome breath as she switched off her phone, dropping it into June's glove compartment. She clawed her fingernails at her scalp, leaning her head down over her lap.

"Ain't you two cute," June remarked at last. "The awkward chatter that drags on too long...That's how it starts."

"No, it's n-...Nothing's _started_."

"Man..." June whistled. "You two are _really _touchy about that, ain'tcha?"

"Aren't we supposed to be getting ready to do this fucking thing?"

"Fair enough. You need me to run things by ya a fourth time?"

"No, I'm...-" Korra let her head sag into the car door window to her right. The internal nagging was in full swing at this point, tugging at Korra's self-confidence, warning her of how she'd somehow fuck this all up. "Well, I'm glad I'll be taking a _nap _before we do this," Korra expressed some kind of optimism.

"_Heh_." June nodded slowly to herself as she drove, double-checking her mirrors._ "_Your sense of humor's still around, so that's a good sign. In a few minutes here I'm gonna put you under. Then, you'll wake up and...well, then we'll see if this all pans out."

Korra sighed out, fluttering her tongue out irritably before rolling her head around on her neck. She was already feeling kind of sore, as it was. That was going to get a lot worse real soon, she could tell.

"_If _this pans out?" Korra said after these moments of quiet.

"Hey, I won't sugar-coat it, kiddo," stated June, adjusting her mirror as they hit a red stop light and slowed down. "Shit could roll down hill pretty fast."

"We'll...be fine, though," Korra mumbled. "Probably," she conceded.

"Eh, don't worry," said June. "The tricky part is kinda _my _job. Once we can get in, then it'll pretty much be _your _job to do the heavy lifting while shots get fired."

"Yep," Korra grunted, wrapping her broad arms across her abs. "Well..." She trailed off, her body huddling against the car door to her right as her stomach squirmed. She was starting to feel a bit nauseous.

June pressed a few buttons on her dated car radio, and some kind of retro rock ballad started playing. Korra didn't recognize it, but evidently, June did, as she started humming along to it. By the time the song ended, they had gotten out of the small town they'd filled up on gas at and were out on a local route road. Another song later, and their car had found its way out to a rural route, a forest off in the distance and evergreen trees lining the opposite side. Tall grass filled the fields on either side of the road.

June pulled her car off into the dirt on one side, continuing to let her radio play. She scrounged up her supplies and bid Korra to get out and get ready. Korra leaned up against the side of June's beat-up station wagon, admiring the tall grasses swaying in the summer evening winds. She let her body slide down the side of the car, sitting against it. She swallowed the lump in her throat, crossed her legs, and pinched her fingers together in the meditative stance Aang had taught her days earlier. The 70's rock music continued to resonate from the car, but Korra needed a moment of solace.

Korra closed her eyes, tuned her senses, and focused on the wind rustling the vegetation all around her.

_In.  
Out.  
_

_In.  
_

_Out._

_In..._

_Out..._

"_Agh!_" A sharp pain struck Korra in the neck, jarring her awake.

"Take it easy," June said in her ear.

Korra's world went hazy, the breeze-blown grass and trees ahead of her rapidly sinking into darkness.

Goddamn woman weight a fucking _ton. _June was relieved they had come up with this scheme, because no way anyone would believe June could have taken out this block of muscle that called herself a woman without some stealthy sedation. Hell. Did she take goddamn steroids with her Wheaties, or what?

June went about her task of binding the poor sap up properly and hauling her into her car. That was the nice thing about her station wagon – it wasn't _quite _as difficult to load cargo into. She draped a run-down blanket over Korra's unconscious body, which was tucked inbetween various boxes and containers for cover.

June dusted her sore hands on her pants, then stared down at the snoozing, disheveled woman in the back of her car. She lifted up her arm, ready to close the compartment, but first double-checked to ensure the tranquilized girl wouldn't get any body parts whacked. She sighed through her nose, lingering for a moment on how alien this whole situation felt, given how long it had been since she'd dealt with any cargo of this nature. At this point, an old favorite of June's had been playing on her still-running car radio. She sang along with it as she readied up for the last leg of this journey.

["~Carry on my wayward son~"]

June slammed the trunk closed.

["~There'll be peace when you are done~"]

She entered the driver's seat.

["~Lay your weary head to rest~"]

She inserted her keys and awoke her vehicle.

["~Don't you cry no more~"]

* * *

"..th...nna do...wi...r..."

"...nno, b...ot my...to you..."

Muffled voices. Korra was beginning to come to, and she could hear June talking with some stranger. Everything was dark. Her breath was hot against her own face, some kind of bag stuffed over her head. As she was regaining consciousness, she tried to move, only to realize her hands were tied behind her back, and her ankles were strapped together, as well.

Fucking shit, June hadn't been lying. This felt...like a pretty legit kidnapping. Korra's heart raced a little as she struggled out of instinct, wondering if she'd been double-crossed, or...-

She was jarred by the sound of the trunk door opening, and then a few footsteps on gravel.

"See?" came June's voice.

"You're _sure _it's her?" asked her associate.

"Pretty _fucking _sure," June stiffly replied. "Take a look for yourself, if you don't believe me. Dick."

"Calm yo tits, woman. Goddamn." A pause. Korra's world went from black to...a hazy face of scruff. Some shrimpy, pale-faced prick, staring at her with squinted eyes. Korra gave him snarl. "Looks like her," the guy shrugged, his hand still lingering by her neck, having pulled off the cloth on her head.

Korra squirmed her body around, growling at him from beneath the bandana tied around her mouth.

"Good thing you put a muzzle on the bitch," the man snickered, bewildered. "Coulda bit my damn hand off."

"She _would, _too," June noted, giving Korra a sadistic smirk, a glint in her eye.

"All right." The guy sighed, stepping back. "Bag her back up, n' drop her off inside. You know the drill."

"That I do," June grunted, callously stuffing the sack back over Korra's face.

Korra could feel the woman's arms wrapping her shoulder, tugging her upward.

"Help me get her out, wouldja?" June asked.

The other man sighed rather audibly.

"Christ," he huffed. "It's _your _cargo..."

"My cargo usually isn't _alive_," June retorted.

Before Korra knew it, she'd been dragged out of the car. She struggled, curling up and kicking outward. She felt her boots hit flesh, a cry of surprise, and she was dropped onto gravel. The fall scraped her arms a little. She felt June's hand scrounge up a clump of her hair and yank her head around a bit. It hurt like hell.

"You wanna play rough?" June hissed. Korra couldn't figure out if this was a ploy. She kept replaying Jane's assurances in her head on repeat. June was one of the good guys now. June could be trusted. Play along. Just play along.

"_Argh,_" groaned the henchman. He voice was super nasally. "Bitch dot my dose!"

"Heh," June was humored. "Not _my _fault you had your face so close to her feet." June shoved Korra's bagged head back into the gravel, releasing her. She continued to tease her apparent cohort. "Trying to get a good luck at the goods, huh?"

"Fugg _yoo_," he snarled back.

"Anyway," June prodded her shoe against Korra's back. "How 'm I supposed to get her inside?"

"Dafuck do _I _care? Drag her!"

June twisted her shoe against Korra's back, the friction rather unpleasant. Fuckin' hell.

"Are you _thick_?" June snapped back at the thug. "She's fucking bigger than _I _am, I had to use a goddamn horse tranquilizer to catch her. And it's probably about worn off by now." June shoved her foot against Korra's rib, rolling her onto her side. "How come no one else is here? Where's Bellbottoms at? He's usually the one who-"  
"He's busy," interrupted the henchman.

"With _what_?"

"With all the fucking _fuzz _that have been buzzin' around lately. Place is crawling with more cops than usual. We think somebody might be tippin' 'em off."

"Well..._shit,_" June sighed. "Let's get this taken care of, then. I don't wanna be around when shit goes down."

"You and me both. _Argh, _fuck." The man sniffed. "Got me good."

"Yea, nice nosebleed. Now let's get her the hell inside," June bemoaned impatiently.

"I ain't helping you drag her around."

"Fine, then let's cut her legs free, make her walk."

"Oh, _nice, _yea. Let her get away."

"She can't fucking _see, _you nimrod. Where's she gonna run? Into that brick wall? Anyway, I've got my gun, I'm sure that'll keep her motivated-" June gave Korra's gut a kick. "-to _behave_."

Korra choked and sputtered in shock from the blow. It wasn't _too _hard, but the surprise of it was the issue. She could barely breathe in this damned sack.

_The kids, Korra, girl. Deal with it. Do it for the kids. This crazy whore's just doing her job, which is getting you inside. Deal. With. It._

Korra was winded and a bit dazed, and as she was reacclimating her senses, she realized that the ties on her feet had been cut. She also realized that a cold cylinder of metal was pressed against her head.

"They want you alive," June specified. There was a clicking sound, and Korra knew what that was. "Now, I wanna get paid, and I'm sure _you'd _like to stay living. So don't go messing up my concentration, don't cause any accidents, and we'll all get what we want, mm? You understand?"

Korra hummed out her confirmation – she made sure to push her her shaky breathing and racing heart to present a forceful grunt.

"Huh?" June taunted. Jeez, lady was really playing it up. "Nod."

Korra did as she was told. She was abhorring every moment of this. Powerless, no control...and she'd _chosen _to put herself in this position.

Korra was yanked by the hair and pulled up to her feet. She wobbled and swayed, unable to see and her head dizzy. She was pushed forward, June's gun pointed at the back of her head all the while. They walked for about twenty seconds, then passed through what sounded like a sliding metal door.

"The hell is...-?" a new voice asked. "_Ohhh. _It's you. Took your sweet-ass time."

"Traffic was a bitch," June retorted.

"What's the pistol? You know you're not-"  
"You in the mood to _carry _this prisoner all the way in?" June posed. "You wanna end up like Marty here?"

"_Ech_," groaned the guy Korra had kicked in the nose.

"_Ha!_" The interior guard laughed. "Maaan, got you right in the-"  
"Shuddup," Marty huffed. "I'm goin' back to my post."

"Yea?" said the guard. "You can see June out, then."

"Uh...-" June huffed indignantly. "I ain't leavin' 'til I get my money."

"That's too bad, 'cuz you're gonna h-"  
"Unless you want me to blow her brains out, right fuckin' here," June growled. "I ain't in the mood to play games today."

There was a tense pause.

"_Jeez, _June," sighed the newer guard. "No need to-..._Fuck, _man..."

"Is she _always _like this?" Marty asked.

"She didn't _used _to be," the guard replied. "Fine," he said to June. "But they won't be happy to see you."

"I won't be happy if I don't paid, and _you _won't be happy if you have to wipe her brains up off the floor."

"OK, _OK, _christ. Just..._go. _I got enough goin' on to be dealin with _you_."

"Good. C'mon, kid," she pushed the gun barrel against Korra's head. "Chop-chop."

Another metal door. Their footsteps echoed, bouncing across the hallway. Korra could smell lots of metal, rust, and wood. Aside from the steps vibrating against concrete, Korra couldn't hear anything else. The hallway seemed deathly quiet. After about ten seconds of walking, June spoke in a whisper that carried across the hall's acoustics.

"_Heyyyy, _whaddya know? You _can _play nice. _Ah, _that's good, Cowgirl. You just remember what I said, n' this'll wash out fine."

Korra sighed through her nose. She'd never felt like this before: so thoroughly vulnerable. Her heart was racing, her breathing was quick and shallow, her stomach was empty and squirming, her legs were rubbery, her arms sore, her head throbbing, her hands quivering, her eyes watering..._Rrrghhh._

She wanted to fucking punch something.

But she couldn't. And she knew she had to continue obeying. She had no choice at this point.

All she could do was continue subjecting herself to this bullshit and hope it panned out the way she'd planned.

Korra had to trust in something other than her fists for a change – and she didn't like it one bit. But she knew that, right this minute, she had to trust in June, the way Jane did.

A minute or two passed by, with Korra doing her best to try and drown out the helplessness void sucking away at her soul. There was some angry talking, but she was tuning it out, unable to see anything, anyway. Korra was shoved in the back of her legs, causing her drop down on her knees. The sack was ripped off her head, and the gag was yanked out of her mouth. She coughed, sputtering saliva out onto her thighs as June's pistol pushed her to bend down.

The world was a haze for a few seconds, Korra's body swerving off balance.

"Don't fall asleep on us," June teased, grabbing Korra's loosenened, knotted hair and tugging her upright.

"I'm- _Argh! _Fucking awake!" Korra growled, the pain shocking her back to alertness.

"Looks like her, all right," came a voice from up ahead.

June released Korra's head, and Korra coughed some more, that gun still pinned to the back of her head. She cautiously tilted her head to see the figure lingering nearby. What she saw made her raise an eyebrow. It was a man with streaked back hair of gray and ragged sideburns, his face weathered and wrinkled, dressed in a suit. What was puzzling, however, was that he was seated in a wheelchair.

"You thought I was lying?" June retorted dryly. "Like I'd drive all this fucking way if I wasn't damn sure..."

"Ah _right, _ah _right_," groaned the man in the chair. Some chunky lackey stood behind him, also in a suit, and push. "_Jesus, _June, lower yer goddamn gun. No need for theatrics."

June sighed, and Korra's shoulders tightened as she felt the weapon against her head click and pull away. She breathed out with some relief.

"Hey, can't be too careful," June explained defensively, giving Korra a light kick to the back. Korra growled in reply. Whether this was out of impatience, irritation, or simply to play along, Korra was certainly ready for this act to end. June added, "She's fuckin' dangerous."

"Yea, bet she _is_," the disabled man acknowledged. "But I _think _we can handle her."

"Look, Zolt," June puffed. "Just gimme my fuckin' payment and I'll leave you it."

"Always so _hasty_," Zolt bemoaned, shaking his head slightly. He twisted his head back over his shoulder a bit, advising his comrade. "Go ahead, give it to her." The man behind Zolt turned around to retrieve a metal briefcase from a table behind them.

June knelt over, setting her gun down on the floor. She startled fiddling with Korra's wrist bindings, making to tighten them. June initiated more discussion.

"Sorry I ain't been I contact," she grumbled.

Korra felt the tension behind her back loosen, the bindings suddenly disconnecting. She knew to maintain the illusion that she was still tied, however; when June gave her arms a tug, she grunted and flexed her arms a bit, wriggling to show the facade of a struggle. As she did so, June pretended to hold her down, all the while slicing apart the bindings on her ankles.

As this happened, June further distracted them with conversation.

"The Lotus has been breathing down my neck," she went on. "Only had a chance to slip outta town because of the little shit storm your folks have been stirring down there. They're already in a tizzy over those kids you swiped. They hangin' around here, too?"

"Heh, yep..." Zolt nodded his head. "Shin and his boys managed to grab 'em on their way outta town."

"_This _crazy bitch-" June whapped the back of her wrist on Korra's temple. "-got careless trying to track the runts down." She established eye contact with Korra. "But you'll be happy to see 'em again, at least, huh?" She sighed, finishing her task of cutting Korra's ties. "Anyways, the cops had their eyes on her, and they know she's been taken up here, so...-"

"We figured," Zolt chuckled. "You might wanna lock ya doors when you get home – never know what could happen these days...I had to pull some of my guys outta Wayward before they got caught. If I was you, I might consider skipping town before they start catching on."

"Well," June sighed out, dusting her pants off and retrieving her gun. She stood up. "I'll get right on that, soon as I have what I _came_ here for..."

"She really _is _pushy," muttered Zolt's assistant, shaking his head as he dropped the suitcase onto the cement floor and kicked it a few feet forth.

June scoffed back, "_You_ used to be a lot quicker with these deals, '_Lighting Bolt._'"

"_Fff. _Excuse _me, _toots, for being past my prime over here. Ya want your stuff or not?"

June shut up at that point, casually grabbing the case and popping it open to inspect the contents: some hefty wads of cash and some bags of what Korra presumed was for June's 'recreational' desires.

"No haggling this time, either," Zolt insisted. "That's _more _n' enough – it's exactly what we bargained."

"Yea, yea," June eased him, shutting the case after she'd inspected its contents. "I'm good to go." She rolled back one of her sleeves, inspecting a scuffed up gold watch on her wrist. "Better make sure I'm back soon, anyway..." She scooped up the case by its handle and turned to Korra.

June knelt over and gave Korra a wry, sadistic smirk. With her free hand, she grasped Korra's jaw and slapped her cheek.

"You _behave_," June advised in a taunting tone. Her eyes glimmered with a certain kind of spark. "Do as you're _told_," she advised, wiggling her brows up once.

Korra knew that the time was finally nigh for her to stop passively taking abuse and start dishing it out.

"So that's that," June stated to Zolt and his assistant. "Have fun, but be careful – she likes to play rough." June started walking off toward the metal door that she'd entered from.

Korra twisted her head to observe, but within a few seconds, her hair was being tugged at violently, pulling her body up.

"Right, then," huffed Zolt's assistant. "Time to take—_hurgk!_"

Korra had slammed her knee into the guy's gut, then rammed her fist upward into his jaw. The unexpected blow sent the chunky lad reeling, and Korra's adrenaline, which had already kicked in at this point, drove her to slam a couple more punches into the dude's face until he fell over on his back.

"The _fuck_-?!" Zolt sputtered out.

Korra ripped the bandana from her own mouth, stuffing it in Zolt's face and struggling against his frail hands as she tied it to his face. His muffled cries and flashing eyes raged against her, but she worked efficiently. By the time she was done, June was already back at her side, her pistol drawn at the man Korra had sent to the floor.

"I know what you're thinking," June said to Zolt, who was fuming at her from beneath Korra's grip. "I'm a back-stabbing cunt, right? It's OK, you can say it." She smiled slyly at the furious eyes of 'Zolt.' The man at her feet began to stir, and June pressed her pistol against his head, reaching down and shuffling her hand around his suit. She retrieved a second pistol from his waistline and slid it across the cement floor toward Korra.

Korra stared at the gun for a moment with some hesitation, and in this second, Zolt broke his arms from her grip and tried wheeling for the gun. In his feeble attempt, Korra brashly charged at him, shoulder-tackling his chair and sending him toppling over to the ground. He still attempted to crawl with his hands, grasping out for the gun. Korra stomped his hand and snatched the gun up. It was heavy in her hands.

June kicked the disabled crook's personal valet a bit in the interim.

"What now?" Korra asked, wide-eyed as she scanned the room full of various crates and palettes.

"_I _stay here and watch your back," June spat. "Cops are already here, they'll be swarming the place any minute. _You _get your ass through _that _door-" June nodded her head off to the side of the room opposite where they'd entered. "-find the little shits, and get 'em outta here. Should be another exit up a floor, will take you to a street. Cop's oughtta be there by now, and if not...-"

The man beneath June's shoe wriggled a little, grumbling something incoherent. Her shoe pressed into his face led him to still his tongue pretty quick.

Korra's heart was racing – they were actually going through with this. She was actually holding a gun in her hand.

"Just get going," June snarled impatiently. "You forget how to use that thing, or something?"

Korra swallowed the lump in her throat, then coughed a bit. Having that gag on her mouth for so long was still inducing some unpleasant after-effects. And the memories were kicking in...

Korra disabled the safety on the pistol and loaded the chamber – it was sort of like riding a bicycle after her academy training. Except, you know, the last time you properly rode a bicycle was when you crashed it into a fucking tree.

A gun had killed her dog.  
A gun had put her friend in the hospital.

A gun had caused her immediate expulsion from the police academy.

Some well-to-do soul was probably stuck doing desk work at a station because his arm had been fucked over because of Korra's carelessness with a firearm. Korra had been rather adamant against ever using the things since. It was why she'd simply disarmed them any time she'd had to face one, and why holding this one, right that second, knowing she _would _have to use it, she could _not _simply disarm it, was downright terrifying a prospect.

And Kya? Poor Aunt Kya had been killed with a knife, so those were right out, too. Korra wanted nothing to do with the damn things.

Guns and knives killed people. But fists? Korra's fists put them down, without causing the very thing she was trying to prevent: death. Korra's fists could be trusted, relied upon – they were part of herself. She knew their limits, she knew what they were capable of.

That night in the garage, so eager and willing to plunge Jane's hunting knife into that bastard's chest...That was a part of Korra she wanted to forget, to leave behind, where it belonged. She was capable of killing, and that was a contradiction of terms with what she was striving and despairing to be: someone who could protect.

A gun in her hands – those fucking foolish, impulsive, impatient, hasty hands – was a bad idea.

But those kids who looked up to her, those kids who she was responsible for...Seeing them hurt, seeing them tortured, in pain...That was a far worse idea.

"Yo," June growled, snapping her fingers. "What the hell's the matter? You _do _know how to use a gun, yea?"

Korra took a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying to let her trembling hands steady themselves. She looked to June, and tapped her finger at the top of the gun barrel.

"This end's the dangerous part, eh?" she managed out shakily, attempting to convey June's ever-present sense of cool, collected sarcasm.

June shook her head with a smirk, rolling her eyes.

"Why's everyone always gotta _say _stupid shit like that?" she muttered to herself. "Get _going_," she pressed, pointing one hand toward Korra's intended destination as the other held her gun to her victim's face.

Hands clamped tight on the hardware in her calloused palms, Korra held the pistol face down as she charged off. She cautiously opened the heavy double doors after peeking through their tiny window panes, raising her gun up and directing it around any corner she passed. A minute or so went by until gunshots echoed from where Korra had come from. She worried for June's safety, but knew it was useless to turn back at that point.

She had to finish what they'd started.

She could hear footsteps and commotion from up ahead rattling, bouncing through the hollow stairwell of the decrepit storage facility. Reaction to the gunfire, no doubt. Korra took cover behind a nearby linen cart as the stairwell door was shoved open and two men clambered off in the direction she'd just come from, growling their concerns to each other.

"-think they'd find us that quick!"  
"Zolt was handlin' a delivery, maybe we got double-crossed."  
"_Fuck _that."  
"This is why I said ya never kidnap _kids_, man. Shit."

No sooner had they disappeared did a girl – younger than Korra, from the look of it – emerge from a nearby room, evidently curious as to the ruckus. She and Korra gawked at each other for a split second before Korra pulled up her gun.

"Where are you keeping the kids?" Korra demanded in a harsh whisper.

The girl's thin lips slid open, but no words came out. She was skinny, with a nasty-looking bruise on one cheek and a swollen lip. When she went to reach for her pockets, Korra took a step back and shook the gun.

"_Don't_-!" Korra hissed. "Hands _up_."

The girl, seemingly confused, jerked her arms up, her tiny hands quivering in the air.

"Try yelling-" Korra threatened, "-and I'll make you wish you hadn't. Got it?"

The girl nodded shakily, her hands still up.

"Where are they?" Korra asked, trying to stay steady as she heard more commotion from the distance.

"Th...they...-" The girl gestured her head behind her, toward a dead end. "To...the right," she muttered.

Korra, glaring the scared girl in the eyes all the while, lurched forward, keeping the gun raised. With her free hand, she frisked the gangly, disheveled teen until she found what she was looking for: a weapon. Korra snatched it from the girl's back pocket – it was a switch blade with the letters 'TTT' etched into it. Korra popped the blade out. It looked pretty clean and unused. Korra suspected the girl had probably not even tried using it before.

"Yea, you won't need this anymore," Korra grumbled, placing the knife in her own pocket. "Get your ass _out _of here, and don't come back."

The girl sniffed, her brows twisting to convey her confusion. Korra yanked the girl by her arm and shoved her off with ease.

"_Go,_" Korra seethed, eager to see this snot-nosed idiot leave this place behind.

With her muscles sore, her teeth clenched, and her hair a mangled mess, Korra cautiously stepped toward the right-side door, shoulder to the cold, dusty wall of concrete. She peeked across the hall to the opposing doorway – it looked like a laundry room of some sort. Some machines were whirring, but through the open doorway, she didn't see or hear anyone inside. The room against her back – where she'd just been instructed to go – had a closed metal door.

The machines in the other room whirred. More muffled gunshots echoed from a couple of different directions. Korra closed her eyes and tuned out the noise. She needed a second to...just _breathe. _After she'd given herself that much, she readied her weapon, and grabbed the door's cold, dingy handle. She ripped it open and charged in, pistol drawn.

The room was a makeshift prison with a gross cell grafted into the room with iron bars that mismatched the rest of the building. The cell was full of tattered, worn down children that she knew well. And to the right side of the room, sitting on a folding chair in front of a laptop, was someone whose face – unlike Zolt – she had not forgotten.

It was 'Shady Shin,' the man who Korra had wrestled with in the park. The man whose gun had torn up Jinora's foot. That same gun – or perhaps simply one that looked like it – was sitting on the table beside the laptop, which was playing some sporting event.

Everyone in the room was gaping at Korra with surprise and alarm, and she could feel her breathing tighten. Shin was slowly reaching for his fire arm, and she flicked her weapon at him. With everything going on, firing her gun off would cause some unneeded noise. She still had no actual assurance that anyone beside her was on her side here right now. A gun fight in such a cramped space could be a problem, and the kids were right fucking there. She did _not _want to even chance it, as much as she wanted to blow the bastard away. Besides, they'd been through enough.

"_Jee-zus_," Shin huffed, raising his arms up in reaction to the gun barrel in his face. "Ya came all this way, huh?"

Korra swiftly approached him, grabbing his weapon from the table and chucking it into the corner of the room behind her. She steadied her arm right back at him when he made to get up from his chair. The jingling of keys rung from his pants.

Shin shook his head and laughed. "Didn't think these runts were _that _important to ya..."

"They _are_," Korra stiffly stated.

"Korra...?" Ikki peeped. Her voice was hoarse. She had her face up against the barred door. Meelo was sitting against the wall, and Jinora, her foot still bandaged, was sitting in a disgusting mattress on the floor.

"Sit tight, guys," Korra said to them, keeping her eyes on Shin. "I'm gonna get you outta here."

The kids started to cheer a little, and Korra ordered them to quiet down.

"N' _then _what?" Shin posed. "Didja just think you could sneak in here, wave a gun around, and get your way?"

"We're _leaving_," Korra snapped at him with a stern, stone-line tone. She observed the

"Ya just barged right in without a plan, didn'tcha?" Shin mocked smoothly. The guy was probably _used _to having guns pointed at him.

"Actually, I've got a pretty good idea of what's about to happen," Korra countered. "You're gonna give me the fucking keys, I'm gonna take these kids with me, n' you're gonna be the one sleeping in a cell tonight."

"We got dozens o' guys in here," Shin warned. "They ain't gonna let you just _walk _off with our cargo."

"You're undermanned today," Korra retorted. "The cops are on your asses so you've been filtering your guys out, don't even _fucking _try me today." Korra took in a deep breath, exhaling steam. "_Keys. _Now."

Shin slowly lowered his hands, and Korra yelped out, "_Just _one hand."

Shin did as he was told, using only one hand to fish his keys out.

"Throw 'em to me," Korra commanded.

They jangled and clattered to the filthy, stained floor, and Korra rapidly swiped them up. There were about twenty goddamn keys on the chain.

"Which one?" Korra barked.

"Why don't you figure it-?"  
Shin was cut off as the keys were chucked at the laptop, cracking the screen and toppling it over.

"_Which one?_" Korra demanded.

Shin hesitantly grabbed the keys off the table from where they'd landed against his damaged computer.

"Gettin' a little antsy, are we?" Shin taunted.

"I don't wanna fire this thing," Korra stated. "But I will have _no _problem blowing off your leg if I have to. Open the door. Kids, stay _back_."

Ikki and Meelo retreated to the far end of the cramped cell, sitting on the bed alongside their wounded sister.

Shin begrudgingly rifled through the keys until picking one, then slowly approached the cage's door.

"Open it and back the fuck off," said Korra. "Take one step inside and I'll shoot."

"Heh. This is cute," Shin said, unlocking the door. "I didn't take you for the 'gunpoint' type."

"Shut up," barked Korra flatly.

The door clicked, and Shin opened it, waving her in.

"They're all yours," he taunted.

"Gimme the fucking _keys_," Korra snapped, uninterested in playing games.

"Easy, _easy_," Shin said, gesturing his palms at her. He started to walk into the cell. "You really oughtta-"  
-_Bang!_-

Korra didn't hesitate to pop a round into the man's leg, just like she'd said. The kids shrieked, and Shin toppled over himself, his leg bleeding out across the floor.

"_Fffff-!_" he seethed in agony. "You...-!"

"I fucking _warned you_!" Korra bellowed, kicking him in the gut and pushing him aside, away from the door. She yanked the key ring from the lock and kicked Shin again. He was growling in pain, and she couldn't help but take in the delightful sight.

"You _shot _him..." Meelo whispered, eyes wide.

"I...I, erh, I...-" Korra was speechless, evidently. _I didn't kill him _were the words ringing through her head.

"Let's _go_," Ikki winced, staring in horror at the blood slowly pooling around Shin's leg.

"He...He's still _alive_," Korra shakily clarified, suddenly aware of what her gut reaction had just exposed the kids to. Shin groaned angrily at her, trying to reach at her ankle. She had to get a grip. Shin _deserved _this shit. She had to protect the kids. She had to protect _herself. _Violence couldn't always be avoided. As Shin struggled to shake her balance, she stepped on his hand. "Uh, see?" she panted out. "He's fine. Now _c'mon_. We're leaving."

The kids didn't budge, gaping at Korra's ragged form and the bloody-legged ruffian at her feet. She turned her gun's safety on, then approached the children. She set the pistol on the ground and wrapped the trio in a hug, shedding out a sob that had been lingering inside her for some time.

"I'm sorry, guys," she choked out. "I didn't-..._Agh, _shit, we've gotta...-" She sniffed, then sighed out a trembling breath.

"You came for us," Jinora stated plainly. "We knew you would."

"I did, and we're...-" Korra let them go, briskly wiping tears from her eyes and she picked her weapon back up. "I'm taking you outta here, and we're going home."

"They'll...-" Shin coughed, crawling out of the cell. He was probably going for his gun. He didn't finish his sentence, instead whimpering out through his teeth.

Korra grabbed Jinora, lifting the messy, injured teen over her shoulders.

"Hold on," Korra advised. Jinora wrapped her tiny arms around Korra's chest, gripping at the woman's shoulders. "Yup, yup, like that. Ikki, Meelo, do _exactly _as I say, got it?"

The two siblings nodded and hummed their recognition.

"OK." Korra took another second to recuperate, then hauled Jinora out of the cell. "Let's go."

She passed by Shin, stomping his wounded leg down. As he howled out, she commanded the kids to sneak by, and they did so without incident. Shin tried to claw at Korra's ankles and throw her off balance, but she gave his injury another good kick and he yelped out.

Korra was too concerned with getting the hell out of this place that she left Shin – and his fire arm – in that prison room, pushing the door closed behind them with her boot.

"Stay behind me," Korra advised the children, making her way for the stairwell she'd snuck by previously. There was still some commotion going on outside, from the sound of it. "Stay quiet," she added.

"Prison break!" Meelo whispered out, pumping his fists. Ikki smacked him on the back, and Korra shushed both of them when she heard quick footsteps approaching from down the dimly lit hall.

"Behind me," she hissed at them. "On the wall."

They obeyed her command, and the lot of them pressed themselves up on the dirty corridor wall as Korra drew her gun. The steps pounded ever closer for a few seconds, and she could hear the kids whimper with worry. She chewed at her lip and turned the safety off. Jinora's arms squeezed against her collar bones. Jinora's breathing was shallow against Korra's back, and Korra felt her own breaths and heartbeat quicken in sync.

The clomping footsteps were isolated – it was only one person.

Korra was thankful that the person who rounded the corner was June. The woman froze in place, yelping out a "_Fuck!_" before sighing, and rolling her head back.

"I see you found 'em," June grumbled.

Korra noticed the woman was gripping one arm with the other, and it seemed that some blood was dripping down her arm.

"They got ya," Korra noted. "You gonna make it?"

"_Ha, _this ain't nothin'," June laughed weakly. Her voice sounded more dreary than usual.

"Well, let's get outta here..." Korra decided. She led everyone to the stairs. "Did the cops show up?"

June nodded and sighed.

"Yep. They got Zolt in custody, there's...-" June waved her hand in a circle as they entered the stairwell. "I dunno, shit's fucked outside, it's-..._Ech. _We gotta go out this way."

They were clambering up the stairs now, their voices and steps vibrating all around them.

"Why? How do we know it's safe?" Korra asked.

"It's the north exit," June explained, breathing heavily as she squeezed at her bleeding arm. She specified through clenched jaws, "Noatak's got the north exit..."

"Wh...-?" Korra was curious as to who the hell _that _was, and why June sounded so sure about them. But this wasn't the time for questions.

Korra was relieved that it was only a single flight of stairs that needed to be climbed. Jinora wasn't heavy, but toting the girl around on Korra's sore shoulders after so much energy had already been drained in the past few minutes of intensity was taking its toll.

After they reached the top of the stairwell, Korra was sweating like a hog.

"Take a minute," June advised, helping Korra set Jinora safely down against the nearest wall. "I'll scout ahead. You little runts stick with Korra."

"_Buh...-!" _Korra panted out her protestation, but her breathing was ragged and heavy itself. "You find a way out, you _take _it," Korra commanded.

"Don't gotta tell _me _twice," June obliged with a sadistic smirk through her pain as she hobbled off.

Korra's gun-toting arm was shaking, and she grabbed its bicep with the opposing palm to try and quell it quivering. June, still leaking droplets of blood, shambled ahead through the main warehouse room. The place was packed with cars and mechanical supplies alongside a large shipping crate. Korra figured it was one of a number of guises to get money flowing around these people in a seemingly legal manner on the surface. After taking a minute or so to catch her breath, Korra could hear June shouting at them from up ahead.

The stairwell door up here was wide open, but the one downstairs rattled from being flung around. As June barked at Korra from up ahead, footsteps were echoing from the stairwell below. Korra felt her intestines shrivel with fear.

"Someone's coming," Ikki whispered pleadingly.

"Jinora, we have to...-" Korra didn't need to finish, as the girl had already pressed herself up on one leg, supporting herself against the wall and ready to head off. As Korra let Jinora hang her arm on her left shoulder, she pointed her gun off toward the direction of June's voice, past "Ikki, take Meelo up ahead to the door."

"But-!"  
"_Go. Now._"

Ikki's eyes were welled up with tears, and she took hold of her little brother's wrist, yanking him along. The boy looked a bit shell-shocked by everything going on. As Korra followed their quick rabbit steps, she could feel Jinora's weight hanging against her.

"You got it," Korra grunted out, shifting Jinora up to keep the girl limping alongside her. "_You _got it. _Come _on..."

-_Bang!_-

Ikki and Meelo shrieked in surprise, and Korra watched them both duck behind a car up ahead to her right. June had growled out a "_Shit_" from ahead, leaving Korra confused as to why the woman was still _in _there. The gunshot had sounded off from behind them. It was followed by another, and Korra saw sparks fly from her left against a rusted up vehicle. She pulled Jinora in front of her and got both of them behind the car. Jinora was bawling, her teeth chattering as Korra set her down against their makeshift cover.

"I _know _you're still fuckin' in 'ere!"

It was Shin. How in the hell...?

Korra peeked through the car's backseat window to see an enraged Shin manically limping along. Fuckin' eh, the guy looked ready to go off the deep end, and he had that gun in his hand - the one Korra had carelessly left behind. She cursed her own snap decisions under her breath before ducking back under the car. Her mind whirled in anger at how much bullshit these poor kids would have to go through before they could go home. Shin's voice bellowed out, yanking her back to the moment.

"_Listen! _Korra! C'_mon, _you don't wanna do this shit, am I right? Dat exit's _locked, _you ain't gettin' out that way."

June heaved out a "Fuck you!" and Korra couldn't help but figure he was telling the truth: June should've found the way out and been gone at that point. Maybe she hadn't escaped yet because she _couldn't._

"Way _I _see it," Shin posed, "I got two options: blow your fuckin' brains out before I get caught, or keep you alive as my hostage 'til my buddies come for backup."

"Nobody's losing their brains," Korra yelled from her cover. "Nobody's being a hostage. _Nobody_ has to get hurt."

"My _fucking leg _ain't agreein' with you, lady!"

"I _warned _you!"

"Korra, you ain't gonna kill me, let's face facts."

"I will if I have to," Korra darkly protested, lowering her voice in an attempt to sound intimidating.

"You won't," Shin called back. "You ain't a _killer. _We've done this dance, we sang this song - you coulda killed me, n' you didn't. You _ain't. _A _killer._"

"You _are_," Korra snarled.

"Wha-? I ain't killed _nobody_ in my life." Shin was suspiciously leaning against a batch of tall barrels of oil. Fucking cliche waiting to happen, and Korra was none too pleased at the prospect of blowing a guy up today.

"You killed my _dog._" Hm. _Would _the barrels actually blow _up, _or just leak...-?

"And _that _was an accident." They'd probably just leak gas out.

"_Fff! _It'll be an _accident _when I aim higher than your _leg _next time, Bub." Besides, no point risking hurting the kids. And she sure as hell didn't want a murder on her conscious. Jane had already taught Korra the heavy weight such a thing could push down on a person.

"It was a _dog, _jesus." Shin sighed through his pain. He finally started making his way toward them again in slow, limping steps. That punctured leg probably hurt like a bitch. "Get over yourself. You still a kid, here?"

Korra threatened, "You keep comin' closer, and you're just helping my aim."

"You _are, _you're just a goddamn kid in that head. You're pretty _scared, _ain't ya? Got a goddamn gun in your hand, I can barely fuckin' walk, and you're _still _scared."

"I just want to get these people out of here," Korra groaned, her eyes fluttering with impatience as her head whirled, her adrenaline supply waning. "Nobody has to die."

June growled out from up ahead, "_Why _does everyone fucking _say that? _Korra, pop the asshole and help me out here!"

A gunshot went off as Shin fired toward June. Korra, her back up against the car, held her firearm tightly, fingers trembling. To her right, three children were quivering in varying states of turmoil.

"We're gonna be OK, guys," Korra whispered to them. "I'm, er...I'm gonna distract this guy, and Ikki - you take Meelo, you two run _that _way-" She gestured her gun off to the right, toward a row of parked cars. "-and stay low, you both just crawl under those cars, and you keep crawling, and you get to that door with my friend, OK?"

Meelo was gawking at Korra's rowdy appearance, slack-jawed, and Ikki nodded warily, her eyes squinting as another pair of tears popped out. Korra was not in the mindset to try offering comfort. She just needed to get these guys _out. _She pried one of her hands from her gun grip and reached over Jinora to Ikki, giving the trembling girl a pat on the head.

"You can do it," said Korra. "I've got your sister, but you've gotta take care of yourself and your brother, OK?"

"Uh-_huh_," Ikki sobbed out, rubbing at her eyes.

Korra moved her hand to Meelo's shoulder and gave it a quick rub.

"You follow her, got it?"

Meelo replied with a nod and a sniffle.

"Now _go, _right now," Korra insisted to them. They began scurrying off and were underneath the nearest car within seconds.

Korra pulled her arm back and scratched her dirtied nails across Jinora's disheveled head. Jinora looked entirely tuckered out from this entire ordeal.

"I've got you," Korra assured her. "It's OK."

"Ya don't need to be _dramatic _about it," Shin grumbled out. Korra could tell he was pretty close. The guy was pretty goddamned stubborn for having a leg that was torn up. But then, Korra probably would be the same if _she'd _been the one who'd gotten hurt.

The car they were pinned up against lurched a little, creaking a bit from Shin's weight on the hood. Korra's breathing sharpened and her heart was ready to bound from her chest. Her hands shook, struggling to ready her gun. At close range, she'd probably blow the idiot away. But he was right about her: she wasn't a killer, and she didn't _want _to be a killer. She fished through her pockets and pulled out that switchblade she'd procured earlier. Fuckin' eh.

A gun in one hand was stirring thoughts of Naga's death, of Jinora's injury, of Korra's expulsion from academy.

A knife in her other hand was bringing to mind memories of nearly stabbing the Combustion Man, of Kya's blood pooling in a parking lot from a stab wound.

This was where this shit had brought Korra. This was where her decisions to use force had led her to. Violence begetting more violence.

But force was _needed _some times. It was required to protect the people Korra cared about in the face of idiots like Shin.

In that moment, with Shin hovering over her shoulder and the kids to her side, Korra knew that _something _bad would happen, one way or the other. _Some _show of force was going to occur. She set the gun down, switching her blade out.

"_Shoot him_!" June roared.

-_Bang! Bang!_-

Shin had fired again off at June. In this moment of distraction, Korra rounded the car, jammed the switchblade into Shin's foot, and pushed herself up. As he yowled in pain and alarm, Shin pointed his gun down at her. Korra, having expected this, was ready with her sturdy hand, grabbing his wrist and wresting the gun upward. He attempted to squeeze the trigger, but Korra's last burst of adrenaline overrode his weakened body. She practically crushed his fingers between her own until she could pry the weapon from him.

Shin's gun clattered to the ground and Korra pushed him aside. He crumpled up in a wailing heap on the floor. The guy had a bullet wound and now a knife wound to match it, but he was still alive.

Korra immediately grabbed Shin's gun, unloaded the clip, and chucked it as far as she could. As it clattered in the distance, she removed the single bullet from its chamber and stuck it in her pocket.

As Shin cursed at Korra in barely coherent rage from the reddening cement, Korra whirled back around to Jinora.

"We're leaving," Korra firmly stated. She grabbed her gun without hesitation and pulled Jinora up on her shoulders. The pale-faced girl loosely clung to Korra as they weaved around the warehouse, noise bouncing through walls in every direction.

Ikki and Meelo were hunched over in front of the thick wooden double door entrance, which was tied up with chains and a pad lock.

"Fuckin' locked," Korra growled under her breath. That just figured. Korra unslung Jinora

"What're we going to do?" Jinora pleaded, her voice soft and ragged.

"Shoot it open," June snapped impatiently.

"Why haven't _you_?" Korra seethed, nodding her hand at the gun hanging from June's wounded arm.

"I'm _empty_," June barked back. "This is for _show_, just...-!" She flinched her head toward the door as she huffed through clenched teeth.

"Not gonna finish me off?!" Shin was hoarsely calling out from the floor across the room. "We'll fucking..._come _for you..."

"How is not _dead_?" June sighed. "Didn't you just-?"  
"Because he doesn't need to be," Korra stated firmly.

Korra flexed her fingers across the gun in her hands as she stood before the door.

She could turn around, finish the job she'd done on Shin, and be done with that fucker forever. He'd killed her dog, he'd put a bullet in Jinora, he'd stalked her, he'd threatened her...She could remove that threat quite permanently. Quite easily, too. The guy was unarmed, injured as fuck, she could just-...Pow. Gone. She could do what Jane stopped her from doing with the Combustion Man: finish what she started.

But why had Korra come here? What was she doing? What _was _she here to finish?

Korra looked down at the trembling children, their faces wriggling with discomfort and fear.

Korra was here to finish what she'd started: saving those kids from this bullshit that she'd gotten them into. That was exactly what she was going to do, and nothing more. Nothing unnecessary, nothing gratuitous. Nothing for _her_, only what would keep these kids safe and moving and _out _of this shit as soon as possible.

"Stay back," Korra commanded, positioning herself toward the door at an angle. "Everyone, get behind me."

June swiftly obeyed, stumbling around toward the kids.

Shin's garbled yelling was echoing across the warehouse, and footsteps were swarming up from the stairwell. It could be police - it could be more Triple Threats.

Korra rocked back and forth on her toes for a second. She flicked her sweaty bangs out of her eyes, scratched her nails across her scalp, and grit her teeth. She gripped the gun in both hands and loaded the chamber. If she could remember the moments leading to that gun accident from years back, that would've been the second she relived them. But she couldn't. She could barely remember the actual incident. Instead, her mind just wandered to seeing Jinora's bloodied leg for the first time. To a decapitated dog head being dropped into her garbage can. To a little girl in a penguin costume bawling over her mother bleeding out.

Korra's heart was acting erratic, her stomach crawling. She loosened her hold on her gun and closed her eyes.

Korra breathed. She just breathed, and focused on nothing _but _breathing.

_In._

_Out._

She opened her eyes, steadied her hand, aimed for the lock, and...

-_Bang!_ _Bang! Bang!-_

The locks broke, the double doors flung open.

Air. Glorious, cool, fresh air. It came rushing in, blowing past Korra's face, caressing her cheeks as if to say, '_It's OK._'

"We're good," June shouted, hurrying the kids out through the door as voices yelled out at them from behind.

Korra dropped the smoking gun to the floor, letting it rattle across the cement.

She picked up Jinora in both hands and carried the girl outside into the dark night. They ran for a minute, making their way through the cold alleyway and toward the nearest street. Cars were passing to and fro, but a pair of police vehicles were parked nearby. An ambulance wailed somewhere nearby, and a team of uniforms marched past them as they caught their breath. The crackle of a police radio could be heard from one of the vehicles nearby.

As Korra placed Jinora down on the sidewalk, the girl gave her an exhausted hug, and her younger siblings joined in.

Korra cried with relief, muttering out hasty apologies. She released them, but they lingered at her sides.

The four of them exchanged quiet words for a minute or so, expressing private words in spite of the trauma they'd all just been through.

"You were a little fucking _late_," June snapped. Korra, struggling to calm herself down, was ready to blow up in defense. But she realized that June was talking to someone else.

"Plans changed," noted a raspy voice that Korra recognized. "We had to adapt."

"Yea, well...-" June shook her head and groaned in pain.

"There's a paramedic around the corner," noted the man - it was Noah, that priest from-...Wait.

"Not a bad idea," June sighed, grunting as she pushed herself forward. "Thanks for coming through, Noatak."

Noah - or...Noatak? Korra was baffled, but somehow she wasn't too surprised.

The man smiled and nodded to himself.

"It's been some time since anyone's called me by my real name," he mused.

"It's been some time since _I've _gotten involved in this kinda shit," June pointed out irritably. "Oh, and _hey_!" June barked at Korra. "Nice work, kiddo. Not bad. You got what you came here for. Try not to _lose _'em again, huh?"

Korra laughed weakly. She felt like shit, barely able to manage a smile as her eyelids were sinking.

"I won't," Korra assured before clearing her throat. She rubbed her hands briskly across the skinny child shoulders they were wrapped over before yawning.

"I'll put in a good word with Lin for ya," June assured. "Maybe she'll finally get off your ass."

"_Ha_..." Korra shook her head, her eyes sliding closed with exhaustion. "We'll see..."

June disappeared around the street corner, leaving Noatak to speak Korra.

"I warned you."

"I know," Korra agreed, remembering their previous encounters. "I fucked up."

Noatak mumbled, "Perhaps _I'm _the one who made a mistake..."

"Huh...?"

"It...doesn't matter," Noatak shrugged off his thoughts. "You've all made it out safe. That's what you came here to accomplish."

Korra's mind lingered at last to a thought that she'd been neglecting in the face of the day's stresses.

"Not..._everything, _exactly," she murmured to herself.

"You've helped us get this group back in a defensive position," Noatak explained. "That means the pressure will be off that precocious town you choose to linger in."

"But about about the others that they've captured?"

"I'm sure the authorities will get the information they need from the people detained today," Noatak predicted with a thoughtful nod, gazing off down the alleyway that led to the warehouse. "For now, I think it would be best if you left these matters to rest and stayed out of these affairs."

"That's...pretty much the plan," Korra sighed out, letting her head hang.

"Then I suppose that's that," said Noatak stiffly, tucking up the collar on his coat as he paced off, following where the other supposed authorities had run off to.

Korra breathed for a moment, appreciating the relative quiet. There was still noise - boat horns from a nearby bay, cars passing by, pedestrian chatter in the distance...

"You guys OK?" Korra asked quietly. The children had been uncharacteristically silent - not that they could be blamed.

"I want to go home," Ikki whispered pleadingly.

"I know," Korra said. "Me, too."

"I want these things to stop happening," Jinora mumbled, her eyes closed as she rested her head back against Korra's chest.

Korra's eyes quivered, already wet from recent tears. Her mouth trembled in a downward curve, beyond her control, and she bit at her lip, trying to save face. She rubbed Ikki's back with one hand, Meelo's with the other, and dipped her chin against Jinora's head.

"They'll stop. This is...all over. I promise. I'm not going to let anything like this happen to you guys anymore."

The four sat in a clump on the evening sidewalk, keeping each other warm as the cold city air brushed past them. A police light flickered red and blue over them, and the sloshing sea of urban sounds flowed all around.

Korra closed her eyes and let the bits of warmth from smaller bodies soothe her tired, aching muscles.

Korra breathed.

_In._

_Out._


	124. Beginnings

**A/N: This chapter is **_different from most chapters. _**It is a special chapter to celebrate New Year's. It is technically a flashback sequence, but also a slice of original fiction. So if you're a regular SRU reader, you'll notice it's...different. This chapter is a means of getting the message out to my readers that in 2014, this new year, I will be working to revise this story into an original series - which it basically already functions as - and these flashback scenes of sorts are the first I have written specifically for this purpose. Many things will stay the same, but many things will change (ex. the crime drama subplot will be toned down and scaled back quite a bit).**

**Keep in mind that none of this is final! This is all still technically in planning/concept.**

* * *

_What We Learned at SRU_  
_Beginnings_

* * *

- August -

"A fresh start," she said, spreading her arms up with enthusiasm as they approached the campus center's entrance. They walked up the shallow set of stone steps leading to the campus center's entrance. "This year's going to be _so _much better than the last," she insisted with an optimistic glint in her sapphire eyes. She was wearing her colored contact lenses today - the first time in a long while.

Her elder brother, walking beside her, scratched lazily at the stubble on his neck as he opened one of the glass double doors, allowing his sibling to enter. He sighed in reply to her hopeful grin, watching her brightened eyes survey the bustling lounge area that sprawled before them.

"I dunno," he mumbled back tiredly. "My Sophomore year wasn't really any better than my Freshman one." He yawned as they walked across the hard panel flooring, heading toward the carpeted open lounge of couches and coffee tables strewn about.

"I've got a good feeling, though," the sister insisted. "This year, I'm really going to try to be a new person. Just you watch. C'mon, let's go get lunch."

"Katrina..." The brother sighed again. "Try not to get ahead of yourself, jeez. We've barely been back on campus for a week, and you're already...-" He trailed off when he realized that she was roaming off, likely not even listening to him. He followed, letting her lead him toward a back corner of the building. His mind recanted to itself, '_Kat, what am I supposed to do with you?_'

They weaved around a trio of hackie-sackers, strode past a table of laptop users - one was watching some kind of music video, giggling at their computer screen - and exited the main area of the center, heading into a compact echo chamber of a stairwell.

"I'm in the mood for chicken," said Kat, her words and her gliding footsteps bouncing through the well. "What about you, Siku?" She reached the bulky metal door at the base of the stairs and clicked in its bar handle, pushing through. "Probably a cheeseburger, right?"

"Probably," Siku muttered back with a shrug, observing her bouncy mannerism as she held the door open for him. He mumbled a "Thanks" as he passed through.

The basement of the campus center was dimly lit, with thick, ornate beams holding up the floor above. The majority of the basement was sectioned off by wooden walls with windows built into them, securing a campus-owned restaurant within its door-less square. A collection of tables littered the place, with red-cushioned booths lining the inside edges of the thin wall dividers. The place was packed with college students, and not a single table looked empty that afternoon. A wide-screen TV hung in the far corner of the restaurant area, and was currently playing a baseball game. The line leading up to the main counter of the restaurant was about ten students long. The place was quite rowdy, with periodic swells of noise coming from the baseball audience.

It _was _the lunch hour on a Friday, after all. This activity was to be expected.

The two siblings took their spots in line.

"Yo," called out a thickly built young man from a nearby table, serving up a wave. Siku took note of the familiar voice and waved back, his face neutral. He refocused his attention on his sister, who was impatiently fussing with her hair. It was a frizzy-edged mess that today, though it looked like she'd spent time brushing it. She was wearing a white tank-top and a green miniskirt, and now that Siku was paying attention, the skirt seemed shorter than the type of clothes she'd normally wear.

"What's with the getup?" Siku wondered.

"Mm?" His sister let her hands fall from her mane and glance at him with a raised brow. Her lips propped with a bit of confusion, and he noticed that said lips were glossy - which was an oddity for her.

He asked, "You got a date I don't know about?"

Her eyes widened a little as she spat, "_Wh-? _No. What're you...-?" Her nostrils flared a little - Siku's cue that she was getting flustered.

"You just seem...dressed different," Siku noted, trying to be casual with his prodding.

The line moved forward.

"I-I know, I'm...-" Kat fidgeted her hands with her tank-top, pushing its hemline squarely below her skirt's waistline.

"Sis." Siku sighed. "You're all...happy-go-lucky today, and I get this 'fresh start' thing, but...-" He was gesturing his hands at his sister, trying to find the right words to encourage her, but his thought was cut off.

"Dude!"

The guy who'd waved at Siku earlier was standing right behind them in line at this point, and slapped Siku's back hard with his sweaty palm.

"Hey," Siku replied.

Siku's friend, whom Kat recognized in face only vaguely, said to him, "Some of the guys from Third are gonna do some Ultimate Frisbee in a few. Wanna eat with us, catch up? I only just got my food - been a while since we hung out."

"Yea, been a whole summer, eh?" Siku scratched at his chunky, stubbly chin as he cast a glance to his sister. Her brows arced with some sympathy as she could see his desire for social interaction, and she gave him a slight nod.

"You should," said the sister.

"Uh," Siku turned back to his acquaintance. "Yea, I'm in."

"Cool. We'll be over there." The young man pounded Siku's thick shoulder a second time before roaming back to his table.

The line moved up another couple of spots in the moment that followed.

"Yea, so...-" Siku cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"No, no, you're fine," Kat assured primly.

"You sure?" Siku checked with a slight wincing look of doubt.

"I'll be OK," Kat insisted. She clamped her soft hand against his arm and squeezed, giving her sibling a presentable smile of confidence. The glossy lips were kind of weirding him out still, though. As was the thick eyeliner he noticed in that moment.

"All right, all right," Siku said in acceptance, rolling his eyes with a smirk. "I just don't want you feeling like...-"

"Alone?"

"Er, well, yea. I mean, you're still sore over what happened with those guys from...-"

"I'm over it," Kat eased, though her eyes flickered as she looked elsewhere, the line progressing again. "Like I said, this is a new school year. I want to make _new_ friends."

"So why don't you come hang out with me and...-?" Siku bobbed his head off to where his acquaintance had come from.

"You and...-?" Kat narrowed her eyelids and raised her brow, crossing her arms and she awaited a name.

"_Aaaand_ those guys," Siku fumbled out sheepishly. "I barely know 'em," he defended himself hastily. "Forgot his name. He lives on the floor above me."

"Sounds like you could still stand to make some friends, yourself."

"Yea," Siku sighed with hesitation. "But, _ya _know. I'm not all about the big..._group _stuff. I'm a social butterfly. And crap."

They took a couple of steps forward as the pair of students ahead of them ordered at the counter.

"Right," Kat came back with dry sarcasm. "You just don't like being stuck with the same people for more than a day."

"_Hey, _now...I'm still stuck with _you_."

Kat scoffed, playing off as being insulted with a dropped jaw.

"I _meant_-" Siku spat, teeth clenched with immediate regret. "I still hang out with you!"

"I'm your little sister," she noted, retracting her appalled look and giving him a warm smile. She rubbed his back a couple of times. "We're stuck with _each other_."

"True story."

They waited in calm silence amidst the bustle of the restaurant for a moment. Kat looked upward to the overhanging signage. A logo portraying two cartoony bears greeted them cheerfully - one a grizzly and one a panda. The restaurant's name was printed in big, enthusiastic lettering: _Bosco & Sato's. _Commonly referred to by students as 'Bee n' Ess' (or 'Bee-Ess' in the derogatory), Bosco & Sato's Grill and Snack Shop was a commonly frequented college-owned restaurant that served burgers, fries, wraps, milkshakes, pizza...the typical college-student foods. Even students who had no cash could dip into their 'transfer meal' count to swap a cafeteria meal for the freshly fried dishes B&S provided. Being an open portion of the campus center basement, the restaurant's quarters served double duty as a regular hangout spot for the student body, even when the shop was closed.

Their turn finally came, and they both went up to the laminate countertop, its green-marble print a familiar and comforting sight to Kat's eyes.

The woman working the counter was dressed in the black and white uniform, her slick raven hair tied back in a bun behind a white cap that was adorned with the text '_B & S.' _Her apron had the dual-bear logo printed on it. Her expression, however, was the antithesis to the logo's bright demeanor. Bags hung from her tired, hazel eyes. Her pale skin wrinkled a smidgen at the edges of her cheeks and eyes, and a plain nose ring latched around her right nostril. Siku found her attractive enough. Ample bosom size probably helped, but it was the middle-aged lady's dry sass that truly intrigued him.

"_You_," she greeted him with snarky disdain.

"Me," he replied calmly, letting his sister look at the laminated menu taped to the counter.

"Didn't see your name on the hire list," the woman noted. "You ditchin' me? I finally scare ya off?"

"Uh, nah, I just need a semester away from the food business," Siku tried to pacify her. "I've got a heavy class-load. Maybe in the spring."

"You want in on the sub list?" the woman wondered.

"_Eh_," Siku passively declined.

"Yea, yea," his prior boss sighed. "I'll harass you about it later. But today's busy. So. C'mon, ya Canucks..." She snapped her fingers at them, her nails painted black.

Siku gave her his student ID card for her to swipe - ticking off one of his transfer meals. She gave it back to him, then pulled her pen out from behind her ear to scribble down their order.

"Whatcha want?" she asked, her voice as dry and dead as peeled off tree bark.

"Double bacon cheeseburger," Siku requested. "Regular fries. Not the curlies."

"Gotcha. Pickle with that?"

"Uh, _hell _yea."

Siku watched her jot down his order, her handwriting surprisingly neat and eloquent despite her appearance and attitude. She added his name at the end:  
_- Siku_

"A To-Go box for that, too, actually," Siku added. The clerk wrote in the letters '_TG_' and circled them beside him name.

"What about you, girlie?" The woman glared at Siku's sister, who was still perusing the menu.

Kay didn't reply, seemingly oblivious, and Siku bumped her arm.

"S-sorry," Kat muttered out, pushing hair behind her hair. "Um, can I get..._the_...-" She traced her finger across the text, having lost track. "-...chicken patty melt? Provolone. Please."

"Curly Q's, pickle?"

"Both, please."

"Right." The clerk jotted it down on her pad. "Sorry, kid, what's yer name, again?"

"Katrina," replied the sister, handing over her own ID card to be swiped.

After their transaction was concluded, the woman grabbed a pair of tall paper cups and handed them to the two. The cups had the two bears printed on either side in a simplistic design, running round the cup as if chasing one another in a never-ending circle.

"'Kay," said the clerk with some dull impatience. "It'll be, like, twenty minutes." She shooed at them. "Scram."

Siku chuckled as he and his sister approached the nearby soda fountain.

"She seems in a good mood," Katrina noted facetiously, filling her cup halfway with fruit punch.

"_Oh, _yea," Siku agreed, adding ice into his own.

"Um, so...-" Katrina moved her cup over and added Dr. Pepper, blending it with the punch. "You're going to go...hang out with those guys now?"

"Yea, I mean...if you don't mind," Siku replied, dumping in Mountain Dew.

"No, no, it's fine. Really." Kat added a bit of ice, and it splashed out from the top of her cup, leaving her hand sprinkled with sticky soda droplets.

She sighed in spite of her forgetfulness - why did she always add ice _last_? She hastily reached for the nearby napkin dispenser that sat next to the condiment section and dried her hands. As she finished, she realized her brother was sipping at his drink from a straw, giving her a dubious look.

"Seriously," Kat pressed. "Go have fun."

"_Ah_," Siku breathed out after his long sip. "Well, I'll catch you later, Sis. We'll try dinner, instead?"

"Mm-hm." Kat nodded and allowed him to leave, diving into the throng of students behind her. She lingered at the soda fountain for a moment.

That familiar sinking, stinging feeling was prying at the edges of her lips, quivering them up and down as she fought back the doubt. She had endured the past day and a half of classes, feeling isolated and alone amongst the throngs of classmates, clinging onto the prospect of her busy brother finally making time for her, only to have it swiped right out from her grasp at the last second. But she had to let him go. She couldn't bear the thought of dragging him down, as she knew she had the school year prior. He deserved to be a 'social butterfly' and go do his own thing. He didn't need her clawing and clinging at him like a starved cat desperate for affection.

Katrina's attention was jarred as another student shuffled up, making a clacking sound as she banged a plastic cane left and right along the polished tile flooring. She was a chunky, curvy girl with pale skin and a round face. She was dressed in a green, spread collar dress shirt, unbuttoned to expose a black tee beneath - the tee had a smattering of golden music notes printed on it. A green bandana was tied over a mess of matted, greasy black hair, some of which was lazily spilling over the girl's face. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of black shades.

Kat quickly put one and one together and realized that this girl was blind. _Poor thing_, Kat thought to herself. She set her cup aside, noting the blind girl's own empty container.

"Uh, h-here, lemme-" Katrina made to assist the girl, but her gentle approach was literally pushed aside as the pudgy blind girl bumped into her. "_Sorry!_" Kat spit in a nervous panic.

"Watch where you're _going_," growled the girl. Her voice sounded a lot more childish than her stocky form and unpleasant demeanor would presume.

"I-I didn't mean...-!" Kat began, taking quick steps backward as the girl unflinchingly assumed commanding position of the soda machine. "Did you...-? Do you need any help with...-?"

"I'm _fine_."

Kat folded her fingers together and let her chained hands dangle in front of her waist, curiously watching the disabled girl tuck her cane's strap around her elbow. The blind stranger then placed her empty cup on the tray below the fountains, and with the other hand, she groped cautiously at the labeled buttons.

"_Mmph_," she growled through her nose, continuing to fuss around.

Kat timidly took a step forth, raising up her hand as if to catch the stranger's attention - which was, she realized, useless, and went unnoticed.

"Umm...-" Katrina was shocked into silence as the girl in front of her slapped her palm into the Pepsi drink display on the machine's front. This caught the attention of some students sitting at the nearby tables, who stared, perplexed.

The blind girl grumbled out her explanation - Kat couldn't tell if it was for her, or...-

"I fucking _told _them three _days _ago to get goddamn braille on this thing." With a grunt, she slapped the machine again, drawing more attention to herself.

"_'Ey!_" barked the grouchy woman who at the counter. "What's the issue? _Oh_..." The lady's face soured as she leaned over, noting the student in question. "Listen, I'm still waitin' on your stickers, kid, calm the hell down."

"Why aren't they _here _yet?" the blind one growled out, her head tilted to better hear the restaurant manager. "The fuck's taking so long? They should _already _be here..."

"Don't look at _me_," the woman balked. "I alre-"  
"I_ can't _look at you," snapped the girl, tearing off her shades. "Blind? _Hello? _Why d'ya think I need the braille here? _Urgh_."

The woman behind the counter glared and sighed.

"I _already _put the order in," the manager explained, her expression and tone conveying her impatience. "Keep your pants on. It'll get added soon enough. What did you want to drink?"

"Piss off," the blind girl hissed back, clipping her shades to the collar of her tee.

The manager rolled her eyes, then turned back to the confused student at the counter. With a lowered voice, she spoke to them. "Right. Now, _what _didja want?"

The temporarily quieted restaurant hesitantly picked back up its commotion. Katrina was baffled. For being blind, this student seemed like she she was...kind of a pushy jerk.

"Umm...-?" Kat carefully made to approach her again. "I-if you want, I could-"  
"Leave me _alone_, already."

Yeeaaa. Definitely a pushy jerk. Kind of creepy, in a way, too. She'd pushed her face in Kat's direction, her eyes almost otherworldly in their pasty glassy whites. Her entire face exposed, Kat could now tell that the girl was clearly of some kind of Asian ethnicity. Kat decided that the grump was actually kind of pretty - or, she _would _be, if she wasn't intentionally scowling with a mess of dirty hair slopped over her face.

Katrina was stuck in place, however. Something kept her grounded where she stood, watching this fussy, bossy blind girl finagle with the soda machine. She seemed to stick her cup in a haphazard spot and reached for the button above.

"Diet Pepsi," Katrina blurted out, walking up a couple more steps to the stranger's side.

The blind one paused for a moment, and Kat could see that the girl's round, smooth face was currently wrinkled in a grumpy, unpleasant way.

"Th-that's Diet Pepsi," Katara explained in a mutter. "Um, the ice is to the left, and the, uh, the root beer's next on the right..."

The blind girl's head slid sideways, as if puzzled and amused at the same time. She let her hand fall from the Diet Pepsi button.

"Which...one's the Good Doctor?" the girl asked grumpily.

"The, um...the what?" Kat squeaked, fidgeting nervously with a clump of her hair.

The stranger sighed.

"The Dr. Pepper," she groaned under her breath.

"_Oh,_" Kat recollected herself, scrambling to move the girl's cup to the appropriate position. "That's...right-"  
"I can _handle it,_" snarled the girl. "Just tell me where it _is_. Jesus. I'm blind, not a fucking _cripple._"

At this point, there were two other students lingering nearby, ready cups in hand. This made Katrina self-conscious, and she fiddled with her glasses.

"Sh-sure, it's...-" Katrina backed off a step, assisting the girl with her words. "-...one more to the right. The-...Yea. Little bit-...Mm-hm, right there."

The fizzing sound of soda being poured was oddly comforting in that socially awkward moment. Katrina readied a pair of straws and plastic covers her cup and this girl's. Her expression winced as the cup was nearly full, afraid the blind girl would unknowingly overflow it, but she didn't, allowing Kat a silent breath of relief.

As the other two students shuffled to the left side of the machine to get their own beverages, Kat presented out the cup cover and straw, only to feel like an idiot since the girl couldn't see her doing it.

"Move," the blind girl grumbled at Kat, whom she sensed standing between her and the straws.

"I, um, I already got-"  
"I didn't _ask _for your charity, lady."

Kat was rendered silenced, and she caught the offended glance of one of the students filling his drink behind this cranky girl.

"N-no, I _know_," Katrina tried to assuage her, taking steps back to accommodate the space the blind girl was forcing as she moved over. "I'm just...trying to be nice," Kat mumbled, her discouragement leaking out. For trying to have a fresh start, this week was not letting up for Katrina, constantly tossing reminders of her apparent incompetence right in her face.

"Good for _you_," sassed the blind girl, her quiet words barely audible against the backdrop of restaurant bustle. The two students at the machine to their left disappeared, and another kid came in to take their place.

As the blind girl leaned over the counter to try and find a straw and cap for her cup, Kat suddenly realized that her drink was still sitting idle on the countertop, dangerously close to this girl's arm. As the blind girl's elbow bent, looking to topple Kat's drink over, Katrina dropped the unused straw and cap down and lunged forth a step.

"_Oh, _nnn-!" was what came out of Kat's mouth as she grabbed her beverage with one hand and the stranger's arm with the other.

"Don't _touch_ me," snarled the girl, shaking Kat off. "The _fuck _is-?"  
"Y-you were going to...to spill...-!"  
"Whatever. Just...-"

The blind girl snapped a top on her cup and poked a straw at it until its found its slot. She slung her cane free and began to waddle back in the direction she'd come from.

Kat stood in this moment, feeling defeated and disheartened. But something about this strange young woman intrigued her. Made her curious. Why was she so mean? Was she actually hurting inside? What if she was feeling just as lonely and frustrated as Katrina was?

Kat followed the girl, and before they entered the crowded pond of tables, Katrina called out to the girl's back.

"Can I sit with you?" Katrina asked, managing to not stutter or stammer in her question.

The girl paused, sucking soda with her straw.

"Excuse me?" she asked Kat with a dead tone.

"Are you...-? Do you want some company?"

"_Tsh. _Not _really, _but you obviously do, so...whatever. Fine."

Katrina's chest swelled with some scrap of relief. That had worked? She was...OK with that? Oh, awesome. Neat. Oh, man. Maybe she could make a new friend today.

By the time they'd sat down, however, that swell had crashed, as Katrina immediately remembered how unpleasant this girl seemed to be. She watched the blind girl slam her curvy, stout mass into her booth, and Kat timidly slid into the opposing one. The table between them housed a backpack and a plate partially covered in curly fries. No condiments, no indication of a sandwich, or a pickle...just fries.

The mean-spirited girl tilted her head back, rolling it around her neck. She then reached out, touched the table, and found her way to her plate. She found a fry and plucked it up, sticking it in her mouth. As she chewed, she grabbed her shades, which had been dangling off her shirt collar, and stuck them back on her face. During this time, Katrina simply gawked at her, bewildered.

The girl in green and black grabbed two more fries and stuck them in her mouth. Chewing them in one cheek, she spoke, slouched back in the booth.

"Are you new here?"

Katrina sighed in spite of herself. Did she really seem that awkward, to be mistaken for a freshman?

"I-...No, this is...actually my second year."

"..._Huh._" The girl swallowed, then grasped her cup, carefully lifting it. Her lips puckered at the air until finding the straw. As she slurped her soda, Katrina tried to continue conversation.

"S-so, what about you?"

"This is my first week. They told me this school was fucking blind-friendly, but at this rate, I'm surprised the goddamned elevators even have braille. Christ..."

Katrina felt her insides squirm at the girl's language.

"Oh, I...um...I'm sorry about that. It's, you know, a smaller school, so maybe-"  
"At least I don't have to wear a uniform here."

"Ah. Yea, that's...good."

Katrina gave the girl a confused look - why would someone who was blind care about uniforms? What kind of colleges made you wear uniforms? Private, uppity ones, maybe...but this girl didn't seem like she would've had any association with that sort of place to begin with. Oh, jeez. Where were her manners?

"My name's Katrina, by the way. Katrina Kesuk. I'm actually from, um...from Canada, but my brother and I are studying here. I'm an English Major, and I'm trying to use that to get into Education - you know, become a teacher, and so...-" Katrina swallowed nervously, trailing off.

"Hm." That was the response Kat received.

This grouchy girl wasn't so great at chatting, was she? Or maybe she just wasn't interested? She sure liked slamming down french fries and soda, though.

Kat struggled to move things along.

"And...you...-?"

"I'm Jun." With this simple introduction, Jun sucked at her straw some more.

Katrina, in turn, did the same, her brain spiraling in a cycle of over-eager hesitation.

"Ih-it's nice to meet you, Jun."

"..." More fry chewing.

"_Soooo_, you...-?" Kat blinked at this _wonderful _conversationalist before her. "What are you here to study?"

Katrina had to wait a few seconds, drumming her fingers along her cup as she waited for Jun to guzzle more of her Dr. Pepper. Jun smacked her lips, then ate another fry. Katrina allowed herself to frown a bit, off-put by the girl's rude, inconsiderate attitude.

"I ain't here to _study_," Jun replied at last. _Psh. _Well, that seemed obvious enough. "I'm here to _play. _Music, I mean. Well, _and _other stuff on the side, heh. Main thing is to not have my goddamn psychotic parents breathing down my neck every fucking hour of the day."

Did Jun really need to keep sticking curse words inbetween every other sentence like that? And how could she talk about her own family in such a way? Yikes...

"Uh...-" Katrina nearly choked on a bit of her drink going down the wrong tube, and had to clear her throat. "S-sounds a bit...-" Another cough. "Sounds difficult."

"_Mmph._" Jun didn't respond to this, crossing her arms in a perfectly ornery fashion and blowing a puff of hot air up at her disheveled bangs, tussling them about.

Katrina was really fumbling for discussion at this point. Digging deep.

"You...also like Dr. Pepper?" Digging _very _deep. "Me, too."

"The Good Doctor knows where it's at."

"Heh, y-yea..."

Two sighs, out of sync.

"What's your _deal_, anyway?" Jun spat.

"Eh...Excuse me?"

"Why're you tryin' to be all sweet on me? Huh?"

"_Sweet_ on you...?"

"I don't swing that way, sister," Jun flatly proclaimed, sipping at her soda. Air was starting to filter into the straw. "Usually," Jun added in a conceding mumble.

"_Um,_" Kat was startled by this implication. "No, I didn't mean anything like _that_..."

"_Oh. _Well...So what're we talking for, here?"

"I...just...thought you seemed interesting? I guess?"

"..._Heh. _Yea, I get that a lot." The manner in which Jun said this threw Katrina off. The girl sure seemed cocky, didn't she?

"Then, I guess you must already have lots of friends you've made?" Katrina posed this question with a lifted brow, as she already knew the answer.

Jun fluttered her lips.

"People have trouble keeping up with me," Jun said, jangling the ice in her cup and trying to suck non-existent soda from it. "I thought it'd be a little different here, but-...It's whatever. Shit still stinks, no matter who's droppin' it."

Katrina caught a glimmer of bitterness in Jun's face, those unpleasant wrinkles scrunching up her porcelain face a bit.

The phrase '_I thought it'd be a little different here_' hit Kat right in the stomach, for she knew that feeling all too well. But, then the other sentence..._ech. _What was that even supposed to mean, anyway?

"W-well, I mean...-" Katrina paused. Should she speak her mind? Hm. "To...to be frank, um, Jun, it...it might work better if you, maybe, like...-"

"_What_?" Jun grunted impatiently, as if Kat was speaking another language.

"D-don't you want to...to make _friends_? It...it sounds like you, um, maybe have a complicated situation at...at home, and, so...-"

"There ya go," Jun scoffed. "Tryin' to get all sweet and sappy on me again. Listen. Chicky. I don't wanna hear it. Mm-kay?"

"Sooo...youuuu..._want _people to not like you?" Kat asked rhetorically.

"Uh, I _want _people to maybe like me for _me, _n' just not pity party over the _poor-baby-blind-girl. _Fuck that."

"You could stand to be a bit less of a _jerk_, then," Katrina spilled out. Her eyes popped wide as she realized what she'd just let slip.

"_Tss!_" Jun laughed through her teeth, then picked a pinky finger into her ear. "Wanna run that by me again, Sugar-Cube?"

"I...I'm just...-" Katrina's teeth were grit with anxiety. This was swiftly becoming too much for her to handle. "Wait, _Sugar-Cube?_ Wh-?"

"'Cuz you're bein' all sweet and sappy."

"Um...-?"

"It's a nickname? Ya know?"

Katrina was frowning - quietly. She wasn't sure she approved of being called stupid, childish _nicknames _in a derogatory manner. She _had _a name already, thank-you-very-much.

"Hey," Jun dismissed, scratching the top of her bosom lazily. "Don't get all pissy with me, _you're _the one who wanted to fucking sit at _my_ table."

"I guess I thought you were just having a bad day, and needed some cheering up."

"Yea?" Jun's lower lip propped out, and her brows furrowed a bit underneath her shades. "Well, I _am _having a bad day, but I didn't _ask _for some mamby-pamby stuttering weirdo to take pity on me. You're doing a fuck-up job of cheering me up."

Katrina's cheeks felt like they were under a furnace now. That really stung. The stuttering remark, the insulting words, and the overall lack of respect. Kat had stuck her neck out throughout this entire encounter, and this jerk was being such a..._jerk, _just-..._urgh!_

"All right. OK." Katrina began to shuffle out of her side of the booth.

"Oh, leaving so soon?" Jun teased. "I thought I was _interesting_."

"That's a _nice _way of putting it," Kat snarled, stopping at the edge of the booth, her knees jutting out from the side. "Sorry I bothered you."

"Oh, _please, _stop being such a drama queen."

"I...I'm _not_."

"Ya are. You want a fucking medal for taking pity on the blind girl?"

Katrina bit her lip, staring at black glasses set over an unenthused face.

"N-_no, _I was just...trying to be nice."

"Uh-huh. Like I said, _good for you._ Me being blind had nothing to do with it."

"Actually, _no_, it didn't, I just felt like talking with you, _how _is that taking pity? I don't _care _if you're blind, but I _do _care if you're a...ungrateful _prick_. So if you're going to keep being rude to me, I'll leave you to yourself. You clearly seem to _want _to be alone, anyway, so...-"

Jun seemed to need a moment to take Katrina's words in. Katrina found herself too attached to this situation to get up and leave prematurely at this point.

Jun patted at her full stomach, rubbing her fingers along the pudgy little roll that hung out from the middle of her waist over her tight pants.

"You're pretty honest person, aren't ya, Sugar-Cube?"

"I...I _try _to be, yea. Sure. And it's _Katrina_. By the way."

"You still haven't left," Jun observed plainly, pointing her index finger toward Katrina's right shoulder.

"Should I?" Kat asked. "You're...confusing me. What do you want from me?"

"_Psh. _Uh, how about nothing? But if _you _wanna chill here with me, at _my_ booth, I'm not gonna lie - seems like you've got more guts than I pegged you for. You'd be fun to argue with."

Katrina blinked, wide-eyed, at this strange girl. Had that been, like...her own way of saying, '_Stay, let's hang,' _or...what?

"I'm not sure how 'arguing' is supposed to be 'fun.'"

"_Heh. _Well, it totally can be."

"...Rrrright, well...-" Katrina slid her cup across the table, toward its edge, ready to get up and leave this person to her own devices.

"OK, OK," Jun spat out, catching her as she rose from the seat. "Calm down, _jeez_...I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers."

"_Tch! _Yes, you _did!_" Katrina grumbled, her head sagging as she latched one hand on her hip.

"...All right, yea, that's sort of what I do, but I'm like a porcupine here."

"Yes, I picked up on that much."

"C'mon. Sit back down," Jun sighed. "Don't be like that."

Kat struggled to study Jun's expression. There was a dissatisfaction hiding somewhere in there. Katrina had a feeling in her gut that, despite their clear differences, they both were in the mood to just have someone to talk with in that moment. Katrina sighed - loud enough where she assumed Jun could hear her - and she lingered by the table's edge.

Jun continued, "I hate people treating me like I'm a fucking moron just because I can't see."

"I never said I thought you were stupid," Katrina snipped. "I said you're being _mean_."

"Yea, exactly. I like that."

"Um...-?"

"You're straight with me. I can get behind that."

"Oh. OK, well...good. You're..._different_."

"So are you, sounds like. You said straight to my face you didn't give a fuck about my blindness. That's pretty different than the norm for me as it is."

"Ah, um...-" Katrina was uncertain of what to say to that. She felt a bit guilty for even having initially internalized pity toward the girl's disability, but if Jun let it roll off her shoulders, Kat figured she probably could, too. Why not?

As a student had to squeeze his way by Katrina - his hip rubbed up against hers, sending a nervous shiver down her spine - Katrina realized that she'd been taking up space between their booth and the neighboring table.

"I'm going to refill my drink," Kat explained. "Do you...-" -_want me to refill yours? No, wait, she'd...- _"-want to come, and fill yours back up, too?"

Jun fidgeted with her shades, then loudly sucked droplets of melted ice through her cup, creating a lot of noise in the process.

"_Uhh, _yea," Jun decided. "Runnin' on empty." She grasped her cup in one hand, and grabbed her walking cane in the other, sliding out from the booth. "So, hey, Sweet-Thing, what's with the perfume you're wearing?"

Kat, flustered by Jun's oddly flirtatious remark - another stupid nickname? - became suddenly self-aware of the many touches she'd made to her appearance that day, and how none of it had even mattered, because the one person whose attention she'd captured couldn't even see them.

As they reached the soda machine a second time, Katrina went to add Dr. Pepper to her cup. She paused, then checked inside and realized that there was barely any ice left. She put some in first.

"Yo, I asked you a question," Jun reiterated, hovering behind Katrina.

"Oh, n-no reason, just...-"

"Take it from me, Chicky: if you need to schlep around fancy smells and makeup or whatever shit to get people's attention, you're gonna get dudes who want what you advertised."

"Which would be...-?" Kat wondered, topping off her Dr. Pepper and fruit punch combo.

"Something you ain't," Jun concluded.

Jun nudged her way in and cautious scanned her hand around - she used the central ice-dispensing lever as reference, and found the Dr. Pepper from there.

"Good point," Katrina agreed, taking a sip through her straw. "So, if you don't mind my asking: why don't you have, like...an aid? Or a seeing-eye dog?"

"_Hooo, _man," Jun chuckled. "That's a loaded question."

"I think I've still got some time to hear the answer."

* * *

- September -

[From: Siku]  
[Sorry. Ball and chain. GF already called dibs.]  
[Sent: 11:12am]

[Reply]  
[To: Siku]  
[LOL. Ball and chain? You like it.]  
[Sent: 11:13am]

[From: Siku]  
[True story. Why don't eat with that one girl?]  
[Sent: 11:13am]

[Reply]  
[To: Siku]  
[Who, Jun? I already asked, she's not in the mood. Feeling antisocial today, she says.]  
[Sent: 11:14am]

[From: Siku]  
[Yea. Shocker. TBH, I don't get what you see in her. She's kind of a bitch.]  
[Sent: 11:14am]

[Reply]  
[To: Siku]  
[You barely know her. Don't judge. She's got a lot to deal with.]  
[Sent: 11:15am]

[From: Siku]  
[Ah. I get it. She's your new project. You need someone to fix.]  
[Sent: 11:16am]

Katrina's hands tightened around her phone. She could practically hear her brother's demeaning tone and see his eyes rolling. With bitter disdain, she typed out a passively angry reply.

[Reply]  
[To: Siku]  
[Have fun with your girlfriend.]  
[Sent: 11:16am]

As Katrina tucked her phone back into her skirt's pocket, she scanned the busy campus center. There was a trickle of students heading up the central stairs to the cafeteria, and a small ocean of others populating the lounge area. She tried to find someone - anyone - that she recognized, someone she'd feel comfortable saying 'hi' to and maybe leading that into a sociable lunch time. Her hip vibrated again, and she grunted through her nose in irritation, knowing who it was sending her a message.

[From: Siku]  
[Don't get all butthurt because I'm right. Why don't you try meeting some new people?]  
[Sent: 11:18am]

[From: Siku]  
[Nice ones? Maybe? Just saying. Just a thought. Friends = Nice people. Ya know?]  
[Sent: 11:19am]

With a quiet sigh, Kat turned off her phone and hid it back away, ranting within her own mind about how 'trying to meet some new people' was what she _had _been doing all month now. She found a classmate whose name she recalled sitting with a handful of others whose faces looked familiar, but after a brief and shallow 'Hey, how are you?' kind of exchange, they bid her farewell, citing that they had to get food and head off to their afternoon classes. Katrina ended up lingering at the now-empty table for a couple of minutes, drumming her fingernails as she continued to gloomily people-watch the premises.

She hovered around the wide open lounge area for a couple of minutes until an entire couch freed up. She eagerly took the spot for herself, unslinging her knapsack on one cushion and planting herself down in the other. Her knees ached a little as she bent down to sit, and she breathed out tiredly in sympathy toward her pathetic joints. After a moment of motionless rest, gazing at a local band flier on the wide coffee table before her, Katrina reached to her right and unzipped her bag. She shuffled through her day's worth of folders, notebooks, and textbooks, and retrieved the item she had been looking for: her weathered paperback copy of _Walk Two Moons, _still alive and well from its mandatory middle school English class reading. She was on her third time through the book, having taken it with her to campus at the start of the semester to work her way back into it inbetween classes.

Katrina flipped the book open to where her bookmark was wedged - the black bookmark portrayed a rather serious Hermione Granger pointing her wand right up at Kat, brandishing the _Harry Potter_ logo to one side. The sight of one of her role models brought a small smile to Katrina's face as she lifted the mark up from the pages and read through a quick chapter. By the time she'd placed Hermione back as guardian of her literature, Katrina closed the paperback in her lap, noticing the person sprawled on the couch across from her. She had intentionally gotten herself confined within her reading and had not taken heed of the boy earlier.

The boy was lean, with a sort of baby face. He was slumped to one side, asleep in a slouched sitting position. A pencil sat beside his hip, and a sketchpad rested in his lap. It had sagged inbetween the boy's skinny legs, and from the look of it, the slightest movement would send it slipping between knees and to the floor below.

Katrina set her book aside, got up from her couch, and walked over to the boy seated across from her.

Perhaps it was some bit of OCD tendency. Perhaps it was a desire to act out of kindness for the boy's work. Perhaps it was so she could could spite her brother later and tell him what she'd done. Perhaps it was merely out of desperation to approach someone.

Whatever the reason, Katrina stood over his sleeping figure, tugging nervously at her braided ponytail. She surveyed the way his thin lips were hung open, breathing in and out slowly as his chest, garbed in a sweatshirt featuring the college's logo, gradually expanded and contracted. After a few seconds of this awkward hesitation, Katrina had to force herself to stop fidgeting with her hair, letting it hang over her collarbone. She bent over cautiously, and picked up the nearly toppled sketchpad. As she did so, she couldn't help but notice the incomplete drawing on the current page. It wasn't fully shaded in yet, but Katrina could decipher what it was meant to be. Um, sort of, anyway. Like, a big cartoony cat, shaped like..a bus? It had six legs, and, like, weird holes in it...? Some kind of person was sitting inside, but they weren't finished it. Well, whatever it was, she recognized it from some kind of movie she'd seen a while back. And the drawing itself wasn't too bad, either. Rough around the edges, but the shading was really coming together. At any rate, it was a heck of a lot better than Kat could ever hope to draw. She was enamored by cuteness. _Er, _the drawing, naturally.

The boy, likewise, mumbled something inaudible beneath the hum of student traffic, shifting over to one side. Katrina flinched, teeth clenched warily as she watched his pencil roll inward, sliding inbetween two cushions. At first, she made a gesture to say hello, then realized she was still holding his drawings. She closed the pad, placing it on the couch to the boy's side. She could feel her heart-rate climbing at the prospect of introducing herself under such odd circumstances, and when she attempted to speak out to awaken the boy, her throat was too tightened to release enough sound. She folded her arms and chewed at the dried out skin on her lower lip. Her nostrils widened as she frowned in spite of her own cowardice, breathing in deeply. She glanced around, suddenly worried that someone might be watching this encounter, but everyone nearby seemed preoccupied.

Swallowing her fear, Katrina leaned over the snoozing lad and extended her arm, pressing it against the boy's shoulder. He frowned groggily, rolling back to a straight sitting position, eliciting Kat to swiftly pull back her arm and tie her hands together behind her back. The boy groaned, rubbing his eyes as he opened them.

What met his sight in that moment enraptured him briefly. A brown-skinned girl with glowing brown eyes beneath rectangular glasses, hair parted down the middle with side bangs dangling across smooth cheeks and defined jaws. A sheepish smile above a strong chin, and a trail of dark braided hair dangling over revealed collarbones. A metal necklace swayed across her chest as she pulled her head back, standing upright, and the boy noticed the silver crescent moon emblem held by the chain.

After a second of two of gawking at each other, Katrina pulled her eyes away from him. He was sort of cute. _Ugh,_ these college boys - even the dorky-looking ones were cute! What was the deal with that? And here _she _was, just...plain dorky-looking, coming up on this kid while he was sleeping? What had she been thinking?

"Sorry I woke you," Katrina spat out with a plastic smile, glancing not at the boy but his sketchpad. She nodded her head toward. "Um, y-you were going to drop it, a-and your pencil, it fell in the, um...in the couch, and so...-"

"Oh, erm...-" The boy's eyes snapped open as he realized that oh, hey, this wasn't a dream. At all. He coughed, his throat a little congested from napping while sick with the flu. By the second cough, he'd managed to cover his mouth with his sleeve.

"Are you OK?" Katrina wondered, her brow raised with concern as she took a step back. She ended up stumbling back into the coffee table, her balance wavering. She yelped out in surprise as she wobbled her arms around a bit, regaining her balance around the table's corner.

"Are _you _OK?" snickered the boy between coughs. One of his arms had been extended in a feeble attempt to help prevent her fall, while the other had gone right to his face to cover more wheezing.

Her cheeks burning, Katrina tucked her loose side bangs behind her ears and nodded in reply to him as soon as his coughing stopped. Katrina rifled through her pockets - she thought she'd brought some cough drops, since her brother had fallen ill with whatever was going around. No luck, though. She must've forgotten them back at the dorm. When she looked back up at her acquaintance, he was holding his sketchpad in his lap, tipping the cushion beside him up to track down his pencil. He quickly located it, and brandished it up in the air to display it to her with a toothy, childish grin. She couldn't help but smile a little back simply in reaction to the gesture.

There was a goofy silence where the two of them seemed to study each other's eyes - mutually brown, mutually captivated with curiosity.

The boy coughed again, interrupting this second of intrigue, and Katrina instantly began fussing with her braid nervously.

She offered, "Are you sure you don't need, like, need some cough drops or...-?" He was still wheezing. She nodded her head backward, toward the in-house retail shop the campus ran. "I mean, they sell Freezie Frogdrops at the campus store, and, um, I need to...get some anyway, and so...-"

He was shaking his head, disinterested in the prospect of burdening her in any way. He groaned miserably after his coughing fit finally passed, and he hung his head in embarrassed ickiness, wiping his sleeve on his pant leg.

"Really, it's not any trouble," Katrina insisted. This was kind of a lie: if she spent what little cash she had on her to buy coughdrops, she'd be lacking the funds to get coffee with Juniper that weekend.

The boy raised his brow up at her, and she noticed that his face paled more now than it seemed to have moments earlier. There were tired bags hanging where she had not seen them before. Geez, poor kid.

"Uh...Whhhhat's your name?" the boy wondered, finally moving things along.

"Oh! I-I'm-"  
"Ah, sorry, my-"

The two of them fumbled over each other's words, until the boy gestured for Kat to proceed.

"_Heh_. I, uh...-" Katrina fussed with her shirt, tucking it down a bit to ensure her waist skin was efficiently covered. "Katrina Kesuk." She nodded courteously to him, still standing awkwardly to the side of the coffee table before him.

"My name's Aaron," the boy replied with a weak, exhausted smile. Kat sensed a certain kind of whimsy coming through his sick demeanor. "I'm new."

"Ah, freshman?" _Doy, what do you _think_, Kat? Urgh._

"Uh, yup. And you?" He sniffled and wiped his sleeve over his nose. "What are you here to study, Katrina?" Katrina found herself wanting to just throw a big, fuzzy blanket over him and give him a bowl of soup.

"I'm a Sophomore, double-Major in English and Education. I'd like to become a teacher."

"Ah." Aaron nodded timidly, searching for what to say. "Erm, well, we could always use more teachers." _Yea. Brilliant, Aaron. She's probably just _amazed_ by your perceptiveness._

Aaron watched Katrina nod again before pushing up her glasses up the bridge of her nose. He found himself oddly captivated by the particularly round, wide shape of her nose - it must've been a bit tricky to get her glasses to stay in one place. He was also trying to figure out what ethnicity she was - Kesuk? Native American, or...she looked like she could be maybe Middle Eastern, maybe, or...-? He found himself smitten by her somewhat exotic appearance, at any rate. Well, exotic to _him,_ anyway. Was it racist to think about that kind of thing, or...-?

Kat said, "I guess we'll see if I can end up being a decent teacher, at least."

Aaron encouraged, "I'm sure you'll do great."

Kat's eyes narrowed at him, a wry smile curving up.

"How _can _you be?" she retorted. "You don't even know me."

Aaron grinned that toothy, sheepish smile, having been found out. He shrugged as he coughed twice.

"_Heh! _Well, I mean, if you actively _want_ to be a teacher, _ya _know...-" He shrugged again, smirking at her coy eyebrow raise. "You probably already care more than most," Aaron tried to recover.

"Uh-huh," Kat said, nodding while retaining her suspicious smile. "What about you? Art Major?" she guessed. It was educated guess, anyway.

"Yea." Aaron wiggled his sketchpad a bit. "How didja know?" he facetiously asked.

She playfully shrugged with the reply, "I'm just a smartie, I guess." Eh. Maybe not the best comeback, but...it was something.

"Must be the glasses," Aaron theorized in jest, flipping pages in his sketchbook as he coughed through a shy smirk.

His remark earned another smile from Katrina.

"Oh, it is _definitely _the glasses," she quipped back, chin tilted up slightly.

She primly adjusted the glasses around, pushing her tufts of hair-clipped side bangs out over her cheeks and lifting her braid over her back. Her intentionally stilted attempt at flirtation was probably a failed effort. But she was trying, which actually rather strange given that she was trying to stave off any potential romantic encounters after how the last one had gone. Suddenly, Katrina realized how quickly Aaron seemed to be putting her at ease.

Aaron, meanwhile, realized how strangely attractive the girl's chin was now that she was showing it off. Geez, all of these college girls, man. Even the bookish ones were so cute. _Agh,_ geez. He needed to stop staring. This was, like, the third girl today he'd caught himself ogling. At least he was ogling this one's face more than anything else?

Katrina noticed Aaron suck his gaze away from her and toward his sketchbook as he found his current page - the one with the weird cat...car...thing.

"Um," she cleared her throat. "So, what are you drawing, there? It...looks sort of familiar." She kept her eyes glued to his face, while he was focused on poring over his unfinished handiwork. She noted the glint of enthusiasm he wore at her remark.

"_My Neighbor Totoro_," Aaron stated simply, swiping some whiskers onto the crazed-looking cat.

Katrina stared at him blankly, at a loss. That sounded so familiar, but...-

"Sorry, it's not ringing a bell."

That glint Aaron had worn a second away fizzled into dismay.

"What?" he practically gasped out. "That one's a classic..."

Kat wore a grit teeth sort of smile, practically wincing at the sight of his apparent disappointment. She popped up one shoulder warily.

"S-sorry, I don't...-" She trailed off, hoping he'd elaborate and not be put-off by her lack of knowledge. So much for being a 'smartie.'

Aaron coughed before flipping his notebook around and showing her the drawing again.

"It's _Nekobasu_," Aaron explained, tapping the paper with the eraser side of his pencil. "Ya know, Catbus?"

"Um...I-...OK? Is this, like...an anime thing?" _Am I supposed to know what Catbus means? _

Katrina found herself immediately assuming that this kid must be Japanese. He certainly looked like he could be, anyway. Definitely, like...Asian. Ech. She couldn't help but feel guilty as if she was racially profiling him, only to wonder if he was facing similar curiosity as to her own race, which she was certain he'd get wrong if he guessed. People always did. 'Inuit' wasn't exactly a common option to check on forms, though 'Native American' was partially true, from her father's side. Before her mind could spin a yarn within itself on the subject of race, Aaron carried her attention back outside of herself, for which she was grateful.

"Man," Aaron sighed, dropping his sketchpad back into his lap. He went back to sketching his drawing, beginning to fill out some detail on the humanoid figure inside the 'bus' window. He coughed some more. "If we're going to be friends, you'll have to be educated on Miyazaki."

Katrina pretty much missed out on the second half of that sentence, swept away by the first half. It seemed he was probably about as eager as she was to find some kind of connection with people. He was a Freshie, of course, so that was expected. If anything, she was the oddball here: a Sophomore whose only consistent contacts on campus were her brother (which practically didn't count, right?) and a grouchy girl whom she still wasn't 100% sure _was _her friend so much as 'someone fun to argue with,' as Jun had put it.

"Oh, I, um...-" Katrina was flustered. She couldn't decide if she _liked _the boy's assertive decision that they were 'going to be friends' or was put-off by it. He seemed to catch on to her unease just by the sound of her voice and looked up with a sympathetic curve to his eyebrows.

"Sorry," he muttered, his drawing halted. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"N-no! It's...fine."

"I mean, we just met, and I'm...not used to school-stuff, and...-"

"No, no! Really," Katrina insisted. "Don't worry. I would-...I-I mean, maybe some time you could get together with, um...like, my brother - he's really into that sort of stuff - and we could watch this _Neighbor Toto_, and...-"

"Ah, yea," Aang complied, ever-so-slightly stung by her proposal. "That...sounds cool." _Oh, poohsticks. She's really cute, too, and actually..._talking _to me. Ah, well_. _Plenty of fish._

Aaron had another bout of coughing, which brought on another concerned look from Katrina.

"Aaron," she sighed. "You really sound like you need some, I don't know, medicine, or cough drops, or...-"

"I'll just...have some tea soon," Aaron dismissed, waving her worries off with one hand while his mouth was muffled by the other.

Katrina felt her stomach squirm. Was that because she was feeling suddenly uncomfortable? A gurgle sound and a bit of pain indicated that, no, it was actually because she was just freaking _hungry._

"Was that you, or me?" Aaron asked, trying to maintain his humorous tempo as best he could.

"Oh, _ha_, have you, um...-" Kat scratched at her empty stomach. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Nah," Aaron replied. "I probably should soon, though. I have class in an hour," he explained, tucking his pencil behind his ear.

In this instant, Katrina noted how large his ears were in comparison to the rest of his face. Hee. Sort of like a cute little monkey. _Agh, _bleh, no. Was that a racist thought? Oh, jeez...

As Katrina was (again) deliberating whether her own thoughts were or were not racist, Aaron tried to ignore his attraction to her 'deep thinking' sort of look, noting the way she angled her index and thumb together over that adorable chin.

Katrina caught herself after a second or two of what she assumed made her look rather rude and stupid.

"_Um-! _I, uh, _you_...-! We could eat together. _I mean, _you could join me, ih-if you wanted, and...-"

"Oh, I don't-...Did you already have plans, or...-?"

"No, no, it's fine."

"You did," Aaron cited, detecting her avoidance.

"_Um, _I did," Katrina fussily confessed. "But my brother kind of bailed on me at the last second."

"Ah..."

"So, uhh..._Hee, _so it'd be like you can be my substitute brother for the day, I guess?" _Oh, God. Ohhhh, God, woman. Just shut up. You sound like such a moron. What are you even _saying?

"Shhhhure, yea," Aaron hastily closed up his book with an odd laugh. "I've never been anyone's brother before, _heh._" _No! Argh! I just said that! Stupid! I'm an idiot._

"Ah, y-you're a single child, eh?"

"Something like that," Aaron vaguely mumbled with a shrug. This piqued Katrina's curiosity, but she knew better than to pry. "But, erm, you sure you want to _eat _with me? I mean...-" He gestured toward his face. It did indeed look a little ragged. "-sick?"

"Oh," Katrina ran her fingernails along the edges of her hairline, smoothing over any loose strands. "N-no, it's OK. Like, my brother's sick, and so is my roommate, so...it's inevitable that I'll catch whatever it is going around."

"Hm." Aaron shrugged at her logic, not able to argue with it but also not wanting to be responsible for being the one to cause this 'inevitability.' His coughing started up again.

"Seriously," Katrina cooed. "Like I said - I'll need to pick up some stuff for the flu, anyway, so...let me get you some cough drops before we eat."

"_Ech_," Aaron groaned through his throat, getting hoarser from all of the conversation and coughing. The pain was worth it, though. "At least...let me draw you something?"

"Huh?" Katrina was puzzled. "But...W-we don't really have time for that, do we?"

Aaron smiled with some confidence - Katrina could see it glow from his eyes.

"We have time," he assured. "Speed sketch, I can do that much, at least."

"Um, all right, but...why?"

"I can tell that I'm walking away from here with some cough drops. Let me give you something to walk away with. OK?"

Katrina smirked bashfully at his offer.

"You're not gonna draw me like one of those _french girls, _are you?" she tried to offer some humor his way.

He laughed - not that weird kind, but a real one, and Katrina felt some satisfaction.

"No, nothing like that," he muttered with some embarrassment at even the thought. He was suddenly self-conscious about the prospect that would become an inevitability in his time at college: sitting in front of naked people and trying to draw them. Students actually did that, he was reminded. That was a thing. Like, anatomy studying, and just...people chilling out. Just all...naked. Being drawn. No big. Moving _on _from that thought...

Aaron nodded his head to his left, toward the empty cushion beside him. He grabbed his pencil, opened his drawing pad, and flipped to a new page.

"But for me to do this," Aaron explained. "there's something I need to ask you." He patted the free couch cushion. "Here. Come closer, would you?"

Katrina again was confused - were his brief flashes of confidence comforting, or not-so-much?

She stared at the seemingly innocent, child-like peace in Aaron's eyes, and felt comforted. Sure. He seemed interested in something more meaningful than many other guys did. And heck, he at least had managed to keep eye contact with her _face _for the duration of their chat.

Katrina placed herself cautiously in the seat beside Aaron, taking care that her shirt and skirt covered about as much skin as possible. She took care that her hips and his did not touch, much to Aaron's internal dismay.

"What is it?" she wondered. "What do you need to ask?"

Aaron smiled warmly, pointed his pencil in her direction, and spoke.

"What...are your two favorite animals?"

Katrina's mind bolted to the two role models of her life, and the animals that she associated with them.

"Penguins. And otters."

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter will be back to business as usual as I round out the plot and continue tying up some loose ends, character-wise. If you are interested in the impending re-edit of this series, and seeing the revised character designs, you can find that on the FB page for 'What I Learned at SRU' by scoping out the folder 'Re:SRU' in the image section. You will also find new art in the usual places. Thanks for all of your support. I look forward to finishing the story in its current state and letting these characters breathe and roam free as their own entities.**


	125. The Wood Song

**A/N: Hello again, all. I'm not even sure how many of you even read these anymore, BUT...some transparency - I am in desperate need of work. So if anyone is aware of any freelance writing work I could look into, or you'd like to order me to write something for you (every little bit helps), please feel free to send me a PM. I greatly appreciate any support. I am looking into re-editing and publishing SRU this year as its own series, but it will likely be some time before I can set that up.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 125 - The Wood Song  
_

* * *

- Thursday, June 9th -

"So." Sokka scratched at his neck stubble. "Whaddya wanna do?"

"Um." Toph puffed hot air at her floppy bangs. "I dunno."

"Well." Sokka yawned. "How long 'til ya gotta meet up?"

"Like...-" Toph fluttered her lips in a sigh. "At three? So...-"

"Ah." Sokka blinked at his computer screen. "'Bout an hour."

"'Kay." Toph squirmed in her seat, grunting with discomfort. "Any ideas?"

"We could watch somethin'," Sokka proposed.

"..._Yea, _I don't...-" Toph let irritation slip out through her nostrils.

"_Oh, _no, I meant...like, a stand-up comic. That's, ya know...something you don't need to _watch, _really, just...-"

"I'm not in the mood for comedy."

"Gotcha. It was just an idea."

"I know. It's fine. I'm not...-"

"So what do _you _want to do, then?"

"I don't _know, _Sokka."

"Well, I just threw an idea out there, so-...Your turn."

"_Ugh, _I don't..._care, _just...-"

"Uh, you _do _care, 'cuz you specifically didn't want to do what I just said."

"That's...-!" Toph didn't bother trying to explain herself.

"We could make out, or something," Sokka offered without much enthusiasm.

"Oh. Yea," Toph came back in a deadpan tone. "This is..._so _hot. I'm just...totally wet right now. Yep. Mm-hm. You're charming the ever-loving _shit _out of me here."

There was a lull in the conversation. Sokka scratching his unshaven neck.

"Ah. Sarcasm." Sokka sighed, reciprocating her dull manner of speech. "We still got it."

"_Yea. _Fucking...great." Toph allowed some of her pent-up frustration to fizz out through her words.

"Yep." Sokka continued to keep his own tension tightly closed up.

The couple were leaned up against each other, back to back, on the floor of Toph's practice room. Jane had just taken off a few minutes prior after she and Toph had practiced their impending performance one last time. They'd be playing their song in public that afternoon - in approximately an hour and a half. That left Toph some time to spend with her boyfriend. The problem was that Toph was progressively getting the impression that her 'boyfriend' was losing interest in maintaining that role in her life, which had kept leading to a slowly spiraling series of irritable exchanges between the two of them over the past few days.

At that moment in their 'discussion,' things fell quiet. Toph could appreciate the quiet. Quiet meant no frustrating words pushing them apart.

In that quiet tension, Toph leaned back, pressing the back of her head into the back of his. His hair was dry and straw-like that day, hanging untethered. Her hair was recently washed and conditioned, making it irregularly silky and smooth. Toph was garbed in a tube-top dress - one she had worn on other occasions to her recitals and such. Since this shindig was basically Kat's whole idea, Toph had let her roommate decide on dress, hairstyle, whatever...Toph wasn't terribly fussy about such things. It was funny, in a way, how much more pleasantly she now took to Katara working on her appearance as opposed to that autumn when they'd been preparing for Homecoming.

Katara had remarked on how pretty she looked when all was said and done. When Jane had shown up - presumably dressed up herself, Toph imagined - she had made a remark that Toph's appearance that day being quite arousing, which had elicited an amused smirk from Toph. Sokka, however, hadn't said a thing about her appearance. Toph could only assume that he probably found her getup to be 'pretty' as well, but was trying to avoid focusing on that kind of thinking.

The whole 'we'll be separated in a few weeks' bit seemed to be putting quite a damper on their relationship.

"Sooo..." Sokka broke that blissful quiet. "Whatcha gonna be playing? With ol' Freckles, I mean."

"A country sort of song," Toph muttered in reply. "You could, um...ya know..._come _and listen?"

"Agh." That sort of sigh Sokka made indicated to Toph that he wasn't particularly interested. "That's like, your _music _n' stuff. Like a...'you-and-Jane' thing, eh? I don't want to intrude, or...-"

"We're _kinda _gonna be playing it on the _quad_," Toph irritably clarified. "It's not some private thing. Katara _and _Aang will be there, too, ya know."

"Oh. Er...I, uh, if you _want _me to come, I mean...-"  
"Do _you _want to come?" Toph grumbled impatiently. "Or do you just not care?"  
"I'm-...Am I _supposed _to care?"

Toph could feel Sokka's shoulders tense up against her back, like he was shrugging nervously.

"I dunno," Toph aggressively grunted. "Your _girlfriend _singing in front of the whole fucking campus? You tell _me_."

"OK, OK, I'll go," Sokka rapidly agreed. "I didn't..._know _if you wanted me there, I mean...usually with your music, you're all...-" He trailed off.

"I'm all _what_?" Toph pressed with irritation.

"Private? I dunno. It was a struggle getting you to play for us in the first place, remember? You were all, sneaking off to the cafe and never telling us...And then when your parents visited, that was a _big deal _for you, n' stuff. Right?"

"Well...Yea, sure, but...-"

"Yea. So...Don't blow up on me like that. Freakin' eh..."

Toph remarked, "Half of the point is that you're supposed to take the blow-ups and get me to calm down."

"_Oh, _ha, _puh. _That's how it works, huh?"

"How it's _supposed _to, yea." Toph herself was trying to decide in that moment how serious her own statement was. "But you're all...fucking flip-flopping on me lately, and so...-"

"Hey, I am a _layered _man," Sokka defended. "I'm a goddamn ogre-onion over here. You know that."

"I _do_," Toph sighed. "It just means I don't know what to do with you some times. I'm still figuring you out, and it's..._hard_."

"Well...Maybe you won't have to worry about that problem soon."

"Maybe I won't," Toph agreed bitterly, letting his doubt seep into her own thoughts.

"It's not like you're so easy to predict, yourself," Sokka noted.

"Say what? I'm...like a fucking _rock, _I'm stubborn as hell."

"Yea, but you're also pretty hormonal. Kat's told me about some of the stuff you two get into each other about. I know my sister can be a little up-tight, but at least she's consistent."

Toph huffed out, "Exc_uuuuse _me, Princess."

"That's my line."

"I just took it."

"See? Mixing things up. Inconsistent."

"Now you're just being an ass," Toph remarked.

"An ass? That's it? Not a 'Block-Head' or a 'Meat-Head' or a 'Dunder-Head?' Just...an ass?"

"I call it like I see it."

"You don't _see _anything," Sokka spat out, halfway amused.

"And _yet. _And _yet._ I can still tell you're an ass who's not _using _his head. So what does that say about you?"

"I guess that says I must really like you, since I keep taking all of this abuse."

Toph had settled her weight against his quite snugly, and when he'd said this, he'd worked his hand back toward hers. They linked their fingers together in an imperfect backwards fit.

"_Or_," Toph slyly retorted. "It says you're a crazy idiot."

"Oh, I _am _that, there's no question."

"Heh." Toph let her face smile at his passive agreement. "So you _do _know how some of this process works."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Exactly."

"Mm-hm."

"Just agree with whatever I say."

"Mm-hm."

"OK, you don't need to be _that _agreeable."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"So, you _will _come watch me and Jane sing."

"Y-...Er, yes, Ma'am."

"Oh, _good. _And I thought you weren't going to come."

"But now I know you actually _want _me to go, so...-"

"I guess that's good enough, then."

Toph craned her neck around, twisting as best she could without breaking their handhold. She planted a sloppy kiss on Sokka's shoulder, getting a mouthful of T-shirt in the process. He squeezed her hand in reciprocation.

"For now, anyway," Sokka replied to her statement. "While we're actually both in the same place. But when we're _not_...will _that _be good enough?"

"I don't know," Toph confessed. "But let's not...worry about that for right now. A'ight? Just...enjoy what we've got while we can."

"Carpe diem," Sokka calmly declared, letting his melancholic head slink sideways and hang on Toph's shoulder.

Toph nuzzled her cheek across the back of his head and sighed peacefully.

She replied, "O Captain, My Captain."

* * *

"I'm...sorry."

Korra's words opened their interaction - the first they'd had in person since Korra had left the day before. In the past 24 hours, she'd gone through some dire straits and come out all the more ragged. She'd brought the Rabten children to their parents, doing her best to brush off any attempts at gratitude they'd expressed. As far as Korra was concerned, she was in no position to be offered up praise and thankfulness. She'd simply fixed what she'd broken.

And fix it she apparently had - mostly. The kids were home, safe and sound, enjoying a quiet day with their parents, no doubt. Korra had removed herself from their household for the time being. She didn't feel right there after all that had transpired and needed a break. Rather, _they _needed a break from _her, _was more the way Korra saw things.

But despite what had been accomplished, Jane's missing person was...still missing.

"It's not your fault," Jane breathed out, scratching her cheek with one hand while holding her unopened bottle of beer in the other.

"It was just the kids," Korra explained defensively. "They-...I mean, the cops searched the place, and no one else was...-"

"I know," Jane mumbled with some impatience. She was glumly glaring at her toes, wriggling them in the freedom of the flip-flops she was in.

Korra wasn't a big fan of Jane's current attire: a yellow and black striped spaghetti strap dress that ran loosely down to the girl's knees. Jane's mane of orange was all..._combed back. _It was a little jarring to Korra, seeing her friend-with-occasional-benefits dressed like...well, a _girl. _Not that it was _bad, _but it was like seeing someone you were used to seeing with glasses suddenly _not _wearing glasses, or someone with long hair suddenly with short hair, or...yea. It was just something that Korra needed some getting used to, was all.

"They'll find him," Korra managed out, trying to clear her head of directionless distractions. "I mean, they caught a bunch of the fuckers. One of their leaders, too." Korra reached out her arm and clamped her broad hand firmly onto Jane's boney shoulder. "They'll get info outta them, and...before you know it-"  
"Don't."

Jane's eyes squinted shut, her lip quivering as she shrugged Korra's touch off of her body. Her freckled form froze up for a moment until Korra's presence was withdrawn. Jane then feebly attempted to twist open her beer bottle, fidgeting with it in a mild-mannered fashion that was a little unbecoming.

Korra awkwardly drummed her thumbs on her own bottle, then took a sip, looking off across her front lawn. A couple of seconds of inactivity later, and she glanced sideways again, noting Jane's struggle with a bottlecap was still raging on. A unintentional laugh popped out of Korra's nostrils at the sight.

Jane grouchily grumbled, "_You _fucking open it, then." She shoved the bottle in Korra's face, shaking her head downward.

Korra took the bottle and twisted the cap off, stinging her fingers a little in the process without a hitch. She dropped the cap down the steps of her front porch and handed the bottle back. Jane eagerly guzzled down three gulps before sighing out with relief and wiping her mouth with her wrist.

"My fuckin' hands are sore," Jane retroactively explained. "All this goddamn practicing, n' shit..." She flicked her recently strained hand in the air, nursing her bottle inelegantly between slouched, spread legs. You could put her in a dress, but she still sat lazily.

"How much time do we have?" Korra asked.

"Half an hour," Jane muttered with a shrug. "I _told _you, I don't got time today..."

"Nah, it's all good, eh?" Korra eased. "I knew the deal when I picked you up. I'll take you back, it's...no big."

Jane gulped at her drink some more, desperately desiring the alcohol to fill the void nicotine once did during these kind of days.

Korra noted her friend's stoic silence and tried to break it again.

"Look, Shamrocks. I haven't given up. I'll...-" Korra took a contemplative breath. "I'll ask the Chief if I can...keep helping."

"Wh...-?" Jane sent an incredulous dagger glare Korra's way. "Help with _what?_"

"With...-!" Korra shrugged wildly. "I want to help them find your guy, I...-"

"They don't _need _your help anymore," Jane scoffed. "Ain't shit we can do now."

"_Puh. _Hey, I'm _sorry, _OK? I tried, and...-"

"No," Jane whimpered, her brows arcing with fret as her face wrinkled. "Kor, just...stop. I'm sorry. _I _am sorry. You've had your own shit to deal with, _after _you helped me with mine, and...I'm trying really hard to not be a bitch today, but-...Seriously. You are _fine. _You're in the _clear _with me, you didn't-...It's not _your _fault I'm in a pissy mood, so just...-" Jane weakly wriggled her wrist in Korra's direction and drank some more. "Don't worry about it, don't get involved."

"But...-"

"OK?"

"Well, yea, it's just-"  
"_OK?_" Jane insisted.

Korra, mouth slightly agape, let her eyes slide away from her flustered friend. Korra shrugged and nodded at the same time.

"OK," Korra conceded. She stared, wide-eyed, as Jane glared back, chugging down more beer.

"Good," Jane breathed out in conclusion.

The pair broke awkward eye contact as they watched a delivery truck park by a house across the street. Korra took a gulp of her Sapporo, and Jane followed suit as they both studied the figure in the distance: a somewhat muscular middle-aged man with a rugged face but a not-as-rugged posture.

In their mutual understanding through silence, Jane cast a sideways look to Korra, noting that they were both, in fact, squinting their eyes to ogle at the guy.

"That him, huh?" Jane muttered, recalling having heard word of the nameless lad.

"Yup," Korra quietly replied with a coy smirk.

Jane cast her stare back toward the truck as the man emerged, toting a hefty-looking package without incident. She cocked her head to the side as she strained to observe the man's figure beneath tight brown shorts.

"Mm," she hummed contemplatively with a shrug. "Prolly need a better look, but...Yea. I guess."

"Not your type?" Korra prodded playfully.

"_Tsh._" Jane shook her head slightly, setting her bottle down on the porch step to her side. She licked beer off her lips. "I don't really..._have_ a 'type.' I've figured out that much."

"June was telling me that your tastes are...-" Korra paused, brows furrowed. She rapped her knuckles on her forehead. "-...electric...?"

"Eclectic?" Jane dryly corrected.

To this, Korra snapped her finger and nodded.

"That's the word."

"How _is _that whore doing?" Jane asked, using the insult facetiously.

"_Erk, _uh...-" Korra nearly coughed on her beer. She cleared her throat and explained. "She's, uh, good...?"

"Good?" Jane retorted flatly. "She got shot in the fuckin' arm."

"All things considered..." Korra mumbled with a shrug, letting the phrase speak for itself.

"I tried to call her, but she was probably in the hospital n' shit."

"Yep." Korra nodded. "That, uh...happens. When you get shot. I guess."

"...Yea."

Jane's eyes sunk down, phasing out for a moment as she recollected that time she and Longshot had helped Yojimbo with a gunshot wound. They couldn't go to a hospital, after all - that would've also entailed sending the guy off to prison, most likely.

"He's fine," Korra cut through Jane's doubt-filled cloud with a hearty back slap. The heavy palm clamped down on Jane's shoulder. "You'll see. We-...They'll bring him back, and...you two can...-"

Jane reached up her hand and clasped her worn fingers over top Korra's scratched wrist. She patted the back of Korra's hand twice before they both broke their contact.

"Thanks," said Jane quietly, grabbing what was left of her beer and indulging herself. "I'm just so done with all this. Have been. For a while."

"For sure," Korra acknowledged. "I know. _Tsh, _at this point, I am, too."

"There's, uhh...-" Jane sipped at her bottle, twirling her opposing index finger in small circles before finishing off her drink. "-_gagh_...There's this thing Aang says, like...Violence, hate, that shit is...circular. Cycle...ish? Sicklick...-? Cyclical."

Korra grinned mischievously, nudging Jane with her elbow. "Lookit you with the fancy words, eh?"

"_Ff._" Jane rolled her eyes, feeling her face heating up - probably from a combination of beer in her skinny body on an empty stomach and her complication storm of hormones acting up. She swam in inappropriate thoughts for a moment as the delivery truck across the road slowly took off.

Jane started her thought back up.

"Anyway, so...Violence is cyclical, that's how he put it." Jane did the finger twirl motion again as she set her empty bottle on the step between her legs. She fidgeted with her dress a bit, re-aligning the pair of straps on each freckled shoulder. "So he says, like, the only way to stop it is to..._stop _it? I guess? Like, ya gotta suck it up and let them do their bullshit if you want them to leave you alone."

"You agree with him?" Korra wondered.

"I mean, not, like, one-hundred-percent-all-the-time, but...I don't know if he thinks of it like that, either. But, like..._this_?" Jane's eyes went wide as she leaned forward on the steps, staring down at her empty bottle. "All this shit? Maybe it woulda been better if I just never got you involved - never got _me _involved. Just left the Freedom Fighters the fuck _alone. _They wanted to run themselves into the ground? How's that _my _problem, right? But _n__oooo, _I had to go n'...-" Jane buried her face in her palm and sighed, fluttering her lips in mental exhaustion.

"Hey, hey," Korra spat. "It's done, it's over. Don't worry."

"Not over for _him_, though," Jane croaked, glaring over at Korra with glazed eyes.

Korra's expression twitched with remorse for her friend.

"It will be," Korra assured. "Soon."

Jane rubbed the dampness that had built up around her eyes and leaned over meekly, wrapping her arms around Korra's waist and giving her friend a hug. Korra hesitated at the gesture at the first, but after a moment, returned the motion in kind, patting Jane twice on the head. She broke their hug apart before either indulged further. Jane sniffed, cleared her throat, and groaned out another sigh.

"I'm sorry," Korra managed out through the sensitive moment.

"For what?" Jane inquired.

"For...-" Korra loosely flicked her sore hand back and forth between the two of them. "This. Like, with us. I fucked our LadyBro-hood and made shit complicated, now there's..._this_ between us, and I didn't think about how...-"

"Nah, it's OK," Jane dismissed Korra's regret. "Different place, different time, mighta-...But, no, like, it's good. _We're _good, there's no bullshit between us. No worries."

The two blinked at each other's earnest inner turmoil for a second or two before Jane snickered weakly.

"What?" Korra asked.

"..._LadyBro_. Just, uh-...It's funny, you get that name, even though _I'm _the one who...-" Jane trailed off with a humored shrug.

"_Oh, _heh." Korra grinned. At least the girl could laugh at herself - fuck knew Korra could stand to learn how to do that a bit better.

"I'm...glad you moved out here, Korra," Jane proclaimed. "Shit's been...a lil' more interesting with you around to...-"

The door behind them opened, and Korra's bulkier housemate greeted them with vigor.

"Hell-_oh, _ladies! I come bearing fruits of _booze_." Bolin was toting a six pack of beer that was missing two bottles. He paused, looking down at them as they looked up at him. He could sense from their faces that something _emotional _had or was still taking place. "Oh." He clicked his lips at them awkwardly. "I'm...interrupting something, aren't I?"

"No," Korra said, laughing through her nose. "We're fine."

"Mind if I...join...you...then?" Bolin's voice raised in pitch with each syllable.

Korra shrugged, looking over to Jane.

"Er," Jane's eyes darted this way and that before heading back to Bolin. "_Shhhure_, that's cool. I mean, like, I gotta _go _in a few, but...-"

"_Ohhhh_." Bolin's eyes popped open and he rounded his lips in exaggeration. "Mmmmmaybe I should just...-" He began to backtrack to the front door, directing his thumb behind him.

"No, it's cool," Jane fumbled out again. "Just, ya know...heads up, n' shit. Is all."

Bolin gawked at Jane, who at this point was back to staring down the neck of her empty bottle. His eyes shifted to Korra, who was smirking silently. She nodded to him slightly.

Bolin spat out, "It's just, ya know, I mean, I wouldn't want to _impose _on your..._time_. Together. _Alone_."

"Bo." Korra's eyelids slid halfway down. "Just sit, dude. Have a drink. Mellow out."

"_Rrrright. _Right. Yes. I will do that. Now."

Bolin set the small carton down, grabbing one for himself up out of it. He twisted the cap off and dropped it into the cardboard container, then lingered above them for a second or so, taking his first sip as Korra finished off hers.

"So, uh...-" Bolin stepped to one side, leaning over their porch's railing. "Nice dress," he attempted to compliment Jane.

"Oh." Jane didn't seem to know how to respond. A flat "Thanks" was what she came up with.

Bolin prodded, "Goin' to a dance, or what?"

"Not exactly," Jane wrote off his curiosity. She didn't elaborate, and he didn't inquire further.

A pair of young students with colorful backpacks were walking home down their side of the block. It probably looked a bit odd: a trio of 'grown-ups' slouched on a porch, drinking beer on a weekday afternoon.

Bolin broke the ice he'd accidentally created.

"I'm gonna take a shot and assume you ladies have better reasons to be stressed out than I do."

"What are _you_ stressed about?" Korra wondered, plucking Jane's empty bottle up along with her own. She placed them into the carton, filling the two empty slots they'd originally come from.

"Uh, _heh, _well, they got me on deliveries now, so, that's, uh..._ya _know. Stressed about balancing pizzas on a bicycle. Kinda hard. Also trying to not get run over."

"_Fff, _yea, so...-" Jane nodded, watching an old man hobble his way from his front door to his car. "You're right, we've got bigger fuckin' problems."

Bolin weakly laughed. "_Ha, _y-yea, I figured. That's, um, that's why I...said it. What you just said."

Korra's heart sank a little. It seemed like any time Bolin and Jane ended up in the same room, Jane got all stiff and grouchy, and Bolin got all weird and awkward. She figured they both just inadvertently intimidated each other.

"I almost _died _yesterday_, eh?_" Korra blurted out. "I've got you both beat!" She laughed in spite of herself. Neither of the others laughed.

"My boyfriend _might _be dead," Jane glumly added. "Fuck knows..."

"...Ah." Bolin's teeth clenched together sheepishly and he drank a couple of large gulps. "Your, uh...your _boyfriend,_ huh? I didn't even-...That's-...I mean, _wow, _that...just sucks."

"Yea."

"Sorry about that."

There was silence.

Korra's insides twisted at the weird tension that lingered around them. It was bad timing for trying to get these two to hang out, anyway. Maybe when the hell storm was more calmed down...

"Hey." Korra tapped her fist on Jane's arm. "I've gotta get you back to campus soon, eh?"

"_Mmph. _Yea." Jane begrudgingly got up from the steps, dusting her striped dress off.

"Places to go, people to see?" said Bolin.

"Unfortunately," Jane grunted.

Korra sighed out with pain as she pushed her body upright. Not as many bruises or cuts this time around - but the old ones were still healing as it was.

"Still alive?" Jane checked with a dash of concern.

"Last time I checked," Korra humored her.

"You should take it easy," Bolin suggested. As he watched the two of them shuffle down the steps and onto the yard's path, he said, "And didn't you just have a beer?"

"I'll be fine," Korra casually insisted with the toss of her arm as she walked with a bit of a limp, her whole body tense and sore. "I'll be gone for, like, twenty minutes," she called back to Bolin. "Put those beers back in the fridge, we'll hang out when I'm back."

"Righty, then," said Bolin.

There was an odd moment where Bolin and Korra flashed each other a sparking glance of interest that reminded Korra of the night they'd hung out together on the couch back when she'd been feeling down on herself. It was a bit mind blowing to consider it had only been a week or so.

"See ya in a bit," said Korra, offering her housemate a wave of the hand.

After Korra and Jane piled into her car and were on the suburban Wayward roads, Jane spoke up.

"You're not gonna hang out on campus and watch us play?"

"Uh, I don't think so, sorry," Korra replied, weaving her car around a busy intersection. "Besides, you and Toph? Dressed up all girly and stuff? I think it'd just weird me out."

"..._Oh_."

Korra was too busy driving to catch the split-second microexpression of sadness Jane contained, but her gruff tone of voice was enough to make Korra realize what she'd just said, and how her image-conscious friend might have taken to it.

"Wh-? _Hey, _I'm joking. Just fucking with you. You look-! I-I mean, like...it's just not how I'm used to _seeing _you, is all..."

"Actually dressed like a _girl. _You mean."

"Well, _yea. _And, like...You're rocking the yellow. That shit is tight on you. N' stuff."

"You're not a fan, though," Jane figured.

"_Eh_," Korra shrugged, avoiding giving an honest answer. She went back to thinking about the glasses thing - how dumb glasses had looked on Mako when she'd first seen him wearing them, and how by now it actually was...oddly attractive to see him in his reading glasses reading a magazine.

Jane grumbled, "Well, I ain't tryin' to win _you _over here, so...-"

"Right," Korra agreed, hoping the girl would quell her temper. "Wear what you want, I'm not stopping you."

"Trying to," Jane placidly replied.

"Huh? No, I'm _not_."

"_Argh, _tryin' to wear what I want, I mean."

"Ah. Yea. Just...do whatever you feel like, eh?"

Jane glanced over at Korra to her left. The brusque woman's beefy arm muscles were clear and present, lifted up as she grasped her steering wheel with more tension than was needed.

"That's my whole fuckin' problem," Jane sighed, giving her eyebrow a scratch before sinking into her seat and studying her own reflection against the car's door window. "Not so sure _what _I feel like anymore."

* * *

Aang nervously twiddled his fingers around each other as he sat in a defensive stance. He took a moment to focus on the the way beams of light were trickling through the clouds outside the library's window. They were rested on a couch in a lounge and study room on the second floor of the library. The quad was spread out below, patches of cloudy shade slow scrolling across the grass.

Katara, at Aang's side on the couch, spoke up, bringing him back to their conversation.

"But I thought you...were all on board with this, Aang."

That look on Katara's face - that startling realization, that sting of disappointment - it was like a needle prodding at Aang's brain.

"I, uh...-" He shrugged warily. "I am, I mean...You've planned this out, you've really stepped up and, uh...taken initiative." He nodded slowly, eyebrows raised. "Like, wow. It's great. I don't even know what to say. I'm impressed."

Katara's eyes narrowed with doubt.

"_But_...-?" she prodded.

"Er, _but_...-?" Aang blinked at her sheepishly, then broke eye contact. "I'm just not feeling comfortable with this. I mean, with _me. _Sticking my head out? It just...doesn't feel right."

"Aang. People around here kind of look up to you."

"H-ha, that's...nice, but...I don't really see why."

"You're...a hometown hero?" Katara raised her brow at him. Did she really need to go over things again?

Aang shrugged at her reminder of his recent deeds in times of desperation.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," he confessed. "Especially with all of this gang stuff going on? I mean, me putting my face out there, drawing attention to myself...Isn't that how Jane and Korra got into trouble in the first place? And that ended up impacting others _around _them. Like _you_. I don't...want to risk that happening again."

Katara paused, scanning Aang's nervous expression, and the way he was avoiding her gaze. She leaned back in her seat, running her fingertip along her lower lip methodically as she considered the circumstances.

"You're afraid," Katara concluded calmly.

Aang shrugged - again. Katara didn't like seeing him this way, with all of the shrugging and uncertainty. She couldn't blame him, though.

"But, Aang, I know you can do this. People look up to you. Even if it doesn't _feel _like they do, they _do._"

Aang's lips tightened, his eyes narrowed, and he froze up for a moment, words ready to pop out.

"I don't..._want _to do this," Aang confessed, some of his pent up irritation fizzing out like steam.

Katara blinked at him quietly, and they read each other's eyes, eyebrows, lips...

It wasn't just the technical uncertainties that had Aang not wanting to do this, Katara figured. He just...didn't want to. He didn't feel like it. It was making him uncomfortable and queasy, the thought of going up in front of a bunch of people and preaching words he hadn't written with the pretense that he was worth listening to - a notion that his humble nature conflicted with.

"OK," Katara eased up after mulling over his wary expression. She swallowed, leaned forward, and extended her hand, palm upturned. "It's OK," she reiterated. "If you just don't feel comfortable with this, then...I _understand. _It's all right."

Aang sighed, letting the mental tension continue to pour out through his ears. He took her hand, and they both squeezed.

Katara waited to see if Aang would speak, or explain, or elaborate. He did not.

She let their contact linger in quiet for a moment before leaning in and rubbing her face against his neck. He quietly moaned, thereby expressing his discouraged state, and she planted one hand on his chest. He let his arms sling across her back, and she caressed his cheek with her opposing hand. The two kissed three times - gentle lips dipping affection - then rubbed noses a few times.

Katara let Aang rest his chin on her shoulder, and she scratched her hand through his rough, dry hair. She reflected out loud for his benefit.

"I guess I...sort of took this thing you were working on with Zuko and...made it my own. I kind of forced you into doing things the way I wanted. Didn't I?"

Aang tried to hold back a hesitant grimace of admission, but Katara's lowered eyelids signaled that she knew the truth of his feelings.

"...A little," Aang squeaked out.

"I'm sorry, Penguin," Katara cooed sympathetically into his ear.

"Eskimos make better forts than penguins, anyway," Aang tried to humor her. She laughed weakly and kissed his cheek.

"I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean," she said, amused. "But all right."

"It means that it's probably good that you're working on this," Aang clarified, drinking in the rays of light through the window along with Katara's affections.

"Thanks," Katara replied.

The two sat against each other in quiet reflection for a few moments, and Aang ran has hand across her course, tangled hair.

Aang mumbled his thoughts.

"This town, and this campus...It's the closest thing I've known to a 'home.' That's why I care about all of this, you know?"

"I _do _know," Kat assured.

"But I'm...just one kid," Aang sighed to himself. "I can't stop people from-...I mean, why should anyone care what _I _have to say, anyway?"

"You're _not _a kid anymore," Katara encouraged, patting his chest with her palm.

"I _feel _like one," Aang grumbled. Katara continued her thought.

"And people should care about what you say because you _believe _in it. That's it - that's all. There doesn't have to be any other reason. You don't have to be someone famous, or a hero. And even _if _you were just one kid - which you're not - but even if you were? If you really believed in what you had to say...that's reason enough to say it."

"Maybe," Aang half-heartedly said, letting her thoughts drizzle into the cracks in his skull.

"Sometimes it takes 'just one kid' to say - out loud - what many others are thinking, but are too afraid to say...and that's how change happens. You don't change the world on your own, Aang. No one does. You have to stop thinking that you can't help bring change just because you're one person."

"One _cowardly _person, who ca-"  
"You ran into a burning-"  
"That doesn't make me a _hero, _it makes me a person who did something stupid and dangerous for _another _person."

"But because you did that 'stupid' thing, I am _alive. _And I might not be otherwise. And it's made people respect you around here - you can use that to project the ideas you believe in. That is what this is _all _about, that's why Zuko and I wanted you to play your part in all of this. Zuko and his family can be the force that causes the change, I can create and send the words that inform people, but...you're the one who can inspire them. And you can do that whether or not people know or even _care_ about how you helped me."

"How are we supposed to change anything ourselves?" Aang posed. "You can write inspirational words, and I can - what? - wave my hand at people and recite them? How does that change anything?"

"It tips the scales - it sets things back in balance," Katara replied. "For weeks now, that preacher and his followers have been bad-mouthing our school, and even _if _what he says is true...there's still an imbalance. There's no one there to represent SRU. That's where we come in. I'm not saying we're just going to say pretty words and...and _wave _our hands around, and magically fix this. This isn't just about us, it's about the school, and...the, um, the _town, _and...and lots of other people. Listen, Aang, the point...-" Katara sighed, rubbing her thumb and index finger against her chin as she collected her thoughts. She went on, her eyes wandering off with her optimistic ideas. "The point of this isn't to change all of this by ourselves. It's to be the voices and images that bring awareness - that inspire _more _people to think about, and care about all of this. Like I keep saying, we're not the ones changing things by ourselves, but _someone _has to plant the seeds of inspiration. _Someone _has to...to present the idea. That's how revolutions start. Maybe this isn't an _actual _revolution, but...it's still something worth working toward."

By the time Katara had finished, she looked back at Aang, noting his amused, endeared smirk.

"What?" she murmured, her smile aligning with his.

He kissed her on the forehead and rubbed his hand on the back of her neck.

"Ah, just..._you_," Aang put it simply. "Being you, with all your _hope _and _inspirational _speeches..."

"Thanks, I try," Katara came back facetiously.

"You try very hard," Aang confirmed. "I love that."

"I love _you. _I love..._things _about you. And I want other people to see those things."

"I love you, too, Sweetie," said Aang gently, rubbing his nose against hers.

"Soooo...-" Katara raised her eyebrow, their noses still touching. "You'll think about it?"

Aang's eyelids fluttered a bit as he half-rolled his eyes.

"Yea, I will," he said, his humored smirk weakened - less warm, more uncertain.

Katara, again, aligned her smile with his. She kissed him on the lips, they rubbed noses once more before separating. She'd been spending weeks slowly sowing those seeds of inspiration in his head. At this point, it came down to giving them enough water and sunlight, and hoping they'd sprout - but she couldn't make the plants grow on their own.

* * *

"Do you wish they let you in more? Like, made you more a part of their group?"

"_Tuh!_" Ty-Lee's burst of air carried a self-righteous irritation, as did the way her face burned up. "No, I _don't_."

Meng awkwardly let Ty-Lee's tension hang in the air as she regretted asking the question.

"Those guys are a _total_ handful, anyway," Ty-Lee ranted on, fussing with her bangs. "Like, all their stupid little...in-jokes, and, like..._ugh. _And _Toph? _Oh. My. _God. _Don't even get me started on how she...-" Ty-Lee screeched to a halt as it dawned on her who she talking to.

Meng, with one brow raised, shrugged back at Ty-Lee complacently.

Ty-Lee's chest tightened before a sigh escaped her nostrils, and she shook her head, staring back into her dorm room mirror.

"Gosh," Ty breathed out. "I'm...sorry, like, I didn't mean-"  
"It's OK," Meng dully replied.

Meng wet her dried lips and scratched her arm, watching Ty-Lee apply purple lipstick to her face.

"You're cousins, right?" Ty-Lee double-checked, glancing at Meng through the mirror. "You and Toph?"

Meng nodded.

"She can be too much some times," Meng sympathized. "I know. It's not a secret or something." Meng smirked, her brain abuzz with many awkward social situations that she'd witnessed Toph create, both on purpose and by accident. "She's..._intense_."

"_Chyeah,_" Ty-Lee instantly agreed, capping her lipstick. "Reminds me of my sister. A _couple _of them, actually..."

"A couple?"

"Oh, I...come from a big family," Ty-Lee explained. "All sisters. I'm one of seven."

"_Yikes_." The word popped out of Meng's mouth. "That, uh...must be hard."

"It, like..._ya _know." Ty-Lee shrugged wistfully. "It's just how things are. I've heard your cousin complain about her parents, but...at least her parents, like, _care._"

"Mm," Meng hummed out with some tempered envy.

"Do _you _have any siblings?" Ty-Lee wondered, checking herself in the mirror.

"No, I...-" Meng paused as she considered the technicalities. "I mean, not _really_."

"Not really?" Ty repeated back with a perplexed look. She at last stopped focusing on her own reflection, whirling her body around.

Meng lifted one shoulder up hesitantly, her eyes shifting sideways.

"Well, it's...-" Meng's mouth twisted a little as she decided to explain. "See, it's...just me and my mom, but...my Dad is with someone else who already..._had_...kids? So, like...I don't know if that counts. I never see them, anyway, and so...-"

"Aw." Ty-Lee pouted her lips, her brows arced with empathy. She clasped her hands together at her waist, her back leaned up against her vanity.

Meng caught a glance of her own reflection in the mirror behind her friend. Her hair was loose, hanging in a tangled mop beneath her summer straw hat. She had bags under her eyes. She rubbed at her face a bit and tried to regain her senses when Ty-Lee spoke.

"That sounds pretty hard, too."

"Buuut..._yea_," Meng nudged the conversation along, back out of their family histories. "Tophie's got her own situation, so she can be a little difficult some times, n' their group can be kinda...crazy, I guess. But they're all dealing with stuff, and...-"

"That doesn't mean we all have to get dragged down _with _them," Ty-Lee sighed, drumming her fingers on one cheek, holding up an elbow with the other hand. "I try to, like, be nice to them, and everything? Right? But I always feel like it's totally useless. I'll never get _accepted _into their little...like...club. Thing."

Meng nodded gently. She couldn't help but get that feeling herself. Toph's group was tightly knit, they had all of their in-jokes, they were always expecting each other to hang out together _all _the time...Meng wasn't quite so sure she wanted to even try to break into such a closed circle - but it was still pleasant to have them as a base of friends going into college. That was more than most of her fellow freshman would have.

"They still _care _about you, though," said Meng, trying to encourage Ty.

"Not after I messed up looking after those kids," Ty glumly recollected, her head sagging.

"W-well, that wasn't your _fault, _and I don't think anyone feels like it was. Those kids are back home now, anyway."

"Wait, what?" Ty-Lee entire body perked with surprise and she took a step toward Meng. "They are?"

"Y-yea," Meng spat out, confused as to how Ty-Lee wouldn't have known. "Korra worked with the cops and she rescued them."

Ty-Lee's eyes practically shimmered with admiration as her mouth went agape. She clamped her hands together at her chest and sucked in an exasperated breath.

"That girl loves those kids _so much_," Ty sighed out with awe. "To do something like that? Her and Aang, I'm telling you, they are just the _bravest _little people..."

"I, erm...-" Meng caught herself staring at Ty-Lee's exaggerated expression. This girl was...a little different. It kind of reminded Meng of any number of characters she loved reading and watching in anime and manga. "They _are_ pretty brave," Meng agreed, not knowing what else to say.

"Korra must just feel _awful _about everything," Ty-Lee continued to ramble. It was kind of impressive how earnestly Ty had just changed gears, evidently having just forgotten how grumpy she was.

"Everything's going to be all right, though," Meng attempted to persuade her.

"_Ugh, _not for _me_," Ty huffed, sinking right back into her slump. Mood-swinging much? "The nasty people who took those kids might be after my Zulie. They coulda taken _me_, and used me to get to _her_, but...-"

"Hey," Meng intruded delicately. "Let's...try not to worry about that for right now. It's not like we can really...do anything about it." Meng realized by the end of her sentence how pessimistic that ended up sounding.

"Why did you ask me about them, anyway?" Ty-Lee wondered. "Your cousin's friends."

"Ah, I'm...just catching on," Meng mumbled. "Part of me has been wondering if it's my own fault."

"If..._what _is?"

"Well, so, like...-" Meng's shoulders rose up a little as she crossed her arms and began twirling some of her course hair around two fingers. "I'm bouncing around. Between friends? You know what I mean?"

Ty-Lee passively sniped, "Instead of clinging to them like you're stuck together by glue?"

"_Heh, _y-yea, that." Meng grimaced awkwardly. She didn't like the idea of putting her friends down.

"It's not _bad,_" Ty-Lee assured, dropping some of her subtle sharpness. "Like, you should totally just keep doing what feels right for you."

"Hm."

"For realsies," Ty affirmed. "They want to be super involved with each other. Maybe you don't?"

Meng bobbed her head left and right, her eyes wandering.

"I sorta don't, no," Meng confessed. "Too much..._drama_? Meh. Dumb way of saying it, but...-"

"I know whatcha mean. I can't deal with it, either. I don't like feeling all, like, I dunno...locked in? Caught up in their whirlpool? I've got Zulie, and Mai, and Zuko, but we're...I dunno, just not so wrapped up with each other."

"And you're saying...-?"

"It's not _bad, _the way you feel. I mean, like, what those guys have? Kat, Aang, and them? Like, that's _great. _For _them. _That doesn't mean that you wanting something different is bad."

"It's not normal, though," Meng decided aloud. "Is it? I mean...Wanting to be accepted into a group. Now that I've been here, seen how things go at this school...I like it. I like the small-town kind of atmosphere, and things. I just don't think I want to be involved in a super-close group like Tophie is. I feel...like what I want is a little more...open. Like, I want the room to make all kinds of friends, instead of always being with the same...few?"

"_Chyeah, _you get it," Ty said with a smirk. "That is _tota__lly _me!"

"Hee." Meng reciprocated Ty's contagious smile. "You seem like a...social butterfly."

"_Yea, _I totally am."

"I guess that's what I want, maybe," Meng stated. "To be a social butterfly. Or maybe more like a...social...ladybug?"

"_Ohhh, _I like that," said Ty-Lee. "A social _ladybug, _that's adorbs."

Meng laughed through her nose at Ty's odd choice of word.

"Hey, so...After lunch, I know we're both going to hang out with different people, but...how about we meet back up for dinner?"

Ty-Lee grinned.

"And we can social bugs _together! _I like it."

"Neato! We'll do it." Meng flashed Ty-Lee a jovial thumbs up.

Ty-Lee returned by sticking out her tongue sideways and winking.

Meng replied by slapping one palm over an eye and curving the opposite index finger into a hook, giving Ty a menacing expression.

The two giggled at each other's randomness.

"I'll text you," said Meng.

"You're speaking my language," said Ty, lightly tapping her palms against Meng's shoulders. "'Kay." She nodded firmly, glaring at Meng's forehead. She swiped the straw hat off of Meng and set it aside on her bed. "Now that the girl-talk is over, you've _got _to let me...-" Ty scooped up two clumps of Meng's seemingly untamable mane. "-..._do _something about this."

"Oh," Meng bashfully shirked, shrinking away a bit. "Y-yea, it's...a _mess_. It's gross, you don't-"  
"It. Is. _Gorgeous_ hair," Ty-Lee insisted, beginning to ruffle and fluff Meng's itchy mass around. "But it, like, _totally_ slept on the wrong side of the bed today? So I'm gonna help you out here."

Meng offered Ty-Lee a sideways smile, bearing her semi-crooked teeth - one tooth missing. Ty-Lee seemed _way _prettier, with her straight hair and pale skin, and actual _curves. _Meng found herself wondering if she hadn't _actually _hit puberty yet. The curves would come for her at some point...right?

"I think it's a lost cause," Meng meekly chuckled, stuffing her hands in her pockets as Ty-Lee weaved around, inspecting her 'project.'

"No, no, no," Ty-Lee solemnly assured. "It is _totally _great, it just needs..._style. _Gosh," Ty-Lee sighed. "It's so naturally curly, and..._unique. _It just needs some care. That's it. C'mon." She pushed Meng's back, easing her out the dorm room door. "You head to the bathroom. We're gonna wash you right up."

As Ty-Lee ran back to grab supplies, Meng pushed her hands against the springy, rough material that coated her skull. She had no idea what Ty-Lee had in mind

* * *

"But they'll be able to find him, right?" Meng asked. As she awaited an answer, she cautiously scratched an itch on the top of her head. Douglas cracked open his violin case and pulled out his instrument.

"I _hope _so," Douglas replied warily. "Longshot took a lot of risks and helped me, Pipsqueak, and some others out of some tricky situations..."

Meng quietly contemplated how the pot-stirring could be affecting others - specifically, others that she was friends with.

"A lot of those guys are...in _jail _now, though, right?" Meng inquired.

"The Rhinos? Yea. Most of them. Some of the Freedom Fighters are, too, at this point."

"So there's no reason to...worry about it." Meng muttered these words out as she stared down at her ankle, fidgeting with the seam at the end of her pant leg.

"Right," Douglas confirmed, tweaking his instrument.

"Like...-" Meng sighed, rolling up her pants to stop her from playing with them. "Nobody's going to be trying to _kidnap _you or anything."

"_No, _no," Doug assured warily. "I never got myself into anything that tricky."

"That's good," Meng mumbled. "Thanks for being honest with me about all of this."

"Yea, no problem. Why wouldn't I be?"

"_I _don't know. Jane was really...secretive about this stuff, so I was worried you would be."

"Jane...probably has more things to protect than I do. More _people _to protect."

"Maybe so."

"Were there any other questions about...all of that?"

"Oh, no, no..." Meng shook her head, then pushed back her curly trails of hair. She nervously fidgeted with some loose strands that were poking into her cheek. The edges were already starting to mess up again, despite Ty-Lee's recent work, but it certainly still looked way more presentable than it had when she'd woken up that morning. Ty-Lee had de-fluff-ized...-? Er, whatever she had done, Meng had forgotten the phrasing. But it had made her hair less poofy and fluffy and frizzy and more...smooth and hair-like. And less spongy and springy. Douglas seemed to like it, because she could tell his gaze kept wandering just outside of eye contact. This was eliciting her to be more self-conscious about it.

"Is something wrong?" Douglas inquired. Meng immediately let go of her hair.

"Ahh-_Whh-! _Ha, noooo..." Meng shoved her black frizz back over her shoulder and readjusted her position on Douglas' piano seat. From his position by the wall, he blinked at her with a dubious look.

"You look great, you know," Doug calmly insisted with a shrug, as if it was so obvious he shouldn't need to say it. "I can tell you did something with your hair - looks good."

"Oh, _ha, _yea, thanks." Meng beamed her imperfect smile at him with eyes squinted tight, and Douglas' face involuntarily smiled back.

"But it _always _looks good," Doug added. "_Uhhm, _but-! Don't-!" He was tightening up his stance, and loosened the collar of his shirt shakily. "You know...what I mean, I didn't...-!"

"It's OK," Meng snickered, her eyelids sliding halfway down as she flashed him a tilted smirk. She adored when he got all nervously and fumbly, tripping up over his own words. She'd noticed in her time around him that he only seemed to do it around her in that particular way.

"I-I'm just...-" Douglas cleared his throat and unbuttoned the top rung of his shirt to allow his neck some space to swallow. "I don't want to go back on what we agreed on, and so-..._Hrrm. _But-! I also...-! I mean, you _really _shouldn't worry about...your _hair, _because it...-"

Douglas had slowed to a stop when Meng's sly eyes didn't change. She just kept...staring at him. In a good way - he assumed. Then again, who knew? She could just be fooling around.

"Uhh...I'm doing it again, aren't I?" Douglas figured.

Meng finally pried her eyes off of him, clicked her tongue against the space where her tooth was missing, and nodded.

"Yea. But I don't mind. My day needed some of that," Meng said with a shrug, consciously glancing down at her shoes. The laces didn't look very orderly. Sloppily tied, like little kid shoes. She went to re-lace them, grunting out, "Some humor...to lighten...the mood."

"I'm sorry your time here has been so rough," Douglas sympathized. "When you're back on campus in the fall, all of these things will have died down."

"Yea, probably." Meng sighed as she dropped her feet back down, satisfied with her shoe-tying.

"We all just have to weather the storm a little longer," said Douglas with a conclusive shrug, aligning his instrument against his body. Douglas took in a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes, gaining his focus. He glanced down at his sheet music and began to play.

The gentle sound of sliding strings filled the tiny practice room.

Meanwhile, across campus, two young women in summer dresses had their guitars at the ready. They stood in the grass on the campus quad, the summer air drifting over them, the fading shadows of clouds drifting past, encouraging the song they played as students passed by.

_"~The thin horizon of a plan is almost clear~"_

Katara was seated nearby at a folding table with informational pamphlets. She was leafing through her leather bound journal as she took in the song.

_"~My friends and I have had a tough time~"_

Jane plucked at her guitar, singing melancholic harmonies. The wind tousled her hair, making her skull earrings visible.

_"~Bruising our brains hard up against change~"_

Toph was singing with pride alongside her friend. She tuned out the footsteps around and focused on letting her inner singer breathe.

_"~All the old dogs, and the magician~"_

Sokka observed their performance from a nearby tree trunk, arms folded as the wind passed by around him, the tree blocking it from pushing at him.

_"~Now I see we're in the boat in two-by-two's~"_

Meng peacefully admired Douglas' violin playing, all the while self-consciously fussing with her clothes and hair.

_"~Only the heart that we have for a tool we could use~"_

Korra toyed with her dogtag chain necklace as she watched TV with Bolin. Her eyes were on the sporting event on-screen. Her mind was elsewhere.

_"~And the very close quarters are hard to get used to~"_

Aang warily weaved around the growing crowd of quad spectators, hands in his pockets as he observed his own friends from afar.

_"~Love weighs the hull down with its weight~"_

Mai anguished through her migraine as she studied, pushing back her doubts with a bottle of apple juice and a side of aspirin.

_"~But the wood is tired, and the wood is old~"_

Iroh took a sip of his saké, leaning back in his booth. He raised his cup with a solemn nod.

_"~And we'll make it fine, if the weather holds~"_

Zuko, sitting across from his Uncle, lifted up his own cup to return the toast.

_"~But if the weather holds, we'll have missed the point~"_

Tenzin played Go Fish with Ikki and Meelo. They were much quieter than usual.

_"~That's where I need to go~"_

As Pema entered with a fresh batch of vegan biscuits, Jinora sat in the recliner nearby. As she watched her family enjoy a snack with their game, she readied her phone.

[To: Korra]  
[When do we get to see you?]

_"~No way construction of this tricky plan~"_

Azula was ignoring her brother and Uncle, taking a seriously phone call.

_"~Was built by other than a greater hand~"_

Azula ended her call. Her smartphone's background portrayed the Kurosawa company's flame-inspired logo.

_"~With a love that passes all our understanding~"_

Katara took in the grass scented air with a deep breath as a small group of students approached her makeshift booth.

_"~Watching closely over the journey~"_

Aang opted to let Katara do her self-appointed duty. He went to enter the ACC.

_"~Yeah, but what it takes to cross the Great Divide~"_

Chief Jia was having a heated discussion with the head of campus security inside the glass walls of the security office.

_"~Seems more than all the courage I can muster up inside~"_

A group of students were huddled around the campus center's lounge TV. It was playing a local news segment about the local Congressman's children being rescued.

_"~But we've got to have some answers when we reach the other side~"_

Aang sighed at the way the news anchor was implying the college's fault in the event, and the way the students watching were gossiping with each other about it.

_"~The prize is always worth the rocky ride~"_

Aang stared up at the carvings in the building's foundation: {Avatar Campus Center}  
He wondered what value his opinion was truly worth in all of these political matters and gang warfare.

_"~But the wood is tired, and the wood is old~"_

Toph savored the way sound waves were bouncing along inside her guitar, reverberating between wood bequeathed to her by her parents merged with wood granted by her late grandmother.

_"~And we'll make it fine, if the weather holds~"_

Sokka had nudged his way through the small crowds to maintain his sights on Toph. She looked surprisingly at-peace, and he couldn't help but feel eager to drink that sight in.

_"~But if the weather holds, we'll have missed the point~"_

Jane - who could see Sokka, while Toph couldn't - took note of his presence. Her lips curled up into a smile as she sang, nodding toward him. He waved back, suddenly self-conscious of his own gawking.

_"~That's where I need to go~"_

Students came and went, only a handful remaining to listen to the whole thing. Katara handed a few pamphlets to the students who had asked her what the deal was about and courteously bid them a good day.

_"~Sometimes I ask to sneak a closer look~"_

The wind flipped around the pages of Katara's journal, causing her to divert attention from her farewell.

_"~Skip to the final chapter of the book~"_

Katara hastily grabbed her journal and closed it, tying its leather binding round to keep it closed.

_"~And then maybe steer us clear from some of the pain it took~"_

With the journal sitting in her lap, she took a deep breath. Rubbing her fingers absentmindedly across the smooth surface of her ovular necklace piece, she stared down at the crescent moon design on the book's cover and the indented text reading {_FAMILY_}.

_"~To get us where we are this far, this far~"_

After Bolin asked what was wrong, Korra found it easier to dismiss his concern with a "Nothing, just tired." She slipped her dog tag chain off her neck and placed it inside the moon-printed music box on the bottom shelf of their coffee table.

_"~But the question drowns in its futility~"_

Toph, a sniveling girl, muddled and lost in the icy rain and mud flooding her senses, perpetuating her loneliness.

_"~Even I have got to laugh at me~"_

Sokka, a scoffing boy, conflicted and lost between what his heart desired and what his mind decided.

_"~No one gets to miss the storm of what will be~"_

Jane, a screaming girl, ash-covered and lost in the glow of a burning building she'd cast her knife into.

_"~Just holding on for the ride~"_

Aang, a twiddling boy, shadowed and lost in the hood drawn over his eyes, fading into another nameless face in the crowd.

_"~But the wood is tired, and the wood is old~"_

Korra, a snarling girl, blood-stained and lost in the lust and rage of thirsty fists that quivered and ached.

"~And we'll make it fine, if the weather holds~"

Katara, a bawling girl, trembling and lost in the pit of depression she'd pushed herself into.

_"~But if the weather holds, we'll have missed the point~"_

Katara beamed with pride as she watched Toph sing and play.

_"~That's where I need to go~"_

Toph was doing it - singing in that...earnest way. It was hard to formulate it into words, but Katara knew it when she knew it, and...right now, she knew it. And she was quite pleased that Toph's art was contributing to something that could reach others like this. The fact that Jane was doing it all the same, in her own, less refined way...just made it even better. Two very different-looking girls, playing on two very different-looking guitars, singing with very different-sounding voices, harmonizing and embracing each other's words. Katara was rather ecstatic on the inside.

If Jane and Toph could do it - not just get along, not just tolerate each other, but _harmonize, _as Aang had put it before - then it gave Katara an example to strive toward influencing within those around her.

* * *

**A/N: Song lyrics are from 'The Wood Song' by The Indigo Girls.**


	126. Fearless Five Plus One

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 126 - The Fearless Five Plus One_

* * *

- Friday, June 10th -

Mai's dry, rusted voice echoed across the empty Jasmine Dragon's shop-scape, many of its tables recently cleaned. Mai was reciting poetry over the microphone, practicing her reading skills.

"'Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend,' I shrieked, upstarting-  
'Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!'"

Jane could hear the familiar voice traveling up the stairs from the back of the campus center. It was like Aang had said: Mai was at the Jasmine Dragon, all right. After checking her phone for the time - [8:14pm], past the coffee shop's hours of operation - Jane shrugged to herself and traveled down the stone steps, descending into the madness that was Mai's dark poetry reading.

"'Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!  
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!  
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'"

Jane entered the opened glass door, ignoring the {CLOSED} sign. She could see Jin bustling about, wiping down tables.

Mai noticed Jane's presence, and the two locked eyes across the cafe. Mai smirked with mischief.

"Quoth the Raven...-" Mai's eyes darkened as she leaned her lips to the microphone, whispering in an icy hiss: "'_Nevermore_.'"

Jane laughed through her nostrils as she entered. Jin, startled briefly, calmed down when she recognized her roommate. They awkwardly waved to each other. There was always that...stiff strangeness between them. Neither had yet managed to get over it just yet. Since Jin was hardly ever in their dorm room, and neither was Jane, as of late, there was very little opportunity for Jane to initiate contact - which she wasn't prone to doing in the first place.

"And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting  
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;  
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,  
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;"

Jane took a deep breath and she went to go take a seat at a table - she caught Jin giving her an odd look out of the corner of her eye, and having realized that the table was still drying, Jane opted to instead sit down on a couch close to the cramped wooden stage Mai spoke from. A black, weathered laptop coated in gothic stickers - and a skull painted in what looked like red nail polish - was sitting there, with a small composition notebook stacked on top.

Mai finished her reading.

"And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor  
Shall be lifted...nevermore."

As Mai smiled down with amusement at the red-headed slouch overhearing her poetry reading, Jane offered a handful of slow, lazy claps. Mai tucked her reading material in one arm, switched off the speaker system, and approached her surprise visitor.

Mai calmly asked in her snappy way, "Come to _chastise _me for wasting my time on such affairs as _poetry_?"

"Heh." Jane didn't say anything else in reply.

Rather, Jane was brandishing the laptop, still closed, looking up to Mai for approval to use it with in inquisitive finger point at the device. Mai nodded complacently, having nothing brazenly present on the device that she didn't want other eyes seeing.

Jane cracked the device right open and eagerly pulled up the internet browser, evidently knowing exactly what she was looking for. Mai, curious, took the seat beside Jane and set her Edgar Allan Poe compilation neatly in her lap. Jane read, her speech skills much less refined than Mai's had been.

"I have wished a bird would fly away,  
And not sing by my house all day;

Have clapped my hands at him for the d-..._from _the door  
When it seemed as if I could bear no more.

The fault must partly have been...in me.  
The bird was not to blame forrrr...his _ke_y...?"

Jane cleared her throat and shifted her derriere, scratching her eyebrow with a sigh.

"Uh, sorry, I...-" Jane mumbled out quietly, with some embarrassment.  
"It's OK," Mai insisted with a flat tone that carried an edge of warmth.

Jane glanced sideways to ensure she understood Mai's meaning correctly, then finished.

"And of course there must be something wrong  
In wanting to silence any song."

With that, Jane paused, then shrugged, closing the laptop and passing it over to Mai. Mai was too busy trying to get a read on Jane's bashful but melancholic face to notice the laptop until it landed in her lap.

"Uhm, I...didn't know you had a taste for poems," Mai noted. "That was Robert Frost, right?"

"I, um, yea," Jane cocked her head off to one side, pushing her hair back behind her ears. It was actually pretty long as this point - the longest Mai had ever seen the girl sport. "I had to do a paper on him back in high school, n'...I dunno, just sorta stuck with me, some of it. Especially the one about two roads?"

Mai smiled, her eyes narrowing with a glint of endearment. She quoted the famous excerpt.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—"  
Jane joined right in alongside Mai.

"I took the one less traveled by." Jane nodded sentimentally as they recited it together.

Jane finished on her own, in a somber tone. "And that has made all the difference."

They both let their spoken words hang in the air for a moment or two, each staring off across the cafe and avoiding eye contact.

"I like that one, too," Mai affirmed. Jane was turned away, watching Jin sweep the heavily-trodden floor in front of the counter. Mai followed Jane's theoretical line of sight, but in so doing, noticed the skull-shaped earring Jane was wearing, with her hair tucked back. "Oh, where'd you get those?" Mai inquired.

"Huh?" Jane whirled her head back around to see Mai pointed at her head.

"The earrings? They're cool."

"_Fff_." Jane grinned a nervous, toothy grin before wiping it away with a light head shake. "Christmas present," she explained.

Mai narrowed her eyes thoughtfully for half a second.

"From Toph?"

"Heh, yup."

"You're not hiding any other depressing jewelry, are you?"

Jane spat out an aghast laugh at the idea.

"_Uhhh, _no," Jane confirmed with a smirk. "Still gettin' used to wearing this kinda stuff."

"...Ah." It clicked in Mai's head that certain acts involved in dressing up which she'd known and indulged in her whole life were, for the young woman in front of her, still a pretty new thing. "Yea, well...You like it?"

Jane raised a brow, and Mai was quick to follow up.

"You've been dressing a lot differently this semester," Mai observed. "You look nice, I mean...-"

"Oh, nah, I-...Comes and goes, I guess," Jane said with a shrug. "Still kinda don't get why people act like it's some big thing."

"Why...what is?"

"What ya wear. Right?" Jane shook her head slowly, her tone calm but tired. "Like, only girls do this, only boys do that. Bullshit."

"Mm." Mai nodded in consideration, allowing Jane to ramble a bit more.

"Whatever I'm in the mood for, I just try to..._do _it. Not how I used to be, so...takes getting used to."

"That's good," Mai encouraged. She checked Jane's profile, though the girl was back to avoiding eye contact. "You seem to be a lot better, huh?"

"_Well_...-" Jane trailed off with a one-arm shrug. "Lot better n' I was a year ago. _Less _than a year ago. Just some...loose ends still nagging at me."

"Yea." Mai was motionless, and ended up gazing across the cafe to the wall art on the opposing wall, where Jane was currently staring. She had some notion of what Jane might still be stressed out about, but opted to not bring it up. "Kat and those guys really helped turn things around for you, from what I've heard."

Jane nodded in slow, methodical intervals for a couple of seconds.

"Pretty much," Jane concluded.

"Things won't be the same for your group pretty soon, I'm assuming."

"How's that?" Jane turned her head to Mai. "_Oh, _you mean...-" Jane instantly figured it out and bobbed her head from side to side. "Yea, with Sokka leaving soon."

"I can't say I'll miss him _that_ much," Mai confessed.

Jane sighed through her nose.

"I think I will," Jane decided. "Shit, haven't had much time to think on it, but..._yea._ Me and him never really got along for a long time, but...ya spend enough with someone, no matter how different they are from ya, and...ya learn to see the good in each other. I guess. _Somethin'_ corny like that."

"I probably know what you mean," Mai assured.

Jin was now sweeping her collected pile of dust and debris out the open door. The two girls on the couch sat quietly for a few seconds until Mai redirected the conversation.

"You didn't come here to chat about poems and such, though, did you?"

"_Agh, _right," Jane fidgeted her hand a bit as she remembered why she was here in the first place. "Kat has been trying to get a hold of you about the peace march thing tomorrow, but she's too busy working on stuff for it, so her n' Aang sent me to find you. Said you'd probably be here."

"Oh, OK." Mai sifted her nails across her finely cut bangs, their red highlight streaks fresh from the day before. "What's wrong?" Mai wondered.

"I dunno, some technical stuff that Kat said you knew about because Zuko gave the info to you, or...-?"

"I don't have my phone on me," Mai disclosed. "I should go back to Terra, give her a call, and figure out what's going on."

Jane shrugged absent-mindedly.

"Prolly," she loosely agreed.

"OK." Mai nodded, processing how this might change her plans for the evening as she gathered her things. "I'm heading out."

"Yep."

"Arrree...you coming with?" Mai wondered, casting a curious glance over to Jin, who was ignoring them.

"Nah, gonna hang back," Jane said with a toss of her wrist.

"OK." Mai paused awkwardly, her glance flicking back and forth between the two girls, neither of whom were sharing eye contact with her or each other. "Well...Good seeing you, Jane," said Mai as she retrieved her maroon messenger bag from beside the couch. She stuffed it with her books and computer.

"Uhh, yea, you, too," bid Jane, giving Mai a nod of farewell.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then." Mai waved, heading back through the shop.

"See ya."

Jane watched Jin and Mai exchange quiet good-byes but lingered on the couch hesitantly. After Mai left, Jin was getting ready to take out the garbage that had piled up over the day. She gave pause over the trash can, noting Jane's presence.

"Did you...still need something?" Jin asked.

"Huh?" Jane gawked at her from across the cafe. "Wh-? Oh, nah. Nope. Just...I dunno."

"Well, I'm cleaning up and locking this place soon, so...-" Jin pulled up the trash bag out of its silver can and tightened its draw strings.

"You need me to go?" Jane mumbled, checking her phone again - still no new messages.

"Sort of," Jin snipped with some bite in her tone.

Jane scratched an itch on her elbow and readjusted her shirt.

Jane muttered out, "I was just...thinking I'd wait here until you were done, and...we could walk back to Aqua together."

As Jin flicked open a fresh garbage bag, she gave pause, shooting Jane a perplexed look.

"Why? What do you need from me?" she wondered.

"I...-" Jane swallowed, her throat clogged up with gunk. She cleared it with a couple of coughs, smacking her chest.

"Because that's the only time you seem to notice me," Jin sharply declared. "When you _need _me for something. The White Lotus isn't _meeting _anymore, in case you haven't noticed. Not that you bothered to come even a single time once we _helped _you. There's no reason for you to be here. I don't care _what _mess you've gotten yourself into this time, I don't care _what _your dad and Iroh did back in the day, I'm _not _some-"  
"_Hey, _whoa, what the fuck?" Jane rose up from her seat, giving Jin an earnest glare of surprise.

Jin was pushing the new bag into place, wrapping it around the edges of the can so it would hold as she ignored Jane's gaze.

"Shit," Jane sighed out, shaking her head slowly as she approached her roommate. "_This _why you ain't been at the dorm lately?"

"I've _been _at the dorm," Jin testily informed. "But in other floors, other rooms...Because I'm sick of you, and all the drama and nonsense around you. I mean, Katara, she's OK on her own, but it's bad enough having to listen to her and Toph go back and forth all the time. But _you_? You paid attention to me when I could _help _you - I thought I was helping you connect with your-..._whatever, _with your dad? Who used to go here? But, no. No, of course not. You didn't care about the Lotus, or about our ideals, or even about the work your father and Iroh used to do. It was all just another excuse for you to get right back into what you were doing at the start of the school year. You should be thankful I never reported that _knife _you always kept around."

At this point, Jin had re-topped the garbage can, put the garbage bag rolls back in a closet, and was lugging the trash bag outside. Jane was following, baffled and eager to have a word in edge-wise.

"Dude, _what_ th...-?" Jane followed up the stone stairs, but Jin was moving at a steady clip for carrying a bag of trash. "Seriously, you got shit all wrong," Jane called out, catching up.

"_Shh_!" Jin shushed her, as they were now outside, heading around the side of the ACC.

"Why _shh_?" Jane retorted, her voice still raised - and echoing across the parking lot and off the ACC's walls.

"_Because_," Jin matter-of-factly seethed in a whisper as Jane caught up. "I actually _don't _want the entire campus hearing about our problems? Unlike _some _people..."

"You talkin' shit about my friends?" Jane growled quietly, stalking Jin as they approached a plastic dumpster. Jane knew the dumpster well because she herself had needed to come up and toss waste from Appa's.

"I know you aren't bad people," Jin sighed, still keeping her voice down. "But you're like a vortex. And it angers me that you've drawn Mai and Zuko into it."

"I thought you..._cared _about this Harmony March thing," Jane cited.

Jin grunted as she lifted her bag up and over. It clattered with the rest of the garbage, and she shut the plastic lid.

"I _do_," Jin insisted, dusting her hands off on her green, dragon-printed apron. "But it was something _Zuko _started." She was immediately heading back to the Jasmine Dragon.

"With Aang's help," Jane pointed out, still chasing behind with her hands in her pockets.

"Zuko had a personal, intimate reason to be involved. And Aang, I mean...him, too. Sure, that was fine. But then Katara had to swoop in and...-"

"And _what_?" Jane snapped as they rolled down the steps.

Jin's head rolled around on its axis with irritation as they re-entered the cafe. She closed the glass double doors behind Jane, which caused the door chimes to jangle, sounding all the louder in an empty room.

"Nevermind," Jin huffed. "You know, it's not even that. That's not the problem. Like I said, Katara is fine. I don't have a problem with her. Aang is a nice guy. _It's you._" Jin flicked out both hands in a small chopping gesture. "You and your psychotic friend Korra, _you _two had to stir up trouble. _You _two are the reason we are _in _this entire situation."

"What, you mean...the Combustion Man, and the Triple Threats?"

"_Yesss._" Jin tossed up her hand in a mild fit as she stomped off to the stock room. She continued to rant from out of Jane's sight. "The Kurosawas had enough problems before you and Korra came along. Because of what you two did, Wayward has been getting a _lot _more attention than it needed."

"Ever stop to think that this ain't _all _my fault?" Jane barked, prodding her index finger into her chest. "My parents fucking _died _'cuz of this bullshit with Zuko's family. Yea, the Kurosawas had enough problems 'cuz they _made 'em _for themselves. I didn't _ask _for this. _Reacted _to it, yea. Not gonna just sit n' take it when I find out a crazy asshole had it out for my parents and now has it out for my friends."

Both girls were glaring each other down at this point, and a thick silence immobilized them for a few seconds.

"You made a _choice_," Jin pointed out fiercely. "You chose your gang. You chose violence."

"And I _regret it,_" Jane seethed with a bit of exasperation.

"For all you know, that pyromaniac '_regrets_' the things he did. That doesn't change what _happened. _He's in jail for what he's done. And you're not."

Jane dug her nails into the sides of her scalp, not at all pleased with where this was going. She blew hot air through clenched teeth as she pushed her hair back over her ears.

"Look, I'm _sorry, _OK?" Jane spit out, continuing to fuss with her bangs to give her hands something to do in their shaky state. "Fucker deserved to be punished for what he did. _Lot _worse than anything I've done."

"_Puh! _You'll be quick to use everyone around you to seek revenge. But now you're going to picket for peace and non-violence all of a sudden, after all this time? Whatever's convenient, I guess."

"Yea, I am, because I _know _what I did was a fucking mistake and I'm trying to help make things right."

"And help yourself sleep better at night while you wait for everyone else to forget the horrible things you've done."

Jane had nothing to say to that. Hell knew what this girl knew about her past, and Jane sure as shit didn't need any of it dug back up.

"Look." Jane's fingertips rubbed furiously at her brows before pressing up her forehead skin in frustration. She kept her cool. "What do you want from me, Jin?"

Jin emerged from the stock room, pulling a key from her back pocket and locking it behind her. She was no longer garbed in an apron.

"I'd like for you to leave me alone," Jin declared, inspecting the main counter and ensuring everything was in order. "We were roommates this year. And this year is _very _close to being over. After this month, we'll never have to put up with each other, because I'll be gone and off doing bigger and better things than helping the Kurosawas clean up their dirty laundry."

"Soooo...-" Jane's lips fell agape with wary irritation as she watched Jin scribble some notes down on yellow paperwork. "That's it? You don't wanna...hash this shit out?"

"No, thanks," Jin replied in a passively sharp manner. "You had your chance a long time ago, but you were too busy playing vigilante. Just let it go. I'm helping out with the Harmony March, finishing June term, leaving campus, and then we'll be out of each other's hair for good."

Jane sighed as Jin typed and clicked at the computerized register behind the counter. She didn't know how to respond to this. Jane didn't know Jin well enough to have any idea of what the 'right' thing to say was. After an entire school year, maybe that in and of itself was sign enough that this wasn't worth the trouble.

"There's nothing else to say," Jin affirmed, staring up at Jane. "I need to lock up here now. Can you please leave?"

"Buh...-" Jane started. When she saw Jin's no-nonsense stare, she dropped whatever it was she was going to say. "Got it," she puffed out, shaking her head bitterly as she dug her hands into the pockets of her denim shorts and shuffling to the glass double doors.

"You can't expect _every_one to forget about what you've done," Jin stated, pushing her glasses up on the bridge her nose as she rounded the counter. "We never got along very well, and there's no point now in trying to force it. To be honest, I'm not even sure what possessed you to try at this point, which a couple of weeks left as it is."

"Sorry I bothered," Jane grunted out spitefully.

"_I'm _sorry you didn't bother sooner," Jin remarked stiffly. "Now. Good night."

Jane didn't look back as the glass doors closed behind her, the chimes jingling behind her. She could hear Jin locking the door decisively.

* * *

**A/N: ****(_The Raven_, Edgar Allan Poe)**; (_The Minor Bird_, Robert Frost)

* * *

- Saturday, June 11th -

"_Whoa_-ho, careful with those _guns_!" Bolin chuckled warily at Korra's bare arms, their physique flexing over the kitchen table. "You'll put a, uh...you'll put an eye out," Bolin weakly muttered, his joking tone rolling out a sigh.

For the briefest of moments, Korra took offense at her arms being compared to 'guns,' given all that she'd lived (and re-lived) just days prior.

"Oh, _right_," Bolin spat out, sucking in air through grit teeth as he caught that look of disdain on Korra's face. "Too soon..."

Korra let her arm relax and flopped her palm against the table with a sigh.

"No, it-...No worries, eh? Anyway, we gonna go here, or what?"

"Right." Bolin rolled up his own sleeve to match Korra's, planting his elbow on the table. "Been hittin' the ol' _gymmy-_gym." He smacked his opposing fingers against his bicep, which Korra could appreciate. The guy was probably the only person she knew here in Wayward whose arm could potentially match brawn with her own.

"_Psh_," Korra playfully scoffed at his words. "All right, let's see whatcha got this time." She reassumed a readied stance.

"Got a good feeling," Bolin said, taking a deep breath as he stabilized his body.

The two locked hands - Korra's strong fingers against Bolin's. They both fidgeted their fingers a little, staring each other down. There was a certain tension in the air between their bodies. It was one Korra had been doing her best to ignore for weeks, if not a few months, but at this point was finally allowing herself to drink in. It was somewhat baffling, really, how Bolin could still carry a spark for her after everything she'd done.

"Ready when you are," Bolin proclaimed with a tad of confusion at Korra's hesitation.

Korra blinked, refocused her brain from active to inactive, and braced herself.

"'Kay," she grunted out, tightening her grip on her opponent. "Three, two, one...-!"

The two pushed against each other. For a couple of seconds, both exerted a seemingly equal amount of force into the other, their arm-wrestling match at a stalemate for a short time. Korra's arm ached with pain, still sore from the tribulations she'd been enduring, and in a single twitch of weakness, Bolin managed to gain a slight edge of momentum. Korra fought against the impending tide, but Bolin's tenacity did not let up. He pressed the back of her wrist against the cold metal table and grinned a mixture of surprise and pride.

"_Whew!_" he breathed out, immediately letting up after he'd won. "Diggity-damn! I, uh...I sorta _beat _ya for a change, didn't I?"

"Heh." Korra retreated her arm to her waist, massaging her hand a bit beneath the table. "Took you long enough," she said with some amusement, not wanting her pain to detract from his long-awaited moment of victory.

Bolin flicked his wrist to loosen up his arm, then polished his nails against his chest.

"I _did _learn from the best," Bolin noted.

"Damn straight," Korra said with a light chuckle, lifting herself up from her chair. "_Speaking _of...-"

Korra walked the short distance to the stove and grabbed the stray oven mitt on the counter, sliding it over her left hand (the one she _hadn't _just wrestled with). She used it to crack open the oven and peered inside. A searing wave of warmth assaulted her face in a delightful way, bringing with it good tidings of cheeses and meats from the slightly bubbling disc that rested within. She hummed with satisfaction and an ounce of pride, noting the golden brown hue of the crust.

"Smells ready to _me_," Bolin declared.

With this verbal stamp of approval, Korra grabbed the edge of the pizza pan with her mitt and hoisted it up on top of the stove. A lovely cloud of delicious steam uplifted her tired spirits. She switched off the oven and closed it, then reached for their pizza cutter from a nearby drawer.

"Oh, _man_," Korra breathed out with anticipation. Her mouth watered as she cautiously sliced at the pie with her right arm, her left hand (still in a mitt) keeping the pan steady. She chopped the pizza into quarters, and Bolin was at her side with two plates at the ready.

A minute or so passed by as they squirmed around each other in the confined kitchen. Bolin took their plates to the table, and Korra got two glasses of orange juice prepared. The gentle, the quiet, the scuttling...it was homey. Things had not been 'homey' recently, and Korra could finally appreciate when they were now.

Korra took a moment to herself, standing over two glasses of juice. Her eyes slid closed and she breathed in deeply.

Meelo's bony little fingers, prodding and poking at her armpits, struggling to counter-tickle.  
Ikki's delicate hands weaving her hair into misaligned braids.  
Jinora's firm touch pressing against her back, working out the knots in her stony muscles.

"You OK?"

Bolin's solemn inquiry stirred Korra from her meditative moment.

"_Erk, _yea. _Yea_," Korra quickly assured, grabbing the glasses. "Guess I'm not quite...awake...yet?"

Korra plunked herself down at the table and slid one of the two glasses across the way to Bolin. He eagerly took a sip, then rubbed his palms together as he stared at his meal with glee.

"Awake enough to make some damn good pizza, though," he remarked, carefully grabbing one wide slice and chewing into it. "_Mmmph! _Hmm! _Nnnnmmm..._" He struggled and flinched, evidently caught in a paradox between 'delicious' and 'way-too-freaking-hot-to-eat-yet.'

"I _did _learn from the best," Korra repeated, watching Bolin swallow the piping hot pizza and instantly gulp down some cold juice.

"That sounds familiar," Bolin remarked with snappy, quick words. "Now, why does that sounds familiar? _Right, _because _I _said that."

"Mm." Korra sighed, leaning back in her seat as she watched the steam rise from her creation. Bolin hadn't even given her advice or overseen the pizza's production. Korra had spent some time that morning getting it ready from scratch based on her previous 'lessons.' Her knee was bouncing habitually as she stared at the food, impatient to eat and craving the relief of nicotine.

They both took a swig of their juice.

"It's...a little too hot," Bolin noted after a lull between them.

"Yea," Korra agreed sullenly. She made her impulse decision and got up from her chair, scraping the legs against the linoleum floor. She trudged to the front door.

"Wherrrrre are ya goin'?" Bolin called out, perplexed.

"I'm gonna grab a smoke while I wait for the pizza to cool down," Korra explained, reaching into her denim jacket that hung from the coat rack on the door. She pulled out a nearly empty carton of cigarettes and loosed one, along with a book of matches.

"Oh," Bolin replied simply. As Korra popped the cigarette into her mouth, she wandered back to the kitchen. "Uhh, you're not going to..._smoke _that in the house. Are you?"

By the time he'd finished, Korra had struck a match. Korra paused, hovering just above the seat she'd been occupying. Bolin was casting a rather critical look up at her, her match flickering its tiny flame. She caught herself staring at him, then shook the match off, killing the mini torch. She sighed, and with her cigarette still hanging on her lips, she dropped the dead match into the kitchen's trashbin beneath the sink.

"I can open the window," Korra conceded with a shrug, pulling the cigarette out of her mouth.

"_Uh, _well, ya see, it's just...-" Bolin was tapping his fingertips against each other nervously. "You're not supposed to smoke inside."

"Mako's not here," Korra pointed out. "You gonna _tattle _on me?"

"_Heh, _y-yea, that's, uh, that's good, but, um...-" Bolin fidgeted with the collar of his tee shirt, tilting his head up as he stared at the cigarette in Korra's fingers. "The reason we _have _that rule is because the smoke messes up my sinuses. Remember?"

"...Oh." Korra did not remember.

"We've sorta...gone over that before," Bolin reminded sheepishly.

Still wasn't ringing any bells. Except for the '_Wow, Korra, you're still kind of a douche' _bell that recently had just sort of been like background noise in her day-to-day existence for weeks now.

"I actually thought you were...trying to quit," Bolin admitted, shrugging as he poked his finger against his plate. He stuck a few crumbs to his skin and licked them up as something to do.

"I, uh, I was. I mean, I am," Korra mumbled, setting the cigarette behind her ear like a pencil. "Why, does it bug you that much?"

"_Eh, _maybe-kinda-sorta. Since it's, ya know, _smoke. _And addictive. And has second-hand effects on people, namely me and my lungs and my nose and-"  
"I'm going to quit," Korra sighed, humming and hawing over it. "I need more time, I can't just go cold-turkey on it."

"You should maybe try out nicotine patches," Bolin advised with optimism. "Do you want me to pick some up next time I get groceries? 'Cuz I can do that."

Korra narrowed her eyes at his glint of hope.

"Shhhure?" she replied. "I guess it couldn't hurt to try," she muttered warily.

"It never does, right?" Bolin offered another round of buoyancy.

"_Ha_." Korra lowered her brows facetiously. "Except when you burn your tongue on pizza that's too hot."

"It was worth it," Bolin passed off with mock smugness. "Besides, now I know it's going to be good, so I'm fine waiting for it to cool down before giving it another go."

Bolin was gawking at his still-steaming pizza as he said this, but Korra was staring at his face. Specifically, she was fixated on that one curl of black hair that seemed glued to his forehead, even as he was leaned over his pizza. No way that dumb curl was some natural accident - but then again, neither were the multiple tails or braids that Korra would fashion her own mane into.

Oh, and the pizza thing he'd just said. It just hit Korra that it was like a metaphor. Right? Or maybe that was Iroh's talks and pizza metaphors impairing her judgment.

"Mhhmm...-?" Bolin's mouth was occupied with a carefully chewed off piece of pizza as he looked back up to her. He swallowed with some force, his eyes watering a bit, and he cleared his throat. "There, uh...something on my face?" he asked good-naturedly, running his hand across his forehead to check for pimples. Of course, Bolin took too good care of his face for such things to crop up, while Korra occasionally found herself needing to hide the periodic forehead zit with her bangs.

Goddamn fucking hair fixation today, or what? Korra decided to blame it on that stupid curl.

"Yea," Korra replied to Bolin's question. "Ya got something right...-" She reached out across the table to his pimple inspection and pushed his own hand into his face. "-_there,_" she snickered, leaning back in her own seat. "Just that whole part, really."

Bolin, glaring with indignation, adjusted his expression into one of confusion as he tried to get a read on her. She popped her cigarette off of her ear and set it on the window sill to her right, then took down a hit of orange juice.

"Wait, wait," Bolin sputtered. "I can't tell if you just called me ugly or handsome."

Korra lifted up her brows in a short gesture, her eyelids hanging down with amusement.

"Me, neither," she deadpanned earnestly, then took a bite of her pizza. Eh, it was pretty hot, sure, but far from inedible. Mm, pretty damned good, too. The artichoke and chicken combo really pulled it together for the white sauce dish. It seemed Kat wasn't as off base with that suggestion as Korra had feared. Maybe she _could _get used to white pizza, after all. She did prefer the red, though. Shit. Now she was seeing orange with a side of freckled. Again with the hair fixation, fuckin' eh.

"Well, if _you _can't make up your mind," Bolin scoffed, in regards to her indecisive statement, "I guess I shouldn't worry either way."

"My mind _is _made up on one thing," Korra assured, wriggling her chunky piece of pizza in his direction. "I did a fucking good job on this."

"Right?" Bolin agreed. "Took a while to finally figure out the right balance, but _man,_ nice adjustment."

After swallowing a second morsel, Korra shrugged.

"Next, I have to make 'nice adjustments' to every _other _part of my life, eh?"

"_Agh, _it's not that hard. What's normal feels so difficult to change - until you just _do _it. The trick is to work one step at a time. Then, before you know it, everything's different and better and new and you'll wonder why you didn't try changing stuff sooner."

"I'm guessing we're not just talking about pizza," Korra facetiously remarked, glancing at her cigarette bathing in midday sunlight by the windowpane.

"Am I saying you should seriously, positively, really, really consider quitting cigarettes?" Bolin posed in mock rhetoric. "Yes. Yes, I am."

"Eh." Korra shrugged, scratched at her scalp contemplatively, and ate another bite of food. She then ruminated aloud, "If there's one thing I've figured out from all of this bullshit lately...-" She stared at her own scuffed wrist, holding a slice of pizza. Her knuckles were still recovering, a bit scraped and bruised. "-...it's that quitting isn't _always _a bad thing."

* * *

_I quit. I don't want to do this. I'm not going to do this._

Aang stood, dumb-founded, watching a series of students pile into the shuttle. It was the second one to make the rounds between SRU and downtown Wayward, and there'd be a third, as well.

But Aang wasn't going to be taking a shuttle.

"Waiting for the next one?"

Aang was shocked from his vacuous stupor by the words of Meng, who had come up beside him from behind. He looked over to her, grasping his flag tentatively. It was a flag comprised of a print that bound the four elemental circles he'd painted previously - the ones contained the letters 'SRU' accompanied by an arrow. Aang noticed that Meng - and Ty-Lee, who was beside her - were studying the flag thoughtfully. Without any wind, the banner was sagging, and Ty-Lee reached out to stretch it wide so that they could observe it.

"Oh. Pretty," Ty-Lee complimented quietly before letting it fall down back down. "You, like..._made _that?"

Aang nodded solemnly, his head bobbing as his eyes fell to the sidewalk.

"Should we...-?" Meng prodded at Ty-Lee, gesturing toward the shuttle in the parking lane ahead. It looked like it was about ready to take off.

"They look full," Ty remarked as the shuttle's ignition started up. "Yea, totally full," she reiterated. "We'll just, like...catch the next one in a bit."

"OK," Meng agreed. "I don't want to miss it, is all."

"We won't," Ty chirped, pushing a grain of enthusiasm as she patted Meng's head gently.

"Erm..." Aang's gaze shifted around a bit. He noticed that Ty-Lee was wearing a summer straw hat with the purple ribbon - which Aang recognized as Meng's hat. Her hair was curled and hanging down over her shoulders Likewise, Meng's difficult hair was semi-managed into one uniform braided ponytail. It was sort of like they had exchanged fashion styles for the day. "So, where's Douglas?" Aang asked.

"Dougie?" Meng rubbed her wrist against her nostrils and huffed air out through her nose. "He, uh...didn't feel right coming to this." With a lowered voice, Meng clarified, "He feels guilty because of how he's..._ya _know...connected to stuff?"

Aang nodded with some realization, as he knew of 'The Duke's' ties to 'Smellerbee's' old group.

"You all right, Aang?" Meng questioned, noting the bags hanging under his eyes. His hair was gelled, forming an upward spike at the forehead, and he was dressed in a wrinkled button-up shirt. One of the sides of his collar wasn't folded down as neatly as the other, and his posture was more slouched than Meng was used to seeing him carry.

Aang shook his head in reply, which elicited mirror-image looks of sympathy from the girls.

"What's wrong?" Ty wondered.

The school shuttle puttered by, heading toward the edge of campus that led to Wayward. Aang watched it fade away from sight as he considered how to answer the question.

"I don't want to do this," Aang wistfully cited, gazing at the rear end of the black shuttle with the chalky colored orbs of the college logo.

"Go to the Harmony March?" said Meng.

Aang nodded quietly.

"How come?" Meng followed up.

Aang shrugged, avoiding their inquisitive looks of empathy.

"I don't feel right about it," Aang mumbled, drumming his fingers on the wooden pole of his portable flag. "I dunno."

"But...-" Meng swapped glances with Ty, who shrugged meekly. "I thought you're supposed to, uhh...give a speech?" Meng checked timidly.

Aang shrugged again, with some bitterness this time.

"Katara's giving a speech. And she wrote another one for me. _Her _words, not mine. I think...just might be better if _she _says them. I'm not comfortable giving some speech using words someone else wrote."

Meng fussed with her braided tail, which was leaking out stray ends all over the place. After checking that the pink bow tying it together was still on tight, she sighed.

"Doncha think Katara's going to be disappointed if you don't show up?" she posed.

"It wouldn't be anything new," Aang grumbled, his eyes glowering down with self-pity. "I've been disappointing her a _lot _lately. And I already told her I might not come, anyway, so...-"

"...Oh." Meng didn't know what to say there.

"It's, like, _totally _fine," Ty attempted to murmur out some assurance. "This is _her _thing, I mean, like...right?" Ty-Lee scratched an itch behind her ear and fluttered her lips awkwardly at the heavy silence that followed. "If Katara wants to...get _involved _in things like this - things you don't want to be a part of...-" Ty's eyes glazed over as she stared at the way sun rays were reflecting off of the cars in the parking lot sprawling before them. "If ya love somebody, it doesn't mean ya gotta _always _go along with _everything _they do. You're not, like, their _slave _or something. Be your own person, Aang. If Katara really, like, _loves _you? In the real way? And I _know _she does...She will _totally _be OK with it."

Aang was kicking at a dried up wad of gum, pushing it into the cracks between two sidewalk tiles.

Ty-Lee sighed through her nose at his stoic silence. Man, if Mai were here, she would probably say something to make him feel better.

"When Zulie and I started going out," Ty recanted, "I got cold toes. Like, _gosh, _you've met her, right?"

Aang nodded, recalling having been acquainted at the Golden Dragon Ball.

"She can be...-" Ty squinted one eye, glancing sideways with clenched teeth. "_Um, _a little pushy. Sometimes. So, like, I had to learn how to stick up for myself a bit. And Zulie n' I, we totally care about each other, right? So we figured out how to give each other space in the right ways."

Aang puffed out, "Katara's _not _that pushy."

"She sort of is sometimes," Meng mumbled, hoping to not offend. "And that's OK! That's...not really the point Ty's making." Meng bobbed her head to her friend, and Ty-Lee nodded.

"I bet Katara's giving you wiggle room on this stuff," Ty-Lee guessed.

"Yea," Aang insisted. "She's told me, specifically, that she's fine if I don't want to be a part of this."

"And she means that," Ty-Lee figured. "Soooo, like...-" Ty shrugged with raised eyebrows. "Why are you bein' so _down _on yourself?"

Aang's head rolled around on his neck as his eyes spun in a tired circle.

He muttered out uncertainly, "I don't like disappointing her...? I mean..._ffff...-_"

"Is it really _her _you're disappointing?" Meng rhetorically posed.

Aang looked toward her, observing the way she lifted her brows and tipped her head slightly to one side. Ty-Lee, lips tightened, shrugged up one shoulder in silent agreement to what Meng was implying.

"I guess not," Aang concluded bitterly, frowning with some disdain at his flag. After a brief pause, he rolled the flag's banner up around the pole and slung the flag over his shoulder. "I've got to go," he vaguely explained. "Have a good time at the march." He walked past them, heading back the way he had originally come.

"Y-yea, we will," Meng spat out, watching Aang quickly head off. "_Uhh_-! Try to relax," she called out to his back, watching him make a bee-line for the ACC.

"Bye!" Ty-Lee bid.

"Yea, have a good day," said Aang.

By the time Aang had disappeared, Meng and Ty-Lee's mutual worry hung in a shared cloud over them.

"He'll be fine," Meng decided aloud. "He needs some space."

"_Chyeah_," Ty agreed. "Poor guy. We've all been through crazy stuff these days, but...I think he takes it in, right? Like he thinks somehow stuff is his responsibility when it's...no one's."

"Mm." Meng nodded slowly. "I'm sure Katara's not being hard on him. He's being hard on _himself_, and...I dunno. That's something we can't do that much about."

"Right. Yea, yea." Ty-Lee sighed. "With stuff goin' on, can you blame him for being a little scared?"

"No," Meng said. "I've been sorta scared, too."

"Stuff'll work out," Ty concluded. "That's what this is for - what we're gonna do today. I bet Aang'll, like...find his own way to help. I know he cares about it, so he'll...ya know. Yea. He'll find his own way."

* * *

"Gang wars out! Harmony now!"  
_"Gang wars out!"_  
**"Harmony now!"**

The chant had picked up in its voracity at this point, having been repeated for a good thirty seconds or so. A small collection of students and some local members of the community were pacing through the streets of Wayward. Many of them touted picket signs made of posterboard. There were various symbols and phrases slapped across the signs, but the most recurrent signage read: {Harmony Now}

**"Gang-wars-out!"**

They had made their way from a parking lot on the outskirts of town through the streets and toward the town hall, following the designated path they had been permitted to travel across. Their numbers had not increased by much from Point A to Point B, but they had gotten louder by the time the town hall was in sight.

**"Har-mony-now!"**

Katara took the microphone. She fumbled, nearly dropping it as she tripped up over its cable. Mai caught her arm and they both exchanged the briefest of nervous looks before Katara pushed her bangs out on both sides and took a deep breath. She reached into the back pocket of her denim skirt, pulling out a folded up sheet of paper. She coughed into the mic as she unfolded it, clearly her throat. The single cough echoed, its sound towering over the distilled tension and commotion present.

The small collection of on-lookers and peace-marchers and students and faculty gazed up to her with anticipation. They wanted encouragement. They wanted reassurance that their community was going to endure the recent had hope that everything would be fine. She had hope that this would all work out. And she needed to express that in words, as she also had hope that words would help bring about the changes needed.

Her heart pounding at her ribs, Katara shakily but steadily read aloud the passage she'd printed.

"_{Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth._  
_For the protection of good and for the destruction of evil,_  
_and for the establishment of righteousness,_  
_I come into being age after age.}_"

Katara gave the spectators of moment of reflection, tightening her grip on her paper, its crinkling spreading out through the speakers. She readjusted her grip on the microphone, her palms sweaty.

"This is a passage from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu text. It refers to the _avatāra_, a Sanskrit word that roughly means 'the manifestation of a deity.'" She cleared her throat. "Um...God, if you will - _by_ whatever name we might refer to as such. As, um...-" She absentmindedly ran her fingertip along her temple, trying to focus on her paper instead of the churning mass of people before her. "As many of you may, um...may know, the campus center of our college is named after this term. An 'avatar' is a manifestation of someone or something greater than what is being seen. Within the lobbies and lounges of SRU's 'Avatar Campus Center,' we pass each other by in our day-to-day lives. We seek solace and comfort in sharing the same consistent space through which so many of us will cross paths on our way to a meal or a group meeting or...just to hang relax. Just as the school's arrow symbology represents us as individuals moving forward - from within - um...Uh, so, too, does the Avatar Campus Center reflect the...the idea that we, as human beings on this earth, can be seen as manifestations of something greater. We are capable of thoughts, imagination, creativity...and change. Regardless of your religious views, I think this is a concept that can benefit us all - that we all think of ourselves as greater than what we appear to be. Greater than the sum of our parts. Just as the world around us is greater than the sum of its elements, we as people can be the same way. We can all serve as 'avatars' of - manifestations of - peace, harmony, and love. We can make ourselves the bridge between the worlds that separate us: race, gender, culture, geography...We all live in our own worlds, beneath the same sky, and, should we choose, we can bridge those worlds together. We can connect them. We can be the bridge between _each other_. We can be the physical embodiment of our values and virtues through our own actions. And there is one person I know that has helped show me this in many ways - some great, some small. From simple grafitti art, to humble acts of self-sacrifice, to risking his own life for the sake of another. Many of you may look at him as a...as a local hero. Others may see him as a friend."

Katara took a deep breath, rubbing the dampness from her eyes that was forming from her own sentimentality. Her tone grew steadioly louder as she finished her piece.

"But I look at him as an 'avatar': as a manifestation of peace and harmony. I look at him as someone who is more than he seems at first glance, as someone greater than the sum of his parts, as someone who embraces the harmony of the many different people in his life. And as someone who has been the bridge that has connected me to those around me. His name is Aang Leekpai, and he'd like to share some words with you all."

By the time Katara had pushed her way through the end of the her speech, a smattering of applause had unfolded. It wasn't as thunderous as Katara had imagined it in her head. But giving the speech also hadn't been as terrifying, either. And now it was Aang's turn - she was excited to see him overcome his nervousness, his fear, to stand up and express himself.

But...where was he?

Katara scanned the crowd, their hands clapping, the applause gradually slowing down. She tried to find his tell-tale sign, the one he had cobbled together by hand, but...it wasn't there. A cursory glance at Mai revealed a confused shrug, and she spotted Sokka, Toph, and Jane near the front of the crowd. The two who could exchange looks with her both seemed puzzled and wary. Jane was giving her a wary grimace, and Sokka was shaking his head.

Katara's stomach emptied in an instant, and her windpipe seemed to narrow as her heart quickened back up and her breathing became shallow. The applause slowed to a stuttering end, and still no Aang. Katara was starting to feel dizzy as she let her microphone-toting arm sag to one side. It bumped against her thigh, creating a ["-_pafft!_"] of feedback through the speakers.

Jane could see the way Katara's brain was scrambling in the summer sun from the stress. It was unbearable to see - after all of the work Katara had been putting into this, for it to flop over into a pale, quiet ending...it wasn't going to fly. Jane would do something about it. She owed Kat her support, and she wasn't going to let that go unpaid.

Jane marched up the stone steps of the town hall, holding up her {HARMONY NOW!} sign proudly. Startled, Katara gawked at her friend, breathless as Jane took the microphone from her. Jane shoved her sign into Katara's hand, leaving Kat to hold it up from their heightened position. Jane slapped Katara on the shoulder briskly, then glared down at the gathering with determination.

"Couldn't make it," Jane's raspy voice muttered out. Her mumbling was expounded by the speakers, and she cleared her throat before trying again, speaking up. "Aang's...feeling sick today, n' so...he had to call off last minute. But, uhh...but I have something to say." Jane gestured her hand up the stone steps she stood upon, pointing to the doors of the city hall. "I have something to say to _Mayor Kuei, _to the Rough Rhinos, to the Triple-Threat Triad, to the Freedom Fighters...to my classmates from SRU, and to the people who live in this town. I've seen the dark side of Wayward. Been _part _of it. Just a year ago, I was a member of one of these gangs - the gangs that Pastor Noah has been all up in arms about. They're real. You've seen what they can do. And they are a fucking _problem._"

There was a heavy silence that had fallen over the group, and Jane figured this was partly from the shock of her language, but...whatever. She was making a goddamn point here.

"Keep seein' fingers get pointed around," Jane continued, waggling her index vaguely in the air. "The college, the gangs...Guess what? I don't care who the fuck did what anymore. We made crappy choices. Like...Me, personally." She pounded her palm into her chest, which echoed from the speakers. "_I_...have made crappy choices. OK? Choices that hurt people. Direct, indirect, whatever. I'm sorry for what I did. Tryin' to make things right. Mm? No use pointin' fingers all around anymore. Shit happened. People got hurt. The cops are _on _it, the gangs are _leaving_, n' we gotta pull together. And stuff. This rinky-dink town needs the business the college has. The college needs a nearby town its students can visit. Symbiotic relationship. That's what we got. And in case ya haven't noticed, we got a _lotta _sorts of people here. Different sizes, different colors, different creeds. Whole fuckin' reason the school has that logo, right? Different colors, n' junk? That's us. We can all figure out how to stand side-by-side n' sing Kumbaya and get along, or we can fade into the background and let this bullcrap drive us apart. Now...Now I ain't sayin' to just _forget _the wrongs that happened. I ain't sayin' to just up and ignore the shit I've done, or what others did. We don't forget. Ain't _never _forget. But we move the hell _on _with our lives. And I dunno, man, but...I'm sick of movin' on the rough way. The way that just makes more of this happen. Talkin' this crap out is good, yea, but...I don't see it happening. See people moving blame n' pointing fingers. Just yelling and arguing. Fuckin' pointless."

Jane wriggled her bony fingers, readjusting her grip on the mic - it was still sweaty from Katara's hands. She patted Kat on the shoulder again, and pushed herself against her companion's side.

"I'm friends with Aang. Was there when he saved Kat." Another firm pat, and Jane detached their bodies. "Goddamn crazy. We all were standin' there, scared shitless. Talkin', tryin' to figure out what to do, while a big-ass fire burned right in front of us. And what did Aang do? _Something. _He _did _something. No talking, no yelling, he just _did _what he needed to do. N' if he were here, right now, ya know what he'd say? I know what he'd say. He'd say...that harsh words won't solve our problems. _Action will._"

Katara was stunned - pleasantly so. She remembered that specific phrase from the speech she'd helped Aang come up with. It would seem Jane had looked over it, too. Even with Aang not here, some of his words were still reaching these people.

Jane concluded.

"So. We want these gangs to leave? We want the dirt on how SRU's higher-ups are related? We want this school and this town to work together? Let's _do _something about it. No more arguing, no more fuckin' mud-slings and politics n' crap. Just 'cause we're workin' for peace doesn't mean we do nothing. And just 'cause we do something, doesn't mean we turn _crazy _and violent. That's why the fuck we're here - this is a _peace march. _Peace - the thing we're here for. March - the thing we're _doing. _We want harmony, and we want it now. So let's make that happen."

As stoically as she had taken the microphone, Jane swapped it back out for her sign from Kat, and marched down the steps. There was another smattering of applause, this time a bit louder than the last. Bewildered and endeared by her friend's sudden but welcome intrusion, Katara gawked at Jane as Sokka and Toph both gave their physical gestures of encouragement when she rejoined them.

Jane's head was throbbing, her heart was rattling its cage, her insides were shredded from fear, and she had a bit of a headache. She bashfully absorbed the applause, Sokka's back-patting, and Toph's stomach-punching.

"Um..." Katara extended her hand down toward her dear friend as the applause died down. "Th-thank you. Jane. Thanks. And, um...-" Katara breathed in, chin up to the crowd. "She's right. We, as a community, need to do our part to help this situation. That is why, on behalf of the student body of SRU, we propose that - starting today - we will take time every day to _do something _about this, until it has been resolved. A protest. A community gathering. A peace march. We will organize meetings between Wayward and the school, we will follow-up with officials on the ongoing gang violence. We will set up time with town officials, with SRU's administration, and work toward a diplomatic resolution to the tensions hanging over our community. We can use these unfortunate events as a sign of the imbalance that exists in our community, and we take action."

Katara glanced down at her friends, smiling with amusement at the way her brother's face was tightening with excitement. He knew it was coming - the name he'd offered up. She finished her thought.

"We will bridge the gap that exists between our school and our town. We will refer to this campaign of community acts as the Harmony Restoration Movement." And there was Sokka, whooping out his enthusiasm, which Katara smirked at, then refocused on the crowd. "We want these gang wars out of our town. We want these secrets out. We want harmony - _now._"

* * *

**You guys may have noticed a decrease in consistency of updates recently. This is due to my financial situation having changed with the new year. I have created a Patreon page for anyone who is interested in supporting my writing. As a thank-you for supporting my work, there are some benefits for those who choose to pledge - primarily, access to work-in-progress writing. I'm very open to suggestions on editing the drive, so please check it out and give me some feedback! Thanks for your support. I will have an FAQ posted up soon in regards to this story's impending redesign.**  
_**patreon(dot com) /EddyFettig**_

* * *

- Sunday, June 12th -

"I don't get why we don't just _go _there," Toph sighed, trying to nest herself into Sokka's abdomen. He was doing his best to nudge her off of his body but in a non-intrusive manner. It was proving to be difficult.

"We'd have to take two vehicles," Katara tiredly pointed out. "It's been a long weekend, anyway, and we're all tired."

"It's not the same," Toph lamented.

"We're all _here, _aren't we?" Katara pleaded for her roommate's approval. "That's what really matters, don't you think?"

Toph wanted to remark on how the atmosphere of Appa's on a dull, quiet Sunday night - past its closing time - just wasn't the same as a bustling Friday evening at the downtown Pizza Hut. The sounds, the smells, the feeling of the seats...none of it was right.

"I guess," Toph conceded to Katara's optimistic view. "But, like, it's not _that _far a drive, is it?"

"_You _gonna drive us there?" Jane remarked.

"_Puh_," Toph puffed air at her bangs, flashing Jane a wrinkled nose and an off-center frown. "I would if I could."

"Well, ya can't," Sokka flatly concluded the matter. "We're doing it here, so...-"

"Yea!"

All attention was turned to Korra's voice echoing across the vacant basement space.

As Korra toted a stack of pizza boxes with ease, she bellowed out, "We're eatin' pizza right here, right now, and you gotta _deal with it_!"

Korra lugged the pizza boxes over, and Aang, having been quietly sitting without a word, got up out of the booth and rushed to her aid.

"Nah, nah, I got it," Korra grunted as she squirmed along, shooing off Aang's help.

He ignored this and grabbed the top two boxes and the accompanying bread sticks, and the two divided the labor.

"Agh, uh...-" Korra cleared her throat. "Thanks, Little Man," she mumbled to Aang beneath the hooping and cheering of Sokka and Jane in regards to impending pizza. Toph began to drum her hands on the table's edge in a rhythm, and Sokka and Jane ended up joining in.

Aang sighed at the loud noise, which seemed louder than it normally would due to the restaurant's emptiness that evening.

Korra set down the pizzas on a nearby table, and Aang did the same. Korra wiped sweat from her forehead as Katara rose up from the booth, bringing over the stack of paper plates that had been resting on the table they'd all been seated at. Korra observed the setup they had - a few bottles of soda, all cracked open and partially consumed. A small collection of tall, red disposable cups. As the group got up from the table to retrieve their food, Korra took a moment to sit down in the recently emptied booth Sokka and Toph had been occupying.

"Damn, smells _good_," Toph noted, patiently waiting against the edge of the booth seat Korra rested at. She leaned forward and back a bit, using her rear end as a cushion to bounce off of and her toes as the pivot as she began to hum to herself. Korra smirked at this odd behavior, and glanced past Toph to the small line that had formed at the opposing table where the food was.

Sokka was first in line - of course - and had already loaded his plate up with three slices of meaty, stuffed-crust pizza. Jane, right behind, took one slice from three different pies. Katara was giving the chicken and artichoke with white sauce dish a try, which made Korra glad she had ensured to bring some. Aang was lingering at the rear end of the table, hesitantly gazing down at the platter of pizzas, an empty plate held up against his waist. Katara, her plate filled with two slices and a breadstick, approached him quietly, rubbing his back and kissing him on the cheek.

"There _is _some veggie pizza in there," Korra pointed out. "I got ya covered, Little Man." She flashed Aang a thumbs up from her seat, but he gave her a deadpan look before rolling his eyes and searching for the dish in question.

As Korra recovered from this awkward moment, the lot filed into their seats, Toph wiggling over to one side to let Sokka scoot in beside Korra.

"You not eatin'?" Jane asked, sliding in across the booth from Korra.

"Uh, I need a minute," Korra said with a light flick of her wrist. She lightly drummed her knuckles on the table as she gaped at the two-liter soda bottles. Some Mountain Dew, some Sierra Mist, some Dr. Pepper, and some Diet Pepsi. The Mountain Dew was already a third gone - and Korra knew exactly who the culprit of _that _was. She'd probably need to fight Sokka over the rest of it, heh.

As Toph shuffled her way to the table, Korra studied the plastic cups sprawled around the table and the markings on them. The one in front of Jane had the word {freckles} doodled in chicken-scratch. Sokka's cup, to Korra's left, read {Socktagonapus Ph.D} in neat print. Katara's read {_Katara_} in tidy cursive. Aang's had a trio of small swirlies, or-...Oh, right, that was his dorm's logo. She recognized it. And the cup sitting right in front of Korra was...a bit crinkled up, and had...erm...some kind of weird scribbles? Sort of like Chinese writing, or...-? Oh, duh, that was Toph's. Probably all crinkled so she could recognize it was hers just by touching it? Maybe?

"Soooo, what's in _this _one?" Toph asked. She was bent over one pizza, holding her hair back over her shoulders with one hand and tipping the cardboard open with the other. "_Smells _freaking good..."

"Yea, I'm eating some of that," Katara noted. "It's, um, chicken? And...I think, maybe...artichokes?" She glanced to Korra for confirmation, and received it. "Yea. And some white sauce." Katara continued to eat her food, which she had already started to dig into. "Iff good," she assured her roommate, her mouth half full.

"Cool," said Toph, going to reach her arm out for a plate. Aang handed her the empty one he'd been holding, and she thanked him before loading a stack of four slices onto it - two of the chicken, and two of the meat kind Sokka was having. The sight of four pizza slices piled on top of one another reminded Korra of the bubble butt Toph had just been bouncing on.

Before Toph took her seat at the suddenly quiet table, she paused, noting the presence beside her as she fidgeted a breadstick out of its aluminum wrapper.

She spoke quietly, "Yo, Twinkle-Toes...You OK?"

"I'm, er, just...waiting for you before I...-"

"'Kay," Toph backed up, taking small steps as she reached one arm out toward the table. When she found it, she set her plate down, sliding it slowly onto the table. Sokka took it and placed it in a proper position, but Toph didn't sit down just yet.

"LadyBro, you want me to hook you up with some pizza, or what?"

Korra, brows raised, glanced over to Sokka, who shrugged, his mouth packed with meaty pie.

"Shhhhhurrre," Korra accepted. She watched Toph grin beneath her sunglasses before turning around to the table.

"Which kind you want?" Toph asked.

"Uh, whatever, it's all good," Korra muttered, watching Aang linger at the table.

"Are you going to sit, Sweetie?" Katara prodded gently, wiping grease from her lips with a brown paper napkin.

"In a minute," Aang mumbled, not giving her his gaze as he watched Toph finagle with the food, smell-checking each dish she came upon.

Toph carefully slid stacked pizza boxes aside to get to the lowest one in the batch that had not been fully explored. She cracked it open and took a long whiff.

"Veggie one's right here," she said to Aang as she grabbed on and set it on her plate. She stepped aside to allow Aang to take some, and went about dumping three more slices onto Korra's plate - each one a different flavor.

"Loadin' me up there, eh?" Korra chuckled.

"_Oh, _yea," said Toph, meandering back to the table. "Nice balanced meal right here."

"_Psh,_ I'll have to put in double-time at the gym tomorrow," Korra remarked with amusement, reaching her arm up to accept the plate Toph was hovering over the table. "Thanks, Toph."

"No prob," Toph replied, evidently pleased to be of some service. She bumped her hip against Sokka's side, eliciting the boy and his older cousin to skootch in and make room. Some rearranging of soda bottles took place so Korra could have some space to eat, and Toph's scribbled on, dented cup was refilled with Dr. Pepper and passed down to her.

After Aang took his seat besides Katara and Jane, a minute or two of energetic silence went by as everyone chowed down in satisfaction.

Those cups with the names on them were leaving Korra feeling...odd. It sunk in a little deeper in that moment: that Korra had been late to the party, so to speak. That she wasn't truly part of this 'inner circle.'

-_clop!_-

As if reading Korra's mind, Jane set down an empty plastic cup across the table in front of her friend, and rolled the permanent marker Korra's way. The two gazed at each other in a quiet moment of understanding, and Korra smiled with her teeth in a goofy way, only for Jane to glance back down at her food. Korra's smile dissolved into a smirk as she watched Jane eat for a moment, her orange hair draping over either side of her freckled face, shielding it from the light around. Jane dusted her fingers off on her pants, then shoved her hair behind her ears, exposing her face more completely. Korra, having caught herself staring, picked up the marker and toyed with it for a moment.

"Gotta mark your cup, Cuz," Sokka advised after swallowing the last bite of his present pizza. He belched into his wrist and pounded his chest.

"Yea," Korra agreed. "Don't wanna accidentally drink _Doctor Socktagonapus' _fuckin' Mountain Dew, eh?" A few chuckles followed.

Korra scrawled onto her cup in thick, capital letters that wrapped around the cup's diameter: {**KORRA**}

"Not my fault you're not creative," Sokka teased.

"Why?" Toph wondered. "What'd she write?"

"Her name," Jane replied. "In fat-ass letters. Takes up the whole fuckin' cup."

"Big letters for a _big girl_," Korra mocked herself with a nod toward Jane.

"You could've displayed a _little _more imagination," Sokka criticized facetiously.

"What's wrong with just writing your _name_?" Katara posed with some defense.

"Nothin'," Jane assured her neighbor and a pat on the arm.

"Yea," Toph agreed. "I wrote _my _name."

"_Did _you?" Sokka sent some smarm in Toph's ear. He squinted at her bent-up cup, watching her take a gulp from it. "Because...it _looks _like you just...kinda...-"

"_Shuddap_," Toph snicker-growled, giving him a shove. "I wrote it in _Chinese, _OK?"

"Chinese?" Sokka spouted. "I thought you didn't like sticking to that formal stuff."

"Well, ya know...sometimes some tradition here and there ain't so bad."

"Names are _important_," Sokka affirmed, raising up his index finger. "The titles, the names we give stuff? That _matters_."

Both Katara and Jane laughed at this remark.

Katara countered, "So says the guy with a _gibberish _name and a _fake _title on his cup!"

"Exactly," Sokka proudly presented his cup to the group as Korra snuck the last of the Mountain Dew into her own. Sokka picked up the marker and added below his ridiculous name {_Esq_.} He slapped his empty down on the table and nodded, capping the marker and setting it down. "Dr. Socktagonapus _Esquire._ Now, see? What does that tell you about how I think of myself?"

Katara gave Sokka a deadpan look while Jane and Korra swapped amused glances.

"That you're a goofy Meat-Head," Toph replied, lightly pushing her knuckles into the side of his head.

"So, what about Aang?" Korra wondered, nodding her head to Mr. Quiet at the opposite corner of the table from her. "He didn't write a name at _all_," she noted.

Aang, his mouth full of vegetarian pizza, glanced up at the others warily.

"Whh-..." Sokka was going to speak, but paused, looking to his roommate. Aang shrugged passively and continued eating, and Katara scratched her nails slowly against his shoulder. Sokka ended up spewing his thought. "Aang's..._creative, _he's an artist, and...yea."

"Right," Korra agreed, regretting she'd brought attention to it. "I see it," she muttered, nodding vigorously.

"And like, with this stuff from yesterday," Sokka went on. "What'd I tell ya, Sis? 'Harmony Restoration Movement,' eh? They _loved _it. I heard someone on campus today telling someone else about it."

Katara smiled weakly at her brother's comment, both humbled by his encouraging statement and discouraged by the memory it brought up - that Aang hadn't been present at the march.

"And I mean, hell." Sokka went to go drink some more Dew, only to notice it was gone. Korra gave him a sly grin as she tilted up her chin and slurped some right in front of him. He smiled and opted for the Sierra Mist instead. "I got that idea from Aang - like I said, he's creative."

"Mm?" Toph hummed, curious.

"The, erm, the...-" Sokka flicked his finger in a circle as he poured soda with the other hand. "Harmony. The word 'harmony,' that's what Aang keeps going back to." Sokka nodded his head to Aang, and Aang gave him a half-hearted smile in return as he kept eating. "Seemed fitting, ya know?" Sokka bobbed his head to one side before screwing the Sierra Mist cap back on.

"Sokka's right," said Katara, moving her hand up to Aang's head and scratching the base of his neck affectionately. "It really is the perfect word we needed. Right, Jane? You seem to like it a lot. 'Harmony now,' that was your thing, you came up with that."

The corner of Jane's mouth curved downward, and she hummed in an ambivalent way.

"There wasn't a _lot _of people," Toph confessed, "but there was enough there. You guys keep spreading the word, and shit, this stuff could actually catch on!"

"Exactly," Sokka cried out, upturning his hands. "Because-names-_matter_. And on _that _note...-"  
"Here we go," Katara sighed rather audibly, giving Korra a wary nod.  
"-...we need to decide where we're goin' with this group name. C'mon guys, I'm leaving soon, _indulge _me."

"You indulge _yourself _just fine," Toph remarked before she stuffed her third pizza slice into her mouth. Everyone laughed a bit at this - even Aang.

"Ha-ha," Sokka sarcastically retorted the lot. "I'm serious, though, this is important to me."

"OK, OK," Katara eased things up. "So what's your idea, oh great _Idea Guy_?"

"So hear me out on this one. We used to be the Fearsome Fivesome, but, I dunno, I'm not feeling that anymore, so I was thinking a little tweak..." Sokka cleared his throat theatrically, then fluttered his hands up before him. "The _Fearless _Five."

Katara's brows lifted and she smiled.

"Didn't we go over this already?" she said, bemused.

"Sure, but no one actually _agreed _on a name."

"I like it," Toph complied, licking her lips of pizza sauce.

"Yea, sounds fine," said Jane with a light shrug.

"I admit, I actually like it now," Katara conceded.

"I _distinctly _remember," Sokka pointed out, "when I first proposed it - back in the _day _- you did not like it."

"I do _now_," Katara assured with a deep nod.

"So, what am I here?" Korra demanded playfully. "Eh? There's _six _of us."

"Oh, you're Plus One, remember?" Sokka shooed at her with a flick of his wrists.

"Fearless Five _Plus One_?" Korra recited the entirety of it aloud.

"Well, you're not always _here_," Sokka retorted.

"Mmph," grunted Jane. "Yea, but _y__esterday_, Aang wasn't _fearless_, now...was he?"

Katara shot Jane an appalled look, and Jane shrugged back defensively. Then she saw Aang's face, stinging with rejection, and she felt some remorse.

"I-..._Ff. _Just _saying, _he left you _hanging _out there-" Jane raised up one hand. "-didn't even give us any _warning_-"  
"Hey-hey-_whoa_," Toph snapped. "No, none o' this here. Not now. OK?"

"Yea, let's keep it chill," Korra agreed, extending her hand out and gently swatting Jane's upraised hand down to the table.

Jane huffed a quiet growl, yanking her hand out from Korra's grasp and feverishly scratching at her forehead.

"It's OK," Aang muttered out gloomily. "It's not like she's _lying_, or-"  
"Stop," Katara quietly but firmly said into his ear.

Korra stared at Aang's deadbeat face. The kid looked...way off. Almost like he was holding back some kind of anger.

Korra glanced to her cousin on her left, but Sokka was giving her a nervous grimace of gnashing teeth.

"So I'm the Plus One," Korra concluded, trying to get attention away from what has just happened. "That's, uh...-" She ran her fingernails against her scalp, her hair tied back in a simple ponytail. A thought clicked in her head. "_Wait, _pretty soon you're not even gonna _be _here," she testily pointed out to Sokka. He shiftily avoided her gaze and raised up his hand to cover her mouth. "So why do _whhmmf-!_"

"She's got a point," Toph bluntly stated. "I hate to say it, Snoozles, but maybe _you're _the Plus One here."

"W-well, _see_?" Sokka exaggerated desperation. "_All _the more reason the name works! 'Cause we're, uh-...It's got multiple applications."

"Yea, yea," Toph wormed her hand across his thigh and squeezed. "Fearless Five Plus One. Done and done. Any objections?"

No one objected. Toph rubbed Sokka's leg, pinching her fingers over his exposed kneecap and the knobbiness of it. Katara smiled at her brother with a raised brow, and he shrugged back sheepishly. Jane continued to fidget with her bangs, then scratched her brow before finishing off her soda. Korra kept her eyes locked on Aang, and when he noticed, they blinked at each other in the silence, neither changing expression - his dead-tired, hers sympathetic.

"Going once," Toph quickly stated. "Going twice..." She levelled her wrist above the table. "Going _three _times...?" Sokka adjusted the position of Toph's fist so it would come down on the table, and not his plate. "_Sold_!"

Toph knocked her gavel-knuckles twice on the table.

"With that matter concluded...-" Sokka shoved his hip against Toph's, eager to get up. "-...I need more pizza."

As Toph let Sokka get up and out, she remarked, "Trying to fix the social awkwardness with more food, huh?"

As Sokka grabbed his plate of pizza crusts, he replied, "We can't argue if our faces are full, am I right?"

"Meh, suppose not," Toph conceded casually.

"Sokka," Katara called out to him, wiping her lips with her napkin again. "Pizza doesn't solve _everything_..."

He looked back over his shoulder at his sister with a ghastly glare.

"_Sacrilege!_" he hissed.

"That's not the next line," Katara groaned. "You're supposed to say, 'Well, neither does _chocolate_...'" She ended her sentence expectantly, and Sokka gave pause. He nodded in realization.

The two siblings recited together, "But it sure does _help_!"

"Oh, _snap_!" Toph chuckled, leaned up against the side of the booth - bouncing on her ass again. "If we're bringing back the humdiddles, we gotta get our LadyBro in on this action."

"The...hum..._whats?_" Korra gawked at Toph. Sticking her index sideways at Toph, she leaned forth and asked Jane, "Is everything nicknames and shit with you guys?"

"_Fff_," Jane replied, rolling her eyes a bit. "Yea, apparently."

"A _humdiddle_," Katara butt in, "is my brother's made-up word for, like...an inside joke."

"Soo..." Korra squinted her eyes at Sokka, watching him swipe the last bread stick. "You made up an inside joke to _refer _to inside jokes?"

"Yep," Toph replied. "Pretty much."

As Sokka reached the table, he paused beside Toph's forward-backward bounces and wedged his palm against the booth when she bounced forward. Her bubble-butt landed against his hand, which he pushed forward with. This elicited a squeak of surprise, followed by an irritable but playful growl and a reciprocated ass-grab as Sokka went to sit down. Korra laughed through her nose. She was under the impression those two were having issues, but...it seemed they still didn't mind horseplay. No surprise, really.

"Yeaaa, I dunno about this 'humdiddle' stuff," Korra hesitantly mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Jane taunted. "_Too cool _for this _shizzle?_"

"_Hey. _Now. I...stopped using words...like that," Korra fumbled out hastily.

"Yea, after you embarrassed yourself enough times," Katara picked with a grin.

"Like you _don't_," Korra retorted.

"Oh, I certainly do," Katara laughed in spite of herself. "But that's the beauty of humdiddles - you're embarrassing yourself in a _group._"

Korra went to counter this, but froze, realizing the practicality and sentimentality of the notion.

"Ahhh, she gets it," Sokka observed, flicking her ponytail up over her head. She twisted her neck and spit hot air out, getting it out of her face before giving Sokka's 'wolf tail' a taut tug. "_Aghh-ahh-ah...-!_" He got a smack on the back of the head for good measure.

"Being part of the group means being part of humdiddles," Katara matter-of-factly explained.

Aang spoke up, his pizza all eaten up. "I still remember when we first introduced it to Jane."

"Back at the Pizza Hut," Toph recalled. "Yea, that's _exactly _why I was saying we should've gone _there _for this, I mean...-"

"Our beloved LadyBro brought Pizza Hut to _us_," Sokka pointed out, giving Toph's lap a pat. "That's good enough for me."

"Ah." Korra shrugged. "You can thank _Bolin, _he's the guy that works there - if it weren't for him, they would've locked me out before I could get this stuff."

"But your buddy Bo came through," said Sokka. "And now, see, we're incorporating you into what we've got goin' on here, and so...now _we _will come through for _you_."

Korra snorted a laugh. "Wh-?! _You _won't come through."

"But we as a _group _will," Sokka affirmed, raising his cup her way.

"Oh, are we...-?" Jane reached for her own cup. "We doin' the thing?"

"It _sounds _like we're doin' the thing," Toph decided, grasping her own crinkled-up cup.

"Mm," Aang shrugged, taking up his own.

Sokka gestured his hand at Korra to take up hers, and she did so, baffled.

Katara took hers as well and looked to Sokka for approval.

"Shall I do the thing?" she courteously checked.

"Katara - Dear Sister - initiate the _thing_."

Katara cleared her throat, then raised her cup in a toast toward her cousin and spoke in a melodramatic tone.

"If by my life or death I can protect you...-" Katara smiled warmly at Korra. "-..._I will_."

"You have _my sword_," Aang declared, mustering enough energy to say it like he meant it - he slapped the table with his hand as he lifted his cup to Korra.

"And you have _my bow_!" Toph roared, almost deafening the lot. She pounded her fist on the table and held up her cup high.

"And _my sarcasm_!" bellowed Sokka heartily, slamming his palm against his chest and keeping his drink lifted with the other hand.

Sokka pressed his hand down on Korra's broad shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"Now _you _say...'And _my fist_!' Eh?" Sokka glanced at her with expectation, and she nodded hastily.

Korra punched her knuckles down into the table, pushing herself up into a standing position.

"And _my fist!_" Korra snarled with delight, then giggled at herself. The entire group laughed along.

Jane wrinkled her nose and frowned melodramatically. She growled out with a Scottish accent, then repeated Korra's action, her own hand making a much lighter impact.

"And _my axe!_"

"Here, here!"  
"Here!"  
"Aye!"  
"Here-_here!_"  
"Yargh!"  
"Here."

"When did we become pirates?"  
"Was goin' more for...Vikings, but...-"  
"Hee."  
"Aye, ya wee Lass."  
"_Not _so wee."  
"_Friggin' _hee-_oojuh!_"

They all rose up and toasted their plastic cups together and drank down swigs of soda.

"Korra," said Sokka solemnly, the lot of them hovering over the table. "You have now been initiated. You shall henceforth refer to this specific table as _The _Booth, not to be confused with That Booth." He pointed to a seemingly random booth across the restaurant.

"Also," Toph interjected. "You have to streak naked across-"  
"_No!_" Katara giggled out her protestation. "What is _with _you and the streaking?"

"Can't even _see_ it," Jane said dubiously.

"_So?_" Toph defied them.

"You are now officially part of our clan," Aang cut through the noise to inform Korra.

Korra gave Aang her most polite nod and a smile to match.

"Thank you, thank you." She bowed a bit to the rest of the group.

"And now," Katara set her cup down, stretching out her arms and leaning forward, connecting with Jane and Aang.

"Oh, group hug time?" said Toph. She set her cup down and latched arm on Sokka's back. "_I-secretly-love-these!_" she hissed, not-so-secretly. _"I-sometimes-get-to-cop-a-feel-and-pretend-it's-'cuz-I'm-bliiiind~"_

"When have you _ever_...-?" Katara mumbled.

"_Oh, _she has," Jane insisted boldly. Aang nodded, and Sokka grinned.

"Shhush, shhh!" Sokka quelled them. "Group hug! _Rrrgh. _Let's do this!"

"Fuckin' eh," Korra was chuckling and snorting through laughter. "_Loonies! _All of ya."

"All of us," Jane concurred, connecting her hand on Korra's sturdy elbow as Korra returned the motion.

With everyone's hands attached to each other's arms, everyone squeezed. Smiles, laughter, and oxytocin were in heavy supply in that moment.

Aang let his self-doubt shed in this special moment. He shouted out, "To arms, Comrades!"

The Fearless Five (Plus One) repeated, their words echoing across Appa's, the place all to themselves.

"**To arms!"**


	127. The Great Divide

**A/N: Apologies for the delay on this chapter. I tried to edit it but my head's not in the game so there's probably still some mistakes here and there. I wanted to cram a lot of stuff into one chunk of story to set things up since we're, ya know...right by the end here. Unfortunately, I have been severely stressed out due to money problems and work problems ever since the new year started, and as a result, my writing has been very scattered and not my best. But I'm still going to push through to the end here as best I can and revise the story after that. I'm just incredibly stressed out lately over the seemingly simple task of paying my bills. =_=**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 127 - The Great Divide_

* * *

- Monday, June 13th -

{**Local Wonder Woman Helps Bust Big Apple Drug Ring**}

The newspaper headline practically called out to Korra from the wall, pinned front and center on the cork board. Korra didn't need to get up and read it to know exactly what it was about. In fact, she didn't _want _to read it. She didn't want to rehash all of the mess she'd made, even if she'd helped clean it up - a _little_. Korra had tried her best to pay her dues, gone through the police interviews, given her statements, _argh. _She was so sick of that stuff.

And yet, there she was, sitting at the police station of her own accord. That was probably a first, eh? Well, a first in a long time, anyway.

"Miss Kesuk?"

"Eh?" Korra refocused her attention on the voice calling to her. A familiar officer loomed over her. She was a portly hispanic woman with suspenders draped over her collared shirt, holding up her khaki pants. She nodded her head behind her shoulder, signifying Korra to follow.

"The Chief'll see you now," the woman affirmed.

Korra pushed herself up from the dinky plastic chair she'd been occupying and followed the officer through the police station. The shifting of papers rattled Korra's left ear - the clacking of a keyboard hit her right. A phone was ringing in the background all the while. Two men were having a discussion over a cubicle, one of them casually leaning over with his mug of steaming coffee.

As they passed through, the man with the coffee noticed her. His ears practically perked up as he nudged his seated neighbor, and the two gave her an acknowledging nod.

"The Shark is back, I see!" called out the man with the mug, scratching at his bushy mustache. "Out for blood again already? Still hungry?"

"_Pss. _Yea, I wish," Korra jokingly called back, trying to keep her cool amidst these middle-aged folk. She could still remember that exact same man interrogating her months back when she'd hand-delivered a goddamn pyromaniac. People had hated her back then. Now it was all chummy-chummy and shit, eh? Not that she could complain, anyway.

The pudgy officer Korra was following opened the back office door and led Korra in.

"Thanks, Bautista," came Chief Jia's dry, dull tone from within the office.

Korra took a deep breath as she entered, sighing out slowly through her nose as she stared Jia down. She planted her hands on her hips as Officer Bautista closed the door upon exiting.

Jia raised her brow at Korra, and Korra reciprocated the motion.

After a tense couple of seconds, Jia shook her head and took a swig of coffee.

"What mess have you gotten into _now_?" Jia asked. She took another sip and smacked her lips bitterly at the lukewarm temperature.

"_Wh-? _Nuh-!..._Nothing_," Korra spat out defensively, shrugging up her shoulders.

Jia set her mug back down and laughed through her nostrils.

"At _ease_," the Chief said irritably, her head lulling to one side a bit. "I'm giving you shit, Kesuk. Calm down."

Korra let her arms relax and dropped them to her sides.

"Sit down," Jia commanded flatly. Korra obliged. "I _know _why you're here."

"..._And_?" Korra asked, leaning forward in the seat, her elbows hitched on her knees.

"..._Aaaand_," Jia began slowly. "I don't know what to tell you. There's nothing more you can do here."

"Nothing's come up?" Korra checked. "Nothing at all?"

Chief Jia gave Korra a long, hard look.

"Last I heard, they _did _have a lead they were looking into - intel they got from that Triple Threat bust. So, yes. You _helped. _Happy?"

"Th-! Great! That's...awesome. Are they...going to find him?"

"I don't _know, _Kesuk. It's not in our hands at this point. Another state, another jurisdiction."

"If they need me to go again, I mean...I'll _do _it, I'll-"  
"What do _you _care about this MIA agent?"

"He's...-" Korra blinked at Jia's suspicious glare. "-...important," Korra shrugged.

"To your friend," Jia specified.

"Yea."

"So why are _you _here instead of Fitz?"

"Because," Korra blurted. "I...don't want her to worry about it. I'll do whatever you need me to do, just...say the word, and...-"

"You can't do anything at this point," the Chief sighed out, leaning back in her seat and checking her computer screen. Two e-mails had arrived in the time since Korra had entered. When Jia looked back at the eager young woman in front of her, Korra's eyes practically bled with an uncharacteristic desperation.

"There has to be _something_," Korra stated.

Chief Jia rubbed at her steadily irate sinuses. She took another bitter gulp of coffee and shook her head.

"Kesuk. I can appreciate how gung-ho you suddenly are about straightening up. But for god's sake, _pace _yourself. You're not a cop. It was already pretty damn dicey, what happened this week, but we all lucked out. Don't push it."

"Wh-...? I'm not _pushing _it, I just...want...-"

"You want your friend to be happy."

"_Yes, _and so I'll...do what...-"

"You want those _kids _to be happy."

"Of course. Damn _straight _I do, why do you think-"  
"Spent any time with them?"

Korra was slack-jawed at Jia's question.

"Since you brought them back home," the Chief clarified. "Have you spent time with them?"

"Erm...-" Korra cleared her throat, readjusting her posture in her seat as she loosened her hair. "I've...been giving them some space. Eh? After everything I put them through...-"

"Be with them," Jia insisted firmly and calmly, straightening a stack of papers and sliding them into their proper manilla folder. "And Fitz - be with her, too. You care about these people? Then give them your attention. Leave police work to the _police_."

"But...-!" Korra grunted out with contained frustration. "I'm looking out for them. I'd...do police work for them if I _could_, but...-"

"But you're a drop-out, so it's out of the question. Is that it?"

Korra's heart skipped a beat at the nonchalant way that the Chief had put it.

"You...know about that?" Korra muttered with unease.

"You think I didn't look into you?" Jia retorted. "Back when I thought you'd be a problem, I did my diligence. I know about your uncle up north. About your aunt. My condolences, by the way..." Jia popped open her filing cabinet and dropped the case file she'd just been inspecting into its alphabetic place. "But you know what really threw me for a loop?"

Korra, chewing a bit at her upper lip, shrugged indecisively. Jia continued.

"You gave up."

Korra's stomach burned at that remark.

"With how stubborn you are," Jia went on, "I'm surprised you never gave police academy another try. I mean, look at you - arms like a fucking gorilla, knocking at my door, ready to bust in heads to save a friend of a friend when you just barely got out alive from a drug dealer's hideout no more than a week ago by the skin of your teeth."

"What...are you saying?" Korra mumbled, eyes narrowed with perplexation.

"I'm _saying, _Kesuk, that while I admire your ability to deal with low-lives, it'd be a hell of a lot more efficient if you were operating with law enforcement."

"Are you...saying I should...try to be a cop? Again?"

"_Should _you?" Jia rhetorically wondered. "That's a question you should be asking yourself. You've made it clear that you have the desire _and _the capability of bringing hoodlums to justice. What you lack is restraint - discipline. But that's what the training is there for."

"Buhh...-!" Korra was startled. The Chief was...complimenting her? Was she hearing this right? "Errr, Miss Jia, Sir - _uh, _Ma'am, um..._Chief._ If you know what happened, then...you know how...putting a gun in my hand is about the dumbest thing to-"  
"I think I know some relieved parents of three children who might disagree."

Korra sighed at this notion, overwhelmed by the very idea of trying to go back through that whole rigamarole of law enforcement.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Jia posed, folding her hands together.

"_Wh-?! _No! No, of course not!" Korra spat out in defense.

"Yet by my count, you've shot...-" The Chief lifted her eyes up thoughtfully and nodded to herself. "-...at _least _two or three people."

"I...didn't _want _to shoot _any_of them. I don't _want _to use a fucking gun! Ever. On _anyone_."

Lin nodded complacently, leaning forward across her desk. Her eyes glinted as she raised her brows.

"Exactly."

Korra blinked, dumbfounded. Her eyes shifted left and right a bit, wary of the officer's pressing gaze.

"Uh...-?" Korra shrugged, confused.

Jia sighed in good humor.

"Aghhh, you might need a 'brain' to go along with that 'brawn,' but...this is why cops have _partners, _I suppose..." Lin rubbed her thumb across her sweaty forehead as she leaned back in her chair, opening the thin drawer at the top of her desk. She paused to observe a photo that rested within. It was a tattered, coffee-stained picture of a raven-haired woman with sunken eyes, gloomily standing beside a younger Lin with the Statue of Liberty in the distance. Lin was stoutly displaying a badge, while June, the girl beside her, looked actively disinterested.

Jia slid a handful of letters from the top of her desk into the drawer, then closed it. Jia cleared her throat and absent-mindedly raised up her coffee cup to take a sip, though there wasn't anything left but a tiny puddle with grains of coffee grounds.

"Being a police officer-" Jia recanted, swishing the bit of coffee around in her mug. "-it's about protecting and serving. Not taking down criminals, not shooting people, not pushing around folks just because they rub you the wrong way."

"...Right," Korra quietly mumbled, being at least aware enough to know that she had done all of these things since arriving in Wayward.

"Protect. And. Serve. Now, then. Tell me, Kesuk: what did you just do for those kids back in New York?"

"I...erm...got them out of...a shitty situation? That I put them in...?"

"_Echhh..._Yes. True. You're sort of breaking the flow I'm going for here. Protect. And. Serve. Those kids? You _protected _them. And what about Fitz? That delinquent needs your help cleaning her dirty laundry, and what do you do?"

"I...protected...-?"  
"_Serve. _You have been _serving _her - helping her catch that pyromanic. And now the whole reason your miserable mug is in my business right this second? It's because you're serving her interests."

"Sooo...I'm _supposed _to help people 'clean their dirty laundry?'"

"_Ugh. _Listen. Kid. Just-..._Ech, _don't think too hard - your circuits get all scrambled. Clearly."

Korra frowned, and Jia could tell that her words were being taken a bit personally.

"Sorry, Kesuk. I'm trying to level with you. The point I'm making here is that you are _capable _of protecting and serving - and, hell, you seem to want to go out of your way to do so. Even if it means going outside of the law."

"Yea? Maybe the law...isn't always doing its job of _protecting _and _serving_."

"Now. See that? Right there? That's what I'm talking about - you didn't think too hard on that one. You just spoke your mind. And sometimes, in this line of work, we have to break the rules in order to get the job done. It happens. There's processes to go through, _but _sometimes rough stuff is necessary."

"Yea, but...-" Korra stared at her hands, which she clamped down on her knees. "I sorta have a habit of going overboard."

"You're a goddamn noire cliche in the works," Jia drolled. "A loose cannon with a chip on your shoulder, lost a loved one, grappling with insecurities over your fucking idiotic mistakes, bla-blah-blahh...It writes itself." She wriggled her wrists dismissively. "Yes, you can be a moron. But now you can _see _when you are, and actually try doing something about it. That's a big step - one most people don't bother with, even when you reach my age. All I'm saying, Kesuk, is that...-" Lin set her mug down and studied the brown-skinned woman right in the eyes. "We _all _make mistakes, but not all of us have the willpower to get back on the horse. You think _I _have no regrets?"

Korra gulped, hanging on the Chief's words.

"I _have_ regrets," Lin stated. "But as long as people are kept safe, that's what matters to me. That's what I'm doing here. If you care _that _much, you should consider dropping this vigilante nonsense and going legit - like your uncle steered you the first time. Attend police academy. Discipline yourself. Iron out the wrinkles."

"So...I...-" Korra nodded, but still looked lost.

"If you need a recommendation, I can arrange that for you," Jia advised. "I can look into options that are close to home, put in a good word for you."

"You'd..._do _that?"

"Only if you're serious about this."

"I-..._Puh-_!" Korra's eyes were practically popping out her head with a mixture of excitement, relief, and enthusiasm. "I don't even know what to...think. Yea! Yea, I'd be serious. If you think I should. What do you...-? I thought you _hated _me."

"Yes, well, _I _thought you were a mindless brute who could never put anyone else before her own interests - but you've proven me wrong. So...-"

"Uhhh..._Thank _you, erm, Ma'am. Sir?"

"Chief."

"_Chief__. _Thank you! I'll-..." Korra dug her hands into her hair, slicking it back in a dumbstruck manner as she stared at her knees. Her eyes darted this way and that as she rambled. "This means...a _lot _to me, I...really respect the way you-...Erm, so, let me-...I should probably...-"

"Think on it," the Chief insisted. "No need to go rushing into anything just as you're getting on my half-decent side, here."

"Right. Yea." Korra nodded vigorously.

"So, for now...you leave this situation with Agent 'Longshot' to us. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime? Maybe try looking out for the people who are nearby."

"Go see the kids," Korra confirmed.

Chief Jia dryly nodded, noting that Korra was still seated in the chair.

Jia asked with an upturned hand, "Was there anything _else _I needed to know about?"

"N-no, Ma'am." Korra shook her head - just as vigorously as she'd recently nodded it.

"There's a weight off my back," Jia deadpanned. "Now, if we're done with the chit-chats and back-scratches, get your ass out of my office. Get back to your _job _so I can get back to mine."

"I will! Thank you, Chief!"

"Yea, yea..."

Jia waved off the young woman and gave pause. She picked up her flip phone sent out a quick message before attending her e-mails.

[To: June Hale]  
[I suppose I see what you meant about Kesuk. Reminds me of myself at her age.]  
[Sent: 2:21pm]

[From: June Hale]  
[i know the feeling]  
[Sent: 2:23pm]

* * *

"..._sumnafff..._"

"What's that?" Korra asked in a quiet, taunting tone.

"..._rrmnnllaa..._" Jane was sleep-talking, muttering incoherent words.

"Ya _don't _say," Korra sarcastically gasped, staring at Aang with facetiously widened eyes.

He glared up at her grouchily, and her playful tone withered.

"What's wrong?" Korra grumbled, leaning back up and crossing her arms. "Did you put her to sleep with your _boringness_?"

"Leave us alone," Aang sighed, rolling his head slightly as his drawing stopped. He flipped his pencil around, scrubbed his eraser at the spot he'd just messed up, and blew a sharp puff, sending the residue off his sketchpad and onto the restaurant table.

"Oh, _alone, _eh?" Korra taunted, squinting her eyes at Aang with mocking suspicion.

He twisted his head up toward her, his bloodshot eyes sizzling out their frustration. Korra's expression soured with confusion at the sight, and she backed off.

"Damn, Little Man," Korra muttered. "Rough night?"

"You said you'd stop calling me that," Aang bitterly cited.

"Rrrright," said Korra, one hand on her hip. She tapped at pelvis bone with her thumb awkwardly, watching Aang shrug Jane off his shoulder. The ginger's head flopped forward, nearly bumping right into the table before she snorted awake.

Korra chuckled, covering her mouth with her hand to not draw too much attention to just how amused the sight had made her. She pounded Jane's back brusquely as the red-head wrinkled her nose, frowning as she re-examined her surroundings.

"How was your nap?" Korra teased, going to sit into the booth across the her friends. She noticed it was full of crumbs, accented by a damp napkin.

"Yea, that's why we're both on this side," Aang dryly explained, nudging Jane's body away from his own now that she was up.

Jane yawned wide, rolling her neck around and letting it pop itself back into place. Korra continued to linger above them, not interested in dirtying her bare legs with someone else's scraps. She was still in shorts and a tanktop, having just completed a jog around campus. It was a lot friendlier and cheerful than trying to jog down town, anyway.

"...Whhhat...?" croaked Jane, rubbing at her eyes.

"I don't get it," Korra cited, still fixated on the messy table. She glanced across Appa's, noting the table that they'd been at the night before. Some hipster-looking guys were gorging themselves around a styrofoam container. "How come you're not at _that _booth? I thought it was, like, _your _guys's booth."

"No, _That _Booth is over _there,_" Aang sternly cited, pointing his pencil in the other direction at a seemingly random booth. "_The _Booth is...occupied right now."

Korra rubbed her neck with her palm, a bit puzzled.

"Well...C'mon." She rapped the back of her wrist against a sleepy Jane's shoulder, then Aang's. "Let's go move over there, eh?"

"Err...-" Aang glared at her, his sleep deprivation showing much more hostility than Jane's was. "It's _occupied_."

"So let's ask them to _un_occupy it," Korra insisted with a shrug.

"N-no, let's..._not _do that," sighed Aang, shaking his head as he refocused on his drawing. As if he could drown out the activity around him by getting lost in his graphite. "It's-...No, it's just a booth," he muttered as Korra tugged Jane up from the seat.

"Whuhzz this 'bout?" Jane wondered, wobbling on her feet under Korra's arm.

Korra, her beefy arm slung over Jane's back, slapped her friend heartily.

"It's not _'just _a booth," Korra corrected. "It's _The _Booth. Right?"

Aang and Korra exchanged opposing glances in a moment of awkwardness until Aang rolled back his eyes and let irate air slide from his nostrils.

"It also doesn't have _crap _in it," Korra pointed out, directing one hand to the filthy portion of the booth.

"I don't care," Aang declared.

"You don't seem to care about _much _lately," Korra cited, dropping some of her pleasantry. "Eh?" She checked with Jane. "And what's with you two being all buddy-buddy, anyway? I thought you both were pissed at each other."

"We are," Aang grumbled, setting his pad down and dropping his pencil beside it.

"Hashin' shit out," Jane murmured, letting loose another yawn as she nudged herself off of Korra. "N' then I...kinda...-" She shrugged, readjusting her shoulderless shirt as she plunked herself back down beside Aang.

"You fell asleep on me," said Aang with some bitterness. "Literally. I mean, you _actually _fell asleep on me, when I was trying to talk with you."

"You're fucking _doodling_," Jane callously dismissed.

"I'm _working_," Aang stiffly corrected, moving a smidgen away from his neighbor. "There's a term for it: 'multitasking.'"

Jane bobbed her head expectantly.

"_Ah. _Well. The fuck d'ya think I was up all night doing? Goddamn experiments don't run themselves."

"Guys," Korra interjected, hands on her hips. "Chill out a little."

Both Jane and Aang begrudgingly quieted themselves, but Korra got the feeling it was more out of exhaustion than genuine interest in letting bygones be bygones.

Korra leaned over the table and swiped a couple of brown napkins from the dispenser, then went about brushing off the seat opposite her friends. She left the napkins on the vinyl cushion and cautiously sat her rump down. Chief Jia's '_Protect. And. Serve_.' rang through Korra's head as she took to heart the '_serve_' part in that instance.

"What's the problem?" she asked as calmly as she could.

Aang shrugged, staring down at his unfinished drawing of what looked to Korra like an upside down...fish-man? Like a mermaid, but a dude?

"Problem is-" Jane puffed out. "-after all the fuckin' work Kat put into the Harmony March, after all the faith n' attention she put into _this _guy showing up-" She tipped her head toward Aang. "-being a symbol o' peace n' fuck-all, he's too much of a coward to show up. _And_-" She pointed up her bony finger. "_And_ he doesn't even let us _know_. So then either _I _have to go up there and speak in front of people - which I _hate, _by the way, fucking embarrassing - or else Kat looks like a tool."

"I never _said _for sure if I was going to come," Aang meekly reminded.

"She seemed pretty damned sure you were," Jane sniped right back.

"Whoa, hey," Korra eased. "No reason to...-" Korra was off-put by Jane's grouchy olive eyes, but...meh. Shamrocks needed some rest, was the real problem, Kor decided. "Look, what happened happened. Like you've never let Katara down before?"

Jane swallowed, her head seeming to sink a little into her freckled shoulders. Korra thought that the black-and-yellow straps of her undershirt worked really well with the black...shoulder-less thing...she wore over it.

"We've _all _disappointed her before. Hell, we've disappointed each other. Eh?" Korra shrugged at both of them, and there was a ho-hum sense of agreeableness present. "So get over it. Move on. Freckles." Korra stared at Jane. "Get off the kid's back. And you. Little Man." She gave Aang her sharp glance. "If you're gonna be a part of this movement _you _helped start? I dunno, maybe...be a _part _of it. OK?"

Korra was a bit let down that neither of them nodded or affirmed that they understood her blunt reasoning, but...they weren't arguing. So, that was something.

"You're tired, you're busy, school, this shit with the triad, it's a cluster-fuck." Korra tossed up her hands, gesturing an explosion with her fingers. She paused for effect, then let her palms smack gently into the table in front of her. It was kind of sticky, and she could feel odd crumbs attaching to her skin. "But we'll get through it," she cited, brushing her hands on her shorts. "So stop being jerks to each other and just...mind your own business if you can't get along. Eh? Sound good?"

Jane nodded her head complacently, but with distinct aggravation, and lifted herself up from the table. She didn't so much as say 'good-bye' before trudging off, leaving Korra baffled. As Korra observed her friend's manner of walking, she couldn't help but notice that Jane's motions were stiff, like she'd slept wrong or strained herself or something. Aang, meanwhile, went right back to his drawing.

"You-..." Korra went to say something to Aang, but he was ignoring her. "Stay here," she 'commanded,' getting up and chasing after Jane.

As Korra wandered past, she couldn't help but notice that 'The Booth' was currently playing host to a game of poker. Those hipster-looking twerps were using these really big-ass cards, too. Like, twice normal size. What the hell was up w-? Jane. Right. The whole reason she was moving.

Korra swiftly found her way up the stairwell Jane had headed through, and within a few seconds she was out on campus. The familiar orange blob of hair stuck out in the sparse campus. Jane was heading straight for her dorm, it looked like.

"Hey!" Korra shouted out, waving up her arms. "Jane!"

Jane rolled her head grumpily and slowed her steps, lingering on the mowed grass between sidewalks.

"Hey," Korra said again, this time with some relief as she jogged up and came around her friend. "What's up?"

Jane rubbed sand from her bleary eyes and sighed, glaring at Korra for a moment.

"Got class in a few minutes, lost track of time," Jane replied with a dull tone.

"Why'd you up and leave like that, eh?"

Jane could tell from Korra's stubborn concern that she needed to supply the bulky girl with a better answer. The problem was that there sort of wasn't one.

Jane shrugged and shook her head slightly.

"Not in the mood to deal with shit," Jane grumbled.

"Is this about your boyfriend?" Korra quietly inquired. Jane's face wrinkled with some disdain at the reminder. Korra hastily tried to appease. "I was _just _down at the station, they told me they're still looking for him, and...-"

"Yea, fucking awesome," Jane blew off her friend's hope with a sigh. "Look. Just trying to move _past _that. OK?"

"Wh-? You're...just gonna give up?" Korra was a bit flabbergasted. She snapped her finger. "Just like that?"

"Yea," Jane flatly stated. "I am. How many times have I told you? I'm _done. _I'm _out._"

Jane's drab eyes of olive cut through Korra's heart.

"Sure, but...-" Korra's eyebrows twisted with confusion as she struggled to figure out what words would help.

"I dunno what the shit I'm doing," Jane stated plainly. "What I wanna do? After school? No fucking clue. Can barely write an essay about my own major without frying brain cells. Can't even fill in a goddamn report without scribbling chicken scratch everywhere. N' I'm supposed to be a _scientist_? Biology, chemistry, n' shit? Only practical use I ever get outta that stuff is...-" Jane's fierce expression of self-loathing caught up with her, and she shut her eyes, trying to clear her mental palette. "-...crap I ain't proud of," she finished, eyes still squinted closed as she rubbed at her nose.

Jane was pulled forward, and swept up off her feet. Korra hugged her tight, lifting her light-weight frame off the ground. Held up in the air, Jane could barely breathe, but planted the side of her head on the side of Korra's and endured the bear-hug. Korra dropped Jane back on her feet and gave a brisk pair of back pats.

"You've come a long way, Freckles," Korra encouraged.

"_Psh_." Jane could feel her tear ducts getting damp. "Yea...You, too, LadyBro."

They offered each other small smiles of mutual respect.

"I get what you mean," Korra empathized. "Being done, moving on. Sorry if I'm stirring shit up."

"No, it's...not you," Jane tried to explain. "I just-..._Ur__rgh._"

Jane stared at the grass beneath their shoes. She scratched at her forehead a bit, eventually sifting dandruff out of her eyebrow.

Korra grabbed Jane's wrist, stopping her nervous habit.

"Hey," Korra said. She squeezed Jane's hand in her own, then let the girl's arm go. "One thing at a time, eh? For now...just focus on helping Kat with this...erm...Harmony...Resistance?"

"_Tss._ Harmony Restoration," Jane corrected.

"Yea. That one."

"Harmony _Resistance _would be...bad."

"Right. No, I know. That's what I meant, Restoration."

"Uh-huh." Jane gave Korra smug smirk.

"_Anyway_," Korra gave Jane a light shove on the shoulder. "Go to _class_. I'll catch you later. I just wanted to make sure you're doing all right."

"Gettin' by," Jane responded with an uncertain nod. She gave Korra an earnest, abashed smile. "Thanks for checkin' on me."

"Any time." Korra two lingered in front of each other, and Korra realized she was standing directly in Jane's path.

"So, err, I'll let ya go now." Korra stepped over to one side, and Jane walked past her, nodding her head up to bid farewell.

"See ya later," said Jane.

"Yup!" Korra watched her melancholic friend sink her hands into her pockets and slouch off.

Oh, yea. Aang was still inside. She needed to have words with him, too, eh?

By the time Korra had found her way back downstairs in Appa's, she could confirm that Aang still sat where she'd left him. She stayed by the entrance for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"Hey, there," came the ever-sultry, ever-sarcastic voice of June from behind the counter at the restaurant's front.

Korra twisted her abdomen around to see the raven-haired woman. She looked a bit more ragged and run down than usual.

"How're you holdin' up?" June asked.

"Pretty good," Korra replied with a slow nod and heightened brows, reflecting on how at-peace she'd been feeling.

"How're the kids?" June wondered.

"Oh. They're...fine," Korra guessed.

"That's good," June stated.

"Mm." Korra nodded some more, approaching the counter. She flopped her elbows onto the faux-marble surface and leaned forward. "And you?"

"And me?" June posed, peeling a frozen burger out of its packaging and dropping it onto her grill. It sizzled and popped alongside a batch of fries in the nearby oil.

"Are you good?" Korra checked.

"As good as I ever am," June obliged.

Korra nodded a bit more.

"Ya know, I was...thinking," Korra started.

"So _that's _where the smoke is coming from," June remarked dryly, still attentive to her grill as she dropped down another burger.

Korra laughed through her nose and continued.

"Maybe, uh, you, me, and Shamrocks, we could go grab some drinks some time?"

"Heh. Taking pity on this old lady? Ya know, just 'cause I have a cat doesn't make me a 'Cat Lady' just yet."

"Shut _up_," Korra chuckled. "I was just figuring, the least I could do after all this shit is...take you out for a drink. Jane could probably use an evening off campus, too."

"Sure, sure," Jane agreed. She pulled up the frying cage that had been cooking. "I'll give you a ring when I know my schedule for next week, we'll figure it out."

"Sounds good."

"I gotta say, though," said June, scooping fresh curly fries into a small container. "I don't see the point in me being a wing-woman for _both _of ya at the same time. Seems sorta unnecessary. And repetitious."

"Wh-?" Korra was a bit thrown off by June's remark and let it roll off her back. "Yea, yea," she scoffed. "Anyway, just let me know when you're up for it."

"You got it," said June. "Have a good 'un."

"You, too."

Korra slid through Appa's, which was just a bit less crowded than it had been.

She noticed that one student at a table she passed by was reading the school paper over lunch. Copies of the paper were strewn all about. Curious, Korra glanced over one at an empty table. The front page was covered in stuff about the protests and violence happening in town. There was a little list of daily events on a side panel. Korra sighed through fluttering lips as she set the paper back down. She gently knocked her knuckles on the table thoughtlessly, then looked up to where Aang was still sitting.

Korra approached Aang, who she noticed now had some food in front of him. His order must've come in while Korra had been outside, but he had yet to touch it, from the looks of things. It was some kind of wrap in a green-colored tortilla. A half-eaten dill pickle spear sat beside it. Well, all right - at least the shrimp had eaten _something_.

Korra copped a squat beside Aang, rather than across from him. She looked over at his drawing. Little merman dude was coming along pretty well, and stuff. Had a bit of a happy trail going on, too. Did mer-dudes get happy trails, even? Huh. Well, they _did _have hair on their heads, so...-

"Is she OK?" Aang spoke, continuing his work.

"Huh? _Ah, _Jane. Yea, she's fine."

"Is she...mad at me still?"

"I...dunno, Little Man, I didn't...really ask about that."

Aang sighed stiffly.

"Well, what did you want me for?" he probed, reaching for his pickle and taking another bite.

"Nothing," Korra said plainly. "I'm just checking on you. Ya know, because..._friends_? That's how that one works, right?"

"Yea," Aang muttered with a shrug. "Thanks, but...I'm fine." He finished off his pickle, wiping his hands and mouth on a napkin before going back to his sketch.

"OK," Korra complied. "Uh, so...-" She drummed her thumbs against her lap. "If you're doing fine, you'd probably be up for hanging out some time?"

Aang's eyes slide sideways, his posture still slumped and his expression still lacking enthusiasm.

"I guess," he said, carefully sketching in scales on the merman's bottom half. "What did you have in mind?"

"_Ah, _well...that'll be a surprise. Eh?"

Aang frowned with dissatisfaction.

"Hey, hey," Korra eased. "C'mon, I let you take me up through the woods in the middle of the night. It's my turn to surprise _you _with something _I_ like to do."

"As long as it's not at a bar, or something..."

"_Nah, _wh-? Nooo, nothing like that."

"OK. So...When?"

"Uhh, well, whenever you like. When are you going to be freed up?"

"Korra, I'm pretty busy. Pick a day, or something, and I'll see if I can make it work."

Man. He was really cranky today. Nothing a little loosening-up couldn't help with. Korra had just the idea.

"Tomorrow," she decided. "Tomorrow night?"

"All right."

"...That's fine? You're sure?"

"Yea. That's fine."

"Oh...kay. Err, so we'll aim for, like...eight o'clock?"

"Sure."

"I'll pick you up in front of the ACC."

"Yea."

"Awesome. Cool."

Korra nodded to herself, feeling pretty good about this 'trying-to-serve-others' stuff. Yea. This was...good. Returning the, uh, good-vibes of the universe, or something...?

"Oh, so you probably know," Korra spat out after their few seconds of silence. "What's that word for, like, the world giving back what you give it?"

"...Huh?" Aang's brows furrowed at her a little.

"You know." Korra flicked up her wrist. "Like, you have good luck, so you do good luck..._things_...for others? So it's like this...sick-lick-...Cycle? Back-and-forth kinda thing...-?"

"Cyclical," Aang recalled the word she was trying to phrase. "And it's 'karma,' what you're thinking of."

Korra knocked her knuckles down on the table beside Aang's food.

"_Yea, _that's the word! Karma. Right on." Korra nodded, watching Aang go back to his work.

It was in this particular instant that Korra found herself feeling...weird. Without the distractions of her friends talking, all that was left for her to observe was the steady stream of students all around here. Textbooks, laptops, fried foods, backpacks...There probably wasn't a single person there that wasn't a student - besides her. It was kind of strange for that feeling to sink in. Like some weird reminder that Korra was still not really a "grown-up" or something. _Whatever _being a "grown-up" even meant.

Korra pulled out her phone and sent a text message.

[To: Jinora]  
[Hey. Sorry for the late reply. I've been busy. You guys want me to swing by tonight during dinner? 5:00?]  
[Sent: 1:24pm]

After closing her phone, Korra took a deep breath. She glanced over at Aang, who was still playing the stoic card.

"You...maybe wanna go outside when you're done with lunch?" she asked. "Go meditate? It's been a little bit since we've done that, I thought we were gonna...try to make that like a regular thing."

Aang dropped a stifled sigh, and shook his head.

"I have class in a bit."

"Right. Yea, yea." Yet another reminder of how out-of-place Korra was, sitting here and hanging out with a college student. Her gaze shifted to Aang's food, which he...supposedly would eat before this class he had to be at 'in a bit.' She asked him, "So, whatcha eatin' here?"

"It's a veggie wrap," Aang replied.

His lack of eye contact was not assuring. He continued to draw, not touching his food, and not giving Korra his eyesight.

Korra stared at his profile for a second. His eyes had that same 'bleh' to them that Jane's had just earlier outside.

Korra made a spur-of-the-moment decision once again, and reached her arm up over his back, pulling him in for a side-ways hug.

"_Urgh, _you just messed...-!" Aang started, dropping his pencil down. Korra ignored this and squeezed him in her arm.

"It's OK, ya know," she said to him, letting her heavy arm hang across his shoulders. "Kat's not pissed you or anything."

"I know."

"So what's eating you? Eh?"

"I...guess I just...don't know what to _do_," Aang confessed quietly. "I feel like a failure. Like I'm letting people down somehow. I'm letting _myself _down because I'll say I care about something, but then...not have the guts to go through with it. I'm not sure what I should do, or even if I _can _do _anything_."

Korra took in Aang's words. They reminded her of a night not too long ago, when he had been the one comforting her after her first standoff with Shin at the park.

_'I-I've...never felt like this before, so...so _fucking stupid_, and...and-...Aang, I don't fucking know what to _do_!'_

Korra squeezed Aang a second time, briskly rubbed his skinny little arm, and released him. She remembered their night out in the field, meditating beneath the stars.

"Bit by bit," she recanted his own words to him. "That's all it takes to get where you need to go. Eh? Remember?" She bumped him lightly with her elbow, leaning over to try and elicit a response.

"Right," Aang mumbled, the smallest of smiles emerging.

"I don't care if I'm Fearless or if I'm a Plus One or _whatever_ - I'm gonna stick up for you guys and try and be a better cousin. And stuff."

"Thanks." Aang finally looked her way and nodded.

"Yea, no problem," said Korra, getting up from their booth. "So, hey, I'll see you tomorrow. You go, like, cuddle with Katara or something tonight. Feel better."

Aang laughed once through his nose.

"OK. I'll...look into that."

"Hey, I'm serious," Korra encouraged. She leaned back over the chair and said quietly into Aang's ear. "Go _getcha _some, it'll make you both feel a little better, eh?"

Aang rolled his eyes, but she could his cheeks starting to burn up a little as his smile widened slightly.

"Maybe try something a little different than usual this time, ya never know-"  
"_OK, OK_," Aang hissed at her playfully, shooing her away in a fluster of bashful thought.

Korra leaned back up from the table and pointed at him with a wink.

"That's my advice for you today, Little Man. Cut loose a bit."

"I'll...think about it," Aang replied, his voice a little more warm than it had been. "Thanks."

"Just looking out for my future cousin-in-law."

"_Ha_. Yea, well..." Aang shrugged, a little endeared by her forward thinking. "We're a little ways from that yet."

"Hey! Bit by bit, right?"

* * *

- Tuesday, June 14th -

Toph's bitter whispers echoed through the cramped practice room, its soundproof walls lending their conversation privacy. She was sitting at her piano seat, but had rotating her body to sit sideways on it. Sokka was on the floor, leaned up against one wall as he crossed his legs, expecting the bad reaction he was about to receive.

"What the hell do you _mean _you didn't bring a condom? You _always _bring a condom."

"Uh, _yea_? When I actually think I'm gonna have sex, maybe?"

"Uhhh...-" Toph picked wax out of her ear with her pinky. "_Yeeeah, _so-..." She brushed it off on her pant leg, her face bristling with impatience. "I woulda figured what I said on the phone made it clear."

"Well, it wasn't," Sokka huffed out.

"Well, it's what I meant."

"_Well, _I'm not going to hoof it all the back to Aero, n' all the way back here, just for some quickie that neither of us is even in the _mood_ for now."

"Fine," Toph spat. "I'd've been the one doin' all the work _anyway_, so...-"

"Fine."

Toph blew air at her bangs, putting on a grumpy scowl she hoped Sokka saw. When she got no reaction from this, she irritably shoved her disheveled bangs aside and spoke.

"So...What? You don't wanna have sex with me now? At all?"

"Nn-I _do, _but not enough to go through all th-"  
"Did you forget a condom on _purpose_?"  
"Why would I do that?"  
"_Did _you?"  
"...No, and I don't-"  
"You're _lying_," Toph instantly accused. Stupid stack of meat-for-brains was fibbing through his teeth, she could _tell._

Sokka didn't elaborate or explain, his silence confirming Toph's suspicion.

"Why _would _you do that?" Toph demanded. "You _know _I'm not on the pill right now. That shit messes up my mood."

"Ya _don't _say..."

"Excuse me?"

"Toph, it's just not a good time to be doing this."

"Having sex? With my boyfriend? Before he disappears for who-knows-how-long?"

"It's just-...After what we discussed, don't you think that it would make our good-byes harder?"

"..._What_?"

"It would for _me, _anyway. I guess I'm not _y__ou, _but...ya know...sexing it up is _kind _of a big deal to me."

"You did _not _just imply what you just did."

"Uhh...?"

"It's a big deal to me, too, Sokka. Fuck! _Urghh._"

"Rrrrright. Soooo...That's why you did it with that one guy you met - the night you met him. And then you never talked to him again. Or like with Douglas, where you just...do that, and then casually pass him off to your cousin - _ya know, _no big deal."

"_Ohhh,_ ho-ho, _wow. _You're...-" Toph clicked her tongue testily. "You fucking block-head."

"Yep. Well, that's me. A block-head. Pointing out your hypocrisy."

"_Rrgh. _Sokka, I'm not-...OK, like, I won't try to defend myself, but you're missing the entire point."

"Obviously. Which you probably could've just, well, _said_. Plainly. By now."

"OK! God _damnit. _Having sex with _you _is a big deal to me. Maybe it hasn't been with other people this winter, but with _you _it has been, it's been awesome. And so...-"

"_Ohhh, _so _that's _what you meant this whole time," Sokka blathered sarcastically.

"And you refuse to take me seriously when I need you to the most."

"Did it occur to you that doing _anything _sexual with you - at all, in general - is 'a big deal' to _me_?" Sokka paused, and Toph heard frustration seep out through his nostrils._ "_And...that continuing to do so, when we know we're just going to go our separate ways any day now, will make it more _difficult _to go back to just being friends?"

"Well, _my _fucking bad. Sorry for being _backward _because when I _like _something, I actually want-to-_do-it._"

"Your breakup with Aang was easier because you do didn't get quite so involved. Wasn't it?"

"_What? _Ff-! What does _that _mean? That...was..._really _fucking hard for me, OK?"

"Oh. Ah. Yuh-huh. Right, yea."

"Oh-my-_god_, I can't talk to you right now."

"You never _can _talk to the truth."

"_Ughhh, _I hate you right now. Really?"

"You hate me even though we're arguing because you wanted to have _sex _with me."

"Yea? Well...I'd hate you even if I _didn't _hate you."

"And...I'd...hate you even if that made _sense._"

"I'd...hate you even if you were _me_."

There was a bizarre pause, both of them fuming, frowning, with a hint of confusion.

Sokka asked, "...Why did we just quote SpongeBob Squarepants in the middle of an argument?"

Toph replied, "Because we're...weird? I don't...-! _Mmph! _I'm still pissed at you. Don't change the subject."

"No, it's because we're weird _together. _In sync."

"Like...MMMBop."

"...What?"

"Ya know." Toph scratched her nose. "That...boy-band song? 'Cause you said _'N Sync_?"

"I don't think 'N Sync did that song."

"Whatever. I'm trying to...-"

"Yea," Sokka acknowledged. "I know."

The two paused. Sokka gloomily stared at the hint of desperation in Toph's expression, her head bobbed. Her eyes were glazed over, blankly directed at the floor.

"I'm tired of this," Sokka said with empathy, his tone directing their conversation to a different topic. "I'm sick of arguing with you."

"...You _like _arguing with me," Toph muttered, trying to lather some playfulness into things.

"Nn-! Sure, but, I mean..._You _know-"  
"I know what you mean."  
"-what I mean."

Sokka sighed. Then Toph sighed.

"What is _with _us?" Toph wondered aloud, her voice melancholic.

"I dunno," Sokka replied sullenly. "Maybe we just...burnt out our spark?"

"What, like...overdid things? Uhh, 'cuz, _yea, _I don't think-"  
"No, I mean, more like...maybe we just got together too impulsively?"

"You...-?" Toph's stomach was churning. "You think that?"

"I-...Well, this is-...I don't know."

"You _said_ it. So it means you must've _thought _it."

"Toph. C'mon, I...say all _kinds _of crap I don't _really _think."

"Whatever."

"Fine, so, what do _you _think the problem is?"

"Maybe it's because you keep jumping back and forth between two different fucking personalities."

"And you _don't_?"

"Of..._course_ I don't."

"Oh, yea. Yea. You definitely didn't put on a show for your folks. All polite and proper."

"That-! It's not what I mean, that's _different_."

"Or when you go up on stage, you act all cocky, but when it's at the coffee shop, it's suddenly all sensitive and touchy-feely. And it's totally not like you and Katara have your on days and your off days."

"Wow, way to just...try muting my point with irrelevant examples."

"I'm just _saying_."

"And I'm just _telling _you that none of things have to do with _us_. But when _you _keep going back and forth between all logical and shit, and then all immature and silly, it...-"

"...It what?"

"Well, I really _like _that about you. I mean, I never know what to expect, and that can be...fun, but...-"

"..."

"It's attractive, Snoozles."

"More attractive than my hairiness?"

"Even more than that."

"More attractive than your boobs?"

"_Ehhh, _let's not push it, you're not _that _great."

"Heh."

Both of them had a light swell of relief in that safe security of facetiousness. But it was ultimately just a cardboard wall against a flood of hormones and frustrations and insecurities. It did not hold.

"Whoa, hey..." Sokka's murmured suddenly. Toph realized that her face had found itself in a contorted position, burning at the cheeks, eyes damp.

"_Blech, _sorry," Toph grunted, keeping Sokka's presence at a distance with one hand as she brushed her forming tears with the other. She sniffed up mucus and groaned with a bit of misery. "It gets hard when I don't know how you're going to act when we're pissed off. That's the part I hate."

"...Huh?"

"Your two different sides, and stuff. Like you're a coin, flipping all the time? It's rough when I'm having a day where I just wanna plant my feet in the ground and...have things be steady."

"Yea, well, sometimes you need a little tug."

Toph snorted a laugh through her nose at Sokka's remark.

"No, that's you, _Meat_-Head."

"_Ugh. _And now _I'm _trying to be serious and you make a penis joke."

"Yea, yea..."

"See? You do it, too."

"I guess."

"So you _don't _like my charming unpredictability?"

"Sometimes, Sokka. Sure. But...other times, it ain't so charming. Like when we've got issues."

"Well, nei-"  
"And don't keep throwing this back at me, that's what _I _usually do, and it's stupid. And _not _charming when I do it, either. And we shouldn't do it."

"Sooo, we...what? Should never act childish?"

"I didn't...-"

"'Cuz, erh, I _dunno, _Toph, that, uhh...seems like it might be a stretch for you."

"Some consistency would be nice, though. Right?"

"I'm about to move out on my own to the opposite side of the continent, leaving all of you behind, because...I have to 'be an adult.' I don't really think 'consistency' is gonna be a luxury for me any time soon. And you're still going to be in college? So, uh, _yea. _Not really something you're gonna get much of, either."

"So the solution is to just give _up?_"

"It's not giving up, it's cutting your losses."

"Now I'm a _loss _that needs to be _cut?_"

"Wow, Toph, you're..._really _hyper-sensitive about what I say, for how much you make yourself out to be all...tough, and...-"

"Look, if this is your way of breaking us up, then...you suck."

"I _know, _that's exactly why I...-"

Toph was a bit befuddled by the earnesty with which Sokka had agreed. He'd said it on instinct, and she gathered that he'd taken her remark to mean more than just the context she'd presented.

She could hear him scratching his nails across his scruffy neck, and he dropped a sigh.

"Let's be real here," Sokka stated flatly. "We both suck. We don't know what we're doing. We just dropped a Spongebob quote and a dick joke in the middle of an argument."

"Pinnacle of maturity."

"Right? But...Toph, the _real _world is out there. And it's about to bite me in the ass. And I know I'm not man enough to deal with that. No offense, but...-"

"What? You think I'm, like...holding you _back, _or some shit?"

"N-no, but...more like...tempting me to hold _myself _back?"

"I, uh, I don't really think it _matters _what the '_real_' world thinks, as long as you-...Ya know? _Fuc__k _that noise, anyway. 'Real' world? My ass. We _are _in the real world, right fucking now."

"Toph, I mean, like, the _adult _world. It's not the same thing."

"Man, what_ever_! I get what you're saying, but it's still bullshit. People can change, grow, stuff like that. Look at me, look at how much I've changed."

"You're right, I know, but...it's not about _you, _Toph, it's about me not being _enough _to keep this..._us, _this _we, _thing? Keeping it together. I don't think I'm able to do that right now."

"_So_-!" Toph spat out, instantaneously _not _pleased with his logic. No, _lack _of logic. He was the Idea Man! What was with this? "So don't try to keep it together by _yourself, _you...dumb-shit!"

Sokka chuckled weakly at the way Toph's voice had cracked a little.

"Yeaaaaa," he sighed. "You don't get it. It's about knowing that I _could, _if I needed to. And right now? I know that I couldn't."

"If this is your reason for trying to split with me...-"

"Toph. There is no single reason. There's...a lot of reasons. But the biggest one is that, frankly? We don't do long distance. Neither of us have before. And I just don't know that we could. I don't want to put you through bullcrap - and I don't want to be put through the ringer again, myself."

"What, like...we'd cheat on each other?"

"It's not even that, it's more like-...It'd be really shitty if I felt like I was holding you back from something better than being stuck with phone calls for months at a time. And honestly? I'd probably get pretty damn frustrated if I was in that kinda situation myself - if I met someone where things just..._worked, _but I couldn't...-"

Toph sighed loudly, allowing herself to ruminate on her night with Ohev at the Golden Dragon Ball. She'd broken things off before they'd even started because she had felt emotionally cornered, yet was completely uncertain of whether things could even work with Sokka back then.

Her thinking was very different at this point, though. She knew things could work. She was willing to fight for that - but she had made too many slip-ups in the past, given in to temptations and frustrations enough times to know she couldn't fully trust her own choices 100% of the time. The prospect of hurting Sokka in that way - in the way she'd hurt Aang? That was...a horrifying thought. And she knew she couldn't trust herself entirely. Maybe she was _already _hurting him by continuing to cling to what they had found in each other, when he seemed increasingly desperate to let it go.

"Toph, our friendship needs to come first. That's the bottom line here. And the way things look like they're gonna go? Man...I just don't see things _not _getting complicated. I don't want to put you through that. Got it?"

"...Sort of."

"So you understand where I'm going with this?"

"You mean where you've _been _going for, like...weeks now?"

"Uhh, well, yea. We _did _already agree to this, didn't we?"

"..."

"The longer we put this off, the more difficult it's going to be to get back to how things were."

"How things _were?_"

"Yea, when...everything was simple, and we had fun, and goofed off, and just...enjoyed being...-" Sokka trailed off when he noticed that Toph was getting up from her seat.

She groped the wall in front of her, retrieved her walking cane, and approached the door.

"We still _do _have that, you moron," she grumbled, her hand clamped on the door's handle as her face burned with emotional instability. "Even _I _can see that..."

"Toph..."

"That was a blind joke. By the way."

"You don't have to make this so hard. If you could stop being stubborn for a minute...-"

"If _you _could stop over-thinking, or dismissing, and just...fucking...let yourself _feel _whatever you feel...-"

"C'mon, sit back down. Let's talk this out."

"I'm done talking. You've already made up your mind. You wanna go? Clean slate? Bam. Slate cleaned. I declare you _freed _from the servitude of the Queen of the Cunts."

"Look, I don't have a lotta _choice _here, Toph. I want to be with you, but I've gotta put my responsibilities first."

"Well, great. Go...fucking sail off to whatever other kingdom is so important to you now...Go _be a man, _whatever the hell that even _means _to you anymore..."

"That's how it is, eh? You just _gotta _get the last word in. You can't-"  
"Are we done?"

"_Psh. _Yea. Yea, we're done, then."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

Toph offered Sokka a mocking salute from the side as she shoved off through the door, leaving him alone in her practice room.

Sokka groaned to himself as he bumped his head against the wall. He pressed his ear up against said wall, observing the light tapping vibrations her cane made as she disappeared.

Now all alone in the soundproof room, Sokka got up on his feet, slipped on his tattered loafers, and ruminated with bitterness on how that conversation had not gone at all as he'd planned it. He took out some frustration on the room's piano, rattling out an unpleasant chord, then smacked Toph's sheet music binder off of the piano's sheet stand. After glaring at the tiny mess he'd made, he begrudgingly bent down to pick it up. He held it in his hands for a moment, his mind lost. As he flipped the binder around to set it back with Toph's tiny shelf of in-room materials, he caught sight of the braille labels that were stuck firmly to the back of the book. He ran his thumbs across the two black, bumpy labels. He remembered that he'd put them there at Toph's request a few weeks back.

He couldn't read braille, but he didn't need to in order to remember what the labels said.

**{a man chooses}**  
**{a slave obeys}**

* * *

Korra tugged at the green training helmet on Aang's head, ensuring it was secure.

"That better?" she checked, tapping it with her knuckle lightly.

Aang nodded, bouncing up and down a bit on his toes. Korra stepped over to where her bright red gloves rested on the ring's floor. She scooped them up and fastened them onto her hands. The gentle squeaking of Aang's shoes echoed across the empty gym as he bobbed a bit, evidently brimming with energy today.

As Korra strung her practice gloves up, she studied Aang's lightweight frame. Aang was shorter than she was, but he was also much more skinny. The only person she knew that was maybe scrawnier than him was Jane, but even then, Aang seemed much more fit than Jane did. That was probably the careful diet, all that yoga and meditation, the running exercise he did...Old Shamrocks had supposedly been in ROTC training before Korra had known her, but she must've shed what little muscles she'd developed on a schoolyear's worth of lounging and cafeteria food. Aang was the only of Katara's little group - this Fearless Five - who actually seemed in shape. It was for this reason that Korra had figured that a little training would suffice in her returning the favor for his meditation lessons.

The small gym was a bit musty, the brick walls worn with faded posters. They were the only two present - the elderly, cranky old goat that owned the gym was taking a break. The curmudgeon and Korra didn't get along, but he had apparently been the man who'd gotten Mako into covering sports in the first place, landing him a real job and helping he and his brother quit their ties with shady dealings. So Korra could at least respect the man.

"I think I'm ready," said Aang with some seriousness, hopping on his toes.

His tall, black gym sneakers squeaked on the stained boxing ring floor. He fanned air into his black tanktop and adjusted the elastic waistband on his bright green shorts. He padded together the green boxing gloves he'd picked out to rent - he'd even borrowed a colored training helmet to match, rejecting the blue one Korra had randomly grabbed for him. All this green - Korra thought Aang was more into that light blue color. But then again, his demeanor today was a little off from the normal mild-manners.

Seeing Aang dressed like this, with his frowning, serious face, all trying to look tough...it was a little funny. Kind of adorable. Korra was reminded of a photo Kat had shared on Facebook the night prior - a kitten with a pirate hat and eyepatch photoshopped over its face.

"Damn, Aang," Korra said with a smug smirk. "I forgot how...well, _little _you are."

"Yea well...-" Aang grumbled, patting his gloves together. "Size doesn't matter."  
The guy definitely had a chip on his shoulder today, eh?

Korra's brows lifted in amusement and she let loose a chuckle.

"_Ahaha! _Oh, yea? That's what I'm talkin' 'bout," she encouraged as she slapped his shoulder with her gloved hand. "That's what I wanna see today, Little Man. Some attitude, some bite to ya, eh? I like it."

Aang's body relaxed to a pause, and he let his arms sag to his sides. He glared at Korra expectantly, and she shrugged back.

"Well?" she probed. "Show me your ready stance."

Aang huffed air through his nose and stuck up his dukes, stiff and stern, looking up at Korra's face. Korra nodded, studying his pose. She reached out one glove and lightly tapped his chin from below.

"Chin down. Always keep your chin down," she calmly explained. He nodded, his arms still raised. Korra took a couple of steps back, raising up her gloves and shuffling a little on her toes. She could already see a number of holes in his defense, but figured it might be better to teach him one step at a time - bit by bit, and all that.

"Come at me," she advised, still flitting her body around.

Aang obliged her command quite abruptly, but she was ready for it. She noticed his elbows were flared out at a forty-five degree angle. His left-handed hook was swiftly countered by a jab to his exposed rib. He flinched, tugging his elbows down, and she dodged a step back.

"See?" she cautioned. "Your popping out your elbows. Don't do that. Keep your elbows tucked in. Like this." She demonstrated, her own arms pressed against her ribs. "You've gotta always be ready to protect yourself."

Aang nodded, trying to mimic Korra's stance. She helped him adjust, then gave him a pat on the back when she was satisfied.

"Gimme a hook," she commanded.

Aang tossed a wild swing with his left arm, thumb upturned, and Korra absorbed his weak smack with the back of her right glove.

"OK," she grunted. "Don't slap," she advised. She mimicked what he had just done. "If you swing like that, you're gonna have your hand get messed up. You're gonna lose power. You wanna make sure that any punch you're landing, it's with your top knuckles. Not your palm, not your nails, not your bottom knuckles, not your wrist - top knuckles." She flung a few swift air punches of differing angles, each one demonstrating what she'd advised.

Korra resumed a defensive position.

"You try," she said. "Aim for my gloves."

Aang hesitated for a second or two, then took a swing - Korra's eyes caught the angle, and it was a little off. His punch was weak against her gloves' defense.

"No," Korra criticized, her tone neutral. "Keep your thumb _under _your fingers, _not _on the side. Hit with the flat sides of your fingers, not the joints. Again."

Another weak tap.

"Again."

Yet another - slightly better.

"OK. All right. More like that one. C'mon."

After about thirty seconds of this, Korra took a playful jab when she noticed that he was focusing so much on punching, he was dropping his defense. Her glove bopped him on the forehead, his padded helmet absorbing the hit.

"Ow," he growled with indignity.

"_Well,_" Korra countered. "You can't drop your 'D' like that. Keep your elbows _tucked in. _Keep your gloves _near your face._"

"I know, I know."

"Then _do it._"

"I'm trying."

"That's not the same thing-"  
"-as doing, I _get it._"

Korra smirked at Aang's impatience. She had a feeling that getting him a bit riled up might encourage his efforts.

"Gimme a few more jabs," she commanded.

He obeyed, and she gave the slightest bit of tell with the same fist she'd just swung. He leaned his body just in time for his glove to take the hit instead of his helmet.

"Good," Korra encouraged. "Remember to keep that chin down." She watched his head tilt forward a bit. "I'm gonna throw some jabs toward your face. You ready?"

Aang took a step back, glaring at her.

"_Ready_?" Korra double-checked. He frowned adamantly and nodded, and she waited a moment until his chin was lowered, elbows tucked in, gloves by his face.

Korra swung her fists in a predictable jab-jab-hook combo. She'd nick his helmet or his arm a bit, but he seemed to be starting to get the hang of protecting his face. Korra gave him a curveball - she landed a hook against his arm. Then a jab toward his waist. Then another jab toward his face. In the brief moment of unpredictability, he flinched his eyes closed and pulled up his gloves over his line of sight.

Korra assaulted him with a few more quick but comparatively gentle blows to demonstrate his weak spots, then backed up, letting him recover.

"You closed your eyes," she observed allowed. "_Never _close your eyes. _Never _look away from your opponent."

Aang's sight stared at her with some intensity as he considered this advice.

"But...when they're attacking-" he began to protest.  
"That's the _most important time _to keep your eyes on them!" Korra sternly informed. "You can't block what you can't _see._"

"Mm," Aang grumpily hummed his acknowledgement.

Korra practiced her run of jabs at Aang again - then again - and was pleased at how just by keeping his eyes on her, he saw an increase in the effectiveness of his reactions. He seemed much more adept to dodging her blows than straight-up blocking them, and that was probably all the better for the particular sport they were engaged in. She had him switch back to offense, which was much more lacking.

"Your blows are too easy to see coming," Korra scolded him after she'd shrugged off five strikes in a row. "You've gotta keep moving," she advised, backing off and showing him what she meant. She bobbed and weaved on her toes, her gloves swiveling to and fro in a seemingly random pattern. "See?" she huffed. "Could be - _this_." She flung a right jab toward Aang's face. "Or - _this_." A left hook toward his abdomen.

Korra took a deep breath and rubbed her arm across her eyes, removing the sweat that was starting to drip down from loosened bangs. She stood staunch, like a statue, and raised up her gloves, imitating the position Aang had been holding.

"When you're like this? Like a rock, just sitting there?" She threw the same two punches she just had, but Aang could recognize them coming from the way her body gave off a split-second tell. "It's easier to see the shots coming. That's why you keep moving. Gotta move like air, strike like water. If you're gonna be rock-like, it's gotta be when you dig in to make a swing." She planted one foot in, and thrust the other leg forward, using her legs to add power to her slow-mo punch, which she directed toward Aang's face. "Put your legs into it. Gives you more power, more distance. And ya wanna break your own patterns - add some chaos, keep their ass on fire trying to guess what you'll do next."

Korra showed off a bit, mixing together all kinds of motions and moves, and Aang was increasingly intimidated.

"This is...a bit much," he sighed, rubbing sweat off of his own face.

Korra paused her exhibitionist habit and relaxed her body, gawking at him as he removed his helmet. He took deep breaths, wiping his green boxing glove over his disheveled, sweat-ridden hair.

Aang noted, "I thought this would...be all about...just _punching__._"

"Say what?"

Aang shrugged, then elaborated. "It sounds like there's...a lot of _thought _you need to put into this. Like...you're supposed to thinking two steps ahead, analyzing stuff while you act...It's just more complicated than I thought it'd be."

Korra grinned, approached Aang, and wrapped her arm over his shoulder.

"_Ha! _Well, whaddya know?" Korra snidely remarked. "That's how I felt when you were teaching me how to meditate, eh?"

"Huh? O-oh, like...you were over-thinking it, when it was just...-"

"You got it."

Aang shrugged, Korra's weight bearing down on him, carrying with it her expectation of him to put more effort into this.

"A-anyway, I'll...try harder," he mumbled, strapping his helmet back on.

"_Yea, _you will," Korra encouraged, hopping jauntily back in front of him, her fists whizzing about in a playfully excitable manner. She lightly danced to and fro, whisking her fists around. In turn, Aang assumed a lower stance than he had, attempting to shuffle around on his toes. He began to rotate his gloves in circles - round and round. "'Atta boy," Korra encouraged. "Yea, keep it low, low's good. Now try to-"

Aang cut off Korra's advice by charging in with a pair of swift left jabs. He'd stepped forward with his right leg as he'd made the motion, giving him the extra reach and momentum to land his blows. Korra was caught off guard by his assertive strikes, barely blocking his jabs, and swerving to her left to avoid his follow-up right hook. She weaved her dodge forward, swinging with her right and gunning for his abdomen, but his left glove shoved her blow down as he swung around her, popping the side of her helmet with a jab. She countered with a body shot in his abs.

A solid few minutes of sparring went by, each second an exchange of mind and body versus mind and body.

Aang felt his body burst with energy, fueled by determination. Korra certainly landed more hits on him, but by the end of their makeshift round, Korra could tell that he was already acclimating to how this sport worked, diving right in and experimenting with what she'd advised. She offered advice on the fly through forced breaths, allowing him a second or two each time to tweak his approach. He was showing the signs that she liked to see.

He moved like wind, he struck like water, he planted his feet rock-like, and his eyes burned with a rival's fire.

There were moments when Aang's hands became stinging blurs of green. Korra loved the sight - loved seeing a more tenacious, determined side to her friend. It was the side of Aang that had protected her - that had protected her cousin. Helped her protect the kids back at the park when she'd been lost in her bloodlust. Speaking of, Aang was really letting it rip with his swings. Korra had to do a bit of double-time to keep herself un-touched by his burst of adrenaline.

Aang was in a bit of a rage, taking this opportunity to pound out the angry thoughts and energies that had been bottled up so much recently.

Each punch he swung was accompanied by a huff, a growl, a snarl...a sour thought.

_I'm sick of you treating me like a kid._

_I'm sick of you flaunting yourself around._

_I'm sick of seeing you caught up in this mess._

_I'm sick of seeing my friends caught up in this mess._

_I'm sick of seeing you all hurt..."ng?"_

_I'm sick of feeling hurt._

_I'm sick of "Aay...!" feeling useless._

_I'm sick of running away._

_I'm sick of disappointing "Aang!" you all._

_I'm sick of "Dude!" disappointing myself. "Stop!"_

"Fucking _stop, _already!"

Aang was jarred to his senses when Korra shoved him off of her. His ass slammed hard onto the boxing ring floor. Dazed and achy, he stared up at Korra, who was wincing a little, rotating her shoulders around and pacing away from him.

"I dunno what your deal is today," Korra growled, "but I'm not a damned punching bag. _Shit._" She pointed one glove off away from the ring, toward the old punching bag that was hung off by the ring's side. "If you just wanna pound something - christ - have at it..."

Aang paused, glancing over to the bag, then up at Korra, who was still pacing around a bit. Now that he could see her front side, she looked fine, but incredibly irritated. He figured that even with all of his energy, he could still barely faze her. Even when he let all his anger out, he was apparently still a weakling. Big surprise.

"Did I hurt you?" he wondered. His neutral tone had Korra a little confused.

She sniffed, wrinkling her big nose a bit, and unclipped her helmet, letting it hang against her hip.

"I don't know," Korra grunted with a shrug. "Hit me in the fuckin' tit, though," she grumbled. "_Damn_," she groaned, the residual pain seeping into her chest. "Fuckin' fast hit. I can't tell if I'm pissed or proud..."

Aang finally crawled back up to his feet, using the nearby elastic ropes as support.

"Why didn't you stop when I told you?" Korra demanded.

Aang, his lips agape, shrugged.

"I...I'm not sure, I was-...I didn't mean...-"

"Eh, I asked for it," Korra sighed, quelling the tensions down. "Maybe that was a little rough for a first lesson."

"W-well..." Aang breathed out, giving her a sheepish smile as he took off his own helmet in kind. "If it's any consolation, I _do _feel better."

"_Tch! _All right, then," she smirked his way. "Punching stuff _does _feel good, doesn't it?"

"Especially when it's...-"

"What?" Korra pressed with a humored face. "When it's _what?_" She bobbed beneath the ropes, exiting the ring.

Aang finished his thought as he slid out of the ring behind her. "I _do _feel better when I punch your...fat, arrogant face."

"Ha! See, Little Man...Now you've gotta get your insults to be as swift as those punches you just threw."

"Mm..."

"Oh, erm...-" Korra paused, turning back to face him. "Sorry," she spewed out tiredly. "The, uhh...'Little Man.' I keep forgetting...you're not a fan of that, eh?"

Aang took in a deep breath of the musty, sweat-tinted gym air, the dim light soothing his exhausted body as he trudged up to Korra's side. They both set down their helmets on a run-down wooden bench, sitting themselves cautiously down.

"Little Man," Aang grunted to himself as he let his lean hind quarters take a rest beside his friend. "Little Man..." He stared absent-mindedly at his bright green gloves as he popped them against each other. "I guess it's starting to grow on me," he mused with a small smile.

* * *

- Wednesday, June 15th -

"Um..." Katara's eyes drifted to one side as she fiddled with the hem on her denim skirt under the table. "It's...going well," she replied. There was the briefest of pauses, her eyes glazed over, unfocused. She was staring at a display of hand-made crafts on a desk to the side of the room. "All things considered," she added in a mumble, shrugging up one shoulder as her eyes continued to gaze off into space.

Her wandering eyes were brought to attention as the potbelly of Professor Kurosawa appeared in her line of sight. The man poured green tea into the wooden tea cup that sat before Katara.

"Gosh, what can ya do to stop this sorta thing?" Chong posed from across the table, stirring natural honey from a mason jar into his drink.

"The _police _here could be doing their _jobs,_" said Azula stoically, staring down into her cup as if to intimidate it into cooling down.

"They're doing their best," Zuko defended. "That congressman's kids were rescued - and they've arrested a number of triad members just this week."

"Yea," Katara agreed. "I, um-...My cousin actually helped...with that. If you'd believe it."

"Your cousin?" Azula raised one brow. "_Oh,_ right. The thuggish vigilante that riled up the triad's attention in the first place..."

"_Ohhh, _the one who captured that nasty man," Lily recalled. "The one who burned your house?" She glanced up to Iroh as the man at last poured his own drink.

"Yes, that would be the one," Iroh confirmed, stating it so airily, like it wasn't a big deal. He set the teapot down in the center of the table before taking his seat.

"If it wasn't for Korra and Jane, you might not still _be _here," Zuko pointed out.

"This...is true," Iroh agreed with a slow nod, taking a satisfying sniff of his brew.

Everyone took a quiet pause to sip their steaming beverages.

"So, what's the next step?" Katara asked, arousing some puzzled looks.

"Step?" said Zuko.

"For the school," Katara elaborated. "You guys - the Kurosawa family. What's the next move? For the Harmony Restoration Movement?" She grew a bit wary when the three Kurosawa members offered no response, instead sharing awkward glances. "I mean, you're all here in Wayward now - surely that means you'll _do _something about all of this."

"We're...still weighing our options," Zuko passively explained.

"Wh-?" Katara sighed through her nostrils with some impatience. "With...all due respect, this entire mess is a direct result of _your _family, isn't it?"

That left the room in a tense, frozen moment of consideration. Iroh stroked at his beard in a most melancholic fashion, staring at his own reflection. Azula, her eyes closed, primly drank her drink, its piping hot temperature evidently endurable. Zuko took the brunt of Katara's desperate expression, and he shrugged warily.

Katara pointed out, "Mai gave me the impression that you guys are planning on holding a press conference about all of this, but...-" She flipped through the sheets in her manilla folder until she tracked down the schedule. "-...I'm not seeing a date or any indication of that in the schedule drawn up for the Restoration Movement." She sighed, letting her elbows drop below the table into her lap. She shrugged up her shoulders expectantly. "Well?" she probed.

"A week from Friday," stated Zuko with firm resolve. Azula shot him an indignant glare, and Iroh, still stroking his wispy beard, smiled a little. "We'll arrange a meeting between Wayward and SRU officials, prepare a press conference, and...go from there."

"Um...S-so, Friday?" Katara excitedly mumbled, fumbling into her blouse pocket for a pen.

Zuko nodded in reply, and Katara jotted a note on the appropriate date.

"_They_ should be approaching _us_," Azula expressed with some disdain. "That insufferable pastor has no idea what he's talking about, accusing us of-"  
"Azula." Iroh's interruption went acknowledged, silencing his niece. "The young lady is correct. It is _our _family's wrongdoings which have brought these storm clouds to this community."

"You're always talking about upholding our family's legacy," Zuko reminded her. Azula drank her tea as she endured her brief lecture. "But it's time to admit Ozai's mistakes. Admit _our _mistakes. Come clean, seek forgiveness, make amends..."

"_Yes, _yes, yes," Azula hastily spat, flicking her wrist up at her brother. "I see your point, it is acknowledged, it is taken into account." She sighed through her nose, shaking her head slowly as she ran her lengthy fingernail across the teacup's edge.

Katara's observant gaze caught Zuko's concerned sympathy for his sister's frustration. There seemed to be a lot of history between these two, and of the opposite variety that Katara had with her own sibling.

"_Why _don't we get some biscuits going?" Chong blurted out, nudging his wife. "They'd sing n' dance real sweet with this tea."

"_Ahhh, _yeaaa," Lily's meandering voice agree, the couple both rising from their seats.

"Does that sound swell, or what?" Chong posed to his guests.

Katara blurted out, "Th-that sounds..._lovely_, yes. Please. Thank you."

As Chong bopped Lily on the behind - she tittered in that dazed, dreamy way she had multiple times that evening - the two slipped off into their kitchen to prepare some biscuits.

"Hmm...It _will _take some time for this tea to cool down," Iroh murmured to himself.

"I don't even know how you're drinking it, Azula," said Zuko quietly, watching the steam ride from his cup.

Azula's brow twitched with some defiance.

"I suppose I've developed a taste for Uncle's brew," she grumbled in her proper, passive-aggressive manner. "Though I still believe that organic honey would elevate it to a level of quality worthy of the Kuro-"  
"Ma'am?" Katara intruded.

Azula's eyes widened as she gawked at the college student addressing her.

"We have more pressing things to be discussing than personal _tea _preferences, don't we?"

Azula's face contorted at the corners, at the edges, threatening to growl out '_Insolence_' or some such at a moment's notice.

"For example," Katara went on, "Do we know that you all are even _safe _here? I mean, if it's true that this gang violence is connected to your family, isn't there reason for us to be contacting the authorities? Shouldn't you...have protection? Or...-?"

"We're trying to lay low for a bit," Zuko explained. "We don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves."

"OK, well, I can...appreciate that," Katara muttered, rubbing her chin nervously. "But...-" Her attention seemed to skip elsewhere instantaneously, and she began digging through her carrybag, which dangled from one post of the antique chair she was sitting in. "It's just...-" She pulled out her laptop, adorned with various stickers. "With everything...going on...-" She was fidgeting with her device, opening it up from its slumber to the webpage she'd pulled up earlier. She rotated her laptop around and carefully slid it across the table, letting it rest between where Zuko and Azula sat.

The Kurosawa siblings both leaned in to read the headline of the news article Katara had presented.

[**A Town Divided**]  
[_Tensions flare in college town; college administration accused of ties to drug cartel_]

Zuko and Azula cast hesitant glances each other's way just from the headline alone.

"Maybe you haven't been following the news," Katara cited, "but things here in Wayward aren't going so well. People have _died, _or been hospitalized. Property has been destroyed. The community has been split apart. Between the gang violence, the accusations, the...-" She sighed, shaking her head. "There's even rumors going around that there's some...kind of political, racial, social-..._I don't know_..." She was getting fairly flustered.

Azula observed, "And you feel our inactivity is worsening the situation."

"Yes," Katara burst out with some desperation at the edge of her voice. "And I'm worried that something might happen to your family."

Zuko was about to speak, but Azula beat him to the punch.

"Our safety is our own concern. There is still some business that needs to be taken care of before all cards are laid on the table."

"Wh...-?" Katara did not like this response. "What does _that _mean?"

"It means," Zuko tried to reply with some delicacy, "that this is a personal, family matter - and we're working toward a resolution as quickly as we can."

"Young lady," Iroh said to her, attempting to calm her down. "Please. Drink some tea. Relax. This storm shall pass."

Katara struggled between a frown and a complacent stance, her arms crossed over her waist. She crossed her ankles and bounced an impatient foot as she studied the Kurosawas.

"Can you at least read the article?" Katara requested.

Zuko nodded, while Azula seemed to ignore her. As Zuko began to read Katara's laptop screen, Kat went about drinking her tea. A few minutes of tension passed by. Kat finished her tea quickly, then Zuko let Azula read. Kat took a bathroom break, passing by the hippy couple baking biscuits in the kitchen. While in the fragrant, artsy bathroom that Chong and Lily owned, Kat checked her phone, venting her frustrations to some of her friends.

By the time Katara had finished up in the restroom, her laptop had been handed to Iroh, who had taken out his glasses to study the text. Katara noticed her teacup was steaming, having been refilled while she'd been gone. The tea was pretty good, she could admit, even if it didn't seem to be easing her mood. She decided to try and gaze about the antiquated house, taking in the smell of fresh biscuits baking and the sights of the trinkets that this couple had amassed. The table of crafted objects seemed to be calling to her. A leather-bound dreamcatcher with seagull feathers kept catching Katara's eyes - it made her think of Korra for some reason. Perhaps due to the nightmares she knew her cousin had been dealing with.

"Mm." Iroh's hum stirred Katara from her thoughts. He closed the laptop, removed his eyewear, and his sturdy, wrinkled hands passed it back to her. "We are thankful for your awareness," Iroh said to her as she accepted her device. "And, as planned, we will be transparent with our family's history in a matter of days."

"...All right," Katara mumbled, shoving her laptop back into her bag. "Thanks for hearing me out, anyway."

Chong and Lily re-entered the dining room, a wave of warm biscuit fumes alongside them. Lily placed small plates at each seat, and Chong administered the flaky treats onto each plate. Lily set down a mason jar of what looked like home-made strawberry jam, twisted it open, and dropped a butter knife into it. She handed it to Katara first, and Katara graciously accepted the sweet-smelling stuff.

After some murmurings of 'thanks' and 'smells good,' the lot of them concluded their discussion as the biscuits were chowed down.

"So...-" said Katara, slathering jam on her snack. "What should..._I_...be doing, then?"

This time, Zuko was the one to interrupt before Azula could speak.

"Just keep with the schedule. You're not alone - Mai and Aang are helping, and so is the student council."

Katara nodded her understanding as she passed the jam over to Iroh.

"Sorry I'm so worked up about this," Katara apologized. "I know this...isn't really quite my business..."

Zuko and Iroh exchanged hesitant glances at her remark as she sunk her teeth into her delicious treat.

"It is fine," Iroh assured.

"Gosh, no reason to apologize," Chong insisted. "Bein' active about this sorta stuff? It's good for ya."

Lily nodded, sending a wry smile Chong's way.

"Peaceful protests are how we first met," she noted.

"Simpler times, simpler times," mused Chong in a sigh.

Katara was warmed by the smiles the two offered each other. Knowing, intimate smiles born from years - decades - of proximity.

As everyone ate and drank, Katara was drawn back to the table of crafts.

"You can take a closer look," Lily encouraged her. With a bashful grin, Katara finished off her biscuit, wiped her lips and hands on her napkin, and eagerly pursued the collection of crafts. "We sell those at craft shows," Lily noted.

"Oh. Neat," said Katara. Her sight combed over the crocheted baby booties, wooden magnets, doilies, earrings, and that charming dreamcatcher.

"How much would this one cost?" Katara lightly ran her finger along the seagull feathers that dangled from the intricate ornament.

"The dreamcatcher?" Chong seemed surprised. "Doncha have one already?"

Katara raised her brow at the airy-headed man.

"...Why would I...have one?" she questioned.

"Er, uh..." Chong shrugged, scratching his scalp. "'Cuz you and yer family, you're...Indian people."

"We're not _Indian _people," Katara defensively retorted, trying to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

"You're not?" Chong seemed thrown for a loop. He scratched his ear. "Well, then...what kinda people _are _ya?"

"Just..._people_," Katara stated simply and with a tight shrug.

"Ah." Chong nodded with exaggerated contemplation. "Aren't we _all_, sister?"

Katara's irritation gave way to a bemused smirk. The guy was a little too light-headed for her to get too angry at. Katara decided she'd let it slide in the face of their hosting with tea and biscuits.

"We are," she agreed to his sentiment. "So, umm...-" She pointed at the craft again. "How much...?"

Chong laughed. "Aren't you an eager little beaver? We can go over that before you leave - but first, tea. Biscuits! Relax!"

"Ahh, ha," Katara laughed meekly, embarrassed by her own eagerness. "That, um, that sounds good."

Iroh quietly ate his snack, admiring the young lady's presence - Katara was surely her mother's daughter.

The elderly Kurosawa offered some makeshift words of wisdom for the Kesuk woman.

"True peace is not unlike a bed of flowers - it takes cautious care to grow a beautiful flowerbed, but it can only grow as fast as its seeds allow."

Katara hummed in compliance, sipping her tea.

She murmured with some doubt, "I'm just...worried about someone trampling through our progress..."

"Ah, yes." Iroh nodded slowly. "A garden takes weeks to grow, but can be destroyed in an instant."

"Right," Katara agreed. "That's why I'm trying to make sure I'm doing...everything I can so that people will see that they _shouldn't _just stomp over it..."

* * *

-10 years ago; Spring -

"Kya?"

Hakoda's voice echoed from the kitchen floor up to the cramped staircase.

"Kya!" he repeated, upping the volume. "Are you up there?" He kept shuffling through the cabinet beneath the sink.

"Yea?" Kya's faint voice came from above. Hakoda could hear the creaking of floor boards from above.

"Dear, where's the Windex?" Hakoda asked with a grunt. He shoved the various bottles and containers aside, but the bright blue liquid was definitely not there. There wasn't a response for a few seconds, so he tried again when the squeaking from upstairs stopped. "Dear?"

"I don't know, Hun," Kya called back. "Are you sure we still have some?"

"I thought we did," Hakoda loudly cited.

"We ran out a couple of weeks ago," Kya stated, her already raised voice carrying some irritation. "I asked you to pick some up."

"Well," Hakoda began in a mumble. He groaned to himself as he pulled his head out of the cabinet and got his poor knees up off the hard kitchen tile floor. They cracked a bit as he straightened his legs upright. "I don't see any," he said across the house.

Kya responded with a poisonous irritability as she made her way down the stairs.

"That _might _be because you forgot to _get _some when I _asked _you to."

"I'm sorry," Hakoda sighed, rinsing his hands at the kitchen sink.

"It's OK," Kya eased him tiredly, walking into the living room. Their voices were finally at a standard volume now that no walls separated them. "Just add it to the list, and we'll make a run tonight. I had a feeling we wouldn't be able to knock this all out in one day, so...-"

"Ky. Sweetie." Hakoda huffed a rattling breath. "I'm not sure I've got another day of this spring cleaning in me." He extended one arm out as he considered alternate options. "Can't we...space it out? One day a week, pick one thing, and...-"

"I don't think so," Kya dismissed the idea primly. She was studying the living room with a critical eye. "We have Katara's birthday coming right up in less than a week. I want this house spin and span for her party - and we put things off over the holidays, so now there's build up, and...-" Kya sighed, shaking her head with displeasure at the thought.

"Ah, so...-" Hakoda fidgeted his thumbs on the edges of his back pockets as he entered the living room space. There was a small stack of boxes lined up against the wall near the doorway that led to the staircase. "Speaking of which, her present should be on the-...Yea. There you go." Hakoda nodded as he watched his wife note the item in question.

"Why is this _here_?" Kya growled. "In the living room? Katara's going to be home any minute. Why would you just _leave _it here?"

"I'm sorry," said Hakoda. "It was a long trip, and I left everything there when I came in. I was tired - I still am."

Kya's face grimaced with some empathy but her firm attitude was retained. She pored through the plastic bags on the coffee table, glancing at their contents. Some cleaning supplies, some groceries, toilet paper, a light bulb to replace the one that had just burnt out in the bathroom...

Kya asked, "You already checked these for the Wind-?"  
"I didn't _get _any Windex today, I forgot."

"Well, I guess the glass will have to wait until tomorrow." Kya rubbed at one eye tiredly, the sight in her opposite eye getting hazy as she lost herself in thought for a moment.

Hakoda took a couple of the bags - the ones with groceries - and brought them to the kitchen.

"You didn't leave anything cold out here all afternoon, did you?" Kya whimpered, watching her husband haul the bags over.

"_No, _Sweetie. I didn't. I came in, I set the bags down right there, I put what needed to be refrigerated away, and then I took a shower."

Kya shrugged at Hakoda's back, her tension built up by his defensiveness. As Kya observed the goods he'd brought home, she caught sight of the shopping bag with the name {COLES} printed on it. She poked her head inside. A hardcover book looked back up at her, portraying a young boy riding a griffin-like creature.

The title {**Harry Potter**} was printed in green reflective foil that glistened in the parlor's overhead light.  
The subtitle read {_and the Prisoner of Azkaban_}.

Kya's head lulled back with disappointment as she sighed - rather audibly.

"What?" Hakoda asked, reaching up to a cabinet to stuff some boxes of snacks within. "What is it?"

"You got the third one," Kya stated with frozen syllable, giving Hakoda a frustrated glare. "She already _has _the third one," Kya stated with an angry flick of her hand. "We got her that one for Christmas." Kya let go of the bag's plastic, staring at her dumbfounded husband. "Remember? She needs the _fourth _one."

"My God, how many of these books _are _there?" Hakoda grumbled. He moved on to canned goods. "I just-...I saw the name, and...figured it was the one."

"Did you _check _to make sure it was the most recent?"

"Ihh...It was the furthest one on the right, there were...-" Hakoda stacked a trio of tuna fish cans on a shelf in the lower cabinet. "-I don't know, two beside it. On the left?"

"There wasn't a fourth?"

"N-no, I didn't...see one, just the three. They must've not had it in stock or...-"

"Did you _ask _anyone? A clerk?"

"Sweetie." Hakoda, having been bent on one knee to put cans away, got back up with another crackling of his joints. "I _did-not-know_...that I was getting the wrong one. It's not that big a deal, we can just go get the-"  
"This is your daughter's _birthday _we're talking about. 'Not a big deal?'"

"You know what I meant."

"I wrote a _list_," Kya pointed out, her arms folded over her stomach. "Where is it?" She paced into the kitchen, fidgeting with her brown blouse. "Hm? Where did you put it?"

"It's...-" Hakoda shrugged, his concern escalating. "I think I left it in the glove box, I don't...-" He trailed off when he watched Kya's temper flare up as the woman's nostrils widened. She was right in from of him now, and had that impatient spark in her eye that she been wearing more and more in recent weeks.

"The reason we make lists - my dear - is to _prevent _these mistakes from _hap-pen-ing._"

"It is _okay_," Hakoda slowly stated, reaching his arm out to comfort her. "I will go, tomorrow, and...-"

She lashed her hand out with a quick, "Don't touch me," and he let off his advance.

"What's wrong?" Hakoda asked sympathetically. "What's got you so wound up today?"

Kya, her teeth clenched, twisted her head away from Hakoda. Her shoulders were tight, and her arms were crossed. She lifted up one hand and chewed on her thumbnail as she shook her head. Hakoda could feel a familiar sting, like a needle poking at his brain.

"I'm not sure," Kya confessed through a trembling breath. "I...want this to be perfect." She continued to nibble at the edge of her nail, tossing up the other hand in a gesture. "_S__omething, _anything...to be perfect right now."

"Kya..." Hakoda sighed, doing his best to project his affection and support her way.

Kya could sense that he was holding back, given her snap-judgment remark. She adjusted her eyeglasses and leaned herself into him. She took in the scent of his cologne, mixed together with the comforting smell of his sweat with traces of that particular deodorant he wore. She rubbed her palms around his hips as he scratched his thumb along the strands of hair poking out from the base of her neck.

Kya felt like crying. There was no reason to, other than just...being _tired. _Weeks of every little thing being marred with imperfections, of so many things not working the way they were supposed to, all piled up on top of hormones and sleep deprivation and stresses at the workplace.

"I don't know what to do," Kya whispered. "There's...nothing _wrong, _it's-...I'm just tired. I need a break. I...-" She trailed off.

"I know," Hakoda comforted. He worked his hands up along her head, and carefully undid the messy bun her hair had been tied in. She smiled a little, though her brows were still arced upward with fret. He kissed her on the forehead as he let her frizzy hair roll down her back. "I'm sorry I haven't been here much."

"The station needs you," Kya eased, rubbing her nose over his collar bone, sniffing in a deep whiff of those smells that lingered on his polyester polo shirt. "But I do, too," she added quietly, her words muffled by his shirt.

Hakoda ran his fingers over her hair, taking caution not to catch in any tangles.

"I know," he reaffirmed solemnly. "I'm not going to miss her birthday this time. I promise."

"OK." Kya nodded, pulling her head up from his chest. "I want her to be happy. After last year, it...-"

"It'll be better this time," Hakoda tried to relieve her doubts.

"Her own _cousin _told me she's going to be 'too busy,' and I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel like she's not being taught the value of-"  
"Let _me _talk to Korra. She's rough around the edges, and I know she may not seem like she appreciates things the same way you do. But she does. I know my brother - and she is certainly her father's daughter, which means I know that she cares about this family more than you give her credit for."

"It would...be more reassuring if our niece treated Katara with a little more respect."

"Kya, she's almost a senior. Kids will be kids."

"You _know _I don't like that mentality," Kya grumbled.

"Ehm, right," Hakoda quickly tried to correct course. "All I'm saying is that I'm sure she and Kat get along better than they come across to us. And it's not like _our _girl has been doing much to make friends in general. You can't blame that on Korra."

Kya nodded complacently, and with dissatisfaction.

"It just concerns me," Kya muttered. They were now holding each other close, conversing in private murmurings. "I worry that our baby's isolating herself from the world, or...or _something_, and I-...I know the books help, but...I just worry if I'm somehow...enabling her to just...keep...-"

"You shouldn't think like that," Hakoda insisted.

"But Sokka's always off with his friends - and so is Korra - while Katara just stays home all of the time."

"They're two different people - you can't expect them to act the same."

"You're right, I just...-"

"You see some of yourself in her. I get that."

"...Yea. I don't like the thought of her going through school the way I did."

"Katara will go through school however _she _feels she should. And she will turn out _fine, _just like you did."

"...Mm." Kya nodded her doubts away, letting them roll off her back.

Hakoda gently tugged her to lean back into him, and he whispered into her ear.

"And you _are_...fine." His lips hugged her jawline as he kissed her neck. After a few of these, Kya craned her head over and ensured that her mouth found his.

Tongues and hands found their ways into comfortable places for a minute or so, but clumsily retreated as the front door swung open. The golden bell that was nailed to the interior of the top of the door jingled a second time as Katara closed the door behind her, its chime jarring to the pair of pent-up parents.

"_Hiii_, Hunny," Kya called out, putting some distance between her and her husband.

Katara was kicking off her shoes as her mother swooped toward the cofee table, snapping up the {COLES} bag along with some groceries.

"How was school today?" Kya asked, trying to be casual as she toted bags to her husband.

"It was good," their almost-twelve-year-old replied, placing her mary-jane shoes on the shoe rack quaintly. She adjusted her backpack's shoulder straps and sighed, trudging toward the sofa in the living room. "I need help on my homework. Oh, hey, Dad." She slung off her pack onto one cushion and plopped herself down into one next to it.

"Heya," Hakoda greeted with a smile and a nod from behind the kitchen's open counter top. "You don't...need help right this _minute _with that, do ya, Sport?"

Kya gave him a raised brow, and he knew why - Katara didn't like being called 'Sport' and it was a force of habit he was still working his way out of.

"Uh, kinda," Katara replied, rubbing her dry nose with her sleeve as she unpacked materials onto the coffee table.

Kya set down the bags at Hakoda's feet and went to grab the last of them.

She said to her child, "Let me get this out of the way for you, mm?"

Katara didn't react, instead being intent on pulling out her supplies.

"Where's your brother?" Hakoda asked.

"He has soccer practice on Fridays," Katara reminded with a sigh, unzipping her pack of pens and pencils. She pulled out a sheet from a labelled folder and immediately went to work on her math homework.

"Ah, right." Hakoda nodded from the next room. Kya entered the kitchen with the rest of the bags and gave him a look that indicated that his lack of presence in the home was recognized by their daughter. He shrugged sheepishly at this and went to finishing up the restocking of groceries and cleaning supplies.

"Um, _so_, Katara." Kya called out as she came back to her daughter's side. She brushed her dusty hands against her jeans as she observed the girl's efficient doodling. "Have you decided on what you'd like to do for the party?"

Katara paused, shrugged sullenly, and went back to her math.

"No ideas yet?" Kya probed. "Your birthday's coming up real soon, so I'm going to need some heads up if you want something."

"Muffins?" Kat offered an idea complacently. "Chocolate."

"Ah. Muffins. And chocolate. Good, good. But...was there, say, a theme you wanted?"

Katara shrugged again, silently and swiftly progressing her assignment.

"This is birthday, Hunny," Kya reminded sweetly. "It's your special day of the year."

Katara's head tipped impatiently to one side as she lost focus. She flipped her pencil and erased her mistake.

"Who cares what we do?" Katara grumbled. "Nobody's going to _be _there, anyway..."

"_Ohh, _Sweetie." Kya knelt down beside the couch and rubbed Katara's shoulder. "Of course people will be there. Me, your brother, your cousin...your _dad_ will be there, too. Your Gran-Gran..."

"_Fff, _that doesn't _count_," Katara whined, dropping her pencil down.

"Ah, I see," Kya played sympathy. She didn't take the remark personally - she had been a child once. And she knew that the girl just wanted affirmation from people who didn't carry a familial obligation. Kya continued to scratch Katara's back slowly as they spoke. "Well...What about your friends from the book club?"

"I don't know," Kat stated plainly, hammering out her arithmetic.

Kya paused, wary at the child's apparent apathy. The sounds of pencil scratching, bags wrinkling, and cans shuffling filled the domestic space.

"We'll figure something out," Kya concluded after a few moments of quiet. She briskly rubbed Kat's shoulder and kissed the girl on the temple as she rose up. "You want to help your mother with something when you're done with that?"

Katara puffed air through her nose.

"Can I do all my homework first?" she asked. "I need your help with a diorama."

"Sweetie, you've got...all weekend to do that. I'll help you with it tomorrow. OK?" Kya watched her child tense up in mild protest. "Don't worry about it just this minute. Finish your math there, and then come help me finish cleaning. Please?"

"...Oh-_kay_."

"Thank you, Hun." Kya scratched Kat behind one ear, eliciting a small giggle. As Kya made her way to the kitchen, where Hakoda was finishing up, she asked, "Are you hungry? Your dad and I are trying to get some cleaning done, so dinner's going to be late tonight."

"I'm fine," Katara assured from the next room.

Kya stole a moment of peace with her husband, and the two quietly kissed each other on the lips.

"Could you finish cleaning the kitchen?" Kya quietly requested. "We'll...uh...pick up where we left off later?"

"Sure," Hakoda obliged, clasping Kya's hand and rubbing his dry, calloused thumb across her dusty palm.

They sneaked in another kiss behind Katara's back as their daughter finished up her math assignment.

"I'm sorry I'm a mess lately," Kya whispered.

"You're not," Hakoda insisted. "But this house _is_, and I promise I'll help clean it up this weekend."

"Thank you." Kya sent him an optimistic smile.

"You should wash your hands," he teased. "They're a little dirty."

"That's what happens when you _clean_," she retorted with a smirk. "Anyway. I love you."

"I love you, too."

They separated their bodies, and Hakoda went to grab some paper towels and multi-surface cleaner to get to work. Kya went back to the living room, lingering above the stack of boxes she'd left there.

"All right, Hun," she said to Katara, who was tucking her school materials back into her backpack. "Mind helping me take this stuff upstairs?"

"Mm-hm," Katara obediently replied. She strapped her backpack on and went over to the boxes.

Kya bent down, grabbing the two larger ones, and pushed up with her legs.

"Can you get the last one for me?" Kya grunted, carefully making her way to the staircase.

Katara nodded, letting her mother by before grabbing the final box. It was a bit heavier than it looked, but Katara could handle it fine. The box tops were folded in a cycle to keep one another pressed down. The two made their way upstairs, and by the time they'd reached the top, Katara's arms were aching. She dropped the box down onto the carpeted floor at the top as Kya made her way to the small study they had.

"You all right?" Kya checked from the room as she set the boxes down.

"Uh-huh." Katara panted with some exaggeration, conveying that she was working hard. She pulled her backpack off and set it down, rotating her shoulders. She stared at the box now laying at her feet, and took note of the large letters written in permanent marker on the box's side.

{S.R.U.}

"Do you need me to get that last one?" Kya asked from the study.

"Umm, n-no, I've got it," Katara offered. She slid the box across the carpet, entering the room. "Hey, Mom, what's in this one? What's 'S.R.U' mean?"

"Hm?" Kya, who was attentive to the boxes she was stacking into the closet, turned to her daughter, who was nudging a familiar box her way. "Oh, those are some things from my school."

"Huh?" Katara wiped some sweat from her head with her shirt sleeve as she pushed the box against the wall by her mother's feet. "I thought you went to the same school as Dad."

"That's right," Kya acknowledged. "The same _high _school. But SRU is the college I went to."

"Ah. Right. College. Like, grown-up school."

"_Heh, _umm...-" Kya squinted as she smiled, glancing sideways while some stray memories slid by. "Well, it's something like that."

"That sounds really neat to _me_," Katara expressed. She crossed her arms. "Middle-school is so _immature_. Everyone's...childish!"

"Oh, is that so?" said Kya, amused by the ironic demeanor her daughter was carrying. She had brought up college in the past, but neither Sokka nor Katara had ever taken an interest. "Well...-" Kya glanced down at the box. "College is...definitely better than middle-school. Want to see what college was like for me?"

"Huh? How can I see that?"

"That's what this is for," Kya chuckled, tapping the box with her toes. "There's photos, and all kinds of stuff from when I was a student."

Katara's eyes practically glowed at the prospect of learning about 'grown-up school.' Kya was endeared by her child's excitement - she knew full well that her son would be harder to sell on higher education, but with some convincing, she figured Hakoda could make that work. Planting the seed of inspiration in their children was probably going to be key in regards to encouraging them to look into college.

"Go ahead, open the box," Kya offered, bobbing her head as she sat down in the squeaky rotating desk chair in their study. It had wheels, but they were fairly useless in the thick carpet of the room. Kya rubbed her socked feet against the carpet methodically, the sensation oddly hypnotic as she tried to relax from her earlier tension. Just seeing Katara's small smiles and sense of wonder over a shared interest - learning - was enough to help brighten Kya's mood.

Katara's lips hung open slightly as she sat cross legged on the floor, prying open the box.

"What's with the sudden interest, anyway?" Kya wondered. "The last time we talked about college, you didn't even pay attention."

Katara shrugged, gazing into the contents of the box. Kya couldn't complain - it was a bit of a pleasant surprise to see her child suddenly intrigued by something that was important to her. Maybe the timing was just right. Kya recalled that Sokka had been utterly disinterested in Star Wars for the longest time, but one day - poof! - something had clicked and he all into it.

Kya watched as Katara lifted up a thick, hardcover book. It was black, with a checkered pattern near the top. The squares in the checkerboard were colored white, blue, green, and red.

{S.R.U.}  
{**'82**}  
{_As The Dragon Flies_}

"That's one of my yearbooks," Kya noted, soaking in Katara's silent awe. "You know, I helped _make _that," she added as Katara opened the hardcore, its spine eliciting a delicate and satisfying cracking sound.

"You did?" Katara said, her eyes glues to the pages, which may as well have been an ancient tome from a distant civilization.

"I did. I used to write for the newspaper, and my friend would take photos...A lot of what's in there? I helped put it together."

"...Whoa," Katara murmured, the idea somewhat mind-blowing. "You made a _book_."

"_Heehee, _umm, well, _kind _of," Kya humbled the idea. "It's a yearbook, not like the kinds you read. It's not like this is in stores or anything."

"Yea," Katara conceded. "But...it's still neat."

Kya's lips bent up a little as a gut reaction to her daughter's whispers of admiration. Kya twiddled her hands together on her pants, continuing to rub her socks against the floor in slow movements. She watched Katara pore over the pages. The girl didn't spend too long on any given page, as if she was looking for something. Kya decided she'd wait for it, and got up from the chair. She poked Katara's shoulder, and a small static shock hopped between them.

"_Mom_," Katara scolded playfully, shooing away her mother's hand.

"I'll be back in a minute," Kya said, and headed to the bathroom across the hall to wash up her dried, grimy hands. She proceeded to clean her eyeglasses - then it happened.

Katara gasped from the study room, and Kya knew exactly what had been discovered.

After drying off her glasses, she put them back on and went back to her daughter's side.

"What did you find, Hun?"

Katara proudly displayed the book up to her mother, and Kya sat down cross-legged beside her.

It was a black and white photo of Kya in her college years, wearing a dress with her hair tied up in a braid over one shoulder. She was laughing alongside her two best friends from that seemingly distant past.

"That's _you_, oh, my God," Katara was giggling, suppressing her laughter with her hand. "Mom, you looked so dorky!"

Kya grinned and flicked Katara in the back of the head with her finger.

"I guess that means _you _look so dorky, too," she teased.

"Hee, but...you also look cute."

"Aw, thanks."

"I like your hair."

"Ah. Like that? The braid?"

"Mm-hm. You also look...happy," Katara observed.

The tone in their conversation lulled to a solemn moment of quiet.

"I was," Kya stated. "I _am_," she hastily added.

"No, you're not," Katara observed, letting the yearbook rest in her lap. Katara and Kya exchanged looks, both grasping the other's insecurities in a quiet understanding. "You and Dad keep...arguing, and you seem...sad a lot, and...-"

"I'm happy," Kya insisted, running her hand over her daughter's bushy ponytail. "It's just been a difficult month. You can't be happy _all _the time. You know?"

Katara nodded thoughtfully, still staring at her mother's tired face.

"But you're right," said Kya, looking down at the photo. "I _was _happy back then, too. I think it was the first time in my life when I was..._actually _happy. For long periods of time."

"Mm..." Katara let her glance fall back to the photograph as she contemplated that idea. The people in that picture were practically grown-ups to her, but all the same, she found herself longing for that..._feeling. _The looks on their faces, the smiles, they were...real. It was something Katara didn't feel at school. It was something she was certain she wouldn't feel much of during her impending birthday party, either. It must've been because they were grown-ups. Yea, that made sense. Grown-ups knew what was going on, so they knew to smile when they were happy _for real_, right? Mm. Well, not all grown-ups. But smart ones, who went to college, they probably did.

"College is a lot different from middle-school," Kya elaborated. "You get to pick your own classes, you get to live in your own room, in a building with your friends. You get to take care of yourself and make your own schedule. Think of it kind of like...Hogwarts. But real-life instead of, well...magic."

"_Hm_." Katara nodded with sincere consideration.

Kya savored the way her daughter's eyes lit up at that comparison.

"Come to think of it, SRU even has four different houses - like Hogwarts, right?"

"Oh, is that what the colors are for?" Katara's brows popped right up in recognition. She closed the book, eagerly pointing at the colored checkerboard on the cover.

"_Heyyy, _that's right, Smarty," Kya complimented her girl's intuition. "But it's kind of even _better _than Hogwarts, because you can visit any of the other houses whenever you want, so you can see your friends. You're not just stuck in your own house. _Oh, _and you know how Hogwarts has the woods around the school? Well, SRU has woods, too, right within walking distance. It's very pretty there. Oh, and you know how there's that town the students go to?"

"Hogsmeade."

"Right. Well, SRU has a town nearby, too. And you don't even need a permission slip! You can just go there whenever you want. But even if you don't feel like it, there's a restaurant _and _a coffee shop, right near where the houses are."

"Wow. So you can kind of do whatever you want? Even pick your classes? That all sounds...neato."

"It is. It is _way _neato. I think you'll love it. You could take a whole bunch of classes just about books and writing, I bet."

"You _can?_"

"If you want to, yes. You could even go to the same school I did, see the same things, live in the same _room _I lived in."

"Like following foot prints on the beach," Katara muttered, running her finger over the photo of her mother's face.

"_Ah, _heh, well, don't you worry_ too_ much about college just yet, Katara."

"Yea...I still have a _lot _of school left before college. Huh?" Katara at last set the yearbook aside, digging through the box some more.

"_Heh_. That's true, Hunny. That is true..." Kya was running her hands over her child's ponytail, smoothing it out between pinched fingers as her daughter tinkered with odds and ends. A fabric flag, a manilla folder of old essays, a couple more yearbooks, old issues of the White Lotus...

It was a rather enjoyable moment for Kya, sharing this intimate moment with her baby girl - sharing these intimate objects from her history.

"Hey, Mom," Katara said as she rifled through the box. She coughed a little from some dust, wrinkling her nose.

"Yes?"

"When we're done cleaning, and I take a shower, can you...make my hair in a braid? Like in that picture?"

A gentle, grateful laugh slipped through Kya's nose.

"All right. But are you sure you want to look 'dorky' like me?"

"Hey! I...said you looked pretty, too."

"You said I looked 'cute,' actually."

"Right. You can be cute and dorky _and _smart, all at the same time," Katara stated matter-of-factly.

"Just like Hermione?" Kya offered a comparison.

"Exactly," Katara said. "I want to be like her - so just like you."

"_Ff, _well. Thank you, Sweetie. Oh, what do you have there?"

Kya finished playing with Katara's hair, noting the bright yellow loose leaf binder that Kat had unearthed. It had an inelegant doodle of a bird with a top hat on the cover, drawn in blue marker.

{Class of '83}

"What's this?" Katara asked quizzically. "Is that a-...? Mom, did _you _draw that?" she asked with a raised brow.

"It's a penguin," Kya informed.

Katara rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

"You like penguins too much," the girl stated plainly. "They're goofy. And they don't wear _hats._"

"This one does," Kya insisted. "And maybe _I'm _goofy. You ever think of that? _Huh_?" She tickled Katara's armpit, and the girl squealed and snorted, breaking free.

"I'm too big for tickle fights," Katara sighed out her laughter, laying sideways on the carpet.

"It's not my problem if you don't fight back," Kya taunted, reciprocating her girl's raspberry gesture.

Katara pushed herself back up, and wrinkled her nose in an exaggerated frown at her mother. This gave way to a smile, as Katara was indeed appreciating seeing this elusive sight: a look into her mother's past. Confirmation, physical evidence, of that bizarre idea that Mom had once been a student.

Katara opened the notebook. The inside of the binder had another drawing scribbled on it - a simplified figure in a parka with dots for eyes. He was holding a stick, with a string that went into a hole.

There was some writing beside it: {There's always more fish}

"What's _that_?" Katara wondered.

"That's a little man ice-fishing," Kya explained simply.

"Oh. Mom, you're...not very good at drawing."

"_Hah! _All right, well...you ought to teach me, then."

"I'm...not very good at drawing, _either_," Katara confessed with a smirk.

"_Ahaa, _well, you shouldn't pick on me, then," said Kya, patting Katara on the shoulder. "Should you?"

Katara scanned the first page. It contained a quote, written in pen.

{_Be who you are and say what you feel,_  
_because those who mind don't matter_  
_and those who matter don't mind._}  
{ - _Theodor Seuss Geisel_}

Katara flipped the page. It contained text written in the same handwriting as the quote on the previous page. It looked like a diary entry, eliciting Katara to close the book.

"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, handing the book to her mother's lap.

"What?" Kya wondered.

"It looks like your diary, right? So, I shouldn't read it."

Kya grinned, tickled by her daughter's 'moral dilemma.'

"Um, it's not exactly my 'diary.' It's...a little more special than that."

"It is?" Katara was intrigued. "What's in it?"

Kya's mouth hung open at her girl's spark of curiosity. This was a book that held a lot of sentimental value for her, and the prospect of her child being interested in learning about it was heartwarming.

She began, "You know how you write notes in your notebook during class? To remember things, so you can go over them later?"

Katara nodded.

"Well...This is sort of like that. Except...it's for things _outside _of class."

Katara's brows furrowed, her brain fizzling at the thought.

"What...stuff would you need to remember _outside _of class?"

Kya scooted herself up to Katara's side.

"I know it may not seem like it in school right now, but...in college? There's quite a _lot _you learn outside of class. Here. How about...-" Kya opened the weathered notebook, spreading it across both of their lap. "-...we have a little reading time for a few minutes?"

Their sides pressed together, Katara wrapped her arms around her mother's waist, apparently eager for an opportunity to snuggle up for some reading. Kya kissed her daughter on the cheek, then flipped through some pages. Katara noticed that they were written out in different pens, with different consistencies and handwriting.

"I think I know a good one to read to you right now," Kya decided. "It's about how I met one of my best friends..."


	128. Imagine (Part 1)

**A/N: Apologies for the delay. I was hoping to deliver one big, meaty chapter all at once - but, of course, things ended up expanding beyond my original plans. That said, we really are pretty close to the end, as I'm sure the tone of the scenes to follow will indicate.**

**'Imagine' is SRU's equivalent to 'Sozin's Comet.' But there will be a pair of chapters after it is all over to give closure to everything. For now, enjoy reading as things conclude and wrap themselves up!**

**Remember, also, that if you're following me on DA or Tumblr (handle: Destiny-Smasher) or the FB page, you'll be getting exposed to previews of SRU as well as the new, original works I am rolling out, including a novel I started writing that will be written simultaneously as a fanfic and as an original story, side-by-side. Along with that, SRU is going to be revised into an original series, I have a couple of graphic novels I've started trying to write, and Esteemed is still going to be around for scratching a more deliberate 'Avatar' itch. So even when SRU ends, I'm still going to be rocking around, trying to write up a storm between two part-time jobs as best I can.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 128 - Imagine (Part 1)  
_

* * *

- Thursday, June 16th -

"I have no idea, Sokka."

["It's weird, though, right?"]

Katara sighed into her phone, her spring shoes clacking against the campus sidewalk as she made her way from a long, all-morning class.

"A little," she admitted. "I don't know what's going on with Jane, but...it sounded important."

["Yea. Sooo...Weird."]

"_Why _is it 'weird?'"

["I dunno, the way she phrased it was just...dramatic?"]

Katara pursed her lips as her nostrils flared out in a moment of offense. No need to go telling him how much it pissed her off that Sokka seemed to equate things like 'actual human emotion' and 'actually dealing with problems' to a word he used interchangeably with 'dumb, immature, and stupid.'

["Seriously. I want everyone to hang out for the sake of having _fun, _and everyone's busy. How come when Freckles wants to bring everybody together, people _magically _find the free time to do it?"]

"She's only asking for a few minutes of everyone's time," Katara clarified. "Not an entire evening."

["Yea, yea..."]

"And we all _did _set aside time for you, remember? Just a few days ago."

["But that was about the group, not just me."]

"_And _this seems really important to her."

["Oh, and seeing my friends before I leave campus _isn't _important."]

"Look, I don't...-" Katara rubbed at her pulsing temple, trying to remain patient. "-...get where you're going with this, Sokka. Is everything OK?"

["It's fine. I'm...all set to go next week. Progress on my prototype is pretty much done, I've got a place set up."] As Sokka spoke to her, Katara kept opening her mouth, ready to spring in a word, but didn't interrupt. ["Dad's helping me cover the security deposit, my internship is a paid one, I'm-...yea."]

Katara waited a second or so for silence, then pushed her thoughts in.

"That's great. I know all of that. I'm...happy for you. But I'm worried. What's going _on _with you?"

["Sis, I know the universe loves proving me wrong, but...it'll all work out."]

"I _mean-..._I'm talking about things _here. _With us? Before you leave."

["_Ah. _So Toph told you, then?"]

"Huh? Toph...told me what?" Katara's brows lowered with suspicion. She didn't know for sure what Sokka was referring to, but she had a pretty good idea of what it could be about. "Did something happen with you two?"

["Eh...That depends on how you look at it, I guess..."]

"Sokka."

["Weeeee..._might _have had a sorta fight, and...broke things off...vaguely...kinda..."]

Katara's heart sank. She had figured out on her own that things hadn't been going so smoothly with those two since Sokka's graduation, and she had her inklings, but neither of them had been talking about it, so she'd been focusing on everything else going on.

"Oh. Geez," Katara sighed out, unable to figure out what to reply with.

["I mean, let's face the facts here: I'm about to leave all you guys behind. Her and I? We couldn't do long distance, anyway..."]

"Well, but-...I mean, have you considered _trying_? What do you have to lose?"

["Nah. Toph's not the committing type. And I'm no saint, either."]

"Mm..." Katara sure had words – very loud, insistent, supportive words – but this wasn't the time or the place for her to try getting them out, especially with how busy things were. Toph might be more receptive to her advice, anyway.

["Soooo, yea,"] Sokka mumbled out disparagingly. ["There's that. We had some fun, but...now I've got other stuff to worry about. And it seems like you guys all do, too."]

"Brother," Katara said firmly.

["Sister,"] Sokka acknowledged.

"Just because you're leaving campus doesn't mean we're all going to up and forget about you." At this point, Katara was entering Aqua House, heading for her room to unload her class materials before grabbing some lunch. "And we _do _still want to see you before you go. But this is a really busy time for everyone. That's just how it is."

["Yea..."]

The two had a few moments of awkward silence as they both ruminated on the unfortunate truth – they would soon be separated again. Katara made it to her room, which was unoccupied, and entered, dropping her backpack off on her bed.

"I'm sorry," Katara sympathized with a heavy sigh, trying to progress the conversation. "Toph and I are going to be practicing for that charity event next week. I'll...find some time in there to talk with her about you two."  
["No, that's...not really...-"]  
"As for us...Maybe this weekend when everyone's together for a little bit, we'll-...I don't know, we'll try to figure something out before you go."

Katara set herself sit down on her bed for a moment. She checked the time, reminding herself of her lunch appointment. Hm, should she look at her e-mails? Bleh, no, she'd get side-tracked, and end up late, and he'd be real upset if she was late, and-

["Well...There _is_ always Homecoming."]

"Yes! Yes, of course. And we'll have phone, and...and Facebook, and video chats, and...-"

["I guess my Senioritis is finally wearing off, is all. That bummed out feeling is setting in."]

"I know. Just...try to enjoy the time you have left on campus while you can. OK? And...seriously, maybe you and Toph should try to-"  
["I _already _tried talking things out with her. I've tried calling her, I've tried going to her practice room, to your dorm room, she's just-..._urgh. _Just don't worry about it. Ball's in her court at this point. She'll get over it, and...by the time I'm back for Homecoming, we'll be back where we were before."]

"Mm." Again – Kat wasn't going to try forcing the subject right now, as much as she didn't approve of her brother's passive attitude.

["Eh. You probably have somewhere you've gotta be, huh?"] Sokka could tell his sister was politely waiting for this to wrap up. Her insecure impatience was palpable across the phone.

"A-actually, yes..."

["Meeting with, uh, with _GrandPakku, _eh?"]

"Mm-hm," Katara moaned hesitantly.

["_Yeaaa. _So, have fun with that."]

"It's just so...so _awkward, _I mean-...How come he doesn't ever want to see _you_?"

["Uhhh...'Cuz he's Pakku? He's an English teacher...and _you're _an English _student. _To him, there's a point in spending time with you, anyway. But me? I'm just...a 'normal' kid. The relation? He could care less with me. Besides, I push his buttons a lot. Ya know, on purpose."]

"Now, _that's _ironic."

["How so?"]

"You're both sexist know-it-all's."

["Huh. That's...actually a good point. I'll have to remember that next time I see him. Springboard for discussion."]

"_Anyway_." Katara smiled a little at that spark of sarcasm in her brother's voice. "I'm going to be late if I don't...-"

["Gotcha. Well. Sorry, I'll let ya go, there."]

"Thank you. We'll...-" That reminder stung at Katara's throat. Soon she'd have to say good-bye to him all over again. "We'll see each other soon."

["Yup."]

"Have a good day. I love you."

["Uh...Yea, you, too. Love you, too."]

* * *

_"I don't believe an accident of birth makes people sisters or brothers. It makes them siblings, gives them mutuality of parentage. _  
_Sisterhood and brotherhood is a condition people have to work at."_  
~ Maya Angelou

* * *

"Well, well. _You _look like you're doing much better lately."

"I, um...-" Katara nervously nodded, adjusting one of her hair clips. She took a breath, steadied herself, and gave the old man a smile. "I am, Sir," she assured.

"That's good," Pakku replied, tucking his cloth napkin into his collar. He sure seemed like he was in a good mood, himself.

Katara was slightly intimidated by this room – the faculty cafeteria lounge, essentially. It was a slow part of the lunch hour, toward the tail end, so there wasn't anyone else present. Their food wasn't any different than what the students were eating, but somehow, just eating it on a wooden table, in rustic chairs, in a more formal room...it all somehow made things feel more serious.

"Well?" Pakku prodded after taking a sip of his coffee. "You had that speech you wanted me to take a look at, didn't you?"

"Ah, r-right, yes." Katara fumbled through her messenger bag on the floor and retrieved the single printed sheet. She handed it to the man, but was surprised that he immediately set it aside, then stabbed at his pasta with his fork.

"Now, then," Pakku began, twirling noodles around his fork. "As I recall, if _you're _feeling better...it must mean that brother of yours is feeling _worse_."

"_Ah, _haha..." Katara shrugged. "Umm, actually, that's...kind of true. He's just having some growing pains from graduating, I think. I don't blame him."

"Neither do I," Pakku mused. "Especially in this economy." The man chewed on his alfredo dish, and Katara fiddled her fork around her mixed vegetables.

"Sooo, what about Gran-Gran?" Katara prodded. "She, um, she...must be pretty excited now that the school year is about to end."

Pakku chuckled through his nose as he finished chewing.

"Not as much as _I _am," he replied, and the two laughed lightly. "I'll be heading straight up to see her the day I'm done. We're planning on moving closer to Hakoda this summer."

"Wow, that's-...Wow." Katara wasn't 100% sure if more Pakku in her life would be good or bad. "And...um...-" The question that had been rolling around in Katara's mouth tumbled out after she'd taken a sip of milk. "And the wedding? Have you...decided on a date yet? Or...like, a theme?"

"Not just yet," Pakku said. "But let me tell you – she seems pretty eager to aim for this autumn."

"Ah, that's...great." Katara was happy for her grandmother, at least. After spending some time trying to get to know this man more recently, Katara could actually see him and Gran-Gran getting along nicely. Even if she and Sokka might not find much of a 'grandpa' in the man, Gran-Gran's happiness was what mattered there. "Yea, that's really great," Katara awkwardly repeated with some nods.

"I'm sure it will be," Pakku concluded. He took another bite and another sip, and glanced at the sheet sitting on the table beside him. "And with a bit of work, hopefully this 'movement' you and your friends have started will be 'great,' as well..."

As he began to pore over her writing, Katara grew anxious.

"I certainly hope so," she said pensively.

"Mm...-" Pakku scooped up more of his meal and chewed it down. He glanced at Katara's melancholic expression as she poked at her food. "You know, this kind of takes me back," he said.

Katara glanced up at him with raised brows, then it clicked.

"Oh, you mean...my Mom," she figured.

Pakku nodded, carrying some solemnity as he observed how her mood seemed very mixed.

"I'd like to think I was an influence on her attending here," he said. "She was a...very passionate writer."

"Yea, so I've heard," Katara recalled, trying not to sound too glum. "She, um-...She kept a lot of the issues of the Lotus, since she used to write for it, and...-"

"Mm, but you don't quite carry that same kind of passion for journalism, do you?"

Katara looked almost wounded by the remark in an instant, but that gave way to some realization.

"N-no, I guess...sort of not, but...-"

"I've read the articles you've done for the paper recently," Pakku explained. "And this is the second speech of yours I've seen. They're serviceable, but...your heart isn't truly in them. Is it?"

Katara's lips seemed crooked for a moment as she contemplated his point.

"I'm...trying to honor my mother's memory. She'd want me to, you know, continue her work, and...I've spent almost three years here neglecting that, because...-"

"Because your passion lies elsewhere," Pakku stated it simply.

Katara shrugged sheepishly - defensively, even.

"W-well, I mean, I care about...making a difference, raising people's _spirits,_ and...and trying to embrace _change, _and...-"

"And you should do that - so long as it's what you truly care about. And that aside? Your mother would want you to be happy. I may not know much about women, but I at least know that's what every _mother_ wants."

Katara went about stuffing her face with her food - about time - and she endured Pakku's words as she did so.

In that moment, Katara felt like he was practically telling her to _abandon _honoring her mother's memory.

"Katara," Pakku sighed, having caught on that she wasn't keen on what he was saying. "You are a Kesuk. You are a writer. Just like your mother before you. But you _are not _the same person Kya was. And there are better ways to accomplish the goals you've laid out than just imitating her. Kya acted the way _Kya _acted. You've inherited gifts from her: her passion, her caring nature, her skill with words. _Use _those things. Use your writing - use your pubic speaking. But use them in ways _you _want to, ways _you _need to...not just ways you think will appease people. Flowery messages of hope will ring false if they're not told in _your _voice. The words you write? The words you speak? Regardless of the topic, regardless of whether you think your opinion will be popular or not...it should always come from an honest place."

Katara was awestruck the man's words, which almost seemed to contradict his stick-in-the-mud attitude. Then again, his spirits seemed to have gotten better as the semester had gone on, and his relationship with Gran-Gran seemed to be rekindled.

"Um, that's...some sound advice, I...I _think_," Katara muttered. "But...you usually don't..._like _it...when I'm honest with my opinions."

"_Ha,_" Pakku tipped his head to her as he took a sip of his coffee. "And that's _exactly _a good reason why you should be _open _about those honest opinions."

"'Mm naw...-" Katara swallowed, having been so intrigued that she'd forgotten there was food in her mouth. She cleared her throat with a sip of her milk and sought clarification. "I'm not sure what you mean, exactly." She stared into his jaded, amused eyes, then added with a small smirk, "Professor."

"Because, Katara." Pakku tapped his wrinkled index finger at the printed sheet beside him. "You can only change the minds of stubborn men like me by showing us the honest _truths _of ideas - ideas that come from places we've never visited before."

* * *

_"Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."_  
~ Gail Lumet Buckley

* * *

_-Thok!-_

"Nice shot, Mai." Zuko toasted his cup of saké her way.

Mai winked at him, sleekly stepping back from the dart-launching position.

"_Aw, _fuck youuuu," Korra groaned competitively, glaring at the third black dart in the board.

As she readied her fourth dart, a red one, Korra lamented the lack of red darts on the playing field. Her cheeks glazed with warmth from alcohol, Korra aimed her dart with a surprisingly steady hand. Her eyes squinted, her tongue poked out from her lips, and she let the dart fly.

It gracefully collided with the wall not unlike a butter knife would, and joined its sibling darts on the floor.

"_Augh!_" Korra growled, slapping her palm over her face as Mai and Zuko laughed at her expense.

"Whhhhy don't you have another _drink?_" Mai slyly suggested, casually slouching her way over with a fresh dart. Her words were slurred and slow – but grammatically correct. "It…seems to be working for _me._"

"_Ohhhh_, hoho, I will," Korra proclaimed testily, wearing her playful competition on her sleeve as she reached for the remnants of her glass of scotch.

Mai, whose pal skin was red at the cheeks, wobbled slightly. She was totally shit-faced, Korra concluded.

After slamming down what probably equated to another shot and a half or so of scotch, Korra slammed her emptied glass onto the table beside her.

Mai flung her hand in a quick, sleek motion, and sure enough, her dart landed on the board. Closer to the edge than her previous shots, but…still. She was kicking Korra's ass. And this was the third game in a row like this. Korra had managed to land _one _dart on the fucking board.

"How are you _beating _me?" Korra demanded in a huffy growl, wiping her numbed lips as she arced her brows.

Mai twisted her skinny body into a theatrical pose, emphasizing her dart-throwing hand.

"It is _allll _in the wrists," Mai bragged. Her balance slipped a bit in her off-center pose, and she snickered as Korra caught her from falling.

Korra rolled her eyes and gently nudged Mai back upright. Korra shook her head with mock irritation, but her scowl melted into a humored grin when Mai's snicker devolved into a weird snort, which itself gave way to more self-chortling.

"She actually plays _better _when she's drunk," Zuko insisted from his position against the wall. He watched Korra's bulky form ready the last shot in her arsenal as he enjoyed his saké from the sidelines.

"How does _that _make _any _fucking sense?" Korra inquired impatiently, steadying her foot at the tape-marked line in the rug.

"I, uhh…-" Mai puffed hair from out of her face, flicking it off over her shoulder. Her words rolled out cautiously, slowly, in her intoxicated state. "So normally? I'm…so _bored_, like ADD? I get bored so easily, I get too distracted."

"_Rrr!_"

Korra totally whiffed another one. This one stuck into the wall, and Zuko let out a laugh as Korra spewed out a couple more swearwords under her breath.

Mai was still too lost in her explanation to notice at the time.

"But when I'm drunk, it's like…-" She was actually talking with her hands for once, Korra realized. "I _have _to focus in order to even _do _it." Mai eagerly scooped up her rum-and-diet-soda and took a large gulp from a straw. "And…yea."

Korra shrugged tiredly, shaking her head as she wandered into the teeny-tiny kitchen next to the Terra House lounge they were within.

Mai's snicker-turned-snort happened again as the woman noticed Korra's dart hanging on the drywall.

"Ya like that?" Korra called out from the next room, regarding her mishap that Mai had apparently realized.

Korra returned with two brown bottles of pale ale while Mai slurped the last of her drink through her straw.

"Yeaaa," Mai said in that dry, sarcastic tone Korra was getting accustomed to. She clicked her lips together, slack-jawed, and offered her opponent a shrug. "You could do with a little more _finesse_," Mai ruled.

"Oh-…_Ohhh, _is that it?" Korra balked facetiously, brows raised and mouth agape as she popped the bottlecaps off with their tiny table's edge.

Mai nodded as she received Korra's offering of beer. "That's it," she affirmed, watching the cold vapors rise from the bottle's lips.

Korra sighed with satisfaction at her buzz, and returned Mai's slow, seemingly thoughtful nod. She tipped her bottle back, letting the icy liquid spill down her throat.

After a peaceful breath from the refreshment, Korra sarcastically stated, "Good to know. I'll get right on that."

Mai drummed her long black fingernails along her bottle with contemplation.

"Beer after liquor makes you sicker," Zuko warned, plucking out the dart from the wall and gathering the lot of them.

"No way," Korra disagreed. "Liquor before beer, you're in the _clear._" She gave Mai a grin, tipping her own bottle up and encouraging Mai to take a sip.

"'Mm...not really a _beer _person," Mai pointed out with a wary look.

"Well," Korra shrugged, glancing off to Zuko as the guy brought their darts back to the table. "_I'm _not really a _darts _person," she countered.

"Heh." Mai's thin lips curved into a mischievous smile as she raised her brows at Korra. Zuko dropped the black darts on the table, kissed Mai on the cheek, and whipped a red dart at the board. "Fair 'nough," Mai conceded to Korra with a tilt of her head. She took a slurp of the brown stuff, coughed a little at the bitter taste, then sighed heartily.

"Not bad, eh?" Korra chuckled.

"_Meh_," Mai decided jovially. "It's _OK_."

"_Pff!_" Korra narrowed her eyes at Mai's cheeky words as Zuko nodded his head to the board, indicating that he desired an opponent.

Korra followed Zuko's lead and took up the black darts this time. Without really thinking or aiming, Korra let her dart fly loose, beer bottle hugging her hip. It smacked into the board's lower right portion, and she laughed in spite of her accidental success. Zuko mocked her with a golf clap before having another sip of saké.

"At least you stuck a _landing _this time," Mai teased in her raspy-voiced smarm.

Korra smirked and bumped her elbow into Mai's arm.

"_Once _in a while, eh?" Korra said wryly.

Korra grunted tiredly as she leaned her weight on one arm on the tiny, tall table that she and Mai were standing beside. She accidentally bumped her emptied glass, and all three flinched when it looked like it would slip off and break, but Korra caught it in time. Goddamn scotch was catching up with her empty stomach - just the way she liked it. When simple tasks like 'don't drop shit' were challenging but possible, Korra knew her buzz was at the sweet spot.

With a grin that married smugness with embarrassment, she set the glass back, and Zuko shook his head in pitying merriment as he aimed his next dart.

Korra and Mai both stared at Zuko from behind as he took his shot. Korra was humored by how his hair was so slicked back that it reflected the light from above, while Mai gazed at the way his glutes flexed when he leaned into his dart throw.

Korra noticed Mai's blatant ogling and whacked the back of her wrist on Mai's arm. Mai snapped out of her intoxicated stupor just enough to see Korra's half-squinted eyes giving her an amused by judging look. They both snickered, Mai's devolving into yet another snort.

"What?" Zuko protested as he turned around. He directed their attention to the near-bullseye he'd just landed "That was a good shot," he insisted, confused.

Mai instantly looked back to Korra and waggled her thinly trimmed eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Mai managed to keep her cool with an overly dry look, while Korra couldn't help but drop a "_Snrrk!_" through a suppressed face.

Zuko was glaring at Korra now, while Mai was also staring her way.

"_Wh-?!_" Korra thrust her beer-hand at Mai, blurting out, "_She's _the one telling me to stare at your _butt-clenching_."

Mai's stoicism instantly crumbled at Korra's accusation, as she gave her drinking companion a wide-eyed, wide-mouthed look as if she'd just been stabbed in the back.

Zuko's glare shifted slyly to Mai, and what had been confused irritation was now surprised endearment.

Korra went to take another try at the dart board. Mai chugged another gulp of beer, then coughed as she waved her index finger at Zuko, as if to protest her guilt. She took a step toward him and tripped on one of the table's supporting spider legs, hurling her self into Zuko. He caught her before she spilled beer (or her face) on the floor. She snort-giggled into his shirt as Korra snatched up a dart to take her turn.

"You're drunk," Zuko concluded, standing Mai back upright.

"That was a _trust _exercise," Mai slowly decided upon an explanation, nodding with narrowed eyes and embellished sincerity. She and Zuko stared at each other, inches apart. His hands were gripped her unsteady shoulders, while she was leaning into his abdomen with her own. They kissed on the lips as Korra utterly failed another overthrown dart toss. "You passed, by the way," Mai congratulated flatly after the kiss subsided. She reached her hand around his waist, patted his rear end, and broke off from him to nurse her beer a bit more.

"Looks like you're not doing any better against me," Zuko taunted Korra, noting her dart on the floor.

Korra shrugged it off and joined Mai back at their table. She sucked down a gulp of her pale ale.

"Things've been a little hit or miss for me these days," Korra mused to Mai as they watched Zuko. He self-consciously landed another dart on the board, his body stiff in its posturing this time, which still ended up eliciting a laugh. "A lot more _miss_," Korra continued wistfully. "But, fuckin' eh..." She grinned at the single dart that she'd landed that game. "It's made me appreciate the _hits _a bit more."

"_Ooooo_," Mai cooed with her voice like charcoal. "Metaphor. I like it. Didn't know you had an ounce of poetry _up _there with all those marbles."

Korra cocked her head and smiled.

"I have my moments, like I said: _once _in a while. Sorta like you."

"I'll drink to that," Mai toasted. "To 'once in a while.'"

The two tapped their beer bottles together, swapping smug smiles and enjoying warming spirits.

* * *

_"Fill with mingled cream and amber,_  
_I will drain that glass again._  
_Such hilarious visions clamber_  
_Through the chamber of my brain —_  
_Quaintest thoughts — queerest fancies_  
_Come to life and fade away;_  
_What care I how time advances?_  
_I am drinking ale today."_  
- Edgar Allan Poe

* * *

- Friday, June 17th -

Korra was gently stirred away by the front door of the house unlocking and opening. She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose and wiped saliva off of her lips as she sat upright. She suddenly recollected where she was - the Rabten household. Pema, looking utterly exhausted, carefully closed the door behind her as she removed her shoes.

"Hello, Korra," Pema whispered with some enthusiasm across the living room.

"_Rrmm. _Hi," Korra croaked quietly, rubbing at her eyes as she worked up a smile for the mother.

After taking off her coat and shoes, Pema lingered in the living room for a moment. Jinora was seated on the recliner, reading one of her Percy Jackson books. Korra was still waking from her slumped position on the couch, and Ikki and Meelo were both flopped over on either side of the woman.

Before Korra could rise, there was a flash of white light - Pema had taken a picture with her phone. As the mother giggled at the sight, Korra growled on instinct, her relaxation ruined. Ikki was whimpering awake, rubbing her eyes, and Meelo seemed unfazed. When Korra nudged the lumpy-headed kid off of her arm, Meelo just wrinkled his nose and rolled over, trying to resume his sleep.

"Hi, Mom," Jinora greeted with a quaint wave, resuming her reading.

As the nap-goers were waking, Pema gave her oldest child a rub on the shoulder, glancing down at her book.

"How's my trooper doing?" Pema asked.

"I'm fine," Jinora assured, evidently more interested in her fiction than anything.

"Was today better?" Pema checked. "You took your pills?"

"Mm-mm," Jinora hummed courteously. "Much better."

"That's great." Pema smiled, continuing to scratch at Jinora's back. She decided to let her girl be and switched gears to the others.

"And it looks like _you _guys had a...relaxing reunion."

"We had a cartoon marathon," Ikki yawned. Her excitement was still palpable through sleepy mumbling.

"More SpongeBob than I _ever_ thought I could handle," Korra remarked with a chuckle, stretching her arms.

Pema returned the laugh.

"You poor thing," Pema sympathized.

As Korra's arms rolled back down into a relaxed position, she shrugged.

"Nah, it was good," Korra said. She poked Meelo's rib, causing him to flinch, and with the other hand, she patted Ikki on the head.

"C'mon," Korra was quietly trying to rouse Meelo from his stubborn sleep.

"Pema?" Tenzin's voice echoed from the stairwell to the side of the room. He was scurrying their way as quickly as his legs would take him.

As Tenzin and Pema swapped stories about their day, Korra chewed on her lip, her thoughts on the tip of her tongue.

_Do I tell them all? Right here and now? Maybe just Tenzin and Pema? Agh, shit, Pema's got a kid coming, though, should I...-?_

"Korra?" Jinora prodded verbally.

Korra rubbed her knuckles against her eyes, cleaning them of gunk. She noticed that Tenzin was gesturing Ikki and Meelo to head off to bed.

Korra muttered out, "Uh, I had...something I wanted to talk with you guys about." Korra scratched her neck awkwardly. "It's kinda...important?"

Jinora raised her brow and closed her book, setting it in her lap. She primly folded her hands, her attention instantly given. This was a detail Pema took note of.

"'M thirsty," Meelo moaned groggily, hovering at the top of the steps.

"Meelo, Bud," Korra pointed out, leaning out over the couch, straining to meet his eyes up the stairs. "I left you a glass of water by your lamp."

"Oh...Cool."

"Yep," Korra acknowledged. That kid seemed to always get thirsty before bed. She'd covered her bases this time.

"Night," Meelo bid everyone.

"Good night~" Ikki sang half-heartedly from the hallway upstairs.

Pema and Tenzin hovered by the base of the stairs, and Pema tilted her head at her husband.

"Well...Aren't you going to tuck him in?"

"Pema, he's...a big boy," Tenzin said quietly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Pema sighed, running her hands across her hair, taut back into a bun.

"Right, right," she murmured.

"So, what is it, Korra?" Jinora prodded, still hanging on the woman's words.

"Yeeeeaaa," Korra shakily slid out the word. "So, it's...like this." She cleared her throat, sitting up straight on the couch. Pema and Tenzin walked over, and Korra skootched to one side to allow the mother and father to sit down. "I was, err, at the police station recently, and, so...-"

"What is it?" Tenzin wondered, his worry fizzing out of his ears.

"Everything's fine," Korra quickly assured, keeping her voice down. "It's-...The Chief thinks I should...try going to a police academy. Again. You know, because...-"

"You used to want to be a cop," Jinora vocalized. Her keen memory didn't fail.

"Yea," Korra sighed, giving Jinora a wary smile.

"If...that's what you think you should do...-" Tenzin started, taken aback by the idea.

"Oh," Pema puffed out, her hand finding its way to her stomach.

"R-right!" Korra hastily spat out, reading the woman's mind. Her face would contort into different modes - nervousness, eagerness - and her hands would follow suit. "N-no, I have _not _forgotten about the baby, that's-...I mean, so-...You guys saved my ass-..._err, _helped me...out of a jam? And...-"

"We shouldn't hold you back," Jinora expressed plainly.

The room was silent for a moment. Pema and Tenzin were swapping intrigued looks, and Korra was trying to get a read on Jinora. Jinora, however, was staring down at her book cover.

"You...-" Korra started. She needed a second to process the teen's words. "What makes you think you...'hold me back?'"

Jinora shrugged. And that was that.

Seeing their faces - startled, confused...sad...It smacked Korra in the face. Police academy could wait. Protect and serve, right? This family had served Korra. They had awakened her, they had given her a chance to earn her keep when she'd fucked up. They had _forgiven _her when she'd fucked up even worse. She owed them her time, her effort. But more than that: Korra _wanted _to spend more time with them.

"I think...-" Korra began. Her brain was tripping over itself, slipping on her tongue, getting itself tangled. One glance at Jinora's curious eyes put everything into place. "I want to wait. Actually." Korra closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

In.  
Out.

"Yea," she confirmed with a steady nod, meeting the parents' gazes again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you guys, just...wanted to keep you in the loop. I want to keep helping you out, keep seeing you guys. Tenzin, aren't you, like...leaving your job?"

"That's right," Tenzin confirmed. He took Pema's hand, and she smiled. "Arrangements have already been put in order regarding my leave from my position at the capitol. The college is aware of...our situation, and they've said that if things improve for them this summer, they'd like to offer me a job. I can stay here in Wayward and...be a teacher, perhaps."

Korra grinned at the idea. If Tenzin had been _her _teacher, she'd probably want to sock the guy.

"_Ha, _I'm not sure if you have the _patience _for being a teacher," she teased.

"I suppose we'll find out," Tenzin chuckled softly. "It can't be as frustrating as being a _politician, _though, now, can it?"

"I guess not," Korra smugly agreed.

"And mom has to keep being a doctor," Jinora insisted. "Someone has to pay the mortgage..."

Pema and Tenzin's eyes both seemed to bug out of their skulls as they gawked at her. Korra was a little lost. 'Mortgages' were...something about owning houses...right? Somewhere up there with '401-K's' and...important 'adult' stuff. Eh?

"And what do _you _know about mortgages?" Pema wondered.

"We have a pretty nice house," Jinora shrugged. "And three-...I mean, _four_ kids...-" She lifted a sly eyebrow at Korra. "It can't be cheap."

"I, err...-" Korra scratched her pudgy nose thoughtfully, slouching her elbows on her knees. "I think I've had enough of crime-fighting for a while," she remarked. "I think the academy's a good idea, though. I mean, it's-...I'm _me. _Sooner or later, I've...gotta do what I've gotta do, right?" She clenched her fists in her lap, tightening her shoulders. "Some days, it just..._feels, _deep in my gut, like _punching _people, using what..._ha_...-" She slapped her biceps. "Using what my Mom n' Dad gave me? That's part of who I _am, _somewhere inside."

"You're gonna be a _bad _cop," Jinora cheekily concluded. When Korra raised her brow, Jinora clarified slyly. "A bad cop, but...also a _great_ one."

"_Pff! _Well, we'll see about that," Korra humbled the idea. "But for now? I could use a break. And you guys will need someone...-" She glanced down at Pema's stomach. "-...to look after the baby."

"Korra, do you know _how _to take care of a baby?" Jinora wondered.

Korra's eyes widened at the prospect, and she gave Pema a shaky smile and a shrug.

"I'm...sure I can figure it out," Korra decided with all due uncertainty. "Uhhh, babies aren't _that_ easy to break. Right?"

"Well, _Meelo _is proof of _that_," Pema snidely joked, getting a light-hearted laugh from the group.

"Heh, but, you're _serious_?" Korra checked. "You really want me to...-?"

"Korra," Tenzin pressed. "You've..._literally _tried to...take a bullet for this family. Figuring out the details - how to change diapers, how to cook, how to clean - those are things you can _learn. _But the way our kids have connected with you? The way they trust you, and you trust them? That's not something we can just teach someone else."

"Right," Jinora agreed, sending Korra encouraging vibes.

"Ah, erm...-" Korra nodded awkwardly. Her brain was hung up on this idea of...accidentally breaking babies, or dropping them, or...-

"Anyway," Pema said with a calming smile, seeing through Korra's pale expression. "Like Tenzin said, we can _teach _you how to do things outside of your comfort zone. And I _think_ I may be able to give you some pointers...As it turns out, I happen to know a thing or two about taking care of babies." She offered Korra a knowing wink, and her tone put Korra's mind at ease on the matter.

"I'm willing to learn," Korra insisted. "But we're talking...months away. For now, I'm still...trying to figure out what to do with Itchy and Scratchy up there." She thumbed to the second floor. "One step at a time, eh?"

Tenzin planted a wrinkled hand on Korra's shoulder and looked her square in the eyes.

"If I didn't know any better," he said, "I'd say you're learning a bit already, Korra."

Korra laughed sheepishly, unsure if she could really accept that - she felt she still had a long way to go. She wistfully crossed her arms over her waist as Tenzin let go.

"You _are_," Jinora agreed with her father. The girl established eye contact with Korra, her earnest eyes piercing the young woman's broken ego. "You're different from when we first met."

"W-well, that's...-" Korra's eyes were darting away in bashfulness. "I still don't quite know _how _it happened, but...You _kids _gave me a _reason _to be different." Korra noticed Tenzin and Pema's endeared expressions, alongside Jinora's. They were..._proud _of her, somehow. Korra could see it in Tenzin's wrinkles, in Pema's lips, in Jinora's eyes.

"Korra," Jinora said, placing her book down. She grunted as she got up from her chair. Pema flashed up her palms, ready to catch the girl, but Jinora managed fine after she retrieved her crutch. Korra rose up to her feet when Jinora hobbled across the room with a determined, tender look about her. When Jinora arrived, Korra accepted the injured girl into her arms.

"Easy, there, kiddo," Korra gently advised as Jinora fidgeted on her crutch. She continued to hold the bookish teen against her bosom for a therapeutic moment.

"Korra," Jinora stated, standing up on one solid foot, steadying the other with her crutch. She stared up at the thuggish Inuk woman before her, the closest life had gotten to giving her a big sister. "You gave our _family _a reason to be different, too."

* * *

_"Turns out, I don't need a medal to tell me I'm a Good Guy - 'Cause if that little kid likes me...how bad can I be?"_  
~ Wreck-It Ralph


	129. Imagine (Part 2)

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 128 - Imagine (Part 2)_

* * *

- Saturday, June 18th -

Jane grunted as she finished dumping the stinging oil from the other frier into the second bucket. She hated that part  
- she always seemed to get a drop or two of hot oil stinging at her wrists. But not today. Tonight, she was lucky - unburnt. She had a good feeling about tonight.

"Yup," she answered June's lingering question after she'd finished pouring the last of the oil out. "Tonight, man."

"Nervous?" June asked. Her voice cracked ever-so-slightly with a hint of actual concern.

"Not at all," said Jane with an honest kind of cheer. She was excited, actually. _Eager. _This was going to be a good thing.

"Huh." June nodded pensively, sealing off the containers that held ingredients for wraps. "Shit," June puffed. "I know _I'd _be."

"What, you never, uh...-?" Jane wondered, cautiously picking up the two buckets of oil to tote them out to the appropriate storage spot.

"No fucking _way_," June balked, humored. She waited to finish her thought, as Jane had left the room. Her mind created a theoretical future around Jane's notion, and it didn't lead any place good. She drizzled a quiet laugh of disbelief at the idea, shaking her head to herself as she tidied up the breads and rolls.

Jane re-entered, rubbing sweat off of her forehead with a tired breath. The manager couldn't blame the kid for being pooped. It had been a long shift with all of those high schoolers and families on campus to participate in whatever 'Harmony-doodad' thing the college had been hosting that day.

"So why haven't you?" Jane wondered, grabbed the broom from the corner of the room.

"_Uh, _how about legal reasons, for a start?" June reminded, heading into the side room to do the unsurprising: make a milkshake for the road.

"Ah," Jane grunted as she swept.

The milkshake machine whirred and hummed.

"You want anything?" June offered.

"Nah. I'm good," Jane answered complacently, getting her sweeping done. "Thought you were trying to get off those?" she reminded, regarding the milkshakes and June's grumblings from a recent shift about weight-gain and how she needed to drop them.

"Old habits die hard," June flatly replied. She finished making her shake and returned to find Jane had finished up.

Jane untied her apron and hung it up, and June did the same. A quick and wordless double-check of the food prep area - June's daily 'prison.'

"See, kid," June sighed, somewhat ruffled as they punched out their time cards. "You think _you _got into trouble? Nah. You made some mistakes. I fucked up my entire _life. _I don't got a second chance like you do. So, don't do something as stupid as putting all your eggs in one basket. Er, not eggs, potatoes. Right?"

Jane raised a brow at June's remark. Was this some play on Toph's obsession, or...-?

"'Cuz you're...Irish?" June impatiently presented her logic. Jane frowned out of perplexation - not at June's racist humor, but rather her defensive manner of conduct as they locked up. The woman guzzled some of her milkshake and wiped her lips. "That was a joke, flew right by ya. Look, whatever..." After locking the last door, June yanked off her blue-arrowed hat and tousled her raven hair. Jane kept her hat on as they walked into the stairwell, opening the door for her boss to follow her as she received more rambling as they ascended the stairs. "You're all hormonal, and have issues, you wanna vent that out. I've been there. I trusted people, too, once upon a time. But don't get too cozy. This is _school. _Hate to break it to ya, but guess what, sister? School _ends._ People move on, they take off. The last thing you want 'em taking with them is your secrets." They pushed out through the heavy metal doors of the ACC and out into the humid evening. "People like us? You and me? We keep secrets for a _reason. _Guard that shit, don't _share _it. Don't give anyone, no matter how nice they seem, something they can hurt you with. Better to sleep alone with a knife under your pillow than wake up with one in your gut."

Jane was caught off guard by the intensity of June's advice. A nerve had been struck, and Jane was in total nonalignment with June's words - a rarity.

"Why _me, _then?" Jane demanded briskly as June pointed her keychain at her car, unlocking it.

This remark caused June to falter in her fervent, jaded ramble.

Jane followed up, "Why'd you share with _me_ if you actually believe what you just said?"

June slurped her milkshake, standing in front of Jane on the nearly empty tarmac of the ACC's side lot.

"Like I said," June sighed. "Old habits..."

June went to open her car door and attempted to leave things at that, but Jane refused. She marched right up to June and grabbed the woman's shoulder before she could go running off into the shelter of her vehicle. June didn't make a motion to shove off Jane's hand, but she also didn't turn around. Instead, she finished opening her car door and tossed her hat into the passenger seat. Jane tore off her own hat - they were both off the clock now. Not at work. So Jane continued to whisper out her frustrations.

"That's _bullshit_," Jane seethed. "You put on this act like your life is over just 'cause you're stuck here? Fuck that. Grow up. What are you, like, twice my age?"

June was motionless, and Jane couldn't see her face. But tonight was the sort of night for getting this stuff out, so she continued.

"Maybe if you stopped all this 'lone wolf' horseshit, you'd find something - some _one _- to _care _about in this town. Damn. I dunno, maybe like me? Ever think I care? That you're my fucking _friend, _n' not just my boss? That I'm sick o' seeing you draggin' your ass through each week and being a miserable bitch? _Do _something. _See _people, instead of just hiding at home with Nyla all by yourself - cats are good n' all but obviously Nyla ain't quite doin' it for ya by herself, or you'd actually _smile _once in a while. How 'bout for a start, fuckin' return Korra's call about us getting drinks together? Maybe try seeing your old friend at the police station? I know people can be real pieces of work - both of us _have _been. But not _everybody _is. Some people _don't _turn their backs on you. Give 'em the chance that someone else _didn't _give you. Just 'cuz you're stuck in Wayward doesn't mean you're..._stuck. _Ain't no point in being alive if you're not _living, _is there?"

June sipped at her milkshake all the while. Jane dropped her arm, desperate for _some _kind of reaction.

"_Heh,_" June laughed quietly.

"What?" snapped Jane under her breath.

"Ah, nothin'." June glanced over her shoulder at her 'pupil.' "Just kinda fun seeing you fly off the handle a bit. Guess that's the sort of stuff that happens when you hang out so much with...-"  
"-...people who _express _fucking _emotion_?"

"_Fff. _Well..._Yea. _Forget what I said. I changed my mind - you don't got nothin' to worry about. If these buddies of yours can put that kinda fire in ya, they ain't the type to backstab ya."

"Nobody gets stabbed when neither of you is carryin' knife to _begin _with."

"...Touche, Shamrocks. Touche." Another gulp of milkshake, and June handed off the second half of her beverage to Jane before filing into her car.

"Yo, hey," Jane hastily called out, banging her knuckles on June's window. She rolled it down. "Are we cool?"

"Like Frosty the Snowman," June dryly replied. She sidestepped Jane's bewildered look. "You're lucky I've got a soft spot for you, kiddo, or you'd be getting like...disciplinary action, or...whatever. But I'm too lazy to bother with the paperwork for all that. You're not worth that kinda trouble."

"Also, we're friends," Jane insisted, trying to get June off her sarcastic horse.

"_Eh_," June shrugged, her eyes twinkling in the dim moon light with mischief as she started up her car. "Sorry, kid. I'm not the type for this sentimental stuff. It's just enough for me to get through my fucking day without hating myself and the things I used to do. It all still pisses me off, every goddamned day." A heavy pause hung over them as they shared an understanding beneath the rumbling of June's engine. "Anyways, good luck tonight, kiddo."

"I don't need luck," Jane cited over the revving of June's vehicle. She didn't get to vocalize the rest of her thought as June drove off into the night, her hand waving out the window.

_I don't need luck. I'm not alone like I used to be. Wish you would figure out that you're not, either.  
But if Kat was willing to work with me over time...Pretty sure I can send that karma your way.  
_

* * *

_"We see our sins reflected everywhere: in the pallor of our intimates' faces, in the scratching of tree branches against windows, in the strange movements of everyday objects. These may be messages from God or tricks of the eye, but in neither case are we permitted to ignore them."_  
~ Anna Godbersen

* * *

"Jane, I...I'm just..._really_ not sure if...-"

"Kat? Ain't your decision."

The two were seated on one of the couches that overlooked the large TV in Aero House's basement lounge. In that moment, Jane was staring at the rip in the left knee of her gray cargo shorts. Her bony, pale knee felt like an eyesore in her self-conscious state.

"Look." Katara sighed, bobbing her head down over her knees as her fingers pressed at the sides of her head. Jane gave her friend a glance, noting the way Katara rubbed sand from her eyes. Kat's loose hair wasn't as tame as usual - frizzled edges and clumps of locks flicked every which-way, her bangs  
shoved aside via hairclips. "I'm not trying to tell you what to do," Kat explained warily as she wiped her eyes. "This is important. I think this is...a _good _thing. But, Hun...It's a lot to take in. I mean, I already knew of this and even _I'm _just...a little...-"

"You look at me differently?" Jane posed solemnly.

"N-no! _No, _not at _all_." Katara made sure to establish eye contact in her assurance, going as far as to grab Jane's bare knee, much to Jane's chagrin. "Please, _please _do not ever think that."

"Soooo...-" Jane shrugged. "What? Thinkin' the others won't understand?"

"They will," Katara encouraged. "It's the timing. That's all I'm worried about. It's been a crazy month. We've all been busy. We're all tired, and ready for summer break."

"I'm _not _waiting all fuckin' summer for this," Jane harshly insisted. "I need to get this shit off my back. Understand?"

Kat's head rolled back a bit in lamentation as she nibbled nervously at her dry lip.

"This _ain't _your goddamn decision," Jane repeated, this time with a hint of desperation. "I've been backin' you up with this Harmony stuff. I fuckin' wore a _dress, _and played _country _music, and...gave a goddamn speech in front of those people when Aang didn't...-"  
"I know, I know," Katara tried to quell Jane's impending wrath.  
"Can't you have _my _back on this one?" Jane insisted. "N' let me handle it?"

"Y-you...-" Katara took a breath. "You're right. I should. And I do."

"Then couldja maybe stop..._judging _me?"

"Wh-?"

"Your tone. Your-...Way you _look _at me, it...-"

"I'm processing all of this, Hun. I'm...trying to figure out what would be the best way to explain all of this to them."

"That's _my _problem."

"W-well, but, in case they maybe overreact, I want to make sure...-"  
Katara froze when she noticed the way Jane's face had glazed over with silent frustration. It was like Jane had expected this, and was just enduring Kat's words.  
"Sorry," Katara course-corrected. Her brain went whirring, struggling to figure out what was wrong here. What she was saying wrong, what she was doing wrong, how she could help...?

And then it smacked Katara in the face. She was making this about her, when it wasn't at all. It was about Jane.  
Jane didn't need Katara to help. She didn't need Katara to fix anything, to do any damage control, to worry or fret...

Jane just wanted Katara to be supportive, not to intervene.

_Stop trying to control everything, Katara. There was a time when Jane needed you, but she's gotten back on her own two feet.  
Stop pushing your fears on her, and let her do what she needs to do._

As Katara was coming to this decision in silence, she didn't have a chance to verbally express her realization, as footsteps were echoing from a couple of rooms away, descending to the basement floor. Jane rose right up from Katara's side and approached the closed entrance door to the lounge, cautiously peering into the neighboring study lounge.

"'_Eyyy,_" Korra's voice greeted. "Shamrocks!"  
"LadyBro," Jane warmly greeted.

Katara watched them give each other a tight, rough hug, unable to _not _wonder how she hadn't figured those two out sooner...

"Freckles!" Sokka cried, mirroring their jubilance.  
"Ass-Wipe!" Jane taunted in the same tone, giving Sokka a playful shove on his chest when he went to offer a hug.

They all shared a laugh - even Katara. Sokka mock-pouted at the rejection, but Jane rolled her eyes at him and brought in back in for a tame hug before leading the two Kesuks to join their third.

"Toph and Aang'll be down in a sec," Sokka advised, dropping himself down on the couch adjacent to Katara's. Korra eagerly joined him, and the two started a brief, juvenile wrestle-session as Jane sat herself beside Katara again.

While the Kesuk cousins made a slight ruckus, Katara caught a glint of nervousness about Jane.

"This is all you," Katara whispered her encouragement, patting Jane's leg again. "You're fine. You can do this."

Jane nodded to herself, brushing her orange bang swoop to one side. She blinked a bit, her eyes already starting to dampen. But she mustered a smile to Katara and nodded more directly. Especially in the face of new knowledge, Katara could savor the sparks of confidence and self-respect in Jane's olive eyes.

Katara retracted her affectionate gesture and silenced her lips, leaving Jane to her own devices.

The sound of Toph's loud mouth reached the group's ears long before the sound of her and Aang's footsteps did. Toph was chortling about something, but as they passed into the basement lounge, Kat could tell that Aang didn't find it funny - whatever it was that had Toph laughing. He was casually leading her around furniture, her thumb and index pinched on his elbow.

Korra and Sokka's wrestling died down, and Kat made a point to take note of her brother's face as Toph and Aang passed by. He huffed a bit, shoving his sweaty bangs out of his face and clawing at his scruffy neck. His eyes hollowed and stared off into blank space as the congregation formed. He looked...detached. Numbed. Katara was all-too-familiar with this particular vibe her brother was giving off. Just like with Mom. Just like with Yue. It was milder, of course, but still...Sokka didn't do well with good-byes - and she knew that was exactly why he and Toph were having their awkwardness. Maybe if she just-...

_No. Stop it. This is serious. Tonight is about Jane._

Toph dropped herself into the large, run-down beanbag on the floor, and Aang occupied the seat beside Katara, causing Kat and Jane to scoot over a bit.

Toph reclined into the beanbag, letting her abdomen sink in as she draped her head over the bag's edge, taking care not to squish the bun she'd tied it into. She ripped into the bag of peanut M&M's that she'd just picked up at the snack desk. Aang passed a bottle of root beer he'd gotten to Sokka, who thanked him. Then Aang screwed open his cold bottle of vitamin water, offering Katara some. She declined quietly.

As snacks were partaken, Korra was strangely quiet. She'd noticed that Jane had been staring at her with a very melancholic kind of look. Katara caught sight of this while the boys started drinking, and her head was abuzz with curiosity with her newfound knowledge about those two. She suddenly noticed that the door to the lounge had been left open. Katara got right up, passing through the neighboring study lounge, a much smaller room, and into the hallway. She peered outside - no one around, real quiet - then closed the door.

"What's up?" Korra asked aloud, speaking on behalf of the group as she leaned over, her meaty elbows stacked lazily on her chunky knees.

Katara re-entered the main lounge, closing the second door behind her. She locked it as discreetly as she could as her brother inquired further.

"Yea," Sokka said. He burped from his carbonated beverage. "What's with the meeting?"  
Pff, well, he seemed to be feeling a little more mellow with some root beer in his stomach.

Katara practically tip-toed past her curious cousin and brother, sliding right back on the couch between Aang and Jane.

"Is everything all right?" Aang asked.

"...killed a guy."

Jane's words came out in a mumble, barely audible over the sounds of candy wrapper and body movements.

Toph nearly choked, leaning her body upright and pounding on her chest as she tried to get the peanut that has slid into her windpipe back to the esophogus.

"...Huh?" Sokka squeaked.

Aang and Korra were exchanging dire looks, while Sokka was glaring at Jane with disbelief, like he'd misheard her. Toph was trying to catch her breath, having spilled M&M's all over her lap.

"Back in high school," Jane stated, more loud and clear. "I killed a guy."

Toph coughed and swallowed, her eyes damp from the stinging in her throat. She sputtered and cleared her throat, then swiped her bangs of her face as she directed her words to Jane.

"What the shit?" she croaked out, perplexed.

"Why are you telling us this _now_?" Sokka demanded, leaning forward with wide-eyes.

Korra nudged her cousin back into a more relaxed position.

"Let her explain, man," Korra mumbled to him.

"I'm _sure _that'll make me feel _so _much better," Sokka growled in a hushed breath at Korra.

"_Hey_," Katara seethed at her brother in a sharp syllable.

"So I was born, like...intersex," Jane reminded, trying to push past the understandable backlash. "In high school, uhh...-" Most of the folks in that room already knew parts, if not most of what she was going to say. But saying it all, out loud, in front of all of them at once was still a task. She took in a deep breath, her eyes welling up already. "_Phew. _Uh, I-...That's when I became...ya know, a _girl?_ And, urmm...Lotta kids gave me shit about it. Ya know." She shrugged complacently. "High-schoolers, yea? But, so...-"

Jane had to allow herself a moment as so many unpleasant memories were stirring right back up. When it had just been her and Katara, Kat had kept her...safe. Mentally safe, like a...sanctuary. But she was addressing the damned congregation in that moment.

"This one guy, he...-"

Jane couldn't help but glance over to Aang. He was looking on with silence, attentively and empathetically. He knew this story, too, and had related his own in kind, though with much less detail.

"This _asshole_," Jane amended her previous statement. "Was friends with my cousins.  
Lived nearby. Was fucking hell. He...was goddamned obsessed with me, and...nothing I did would ever-..._Agh, _fuck me..." Jane's head bobbed, and she dropped a gravelly-edged whimper under her breath, leaving her friends dead-silent.

Katara cautiously slid her hand around Jane's entwining their fingers to offer her support. Jane rubbed her wrist across her eyes, her face wrinkling in spurts as she tried to keep her cool.

"...Fuckin' _raped _me," Jane managed out. "And so, then I...-" She swallowed and coughed, her face burning with shame.

At this, Korra warily watched her friend choke and sputter some more. Toph was slack-jawed and motionless, sitting upright in the beanbag with her head cocked a bit to the side.

Sokka's eyes were wandering around the room in a daze, unable to figure out how to react. Aang was quietly and solemnly staring down at his lap, a sorry, knowing look about him. Katara, eyes half closed with an aching, tired sorrow, watched Jane push the poison out.

"...was scared," Jane struggled to continue. She inhaled a couple of deep breaths, sniffling and rubbing her snot on her t-shirt sleeve. "He wouldn't let _up_," Jane recanted. "But he-...I found out he was allergic to, urm...to _bees_...and so...-"

Katara's face cringed with worry at that remark. She'd been concerned about Jane sharing this particular detail, but...this was Jane's call.

As Jane recovered her breath, Toph picked earwax with her pinky, cleaning out her ear and leaning slightly further toward Jane, whom she was sitting right in front of.

"...So...-" Toph murmured, intent on hearing her friend out.

"I had _pets_," Jane vaguely explained with a one-arm shrug. "Was at the end of my rope. Backed into a corner..." She breathed out a "_Fuuuuck_..." and feverishly scratched her right nails over her forehead. Katara's hand tightened its squeeze on her left, and she reciprocated. "Couldn't take it any more, thought he was gonna do it again, so I...-" She swallowed hard, her ragged voice getting more unsteady as she went on. "I, uhhh...lured him to my room, let him think he could...-" She let her hand slap down onto her leg as she shook her head slowly, eyes glazed over. "I had some of my bees in a jar, I...-" She made a gentle throwing motion into space. "-...smashed it. Let 'em out. They were _pissed_. Almost as much as _I_ was..."

By now, no one was looking at Jane directly, nor she at anyone else.

"Asshole got what he deserved," Jane muttered out grimly. "_Nnn_," she groaned in frustration. "I mean, that's...what I _felt _like...when I did it, but...now, I don't...-" Another dire pause. "I'd fucking _planned _it. Made it look like a struggle, like an accident, self-defense...Lied through my teeth. I was fucking terrified, but that didn't mean I had to go _that _far. Didn't have to _kill _the bastard, but...-"

Jane was chewing at her upper lip now, just continuing to shake her head in slow, cycling regret.  
Korra's head was swimming in regret for having dared to encourage Jane to do such a thing again.

"And it's not like I got any better from there," Jane continued, her sorrow giving rise to wrath. "People were _already _freaked out by me. Think that little stunt did me favors? Fuck no. For the rest of high school, I was..._alone_."

Toph fluttered her lips in a tired, sympathetic sigh, her own eyes fighting back tears for her friend's struggle.

"My family..." Jane flicked her head dismissively. "_Psh, _whatever I had _left _of a family was a goddamned mess..."

Katara's gaze found its way to her brother, who seemed to have the same weary thought she had.

"But...-" Toph tried to turn things around. "Then you came _here. _Right?"

"_Ha_..." Jane's quivering brows arced with a sadistic amusement. "Yea. Yea, I came here. And got involved with a fuckin' _gang _of _drug dealers._"

"...Oh, yea..." Toph felt like an idiot. She'd been so disinterested in Jane earlier on, and left so out of the loop, it was easy for her to forget the details of Jane's old life.

"But, yea, know what I did?" Jane continued, her voice getting a bit more manic as she rushed toward the end of her rant. "I came to _this _place. 'Cuz my daddy did."

Katara was stroking the side of Jane's hand with one thumb, fiddling with her inherited necklace with the other.

"No other goddamn reason. That's how much I didn't _think _about shit. Was just cruising along, waitin' for something to happen, 'cuz I didn't have a fucking _clue _what I wanted to do with my life."

Sokka, leaning back into the couch, was running his hand across his disheveled hair, staring up at the ceiling in shock of all of this.

"Waitin' for something to change, for somebody to..._notice _me, I dunno...Never felt like I ever belonged anywhere."

Aang was slowly nodding with understanding.

"Spent my freshman year dickin' the fuck around 'cuz I had no idea what the hell I was doin'. Just wanted to leave the past in the past. Run the fuck away from who I used to be, become somethin' new."

Toph was picking her nose with her pinky. At this recent bit of Jane's speech, Toph rubbed what she'd pulled out onto her jean shorts and sighed through her now-cleared nostrils.

"That's when I met Jet. _Puh_..." Jane shook her head with some disgust, her nose tightening as her brows twitched with an icy mixture of anger and remorse. "That fuckin' bitch saw right through me," Jane seethed with some bitter retrospect. "Used me. Made me feel _special_. Gave me a _purpose, _gave me some kinda family. But it was a shitty family. One that didn't love me. All they loved was what I knew howta _do. _I used to hunt, so I knew my way around a gun or two, knew how to use a knife. I got into shit in high school, so I knew how to protect myself. And I was a science student - chemistry, biology. So...I knew how to help them cook product to sell. _Tsh. _Fuckin' christ. Can barely put the shit into words, can barely write goddamn reports, but put me in front of that stuff n' I can just to to town, cook up-..._Ech._ Got into all the wrong bullshit. Jet dropped me like a sack once he found out how...-" Jane's eyes squinted tight. "-...how _fucked up _I was..._Gugh._" An involuntary shiver.

Jane needed another moment to recollect herself. With her eyes shut, she shed a tear and squeezed Katara's hand, which was still clasped around her own.

"But I couldn't stop," Jane went on. "Even after the bullshit, I was..._stuck _with those _whackjobs. _'Cuz once I was there, once I felt _useful, _once people got _scared _of me, I couldn't leave. I felt...-"

"Powerful," Korra finished the girl's thought. Jane took in a sharp breath, blinking out of her frustrated stupor for a moment. She and Korra gazed at each other with a mutual understanding.

Jane sniffed, her nose still runny, her eyes still dripping. They were starting to get bloodshoot, and her cheeks were red, flushed by her emotional release. She rubbed her eyes and nodded in response to Korra's assertion.

"I was _so _fucking lost. But then...-" Jane turned to her side, staring at Katara, who was listening with understanding eyes. For the first time in her story, Jane smiled. It was brief, an embarrassed, bashful laugh tumbling out alongside a sob. But it was a smile. "Then I met _you_," Jane gently explained, her rugged voice cracking.

Jane pulled Katara into a hug - an exhausted, heartfelt hug. Katara was tearing up herself. The earnest intensity of Jane's gratitude was overpowering from just one expression on Jane's face.

"And you," Jane breathed into Katara's shoulder. "You fuckin'..._saved _me from all that. Saw right through Jet when I'd blinded myself. Pulled me out of that hell hole, kickin' and screamin'."

Over Jane's shoulder, Katara saw Toph grinning.

"Yeaaa, our Sister-Face does that," Toph cited with some pride, her own face churning with embarrassed gratitude at the memories of relying on Katara.

Katara's chest was swelling. Jane and Toph had been broken-down people she'd invested so much of her heart into, and unlike most everyone else before them, it had actually done good. It had _mattered. _They had both been inspired to stand on their own two feet, and they had both learned to touch others.

"Jane," Katara said, her voice shaky. "I didn't-...Y-you saved _yourself._"

"Because you believed in me," Jane insisted. "When I wanted to leave the Fighters, stop being 'Smellerbee,' start being..._myself. _You trusted me, you had _faith _and _hope _in me...when no one else did. _You_ were the fucking one, man. _You _helped me help _myself._"

Katara didn't have a response for that, so instead, she let a few happy tears flow. The two young women maintained their hug for a few seconds, leaving everyone else with residual warm fuzzies. Sokka was still reeling inside at all of this news - some of which confirming old suspicions he'd forced himself to drop - but even he could appreciate the moment.

"I'm sorry I had to leave for a while," Jane croaked out as their hug broke apart. "Some shit from my past caught up with me...and I _couldn't _keep running from it. You guys...sorta got caught in the crossfire." Jane's eyes had wandered up to Katara's forehead, where there was still the hint of scars, hidden beneath hair. "And I didn't want none 'o that. So I had to...break off for a while, so you guys wouldn't be involved.  
I had to face my demons."

"Stand your ground," Toph proclaimed.

Jane nodded on instinct, but made sure to give Toph a "Yea..."

"You needed to let your anger out," Aang solemnly recognized. "And then, you let it go..."

Jane steadied her breathing and smiled weakly, recalling that these had been the same words Aang had suggested to her before the fact.

"I did," she confirmed, his words reminding her of that night she threw her knife into the flames. "And Korra helped me, but...that's the reason that _she _got sucked into this bullshit tug o' war."

Korra was grinding her teeth through closed lips, unhappy about the reminder of everything she was trying to leave behind. But she felt it wasn't right to say a thing - Jane had been through worse, and come out a better person for it. At this point, Korra was hoping she could manage something similar.

"And it's why we...-" Jane blinked at Korra's as her lips turned numb. She had to clear her throat. "Korra and me, like...had a _thing_. For a bit, and-...We kept it a secret, but...-"

Korra's expression turned wary, her mouth twisting with embarrassment at how the others might react.

"What, like...-?" Toph was intrigued. "Like, a _thing_-thing?"

Korra drizzled her palm over her face, her face flushing.

"Yea, Dead-Eyes," Jane sighed with amusement.

"I fuckin' _knew _it," Toph blurted, slapping herself on the leg. She startled herself when the collection of strewn M&M's shifted all around, causing her to flinch.

The group laughed at this moment of comedy, except for Sokka.

"You did _not_," Sokka contested dully.

Toph, stuck her tongue out at him, cheeks pink and brows furrowed as she plucked an M&M from below her crotch and nommed it in defiance.

Sokka's eyes practically rolled back in their sockets. Jeez, this was...so much drama and weirdness, he just...didn't want to be dealing with this. He could respect it, he could appreciate that this was all a big deal for Jane, but...Yikes. He didn't want to be a part of this stuff anymore. This person he'd learned to _trust, _she was...a murderer? A psychopath? Sure, not now. But she _had _been. And she'd been _with _psychopaths. What if that had come back? What if it still _could_? As far as he was concerned, this was all pointless - some stuff was better left unsaid. No need to go confronting every little thing.

Especially not this dating nonsense. Ugh. First Kat, then Korra? What the hell?  
_Well, you _did _flirt with her a bit, too_, _Sokka. How many times did you touch her when she didn't want you to?  
_Right, that had been...dumb. But he was clean now. No more of that. No more of..._this_. The drama, it made people crazy.

"So, what, you and Johnny just...broke things off, or...-?" Toph brought up, wedging her hand beneath her bean bag in search of lost sweets.

Jane huffed a bewildered breath, not sure how to reply. She tried to seek some kind of backup from Korra, but didn't receive it. Korra was too busy giving Toph an odd look, amused by the sight of the blind girl tracking down loose candy.

"I...I don't even know if Johnny is still _alive,_" Jane admitted. "But...but me and Kor, that was...just a _thing, _like...we're over it now."

That got Korra's attention, apparently, as the beefy girl's oddly soft eyes blinked at Jane with an uncertainty that Jane returned.

"Like how you got over Katara," Sokka pointed out primly.

"...Yyyea," Jane slowly replied, picking up an odd tone from him.

Katara was obviously fazed by her brother's judgmentally-hued remark, fidgeting her hands with her hair sheepishly. Jane found this funny, because Katara hadn't even _done _anything in that, Jane had. Sooo...Sokka could leave her alone. Jane got up and tracked down a box of tissues on a windowsill by the lounge's back exit doors.

"We've _all _had our share," Aang declared, cutting through the tension. Jane blew her nose in the background. "Of...of the romantic awkward-sauce. By now, we've all dipped our toes in it. Right? I mean...that's part of college."

"That's part of _life_," Korra called out, making her non-college-student status known.

Toph blurted out, "Experimen-_tation_," with a weird humming giggle.

"Yea, that _is_ part of college," Sokka agreed snarkily, staring right at Toph. "_Ain't _it?"

"_Yup_," Toph shot back, knowing full well he was taking a knock against her.

Aang and Katara, side by side, had a silent and quick exchange of expressions - Aang puzzled, and Katara shaking her head to signal backing off from it.

"But we've stuck together through all this shit," Jane struggled to bring everything back around. Her face was red, especially her nose. She was still trying to clear up her face, now on her third tissue, drying her eyes hastily. "And seriously," Jane pressed, leaving the crumpled tissues behind to be cleaned up later. She went back to the couch. "_All _of you guys...You all helped me...wake the _hell _up from what I was, so...-"

Jane realized that Katara had moved over, leaving the cushion between her and Aang open. A bit bashfully bemused, Jane sat down between them, and was encompassed by both of their arms across her back. She sputtered a laugh as she wormed her lanky hands up and around, slinging her limbs over her two friends.

"There's a group hug coming on," Toph announced her observation aloud. "_Spoilers:_ shit's about to get touchy-feely up in this bitch."

"Oh-my-God," Katara breathed with flabberghasted humor at her roommate.

"Get your fat-ass over here, then," Jane taunted Toph with a subdued grin.

Toph groped the floor, retrieving her nearly empty bag of candy, and dumped the rest into her mouth. Chewing away, she crawled in the direction of her friend's voices. Aang lifted up his foot in a quick reaction, and Toph crawled right into his sneaker, bopping her forehead into his heel. She was jarred by the sensation, though not overly so, having expected to bump into _something._ The group snickered, and Toph, smiling with puffed cheeks, growled through her nose at the mystery culprit.

"Uh, soooo-" Jane was raising her voice over the commotion, worriedly glancing across the room. "We're...all good? Like...no one thinks I'm...some fucked up psychopath, or...-?"

"We're _all _fucked up, Freckles," Toph tried to put her at ease.

"Yea, _pretty _sure some of us still _are_ psychopaths," Korra added facetiously, giving Sokka a hard smack on the shoulder as she got up to join in the group hug.

"It's like we're _all _born morons," Sokka cynically decided, dragging himself along. "Doomed to disappoint each other, right?" He sighed, crawling over to Toph's side. Korra, towering behind him and Toph, bonked her knuckles on his head, much to Katara's satisfaction.

"No, that's not it at all," Aang put forth his opinion with confidence. "There's something..._better_ that we can take from this."

Toph, who had started using her couch-going friends' knees as makeshift bongo drums, slowed to a stop. Sokka gave her a bitter look.

"So what _is_ the point, then?" Sokka posed, prying his eyes away from Toph's suddenly attentive expression.

"Jane, you've...been through _so _much," Aang gently sympathized, clamping his fingers on her shoulder. "Some of the things you've done, you...can't take back. They're going to stick with you."

Jane was staring down at her lap, taking in the hovering proximity of her friends, and letting the truth of Aang's words sink in.

"But the difference is that...before? You did those things out of _fear. _Out of anger. Because you were _alone. _But you're not that person anymore. You're _not _alone now. Not ever again."

Jane wavered out a trembling breath of agreement. Of the sweet, oh-so-sweet relief of accepting that everything Aang was saying was truth, and that the good far outweighed the bad for her. The perception, at least, that the worst was over, and had been for a while.

"But like Toph said," Aang continued, "we're all...erm...broken...and...-" He was mumbling, trailing off. He cleared his throat. "We are _all _'fucked up,'" he boldly pushed out the words. "In different ways, in...different degrees. But we're all...'fucked up'..._together._ And, clearly, we all believe in second chances, or we wouldn't all _be _here, in the same place, still friends. If anything, Jane's story is _proof_ that _all _of us are capable of finding our _true _selves, if we go looking for it: so long as just _one person _believes in us - even if that person is just ourselves. That _all _of us are capable of turning things around, no matter _how _bad they get. _Everyone, _even people who have harmed others, who make great mistakes, _every-__single-person_ should be treated like they're worth giving a _chance_."

The Fearless Five Plus One took in Aang's conclusion breathlessly. Sokka was, as usual, caught off guard by how Aang could find a small life lesson in any given moment. Jane's tears were reforming, her heavy heart so much lighter in this moment than she had any memory of it ever being. Toph's eyes were wet at the edges, and she was humming her agreement with ol' Twinkle-Toes, grateful that he had given _her _a second chance when she'd needed it most. Korra's eyes were dry, but they glimmered with some admiration of the Little Man with the Big Words. Katara was already shedding  
new tears fresh off of the one's she'd shared with Jane. Kat was just letting the droplets slide down her cheeks as she smiled with pride at her quiet, dorky, sexy little 'Avatar of Harmony,' just like she'd boasted he was. He was doing it: making his feelings heard, and expressing them so plainly and cleanly. He'd be so silent so often, but when he'd put his thoughts together, it was as natural, plain, and refreshing as a breeze.

Aang added, "And I also think that _all _of us have found second chances for ourselves this year. I think our friendships are all the stronger because of everything we've been through."

"OK, Aang," Sokka grumbled with some impatience. "I don't...think we need the after-school special, here..."

"Sokka," Katara puffed. "He's right, and you know it."

Sokka shrugged with indifference at his clearly-biased sister, and Katara sighed at his judgmental attitude tonight.

"Well, _Mr. _Kesuk, the _Adult Man._" Katara sent a smug stare in reply to her brother's pessimism. "You can make fun of it, but you'll miss all of this when it's gone."

Sokka's eyes flickered with some desperation that was wiped away instantly. He shrugged and nodded, giving his sister a sheepish smile of agreement.

"If we can keep our heads together," Toph declared, "it won't ever _be _gone. What we've got going? This is gonna last a _lifetime._" Toph proclaimed this with warming exuberance, stretching out her arms and leaning into Katara and Jane.

"I think it will," Aang agreed, beaming. He stretched his arms over and joined in.

"I _know _it will," Toph insisted, surprising Aang and Katara alike.

As the group hug commenced, Katara spoke into Jane's ear, loud enough so that everyone could hear.

"Before this school year began," Katara said, "I had _no _idea who Jane Fitzpatrick was. But I'm _glad _I know her now. And I love her dearly."

"I love her, too," Aang concurred.

"_Agh - _here, here," Sokka gave in, letting himself be absorbed into the hug and the warmth that it brought.

"You're _still _stuck with us, Freckles," Toph chimed in.

Korra, the only one actually standing in all this, managed to work her gorilla arms around the lot of them and pulled everyone's heads together, 'knocking some skulls' in a friendly way, for once.

"Keep our _heads together_," she joked, referring to what Toph had just said. She got some facetious groans. "But for real: we've all got your back, Jane," Korra assured with vigor as she released everyone and the hug subsided.

Surrounded by the five people that had been with Jane through her transformation - from caterpillar into moth - Jane was overcome with gratitude.

As the heat and jubilation of the moment swept across her face, Jane's freckled, pale skin was lit red with relief and gratitude. She scratched at her brow, smiling like a fool at her family.

Because they _were_ her family. Without a doubt.

Jane said something she had never actually _said _to them before.

"I love you guys, too."

_And you'll always have My Ax in this Fellowship._

* * *

_"You must never give in to despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road, and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength."_  
~ Uncle Iroh; _Avatar: The Last Airbender_

_"People with deep and lasting friendships may be introverts, extroverts, young, old, dull, intelligent, homely, good looking; but the one characteristic they always have in common is openness."_  
~ Alan Loy McGinnie


	130. Imagine (Part 3)

**A/N: This is not the final update. There will be a few more - probably between 4-6. I will make it very clear when it's the end. ;) When we get there, I hope to hear from those of you who've stuck it out this far.**_  
_

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 128 - Imagine (Part 3)_

* * *

- Sunday, June 19th -

"Oh, _man. _Feels good," said Sokka, watching the golf ball he'd stricken sail through the air. It was veering off to the right. "Feeeels goo-_ohp!_" The ball disappeared between some trees in the rough. He shrugged in spite of his failure and smiled, turning around to his friends. "Mulligan?" he requested, using golf lingo to ask for a second shot to start things off.

"No mulligans," Zuko wryly declined, hands in his khaki pockets. "That was _your _rule from last time, remember?"

"Heh." Sokka grinned slyly. "Worth a _shot_. Eh? Get it?"

Aang and Zuko swapped dull glances at Sokka's pathetic pun. Sokka let it roll off his back.

"Ahhh," Sokka sighed out the pleasing scents wafting around them and twirled the club in his hand a bit. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sokka adjusted his visor and scratched his scalp as he passed Zuko's golf club back to its owner.

"It _has _been a while," Zuko agreed, taking his tool in hand and approaching the tee, swapping places with Sokka.

"I thought we were going to do this more often," Aang recalled, taking in the fresh air above the golf course. The skies were pale and gray, the air cool and crisp, and the the trees rustled in the distance now and again from a recurring gust.

"Yea," Sokka agreed. He savored the sensations all around him, for he knew this would very well be his last time here. He watched Zuko set up his golf ball on a wooden peg and ready his swing. Sokka elaborated, "We were gonna make this like a weekly, or bi-weekly, sorta...'guy's day out' kinda deal. What happened with that, eh?"

Zuko drove a clean shot straight down the fairway, and the golden glint of his wristwatch caught Sokka's eye as he paused at the end of his swing.

"Nice," Aang quietly complimented his friend's play.

"What happened?" Zuko said solemnly, adjusting his polo shirt's collar. "My family's past caught up with me. _That's _what happened."

"...Ah," Sokka mumbled, realizing the error of his insensitive words.

Zuko and Aang switched positions. Aang was eager to take his turn, quickly setting things up.

"Well," Sokka said to Zuko. "Thanks a lot for setting this up today on short notice and everything."

"Not a problem," Zuko stated. "I needed a break, anyway."

"Heh, yea," Sokka empathized. "All this..._stuff _going on...must be looney."

Aang swiped the club with much less ferocity than Zuko or Sokka had. On the one hand, his gentler drive actually landed on the green, unlike Sokka's - on the other hand, it traveled only half as far as Zuko's had.

"C'mon," Sokka lamented his friend's swing. "Holding back something, Bud?"

"Wh...-?" Aang seemed perplexed by Sokka's disappointment.

"Korra was tellin' me that the other day she was teaching you boxing, and you went _ballistic _on her," Sokka recanted. "But we play _golf _and you can't even _swing?_"

"I _did _swing," Aang defended, handing the club to his roommate with some light irritation. "And _I _actually landed on the course, by the way."

"Yea," Sokka conceded with a sigh, taking up the club. "Better safe than sorry for you, eh? I'm just saying..." He strode up to the tee and readied his second attempt.

"You're just _saying_..." Aang tiredly mocked his friend's repetitious phrase.

"I'm just saying!" Sokka said again in another tone. "You'll never get Birdies taking shots like that."

Sokka took another fierce drive. This time, his shot landed in-between Aang and Zuko's distance - but close to the edge of the fairway, where a bend in the course meant that a clump of trees was now inbetween his ball and the hole.

"But," Zuko defended, patting Aang on the shoulder. "You'll probably manage to get another Par or a Bogey." His eyes slid to Sokka. "Instead of a..._Q__uadruple Bogey _like the last hole."

"_Bah!_" Sokka spurted out, giving Zuko the club. As Zuko slipped it into his golf bag, the lot of them started trekking across the fairway. Sokka declared, "Ya know what? Who _cares _who wins or loses, eh? We're enjoying some..._male-bonding time._ That makes us _all _winners."

Aang smiled at this, and Zuko nodded in agreement.

"Well said," said Zuko with a chucke. "Come to think of it...-" He glanced over to Aang. "With me and Sokka graduating, what are _you _going to do?"

"Huh?" Aang blinked at his more formally dressed friend. "I thought-...Aren't you staying in town?"

Zuko shrugged up the shoulder opposite the one that bore the weight of his golf explained, "I'll come back after a while, but...my sister and I have a lot of...family business to take care of first. There's no telling how long she'll need my help."

"Oh, right," Aang muttered, recalling vague details that Zuko had mentioned. Aang anticipated that this impending press conference was related.

"So," Zuko continued his initial thought. "It doesn't seem to me like you have a lot of close friends outside of...you know, your group. Doesn't that mean that next year you'll be surrounded by...well...women?"

"Girls," Sokka corrected.

"_Women_," Aang counter-corrected.

"Right," said Zuko. "With Sokka gone, doesn't that mean your...'Fearsome Fivesome' will be all broken up?"

"Oh, erm...-"

"Fearless Five," Sokka came again with the correction. "Plus One," he added. He dipped his head back, gawking up at the gray, clouded skies, then fluttered his lips in a dejected sigh. "And nah, Aang'll be just fine." Sokka wrapped his arm around his friend's back. "He's one of the Five. But me? I'm...the Plus One."

"Sokka," Aang grunted, not keen on Sokka's self-deprecation.

"I'm serious," Sokka insisted, losing his hint of sorrow. "It's not just that I won't be around, it's also-...I dunno...Last night sorta made me realize that you guys'll be _fine _without me."

Aang was a tad startled by the particularly wistful look on his roommate's face.

"W-well, I'm not sure if '_fine_' is the best word," Aang said sheepishly.

"Oh, it is," Sokka insisted, squeezing Aang against his side before nuggying the back of his head and shoving him off. "I have taught you all I can, padawan."

"Heh." Aang readjusted his cap from Sokka's friendly assault. "Everyone seems to be trying to 'teach' me something these days..."

"That's a good thing," Zuko noted. "You surround yourself with so many different kinds of people...you learn all kinds of things."

"No, I know," Aang quickly agreed. "I'm not really sure what to _do _with it. Like with the Harmony Restoration Movement? I'm not really sure...-" He trailed off with a huffy and uncertain shrug.

Sokka croaked out his Yoda impersonation, waggling his finger at Aang.

"Mind what you have learned. Save you, it can."

"Yea," Aang sighed, struggling to maintain positivity. "I just feel like...a tiny fish in a big pond..."

Sokka rebutted, "Size matters not."

"OK, _Yoda_," Aang remarked with a raised eyebrow. "I get it. I'm...not giving up, I'll try harder."

Sokka stroked his thumb and index finger across his goatee as he stared Aang down. The trio continued their trek across the fairway's finely cut grass. After pausing for dramatic effect, Sokka replied.

"Do or do not. There is no try."

Aang breathed out a tired sigh at Sokka's quotations.

"Is this...like a roommate-bonding-thing?" Zuko prodded with uncertainty, handing Aang a golf club he deemed appropriate.

"Something like that," Aang muttered, accepting the iron. He lifted up his white cap, wiped sweat from his forehead, and set the cap back down. Sokka was still staring at him expectantly, and Aang rolled his head around with some impatience. "Can we just get back to the golf game?" he pleaded to Sokka.

"It's all right," Zuko eased Aang. "We're here for _each other, _not the game, aren't we?"

Sokka nodded to Zuko and slyly narrowed his eyes at Aang. "Patience you must have, my young padawan."

"...Do you have a movie quote reply for _everything_?" Aang dryly grumbled. His wide, manic expression remained a fixture as they reached Aang's golf ball.

Twice, Sokka opened his mouth to speak, a breath moved, a gesture made, but he retracted. Sokka continued to consider his options, and Aang made another safe but steady swing of his club with a loud grunt.

Aang bemoaned, "There's bigger things to be thinking about right now, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do about them..."

Sokka nodded, having decided on one. This time, he spoke in a more solemn, earnest tone.

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."

Aang's irritation melted at the edges, and he laughed through his nose as he watched his golf ball land inconspicuously at the edge of the fairway, three-fourths of the way to the hole. Aang was aware of the fact that Sokka had moved from one of his favorite sources - Star Wars - to another - Lord of the Rings. Aang decided to speak to Sokka in his own language.

It was a language that Sokka had taught him over their time spent together as roommates and friends over the prior school year.

"There's still some good in this world, Mr. Frodo," Aang said, an involuntary smile spreading as he handed Sokka the golf club. "And it's worth fighting for."

Sokka beamed with a wide grin, slapping Aang roughly on the back and flashing him a thumbs up.

Sokka eagerly concluded, "I'm glad to be with you, Samwise Gamgee…here at the end of all things."

* * *

_"When the good dreams come, hang onto them with all of your might."_  
~ Ursa; _ATLA: The Search_

* * *

- Monday, June 20th -

"Future Communications Incorporated." Azula read the proposed company title aloud for the first time, glancing at the sheet in her hands. "FutureComm?"

"My father used to talk about expanding Sato Mobile," Asami explained. "I'm sure this...isn't exactly what he originally intended, but...I'm not the person my father is. My vision of the future requires letting _go _of the past, not holding grudges, like he did."

"When Hiroshi hears the news," Azula remarked slyly, "I'm sure he'll regret having ever introduced us to each other."

"Maybe," Asami said with a sigh and a nod. "But I'm glad he did."

"I _do _wonder, though, Miss Sato...-" Azula set the sheet down on the stack that resided on her side of the table. "-...why you seem so sure you can trust me."

"I'm _not _sure," Asami confessed candidly. "That's why it's '_trust_.' But we've both been scarred by trusting our misguided fathers. The way I see it, you value the weight of this risk, because you're making the exact same kind. The dispute between our families can never be put to rest without taking a leap of faith - without us trusting each other."

"Mm." Azula nodded in understanding. "Stubborn old men stuck in the past can never see the future ahead," she stated. "I have no interest in being _held _by the past, but rather, in _preserving _it. Holding on it, wearing its crown - not letting its crown wear _me_." On Azula's end, she'd simply agreed to this to spite her father and to free herself of the judgments of her father's old friends - she didn't need Daddy's judgmental shareholders stifling her progress. Miss Sato seemed equally interested in this freedom, and Azula could respect that, even if their specific motives were not in total alignment. Such was the nature of politics and of business.

"And are _you_...-" Asami began, watching Azula's assistant approach. "-...sure about this?"

"Not in the slightest," replied Azula casually, watching her assistant set down heavy folder on the table before Asami. "I used to be certain that the path ahead of me was pre-paved, and I merely required the diligence to follow it. But recent events have illustrated to me that, should I wish it, I can traverse whatever path I might choose, so long as I arrive at my intended destination."

The late morning sun poured in through both of the kitchen windows, filling the cramped, white room with bright light.

Asami observed the maroon business suit her soon-to-be colleague was wearing. Azula Kurosawa nodded to her silent servant, seeing the man off, then gazed out over the small kitchen table to the outside. There wasn't much to see. With the intimidating woman towering over the table she sat at, Asami cleared her throat nervously. She pushed back a curly clump of hair behind one ear as she looked down at the folder of paperwork.

"So..." Asami murmured. She swallowed, then spoke up more properly. "What changed your mind? Why are you helping me?"

"Why do _you _still have stock in your father's company?" Azula retorted calmly. "I'm speaking _literally, _mind you."

Asami paused to put together her response.

"I suppose it's because part of me still believes that there's hope for him."

"And if there isn't?" Azula posed, seating herself in the rickety seat across from Asami.

"Then...-" Asami shrugged. She stared Azula right in the eyes – those sharp, frigid eyes. Asami spoke with resolve. "At that point, the company my parents built together would be...all that I'd have left of my family. And...I still want to honor that."

Asami caught a brief glimpse of a smirk at the edge of Azula's face. The business woman nodded, then glanced down at her golden wristwatch.

Azula spoke. "Then it seems you and I _do_ have a shared understanding of honoring our families. To answer your initial question, it is simply that I've come to realize that with _my _Father, there _is _no hope left for him. But I have realized that I have a different means with which I can honor my family – and this partnership would help us both accomplish that mutual goal."

"This whole situation is a dangerous proposition," Asami made clear, readying her pen from her blouse pocket. "_Crazy _risky," she amended.

Azula nodded slowly, and her smirk widened to a smile as she watched Asami sign through the documents they'd gone over.

"I _savor _'crazy risky' propositions," said Azula wryly.

"Then I'm willing to try if you are," Asami replied, scribbling away.

Azula extended her arm down to Asami. Asami stood up and took Azula's hand firmly. They shook with a decisive energy, eyes sparking with an eager drive to move forward.

Azula concluded, "Let us put the disputes of old men in the past."

"Let's," Asami agreed. With determination, she signed her name alongside Azula's, stating, "I'm ready to face the _future._"

* * *

_"The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children."_  
~ William Shakespeare; _The Merchant of Venice_

* * *

Aang's jaws worked their way up and down, trying to consume the gooey bits of tapioca through the straw he'd slurped them up through.

Aang expressed, "I don't think I've ever had tea that was so..._chewy_...before."

"_Blech,_" Zuko sighed, smacking his lips with some disgust.

"Nom-nom-nom," Toph was playfully murmuring as she swallowed her gummy blobs along with her tea.

"It's good," Katara decided. "We've had it before," she explained, patting Toph on the shoulder.

Toph slurped more bubble tea through the large straw in her cup. She confirmed Katara's statement with more "_Hom__m_-nom-nom_-hom_..."

The lot of them were seated at a recently opened chain shop - a place that specialized in unique tea beverages. The walls of the place were decorated with bright circles and swirls. It was a little nauseating to look at directly.

Iroh announced to the table, "I am thinking of expanding the Jasmine Dragon's selection. Bubble tea seems to be becoming quite popular these days...I have to keep up with these trends in the world of tea."

Aang nodded his support of Iroh's idea, Katara hummed an affirmative, and Toph was guzzling up a whole string of tapioca bubbles.

"Besides..." Iroh glanced around to make sure no one else was within earshot, and hunched over the table, whispering to the lot of them, "I _also _haveto uphold the honor of 'bubble tea.' There is no _love _in these bubbles."

Katara and Aang giggled a bit, the rest of the table quiet - the couple shared endeared looks with each other.

"How is it?" Katara quietly asked Aang.

"Mm," Aang replied, drinking some down. He knew Katara was really asking more about how he was feeling about being present at this meeting, since she'd asked him to attend on short notice.

"Shouldn't we be focusing on _other _things besides tea?" Zuko dryly proposed, throwing the energy of the table into a more cynical direction. "Like getting you back into a _house_? Or putting an end to, say, the socio-political _dispute _that we're meeting about right now?"

"...Mm," Iroh grunted his acknowledgment after a moment. He scratched his beard a bit, then took a sip. "I do suppose I might be getting a little ahead of myself," he confessed with a light laugh.

Katara was off-put by the weird tension between Zuko and Iroh. She shifted her attention to her left, where Azula was sitting with a stoic and bitter look on her face, scrutinizing the stapled sheets of paper before her. She nonchalantly took a drink of her sugary tea - without bubbles - seeming to tune out the noise around them.

"Yes," Zuko agreed with Iroh's statement. "You _are__._" He'd spoken the phrase through a tired sigh.

Katara opened her mouth toward Azula, but Aang ended up speaking before she could.

"Azula, what do you think?"

"I don't like it," Azula replied to him with a stern deadpan, still staring at the sheet. "It is...too _sweet. _Too flowery."

"But...-" Aang lifted his brow. "I thought you _wanted _your tea sweetened...?"

"Mm?" Azula glanced up to him with icey eyes. "Not the _drink,_" she irritably clarified. "This simpleton _speech_." She slapped the sheets of paper on the table.

"Wh...-?" Katara felt as if like Azula's razor fingernails had just scratched her in the face. "What's wrong with it?" she demanded, struggling to not be too defensive.

"_I_ thought it was all right," Zuko defended, glancing down at the speech Katara had printed off for them to review.

Even that remark left Katara a bit disheartened. 'All right?' Not 'good' or 'effective' or anything?

"I'll not have our family's name sullied by such inane text," Azula criticized. "This reads like a child's picture book."

"Well," Toph puffed, "You _sound _like a grumpy Shakespeare actor."

Toph received a handful of puzzled looks from the table, which she was blissfully unaware of as she slurped air and gummy balls from the bottom of her cup.

"Shakespeare is a household name for a _reason_," Azula cited, giving Toph a narrow-eyed stare. "And it is _certainly _not for writing lazy, uninspired sermons of misplaced _hope__. _This isn't a matter of delusions of grandeur - it is of being frank and taking action."

Azula's words stung at Katara a bit more. Pakku had seemed satisfied with her third draft of the speech Katara was to deliver at the fundraiser, but now this new speech for Azula's press conference was being rattled and smacked down without any hesitation. Maybe Pakku was being easy on her or something?

_You know what? It doesn't even matter. If Azula doesn't like it, she can...-_

"This isn't _iambic pentameter_," Katara defended herself.

"No," Azula agreed. "It is a disgracing _apology_. I have no reason to _apologize _to random strangers. Azula Kurosawa bows to _no one_."

Toph nearly choked on a bubble of tapioca. Azula's attitude her was really bothering her. As Katara pounded at Toph's back, she coughed and cleared her throat, her mind buzzing to decipher why this remark irked her so much.

"_Fuhh_...-!" Toph choked out, smacking her palm down on the table where her throat was failing her.

"Something to say?" Azula taunted. "I would suspect a child as yourself wouldn't understand. Rather than upholding your family's traditions and your father's honor-"  
"Azula," Zuko growled, trying to get his sister to back off.  
"-you gallivant about in promiscuous clothing whilst...rattling a guitar, flaunting yourself to the masses in some imprudent attempt to find affection or self-worth."

Toph's face was red hot, the skin around her nose wrinkling with disdain and embarrassment.

"Hey, fuck _you_," Toph seethed, keeping her voice at a reasonable level given their public location. "I dunno where you got my life story from, but you don't _know_ me."

"And that is perfectly fine," Azula sighed. "I'd rather _not _know you."

"Guys," Aang prodded at them with his plea for peace.

"I've made some shitty choices," Toph spouted, "And I used to think like that - no bowing down to _anyone, _ever. But I grew the fuck up - a little bit, at least. And I didn't need a fancy perfume or high-heels or a rich daddy to help me."

"My, how _fortunate _for you," Azula bitterly mocked before taking a prim sip of her drink. "How _admirable. _Perhaps if I, too, had been consumed in a self-perpetuating sphere of _ego_, doing whatever my heart desired, rather than tending to my _imprisoned_ father's errors and my _deceased _mother's wishes, I might have time to 'grow up a little bit.' How _foolish _of me to _do _something about the domestic issues left behind by _non-existent_ parents. I surely should have _run away_ from them, instead. I pray you _forgive _my lack of maturity."

Toph was being out-stubborned here, by someone with a more fancy-dancy vocabulary than hers who was also immune to the bite of Toph's sarcastic tongue.  
Not to mention that the stuck-up woman had a fair enough point. Azula didn't know Toph...but Toph also didn't know _her, _either. And it sounded like maybe Azula had more complex reasons for her life choices than Toph did.

With her arms grumpily crossed over her waist and her head bobbed, Toph let a grouchy huff of hot hair flutter her bangs.

"She's just trying to make you feel bad," Zuko stated firmly, giving his sister a disappointed glare. Azula shrugged back passively, and Katara rubbed her palm across Toph's back a couple of times.

"It's a gift," Azula said airily, checking her elongated nails as she drank more of her tea. "One that Miss Beifong and I happen to share - isn't that right?"

"Whatever," Toph groaned, struggling to keep her temper under wraps.

"A princess who'd prefer to be a peasant," Azula noted in a breathy tone. "Attempting to lecture _me _on how to carry myself." With a click of her tongue and a shake of her head, Azula stood up from the table.

"All I'm saying," Toph tried one last time, "is that if you maybe let go of your pride even just a _little _bit, people might not hate you so much. I've got _no _fuckin' clue what your brother here, or your uncle, or...or _Ty-Lee, _what any of them see in you, but you oughtta listen to 'em, 'cuz they care about you."

"Aw, how _sentimental_," Azula cooed with a yawn. "While I've studied up on your situation _before _remarking on it, you see fit to _blindly _toss advice my way - oh, I _do _apologize for the phrasing." She smirked as she clasped the golden buttons in place on her maroon business coat. "But perhaps it had already occurred to you that the entire reason I am _here _is because I _have _been listening to them, _genius. _Don't meddle in my family's affairs when you aren't even capable of dealing with your _own_." As Azula was speaking, she'd crumpled up Katara's speech copy and tossed it alongside the second half of her tea into the trash bin nearby. "You are only here by association, to discuss our course of action, not to swap personal histories. I did not ask for your irrelevant advice, yet you force it upon me. And since you can't _see_, I should tell you: I'm rolling my _eyes_ at you." True to her word, Azula exaggerated an eyeroll for the benefit of those at the table.

Toph slapped her fist into her lap and fumbled up from her seat, nearly tripping over Katara's foot.

"I'll roll your whole _head_," Toph hissed.

Katara clutched Toph's arm in a silent bid to calm the irate girl down.

Azula giggled in an odd way, her laughter carrying through the beverage shop - the artificiality of her giggling denoted that she was humored by some light-hearted joke, thus diffusing any curious glances from passers-by.

"Roll my whole _head, _you say?" Azula mused, a bizarre smile about her. "I'm afraid I've already taken care of that, myself."

Azula offered the group a wave. Iroh nudged Zuko's shoulder with his pudgy elbow, springing Zuko to take some action.

"Where are you going?" Zuko inquired, shuffling up from the table to follow her.

"I can tell when I'm not wanted," Azula plainly stated. "I have better things than to do than waste precious time squabbling with spoiled urchins."

"OK," Zuko grunted, catching up to her. "_Enough _with the fancy insults..._W__hy _are you...-?"

Zuko's voice dropped down to a whisper as he kept pace with his sister, who was leaving the shop.

Aang and Iroh swapped discouraged expressions as Katara watched the two Kurosawas exit, and Toph strained to listen in.

"I think she bad-mouthed your writing again just now," Toph observed in a mumble as the shop's bell jingled, signifying Zuko and Azula's exit.

"Toph," Katara grumbled, displeased with her friend's behavior.

"I was standing _up _for you," Toph explained. She added sarcastically, "Oh, and thanks, by the way, for returning the gesture, guys."

"Wh-?" Aang balked, confused.

"We weren't going to be a part of that," Katara stated firmly.

"No," Toph confirmed. "So ya just sat there and let me make an idiot of myself."

"What are you _talking _about?" Aang instantly retorted. "'Make an idiot?' To _who_?"

"Well-! To...-!" Toph paused at this. She realized she'd dipped into a sort of 'auto-pilot-ego-correct' mode, or something.

"We already _know _about all of that stuff," Aang reminded her. "We're not going to suddenly think any less of you just because someone else - someone who doesn't know you like we do - says something bad."

"You've got nothing you need to prove to us right now," Katara added, giving the still flustered Toph a sideways hug. "I appreciate you trying to stick up for me, Hun, but...where it counts with arguments like this, I can take care of myself_, by_ myself."

"Heh..." Toph smiled, squeezing Katara back. "Where have I heard _that _one before?"

"That's right," Katara said, her defensive tone dropping. "I picked that one up from you. So no need to go picking fights on my behalf," Katara said, scratching Toph's back before letting their hug break.

Katara's chair squeaked across the tile floor as she grabbed her tea - no need to let it go to waste.

"And on _that _note," Katara stated, "I've got a pair of grumpy siblings I need to have a word with..."

"Whoa, hey," Aang tried to ease her, grabbing her hand before she slipped off. "Azula seems...a little off right now. Do you want me to come?"

"I appreciate it," Katara said with a smile. "But like I said - I'll be fine." She bent over and shared a soft kiss on the lips with her lover. "You guys relax, don't let all of this stop you from enjoying your tea."

"_Waha,_" Iroh chuckled. "You don't have to tell _me _twice."

Katara's face squinted with endearment at the elderly professor as she waved to him.

"I'm sorry for this, Iroh," she said. "Thank you for the tea."

"You are _quite _welcome," Iroh assured. "Please talk some sense into my niece, if you can."

"I'll..._try_," Katara warily said as she took a gulp from her straw and headed out the door.

After the situation had calmed down, Iroh inhaled a deep breath and let loose a long, raspy sigh of relief.

"Ah, to be young and full of passion..." he mused with a plodding set of nods.

Aang was sitting alone on one corner of the table, Toph two seats to his right, and Iroh right across from her. He shifted his position, scooting over to Toph's immediate side.

"More like, full of _drama_," Toph bemoaned under her breath, shoving her palm over her cheeks with some embarrassment. "That was my bad, I didn't mean to...-"

"As I said," Iroh cut her negative talk off. "Full of _passion. _Drama is passion, Toph. Is it not? To openly express one's mind, one's soul...that is drama. In our day-to-day lives, we become so self-aware of what others may think of us, we hold that back. But drama is _emotion_. The hearts of man - oh, and _wo_man, _ha__ha_! - you see, a human heart is a complex thing. If only every problem between people was so simple as the arithmetic implies. But we are beings of passion."

Toph was frowning with some bitter resentment. She also wasn't a big fan of Iroh's prattling rambles, but his scratchy old-man voice was pleasant to listen to, at least.

"Well, Azula's right," Toph sighed. "She and I _are _kinda alike - we both hurt the people around us. For all my 'passion,' it seems like all I end up doing is...manipulating people to get what I want. Even when I don't realize I'm doing it..." Toph loudly sucked up air from the bottom of her empty cup. She extended her left arm to her side, gently punching Aang on his skinny bicep. "Like with _this _guy, here," she recalled with some gloomy regret.

"But it's like Iroh just said," Aang countered with sympathy. "We _cared _about each other - so we had 'drama.' And we worked things through, _because _we had 'drama.'" He reached out and took her hand below the table to reinforce his words with touch where the sight of his face was ineffective.

Toph, in her lost state of 'passion,' let this brief moment's intimacy take her back to a time merely months ago where that specific touch - Aang's hand - had been the force raising her up from the earth into the air. But even now, it still did just that, but in a different way than it once had.

"And now we're even better friends than before," Toph affirmed Aang's notion, clasping his hand back before they resumed their neutral positions. "I guess that's why I'm so frustrated with Sokka right now - he's so..._anti_-drama, and it's let us drift apart. I hate it."

"To openly express one's soul," Iroh reiterated. "That is drama. Perhaps your friend _needs _some right now, even if he does not know it."

"Yea," Aang agreed. "Toph, you've been so quick these days to stick up for Katara, or me, but...maybe you actually need to stand _your _ground instead of someone else's, at least right now."

"_Psh! _Sooo, what? Like...go profess my _love _for him or somethin' cheesy like that?"

"W-well, I mean...I don't _know, _Toph."

"I just don't know what our _problem _even is," Toph vented. "I mean, with you and _me, _it was 'cuz we couldn't be on the same page with sexing it up, but...-"

Aang's cheeks went pink at Toph's brutal honesty and the 'TMI' raised eyebrows that Iroh was sending their way.

"-...that wasn't an issue with Meat-Head. Not at all. If anything, we went in too _fast_."

"Wait," Aang mumbled, a bit startled. "You two were already...-?"

"C'mon, Twinkles, we're _us_, it isn't exactly some big _surprise. _With you and Katara, it was this, ya know, whole big _thing, _and, I mean...you guys figured that out. I'm happy for ya. Me and Sokka just dove in too fast, and it-...I dunno, it was like it sorta didn't _mean _anything, but...but I _wanted _it to mean something with us, and...so we decided to stop for a while, work on, ya know, more 'feely' stuff instead of 'touchy' stuff, and _then _he started acting all _weird _'cuz he's graduated now, and..._bleh."_

"Sokka started acting stoic," Aang cited. It was Sokka's self-defense mechanism against emotional turmoil - Aang was all-too familiar with seeing him get that way. Whether it was coping with the loss of his mother or Kya, with his breakup with Suki, with frustrations with Katara or Korra or Jane, and now with Toph...Sokka's response was always to lock things in, push them aside, and try to be as logical as he could.

"Stoic?" Toph mumbled, trying to remember what that word meant. She'd asked a split second too soon, as the idea hit her, along with the flood of instances she could recount. "Oh, no, yea. I know what you mean. Right. It pisses me off when he's like that."

"And it pisses _him _off when you act childish when he's trying to have a real conversation with you," Aang stated, trying to put it gently as best he could.

"_Well, _yea," Toph meekly admitted, scratching her cheek. "When he gets all weird and quiet like that I try to break the ice - being an idiot is how I do that."

"I could tell something was wrong with you two a while ago, based on how he'd been acting. He barely ever talks with me about you two. But I know you talk with Katara, and with me, and...-"

"Yea, I'm _trying _to, like, communicate n' shit, here, and he just...-"

"He tries to keep his cool," Aang stated, "And he tries to be rational. But you could shake him out of that. You've been holding back from him. He's tried to commit to you, and you shrugged it off."

"But-! Twinkle-Toes, it ain't _easy _for me to just...-"  
"It's easy for you to start arguments about things that make you mad," Aang pointed out. "Maybe think of it like arguing about...something you _love_."

"Ah, to be young and full of passion," Iroh repeated himself, bellowing out a hearty chuckle. "Young love is indeed a battle. There is no shame in retreat, but you cannot hope to win a fight in which you never strike."

Toph chewed at her lip as she considered this perspective. Iroh's words sounded really familiar, too - hadn't he said something like that when she was frustrated about opening up to Sokka in the first place? And being angry and arguing...about love? Huh.

"S-sorry, Professor," Aang sheepishly muttered, scratching behind his ear with a shrug. "We all sort of...have _issues_, and...-"

"Everyone _does_," Iroh casually stated with a shrug, leaning back in his chair and tending his rotund belly full of tea and tapioca. "Zuko and Azula are..._certainly _no exception..." He sighed after this remark - it was an exhausted breath.

"Yea, they...-" Toph swallowed the lump of shame in her throat. "Um, their mom passed away a little while back, huh?"

"She did," Iroh solemnly confirmed. "And their father - my brother - was not a very..._understanding _man. Some of his...social tendencies seem to have rubbed off on his Azula, while their mother's sympathy has been inherited by Zuko. They are two siblings, born of different cultures, different families...opposite in so many ways." Iroh glanced up across the table to the two students before him - one with combed hair, a school-branded vest and buttoned shirt and matching tie, the other with messy bangs, a low-cut tanktop with vulgar language, and a green denim vest. "But I know in my heart that those two Kurosawas will work through their differences, as Zuko has told me _you _two have."

"Maybe if they can get their _acts _together," Toph mumbled, "they can help fix this whole mess your jerkish family started. _Er, _no offense."

"None taken," Iroh sighed with a shrug. "I know that my nephew and niece may seem rather out of sorts," Iroh confessed, "but I can assure you that a plan has been set in motion. We simply need to help Azula understand how important her decision is in all of this."

"Because she's running her father's company now," Aang put one and one together.

"Yes," Iroh confirmed.

Aang sighed to himself as he stared at the pile of tapioca bubbles sitting at the bottom of his cup, the tea having been sapped away.

"I feel like...-" Aang cleared his throat as he considered his words. "In a way, I can relate with Azula - wanting to uphold the legacy of your family. But on the other hand, this whole movement - Harmony Restoration - it's about tearing down the old barriers that have been keeping the people of this town apart."

"Mm..." Iroh was scratching at his beard.

"Uh, so...-" Aang gave Toph a pat on the shoulder, while looking at Iroh. "Toph says you give pretty good advice - on top of all of the great tea."

Iroh smirked, glancing over to Toph. She was smiling with a hint of bashfulness.

"The key to both is proper aging," Iroh advised. "What is on your mind, Aang?"

Aang watched Toph try to suck up more non-existent gummies from her cup, and he swapped her cup with his, letting her continue to gleefully indulge herself.

"Well, it's...-" Aang fidgeted with his tie. "With everything going on lately, I've felt...so _little. _Like-...Hm. How to put it...?"

Iroh patiently waited for Aang's words, watching his friend slurp up gobs of tea-soaked tapioca and chew on them.

"Zuko, Katara, and my friends...Everyone has been putting work into the Harmony Restoration Movement. And even that pastor - Noah? I've tried listening to what he has to say, and...he's made some really good points, too. This town has become so violent and chaotic lately. Part of me feels like I'm...supposed to be _doing _something about it. But I feel so...imperfect. All of this...this _drama, _with my friends? It's true, I mean, it's a _good _thing, right? I should feel like it is. But then other people witness it - people outside of our group. People like Zuko, or Azula, or...well, you. And I feel embarrassed. I feel like we're...all just messed up. And it makes me realize just how lost I actually am. That the reason I wear SRU clothes, or care so much about promoting the school, it's...all because this school is the closest thing I've ever had to a _home. _And the more I think on it...-" Aang's eyes wandered off into a blank, spaced-out state.

Toph had stopped scrounging up bubbles, intent on hearing her friend out.

Aang shrugged off his moment of contemplation and tried to continue.

"I just ask myself, 'What right do _you _have to tell other people to think?' You know? Like Azula said - I don't know everything about this whole situation. Katara thinks I should be putting my face out there because people know me from the news - from the things I've gotten involved with. I never _wanted _any of that. I'm just a mess. I don't even know where I'm going with my life - just letting the wind carry me. My friends expect me to be _doing _something, setting some..._example. _Being some role model. But that's not _me. _I don't want to tell other people what to do, I just...wish everyone could get along. I just want to be there for my friends, and-...But then maybe I _do _want something more than that, and I can't...-"

Toph clawed her hand over to Aang, scratching at his back with encouragement in the same manner Katara just had for her minutes earlier.

"Especially after the teachings my grandfather gave me," Aang concluded, "I worry that I'm not living up to what I _should _be, no matter what I do. I can't be the man he was - I can't even be the man I _want _to be. So people think I'm...some kind of wimp, or...not '_manly_,' because...all of my friends are _girls, _and I'm so...-"

"Don't let Bacon-for-Brains get to you. Don't let _me _get to you. We're all, like, bouncin' ideas and shit off of each other, but, Aang, bud...don't let this idea of 'harmony' and stuff make you think you're supposed to be some...some conglomeration of everyone else. You still gotta be _you. _Now, so, me? I'm more sensitive than I used to be, yea?"

"Mm. A lot more than you were when we first met."

"Right. But I'm still _me. _I let some of you, some of Kat, some of everybody rub off on me. I _let _it, at my own pace. I had to have..._ha_...a fucking _breakdown, _on myself, before I built myself back up. I did that. I had to make that choice. Don't let anyone else make those choices _for _you. You're already a man if you've figured out what you care about and why. That's what I think. I might joke around and stuff, but, end of the day, it doesn't really matter how tough you are, how big your reputation is, whether you're living up to whatever ideals of perfection your monk teaching is about..."

"I want my friends to be happy," Aang stated simply. "I love you, I love Katara, I love...this weird, stupid group we've...cobbled together. I want to keep that going, and help other people see that...it's possible for _them _to put their differences aside if it is for _us_. Nobody's perfect, but that doesn't mean we can't be here for each other and learn to understand where others are coming from."

"Right," Toph agreed with some vigor, eager to enjoy this rare moment where Aang's feelings lined up with her own.

"Perfection and power are overrated," Iroh stated. "I think you two are very wise to choose happiness and love."

"But...-" Aang murmured, twiddling his fingers together. "What happens if we can't convince the people to work out their differences?"

"I don't know the answer," Iroh replied. "Sometimes life is like a dark tunnel." The entrance door bell rang again, and Iroh noticed his niece and nephew walking in, side by side, Katara nudging them together from behind. "You can't always see the light at the end, but if you keep moving...-" Iroh grinned at his two bashful relatives, who were avoiding each other's gazes. "...you will come to a better place."

The three who had just been talking outside lingered by the table, behind Aang and Toph. Iroh studied their conflicted expressions, and Aang twisted his torso to look at them - Toph tilted her head to hear over her shoulder.

"Go ahead," Katara encouraged the two, patting them both on the shoulder. Azula's face contorted with disdain at Kat's touch, and she shirked away from their contact.

"Uncle," Zuko began. "We were discussing the conference coming up, and...we think maybe it'd be best if _you _spoke on behalf of our family."

Iroh's brows lowered, his face stiffening.

"No, Zuko," he replied. "It won't turn out well."

"You can _end_ this political squabbling," Azula insisted. "We could And we shall stand by your side."

Iroh shook his head slowly before explaining.

"Even if I tried to stop this - and I don't know that I _could_ - it would be the wrong way to end this situation. The press would see it as just more power-mongering. Us against them, them against us, a race for control between the university and the town's organizations. The only way for this situation to end peacefully is for the people to make amends, to come together as one. I am going to retire from my position at the school, breaking the Kurosawa family's influence from it entirely."

"...And then?" Zuko pressed. "Then would you join us? Help us build this new company?"

"No," Iroh persisted. "Someone _else _must do this. Not one single person, but a _group._ Miss Sato, a sympathetic engineer whose family has been a victim of our mistakes...allying with the Kurosawas, despite the trouble we have caused. Zuko, an idealist with a pure heart and a desire to pursue new beginnings...-" He stared at his nephew, who smirked bashfully. He turned his gaze to Azula, whose lips hung just the slightest bit open at his smile. "-...and Azula, an industrialist of unquestionable honor who understands the value of tradition. If the Kurosawa and Sato families can finally end this bad blood, we can all put this behind us. But it must be the _new_ generation who leaves the past where it lies. It has to be _you_, my niece and nephew. You are the passionate youths with the fresh perspectives this town needs."

Toph leaned over to Aang and whispered in his ear, "All I'm hearing is, 'bla-bla, political mumbo-jumbo, something about families.'"  
Aang snickered at her remark, rolling his eyes at her insistence on not being swept into the cerebral mindset.

"...A pure heart?" Zuko mumbled, still uneasy at Iroh's words. "But...I've pushed so many people away, I've...-" He glanced sideways to his sister with a remorseful glint in his eyes.

"And unquestionable honor?" Azula added. "I talk a big game, Uncle, but in truth, I've merely been...-"

Katara tried to gently ease Azula closer to Zuko, and linked their hands together with an eager, childish smile. Azula and Zuko flinched at first, but...their hands folded together. Katara took a step back as the two siblings lost themselves in a hug that neither had planned or anticipated, their wary souls tired of their arguing.

"We've been horrid to one another," Azula confessed, her lips twisting as her inner-turmoil barely bubbled to the surface. She could not remember the last time she and Zuko had..._touched. _Shown physical affection of any sort.

Zuko sighed shakily, wishing that he had merely opened himself to his estranged sibling sooner.

"We've made so many mistakes," he muttered over Azula's shoulder.

"Yes," Iroh agreed, his eyes watering at the sight before him. "You have." He nodded sagely, brushing his eyes, and stretched his hand out across the group. "You _all _have."

The Kurosawa siblings let their hug dissipate, each red-faced with embarrassment as they turned to listened to their uncle. The group fell quiet at Iroh's solemn words, and he elaborated.

"You've struggled..." He glanced to Katara. "You've suffered." He nodded to Aang. "But you have always followed your own paths." He smiled at Toph's bobbed head. "And you two...-" He looked up to Zuko and Azula. "Where Ozai and I failed to reconcile our differences, you two have reconciled _yours. _And only you two can restore the Kurosawa family's honor, because you have made the choice to live out what you will ask the people of Wayward to do: to accept, to forgive, to rebuild...to seek harmony, and balance. It is too late for Ozai and me - but it is not too late for you two. It is not too late for the Kurosawas and the Satos. And it is not too late for the people of Wayward."

"We'll try, Uncle," Zuko assured, exchanging a warming expression with his makeshift father.

"Miss Kesuk," Azula mumbled, clearing her throat and staring at her high-heels.

"...Yes?" Katara replied, confused.

"I...apologize for hasty remarks," Azula said, dabbed her thumb across the corners of her eyes, her makeup smudging a bit. She stared to Katara with earnest. "Just as I have hoped to continue my father's work, so, too, are you trying to continue your mother's. Your words may not be to my personal liking, _but_...these are words meant to encourage people. And I do not work well with people - but it seems as if you do. Perhaps yours are the words that must be spoken. And I am in a position to speak them."

"What she's meaning to ask," Zuko intruded with an amused look at Azula, "is if you would be willing to help my sister win the town's trust."

Katara nodded to both of the Kurosawas.

"It would be my pleasure," she replied eagerly.

"What about us?" Aang asked Iroh. "What can _we _do in all of this?"

"What do _you _think?" Iroh posed wryly.

"I'm a musician," Toph stated. "And I'm gonna do what I've _been _doing - using that music to get people's attention so they'll listen to what you guys have to say. Cutting their faces off with awesome so...that...they can wear..._new _faces...of peace?"

"That's a gross metaphor," Katara chuckled, walking over to Toph and patting her on the head. "And what about you, Aang?" she coyly wondered, scratching her nails through his air. He shrugged sheepishly and slipped out a nervous laugh.

"Uh...-" Aang grimaced with self-doubt. He began tugging at the collar of his buttoned shirt, undoing his tie as he felt constricted by its discomfort. "I'm not-...I mean, I haven't...figured out...-"

"Ih-it's all right," Katara warily eased, trying to retract that she'd just put him on the spot.

"No, no, it's fine," Aang sputtered out quickly, his words tumbling in speedy, jumpy syllables. "I want - _need _to - I've gotta _do _something - I'll - there's gotta be...-!"

Aang was whapped on the arm by Toph's palm.

"Just _breathe, _Twinkle-Toes," Toph suggested with some amusement. "I'm sure an idea'll hit ya."

Aang's face snapped with realization.

_Just breathe. I'm sure an idea'll hit ya._

His brain had instantly jumped to thoughts of meditating with Korra, of boxing, of hitting her with his fists, of breathing out their stresses.

"...Yea," Aang slowly agreed, his eyes glazing over with consideration.

Katara sat down on Aang's left and took his hand beneath the table. She stroked her thumb over his wrist as the Kurosawas rounded back to sit with their Uncle.

"Iroh," Zuko spoke back up. "If Azula and I are going to start this new company with Asami, and you're going to retire from the school...what are you going to do?"

Iroh took a deep, steady breath as his eyes spaced out to something no one but him could see.

"I think I will focus my efforts on the Jasmine Dragon," he concluded. "If FutureComm is going to be attracting more people to our town, they will need the right drinks to get their work done!" He grinned, bending over the table and tapping his finger at his empty plastic tea cup. "And if I have _competition _now, I'd best redouble my efforts to show this town what _true _tea tastes like."

The group had a short laugh at Iroh's hushed enthusiasm, and as Iroh rose up from his seat, the rest followed suit.

"In older days," Iroh recanted, "I used to dream of two embittered Kurosawa siblings setting aside their differences toward a means of peace and prosperity. Destiny is a funny thing - my dream is coming to pass, but not at all how I thought it would. And yet, I think things will be all the better for it."

"Things we lose have a way of coming back to us," Katara quoted Luna Lovegood. She opened the shop's glass door for the rest to follow. "If not always in the way we expect."

"I suppose we can adjust to getting used to the unexpected," Azula remarked, glancing to Zuko. Her bodyguard that had been standing by the shop's entrance silently and obediently led them down the sidewalk, not uttering a word, and evidently not wishing to be recognized.

"I do not think that random chance has brought us all together," Iroh mused as they started off down the sidewalk. "Destiny has been at our side - I know it has. But it is a destiny that we are choosing for ourselves, and building together."

"That's moving the extra mile," Aang decided. "That extra mile that puts 'harmony' further than 'peace.'" Aang smiled to Katara, who was walking between him and Toph, holding hands with both of them. Aang went on, staring into Katara's eyes all the while. "And like you were saying, Iroh...even if we don't quite find the light we're looking for, as long as we're moving forward, we're still going to find a better place."

"If this 'better place' has better tea," Toph confirmed, "I will be _all _for it."

"You know, Miss Beifong," said Iroh, "as much as I agree with you, I must also point out: it is the truest of delights when tea is shared with good _people. _Especially during these dark times, the hearts we share drinks with help bring out just a little bit of light in every cup - those are the lanterns illuminating our paths, helping us see our way to that better place."

"Uhhh, that's pretty great and all," Toph said, her face assuming an amused smirk. "But I _think _a bit of your light-dark metaphor is gonna be lost on me."

Katara let slide a "_Psh_" at her roommate's remark, swinging Toph's hand to and fro as they walked_._

"_Waha_," Iroh belted out at Toph's words. "We all find our paths in different ways, don't we?"

* * *

_"Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open."_  
- J.K. Rowling


	131. Imagine (Part 4)

**A/N: Here is part 4 of the multi-faceted chapter 'Imagine.' There will be one more update to this chapter, and then two more chapters after that will finish the story off. ****Also, this chapter contains some Chinese/Japanese text characters. If I have in any way misused them, please feel free to correct me and point me in the direction of a better word! And yes, there are supposed to be Chinese _and _Japanese words used.**  


**Three more updates remain after this one. I hope to hear from you guys when we reach the ending! I haven't heard from the readership much lately, and my life has become a lot more busy and stressful as of late, so every little comment means a lot these days and helps motivate me to keep at it.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 128 - Imagine_  
_(Part 4)_

* * *

- Tuesday, June 21st -

"'Bout goddamn time," Jane called out to Sokka from across the cafeteria. "Was figurin' you slept in."

Sokka grinned, his enthusiasm radiating at his breakfast despite his sleep-deprived face.

He replied, "And miss out on my last opportunity to eat SRU-grade bacon? Not a chance."

"Why are you so fuckin' late?" Jane asked with some disappointment as she watched Sokka set himself down. "I'm done eating now," she remarked, lifting up her last forkful of omelet at him before swallowing it.

"Go get seconds," Sokka jovially advised. "And didn't you get my text? I warned you I was gonna be late, soon as I woke up. Uh...'Cuz I _did _sleep in, heh. By accident."

"Oh." Jane frowned with dulled eyes. "Nah, didn't get that text. My phone's-...Uh...Haven't been usin' it lately."

"How come?" Sokka wondered, lining up his hand-made breakfast burrito in a neat row beside his organized stack of bacon.

"Eh, it's...-" Jane fluttered a sigh through her lips, shaking her head. "I just think it'll be better for me if I didn't have it for a while."

Sokka was confused by this, but let the girl be as he took a whiff of his piping hot cappuccino. His nose alone could detect that it was too hot to drink just yet.

When he looked back up to Jane, she was hunched over the edge of her chair, halfway from getting out of it. She was bouncing her knee on the tip of her foot in quick, habitual rhythm. Sokka took a slice of bacon, dipped it in a cup of syrup on the side of his tray, and tore into it. He tried to exchange glances with Jane, but she was avoiding his gaze, scratching at her eyebrow.

"Is there somewhere you've gotta be?" Sokka asked with one half of his mouth - the other occupied by syrup-bacon.

"_Unh?_" Jane snapped out of her stupor. Shaking her head slightly, she mumbled, "Oh...Nah."

Sokka swallowed his deliciously sweet meat, took note of the awkward silence that hung over the pair of them, then gestured his fork off toward the food prep area.

"Erm, there's...like, no line right now," Sokka pointed out. "Seriously, go get some more food. I'm not going anywhere."

Jane blinked at Sokka - another weird silence - before she groaned groggily, dragging her tray off without a word.

This left Sokka alone to his thoughts for a couple of minutes as he ate.

_Freaking perfect, Sokka. You're a dick when she's spilling her guts out to everybody, you avoid her, and then you're late to your last meal with her.  
Photo finish to a long road of me screwing the pooch.  
_

Sokka's memories ignited with so many instances of frustration he had experienced with Jane. He knew he was the one who got along with her the worst. Or maybe the 'least well.' Yea, sure. He was in a shockingly optimistic mood today - probably nostalgia setting in as a result of the impending fact that he'd be gone in just a few days.

Jane uneventfully returned, setting down an 'everything' bagel with marmalade sitting on a tiny plate with a cup of dark coffee to compliment it.

"Yea, so...-" Sokka cleared his throat, working up to the single thought that had been dominating his mind by the time Jane had shown back up. "Thanks for putting up with my crap."

Jane shrugged passively, picking up her bagel.

"Not like it's the first time you've been late," she remarked casually, taking a bite. Sokka took her words, dull and blunt, and sharpened them with his self-induced frustrations, stabbing his metaphorical stomach with what she'd said.

"Mm-hm," he agreed sullenly, sipping his cappuccino. Very thick, sugary stuff. He was going to miss it. "I've been late with..._lots _of things, when it comes to you. Eh?"

Jane's chewing slowed to a stop as she gave him a questioning look. She swallowed, but remained paused, not saying a word.

Sokka tapped his index finger against the table absentmindedly, gazing thoughtfully at his vanilla-flavored beverage.

"I was late to trust you," Sokka explained, the words were having some difficulty getting out. "And...-" He shrugged up one shoulder, continuing to evade her drab olive eyes. It made it easier for him to be honest. "I was late to understand you. To..._care _about you. Prolly worst of all, though...was that I was late to _respect _you. Everyone else was kinda on that page long before I was."

Jane, evidently overwhelmed by seeing Sokka acting to solemn, had gone back to eating, just to give her body something to do other than gawk.

Sokka ran his hand across his unshaven neckbeard and sighed out an "_Ech_..."

"Not like I did ya any favors," Jane noted in a murmur, also staring at her food rather than her friend.

"Sure, but...I was a real jerk to you."

"More like a dickish asswipe," Jane corrected, her tone spiced with both a playfulness and a bitterness of times past.

"_Fff, _more like," Sokka agreed. He gulped some of his energizingly dense drink. "I should've said something that night in the lounge, when you...-" Sokka trailed off.

They both consumed a bit more of their meals.

"Some of what you said really bothered me," Sokka admitted, at last looking at his freckled friend.

"I noticed," Jane quietly acknowledged, any hint of hostility withdrawn into a humbled state. "Ain't proud o' the shit I've done, ya know."

"Neither am I," Sokka attempted to sympathize. "I'm sorry for being such a tool. For all the times I picked on you about being a boy...only to turn around and...grab your ass the next day." Both of their expressions twitched with discomfort at that memory. "For getting too defensive about Kat, and taking that out on you, for...for saying, just..._stupid _bullshit I shouldn't say. Like...about your looks, and...-"

Jane's brows were lowered, her face glazed over in conflicted earnest.

"For being _totally right _about what a scumbag I was?" Jane countered. "Sokka, you've said and done some dumb-ass things, but...nothing you ever did got someone _literally _hurt. Kat, Aang, Korra...fuck, even you and Toph have been...-" Jane was clenching her wrist up in aggravation. "-..._physically _messed up in some way or another 'cuz of...after-waves, or whatever...of my bullshit."

Sokka's brain found itself curiously scanning its memory banks. Kat had gotten her head cut open by a bottle and nearly burned alive. Aang had gotten his back scarred by fire. Korra had been in hella scraps. Toph had been knocked off a stage. And Sokka had nearly gotten a concussion by being smacked with the fat-ass weight of one of the guys in Jane's rival gang. Ol' Ginger had done her math right: they'd all brushed against or been dunked right into the fires of her violent past.

"Yea, you were late to trusting me," Jane confirmed. "N' yea, you didn't respect me for a long time. But..._shit, _man. I didn't _deserve _it back then. Our whole group has gotten in deep, all 'cuz o' _my _shit."

"Well...-" Sokka dipped his head left and right. "I'm not one to turn down an apology. Or refuse being told I was right. _Or _revel in the opportunity to say '_I told you so_.' Which I did, by the way."

"Yea...You did," Jane begrudgingly conceded. "If everybody had listened to 'Sokka's instincts' earlier...maybe none o' this crap woulda happened in the first place."

"_True _story, very true," Sokka interjected, hastily following up with sobriety, "But you also might not have made it out. Kat specifically _didn't _listen to me - she refused to leave you twistin' in the wind, eh? She was..._so_ goddamn stubborn about taking you in, making you 'one of our own' and stuff, and it didn't matter how right I was about things. But if she hadn't done that, and if you hadn't let her...who _knows _where you'd be right now? You coulda ended up like Jet did."

"...True _story_," Jane repeated his motion, scratching at her arm pit with a sigh. She ate more of her bagel, and he dug into his breakfast burrito.

"I've been trying to work all of this out in my brain," Sokka elaborated, flicking the sides of his wrists out. "You know, like why I say and do some of the things I do. And at the end of the day? I'm...sort of a misogynist jackass."

"Ass-wipe," Jane correct with a snark to her tone.

"Right, that one. And...I dunno. I just am. Little sexist, little racist, that's...just part of who I am. It's dumb, but there it is. And you accept it."

"Can't accept the good parts without the bad," Jane shrugged off the idea as simple common sense.

"Well, _yea_," Sokka agreed. "So...I'm sorry. I could've...been a little more accepting of you. Mrrr...I dunno."

"You never really _lied _or hid your bad stuff," Jane pointed out. "I've...kept mine all locked up, n'...-"

"You sorta _have _to, though, don't ya?"

"What do...-?"

"What you've done," Sokka stated, his eyes darting around the barren cafeteria tables. "You're..._sorry _for what you did. Right?"

Jane swallowed a clump of bagel and had to cough and pound at her stinging chest when it went down the wrong pipe.

"You all right, there?" Sokka checked on her.

Jane nodded, her eyes damp at the edges as she realigned the food to go down correctly.

"Every day," Jane wheezed out quietly, then sipped some of her hot coffee to help things go down. "Feel sorry I did it, every day. Wasn't right," Jane went on. "What I did was...fuckin' _wrong. _Just like what he did to me. N', well...Two wrongs? No right found in that. None at all. Would take it back if I could..."

"Why?" Sokka asked, honestly curious as to her reasoning.

"It's...like what Aang said, man. I mean...-" Jane cast a precautionary look around the desolate sea of tables around them. A couple of students were seated on the opposite side of the place. Jane rubbed her finger across her forehead, creasing her brows, then stared deep into Sokka's eyes. "Every single person deserves a second chance," Jane stated firmly. "_Every _one. 'N I robbed that second chance from the guy who hurt me. Makes me no better than him. But I get to _have _a second chance, n' he doesn't. One was _given _to me, even though I took one away from somebody else."

Sokka's jaws were clenched to match Jane's, her burning emotion, like a dying fire, leaking across the table toward him.

"...Do you feel bad for the guy?" Sokka asked quietly, having stopped eating his meal entirely a few sentences back.

Jane sighed, her face wrinkling with a complex mixture of emotions.

"Dunno," Jane confessed bitterly. "Maybe he deserved it - but then, that means I did, too. Right? Tell ya what, though: I feel bad for _me."_ Jane pressed her palm against her chest._ "_What I've done? All of it? That shit's...a _part _of me now. I ain't a better person for it. I'm worse."

"And...that's what Aang was all in a tizzy about when you and Korra were...-"

"Exactly. Aang...He could see it even when I couldn't, and he was right - just like you've been right."

"Difference is," Sokka butted in, "Aang actually, ya know, wasn't a _douche _about it."

"Well, there's that," Jane off-handedly acknowledged. She wasn't gonna deny it, just like he wasn't gonna deny that he'd been right about her.

"So how...-?" Sokka's eyes widened, his brain trying to sort things out as he glared into blank space. "I'm still having some, erm, _difficulties_ here, dealing with some of what you used to do, but...how do _you _deal with it? I mean, all this _time_...-?"

Jane nodded knowingly.

"How do I _live_ with myself?" Jane posed, toning it in such a way as to imply she was predicting Sokka's thoughts. "Simple shit, Meat-Head: I've got _you _guys now. If ya'll can learn to live with me, to accept me for who I am...what I've done...there's no reason I can't find a way to do that, myself."

"And there's no reason I can't, either."

"Pretty much."

"Yea, that's...what I've been getting at with all this."

"I know. I hear ya, Sokka."

"Heh. Of _course _you 'hear' me. I've been told my voice is hard to ignore."

"_Tsh. _Speakin' of...What's up with you n' Dead-Eyes, anyway?"

"_Meh, _I'll...let you know when I figure it out." Sokka chewed into his breakfast burrito, relying on the combination of lukewarm tortilla, scrambled eggs, hot sauce, cheese, and sausage bits to soothe his troubled mind.

Jane noted Sokka's glazed over look, while recalling Toph's bitter ranting about what an idiot he was being. Whatever was up with those two seemed weird and...dumb. But then, Jane wasn't at all in a place to say nothin', right? Not after whatever had happened with her and Korra, or her and Longshot. So saying nothin' was exactly what Jane did. Far as she was concerned, Toph and Sokka had somethin' special - if they couldn't get that, and appreciate it while they had it...

"But _us_," Sokka spoke back up, having swallowed his bite. He wriggled his finger back and forth between himself and Jane. "We're...good?"

Jane's brows furrowed at his curious, wary expression.

"I, uhh-...Were we..._not _good?"

"No, we were - at least, I _thought _we were - I was only-...See, my point here was to make sure we're on the same page. That we're square."

"We're, uh-..._Yea, _we're square," Jane agreed, baffled as to his solemnity.

"Seriously, I'm sorry for being a dick."

"Me, too, man," Jane chuckled. "It's all fine, no worries."

Sokka inhaled a deep breath and sighed out his relief.

"Cool," he breathed out. "Great. It feels good to have it off my chest, clear the air, all that..." After nodding to himself, he chowed down on his burrito again. He picked up a tiny bit of sausage off his plate that had tumbled out of his burrito. He lifted it over Jane's bagel, and dropped it. It plopped right into the marmalade and stuck there.

Jane stared at the bit of meat now lodged in her orange preserve and blinked at it with a droll expression. She glanced back up to Sokka, who was smirking mischievously as he repeated the process, dropping another piece on.

With a deep breath through her nose, Jane leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms over her chest, and smiled, content to watch Sokka meddle with her meal.

Jane smiled at Sokka's sneaky grin, and insulted him for old time's sake.

"Ass."

* * *

_"Often, it's not about becoming a new person, but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don't know how to be."_  
~ Heath L. Buckmaster

* * *

"Cycle back, cycle back," Korra instructed.

Aang paused, catching his breath back as he rounded away from the punching bag, preparing to start the process over.

"Quick feet, quick feet," Korra snapped. "Fancy-dancin'."

Aang's sneakers squeaked on the gym's old tiles, his body bobbing and bouncing on his toes. He rotated his fists in circles, dipping his head left and right.

"One-two," Korra cried. "Let it flow!"

_Pap-PAP, pap-PAP, pap-PAP._

Blurs of bright green pounded at the boxing bag, stinging strikes twirling in a rhythm.

"Rock-like," Korra bellowed. "Defense, defense."

Aang tucked his elbows in, raising his gloves to guard the sides of his face, but glared at the boxing bag all the while.

"Feel that burn! Let it loose!"

Aang followed Korra's command and ripped out a fury of green-gloved punches. His legs were sore, his arms were like rubber, his head throbbed, his hands ached, and he poured out everything. His mind emptied, entering another state of process where his body acted all his own.

Before he knew it, he was leaning against Korra's side, her solid frame supporting his dizzied lightweight stature.

"Fuckin' eh, Little Man," Korra chuckled. "I've gotta teach you to pace yourself better..." She tried to give him a fresh bottle of water but he shrugged it off.

"I'm fine," Aang barely breathed out, his chest heaving as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

Korra was amused by his go-getting attitude, but the kid needed a break after the drills they'd been cycling through. She went to lead him to the nearby bench, but his legs buckled, and he slid down, his bony behind hitting the recently mopped tiles_._

Korra towered beside him, watching his green gloves flop against the floor as he panted with a devilish glint in his eyes. She lightly tapped her knuckle on the top of his sweaty head and sat herself down beside him.

"I _think _we're done for today, eh?" Korra warily decided, crossing her legs and assuming a meditative posture.

"...gotta...spar...still..." Aang's attempt at speech resulted in him choking a little on his own saliva from how deeply he was gasping to recoup his breath.

"_P__ff_." Korra's eyes widened at his insistence. She took the bottle of water he had refused a moment earlier and dropped it into his lap. "How about you _breathe _for a sec? Drink your water, let's do our meditation, n' _then _we'll see if you can even stand up."

"..._Blegh_..." Aang wiped his neon green glove across his mouth, drying it of the drool that was pooling at his lips.

"Why don't you take those _gloves _off, ya loonie?"

At Korra's inquiry, Aang gave her a grouchy, exhausted glare, then did as she advised so that he could unscrew the cap of the water bottle she'd provided.

As Aang guzzled down half the bottle in one go, Korra stared at the gloves in his lap. They were the exact same ones he'd used last time, and he'd been dead-set on them.

"Anyway, what's with you being so picky about the green gloves?"

Aang took a moment from his drink to gasp in air, and set the bottle down.

"You-..._Agh, _you wouldn't...get it," he puffed out.

"Well...-" Korra shrugged up one shoulder. "Try me."

Aang saw the honest curiosity in Korra's face.

"You'll...think...it's dumb," he murmured.

"Just _tell _me," Korra goaded.

Aang cleared his throat, took another sip of water, and studied Korra's questioning eyes again. He nodded slowly, tipped his head to the side, and sighed out a yawn.

"So, it's-...See, there's this...Nintendo character, he's...a boxer."

"What, like...Mario?"

"No, no," Aang laughed lightly. "He's...just this kid. Tiny guy. He's-...Green gloves, that's his iconic..._thing_. Well, that and...the pink jogging suit, but...-"

Korra smirked, amused by Aang's slow, tired rambling. She wasn't following, but that was all right.

"His name's Little Mac," Aang explained. He gulped more water down and went on. "He, uh-...So he fights...these guys? And they're all bigger than him. Sometimes _way _bigger. So...he's gotta, like...hit 'em _so _many times, just to faze 'em, but...they hit _him_, maybe...two, three times, and he goes down..."

"Whoa, wait," Korra interjected. "What's this shrimp doing trying to take on stuff bigger than he is?"

"I, uh...-" Aang shrugged. "I dunno, Korra. I guess that's just the sorta kid he is. He doesn't complain, he doesn't run away, he just...accepts it, and goes for it."

"I bet he gets his little _ass _kicked a lot, then..."

"_Heh, _yea...Yea, he does. It's, uh-...So, it's one of those games where you're gonna lose. A lot. Right? You keep losing, keep making mistakes...you _see _the mistakes _while _you make 'em, and you still lose, over and over..."

Korra's eyes glazed over with some empathy at the thought, letting her friend continue.

"And your, uh-...Your trainer, Doc? He's always, like...trying to encourage you. 'Every loss is a small win,' he says."

"...Yea." Korra nodded a slow, thoughtful nod.

"So Little Mac gets back up. Fights again. Fights fast. He dodges, he ducks...fast little punches. He keeps trying, even though he's pint-sized. He just...accepts the odds stacked against him, and he...keeps at it until he finds a way around them."

"Everybody loves an underdog," Korra acknowledged quietly, observing Aang's profile. He was hunched over, letting his breathing steady out. In his tanktop, part of his back was exposed - Korra could see a hint of his recovering scar tissue. "That kinda stuff...It can inspire people, huh?"

"Mm," Aang hummed, his face buried in his arms, elbows on his knees.

"I guess that's why Kat thinks you should be part of this 'Harmony Movement' thing, eh?"

Aang shrugged up his sore shoulders and sighed into his arms.

"Yea, but, that's...-" His voice was muffled, his face still hidden. "I'm no hero or anything, I'm not...special, I'm...-"

"You're just one Little Man," said Korra, following his train of thought.

"I'm just one kid," Aang agreed with another mopey sigh.

"That's all _anybody _is," Korra pointed out. "No matter _who _you are, that's where we all start off: we're just one kid until we figure out what we wanna be from there. You don't gotta be some hot-shot ball-buster to make a difference. And speaking from experience, trying to _be _a hot-shot hero? That shit is..._not _all it's cracked up to be, anyway."

Aang sniffed up air through his nostrils as he lifted up his face from his arms. He groaned as he allowed his legs to slide into a crossed position, and he drank down the last of his water.

"C'mon, Aang," Korra said, wishing for her friend to break out of this self-pitying state. "What's holdin' ya back?"

"I'm just worried that people expect me to be something I'm not," Aang expressed. "I keep ending up back at this feeling, like I'm...stuck on a loop."

"_Mm_," Korra grunted instantly, fully aware of how that felt. "I hear _that. _But...This is just like when you were teaching me to meditate."

"How?"

"I was over-thinking it. You're over-thinking _this. _Just..._do_."

"I don't _know _what to 'do.'"

"I get that," Korra eased.

"I _want _to act," Aang growled. "I want to help. I'm just not sure how."

"So...This Little Mac guy, he's puny. How did you say he wins?"

"He...he dodges, and then he...strikes at the right instant."

"Yea, see? He doesn't try to be something he's not: he's little. He's _fast. _That's what he does, that's what he uses. Maybe instead of thinking about what Katara would do, or what Toph would do, or what _I _would do...whatever. Your whole spiel on us all growing with each other, and everything - that's good stuff. I didn't really _get _that until after I moved out here. But I do now. And I _also _get that none of that works if you spend all your time moping about how you can't be like everyone else. Just let you _be you_, Aang. You can throw a punch even if punching's not your thing - but you still oughtta punch in your _own _way."

"_Tch..._Figures that you'd find a way to make this about punching."

"Punching's what I do," Korra stated matter-of-factly, with a merry smile about her. "What do _you _do?_"_

"I'm-...I jog? I used to want to be on the track team, but...-"

"So, you're fast, too."

"I...I guess, I don't...-"

"What _else _are ya, though?"

"I'm...an artist. Obviously."

"Obviously. And _t__here _ya go, eh? That's just it, right there. Use that. Your buddy Little Mac is fast - he uses it. Me? I pack a punch - I _use _that. You like drawing and doing graffiti and like, symbolic pictures and stuff. Fucking _use that, _Aang."

"W-well, but...what am I supposed to do with the conference in just a few days?"

"I dunno. I'm not you."

"I can't _do _anything big. It's too late. There's not enough time."

"So _don't _do something big. Do something more your size. Something artsy, something fast. Something _you_. It doesn't have to be some huge heroic whatever-the-fuck to make a difference. I'm teaching you how to box - you're teaching me how to meditate. But we still do what we do like _us._"

"Yea, yea," Aang puffed out. Korra was started to repeat herself a bit, but that was Aang's own fault for repeating his downer-attitude.

"Am I making _any _sense here?" Korra wondered, hoping that if she stubborn enough about this, it would sink in.

"Eh..." Aang smiled slyly. "_Enough _sense, I suppose."

Korra nodded self-approvingly. "Good enough is good _enough_, though."

Aang allowed his exhausted body to lean against Korra's sturdy arm, and she cautiously planted her hand on his back.

"You're right," Aang agreed, amused by Korra's blunt and obvious statement. "Sooner or later, any artist has to...just decide that something's 'good enough' and just go through with it. Or else we'd never get anything done."

"Right? And I'm more on the 'getting things done' side of stuff."

"_Ha, _yea. I noticed that much, Korra."

"There's nothing wrong with the 'thinking' bit, though," Korra conceded. "That's the part that makes your art _mean _something, eh?"

"Meaning 'something' is good enough," Aang thought aloud, "Even if it's not 'everything.'"

"Sure, that's the one we're going for." Korra lifted up the side of her fist toward Aang. He bopped it with the side of his own fist.

The pair sat in silence for a few moments as Aang slipped his bright green rental gloves back on. He bopped them together and took in a deep, thoughtful breath. Korra grinned at the adorable look of determination about him, and she slung her chunky arm over his bony shoulders. She squeezed him tight, eliciting him to choke and sputter a bit - she followed up by rubbing her knuckles hard into his head, a stinging noogie. He squirmed and jabbed his gloved fists at her in a pair of body blows, using her momentary flinch to push himself out of her grip. Korra noted how he instantly pulled his arms up into a defensive stance after his escape. She set up her own dukes, and faked a punch, smirking as she watched him react with a swift bob of his head. She let her fists drop into her lap and laughed, and Aang relaxed his body in kind, confused and amused at once.

"Heh. Toph was right," Korra announced. "You _do _got the stuff. I'm proud of you, Little Man."

"For what?" Aang asked with a humbled chuckle.

"You're learning to stand up for yourself more."

Aang scratched at his disheveled hair with his green glove and shrugged, nodding in agreement.

"Yea," he said, his tone peppered with some confidence. "I think I _am. _And I'm proud of _you, _LadyBro."

"And why is _that_?" Korra slyly retorted, cocking her head to the side as she twirled her abdomen toward him.

"Because _you're _learning to stand up for people _besides _yourself."

"Heh." Korra rubbed her thumb across her nose and grinned wide. "Bit by bit for both of us, eh?"

"That's 'good enough' for me."

* * *

_"Frankie likes to say that boxing is an unnatural act - that everything in boxing is backwards: sometimes the best way to deliver a punch is to step back...But step back too far and you ain't fighting at all."_  
~ Million Dollar Baby

* * *

- Wednesday, June 22nd -

The ACC was pretty dead that afternoon. Mr. Saikhan was at his security office, reviewing documents by his lonesome. Professor Zei was manning the Info Desk at the front of the building, poring through a copy of _Dune_. An elderly janitor - 'Old Sweepy,' as he referred to himself - was mopping up the tile flooring by the campus center's entrance. A couple of students were snuggling together on a couch by the open lounge's unlit fireplace. Katara could tell from the way they were stacked over each other that they were certainly appreciating the building's lack of populace. She found herself wishing for a moment that her life could slow down long enough for her to enjoy some one-on-one time with Aang, but...that just wasn't going to happen for another few days. And that was all right - there were more important things to be concerned about than snogging, as delightful as snogging was.

Leaving that thought behind, Katara tracked down that which she had come for: a lonely Toph, trudging her way up from the center basement with a disgruntled look about her. That wasn't good. Katara's heart sank at the sight of her dreary, forlorn friend.

Katara braced herself - in the mental and emotional capacity - and with her chin up, she approached Toph at the edge of the ACC.

"Hey, Toph," she greeted cheerfully. No sooner than she'd made her presence known did Katara note Toph's posture and expression readjust themselves into a makeshift 'calm.' Katara asked, "How's my MudSlug getting by today? Hm?" She gave Toph a tight, brief hug, and Toph lightly reciprocated.

Katara's chirpy optimism wasn't well received, however.

"Eh," Toph replied dryly as their hug split.

"Uhh...Soooo...-" Katara rolled on her heels nervously. The two lingered by the door to one of the center's stairwells. "How was your lunch?" Katara was intensely curious as to how Toph's final meal with Sokka had gone, but she was trying her best to contain her concerns.

"It was fine," Toph said, her lips parched with disappointment. "We, um-...Yea. It was good."

"Ah." Katara was not at all convinced.

Toph reached out her arm at Katara, and Kat offered Toph a receptive elbow. Toph took to her friend's arm like a sleepy child to a pillow.

"He said he might not make it to our thing tomorrow," Toph plainly explained. "Ya know. Has to finish cleaning out his room, doesn't wanna miss his flight, n' shit..."

"Gotcha." Katara was staring so intently at those pale, moon-like eyes that she worried Toph might somehow sense just how worried Katara was.

Toph gave Katara's arm a tug, jarring her roommate from her stupor.

Toph asked, "We goin', or what?"

Katara grunted out some kind of affirmation, then lead Toph outside. The humid air gave them a little resistance, but they pressed on.

"Music building, right?" Kat checked, her eyes readjusting to the bright midday sun of early summer.

"Yep," Toph plainly affirmed.

Katara cleared her throat.

_Well? Leaving me hanging, Toph? What happened? Did you tell him how you feel? You're seriously not just giving up, are you?_

But when Katara tried to open her mouth to press Toph for info, she realized just how defeated Toph appeared. She looked dreary.

Toph looked downright...well, dead-eyed.

By now, Katara knew better than to try speaking when Toph had that look on her face. Toph didn't need words right now, she simply needed the comfort of a friend's arm. Katara was eager to oblige in silence, and Toph was grateful to have a roommate that had come to understand her so well.___  
_

The campus was quiet that day. By this point in the year, most students were off on summer break. A few still remained to finish up June Term assignments, extra curricular studies, that sort of thing. Despite the lack of student presence, Katara was still enamored with the cheery campus. She preferred how it looked at winter time, but this had been the longest she had ever lingered around after the school year, and thus was her first look at SRU in its summertime.

The air was still. Not really any wind, no signs of rain...A sunny day, but not overly so. Some clouds. A plain afternoon, though a bit muggy. The scent of mowed grass radiated from the quad as they passed it by. The sidewalk they traversed was scattered with green blades of the shaved stuff.

Oh. There it was: a little wind. Ah, it was nice, especially given the humidity.

Toph's grip around Katara's arm grew tighter. Desperate, even. Katara returned the motion, clasping her fingers around the back of Toph's wrist.

Toph coughed, then coughed again, the second much more akin to a sob. She lazily rubbed her other wrist across her face.

"Fuckin' grass," Toph grumbled between a couple more coughs. Kat knew Toph actually _loved _the earthy smell of cut grass, though.

The pair walked side by side in tense silence for a few seconds as Katara intently studied her surrogate sister's face, a couple of tears dripping off, which went ignored by their owner.

Katara took in a deep breath, her brain whirling with disappointment and sorrow. What could she do to help?

Well, for a start, she could wipe those tears off Toph's face, which she did straight away.

Toph weakly laughed in spite of this gesture.

"..._A__ghhhh, _fuck me," Toph groaned under her breath. "I'm a hot mess."

"You are," Katara meekly agreed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Emphasis on the _mess _part today," Toph shakily mumbled.

"That bad, huh?"

"No, no," Toph puffed with a sniffle. "Not bad, but...not _good, _just...neither of us-..._Echh._"

Katara's expression twisted with sympathy as the music building drew closer. And then, at the recognition of the fact that they were about to into the music building to practice, an idea hit Katara right in the face.

With her arm linked to Toph's, Katara began to sing. They were rough notes, not at all spot-on in tone or timing. But they were earnest notes.

_"~Hey, Jude; Don't make it bad~"_

"...Katara?"

_"~Take a sad song and make it better~"_

"Whhhhat are you doing?" Toph croaked through a bewildered laugh.

_"~Remember to let her into your heart; Then you can start to make it better~"_

"Wooow. You are..._really _doing this. Just, wow."

The two of them had reached the music building by now, and Katara opened the glass doors, easing Toph into the air-conditioned building.

_"~Hey, Jude~"_

Katara's imperfect singing echoed off the tiles and through the tall atrium. Toph was smiling, cheeks pink, eyes getting watery all over again.

_"~Don't be afraid~"_

Katara shifted her arm from within Toph's grasp and clutched the blind girl's shoulder.

_"~You were made to go and get her~"_

Katara ushered the two of them into the building's stairwell, where her words echoed all the more.

_"~The minute you her under your skin, then you begin to make it better~"_

As she was led upstairs, Toph brushed tears from her face and snickered bashfully.

"Katara...You. Are. A genius. A dorky, off-key genius."

They were both smiling foolish grins, unfettered by embarrassment of anyone who might be hearing them.

_"~And any time you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain~"_

Katara led Toph to her designated floor, around the corner, and to her practice room, singing all the while.

_"~Don't carry the world upon your shoulders~"_

Kat squeezed Toph's aforementioned shoulders as she nudged her roommate into her practice room.

_"~For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool by making his world a little colder~"_

Toph eagerly took her seat at her practice piano and found her home keys. Kat waited a few moments, delaying her song, and belted out a melody of 'Na's', then paused.

Toph repeated the last few notes of the melody, flowing right into accompaniment.

_"~Hey, Jude, don't let me down~"_ Katara gripped her sister's shoulders as one sang and the other played. _"~You have found her, now go and get her~"_  
Toph started to sing. **"~Let it out and let it in~"** And followed Katara's lead, playing accompaniment while singing.

_"~Remember to let her into your heart, **then you can start to make it better~"**_

Despite Katara's lack of formal singing practice, Toph was rather elated to partake in the impromptu moment of music.

They eventually reached the song's end, a seemingly endless spiral of 'Na na na-na's' that eventually subsided as Toph stopped playing piano. They both found their way to a slowed ending in tandem. A moment of gentle, warm quiet hung between them, and when the time was just right, they both found themselves giggling.

In the moment of affectionate and supportive laughter that followed, their once disparate chords of existence rang together in harmony.

* * *

_"Sometimes being a friend means mastering the art of timing. There is a time for silence. A time to let go and allow people to hurl themselves into their own destiny. And a time to prepare to pick up the pieces when it's all over."_  
~ Gloria Naylor

* * *

- Thursday, June 23rd -

The pair of eccentric, chirping young ladies were walking side by side through town, heading for the theater. Their coordinated hues of purple and pink complimented each other finely.

"But why does she care about her looks?" Ty-Lee was wondering.

"Don't _you?_" Meng retorted, just as confused.

"Of course I do," Ty bluntly confessed with a shrug. "Buuuut, like...I'm not _like _Toph."

"Toph's blind, but she's not ignorant," Meng advised.

"No, right, I _totally _know that, it's-...but-...She'll go off about how she doesn't _care _what people think of her."

"That's just Toph puffing out her chest," Meng casually dismissed Ty's assumption. "Toph kicks up a lot of dirt and acts like a rebel _because _she cares what people think of her. She's comfortable with who she is, and just gets pissed off when other people aren't."

"...Buuut...-" Ty-Lee was tapping her pinky on her lips, trying to figure this out. "Then why can she be such a jerk about it?"

"For her, it's about freedom," Meng theorized. "Remember her parents, and everything?"

"Ah, ah, right, yea..."

"Toph figures that _some _attention is better than none. And it is _way way _easier to be a jerk to get attention than to...try being nice..." Meng's body language withered a little at the realization that Toph seemed to have a lot more friends than she did.

"I think _both _are good to have," Ty-Lee cheered Meng up. "I like you being nice. You should stay nice."

"Ha. That shouldn't be a problem for me," said Meng absent-mindedly. "It's sort of how I was raised, and stuff..."

"Wasn't Toph raised to be that way, too?"

"_Uhhh, _well? Hm." Meng's cheek puffed out as she tried to explain. "Her dad was a lot more protective than my mom was. I'm still on good terms with my mom - I always have been. But Tophie...still struggles with her dad, even now." Meng shrugged. It would still be a process, but Meng was proud of the steps she'd helped Uncle Lao and Toph make together in recent weeks. And Aunt Poppy seemed fully on board already, so that was...well, 'nice.'

"But, like, it _still _doesn't make any sense," Ty-Lee bemoaned. "I think I can see, like, why Toph would care about _acting _a certain way for people. I dunno, like...putting on a _show _and stuff. But what about her _looks_?"

"It's like I said," Meng insisted. "Toph _does _care what people think of her, so...that means that part of her cares about how she looks, since...well, that's sometimes how it works. You get judged based on how you look."

"_Hmmmm, _I _seee_~" Ty-Lee nodded vigorously, thinking on this. She snapped her finger and bopped herself in the forehead. "_Omigosh, _duh! If she's _blind, _then she prolly, maybe, sometimes worries, like...if she's making herself _look _the way she wants people to _feel _about her."

"Uh, yea, I...think that's part of it," Meng went along.

"But that still doesn't explain the _skin_," Ty-Lee pointed out. She patted at the heavy bag she was toting on her shoulder. "When we were talking, ya know, like, about her stage makeup for today? She like, made this whole point that I needed to bring stuff to make her skin looker _lighter _than usual."

"_Ohhh, _that," Meng fluttered her lips and shook her head. "That's...something she was raised with."

Ty-Lee was off-put, her social skills cluing her in that this was a sensitive topic for Meng, which drew Ty's attention to the fact that Meng's skin was indeed a noticeably different shade from the girl's cousin's. It was darker, like...a chestnut tone with hues of copper, maybe?

"Toph might try to deny it," Meng ranted with some spite, "But the fact is...She's basically a 白富美."

Ty-Lee was wide-eyed and speechless, her brain stunned with confusion by her friend's foreign words. Meng's mouth smiled on one side awkwardly, and she shrugged. Ty-Lee's intent curiosity was helping dull the edge on Meng's envy.

"Bai-**Fu**-Mei," Meng repeated, slower this time. "It means, basically...'White, Wealthy, and Beautiful.'"

Ty-Lee's lips formed an 'o' as she nodded in understanding.

"That's what her mom was," Meng rambled tiredly. "That's what her dad _wants _her to be, that's why they think her going to this school was a waste, and why she should be playing piano instead of guitar, and just-...I dunno, it's what she was brought up with, is all. She thinks that making her skin look and stay pale will just make her more attractive - even if that doesn't _sound _like her, believe me: Toph likes people fawning over her, and when you're attractive? Ya know, _kinda _makes that more likely..." Meng frowned, letting her jealousy show a bit. "Not that _I'd _know..."

"Hm?" Ty prodded, concerned to see Meng's insecurity leak out. Opening up about insecurities was a quick way to making friends.

"Well, because _I...-_" Meng slowly slurred out with bitterness. "-...am a 吊丝." She practically glared at her sneakers, her eyes glazed with a bridled frustration as she tugged irritably at her unmanageable hair, tied into a poofy bush of a ponytail.

"That's...something 'bad,' isn't it?" Ty observed.

Meng shrugged, her brows twisting with uncertainty.

"It...just basically means 'commoner, loser,' like-...Well, I'm a mutt, too - mixed race? - which isn't winning me any points with the snotty relatives we have, but I've had some get on my case 'cause me and Tophie have become close - like they think my entire _reason _is because Toph's side of the family is _rich, _like I'm just...just trying to _mooch _off of her, when it's _actually _because I _care, _but our family, they're so...so..._mrgrgrrr...-_"

Ty-Lee's teeth were grit with fret for her friend's frustration. She hesitantly extended an arm of comfort, but at this point in their walk, Meng was staring off angrily into space, flicking her hands around and tugging at her ponytail and fussing with her uneven bangs and prodding at a pimple on her forehead...Geez, the poor girl was really spilling out some stuff here.

"And _then_, like I said, I'm a 杂种, _which - tch! -_ for the 北方 family is this huge _no-no _for whatever _stupid _reason, especially since my dad just up and _left _- no freaking _wonder, _with how crazy the 北方's are. And _thennnn _I'm also a huge オタク which means my mom, n' even Toph's parents, all get on my case about wasting all my time, and being a bad influence on her, because 北方 拓芙 is _sooo_ important and needs to be coddled and cared for, when she doesn't even _appreciate_ how backwards everyone is bending to make her life easy, and she can just be so 撒娇 and throw a tantrum to always get her way, then be a little _bitch _but everyone still _loves _her, while I get judged for getting involved, but I'm _still_ expected to keep an eye on her when _I'm _the younger one, and can't _not _care because I..._do _and she's my _cousin, _and I _love _her, but our whole family is just so politically _stupid_ and-..._Huughhhh_! 废话! ばか!"

Meng's arms were tight, her hand clenching her braided mess of a ponytail before her, wringing it like the necks she wanted to strangle from these pent-up family issues.

Meng had stopped walking, trying to take a breather after her Chinese cursing. Her nostrils were pinched tight, her teeth grit, air hissing out of the hole where her missing tooth was. In her moment of self-realization, she blinked timidly at Ty-Lee, who was slack-jawed and befuddled by the rant.

"Gosh," Meng panted out, relaxing herself. "Sorry, I was...-"

"_Awwww,_" Ty-Lee spilled out, her eyes wet from empathetic tears - as if she'd sponged up the ones Meng was ready to release. Ty crushed Meng in an over-exuberant hug. "Mengy-Bear, your _aura, _it's so dingy when you talk about that stuff! But I _know _about, like, family drama. I know! It is _soooo_ frustrating. My Zulie has been through _so much _that nobody knows about 'cuz she locks it in, and oh-my-_gawd_ everybody's got stuff like that, so, like, you _do not _worry about that_. Mmkay?_" She gave Meng a sharp stare, right in the eyes, and Meng hastily nodded, thrown off by Ty-Lee's sudden affection. Ty-Lee rubbed Meng's back once more, like starting up a fire, then eased them to keep walking as she continued, really flailing her hands around to accent her words. "I maybe don't, like, _understand_, umm...like, _any _of the Chinese words you were saying? But I don't _need _to just to be here and _listen. _And ya know what? You are a _social ladybug, _and you are, like, _precious adorbz _and super cute and don't let _anyone _tell you different! I _know _you can be more than those...bad things...you just called yourself. Just stick with it, 'cuz like, guess what? There _are totally _people who care about nice people, geeky people, people who, like, I dunno, _wear_ overalls, and silly hats, and have crazy hair, so don't ever _not _be OK with those things because that is _you _and you are _fine _the way you are. I know it's easy to go '_omigawd everyone's more popular than me,_' and feel, like, _totally _lost in the crowd, but that doesn't mean you're invisible. It doesn't mean you're just one piece in a matched set of _faces _in the crowd, you just gotta find the right people, and you _will, _little ladybug, I can _see _it in your eyes, and you're gonna have the most _amazing _time in college, _so_...-!" Ty-Lee had to stop and take in a huge gasp of air, her face turning pink from her own enthusiasm.

Meng and Ty-Lee paused, then burst into a gigglefit at each other's hyperventilated rants. No further explanation was needed.

"Thanks, Ty-Lee," said Meng, bubbling with the vigor that the excitable girl had rubbed off on her. "I'm gonna have my _own _most amazing time in college, and no one's gonna stop me."

"Except, for, um, like, all the _schoolwork, _that's a total drag."

"..._Except _for that! But nothing else."

Ty-Lee popped out her arms and belted out in a serious tone (which startled the old lady walking her dog across the street):  
"Super Senshi Social Ladybug Secret Technique Activate!"

"_Eheehee, _I thought you didn't know how to speak my language." Meng was covering half of her face in disbelief.

"I watch a lotta TV!" Ty explained with melodramatic seriousness.

Ty-Lee slapped her spread arms out in front of her, and leaped before Meng, walking backwards as she pointed her fists at Meng's face.

"..._vvvvoooOOOOO..._Ditzy Bubble Brain...Polka-Dot..._HUGGING__ BEAM! _Poo-_shahhh!_"

Ty halted to a stop, swiped her arms out, and Meng stumbled into her. The two comically fumbled a few steps in a friendly, lackadaisical hug, almost slamming into a lamppost before recovering and swiftly resuming a mockingly dignified stride.

And then the giggles floated back up the surface.

* * *

_"Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."_  
~ George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)

* * *

_What a dunder-head. What a stupid, stubborn idiot. He's just gonna leave things like this. He really is. Ugh. I can't fucking _believe _him._

_What am I gonna do? Just let him walk away?_

_Or maybe I should do something - 'argue' for the sake of...caring about him - us. Caring about us._

_A man chooses, a slave obeys...  
Maybe, right now, _I _have to be the 'man' for both of us.  
I guess I'd just be returning the favor for when he took a chance on me to begin with.  
_

_Is that my problem? That I'm expecting him to be 'the man?' There shouldn't have to be a 'man' with us. Right? It should just be 'us.' Not 'a man and a woman,' just two people. Two dunder-heads, together, carrying the weight together?  
_

_Arggghhh. Fuck. Shit. Gragh.  
Why is it so goddamn hard for me to just _talk _about stuff? Like a normal person?_

_Toph, you're not pulling your own weight. With Aang, you were trying to force him to carry too much weight at once. And now with Sokka, you're just slacking off 'cuz you want things to be comfy. But the long haul ain't comfy - he knows that. That's why he's trying to let this go easy.  
_

_But I don't want to let this go. It's too important. I fucking love him, so why can't I just say it? Why can't I-  
_"Toph."

Toph's body twitched wildly from Zuko's hand tapping her shoulder.

"Sorry," Zuko quickly said, aware that he'd jarred her a bit.

"It's OK," Toph sighed, letting her skipped heart resume its rhythm. "I'm on edge, is all."

"So am I," Zuko confessed. "There's a lot of people here who want to wring my neck, or squeeze answers out of me, and...I don't really know what to tell them."

"That's what you got _us _here for," Toph reminded.

"Rrrright, well...That's just it - the other part of 'us' hasn't shown up. Where's Katara?"

"She's not here yet?" Toph balked. "Weird...It's not like her to be late..."

"I gathered. I tried calling her but she's not answering. Ugh. This whole thing's not going at _all _like I planned..."

"Eh, well...That's life."

"Seriously? That...is a _horrible _way to look at it."

"_Tsh. _I'm not '_looking_' at it in _any _way," Toph remarked. "I'm just saying, no use pouting about...stuff." Toph swallowed, feeling like a hypocrite.

Toph fidgeted with the spaghetti straps on her recital dress. She could hear the tinkling of wine glasses across the way, the various folks at this charity event chattering away, everything bouncing across the town hall's tiles and stone. It was a wash of snobbery to Toph's ears, reminding her of Beifong family gatherings.

"I'm not 'pouting,'" Zuko calmly explained. "I'm doing something about it. But everyone around here's giving me stink eyes, and I'm trying to make sure things come together." Toph could hear a discouraged breath tumble from Zuko's lips. "There's a lot riding on all of this - on the conference tomorrow. And I'm worried we're not going to get the support we need."

Toph could hear Zuko's satin shirt skid against the wall she was leaned up against, and he sighed again.

"Zuko." A voice cut through the clutter of the social gathering - it was Zuko's bossy big sister. "What are you _doing _out here?" Azula hissed in a whisper. "We should be making preparations."

"I just needed some air for a minute," Zuko defended with a tired tone.

"If you are going to meet and greet," Azula growled, "I suggest you _do it_. It's quite rude to be playing host to an event by cowering in a corner of the hall with...-" Azula paused, and Toph had detected the woman's voice had briefly directed itself toward her. But Azula stilled her tongue. "And speaking _of _Miss Beifong, where is your partner?"

"What, Katara?" Toph checked.

"_Yes, _where is she?" Azula demanded, still seething steam through quiet, panicked words.

"She'll be here," Toph assured. "She's...probably just running a little bit late."_  
_

"She had _better _be here soon," Azula groaned under her breath. "And _you _had best seek out Ty-Lee. You still require makeup."

"Yea, yea," Toph sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. She was becoming more and more disinterested in this whole thing with each passing minute.

"This is a public event," Azula cited. "Even _you _can act like a proper woman for a single evening, can't you?"

Toph didn't reply, remaining stubbornly stoic at Azula's words.

"When you two are finished with your idle chatter," Azula sternly advised, "it would be _quite _prudent to come prepare upstairs."

"We will," Zuko replied, his tone lacking hostility. "Don't stress out so much, Azula. It'll be fine."

Toph was intrigued by how earnestly Zuko had spoken encouraging words, given how pessimistic he'd just been moments before.

"You're right," Azula breathed out after a second of tension subsided. "My apologies," she mumbled. "This weekend is..._extremely _important to our family's future," she explained to Toph. "Do _not _make us regret entrusting you."

"We'll be ready," Toph responded with stone-like syllables.

"Good." With that, Azula's high-heels clacked away at the town hall's tiles, swiftly fading into the ocean of hoity-toity noise.

"_Hughhh_," Zuko bellowed out with frustration.

"Geez," Toph huffed out, blowing irritable air at her bangs. "Everyone's getting all pissy about this political shit," she observed aloud to Zuko. "Even _you_ seem more down than usual...and that's _saying_ something."

"You don't get it," Zuko stiffly retorted. "It's different for you. You get to flaunt and play your music...You're used to singing like a princess but making rude remarks...and everyone loves you for it. You can be a complete jerk and still have people licking your boots."

"Heh." Toph was grinning with that same arrogance Zuko recognized from the stage performances he was referring to. "_Yea_, that's pretty great."

"But you've got issues, too," Zuko jumped. "You've made stupid mistakes, just like the rest of us."

"...Yea." And just like that, Toph's pride withered into shame. "No, I know. I know that."

"And for _me_," Zuko ranted, "this whole situation takes all of the mistakes my family has made and shoves them right in my face - my mother, my father, my sister, even my uncle...And my uncle's _always_ been on my side, even when things were bad. He's been there for me, and he's taught me so much. And how do we uphold his legacy? Our mother's legacy? How do we continue their work? By letting our entire family look like con-artists and crooks. I may never be able to redeem that."

"Listen." Toph realigned herself against the wall. "I'm not gonna pretend to know what all you're talkin' about. And I don't know if you'll ever be able to wipe that slate totally clean, but...you _have_ redeemed yourself to your Uncle, and you helped your sister redeem _herself_. Maybe you don't realize it, but you already _have_ redeemed your family."

"How do you know _that_?" Zuko asked with some disbelief.

"Because...-" Toph's face scrunched up briefly as she found words. "Well, so when we had tea together the other night, I could _feel _it in your sister's voice. She was relieved - like just now. All you said was that things would work out, and she seemed to snap outta whatever's up with her. It was like that at the bubble tea shop, when you made up. She was relieved, your uncle was relieved, and so were _you. _And I don't think it should matter what everyone else thinks. You guys are an actual family again - that's your redemption."

"You really got all of that out of the other night?"

"Well, sure. Don't get me wrong, it was pretty fucking annoying, dealing with your sister..."

"Oh...Sorry."

"But...-" Toph sighed, scratching her nose. "It's also very sweet, getting some...insight into how you guys are working through shit. It's kinda something I could learn a bit from, maybe. All your Uncle wanted was for you and Azula to find your own paths. And all _Azula_ wanted was to feel like she was still part of a family. You helped her see the light, and now you're both helping each other, even though you come at things from different angles. It's just like me and Katara, or...well, my whole group of idiots. That's what makes us a family n' all that."

"Hm..." By the way Zuko had hummed, Toph could tell he was calming himself down and agreeing with her point.

She bopped her fist against his arm - it was satisfying.

"_Ow!_" he snarled. "What was _that_ for?"

"That's how I show affection," Toph cheekily explained.

"_Agh, _but...-" Zuko's hand was sliding across his satin shirt's sleeve. "That doesn't even make _sense._"

"Doesn't matter," Toph decided. "That's how I roll. I don't _make _sense most of the time. And my friends accept that - so I've learned to accept it, too."

"So your friends just _let _you punch them all the time?" Zuko asked irritably.

"_Erk-! _Well, um...Nope," Toph plainly replied. "But...they've learned to accept it - that doesn't mean they let me get away with it all the time."

"Uh...-" Zuko rotated his shoulder a bit. "Motivational talks aren't...quite your thing, are they?"

"Not at all."

"Yea," Zuko grunted. "Me, neither..."

Toph fumbled for a concluding statement. "I think what I'm _trying _to say here is that you shouldn't make such a fuss over what your dad, or your uncle, or your sister, or _whoever _thinks of what you're doing. You should think about how _you _feel about what you're doing. Like with your sister - you just told her things would be OK, even though you're all down. But you said it in a way that made her trust you, because you _do _think things are gonna work out. If you're actually happy with your own decisions people will be able to tell. And they'll trust you, because you're trusting _yourself._"

"I see." Zuko took a deep breath, surveying the event-goers all around. "Well...I think I spot Katara heading our way."

"Thank god," Toph sighed out. "This pep-talking tires me the fuck out."

"I guess we should leave the speeches to Iroh and Katara."

"Maybe," Toph mumbled, "but it doesn't hurt to try now and again, am I right?"

"Well, my _arm _hurts from you trying."

"Heh. I still _tried, _though."

"_Ech_...Yea, you did."

"Did it work?" Toph wondered.

Toph's body was shaken by a punch to her arm, but she managed to absorb Zuko's held-back whiff without much trouble.

"You tell me," Zuko teased.

"It worked a _bit_," Toph remarked. "You should hit harder next time."

"Why's that?"

"Because _I _probably will," Toph jeered.

Toph recognized the distinct sound of Katara's footsteps in high heels, and the girl was wearing a familiar and pleasant perfume.

"Why are you guys _hitting _each other?" Katara asked as she approached. "_Wait_," she burst out suddenly. "I know: Toph just tried to get sentimental, didn't she?"

"Something like that," Zuko acknowledged with a wary laugh. "Anyway, we're just relieved you're here."

"Sorry I'm a bit late," Katara nervously murmured. "I needed to make some last-minute...um...-?" Katara's attention seemed distracted by something.

"Looks like Azula's trying to get my attention," Zuko sighed. "I should go. Ty-Lee and Meng are upstairs, they'll help you guys finish getting ready. I'll catch you up there." He whisked himself away.

Katara's soft elbow was brushed against Toph's arm, and the blind girl took her cue to accept its guidance.

"Is Zuko doing all right?" Katara wondered quietly as they worked their way through the dispersed pockets of socialites.

"He'll get by," Toph airily decided. She noticed that Katara's hands were garbed in gloves.

"I've noticed you've been trying to help encourage everyone lately," Katara cited as they reached the wide central stairway of the hall. "That's-...Well, I just think that's really great."

"Eh, just following your lead, Sister-Face."

"I thought you _hated _following other people's leads," Katara coyly noted.

"Ya know, I _usually _do," Toph conceded, tightening her grip on Katara's elbow as she grasped at the stairway's smooth, metal rail with her other hand. She tripped a little as they continued up. "But like I was tellin' Zuko: it's been good, this whole...self-acceptance stuff. And part of that means accepting that...I don't always know where I'm going by myself."

* * *

_"When you stop living your life based on what others think of you, real life begins. At that moment, you will finally see the door of self acceptance opened."_  
~ Shannon L. Alder

* * *

**A/N: For those interested, I have recently started a dual-natured novel project. It is being developed as a post-apocalyptic Katoph AU in one version, and an original sci-fi/fantasy story in the other version. They are being written side by side.**

**You can read the Katoph version on my profile: 'Mud, Sweat, and Tears.'**  
**The original version is currently entitled 'The Focused,' and you read that here on my DA:**  
**fav . me/d7asqpj**

**You can also find a massive SRU music playlist I put together here at either of these links:  
tmblr . co/ZKTivv19KaL-L  
fav . me/d7941xy  
**

**Lastly, if you'd like to try out some of my older fiction as you wait for SRU's conclusion, here is a portfolio post of my fiction works over the past few years.  
tmblr . co/ZKTivv1A-Basc**


	132. Imagine (Part 5)

**A/N: This update picks up right where the last one left off, the same evening. This will be the last update to 'Imagine.'  
There will be two more chapters after this, but they will both be self-contained, more focused chapters to finish the story off.  
**

**This chapter's conclusion references a song from the animation that it was loosely inspired by: 'There She is!', a five-part Korean flash animation about interracial harmony. I strongly suggest you give the half-hour long animation watch. It conveys some of the socio-political aspects this last story arc tries to explore but does so in a much more elegant manner. ****I'm not happy with how this chapter ultimately concludes, but I hope all of this "wrapping-up" scenes lately have been worth the extra words.**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 128 - Imagine_  
_(Part 5)_

* * *

_"We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves."  
- _Dalai Lama XIV

* * *

- Thursday, June 23rd -

"Harmony now!"  
"_Harmony now_!"  
"Stop the lies!"  
"S-R-**BOOO**!"

Ty-Lee studied Toph's face from inches away, noting the way the girl was flinching and uncomfortable from the ruckus stirring outside, beyond the office door.  
The town hall was even more packed now than it had been when Toph had arrived that night - in theory, this meant good things for the fund-raiser, yet all didn't sound too well in the hall after Zuko's speech.

"Jesus fuckin' christ," Toph grunted under her breath at the irritating chatter and bemoaning going on downstairs.

"I know, right?" Ty sighed in lamentation. "Zuko just wants to help, but..._people_...-"

When Ty-Lee attempted to continue applying makeup, Toph's nose wrinkled, her brows twitching from a sharp-pitched cry from the crowd.

"Toph, baby," Ty cooed sheepishly. "So, like, I'm gonna need to you to, uhm, stay _still_?"

"Yea, yea," Toph sighed tiredly, dulling her face and relaxing her muscles.

Ty immediately took advantage of the opportunity and went back to work on the girl's face.

"Wow," Meng said as Zuko's amplified voice cut across the swathes of noise again. He was going to power through the end of his speech despite the protestations, evidently. "Did someone say 'S-R-_booo' _out there?" Meng mumbled. "Man. _Pff._ That's-...That's pretty lame. Huh?"

"_Chyeah, _right?" Ty snickered, putting out another sigh with a slight shake of her head.

"_All _of this is lame," Toph dryly remarked, her eyelids closed to prevent makeup powder from irritating her eyeballs. "I'm bored and tired of this political shit, and everyone kicking up such a fuss. I don't get why everyone can't just...-"

"Deal with it?" came Katara from the back of the office-turned-makeup room. She was applying the finishing touches to her cheeks.

"Yea," Toph groaned in reply to Kat's words. Toph coughed a bit from the powder being applied to her face, and mumbled.

"When you want to make real change in the world," Katara cited, "you can't expect people to just 'deal with it.' Someone has to set an example, encourage others. Give them _hope._"

"Look," said Toph, pointing up her finger in the direction of Katara's voice. "I'm just here to look good and play piano. 'Kay? I don't even give a shit about this drama, so...-"

"We keep tossing that word around a lot lately," Katara grumbled. "'Drama' is us being _human beings, _remember? Like Iroh said: it's us having emotions and dealing with them - dealing with each other. But this? This is about _everyone, _not just us. It's not drama, it's...social activism."

Katara was reviewing the mirror before her, studying her eyelashes, lips, and cheeks. Everything seemed to check out, so Katara rose up from her seat.

"Oh good," Toph puffed with apathy. "So, drama on a bigger scale. It's all _politics, _I don't...-" She trailed off as Katara's high heels clicked toward her.

"Sooo...you don't care," Katara flatly stated, clearly off-put. "I don't...-! Then...Wh-why are you even _here_ if you don't _care_?" Katara grumbled, barely audible beneath Zuko's words up in front of the crowd on stage. "Why are we even _doing _this?"

"Geez," Toph whimpered impatiently. She snorted air out of her nose, and Ty-Lee backed off to allow the girl to speak. Toph fumbled out her arm toward Katara, and Katara held up her hand, letting Toph's fingers clasp her palm. "Sugar-Queen, chill out," Toph sighed with an authentic empathy. "I'm here because _you _care about this, and because _I _care about _you_. Like, I care about ya, I dunno...a _lot? _I know this is important to you. And you're important to _me_. OK?"

Meng and Ty-Lee could both clearly see the heart-felt, wobbling eyes of Katara falter with affection at her roommate. Katara took in a deep breath through her nose, closed her quivering eyes, and squeezed Toph's hand.

"I know," Katara acknowledged. She absent-mindedly tugged at some clumps of her freshly straightened hair. "S-sorry, I'm...I'm really nervous. But you're important to me, too, and...and I...-" Katara sniffed and scratched her nose, drawing a shaky breath. "I care about you a lot, and you supporting me...It's a big deal."

"Any time, Sister-Face. You've got this. _We've _got this."

"Thanks, Mud-Slug," Katara mumbled with a smile, indulging Toph's desire for silly nicknames.

"Ahhh, c'mere," Toph said as she tugged Katara's arm, pulling her friend in for a hug. Katara looked like she would loose a tear any moment.

Meng and Ty-Lee exchanged looks of '_OMG-awwww_!' at this sisterly exchange. The two girls looked so different: Toph in a black dress, hair taut in a bun, and Katara in a white dress, hair straightened and down.

Ty-Lee squeaked through the applause that was echoing through the auditorium-like space of the town hall. "Like...You guys are gonna _totes kill it _out there _for realsies~_"

"I...don't know what that means," Katara sheepishly said through clenched teeth as she and Toph were ushered along the upstairs balcony. "But thanks?"

"Wow 'em, ladies~" Meng encouraged, giving them both pats on the back.

Zuko, looking a bit more run-down than he had when he'd gone out, tugged at his coat's collar as she sighed with some relief. As he passed by the two young ladies in dresses, he bid them, "Good luck."

Katara entwined her arm around Toph's, guiding her friend's sandal-laden feet out onto the stage. Toph could hear the rumblings of a restless crowd. Whatever Zuko had said, it had not calmed them down, and it sounded like there had been mixed reception.

Their steps stopped halfway down the stairwell, on its flat plateau rising, and Toph heard audio feedback as Katara readied a nearby microphone.

Katara cleared her throat, and Toph could feel the girl's grip tighten with anxiety, which in turn suddenly made Toph a bit more wary, herself.

["H-hello. Um...I'm Katara, and...this is my roommate, Toph."]

["'_Sup?_!"] Toph bellowed at the mic before them. She didn't receive the type of response she was used to - this wasn't a crowd of concert-goers, exactly. It was a charity event. So the best she received was an awkward cough off in the distance.

["Toph...and I...-"] Katara swallowed, shuffling her words around as the disquieting crowd made her anxious. ["See, we're _very _different people, but...through...-"]

["We're like night n' day,"] Toph pushed things along in her blunt way. ["But if _we _can figure out how to get along, so can _all _of you."]

["Eh-exactly,"] Katara agreed, suddenly feeling quite relieved to move on. She grabbed Toph's hand and squeezed it tight, rapidly pushing back her initial stage-fright. ["By supporting the Harmony Restoration Movement, you help our school and this community find...a...-"] How had she put it? How had she'd written it down? Think, think. ["-...a _piece _of a greater dream - a dream that...Toph and I are going to paint for you right now. A dream that...a man named John Lennon once shared. And...I rattled my brain all week, thinking of what to say to you all today. But John put it better than any speech I could write."]

The disgruntled audience seemed curious enough to let these two young women go through with what they were going to do. Katara, her heart racing with some anxiety, took Toph's hand, and led her friend to the side, where a grand piano was set up. Toph squeezed Katara's hand, giving the Kesuk woman a boost of support at the last second.

Katara resumed her post at the microphone at the mid plateau of the town hall's central staircase. She glanced up to Azula, who was staring down at her from the second floor balcony with chin raised, a bluetooth earpiece attached to her temple. Katara nodded to Zuko's, and with that, Azula spoke into her headset - she was too distant for the words to be heard.

["Now, then,"] Katara spoke into the microphone, clearing her throat. The lights in the entire hall began to slowly dim as Katara continued. ["I'd like to ask you all to close your eyes for a few moments...-"] The lights were now all but off, the building's interior shrouded in shadow. ["-...and imagine with me."]

The congregation was hushed by the ease of darkness, and Toph's piano playing rung out across the building as a gentle, soothing beacon of sound. Toph could play just as well in darkness as in light, after all. Katara's chest swelled with energy at her last minute plans being put into action. She had been uncertain all afternoon, but there and then...the low hum of the crowd subsiding in awe as Toph's piano reverberated across the hall...it all clicked together, just as Katara had envisioned it in her mind.

Katara's voice sought harmony with Toph's piano.

**_youtu . be/0owBg-Y2h-8_**  
_+ ('Imagine,' arranged by Ben & Daisy) +_

_["~Imagine there's no heaven; It's easy if you try~"]_

Katara's hand clasped at the ribbon choker around her neck, her eyes closed as she let her mind drift with the lyrics.

_["~No hell below us; Above us, only sky~"]_

Aang, marching uphill toward the art building, a tray of coffee cups in one hand, art supplies in the other.

_["~Imagine all the people, living for today~"]_

June, finding her way to Lin's table at the bar with an awkward wave.

_["~Imagine there's no countries; It isn't hard to do~"]_

Zuko's hand finding Azula's shoulder in the darkness of the hall.

_["~Nothing to kill or die for; And no religion, too~"]_

Jane, rubbing her worry stone in her pocket, entering the bar.

_["~Imagine all the people, living life in peace~"]_

Korra, emphatically easing Jane to the table June and Lin were occupying.

_["~You may say I'm a dreamer; But I'm not the only one~"]_

Ty-Lee, quietly singing along with Katara under her breath.

_["~I hope some day you'll join us; And the world will live as one~"]_

Meng, beside Ty in the darkness on the balcony, grinning even though no one could see.

_["~Imagine no possessions; I wonder if you can~"]_

Sokka, dropping a box of old knick knacks into Aero House's dumpster - he salvages the purple light saber.

_["~No need for greed or hunger; A brotherhood of man~"]_

Iroh, amidst the crowd, standing beside his fellow SRU faculty.

_["~Imagine all the people sharing all the world~"]_

Jinora, reading on the recliner; Meelo, playing his PSP on the couch; Ikki, absorbed in My Little Pony on the TV.

_["~You may say I'm a dreamer; But I'm not the only one~"]_

Mai, huddled over her computer, her hair tied up in a bun by two black pens, a pensive look on her face.

_["~I hope some day you'll join us~"]_

Toph, veiled in darkness, merrily playing piano with grace.

_["~And the world will live as one~"]_

Katara, eyes closed, singing words of hope.

_["~Imagine all the people...I wonder if you can...~"]_

The piano faded away as the lights turned back on, giving rise to a wave of gentle applause. It wasn't a flood or an ocean, but a passing wave - a ripple in the pond of Wayward's people. But Katara's vision had been enacted. The ethereal idea in her head had been made real, if only for a couple minutes' time. That meant that, with some work, the other ideas could be made real, too.

* * *

_"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."_  
― John Lennon

* * *

A chill swept over Mai, shivering her spine. The art building was desolate and tranquil, but also chilly that evening. Mai took a sip from her coffee cup. Its remains had turned lukewarm due to how long she had taken to drink it, but she wasn't going to let the caffeine go to waste. She probably needed to stop ordering the larges and start going more for mediums or smalls. She took another sip, letting her weary mind get distracted by the way a drizzle of coffee had slid down the side of the open-top cup, staining across the Jasmine Dragon logo, like a brown bolt of lightning striking the dragon's tail.

_Focus, Mai. This is due in three hours. Get it done._

With a sharp intake of breath and yet another sip of room temperature coffee to finish off the cup, Mai let her head hang. She whimpered to herself in anguished exhaustion. She wanted to rub her eyes. But her eyes held dark rings of makeup lining their edges and forming pointed 'lashes' of purple off to the side. She had partaken in a meeting earlier that evening with the community's council in regards to the weekend's events for the Harmony stuff. For one, they had needed to review the banner flag Mai had put together using the pieces Aang had constructed earlier in the month. It had been a tiring affair, especially with looming art project deadlines. But, end of the day, Mai had yet to wash her makeup off, so 'no' to the touching of the face. She scratched an itch on her knee that had been bugging her all day – stupid mosquito bite, or something.

_Rrrr. Work. Do the work._

Mai chewed at her lip a bit and tried to scrutinize her work. The torn, tattered look of the image was appealing. She specifically wanted that. Weathered, faded, dulled...not unlike Zuko. A certain kind of regal beauty in the rough, the damaged...a sign of endurance to hold steadfast through life's storms. His cologne tickling her nose, her lips numbed by spiked punch, his pinstripe suit and matted hair...

Mai was twirling a finger through a spiral of her raven hair, her head sagging to the side - she'd began nodding off to sleep, snapping herself awake after her self-induced hypnotism.

_You can have Zuko all to yourself soon enough. But he has things to take care of right now. And so do you._

At last, Mai mustered the awareness to get back to work on her laptop. This graphic was frustrating the crap out of her. She was trying to make this sample poster look old, weathered, torn, but whenever she thought she'd found the right textures and brushes to apply, she found herself unhappy with the result and needed to start over. This was the last one of the set that she needed to finish, but it had been the first she'd started.

She really needed an A on this project if she wanted her grade for the course to be on par with her goals for the school year. She'd let things slip a little at the end of the semester from all of the stress she'd been dealing with due to..._urgh. _Just everything – Aang's friends, Zuko's family stuff, Ty-Lee and Azula...so much drama.

And yet she'd put all of that before her schoolwork, when it came down to it. While it had been happening, she'd been annoyed with herself for doing so...but more recently, she'd been accepting it.

Her attention was pulled out of her internal workings when Aang was suddenly passing by, two cups of coffee in hand. Without a word, he set one of them down next to Mai's emptied one. It was a small cup, dark, a bit of cinnamon dust floating at the top, with delightful steam rising up.

Mai sighed with relief and anticipation, and she looked up to offer Aang her appreciate for this surprise gesture, but he was already on the other side of the room, looking determined and focused. She knew him well enough to be able to tell he was in 'Work Mode,' and needed a quiet place to get his work done – which was exactly why he'd come here, because 'quiet' was something the both of them could appreciate.

Mai knew that _Aang_ knew she was thankful for hot coffee, and didn't need her to say so; thus, she opted to leave him be, across the room. She'd return the kindness some time soon enough, anyway.

As she lifted her new cup to her lips, she watched him set his down on the paint-splattered table he was working on. He unrolled the thin, white cloth he'd been carrying, tucked under his elbow. He stared at the blank sheet, an artist surveying his canvas, and sniffed, rubbing his nose.

Self-consciously, Mai noticed that her own nose was itchy due to the stud ring she was wearing. She tinkered with her stud a bit, and took another teeny-tiny drink of the steaming, stimulating drink.

Aang nodded to himself, hands on his hips, and walked over to his cubby of art supplies. He grabbed a large brush – the largest he had – and a container of light blue paint, setting both down on the table. After another moment of consideration, he seemed to notice that Mai was watching his actions.

They both blinked at each other for a second or two. Tired, emotionally depleted colleagues stressed by deadlines and extra-curricular political projects.

With his brows hanging heavy with tired impatience, Aang gave Mai a sympathetic smile across the way. Mai, dull and drained, returned the smile.

The goth and the hipster - no, the mutually respected artists - took sips from their coffee, and got back to work.

That small moment of Iroh's brew - and Mai could _tell _it was Iroh's brew, specifically - was just another example Mai could think back to as to why she had become more tolerant with dealing with all the drama.

The wordless gestures, the smiles, the silent understanding, the warm talks and mutual respect – not just with Aang, but with his friends, as well – it was all worth tolerating their more intense moments, wasn't it?

The pauses inbetween the spoken verses, the black spots inbetween the panels, the rests inbetween the notes, the negative space inbetween photographed subjects, the emptiness inbetween the lines...

Maybe the _'I'm bored'_ moments Mai had once loathed so much were starting to become the moments she longed for and cherished the most.

* * *

_"Silence is pure and holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking."_  
- Nicholas Spark

_"Don't you hate that? Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to yack about bullshit in order to be comfortable? That's when you know you've found somebody really special: when you can just shut the fuck up for a minute and comfortably share silence."_  
- Pulp Fiction

* * *

- Friday, June 23rd -  
(Day of FutureComm Press Conference \ Harmony Rally)

Katara ran her fingers slowly against Aang's scalp. His hair was starting to grow out a bit, losing that rough texture it had when it was short, giving way to a softer touch. He was a pretty sound sleeper these days, and she didn't mind one bit. Her head help up by an elbow-propped hand, she was laying on her hip, beside Aang beneath a comforter. Her lover's head was sunken within the beanbag they'd used as a pillow the night prior.

The floor of Aero's basement had not been the most comfortable spot to spend their last night on campus before the summer - but it _had _proven a practical private spot to sleep. Alas, literally sleeping had been the gist of it, but within a day, they'd be within the comforts of the Kesuk home, where Katara's actual _bed _resided.

Katara glanced at her phone, resting on the floor past the beanbag.  
[9:28am]

Any minute now, and her alarm would go off, stirring Aang awake. Their busy last day on campus would commence - long overdue, too. The school year had seemed to drag on much longer than she'd expected, but she figured it was for a good cause. If people were going to listen to what she had to say, it had perhaps worth speaking her peace while she'd had their ears.

But the summer was upon them on that day. Katara would wake Aang, they'd awaken her brother, she'd say her good-bye, and then she would attend the press conference with Jane after seeing Toph and Meng off. She, Aang and Jane would snag some lunch on their way out of town, and make for Canada. Sokka was going to hop a plane to San Francisco. Meng and Toph would be meeting up with Toph's parents at a hotel in Philly before taking a flight the next day to the Beifong mansion. And Korra was going to stay in Wayward.

It was going to likely be a slow, calm month of July before school started back again in August. But Katara was looking forward to the break. Sokka would get his footing in his new life as "an adult." She and Aang would finally have some time to themselves, and Jane would be able to spend a summer with some of her new family instead of what was left of her old one. Toph would spend the summer with her folks and maybe, possibly not hate it the whole time. And Korra was going to be babysitting and such? Quite a change of pace for that girl, and Katara was proud of how Korra had truly started planting roots in Wayward.

Katara's phone alarm went off, pouring Josh Groban music over their sleeping spot on the lounge room floor.

[_"~Everybody wants to be understood; Well I can hear you~"_]

Katara lifted her hand from Aang's head as she allowed him to slowly open his eyes. His nose scrunched up as his body tightened into a ball before he stretched out his limbs with a wide yawn. Katara leaned her head over his, sticking her tongue out playfully at his barely awake face. Her hair was tied into a bun, allowing Aang to properly appreciate the way the morning sunlight was drizzling across her cheek from between the shades on the lounge's wide window.

["_~Everybody wants to be loved; Don't give up: Because you are loved~_"]

Aang smiled sleepily up at his partner, and she pressed her abdomen against his own before folded her lips over his. A long, pleasant wake-up kiss was followed by mutual nose nuzzling.

[_"~You are loved; Don't give up; It's just the weight of the world; Don't give up~"_]

"Morning," Katara warmly whispered. "Dapper little Penguin." She poked her finger against his nose.

"..._mmpsnff..._Pr'tty Esk'mo lady," Aang murmured back, smiling despite his squinted eyes and tightened nose.

[_"~Everyone needs to be heard; You are loved~"_]

Katara shifted her weight off of Aang to give him some space to arouse the _rest _of his body from slumber. She turned off her phone's alarm and began to check it for messages. Much to her surprise, there weren't any.

Katara flipped their blanket off of her body and rose up to her feet. She fidgeted with the drawstring waistband of her pajama's pants and scratched an itch at the base of her neck as she left her body adjust to standing up.

Aang groaned, having let Katara's half of the comforter rest over him. He was motionless for a few seconds as Katara set her phone on the armrest of the couch in front of her.

"C'mon, Sweetie," Katara coyly goaded him, nudging at his hip with her socked foot. She unbuttoned her pajama top as Aang ever-so-slowly forced himself to wake up. "We've got a long day ahead," Katara cited, dropping her shirt beside the old suitcase on the lounge couch. As she undid her hair, she asked, "Have you decided if you're coming with me and Jane to the peace rally?"

Aang flipped his T-shirt inside-out over his head, still sitting on the floor.

"_Mm_...thinking I'll...pass," Aang mumbled out a lie, dropping his shirt beside his open duffel bag on the floor.

Katara paused, clicking open her suitcase. Her heart was drained of a bit of its enthusiasm, but...it was OK. Katara the grabbed her familiar blue sweatshirt with the penguin logo from her suitcase and slipped it on.

"OK," she replied after her hesitation, keeping a soft tone to conceal her disappointment. "I understand. Well, um...Just, um...send me a text letting me know where you are so we can come get you."

"Mm-hm," Aang replied with a hum. Katara was trying to hide some dejection, but he could tell it was there. He was happy that she wasn't trying to force him into this, though - and he was looking forward to surprising her. Dodging the situation, then swooping in at just the right moment with a swift punch. Er, metaphorically speaking. Aang had decided that this plan would get more of the desired reaction he wanted.

The two of them finished dressing, packing up their makeshift bedding, and tidying the part of the lounge they'd used as a temporary bedroom.

"Time to go wake up Sokka," Katara proclaimed, connecting her ribbon choker necklace in place. She polished its thinly cut sapphire stone with her sleeve and took in a deep breath. "Don't want that lazy idiot to miss his flight," she announced, slowing her body to a stop as that haunting truth lingered over her. She hadn't consciously processed it, but Aang had caught the crack in her voice at the word 'idiot.'

_There's no reason to be afraid this time, Katara.  
Your brother's leaving again, but this time, you're not going to be alone._

Aang's hands were suddenly over her hips, and he pulled her into a sleepy hug. His half-awake smile and cuddling were warm in the morning basement's cold room temperature. His nose buried in the hair over her shoulder, Aang kissed Katara's neck. He'd noticed that her fingers were still fussing with her mother's necklace, and he could comprehend why. As his lips sought to comfort her, his hand worked up to her wrist, and he gently took her hand off the necklace, clasping it between his fingers.

"It'll be OK," he quietly assured her.

Katara complied with a quiet, somber nod, kissing Aang on the forehead before they separated forms to go about their day.

They'd still need to get some food in their stomachs for the morning, but the ACC vending machines would suffice. Argh, and Katara's hair was a tangled mess that would need some severe brushing before the rally. And what if something went wrong? Bah, was her phone charged? Eh, it looked about halfway. Guh. She hadn't bothered to find her DC power cable for the car ride. Grr. What if they had trouble finding Aang after the rally was done? Or what if-?  
"Hey," Aang prodded at her as they ascended to the 2nd story floor. "What'd I just tell you?" he teased.

"It'll be OK," Katara breathed out, smirking at how easily he could read her

They made their way through the ghostly hall of an all-but-empty Aero House - but there was music spilling out from Sokka and Aang's dorm room, along with the sounds of packing tape being applied to boxes.

Katara's ears perked at what was a very known entity to her: 'Concerning Hobbits,' the famous piece of music from Sokka's favorite film series.

**_youtu . be/_pGaz_qN0cw_**  
_+ (Concerning Hobbits, Howard Shore) +_

"Wow," Katara called out over the music as they approached Sokka's open door. "You're already awake," Katara observed as she poked her head into the starkly clean dorm room. Stripped of its posters and books, its odds and ends all packed up into boxes. Sokka was hunched over his stack of boxes, taping shipping labels to some of them.

"I am," Sokka confessed.

"Man," Aang sighed, gazing at the room's blank walls. "This place feels so..._dead _now. Ha."

"Home is what we make of it, eh?" Sokka noted, nodding with his roommate. He set his tape down and rubbed its residue off onto his pants. "But it's finally time for this overgrown hobbit to leave his cozy hole in the Shire.

"But hobbits aren't _supposed _to leave the Shire," Aang noted with an amused brow raised.

Sokka grinned at his roommate's remark and shrugged wryly.

He replied, "My greatest adventure still lies ahead, and all that stuff, right?"

"Right," Katara confirmed with a teary-eyed grin.

Katara set down her suitcase outside of the door and paced directly into her brother. Sokka's intestines tangled with a bittersweet sorrow at the particularly tight grip his sister had on him in that instant. He gently patted her back and exchanged a sentimental look with Aang over Katara's shoulder.

"No crying this time," Sokka insisted. "No saying 'good-bye.' You'll see me again soon enough."

"Mm-hm," Katara agreed, resting her chin on Sokka's broad shoulder and smiling for his sake. He was about to go off and be the 'man' he needed to be, and she was glad for that. "This isn't 'good-bye,' it's...'See you later.'"

The two siblings knocking their foreheads together briefly, then broke apart. Katara's head was swimming in ideas - things to say, or do, or..._something. _But it was no use. And that was OK.

"Love you, Little Sis," Sokka said to her, giving her one last pat on the arm.

"Love you, too, Sokka," Katara replied, holding back the droplets of water at the edges of her eyes. He gave her a dubious look and she snickered. "_Big Bro_," she corrected herself, rubbing her palm across his arm in return. "You'd better take care of yourself out there. You won't have me to look out for you."

"And _you,_" Sokka retorted, "You'd better take care of _these _kids." He nodded his head to Aang. "They won't have their Idea Guy around, so you'll have to take over as the brains of this outfit."

Katara smirked and nodded, eager to let her brother go before she broke her promise about 'no crying.' She stepped back and kissed Aang swiftly on the lips.

"Have fun, you two," she told them. "See you later."

"Bye, Sweetie," Aang said.

"See you later," Sokka called.

After Katara had disappeared, Aang noticed all of the boxes were packed, aside from a single remaining box that Aang had intentionally left open.

"Need any help?" Aang wondered.

"Nah, I uh...-" Sokka wiped sweat from his forehead and nodded to himself. "I think I'm all set."

"In that case...before you go...-" Aang scooped up the box, which contained his Wii console and a few controllers. "How about we chill out in the lounge for a couple of rounds of Mario Kart?"

Sokka grinned and indulged his now ex-roommate with a bow.

"The deadliest game for the 'manliest' of good-byes," Sokka declared, exchanging a fist bump with Aang.

* * *

_"Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!"  
_― J.R.R. Tolkien, _The Hobbit_

* * *

"Ho_-ho!_" Bolin balked, flicking his wrist to relieve it of its defeat at Korra's arm. "Got me good that time." Bolin planted his elbow back onto the kitchen table and grinned mischievously. "Best two outta three."

"Yea, yea," Korra sighed playfully.

Korra stretched her fingers, then obliged Bolin to another arm-wrestling match.

"_Sooooo_..." Bolin slowly proposed as they locked palms. "You wanna come with me to, uh, Asami's...thing? Today?"

Korra replied with a shrug, then initiated their arm-wrestling, eliciting an "_Ohp!_" from Bolin. He lost once again.

"Yeesh!" Bolin breathed out, flicking tension out of his hand again as Korra took a gulp of coffee from the mug sitting on the floor - kept safe from the toils of wrestling. "Damn, woman!" Bolin light-heartedly chuckled. "You, erh...Ya got me good today. On some kinda...new steroid? Or something? Heh..."

"Er, well...-" Korra's eyes rolled upward thoughtfully. "I've been meditating," she shrugged.

"_Wowww_," said Bolin, brows raised. "That's...new.""Yep."

"Three out of five," Bolin threw down his challenge, jarring her out of her insight.

Korra's eyes narrowed as she eagerly accepted, solidly sticking her elbow down on the table.

"Oh, uh...and...-" Korra rolled up one of her t-shirt sleeves, flashing Bolin the nicotine patch that was attached to her bulky bicep.

"Ah-_haaa_," Bolin took note of the pride in her demeanor. "And how long's _that _been a thing?"

"Just a few days, or whatever," Korra played it off casually, squeezing her fingers against Bolin's. "Trying to clean myself up a bit around the edges, eh?"

"Right," Bolin acknowledged. "You've got those kids to look out for, and...-"

"I mean, _yea_," Korra agreed.

Bolin initiated the match this time, nearly catching Korra off guard - but she persevered, turning back around and claiming another victory in all of four seconds.

"_Whoo_!" Korra panted out boastfully. She cleared her throat and rotated her arm around its shoulder socket. "Ahem. Uhhh...-" She scratched at her temple, noting how Bolin was gawking at her with amusement. "But, ya know," Korra grunted, bending over her chair to grab her coffee mug from the linoleum floor. "It's not _just _the kids, right?" Korra sighed, flicking her hair back in alignment as she set her mug onto the metal table. "I've got..._other_ people I'm trying to look out for, too." She gave her housemate a toothy grin, and he glanced off, suddenly self-aware of his ogling.

"Yep," Bolin murmured with a nod, shoving himself out of his chair. It squeaked against the hard floor, and he made his way for the almost-empty bag of bread on the countertop. "Sounds like you're really...getting your act together, Korra."

"Doin' my best," Korra said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee as she appreciated the view of Bolin's mostly-exposed back muscles flexing around - he was stretching and rotating his arm in recovery of his recent defeat.

A minute or two of quiet passed. Korra consumed more of her coffee, and Bolin prepared himself some toast.

_-Rrrrrmmmm!-_

"...Is that your phone?" Bolin wondered before taking a bite of his non-buttered toast.

Korra shrugged her shoulders.

_-Rrrrrmmmm!-_

It was coming from the living room's coffee table.

"Not mine," Bolin asserted through a cheekful of food.

"Hm." Korra clambered up to her bare feet, scratching at her hip lazily as she wandered into the living room.

_-Rrrrrmmmm!-_

With a sigh, Kora scooped up her phone.

[Call from...]  
[**The Chief**]

Korra's eyes intensified for a moment as she wondered what Jia would be calling her for at this hour. They'd just had a social hour at the bar the night prior, but...-?

"Hello?" Korra croaked into her phone as she took the call.

Bolin observed as Korra meandered into the kitchen, her eyes glancing down at her feet. The way she jammed her fist against her hip and hung her abdomen slightly to one side was a familiar sight - that touch of odd 'swagger' was always present with Kor, even if she was softening up a bit more recently.

"They _what_?" Korra cried with some shock into her phone. Bolin took note of how wide the woman's eyes became. "That's...-! No...No, not since last night..." Korra glanced over to Bolin, her eyes intense and startled, brows arced with surprise. He gazed up at her with a meek shrug. "_Puh_!" Korra panted out with some relief. "Awesome. That...is _awesome. _She'll be-...Right...Exactly!...No, no, I'll do it..."

Korra disappeared swiftly back into the living room, then bounding up the stairs.

"Yea, that thing today downtown...Right, I'm pretty sure that's where she-...Uh-huh...OK, but where _is _that?"

Bolin continued to eat his toast in peace, curious as to what this was all about. Korra's heavy steps pounded back down the stairway in a mad rush. She was still chatting all the while. Pabu was chittering and scampering around her feet, and she passively weaved around him.

"Yea, yea. I'll head out right now. Just text me the-...Right..."

Bolin leaned his head a bit, arching to see Korra sliding her boots on as she continued her phone talk.

"I mean, that's the _plan, _but-...No, of course, Ma'am, yea...Uh-huh...You got it."

Her boots hurriedly slapped on, Korra rushed back into the kitchen, sucking down the last of her coffee. She cleared her throat and wiped her lips with her wrist.

"_Mm!_" she hummed an affirmative. "I will _definitely _keep you posted, Ma'am...Yea...'Kay. See you-...Uh-uh...OK, bye."

Korra drizzled out a long, shaky breath as she slipped her phone into her jean pocket. She grabbed a banana from the bunch sitting atop the fridge and peeled it open on the spot, chomping it down. Pabu was scratching at her shins, but she eased him off.

"What was _that _about?" Bolin asked, struggling to avoid staring as Korra scarfed the fruit down like an animal.

"They found him," Korra declared between bites.

"..._Him_?"

"Jane's...-" Korra nearly choked on a piece, and pounded at her chest to help ease it down. "Er, uh...Jane's boyfriend..."

"Oh, that...guy that got kidnapped, and...-?"

Korra nodded quickly in reply to Bolin, dropping the banana peel into the trash bin.

"Jane's not picking up her phone - she's helping out at Asami's thing downtown. But her BF's on a plane, heading in a couple towns over, so...-" Korra wiped her lips on her shirt sleeve and dashed into the living room. "I'm gonna go grab 'im quick, surprise Shamrocks at the rally."

Korra's keys rattled as she scooped them up from the coffee table.

"_Damn_, the look on her face when she sees him?" Korra said with excitement. "She's gonna shit bricks." Korra laughed to herself as she grabbed her black leather jacket off the coat rack by the front door. "Erm, in the _good _way," she awkwardly added to her previous statement.

"Wait, are you...-?" Bolin rubbed toast crumbs off onto his pants. "Are you leaving right _now?_"

"Yuh-huh!" Korra panted out, fussing with her triple-tailed hair to ensure it was looking sharp.

"You...want me to come with?" Bolin wondered. He groaned with surprise as Pabu bounded into his lap.

"Nah, I got it," Korra airily dismissed. "You should take a load off, Bo. I'll come find you and Mako downtown after I'm done."

"Ah, uh...O-Okay, er...-" Bolin tried to wave at Korra as she blew out the door, her whirlwind energy exiting the house. "I'll catch ya when I catch ya, ya know...See you when I see you..."

"Bye!" Korra called back through the door on her way down the steps. As she bounded eagerly across the lawn, she yanked her dog tag chain up from under her t-shirt and gave it a kiss for good luck.

_There's no reason to be afraid this time, Korra.  
For once, you'll be making her life easier. You'll be making her smile.  
_

* * *

"Yep." Sokka nodded slowly. "It's, erm...gonna be a long trip."

"Yea," Toph acknowledged. "Us, too. With my _parents,_ even..."

"Agh," Sokka puffed out a awkward effort at sympathy. "Yea. Good luck...with that."

"Meh," Toph coolly sighed. "I'll live."

"We'll be fine," Meng chirped.

"Mm." Sokka nodded again.

There was a heavy, horribly awkward tension that lingered over them. The basement of the campus center was deathly quiet. Their every word echoed off of the tile flooring of Appa's and across the hollowed space.

Sokka was standing rather close to Toph. Her eyes were half veiled by a mess of silky black strands, her hair poofed out into a ponytail, taut back by a green and yellow hairband. She had those familiar little cottonball earrings that dangled and swayed with each subtle movement.

Toph could hear Sokka swallow hard, evidently nervous by their socially strange farewell. She could smell his aftershave, and her fingers held fast to the memorized sensation of his soft neck after he'd shaved.

_There's no reason to be afraid this time, Toph.  
Just show him what he means to you. Just do it.  
_

Toph reached out her hands and grasped at Sokka's hairy arms. Her blind fingers fumbled around for his sleeves, working their way up toward that neck.

Fuck, though. Why was she shaking so much? Could he tell? He could _totally _tell. Ugh. This was horrible.

Sokka took in a sharp breath through his nose, both aroused at Toph's contact, and wary of where it would lead to. Much more self-conscious of Meng's lingering gaze from a few feet away, Sokka nervously worked his own arms up around Toph's back and pulled her in for a hug, nudging her head into his shoulder.

Toph's heart sank a bit at this subtle rejection. What was he so afraid of?

As he pat her roughly on the back, Sokka stated in a gruff sigh, "I'll miss ya, Dead-Eyes."

Toph's fingernails clawed against the fabric on Sokka's back as she murmured, "You, too, you...stupid Meat-Head."

Their hug lingered for much longer than it needed to.

Meng eventually had to clear her throat rather loudly to capture their attention, and Sokka flinched off of Toph.

Sokka's broad hands slapped Toph on the arms. She delivered a very weak, mild-mannered 'punch' into his chest, leaving her knuckles pressed into his chunky pectoral for a couple of seconds.

"Have a good trip, ladies," Sokka bid them, taking a step away from Toph.

"Mm," Toph hummed pensively.

"You, too, Sokka," Meng bid the young man, scooping up Toph's arm and giving her a gentle tug. "We've gotta go, Tophie," Meng whispered into her cousin's ear. She gave Sokka an empathetic smile with a touch of apology.

Toph huffed air at her bangs through her nostrils, then allowed Meng to whisk her away.

"Bye," Sokka called out, his farewell bouncing across the emptied space of Appa's.

Toph wobbled her hand up over the back of her shoulder, offering a flailing gesture she understood to signify 'farewell.

* * *

"_Ohp!_ Aheh..." Jane shirked at the surprise sensation of Meng stealing a hug. "Yea, we'll...miss you, too," Jane mumbled, realizing in that moment that there was some truth to her words.

Meng popped off of Jane and attached herself to Katara next.

"Thank you _soooo __much _for everything~" Meng squeaked out.

Katara rocked her would-be cousin to and fro and chuckled.

"I'm glad you ended up staying so long," Katara growled with affection through their hug.

"I'll get to stay even longer next time," Meng chirped.

"_Ugh, _jeez!" Toph mocked with exaggeration. "We're gonna have to deal with you _all school year_."

"More like _I'm _gonna have to deal with _y__ou_," Meng retaliated with a grin, baring her missing tooth with a jovial pride.

"Girl's got a point," Jane picked, giving Toph a punch on the arm. Toph counter-attacked, only to miss when Jane dodged - said dodge wove right into a sneak-attack hug. Jane and Toph then got into a bit of a hug-wrestling match until Meng and Katara broke them up, laughter clouding up around them all.

"You already said good-bye to the boys?" Katara checked, scanning for Toph's reaction.

"Yep," Meng acknowledged with a nod. She fussed with the summer straw hat on her head, tipping it down to let its shade protect her face from the late-morning heat. "Aang was practically running out the door, but we caught him in time."

"Running?" Katara wondered. "Whhhere...was he heading off to?"

Meng shrugged, and Toph let out an '_I_-dunno' grunt. Katara let her curiosity roll off her shoulders.

"And Sokka?" Katara probed.

Toph had a sort of melancholic pout about her, so Katara knew that things must not have played out as both Toph and she had hoped they would.

"Eh," Jane sighed. "Give it time," she offered some encouragement. "He'll be back 'round these parts before ya know it."

"Yea," Toph breathed out with some optimism.

"Things will work out the way they're supposed to," Meng put in her two cents. Toph frowned a bit at that remark. "Anyways, um...We've got a car rented out, we need to head off soon before our time is up on that."

"Where ya goin'?" Jane inquired.

"Meeting up with my folks," Toph mumbled drearily. "We're gonna go do...family stuff, or something, stay at a hotel, n' hop a flight home in the morning."

"Ah." Jane nodded slowly, that entire situation sounded rather foreign to her.

"What are _you _doing for the summer, Jane?" Meng returned Jane's inquiry.

"Oh, uh...-" Jane shrugged sheepishly, exchanging a smile with Katara. "Was gonna be stuck down south, but...Kat n' Aang are gonna let me hitch with them. I'm gonna steal Sokka's old bedroom for the summer."

"Ooo, wow, how neat," Meng chirped with a grin. "That's so sweet. You guys are all...-" She wriggled her fingers across the three girls in her presence. "-...like a _family _and stuff. It's so cute." She bobbed left and right on the tips of her toes, her face radiating with a dorky glee for their sake.

___There's no reason to be afraid this time, Jane.  
Last summer you were so alone, so lost. Not this time._  


"Uhhh, _well_," Jane snapped her slouching frame to attention, glancing at Katara. "Yep. Sure are," she agreed with Meng's sentiment. "But, so-...Guess we gotta head out, huh?"

"Yea, we're helping get rally signs ready, and...-" Katara nodded, trailing off. "We'll catch up up this weekend over Skype or something. OK?"

"Sounds great," Meng replied, nudging Toph to come along. "See you~"

Katara stole another hug from Toph, catching her roommate by surprise.

"I ain't _disappearing_, Sugar-Queen..."

"That doesn't mean I won't miss you," Katara insisted. She couldn't help but fuss with Toph's hair one last time, sifting the girl's bangs into an orderly state - Toph allowed this for old time's sake.

"You, too," Toph mumbled.

"Good-bye, ladies," Katara said with a beaming smile, seeing them on their way.

"Later," Jane bid them.

"Let us be _off _with us!" Meng declared as they traversed the parking lot, making way for the lime-green beetle car that Meng had rented out.

Katara and Jane paced off toward Katara's family vehicle - it was one she'd get to keep to herself for the year, with Sokka gone and such.

"You think she's gonna be OK?" Jane asked Katara quietly, hands in her pockets, eyes on her bee-striped shoes.

"You've managed to get by," Katara noted with a half shrug. "And you've had it worse off than her, so...-"

"Yea," Jane sighed. "Just doesn't feel right, I guess - us all splittin' up."

"That's how things go sometimes," Katara plainly stated. "Meng's right - we _are_ a family. And families don't always spend their whole lives in the same place."

"..._But_?" Jane probed, expecting more.

"But...what?" Katara responded coyly.

"Something sappy and sentimental n' shit comes after that," Jane stated flatly, brows lowered at her friend.

"Sure, but...Fill in the blank for yourself," Katara teased. "You're a big girl. You can do it."

* * *

_**youtu . be/7O3Q1tjYWI4**_  
_+ ('And Now, the Usual Place'; Satoru Kōsaki) +  
_

Sokka paced awkwardly across the brown and off-white tiles of the restaurant floor. Appa's was dead that morning, officially closed up for the summer. And with June term completely over, independent study grace periods resolved, professors and faculty all but absent, no one had a reason to be at the ACC. Most anyone that might possibly be on campus was either grading papers in their office, or participating in this whole big hullabaloo that Katara was a part of downtown.

In that moment, in the dimly lit basement restaurant of the ACC, Sokka truly felt alone and humbled.

But he wasn't _entirely _alone. The metal carving of a wide-grinning bison was greeting him from the sign embedded into the wall next to the cash wrap. Or maybe old 'Appa' the mascot wasn't greeting Sokka, but instead saying good-bye to him?

Sokka took a brief respite at '_The _Booth,' checking his itinerary, the bus schedule, his phone's messages...and made one last stop at his old blog.

[Boomerang Blog: Back At Ya!]  
**[And That, as They Say...]**

[...is that.]

[I'm leaving SRU now. Off to theoretically bigger and better things. In this economy, though? I'm not holding my breath. But it's all good. A little more independence won't hurt. I've gone from major Senioritis to Nostalgia Glasses to...realizing everything I'm about to leave behind.]

[I kinda wish I'd made some choices differently. But that's what this blog is all about: passing the knowledge onto you kids.]

[Now, go forth, Students of the 'Rang. Go. There and back again.]

[As for this Boomerang Blog? I don't think it's coming back.]

[Good afternoon, good evening, and good night.]

[Posted on _June 24th at 10:51am_]  
[by **Noble Sir Kesuk Esquire**]

With a wistful sigh through his nose, Sokka shut down his laptop and disconnected it from the ethernet port built into the wall beside '_The _Booth.' He wrapped up the cords and tucked the whole thing away into his bag.

After a few minutes of this, he noted that it was about time to head outside if he wanted to make sure he'd catch his bus. He walked past the disabled soda fountain, noting the braille labels attached above each flavor. They still looked like they were in good shape, having been re-printed a few months ago. Sokka could still vaguely remember his boss, June, complaining about a troublesome prick who would keep bothering her about the lack of braille stickers a couple of years back. And now that unspecified 'prick' was someone he cared for deeply. Sokka's memory was humored by a small detail he was suddenly remembering, staring at this braille labels.

At the start of his last semester, when he'd jumped back to work at Appa's, June had assigned Sokka to re-print new labels to replace the original set, as they'd gotten worn down, damaged, or even fallen off over the course of a year or two. June had cheekily made sure Sokka was the one to do it, since at that point, she'd figured out that Sokka had befriended the crazy blind girl.

In a stroke of what he'd considered to be brilliant at the time, Sokka had printed one label differently than the others. Instead of reading {Dr. Pepper}, one instead read {The Good Dr.} - but, being in braille, this could only be deciphered by Toph, which she had adored. And none was the wiser.

Sokka caught himself running his index finger across the pattern of bumps, both endeared by his memories and regretful about how things had worked out with Toph. After a couple of seconds of reflection, he concluded that he was rather happy that this small detail would remain a semi-permanent fixture of Appa's, even after he was gone, and that Toph would be the only one to know about it.

Sokka took one last look across the emptied space that was Appa's Grill and Snack Shop. He faced the metal carving of the grinning bison with the arrow on its head. Its blank eyes stared at him, that square-toothed smile strangely reassuring.

Appa's had been more than just a burger joint. Appa's had been a place of security. A place where he and his friends would gather, where they would be transported. Transported to warm meals, to lively discussions, to heart-to-hearts, to debates, to fictional worlds within books and TV show marathons and scholarly journeys within the pages of textbooks and long days and long nights of flipping burgers, taking orders, frying fries, mixing shakes, and cooking pizzas.

Appa's hadn't just been a restaurant - it had been like a second home on campus. A place to rely on for comfort and shelter inbetween academic adventures.

_There's no reason to be afraid this time, Sokka.  
The greatest adventure is what lies ahead. Just be the man you feel like being.  
_

Sokka rested his palm on the wall carving, patting the bison's head with a nostalgic smile.

_I'm gonna miss you, Big Guy. Keep an eye on the gang for me._

* * *

Korra was scrambling through the airport, dragging the skinny kid by the arm.

"I hope you're ready to see her," Korra bellowed to him as he fumbled to keep up, pressing down on his cowboy hat to keep it in place. "She is gonna _flip _when she sees you."

He was staring at her all the while with an intense, confused look.

"What's with the getup, anyway?" Korra wondered, giving him a casual glance before resuming her forward push to the airport's entrance. "You tryin' to remind her of home, or somethin'?"

At that, his face turned to a shade of bashfulness, and Korra took note as she shoved him out the door and into the summer sun.

"You don't talk much, do ya?" Korra observed.

Longshot shook his head, readjusting his hat to ensure his face was shielded from the heat.

"Well." Korra shrugged, nodding her head to signify that he should follow her. "Takes all kinds, eh? Now let's ride, Bub."

* * *

Toph huffed out a sigh into the windowpane her head was leaned against. Her hollow eyes were glazed over with regret, her ears picking up the muffled highway sounds outside of their rental car.

"I'm...sorry, Tophie," Meng tried to sympathize. "All I'm saying," Meng sighed, "is that maybe...you and Sokka just weren't meant to be."

"No, _fuck _that!" Toph growled, bumping her temple against the thick window of the passenger door.

"Whoa," Meng groaned, wary of taking her eyes off the highway. "Calm down..."

"'Everything happens for a reason'? All that?" Toph huffed. "No, _screw _that noise."

"Sometimes...things just don't work out," Meng shrugged, her grip tight on the steering wheel.

"Ya know what? No," Toph growled, crossing her arms over her stomach. "I don't even _care _if it's our 'destiny' or whatever, to...to _not _be together. Fuck that. My destiny is what _I'm _gonna make of it, and...I've got _words _for that Meat-Head. Maybe the 'me' from...years back wouldn't have the guts to _say_ what I gotta say. But the 'me' of Here-And-Now _does, _and...god-fucking-damnit, I'm gonna say them."

Meng smirked, rolling her eyes at her cousin. They were going to be late, but...Uncle Poppy and Aunt Lao could wait. This ought to be interesting.

"Shall we change course, Captain?" Meng asked.

"Make it so!" Toph boomed.

* * *

Sokka sat on the bench at the transit center. He was waiting for the second bus on his journey - the one that would take him to the airport.

With his duffel bag beside him, he had little to do but wait. Wait, and let his mind linger on what he was leaving behind.

He could still distinctly remember the sight: Toph's form atop a wooden stool, a spotlight splashed across her, picking at guitar strings with dextrous motions, singing notes with a vulnerability he hadn't known she was capable of exposing.

Sokka's stomach was churning with uncertainty at how he was leaving everything. He'd see everyone again, but...still. With _her, _he had hoped things would go differently. Had he given up too easily? Did it matter one way or the other at that point? He was already off on his way, wasn't he?

The cozy hobbit hole he had grown accustomed to calling home was officially 'in the past.'

* * *

Aang stood at the edge of the parking lot at SRU's entrance. The field of pavement was like an empty canvas of black, the lines of white creating unfilled spaces where the varied shapes and colors of plastic and metal would normally fill the campus with life. And there Aang was, alone in the face of its expanse.

The shuttle from SRU to Wayward was rolling into the lot, and he was ready to board it.

Aang was vigilant at the lot's edge, holding his rolled up flag upright at his side. With his other hand, he was reviewing a page of notebook paper he'd ripped off and scribbled with the words he'd decided to use that day. They were words cobbled together from his own heart, from his grandfather's teachings, and from Katara's influence. It was short enough to memorize that morning as he waited for his bus.

_There's no reason to be afraid this time, Aang.  
You can face this head on. You've got the stuff._

* * *

["You say that you want this town to be different?"] Zuko's voice projected through the speaker system, washing over the few hundreds of denizens at the press event. ["Then we can _make _it so: but we must make it different _together_."]

Amongst the crowd of cheering supporters, Katara and Jane cried out, waving their picket signs: {**_HARMONY NOW_**}

Zuko stood atop the stairway to the town hall, a large canvas banner draped behind him - it portrayed the four elemental spheres Aang had painted a while back, arranged into a single image with the letters SRU and an arrow symbol to accompany them. The square at the base of the hall was filled with throngs of townspeople.

["Today,"] Zuko declared, ["the conflict that has plagued this community is finally over. My sister and I have promised you today that we will restore the honor and integrity that the Kurosawa name once stood for. And we _will. _The road ahead of us is challenging. The gang warfare instigated by our family has left Wayward scarred and divided. We're living in a difficult economy. Lives have been affected in irreparable ways by this conflict. But with your cooperation, we can set things on the right path. Wayward was founded as a community for the lost, to provide second chances for those who exemplified its namesake. We can still make this community a bastion for love, peace, and equality, as it was originally intended to be. We can _make_ harmony: right here, right now."]

Zuko paused, allowing for the crowd to offer more cheers and rally cries. He turned and extended his arm to his sister, who was standing to the side behind him. Mai and Asami resided near Azula, along with a few folks in suits with ear pieces.

["You've heard from Miss Sato, and from myself,"] said Zuko. ["Now, I'd ask that you lend your ears to my sister, Azula Kurosawa, who will be managing this new venture."]

* * *

**A/N: You can see a 5-page partial rendition of the following sequence in comic form starting here:**  
**fav . me/d78b24j**

* * *

_**youtu . be/hWN3TdS1DUM**_  
_+ ('Imagine' by Brunch) +_

Fresh off the bus, Aang stared down the main street of Wayward. He unfurled his flag, letting it catch in the brisk summer wind sweeping across the town. It was plain and white, with a light blue arrow pointing downward. Nothing extravagant, but that arrow was his favorite symbol of the college's iconography. The downward angle of the arrow represented looking inward before enacting outward - when paired with the multi-colored emblem of the school, it meant seeking balance within one's self in order to align balance with those around one.

Aang could see the congregation up ahead at the town square. He could hear a voice projecting over a loud speaker system.

He took in a deep breath, and without thinking on the situation, he simply moved forward, letting the flag flicker in the wind.

One foot followed the other, building into a sprint.

_比如前後歩 like the front and back foot in walking._  
_萬物自有功 Each of the myriad things has its merit,_  
_當言用及處 expressed according to function and place._

**~John, In this place, people still fight only for themselves~**

At the back edge of the crowd, Korra stood beside Longshot, arms crossed. They'd just arrived, but she was at a loss for how to find her cousin and her friend in the small sea of people. Nobody was answering their damned phones, and she couldn't see Jane or Kat.

But she _did _see, quite easily, a peculiar sight: a white flag with a blue arrow, whizzing toward the press conference. As it drew close, she recognized the figure carrying the flag.

"Aang!" she cried out to him, reaching out an arm - but it was no use. Between the crowd and the speech projecting across it, he couldn't hear her.

**~John, Will the paradise you once dreamt of ever be real?~**

As she let her hand sink back to her hip, Korra watched in awe of the sight, baffled.

"What the hell's that kid think he's doing, eh?" she wondered aloud, speaking to Longshot.

Longshot shrugged and, to Korra's surprise, he actually replied.

"Actions speak louder than words."

**~The paradise you always dreamt of!~**

Closer to the front of the gathering, Katara was puzzled by what Jane had just brought to her attention: a flag, protruding up from the crowd, making its way forward.

They caught a glance of the black-shirted figure toting the flag, pushing his way through the people.

"Wait," said Jane, staring with confusion. "Isn't that...-?"

"Aang?" Katara realized.

Both girls blinked at each other, swapping bewildered looks. They quickly passed off their picket signs to a pair of students and took off in pursuit of the flag.

**~There is no up or down; Everyone under the same sky~**

Korra led Longshot around the crowd's edge, chasing the flag.

**~The paradise from our dreams! (That's our paradise!)~**

Katara gripped Jane's wrist tight, pulling her friend onward, chasing the flag.

**~Greedless, nothing to lose; An impartial world~**

Azula's speech slowed to a stop as she noticed a flag, floating above the crowd, making a beeline for her podium.

"What's happening?" Asami asked Mai and Zuko.

Zuko glared at the flag with some hesitation.

"I'm...not sure," he grumbled.

But Mai's brain lit up like a lightbulb.

She knew that flag: she'd been there when Aang had crafted it the night prior. So _this _was what it had been for?

"It's Aang," Mai explained to Zuko and Asami. "But...what is he _doing?_"

**~A dream paradise; Here, right now!~**

Iroh, at the base of the town hall's stairway, turned around to observe what everything was slowing to a stop for. He smirked at the sight.

"Is that Aang?" Ty-Lee asked Iroh from his side.

"It is," Iroh noted.

Aang was forcing his way through the townsfolk, muttering "Excuse me" and mumbling "Pardon me" as he did so.

* * *

**~John, How's it over there? Has your dream been fulfilled?~**

"We're there," Meng advised, pulling the car into the transit center's barren parking lot.

Toph immediately unclipped her seat belt before they'd even come to a stop.

"Is he there?" she hastily asked.

"I'm-! Toph, _wait_-_a-sec!_"

**~How long must we wait to meet the paradise we always dreamt of?~**

As soon as the car had stopped, Toph had popped open the door, desperately jumping out of the car.

"Is he...-?!" Toph growled out. "Do you see him?!"

"I...I can't...-!" Meng huffed with irritation as she turned off the car.

Toph was already walking off, unattended, rounding the front of the vehicle with her palms pressed against its hood.  
The roar of an approaching bus was looming before Toph, freezing her in her tracks.

**~The place you always dreamt of!~**

Sokka's bus rolled into the center, and he groaned as he pulled his sagging body up from the bench. He pulled out his transfer pass as he watched the bus loop around the ovular lane. There was some idiot shouting off behind him - probably some poor fool who was about to miss their ride.

As his bus came in to park in its stopping place right before him, Sokka noticed something rather unexpected: Toph's voice in the distance behind him.

"..._fucking moron...!_"

Was he hearing things?

A quick glance over his shoulder proved that he was not.

* * *

**~There is no up or down; Everyone under the same sky~**

Aang had reached the stairs at the front of the congregation at last, and forced his way to the podium.

The entire place had fallen into a strange state of silence. The feedback from the podium's microphones was glaring as Azula awkwardly stood aside, letting Aang take her place.

**~The paradise from our dreams! (That's our paradise!)~**

["Um...Hi,"] Aang muttered into the microphone, which squealed on a feedback loop. ["I'm Aang. I'm...a student at SRU."]

There was a small trickle of applause from a few who recognized him from recent events in the news.

**~Greedless, nothing to lose; An impartial world~**

["I'm...sorry to interrupt, but I have something to say, as...just a normal citizen who...wants to have his voice heard in all of this."]

Azula was shooting Zuko a irate glare, and he shrugged back, just as startled as she was.

Mai, meanwhile, was exchanging smiles with Iroh.

"Wait," Asami muttered into Mai's ear. "Isn't he that boy who...-?"

Mai was nodding back to Miss Sato with a prideful smile. The boy who had braved a building fire to save lives? The boy who'd stood in the face of a gun, ready to take a bullet for a child? Yep. That was the 'normal citizen' standing at the podium. He wasn't rich, he wasn't a superhero...he was just one kid who was able to express through actions something that any other 'normal citizen' possessed: a little bit of courage.

**~A dream paradise~**

Jane and Katara had lulled to a stop by the hall's base, captured by what was going on.

Katara's lips were agape, her eyes glowing at the look of determination in Aang's face as he spoke, reciting what he had memorized.

**~-Imagine all the people in peace!-~**

["If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together. You can feel everything growing. We're all living together, even if most of us don't act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree...We're all living under the same sky. And we should share it: together."]

After a gentle roll of courteous applause, Aang gave the podium back to a baffled Azula. He marched his flag over to the group residing off to the side and nodded nervously to them. A small ripple in the day's events. Perhaps too little, too late to affect the grand scheme.

But when Aang saw the look of pride and admiration on Katara's face, it was worth the trouble.

**~If I could ever go there, only with you~**

"Well, _damn_," Jane grunted at Katara, slapping her on the back. "Go up to 'im," she insisted.

Katara nodded, her eyes locked on Aang's nervous posture as he was inspected by a man in a black suit. She cautiously made her way up the edge of the stairwell, hoping to not further intrude on the speech Azula was trying to finish.

* * *

**~My one & only love will take me there~**

"Sokka!" Toph was shouting from the distance. "Sokka Kesuk! I fucking love you! Don't leave me behind, you shit-head! Get your ass over here!"

Sokka's stomach was churning with surprise and excitement and embarrassment as he hustled his way over, leaving his duffel bag on the bench. The population of the transit center was giving Toph some annoyed and flummoxed looks. Once again, he'd just have to calm her down. It was his duty, after all.

* * *

**~Before my remaining life's bell rings~**

"Hey, Shamrocks! Freckles! Whatever we're calling you today! Yo! Turn the hell around, already!"

Jane was so captured by what had just happened up at the podium that she wasn't been able to hear Korra's distinctly loud mouth shouting at her from behind.

When she finally _did _turn around, utterly confused as to why Aang and Korra were suddenly here, her brain nearly popped on the spot.

There was Longshot, wide-eyed and alarmed, his eyes instantly attaching to her own.

Jane's cheeks burned red and her eyeballs immediately swelled up with joyful relief.

* * *

**~If I could ever go there...~**

"Toph?!" Sokka called out, approaching where the two Beifong girls resided.

Toph pushed off of the car's hood, blindly dashing forward toward the sound and smell of Sokka's presence, arms stretched out wide.

"I said _I love you_!" Toph roared at him, her face burning with bashful enthusiasm.

**~There is no up or down; Everyone under the same sky~**

Sokka caught the 'blind bandit' who'd stolen his affections. Their abdomens glued together, Sokka spun Toph's body in a circle, the two of them chuckling with a giddy glee.

"Come again?" Sokka teased as he planted Toph back on her feet. "I didn't _hear _you, there, Toph."

"Sokka Kesuk," Toph proclaimed in bold, rapid-fire words. "_I-fucking-love-you_. Let's cut the bullshit. Let's make this _work, _damnit. Now shut up and make out with me. Right now."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Sokka obliged, his face alight with happy fool's grin.

* * *

**~The paradise from our dreams!(That's our paradise!)~**

Azula finished her speech, shaking Asami's hand for the press.

"I can't wait to get to work," Asami stated beneath the rattles of the crowd and cameras.

"Nor can I," Azula agreed before taking the microphones one last time.

**~Greedless, nothing to lose~**

"Don't just _stand there_," Korra laughed at the two star-crossed lovers gaping at each other before her.

Jane, teary-eyed, blinked at Korra, her expression flickering with the slightest bit of uncertainty. Korra let her eyelids sink closed and smiled, giving Jane a small nod of approval. Longshot was confused, but took a step forward.

**~An impartial world~**

"Thanks for showing up to the party," Mai said quietly to Aang, ruffling his hair.

"_Fashionably _late~" Ty tittered, having climbed up the stairs after Katara. She went right back to admiring the conclusion of Azula's stern speech delivery.

"A little crazy," Zuko noted to Aang with a humored smirk. "Charging in on us like that?"

**~A dream paradise~**

Aang shrugged sheepishly, rubbing his nose."Some 'crazy' must be growing on me."

**~There is no up or down~**

Zuko stepped up and took Azula's hand, shaking on their arrangement.

It was the first time they had ever shaken hands with authentic respect for one another.

Beside them, Mai smirked, her heart warmed by this sight she had waited so long to see.  
As perfect as poetry? Not in the slightest. But satisfying all the same.

{_Then we'll begin_  
_Clipping thorns of sin._  
_And at last, maybe then_  
_Will the Roses take water_  
_Within._}

**~Everyone under the same sky~**

Jane, eyes spilling tears of relief, dove at Longshot, arms spread open.

Korra crossed her arms and smiled at her friend's happiness.

As far as Korra was concerned, as long as she around, Jane would finally have some peace.

"I'm glad you're OK," Jane whimpered into Longshot's ear beneath the chaos of the rally.

"I'm glad it's _over_," Longshot mumbled, sighing into her neck.

"Me, too."

**~Greedless, nothing to lose~**

Meng swooned with vicarious joy for her cousin, who was-...Um, wow.

Toph was...really going at it with Sokka, there. They were kissing as if they were only two people there.  
Meng had only _read _about what their tongues were doing.

"My plane," Sokka breathed out between kisses.

"We've...-" Toph struggled to speak between...tongue-things. "-...got a car." She was rubbing her fingernails across his cheeks, taking in the sensation one more time before they'd part.

"Mm...'S good..."

Meng was shielding her face with her straw hat, at once embarrassed but also happy about her cousin's forceful decision.

**~An impartial world~**

Katara had pulled Aang aside from the hub-bub at the town hall's entrance. She'd tucked him behind a column of the hall's supporting structure.

"Do you think things will be different after today?" Katara asked Aang as the congregation began to dissipate.

"A little, I hope," Aang said with a wary smile. "One step at a time - that's what we can hope for."

With exhilarated smiles, Katara and Aang kissed, then rubbed their noses together.

In their own ways, big and small, they had both contributed toward bringing some kind of harmony to this town that was their home.

**~A dream paradise~**

* * *

_"The idea that the whole human race is, in a sense, one thing - one huge organism, like a tree - must not be confused with the idea that individual difference is not important or that real people, Tom and Nobby and Kate, are some how less important than collective things like classes, races and so forth. Indeed the two ideas are opposites. Things which are parts of a single organism may be very different form one another: things which are not, may be very alike. Six pennies are quite separate and very alike: my nose and my lungs are very different but they are only alive at all because they are parts of my body and share its common life. Christianity thinks of individuals not as mere members of a group or items in a list, but as organs in a body- different from one another and each contributing what no other could."_  
- C.S. Lewis

_"I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong."_  
― John Lennon

* * *

**A/N: Apologies that this chapter's ending came together in a messy way - ironic how messy it is given that I've had it planned for like two years or so. Ah, well. I promise that the last two chapters will be...more calm, less crazy, and more focused. Thanks for sticking through this meandering mess with me, guys.**


	133. At Least It Was Here

**A/N: Here's the penultimate chapter. Thanks for sticking through with this story - with the massive length of it, with the experimental quirks, with the plot dragging on towards the end, with the various inconsistencies I've missed...This project has grown into so much more than I ever thought it would when I began, and I'm excited to revise it into an original series. But I'm also a bit sad that this fanfic version seems to be ending on a whimper rather than a bang. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope to hear from you guys at the finale chapter very soon.  
**

* * *

_What I Learned at SRU_  
_Chapter 129 - At Least It Was Here_

* * *

_"Okay. Asking someone how long they believed in Santa Claus is so stupid, you can't even consider the topic suitable for idle conversation. But if you still want to know how long I believed in some old fat guy who wears a funky red suit, I **can** tell you this:  
I never believed in him, **ever**. _

_The Santa that showed up at my Kindergarten Christmas Festival? I knew he was fake. And I never saw Mommy kissing Santa or anything. But I have to say that even as a little kid, I knew better than to believe in some old man that only worked one day a year. Now, having said that, it wasn't until I got older that I realized that aliens, time-travelers, ghosts, monsters, espers, evil syndicates, and the anime/manga/fantasy flick heroes that **fight** said evil syndicates...were **also** fake._

_OK, I guess I always knew those things were bogus, I just didn't want to admit it. All I ever wanted was for an alien, time-traveler, ghost, monster, esper, evil syndicate, or the hero that fought 'em to just...appear, and say, 'Hey!'_

_Unfortunately, reality is a hard road, indeed._

_Yep, you gotta admit, the laws of physics definitely puts a damper on things. I even stopped watching those TV shows about aliens and ghosts and stuff. Aliens, time-travelers, espers...of **course** they don't exist. But a little part of me wishes that they did._

_I guess I've grown up and realized that I can think about those things and **still accept reality**."_

- Kyon; _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_

* * *

_"I can tell life from TV, Jeff. TV makes sense: it has structure, logic, rules, and likeable leading men.  
**In life, we have this. We have you**."_  
- Abed Nadir; _Community_

* * *

- Friday, October 21st - Homecoming Weekend  
Katara's Senior Year of College; (Four Months after the Harmony Restoration Movement Began)

**_+ youtu . be/Ddn4MGaS3N4 +_**  
_(Dirtfing; Andy McKee)_

"Arrghhh, shoot," Katara hissed under her breath after checking her phone. "Shoot, shoot, damnit..."

She was in a mad rush to make it to the ACC in time for her brother's arrival. She had just missed a call from Toph while she'd been changing, so she dialed her roommate back.

["...Katara?"]

"Toph! Y-...Wh...-?"

["What the hell? Where _are_ you?"]

"I-I'm on my way," Katara panted into her phone, her boots crushing dried autumn leaves in their wake.

["You're late, Sugar-Queen. _Again. _Your Meat-Head of a brother has been here, we've been waiting for like, twenty minutes, and-"]  
"I know, I know," Katara pleaded, scooping up her shoes and dashing across the autumn grass in her bare feet. "I'll be _right _there."

["O_kay_..."] Toph didn't sound so pleased - this was expected.

The phone was hung up, and Katara's stomach churned with self-loathing. She'd been looking forward to this day for months. She'd had everything all planned out, she'd replayed in her head over and over how this would go down. And yet nothing was panning out as she'd anticipated. She was rushing along by skin of her teeth, running late...Maybe it _had _been a bad idea to squeeze in student council work in that afternoon. But she'd had no choice, right? Things needed to be in order for Homecoming weekend, she needed to be able to write an article about it, and...-

"Yo! Kat!" shouted the familiar, gravely tone of Jane from the distance. "The hell are you _going_?"

Katara fumbled to a stop, her boot almost tipping off balance in her transition from grass to sidewalk. She fussed her recently brushed hair back over her shoulders to gaze across the way. Hanging out by a side entrance to the ACC, Katara saw her four friends huddled together by a shallow set of concrete stairs.

As she made her way over, her eyes instantly darted to her brother, whom she hadn't seen in the flesh since she'd hastily bid him good-bye back in June. He was wearing his well-worn blue and white T-shirt with black track pants and white sneakers. His hair was pulled back into a mangled 'wolf tail' and aside from a bit of hair on his chin, he was clean-shaven. Her eyes met his, and they both grinned with the same childish glee. Rather than meet her halfway, Sokka was content to lean back against the short stone wall behind him, arms crossed around his stomach.

To Sokka's right, Toph sat on top of the wall, her flip-flops strewn on the ground beneath her dangling, swaying feet. She was wearing her volcano rock bracelet with pride, her hair tied into twin braids across each shoulder. She'd managed to get her hair into surprisingly clean condition, and Katara was endeared by her roommate's efforts to tidy up in anticipation for her boyfriend's visit. Toph's low-cut spaghetti strap tanktop of green and her tight-fitting shin-length pants certainly seemed fit to Sokka's tastes, as well. Jane was huddled up on Sokka's left, also resting on the wall's edge. She had one knee tucked while the other leg hung over the edge - her feet were adorned in the tall bee-striped converse, while she was dressed in a matching undershirt beneath a black tee. Her dark green khakis were held up by a belt with a bumblebee buckle - the very same one Sokka had given her for Christmas the year prior. Kat hadn't seen Jane wear that thing in months, and she found it adorable that Jane would wear it specifically for Sokka's sake. She did wonder, however, if the sentiment was actually noticed by her often-ignorant sibling.

And Aang - sweet, handsome Little Man - was wearing his poofy white vest over his SRU logo t-shirt, complete with blue arrow stripes on the sleeves. He was seated with his back facing her, on the steps beside the others, and craned his neck to observe her approach - his backpack rested on a step beside him, and Kat knew it contained all of the supplies required for playing Mario Kart. When she caught Aang's gaze, he seemed to mirror the same giddy smile she had just swapped with her brother. Aang wasn't going to admit it, but Katara knew that he'd been missing the familiar company of his roommate. Aang's cramped room in Aero's basement floor certainly offered privacy, but living in a room by himself likely had its lonely moments.

By the time Katara had absorbed these sights, she'd reached the lot of them. As she made her way down the steps, she scratched her fingers across Aang's head, then opened her arms wide for her brother's embrace.

"There she is," Sokka said as he accepted her hug. "The prodigal daughter has joined us."

"Wait, _what_?" Katara retorted playfully, freezing their hug as she glared at him. "_You're _the one who-"  
"Bring it in, Sis, bring-it-in..." Sokka squished her face into his shoulder to silence her, and there were a few chuckles from Jane and Aang.

Katara could instantly detect that her chunky brother was...less chunky than she recalled.

As their hug broke off, Katara rubbed his arms with a brisk kind of affection before tweaking his shirt's V-neck collar so it was just a little more straight. As she did this, he stuck his tongue out at her and she wrinkled his nose at him.

"I missed you," she proclaimed.

She noticed that his eyes scanned her necklace and the penguin logo embroidered into her similarly V-necked sweatshirt. There was a split-second there, a fraction of a moment, where his eyes flickered with remorse, with longing...and then it was gone. Katara withdrew her doubts. Sokka was indeed noticing the details in why they were all wearing what they were. He was just keeping it to himself, as he always did.

"Yea, I missed you, too," he replied with a certain kind of earnesty that was...new. Katara could tell in that precise moment that something beside his appearance was...different.

"You, um...-" She nodded, giving her brother some space. "You look good," she complimented him.

"_Doesn't _he, though?" Toph cackled. Jane shot Toph a perplexed but amused look, slowly shaking her head.

"I do," Sokka agreed haughtily, letting Toph's fingertips rub against his neck. A split second later, he recalled the same fact that had led to Jane's odd look: Toph was blind.

"You'd look better if you hadn't shaved, though," Toph decided cheekily, rubbing her thumb along his smoothed jawline.

"Wh...-?" Sokka was aghast. "I did this 'cuz...-"

"Eh, it'll grow into a savory stubble this weekend," Toph noted with a critical tone. She slapped his cheek lightly with the back of her wrist. "I'm sure you're still good n' furry where it counts," Toph devilishly murmured, bobbing her body to and fro with merriment. "I'll get a _good look _at ya later."

"Oh _christ_," Jane groaned, bobbing her head with some disgust. "Oogies, much?"

Katara was now resting on the step beneath Aang, nestled within the warmth of his lap. His right hand had found its way to her corresponding shoulder, while her left hand had met his above the other.

"Speaking _of-!_" Sokka segued, eager to take the conversation off of his obviously impending evening encounter. "Are we all oogie-ing it up tomorrow at the banquet-slash-dance type deal, or what?"

"Indeed, good sir, we are," Aang acknowledged. "Katara has a table reserved for us right next to the food."

"Benefits of being on the student council," Katara boasted cheerily.

"Mm, yea," Toph flatly put out a negative vibe. Katara's cheer diminished, if only for a moment. Sokka raised a brow to his girlfriend, then took her hand. Their arms began to sway gently, bouncing off the concrete wall in rhythm.

"_Uh,_" Sokka was prancing around to move the convo forward. "Freckles! Are you goin' stag again this year?"

Jane's lips squirmed themselves into a smirk and she shrugged at his question. Katara smiled at her friend's amusing embarrassment. She knew where this was going, and exactly how Jane was going to act. Katara thought it was bittersweet but adorable at the same time.

"Well?" Sokka pressed. "You _are _going, right? You missed out on the last dance, and you went stag last Homecoming."

"Yea, no, I mean, I _am _going. Just, ehh...-" Jane shrugged up one lanky shoulder. Her cheeks were starting to turn pink. "Got a date, yea, but...-"

"You've got a _date_?!" Toph barked with intrigue. "You didn't tell me! I thought you said your boyfriend was stuck down south. Did that mute cowboy of yours come up to visit?"

"_Ahh, _heh, nnnnooo," Jane sheepishly replied, running her fingernails through her bangs, then scratching her eyebrows. Yea, she was definitely turning red.

"Who are you going with?" Aang wondered.  
Ah, right - so he didn't know, either, huh? Wasn't it obvious? Katara thought it was obvious.

Sokka piped up, "I thought after they found Johnny, you two would...pick up where you left off?"

Jane huffed a sigh through her nose, avoiding everyone's curious looks as best she could.

"Nnn...Yea, me, too, and...-" Jane trailed off. "But...I dunno, we decided we'd...wait until stuff blew over, and-...Man, I just-...After everything that's happened, we're not on the same page I thought we'd be on. Smellerbee fell for Longshot, back when we were both..._ya_ know...-"

"In a _gang_?" Sokka posed. It was dry, but Katara could detect a certain kind of support in his tone - like he approved of the fact that Jane was no longer, in fact, associated with any of that stuff.

"Well, _yeah_," Jane mumbled. "But...he's _still_ Longshot."

Katara guessed the followup statement. "...And you're...not _Smellerbee_ anymore."

With her freckles drowned in a pink hue, Jane nodded nervously.

"I mean, we'll..._try,_" Jane hurriedly stated. "Still sparks there, don't get me wrong, but-..._Meh, _we'll just see what happens. It's complicated."

"Complicated?" Toph quipped. "The way _I _heard it, you spent all summer with Sugar-Queen and Twinkle-Toes, complaining about how you couldn't see him."

"Look, it's not like I didn't _talk _about this with him, all right?" Jane was growing defensive now. "But he ain't exactly big on conversation, and-...Can we just...-?" She was flicking up a wrist testily.

"So who _is _your date, then?" Toph demanded.

"Toph, c'mon," Aang tried to get his friend to lay off a bit.

"A friend," Jane eked out. She clearly seemed to be off-put by the judgmental tone Toph was carrying, and the suspicious look Sokka was sending her way.

Toph gasped as it finally dawned on her.

"It's the _LadyBro, _isn't it?" she bellowed, her mouth open into a wide 'O' shape as her pale eyes gazed off into nothingness with raised eyebrows.

"We're just goin' as friends, Dead-Eyes," Jane lightly chuckled - it was a rather plastic laugh. "It's not like...-"

"_Ohhhh, _ho-ho," Toph guffawed. "You...sly old _so_-and-so!"

"_Just as friends_!" Jane bashfully clarified, her face getting redder by the second.

"Rrrriiiiigght," Sokka facetiously reacted, stroking the patch of hairs on his chin.

"Don't pick on her, guys," Aang light-heartedly suggested.

"_We _have all had our share of awkwardness amongst ourselves," Katara reminded her brother and roommate. "Let's not give Jane and Korra a hard time."

Sokka nodded slowly, bobbing his head left and right as he did so.

"True story," he admitted with ease, giving Jane a hearty pat on the back.

Toph merely put out an "_Mmph_." But at least she left it at that. Katara would have to smack the girl if she so much as dared to get on Jane's case after the whole kerfuffle Toph had started the year prior - but Toph seemed to have not forgotten, as she didn't press it further.

"What about _you_, Sokka?" Aang moved things along. "How are things in the Bay?"

"Ah, it's...well, it's _nice,_" Sokka stated airily, letting Toph lean her head against his neck.

"'Nice?'" Jane deadpanned. "Gonna need more 'n that."

"_Pff, _all right, well..." Sokka scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's different. Lots of kinds of people. _All _kinds of people. All kinds of _f__ood._"

"Yea, lots of stuff out there," Toph agreed from some experience, soaking in the squishy but solid form her cheek was pressed into.

"Uh, lessee," Sokka mumbled, trying to think of examples. "So, there's Berkeley, this college town? Right near campus, there's this main strip of shops, n' crap. Crazy people - hobos, tweakers, hippies - all the time. I had a chat a couple weeks ago with this one guy, he just makes his living playing a saxophone on the sidewalk."

"Heh." Toph grinned. "I could do that. Uh, but with guitar."

"Or keyboard, maybe," Sokka agreed passively.

"Yea."

"Get into any fights?" Jane wondered.

"_Wh-? _No," Sokka burst out with an amused laugh.

"_See _any fights?" pressed Jane.

Sokka gave her a dubious look, then ended up offering a half-hearted, kind-of-nod gesture.

"A couple," he admitted.

"_Yehhhhp_," Jane said haughtily, nodding with self-affirmation.

"Is it really hot out there?" Katara wondered.

"Eh, not really," Sokka replied. "Kind of steady. There's two seasons, pretty much: dry-ish and...wet-ish. And the wet-ish season doesn't last near as long, I guess. Hasn't even happened yet since I've been there. Weirdest thing is that it pretty much never rains, but when it does, it lasts, like, _all _day, right?"

"Probably pretty different sort of cities out there, too, I bet," said Aang with a nod.

"_Hohh _yea," Sokka was quick to agree. "The trippiest part is when you first get there, like...-" As Sokka started this thought, Katara smiled warmly. She knew where he was going, as he'd told her this bit a while back. "-...you head out of the airport, and there's _palm trees, _eh? But also _pine trees. _In the same place, side by side. It's wild. There's actually a lot more..._plants _there, right near all the buildings. I never expected that."

"Oh, no," Toph joked. "Not _plants!_"

"They've got it out for me, I'm sure," Sokka off-handedly decided. "There's..._so _many damn vegan places out there."

"Sounds good to me," Aang laughed.

"It's gross," Sokka cringed with mockery. "One of my roommates, he's..._super _big into that stuff, and...-" Sokka's eyes narrowed as something smacked his brain. "Wait, have I _told _any of you guys about my roommates?"

Jane complacently shook her head.

"A little bit," Aang said with a shrug.

"You've told me some," Katara replied, recollecting chats she'd engaged with Sokka online.

"None of them are _girls, _right?" Toph remarked. Sokka bopped her on the head with his palm.

"One of 'em is," Sokka said. "I already _told_ you," he reminded.

"_Heh, _she's in the room next to you with her boyfriend," Toph recollected. "Just givin' you a hard time. Makin' sure your brain is still awake, Snoozles."

"I _am _a bit jet-lagged," Sokka sighed, stretching out his arms. "And _hungry_," he noted.

"Let's go get some food at Appa's," Katara suggested eagerly.

"Fuck yes," Jane grunted, standing right up.

"Let's do it," Aang agreed.

"Here, here," Toph huzzahed.

"I hear _that_!" Sokka growled in a disgruntled 'old man' voice.

"Huh?" Toph groaned back, reciprocating the impersonation.

"What?" Sokka returned in kind.

"What?" Toph repeated, mimicking the elderly voice and leaning toward Sokka, hand cupped over her ear.

"Huh?" croaked Sokka, rubbing elbows with Toph.

She shoved him. He shoved her back.

"_Speak up, whippersnapper!_" Toph hoarsely growled.

"_Whu's that, Sonny?_" Sokka replied.

Toph then grappled Sokka with both hands and initiated a kiss.

"We're _leaving now_," Jane taunted the two dorks as they kissed a second time.

Sokka kissed Toph a third time before managing to resist his temptation. He stuck his index finger over her puckered lips.

"To be continued," he whispered slyly.

"Can I get a 'previously on' while we're at it?" Toph hissed back with enthused mischief.

"Oh, you can," Sokka replied. "The 'episode summary' is still recorded right up in-" Sokka was prodding his finger against his skull, but was interrupted, physically pulled away from Toph's grip by Aang, as Toph was tugged by Katara.

"You two can do your _business _later," Katara wryly remarked. After Sokka and Toph were pulled up onto the sidewalk above the steps, Aang and Katara eased them back together, and - not unlike velcro - they found themselves stuck together again.

"It's time for dinner," Aang insisted.

"I'm in the mood for _meat_," Toph snarled, groping her hand toward Sokka's rear end and giving it a squeeze.

"Good meat needs a little bit of _sauce _and _spice_," Sokka declared, giving Toph's behind a similar gesture.

"Thank you," Jane said dully to Katara as the lot of them made their way for the ACC's side entrance door.

"For what?" Katara wondered.

"Not being as _oogie _as those two in public!" Jane cried out teasingly.

Toph rotated her head and stuck out her tongue blindly, blowing a very loud raspberry.

"Stop stealing _my _word!" Sokka countered with mock indignation.

"If the shoe fits," Jane jeered with a competitive grin, "I'm gonna use the word!"

The group made their way down the familiar set of stairs, and the scent of burgers, fries, and other familiar delights filled Sokka's senses with nostalgia.

_**+ youtu . be/CwK_bD7Qb4k +**_  
_(The Story Ends in the Usual Place; Satoru Kosaki)_

Sokka made a point to tap the metal carving of the bison mascot embedded into the wall as they passed it by.

"_Ehh, _Big Guy," Sokka cheerily greeted the inanimate face. "Miss me much? No? Yes?"

"Whhhhat are you doing?" Toph mumbled quizzically.

Sokka answered without skipping a beat, "Just talkin' with Appa, obviously."

"...You really _are _hungry, aren't you, Meat-Head?"

"I am friggin' _famished_."

But then something otherworldly caught Sokka's attention. _The _Booth: it wasn't..._there._ None of the booths in the respective aisle were there. It was all replaced with..._stools_? It was now one single counter, with a set of stools. Half of them were occupied - every other booth, none of the occupants sitting directly next to each other.

Sokka was stopped dead in his tracks, leaving Toph to nearly slip off forward without him.

"What?" Toph mumbled to him curiously. "What is it _now_?"

Sokka replied with a guttural screeching sound that was subdued enough as to not draw much attention, but high-pitched enough to irritate Toph's ears.

"_Oh_," Toph flatly reacted, realizing what the problem was.

"Did you forget?" Katara prodded, poking her shocked brother in the side.

"Yea, I put up a photo of this on Facebook when it happened," Aang noted. "You didn't see it?"

Sokka glared at Katara and Aang, wide-eyed and consumed by alarm and fear.

"_Errghhh!_" He squeaked, flinging his arms out at the stools. A pause. He stared at the atrocious lack of booth. "_Aaughh!"_ another unsettled shriek, accompanied by an even wider glare and another arm gesture.

"Dude," Jane sighed, giving Sokka a shove from behind. "There's other booths. Chill."

"Other booths?" Sokka seethed, flailing his fist up as both Toph and Jane tugged and pushed at him respectively. "_Other _booths?"

As Jane led Sokka and Toph to the line that had formed at the order counter, a familiar voice called out: flat and sarcastically toned as ever.

"And here I was hoping I'd never have to hear that annoying voice again."

It was June, leaning out over one portion of the counter while a student worker took orders beside her.

"June, you _monster_," Sokka wailed. "What have you _done_?" He tossed his free arm over to the lack of booths.

"I didn't do _nothin'_!" June barked back. "I just manage the food side of things - some higher up made _that_ decision," she cited, gesturing a lazy finger at the booths. "Besides, it frees up this space-" She nodded her head at the line of students which had now formed a clump at the end due to Sokka and his group. "-so people can actually walk around through here, without _your _fat asses cloggin' up the pipeline."

"Atrocity!" Sokka insisted, receiving some irritable glances from other folks in the line in front of them.

"Simma _down-nuh_," Toph heaved in a growl at Sokka's ear. She had one arm wound around his own, clasping his hand, while her other hand was running up and down his arm, stroking its furry surface like he was her pet.

June smirked at the sight of Sokka, then shook her head nostalgically, going back to her work at the wrap station.

As they waited in line, Sokka soaked in the sensations - the smells of frying meats, the sight of the dimly lit restaurant, the sound of a busy Friday evening campus bustle, the feeling of Toph's fingers running across his hairy arm.

"Enjoying the view?" Sokka posed quietly into Toph's ear, dropping a kiss into her head and sniffing at her hair.

"Taking in the sights," Toph replied casually.

"Yea, me, too," Sokka replied, doing exactly that as he ogled the physical form he'd been separated from for months.

Katara slapped her brother on the back, giving her brother a bit of a glare. Just because Toph couldn't see him staring didn't mean no one else could.

"It's OK, Kat," Toph sighed, some irritation spilling out. "Let the poor guy drink it in. Don't make a fuss."

Katara's face withered at Toph's remark, and she stared at her boots for a moment after being scolded for intruding.

Sokka was once again off-put and perplexed by this interaction.

"Like the hair?" Toph wondered, her face projecting her dead gaze forward this whole time.

"Erh, yea," Sokka replied honestly. "Looks good."

"Twinkle-Toes braided it for me," Toph airily stated.

Sokka twisted his head around to Aang, who shrugged sheepishly.

"She...asked me to," Aang muttered.

Sokka gave Aang a slow, bemused shake of his head.

"Not manly at all," he chuckled. "It looks good, though."

"Why'd you subject Aang to _that_?" Jane asked Toph.

Katara's stomach crawled, as she worried about what Toph was about to say.

"Well," Toph began with a sigh, "I _woulda _asked Sweetness here to do it, if she was, I dunno, actually _around _anymore..."

"...Mm," Jane hummed in reply, casting a sideways glance to Katara, who seemed to shrink with some shame.

"Huh?" Sokka mumbled, perplexed. The idea of Katara not being 'around' to fuss with Toph's hair was...odd.

"Hey, hey," Aang eased. "It's OK. Katara has a lot of important work to do now, so...that means that...we just-"  
"-don't get to be around her, like, ever," Toph bluntly interrupted. "'Cuz apparently the stupid fuckin' _newspaper _is more important now."

"Whoa, wait," Sokka grunted, now piecing together the tension between his sister and his girlfriend. "You-...What?" His gaze turned to Katara.

"W-well, I, um...-" Katara tugged at her hair, twirling a lock of it around a wary finger as she tried to avoid her brother's glare. "I've...gotten involved with the White Lotus, I mean-...I'm a writer, so...it's not _that _surprising, and...and besides, Mom used to be really involved with these things when-"  
"You ain't your _Mom_," Jane sternly advised, cutting that thought right off.

Katara was left a bit stunned. But she saw Sokka give a slight nod of agreement - and she could tell Toph was in alignment with them based on the expression on her face. Aang was giving her a weary shrug.

Jane sighed, realizing she was letting her thoughts tumble out too hastily, and too harshly.

"Sorry," she amended to Kat with a sympathetic shrug. "Just...don't get why you suddenly are all into that stuff, when we...-"

Katara fumbled around to explain herself. "The Harmony movement last semester really...um...it motivated me to...-"  
Toph butted in again: "-ditch your friends and keep doing political mumbo-jumbo bullshit so you can feel more 'special.'"

"Yes!" Katara snapped in fast fury. "_Thank you, _Toph, for continuing to cut me off. _Yes, _that is _exactly _the reason why I chose to put-"  
"_Uh_-kay!" Sokka asserted himself over the two bickering girls, nudging them a bit apart. _That _certainly hadn't changed, at least.

"C'mon, guys," Aang eased, giving Toph a pat on the shoulder and Katara a kiss on the head. "We're together right _now, _and Sokka's with us! We should...focus on _that_ right now, shouldn't we?"

"A.K.A.," Jane put in, cracking a grin, "Quit yer bitchin', and let's have a good night while we're all in the same fuckin' place."

"Eloquently put, Freckles," Sokka thanked her, offering her a high-five.

"Yea, thanks," Jane muttered back with a smirk, staring at his extended hand.

He raised his brows at her in an expectant gesture, and she rolled her eyes before pounding her palm into his.

"_Ohhhh, _high-fives!" Toph burst out, eager as anyone to change topics. She extended both of her hands out, stretched open to receive claps.

Her face scrunched up in a flinching expression as she endured the hand-slaps she received from her friends. Sure enough, as she had anticipated, someone bopped their hand onto her head. Then another. Then another.

"_Yyeeaaaa,_" Toph sighed with facetious irritation. "Feelin' the love, here, guys, you really-_hUrRrgHh!_"

A chilling shudder erupted from Toph as if she'd been doused in freezing water. She scrambled her limbs to push away at Sokka, who had just administered a wet willy into her ear.

"_Ho-_ho, you little...-" Toph was clearly joyful in her sadism, wriggling feeble karate chop gestures in Sokka's direction. She and Sokka then began engaging in a tickle fight, which Aang attempted to referee in the hopes of them not bumping any passers-by, such as the students who had just placed their orders.

"_All right, _jack-offs!" June teased them from up ahead. "Settle down, now, settle down..."

"Hi, June!" Sokka cheerfully waved inbetween tickle bouts.

Jane walked up to the counter, where June awaited. She noted the look of dull disinterest on June's face, and smiled.

"Yea, so...-" Jane glanced back over her shoulder to see Katara apologizing hastily to a student whose table had just gotten bumped by Toph's blind kicking when Sokka had scooped her up. Jane turned back to June. "Our, uh, favorite slacker is on campus for Homecoming..."

"Good-_ie_," June deadpanned. "Anyway, what's up, Shamrocks? Whatcha want?"

"We're gonna go with four bacon-cheddars," Jane replied, tapping her knuckles on the countertop. "N' one veggie burger."

"Y'all right," June slurred, grabbing a stack of five cups and plunking them down. She scribbled up some order slips, and Jane took note of the charges showing up on the register before her.

Katara, who'd been beside Jane this time, plopped down enough cash to pay for about four of the five meals, leaving Jane to pay only for her own.

June rung them up and handed them back some change.

"Haven't seen _you _here lately," June noted to Katara.

"Yea," Katara breathed out. She was feeling incredibly self-conscious about everyone remarking on her lack of presence that semester. "Staying busy..."

"Ain'tchoo both Seniors now?" June remarked to both the red-head and the Canadian.

"Mm-hm," Katara hummed with a nod.

"Shit," June puffed. "Then _three _of you idiots will be outta my hair soon," she teased. "Then it'll just be...-" She nodded her head over to Toph, who was being held back from Sokka by Aang. "-...fuckin' Gimpy n' Wimpy over there."

Katara laughed meekly at June's derogatory terms, gazing at her boyfriend and roommate as Sokka cheered their light wrestling on.

"Don't forget Korra," Jane offered.

"_Ugh, _don't remind me," June joked. "But, yea, so...You holdin' up OK, kid?" She tipped her chin up toward Katara, who seemed oblivious - distracted by Toph elbowing Aang in the stomach.

"Kat," Jane prodded, slapping her friend with the back of her wrist.

"Mm?" Katara's eyes widened as she realigned her eyes on what was happening right beside her.

"I figured," June flatly noted her friend's lack of awareness. "You should try to _relax_ for a bit," she advised.

"Oh..." Katara responded, a bit confused. She was jarred by Jane's hand slapping her on the back.

"We'll get her to sit still for a few minutes," Jane assured, grinning at the still-befuddled Katara.

"Anyways," June sighed. "You kids...have fun, or some crap."

"Later," Jane bid her boss.

"Now, oughtta my _face_," June facetiously growled, irritably wriggling her hands at the two college girls before her.

Katara scooped up their stack of cups, nodded farewell to June, and her and Jane approached the soda machine.

"What was _that _about?" Katara grumbled.

"Hard to tell, I know," Jane answered, "but she was a little worried about ya."

"...She was?" That was bewildering to Katara - the idea of June being worried about other people in general.

"Yea, she actually _asked _how you were doing," Jane explained. "'N anyway, you _do _look kinda run-ragged."

"Gee, _thanks_," Katara grunted as she filled up a cup of water for Aang.

"You need a break, is all I'm sayin'." Jane sighed at Katara's grouchy silence. "C'mon, Kat. Your brother's here - you've been runnin' around doin' all this shit...Just take a _load _off for the weekend."

"I'm...I'm _trying_," Katara sighed, pouring some fruit punch into her own cup. "B-but it's-..._You _see the way Toph's been-..._Rrgh_, and the council, they-"  
"Breathe." Jane clamped her scrawny fingers on Katara's wrist as Kat had let go of the fruit punch button.

Katara, frozen in place by her friend's gesture, swapped gazes with her olive-eyed companion, who seemed pretty serious about her suggestion.

Katara sucked in a slow, deep breath through her nose, and exhaled with just a little more peace than she'd had the moment prior.

"'_Atta_ girl," Jane encouraged, releasing Katara with another pat on the back.

"Everything OK?" came Aang's quiet question from Katara's opposing shoulder. His arm slid around Katara's waist, and she nodded hastily.

Katara filled the second half of her cup with Sprite soda. "Y-yea, Sweetie, I'm...just...-" Katara was flustered by this notion that she was off-point.

"She's stressed," Jane bluntly said it. "Some greasy food'll help." Jane filled her cup with root beer. "Nothing a slab of _meat _can't fix."

"Ehh," Aang replied half-heartedly, sipping at his water.

"What's this about _meat_?" Sokka interjected, tugging Toph their way.

Jane raised her brows slyly at Aang and Katara, evidently proud of drawing Sokka's attention.

"Did you guys just order for us?" Toph asked.

"Yea," Katara replied. "You were...fooling around, and...-"

"Why didn't you...-?" Toph began with some irritation.

"I was trying," Aang pre-emptively answered Toph's question.

"What did you get us?" Sokka inquired, taking the last two cups for he and his girlfriend.

"_Katara _bought you guys bacon cheeseburgers," Jane told them.

"OK, OK," Sokka said with an easing nod.

"And Aang can have a _pretend _burger, and be part of the group," Jane teased, sticking a sideways tongue out at the vegetarian. He shot her back a playful glare.

As Sokka topped off both his and Toph's cups with Dr. Pepper, Toph sighed, crossing her arms.

"I coulda paid for my own food," she mumbled.

"I just wanted to treat you guys," Katara complied.

"OK!" Sokka bellowed, two sodas in hand. He cautiously and intentionally bumped his elbow into Toph's head, and she smirked, reaching up her hand to latch onto his arm. "Where have you guys been sitting since our booth got destroyed?"

"Just...at any booth," Aang replied.

"'Just _any _booth,'" Sokka mocked. "How pedestrian."

"How droll," Toph agreed.

"How _blasé,_" said Sokka.

"Humdrum!" declared Toph.

"_Plebeian_," Sokka added.

As they went back and forth, making their way to an empty booth and receiving odd looks, Jane made a gagging gesture to Aang and Katara. Aang chuckled lightly, and Katara smiled weakly.

Jane took note of Katara's oddly pale expression, and asked Aang, "Mind if I borrow her for a sec?"

Aang shook his head and shrugged complacently, sending Katara an inquisitive glance. Katara slightly shook her head in ignorance at him.

"Bathroom break," Jane insisted, dragging Katara by the hand off toward the restroom.

"I don't...-!" Katara muttered defensively, being pulled off from the group.

Jane didn't let go of Katara's hand, though - not until they reached the public restroom. After entering the tile-encased chamber, which was cleaner than usual - probably for Homecoming weekend, Katara suspected - Jane released Katara, then inspected the set of stalls. They were all empty, meaning the bathroom was all theirs for a moment.

"Jane, what are you...-?" Katara asked, standing in front of the set of sinks and mirrors. "If you wanted to talk for a minute, we could've just...-"

Jane entered a stall and closed the door. Katara could hear Jane unzipping her khakis as Jane explained, "Actually, I _really _gotta piss here, so I figured, two birds, one stone."

"Charming," Katara dryly replied, but a humored smile found its way to her face - which she realized when she noted her own reflection.

"So!" Jane grunted, sitting herself down. "You _do _get why Toph's got a stick up her ass with your name on it. Right?"

The trickling sound of Jane relieving herself echoed through the bathroom, leading Katara to roll her eyes.

"I guess," Katara said, having to raise her voice a bit to ensure Jane heard over the sound of-..._Yeesh__. _She really had been holding it in, or something, huh?

"I've been trying to get her to stay off your case," Jane explained. "But ya'll are both _so _fuckin' stubborn," she noted with a laugh.

Katara nodded to her own reflection, the bathroom still echoing with the trickling of liquid.

"I know she's upset because I was late today," Katara admitted. "But...I _had _to take care of things to help make sure the banquet is in order tomorrow, and...-"

"Do you even _like _that stuff, though?" Jane wondered.

Katara didn't have an answer for that. Not an instantaneous one, anyway.

"Wh...what do you mean?" So she asked for clarification.

"The student council shit," Jane grunted. Just as it seemed she was about finished on the stall...nope, she wasn't. It just kept dripping out. "I mean, I thought you wanted to be a teacher."

"I do!" Katara insisted. "I am! I'm...still finishing that up. Why do you think I'm so _busy_?"

"'Cuz you're finishing your degree, your doin' that independent study with your grandpa, writing for the paper, _and _on the student council, _and _ya gotta do teaching stuff and tutoring...?"

"That's...exactly right," Katara muttered.

"And where the fuck do _we _fall into that?" Jane posed.

"That's...-" Katara was distracted by the way Jane's urination was taking _forever. _"Jeez, Jane, what...did you...-?"

"Drank three large coffees right in a row," Jane snickered in spite of herself. "But hey, _I _got my school shit done before Sokka showed up. So...-"

"If you and Toph want to...just get by on the bare minimum...-"

"No need to get all touchy and judgy 'bout it," Jane remarked. There was a moment of silence, then a sigh of relief. "I'm just wondering _why _you decided to take on all this extra crap all of a sudden, tryin' to cram it in right before the end."

Katara could hear Jane zipping her pants back up.

"...M-maybe I've gotten a little-"  
_-fffwwwoooOOOOOOSSSSSHHHH...!-_  
Katara's eyes dulled with annoyance at Jane's toilet flush interrupting her.

Jane strode out of her stall, all satisfied-like, and went to wash her hands.

"I admit, I've gotten a little carried away," Katara confessed over the running water. "I just didn't want to leave SRU behind without...you know..._saying _something. Making my mark, leaving behind...-"

"So you forced it," Jane concluded. The automatic sink turned out, then instantly switched back on as Jane continued to rinse her hands.

"Look, Jane, my mother, she...-"

"Did great things, n' stuff," Jane said with a nod. "Yea, I know."

"The whole _reason _Sokka and I went to SRU," Katara defended, "was because of our Mom."

Jane wiped water across her acne-speckled forehead, washing sweat from her face. She had to start the motion-sensing sink up again.

Jane noted, "You wanna, like, hold up that legacy. Follow in your mom's footsteps. Sure." Jane walked around Katara to the paper towel dispenser and tore off a sheet, drying her hands. "But you're missin' what I'm sayin', here, Kat." She took a second sheet and rubbed it across her forehead, drying it. "The reason you started goin' to SRU...doesn't have to be the only thing havin' a say in what you _do _here."

"What, like...I shouldn't be...-?"

"You should be doin' what _you _want to do, not what you _think_ yer Mom wanted you to do, or what the school wants ya to do, or whatever." Jane dropped the paper towels into the bin built into the tile set wall. "Ask yourself, Kat: ya been at this school for three and half fuckin' years. _Why _are you still here?"

"Um, to...finish what I _started, _obviously."

"Which _is_...?"

"My...my education, and...-"

"You coulda gotten an education _anywhere. _Why _here_?"

"I just _said, _because my Mom...-"

"Ya loved yer Mom. And ya love this school. But your Mom's gone, Kat. She ain't been here. She was a different person with different...goals, n'...-"

"And _what_?" Katara sighed, her patience waning.

"You ain't stuck around this place 'cuz of your Mom, or 'cuz of whatever political crap's been goin' down lately, or 'cuz of what anyone else expects from you. When things got rough, you coulda left. Coulda transferred, said 'fuck this, I'm out, not worth it.' You had every reason to. Hell, I almost _did _do that. N' yea, this is college. Yer here to...get a degree, get an education, follow in Mommy's footsteps, whatever. 'S why you started, but it ain't why you're still _here, _and it ain't what you're gonna take away from this when it's done."

Katara inhaled a deep, contemplative breath through her nose as she allowed Jane to rant, the pair of them exiting the bathroom.

"What's gonna stick," Jane went on to conclude, "ain't gonna be whatever...fuckin' _accomplishments_ you forced yourself to get done. Some checklist of expectations? Nah." Jane clamped her palms down on Katara's shoulders, as they stood in the back hallway of Appa's. "It's _this. _Us. You, me, n' the other idiots out there. Not what your _Mom _did, but what _we_ did, what _you _did. For a while, I kept trying to be Smellerbee. N' sure as shit, I figured out...that just wasn't me. Now _you're _all...trying to make waves with the White Lotus, give inspirational speeches, do...somethin' 'epic' with yourself, before you leave this place. What I'm asking you is...if that's what you actually _want, _or just what you expected you'd be doin' with yourself?"

Katara blinked at Jane's honest rambling, at last offering a nod of consideration.

"I just...want to enjoy some time with you guys while we're all here."

"Then let's just _do _that," Jane insisted, pulling Katara in for a tight hug. "Ain't so hard, Kat," she added with a heartfelt chuckle.

"You're right," Katara agreed in a relieved sigh, letting her friend's advice and hug pull her head out of everything else it had been swimming in. "Thanks, Hun."

"Yep." Jane administered a rowdy slap, advising Katara to "C'mon!"

Appa's was warming and welcoming that evening, positive humming with a higher level of energy than usual for the Homecoming buzz. Every couple minutes, the speaker system would go off with another student's name, proclaiming that their order was done. Jane and Katara found their way back to their table with a bit of difficulty due to how packed the place was.

"No, I saw it on YouTube," Sokka was explaining to Aang when they arrived.

"Oh. Great," Aang grumbled, pressing his palm over his eyes. "So my epic fail of a speech is on the _Internet, _too..."

"Well, the whole event is," Sokka pointed out, "but my point is-...Oh, hey." Sokka nodded to Kat and Jane as the two slid in across from him and Toph, nudging Aang over into the corner. Katara instantly folded her hand onto Aang's thigh under the table. "Uh, but," Sokka hopped back aboard his train of thought, "that stuff - getting up in front of everyone, eh? - that's...not really _you_, right?"

"Not really," Aang acknowledged with a timid shrug. "I mean, I...wanted to help promote the Harmony Restoration Movement, I just...think I was better at doing that with my art - behind the scenes."

"And that's perfectly fine," Katara instantly encouraged. "I'm sorry I pressured you back then into doing that."

"Well, no, you let off," Aang assured, "it was my own choice. And I did it, ya know? I'm glad I did, even if it...wasn't as big a thing as all that."

"Every show needs a showrunner," Toph pointed out, "but it also needs the people backstage. 'Cuz The Talent - that's folks like me," she put in with some mock arrogance, "-we can't shine without our roadies, our...stage crew. Cleaning up the stage for us, pickin' up the beer cans and broken bottles when the show's over..." She slumped back in her chair a bit with an oddly wistful breath that Katara took note of.

"How'd we even get back on this stuff?" Jane wondered, taking a gulp of her drink. "Shit's old news, ain't it?"

"I was takin' a look-see at this," Sokka waggled a wrinkled copy of the most recent issue of The White Lotus paper. "As soon as I landed in Cali, I pretty much just...tuned _outta _all this stuff."

"That 'stuff' is _still _a big deal to the people who are still here," Katara pointed out.

"Sugar-Queen's been doing a lot of work for the paper lately," Toph reminded Sokka. "So be _sensitive_."

Katara was irked by this remark, as she honestly couldn't tell if Toph meant it in earnest, or was taking a dig at Katara getting involved with it - likely some mixture of the two.

"'Kay," Sokka went on. "Forget that Harmony thing, but I gotta know more about _this_...So Zuko and his psycho sister _left _their dad's company and started a _new _one?"

"They did," Katara said. "And Azula's not a 'psycho,' Sokka, she's...just got some issues - like _all _of us?"

Sokka scoffed out a half-laugh, half-sigh, before remarking, "Last I saw of Ty-Lee's girlfriend, that lady needed to be in a _strait _jacket and _chains_. She was _scary._"

"She's gotten _better_," Katara snipped with a prim sigh through her nose. Naturally, Sokka would only talk about human beings in simplified, exaggerated terms.

"She _must _have," Sokka conceded, pointing to the paper's article, which featured a photo of Ms. Kurosawa and Miss Sato in formal attire. "I mean, especially if she convinced _Zuko _to help with...-"

The sound system in Appa's went off for the second or third time since Kat and Jane had returned, but instead of a single name, June's hum-drum tone shouted a bit.

["Yo! Morons in the back! Two of your burgers are done!"]

Sokka smirked across the way to June, who was pointed her finger right at him.

"That's us," Sokka announced to the group, shuffling out of Toph's grip. But she latched right back onto him.

"Hey," Sokka pouted, caught in Toph's arms. She snickered like a child who'd just captured a puppy.

"Yyyyea, I'll go," Jane offered with a slightly disgusted huff as she pushed up from the booth.

"_Murrr_," Sokka whimpered with embellished gloom. "I'm hungry..."

"Me, too," said Toph solemnly, working her chin up over Sokka's back and onto his shoulder. With puckered lips, she detected her way to his earlobe and nibbled at it. "..._Yarr._"

"_Agh_," Sokka grunted with a flinch that was at once disgruntled and aroused.

"You guys are being more gross than _usual_," Aang pointed out with a small shake of a his head.

"Kissing!" Toph bellowed in a gruff voice inbetween two tiny lip-smacks with Sokka. "Gross!" Another. "Cooties!"

"_Ohhh, _my," Katara sighed, looking away from the sight. "We brought them together again," she noted to Aang facetiously with a lamentable shake of her head. "What have we done?"

"I immediately regret it," Aang declared with a stoic nod.

When Katara glanced back, she saw they were _still _making out.

"**_Oogie_**," Kat belted out at them, as if the magic word to get them to stop.

It worked, and Sokka - after a gasp of breath - whined to his sister.

"We were _hav-ing _a _mom-ent!_"

"_Tsh,"_ scoffed Toph, "I dunno 'bout any _moments. _I'm just being juvenile."

In her playful, giddy glee, Toph started tickling Sokka. His involuntarily wriggling caused him to accidentally tip his drink over, drizzling soda all over his lap, to which Toph snickered between her teeth.

"_Aughh!_" he let slip a subdued shriek. "My _pants_...-! They're...-! _Ughhh..._"

"Nice one," Aang congratulated his friend. Jane and Katara took their seat on the opposite side of the table, next to Aang.

"My _pantsssss_," Sokka continued to bemoan.

Jane, who was just returning to the table, set the two plates of food down as she stood, staring at Sokka's soda-covered lap and barely containing a snorting laugh. Aang was passing the napkin dispenser to Katara, who was leaning across the table to try her best to mop up the spillage on the table and floor.

"_Feh!_" Toph balked at Sokka's extended sighing. Aang had handed her a small stack of napkins, which she was drying her hand off with. "Relax, Meat-Head, _relax!_" She shook him by the shoulder as he frowned with discomfort. With a glint of mischief, she took a wad of napkin and pressed it into his soda-dampened pants, leaned on his lap, and growled into his ear, "Where _we're _going, you won't _need _any pants..."

Jane, who had yet to sit back down, made a loud mock-hurling sound.

"_Lookitthat_!" she spurted. "Gotta go to the bathroom again..." She made to stalk off in disgust as the group laughed, but Jane whirled back around with a bemused look at her friends.

Aang was stealing Toph's pickle during the commotion, Katara was using her shoe to wipe napkins across the floor, Toph was all-too-eagerly pressing wadded up napkins into Sokka's soda-fied nether region, and Sokka was glaring up at Jane with a deadpan look.

"Don't-!" Sokka started with an upturned index finger.

"**Oogie**," Jane blurted at him. "Ya know, Snoozles, it's kinda _funny _how non-oogie things were around here just _yesterday, _and then you show up...-"

"That was _my _word," Sokka pouted, arms crossed as Toph began to stack already-used napkins into his lap.

"I'm '_just sayin,'_" Jane countered.

"If the shoe fits," Aang airily agreed with a shrug before taking another bite of the pickle he'd swiped.

"My own students," Sokka seethed with bitter remorse and a dramatic, trembling fist. "Turned _against _me."

"I'm _against _you _all _the time," Toph pointed out. After the shortest of pauses, she squeezed in a phrase, which Sokka had seen coming and mirrored.

"That's what _she _said."  
Stupid grins of childish jubilation.

"Katara. Aang," Jane pleaded under the wily cackling from the other side of the table. Jane was shaking her head, pointing a thumb at the happily reunited couple. "...Don't," Jane put it simply.

"We would _never_," Katara sternly proclaimed, kissing Aang on the neck.

"Of course not," Aang complied, returning the gesture to Katara's head. He looked up to Jane's dagger glare. "We wouldn't want to offend your _delicate_ sensibilities."

Toph and Sokka clung to each other, Katara and Aang snuggled, and Jane took advantage of this time to snag the un-licked burger and chow down.

Sokka, hugging Toph sideways, let out a peaceful sigh as he watched Jane take the meat that he was originally claiming for himself. He smiled as he watched his friend eat it, his brain still wrapping itself around the idea of seeing her and his cousin going out on a 'just-as-friends' date. For a change of pace, Sokka actually allowed himself to see his little sister, pleased as punch with Aang in her arms, and much more relaxed than she'd just been. With Aang's head sleepily pressed against hers, Katara smiled back at her brother.

Their table was quiet for more than five seconds in that moment, the currents of students and sounds and smells washing over Appa's like a warm evening wind.

Sokka was compelled to breach their bubble of silence with a gruff Batman impersonation.

"These oogies aren't the PDA this college deserves, but they're the oogies it _needs_."

* * *

_"This is my family. I found it all on my own. It's little, and broken, but still good. Yea...still good..."_  
- Lilo & Stitch

* * *

- December - **Four Years Ago**; Katara's Senior Year of High School

"Wow, are you..._still _reading?" Sokka observed as he passed through the house.

"Y-yea, just...just gimme a sec," Katara muttered out, trying to finish the portion of fiction she was on. "I was...I was just waiting...um...-" She trailed off, getting caught up in the text again.

Sokka rolled his eyes at this, traversing right by his sibling. He'd just gotten back home after his first couple months of college, and some book had to come first, eh? That figured.

From the kitchen of the Kesuk home, Sokka immediately went to starting some coffee up. He noticed the machine already had water and - yep - coffee grounds were already in place. It just needed to be turned on now, no doubt pre-prepared by Katara earlier.

It was darker in the house than it was outside, the curtains drawn and much of the lights off. Why did Kat want to sit in a dimly lit building all by herself? No music, no TV...Weird. A minute or two of coffee brewing later, Sokka glanced across the way - she was still reading. Then Sokka noticed the note on the fridge: there it was, just as Katara had described it over the phone. It was a schedule of events for the week.

"_Argh_," Sokka groaned to himself.

"D-don't...-!" Katara sputtered, her voice cracking. "Don't you '_argh_' me!" she managed out at last. With that, she shoved her Hermione Granger bookmark into her brother's weathered copy of _The Return of the King _and slapped the book onto the coffee table in a huff. She switched off the reading lamp over her shoulder, choosing to sit in the dark living room, all of its lights now turned off - white light poured at her from the wide space over the divider between their parlor and the kitchen.

"Oh, OK," Sokka oozed irritable sarcasm. He watched the coffee machine trickle out dark liquid. "Should I '_Ughhh_' you, instead? Or maybe '_Rrgh_' or '_Blech_,' or-"  
"Or-!" Katara spat, cutting him off. There was a heavy pause as her raised index trembled with frustration in his direction.

Sokka, arms folded, brows furrowed, glared at her expectantly.

"_Or_," Katara finally continued, letting her hand drop to her hip. Her eyes darted around in a panic. "Or, y-you could...um..._not..._be such a...a _jerk?_"

"_Mmmm_, I _could_," Sokka continued to dole out insincerity. "But only if you stop being so weird."

"What?!" Katara balked. "Weird...-! You think I'm...-? How is...-?!" She was clearly in a tizzy, barely able to form one coherent thought into words.

"I know!" Sokka continued his rally of sarcasm. "It's crazy, right? My bookworm sister is a shut-in all time and she ends up _weird. _It's the darnedest thing..."

"I spent all evening cleaning up around here," Katara insisted, "making sure everything was neat for when you got home, and I needed to take a break and read, so...-"

"So you read in the dark?" Sokka retorted. "And by the way, thank you for, like-" He thumbed at the neatly typed schedule hanging on the fridge. "-planning out my entire week without, say, asking me what _I _want to do."

"Th-that was just...an...an _outline, _to...give us ideas, and-"  
"You forgot to schedule in time for bathroom breaks, by the way."

"Wh...-?"

"You're clearly not very experienced at making schedules," Sokka sighed, doling sarcasm.

"I cannot _believe _you right now," Katara growled through grit teeth.

"Believe it, Sister."

"Oh, I will, _Brother. _I'll believe what...what a _jerk _you are. Is this-...? Is that what college does? Makes people...-?"

"Oh-my-_god_," Sokka groaned, rolling his head around his neck. "I just got home. Would you calm _down_?"

"I'm _completely calm!_" Katara hissed, her eyes conveying quite the opposite.

Katara's wide-eyed look of desperation clashed with Sokka's dull apathy, but their glares stuck to each other for a moment of tense quiet until Sokka pried his gaze away.

"Mmmyea," Sokka murmured. "I can see that...What, with the severe case of _Grumpies _you've got going on today."

He poured his coffee, and Katara sighed rather loudly through flared nostrils.

Katara groaned, "You really are _never _going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Definitely not," Sokka peppily replied.

At this, his sister uttered loud growl of anguished irritation.

Sokka noted with a dry displeasure, "Things aren't going so well for you this year, are they?"

"Nope," Katara puffed, crossing her arms in her seat as her brother spooned sugar into his black coffee. "And my moronic brother sure isn't helping..."

"Why don't you...-" Sokka shrugged, stirring his coffee. "I dunno, can't you get out more, or...-?"

"And do _what_?" Katara snipped. "Hm? Go to a _club? _Go _partying_?"

"_Ech,_ no," Sokka sighed with an eyeroll. He dropped his spoon into the sink. "I mean, go see your friends, go...spend time with your boyfriend, or...-"

"I don't _have _a boyfriend anymore, Sokka," Katara pouted with a grouchy disdain. "Our jerk of a cousin _took _him off my hands, remember?"

Sokka went slack-jawed. He didn't really remember, if he was being honest. He'd sort of been tuning out his phone calls and e-mails with his sister for a solid month as he'd buckled down for his first college semester's conclusion - she seemed to always have something to whine about, some reason to be upset, as if he was the only person she could talk with, or something. It got exhausting.

"You _don't _remember!" Katara realized with some shock. "_Rrgh, _I can't...-! Do the things I say go in one ear and out the other?"

"I remember it was an _e-mail_," Sokka tried to explain. "And I was _kinda _working on final exam stuff at the time, soooo...-"

"Fine," Katara puffed dismissively.

"And technically," Sokka added, "it would've gone in my _eyes, _not one ear, so-"  
"Shut _up,_" Katara whined, not in the mood.

"Sorry," Sokka murmured half-heartedly.

"No, you're not," Katara asserted under her breath.

"I am a _little_," Sokka insisted in equally quiet words. "Uh, whhhhhell, what about your friends?" Sokka drummed his fingertips on his mug as he rounded the divider counter between the kitchen and living room and joined his sister on the sofa. "Those, uh, those two sisters that live a few blocks away?"

"_Fff, _they don't talk to me anymore." Katara explained. "Niyok and me were-...Well, we just drifted apart this semester, I dunno. Nutha - that's her sister, which I _doubt _you remember - she graduated last year? And now she dragged Niyok into working at this warehouse job with her, they're busy all the time...And Nutha won't even _speak_ to me anymore, she just...gives me the stink-eye, and I don't...-" Katara took a deep breath. "I'm not even sure what I _did, _she blows me off whenever I try to say 'hi,' and then Niyok just goes along with it...They're sisters, I mean...One of them is upset with me, so both of them are. _Ugh. _It's a mess."

"Eh, that's...-" Sokka shrugged, his instinct wanting to blurt out, 'typical high school bullcrap.' But Kat was still _in _high school, so...he decided to tread lightly. Even after a few months of college, he had figured out that nothing pissed off an adolescent more than being reminded _of _their adolescence. Even in college, it could be a problem. He just knew if he spit out his genuine opinion, he'd be met with a 'don't patronize me!' reaction.

"It's _dumb_," Katara stated plainly, picking a word for her friend situation in spite of her brother's incomplete sentence.

"Well, so what?" Sokka tried to roll it off. "Screw them, they're-...Meh, I never really liked 'em, anyway. What about your other friends?"

"I don't _have _any other friends," Katara cited gloomily. "They either...live too far away, or...we've had a falling out, or they just...don't _care_."

"...Mm." Sokka sipped at his steaming, sugar-infused dark drink. He had specifically left creamer out because what kind of man drank coffee with creamer, eh?

"I'm so _sick _of high school," Katara bemoaned. "Please, God, _please _tell me it gets better..." She whimpered these words out, hands clasped as she looked to her brother with an exaggerated plea.

Sokka smirked and sipped more, then set his coffee mug down on the coffee table. As he considered a response, he scratched at the scruff forming on his neck - he'd started shaving more often, and it was making his face really itchy if he let it grow for a few days.

"It's...-" Sokka trailed off with a fluttering of his lips. He watched Katara fussily pick up his mug and set a coaster beneath it. He laughed through his nose as she straightened her skirt, sitting upright beside him. "College is what you make of it, Kat."

Katara's brows lowered, this response not impressing her very much.

"I'm just saying," Sokka defended himself from her glare. "It's more open, you've got more freedom. You make what you want with it. You can lock yourself in your dorm room and spend all your time working and get good grades...or you can coast on the bare minimum and enjoy that freedom with other folks your age, eh?"

"_Or,_" Kat proposed, "can't you try to strike a balance?"

Sokka nodded, eager to placate his irritable sister.

"You sure can," Sokka confirmed.

Silence fell over the both of them, each avoiding each other's gaze. Sokka slurped at his drink. He was working through the bitter taste slowly but surely. He'd learn to like it. Then he and Dad could...share a dark roast in the morning, exchange chatter over the newspaper. That's what he had decided would go down the next morning.

"So, how's dad holding up?" Sokka wondered.

"He'll be home in a couple hours," Katara murmured. "If he actually does what he _said _he'd do this time..."  
_Yikes, little bit of disdain there, much, Little Sis?_

"I know when he's coming home," Sokka cited. "I asked how he's _doing_."

"Oh..." Katara seemed to blink herself out of a dreary stupor. "He's-..._Yea. _I mean, you know..."

"Nnnno, I actually..._don't_," Sokka replied with slow, building impatience. "That's why I'm asking."

"He's getting by," Katara awkwardly dodged.

"Is he...back to seeing his counselor?" Sokka asked more directly.

"Oh, y-yea, of course, he...-" Katara trailed off, fidgeting with her hair.

"And his meds?"

"R-right, mm-hm." Katara nodded hastily. She shrunk a little at her brother's expectant stare.

"Aaaaand are _you _doing those things?" Sokka sternly pressed.

"I'm...I'm _working _on getting around to it," Katara mumbled, tugging at her hair and twirling it around her index finger as she looked down at her book.

"Katara," Sokka sighed with disapproval.

Katara lashed out in a grumble, "I'm _sorry _that the rest of us can't just...just _forget _about everything and...and _leave _and just...-"

Sokka's eyes glazed over as he endured his sister's embittered words. He simply didn't know what to say to her when she got worked up like this. He couldn't force himself to pull up feelings that weren't affecting him.

"I don't _get you, _Brother," Katara frigidly proclaimed. "I can't comprehend how me and Dad have such issues with this, but you can...just...-"

"Move on?"

Sokka had meant the words in earnest thought, but his sister was obviously taking them as an insult based on the way her face contorted at him.

Katara hissed with a sharp tongue, "I watched our Mother get _stabbed _and _bl__eed to death _right in front me - in my _arms_ - and you're just telling me-?"  
"That I must be some inhuman robot incapable of emotion?" Sokka countered.

That left Katara frozen in her tracks. Sokka could feel his cheeks burning, his eyes beginning to water. And he could tell that his sister could see it by the flicker in her expression.

Sokka mumbled out some kind of explanation. "Just because I don't _show _it - just because it doesn't hit me as hard - that doesn't mean I don't feel anything."

After a moment of stiff tension, Sokka thumbed at the corners of his eyes, looking down at the coffee table. The book Katara had been reading - _The Return of the King _- that was Sokka's copy. One of a set of Lord of the Rings books that Mom had given him when he was ten. He could still remember her reading them aloud to him, making funny voices as she did so. He preferred her version of Gollum's voice over Andy Serkis'. But he'd never say that aloud to anyone. They wouldn't get it.

Sokka had left those books in his bedroom along with his collection of sci-fi and fantasy publications. He hadn't a need for them in college, right? He was supposed to be growing up. Becoming a 'man,' and that meant leaving all of that fictional nonsense behind. Didn't it? Just not thinking about that sort of stuff.

And here Katara was, indulging in his books - had she read the whole series while he'd been away at college?

He bent over, grabbed his coffee mug, and took a sip, staring at the book.

"I thought you didn't care about reading those," he remarked somberly, nodding his head to the book.

Katara, consumed with some guilt for having snapped at her sibling so, was trying to let her breath calm down.

She offered him a shrug in reply, opening the book and glancing at the weathered pen scratchings their Mother had left on the opening flyleaf.

_{When the Third Age ends,}_  
_{You'll still have a home in the Shire.}_  
_{- Kya}_

With a longing breath, Katara let the hard cover fall closed - an understated sound. She was reminded of a similar inscription her mother left in her copy of _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. _Something about how she'd still be in London when her daughter graduated from Hogwarts, or-..._Ech. _That thought only served to remind Katara that her mother had never seen that whole story play out. She was gone before the series was finished, leaving Katara to finish them on her own.

"Why'd you read it, then?" Sokka wondered, pulling Katara to thoughts of the _Lord of the Rings _book she was staring at.

"Dad had me clean your room after you left from Thanksgiving," Katara explained solemnly. "I...um...I'm not sure, I just...saw them, and...-" Another shrug.

Sokka's mind considered her motivation for giving them a read. Katara's words confirmed his guess.

"Stories, they...-" Katara cleared her throat, then swallowed hard. Sokka drank his warm coffee, its scent and flavor bitter. "I still remember, when Mom was getting us both into reading books...she, um...she'd...-" Katara opened the book cover again. Stared at that chicken-scratch ink writ by Mom's hand yet again. "Mom would say how stories help us..._understand_ others, help us...-"

Katara's lower lip was quivering as she trailed off, softly closing the cover with more care than the last time.

Katara fixedly gazed at her elder brother, and he hid his melancholy behind his coffee mug with a steady stream of sips.

"I thought...-" Katara started back up, rubbing the beginnings of tears from her eyes. "-...maybe if I read them, it'd...help me connect with you when you...were gone. Help me understand you a little more. You know? And...and Mom, too, right? Because she...-"

Sokka sighed gently, placing his nearly empty mug on the coaster Katara had assigned it. He wrapped his arm across his sister's shoulder and pulled her in a bit. They both stared at the book cover, and the Eye of Sauron stared right back at them.

"Did it help?" Sokka wondered.

Katata nodded timidly.

"A little, I...I suppose. It...-" She cleared her throat, still recovering from her emotionally wobbly state. "Yes, it helped," she stated with more clarity, working her arm up and over her sturdy sibling.

"Well, good. Good." Sokka nodded pensively. "Seems like that's _one_ thing we both inherited from Mom, huh?"

"What's that?" Katara wondered.

"A need for stories," he replied simply.

Katara smiled weakly, touched by her brother's astute connection.

"Yea. We did," Kat agreed, hugging her brother from the side.

It was in that moment that Sokka realized that perhaps his Freshman mind, abuzz with all of life's recent changes, had it all wrong. He decided right then that he should take his books back to school with him. A need for stories wasn't a childish thing at all - so long as he was able to see the world outside of the book covers all the better.

Sokka took in a deep breath as she patted Katara's shoulder, then released his grip. Katara watched him drink the last of his coffee.

"You, uh, want any?" Sokka wondered, tipping the mug toward her as he stood up. "I'm going back for round two here."

"Oh, um...-" Katara studied him as he re-entered the kitchen. "Sure," she decided off-handedly.

As Sokka went about preparing coffee for the both of them, Katara decided to join him, not desiring to sit alone in the dark living room again.

"And college, too," Katara mumbled.

"...Whuzzat?" Sokka replied, grabbing his sister a mug from their rack.

"That's something else we're both inheriting from Mom," Katara cited.

Sokka nodded in complacent agreement as he filled Kat's fresh mug with coffee. There was only enough left to give himself another half cup full, but that would suffice.

"Sure, but...-" Sokka shrugged as he thought on it more. "Isn't that normal? Kids go to the schools their folks went to? Siblings go to the same school together...all that."

"Nnnnnot really," Katara slowly retorted.

"...Oh." Sokka was starting to catch on to his sister's point here.

"Sokka," Katara grunted out with some uncertainty. She paused as Sokka ladled some sugar into his coffee. "Are you..._liking _it there?"

Sokka scooped up another spoonful and hovered it over Katara's mug with an inquisitive gesture. She nodded, and he poured it in.

"At SRU, I mean," Katara defined with a sniff and a scratch at her nose.

"Oh, yea," Sokka instantly insisted. He made his way for the fridge to get the coffee creamer out for his sister. "It's great." He'd said it in a way to placate his sibling's doubts, but he was enjoying it well enough. School was still..._school_...in his mind, though. The quicker he could be done with it, the better.

As Sokka searched for creamer, Katara added a second spoonful of sugar to her drink. In the process, she noticed the imbalance of coffee between their two mugs.

"So..." Katara probed hesitantly. "You're glad you decided to go there?"

"_Pff!_" Sokka was having trouble locating the creamer, lingering his head in their fridge. "It wasn't really _me _that made the decision, was it?"

"Heh." Katara's laugh was weak and a bit ashamed - hence her wariness in asking about this.

Katara tipped her mug over Sokka's, evening out the coffee levels between their servings.

As she did so, she added, "I guess I..._may _have twisted your arm into it a little."

"_Ha, _that's one way of putting it." Sokka was shoving various items aside at this point. "_Soo, _did we not have any creamer, or...-?"

"Oh, no," Katara explained. "We should have some milk, though."

"Blech, skim," Sokka noted the type of milk with some disdain. This made Katara smirk.

"_Well_," she cited. "That's what Dad and I have been drinking, so...we'll get some Vitamin D tomorrow."

Sokka lugged out the skim milk carton. Katara was leaning up against the counter in front of the two mugs. She accepted the carton from him, but didn't move.

"I'm serious, though," she pulled things back around. "You're...happy there?"

Sokka stood inches before his sister in awkward trepidation, his arms still outstretched from having carried the carton a moment before. He left his arms drop with a deep inward breath and nodded, letting his palms hang on his hips.

"It's good," he answered again.

"OK. Because I...I just don't-...I mean, Mom was the one-...But I didn't...-"

"Kat?" Sokka leaned his head down at her, brows raised. She fell quiet. He followed up, "I'm going to SRU because I kinda didn't care one way or the other - but you did. I promised you we'd stick together, and that's what we're doing. It doesn't have to do with Mom, or what she wanted, or...any of that."

Sokka could see that Katara seemed a bit stung by that remark, and he knew he'd come across the wrong way. She drummed her fingers on the carton of milk nervously.

Sokka tried to explain himself: "You chose SRU because Mom went there - and I get that. I chose to go there because it was what _you _wanted."

"R-right, and that...means _so much _to me, but, Sokka, you shouldn't just...do what _I _want, I mean, you're...-"

"I'm my own person, I can make my own choices. I chose to go through with my promise."

"...Mm." Katara nodded hastily. There was a brief flicker of pain and bitterness as she found herself considering how well her older cousin Korra was fulfilling the promise _she _had made Kya - which hadn't been so well. She cleared her head back to the current conversation. "As, um...as long as you _like _it there, because I can't...-"

"It's fine," Sokka eased her off that plane of thought, glancing at his mug from behind her. He frowned with slight confusion when he noticed his cup had more than he'd originally poured into it. "Seriously, don't..._worry, _and-...Wait, did you empty coffee from your cup?"

"No, I filled _yours _up with more," Katara cheekily corrected, pouring milk into hers.

"_Ohhh. _Well, then!" Sokka mocked her facetious remark, then chuckled.

Katara added milk to her brother's drink, then took the sugar spoon and stirred them both. As she did so, her sibling rounded the divider that separated kitchen from living room. He sat on one of the stools, his sister standing right before him across the countertop. She slid his mug a few inches over to him, and the pair took a swig of their drink. Dark coffee made lukewarm by skim milk, with a little bit of sugar.

It had a bitter taste to it that they both actively pursued that evening.

"Do you...-?" Katara began between her first and second sips.

"...Mm?" Sokka hummed, downing his second and third gulps in a row.

"Ah, I'm just-...I mean, it's...kind of-...When I, um, I think about it, and I...-"

"Kat. Just say it."

Katara sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, wrinkled her face with worry, and with a sigh, let her eyes glint with hope.

"Do you think I'll like college?" she asked. "Do you think I'll...actually find people who..._understand _me? Who will stick with me, the way I...stick with...-?"

Sokka watched his sister trail off her words as she took in more coffee. Katara fussed with her hair, shoving loosened strands behind her ears. Sokka scratched at an itch on his scalp. After this moment of reflection, he replied - with a question.

"Well...So, do you want me to be like _you _here, or...to be honest?"

Katara's brows arced with confusion, then lowered with irritation. Then arced again with pain. It all happened in a matter of two seconds, but Sokka caught it.

"Are you...calling me a liar?" she defensively demanded in an annoyed murmur.

Sokka shrugged passively.

"I'm calling you an _optimist_," he stated. "Same thing, basically."

That one seemed to really push her buttons, as her nostrils flared out with telltale fury. Sokka sure loved pressing buttons - sooner or later, Kat would need to learn to deal with people doing that, eh? Pressing her buttons: it came from a place of love and humor, and all that.

"Your friends," Sokka prattled, "it sounds like they've kinda ditched ya. You think _my _high school friends haven't? That's life. Get used to it. The guys I'm hanging with right now? I don't even know half of their names, and I _live _with them. You think we're still gonna be all buddy-buddy after we graduate? I wouldn't count on it. People come, and people leave, Katara." He made a slight nodding gesture to the necklace around his sister's neck. "Sometimes sooner than we expect."

Katara's brief bout of the Grumpies seemed to quickly subside at Sokka's implication, and she rubbed her thumb across the gemstone tied to her neck.

"I'll you what, though," Sokka added, staring into coffee. "No matter what happens with anybody else? _I'll _stick with you."

Sokka spoke the words with a purity unbecoming of him, and this didn't go past Katara.

"I know you will," Katara affirmed with a grateful, small smile.

"What are siblings for, right?" Sokka posed.

"For being jerks when we need it the least," Katara sneakily replied. Her tone softened when she added, "And for being there when we need it the most."

"Yep, yep..." Sokka slowly nodded in consolidation.

A pause.

Neither of them could look into each other's eyes, so they simply stared off across their dark, lifeless living room.

"I miss you, Brother," Katara murmured with some longing. "I miss..._us_."

"I know," Sokka sighed. "Me, too."

"Are we ever going to...have that again?" Kat wondered wistfully. "What we used to have? Can we have that again when I'm in college with you?"

Sokka shrugged.

"Like I said: it's whatever you make of it."

"Well..." Katara swallowed another sip of her bitter coffee. "All I want to make is...some _friends_."

* * *

_"You do care. You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."_  
— J.K. Rowling, _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_

* * *

- Saturday, October 22nd - Homecoming Banquet

The cafeteria of SRU was positively packed that evening. But the Fearsome Fivesome - Plus Sokka - was caught in their own little bubble of bliss alongside a few friends. Toph was dressing in one of her recital dresses: simple, black, with spaghetti straps. Sokka was in a business casual mode, with blue dress pants, his button-down, collared shirt of plaid checkered blue hues tucked in. Aang was similarly dressed, sporting the same black SRU logo tie he'd worn to the previous Homecoming affair, his hair slicked up at the front into short spikes. Likewise, Jane was wearing that same black dress from the year prior, her old military-style boots clashing - or complimenting - the piece, with her hair finely brushed and trailing over freckled shoulders. Katara had locks of her hair braided across both sides of her head, her mess of a man brushed, blow-dried, and straightened out to linger over her soft dress of blue. Her mother's ribbon choker was clearly present above her exposed collarbones, and her hands were adorned in long, white gloves of satin. Even Korra, Jane's date for the evening, had arrived looking more presentable than Jane had ever seen: sporting a blue and white dress edged with fur, the same she'd worn to the ball with Bolin in the spring. Her hair, however, wasn't styled in any fashionable way, and hung loose and wild.

The company they were keeping during the banquet had Mai and Ty-Lee serving as a friend-date for each other with their significant others away on business, and Meng and Douglas were present and accounted for, somewhat keeping to themselves despite being in a group setting. Douglas was neat and orderly, the only one dressed in a full suit. Meng was sporting an unexpectedly quirky dress that had a pattern printed on it which evoked a tuxedo. Ty-Lee was in a pink blouse with black suspenders and red khakis, while Mai was proudly displaying a black-widow motif, her shoulderless dress supported by a spider-web styled pattern of threads.

They were all adorned with leis of various colored flowers to match the banquet's decidedly tropical theme. Only Meng and Douglas had opted out of receiving flowery necklaces - but all of the _drinks _being served were virgins, anyway.

"_HOM-__nom-nom-nom..._" Toph was really having her way with that watermelon half, face first. The bowl-sized slice of the mini watermelon would be her second - equaling an entire melon.

"Pace yourself," Aang insisted from Toph's side.

Toph swallowed, licked melon juice off her lips, and answered, "I _am_ - I'm pacing myself to the speed of...eating...fast."

"You're going to be sick later," Aang cautioned.

"Meh, it's worth it," Toph off-handedly decided, going right back to her indulgence.

Aang shrugged her off, glancing over to Mai, who was staring at Toph with a bewildered disgust. She and Aang exchanged wary smiles.

Meanwhile, across the table, Sokka was leading a discussion as to the shortcomings of a certain set of movies.

"I'm not saying it shouldn't _exist_," Sokka defended. "I'm just saying I wish it was _better_."

"_Ohhh, _burn," Meng chirped with a giggle.

Douglas, from Meng's side, asked Sokka, "So are you one of those guys who just thinks the books are always better by default?"

"Nah," Sokka replied. "People get hung up over which _kind _of thing is better; to me it's like, apples and oranges when you compare books and movies, or TV shows. Is it good for _what it is_? That's where I'm at."

"N' you think it's shitty," Jane observed from Sokka's earlier remarks. "For what it is."

"Nnnnn_oooo_?" Sokka uneasily answered. "It's not as _simple _as just that, I mean, it's more like, I don't...get why they made more of them if their heart wasn't in the same place. Seems like a waste, in a way."

"But if you're a _fan,_" Jane posed, "why do you _hate _it so much?"

Sokka replied from a couple of seats away, "'Hate' is a strong word, my darling, freckled-face simpleton. I _love _and _adore _the series."

"Coulda fuckin' fooled me," Jane grunted, bewildered.

Sokka retorted, "It's not _my _fault that some parts of it are amazing, and others fall flat."

"_All _right," Katara sighed loudly as she came back to the table with a tall smoothie glass in tow. "Who got Sokka whining about the Star Wars prequels _this _time?"

Mai raised her hand as she plucked a red grape from the bunch on her plate and popped it into her mouth.

"I think I upset him," she cited with the usual lack of empathy in her tone. "I said that I couldn't see the difference between which ones were 'good' and which ones were 'bad,' because they _all _seem terrible to me..."

"The original trilogy," Sokka prattled, "was produced a _while _ago, and you'd think that decades of time would make the newer ones _better, _not _worse, _is all I'm sayin'."

"You're '_just'_ sayin'," Toph mocked between bites of watermelon.

"Well," Mai argued, "that sort of thing is _expected _when you take a story, hand it off to some other guy, and tell them to make money with it..."

"_Oh-ho, _Mai, how _naive_," Sokka taunted, waggling his shishkabab toward her. "Now, isn't _that _the real kick in the balls, here? George Lucas wrote the books, he wrote the original trilogy, _and _he wrote the prequels. It's freakin' _bizarre _to me, that it's the same guy who wrote...fucking..._Jar-Jar _and crammed goddamn _pod-racing _in there and just the god-awful repeated cliches and-"  
"But you're a _fan_," Jane stated again, hung up on this.

"Yea," Sokka blurted back with a testy glare.

"Then why are you talkin' so much shit about it?" She stabbed her fork at her slice of steak and began trying to slice it.

"Be_cause_," Sokka retorted, lifting his tea cup with a dainty - read: fat - pinky finger extended. He took a sip. "I am a _human person thing. _I am vast, my dear Ginger. I am capable of having two different emotions at the same time."

"_I'm _not," Korra gloated with a laugh, jamming her own form into her steaming steak and tearing out a piece with her incisors and canines.

"You _are_," said Jane in a mumble, thereby begrudgingly admitting her understanding of Sokka's point while simultaneously not letting her date badmouth herself.

"See?" posed Sokka, leveling his fork at his cousin. "So you agree: even _Korra _is capable of the subtleties of human emotion, when she applies herself."

Both Sokka and Jane glanced at Korra, who held her entire slab of steak upright on her fork, munching on it like a cavewoman. She smiled wryly at them as she did so.

"_Mm, rehh_," Korra agreed with a mouthful of food. "Rwehn ah _abbly _mmshelf."

Jane caught herself staring at Korra's neck as the woman swallowed her food, and she refocused her attention on trying to slice up her own meat. It was proving a bit of a task, which was due in part to her being flustered by the social context.

Everyone was dressed up, out at a big public event, and Jane was feeling extremely self-conscious about what people would think of Korra as her date. She could keep using the 'just-as-friends' excuse, but there was more to it than that - her friends knew it at this point, but she felt too compelled to save face given how she'd stumbled her way into things. _Argh_, what a mess...

"Yo," Korra grunted, slapping Jane's knobby knee with her heavy knuckle. "Ya need some fuckin' _help _there?" she teased, regarding Jane's lack of eloquence in cutting her meat.

"Oh, um, _heh_," Jane squeaked out, flicking her straightened hair out of her face.

Jane's face was boiling warm as Korra tactlessly wound her arm around Jane's waist and enveloped bony, freckled hands within chunky brown ones.

"Ya gotta...-" Korra mumbled, demonstrating in a rather hands-on manner. With fork and knife, she rotated Jane's steak a bit. "-...cut _against _the grains, eh? Quit fussin' and just...cut right through." A single slice of rare steak was torn off, and Korra let it sit in its tiny puddle of red juices.

"Y-yea, I got it," Jane grunted impatiently, shrugging her arms at Korra's presence. Her eyes were darting around the table to see who had been observing their interaction. Sokka, Mai, and Aang were wrapped up in debating Star Wars. Toph was taking a break after having eaten the second watermelon half, picking earwax with her pinky and wiping it on a napkin. Meng and Douglas were whispering to each other, huddled over their dishes with giddy, shy smiles. Katara and Ty-Lee, however, were looking right at Jane and Korra - and Ty-Lee was sending Katara a sly look with raised brows, to which Katara rolled her eyes in good humor and nodded slightly.

"What?" Jane snapped with some defense, slicing through her food.

"_Nuh-_thing," Katara playfully replied with a coy shrug.

"Huh?" Korra mumbled, her hands having moved up to Jane's shoulders.

"Nothing~" Ty-Lee repeated with a musical tint.

Meng giggled quietly at this interaction, and Douglas nudged her a bit.

"-_ohhh, _Padme!" Sokka's mocking words floated over the table. "I-love-you-for-no-reason-in-particular-other-than-that-we-must-have-romance!"

"It _was _pretty forced," Aang agreed, cutting up his grilled cinnamon pineapple.

"Which would be a lot more OK," Sokka conceded, "if, I don't know, it was actually _written _in a way that was...not boring? And pointless? And gross? I mean, what _reason _do we have to believe those two love each other? At least Han and Leia had, like, moments of _sorta _realistic romantic awkwardness, eh?"

"You've _really _got a thorn in your side over this," Mai remarked.

"You noticed," Katara laughed.

"Come _on_," Aang said to Katara, "if J.K. Rowling made some prequel trilogy thing, _you'd _be upset, too."

"Not if it was _written _well," Katara cited.

"_Exactly!_" Sokka belted out his agreement, thrusting an arm out to his sister. "Although the Harry Potter series did that epilogue thing. Just, ya know, skipped time at the end? And just crammed a bunch of stuff in your face."

"...I _liked _that ending, though," said Katara. "It gave you a look ahead, you know?"

"Meh," Sokka shrugged. "It was too _far _ahead. Too little time spent too far ahead. Just felt forced to me. Just fanservice, ya know?"

"Thought fanservice was _good_?" Jane put out.

"It _can _be," Sokka noted. "But it's usually just dumb."

"Feeling argumentative today?" Aang observed.

"Hell yes, I am," Sokka laughed.

"Grrr_eeaa_t," Mai deadpanned. She daintily spooned some applesauce into her mouth. "You came all this way to debate about movies."

"All I'm saying is that when you make sequels, or prequels, or whatever...ya gotta _think _about what you're doing, or it's gonna turn out sloppy."

"And all _I'm _saying," Mai remarked, "is that most people don't _care._"

"He's, like, got kind of a point, though," Ty-Lee squawked. "Especially with, um, longer stories? Like Harry Potter, or-or-or TV shows, right? It's so _hard _to find stories like that with good endings."

"Well, but, nothing's perfect," Meng pointed out.

Sokka retorted, "You can still be _not-bad _while being not-perfect. I mean...-" Sokka turned to his girlfriend. "_You, _erh, _heard _those movies, Dead-Eyes. Like, say, the Star Wars prequels? What did _you_ think of 'em, Toph?"

Toph, who'd been quiet for some while, slammed her fist into the table, jarring everyone into silence. She grabbed the two empty shells if watermelon and stood up.

"_I _am not _Toph_," she darkly declared, hoisting the watermelon shells over her breasts. "I am _Melon Lord," _she declared, bouncing her assets about.

As she maniacally cackled, drawing perplexed - and probably some disturbed - glances in her direction, Sokka simply smiled, his cheek resting in one palm, elbow on the table.

"Horny much?" Korra picked. Toph shot a puffy-cheeked fuming expression in Korra's vicinity.

Toph commanded in a grim hiss, "Do not insult the _Melon Lord_." She drummed her thumbs on the melon shells she still held abreast.

Korra playfully scoffed, "If _you're _a Lord, then _I_ must be a Queen."

"_Hohh!_" Jane quietly cheered, administering a fist-bump to her date.

"Ah, great," Aang put out sarcastically, wiping his palm down his face. "More...sexual innuendos...while we're eating."

"Just like last night," Katara pointed out.

"_Just _like last night," Aang flatly repeated.

Toph sat down and cautiously removed her makeshift fruit bra, setting it down on the cafeteria floor beneath her seat. She now had dampened rings drawn on her dress around her boobs, to which Katara both smirked and sighed at.

"Sass and sex jokes," Toph cited, adjusting her dress' straps. "That's...'pretty much my whole identity.' Mm?" She leaned her shoulder against Sokka's side.

"_Eh, _there's a _little _more to you than that," Sokka remarked.

"A _little_," Toph conceded.

"Like the music thing," said Sokka. "Aren't you supposed to be, like, _doing _th-?"  
"The _music _thing!" Toph yelped out, bluntly interrupting him. "Oh, _awesome, _so I've got _three _defining traits."

"Nah, you've...got more," Sokka put out in weak, smarmy tones. "Like, erm, your..._hair_, your bubble-butt, and your...boob-shaped boobs."

"Aw, _thanks,_" Toph flatly responded, giving Sokka a playful shove. "Glad to know I'm so _complex._"

"Less talking, more _eating_," Aang commanded, much to the group's surprise. "We've only got a half hour before they start letting folks in for FestivAll."

"Whoa, wait," said Katara. "We're...all going to that?"

"Uh, _yea_?" replied Toph.

"I...thought we were...-" Katara trailed off. It made perfect sense that they'd all go to FestivALL - a regular tradition of the college - but in her head, Katara had imagined the weekend playing out differently. Hanging out with each other after the banquet, an epic sleepover in the basement lounge...Doing AeroDynamics at the soccer game the next day, playing spin the bottle and Dungeons and Dragons...

But whether or not they were plans she'd written down or just fondly laid out in her head, Katara was facing the truth: her grand list of events wasn't to be. It would just be another weekend, like any other.

"You didn't _know_?" Jane remarked with a lifted brow in Katara's direction.

"Nn-...I, um...-" Katara shrugged.

"She hasn't been _around_," Toph said pointedly. "So I guess she _wouldn't _know..."

"So, yea," Sokka blurted out. "This tension with you two? Quit it."

"What he said," Korra spat.

Katara, already a bit grumpy, glanced to Aang for some kind of support, but he gave her a simple shrug and a slight head-shake.

Toph started her usual protest of "But _I'm _not the one who-"  
"Nope!" Jane cut her off. "Just stop," she added with a ironically cheerful tone.

"See, now," Sokka proclaimed, "I can lay down a knowledge bomb on all ya. Just don't. Be. Dramatic. Boom - mind blown, right?"

Mai was shooting him a look of unsurprised disgust from across the table, and she opted to interject.

"_Or, _just...say, accept that feelings are a _thing, _and talk about them. Like adults."

"_Ohhh!_" Ty-Lee piped up, flicking one wrist about and pointing at Mai. "Yes-yes-yea-mm-_hm! _That one~ We do that one."

As Ty-Lee and Mai argued with Sokka regarding the merits of nipping social matters in the bud, Doug was muttering under the conversation to Meng.

He said to her, "It wasn't like this the past few times we've hung out with them..."

Meng wryly replied, "Yea, but not _all _of them were in the same room, heh."

Jane wasn't ignorant to the tittering, all-but-official couple. After chewing down a piece of delightfully rare steak, she leaned over Meng's shoulder and spoke to them.

"It's chemistry," she plainly explained. "Fuckin' table of elements, right? Toss 'em all together, n' what do you _think's _gonna happen?"

"Uhh..." Meng gawked at Jane and shrugged, while Douglas raised his brow.

Jane concluded with a smile, "Shit gets messy." She sliced through her steak the way Korra had just shown her and stabbed her fork into the meat with vigor. "But, hey," she added with a thoughtful nod, "Gotta experiment to learn shit, right? That's science." She cheekily added, "_Yea, _science."

"_Science, _bitch!" Korra cheered, one cheek puffed with food. She offered Jane a high five, and Jane shook her head while playing along.

Sokka would have protested about how his cousin had just misquoted Breaking Bad, but he was too preoccupied with another matter.

"-makes things worse and worse," Sokka was airily explaining to Mai. "It snowballs, and nobody wants that."

"It _snowballs _when people aren't mature about it," Mai countered. "So, _yes, _no one wants that."

Katara's stomach was squirming. She couldn't deal with this - her social awkwardness causing people to debate at the dinner table?

"Sorry," Aang whispered to her with an apologetic shrug. He could tell she was unsettled by where the supper conversation had gone.

"It's OK," Katara tiredly breathed as she let Aang kiss her on the cheek. "This is my fault, maybe I should...just go back to my room after dinner. I'm just making things worse for everybody."

"Katara," Aang said, giving her leg a nudge. "No, you're fine. Stop worrying, jeez."

"I can't _not _worry, Sweetie," Katara grumbled, her irritation slipping out.

"I know," Aang eased her, rubbing at her thigh. "But please, just...stay with us."

"What?" Toph prodded. Her tone had a tint of urgency to it.

"Katara was wondering if she should head home," Aang quietly explained. "She's not...feeling well, and-""Don't ditch us," Toph sighed. "L-look, I didn't...-"

"Hey, if she's not feeling well...-" Sokka shrugged, trying to scan his sister's eyes for an indication.

"Wh-?" Toph practically smacked him in the rib. "_No, _she's...fine, ya Dunder-Head. We're _all _going to FestivALL. Uhh, as a _group, _all of us."

Katara's eyes widened a bit at Toph's sudden burst of insistence.

"Being part of the group," Toph cited, quoting Katara, "means being part of group..._activities_."

"Activities?" Sokka repeated dryly.

"_Mmph._" Toph, flustered by something she seemed to be hiding, slapped Sokka again.

"_Oh_-kay." Sokka got up from his seat and tugged his hands at his two neighbors - Katara and Toph. "Let's have the best of both worlds here: Mai says you two should _talk, _and I don't want a part of it, _so! _Why don't you to...-" He eased them both up out of their chairs. "-...go...get some dessert? Or...go to the bathroom? Or whatever things girls do when they need to talk."

"I don't...-" Toph started with a pout.

"Go ahead, ladies," Aang insisted, giving Katara an amused smile. She frowned a bit back at him, brows arced in a similarly childish pout as Toph was carrying.

"_Come _on," Sokka insisted, pushing the two girls toward each other.

With a vocal huff, Toph extended her hand, and Katara took it. They quietly meandered around the long tables of food, lines of dolled-up students retrieving their meals. Katara led Toph to the back of the line for the dessert table. They stood in silence amidst the humming of the busy cafeteria.

"I'm sorry if I've been neglecting you," Katara quietly began after they'd both settled into a comfort zone of line-waiting.

"Mm..." Toph hummed, her grip loose on her roommate's hand. "Sorry I've been bitchy."

"I do that, too, Toph," Katara conceded. "We _both _get stubborn, and defensive, and...we repeat this pattern. We go in circles, I know that, and...it's so _frustrating, _but...-"

"It's fun to argue," Toph declared with a playful, optimistic grin.

"_Tsh_!" Katara spilled a laugh. "It is. I mean, at this point, at least, because we-...There's that connection - that understanding - that no matter what we say, we've still got each other's backs, we'll still iron out the wrinkles, and...-"

"Right."

"I had a chat with Jane," Katara explained. "And I'm thinking of maybe dropping out of the White Lotus next semester."

"Yea?" said Toph with some optimism.

"Yea. At this point, I think the people who started up a lot of these politics can...finish those things."

"That'd free you up for more important things," Toph pointed out. "Ya know. Like _me_," she said with a selfish glee.

"Hee." Katara grinned at Toph's predictable facetiousness.

"Seriously, though," Toph muttered as they took another step closer to the dessert. "You're not...skipping out on FestivALL, are ya?"

"Oh, I-...No, I suppose not," Kat decided. "I don't-...My brain's muddled right now. This weekend has just been a rushed mess so far. Nothing like I planned it."

"Eh, it happens, Sister-Face," Toph callously dismissed. "Just let it be."

"Let it be?"

Without skipping a beat, Toph sang, "_~Let it be, oh, let it be~_" They both giggled, and Toph finished singing the verse. "_~Ah, let it be, yeah, let it be~**There will be an answer, let it be**~_"

By the last phrase, Katara had sung along, and they squeezed their hands together.

"See, I _miss _this shit," Toph cited, shaking Katara by the arm a little as they made another step forward.

"Me, too," Katara agreed. "I also miss being around to prevent you from sticking _watermelons _on your boobs."

"_Heh_."

"You've got, like...rings on your dress now, it...-"

"It ain't no _thang._"

"If you say so," Katara chuckled.

"They got any pistachio pudding here?" Toph wondered. "'Cuz I miss that even _more_ than your nagging," she teased.

Katara laughed quietly through her nose at Toph's humor.

"I'm not seeing any," Katara replied. "I _do _see some garlic mashed potatoes."

"_What_?" Toph gasped. "How did...-? Nobody told me those were there."

"Maybe they weren't before?" Kat theorized.

"I think I've found my dessert, then," Toph declared.

With an entertained eyeroll, Katara grabbed a bowl and spooned a heavy helping of the mashed taters for Toph.

"It's...going to take a while for this all to get better," Katara cited, referring to what they'd just been talking about. "To get us back to...where we were. I wish I could've figured things out sooner. Had my priorities straight earlier. You know?"

"Yea," Toph sighed. "Me, too." Her slightly mopey tone was instantly erased at Katara's gift of potatoes.

Toph was all-too-eager to start eating them while they were still in line. Katara linked their elbows so her friend's hands were both free to scarf down the creamy dish.

"_Ahhh, _that's the stuff," Toph sighed with a warm smile as Katara nudged her along.

"Wow, _how _are you still hungry?" Katara wondered with befuddlement as she filled a bowl with fruit ambrosia, one-handed.

"You underestimate my _appetite_," Toph pointed out. A pause. "But your _brother _sure doesn't. Matter of fact, he's _almost _as hungry as I-"  
"Gross, _ulgh_," Katara growled, giving Toph a bit of a yank. They were just barely out of the line, and people were everywhere. It wasn't that Toph had no awareness of the public - she just disregarded it. Because Toph wasn't preoccupied with everyone else, just the person whose arm was around hers. Whose voice was speaking directly to her ears. Whose laughter was at the expense of her own self-inflicted blind jokes. Toph wasn't interested or worried about the '_them,_' but very much so invested in the '_us._'If Toph could let so much roll off her back so easily without letting it impede the '_us' _which Katara had taught her to take into account so well...then Kat could likely learn, in turn, to go with the flow was certain of this much: she and Toph shared a sense of stubbornness. A common thread of being headstrong. But with that steadfast will turned _heart_strong for each other's sakes, there was nothing they couldn't handle.

* * *

_"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."_  
~ Gautama Buddha

* * *

_**+ youtu . be/jYoPExq6WpQ +**_  
_(Fluvial Beat Deposits; Simon Stålenhag)_

Sokka took another drink of the moody lighting in the auditorium that night. Packed full of students and faculty, the college's traditional talent show of sorts, FestivALL, was underway. Intermission was currently underway, with some funky electronic jazz or some such filling the hall.

"I liked it, though," Katara concluded, regarding the last segment - a comedy sketch.

"Eh, it felt a bit forced that time," Sokka scoffed. "I mean, it was funny the second time they brought back the 'cabbage' gag, but this was...what? The fourth time? Meh."

"Well, _every_one's a critic," Katara remarked at her stuffy-headed sibling. She lamented the empty seat to her side, between her and Sokka. Toph had been occupying that space, but she'd been gone for a while now - she'd missed the entire previous sketch. "Where's Toph, anyway?" Katara wondered. "I thought you took her to the bathroom. Shouldn't you-?"

"She said she was gonna take a while," Sokka fibbed, shooing his sister as he eagerly gazed down at the stage.

"Maybe she shouldn't have eaten so much," Korra noted from the row behind them.

"Toph? Get carried _away_?" Jane sarcastically said from beside Korra. "That _never _happens..."

"_Hey_," Mai snapped with a sharp burn to her tongue. "Maybe we should be _quiet _and see what the next _act _is..."

"Maybe," Sokka scoffed.

Mai was sorely tempted to lean over and whack the idiot on the back of his head, as she was seated behind him, but she opted against it. To his left was that empty slot which Toph had previously , and then one seat over was Katara, then Aang. Mai was in the row behind, with Korra and then Jane on her left. Ty-Lee was to her right - Douglas was off with his own friends, while Meng was helping with the stage crew. She was probably one of the kids dressed all in black down there, helping rearrange the stage at that very moment as the lights were starting to dim back down.

The group was seat off to the left side of the balcony section, but right at the front, which offered a fine view of the proceedings, if from a distance - the big-screen TV up over the stage was helping portray what transpired. It was presently displaying the logo for the evening's event, alongside various sponsors who'd helped donate to make the event possible: the Jasmine Dragon, the Fire Cave, and FutureComm were amongst the organizations listed.

Sokka seemed pleased as punch, lounging back with his shoes kicked up on the balcony's edge. Ty-Lee was texting away to Mai's right, almost oblivious to what was going on around her. No-doubt she was updating Azula on what happened inbetween each act. Mai knew the whole thing was being video recorded - she'd just watch it again with Zuko when he was back in town. Toward the left, Katara and Aang were speaking to each other through the cluttered rumblings of the crowd. And directly to Mai's left sat Korra and Jane. Mai couldn't help but notice that Korra's arm was solidly planted across Jane's shoulder, and that the two of them were holding hands in Korra's lap. Mai didn't really know what to think about this, but they were having a good ol' time, and she'd never seen Jane so casual at a formal event before. So it must've been good, right? Mai could still remember when she barely knew the red-head, and was taking her picture at the prior year's Homecoming. She'd been wearing the same dress and boots, but had looked so insecure, so uncomfortable. Jane had been practically the opposite that night, and Mai was reminded of when Azula had taken Ty-Lee to the Golden Dragon Ball back in the spring.

"_No_," Katara gasped with surprise as the stage lit back up. "She's...-!" Katara was slack-jawed.

Mai smiled, and she could only assume that the rest of the group was, as well. They'd managed to keep Katara in the dark.

"Oh, hey," Jane nonchalantly said, leaning forward a bit and tapping Katara on the shoulder. "I think we _know _that kid..." She gestured to the stage.

Aang laughed, admiring Katara's glazed eyes. The multicolored spotlights reflected off of Kat's wondered eyes in a spectacular way. Her skin was hued by the dim atmosphere, her hands clasped up over her mouth as some cheers poured out at the blind musician's entrance to the stage. The Blind Bandit was a known entity on campus at that point.

Toph, still garbed in her black dress, now had her hair taut up into a bun, held together by an ornate hairpin of gold. Katara recognized it as an oft-ignored heirloom Toph had inherited from her mother, generally forgotten about in the depths of Toph's closet bin of formal wear. At least the melon-imprinted rings around the girl's chest had dried off by that point. She was also wearing her black shades, which added...an odd effect to the ensemble, but Kat had decided that it...certainly was _her_, anyway.

The Blind Bandit had a hot spotlight on her as she was led by Meng - garbed all in black - from behind the stage curtain to an isolated wooden stool at the front and center of the stage. She had her guitar strapped over her shoulder, and a microphone rested before the stool.

There were a few more cheers from the crowd, and then someone shouted something barely audible.

["**What?**"] Toph asked, her voice echoing from the speakers far louder than it ought to. ["**Oh, whoa,** let's-...yea, there we go."] She was mumbling as the sound technician readjusted her volume. ["_Sooo,_"] Toph began, shifting herself into her seat. She wormed her bare feet around the sanded legs of the stool and got comfortable. At this point, she was now alone on the stage, veiled in a white light from above while the rest of the place was pretty dark. ["Some of you already _know _me, sounds like...?"]

A wave of clapping and some cheers.

["I'm Toph Beifong - I play music n' crap. Now, but, I'm _blind, _here, so I can't really _see _how many of you crazy folks are here tonight, so gimme a shout."]

The auditorium exploded with shrieks, whistling, clapping, shouting...A veritable feast for the ears.

["Ahhh, _haha_,"] Toph quelled the raucous commotion. ["Sounds like we've got a full house!"]

Up in the balcony, Katara was still trying to come to grips with something very specific that she was hung up on.

"She's by _herself_," Katara was whispering to Aang. "No...no backup, no drummer, no-...She's just up there by herself, with her guitar."

"Mm-_hm_," Aang acknowledged with a bemused nod.

Kat's brain could only linger back on Toph's coffee house performances - intimate affairs. Was Toph going to serenade Sokka in front of the whole campus?

"So what kind of _music _is she going to play?" Katara demanded in a giddy, hushed tone.

Korra bumped her knee against the back of Katara's seat and observed, "I think we're gonna find out in like _two _seconds, Cuz."

["_Uhhh_...So. This is...a, umm...a song."] Toph strummed at her guitar, trickling a chord out across the auditorium. ["This one goes out to my Sister-Face; my sister-from-another-mister; my partner in crime. We, uh...We have our ups and downs n'-"] She cleared her throat, pushing her bangs out of her face and readjusting her shades so they were solidly in place. Katara could feel her face igniting with warmth. ["This song, it was, uh...originally written for, like...a daughter singing to her mom, right? But, so, my Sister-Face - I know you're here tonight - I just want you to know that it's thanks to you I'm where I'm at right now. Even after all of the bullsh-..._err, _everything I've put you through? You still look out for me, take care of me, care about me, respect me - the _real _me. And that's more than my _own_ mom. So, yea...Thanks. For that."] Toph paused, allowing for a wave of 'Aww' to drift across from the audience.

Up in the balcony section of the auditorium, Katara was frozen in shock, her face burning with a bashful gratitude.

Aang was squeezing her hand tight from one side, and Sokka tapped his wrist against her arm as if to say, '_See?_' And Katara realized why they had been so adamant about her being present that evening. From the seat behind her, Jane leaned over, ruffling Katara's hair with a teasing endearment.

["This is a little indie number,"] Toph explained, aligning her fingers on her frets. She dabbled with a few more sample chords. ["It's by Kiahna Saneshige. It's called 'In My Eyes.' Uhhh...Yea."] And with that, Toph began. As she played the opening chords, she added, ["So, hey, Sister-Face: I know I can't _see, _but that doesn't mean I can't look up to ya."]

**_+ youtu . be/LrZE97nAWo8?t=7s +_**

As Katara had witnessed in the past, Toph seemed to lose herself in her own singing. It was as if the entire crowd was a non-entity for the duration of her performance, and Toph was singing just to Katara. In those few minutes of breathy notes and heartfelt string strums, Katara lost herself in a whirlpool of memories, reflecting on how far she and her roommate had come. The problems they'd struggled with, the many times they'd frustrate each other, and the way they always ended up rounding each other out through it all.

_I wonder how I got this far, but you were always by my side_  
_And what we built up is this hope_

_When my arms aren't strong, you come along_  
_And help me hold this weight up off my shoulders_  
_And show me the way as I grow older_

_Have I ever expressed, I need you_  
_I always seem to see you, and look up to all you do_  
_We can look past imperfections to realize_  
_Just who you are in my eyes_  
_Just hope I look as good to you as you do..._  
_...in mine_

_Little things lead to big change_  
_You always knew the best moves, the right choices to choose, and the steps to make_  
_I pray every day that things stay the same_  
_And that our hearts will never falter_  
_And that my love will always matter_

_Have I ever expressed, I need you_  
_I always seem to see you, and look up to all you do_  
_We can look past imperfections to realize_  
_Just who you are in my eyes_  
_Just hope I look as good to you as you do..._  
_...in mine_

_No matter where I go, the distance will never break_  
_The stitches that hold us together_  
_And that's the least I can say - I can say_

_Have I ever expressed, I need you_  
_I always seem to see you, and look up to all you do_  
_We can look past imperfections to realize_  
_Just who you are in my eyes_  
_Just hope I look as good to you as you do..._  
_...in mine_

* * *

_"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow._  
_Don't walk behind me, I may not lead._  
_Just walk beside me and be my friend."_  
- Albert Camus

_"It's a very powerful thing when someone sees you as the person you wish you were."_  
- Veronica Mars

* * *

- Sunday, October 23rd -

"_Oh,_ yea. Multiple times," Sokka callously bragged, exerting a pleased sigh at the recent memory.

"_Ugh, _that's...nice." Katara squirmed at her brother's words as they walked around the border to the sports field. "I'm glad you two...took advantage of your night camping out, I guess. You _did _write in the journal, though, right?"

"Yea, I got around to that this morning," Sokka assured. "Your book's in my duffel bag."

Katara nodded, feeling relieved that he hadn't forgotten.

"You've got quite a bit of stuff in there now," Sokka noted.

"Did you...read it?" Kat inquired.

"_Tsh, _nahhh. That stuff's too sappy for me."

"Ah, of _course_," Katara facetiously remembered.

"But like I was saying about me and Toph: it's like we stock-piled all of our stamina from the summer for one weekend, and then just-"  
"_Please _don't make me pull out the 'O' word _again_," Katara cut him right off, leaving the both of them chuckling.

"You guys have been over-playing the 'oogie' card," Sokka lamented. "That was supposed to be _my _weapon against _you _and Twinkle-Toes."

"Yea, how'd that work out for you?" Katara picked, receiving a glare.

"_Speaking of_," Sokka tread onward. "You two are doing well. Right?"

Katara nodded with a simple but satisfied, "Mm-hm. We're fine."

**_+ youtu . be/Sj3mH1wN-eg +_**  
_(Reminiscence: Feelings Not Erased; Yasunori Mitsuda)_

A chilly gust rushed through the empty field, rippling the nearby pond and rattling the metal bleachers they approached. The grass was dry that afternoon, and the air was cold with the occasional but forceful breeze that tingled the spine and invited goosebumps. Katara's nose was already numbing a bit from the temperature, but it could detect the traces of Sokka's cologne from the wind that slapped it from his shoulders to her face. Her brother's face was also carrying a rather noticeable five-o-clock shadow now. Between the scent and the scruff, Katara concluded that Sokka had ensured that Toph's senses were fulfilled during his visit.

"I think he's in a similar boat as the rest of us, though," Sokka remarked as they began climbing bleachers. "Eh?"

"How so?" Katara wondered. As they ascended, she wrestled with the breeze to keep her matted tangle of hair out of her face.

"He misses the simple stuff," said Sokka. "Just spending time with you."

"Yea..." Katara puffed a vocal, exhausted sigh. "I've been...a lot busier more recently."

"Yeeeaaa, I sorta picked up on that, what-not with all the drama," Sokka observed. "How come you're so busy now?"

They reached the top rung of bleachers, and Sokka sat himself down, patting his palm on the tinny metal to his side. It echoed a wobbly vibration around them, and Katara took her seat beside him.

"I don't...-" Katara shrugged. Her shoulders flinched back up in a shudder as another cold wind swept by. Her brother hung his arm over her shoulder to steady her.

"Shoulda brought a scarf, or somethin'," Sokka mumbled.

"I know," Katara muttered back, adjusting the collar on her denim coat to better cover her neck.

"You were saying?" he probed, curious to hear about her semester.

"Ah, it's...complicated."

"_Is _it, though?" Sokka retorted. "You _say _that - that it's complicated. It doesn't sound so complicated."

"I just-!" Katara puffed out with some frustration. She cleared her mental palette and re-thought her reply. "I had...so many _plans_ for this year, and then everything last semester came all at once, and I...guess I let myself get caught up in it. In retrospect, it...kind of feels like I lost sight of what really mattered - why I'm actually here."

"Heh," Sokka nodded. "Yea, Jane was bragging last night that she gave you a pep-talk while taking a piss."

"_Pff, _yea, that...that was a thing that happened." Katara was slowly shaking her head, humored by it all.

"She's right, you know."

"Yea, I know..."

"Especially about that stuff with Mom."

Katara's heart skipped a beat at her brother's stern line delivery when matched with that thought.

"You keep trying to hold onto how you _want _things to be," Sokka noted. "Instead of accepting how things _are_."

"I'm..._acting _on things, to make them _b__etter_."

"Sure, sure. That's...fine, but, I dunno, Kat, it just feels like you're forcing it a bit too much here. Too much at once, eh?"

"I suppose."

"I mean, 'cuz college? This ain't like...the final season of some TV show, ya know? It's just one _part _of your life, and then there'll be another part, and another part...Life's gonna keep on goin' after you leave SRU. And that's how it _should _be. You can't stay here forever - so you can't do _every _little thing you meant to. There comes a point where you have to accept what I had to: you're gonna have to move on. Let go. College is designed to help you figure out who you are, so that you go off and be that person you find."

Katara inhaled the chilly autumn air, allowing her brother's words to seep into the pores of her brain.

"Sokka, I spent-...You _remember _how badly I wanted to get here."

"I do. And how much you needed friends. Kat, you've _got _'em now. And you've been pissing away time trying to _make waves, _cause changes, raise your voice, whatever...with all of these politics and stuff."

"I don't...I j-just don't get whhhhy it's so hard for you, or...or for Jane, or _anyone, _to understand, like...I'm...trying to make everyone _happy _here. I'm trying to make things better. I _care, _and...and so I want to carry on Mom's work, and maybe that's _better _for people because then...then I'm not just being all '_clingy' _and...-"

"You can't have your cake and eat it, too."

"Whh...Why _not_?" Katara insisted with a snippy frown.

"You can never make everyone happy, Sis, so just stop trying. All you're gonna do is wear yourself out, spread yourself too thin, and-...I mean, look: your friends miss you."

"I know, but...maybe there's more important things I have to take care of, and-"  
"Are you _happy_?" Sokka interrupted.

"What?"

"All of these social things you're doing? Do you _like _doing them? Are you _happy_?"

"It's a lot of work, but...but it's rewarding," Katara defended. "I feel closer to Mom when I'm-"  
"Answer the question," Sokka firmly insisted, tightening his grip on Katara's shoulder.

Katara glanced over at him with a shaky sigh and a raised brow.

Sokka repeated himself.

"Are. You. Happy?"

Katara's eyes quivered, her lip trembled, a chill ran up her back, her shoulder shuddered, and she shook her head with a quiet coughing sob.

"I don't want to...leave this place," Katara breathed out. "Y-you're about to...leave me again, and...and then _I'll _have to leave, and everyone else...-"

"That's life," Sokka said with a sterile sigh as he let Katara drip a few repressed tears into his jacket.

"I'm not _stupid,_" Katara growled hastily. "You don't need to _tell _me. 'That's life, shit happens, get over it,' I mean, _duh. _You think I don't understand that? M-maybe it's not so _easy _for me to...to just _leave _and...and _forget _and...-"

"Katara." Sokka breathed in through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. He had gripped his sister with some force to get her tensed body to still itself. "Let me explain something."

"...Mm," Katara hummed her acknowledgement, still leaning against her brother as she allowed her muscles to relax.

They both stared off across the empty sports field as Sokka borrowed a moment's time to collect his thoughts.

He began by posing to her, "You want to know why losing Mom hasn't...been so hard on me?"

Katara's head flicked sideways as she gazed intently at her brother's pensive expression. She allowed him to continue.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm just...more-...Well, yea. This sort of thing doesn't hit me as hard, I guess, but still. Even after Mom died, Kat, you...rose up. You - I don't know - you sort of took over where she left off. I'm not saying you can replace a person, but...you filled that _role _she left behind. You made it-...I guess it was just easier for me to move on with things because I still had...someone motherly looking after me. You've...-" Sokka made sure he looked at his sister square in the eye as he made this point. "You've just always..._been _there. You guided me here to this school. You've always trailed along beside me, pointing me ahead but also cleaning up the messes I leave behind. I guess it's...just been easier to carry on without Mom around because you've worked so hard, I guess I just haven't been left...wanting, or...needing more than that? I don't-...Am I...-?"

Katara nodded briskly, chewing at her bottom lip as his words left her heart swollen with relief and gratitude.

"I get it," Katara breathed shakily. "I didn't-...You've never explained it like that before."

"Yea. I'm sorry."

"N-no, it's..._fine_, I'm-...You did just now, that...-"

"The reason I'm explaining it right _now, _though," Sokka mumbled. "Can you...guess why?"

Katara's nose and lips squirmed with a mixture of bashful discontent.

"Maybe," she muttered bashfully.

"You're a motherly sorta woman," Sokka stated. He caught himself off guard when the word 'woman' popped out instead of 'girl.' "That's who you are. And you should let yourself _be _that, eh? You're running around, you're...writing for the newspaper, you're involved with all of this campus stuff, you're...all into penguins, and wearing Mom's necklace, and-...Look. Just because you're motherly, doesn't mean you need to be trying so hard to be who our Mom was. What I just explained? About how you helped make things easier for me to deal with? Mom didn't do that. You trying to...copy what Mom did? That didn't do that. _You _did that, yourself. And you do that for _those _guys, too." He bobbed his head back over his shoulder, in the direction they'd come from.

Katara seemed to have shrunken her head into her neck with embarrassment at her brother's brazenly open words of endearment.

"Don't waste your Senior year trying to walk in Mom's footsteps, Kat. Walk your own. Don't fuss so much about everything being perfect, because...it's _never _going to be. But..._ya _know. Do your thing. Be everyone's Big Sis. You've done a pretty good job being _my _Big Sis and...you're the younger one."

Katara inhaled a large breath, wiped at her runny nose, brushed her cold denim sleeve over her eyes, and laughed out a long, trembling sigh.

"Y-yea," she agreed with a nod. Her heavy, muddled heart felt lighter at her brother's compliments and his advice.

"Now c'mon," Sokka insisted, pulling at her with the arm that had been around her this whole time. "Being siblings means being part of sibling hugs."

Katara and Sokka embraced in a sideways hug that lasted for a few seconds. Katara could feel her chest welling up with a bittersweet blend of thoughts.

And then something she wasn't expecting happened when they separated: her brother was crying.

"Wh...-?" Katara had to double check, but...yes. Sokka was crying.

"_Fff_...Ahhh, man...Damnit," Sokka was sighing out words, embarrassed by his reaction to their time together. "Freakin' forgot how much I miss you, Little Sis."

Katara's face twisted with sympathy. She wormed her hand into her sleeve, and rubbed her denim against his scratchy cheek, drying it of its tear trail. Sokka huffed with stiff inflammation at her coddling, but allowed her to carry out the gesture.

"This is goddamn embarrassing," he shakily confessed.

"I miss you, too," Katara stated, not knowing what else to say beside the blunt truth.

"Uhh, I...mainly just...miss having someone to do my laundry," Sokka played the fool, rubbing at his face.

"I _did _always take care of that for you," Katara smugly recalled.

"Yup, see?" Sokka said with a shrug. "My socks haven't matched right since I left for college."

"Of _course _not," Katara acknowledged. "I haven't been sorting them."

"It's a tragedy, it is."

"Don't count on me _ever _doing it again," Katara taunted.

"_Ow-...Yowch_." Sokka clutched his chest, glaring at her. "Cut me..._so _deep, Katara."

"...Have you ever _smelled _your dirty socks?" Katara said with a withering laugh. "Let me tell you," she whispered jokingly. "_Not pleasant._"

Exchanging facetious smiles, they let the peaceful hush that fell upon them linger in a pleasant pause. The bleachers warbled their crooked accompaniment to the wind's afternoon lullaby. They both knew that they'd be separated again within the hour, doomed to an uncertain amount of time away from each other's company.

Katara absent-mindedly checked her phone, not knowing what else to do with herself in her worried state - Sokka had a flight to catch soon, after all. Based on the time, he'd need to start heading back any minute now.

"Ya know," Sokka puffed out wistfully. "I never asked for all this: the _drama, _and...and _gangs_, and buildings getting burned, people being shot...And," he remarked, ending his thought on deadpan humor, "I _definitely _didn't ask for all the girl trubs." He got an unamused look from Katara, which he shrugged off with one last, "I'm just _saying_."

"...But?" Katara prodded after he let the comment hang.

"At least it was _here_," Sokka concluded, nodding off toward the horizon. "We could've...just as easily gone to two separate schools. We could be leading totally separate lives. You know? And I mean, we _are _right now, sure, but...at least we had SRU. And, yea, it's...neat that Mom went here, we can share that - I don't know, after the fact, post-mortem, with her. But what's more important is that _we _- you and me, as we _are, _right here - we got to share this place. For a while there, we made SRU our _own_."

"I agree," Katara said with plain earnest. "But you're right - it has to come to an end. We can't live our lives if we spend it with our feet planted _here _the whole time."

"Yup, yupper..."

"It's...time to go," Katara sighed.

"Uh, _well, _actually, you've still got a little bit of work ahead of you before-"  
"I mean for _you _to leave," Katara clarified with a stony stare.

"_Right_," Sokka recognized hastily_, _hunching over his knees with a deep breath, hand over his face.

"Soooo...-" Katara began quizzically.

"_Godamnnit,_" Sokka huffed under his breath with a sniffle. "I'm such a hypocrite." He bitterly lifted his head up, letting his hand drop. He was back to crying again.

"Brother," Katara cooed with sympathy.

"Sister," Sokka croaked, his voice cracking before a bitter sob. "This...this being a _man _crap? It's...good, it's OK, I mean-..._Argh, _fucking _hell_, I really kinda miss you guys...like, a _lot_." He was just letting tears slide down his face at that point, but his tone remained solid. "I miss _you_. No, I _hella _miss you."

"...hella...-?" Katara was crying herself, finding this all therapeutic rather than sorrowful.

"I just said it before," Sokka groaned, having difficulty keeping his syllables stable. "You've just always _been _there, yea? Freshman year of college, I was...way too distracted to notice what was missing. But now? Out in...friggin' '_adult land?_' Oy vey. Just, jeez...I really miss having you around."

Katara gave Sokka a few seconds to catch his breath, and she rubbed his twisted back with tender regret. The coulda-woulda-shoulda's piled in her head.

But what had happened had happened. All of it had mattered, in one way or another, but it was time to let it be.  
To let it go.

Oh. Ah, of course.

Katara got up from the bleacher and turned to her still sitting brother, who looked up with confusion, his eyes puffy and reddened.

Katara reached her fingers up through her wind-whipped hair, cautiously unclasping the choker ribbon around her neck. Clasping it by the sapphire jewel, Katara extended the necklace downward. Its ribbons flickered in the wind.

"You should take this," Katara made her offer clear and apparent.

"Kuh-...!" Sokka was baffled. "Katara, I can't-...! That's...-"

"All that I have left from Mom?" Katara theorized. "I used to think so. But that's not true. Mom left me with something a lot more valuable than some old necklace." She wriggled her clenched fist at him, but he shook his head with uncertainty. "She left me with _you_."

Sokka choked out a "_Tch_," a sniveling mess. "Katara, I don't...need a memento from Mom to...-"

"Don't carry it for Mom," Katara replied with plain earnest. She sniffled, wiping tears with one hand while pushing out the necklace with the other. "Carry it for _me_. For us."

"It's...not very _manly_," Sokka whimpered with an awkward smile. Katara laughed and slapped him on the side of his head with a weak tap.

"Wear it inside your shirt, or something," Katara dismissed his petty remark. She knelt down to his level as she showed him how to unclasp and relink the necklace.

"My neck is too fat," Sokka chuckled with a tired sigh.

"You can loop a chain through it," Katara practically pleaded with him. "Just..._carry _it with you for now." She unbuttoned a chest pocket on her brother's coat and tucked it inside. She patted the pocket closed, and then ended up readjusting his coat's collar for good measure.

Sokka smirked weakly at his stubborn sister. She'd made up her mind, and wasn't going to let him walk away without the thing. But then again, maybe holding onto it for a while would help him understand her fascination with and attachment to such trinkets.

"Still looking out for me," Sokka observed, rubbing his sleeve over his puffy face.

"Someone has to," Katara replied, giving him a hug while she was knelt down.

"You are...the _nicest sister_," Sokka breathed out, letting his doubts dissipate in his sibling's embrace.

"I know," Katara agreed cheekily. "And you're just an _idiot _sometimes."

"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs," Sokka concluded.

"At least that makes _my _job easy," Katara said with a warm snicker.

"_Agh, _man..." Sokka sighed as their hug broke. "I love you, Sis."

"I love you, too."

"..._Ahem._"

"..._Bro._"

* * *

_"To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time."_  
- Clara Ortega

* * *

Katara and Sokka's tender sibling moment on the bleachers concluded. It was time for them to part ways. Sokka had a plane to catch, and Katara had college life to sort out.

Things couldn't move forward until they got off their asses and got their feet moving.

**+ youtu . be/qEGbjR1Y9Qo +**  
_(At Least It Was Here; The 88)_

**~Give me your hands; Show me the door~**

Katara extended her arm out to Sokka.

He accepted her grip and let her pull him up off his feet.

**~I cannot stand to wait anymore~**

The two trekked away from the sports field, toward campus.

**~Somebody said, 'Be what you'll be'~**

Their arms found their way interlocked over each other's shoulders.

**~We could be old and cold and dead on the scene~**

Sokka tried to throw her off balance with his weight.

Katara slapped him on the back of his head.

**~While I love you more than words can say~**

Their sibling shenanigans subdued into a placated, peaceful stride.

**~I can't count the reasons I should stay~**

They wandered across a cloudy-skied campus, its previous magic a bit lost on Sokka now.

**~Give me some more time in a dream~**

Sokka waved as they passed by an Aero House student he remembered getting along well with - but whose name he could not remember.

**~Give me the hope to run out of steam~**

Inside the first floor lounge of Aero House, Aang was waiting for them with Sokka's duffel bag, ready to go.  
Katara and Aang kissed, but Sokka didn't tease them about it.

**~Somebody said it can be here~**

Katara, Sokka, and Aang made their way across campus, Aang leading their charge with his roommate's cargo.

**~We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year~**

The cold, cloudy day only further imbued their quiet walking with a melancholic glaze.

**~I can't count the reasons I should stay~**

They arrived at the back door of the ACC, where Toph was jamming on her acoustic guitar by her lonesome.  
Upon meeting up with her, Sokka landed a wet one right on Toph's lips.

**~One by one they all just fade away~**

Katara and Aang gave them an ample few moments of 'good-bye' time.  
Toph and Sokka kissed, but Katara didn't tease them about it.

**~I'm tied to the 'wait-and-sees'~**

Sokka's duffel bag sat on the sidewalk. Katara remembered her journal.

**~I'm tired of that part of me~**

Katara unzipped the bag, finding the book resting at the top of a mess of wadded clothes.

**~That makes up a perfect lie to keep us busy~**

Katara scooped the book up and flicked through its pages, noting the new entry that had been added.

**~But hours turn into days~**

Aang rubbed Kat's shoulder, stirring her from her temptation to read what had been written.

~So watch what you throw away~

**~And be here to recognize~**

"Hey!" cried out a raspy voice from the distance.

**~There's another way~**

Jane was sprinting their way from the quad, waving for their attention.

**~Give me some more time in a dream~**

The lot of them passed through the ACC together unceremoniously and with a somber silence.

**~Give me the hope to run out of steam~**

In front of the campus center, Korra was waiting on the edge of the massive parking lot.

**~Somebody said it can be here~**

Korra coolly nodded her chin up at the group as they approached the bus stop.

**~We could be roped up, tied up, dead in a year~**

Korra then shoulder tackled Sokka, and they wrestled for a couple seconds before Korra easily burned a noogie into his skull.

**~While I love you more than words can say~**

The rest piled around Sokka, enveloping their 'Plus One' in a farewell group hug.

**~I can't count the reasons I should stay~**

Sokka's shuttle could be heard in the distance.

**~One by one, they all just fade away~**

Sokka was released from the group hug to the tune of good-byes and joking remarks and pats on the back.

**~Oh, I love you more than words can say~**

Through the commotion of 'see-you-later,' Sokka noticed his sister was back a few steps, giving the ruckus space to thrive.

As the bus pulled in along the sidewalk, Sokka gave Toph one last kiss on the lips. Jane got one past way-too-hard slap on the arm. Aang got one last ruffle against his head. Korra got one last fist-bump.

And of course, Katara got one last hug.

* * *

_"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."_  
~ Dr. Suess

* * *

**A/N: The next update will be the last for this story. Thanks for hanging with me through my meta-meandering self-closure here.**


	134. What I Learned

**THIS IS THE FINAL UPDATE.**

**We made it, folks. Here we are. **

**I will keep this space updated with relevant information going forward, but you can always follow my DeviantArt or my Tumblr (Destiny-Smasher on both) as well as the Facebook page for What I Learned at SRU for updates.**

**SRU has been an eye-opening experience that has helped me realize where my life's passion really lies: in telling stories. But I can't go much of anywhere doing that solely in the realms of fanfiction. And in so many ways, I've almost fooled myself - and all of you - into thinking that SRU was just some fanfic, when it really evolved into so much more, and with some more work still, it could stand on its own two feet with its own identity, the same way its characters have.**

******Thanks to everyone who has given this story a try - especially those rare few who have never even watched Avatar. I hope at least some of you will be there when this project is reborn unto its own, or even look into the new, original projects I will be working on going forward. Over the past few years, some of you fine folks have left messages talking about how my words have moved you, have helped you deal with reality, understand it, let go of the pain, hold onto the present, and move on to the future. I sincerely hope that here, at the end, I will hear the good, the bad, and meaning that SRU has brought you all.  
**

**But a very special thanks are in order for the one whose generosity made this whole project evolve into something truly special.**

**While you're taking a moment to leave a comment/review, please consider dropping a line toward DeviantArt user Eevee445 and sending her some love. Without her kindness, much of the SRU art gallery would not exist, and I would not have been able to devote as much time to this work as I was able to.**

**And also, thank you to Tina, my Sister-Face, whose kindness and encouragement picked me up when life was broken - and continues to do so.  
You are my lighthouse, my sister-from-another-mister that I longed for throughout all of college and never found while I was there.**

**One person really can make all the difference - and both of you have indeed done so in my life in your own ways.**

**Thank you all for the good old times we've shared.  
Thank you for indulging my cyclical story, for peering into the parts of my real life I've attached and mixed in with these characters.**

* * *

What I Learned at SRU  
Chapter 130 - What I Learned

* * *

_"There is a universal truth we all have to face, whether we want to or not: everything eventually ends. As much as I've looked forward to this day, I've always disliked endings. Last day of summer, the final chapter of a great book, parting ways with a close friend...But endings are inevitable. Leaves fall, you close the book. You say goodbye. Today is one of those days for us. Today we say goodbye to everything that was familiar, everything that was comfortable. We're moving on. But just because we're leaving, and that hurts, there's some people who are so much a part of us, they'll be with us no matter what. They are our solid ground. Our North Star. And the small clear voices in our hearts that will be with us, always."_  
~ _Castle_

* * *

- December - **Two Months Later**

My cheeks felt rosy from the cold, but my ears were toasty from the puffy muffs keeping them safe.

I loved the way the snow collapsed before my boots.

I was in command of forging my own path through the fluffy mess of white.

I spent about twenty paces thinking about how to describe walking through snow in a way that would sound interesting.

Then I spotted you through the pasty scene.

Aang's black tie and hat were easy to spot. There's something about those blue arrows that always puts me at ease and excites me at the same time.  
What direction are we going in? Sign me up. Let's be off!

Aang was leaned up against the stone wall of the music building, right beside the make-shift tunnel carved into it.

My pace quickened, and I waved up my hand, calling out his name.

His face had been sleepily lingering over a cup of coffee in his hands, but he perked right up at the sound of my face, instantly finding my gaze with a twinkle about him that cleared up his groggy haze.

If anyone ever reacts to you like that, I'd say it's something worth appreciating.

"Hi, Sweetie," he murmured dreamily, letting his eyes slide closed as I pressed myself against him.

With my journal in my hands, tucked behind my back, I squished our winter coats together as we exchanged our customary greeting kiss with an eskimo kiss signature.

I let him continue drinking his coffee - he looked in sore need of it, poor guy.

"How're you holding up?" I wondered. "Get everything finished?"

"Almost," he replied with some dread. "Seems like as soon as I think I'm finished, there's just a bit more to work on. A bit more to work on, a bit more...-" He trailed off with a disgruntled sigh, taking another sip.

I reached up one hand to his head and squirmed my fingers beneath his woven hat with the arrow. I ran my fingers against his sweaty scalp for a moment, hoping to encourage him with the gesture.

"You've got this," I insisted in a whisper, letting my palm linger against his cheek for a moment. "Just get it done and over with."

"Yea, then I can...go on that trip," he mumbled.

"Oh, the museum?" I vaguely recalled.

"Yea, it's what we're doing for our final."

"Well, _hey, _better a trip than a test, right?"

"True enough," he conceded.

I allowed him another drink before I asked him, "Where's Toph? I thought she'd be here with you."

Shaking his head, he hummed, "Mm-mm." While pointing his finger off to the campus center, he explained, "I saw her at Appa's."

"I'm going to go grab her," I announced, "get our drinks real quick, and we'll meet you out here in a few minutes."

"Sounds good," Aang complied, tipping up his cup.

I could tell he was about to run out.

"You want me to get you more while we're there?" I offered.

He paused, and I could see his body squirm with uncertainty.

"That's a yes, then," I decided.

"Some hot cocoa," he specified sheepishly. "That would...really hit the spot."

"You've got it," I chirped, pecking his cheek. He lightly pushed my loopies of hair (I've seriously decided that my brother is right, I don't know what else to call them) up and out of my face before kissing me on the nose with his lips. I couldn't help but giggle a bit - he wasn't prone to doing that, and it felt a little funny. He was attempting to catch me off guard more often, and it was these little things that counted.

I handed him my journal to safeguard as I went on a coffee run.

"Protect this with your life, Penguin guard, and stay at your post," I commanded.

He made a '_wonk_' sound, imitating a certain cartoon penguin.

"That's a good boy, Gunter," I snickered back over my shoulder as I marched off.

"That makes you the _Ice King_," Aang taunted in a shout.

"_Ew_!" I called back.

As I briskly made way through the light, fluffy snow that afternoon, I fancied myself more of a Princess Bubblegum - which led to an inner monologue comparing my friends to cartoon characters.

_**+ youtu . be/C3FRcBM1wcw +**_  
_(The Story Begins in the Usual Place; Satoru Kosaki)_

Down in the campus center, I descended into Appa's.

Jane was working behind the counter that afternoon - I hoped it was her last shift of the semester, but figured she probably crammed in one or two during finals week, the loonie.

"How are things going?" I checked in with her.

Business looked slow, and she was manning the shop on her own at that moment, which was a bit of a pleasant surprise.

Her face brightened a bit at my presence - likely a friendly beacon in a dreary day.

"Survivin'," she honestly replied.

"When do you get off work?" I asked.

"'Bout an hour," Jane said with a yawn.

"OK. Well, that's when I'll be about to head off to a study session, but...how about dinner? Can you do dinner?"

"Sure," Jane shrugged. "Sounds good."

"Ah, great," I sighed with some relief.

"_T__sh, _not like it's the last time we'll ever hang out," Jane stated. She was coming over for Christmas break again, as she had the year prior.

"I know," I mumbled with a shrug. "It's just been a while, and I...hate eating by myself. Everyone else is busy, and...-"

"_Ah, _so I'm the last resort," Jane wryly remarked.

I remember my stomach twisting with regret at my words, so caught up in thought I was that I couldn't realize her jest.

She must've noticed the shock and alarm in my face, for she giggled and assured, "Just _fuckin' _with ya, Kat."

"Aren't you _always_?" I snidely came back.

"Nah, that's Toph," Jane retorted. "Speakin' of the devil, she's over there-" Jane nodded her head off. "Said she's waitin' on ya."

"Oh, right." I took note of my roommate's position across the way. "Thanks."

Jane straightened her arrowed uniform hat and flicked her finger at me like firing a cocked gun, accompanied with a "_Tch-tch!_"

"You care, Hun," I chuckled as I left her to her duty. "I'll see you soon."

"Later."

On the other side of a quiet, all-but-dead Appa's, I found Toph scarfing down scraps of curly fries. Such a little piggly-wiggly, that one.

Seated across from her were Meng and Douglas - hands latched together across laps. That was an 'ah-ha' moment for me, as the two still didn't seem '_official_', and I had yet to see them engage in such a gesture in a casual setting.

"Hiya, Katara!" Meng greeted with her usual pep. "Please make Tophie stop eating all our food."

Meng's line delivery was unsettlingly passive-aggressive, and Toph nearly choked. I had to pound at her back a few times as Meng and Douglas had a giggle fit - and tittered something in each other's ears.

"But...-!" Toph panted out between coughs. "You said...-!"

"_Joh-king_~_"_ Meng teased.

I made Toph thank her cousin for the leftovers before I dragged her butt to the Jasmine Dragon.

Ty-Lee was working the counter - it seemed like she was there all of the time now.

Bubble-cheeked, dimply Ty exuded a waning degree of vim that afternoon, no-doubt wrecked by work hours loaded onto finals week. But she fought her excuses to be grouchy and gave us a warm smile all the same.

"How are you?" I asked her.

"Good, good," she answered in a half-truth. "And you?"

"We're in the mood for some damned tea," Toph barked, pounding her fist against the counter and eliciting a startled look from Ty.

"...Uh...Uhm...-!"

Toph cackled at Ty's squeaking reply. It was evidently one of those days where sarcasm and 'fucking with you' were contagious.

In the time it took for our drinks to be prepared, Toph inquired Ty about the music CD that was playing through the shop's sound system. As she did so - amazed that Toph was actually _conversing _with Ty-Lee of her own accord - I spotted Mai in her usual cranny in the corner of the shop.

"Hey," I said to her, trying to hide it.

"Hey," she said back, trying to detect it.

I let it slip, though, and she raised her brows at me expectantly.

"You got it, I see," she observed.

With a hushed embarrassment, I leaned over and whispered sternly, "The next time you send me one, you _really _oughtta...um...label it."

"...Label it?" was puzzled. "It was just a poem."

"N.S.F.W.," I specified, half-jokingly.

With a tightened jaw, extended open in bemusement, Mai nodded stiffly.

"You're just embarrassed," Mai said with a grin, "because I guessed right on the money. Didn't I?" And there were those narrowed eyes and that smug, smarmy look behind red highlighted hair and purple eye makeup.

"He doesn't..._talk..._about those things with you, does he?" I murmured my question.

"Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't," Mai dryly replied.

This only riled me up a bit more.

And I _still _don't know for sure.

"It's weird," I said, trying not to whimper - and failing miserably.

"La vie est _dr__ô_le," Mai airily answered, her syllables crackling like so many dying embers. "Aang's gotten a taste of sweet, sweet apples," Mai murmured, practically to herself. "And he's ready to build himself a treehouse. Funny guy. Good kid."

I was fairly confused, but by then Toph was badgering me in her attention-mongering way to 'not leave the cripple to her own devices of destruction,' or some such, so I bid the ladies adieu. With a tray of three drinks in hand and an impatient Toph around my arm, I cautiously opened the glass double doors, their bell chiming its farewell to us.

"Was that Mai?" Toph wondered.

"Mm-hm."

"Goddamn, I gotta get on her ass. We've got a song to finish."

"Oh?"

"Yea..."

"You should...um...get around to doing that," I remarked, the bright white of sun on snow nearly blinding me as we were back outside.

"Well, _doy, _but...That shit's kinda hard. Writing's a balancing act," Toph declared, "between taking your sweet ol' time and kicking yourself in the teeth."

"It sure is," I whole-heartedly agreed, laughing at her realization.

Aang spotted us from the distance, his coffee cup now gone - cast aside into a nearby waste bin, I presumed.

Toph shivered from the chilly breeze, digging into her coat's pocket and shoving a floppy winter beanie over her disheveled hair.

The wind picked up, nearly causing the pair of us to slip up, but we held fast.

I divided up our drinks: a raspberry coffee for me, a minty tea for Toph, and hot cocoa for Aang.

I clasped Aang's hand tight, and Toph clutched at her tea for warmth. My journal rested in Aang's messenger bag on a dry patch of salted sidewalk feet away - I still had business to attend to with that book, but it could wait a few minutes.

"It's colder than a witch's tit out here," Toph sighed before taking a sip of her steaming tea. "I _like _it."

We leaned against the music building for a while that brisk, bright afternoon, regaling tales of our oh-so-important escapades in education.

And they _were _oh-so-important, because they were being shared.

* * *

_Winter, spring, summer, and fall_  
_Four seasons; four loves_

I love _you. _And I also love winter.

Right now, as I write this entry, you aren't here. But winter is.

Another semester is ending. This could be the very last time I get to see SRU's campus in the snow.

People complain about winter - about snow. It's too cold, they say. It's too wet.

It's true that winter can be quite miserable. I have horrid memories of shoveling out our driveway at some ungodly hour of frigid fright just so Dad could get his car onto the road.

But when it snows, the world is quiet, peaceful, elegant.

It gives us time to think, you know? I'm going to miss that when we move out to where my brother is.

When it snows, you can see your breath. You can literally see the heat inside you, escaping out into the world.

Winter also has this habit of bringing out the good in people. We're all in the nasty muck together, or enduring the bitter cold, or just enjoying the silent white blanket over the earth.

The thing of it is, people have a tendency to let that good out when the season calls for it, right? And I love that, I do.

Still...I can't help but ask, every winter season: Why can't we be like this all the time?

After all, we are _always_enduring the unrelenting world, weather aside.

As harsh or as cold - or as stubborn - as winter can be, though...You have to admit, it makes coming inside that much more pleasant.

We put on so many layers just to endure the elements of the outside world.

This makes it that much more comforting, then, to be able to strip them away and soak in the warmth of good company.

And that's how it will be when I go inside in a few minutes, and sit down to watch Toph sing.

It's how it will be when you come back from your museum trip, and we snuggle together for warmth amidst the lingering rays of sunrise on a winter morning. You won't have much to say. And that will be just fine by me. You let your hands do the talking, in more ways than one.

Or when Sokka sends me a photo of our necklace, linked around his neck by chain and ribbon fused as one - accompanied with a text message whining about its girliness and bragging about his chest hair. Which I certainly did _not _ask to see. Ever.

Or when Jane notices the way my nose wrinkles and flares with the ebb and flow of my mood, and acts accordingly. She touches her eyebrows, chews her lip, her eyes dart about self-consciously, she mumbles, and is altogether an awkward and adorable mess: but she figures out a way to make me feel better.

When Korra and I share a drink at the bar, and she bristles when I pick on her uncertain love life, to which she counters by teasing me about what a nerd I am. I don't think she's figured out that such remarks don't phase me anymore. She is still such a teenager, but she has her moments of serenity.

When Mai leaves me a haiku in my mailbox. It makes some reference to some recent conversation, and the next time I pass her by, she gives me that inquisitive look, I smirk in reply - and she knows that I read it, lifting her brow while smirking back, as if daring me to counter with my own poem.

When Ty-Lee squeals at how Neville and Luna 'should be canon.' I see what you mean about her, and that I've misjudged her for too long. Beneath her airy surface, there is a funny but acute understanding of human sensitive she hides within the understanding of people she gleans from TV.

When Meng helps me bake cupcakes for study group. The dimples on her cheeks when she smiles - which she does all of the time now - the glint in her eyes when she gets excited, the way she hums and laughs while scarfing down the first cupcake, so readily enjoying the simple things.

When I see photos on Facebook of Zuko and Azula, enjoying each other's company as they travel on business. They share a grouchy seriousness that comes through even in photographs. There's very little smiling, but I can still tell they're doing well.

When June does her same old routine - always with the sarcasm, with the frump and grump to it all. She tries, though. I see her trying. It must be so much harder to make even those slight adjustments in attitude once you're older and have become more stuck in things.

When I don't even need to tell Iroh what kind of coffee I'd like because he already knows what 'the usual' is. His diamond-checkered sweatervest stretches at the seams when he laughs at my timid reaction to another metaphor of his.

___Four seasons; four loves_  
Winter, spring, summer, and fall

And like the cycle of the seasons, our lives will run in circles, becoming anew, thriving, running their course, dying out, and repeating themselves.

I repeat myself. Far too much, perhaps. You've gotten really good at letting me know when I'm doing it.

I talk and yammer away while you quietly play along. You've gotten a little better at speaking your mind, and a little better at something you're not already good at is a _lot _better than what most will do.

I admit, I used to think that I would be the one supporting you, having your back, boosting you up to be something greater than what everyone else thought you were. And it's true - that you _are _greater than what others think. But I've been surprised by how you continue to keep pushing yourself behind the scenes. By that token, though, you've enabled me to realize that I was capable of more than I used to think I was.

_Que sera, sera._  
Whatever will be, will be.  
_C'est la vie_.  
That's life.  
_La vie est dr__ô_le.  
Life is funny.

I guess that unless you're the lead sled dog, the view is pretty much the same, isn't it? But I'd like to think that as quiet and humble as you might be, we're sledding side by side, even if you let me win the race. I see you, even now, doubting yourself. Putting yourself down because you stand on the sidelines, because you don't take the lime light and 'rise up.'

It's all right, though, my Penguin. You shouldn't be trying to be someone you're not.  
And I never should've pressured you into that.

You are not some super-hero, some savior with some epic destiny.

But no one in this world of ours actually _is._

You are _my _hero. _My _savior. And whatever our 'destiny' might be, I only hope we can meet it together.

You don't need to talk so much if the words that come out when you _do _speak actually mean something worthwhile.

And they so very often do, Aang.

I love you.

* * *

Sometimes, I hate you.

You can be so infuriating. You always have been this way, since we were little. Someone can literally say right to your face what the correct way is to do something, and you'll go and do it the wrong way, just for the hell of it. I still remember the way you wore a tuxedo to prom and took two separate boys out on a date even after your Dad expressly forbid you from even going to prom in the first place.

You've always been a rebel.

You've hurt me, you've broken my trust, but - at least, after you came to this community of ours - you've shown me a taste of what true redemption must be like. The way those kids have bonded with you...and the way my friends here have taken to you...That means something. You struggled and suffered, and even when I shunned you outright, you kept fighting.

You just might be more stubborn than me and Toph combined. But now that we're both a bit older, and we actually _talk _and spend _time _together, I've come to actually understand where your stubbornness comes from. I can see that so much of what you do comes from the same place I come from.

We're both trying to make good on promises we've made.  
We're both trying to protect the people we love.

And it makes me so happy that because of our involvement with SRU, many of those people we love have become mutual.

I know that we'll both keep fighting, each in our ways.

We'll never turn our backs on people who need us.

We are, in the end, Kesuks. It's in our blood, but more importantly, in our hands.

There's hope for you yet, Korra.

I love you.

* * *

I decided I'd write about you today, because I miss you especially more than usual.

I realize that there are just some parts of you that will never change, and you get hung up on that lately.

But, oh foolish brother of mine, you fail to forget that you are not the only dual-sided being in existence:  
That the whole of humanity is akin to a coin, flipping from one side to the next.

You just happen to flip at a higher frequency than most.

My brother's just an idiot sometimes.

And sometimes, you're not, Sokka.

I love you.

* * *

You'll never read this.

I know you won't, because, well...you can't. You don't see the world the same way the rest of us do. Maybe some day I'll read this entry to you.

I'm writing this because I really admire how strong and confident you are. Some people think that just because you're blind, and you need help with things - you can't get by on your own - that it makes you weak, but we both know that's not at all the case. You've been through a lot, made so many mistakes, but you've come out a better person. You're more self-assured than ever - and I know that beneath the sarcasm and the jokes, you really have learned to love yourself more than you used to.

You are beautiful, exactly as you are, and you've only become moreso with the things you've learned.

But you know what? I'm not writing this for you. I'm writing this for me. I want to make sure I capture in words what I witnessed tonight while it's fresh in my mind.

Your _talent _is beautiful. The way your words can stir hearts is...important. It's something greater and more meaningful than just your own desires, but it's _because _it comes from your desires that is such.

Your performance tonight - the song you and Mai have been working on for so long? I was so honored that you played it for me first. But it was even better when you played it for that crowd at the Jasmine Dragon.

I'm enclosing a typed copy of the lyrics which Mai provided. I'll probably coerce you into letting me record you performing it some time.

Three years ago, I couldn't have imagined we'd become so close.

But I sure am grateful that we have.

You're the Yin to my Yang.

_I pray every day that things stay the same_  
_And that our hearts will never falter_  
_And that my love will always matter_

It matters so much, Toph.

I love you.

**+ What We Learned +**

_I see you, but I can't see_  
_What could someone like you_  
_See in someone like me?_

_Friends for life, you decree  
Do you really?_  
_Can I really?_

_They say I'm rough, n' they say you're kind,_  
_But none o' that gives me peace o' mind_  
_Yet you do_  
_You always do_  
_Even when you don't try to_  
_But I know that you try, too_  
_Always tryin'..._  
_N' I'm always tryin'..._  
_'Cuz you keep me flyin'_  
_Your breathe leaves me sky high n'_  
_I'm all about the timing  
_

_Except when I'm not_

_Too much swimming in my own head_  
_Always drowning in my own head  
Drowning, drowning_  
_Drifting down to my bed_  
_Where words sleep, unsaid_

_'Til I say 'em_  
_Here I'll state 'em_  
_Hope they can mend_  
_All your pain in the end_

_N' what we learned is...-_  
_To have hope, to hold on, to save faith_  
_To help each other carry on_  
_How to cope, 'n how to breathe,_  
_Open hearts to possibilities_  
_Enjoy the ordinary_  
_What we learned is..._  
_We're our own sanctuary_

_I hear you but I can't hear_  
_Your cries lost in our fear_  
_Don't forget that I'm here_  
_Always near_  
_N' I'm always near_

_Too much digging in the dirt_  
_Clawing, scraping 'til it hurts_  
_Digging out my own bed_  
_Where words sleep, unsaid_

_'Til I say 'em_  
_Here I'll state 'em_  
_Hope they can mend_  
_A little pain in the end_

_They hurt ya, they crushed ya,_  
_I broke ya, I rushed ya,_  
_I hear you, I get it_  
_Please don't think I meant it_  
_To fall, crash, n' burn_

_And it does burn  
I know it does burn_

_But let's salvage the wreckage_  
_N' see what we learn_

_N' what we learned is...-_  
_To have hope, to hold on, to save faith_  
_To help each other carry on_  
_How to cope, 'n how to breathe,_  
_N' save ourselves from insanity_  
_Slay our inner adversary_  
_What we learned is...-_  
_We're our own sanctuary_

_What **I** learned is..._  
_...not gonna do much at all for me_  
_Without You, Without Us, Without We_  
_Without our stitched up, patchwork Family_

_What we learned is..._  
_To move on, to let go,_  
_That 'yes' means 'yes,' and 'no' means 'no'  
So simple and dumb  
I'm stupid and numb  
_

_Except when I'm not_

_What we learned is..._  
_To grow up, to endure,_  
_To make each other feel secure_  
_We're all fine, we're OK,_  
_We're all alike, all insane_  
_But we're different, all the same_

_So simple and plain  
But it keeps us sane  
Enjoy the ordinary_

_What we learned is...-_  
_We're our own sanctuary_

* * *

You piss me off. So often, so deeply.

You frustrate me more than anyone else.

I find it so difficult some days to accept you, who you were, what you will become.

It's so hard for me to find it in myself to love you as much as the others.

So damned aggravating, seemingly impossible, to keep you in check.

But I must learn to do so.

How can I hope to bring balance, peace, and love to the people around me,  
if I cannot bring balance within myself; be at peace with myself; love myself  
love you?

You used to always be so consumed in your books, your small escapes from the responsibilities you'd undertaken.  
You were clinging to the future - an imaginary future.  
But you've learned to stop clinging, and start accepting what actually is.  
Because there is more than enough beauty in what actually is.

You would get so attached, so wildly fixated on objects, on symbols, your links to things you've lost.  
You were clinging to the past - an irreplaceable past.  
But you're learning to stop clinging, and start letting go of what is no more.  
Because there's no good that comes in carrying dead weight.

You continue to latch onto the people around you.  
You are clinging to the present - an imperfect present.  
But you will learn to stop clinging to those people, and start holding on to them.  
Because there is a difference, and you will figure it out.

I know sometimes it hurts more to hope, and it hurts more to care...

But I promise that I will never stop caring, Katara.

I love you.

* * *

{- January 1st - New Year's Day}  
{ ~ Katara Kesuk}

_Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?_  
_Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?_

Those were the lyrics we sung tonight, just like last year. You were slurring the words. Maybe I was, too. There was a lot of laughing, and a lot of alcohol.

You kissed the right girl this year, though - good job on that one.

When I think about it, though, I suppose I can relate with you: everyone around us is pretty beautiful. When you spend time with someone, you learn to see that beauty, and some times it can manifest into something material out of the spiritual.

I suppose friendship really is the bridge between those two worlds.

For each New Year's I've spent with you - two now, but I expect more - I become that much more impressed of how much you have changed, and how much you are still who you once were.

I've heard a saying: what's past is prologue.  
But it isn't.  
There's no prologue, no epilogue - not unless we make them ourselves.

New Year's is just a day. It only means something because we _make _it.

I wonder if that's part of why I love books so much: because I get to make of them what I want with what's given to me.

They are divided into chapters because someone made a _choice _to separate one part of the story from the next.

You did that, too.

And I am _so _proud of you. You grew so much over a single year.

From a scarred victim and criminal alike to a compassionate friend.

_For auld lang syne, my dear._  
_For auld lang syne._  
_We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet_  
_For auld lang syne._

_For old times since, my dear,_  
_For good old times,_  
_We'll drink a cup of kindness yet,_  
_For good old times._

Here's to the next chapter, Jane.

I love you.

* * *

_"I know sometimes it hurts more to hope and it hurts more to care, but you have to promise me that you won't stop caring."  
~ Katara; __Avatar: The Last Airbender_

_"It is important to draw wisdom from different places. If you take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale.  
Understanding others — the other elements, the other nations — will help you become whole.  
It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful.  
**But it can make you more powerful, too.**"  
_~ Uncle Iroh_, Avatar: The Last Airbender  
_

* * *

_**+ youtu . be/9fAZIQ-vpdw +** _  
_(All Of Me; Jon Schmidt)_

* * *

{ aang }

{your head was bleeding. there was smoke everywhere. i couldn't breathe and my back was on fire. but i wouldn't let you go. no matter what.  
that was the day i learned how precious your life is. so precious that i'd be willing to do anything to protect it.}

* * *

{ -Sokka Kesuk }

{Girls are all right some times. Especially the squishy parts.}

{That's it. That's all I'm writing down.}

* * *

{ 北方拓芙 }  
{ ~ Toph Beifong}_  
-I remember writing this for her...-_

{It's embarrassing to have you sitting in the same room, transcribing what I say to paper for some dumb book.}

{But when I think about it, I really have nothing to hide, except when I make myself hide it.}

{And I ought to stop doing that.}

{You've helped me learn a lot.}

* * *

{ KORRA }

{I learned that I am a **fucking**}**  
**{**moron!**}

* * *

{ jane fitz }

{you want me to write something down? fine. i will.}

{you gotta let me go, kat. i got my own person to be.}

{good bye.}

* * *

{ aang }

{we were attacked in the park. there was blood. shouting. bruised knuckles.}

{violence is never the answer.}

* * *

{ Mai Chiao }

-_Ha, another haiku, huh?-_

{Writing the words down}  
{Sounds so easy on paper}  
{'Til they float away}

* * *

{ toph } -_Is that Jane's handwriting?-_

{you shouldn't leave your sappy book of secrets out in the open when you go to take a shit.}

{love you, sister face.}

* * *

{ ty-lee }

{zulie's sooooo much better now! i'm glad we got on her back about therapy! it's so good for her! she told me that for a long time i was the only person who believed in her! so that's my lesson i'm writing down for you! all it takes is one person to make a difference for somebody!}

* * *

{ Zuko Kurosawa }

{We finally made amends. I still can't quite believe it. You and Uncle were right: there's still good in my sister. Maybe anyone really can make use of a second chance. My Uncle gave me one, and now I've given Azula one...and it's worked out both ways. Our father doesn't dictate how we live our lives.}

* * *

{ JUNE }

{ Remember that time I played that dumb game on your friends' Facebook wall? }

{ That's when I figured out }

{ you kids are fucking nuts. }

{ Now stop distracting my star fry cook. }

{ Get out ma face. }

* * *

{ KORRA }

{It's ok to be scared. It's not ok to hide it. I've been fooling myself into thinking I have nothing to lose. I have everything to lose.}

{I just didn't find it until I knew what to start looking for.}

* * *

{ jane fitz }

_- Oh, brother. What kind of drawing is that? Some kind of...awful penis-butt monster? -  
_

{i'm glad we're friends again but if you want me say something sappy then i'll do it in person.}

{over a guinness.}

{AND MY AXE}

* * *

{ KORRA }

{I feel like a new gal.}

{Thank you for giving me some tough love when I needed it.}

{Thank you for believing in me.}

{I tried telling him myself, but could you let your Little Man know some time how much it means to me that he helped me out?}

* * *

{ aang }

{size doesn't matter. it's your actions that count.}

{even if they're small, it's ok. you can still make the world a better place.}

{sometimes it just means one person's world becomes a much better place.}

{and that's good enough.}

_-There's a little doodle of a cat wearing a witch's hat with a crescent moon in the background.-_

* * *

{ Dad }

{You've grown so much, Katara.}

{Your Mother would be so proud of who you have become, and who you've chosen to spend your time with.}

{Regardless of what she would think, I know that _I _am so proud.}

{In the spirit of Thanksgiving, it's only fair for me to remind you of how thankful I am to have you around.}

* * *

{ Meng Beifong }

_-Geez, there's...all kinds of weird emoji-thingies scribbled all over this page. And gratuitous stars and swirlies and...man. It's crazy.-_

{I learned to believe in me}  
{who believes in you!}

{Next Time On}  
{**The Misadvantures Of Meng-Meng**}

{Senpai notices me!}  
{Or maybe doesn't!}

{On behalf of the Moon,}  
{Watch it,}  
{Or i'll _take your soul!_}

{See you later}  
{Space Cow== girl}

{**One is All, All is One**}

* * *

{ _Iroh Kurosawa _}

{You handed me this book. You asked me to write in it. You resigned from the White Lotus today, and I was a bit sad to see you leave. But you are not gone at all. You started crying when you explained to me your reasons for joining the newspaper, and for quitting.}

{I suspect that you were hoping for some kind of advice. But you have already learned the most important lesson I can think worth teaching. You've learned to love learning, to love understanding, to love growing. One does not start a book like this without that desire.}

{You complained to the effect that you feel as if life is passing you by. That you are stuck. That you do not wish to make a life out of doing things which are not 'you.'}

{I hope you realize that life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not.}

* * *

{ -Sokka Kesuk }

{Real-talk.}

{I miss you lots.}

{Like a lot a lot a lot}  
{a lot}

{A LOT}

{A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOVE YOU A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT A LOT}

{Oh, you probably wanted the other side of the coin, eh?}

{Too bad, I'm tired and lazy.}

{But I am wearing this girly necklace just for you.}

{It may not be enough, but it's something.}

{That's the best you'll get out of me until you see me again.}

{You hang in there, Sister.}

* * *

{ aang }

{all worlds share the same sky.}  
{one sky, one destiny.}

{let's share the same world, then.}  
{you and i, one ecstasy.}

{sifting our strife into a single heart}  
{drifting through life in one shared mario kart}

-_Did you try to write me a poem, Aang?-_

* * *

{ 北方拓芙 }  
{ ~ Toph Beifong}

_-Whoa, this is..._really_ sloppy handwriting...I can barely read it.-_

{ AL| _ Y 0U /\/e eD |5 /_oUe }

-_Oh, I get it. That _is _all we need_.-

* * *

{ Mai Chiao }

{One final haiku}  
{Canada eskimo glue}  
{I've learned to care, too}

* * *

{ ~ Katara Kesuk }

{The more I keep trying to write down what matters, what things I glean from my time in college, the more I come to understand that it really is more what you learn _outside _of the classroom than in it, and that you can never understand too much.}

{I could continue to run circles over my own words, writing everything down as best I can.}

{But I could never write it _all _down, and it would never be perfect.}

{I'm not even sure exactly why I'm writing this all down. For all I know, you'll never read it. Maybe _no one _will ever read this. But I'm OK with that.}

{It's not whether you read it or not that matters - it's that I wrote it down in the first place.}

{Life happens wherever you are, whether you make it or not.  
But you _should _make it. You should make the most of it, with whatever you have.  
With _whoever _you have.}

{That, and so much else, is what I learned at SRU.}

* * *

**剧 终**  
**- The End -**


End file.
